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Con le belle non ci vuol fretta

Quartet originally for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass with basso continuo.

Original Language: Italian

Mi tien Filli fin qui,
Né ben detto di no,
Né ben detto di sì.
Amore, e che farò, aspetto o lascio?
Amor non mi risponde,
Ma mi dice la speme: "Aspetta, aspetta,
Con le belle a goder non ci vuol fretta;
Viene il bene tal'hor, né si sa donde.
Non sai tu che consola
L’amante di molt’anni un’hora sola?"

Poet:

Giulio Strozzi

English

With Beautiful Women You Can't Be in a Hurry

Phyllis has kept me going this far,
not clearly saying no,
not clearly saying yes.
Love, what shall I do, should I wait or let go?
Love doesn't answer,
but hope says "Wait, wait, to be happy
with beautiful women you can't be in a hurry;
delight comes sometimes, you can't tell how.
Don't you know that just one hour
consoles a lover for many years of suffering?"

Translated by:

Richard Kolb

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