Contentment
(Poet's title: Zufriedenheit)
Set by Schubert:
D 362
[1815 or 1816]
D 501
[November 1816]
Part of The Theresa Grob Album
Ich bin vergnügt, im Siegeston
Verkünd es mein Gedicht.
Und mancher Mann mit seiner Kron
Und Scepter ist es nicht.
Und wär er’s auch: nun, immerhin!
Mag er’s doch, so ist er, was ich bin.
Des Sultans Pracht, des Mogols Geld,
Des Glück, wie hieß er doch,
Der, als er Herr war von der Welt,
Zum Mond hinauf sah noch?
Ich wünsche nichts von alle dem,
Zu lächeln drob fällt mir bequem.
Zufrieden sein, das ist mein Spruch,
Was hülf mir Geld und Ehr?
Das, was ich hab, ist mir genug,
Wer klug ist, wünscht nicht sehr;
Denn, was man wünschet, wenn man’s hat,
So ist man darum doch nicht satt.
Und Geld und Ehr ist obendrauf
Ein sehr zerbrechlich Glas.
Der Dinge wunderbarer Lauf
(Erfahrung lehret das)
Verändert wenig oft in viel
Und setzt dem reichen Mann sein Ziel.
Recht tun, und edel sein und gut,
Ist mehr als Geld und Ehr;
Da hat man immer guten Mut
Und Freude um sich her,
Und man ist stolz und mit sich eins,
Scheut kein Geschöpf und fürchtet keins.
Ich bin vergnügt, im Siegeston
Verkünd es mein Gedicht,
Und mancher Mann mit seiner Kron
Und Szepter ist es nicht.
Und wär er’s auch; nun immerhin,
Mag er’s doch, so ist er, was ich bin.
I am happy, with a triumphant tune
My poem declares it,
And there is many a man who wears a crown
And carries a sceptre who is not happy.
And even if he is, so what?
Fine, let him be happy! That will make him what I am.
The splendour of the Sultan, the Mogul’s money,
The good luck of – what’s his name? –
Whoever, even if he was the Lord of the world, he
Was just looking up at the moon.
I don’t want any of that;
I feel more comfortable just smiling at it all.
‘Be contented’, that is what I say!
How would money and status help me?
What I have is enough for me,
Anyone who is wise desires little;
Because, whatever you desire, when you have it,
You find that you are not satisfied with that.
What is more, money and status
Is a very fragile glass.
The amazing course of events
(As experience teaches us)
Often transforms a little into a lot,
And sets a limit for rich men.
Doing the right thing, being noble and good,
Is more than money and status;
In that way you are always in a good mood
And there is always joy around you,
You are proud and at one with yourself,
There is no creature that you avoid and you are afraid of noone.
I am happy, with a triumphant tune
My poem declares it,
And there is many a man who wears a crown
And carries a sceptre who is not happy.
And even if he is, so what?
Let him be happy! That will make him what I am.
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Themes and images in this text:
Crowns Fate, luck and lotteries Joy Money Night and the moon
Claudius’s text was published in ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtiche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen (Asmus carrying everything with him, or the collected works of the Wandsbeck messenger), Hamburg 1775 (page 60), where the title is not Zufriedenheit but simply Ein Lied, nach der Melodie: My mind a kingdom is, in den Reliquies of ancient Poetry (A Song, based on the melody, ‘My mind a kingdom is’ in the Reliquies of ancient Poetry).
Thomas Percy, the editor of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765), claimed that this was the same song quoted in Ben Jonson’s Every Man out of his Humour and which had also been set to music by William Byrd in the 1580’s. He does not attribute the text to a writer, but other sources claim that it is by Sir Edward Dyer (1543 – 1607).
My mind to me a kingdom is; Such perfect joy therein I find As far exceeds all earthly bliss That God or nature hath assign'd. Though much I want, that most would have, Yet still my mind forbids to crave. Content I live, this is my stay; I seek no more than may suffice; I press to bear no haughty sway; Look what I lack my mind supplies. Lo! thus I triumph like a king, Content with that my mind doth bring. I see how plenty surfeits oft, And hasty climbers soonest fall; I see that such as sit aloft Mishap doth threaten most of all. These get with toil and keep with fear: Such cares my mind can never bear. No princely port, nor wealthy store, No force to win the victory, No wily wit to salve a sore, No shape to win a lover's eye; To none of these I yield as thrall,-- For why? my mind despiseth all. Some have too much, yet still they crave, I little have, yet seek no more: They are but poor, though much they have; And I am rich with little store: They poor, I rich; they beg, I give; They lack, I lend; they pine, I live. I laugh not at another's loss, I grudge not at another's gain; No worldly wave my mind can toss; I brook that is another's bane. I fear no foe, nor fawn on friend, I loathe not life, nor dread mine end. I joy not in no earthly bliss; I weigh not Croesus' wealth a straw; For care, I care not what it is; I fear not fortune's fatal law: My mind is such as may not move For beauty bright or force of love. I wish but what I have at will; I wander not to seek for more; I like the plain, I climb no hill; In greatest storms I sit on shore, And laugh at them that toil in vain To get what must be lost again. I kiss not where I wish to kill; I feign not love where most I hate; I break no sleep to win my will; I wait not at the mighty's gate; I scorn no poor, I fear no rich; I feel no want, nor have too much. The court, ne cart, I like, ne loath; Extremes are counted worst of all: The golden mean betwixt them both Doth surest sit, and fears no fall: This is my choice, for why I find. No wealth is like a quiet mind. My wealth is health and perfect ease, And conscience clear my chief defence; I never seek by bribes to please, Nor by desert to give offence. Thus do I live, thus will I die,-- Would all did so as well as I!
