Les Regrets/25

XXIV. 'In the hell of my body, my chained spirit '

Les Regrets ~ XXV written by Joachim Du Bellay translated by A. S. Kline

XXVI. 'If virtue, that’s born from immortal nature'

Les Regrets - XXV. ‘Si la vertu, qui est de nature immortelle’.

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XXV

"If virtue, that’s born from immortal nature"
 
If virtue, that’s born from immortal nature,
As immortal things are the seeds of Heaven,
Showed itself to our eyes, as to our spirits, then,
If our dazed senses could yet take its measure,
 
Not only those who imagine it so to be,
And those to whom vice is monstrous, odious,
But one would see even the wholly vicious
Held by its beauty, loveliest of beauties.
 
If that virtue would be such as left them dazed,
All who might see it, Vineus, are you amazed,
That the image of my princess fills my heart?

If I adore her virtue, and from affection,
Speak so frequently of her perfection,
Does that same virtue from her eyes not dart?

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