Non vider gli occhi miei cosa mortale
Allor che ne’ bei vostri intera pace
Trovai ; ma dentro, ov’ ogni mal dispiace,
Chi d’ amor I’ alma a sè simil m’ assale.
E se creata a Dio non fusse eguale,
Altro che ’l bel di fuor, ch’ agli occhi piace,
Più non vorria; ma perch’ è sì fallace,
Trascende nella forma più universale.
Io dico, ch’ a chi vive quel che muore
Quetar non può disir; nè par s’ aspetti
L’ eterno al tempo, ove altri cangia il pelo.
Voglia sfrenata el senso è, non amore,
Che l’ alma uccide ; e ’l nostro fa perfetti
Gli amici qui, ma più per morte in cielo
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Michaelangelo Buanarotti, The Sonnets of Michelangelo, London, New York : Smith, Elder, & Co., C. Scribner's Sons,1904
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), no title, appears in Rime, no. 52 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Michelangelo-Übertragungen ; composed by Willy Kehrer.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-12-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 113
Nicht Sterbliches sahn meine Augen, als in deinen schönen aufging aller Frieden . Nein, eine Seele, Bösem abgeschieden, traf die verwandte, liebend ebenfalls. Wär sie nicht gottgleich, hätte sie Genügen am Außenschönen, daß dem Aug gefällt, nichts mehr begehrend ; doch, weil Bilder trügen, so geht sie über ins Gebild der Welt. Ich sage, das, was stirbt, befriedigt nicht Einen, der lebt. Nicht aus der Zeit genommen wird Ewiges ; sie häutet sich zu sehr. Was seelentödlich aus den Sinnen bricht, ist keine Liebe. Unsre macht vollkommen die Freunde hier und durch den Tod noch mehr.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Übertragungen, Leipzig : Insel-verlag, 1927, p.245
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Michelangelo-Übertragungen [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), no title, appears in Rime, no. 52
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Willy Kehrer (1902 - 1976), "Nicht sterbliches", op. 1119 no. 6 (1946) [ baritone and piano ], from Michelangelo-Zyklus, no. 6, Thüringen : Willy-Kehrer-Archiv Schmölln [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-12-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 94