The pains of love | With lashes of his hyacinth whip

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by Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885)

Translation © by Will Crutchfield

Con ferza di giacinto

Language: Italian (Italiano) after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

Our translations: ENG

Con ferza di giacinto
Battendomi m’ha spinto
Dietro i suoi passi Amor.

Io lo seguia per valli,
Per fosse ed aspri calli,
Grondante di sudor.

Quando ferir da un angue
Mi sento, e tutto il sangue
Fluir dal volto al cor. 

Moria, ma colle penne
Mi sventolò, mi tenne
Cupido in vita ancor.

E poi che risensai,
Mi disse: “Amar non sai,
Mio povero cantor.”

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885), no title, first published 1875 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE), "Εἰς Ἔρωτα", appears in Odes, no. 7
- 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):

by Antonio Bazzini (1818 - 1897), "Le pene di amore" [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Will Crutchfield) , "The pains of love", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-02
Line count: 15
Word count: 65

The pains of love

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

With lashes of his hyacinth whip,
Cupid drove me 
along his path.

I followed him o’er hill and dale,
through trenches and obstacles,
dripping with sweat. 

When suddenly I felt a viper’s
sting, and all the blood
rushed from my face.

I was dying, but with his wings
Cupid fanned me
and kept me alive.

And then when I came to my senses,
He told me: “You know not
how to love, poor singer!”

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2025 by Will Crutchfield, (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 Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885), no title, first published 1875
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE), "Εἰς Ἔρωτα", appears in Odes, no. 7
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-02
Line count: 15
Word count: 74