Petrarch Quotes

The blond tresses loosened on her neck.

I' so' colei che ti die' tanta guerra,
et compie' mia giornata inanzi sera.

Perché la vita è breve,
et l'ingegno paventa a l'alta impresa,
né di lui né di lei molto mi fido.

There cannot be a heart so hard that weeping,
praying and loving sometime will not move,
nor yet a will so cold it cannot burn.

I stop, then, in my tracks, to recollect the awesome presence that I’ve left behind, the road ahead so long, my life so short, and bow my head and burst out into tears.

Tal par gran meraviglia, et poi si sprezza.

Love discovered me all weaponless,
and opened the way to the heart through the eyes,
which are made the passageways and doors of tears:

so that it seems to me it does him little honour
to wound me with his arrow, in that state,
he not showing his bow at all to you who are armed

«Mostrando vas la vía a otros, ¡oh, hermano!, y tú frecuentemente perdido andas, y más hoy todavía.»

Questa vita terrena è quasi un prato,
che 'l serpente tra' fiori et l'erba giace;
et s'alcuna sua vista agli occhi piace,
è per lassar piú l'animo invescato.

Since speaking of her eyes calls up the passion in me, and nothing else I do affects me quite so deeply, I must visit often where my sorrow wells up and overflows its boundaries, and thus my eyes are punished with my heart, because they led me on the road to love.

Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suono
di quei sospiri ond'io nudriva 'l core
in sul mio primo giovenile errore
quand'era in parte altr'uom da quel ch'i' sono.

Learning is my sole delight.

She closed her eyes; and in the sweet slumber lying
her spirit tiptoed from its lodging place.
It's folly to shrink in fear, if this is dying;
for death looked lovely in her face.

Ma pur sí aspre vie né sí selvagge
cercar non so ch'Amor non venga sempre
ragionando con meco, et io co llui.

Nihil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio

(Nothing is more hateful to wisdom than excessive cleverness)