Happy The Man Poem by John Dryden

Happy The Man

Rating: 3.3


Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call today his own:
He who, secure within, can say,
Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.
Be fair or foul or rain or shine
The joys I have possessed, in spite of fate, are mine.
Not Heaven itself upon the past has power,
But what has been, has been, and I have had my hour.

Happy The Man
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Tobias Carolus 06 March 2010

Is this written by John Dryden or is this translated by John Dryden from Horace's original latin text?

3 5 Reply
Marko Duvnjak 21 January 2015

Do you think it would rhyme perfectly if it was translated from Latin? I think not.

2 1
Robert Doolittle 18 January 2018

The author of the previous reply knows nothing about poetry in translation - it's not normally word-for-word transliteration. The answer is no, however - Dryden wrote this in imitation of Horace, not a translation. You might say he was inspired by Horace's ode.

2 0
Marko Duvnjak 21 January 2015

Brilliant

5 3 Reply
Rajesh Thankappan 25 November 2015

The present is the present that time gifts us,

2 3 Reply
Ruta Mohapatra 22 April 2018

' He who can call today his own'.........a memorable line! A memorable poem!

1 0 Reply
Jimmy 2 26 March 2018

I Love PEACHES more then turtles and potatos

2 2 Reply
jimmy 06 March 2018

i like turtles and peaches and stuff.

4 0 Reply
Norman Kelly 11 September 2016

This poem was used in the film Tom Jones (1963) - a brilliant adaptation of the novel by Henry Fielding

2 2 Reply
Mizzy ........ 03 September 2016

Great advice written brilliantly.

2 1 Reply
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