A happy star in those fate-filled heavens Quella felice stella, e in ciel fatale
A happy star in those fate-filled heavens
accompanied the high birth of Caesar,
great Augustus: whence he ruled the world,
lived nobly and is today immortal;

she -- now in a kinder mood -- guided
great Charles' destinies, so strongly I hope
to see him -- to speak frankly -- be made
a god among us who is mortal man;

so that if the former deserved high honors
for defeating Indians, Medes, Britons,
Scythians, Cantabrians, and the bold Gauls,

the latter who has now conquered two worlds,
united such discordant wills in peace,
merits yet greater praise and respect.

 Quella felice stella, e 'n ciel fatale
che fu compagne al nascimento altero
del gran Cesare Augusto, onde l'impero
del mondo tenne, e visse alto e immortale;

quella, ma più benigna, al bel natale
fu guida dal gran Carlo, et tal ch'io spero
maggio vederlo, per dir meglio il vero,
e fatto un dio fra noi d'uomo mortale;

che se per vincer gli Indi, e i Medi, e i Sciti,
e i Cantabri, e i Britanni, e i Galli audaci
meritò quel aver tant'alti onori

questo, ch'omai duo mondo ha vinto, e uniti
tanti voler discordi in tante paci,
merita maggior lodi e onor maggiori.

Sources:

Rizzardi 6:6; Chiappetti 6:8; 1995 Bullock 48:111-12. Translations: McAuliffe (as if by Colonna from 1550 Arrivabene) p 198; Poss (as by Gambara) 60. For Key see A Note on the Italian texts

Comments:

This is another which has been misattributed to Colonna (see directly above). Rizzardi (p 82, nVI) suggests it could be by Colonna as it appears in a collection under the name of Colonna (together with "Quel che di tutto il bel ricco Oriente" and "Vincere i cor più saggi e i re più alteri"). Many other diverse miscellanies of the era, including Domenichi, and Bulifon (who says he took it from a manuscript in a Naples library), do attribute the above to Gambara. On the other hand, Ruscelli does not include it in his initial set of 18 poems by Gambara (though he also does not include it in his edition of Colonna).

The modern consensus appears to be that this poem refers to the battle of Pavia (1525) in line 12 (two worlds refers to France and Germany or Francois I and Charles V). The argument is that the star which presided over the birth of Caesar Augustus also smiled upon the birth of Charles V; if his predecessor acquired fame through military victories in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, Charles V will gain greater honor through faciliating peace after victory. For variants, further commentary and paraphrase see 1995 Bullock p. 112n. See also Chimenti, pp. 38-39.

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