People are going to disagree about texts of this type. Are they the products of smug contentment with the social status quo, constructed (perhaps unconsciously) as a sort of homily to encourage the lower orders to ‘know their place’ and be thankful for what little they have? Or are they perhaps the voice of a radical critique of consumer values and mindless conformity to the latest fashion, urging us to resist the siren voices of peer pressure? Modern readers might also see prefigured here some of the conclusions of recent work on happiness (by such scholars as Richard Layard), which have concluded that it is indeed the case that over a certain amount (“no more than may suffice”) the acquisition of wealth produces diminishing amounts of satisfaction and that our level of contentment is related not to an objective quantity but to who we compare ourselves with. Societies with more equal distributions of wealth and income report higher levels of general happiness than ‘richer’ societies that are more unequal, since poorer people in richer societies (even if objectively ‘richer’ than those in poorer but more equal regions) are focused on what they do not have rather than what they do (“Some have too much, Yet still they crave”).
“No wealth is like a quiet mind” is another aspect of the English text taken up in Claudius’s German version. It is not enough just to be free of acquisitiveness and greed, we should also ensure that we have ‘a quiet mind’ and ‘perfect ease’. This notion is inherent in the German noun ‘Zufriedenheit’, literally ‘at peace-ness’. The poet’s motto is therefore not just ‘Be contented’ or ‘Be happy’ but also ‘Be at peace’ as though was he was a sort of happy hippie. ‘Give peace a chance’?
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Original Spelling and note on the text Zufriedenheit Ich bin vergnügt, im Siegeston Verkünd' es mein Gedicht, Und mancher Mann mit seiner Kron Und Scepter ist es nicht. Und wär er's auch: nun, immerhin! Mag er's doch1! so ist er was ich bin. Des Sultans Pracht, des Mogols Geld, Des Glück, wie hieß er doch, Der, als er Herr war von der Welt, Zum Mond hinauf sah noch? - Ich wünsche nichts von alle dem, Zu lächeln drob fällt mir bequem. Z u f r i e d e n s e y n , das ist mein Spruch! Was hülf mir Geld und Ehr? Das, was ich hab', ist mir genug, Wer klug ist wünscht nicht sehr; Denn, was man wünschet, wenn man's hat, So ist man darum doch nicht satt. Und Geld und Ehr ist obendrauf Ein sehr zerbrechlich Glaß. Der Dinge wunderbarer Lauf, (Erfahrung lehret das) Verändert wenig oft in viel, Und setzt dem reichen Mann sein Ziel. Recht thun, und edel seyn und gut, Ist mehr als Geld und Ehr; Da hat man immer guten Muth Und Freude um sich her, Und man ist stolz, und mit sich eins, Scheut kein Geschöpf und fürchtet keins. Ich bin vergnügt, im Siegeston Verkünd' es mein Gedicht, Und mancher Mann mit einer Kron Und Scepter ist es nicht. Und wär' er's auch; nun, immerhin! Mag er's! so ist er was ich bin. 1 Schubert added 'doch' (fine) to the text
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Schubert’s probable source, ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, I. und II. Theil. Beym Verfasser, und in Commißion bey Fr. Perthes in Hamburg. [1774], pages 97-99; with ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, Erster und zweiter Theil. Wandsbeck, 1774. Beym Verfasser, pages 60-61; and with Poetische Blumenlese auf das Jahr 1774. Göttingen und Gotha, bey Johann Christian Dieterich, pages 170-171. Here the poem’s title is “Zufriedenheit”.
Note: First published in
Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Schubert’s probable source, ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, I. und II. Theil. Beym Verfasser, und in Commißion bey Fr. Perthes in Hamburg. [1774], pages 97-99; with ASMUS omnia sua SECUM portans, oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, Erster und zweiter Theil. Wandsbeck, 1774. Beym Verfasser, pages 60-61; and with Poetische Blumenlese auf das Jahr 1774. Göttingen und Gotha, bey Johann Christian Dieterich, pages 170-171. Here the poem’s title is “Zufriedenheit”.
Note: First published in Der Wandsbecker Bothe, Ao.1771, No.99. Freytags, den 21. Junius. Here the poem has no title, but an introductory paragraph:
Das folgende Lied scheint mit einem Liede "my mind a kingdom is etc." in den Reliques of ancient Poetry Aehnlichkeit zu haben. Ob es eine freie Uebersetzung dieses Liedes oder eine sclavische Nachahmung oder ob es nichts von beiden sey, das mag der Leser entscheiden, der sie beide gelesen hat. The following song appears to have similarities to a song in the Reliques of ancient Poetry, "My mind a kingdom is etc.". Whether it is a loose translation of this song or a slavish copy, or neither of these, is something that can be decided by a reader who has read both.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 97 here: https://resolver.sub.uni-hamburg.de/kitodo/PPN840695020