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."
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