belIeve me yr
faIthful
PETRUS GENARIIS"
?
?
Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound
6
? LIes heavy m my arms, dead we1ght Drownmg, WIth tears, new Eros,
And the hfe goes on, moomng upon bare h1lls, Flame leaps from the hand, the ram 1S hstless, Yet drmks the thlrst from our hps,
sohd as echo,
PaSSlon to breed a form 10 shImmer of ram-blur,
But Eros drowned, drowned, heavy-half dead WIth tears
For dead Slcheus
LIfe to make mock of motIon For the husks, before me, move,
The words rattle shells gIven out by shells The hve man, out of lands and prISons,
shakes the dry pods,
Probes for old WIlls and frIendshIps, and the bIg ! ocust-casques Bend to the tawdry table,
LIft up theIr spoons to mouths, put fOlks m cutlets,
And make sound lIke the sound of VOIces
Lorenzacclo
Bemg more hve than they, more full of flames and VOIces Ma se mor1sse'
Credesse caduto da se, ma se morISse And the tallmddference moves,
a more hvmg shell,
Dnft m the alr of fate, dry phantom, but mtact o Alessandro, cruef and thrIce warned, watcher,
Eternal watcher of thmgs, Of thmgs, of men, of paSSIOns
Eyes floatmg m dry, dark alr,
E bIondo, Wlth glass-grey ms, Wlth an even SIde-fall of halt The stIff, stIll features
? VIII
THESE fragments you have shelved (shored) "Slut'" "BItch'" Truth and Calhop;: Slang10g each other sous les laurlers
That Alessandro was negroId Slgtsmund
Frater tamquam Et compater carzsstme tergo
And Malatesta
EqUlvalent to
hannt de dzcts entza
Glohanm of the MedICI,
Florence
Letter receIved, and 10 the matter of our Messlte GlanozlO,
One from htm also, sent on In form and WIth all due dIspatch, HaVing added your wlShes and memoranda
As to arrang10g peace between you and the K10g of Ragona,
So far as I am concerned, It wd
GIve me the greatest possible pleasure,
At any rate nothlOg wd gIve me more pleasure
or be more acceptable to me,
And I shd hke to be party to It, as was promIsed me,
etther as participant or adherent As for my serVIce money,
Perhaps you and your father wd draw It And send It on to me as qUIckly as pOSSIble And tell the Maestro dz pe1'ltore
That there can be no question of
HIS paIntIng the walls for the moment,
As the mortar IS not yet dry
And It wd be merely work chucked away
(buttato VIa)
? But I want It to be qUIte clear, that untIl the chapels are ready I wlll arrange for hIm to palnt somethlng else
So that both he and I shall
Get as much enjoyment as possIble from It,
And In order that he may enter my serVIce
And also because you WrIte me that he needs cash,
I want to arrange With hIm to gIve hIm so much per year And to assure hIm that he Will get the sum agreed on You may say that I WIll depOSIt securIty
For hIm wherever he hkes
And let me have a clear answer,
For I mean to give hIm good treatment
So that he may come to hve the rest
Of hts hfe m my lands-
Unless you put hIm off It -
And for thIS I mean to make due prOVISIon,
So that he can work as he lIkes,
Or waste hIS tIme as he lIkes
(affattgandose per suo ptacere 0 no non glt manchera la proVlxtone mat)
neveI lackmg prOVlSlon SIGISMUNDUS P ANDOLPHUS DE MALA TESTIS
In campo Ilim Doment VenetorU1n aze 7 aprzlts 1449 contra Cremonam
and because the aforesaId most IllustrIOUS Duke of Mllan
Is content and Wills that the aforesaId Lord 51gISmundo Go mto the serVIce of the most magnIficent commune of the Florentlnes
For alhance defenSIve of the two states,
Therefore between the aforesaid IllustrIOUS Sigismund And the respectable man Agnolo della Stufa,
ambassador, SlndlC and procurator ApPolnted by the ten of the bally, etc, the half
29
? Of these 50,000 florIns, free of attal11der, For 1400 cavalry and four hundred foot To come Into the terrene of the commune
or elsewhere m Tuscany . & please the ten of the Bally,
And to be hImself thele With them In the sen-ICC of the commune
WIth hIS horsemen and hIS footmen
(gente dt cavallo c da pte) etc
Aug 5 1452, regtster of the Tw of tbe Barly
From the forked rocks of Penna and BIlh, on Cal pegna With the road leading under the cMf,
m the WInd-shelter Into Tuscany, And the north road, toward the Marecchla
the mud-stretch full of cobbles
L yra
. . Ye Spltlts who of olde were m thIS lard Each under Love, 1. nd shaken,
Go WIth your lutes, awaken
The summer WithIn her mmd,
Who hath not Helen for peer
Yseut nor Batsabe " With the InterruptIon
Magnifico, compater et cartSS11ne
(JohannI dl Coslmo) VenIce has taken me on agaIn
At 7,000 a month, fiorznt dt Camera For 2,000 horse and four hundred footmen, And It rams here by the gallon,
