Costretta-Astinenza
Astinenza-Costretta venne avanti,
E disse: «E' vien comeco in compagnia,
Ché sanza lui civir no·mmi poria,
Tanto non pregherei né Die né ' santi;
E me e sé governa co' sembianti
Che gli 'nsegnò sua madre Ipocresia.
I' porto il manto di papalardia
Per più tosto venir a tempo a' guanti.
E così tra noi due ci governiamo
E nostra vita dimeniàn gioiosa,
Sanza dir cosa mai che noi pensiamo.
La ciera nostra par molto pietosa,
Ma nonn-è mal nes[s]un che non pensiamo,
Ben paià·noi gente relegïosa».
| Forced Abstinence
Forced Abstinence came forward
and said: "He comes as my companion,
because without him, I could not provide for myself,
no matter how much I might pray to God and the Saints.
He governs himself and me according to the ways
his mother Hypocrisy taught him.
I wear the mantle of hypocrisy
in order to gain my rewards more quickly.
And thus we look after each other
and lead a happy life,
without ever saying what we really think.
Our appearance seems very pious,
but there's no evil act that we don't conceive,
although we appear to be religious folk."
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