In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask | In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask

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by R. Herbert

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas

Language: Latin

Our translations: ENG

Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas,
Lyra mea, mens est immodulata;
Terrarum orbe lachrymarum pleno,
Dolorum pleno,
Rogita tu cantilenam?

En nymphas! En pastores!
Caput omne reclinat
Juncorum instar!
Admodum fletur;
Nec Galatea canit,
Nec ludit Tityrus agris;
Non curant oves,
Moerore perditi.

Regina, heu!
Arcadiae regina periit!
O! damnum non exprimendum!
Non suspiriis, non gementibus imis,
Pectoris aut queruli
Singultu turbido.
Miseros, Arcades!
O quam lugentes!
Suorum gaudium oculorum, mirum
Abiit, nunquam, O nunquam reversurum!
Stella sua fixa
Coelum ultra lucet.

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Text Authorship:

by R. Herbert [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), "The Queen's Epicedium", 1946 [ voice and piano ], a realization of the Purcell song. Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas", subtitle: "The Queen's Epicedium", Z. 383, published 1695 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 80

In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask

Language: English after the Latin

In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask,
My lyre, my mind is in discord;
When the world is full of tears,
Full of sorrows,
Do you beg for a song?
 
Lo, nymphs! Lo, shepherds!
Every head bends down
Like rushes!
There is great weeping;
Neither does Galatea sing,
Nor does Tityrus play in the fields;
They do not attend to the sheep,
They are lost in grief.
 
The queen, alas!
The queen of Arcadia has perished!
O loss that cannot be expressed!
Not with sighs, not with deepest groans,
Nor with plaintive breast's
Troubled sobbing.
Wretched, the Arcadians!
O how mournful!
The joy, the wonder of their eyes
Has departed, never, O never to return!
Her star, fixed,
Shines beyond the heavens.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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 Latin by R. Herbert
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-03
Line count: 25
Word count: 123