Chapter 33

[226]Venetian contraction ofCasa, house.Da Ca Quirino, of the Quirino house or family.

[227]cf.Artemus Ward's "Natives of the Universe and other parts."

[228]Mo vedi vu, Venetian forOr vedi tu, now dost thou see? I have rendered it by the equivalent old English form.

[229]i.e.not of the trap laid for him by the lady's brothers-in-law, but of her indiscretion in discovering the secret.

[230]Che xe quel?Venetian forche c'e quella cosa, What is this thing?

[231]i.e.semble"an you would wish them nought but an ill end."

[232]i.e.to anger.

[233]i.e.to the proposal I have to make.

[234]i.e.the possession of their mistresses.

[235]Sic (di che veleno fosse morto), but this is probably a copyist's error forche di veleno fosse morto,i.e.that he had died of poison.

[236]i.e.that night.

[237]Or, in modern parlance, "laying certain plans."

[238]i.e.for lack of wind.

[239]i.e.of each other.

[240]This is the proper name of the heroine of the story immortalized by Keats as "Isabella or the Pot of Basil," and is one of the many forms of the and nameElisabetta(Elizabeth),IsabettaandIsabellabeing others. Some texts of the Decameron call the heroineIsabetta, but in the heading only, all with which I am acquainted agreeing in the use of the formLisabettain the body of the story.

[241]i.e.to the place shown her in the dream.

[242]i.e.in their service.

[243]Lit. unhung (spiccò).

[244]The following is a translation of the whole of the song in question, as printed, from a MS. in the Medicean Library, in Fanfani's edition of the Decameron.Alack! ah, who can the ill Christian be,That stole my pot away,My pot of basil of Salern, from me?'Twas thriv'n with many a sprayAnd I with mine own hand did plant the tree,Even on the festal[A]day.'Tis felony to waste another's ware.'Tis felony to waste another's ware;Yea, and right grievous sin.And I, poor lass, that sowed myself whilereA pot with flowers therein,Slept in its shade, so great it was and fair;But folk, that envious bin,Stole it away even from my very door.'Twas stolen away even from my very door.Full heavy was my cheer,(Ah, luckless maid, would I had died tofore!)Who brought[B]it passing dear,Yet kept ill ward thereon one day of fear.For him I loved so sore,I planted it with marjoram about.I planted it with marjoram about,When May was blithe and new;Yea, thrice I watered it, week in, week out,And watched how well it grew:But now, for sure, away from me 'tis ta'en.Ay, now, for sure, away from me 'tis ta'en;I may 't no longer hide.Had I but known (alas, regret is vain!)That which should me betide,Before my door on guard I would have lainTo sleep, my flowers beside.Yet might the Great God ease me at His will.Yea, God Most High might ease me, at His will,If but it liked Him well,Of him who wrought me such unright and ill;He into pangs of hellCast me who stole my basil-pot, that stillWas full of such sweet smell,Its savour did all dole from me away.All dole its savour did from me away;It was so redolent,When, with the risen sun, at early dayTo water it I went,The folk would marvel all at it and say,"Whence comes the sweetest scent?"And I for love of it shall surely die.Yea, I for love of it shall surely die,For love and grief and pain.If one would tell me where it is, I'd buyIt willingly again.Fivescore gold crowns, that in my pouch have I,I'd proffer him full fain,And eke a kiss, if so it liked the swain.

[244]The following is a translation of the whole of the song in question, as printed, from a MS. in the Medicean Library, in Fanfani's edition of the Decameron.

Alack! ah, who can the ill Christian be,That stole my pot away,My pot of basil of Salern, from me?'Twas thriv'n with many a sprayAnd I with mine own hand did plant the tree,Even on the festal[A]day.'Tis felony to waste another's ware.

'Tis felony to waste another's ware;Yea, and right grievous sin.And I, poor lass, that sowed myself whilereA pot with flowers therein,Slept in its shade, so great it was and fair;But folk, that envious bin,Stole it away even from my very door.

