Minor Pieces
MINOR PIECES.(1)*
________
ALFIERI’S BENEDICTION.(2)
SIA pace ai frati
Purchè sfratati:
E pace ai preti,
Ma pochi, e queti:
Cardinalume
Non tolga lume:
Il maggior prete
Torni alla rete:
Leggi, e non re:
L’Italia c’è.
PEACE be to the friars,
But in common attires:
Peace, priests, to you also,
But few, and don’t bawl so:
Our cardinals bright
Let ’em leave us our light:
The chief of the set
Let him take to his net:
Then laws, and no king;
And let Italy sing.
* Author: Various authors / Transcribed and annotated by Gilberta Golinelli.
[Page 396]
AN ULTRA LICENSE.(3)
FROM ALFIERI.
APPROVAZIONE
Di Fra Tozzone
Per l’impressione
Di un libruccione
Che un autorone
Ai piedi pone
Di un principone
Con dedicone.
SI STAMPI PUR, SI STAMPI:
QUI NON C'E' NULLA, NE RAGION, NE LAMPI.
THE approbation
Of Father Stuffation
For the imprimation
Of a pamphliteration
Which a light of the nation
With all humiliation
Sends a man in great station
With a dedication.
PRINT IT BY ALL MEANS, PRINT IT:
THERE'S NOTHING RATIONAL, NOT E'EN A HINT, IN'T.
________
Ægle, beauty and poet, has two little crimes;
She makes her own face, and does not make her rhymes.
[Page 397]
[Page 397]
SONG, WRITTEN FOR AN INDIAN AIR.(5)
I ARISE from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of night,
When the winds are breathing low,
And the stars are burning bright.
I arise from dreams of thee,
And a spirit in my feet
Hath led me, Who knows how?
To thy chamber window, Sweet.
The wandering airs they faint
On the dark, the silent stream,
The Champak odours fail
Like sweet thoughts in a dream.
The nightingale’s complaint,
It dies upon her heart;—
As I must on thine,
Beloved as thou art!
Oh, lift me from the grass!
I die! I faint! I fail!
Let thy love in kisses rain
On my lips and eye-lids pale.
My cheek is cold and white, alas!
My heart beats loud and fast;—
O! press me to thine own again,
Where it will break at last!
[Page 398]
[Page 398]
MARTIAL.—LIB. 1. EPIG. 1.(6)
HIC est, quem legis, ille, quem requiris,
Toto notus in orbe Martialis
Argutis Epigrammatôn libellis:
Cui, lector studiose, quod dedisti
Viventi decus atque sentienti,
Rari post cineres habent poetæ.
HE unto whom thou art so partial,
Oh, reader! is the well-known Martial,
The Epigrammatist: while living,
Give him the fame thou wouldst be giving;
So shall he hear, and feel, and know it:
Post-obits rarely reach a poet.
__________
__________
NEW DUET.(7)
TO THE TUNE OF “WHY HOW NOW, SAUCY JADE?”
WHY how now, saucy Tom,
If you thus must ramble,
I will publish some
Remarks on Mister Campbell.(8)
ANSWER:
Sure the priest is maudlin!
[To the Public] How can you, d—n your souls!
Listen to his twaddling?
[Page 399]
[Page 399]
PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF,(10)
BY ALFIERI.
SUBLIME specchio di veraci detti,
Mostrami in corpo e in anima qual sono.
Capelli, or radi in fronte, e rossi pretti;
Lunga statura, e capo in terra prono;
Sottil persona in su due stinchi schietti;
Bianca pelle, occhi azzurri, aspetto buono;
Giusto naso, bel labro, e denti eletti;
Pallido in volto, più che un re sul trono.
Or duro, acerbo; ora piaghevol, mite;
Irato sempre, e non maligno mai;
La mente e il cor meco in perpetua lite;
Per lo piú mesto, e talor lieto assai
Or stimandomi Achille, ed or Tersite.
Uom, se’ tu grande, o vil?—Muori, e il saprai.
THOU lofty mirror, Truth, let me be shewn
Such as I am, in body and in mind.
