Qu' heureux est le Mortel, qui, du monde ignoré, Vit content de soi-mesme en un coin retiré! Que l'amour de ce rien, qu'on nomme Renommé, N'a jamais enyvré d'une vaine fumée, Qui de sa liberté forme tout son plaisir, Et ne rend qu'a lui seul compte de son loisir!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Œuvre de Boileau-Despréaux, nouvelle édition, Tome I, ed. by M. de Saint-Marc, Paris: "chez David & Durand," 1747, page 342. Appears in Epistres, no. VI, "à M. de Lamoignon, avocat général.".
Authorship:
- by Nicolas Boileau Despreaux (1636 - 1711), no title [author's text checked 1 time 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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680 - 1747) , appears in Irdisches Vergnügen in Gott ; composed by Georg Philipp Telemann.
Researcher for this page: Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website: 2021-11-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 49
Wie glücklich ist der Mensch, Den keine Menschen kennen, Der, mit sich selbst vergnügt, In einem Winkel lebt, Der dem Geschätzten nichts, Das wir die Ehre nennen, Vom Hoffahrts-Rauch berauscht Niemalen nachgestrebt, Der keine Freude find't, Als nur im freien leben, Und niemand, als ihm selbst, Von sich darf Rechnung geben.
Confirmed with Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Irdisches Vergnügen in Gott, erster Theil: Siebende, neu-übersehene und verbesserte Auflage, Hamburg: Christian Herold, 1744, page 582. Appears in Anhang.
Authorship:
- by Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680 - 1747), appears in Irdisches Vergnügen in Gott [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Nicolas Boileau Despreaux (1636 - 1711), no title
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 - 1767), "Sein eigner Herr" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Poppy Holden) , "His own man", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Poppy Holden , Melanie Trumbull
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 51