In Italian

Bilderdijk translated various poems from Italian, wrote a number of Italian verses himself and was always happy to share an Italian quote or motto. In 1822 he made a Dutch adaptation of Byron's little hymn to Italian, beginning with the words:

I love thee tenderly, o language of lust and luxury, That cultivated stern Latin in eager fornication; That like the kiss on tender lips melts, And the heart flows with Love's universal strength.

More than 25 years earlier, Bilderdijk was confronted with that ‘universal strength’ of love stimulated by the Italian language. While in exile in London, he taught Italian to Katharina Wilhelmina Schweickhardt and her sister. For a while, Bilderdijk and Katharina sent each other letters in Italian almost daily. For example, on July 27, 1796, he wrote to her: ô Mia Divinità; voi che leggete nel mio cuore, nei miei pensieri; che ne siete l’unico oggetto, l’unico idole; e a cui tutti miei sentimenti sono aperti’ (O my Divine one; thou who reads in my heart, in my mind; who is its only object, its only idol; and to whom all my feelings are known.)

Titles such as ‘Adoratissima Mia’, ‘Adorabilissima Donna’ and ‘Mia Vita’ also show that Bilderdijk had completely lost sight of the usual manners between teacher and student.