219. ‘Il cantar novo e ’l pianger delli augelli’

At break of day the valley re-echoes

with the birds’ fresh singing and lament,

and the murmuring of liquid crystal

down the fresh, clear swift rivers.

She, with her snowy face and golden hair,

whose love has never failed or deceived,

wakes me with the sound of dancing,

combing her ancient lover’s white fleece.

So I rouse myself to greet the Dawn,

and the sun with her, and that other more so

who dazzled my early years, and still does so.

I have seen both rise together in other days,

in the same moment, at the same hour,

he making the stars vanish, and she him.

Note: Aurora, the Dawn, loved the mortal Tithonus, obtaining immortality for him, but not eternal youth.

‘Aurora Taking Leave of Tithonus’ - Francesco Solimena (Italian, 1657 - 1747), The Getty Open Content Program">The Getty Open Content Program