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I do not portray the flawless courage of my Roman father in these poems because a daughter's awe, respect, and love make me feel my words are inadequate, and I put away my pen. Low and tender tones with no grandeur are not fit for a stern soldier's splendor, but belong to hours I waste myself crying in vain. I am not silent for fear poems on my father would diminish my husband: my passion's strength compels my crippled will to yield to my desire in spite of every reason not to. One love drives, one restrains, but I remember both with grief. |
An image of the Italian text from Visconti's 1840 edition |
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Notes: V LXXXVI:86 and B A2:31:71 (the lines differ a good deal); R VIII:29 (B's text). Translation: Lawley 45-6. VC mourns her father, Fabrizio Colonna (died 1520) as well as her husband. Key |
