The supreme good for mortal men (Anonymous, set by (Guillaume Dufay)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by David Wyatt

Supremum est mortalibus bonum

Language: Latin

Available translation(s): ENG

Supremum est mortalibus bonum
Pax, optimum summi Dei donum.
Pace vero legum praestantia
Viget atque recti constantia;
Pace dies solitus et laetus,
Nocte sonus trahitur quietus;
Pax docuit virginem ornare
Auro comam crinisque nodare;
Pace rivi psallentes et aves
Patent laeti collesque suaves
Pace dives pervadit viator,
Tutus arva incolit arator.

O sancta pax, diu expectata,
Mortalibus tam dulcis, tam grata,
Sis eterna, firma, sine fraude,
Finem tecum semper esse gaude.
Et qui nobis, o pax, te dedere
Possedeant regnum sine fine:
Sit noster hic pontefex eternus
Eugenius et rex Sigismundus!

Authorship

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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 Guillaume Dufay (c1400 - 1474), "Supremum est mortalibus bonum", 1433 [ vocal quartet], isorhythmic motet [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "The supreme good for mortal men", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 91

The supreme good for mortal men

Language: English after the Latin

The supreme good for mortal men is
Peace, the best gift of God on high.
The pre-eminence of the law and the constancy of right
Grows strong in a true peace;
The day follows its usual happy course in peace,
Sounds at night are considered peaceful;
Peace has taught maids to decorate their hair 
with gold and knot their tresses;
In peace the brooks and birds appear 
To be making music gladly and in peace
The rich traveller passes through the hills pleasantly,
The ploughsman safely cultivates his fields.

O holy peace, long awaited,
So sweet to men, so welcome,
May you be eternal, firm, without deceit;
Rejoice that everything ends with you.
May they too who gave you, o peace, to us
Possess their kingdoms without end;
May our Pope, Eugenius, live for ever
And king Sigismund!

On the occasion of the Peace of Viterbo, 1433

Authorship

Translation from Latin 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.
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Based on

a text in Latin by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-03
Line count: 20
Word count: 138