Works

Padre del ciel, dopo i perduti giorni.

CONSCIOUS OF HIS FOLLY, HE PRAYS GOD TO TURN HIM TO A BETTER LIFE.


Father of heaven! after the days misspent,
After the nights of wild tumultuous thought,...

Piovonmi amare lagrime dal viso.

HIS STATE WHEN LAURA IS PRESENT, AND WHEN SHE DEPARTS.


Down my cheeks bitter tears incessant rain,
And my heart struggles with convulsive sighs,...

Quand' io son tutto volto in quella parte.

HE FLIES, BUT PASSION PURSUES HIM.


When I reflect and turn me to that part
Whence my sweet lady beam'd in purest light,...

Son animali al mondo di s' altera.

HE COMPARES HIMSELF TO A MOTH.


Creatures there are in life of such keen sight
That no defence they need from noonday sun,...

Vergognando talor ch' ancor si taccia.

THE PRAISES OF LAURA TRANSCEND HIS POETIC POWERS.


Ashamed sometimes thy beauties should remain
As yet unsung, sweet lady, in my rhyme;...

Se l' onorata fronde, che prescrive.

TO STRAMAZZO OF PERUGIA, WHO INVITED HIM TO WRITE POETRY.


If the world-honour'd leaf, whose green defies
The wrath of Heaven when thunders mighty Jove,...

Amor piangeva, ed io con lui talvolta.

HE CONGRATULATES BOCCACCIO ON HIS RETURN TO THE RIGHT PATH.


Love grieved, and I with him at times, to see
By what strange practices and cunning art,...

Pi' di me lieta non si vede a terra.

ON THE SAME SUBJECT.


Than me more joyful never reach'd the shore
A vessel, by the winds long tost and tried,...

Il successor di Carlo, che la chioma.

ON THE MOVEMENT OF THE EMPEROR AGAINST THE INFIDELS, AND THE RETURN OF THE POPE TO ROME.


The high successor of our Charles,[P] whose hair...

Quest' anima gentil che si diparte.

ON LAURA DANGEROUSLY ILL.


That graceful soul, in mercy call'd away
Before her time to bid the world farewell,...

S' io credessi per morte essere scarco.

HE PRAYS FOR DEATH, BUT IN VAIN.


Had I believed that Death could set me free
From the anxious amorous thoughts my peace that mar,...

Quanto pi' m' avvicino al giorno estremo.

HE CONSOLES HIMSELF THAT HIS LIFE IS ADVANCING TO ITS CLOSE.


Near and more near as life's last period draws,
Which oft is hurried on by human woe,...

Gi' fiammeggiava l' amorosa stella.

LAURA, WHO IS ILL, APPEARS TO HIM IN A DREAM, AND ASSURES HIM THAT SHE STILL LIVES.


Throughout the orient now began to flame...

Apollo, s' ancor vive il bel desio.

HE COMPARES HER TO A LAUREL, WHICH HE SUPPLICATES APOLLO TO DEFEND.


O Phoebus, if that fond desire remains,
Which fired thy breast near the Thessalian wave;...

Solo e pensoso i pi' deserti campi.

HE SEEKS SOLITUDE, BUT LOVE FOLLOWS HIM EVERYWHERE.


Alone, and lost in thought, the desert glade
Measuring I roam with ling'ring steps and slow;...

Orso, e' non furon mai fiumi n' stagni.

HE COMPLAINS OF THE VEIL AND HAND OF LAURA, THAT THEY DEPRIVE HIM OF THE SIGHT OF HER EYES.


Orso, my friend, was never stream, nor lake,...

Io temo s' de' begli occhi l' assalto.

HE EXCUSES HIMSELF FOR HAVING SO LONG DELAYED TO VISIT HER.


So much I fear to encounter her bright eye.
Alway in which my death and Love reside,...

S' amore o morte non d' qualche stroppio.

HE ASKS FROM A FRIEND THE LOAN OF THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.


If Love or Death no obstacle entwine
With the new web which here my fingers fold,...

Quando dal proprio sito si rimove.

WHEN LAURA DEPARTS, THE HEAVENS GROW DARK WITH STORMS.


When from its proper soil the tree is moved
Which Phoebus loved erewhile in human form,...

Ma poi che 'l dolce riso umile e piano.

HER RETURN GLADDENS THE EARTH AND CALMS THE SKY.


But when her sweet smile, modest and benign,
No longer hides from us its beauties rare,...