by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Thus can my love excuse the slow offence
Language: English
Thus can my love excuse the slow offence Of my dull bearer when from thee I speed: From where thou art why should I haste me thence? Till I return, of posting is no need. O! what excuse will my poor beast then find, When swift extremity can seem but slow? Then should I spur, though mounted on the wind, In winged speed no motion shall I know, Then can no horse with my desire keep pace; Therefore desire, of perfect'st love being made, Shall neigh -- no dull flesh -- in his fiery race; But love, for love, thus shall excuse my jade, -- 'Since from thee going, he went wilful-slow, Towards thee I'll run, and give him leave to go.'
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 51 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet LI", 1865. [medium voice and piano] [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, from Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 51, published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 119
Ainsi mon affection sait excuser la...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Ainsi mon affection sait excuser la fastidieuse lenteur de ma triste monture, quand je m'éloigne de toi : car pourquoi m'enfuirais-je en hâte des lieux où tu es ? Avant que je revienne, il n'est pas besoin d'un train de poste. Oh ! quelle excuse ma pauvre bête trouvera-t-elle à cette heure du retour, où la vitesse extrême ne pourra que me sembler lente ? Alors j'emploierais l'éperon, fussé-je monté sur le vent, car sa course ailée me paraîtrait immobile. Alors, pas de cheval qui puisse emboîter le pas avec mon désir ; aussi mon désir, fait du plus pur amour, hennira-t-il, coursier idéal, dans toute l'ardeur de son élan ; et mon amour, trouvant en lui-même l'excuse de mon haridelle, dira : » Puisqu'en quittant l'être aimé elle allait si volontiers tout doucement, moi, je cours vers lui, qu'elle aille comme elle voudra ! «
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 51, first published 1857 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 51
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 146