If a perfect work must please everyone

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by François I, King (1495 - 1547)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Si un œuvre parfait doit chacun...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Si un œuvre parfait doit chacun contenter,
Il ne faut qu'un seul jour voir ma mie et hanter ;
Car qui la verroit moins, perdroit un trop grand bien ;
Et qui la verroit plus, mourroit pour estre sien.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Bibliothéque choisie des poètes françois jusqu'à Malherbe, Tome III, edited by Pierre René Auguis, Paris: Crapelet, 1824.

Text Authorship:

by François I, King (1495 - 1547), "Quatrain" [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 Édouard Moullé (1845 - 1923), "Si ung oeuvre parfait doit chacun contenter", subtitle: "Chanson ancienne 16ème siècle", published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons tendres du XIIème au XVIIIème siècle, remises au jour et harmonisées par E. Moullé, no. 14, Paris, Éd. Rouart, Lerolle & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2018-10-23
Line count: 4
Word count: 37

If a perfect work must please everyone

Language: English after the French (Français)

If a perfect work must please everyone, 
One should see and keep company with my sweetheart only a single day;
For whoever saw her less would lose too great a good,
And whoever saw her more would die to be hers.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Quatrain" = "Quatrain"
"Si ung oeuvre parfait doit chacun contenter" = "If a perfect work must please everyone"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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 François I, King (1495 - 1547), "Quatrain"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-05-04
Line count: 4
Word count: 41