It is here chiefly printed from a thin quarto Music book, intitled, "Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs of sadnes and pietie, made into Musicke of five parts: &c. By William Byrd, one of the Gent. of the Queenes Majesties honorable Chappell.—Printed by Thomas East, &c." 4to. no date: but Ames in his Typog. has mentioned another edit. of the same book, dated 1588, which I take to have been later than this.
Some improvements and an additional stanza (sc. the 5th), were had from two other ancient copies; one of them in black letter in the Pepys Collection, thus inscribed, "A sweet and pleasant sonet, intitled, 'My Minde to me a Kingdom is.' To the tune of, In Crete, &c."
Some of the stanzas in this poem were printed by Byrd separate from the rest: they are here given in what seemed the most natural order.
[The longest and apparently earliest version of this favourite poem is signed "E. Dier," in MS. Rawl. Poet. 85, fol. 17 in the Bodleian Library, and Dr. Hannah[972] attributes it to Sir Edward Dyer, the friend of Spenser and Sidney, whose little pieces were chiefly printed in England's Helicon. Sir Edward Dyer, of Sharpham Park, Somersetshire, was born about the year 1540. He was educated at Oxford, and afterwards was employed in several embassies. On the death of Sir John Wolley he was made Chancellor of the Order of the Garter, and at the same time knighted. He was an alchemist and dupe of Dr. Dee and Edward Kelly. Sir Egerton Brydges quotes from Aubrey the statement that he had four thousand pounds a year, and had four-score thousand pounds left to him, which he wasted almost all, but Sir Egerton considers the sums almost incredible for the time.
In "Posthumi or Sylvesters Remains, revived out of the ashes of that silver-tongued translatour and divine Poet Laureat," at the end of the translation of the Divine Weekes of Du Bartas, 1641, there is the following parody of this favourite poem:
"A Contented Minde.
"I waigh not Fortunes frowne or smile,
I joy not much in earthly joyes,
I seeke not state, I reake not stile,
I am not fond of fancies Toyes:
I rest so pleased with what I have,
I wish no more, no more I crave.
"I quake not at the Thunders crack,
I tremble not at noise of warre,
I swound not at the newes of wrack,
I shrink not at a Blazing Starre;
I feare not losse, I hope not gaine;
I envie none, I none disdaine.
"I see ambition never pleas'd,
I see some Tantals starv'd in store,
I see golds dropsie seldome eas'd,
I see even Midas gape for more:
I neither want, nor yet abound,
Enough's a feast, content is crown'd.