✤ View another piece from this Opus / Collection →
Mi fa rider
Original Language: Italian
Mi fa rider la speranza,
Che per forza vuol ch'io speri,
E ch'io semini i pensieri
Nel terren dell'incostanza.
Sempre vol quest'importuna
Ch'io contrasti col mio fato,
E ch'io segua un cor intrato
Al dispetto di fortuna.
Ma senza godere
Ch'io peni ogni dì,
Non è di dovere,
Non dico così;
Non piace al mio core
Ch'è scaltr'amatore
Si barbara usanza.
Mi fa rider la speranza...
Favolosi precipitii
Furon quelli di Fetonte, [Phaeton]
E bugiardi in Flegetonte [Phlegethon]
Son le pene ancor di Tizi. [Tityos]
Io sì che nel pianto
Sommergomi ogn'hora,
E sempre pur tanto
L'ardor mi divora,
Che provo un inferno
Che dura in eterno,
E sempre s'avanza.
Mi fa rider la speranza....
Poet:
English
Hope makes me laugh
Hope makes me laugh,
wanting to force me to be hopeful,
and for me to sow my thoughts
in the ground of inconstancy.
That pest always wants
me to contend with fate,
and to pursue an intractable heart
in despite of fortune.
But since I don't enjoy
suffering every day,
it's not an obligation,
it isn't, I say;
Such barbarous treatment
doesn't suit my heart,
which is astute in love.
Hope makes me laugh...
Phaeton's fall*
was a myth,
and Tityos's sufferings**
in the Phlegethon*** are also fiction,
but I really drown
perpetually in tears,
and my ardor
devours me continuously,
so that I'm in an inferno
that lasts for eternity
and keeps getting worse.
Hope makes me laugh...
Translated by:
Richard Kolb
* Phaeton, a human son of Apollo, tried to drive the chariot of the sun and was killed by Zeus when he lost control and crashed the chariot into the sea.
** Tityos: A giant in the underworld, punished for attempting to rape Leto by having vultures eternally devour his liver.
*** Phlegethon: River of fire in the underworld.
Find the score...
Mi fa rider
Published by Cor Donato Editions in historically correct modern transcription, including critical introductory notes on the work, editorial procedures, original texts with new English translations, and other contextual information about the piece.
Now available at CorDonatoEditions.com!
Purchase score →
