 | Hannah |  |
SCENE I.
Peninnah, and her Handmaid.Recitative accompany'd.
Peninnah.
When
Abraham threw himself upon his Face
To worship God Almighty, in return
Came Blessing down for Blessing—On his Loins
It came, from whence a Matron of her House
Stands forth, Peninnah; whose unnumber'd Progeny
Are known to him which calculates the Stars,
And tells the Total of the golden Grain
That borders boundless Ocean—O for Musick,
And every Form of Joy to bless and praise.
To worship God Almighty, in return
Came Blessing down for Blessing—On his Loins
It came, from whence a Matron of her House
Stands forth, Peninnah; whose unnumber'd Progeny
Are known to him which calculates the Stars,
And tells the Total of the golden Grain
That borders boundless Ocean—O for Musick,
And every Form of Joy to bless and praise.
6
Say, ye Turtles, as ye pair,
Quicken'd by the vernal Air,
Is there any Bliss like yours?
Still returning Love for Love,
Dove proceeding still from Dove,
How your beauteous Race endures?
Quicken'd by the vernal Air,
Is there any Bliss like yours?
Still returning Love for Love,
Dove proceeding still from Dove,
How your beauteous Race endures?
Handmaid.
Far other is the Lot of her, that shares
A nobler Portion of her Husband's Bounty,
The highly-favour'd Hannah; for her Honour
Is not hereafter in the sweet Idea
Of Self continued in a genuine Race.
AIR.
A nobler Portion of her Husband's Bounty,
The highly-favour'd Hannah; for her Honour
Is not hereafter in the sweet Idea
Of Self continued in a genuine Race.
How joyful the Triumph, how sweet the Content
O'er Rivals in Love to prevail,
When you fully revenge, what you greatly resent,
Till Pride her Preferment bewail;
When you bid her each Day and each Night to despair,
And urge that Reproach, which no Temper can bear.
O'er Rivals in Love to prevail,
When you fully revenge, what you greatly resent,
Till Pride her Preferment bewail;
When you bid her each Day and each Night to despair,
And urge that Reproach, which no Temper can bear.
| Hannah | |