by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)
O! call not me to justify the wrong
Language: English
O! call not me to justify the wrong That thy unkindness lays upon my heart; Wound me not with thine eye, but with thy tongue: Use power with power, and slay me not by art, Tell me thou lov'st elsewhere; but in my sight, Dear heart, forbear to glance thine eye aside: What need'st thou wound with cunning, when thy might Is more than my o'erpress'd defence can bide? Let me excuse thee: ah! my love well knows Her pretty looks have been mine enemies; And therefore from my face she turns my foes, That they elsewhere might dart their injuries: Yet do not so; but since I am near slain, Kill me outright with looks, and rid my pain.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 139 [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 CXXXIX", 1866 [high voice and piano], first setting [text not verified]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXXXIX", 1866 [medium voice and piano], second setting [text not verified]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, from Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 139, published 1857
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 120
Oh ! ne me demande pas d'excuser le mal
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Oh ! ne me demande pas d'excuser le mal que ta cruauté fait subir à mon cœur. Blesse-moi, non avec tes yeux, mais avec ta langue : use puissamment de ta puissance, mais ne mets pas d'art à me tuer. Dis-moi que tu aimes ailleurs, mais, devant moi, cher cœur, abstiens-toi de jeter de côté tes œillades. Qu'as-tu besoin de ruse pour me blesser, quand ton pouvoir excède déjà mes trop faibles moyens de défense ? Faut-il pour t'excuser que je dise : Ah ! elle sait, ma bien-aimée, que ses jolis regards sont mes pires ennemis ; aussi les détourne-t-elle de ma face pour en diriger les coups ailleurs ? Va, n'en fais rien ; mais, puisque tu m'as presque tué, achève-moi sous tes regards et termine ma souffrance.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 139, 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. 139
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: 2010-08-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 130