De vulgari eloquentia (II, xi, 1-13)

(1) Videtur nobis hec quam habitudinem dicimus maxima pars eius quod artis est; hec etenim circa cantus divisionem atque contextum carminum et rithimorum relationem consistit; quapropter diligentissime videtur esse tractanda. (1) In my opinion, what I call organization is the most important aspect, as far as technique is concerned. It depends, in fact, both on the articulation of the melody and on the combination of verses and the relationship of rhymes: so it must be treated with the greatest care.
(2) Incipientes igitur dicimus quod frons cum versibus, pedes cum cauda vel sirmate, nec non pedes cum versibus, in stantia se habere diversimode possunt. (2) To begin with, then, I say that a frons with its versus, or the pedes with their cauda or sirma, or even pedes with versus, may have differing relationships with one another within a stanza.
(3) Nam quandoque frons versus excedit in sillabis et carminibus, vel excedere potest; et dicimus 'potest', quoniam habitudinem hanc adhuc non vidimus. (3) For sometimes the frons will have more syllables and lines than the versus, or at least it can have - and I say 'can' because I have not yet actually seen a stanza arranged this way.
(4) Quandoque in carminibus excedere et in sillabis superari potest; ut si frons esset pentametra et quilibet versus esset dimeter, et metra frontis eptasillaba et versus endecasillaba essent. (4) Sometimes it may have more lines and fewer syllables, as when the frons has five lines and each of the two versus only two, but the frons is in heptasyllables and the versus in hendecasyllables.
(5) Quandoque versus frontem superant sillabis et carminibus, ut in illa quam diximus, Traggemi de la mente Amor la stiva. Fuit hec tetrametra frons, tribus endecasillabis et uno eptasillabo contexta; non etenim potuit in pedes dividi, cum equalitas carminum et sillabarum requiratur in pedibus inter se, et etiam in versibus inter se. (5) Sometimes the versus will exceed the frons in both number of syllables and number of lines, as in my canzone Traggemi de la mente amor la stiva: [Love draws the bar of my mind] This had a four-line frons, made up of three hendecasyllables and one heptasyllable; and so it could not be divided into pedes, because in the relationship between pedes it is necessary that each have an equal number of lines and syllables, as is also true of versus.
(6) Et quemadmodum dicimus de fronte, dicimus et de versibus. Possent etenim versus frontem superare carminibus et sillabis superari; puta si versus duo essent et uterque trimeter, et eptasillaba metra, et frons esset pentametra, duobus endecasillabis et tribus eptasillabis contexta. (6) And what I have already said about the frons, I will repeat when speaking of versus; for the versus may have more lines and fewer syllables than the frons, as when there are two versus, each of three lines in heptasyllables, and a five-line frons woven out of two lines of eleven syllables and three of seven.
(7) Quandoque vero pedes caudam superant carminibus et sillabis, ut in illa quam diximus, Amor, che movi tua virtù da cielo. (7) Sometimes, moreover, the pedes will have more lines and syllables than the cauda, as in my poem Amor, che movi tua virtù da cielo. [Love, who send your power down from heaven]
(8) Quandoque pedes a sirmate superantur in toto, ut in illa quam diximus, Donna pietosa e di novella etate. (8) Sometimes the pedes will be exceeded by the sirma as a whole, as in the poem in which I wrote Donna pietosa e di novella etate. [A lady, tender in heart and young]
(9) Et quemadmodum diximus frontem posse superare carminibus sillabis superatam, et e converso, sic de sirmate dicimus. (9) And just as I have said of the frons that it may exceed in lines and be exceeded in syllables (and vice versa), so this is also true of the sirma.
(10) Pedes quoque versus in numero superant et superantur ab hiis; possunt enim esse in stantia tres pedes et duo versus, et tres versus et duo pedes; nec hoc numero limitamur, quin liceat plures et pedes et versus similiter contexere. (10) Also, the pedes may exceed the versus in number, or may be exceeded by them; for there may be three pedes and two versus in a stanza, or indeed three versus and two pedes. Nor are we bound by these numbers, for it is quite feasible to go on combining pedes and versus in greater quantities.
(11) Et quemadmodum de victoria carminum et sillabarum diximus inter alia, nunc etiam inter pedes et versus dicimus: nam eodem modo vinci et vincere possunt. (11) And what I have already said about the prevalence of lines and syllables in the other parts of the stanza's organisation, I now repeat about pedes and versus: for in the same way each can either gain or yield the upper hand.
(12) Nec pretermittendum est quod nos e contrario regulatis poetis pedes accipimus; quia illi carmen ex pedibus: nos vero ex carminibus pedem constare dicimus, ut satis evidenter apparet. (12) Nor should I fail to mention the fact that we use the term 'feet' [pedes] in a sense different from that of poets in the regulated language; for they say that a line is made up of feet, whereas for us a foot is made up of lines, as should be clear enough by now.
(13) Nec etiam pretermittendum est quin iterum asseramus pedes ab invicem necessario carminum et sillabarum equalitatem et habitudinem accipere; quia non aliter cantus repetitio fieri posset. Hoc idem in versibus esse servandum astruimus. (13) Nor, again, should I fail to reiterate the following point: that in their mutual relationship the pedes should be equal, in both number of lines and number of syllables, as well as in their organization; for otherwise it will not be possible to repeat their melody exactly. And I hold that this principle is also to be observed in the versus.