by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all,
Wherein I should your great deserts repay,
Forgot upon your dearest love to call,
Whereto all bonds do tie me day by day;
That I have frequent been with unknown minds,
And given to time your own dear-purchas'd right;
That I have hoisted sail to all the winds
Which should transport me farthest from your sight.
Book both my wilfulness and errors down,
And on just proof surmise, accumulate;
Bring me within the level of your frown,
But shoot not at me in your waken'd hate;
Since my appeal says I did strive to prove
The constancy and virtue of your love.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 117 [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 CXVII", 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. 117, 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: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 110
Dites, pour m'accuser, que je n'ai payé
Language: French (Français) after the English
Dites, pour m'accuser, que je n'ai payé à vos grands mérites qu'un tribut mesquin, que j'ai oublié parfois de rendre hommage à cette amitié si chère à laquelle tous les liens m'enchaînent de jour en jour ; Que j'ai fréquenté des esprits inconnus, et concédé au monde vos droits chèrement acquis ; que j'ai hissé ma voile à tous les vents qui devaient m'emporter le plus loin possible de votre vue. Enregistrez et mes fautes volontaires et mes erreurs ; accumulez les présomptions sur les preuves évidentes ; fixez sur moi un regard sévère, mais ne me frappez pas de votre haine éclatante. Car j'allègue pour ma défense que mon but unique était d'éprouver la constance et la vertu de mon amour pour vous.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 117, 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. 117
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: 120