La Vec[c]hia
«Or ti dirò, figl[i]uola mia cortese,
Po' che parlar possiamo per ligire
E più arditamente, ver vo' dire,
Che·nnoi non solavàn (quest' è palese):
Tu sì sa' ben ch'i' son di stran paese,
E sì son messa qui per te nodrire;
Sì ti priego, figl[i]uola, che·tt'atire
In saper guadagnar ben tüe spese.
Non ch'i' te dica ch'i' voglia pensare
Che·ttu d'amor per me sie 'nviluppata;
Ma tuttor sì te voglio ricontare
La via ond' io dovrè' esser andata,
E 'n che maniera mi dovea menare
Anzi che mia bieltà fosse passata.
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The Old Woman
"Now I'll tell you, my noble daughter,
since we can speak freely
and more boldly, I must admit,
than we were accustomed to do (this is evident).
You know well that I'm from a foreign country,
and that I'm here to educate you:
thus, my daughter, I beg you to prepare yourself
to learn how to earn your board and keep.
Let me say that I don't intend
for you to become entangled in love's snares because of me;
but I want to tell you all the same
about the road I should have taken,
and how I should have behaved
before my beauty had faded away."
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La Vec[c]hia
«Figl[i]uola mia, chi vuol gioir d'Amore,
Convien ch'e' sap[p]ia i suo' comandamenti.
Ver è ched e' ve n'à due dispiacenti:
Chi se ne 'mbriga, sì fa gran follore.
L'un dice che 'n un sol luogo il tu' cuore
Tu metta, sanza farne partimenti;
L'altro vuol che·ssie largo in far presenti:
Chi di ciò 'l crede, falleria ancore.
I·nulla guisa, figlia, vo' sia larga,
Né che 'l tu' cuor tu metti in un sol loco;
Ma, se mi credi, in più luoghi lo larga.
Se dài presenti, fa che vaglian poco:
Che s'e' ti dona Lucca, dàgli Barga;
Così sarai tuttor donna del g[i]uoco.
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The Old Woman
"My daughter, whoever wants to take delight in Love
must know his commandments.
In truth, two of these are unpleasant:
whoever gets tripped up by these commits great foolishness.
One commandment says that you should give your heart
to only one person and not share it with others;
the second requires generosity in giving gifts:
whoever believes Love in this would make a grave mistake.
In no way, daughter, do I want you to be generous,
nor to put your heart in only one place;
but, if you believe me, spread it out in many places.
And if you give gifts, make sure they're worth little;
if he gives you Lucca, give him Barga.
In this manner you will always control the game."
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La Vec[c]hia
«Donar di femina si è gran follia,
Sed e' non s'è un poco a genti atrare
Là dov'ella si creda su' pro fare,
E che 'l su' don radoppiato le sia.
Quella non tengh' i' già per villania:
Ben ti consento quel cotal donare,
Ché·ttu non vi puo' se non guadagnare;
Gran senn' è a far tal mercatantia.
Agl[i] uomini lasciàn far la larghez[z]a,
Ché Natura la ci à, pez[z]' è, vietata:
Dunque a femina farla si è sempiez[z]a;
Avegna che ciascun' è sì afetata
Che volontier di lei fanno stranez[z]a,
Sed e' non s'è alcuna disperata.
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The Old Woman
"The giving of gifts by a woman is great foolishness,
unless they are small gifts used to lure men
there where she thinks she can have an advantage,
and where her gift can bring her a twofold return.
I don't believe this activity is ignoble:
indeed, I encourage you in this kind of giving,
because you can only gain from it;
it's very wise to make this sort of business deal.
We let men perform these generous acts,
since Nature has forbidden them to us for some time;
thus, for a woman to do this is great foolishness.
To be sure, every woman is of such nature
that she refrains from this sort of generosity,
unless she is desperate."
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La Vec[c]hia
«I' lodo ben, se·ttu vuo' far amico,
Che 'l bel valletto, che tant' è piacente,
Che de le gioie ti fece presente
E àtti amata di gran tempo antico,
Che·ttu sì·ll'ami; ma tuttor ti dico
Che·ttu no·ll'ami troppo fermamente,
Ma fa che degli altr' ami sag[g]iamente,
Ché 'l cuor che·nn'ama un sol, non val un fico.
Ed io te ne chiedrò degl[i] altri assai,
Sì che d'aver sarai tuttor guernita,
Ed e' n'andranno con pene e con guai.
Se·ttu mi credi, e Cristo ti dà' vita,
Tu·tti fodraï d'ermine e di vai,
E la tua borsa fia tuttor fornita.
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The Old Woman
"If you want to have a lover, I certainly approve
of that handsome lad, who is so pleasing,
who gave you the jewels as a gift
and who has loved you for a very long time,
and I approve of your love for him. Nevertheless, I say to you
that you should not love him too loyally,
but make sure that you love others wisely,
for the heart that loves only one person is not worth a fig.
I will seek out lots of other lovers for you,
so that you'll always be well supplied with this sort of wealth,
and they will go around with pain and laments.
If you believe me, and if Christ gives you life,
you will be dressed in ermine and squirrel,
and your purse will always be full."
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La Vec[c]hia
«Buon acontar fa uon c[h]'ab[b]ia danari,
Ma' ched e' sia chi ben pelar li saccia:
Con quel cotal fa buon intrar in caccia,
Ma' ched e' no·gli tenga troppo cari.
L'acontanza a color che·sson avari
Sì par c[h]'a Dio e al mondo dispiaccia:
Non dar mangiar a que' cotali in taccia,
Ché ' pagamenti lor son troppo amari.
Ma fa pur ch'e' ti paghi inanzi mano:
Ché, quand' e' sarà ben volonteroso,
Per la fé ched i' dô a san Germano,
E' non potrà tener nulla nascoso,
Già tanto non fia sag[g]io né certano,
Sed e' sarà di quel disideroso.
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The Old Woman
"It's good to know a man who has money,
provided that someone knows how to skin him;
and it's a good idea to go hunting with this 'someone'
unless he values money too highly.
It appears that associating with avaricious people
is displeasing both to God and to the world:
don't feed such people at a set price,
for payments make them very sad.
But make sure they pay you in advance;
for when he'll be overwhelmed with desire for you,
by the faith I put in Saint Germain,
he'll not be able to keep anything hidden,
no matter how wise and astute he may be,
so desirous will he be for sex."
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