Cupid laid by his brand, and fell asleep: A maid of Dian's this advantage found, And his love-kindling fire did quickly steep In a cold valley-fountain of that ground; Which borrow'd from this holy fire of Love A dateless lively heat, still to endure, And grew a seething bath, which yet men prove Against strange maladies a sovereign cure. But at my mistress' eye Love's brand new-fired, The boy for trial needs would touch my breast; I, sick withal, the help of bath desired, And thither hied, a sad distemper'd guest, But found no cure: the bath for my help lies Where Cupid got new fire -- my mistress' eyes.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 153 [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 David Passmore (b. 1954), "Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep" [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Seven Dark Lady Sonnets , no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CLIII", 1864-5 [ medium voice and piano ], note on score: rhythmical imitation of Beethoven's "Young spring gods" [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) , no title, appears in Шекспир Уильям - сонеты (Shekspir Uil'jam - sonety) = Sonnets of William Shakespeare, no. 153 ; composed by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 153, first published 1857
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
Bog Kupidon dremal v tishi lesnoj, A nimfa yunaya u Kupidona Vzyala goryashhij fakel smolyanoj I opustila v rucheek studeny'j. Ogon` pogas, a v ruchejke voda Nagrelas`, zaburlila, zakipela. I vot bol`ny'e sxodyatsya tuda Lechit` kupan`em nemoshhnoe telo. A mezhdu tem lyubvi lukavy'j bog Doby'l ogon` iz glaz moej podrugi I serdce mne dlya opy'ta podzheg. O, kak s tex por tomyat menya nedugi! No iscelit` ih mozhet ne ruchej, A tot zhe yad - ogon` eyo ochej.
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Text Authorship:
- by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964), no title, appears in Шекспир Уильям - сонеты (Shekspir Uil'jam - sonety) = Sonnets of William Shakespeare, no. 153 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 153
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (1904 - 1987), "Бог Купидон дремал в тиши лесной", op. 52 no. 5 (1953-5), from Десять сонетов Шекспира (Desjat' sonetov Shekspira) = Ten Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 77