Finch’ero a te gradevole

by Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65 BCE - 8 BCE)

Translation by Mario Rapisardi (1844 - 1912)

Donec gratus eram tibi

Language: Latin

HORATIUS
Donec gratus eram tibi
nec quisquam potior bracchia candidae
     cervici iuvenis dabat,
Persarum vigui rege beatior.

LYDIA
     Donec non alia magis
arsisti neque erat Lydia post Chloën,
     multi Lydia nominis,
Romana vigui clarior Ilia.

HORATIUS
     Me nunc Thressa Chloë regit,
dulcis docta modos et citharae sciens,
     pro qua non metuam mori,
si parcent animae fata superstiti.

LYDIA
     Me torret face mutua
Thurini Calais filius Ornyti,
     pro quo bis patiar mori,
si parcent puero fata superstiti.

HORATIUS
     Quid si prisca redit Venus
diductosque iugo cogit aëneo,
     si flava excutitur Chloë?
Reiectaeque patet ianua Lydiae?

LYDIA
     Quamquam sidere pulchrior
ille est, tu levior cortice et inprobo
     iracundior Hadria,
tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam libens.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65 BCE - 8 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina (Odes), in 3. Liber III (Book III), no. 9 [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 Ella Georgiyevna Adayevskaya (1846 - 1926), "Horazische Ode", subtitle: "Wechselgesang", 1896, published 1918 [ vocal duet for soprano and baritone with piano ], also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
by Cipriano de Rore (1516 - 1565), "Donec gratus eram tibi" [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857) , "À Lydie", subtitle: "Imitation", written 1837, appears in Poésies nouvelles ; composed by Martial Caillebotte, Jules Massenet.
Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Augusta Mary Anne Holmès.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Binder (1810 - 1876) , "Wechselgespräch", subtitle: "Versmaß 2." ; composed by Ella Georgiyevna Adayevskaya.

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

FRE French (Français) (Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle) , "À Lydia"
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Mario Rapisardi) , no title, written 1883, appears in Le odi di Orazio, in 3. Libro terzo, no. 9
POL Polish (Polski) (Lucjan Hipolit Siemieński) , "Rozmowa", first published 1916

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-08-19
Line count: 30
Word count: 113

Finch’ero a te gradevole

Language: Italian (Italiano) after the Latin

Horatius
    — Finch’ero a te gradevole,
Nè alcun più valido garzon cingeati
        Le braccia al collo candido,
Più lieto io vissimi d’un re di Persia.

Lydia
        — Finchè non t’arse l’anima
Un’altra, e a Lidia Cloe posponevasi,
        Io, la famosa Lidia,
D’Ilia romulea vissi più splendida.

Horatius
        — Me Cloe cretese or domina,
Dotta in bei cantici, destra alla cetera:
        Per lei morir non trepido,
Se il ciel risparmj l’alma superstite.

Lydia
        — Me Calai, figlio ad Òrnito
Di Turio, incendia con face mutua: 
        Per lui due morti io tollero,
Se il ciel quel giovane lasci superstite.

Horatius
        — E se l’antica Venere
Torni, ed a bronzeo giogo costringane?
        Se Cloe bionda discaccisi,
E l’uscio a Lidia rejetta schiudasi? 

Lydia
        — Bench’ei d’astro più fulgido,
Tu più che sughero lieve, e irritabile
        Vieppiù che l’Adria perfido,
Vuo’ con te vivere, vuo’ teco estinguermi!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Opere di Mario Rapisardi, Ordinate e corrette da esso. Volume V. Le odi di Orazio. L'Empedocle. Il Prometeo di Shelley, Catania, Niccolò Giannotta, 1897.

Text Authorship:

by Mario Rapisardi (1844 - 1912), no title, written 1883, appears in Le odi di Orazio, in 3. Libro terzo, no. 9 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Latin by Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65 BCE - 8 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina (Odes), in 3. Liber III (Book III), no. 9
- Go to the text page.

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 page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-05-26
Line count: 30
Word count: 143