aware of my transfiguration, began to wonder at it, and talked and made sport of me with this most gracious lady, so that my friend, becoming aware of this, took me by the hand in great concern and, leading me out of the sight of these ladies, asked what was the matter with me. When I had rested awhile and recovered my consciousness, and the senses that had been driven away had recovered possession of their organs, I said to this friend these words: "I have had my feet in that part of life, farther than which no one can go who intends to return alive." And having left him, I returned to the room of tears, where, crying and ashamed, I kept saying to myself: "If this lady knew my state, I do not believe that she would thus make sport of me, on the contrary I think that she would feel great pity for me." And while still weeping I decided upon writing words with which, speaking to her, I would explain the cause of my transfiguration, and I would say how I knew quite well that she was unacquainted with it, and that if she knew it I believe that others would feel pity for it; and I decided to write such words, in the hope that they would perchance come to her knowledge; and then I wrote this sonnet :

decare Coll' altre donne mia vista gabbate, E non pensate, donna, onde si mova, Ch'io vi rassembri sì figura nova, Quando riguardo la vostra beltate.

Se lo saveste, non potría Pietate Tener più contra me l' usata prova; Ch'Amor, quando si presso a voi mi trova Prende baldanza e tanta sicurtate,

Che fiere tra' miei spirti paurosi,

E quale ancide, e qual caccia di fuora,
Sicch' ei solo rimane a veder vui :

Ond' io mi cangio in figura d' altrui,
Ma non sì, ch'io non senta bene allora
Gli guai de' discacciati tormentosi.

Questo sonetto non divido in parti, perchè la divisione non si fa, se non per aprire la sentenzia della cosa divisa: onde, conciossiacosachè per la ragionata cagione assai sia manifesto, non ha mestieri di divisione. Vero è che tra le parole, ove si manifesta la cagione di questo sonetto, si trovano dubbiose parole; cioè quando dico, ch'Amore uccide tutti i miei spiriti, e li visivi rimangono in vita, salvo che fuori

Thou with thy friends of my poor looks

mad'st sport,

And, lady, whence the change thou hast not guessed

That like a stranger I before thee pressed, So had thy radiant beauty on me wrought. Hadst thou but known, not Pity would have brought

To bear on me her ancient hard behest. Love, finding I my course by thee arrest, Takes courage when with such sweet safety fraught.

From very fear my senses he doth steal; And some are slain, some from their places

set

Thus I remain alone to gaze on thee:

And all may note what change comes

over me

Though not so great but that I suffer yet, And my poor outcast senses torment feel.

I do not propose to divide this sonnet into parts, because an analysis is only made in order to explain the things analysed; therefore, as it is clear by the above-mentioned reasoning, there is no need of a division. It is true that among the words, in which the cause of this sonnet is revealed, there are some ambiguous ones, as when I say that Love kills all my senses, and the power of sight remains alive,

¿

degli strumenti loro. E questo dubbio è impossibile a solvere a chi non fosse in simil grado fedele d'Amore; ed a coloro che vi sono, è manifesto ciò che solverebbe le dubitose parole: e però non è bene a me dichiarare cotale dubita- . zione, acciocchè lo mio parlare sarebbe indarno, ovvero di soperchio.

XV. Appresso la nuova trasfigurazione mi giunse un pensamento forte, il quale poco si partía da me; anzi continuamente mi riprendea, ed era di cotale ragionamento

meco: Posciachè tu pervieni a così scher M nevole vista quando tu se' presso di questa donna, perchè pur cerchi di vederla ? "Ecco che se tu fossi domandato da lei, che avresti tu da rispondere? ponendo che tu avessi libera ciascuna tua virtute, in quanto tu le rispondessi." Ed a questo rispondea un altro umile pensiero, e dicea: "Se io non perdessi le mie virtudi, e fossi libero tanto ch'io potessi rispondere, io le direi, che si tosto com' io immagino la sua mirabil bellezza, si tosto mi giugne un desiderio di vederla, il quale è di tanta virtude, che uccide e distrugge nella mia memoria ciò che contra lui si potesse levare; e però non mi ritraggono le passate passioni da cercare la veduta di costei." Ond' io, mosso da cotali pensa

though outside its organs. And such a mystery is impossible to explain any one who is not a follower of Love in the same high degree; but to those who are so the ambiguous words are clear; and therefore it is not right for me to explain such a mystery, since my explanation would be either insufficient or superfluous.

XV. Following this new transfiguration there came to me an overpowering idea, which rarely left me; rather did it perpetually regain possession of me, reasoning thus with me: "Since thou presentest so contemptible an appearance whenever thou findest thyself in this lady's presence, why dost thou nevertheless seek to see her? If she questioned thee thereon, what answer wouldst thou give, always supposing that thou wert sufficiently possessed of thy faculties to reply to her at all?" To this would another humble thought respond, saying: "Had I not lost the power of my faculties and thus were enabled to reply, I should tell her that no sooner do I even think on her wondrous beauty than there comes to me the desire to behold it, a desire so powerful that all, which my reason could oppose to it, is by it killed and destroyed; thus it is that the memory of my past sufferings does not restrain me from still seeking a sight of her."