'Twas stolen away even from my very door.Full heavy was my cheer,(Ah, luckless maid, would I had died tofore!)Who brought[B]it passing dear,Yet kept ill ward thereon one day of fear.For him I loved so sore,I planted it with marjoram about.

I planted it with marjoram about,When May was blithe and new;Yea, thrice I watered it, week in, week out,And watched how well it grew:But now, for sure, away from me 'tis ta'en.

Ay, now, for sure, away from me 'tis ta'en;I may 't no longer hide.Had I but known (alas, regret is vain!)That which should me betide,Before my door on guard I would have lainTo sleep, my flowers beside.Yet might the Great God ease me at His will.

Yea, God Most High might ease me, at His will,If but it liked Him well,Of him who wrought me such unright and ill;He into pangs of hellCast me who stole my basil-pot, that stillWas full of such sweet smell,Its savour did all dole from me away.

All dole its savour did from me away;It was so redolent,When, with the risen sun, at early dayTo water it I went,The folk would marvel all at it and say,"Whence comes the sweetest scent?"And I for love of it shall surely die.

Yea, I for love of it shall surely die,For love and grief and pain.If one would tell me where it is, I'd buyIt willingly again.Fivescore gold crowns, that in my pouch have I,I'd proffer him full fain,And eke a kiss, if so it liked the swain.

[A]Quære—natal?—perhaps meaning her birthday (lo giorno della festa).

[B]Or "purchased" in the old sense of obtained, acquired (accattai).

[245]i.e.these two classes of folk.

[246]i.e.to the encouragement of good and virtuous actions and purposes.

[247]Or "lap" (seno).

[248]Lit. what meaneth this? (che vuol dire questo?)

[249]Lit. complaining, making complaint (dolendosi).

[250]i.e.to attend the ecclesiastical function called a Pardon, with which word, used in this sense, Meyerbeer's opera of Dinorah (properlyLe Pardon de Ploërmel) has familiarized opera-goers. A Pardon is a sort of minor jubilee of the Roman Catholic Church, held in honour of some local saint, at which certain indulgences and remissions of sins (hence the name) are granted to the faithful attending the services of the occasion.

[251]i.e.Bandy-legs.

[252]Ristretti in sè gli spiriti.An obscure passage; perhaps "holding his breath" is meant; but in this case we should read "lo spirito" instead of "gli spiriti."

[253]i.e.what course she should take in the matter,consiglioused as before (see notes, pp.2and150) in this special sense.

[254]i.e.her heart.

[255]Or surfeited (svogliato).

[256]This is the well-known story of the Troubadour Guillem de Cabestanh or Cabestaing, whose name Boccaccio alters to Guardastagno or Guardestaing.

[257]A proverbial way of saying that he was fast asleep.

[258]i.e.about half-past seven a.m.

[259]Or "having risen from the grinding" (levatasi dal macinio).

[260]i.e.the theme proposed by her.

[261]i.e.on my heart.

[262]i.e.death.

[263]Or farm (villa).

[264]i.e.of music, vocal and instrumental.

[265]Per fortuna.This may also be rendered "by tempest,"fortunabeing a name for a squall or hurricane, which Boccaccio uses elsewhere in the same sense.

[266]i.e.thy spirit.

[267]Syn. inclinations (affezioni). This is a somewhat obscure passage, owing to the vagueness of the wordaffezioni(syn.affetti) in this position, and may be rendered, with about equal probability, in more than one way.

[268]Or "eminent" (valoroso),i.e.in modern parlance, "a man of merit and talent."

[269]Valoroso nel suo mestiere.It does not appear that Martuccio was a craftsman and it is possible, therefore, that Boccaccio intended the wordmestiereto be taken in the sense (to me unknown) of "condition" or "estate," in which case the passage would read, "a man of worth for (i.e.as far as comported with) his [mean] estate"; and this seems a probable reading.

[270]Lit. necessity (necessità).

[271]i.e.to use a new (or strange) fashion of exposing herself to an inevitable death (nuova necessità dare alla sua morte).

[272]i.e.knew not whether she was ashore or afloat, so absorbed was she in her despair.

