The little Love‑god lying once asleep
Language: English
The little Love-god lying once asleep,
Laid by his side his heart-inflaming brand,
Whilst many nymphs that vow'd chaste life to keep
Came tripping by; but in her maiden hand
The fairest votary took up that fire
Which many legions of true hearts had warm'd;
And so the general of hot desire
Was, sleeping, by a virgin hand disarm'd.
This brand she quenched in a cool well by,
Which from Love's fire took heat perpetual,
Growing a bath and healthful remedy,
For men diseas'd; but I, my mistress' thrall,
Came there for cure and this by that I prove,
Love's fire heats water, water cools not love.
About the headline (FAQ)
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):
- by Juriaan Andriessen (1925 - 1996), "The little love-god lying once asleep", from Thy black is fairest, 3 Shakespeare-sonnets, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet CLIV - The little Love-God", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 3 no. 1 (1945) [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Piet Ketting (1904 - 1984), "The little love-god", 1938 [ low voice and piano ], from Three Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CLIV", 1866 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ], first setting [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CLIV", 1866 [ SSA chorus and piano ], partsong; second setting [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 154, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Sonet 154", appears in Z sonetów, no. 3, Warsaw, first published 1907
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: 107
Il piccolo dio dell’Amore, giacendo...
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
Il piccolo dio dell’Amore, giacendo addormentato
posò al suo fianco la fiaccola che ogni cuore accende
uno stuolo di ninfe a castità di vita votato
venne a danzargli intorno e una prese
nelle sue mani di fanciulla quel fuoco
che legioni di cuori sinceri aveva riscaldato
così che il sovrano dell’Amore bollente
venne da una giovane vergine disarmato.
Questa immerse la fiaccola in una vicina e fresca fonte
che dal fuoco d’amore ricavò un perenne calore
per cui chi vi si immerge trova un effetto salutare
per ogni malattia: ma io della mia donna schiavo e servitore
Mi sono recato alla fonte per provare la cura, per poi soltanto capire
che Amore può scaldare l’acqua ma questa non lo può raffreddare.
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 121
