Collected Poetical Works of Francesco Petrarch

by Francesco Petrarch

Gold I beheld and emerald on the collar that she wore;

  Words, too — but theirs were characters of legendary lore.

  “Cæsar’s decree hath made me free; and through his solemn charge,

  Untouch’d by men o’er hill and glen I wander here at large.”

  The sun had now, with radiant brow, climb’d his meridian throne,

  Yet still mine eye untiringly gazed on that lovely one.

  A voice was heard — quick disappear’d my dream — the spell was broken.

  Then came distress: to the consciousness of life I had awoken.

  FATHER PROUT.

  SONNET CLVIII.

  Siccome eterna vita è veder Dio.

  ALL HIS HAPPINESS IS IN GAZING UPON HER.

  As life eternal is with God to be,

  No void left craving, there of all possess’d,

  So, lady mine, to be with you makes blest,

  This brief frail span of mortal life to me.

  So fair as now ne’er yet was mine to see —

  If truth from eyes to heart be well express’d —

  Lovely and blessèd spirit of my breast,

  Which levels all high hopes and wishes free.

  Nor would I more demand if less of haste

  She show’d to part; for if, as legends tell

  And credence find, are some who live by smell,

  On water some, or fire who touch and taste,

  All, things which neither strength nor sweetness give,

  Why should not I upon your dear sight live?

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLIX.

  Stiamo, Amor, a veder la gloria nostra.

  TO LOVE, ON LAURA WALKING ABROAD.

  Here stand we, Love, our glory to behold —

  How, passing Nature, lovely, high, and rare!

  Behold! what showers of sweetness falling there!

  What floods of light by heaven to earth unroll’d!

  How shine her robes, in purple, pearls, and gold,

  So richly wrought, with skill beyond compare!

  How glance her feet! — her beaming eyes how fair

  Through the dark cloister which these hills enfold!

  The verdant turf, and flowers of thousand hues

  Beneath yon oak’s old canopy of state,

  Spring round her feet to pay their amorous duty.

  The heavens, in joyful reverence, cannot choose

  But light up all their fires, to celebrate

  Her praise, whose presence charms their awful beauty.

  MERIVALE.

  Here tarry, Love, our glory to behold;

  Nought in creation so sublime we trace;

  Ah! see what sweetness showers upon that face,

  Heaven’s brightness to this earth those eyes unfold!

  See, with what magic art, pearls, purple, gold,

  That form transcendant, unexampled, grace:

  Beneath the shadowing hills observe her pace,

  Her glance replete with elegance untold!

  The verdant turf, and flowers of every hue,

  Clustering beneath yon aged holm-oak’s gloom,

  For the sweet pressure of her fair feet sue;

  The orbs of fire that stud yon beauteous sky,

  Cheer’d by her presence and her smiles, assume

  Superior lustre and serenity.

  NOTT.

  SONNET CLX.

  Pasco la mente d’ un sì nobil cibo.

  TO SEE AND HEAR HER IS HIS GREATEST BLISS.

  I feed my fancy on such noble food,

  That Jove I envy not his godlike meal;

  I see her — joy invades me like a flood,

  And lethe of all other bliss I feel;

  I hear her — instantly that music rare

  Bids from my captive heart the fond sigh flow;

  Borne by the hand of Love I know not where,

  A double pleasure in one draught I know.

  Even in heaven that dear voice pleaseth well,

  So winning are its words, its sound so sweet,

  None can conceive, save who had heard, their spell;

  Thus, in the same small space, visibly, meet

  All charms of eye and ear wherewith our race

  Art, Genius, Nature, Heaven have join’d to grace.

  MACGREGOR.

  Such noble aliment sustains my soul,

  That Jove I envy not his godlike food;

  I gaze on her — and feel each other good

  Engulph’d in that blest draught at Lethe’s bowl:

  Her every word I in my heart enrol,

  That on its grief it still may constant brood;

  Prostrate by Love — my doom not understood

  From that one form, I feel a twin control.

  My spirit drinks the music of her voice,

  Whose speaking harmony (to heaven so dear)

  They only feel who in its tone partake:

  Again within her face my eyes rejoice,

  For in its gentle lineaments appear

  What Genius, Nature, Art, and Heaven can wake.

  WOLLASTON.

  SONNET CLXI.

  L’ aura gentil che rasserena i poggi.

  JOURNEYING TO VISIT LAURA, HE FEELS RENEWED ARDOUR AS HE APPROACHES.

  The gale, that o’er yon hills flings softer blue,

  And wakes to life each bud that gems the glade,

  I know; its breathings such impression made,

  Wafting me fame, but wafting sorrow too:

  My wearied soul to soothe, I bid adieu

  To those dear Tuscan haunts I first survey’d;

  And, to dispel the gloom around me spread,

  I seek this day my cheering sun to view,

  Whose sweet attraction is so strong, so great,

  That Love again compels me to its light;

  Then he so dazzles me, that vain were flight.

