quote · Legacy record
Happy is he, who, though the cup of bliss Has ever shunn’d him when he thought to kiss, Who still in abject poverty or pain, Can count with pleasure what small joys remain; Though, were his sight convey’d from zone to zone, He would not find one spot of ground his own; Yet as he looks around, he cries with glee, These bounding prospects all are made for me: For me yon waving fields their burden bear, For me yon labourer guides the shining share; While happy I, in idle ease recline, And mark the glorious visions as they shine. This is the charm, by sages often told, Converting all it touches into gold. Content can soothe, where’er by fortune placed, Can rear a garden in the desert waste.
Happy is he, who, though the cup of bliss Has ever shunn’d him when he thought to kiss, Who still in abject poverty or pain, Can count with pleasure what small joys remain; Though, were his sight convey’d from zone to zone, He would not find one spot of ground his own; Yet as he looks around, he cries with glee, These bounding prospects all are made for me: For me yon waving fields their burden bear, For me yon labourer guides the shining share; While happy I, in idle ease recline, And mark the glorious visions as they shine. This is the charm, by sages often told, Converting all it touches into gold. Content can soothe, where’er by fortune placed, Can rear a garden in the desert waste.
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- H. K. White (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 146 · printed citation: H. K. White · subject: CONTENT
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.