| CHI DICE DEL SUO PADRE ALTRO, CH'ONORE ... |
WHO MERELY DREAMS OF SCOFFING AT HIS DAD ... |
| Cecco Angiolieri | tr. Leonard Cottrell |
|
Chi dice del suo padre altro, ch'onore, la lingua gli dovrebbe esser tagliata; per che son sette le mortal peccata, ma enfra l'altre quell'è lo maggiore. S'eo fosse priete o ver frate minore, al papa fora la mia prima andata; e direi: - Padre Santo, una crociata si faccia indosso a chi lor fa disnore. E s'alcun fosse, per lo su' peccato, che 'n quel stallo ci veniss'a le mani, vorrei che fosse cotto e poi mangiato dagli uomini no, ma da' lupi e cani. Dio mel perdoni, ch'io n'ho già usato motti non bei, ma rustichi e villani. |
Who merely dreams of scoffing at his dad should have his tongue ground up for sausage first, because all seven deadly sins are bad but filial impiety's the worst. Were I a priest or even acolyte, I'd straight off to the pope and set things right: "Holy Father a crusade on those who diss their sires has got to be imposed." "We need an Inquisition," I would say, "and all the disrespectful bums we get we'll cook and have them eaten right away - not by us, which might be deemed excess, but by our dogs." Lord knows how I regret those villainies I've clumsily expressed! |
The Albigensian crusade in what is now southern France was proclaimed in 1208 by Innocent III.
For more of this translator's work see: http://planck.com/rhymedtranslations/versetrans.htm
Trans. Copyright © Leonard Cottrell 2001