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by Friedrich Rudolph Ludwig, Freiherr von Canitz (1654 - 1699)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Ich trachte nicht nach solchen Dingen
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  DUT FRE ITA
Ich trachte nicht nach solchen Dingen, 
Die hoch und zu gefährlich sind; 
Mein Geist sucht nirgend durchzudringen, 
Al wo er leichte Bahne findt.  
Ich ruhe sanft bis an den Morgen, 
Wenn mancher, welcher voller Sorgen  
Nach eitler Hoffnung ängstlich ringt, 
Der blinden Göttin Weihrauch bringt.  

Ich merke, dass in unserm Leben 
Was Göttliches mit unter spielt; 
Wer sich will zu den Sternen heben, 
Und diesen Trieb nicht bei sich fühlt, 
Muss endlich gar ein Spott auf Erden, 
Ja, sich selbst Höll und Henker werden:  
Weil der, der sich am meisten quält, 
Zuerst oft seinen Zweck verfehlt.  

Wer will, mag in den Lüften fliegen, 
Mein Ziel erstreckt sich nicht so weit;  
Ich lasse mich mit dem begnügen, 
Was nicht bemüht und doch erfreut. 
Ein and'rer mag sich knechtisch beugen, 
Um desto höher aufzusteigen; 
Ich neid' ihm nicht in meinem Sinn, 
Und bleibe gerne, wer ich bin.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   W. Mozart •   W. Mozart •   G. Telemann 

W. Mozart sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
W. Mozart sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
G. Telemann sets stanza 3

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Kurze Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur, II. Theil, ed. by G. Fr. Heinisch and J. L. Ludwig, Bamberg: Buchner'schen Buchhandlung, 1857, pages 34 - 35; and with Des Herrn von Canitz sämtliche Gedichte, Bern: Verlegts Beat Ludwig Walthard, 1764. Appears in Vermischte Gedichte, pages 85 - 86.


Text Authorship:

  • by Friedrich Rudolph Ludwig, Freiherr von Canitz (1654 - 1699), "Die Zufriedenheit im niedrigen Stande" [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), "Die Zufriedenheit im niedrigen Stande", K. 151, stanza 1. [ sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), "Die Zufriedenheit im niedrigen Stande", K. 125f, stanza 1. [ sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 - 1767), "Mittel-Stand", stanza 3. [ sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Melanie Trumbull

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 145

Je n'aspire pas à des choses
Language: French (Français)  after the German (Deutsch) 
Je n'aspire pas à des choses
Qui sont trop élevées et dangereuses ;
Mon esprit ne cherche à pénétrer
Que là où il trouve un accès facile.
Je me repose tranquillement jusqu'au matin,
Pendant que d'autres, pleins de soucis,
Luttent anxieusement pour un vain espoir,
Et brûlent de l'encens à la déesse aveugle.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Die Zufriedenheit im niedrigen Stande" = "La satisfaction de l'humble condition"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to French (Français) copyright © 2018 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in German (Deutsch) by Friedrich Rudolph Ludwig, Freiherr von Canitz (1654 - 1699), "Die Zufriedenheit im niedrigen Stande"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2018-01-08
Line count: 8
Word count: 52

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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