SONNETS
��Pellegrina bellezza che '1 cuor bea, Portamenti alti onesti, e nelle ciglia
Quel sereno fulgor d' amabil nero, Parole adorne di lingua piu d' una, E '1 cantar che di mezzo 1' emispero
Traviar ben pu6 la faticosa Luna;
E degli occhi suoi avventa si gran fuoco Che 1' incerar gli orecchi mi fia poco.
TRANSLATION
DIODATI (I tell it thee with wonder) That stubborn I, who did disparage love, And often mocked his wiles, have fallen al- ready Where worthiest men sometimes ensnare
themselves.
Nor golden tresses nor a vermeil cheek Undo me thus, but under novel guise A type of foreign beauty steeps my heart, A high and modest port, and in the eye- brows
The quiet splendor of a lovely darkness, Rich words, and more than from a single
language,
And song that from her middle hemisphere Might draw the moon o'er-toiled; And from her eyes proceeds so strong a fire, To stop my ears with wax would help me little.
��SONNET
PER certo i bei vostr' occhi, Donna mia, Esser non pu6 che non siau lo mio sole; Si mi percuoton forte, come ei suole, Per 1' arene di Libia chi s' invia,
Mentre un caldo vapor (ne senti pria) Da quel lato si spinge ove mi duole, Che forse ainanti nelle lor parole Cliini nan sospir; io non so che si sia.
Parte rinchiusa e turbida si cela
Scossonii il petto, e poi n' uscendo poco Quivi d' attorno o s' agghiaccia o s' in- giela;
Ma quanto agli occhi giunge a trovar loco Tutte le notti a me suol far piovose, Finche mia alba rivien colma di rose.
TRANSLATION
IN sooth, your beauteous eyes, my Lady,
Cannot be other than my sun;
So sore they smite me, as he smiteth
��The traveller in the sands of Libia; From that side where I feel my pain, out- gushes
A burning vapor, never felt before, Which mayhap lovers in their language Call sighs; for me, I know not what it
be.
A part within lurks pent and turbid, Shaking my breast ; a part forth-issuing Congeals and freezes in the air about; But whatso findeth passage to my eyes Is wont to darken all my nights with rain, Till Thou return, my day-spring crowned with roses.
��SONNET
GIOVANE, piano, e semplicetto amante,
Poiche fuggir me stesso in dubbio sono,
Madonna, a voi del mio cuor 1' umil dono
Far6 divoto. Io certo a prove tante
L' ebbi fedele, intrepido, costante,
Di pensieri leggiadro, accorto, e buono.
Quando rugge il gran mondo, e scocca il
tuouo,
S' arma di se, d' intero diamante; Tanto del forze e d' invidia sicuro, Di tirnori e speranze al popol use, Quanto d' ingegno e d' alto valor vago, E di cetra sonora, e delle Muse. Sol troverete in tal parte men duro Ove Amor inise 1' insanabil ago.
TRANSLATION
A YOUNG, and meek, and simple lover, Perplexed how I shall flee from my own
self,
Lady, the humble offering of my heart To you I dedicate : be sure, in many trials I found it faithful, constant, valorous, Gracious of thought, discreet, and good. When the great sky roars, or bursts the
thunder,
With itself it arms itself, with entire ada- mant,
As heedless of all violence or spite, Of vulgar hopes and fears, As 't is in love with noble gifts and worth, With the sonorous lyre, and with the
Muses. In one sole part thou 'It find it not so
strong, Where Love set his immedicable sting.
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