by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)
Translation by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893)
Dal ciel discesce, e col mortal suo, poi
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Dal ciel discesce, e col mortal suo, poi che visto ebbe l'inferno giusto e 'l pio, ritornò vivo a còntemplare Dio, per dar di tutto il vero lume a noi: Lucente stella, che co' raggi suoi fe chiaro, a torto, el nido ove naqqu' io; nè sare 'l premio tutto 'l mondo rio: Tu sol, che la creasti, esser quel puoi. Di Dante dico, che mal conosciute fur l'opre suo da quel popolo ingrato, che solo a' iusti manca di salute. Fuss' io pur lui! C'a tal fortuna nato, per l'aspro esilio suo, son la virtute, dare' del mondo il più felice stato.
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Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 248 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Dal ciel discesce, e col mortal suo, poi", op. 145 no. 6, from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 6, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893) , appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878 ; composed by John Mitchell.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Ernest Lafond) (Edmond Lafond) , "Rime no. 248", appears in Dante, Pétrarque, Michel-Ange, Tasse, Sonnets choisis, first published 1848
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bettina Jacobson) , "Dante", from Michelangelo: Gedichte und Briefe, first published 1907
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , subtitle: "Nužengęs iš dangaus, mirtingu kūnu", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Caroline Diehl
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 103
From heaven his spirit came
Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)
From heaven his spirit came, and robed in clay, The realms of justice and mercy trod. Then rose a living man to gaze on God, That he might make the truth as clear as day. But for that pure star, that brightened with his ray The undeserving nest where I was born, None but his maker can due guerdon pay. I speak of Dante whose high work remains Unknown Who rose a living man to gaze on God, That he might make the truth as clear as day. Were I but he! Born for like lingering pains, Against his exile coupled with his good I'd gladly change the world's best heritage.
Text Authorship:
- by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893), appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 248
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Mitchell (b. 1941), "From heaven his spirit came", op. 72 no. 1 (1989), from Six Sonnets by Michelangelo, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Victoria Brago
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 111