Dio d'Amore e Falsembiante
«Dì, Falsembiante: in che maniera puote
Seguire Idio chi à tutto venduto,
Ed àllo tutto a' pover' dispenduto,
E le sue borse son rimase vote,
Ed è forte e possente e à grosse gote?
Gli sarebbe per dritto conceduto
C[h]'a trar sua vita domandasse aiuto,
Come quest'altri che·ttu or mi note?».
«Dico di no: che se Dio fe' comando
C[h]'on desse tutto a' poveri, e po' 'L sieva,
La Sua 'ntenzion non fu in truandando,
E questo intendimento ti ne lieva,
Ma con buon' opre tuttor lavorando,
C[h]'uon forte in truandar l'anima grieva.
| The God of Love and False Seeming
"Tell me, False Seeming: in what way can a man
follow God, who has sold everything
and given it to the poor,
and whose purse remains empty,
and who is strong and vigorous and has fleshy cheeks?
Would it be right to allow him
to beg in order to survive,
just like the others whom you've listed for me now?"
"The answer is no; because when God ordered
that one should give everything to the poor, and then follow Him,
His intention was not concerned with begging for alms
--and get this opinion out of your head
but rather with working always toward good ends,
for a strong man who begs weighs down his soul."
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