To the Most Illustrious Lady,
The Lady Portia Orsina Celsi

O Portia lovely, who lights the night;
And takes the light to Stars, and obscures the Sun;
To the most shrieking cold lilies, and violets
You open, and break the Diamond, and the frozen consume;
The wings already cut off to a thousand feathered Swans,
Whence it is, which illustrates multitudes at all times in desire,
Your virtue singing, singular and alone,
Of the rule to the tempest, and settle the floods.
But it would be an act to pain a new Homer
To conceive of so many one part alone,
Which adorns your pure and white soul:
Because moreover human thought does not contain,
Not which others describe it in rude letters
The good, which has no fear of dying.

Original rhyme scheme - ABBA/ABBA/CDECDE

Saporita (Savored)
Balletto

In Praise of the Most Illustrious Lady,
The Lady Portia Orsina Celsi.

The ordinary hand of the lady will be taken, and they will do together the Riverenza, with 2 Continenze; then walking, they will do 2 Puntate, with 2 Seguiti semidoppii, 2 Seguiti spezzati, 2 Trabuchetti, and 2 Riprese, starting each thing with the left foot: they will do the same by opposite, with 2 Continenze, 1 to the left, and the other to the right, and the Riverenza in the end.

In the second time, the man alone will do 4 Seguiti semidoppii, 2 forward, and 2 turned to the left, finding him again at the end of these facing to the lady; after together they will do another Seguito semidoppio with the left foot, that is the man forward, and the lady back, with 4 Trabuchetti facing, starting with the right: they will do the same by opposite; then to the left they will do 2 Riprese, 2 Trabuchetti, 1 Seguito spezzato, and the Cadenza with the right: they will do the same to the right, with the Seguito spezzato, and the Cadenza, starting with the right foot; then they will do 1 Passo grave with the left, turning in perspective to the left: and the man taking the right hand of the lady, they will do together the Riverenza with the right: and they will do the same by opposite, taking the left hand.

In the third time, the lady alone will do the same which the man will have done, except that she will do the first Seguiti semidoppii flanked back, and the other 2 in turn facing, they will do them together, as were done in the second change.

In the fourth time, they will do 1 Doppio presto to the left, and 2 Puntate preste, 1 with the right foot flanked forward, and the other with the left back: they will do the same to the right by opposite, that is starting the Doppio with the right, and the Puntate with the left.

In the fifth time, they will take the right hand, and will do 1 Doppio presto with the left, and 4 Trabuchetti with the right: they will do the same by opposite, taking the left hand: after they will do to the left 2 Riprese, 2 Trabuchetti, 1 Seguito spezzato, with the Cadenza, starting it with the left: the same will be done to the right, starting them with the right: the lady will do then 2 Seguiti ordinarii turned to the left, and the man thence will do another 2 forward, taking the lady by the ordinary hand, and they will do together the Riverenza.

Lute tablature, of the Balletto Saporita.

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