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
Marko Duvnjak 21 January 2015

Brilliant

5 3 Reply
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 4 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
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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