by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)
Translation Singable translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954)
Di morte certo, ma non già dell' ora;
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Di morte certo, ma non già dell' ora; la vita è breve, e poco me n'avanza; diletta al senso è non però la stanza a l'alma, che mi priega pur ch' i' mora. Il mondo è cieco, e 'l tristo esempio ancora vince e sommerge ogni prefetta usanza; spent' è la luce, e seco ogni baldanza; trionfa il falso, e 'l ver non surge fora. Deh quando fie, Signor, quel che s'aspetta per chi ti crede? Ch' ogni troppo indugio tronca la speme, el' alma fa mortale. Che val che tanto lume altrui prometta, s' anzi vien morte, e senz' alcun refugio ferma per sempre in che stato altri assale?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 295 [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 Tristan Keuris (1946 - 1996), "Di morte certo", 1990, from Three Michelangelo songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Di morte certo, ma non già dell' ora;", op. 145 no. 10, from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 10 [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 Michael Gielen, Wolfgang Michael Rihm.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
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) , "Waiting for Death", 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) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Jau mirtį jausdamas", subtitle: "Jau mirtį jausdamas", 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: 110
Uzh chuja smert', khot' i ne znaja sroka
Language: Russian (Русский) after the Italian (Italiano)
Uzh chuja smert', khot' i ne znaja sroka, Ja vizhu: zhizn' vse ubystrjajet shag, No telu jeshchjo zhalko plotskikh blag, Dushe zhe smert' zhelanneje poroka. Mir - v slepote: postydnogo uroka Iz vlasti zla ne izvlekajet zrak, Nadezhdy, net, i vse ob"emlet mrak, I lozh' carit, i pravda prjachet oko. Kogda zh. Gospod', nastupit to, chego Zhdut vernye tebe? Oslabevajet V otsrochkakh vera, dushu davit gnet; Na chto nam svet spasen'ja tvojego, Raz smert' bystrej i navsegda javljajet Nas v sramote, v kotoroj zastajet?
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Note on TransliterationsShow untransliterated (original) text
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 295
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), "Уж чуя смерть, хоть и не зная срока", op. 145 no. 10 (1974), from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 10, also set in Italian (Italiano) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-03
Line count: 14
Word count: 83