Tempra nell'onda fresca il sommo ardore

D

didop

New Member
US english
I am trying to translate these Italian captions for prints from the 17th or 18th Century. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Tempra nell'onda fresca il sommo ardore
Dalla fatica opresso il mietitore.

Langue natura il verno in ogni luoco;
L'unico ben che resta all'uom'e' il fuoco.

L'attesa Primavera a noi sen riede
Ne fan'le frondi, e i fior sicura fede.
 
    • Parlo Italiano un po'.
    This is what I have so far:

    Estate (Summer)

    Tempra nell’onda fresca il sommo ardore

    Dalla fatica opresso il mietitore

    The harvester tempers his oppressive fatigue and overheatedness (also passion) in the cool watery waves.



    Inverno (Winter)

    Langue natura il verno in ogni luoco;

    L’unico ben che resta all’uom’e’ il fuoco.

    Winter causes nature to languish in every place,

    The only good that remains for man is the fire.





    Primavera (Spring)

    L’attesa Primavera a noi sen riede

    Ne fan’le frondi, e i fior sicura fede.

    The waiting spring to us

    The branches make and the flowers securely trust.

    (This is the toughest one for me - not sure what "sen riede" means....)
     
    didop said:
    Parlo Italiano un po'.
    This is what I have so far:

    Estate (Summer)

    Tempra nell’onda fresca il sommo ardore
    he (referring to il mietitore) quenches his supreme ardour by a fresh wave
    Dalla fatica opresso il mietitore
    the reaper (meaning the death) is weighed down by his exertion

    The harvester tempers his oppressive fatigue and overheatedness (also passion) in the cool watery waves.



    Inverno (Winter)

    Langue natura il verno in ogni luoco;

    L’unico ben che resta all’uom’e’ il fuoco.

    Winter causes nature to languish in every place :)thumbsup: ),

    The only good (maiybe gift is better) that remains for man is the fire.:)thumbsup: )





    Primavera (Spring)

    L’attesa Primavera a noi sen riede
    the eagerly awaited Spring is smiling on us

    Ne fan’le frondi, e i fior sicura fede.
    leaves and flowers are surely relying on it

    The waiting spring to us

    The branches make and the flowers securely trust.

    (This is the toughest one for me - not sure what "sen riede" means....)
    Click to expand...

    hope it helps though I suggest you to wait for others to post their try :)
     
    Hi didop, here below I give you my own version, I tried to keep the idea of rhyme, but I was not that good... please feel free to rephrase everything, keeping the original meaning. Anyway, what happened to Fall? ;)

    Estate - Summer

    Tempra nell’onda fresca il sommo ardore
    Dalla fatica opresso il mietitore
    The harvester softens his supreme fierce heat
    in the fresh wave, oppressed with fatigue


    Inverno - Winter

    Langue natura il verno in ogni luoco;
    L’unico ben che resta all’uom’e’ il fuoco.
    Winter languishes for nature everywhere,
    Fire to mankind is the only good left.


    Primavera - Spring

    L’attesa Primavera a noi sen riede
    Ne fan’ le frondi, e i fior sicura fede.
    The awaited Spring is back in action
    Leafy branches and flowers surely bear witness.

    Let me know if you have any doubts about my translation, I will explain it, if necessary :) It differs from alfry's.
     
    alfry said:
    Dalla fatica opresso il mietitore
    the reaper (meaning the death) is weighed down by his exertion
    Click to expand...

    I don't think that here "the reaper" means death: for me it is just a reaper - after all the poet is talking about summer, the harvest season.
     
    All very interesting. Is it possible that "sen riede" means something like "comes home to our hearts/breast"? When I looked up riedere, it seemed to mean "coming home to your house/country".... And is "sen" from "seno" - breast?

    thanks!
     
    Yes, riedere is a verb you can find in literature (at least nowadays ;)) and it has the meaning you mentioned. Sen has nothing to do with seno, it's just a reflexive form and should be written as "se ne riede", but it's poetical.

    riedere:
    ritornare, specialmente in patria o alla propria abitazione | tornare ad agire, riprendere a compiere qualcosa.

    So it means that the spring is back in action in front of our eyes. I can't think of a poetic way to express this, but you can try to make it more poetical ;)
     
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