  Not arms to brave, ’tis wings to ‘scape, my fate

  I ask; but by those beams I’m doom’d to die,

  When distant which consume, and which enflame when nigh.

  NOTT.

  The gentle air, which brightens each green hill,

  Wakening the flowers that paint this bowery glade,

  I recognise it by its soft breath still,

  My sorrow and renown which long has made:

  Again where erst my sick heart shelter sought,

  From my dear native Tuscan air I flee:

  That light may cheer my dark and troubled thought,

  I seek my sun, and hope to-day to see.

  That sun so great and genial sweetness brings,

  That Love compels me to his beams again,

  Which then so dazzle me that flight is vain:

  I ask for my escape not arms, but wings:

  Heaven by this light condemns me sure to die,

  Which from afar consumes, and burns when nigh.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXII.

  Di dì in dì vo cangiando il viso e ‘l pelo.

  HIS WOUNDS CAN BE HEALED ONLY BY PITY OR DEATH.

  I alter day by day in hair and mien,

  Yet shun not the old dangerous baits and dear,

  Nor sever from the laurel, limed and green,

  Which nor the scorching sun, nor fierce cold sear.

  Dry shall the sea, the sky be starless seen,

  Ere I shall cease to covet and to fear

  Her lovely shadow, and — which ill I screen —

  To like, yet loathe, the deep wound cherish’d here:

  For never hope I respite from my pain,

  From bones and nerves and flesh till I am free,

  Unless mine enemy some pity deign,

  Till things impossible accomplish’d be,

  None but herself or death the blow can heal

  Which Love from her bright eyes has left my heart to feel.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXIII.

  L’ aura serena che fra verdi fronde.

  THE GENTLE BREEZE (L’
AURA) RECALLS TO HIM THE TIME WHEN HE FIRST SAW HER.

  The gentle gale, that plays my face around,

  Murmuring sweet mischief through the verdant grove,

  To fond remembrance brings the time, when Love

  First gave his deep, although delightful wound;

  Gave me to view that beauteous face, ne’er found

  Veil’d, as disdain or jealousy might move;

  To view her locks that shone bright gold above,

  Then loose, but now with pearls and jewels bound:

  Those locks she sweetly scatter’d to the wind,

  And then coil’d up again so gracefully,

  That but to think on it still thrills the sense.

  These Time has in more sober braids confined;

  And bound my heart with such a powerful tie,

  That death alone can disengage it thence.

  NOTT.

  The balmy airs that from yon leafy spray

  My fever’d brow with playful murmurs greet,

  Recall to my fond heart the fatal day

  When Love his first wound dealt, so deep yet sweet,

  And gave me the fair face — in scorn away

  Since turn’d, or hid by jealousy — to meet;

  The locks, which pearls and gems now oft array,

  Whose shining tints with finest gold compete,

  So sweetly on the wind were then display’d,

  Or gather’d in with such a graceful art,

  Their very thought with passion thrills my mind.

  Time since has twined them in more sober braid,

  And with a snare so powerful bound my heart,

  Death from its fetters only can unbind.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXIV.

  L’ aura celeste che ‘n quel verde Lauro.

  HER HAIR AND EYES.

  The heavenly airs from yon green laurel roll’d,

  Where Love to Phoebus whilom dealt his stroke,

  Where on my neck was placed so sweet a yoke,

  That freedom thence I hope not to behold,

  O’er me prevail, as o’er that Arab old

  Medusa, when she changed him to an oak;

  Nor ever can the fairy knot be broke

  Whose light outshines the sun, not merely gold;

  I mean of those bright locks the curlèd snare

  Which folds and fastens with so sweet a grace

  My soul, whose humbleness defends alone.

  Her mere shade freezes with a cold despair

  My heart, and tinges with pale fear my face;

  And oh! her eyes have power to make me stone.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXV.

  L’ aura soave ch’ al sol spiega e vibra.

  HIS HEART LIES TANGLED IN HER HAIR.

  The pleasant gale, that to the sun unplaits

  And spreads the gold Love’s fingers weave, and braid

  O’er her fine eyes, and all around her head,

  Fetters my heart, the wishful sigh creates:

  No nerve but thrills, no artery but beats,

  Approaching my fair arbiter with dread,

  Who in her doubtful scale hath ofttimes weigh’d

  Whether or death or life on me awaits;

  Beholding, too, those eyes their fires display,

  And on those shoulders shine such wreaths of hair,

  Whose witching tangles my poor heart ensnare.

  But how this magic’s wrought I cannot say;

  For twofold radiance doth my reason blind,

  And sweetness to excess palls and o’erpowers my mind.

  NOTT.

  The soft gale to the sun which shakes and spreads

  The gold which Love’s own hand has spun and wrought.

  There, with her bright eyes and those fairy threads,

  Binds my poor heart and sifts each idle thought.

  My veins of blood, my bones of marrow fail,

  Thrills all my frame when I, to hear or gaze,

  Draw near to her, who oft, in balance frail,

  My life and death together holds and weighs,

  And see those love-fires shine wherein I burn,

  And, as its snow each sweetest shoulder heaves,

  Flash the fair tresses right and left by turn;

  Verse fails to paint what fancy scarce conceives.

