Edition notes: This edition aims to be a faithful reproduction of the original published score available on IMSLP. As few editorial alterations have been made as possible; though the notation has been necessarily modernised in a few places and I have foregone any punctuation in the lyrics for the sake of legibility (though this is retained in the translation).
Benedetto sia 'l giorno, e 'l mese, e l'anno,
E la stagione, e 'l tempo, e l'ora, e 'l punto,
E 'l bel paese e 'l loco, ov'io fui giunto
Da'duo begli occhi che legato m'ànno;
E benedetto il primo dolce affanno
Ch'i' ebbi ad esser con Amor congiunto,
E l'arco e la saette ond' i' fui punto,
E le piaghe, ch'infino al cor mi vanno.
Benedette le voci tante, ch'io
Chiamando il nome di Laura ho sparte,
E i sospiri e le lagrime e 'l desio.
E benedette sian tutte le carte
Ov'io fama le acquisto, e il pensier mio,
Ch'è sol di lei, si ch'altra non v'ha parte.
English translation
Blessed be the day, and the month, and the year,
And the season, and the time, and the hour, and the point,
And the beautiful country and the place, where I was brought
By the two lovely eyes that bound me;
And blessed was the first sweet affliction
That I had to be conjoined with Love,
And the bow, and the thunderbolts whence I was stung,
And the wounds, that unto my heart go.
Blessed are the so many words, that I,
In calling Laura's name, have scattered
And the sighs, and the tears, and the desire.
And blessed be all the pages
Whence I acquire fame, and my thoughts,
Which are only of her, so that there is no other part.
Sonnet 134
Italian text
Pace non trovo, e non ho da far guerra;
E temo, e spero, ed ardo, e son un ghiaccio:
E volo sopra 'l cielo, e giaccio in terra;
E nulla stringo, e tutto 'l mondo abbraccio.
Tal m'ha in priggion, che non m'apre, nè serra,
Nè per suo mi ritien, nè scioglie il laccio;
E non m'ancide Amor, e non mi sferra;
Nè mi vuol vivo, nè mi trahe d'impaccio.
Veggio senz'occhi; e non ho lingua e grido;
E bramo di perir, e cheggio aita;
Ed ho in odio me stesso, ed amo altrui.
Pascomi di dolor, piangendo rido;
Egualmente mi spiace morte e vita:
In questo stato son, Donna, per Voi.
English translation
Peace I find not, and have no war to make;
And I fear, and hope, and burn, and am ice;
And fly above heaven, and lie on earth;
And hold nothing, and embrace all the world.
Such a one has me in prison, who neither frees or encloses me,
Nor for his own holds me back, nor loosens the snare;
And Love does not anchor me, nor lashes me;
Nor wants me alive, nor draws me from entanglement.
I see without eyes, and have no tongue, and cry;
And long to perish, and seek help;
And hate myself, and love others.
I weep with sorrow, weeping I laugh;
I lament death and life equally:
In this state, I am, woman, for you.
Sonnet 156
Italian text
I' vidi in terra angelici costumi,
E celesti bellezze al mondo sole;
Tal che di rimembrar mi giova, e dole:
Che quant'io miro, par sogni, ombre, e fumi.
E vidi lagrimar que' duo bei lumi,
Ch'han fatto mille volte invidia al sole;
Ed udì' sospirando dir parole
Che farian gir i monti, e stare i fiumi.
Amor! senno! valor, pietate, e doglia
Facean piangendo un più dolce concento
D'ogni altro, che nel mondo udir si soglia.
Ed era 'l cielo all'armonia s'intento
Che non si vedea in ramo mover foglia.
Tanta dolcezza avea pien l'aer e 'l vento.
English translation
I saw on earth angelic costumes,
And celestial beauties upon the sunny world;
Such that to remember delights and grieves me:
That as much as I gaze appear as dreams, shadows, vapours.
And I saw those two beautiful lights weeping,
Which a thousand times had made the sun envious;
And I heard sighing words spoken
That made the mountains turn, and the rivers still.
Love, wisdom, valour, pity, and sorrow
Made weeping a sweeter concert
Than any other, that is heard upon the threshold of the world.
And was heaven itself to harmony so intent
That no leaf was seen to move upon a branch.
Such sweetness had filled the air and the wind.
Italian text
English translation