To less than nothing one can come in a little while

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by Mellin de Saint-Gelais (1487 - 1558)

Translation © by David Wyatt

De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir
Et puis ce peu n’a se [si] peu de puissance
[Que bien]¹ ne fasse à assez parvenir
Celuy qui veut avoir la suffisance
Mais si au trop (de malheur) il s’avance
Ne recevant d’assez contentement
[Danger est]² par la folle inconstance
De retourner à son commencement
      De moins que riens.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• H. Naich

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Naich: "Qu’assez"
² Naich: "En dangeresse"

Text Authorship:

by Mellin de Saint-Gelais (1487 - 1558), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir" [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 Jacobus de Brouck (flourished 1568-1583), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir" [sung text not yet checked]
by Thomas Créquillon (1480 - 1557), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir" [sung text not yet checked]
by Andries Pevernage (1542/3 - 1591), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir" [sung text not yet checked]
by Louis Servin (c1555 - 1626), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir" [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

by Hubert Naich (c1513 - c1546), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir"

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2017-06-13
Line count: 9
Word count: 61

To less than nothing one can come in a...

Language: English after the French (Français)

To less than nothing one can come in a little while,
And this little has not so little power
That it can’t do enough to get enough.
He who wants enough
But yet advances to too much (by mischance)
Not getting happiness from enough
Is in danger, through foolish inconstancy 
Of returning to his beginning,
     To less than nothing.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2017 by David Wyatt, (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 French (Français) by Mellin de Saint-Gelais (1487 - 1558), "De moins que riens l’on peut à peu venir"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-06-13
Line count: 9
Word count: 59