Pietro Metastasio

thumb|The bee and the serpent often sip from the selfsame flower. Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (January 3, 1698 – April 12, 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti. Quotes thumb|Opere, 1737 Il torre altrui la vita È facoltà commune Al più vil della terra; il darla è solo De' Numi, e de' Regnanti. To take away life is a power which the vilest of the earth have in common; to give it belongs to gods and kings alone. La Clemenza di Tito (1734), Act III, scene 7. Quell' onda, che ruinaDalla pendice alpina,Balza, si frange, e mormoraMa limpida si fa. That water which falls from some Alpine height is dashed, broken, and will murmur loudly, but grows limpid by its fall. Alcide al Bivio (1760), scene 5. Sai, che piegar si vedeIl docile arboscello,Che vince allor che cedeDei turbini al furor. Know that the slender shrub which is seen to bend, conquers when it yields to the storm. Il Trionfo di Clelia (1762), Act I, scene 8. Morte d' Abele (1732) Qual diverrà quel fiume,Nel lungo suo cammino,Se al fonte ancor vicinoÉ torbido così? What will the stream become in its lengthened course, if it be so turbid at its source? Part I. L'ape e la serpe spessoSuggon l'istesso umore; The bee and the serpent often sip from the selfsame flower. Part I. Giuseppe Riconosciuto (1733) Se a ciascun l'interno affannoSi leggesse in fronte scritto,Quanti mai, che invidia fanno,Ci farebbero pietà! If our inward griefs were seen written on our brow, how many would be pitied who are now envied! Part I. D'ogni pianta palesa l'aspettoIl difetto, che il tronco nascondePer le fronde, dal frutto, o dal fior. The canker which the trunk conceals is revealed by the leaves, the fruit, or the flower. Part I. Achille in Sciro (1736) Fra l' ombre un lampo soloBasta al nocchier fugaceChe già ritrova il polo,Già riconosce il mar.Al pellegrin ben spessoBasta un vestigio impresso,Perchè la via fallaceNon l'abbia ad ingannar. In the dark a glimmering light is often sufficient for the pilot to find the polar star and to fix his course. To the pilgrim often a single footstep suffices to enable him to find his way across the bewildering plain. Act I, scene 6. Del terreno nel concavo senoVasto incendio se bolle ristretto,A dispetto del carcere indegno,Con più sdegno gran strada si fa.Fugge allora; ma, intanto che fugge,Crolla, abbatte, sovverte, distruggePiani, monti, foreste e città. The fiery lava in the hollow bosom of the earth, if it be restrained, in spite of its prison, bursts forth with greater force; then flows abroad, but, as it flows, subverts, beats down, and overthrows plains, mountains, forests, and cities. Act III, scene 3. Misattributed “È giusta decretazione del Cielo che un traditore non veda il pericolo finché la rovina è vicina.”'' Translation: “It is the just decree of Heaven, that never seeth a traitor his danger, till his ruin is at hand.” External links Category:1698 births Category:1782 deaths Category:Playwrights from Italy Category:Poets from Italy Category:People from Rome