Torquato Tasso.

Princess.

That can touch me little, Leonore,
When I consider how little one is,
And that what one is, one owed to others.
The knowledge of ancient languages and of the best
That the past left us, I owe to my mother.
Yet in science, in a proper sense,
Neither of her daughters was ever her equal;
And if I must compare one with her,
Then Lucretia certainly has the right.
Also, I can assure you that I have never
Regarded as rank or as possession that which
Nature and fortune bestowed upon me.
I am happy when wise men speak,
That I can understand what they mean.
Whether it be a judgment on a man
Of the ancient world and the worth of his deeds,
Or if there be talk of a science
Which, further expanded through experience,
Benefits mankind by elevating it;