Give me peace, o my cruel thoughts

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by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374)

Translation © by Andrew Schneider

Datemi pace, o duri miei pensieri

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Datemi pace, o duri miei pensieri:
non basta ben ch’Amor, Fortuna et Morte
mi fanno guerra intorno e ’n su le porte,
senza trovarmi dentro altri guerreri?

Et tu, mio cor, anchor se’ pur qual eri,
disleal a me sol, che fere scorte
vai ricettando, et se’ fatto consorte
de’ miei nemici sí pronti et leggieri?

In te i secreti suoi messaggi Amore,
in te spiega Fortuna ogni sua pompa,
et Morte la memoria di quel colpo

che l’avanzo di me conven che rompa;
in te i vaghi pensier’ s’arman d’errore:
perché d’ogni mio mal te solo incolpo.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 274 [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 Hans Martin Gräbner (b. 1967), "Sonnet 274", 2011 [ voice and piano ], from Drei Sonette nach Petrarcas „Canzoniere“, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Cipriano de Rore (1516 - 1565), "Datemi pace" [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Andrew Schneider) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Francisque Reynard)

Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2016-02-10
Line count: 14
Word count: 98

Give me peace, o my cruel thoughts

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

Give me peace, o my cruel thoughts.
Isn't it enough that Love, Fortune, and Death
wage war all around me, and at the very gates,
without finding other enemies within me?

And you, my heart? You haven't changed at all?
Disloyal only to me, receiving rude company,
consorting with my enemies
with such apparent readiness?

Love hides his secret messages in you;
In you Fortune reveals all her grandeur,
and Death the memory of that cruel blow,

That assault which must needs crush my advance.
In you, hazy thoughts arm themselves with the shield of error,
so I charge you alone for all I have suffered.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Datemi pace" = "Grant me peace"
"Sonnet 274" = "Sonnet 274"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2019 by Andrew Schneider, (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 Italian (Italiano) by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 274
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-09-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 106