by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)
Translation by Romain Rolland (1866 - 1944)
Se'l mie rozzo martello i duri sassi
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Se'l mie rozzo martello i duri sassi forma d'uman aspetto or questo o quello, dal ministro, ch'el guida iscorgie e tiello, prendendo il moto, va con gli altrui passi: Ma quel divin, ch'in ciela alberga e stassi, altri, e sè più, col proprio andar fa bello; e se nessun martel senza martello si può far, da quel vivo ogni altro fassi. E perchè 'l colpo è di valor più pieno quant' alza più se stesso alla fucina, sopra 'l mie, questo al ciel n'è gito a volo. Onde a me non finito verrà meno, s' or non gli dà la fabbrica divina aiuto a farlo, c' al mondo era solo.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 46 [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), "Se'l mie rozzo martello i duri sassi", op. 145 no. 8, from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 8, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- 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
- ENG English (John Addington Symonds) , "After the death of Vittoria Colonna: Irreparable loss", appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878
- FRE French (Français) (Romain Rolland) , "Rime no. 46", appears in Vie de Michel Ange, first published 1908
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bettina Jacobson) , "Auf Vittoria Colonnas Tod", from Michelangelo: Gedichte und Briefe, first published 1907
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , subtitle: "Kai kietas mano kūjis uolą talžo", 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: 110
Rime no. 46
Language: French (Français)  after the Italian (Italiano)
Si mon rude marteau façonne les durs rochers tantôt à une image et tantôt à une autre, c'est de la main qui le tient, le conduit et le guide, qu'il reçoit le mouvement; il va, poussé par une force étrangère. Mais le marteau divin qui dans le ciel se dresse, crée sa propre beauté et la beauté des autres par son unique force. Aucun autre marteau ne peut se créer sans marteau; celui-là seul fait vivre tous les autres. Et parce que le coup qu'il frappe sur l'enclume est d'autant plus fort que le marteau se lève plus haut dans la forge, celui-là s'est levé au-dessus de moi, jusqu'au ciel. C'est pourquoi il mènera mon œuvre à bonne fin, si la forge divine lui prête maintenant son aide. Jusqu'ici, sur la terre, il était seul.
Authorship:
- by Romain Rolland (1866 - 1944), "Rime no. 46", appears in Vie de Michel Ange, first published 1908 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 46
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-02
Line count: 14
Word count: 135