  From two such lights is intellect distress’d,

  And by such sweetness weary and oppress’d.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXVI.

  O bella man, che mi distringi ‘l core.

  THE STOLEN GLOVE.

  O beauteous hand! that dost my heart subdue,

  And in a little space my life confine;

  Hand where their skill and utmost efforts join

  Nature and Heaven, their plastic powers to show!

  Sweet fingers, seeming pearls of orient hue,

  To my wounds only cruel, fingers fine!

  Love, who towards me kindness doth design,

  For once permits ye naked to our view.

  Thou glove most dear, most elegant and white,

  Encasing ivory tinted with the rose;

  More precious covering ne’er met mortal sight.

  Would I such portion of thy veil had gain’d!

  O fleeting gifts which fortune’s hand bestows!

  ’Tis justice to restore what theft alone obtain’d.

  NOTT.

  O beauteous hand! which robb’st me of my heart,

  And holdest all my life in little space;

  Hand! which their utmost effort and best art

  Nature and Heaven alike have join’d to grace;

  O sister pearls of orient hue, ye fine

  And fairy fingers! to my wounds alone

  Cruel and cold, does Love awhile incline

  In my behalf, that naked ye are shown?

  O glove! most snowy, delicate, and dear,

  Which spotless ivory and fresh roses set,

  Where can on earth a sweeter spoil be met,

  Unless her fair veil thus reward us here?

  Inconstancy of human things! the theft

  Late won and dearly prized too soon from me is reft!

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXVII.

  Non pur quell’ una bella ignuda mano.

  HE RETURNS THE GLOVE, BEWAILING THE EFFECT OF HER BEAUTY.

  Not of one dear hand only I complain,

  Which hides it, to my loss, again from view,

  But its fair fellow and her soft arms too

  Are prompt my meek and passive heart to pain.

  Love spreads a thousand toils, nor one in vain,

  Amid the many charms, bright, pure, and new,

  That so her high and heavenly part endue,

  No style can equal it, no mind attain.

  That starry forehead and those tranquil eyes,

  The fair angelic mouth, where pearl and rose

  Contrast each other, whence rich music flows,

  These fill the gazer with a fond surprise,

  The fine head, the bright tresses which defied

  The sun to match them in his noonday pride.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXVIII.

  Mia ventura ed Amor m’ avean sì adorno.

  HE REGRETS HAVING RETURNED HER GLOVE.

  Me Love and Fortune then supremely bless’d!

  Her glove which gold and silken broidery bore!

  I seem’d to reach of utmost bliss the crest,

  Musing within myself on her who wore.

  Ne’er on that day I think, of days the best,

  Which made me rich, then beggar’d as before,

  But rage and sorrow fill mine aching breast.

  With slighted love and self-shame boiling o’er;

  That on my precious prize in time of need

  I kept not hold, nor made a firmer stand

  ‘Gainst what at best was merely angel force,

  That my feet were not wings their flight to spe
ed,

  And so at last take vengeance on the hand,

  Make my poor eyes of tears the too oft source.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXIX.

  D’ un bel, chiaro, polito e vivo ghiaccio.

  THOUGH RACKED BY AGONY, HE DOES NOT COMPLAIN OF HER.

  The flames that ever on my bosom prey

  From living ice or cold fair marble pour,

  And so exhaust my veins and waste my core,

  Almost insensibly I melt away.

  Death, his stern arm already rear’d to slay,

  As thunders angry heaven or lions roar,

  Pursues my life that vainly flies before,

  While I with terror shake, and mute obey.

  And yet, were Love and Pity friends, they might

  A double column for my succour throw

  Between my worn soul and the mortal blow:

  It may not be; such feelings in the sight

  Of my loved foe and mistress never stir;

  The fault is in my fortune, not in her.

  MACGREGOR.

  SONNET CLXX.

  Lasso, ch’ i’ ardo, ed altri non mel crede!

  POSTERITY WILL ACCORD TO HIM THE PITY WHICH LAURA REFUSES.

  Alas, with ardour past belief I glow!

  None doubt this truth, except one only fair,

  Who all excels, for whom alone I care;

  She plainly sees, yet disbelieves my woe.

  O rich in charms, but poor in faith! canst thou

  Look in these eyes, nor read my whole heart there?

  Were I not fated by my baleful star,

  For me from pity’s fount might favour flow.

  My flame, of which thou tak’st so little heed,

  And thy high praises pour’d through all my song,

  O’er many a breast may future influence spread:

  These, my sweet fair, so warns prophetic thought,

  Closed thy bright eye, and mute thy poet’s tongue,

  E’en after death shall still with sparks be fraught.

  NOTT.

  Alas! I burn, yet credence fail to gain

  All others credit it save only she

  All others who excels, alone for me;

  She seems to doubt it still, yet sees it plain

  Infinite beauty, little faith and slow,