Torquato Tasso – Tacciono i boschi e i fiumi / The woods and the rivers fall silent

Franz Von Stuck, Evening star, c. 1912

The woods and the rivers fall silent,
and the sea without waves rests,
in the caverns, the winds have truce and peace,
and in the dark of night 
the white moon forms noble silence;
and we keep hidden
the sweetness of love:
Love does not speak or breathe,
let kisses be silent, and silent my sighs.

(Transl. by G. Basile)

Tacciono i boschi e i fiumi
e il mar senza onda giace;
ne le spelonche i venti han tregua e pace,
e ne la notte bruna
alto silenzio fa la bianca luna;
e noi tegnamo ascose
le dolcezze amorose:
amor non parli o spiri,
sien muti i baci e muti i miei sospiri.