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Loin de la jeune Héro, le fidèle Léandre formait d’inutiles désirs. “Cher objet,” disait-il, “de mes ardents soupirs, À quel bonheur sans vous puis-je jamais prétendre? Quoi? Vainement vous partagez mes feux? La mer inhumaine et barbare, Oppose un fier obstacle au plus doux de mes vœux. Peux-tu souffrir, Amour, qu’elle sépare deux cœurs que tu veux rendre heureux? Non, c’est trop soûtenir les tourments de l’absence. N’écoutons plus que mon amour! Et toi, Vénus, j’implore ta puissance; Trahirais-tu mon espérance Sur les flots dont tu tiens le jour?” Le silence et la nuit lui prêtent leur secours, Et l’amoureuse ardeur dont son âme est atteinte, Lui cache le peril que menace ses jours. “Dieu de mers, suspendez l’inconstance de l’onde, Calmez les vents impétueux. L’Amour expose à vos flots dangereux Le plus fidèle amant du monde. Volez, tendres zéphyrs, Conduisez cet amant fidèle où mille fois, Touché de sa peine cruelle, Vous avez porté ses soupirs.” Cependant sur les flots cet amant généreux Trouvait un facile passage, Le ciel semblait favoriser ses vœux. Il aperçait déjà le fortune rivage Quand tout à coup Borée en sortant d’esclavage, Change un calme si doux en un orage affreux. Tous les vents déchaînés se déclarent la guerre, Le foudre éclate dans les cieux, Et la mer irritée au dessus du tonnerre, Porte ses flots audacieux. Dans ce péril pressant, Léandre, qui se trouble, Ne saurait échaper au trépas qui le suit. L’obscurité qui se redouble Dérobe à ses regards le flambeau de la nuit. C’en est fait, il périt. Cette affreuse nouvelle De la sensible Héro perte le triste cœur. Elle succombe à son malheur; Et dans les mêmes flots cette amante fidèle Finit sa vie et sa douleur. Mais, Neptune, touché d’une flâmme si belle, Reçait ces deux Amants au rang des immortels, Et reparant du sort l’injustice cruelle Unit leurs tendres cœurs par des nœuds éternels. Amour, tyran des tendres cœurs, Arrache ton bandeau, connais ton injustice Et ne laisse plus au caprice À décider de tes faveurs. Tu répands tes biens et tes peines Dans un funeste aveuglement; Toujours sur le plus tendre amant Tombent tes rigueurs inhumaines.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 Louis Nicolas Clérambault (1676 - 1749), "Léandre et Héro" [ soprano and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Glenn Paton) , "Leandre and Hero", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: John Glenn Paton [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-03-24
Line count: 56
Word count: 359
Separated from young Hero, faithful Leander had unfulfilled desires. He said, “Dear object of my ardent sighs, what happiness can I ever have without you? What? Do you share my ardent love in vain? The inhumane and barbarous sea puts up a proud barrier to my sweetest vows. Love! Can you allow the sea to separate two hearts that you want to make happy? No, the torments of absence are too much to bear. Let us hear nothing but my love! And you, Venus, I implore your power; did you betray my hope on the waves, over which you have control?” Silence and night offer their help to him, and the loving ardor with which his soul is on fire hides from him the peril that threatens his life. “God of the seas, stop the turbulence of the waves, calm the impetuous winds. Love exposes to your dangerous tides the most faithful lover in the world. Fly, gentle zephyrs, lead this faithful lover to where a thousand times, touched by his cruel anguish, you have borne his sighs.” While on the waves this generous lover had easy progress, the sky seemed to favor his pledges. He already glimpses the happy shore, when all at once the north wind, breaking out of bondage, changes the sweet calm into a frightful storm. All the unleashed winds declare war on each other; the lightning explodes in the sky, and the sea, angrier than the thunder, raises its bold waves. In this urgent danger, Leandre, who is fearful, cannot escape the death which pursues him. The darkness, intensifying, extinguishes the torch of night. It is done; he dies. This frightful news pierces the sad heart of the sensitive Hero. She surrenders to her grief; and in the same waves, this faithful lover ends her life and her sorrow. But, Neptune, touched by such a beautiful love, receives these two lovers into the ranks of the immortals and, rectifying the cruel injustice of fate, unites their tender hearts with eternal bonds. Love, tyrant of tender hearts, take off your blindfold, acknowledge your injustice and no longer allow caprice to decide your favors. You spread your favors and your pains with a disastrous blindness; always on the tenderest lover fall your inhumane adversities.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2014 by John Glenn Paton, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist
This text was added to the website: 2014-03-24
Line count: 56
Word count: 377