Samson (1743) - Micah's Recitative " Oh, Change Beyond Report " and Air " Oh, Mirror Of Our Fickle State "
Oh, change beyond report, thought, or belief! See, how he lies with languish'd head, unpropt, Abandon'd, past all hope! Can this be he, Heroic Samson, whom no strength of man, Nor fury of the fiercest beast could quell? Who tore the lion, as the lion tears the kid, Ran weaponless on armies clad in iron, Useless the temper'd steel, or coat of mail.
Oh, mirror of our fickle state! In birth, in strength, in deeds how great! From highest glory fall'n so low, Sunk in the deep abyss of woe!