Dear little one! how sweet thou art, Thine eyes how bright they shine

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Dear little one! how sweet thou art, Thine eyes how bright they shine

Author: Frederick W. Faber
Tune: [Dear little One! how sweet Thou art]
Published in 30 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1. Dear little One! how sweet Thou art,
Thine eyes so bright they shine,
So bright they almost seem to speak
When Mary’s looks meet Thine.
How faint and feeble is Thy cry,
Like plaint of harmless dove,
When Thou dost murmur in Thy sleep
Of sorrow and of love.

2. When Mary bids Thee sleep Thou sleep’st,
Thou wakest when she calls;
Thou art content upon her lap,
Or in the rugged stalls.
Simplest of Babes! with what a grace,
Thou dost Thy mother’s will,
Thine infant fashions all betray
The Godhead’s hidden skill.

3. When Joseph takes Thee in his arms,
And smoothes Thy little cheek,
Thou lookest up into his face
So helpless and so meek.
Yes! Thou art what Thou seem’st to be,
A thing of smiles and tears;
Yet Thou art God, and Heav’n and earth
Adore Thee with their fears.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #1187

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Author: Frederick W. Faber

Raised in the Church of England, Frederick W. Faber (b. Calverly, Yorkshire, England, 1814; d. Kensington, London, England, 1863) came from a Huguenot and strict Calvinistic family background. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and ordained in the Church of England in 1839. Influenced by the teaching of John Henry Newman, Faber followed Newman into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and served under Newman's supervision in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Because he believed that Roman Catholics should sing hymns like those written by John Newton, Charles Wesley, and William Cowpe, Faber wrote 150 hymns himself. One of his best known, "Faith of Our Fathers," originally had these words in its third stanza: "Faith of Our Fathers! Mary'… Go to person page >

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