O! call not me to justify the wrong
Language: English
O! call not me to justify the wrong
That thy unkindness lays upon my heart;
Wound me not with thine eye, but with thy tongue:
Use power with power, and slay me not by art,
Tell me thou lov'st elsewhere; but in my sight,
Dear heart, forbear to glance thine eye aside:
What need'st thou wound with cunning, when thy might
Is more than my o'erpress'd defence can bide?
Let me excuse thee: ah! my love well knows
Her pretty looks have been mine enemies;
And therefore from my face she turns my foes,
That they elsewhere might dart their injuries:
Yet do not so; but since I am near slain,
Kill me outright with looks, and rid my pain.
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Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
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This text was added to the website: 2010-08-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
O non chiamare me per giustificare il...
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
O non chiamare me per giustificare il male
che la tua cattiveria infligge al mio cuore;
Non ferirmi con gli occhi, ma solo con le parole,
uccidimi con aperta violenza , ma non mi ingannare;
Dimmi pure che tu ami un altro; ma in mia presenza
evita, amor mio, di lanciare ad altri furtivi sguardi d’intesa.
Che bisogno hai di ferirmi d’inganno, quando la tua forza
supera di gran lungo ogni forza schierata a mia difesa?
Potrei allora scusarti: Ben riconosce il mio amore,
che avverto come nemica ogni sua occhiata vezzosa,
E per questa ragione dal mio volto la vuole allontanare,
perché il suo dardo altrove possa arrecare offesa.
E tuttavia non farlo, sarò presto ucciso in ogni caso,
toglimi allora questa pena e uccidimi con il tuo sguardo.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 130
