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But wherefore do not you a mightier way Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time? And fortify your self in your decay With means more blessed than my barren rhyme? Now stand you on the top of happy hours, And many maiden gardens, yet unset, With virtuous wish would bear you living flowers, Much liker than your painted counterfeit: So should the lines of life that life repair, Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen, Neither in inward worth nor outward fair, Can make you live your self in eyes of men. To give away yourself, keeps yourself still, And you must live, drawn by your own sweet skill.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 16 [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 XVI", 1865 [ medium 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. 16, first published 1857
- FRE French (Français) (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot) , no title, appears in Œuvres Complètes de Shakspeare Volume VIII, in Sonnets, no. 16, first published 1863
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Sonnet XVI", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 110
Perché non adottare un modo più aggressivo
per contrastare il Tempo, sanguinario tiranno?
Ed approntare difese contro il tuo declino
con mezzi più fortunati di questo mio verso scarno?
Tu sei per ora all'apice dei tuoi più felici momenti,
e molti vergini giardini, non seminati ancora,
con virtuoso volere ti darebbero fiori viventi,
vero ritratto di te più di ogni finta pittura:
Così sarebbero pennellate viventi la vita a restaurare,
che né il pennello del Tempo, né la mia inesperta penna,
potranno, agli occhi degli uomini, immortalare
la tua intima virtù e la bellezza esterna.
Solo donando te stesso conservi la tua figura
e grazie alla tua stessa arte potrai vivere ancora.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2011 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. 16
This text was added to the website: 2011-11-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 112