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FROM THE SAME. TO THE SUPREME BEING
Translated 1804?--Published 1807
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."--Ed.
III
The prayers I make will then be sweet indeed If Thou the spirit give by which I pray: My una.s.sisted heart is barren clay, That [1] of its native self can nothing feed: Of good and pious works thou art the seed, 5 That [2] quickens only where thou say'st it may.
Unless Thou shew to us thine own true way No man can find it: Father! Thou must lead.
Do Thou, then, breathe those thoughts into my mind By which such virtue may in me be bred 10 That in thy holy footsteps I may tread; The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind, That I may have the power to sing of thee, And sound thy praises everlastingly.
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
Which ... 1807.]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Which ... 1807.]
The sonnet from which the above is translated, is not wholly by Michael Angelo, the sculptor and painter, but is taken from patched-up versions of his poem by his nephew of the same name. Michael Angelo only wrote the first eight lines, and these have been garbled in his nephew's edition. The original lines are thus given by Guasti in his edition of Michael Angelo's Poems (1863) restored to their true reading, from the autograph MSS. in Rome and Florence.
Imperfect Sonnet transcribed from "Le Rime di Michelangelo Buonarroti Cavate dagli Autografi da Cesare Guasti. Firenze. 1863."
SONNET Lx.x.xIX. [Vatican].
Ben sarien dolce le preghiere mie, Se virtu mi presta.s.si da pregarte: Nel mio fragil terren non e gia parte Da frutto buon, che da se nato sie.
Tu sol se' seme d' opre caste e pie, Che la germoglian dove ne fa' parte: Nessun proprio valor pu seguitarte, Se no gli mostri le tue sante vie.
The lines are thus paraphrased in prose by the Editor:
Le mie preghiere sarebbero grate, se tu mi presta.s.si quella virtu che rende efficace il pregare: ma io sono un terreno sterile, in cui non nasce spontaneamente frutto che sia buono. Tu solamente sei seme di opere caste e pie, le quali germogliano la dove tu ti spargi: e nessuna virtu vi ha che da per se possa venirti dietro, se tu stesso non le mostri le vie che conducono al bene, e che sono le tue....
The Sonnet as published by the Nephew is as follows:
Ben sarian dolci le preghiere mie, Se virtu mi presta.s.si da pregarte: Nel mio terreno infertil non e parte Da produr frutto di virtu natie.
Tu il seme se' dell' opre giuste e pie, Che la germoglian dove ne fai parte: Nessun proprio valor puo seguitarte, Se non gli mostri le tue belle vie.
Tu nella mente mia pensieri infondi, Che producano in me si vivi effetti, Signor, ch' io segua i tuoi vestigi santi.
E dalla lingua mia chiari, e facondi Sciogli della tua gloria ardenti detti, Perche sempre io ti lodi, esalti, e canti.
('Le Rime di Michelangelo Buonarroti, Pittore, Scultor e Architetto cavate degli autografi, e pubblicate da Cesare Guasti'. Firenze, 1863.)-Ed.
APPENDIX.
NOTE I
"POEMS ON THE NAMING OF PLACES"
'When, to the attractions of the busy world', p. 66
The following variants occur in a MS. Book containing 'Yew Trees', 'Artegal' and 'Elidure', 'Laodamia', 'Black Comb,' etc.--Ed.
