In the serenity of her twin flashing eyes | In the serenity of her twin flashing eyes

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Dans le serein de sa jumelle flamme

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Dans le serein de sa jumelle flamme
Je vis Amour, qui son arc desbandoit,
Et sus mon cuoeur le brandon éspandoit,
Qui des plus froids les moëlles enflamme.

Puis çà puis là pres les yeulx de ma dame
Entre cent fleurs un retz d'or me tendoit,
Qui tout crespu blondement descendoit
A flotz ondez pour enlasser mon ame.

Qu'eussay-je faict l'Archer estoit si doulx,
Si doulx son feu, si doulx l'or de ses noudz,
Qu'en leurs filetz encore je m'oublie:

Mais cest oubli ne me tourmente point,
Tant doulcement le doulx Archer me poingt,
Le feu me brusle, et l'or crespe me lie.

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Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Dans le serein de sa jumelle flamme", appears in Les Amours (1552), first published 1552 [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 Anthoine de Bertrand (1540? - 1581?), "Dans le serein de sa jumelle flamme", 1576, published 1578, first performed 1576 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from Les Amours de Pierre de Ronsard à 4 parties, Livre 1, no. 3 [sung text checked 2 times]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "In the serenity of her twin flashing eyes", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-10-28
Line count: 14
Word count: 103

In the serenity of her twin flashing eyes

Language: English after the French (Français)

In the serenity of her twin flashing eyes
I see Love, who has set aside his bow
And over my heart waved a fire brand
Which would warm the marrow of the coldest.

First on one side then the other by my lady's eyes
Among many flowers he spreads for me a net of gold 
Which descends blond and curling
In flowing waves to bind my soul.

What could I have done, the Archer was so gentle
So gentle his fire, so gentle the gold of his knots,
That, though still in their net, I forget myself.

But this forgetfulness doesn't trouble me at all
So gently does the gentle Archer strike me,
The fire burn me and the curled gold bind me.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 by David Wyatt, (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 French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Dans le serein de sa jumelle flamme", appears in Les Amours (1552), first published 1552
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-06-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 123