| Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888. | | | | The Author to His Pen | | By Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) |
| | Translated by James Y. Gibson
(Introductory Sonnet to “Journey to Parnassus”) |
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TO deck this frontispiece, since thou dost see | |
| No friend hath offered me a sonnet, none, | |
| Come thou, my ill-cut pen, and make me one, | |
| If not so high flown as it ought to be; | |
| From grave anxiety thou’lt set me free, | 5 |
| I need not then through court and alley run | |
| To beg eulogiums; for I’d rather shun | |
| Such vain and humbling search, I promise thee. | |
| Let rhymes and sonnets go, for aught I care, | |
| To deck the door-posts of the upper few, | 10 |
| Though flattery is at best but common stuff; | |
| And grant me that this “Journey” have its share | |
| Of pungent salt, at least a pinch or two, | |
| I warrant thee ’twill sell; and so enough! | | | |
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