by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
Some say thy fault is youth, some...
Language: English
Our translations: ITA
Some say thy fault is youth, some wantonness;
Some say thy grace is youth and gentle sport;
Both grace and faults are lov'd of more and less:
Thou mak'st faults graces that to thee resort.
As on the finger of a throned queen
The basest jewel will be well esteem'd,
So are those errors that in thee are seen
To truths translated, and for true things deem'd.
How many lambs might the stern wolf betray,
If like a lamb he could his looks translate!
How many gazers mightst thou lead away,
If thou wouldst use the strength of all thy state!
But do not so; I love thee in such sort,
As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 96 [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 Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XCVI", 1865-6, published [1878] [ medium voice and piano ], in Sonnets of Shakespeare, Selected from a complete Setting and Miscellaneous Songs, ed. Natalie Macfarren, London : Stanley Lucas, Weber [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. 96, 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: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
Pour les uns, ton défaut est la jeunesse...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Pour les uns, ton défaut est la jeunesse ; pour d'autres, la coquetterie ; pour d'autres, ta grâce est dans ta jeunesse et tes doux caprices ; mais grâces et défauts, quels qu'ils soient, sont plus ou moins aimés : tu fais de tes défauts des grâces dont tu te pares. Au doigt d'une reine qui trône, le plus vil bijou est toujours estimé : de même, les erreurs que l'on découvre en toi se transforment en vérités et passent pour louables. Oh ! combien d'agneaux attraperait le loup cruel, s'il pouvait se déguiser en agneau ! Et combien d'admirateurs tu pourrais égarer, si tu usais pleinement de tout ton prestige ! Mais n'en fais rien : je t'aime de telle sorte que, comme tu es à moi, à moi est ta réputation.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 96, first published 1857 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 96
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: 2010-08-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 124