[273]Or "augured well from the hearing of the name."Carapresasignifies "a dear or precious prize, gain or capture."

[274]This name is apparently a distortion of the ArabicAmir Abdullah.

[275]Clement V. early in the fourteenth century removed the Papal See to Avignon, where it continued to be during the reigns of the five succeeding Popes, Rome being in the meantime abandoned by the Papal Court, till Gregory XI, in the year 1376 again took up his residence at the latter city. It is apparently to this circumstance that Boccaccio alludes in the text.

[276]Lit. stand (stare),i.e.abide undone.

[277]i.e.a native of Faenza (Faentina).

[278]A questo fatto,i.e.at the storm of Faenza.

[279]i.e.the owner of the plundered house.

[280]Iron., meaning "with how little discretion."

[281]Gianni (Giovanni) di Procida was a Sicilian noble, to whose efforts in stirring up the island to revolt against Charles of Anjou was mainly due the popular rising known as the Sicilian Vespers (a.d.1283) which expelled the French usurper from Sicily and transferred the crown to the house of Arragon. The Frederick (a.d.1296-1337) named in the text was the fourth prince of the latter dynasty.

[282]William II. (a.d.1166-1189), the last (legitimate) king of the Norman dynasty in Sicily, called the Good, to distinguish him from his father, William the Bad.

[283]Apparently a pleasure-garden, without a house attached in which they might have taken shelter from the rain.

[284]i.e.of her sin.

[285]Syn. your charms (la vostra vaghezza).

[286]i.e.she was grown so repulsively ugly in her old age, that no one cared to do her even so trifling a service as giving her a spark in tinder to light her fire withal.

[287]Or chokebits (stranguglioni).

[288]i.e.that they may serve to purchase remission from purgatory for the souls of her dead relatives, instead of the burning of candles and tapers, which is held by the Roman Catholic Church to have that effect.

[289]i.e.a hypocritical sham devotee, covering a lewd life with an appearance of sanctity.

[290]Lit. a due or deserved bite (debito morso). I mention this to show the connection with teeth.

[291]An ellipsis of a kind common in Boccaccio and indeed in all the old Italian writers, meaning "it may be useful to enlarge upon the subject in question."

[292]The songs proposed by Dioneo are all apparently of a light, if not a wanton, character and "not fit to be sung before ladies."

[293]This singularly naïve give-and-take fashion of asking a favour of a God recalls the old Scotch epitaph cited by Mr. George Macdonald:Here lie I Martin Elginbrodde:Hae mercy o' my soul, Lord God;As I wad do, were I Lord GodAnd ye were Martin Elginbrodde.

[293]This singularly naïve give-and-take fashion of asking a favour of a God recalls the old Scotch epitaph cited by Mr. George Macdonald:

Here lie I Martin Elginbrodde:Hae mercy o' my soul, Lord God;As I wad do, were I Lord GodAnd ye were Martin Elginbrodde.

[294]Lit. for their returning to consistory (del dovere a concistoro tornare).

[295]Messer Mazza,i.e.veretrum.

[296]Monte Nero,i.e.vas muliebre.

[297]i.e.who are yet a child, in modern parlance, "Thou whose lips are yet wet with thy mother's milk."

[298]i.e.women's.

[299]See ante, p.43, Introduction to the last story of the First Day.

[300]Lit. Family wine (vin da famiglia),i.e.no wine for servants' or general drinking, but a choice vintage, to be reserved for special occasions.

[301]A silver coin of about the size and value of our silver penny, which, when gilded, would pass muster well enough for a gold florin, unless closely examined.

[302]Il palio, a race anciently run at Florence on St. John's Day, as that of the Barberi at Rome during the Carnival.

[303]Lit. knowing not whence himself came.

[304]Or, as we should say, "in his own coin."

[305]A commentator notes that the adjunction to the world of the Maremma (cf. Elijer Goff, "The Irish Question has for some centuries been enjoyed bythe universe and other parts") produces a risible effect and gives the reader to understand that Scalza broaches the question only by way of a joke. The same may be said of the jesting inversion of the word philosophers (phisopholers,Fisofoli) in the next line.

