The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti.
Maine: Thomas B. Mosher, 1909.
Translated by Renaissance scholar, John Addington Symonds, Michelangelo's sonnets possess their original vigour:
IX
THANKS FOR A GIFT
Al zucchero, alla mula
The sugar, candles, and the saddled mule,
Together with your cask of malvoisie,
So far exceed all my necessity
That Michael and not I my debt must rule.
In such a glassy calm the breezes fool
My sinking sails, so that amid the sea
My bark hath missed her way, and seems to be
A wisp of straw whirled on a weltering pool.
To yield thee gift for gift and grace for grace,
For food and drink and carriage to and fro,
For all my need in every time and place,
O my dear Lord, matched with the much I owe,
All that I am were no real recompense :
Paying a debt is not munificence.
Fourth edition of 925 copies. Tall duodecimo, contemporary handsome polished gilt calf, marbled emdpapers ; bookplate and signature of Roy McWilliams, a little rubbed but essentially a fine copy.
Price (AUD): $100.00 other currencies