Love
Sonnet XXIX (In Death): The Union of Beauty and Virtue is Dissolved by Her Death
Translated by Major Macgregor (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Death
Two mortal foes in one fair breast combined,
Beauty and Virtue, in such peace allied
That ne'er rebellion ruffled that pure mind,
But in rare union dwelt they side by side;
By Death they now are shatter'd and disjoin'd;
One is in heaven, its glory and its pride,
One under earth, her brilliant eyes now blind,
Whence stings of love once issued far and wide.
That winning air, that rare discourse and meek,
Surely from heaven inspired, that gentle glance
Which wounded my poor heart, and wins it still,
Are gone; if I am slow her road to seek,
I hope her fair and graceful name perchance
To consecrate with this worn weary quill.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XXIX (In Death): The Union of Beauty and Virtue is Dissolved by Her Death.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/296/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XXIX (In Death): The Union of Beauty and Virtue is Dissolved by Her Death.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/296/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Ballata II (In Life): He Invites His Eyes to Feast Themselves on Laura
- Sonnet LXVI (In Life): He Calls the Eyes of Laura Foes, Because They Keep Him in Life Only to Torment Him
- Sonnet CXXVIII (In Life): Every Circumstance of His Passion is a Torment to Him
- Sonnet CXCVIII (In Life): He No Longer Finds Relief in Solitude
- Sonnet XLII (In Death): Returning Spring Brings to Him Only Increase of Grief