Sonetto XXIV | Spirto ben nato, in cui si specchia e vede

by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)

Sonetto XXIV

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG FRE LIT SPA

Spirto ben nato, in cui si specchia e vede
Nelle tuo belle membra oneste e care
Quante natura e 'l ciel tra no' puo' fare,
Quand'a null'altra suo bell'opra cede;
Spirto leggiadro, in cui si spera e crede
Dentro, come di fuor nel viso appare,
Amor, pietà, mercè, cose sì rare
Che mà furn'in beltà con tanta fede;
L'amor mi prende, e la beltà mi lega;
La pietà, la mercè con dolci sguardi
Ferma speranz'al cor par che ne doni.
Qual uso o qual governo al mondo niega,
Qual crudeltà per tempo, o qual più tardi,
C'a sì bel viso morte non perdoni?

Text Authorship:

by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 41 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sonetto XXIV", op. 22 no. 7 (1940), published 1943 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893) , appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English ; composed by John Mitchell.
- Go to the text.

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 103