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Cupid laid by his brand, and fell asleep: A maid of Dian's this advantage found, And his love-kindling fire did quickly steep In a cold valley-fountain of that ground; Which borrow'd from this holy fire of Love A dateless lively heat, still to endure, And grew a seething bath, which yet men prove Against strange maladies a sovereign cure. But at my mistress' eye Love's brand new-fired, The boy for trial needs would touch my breast; I, sick withal, the help of bath desired, And thither hied, a sad distemper'd guest, But found no cure: the bath for my help lies Where Cupid got new fire -- my mistress' eyes.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 153 [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 David Passmore (b. 1954), "Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep" [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Seven Dark Lady Sonnets , no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CLIII", 1864-5 [ medium voice and piano ], note on score: rhythmical imitation of Beethoven's "Young spring gods" [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) , no title, appears in Шекспир Уильям - сонеты (Shekspir Uil'jam - sonety) = Sonnets of William Shakespeare, no. 153 ; composed by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 153, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
Cupido, deposta la sua fiaccola, stava dormendo: una ninfa di Diana colse l’occasione, il fuoco di lui, che i cuori accende, rapida immergendo, in una valle dove sgorgava solo una fredda fonte. La quale attinse dal fuoco un calore che ancora dura, mutandosi un bagno bollente, che agli uomini è sovrana cura, contro ogni malattia, anche la più strana. Ma riaccesa la torcia davanti alla mia bella, il fanciullo provò a poggiarmela in petto, e io, fattomi infermo, cercai aiuto in quel bagno e lì mi affrettai, triste e indisposto. Ma non trovai guarigione; il posto giusto era l’occhio della mia donna, dove ardeva il fuoco da Cupido riacceso .
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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 English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 153
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 13
Word count: 110