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Signor, se vero è alcun proverbio antico, questo è ben quel, che chi può, mai non vuole. Tu hai creduto a favole e parole, e premiato chi èl del ver nimico. Io sono, e fui già tuo buon servo antico; a te son dato come i raggi al sole; e del mio tempo non t'incresce o duole, e men ti piaccio se più m'affatico. Già sperai ascender per la tuo altezza; e 'l giusto peso, e la potente spada fassi al bisogno, e non la voce d'ecco. Ma 'l cielo è quel ch'ogni virtù disprezza locarla al mondo, se vuol ch'altri vada a prender frutto d'un arbor ch'è secco.
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Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 6 [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 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), no title, op. 145 no. 1 (1974), from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 1, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (John Addington Symonds) , "To Pope Julius II", from The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Vérité", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bettina Jacobson) , "An Julius II", from Michelangelo: Gedichte und Briefe, first published 1907
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , subtitle: "Yra teisybės sakmėse senovės", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Caroline Diehl
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
Seigneur, s'il est un ancien proverbe vrai, C'est bien celui-ci, qui peut, jamais ne veut. Tu as cru des fables, des paroles Et récompensé celui qui est ennemi du vrai. Je suis et j'ai été ton bon vieux serviteur Et je t'ai été dévoué comme les rayons au soleil ; Pourtant tous mes efforts t'ont laissé impassible, Et moins je t'ai plu, plus je me fatiguais. J'espérais monter par ta hauteur; Et j'ai trouvé seulement un écho vide dans le palais, Où devraient être la juste balance et la puissante épée. Mais le ciel semble se montrer indifférent, je me dresse vers la branche d'un arbre sec, bien sûr, qu'il n'a jamais un fruit.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2008 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. 6
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 113