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by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)
Translation by Sophie Hasenclever (1824 - 1892)

Dimmi di grazia, amor, se gli occhi i...
Language: Italian (Italiano) 
Our translations:  CAT LIT
Dimmi di grazia, amor, se gli occhi i mei
veggono 'l ver della beltà ch'aspiro,
o s'io l'ho dentro allor che, dov' io miro,
veggio più bello el viso di costei.

Tu 'l de' saper, po' che tu vien con lei
a torm' ogni mie pace, ond' io m'adiro:
Nè vorre' manco un minimo sospiro,
nè men ardente foco chiederei.

La beltà che tu vedi è ben da quella;
ma crescie poi ch'a miglior loco sale,
se per gli occhi mortali all' alma corre.

Quivi si fa divina, onesta e bella,
com' a sè simil vuol cosa immortale:
Questa, e non quella, a gli occhi tuo' precorre.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 42 [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 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Dimmi di grazia, amor, se gli occhi i mei", op. 145 no. 3, from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 3, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]

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 Anton Schoendlinger.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
    • Go to the text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (John Addington Symonds) , "A dialogue with Love", appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878
  • FRE French (Français) (Ernest Lafond) (Edmond Lafond) , "Rime no. 42", appears in Dante, Pétrarque, Michel-Ange, Tasse, Sonnets choisis, first published 1848
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Sophie Hasenclever) , no title, from Michelangelo: Gedichte und Briefe, first published 1907
  • LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , subtitle: "Sakyk man, meile, negi iš tiesų", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Caroline Diehl

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 107

Sprich Amor, ist es Wahrheit, ist's ein...
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the Italian (Italiano) 
"Sprich Amor, ist es Wahrheit, ist's ein Wähnen,
Dass Götterpracht der Herrin Antlitz schmückt,
Oder hat mich ein inn'res Bild entzückt,
Und seh' ich hier den Abglanz jenes Schönen?

Du weisst es, denn du kamst mit ihr; mein Sehnen
Entfachst nur du, nur du hast mich berückt;
Doch fleh' ich, trotz der Qual, die mich bedrückt,
Nicht mindre diese Flammen, diese Tränen!"

"Die Schönheit, die du siehst, entstammt der Erde,
Doch wächst ihr Glanz, steigt sie zu höhern Sphären;
Durch deine Augen tritt sie in die Seele,

Und diese, dass gleich ihr unsterblich werde
Die Schönheit, nimmt sie auf, sie zu verklären;
So laut're Schönheit siehst du, ohne Fehle."

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Sophie Hasenclever (1824 - 1892), no title, from Michelangelo: Gedichte und Briefe, first published 1907 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 42
    • Go to the text page.

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 ]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 109

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