by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
I joy not in no earthly bliss
Language: English
I joy not in no earthly bliss, I force not Crœsus’ wealth a straw; For care I know not what it is I fear not Fortune’s fatal law: My mind is such as may not move For beauty bright nor force of love. I wish but what I have at will, I wander not to seek for more; I like the plain, I climb no hill; In greatest storms I sit on shore And laugh at them that toil in vain To get what must be lost again. I kiss not where I wish to kill; I feign not love where most I hate; I break no sleep to win my will; I wait not at the mighty’s gate; I scorn no poor, nor fear no rich; I feel no want, nor have too much. The court and cart I like nor loath; Extremes are counted worst of all; The golden mean between them both Doth surest sit and fears no fall. This is my choice: for why? I find No wealth is like the quiet mind.
Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. by A. H. Bullen, London, John C. Nimmo, 1887, page 43.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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 William Byrd (1542?3? - 1623), "I joy not in no earthly bliss", published 1588, from Psalms, Sonnets, and Songs of Sadness and Piety [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-24
Line count: 24
Word count: 177