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Spirto ben nato, in cui si specchia e vede Nelle tuo belle membra oneste e care Quante natura e 'l ciel tra no' puo' fare, Quand'a null'altra suo bell'opra cede; Spirto leggiadro, in cui si spera e crede Dentro, come di fuor nel viso appare, Amor, pietà, mercè, cose sì rare Che mà furn'in beltà con tanta fede; L'amor mi prende, e la beltà mi lega; La pietà, la mercè con dolci sguardi Ferma speranz'al cor par che ne doni. Qual uso o qual governo al mondo niega, Qual crudeltà per tempo, o qual più tardi, C'a sì bel viso morte non perdoni?
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 41 [author's text not yet checked 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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sonetto XXIV", op. 22 no. 7 (1940), published 1943 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893) , appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English ; composed by John Mitchell.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Carl Johengen) , "Sonnet XXIV", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sonnet XXIV", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Sonetas XXIV", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 103
Esprit bien né, en qui est réfléchi et vu Dans tes beaux membres, honnête et cher, Tout ce que la nature et le ciel peuvent créer, Surpassant toute autre œuvre de beauté ; Esprit gracieux, en qui on espère et on croit, Demeurent, comme ils apparaissent sur ton visage, Amour, pitié, miséricorde, choses si rares Et jamais trouvées dans la beauté avec une telle foi ; L'amour me prend, et la beauté me lie ; La pitié, la miséricorde avec de doux regards Avec une ferme espoir remplissent mon cœur. Quelle règle ou quel gouvernement du monde, Quelle cruauté de ce temps ou de plus tard, Pourrait empêcher la mort d'épargner un si beau visage ?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 41
This text was added to the website: 2015-08-29
Line count: 14
Word count: 112