Hair, plainly red, retreating now behind;
A stature tall, a stooping head and prone;
A meagre body on two stilts of bone;
Fair skin, blue eyes, good look, nose well design’d;
A handsome mouth, teeth that are rare to find,
And pale in face, more than a king on throne.
Now harsh and crabbed, mild and pleasant soon;
Always irascible, no malignant foe;
My head and heart and I never in tune;
Sad for the most part, then in such a flow
Of spirits, I feel now hero, now buffoon;—
Man, art thou great or vile?—Die, and thou’lt know.
[BLANK PAGE]
[BLANK PAGE]
CONTENTS
OF VOLUME THE FIRST.
__________
__________
Page
Preface - - - - - 5
The Vision of Judgment, by QUEVEDO REDIVIVUS - 15
A Letter to the Editor of “My Grandmother’s Review” - 41
The Florentine Lovers - - - - 51
Rhyme and Reason, or a New Proposal to the Public respect -
ing Poetry in Ordinary - - - 81
A German Apologue - - - - 91
Letters from Abroad. Letter I.—Pisa - - 97
May-day Night; a Poetical Translation from Goëthe’s
Faust - - - - - 121
Ariosto’s Episode of Cloridan, Medoro, and Angelica - 139
The Country Maiden - - - - 161
Epigram of Alfieri - - - 163
Epigrams on Lord Castlereagh - - - 164
Heaven and Earth, a Mystery - - - 165
The Giuli Tre - - - - - 207
On the Spirit of Monarchy - - - - 227
The Dogs - - - - - 245
Letters from Abroad. Letter II.—Genoa - - 269
A Tale of the Passions - - - - 289
Les Charmettes and Rousseau - - - - 327
Longus - - - - - 347
On the Scotch Character - - - - 367
Virgil’s Hostess - - - - 377
The Suliotes - - - - - 385
Minor Pieces
Alfieri’s Benediction - - - 395
An Ultra License - - - 396
From the French - - - - 396
Song, written for an Indian Air - - 397
Martial—Lib. I. Ep. I. - - - 398
New Duet - - - - 398
Portrait of Alfieri(11) - - - - 399
ERRATA.
Page 6, line 6, instead of “a worse king never left a realm undone,” read
“a weaker king ne’er left a realmundone.”(12)
Page 7, line 16, instead of “a bad ugly woman,” read “an unhandsome
woman.”
Page 20, line 5, for “dwell,” read “well.”
Page 23, line 6, instead of “amidst the war,” read “amidst the roar.”
Page 38, in the note, for “body,” read “bottom.”
Page 62, lines 29 and 30—and page 68, line 15, for “Signora Veronica,”
read “Gossip Veronica.”
Page 109, line 10, for “about the size of Stratford Place,” read “about
half the size.”
_______
_______
LONDON:
C. H. REYNELL, PRINTER,
45, BROAD-STREET, GOLDEN-SQUARE.
EDITORIAL NOTES
[1] “Minor Pieces”, by various authors. Edited by Gilberta Golinelli.
[2] Epigram I, by Vittorio Alfieri (1749-1803), composed in Siena on 15 August 1785 and first appeared in his Rime (1789). The English translation is by Leigh Hunt (1784-1859).
[3] Epigram XXVI, by Vittorio Alfieri, first appeared in Rime. The English translation is by Leigh Hunt (1784-1859).
[4] Composition by G. G. Byron (1788-1824), first published in The Liberal.
[5] Poem by P.B. Shelley (1792-1822), first published in The Liberal.
[6] Epigram I, by the Roman poet Martial (38/41- c. 103 CE). The English translation is by G. G. Byron (1788-1824). As remarked by W.H. Marshall, the text is actually a translation of Epigram II (Marshall 1960, 140).
[7] Composition by G. G. Byron, first published in The Liberal.
[8] Thomas Campbell (1777-1844), Scottish poet, mostly appreciated for his lyrics.
[9] William Lisle Bowles (1762-1850), English poet, critic, and priest, was harshly critical towards Alexander Pope’s works and poetry.
[10] Sonnet CLXVII, by Vittorio Alfieri, first published in Rime. The English translation is by Leigh Hunt.
[11] “Portrait of Himself” used as title on p. 399.
[12] Misprint for realm undone.
Ultimo aggiornamento
25.09.2025