Page:The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton.djvu/107

 SONNETS

��Pellegrina bellezza che '1 cuor bea, Portamenti alti onesti, e nelle ciglia

Quel sereno fulgor d' amabil nero, Parole adorne di lingua piu d' una, E '1 cantar che di mezzo 1' emispero

Traviar ben pu6 la faticosa Luna;

E degli occhi suoi avventa si gran fuoco Che 1' incerar gli orecchi mi fia poco.

TRANSLATION

DIODATI (I tell it thee with wonder) That stubborn I, who did disparage love, And often mocked his wiles, have fallen al- ready Where worthiest men sometimes ensnare

themselves.

Nor golden tresses nor a vermeil cheek Undo me thus, but under novel guise A type of foreign beauty steeps my heart, A high and modest port, and in the eye- brows

The quiet splendor of a lovely darkness, Rich words, and more than from a single

language,

And song that from her middle hemisphere Might draw the moon o'er-toiled; And from her eyes proceeds so strong a fire, To stop my ears with wax would help me little.

��SONNET

PER certo i bei vostr' occhi, Donna mia, Esser non pu6 che non siau lo mio sole; Si mi percuoton forte, come ei suole, Per 1' arene di Libia chi s' invia,

Mentre un caldo vapor (ne senti pria) Da quel lato si spinge ove mi duole, Che forse ainanti nelle lor parole Cliini nan sospir; io non so che si sia.

Parte rinchiusa e turbida si cela

Scossonii il petto, e poi n' uscendo poco Quivi d' attorno o s' agghiaccia o s' in- giela;

Ma quanto agli occhi giunge a trovar loco Tutte le notti a me suol far piovose, Finche mia alba rivien colma di rose.

TRANSLATION

IN sooth, your beauteous eyes, my Lady,

Cannot be other than my sun;

So sore they smite me, as he smiteth

��The traveller in the sands of Libia; From that side where I feel my pain, out- gushes

A burning vapor, never felt before, Which mayhap lovers in their language Call sighs; for me, I know not what it

be.

A part within lurks pent and turbid, Shaking my breast ; a part forth-issuing Congeals and freezes in the air about; But whatso findeth passage to my eyes Is wont to darken all my nights with rain, Till Thou return, my day-spring crowned with roses.

��SONNET

GIOVANE, piano, e semplicetto amante,

Poiche fuggir me stesso in dubbio sono,

Madonna, a voi del mio cuor 1' umil dono

Far6 divoto. Io certo a prove tante

L' ebbi fedele, intrepido, costante,

Di pensieri leggiadro, accorto, e buono.

Quando rugge il gran mondo, e scocca il

tuouo,

S' arma di se, d' intero diamante; Tanto del forze e d' invidia sicuro, Di tirnori e speranze al popol use, Quanto d' ingegno e d' alto valor vago, E di cetra sonora, e delle Muse. Sol troverete in tal parte men duro Ove Amor inise 1' insanabil ago.

TRANSLATION

A YOUNG, and meek, and simple lover, Perplexed how I shall flee from my own

self,

Lady, the humble offering of my heart To you I dedicate : be sure, in many trials I found it faithful, constant, valorous, Gracious of thought, discreet, and good. When the great sky roars, or bursts the

thunder,

With itself it arms itself, with entire ada- mant,

As heedless of all violence or spite, Of vulgar hopes and fears, As 't is in love with noble gifts and worth, With the sonorous lyre, and with the

Muses. In one sole part thou 'It find it not so

strong, Where Love set his immedicable sting.

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