I shall not be the tale of a misused man | I shall not be the tale of a misused man

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

D'un abusé je ne seray la fable

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

D'un abusé je ne seray la fable,
Fable future au peuple survivant,
Si ma raison allait bien ensuivant
[L'arrest]¹ fatal de ta voix veritable,
 
Chaste prophete, et vrayment pitoyable,
Pour m'advertir tu me predis souvent,
Que je mourray, Cassandre, en te servant :
Mais le malheur ne te rend point croyable.
 
Car ton destin qui cèle mon trespas,
Et qui me force à ne te croire pas,
D'un faux espoir tes oracles me cache.
 
Et si voy bien, veu l'estat où je suis,
Que tu dis vray ;  toutesfois je ne puis
D'autour du col me denouer l'attache.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Boni

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Boni: "L'attrait"

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title [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 Guillaume Boni (c1530 - c1594), "D'un abusé je ne seroy la fable", published 1607 [vocal quartet], from the collection Sonnets de Pierre de Ronsard mis en musique à 4 parties, II, no. 3, Paris, Pierre Ballard [
text verified 1 time
]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "I shall not be the tale of a misused man", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 97

I shall not be the tale of a misused man

Language: English after the French (Français)

I shall not be the tale of a misused man,
A future tale for the people living after us,
If my mind were well, following
The [fateful capture]¹ of your true voice,
 
Chaste prophetess, and truly to be pitied.
To warn me you often give me the prediction
That I will die, Cassandre, serving you;
But my misfortune does not make you at all believable.
 
For your fate which conceals my death (from me),
And which forces me not to believe you,
Hides your oracles in a false hope.
 
And if I see clearly, given the position I’m in,
That you speak the truth, anyway, I cannot
Un-knot the cord from round my neck.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Boni: "fatal attraction"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2015 by David Wyatt, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 115