by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
That you were once unkind befriends me...
Language: English
That you were once unkind befriends me now,
And for that sorrow, which I then did feel,
Needs must I under my transgression bow,
Unless my nerves were brass or hammer'd steel.
For if you were by my unkindness shaken,
As I by yours, you've pass'd a hell of time;
And I, a tyrant, have no leisure taken
To weigh how once I suffer'd in your crime.
O! that our night of woe might have remember'd
My deepest sense, how hard true sorrow hits,
And soon to you, as you to me, then tender'd
The humble salve, which wounded bosoms fits!
But that your trespass now becomes a fee;
Mine ransoms yours, and yours must ransom me.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 120 [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 Llewellyn Green , "That you were once unkind, befriend me now", 1986 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Five Songs of Sorrow and Reconciliation, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXX", 1866 [ medium voice and piano ] [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. 120, first published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 117
Les torts que vous eûtes un jour me...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Les torts que vous eûtes un jour me réconcilient avec vous maintenant. Le souvenir du chagrin que vous me fîtes sentir alors doit forcément me faire plier sous le remords, si mes nerfs ne sont pas de cuivre ou d'acier. Car, pour peu que vous ayez souffert de mes torts ce que j'ai souffert des vôtres, vous avez passé des heures d'enfer. Et moi, cruel, qui n'ai pas un seul instant songé à tout le mal que m'avait fait votre faute ! Ah ! pourquoi l'ombre de mon désespoir n'a-t-elle pas rappelé à ma sensibilité profonde quelle blessure fait une vraie douleur, et ne vous a-t-elle pas offert plus tôt, comme vous-même me l'aviez offert, le baume du repentir qui panse les cœurs blessés ? Mais enfin votre faute devient une rançon : la mienne rachète la vôtre ; la vôtre doit racheter la mienne.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 120, 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. 120
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: 2010-08-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 140