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Nous ne tenons en notre main Le temps futur du lendemain; La vie n'a point d'assurance, Et pendant que nous désirons La faveur des Rois, nous mourons Au milieu de notre espérance. L'homme après son dernier trépas Plus ne boit ni mange là-bas, Et sa grange qu'il a laissée Pleine de blé devant sa fin Et sa cave pleine de vin Ne lui viennent plus en pensée. Hé, quel gain apporte l'émoi? Va, Corydon, apprête-moi Un lit de roses épanchées; Il me plaît, pour me défâcher, A la renverse me coucher Entre les pots et les jonchées. Fais-moi venir Dorat ici, Fais-y venir Jodelle aussi, Et toute la Musine troupe; Depuis le soir jusqu'au matin, Je veux leur donner un festin Et cent fois leur pendre la coupe. Verse donc, et reverse encor Dedans cette grand'coupe d'or, Je vais boire à Henry Estienne, Qui des enfers nous a rendu Du vieil Anacréon perdu La douce lyre Téienne. A toi, gentil Anacréon, Doit son plaisir le biberon, Et Bacchus te doit ses bouteilles; Amour son compagnon te doit Vénus, et Silène qui boit L'été dessous l'ombre des treilles.
J. Leguerney sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title, subtitle: "Odelette à Corydon", appears in L'inspiration anacréontique , no. 1 [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 Jacques Leguerney (1906 - 1997), "Nous ne tenons", 1942, published 1989, stanzas 1-2 [voice and piano], from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Vol. VII, no. 2, Éditions Max Eschig [text verified 1 time]
- by Guido Spinetti (flourished 1897), "Nous ne tenons en nostre main", published 1897 [medium voice and piano], from the collection Treize poésies de Ronsard, mises en musique par Guido Spinetti, et ornées par Lucien Métivet de vignettes modernes dans le goût ancien, préface de Francisque Sarcey, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Flammarion [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "We do not hold in our hands", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 187
We do not hold in our hands What the future holds for tomorrow; Life gives us no assurances And while we seek The favour of kings, we die In the midst of our hopes. Man after his eventual death No longer drinks or eats in the Beyond, And his barn which he left Full of corn before his end And his cellar full of wine No longer come to his mind. Ah, what gain does worry bring? Go, Corydon, prepare me A bed strewn with roses; It pleases me to relax To lie down on my back Among the strewings and chaff. Send Dorat to me here And send Jodelle too And the whole troop of locals; From evening through till morning I'd like to give them a feast And offer them the cup a hundred times. Pour then, and pour again Within this great cup of gold I shall drink to Henry Estienne1 Who has returned to us from Hades The sweet lyre of Teos Lost by old Anacreon2. To you, noble Anacreon, The drinker owes his pleasure And Bacchus owes you his bottles; Venus owes you Love, her companion, And Silenus who drinks All summer under the shade of the vine-arbour.
1 French publisher and scholar, edited and issued many Greek texts in print for the first time
2 Greek lyric poet, born in Teos, whose style Ronsard imitated
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 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 Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title, subtitle: "Odelette à Corydon", appears in L'inspiration anacréontique , no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2012-06-23
Line count: 36
Word count: 203