Sonnet 6
Giovane piano, e semplicetto amante
Poi che fuggir me stesso in dubbio sono,
Madonna a voi del mio cuor l'humil dono
Farò divoto; io certo a prove tante
L'hebbi fedele, intrepido, costante, [ 5 ]
De pensieri leggiadro, accorto, e buono;
Quando rugge il gran mondo, e scocca il tuono,
S'arma di se, e d'intero diamante,
Tanto del forse, e d'invidia sicuro,
Di timori, e speranze al popol use [ 10 ]
Quanto d'ingegno, e d'alto valor vago,
E di cetra sonora,e delle muse:
Sol troverete in tal parte men duro
Ove amor mise l'insanabil ago.
Sonnet 6
Young, gentle and candid lover that I am, because I am doubtful, my lady, how to fly from myself, I shall make the humble gift of my heart in devotion to you. In countless ordeals I have proved it faithful, courageous and constant, and in its thoughts gracious, courteous and good. When the world is in an uproar and the thunder crashes, it arms itself from within itself with perfect adamant—as secure against fortune, envy, and the fears and hopes of ordinary men as it is keen in its desire for the mind's gifts, high courage, and the sounding lyre, and the Muses. Only at a single point will you find it less unyielding—the point where Love's dart has pierced incurably.
Translation by Merritt Y. Hughes (1957, 56)
