Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). "In the dead silence of the peaceful night." Samuel Waddington, comp. 1888. The Sonnets of Europe

Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888.

“In the dead silence of the peaceful night”

By Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)


Translated by Charles Jarvis From Don Quixote IN the dead silence of the peaceful night,
When others’ cares are hushed in soft repose,
The sad account of my neglected woes
To conscious Heaven and Chloris I recite;
And when the sun, with his returning light,	5
Forth from the east his radiant journey goes,
With accents such as sorrow only knows
My grief to tell is all my poor delight
And when bright Phœbus from his starry throne
Sends rays direct upon the parchèd soil,	10
Still in the mournful tale I persevere;
Returning night renews my sorrow’s toil;
And tho’ from morn to night I weep and moan,
Nor Heaven nor Chloris doth my plainings hear.