THE UPRIGHT MAN
“The Upright Man” is a poem written by Thomas Campion who was
an English composer, poet, and physician.
He was born in London on 22 February 1567 and died on 1st
March 1620.
His professional achievements include over a hundred lute (guitar)
songs, masques for dancing and a
scholarly technical treatise on music.
The word upright means honest and honourable. Some of its
common synonyms are: good, virtuous, decent, righteous, ethical respectable,
worthy, reputable, law-abiding and high-minded.
According to Thomas Campion the upright man is fearless. His goodness is
his defence. It enables him to triumph over all ills.
However, the question is: How many upright men are there in
this mostly wicked world?
Here is the full text of the poem:
The Upright Man
“The man of life upright,
Whose guiltless heart is free
From all dishonest deeds,
Or thoughts of vanity:
The man whose silent days
In harmless joys are
spent,
Whom hopes cannot delude,
Nor sorrow discontent---
That man needs neither
towers
Nor armour for defence,
Nor secret vaults to fly
From thunder’s violence:
He only can behold
With unaffrighted eyes
The horrors of the deep
And terrors of the skies.
Thus, scorning all the
cares
That fate or fortune
brings,
He makes the heaven his
book,
His wisdom heavenly
things;
Good thoughts his only
friends,
His wealth a well-spent
age;
The earth his sober inn
And quiet pilgrimage
*********
G.R.Kanwal
4 May 2025
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