Do not interrogate the beggar who asks you for alms

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

N'interroge pas le mendiant qui te...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

N'interroge pas le mendiant qui te demande l'aumône.
Ne questionne pas la femme qui a prononcé, en dormant, 
des paroles d'amour. 
Ne réponds pas à celui qui insulte ton ennemi.
Ne dis jamais : « Quel silence ! » 
Dis : « Je n'entends pas. »

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Jardin de Caresse, Edition 73, Paris : H. Piazza, p.33

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Sur le Silence", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 31 [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 Denise Aignerelle-Féru (b. 1933), "Le silence" [ voice and piano ], from Le jardin des caresses, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jean Gallon (1878 - 1959), published 1939 [ voice and piano ], Paris : R. Deiss [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-02-19
Line count: 6
Word count: 43

Do not interrogate the beggar who asks...

Language: English after the French (Français)

Do not interrogate the beggar who asks you for alms. 
Do not question the woman who has spoken, while sleeping,
words of love. 
Do not reply to anyone who insults your enemy. 
Never say, "What silence!" 
Say, "I cannot hear."

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Le silence" = "Silence"
"Sur le Silence" = "On Silence"

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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Sur le Silence", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 31
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-02-25
Line count: 6
Word count: 40