La Vec[c]hia
«E al pelar convien aver maniera,
Sì che l'uomo a veder non si ne desse,
Che tutto in pruova l'uon glile facesse:
Forse ch'e' volgeria la sua bandiera.
Ma faccia sì la madre, o ciamberiera,
Od altri in cui fidar ben si potesse,
Che ciascuna di lor sì gli chiedesse
Paternostri o coreg[g]ia od amoniera.
Ancor la cameriera dica: 'Sire,
A questa donna una roba bisogna,
Ma sì vi teme che no'l v'osa dire.
Gran danno l'à già fatto [la] vergogna,
Ma vo' sì no'l dovreste sofferire;
Nonn-à dove le carni sue ripogna'.
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The Old Woman
"And in the skinning process you must have a certain style,
so that it may not be evident
that everything is being done as a kind of game:
perhaps he would change his mind.
But let her mother or the chambermaid,
or someone else whom she could trust,
let anyone of them ask him
for rosaries or a girdle or a purse.
Moreover, let the chambermaid say: 'Sir,
this lady needs a dress,
but she fears you so much that she dares not ask you for it.
Her shameful reluctance has already caused her much harm,
but you should not allow it;
she does not have anything to cover her body'."
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La Vec[c]hia
«Ancor gli dica un'altra de l'ostello:
'Se madonna volesse far fol[l]ag[g]io
Con un bel[l]issim' uon di gran parag[g]io,
Il fatto suo sareb[b]e ben e bello,
E sì sareb[b]e donna d'un castello;
Ma 'nverso voi à sì leal corag[g]io
Ch'ella non prendereb[b]e nul vantag[g]io
Di che doman vo' foste su' ribello'.
Allor la donna, come ch'e' le piaccia
Udir quelle parole, sì lor dica
E comandi che ciascuna si taccia;
E puote dir: 'Se Dio mi benedica,
Tropp' ò del su' quand' i' l'ò tra·lle braccia';
E facciagli sott' al mantel la fica.
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The Old Woman
"Moreover, let another woman of the house say to him:
'If my lady would want to commit an act of folly
with a handsome man of good lineage,
her situation would be fine and dandy,
and thus she would be the lady of a castle;
but towards you she has such a loyal heart
that she would not take any personal profit,
on account of which you would be her enemy tomorrow.'
Then let the lady, although she may like
to hear those words, say to them
and command each of them to be silent;
she can say: 'May God bless me,
I already have so much of him when I have him in my arms';
and let her give him the finger under her cape."
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La Vec[c]hia
«E se·lla donna punto s'avedesse
Che quel dolente fosse ravisato
Che troppo largamente l'à donato,
E ch'e' di sua follia si ripentesse,
Allora in presto domandar dovesse
E dir di renderglile a dì nomato;
Ma egli è ben in mia lezion vietato
Ched ella mai nessun non ne rendesse.
E quando un altro vien, gli faccia segno
Ched ella sia crudelmente cruc[c]iata,
E dica che·lla roba sua sia 'n pegno:
'Molto mi duol c[h]'uon crede ch'i' si'agiata'.
E que' procaccierà danari o 'ngegno,
Sì che la roba sua fie dispegnata.
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The Old Woman
"And if the lady were aware at all
that that sad jerk had understood
that he had given her much too generously
and that he might repent of his foolishness,
then she should ask him to lend her money
and say she'll pay him back on a specific day;
but in my teachings this is forbidden,
because she should never return anything to anyone.
And when another man comes to her, let her give him a sign
that she is cruelly tormented,
and let her say that her dress is in hock:
'It grieves me much that people think I am so wealthy.'
And that one will get her the money or the pawn,
so that her dress may be returned to her."
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La Vec[c]hia
«E se 'l diavol l'avesse fatto sag[g]io,
E che·lla donna veg[g]ia ch'à dottanza
Di non volerle far questa prestanza,
Imantenente sì gli mandi un gaggio:
La roba ch'ell' avrà più d'avantaggio;
E dica che·lla tenga in rimembranza
De' suo' danari, e non faccia mostranza
Ched e' le paia noia né oltrag[g]io.
E poi atenderà alcuna festa,
Pasqua o Kalendi Mag[g]io o Pentecosta,
E sia intorno a·llui sanza far resta,
Dicendo che giamai a la sua costa
Non dormirà, se que' no gl[i]ele presta:
La roba, in questa guisa, sì gl[i]el'osta.
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The Old Woman
"And if, by chance, the devil had made him wise,
and if the lady sees that he is afraid
to make her this loan,
immediately let her send him a pledge:
the best dress that she has.
She should tell him to keep it as a pledge
for his money, and she should not let it be known
that this act seems to bother or offend her.
And then she'll wait for some holiday,
Easter or the calends of May or Pentecost,
and let her be around him all the time,
saying that she will never sleep
at his side, if he does not lend her the money.
In this way, she'll surely take the dress away from him."
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La Vec[c]hia
«E s'alcun altro nonn-à che donare,
Ma vorràssi passar per saramenta,
E dirà che·lla 'ndoman più di trenta
O livre o soldi le dovrà recare,
Le saramenta lor non dé pregiare,
Chéd e' non è nes[s]un che non ti menta;
E dice l'un a l'altro: 'La giomenta
Che·ttu ti sai, mi credette ingannare;
Ingannar mi credette, i' l'ò 'ngannata'.
Per che già femina non dee servire
Insin ch'ella non è prima pagata:
Ché, quando à fatto, e' si pensa fug[g]ire,
Ed ella si riman ivi scornata.
Per molte volte fui a quel martire.
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The Old Woman
"And if there's someone who has nothing to give,
but will want to get away with only a pledge,
he'll say that the next day
he'll bring her more than thirty livre or soldi.
She must not value their pledges,
for there's no one who doesn't lie to you;
one says to another: 'The prostitute,
whom you know, thought she could deceive me;
she thought she could deceive me, but I deceived her!'
For this reason no woman must give herself to anyone
unless she is paid first;
for when he's done it, he plans to run away,
but she remains there scorned.
Many times I found myself in that awful state."
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