S'el vostro cor, Madonna (Claudio Monteverdi)

Se’l vostro cor, Madonna,
altrui pietoso tanto,
da quel suo degno al mio non degno pianto
talor si rivolgesse
ed una stilla al mio languir ne desse,
forse del mio dolore
vedria l’altrui perfidia e’l proprio errore,
e voi seco direste: ah sapess’io
usar pietà come pietà desìo!

If your heart, Lady,
so soft towards others,
from its own worthy sorrow to my unworthy complaint
should ever turn,
and shed a tear for my complaining,
perhaps from my sorrow
it would come to see the treachery of others and its own mistake
and you would then say: ah, could I only
show mercy as mercy I desire!