La Vec[c]hia
«Né non amar già uon che 'n sua bel[l]ez[z]a
Si fidi, né ch'egli a lisciarsi 'ntenda:
In quel cotal non vo' che·ttu t'intenda,
Ma 'l più che puo', da·llu' fa ïstranez[z]a.
L'uon che si piace, fa gran scipidez[z]a
E grand' orgoglio, e l'ira di Dio atenda;
E Tolemeo sì 'l dice in sua leg[g]enda,
C[h]'aver non p[u]ote amore né franchez[z]a;
Né non puote aver cuor di ben amare:
Ché tutto ciò ch'egli avrà detto a l'una,
Sì tosto il va a l'altra ricontare;
E così pensa a far di ciascheduna,
Né non intende c[h]'a·llor barattare:
Udita n'ò la pianta di più d'una.
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The Old Woman
"Never love a man who's taken
with his own beauty, nor one who likes to preen:
I don't want you to fall in love with such a man,
but stay as far away from him as you can.
The man who likes himself is very foolish
and proud: may he receive God's fury;
and Ptolemy says in his work
that such a man cannot have love and spiritual freedom.
Nor can he have a heart that loves nobly,
because all that he has said to one woman,
he will just as quickly repeat to another;
and in this way he plans to deal with every woman
and intends only to deceive them:
I have heard the lament of more than one."
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La Vec[c]hia
«E s'e' viene alcuno che·tti prometta,
E per promessa vuol c[h]'a·llui t'attacci,
I' non vo' già perciò che·ttu lo scacci,
Ma digli c[h]'altro termine ti metta,
Perciò c[h]'avrai allor troppo gran fretta;
E sì vo' ben che 'l basci e che·ll'abracci,
Ma guarda che co·llui più non t'impacci,
S'e' non iscioglie prima la maletta.
O s'alcun ti mandasse alcuno scritto,
Sì guarda ben la sua intenzïone,
Ched e' non ab[b]ia fintamente scritto;
E poi sì gl[i]ene fa risponsïone,
Ma non sì tosto: atendi un petitto,
Sì ch'egli un poco stea in sospez[z]one.
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The Old Woman
"And if someone comes along who makes you promises
and wants you to attach yourself to him with promises,
I don't want you to send him away for this reason,
but tell him to give you another deadline,
since you will then be in too great a rush.
And so I want you to kiss and embrace him,
but be careful not to get too involved with him
unless he unties his purse strings first.
And if someone were to send you a written note,
make sure that you know his intention
and that he has not written with deception in mind;
and then give him an answer,
but not too quickly: wait a little bit,
so that he may be in suspense for a little while."
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La Vec[c]hia
«E quando tu udirai la sua domanda,
Già troppo tosto non sie d'acordanza,
Né non fare di lui gran rifusanza:
Nostr' arte sì no'l vuol né no'l comanda.
Cortesemente da·tte sì 'l nemanda,
E stea il su' fatto tuttora in bilanza,
Sì ch'egli ab[b]ia paura ed isperanza
Insin ch'e' sia del tutto a tua comanda.
E quand' e' ti farà più pregheria,
Tu gli dirai tuttor che·ttu sie presta
A fargli tutta quanta cortesia,
E dì che 'l su' amor forte ti molesta;
E così caccia la paura via.
Po' dimora con lui e fagli festa.
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The Old Woman
"And when you hear his amorous request,
don't give yourself to him too quickly,
but don't give him a great refusal either:
our amorous art neither wants nor requires this.
Send him away from you politely,
and may his state always be uncertain,
so that he may have both fear and hope
until he is completely at your command.
And when he will beg you even more,
you'll always tell him that you're ready
to grant him all manner of courtesy,
and tell him that his love makes you suffer terribly;
by so doing you chase away his fear.
Then stay with him and give him warm welcome."
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La Vec[c]hia
«Gran festa gli farai e grand'onore,
E dì come gli ti se' tutta data,
Ma non per cosa ch'e' t'ag[g]ia donata,
Se non per fino e per leal amore;
Che·ttu à' rifiutato gran signore,
Che riccamente t'avreb[b]e dotata:
'Ma credo che m'avete incantata,
Per ched i' son entrata in quest'errore'.
Allor sì 'l bascierai istrettamente,
Pregando'l che·lla cosa sia sagreta,
Sì che no'l senta mai nessuna gente.
A·cciò ch'e' vorrà fare, istarà' cheta;
Ma guarda che non fosse aconsentente
A nessun, se non se per la moneta.
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The Old Woman
"You'll welcome him most warmly and with great honor
and say that you've given yourself completely to him,
but not for anything that he may have given you,
but only through noble and faithful love.
Say that you have refused an eminent lord,
who would have given you much wealth:
'But I believe that you've bewitched me,
for which reason I'm caught up in this passionate error.'
Then you'll kiss him long and hard,
begging him to keep your love a secret,
so that no one will ever know about it.
To anything he'll want to do, you'll agree silently,
but be careful not to consent
to any one, except for money."
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La Vec[c]hia
«Chi 'l su' amico non cessa di pelare
Infin ch'egli ag[g]ia penna in ala o in dosso
E che d'ogn' altro bene e' sia sì scosso
Ched e' non si ne possa mai volare,
Quella cotal dovria l'uon maneg[g]iare:
Ché, quanto ch'ella costa più di grosso,
Più fia tenuta cara, dirlo posso,
E più la vorrà que' tuttor amare.
Ché·ttu non pregi nulla cosa mai
Se nonn-è quel che·ttu n'avrà' pagato:
Se poco costa, poco il pregerai;
E quel che·tti sarà as[s]ai costato,
A l'avenante caro il ti terrai,
Con tutto n'ag[g]ie tu ben mal mercato.
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The Old Woman
"Whoever has no difficulty in skinning her friend,
as long as he has feathers left on his wing or back
or until he is deprived of every other good
so that he can no longer fly,
in this way she should handle the man:
for I can say that the more she costs
the more precious she will be held,
and the more he will always want to love her.
Because you never value anything very highly
except that for which you have paid:
if it costs little, little will you value it;
and that which has cost you a lot,
in comparison you will hold it dear,
although you may be making a really bad deal."
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