Francesco Petrarch

It is more honorable to be raised to a throne than to be born to one. Fortune bestows the one, read more

It is more honorable to be raised to a throne than to be born to one. Fortune bestows the one, merit obtains the other.

Oh! could I throw aside these earthly bands
That tie me down where wretched mortals sigh--
To read more

Oh! could I throw aside these earthly bands
That tie me down where wretched mortals sigh--
To join blest spirits in celestial lands!

The time will come when every change shall cease,
This quick revolving wheel shall rest in peace:
read more

The time will come when every change shall cease,
This quick revolving wheel shall rest in peace:
No summer then shall glow, not winter freeze;
Nothing shall be to come, and nothing past,
But an eternal now shall ever last.

Yon nightingale, whose strain so sweetly flows,
Mourning her ravish'd young or much-loved mate,
A soothing charm read more

Yon nightingale, whose strain so sweetly flows,
Mourning her ravish'd young or much-loved mate,
A soothing charm o'er all the valleys throws
And skies, with notes well tuned to her and state.

For style beyond the genius never dares.
[Fr., Che stilo oltra l'ingegno non si stende.]

For style beyond the genius never dares.
[Fr., Che stilo oltra l'ingegno non si stende.]