The fables of the world have robbed from me
the time allotted for contemplating God,
and not only have I disregarded his graces,
but have turned to sin more with them than without them.
What makes others wise makes me blind and foolish
and slow to recognize my own errors;
though hope is dimming, yet my desire increases
to be set free by you from my self-love.
Shorten by half the road that ascends to heaven,
my dear Lord, and I still will need your help
even to ascend just the remaining half.
Make me despise whatever the world treasures,
and all its beauties I honor and adore,
that I may, before death, secure eternal life.
(The Poetry of Michelangelo: An Annotated Translation By James M. Saslow, pp. 481, Sonnet 288)
本当用来思考神的时间
我浪费于这世上的谎言
它们让我漠视了祂的恩典
将更多的罪恶加于我双肩
使别人精明的却蒙蔽我双眼
愚钝让我对错误的觉察变得缓慢
尽管希望愈加黯淡
我更强烈地盼祢救我于自恋
即使去天堂的路缩短一半
亲爱的主
我仍然需要祢
助我走完剩下的那段
让我藐视世人的珍宝
让我弃绝对俗丽的爱念
这样
永生或降临在我死亡之前
