La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «S'avessi messo termine a un'ora 
A due, c[h]'avresti fatto gran follia, 
E l'un conteco in camera sia, 
E l'altro viene apresso san' dimora, 
  Al di dietro dirai ch'egl[i] è ancora 
El signor tuo lassù; ch'e' non poria 
Far dimoranza, ma tost' una fia: 
'Il fante o voi, tornate a poca d'ora'. 
  E poi sì 'l butti fuori e torni suso, 
E trag[g]a l'altro fuor della burella, 
Che molto gli è anoiato star rinchiuso; 
  Po' i trag[g]a la guarnac[c]a e la gonella, 
Dicendo ch'ell' è tanto stata giuso 
Per lo marito ch'era nella cella. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "If you've made appointments for the same hour  
with two men --and in this you've been very foolish--  
suppose that one of them is with you in the bedroom,  
and the other one arrives immediately afterwards, 
      to this second one you will say that  
your husband is still upstairs, and that he should not  
be there too much longer, but one of the following will occur:  
'Either you or your servant, come back shortly.' 
      And then she should kick him out and go back upstairs, 
and bring the other one out of the hiding place,  
where he has not appreciated being locked up; 
      and then she should take off her robe and dress,  
saying that she had to be downstairs so long  
because of her husband, who was in the cellar." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «Ne·letto su' si metta in braccio in braccio 
Co·llui insiem' e faccian lor diporto; 
Ma dica tuttor: 'Lassa, crudel torto 
E` questo che 'nverso il mi' sire faccio'. 
  E nella gioia c[h]'à, gli metta impaccio, 
Sì ch'egli ab[b]ia paura e disconforto: 
Dicer li dëe ch'e' sarebbe morto, 
Sanz' averne rispetto, molt' avaccio, 
  Se·ll'uon sapesse ch'e' fosse co·llei: 
'Ed i' lassa dolente, malaurata, 
So che vitiperata ne sarei 
  E ch'i' per man de' mie' sarè' ismembrata'. 
E in questa paura i' 'l metterei, 
Che da lui ne sareb[b]e più amata. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "In her bed she should embrace him,  
and together have their pleasure;  
but she should say over and over: 'O wretched me!  
This is a terrible wrong I'm doing to my husband.' 
      And in the midst of his joy, she should introduce this difficulty,  
so that he may be afraid and uneasy:  
she must say to him that he would be killed  
without any consideration and quickly, 
      if it were known that he was with her:  
'And poor wretched me, unlucky one,  
I know that I would be maligned, 
      and torn apart at the hands of my relatives.' 
I would put him in this state of fear,  
so that she would be loved by him even more." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «Quand' a quel lavorio messi saranno, 
Ben sag[g]iamente deg[g]ian operare, 
E l'un atender e l'altro studiare, 
Secondo ch'egli al[l]or si sentiranno; 
  Né sì non dé parer lor già affanno 
Di voler ben a modo mantacare, 
C[h]'amendue insieme deg[g]ian afinare 
Lor dilettanza; e dimorasse un anno! 
  E se·lla donna non v'à dissïanza, 
Sì 'nfinga in tutte guise che vi sia, 
Sì gline mostri molto gran sembianza: 
  Istringa 'l forte e basci 'l tuttavia; 
Quando l'uom' avrà süa dilettanza, 
Sì paia ch'ella tramortita sia. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "When they'll be engaged in that work,  
they should work together wisely;  
one should slow down and the other quicken the pace,  
according to what their senses tell them. 
      Their desire to move and pant like bellows  
should hardly seem painful to them,  
for both of them together should refine  
their pleasure; and would that it would last a year! 
      And if the lady does not have the supreme delight, 
she should pretend in every possible way that she is about to,  
and show in her appearance that this is so: 
      let her squeeze him tightly and kiss him constantly;  
when the man has had his pleasure,  
she should pretend to faint." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «Se l'uon può tanto far ched ella vada 
Al su' albergo la notte a dormire, 
Sì dé alla femina ben sovenire 
Ched ella il faccia star un poco a bada. 
  E que', che guarderà tuttor la strada, 
Certana sie ch'e' li parrà morire 
Insin ched e' no·lla vedrà venire: 
Ché·ll'amor c[h]'uom' atarda, vie più agrada. 
  E quand' ella sarà a l'ostel venuta, 
Sì dica a que', che·nn' è sì amoroso, 
Ched ella per su' amor tropp' è arguta; 
  Ché 'l su' marito n'è troppo geloso, 
Sì che dubita molto esser battuta: 
Così gli faccia forte il päuroso. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "If the man arranges for her to go 
to his house to sleep overnight, 
the woman must remember 
to make him wait a bit. 
      You may be sure that the man, who'll be 
constantly watching the street, will think he'll die 
before he sees her coming; 
for love delayed is much more satisfying. 
      And when she has arrived at his house, 
she should say to that one who's so in love with her 
that for love of him she's become very bold; 
      her husband is so jealous of her, 
that she fears she'll be beaten: 
thus, let [her] play well the role of the fearful one for him." 
 

La Vec[c]hia 
 
  «Se quel geloso la tien sì fermata 
Ch'ella non poss' andar là ov'ella vuole, 
Sì gli faccia intendente che·ssi duole 
D'una sua gotta, che d'averl' è usata: 
  Per ch'e' convien ch'ella sïa stufata, 
Ché colla stufa guerir se ne suole; 
Po' bullirà ramerin e vïuole 
E camamilla e salvia, e fie bagnata. 
  E 'l geloso dirà: 'Va arditamente, 
E mena teco buona compagnia'; 
Ma molto ne fia nel su' cuor dolente, 
  Ma vede ch'e' desdir no·gliel poria. 
Quella mena conseco alcuna gente, 
La qual sapranno ben sua malatia. 
 
 

The Old Woman 
 
      "If that jealous one keeps her so locked up  
that she cannot go wherever she wants,  
she should make him believe that she is suffering  
from a case of gout, which she's had for some time; 
      for this reason she must go to the baths,  
since this sickness is usually cured with hot baths.  
Then she will boil rosemary and violets  
and camomile and sage, and bathe in this solution. 
      And the jealous husband will say: 'Go freely,  
and take some good companions with you';  
but in his heart he will be very sad, 
      but he sees that he can not prevent her from going.  
She takes some companions with her,  
who will know her sickness well ."