Falsembiante 
 
  «E' sì vanno lodando la poverta, 
E le ric[c]hez[z]e pescan co' tramagli, 
Ed ivi mettor tutti lor travagli, 
Tutto si cuoprar e' d'altra coverta. 
  Di lor non puo' tu trare cosa certa: 
Se·ttu lor presti, me' val a chitarli; 
Che se·ttu metti pena in ra[c]quistarli, 
Ciascun di lor si ferma in darti perta. 
  E ciascun dice ch'è religïoso 
Perché vesta di sopra grossa lana, 
E 'l morbido bianchetto tien nascoso; 
  Ma già religïone ivi non grana, 
Ma grana nel cuor umile e piatoso 
Che 'n trar sua vita mette pena e ana. 
 
 

False Seeming 
 
      "And so they go about praising poverty,  
and they fish for riches with special nets,  
and there they put all their labor,  
although they cover themselves with a different cloak. 
      From them you can not expect anything certain:  
if you lend them money, it's better just to write it off; 
for if you struggle to get your money back,  
they are all intent on giving you a loss. 
      And each one says he's religious,  
because he dresses in rough wool cloth,  
and keeps the soft white cloth hidden underneath. 
      To be sure, religion does not prosper there,  
but it prospers in the humble and pious heart  
that assumes pain and anguish as it goes through life." 
 

Falsembiante 
 
  «Com'i' v'ò detto, in cuore umile e piano 
Santa religïon grana e fiorisce: 
Religïoso non si inorgoglisce; 
Tuttora il truova l'uon dolce e umano. 
  A cotal gente i' sì do tosto mano, 
Ché vita di nessun no·mm'abelisce 
Se non inganna e baratta e tradisce; 
Ma 'l più ch'i' posso, di lor sì mi strano, 
  Ché con tal gente star ben non potrei; 
C[h]'a voi, gentil signor, ben dire l'oso, 
Che s'i' vi stes[s]e, i' sì mi 'nfignirei. 
  E però il mi' volere i' sì vi chioso, 
Che pender prima i' sì mi lascierei 
Ched i' uscisse fuor di mi' proposo. 
 
 

False Seeming 
 
      "As I've told you, in the humble and modest heart  
holy religion prospers and flourishes;  
a truly religious man is not proud,  
but always kind and mild. 
      To people such as these I yield,  
for the only kind of life I like  
is that of one who deceives and cheats and betrays;  
and so I stay as far away from them as I can, 
      for I could not associate with that kind of people;  
I can tell you, noble Lord,  
that if I were with them, I would surely have to pretend. 
      Therefore, I gloss for you my desire:  
I would rather let myself be hanged  
before I would stray from my purpose." 
 

Fa[l]sembiante 
 
  «Color con cuï sto sì ànno il mondo 
Sotto da lor sì forte aviluppato, 
Ched e' nonn-è nes[s]un sì gran prelato 
C[h]'a lor possanza truovi riva o fondo. 
  Co·mmio baratto ciaschedun afondo: 
Che sed e' vien alcun gra·litterato 
Che voglia discovrir il mi' peccato, 
Co·la forza ch'i' ò, i' sì 'l confondo. 
  Mastro Sighier non andò guari lieto: 
A ghiado il fe' morire a gran dolore 
Nella corte di Roma, ad Orbivieto. 
  Mastro Guiglielmo, il buon di Sant'Amore, 
Fec' i' di Francia metter in divieto 
E sbandir del reame a gran romore. 
 
 

False Seeming 
 
      "Those with whom I pass my time have so firmly  
ensnared the world beneath their feet  
that there is no great prelate  
who can set limits to their power. 
      With my trickery I sink each one of them,  
and if an important man of letters comes along  
who wants to show my sin for what it is,  
I can confound him with the powers I have. 
      Master Siger did not meet a happy end: 
with a sword I made him die with great pain  
in the court of Rome, at Orvieto. 
      As for Master William, the good man of Saint-Amour, 
I had the prohibition placed on him in France  
and had him exiled from the realm with great outcry." 
 

Falso-Sembiante 
 
  «I' sì vo per lo mondo predicando 
E dimostrando di far vita onesta; 
Ogne mi' fatto sì vo' far a sesta, 
E gli altrui penso andar aviluppando. 
  Ma chi venisse il fatto riguardando, 
Ed egli avesse alquanto sale in testa, 
Veder potreb[b]e in che 'l fatto si ne-sta, 
Ma no'l consiglierè' andarne parlando. 
  Ché que' che dice cosa che mi spiaccia, 
O vero a que' che seguor mi' penone, 
E' convien che·ssia morto o messo in caccia, 
  Sanza trovar in noi mai ridenzione 
Né per merzé né per cosa ch'e' faccia: 
E' pur convien ch'e' vada a distruzione». 
 
 

False Seeming 
 
      "And so I go through the world preaching 
and giving the appearance of leading an honest life;  
everything I do, I want to do perfectly,  
and I try to screw up what others are doing. 
      But whoever would look at this matter,  
if he had enough salt in his brain,  
should be able to see things the way they are,  
but I would not advise him to go around talking about it. 
      For the one who says things that displease either me  
or those who follow my banner,  
must either be killed or exiled, 
      without ever gaining our forgiveness,  
either through grace or through his actions:  
he must certainly go to his destruction." 
 

Dio d'Amore e Falsembiante  
 
  Come Falso-Sembiante sì parlava, 
Amor sì 'l prese allora âragionare, 
E dis[s]egli, in rompendo su' parlare, 
C[h]'al su' parer ver' Dio troppo fallava. 
  E poi il domandò se l'uon trovava 
Religïone in gente seculare. 
Que' disse: «Sì, nonn-è mestier dottare 
'Che più che 'n altro luogo ivi fruttava; 
  Chéd e' sareb[b]e troppo gran dolore 
Se ciaschedun su' anima perdesse 
Perché vestisse drappo di colore. 
  Né lui né altri già ciò non credesse': 
Ché 'n ogne roba porta frutto e fiore 
Religïon, ma' che 'l cuor le si desse. 
 
 

The God of Love and False Seeming 
 
      As False Seeming was speaking in that way,  
Love began to address him  
and, interrupting his speech, said  
that, in his opinion, he was sinning against God. 
      And then he asked him if it was possible to find  
religion in lay brothers.  
That one said: "Yes, there's no need to doubt  
that it bore more fruit there than elsewhere; 
      for it would be too great a sorrow  
for everyone to lose his soul,  
because he wore colorful clothing. 
      Neither he nor others would ever believe this:  
because religion produces fruit and flowers in every imaginable guise  
provided that one gives one's heart wholly over to it."