by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
What pleasure have great princes
Language: English
What pleasure have great princes More dainty to their choice Than herdsmen wild, who careless In quiet life rejoice, And fortune’s fate not fearing Sing sweet in summer morning? Their dealings plain and rightful, Are void of all deceit; They never know how spiteful, It is to kneel and wait On favourite presumptuous Whose pride is vain and sumptuous. All day their flocks each tendeth; At night, they take their rest; More quiet than who sendeth His ship into the East, Where gold and pearl are plenty; But getting, very dainty. For lawyers and their pleading, They ’steem it not a straw; They think that honest meaning Is of itself a law: Whence conscience judgeth plainly, They spend no money vainly. O happy who thus liveth! Not caring much for gold; With clothing which sufficeth To keep him from the cold. Though poor and plain his diet Yet merry it is, and quiet.
Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age, ed. by A. H. Bullen, London, John C. Nimmo, 1887, pages 153-154.
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), "What pleasure have great princes", 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: 30
Word count: 153