Sonnet XXIV
SONNET XXIV.
Quest' anima gentil che si diparte.
ON LAURA DANGEROUSLY ILL.
That graceful soul, in mercy call'd awayBefore her time to bid the world farewell,If welcomed as she ought in the realms of day,In heaven's most blessèd regions sure shall dwell.There between Mars and Venus if she stay,Her sight the brightness of the sun will quell,Because, her infinite beauty to survey,The spirits of the blest will round her swell.If she decide upon the fourth fair nestEach of the three to dwindle will begin,And she alone the fame of beauty win,Nor e'en in the fifth circle may she rest;Thence higher if she soar, I surely trustJove with all other stars in darkness will be thrust.