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What win I, if I gain the thing I seek? A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy. Who buys a minute's mirth to wail a week? Or sells eternity to get a toy? For one sweet grape who will the vine destroy? Or what fond beggar, but to touch the crown, Would with the sceptre straight be strucken down?
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Authorship
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Rape of Lucrece [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)
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "What win I if I gain?", 1895-6 [voice and piano], from Six Songs, no. 5. [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Qu'est-ce que je gagne si je gagne ?", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text added to the website: 2010-05-06 00:00:00
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:40
Line count: 7
Word count: 61
Qu'est-ce que je gagne si je gagne la chose que je cherche ? Un rêve, un souffle, une écume de joie qui flotte. Qui achète une joie d'une minute pour gémir une semaine ? Ou vend une éternité pour avoir un jouet ? Pour une douce grappe qui détruirait la vigne ? Ou pour toucher la couronne quel mendiant fou Voudrait bien être frappé avec le sceptre ?
Authorship
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 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.
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- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in The Rape of Lucrece
Text added to the website: 2015-09-19 00:00:00
Last modified: 2015-09-19 20:21:21
Line count: 7
Word count: 68