| Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888. | | | | Thanks for a Gift | | By Michelangelo (1475–1564) |
| | Translated by John Addington Symonds
THE SUGAR, candles, and the saddled mule, | |
| Together with your cask of malvoisie, | |
| So far exceed all my necessity | |
| That Michael and not I my debt must rule. | |
| In such a glassy calm the breezes fool | 5 |
| My sinking sails, so that amid the sea | |
| My bark hath missed her way, and seems to be | |
| A wisp of straw whirled on a weltering pool. | |
| To yield thee gift for gift and grace for grace, | |
| For food and drink and carriage to and fro, | 10 |
| For all my need in every time and place, | |
| O my dear lord, matched with the much I owe, | |
| All that I am were no real recompense: | |
| Paying a debt is not munificence. | | | | |
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