Artaxerxes, Act I: No. 7, Air: “How hard is the fate”
Thomas Arne
SEMIRA:
How hard is the fate
How desp'rate the state
When virtue and honour excite
To suffer distress
Contented to bless
The object in whom I delight
Yet midst all the woes
My soul undergoes
Through virtue's too rigid decree
I'll scorn to complain
If the force of my pain
Awaken his pity for me
(Exit)
