by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Those lines that I before have writ do...
Language: English
Those lines that I before have writ do lie,
Even those that said I could not love you dearer:
Yet then my judgment knew no reason why
My most full flame should afterwards burn clearer.
But reckoning Time, whose million'd accidents
Creep in 'twixt vows, and change decrees of kings,
Tan sacred beauty, blunt the sharp'st intents,
Divert strong minds to the course of altering things;
Alas! why fearing of Time's tyranny,
Might I not then say, 'Now I love you best,'
When I was certain o'er incertainty,
Crowning the present, doubting of the rest?
Love is a babe, then might I not say so,
To give full growth to that which still doth grow?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 115 [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 CXV", 1866 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 115, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 115
Ils en ont menti, les vers, écrits par...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Ils en ont menti, les vers, écrits par moi naguère, qui disaient que je ne pouvais pas vous aimer plus tendrement ; c'est qu'alors mon jugement ne voyait pas de motif pour que ma flamme tout incandescente brillât jamais de plus d'éclat. Alors je songeais au temps, à ces millions d'accidents qui se glissent entre les serments, changent les décrets des rois, hâlent la beauté sacrée, émoussent les projets les mieux trempés, et détournent les âmes fortes au cours changeant des choses. Hélas ! si je redoutais si fort la tyrannie du temps, que ne me bornais-je à dire : » Je vous aime immensément ? « Pourquoi, certain de l'incertitude, ne consacrais-je pas le présent en laissant l'avenir dans le doute ? L'amour est un enfant : ne pouvais-je pas parler alors en réservant toute latitude à ce qui grandit encore ?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 115, 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. 115
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: 2010-08-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 136