[306]Baronci, the Florentine name for what we should call professional beggars, "mumpers, chanters and Abrahammen," calledBariandBarocciin other parts of Italy. This story has been a prodigious stumbling-block to former translators, not one of whom appears to have had the slightest idea of Boccaccio's meaning.

[307]i.e.of the comical fashion of the Cadgers.

[308]An abbreviation of Francesca.

[309]"Or her."

[310]Lit. to avoid or elude a scorn (fuggire uno scorno).

[311]Cipollameans onion.

[312]The term "well-wisher" (benivogliente), when understood in relation to a woman, is generally equivalent (at least with the older Italian writers) to "lover." See ante, passim.

[313]Diminutive of contempt of Arrigo, contracted from Arriguccio,i.e.mean little Arrigo.

[314]i.e.Whale.

[315]i.e.Dirt.

[316]i.e.Hog.

[317]A painter of Boccaccio's time, of whom little or nothing seems to be known.

[318]Perpendo lo coreggia.The exact meaning of this passage is not clear. The commentators make sundry random shots at it, but, as usual, only succeed in making confusion worse confounded. It may perhaps be rendered, "till his wind failed him."

[319]Said by the commentators to have been an abbey, where they made cheese-soup for all comers twice a week; hence "the caldron of Altopascio" became a proverb; butquæreis not the name Altopascio (high feeding) a fancy one?

[320]It does not appear to which member of this great house Boccaccio here alludes, but the Châtillons were always rich and magnificent gentlemen, from Gaucher de Châtillon, who followed Philip Augustus to the third crusade, to the great Admiral de Coligny.

[321]Sic (star con altrui); but "being in the service of or dependent upon others" seems to be the probable meaning.

[322]Apparently the Neapolitan town of that name.

[323]The name of a famous tavern in Florence (Florio).

[324]Quærea place in Florence? One of the commentators, with characteristic carelessness, states that the places mentioned in the preachment of Fra Cipolla (an amusing specimen of the patter-sermon of the mendicant friar of the middle ages, that ecclesiastical Cheap Jack of his day) are all names of streets or places of Florence, a statement which, it is evident to the most cursory reader, is altogether inaccurate.

[325]Apparently the island of that name near Venice.

[326]i.e.Nonsense-land.

[327]i.e.Land of Tricks or Cozenage.

[328]i.e.Falsehood, Lie-land.

[329]i.e.paying their way with fine words, instead of coin.

[330]i.e.making sausages of them.

[331]Bachi, drones or maggots.Pastinacameans "parsnip" and is a meaningless addition of Fra Cipolla's fashion.

[332]A play of words upon the primary meaning (winged things) of the wordpennate, hedge-bills.

[333]i.e.The Word [made] flesh. Get-thee-to-the-windows is only a patter tag.

[334]Or Slopes or Coasts (piaggie).

[335]?

[336]Industriain the old sense of ingenuity, skilful procurement, etc.

[337]i.e.the tale-telling.

[338]Lit. the northern chariot (carro di tramontana);quærethe Great Bear?

[339]Alluding to the subject fixed for the next day's discourse, as who should say, "Have you begun already to play tricks upon us men in very deed, ere you tell about them in words?"

[340]See p.144, note 2.

[341]i.e.pene arrecto.

[342]i.e.a fattened capon well larded.

[343]i.e.eggs.

[344]So called from the figure of a lily stamped on the coin; cf. our rose-nobles.

[345]i.e.the discarded vanities aforesaid.

[346]i.e.the other ex votos.

[347]There is apparently some satirical allusion here, which I cannot undertake to explain.

[348]Syn. professor of the liberal arts (artista).

[349]i.e.inhabitants of Arezzo.

[350]Riporre, possibly a mistake forriportare, to fetch back.

[351]Lit. wished her all his weal.

[352]Boccaccio writes carelessly "foraught" (altro), which makes nonsense of the passage.

[353]Or, in modern parlance, "twopennny-halfpenny."

[354]Syn. encourager, helper, auxiliary (confortatore).

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