La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «Or sì·tti vo' parlar del guernimento, 
Come ciascuna dé andar parata, 
Che per sua falta non fosse lasciata 
Sì ch'ella fosse sanza adornamento. 
  In ben lisciarsi sia su' 'ntendimento; 
Ma, prima che si mostri a la brigata, 
Convien ch'ella si sia ben ispec[c]hiata, 
Che sopra lei non ag[g]ia fallimento. 
  E s'ella va da·ssera o da mattina 
Fuor di sua casa, vada contamente: 
Non vada troppo ritta né tro' china, 
  Sì ch'ella piaccia a chi·lla terrà mente; 
E se·lla roba troppo le traina, 
Levila un poco, e fiene più piacente. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "Now I want to speak with you about your wardrobe,  
about how each woman must be well dressed  
and how through no fault of her own  
she should not be left without proper adornment. 
      Let her goal be to make herself beautiful;  
but, before she shows herself to her friends,  
she must look closely in the mirror  
to be sure she has no blemish. 
      And when she leaves her house  
by night or day she should go elegantly:  
she should not walk too erectly or too bent over, 
      so that she may please those who gaze at her;  
and if her dress touches the ground,  
she should lift it a bit, and will be thus more pleasing." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «E s'ella nonn-è bella di visag[g]io, 
Cortesemente lor torni la testa, 
E sì lor mostri, sanza far aresta, 
Le belle bionde treccie d'avantag[g]io. 
  Se non son bionde, tingale in erbag[g]io 
E a l'uovo, e po' vada a noz[z]e e a festa; 
E, quando va, si muova sì a sesta 
C[h]'al su' muover nonn-ab[b]ia punt'oltrag[g]io. 
  E gentamente vada balestrando 
Intorno a·ssé cogli oc[c]hi a chi la guarda, 
E 'l più che puote ne vad' acrocando. 
  Faccia sembianti che molto le tarda 
Ched ella fosse tutta al su' comando; 
Ma d'amar nullo non fosse musarda. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "And if she does not have a beautiful face,  
let her turn her head toward them in a noble fashion,  
thus showing them without delay  
her very beautiful golden braids. 
      If her hair is not blonde, let her dye it with herbs  
and eggs, and then she may go to weddings and to parties;  
and when she goes about, let her move in such a balanced way  
that her motion is not exaggerated. 
      And with all courtesy let her make crossbows  
of her eyes and take aim at all those who look at her,  
and let her hook as many as she can. 
      Let her pretend that she can't wait  
to be completely at his command,  
but she should not be so foolish as to love anyone." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «La lupa intendo che, per non fallire 
A prender ella pecora o montone, 
Quand' e' le par di mangiar [i]stagione, 
Ne va, per una, un cento e più asalire. 
  Così si dé la femina civire 
Sed ella avesse in sé nulla ragione: 
Contra ciascuno riz[z]ar dé il pennone 
Per fargli nella sua rete fedire; 
  Chéd ella non sa quale riman preso, 
Insin ch'ella no·gli à tarpata l'ala, 
Sì dé tener tuttor l'aiuol su' teso, 
  E prendergli a' gheroni e a la sala; 
Ma se sapesse, o ch'ell'avesse inteso, 
Ch'e' fosse pover, gittil per la scala. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "I hear that, in order not to fail  
to take the sheep or ram, the she-wolf,  
when she thinks it's time to eat,  
attacks more than a hundred to get just one. 
      In this way, the woman must get prepared,  
if she had any sense at all:  
against them all she must raise her flag  
to make them fall into her net. 
      Since she doesn't know who'll be caught  
until she's clipped their wing,  
she must always keep her net stretched out, 
      and capture them in the folds and hems of her dress.  
But if she learned or heard  
that he was poor, then let her throw him down the stairs." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «E s'ella ne prendesse gran funata, 
Di que' che ciaschedun la vuol brocciare, 
Sì si dé ben la femina avisare 
D'assegnar a ciascun la sua giornata: 
  Chéd ella rimar[r]ia troppo 'ngannata 
Se·ll'un l'altro vi potesse trovare, 
C[h]'almen le conver[r]eb[b]e pur fallare 
Alla gioia che ciascun l'avria recata. 
  Ché non si vuol lasciar già lor nïente 
Di ch'e' potesser far grande 'ngrassata, 
Ch'egli è perduto tutto il rimanente. 
  Perciò convien che ciascuna avisata 
Sia, sì che pover rimanga il dolente, 
Ed ella sïa ricca e ben calzata. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "And if she should have a whole line-up  
of those who want to run her through, 
the woman must be careful  
to assign each one his particular day; 
      because she would be betrayed,  
if one were to find the other there;  
for she would at least have to give up  
the jewelry that they brought her. 
      Because one must not leave them anything  
with which they could get fat, 
for all the rest is lost. 
      Therefore, every woman must be shrewd,  
so that the poor man may remain miserable,  
and she may be wealthy and well dressed." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «In poveruon no·metter già tu' amore, 
Ché nonn-è cosa che poveruon vaglia: 
Di lu' non puo' tu aver se non battaglia 
E pena e povertate e gran dolore. 
  Lasciar ti farian robe di colore 
E sovente dormire in su la paglia: 
Non t'intrametter di cotal merda[g]lia, 
Ché troppo i' 'l ti por[r]ia a gran fallore. 
  Né non amar già oste trapassante: 
Però che mutan tante ostellerie 
C[h]'aver non posson cuor fermo né stante; 
  Lor fatti non son che baratterie. 
Ma se·tti donan, non sie rifusante; 
E fa co·llui infinte druderie. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "Don't place your love in a poor man,  
because a poor man is worth nothing:  
from him you can have nothing but arguments  
and anguish and poverty and great pain. 
      They would make you give up beautiful clothing  
and often make you sleep on straw:  
don't let yourself get trapped in that crap,  
because I would say you've made a big mistake. 
      And never love a foreigner passing through:  
because they change their inns so many times,  
they cannot have a faithful or constant heart; 
      their actions are nothing but tricks.  
But if they give you gifts, do not refuse them,  
and make false shows of affection for them."