We have had to dig a new dItch
In three or four days
I shall try to set up the bombards
Under the plumes, With the flakes and small wads of colour ShowerIng from the balCOnIes
30
? WIth the sheets spread from Wlndows,
WIth leaves and small branches pmned on them,
Arras hung from the raumgs, out of the dus~, WIth pheasant taus upnght on theIr forelocks, The small whIte horses, the
Twelve gIrls ndmg m order, green satin In panmer'd habIts, Under the baldachmo, sIlver'd WIth heavy stItches,
Blanca VIscontI, WIth Sforza,
The peasant's son and the duchess,
To RImmI, and to the wars southward,
Boats drawn on the sand, red-orange salls m the creek's mouth, For two days' pleasure, mosdy rr 1a pesca," ? Shmg,
D I CUI m the whIch he, Francesco, godeva molto
To the war southward
In whIch he, at that tune, receIved an excellent hldmg And the Greek emperor was In FloLence
(Ferrara haVIng the pest) And WIth hIm Gemlsthus Plethon
Talkmg of the war about the temple at Delphos,
And of POSEIDON, concret Allgemezne,
And tellmg of how Plato went to Dlonyslus of Syracuse Because he had observed that tyrants
Were most efficIent In all that they set theIr hands to,
But he was unable to persuade DlOnyslUs
To any amelIoratIon
And m the gate at Ancona, between the foregate
And the mam-gates
SIgIsmundo, ally, come through an enemy force,
To patch up some sort of treaty, passes one gate
And they shut It before they open the next gate, and he says . . Now you have me,
Caught lIke a hen In a coop"
And the captam of the watch says . . Yes MeSSIre SIglsmundo, But we want thIs town for ourselves"
31
? WIth the church agamst hIm, WIth the MedICI bank for Itself,
WIth wattle Sforza agaInst hIm
Sforza Francesco, wattle-nose,
Who mamed hIm (SIgismundo) hIs (Francesco's)
Daughter In September,
Who stole Pesaro In October (as Brogho says tr bc~tlalmel1te") Who stood wIth the VenetIans In November,
WIth the Mtlanese m December,
Sold Mtlan In November, stole Muan In December
Or sometbUlg of that sort,
Commanded the Muanese In the sprmg,
the VenetIans at mIdsummer,
The Mtlanese In the autumn,
And was Naples' ally In October,
He, SIglsmundo, te11tplum tedtficavtt In Romagna, teemmg WIth cattle thleves,
wlth the game lost Ul mld-channel, And never qUIte lost tul' 50,
and never qUIte lost ttll the end, m Romagna, So that Galeaz sold Pesaro . . to get pay for hIS cattle"
And POlctiers, you know, Guulaume POlctleIs, had brought the song up out of Spam
With the SIngers and vieis But here they wanted a settIng. By Mareccrua, where the water comes down over the cobbles And Mason had come to VerucchlO,
and the sword, Paolo tl Bello's,
caught m the arras And, m Este's house, Parlsma
Paid
For thIS tnbe pald always, and the house Called also Atreldes',
And the wmd IS stu! for a lIttle
31
? And the dusk rolled
to one sIde a httle
And he was twelve at the ome, Sigismundo, And no dues had been paId for three years, And hIS elder brother gone PIOUS,
And that year they fought m the streets, And that year he got out to Cesena
And brought back the leVIes,
And that year he crossed by nxght over Fogha, and
33
? IX
ONE year floods rose.
One year they fought 10 the sno'" 5,
One year hau fell. breakIng the trec~ md walls Down here In the marsh they trapped hIm
In one year,
And he stood m the water up to hIs neck
to keep the hounds off him, And he floundered about In the marsh and came m after three days.
That was Astorre ManfredI of Faenza who worked the ambush
and set the dogs off to find hIm, In the marsh, down here under Mantua, And he fought m Fano, In a street fight,
and that was nearly the end of him,
And the Emperor came down and knxghted us, And they had a wooden castle set up for fiesta,
And one year BastnlO went out Into the courtyard
Where the lIsts were, and the pahsades
had been set for the tourneys, And he talked down the antI-Hellene,
And there was an heIr male to the selgnor,
And Madame Gmevra dIed
And he, Slgu;mundo, was Capitan for the VenetIans And he had sold off small castles
and butit the great Rocca to hIS plan, And he fought lIke ten devus at Monteluro
and got notll1ng but the VlctOry And old Sforza bItched us at Pesaro,
(SIC) March the x6th tC that Mesme Alessandro Sforza
IS become lord of Pesaro
? through the wangle of the Illus 5gr Mr Fedtlcho d'Orblllo Who worked the wangle with Galeaz
through the WigglIng of Messer Francesco, Who waggled It so that Galeaz should sell Pesaro
to Alex and Fossembrone to Feddy, and he hadn't the nght to sell
And thlS he did besttalmente, that IS Sforza dId besttalmente as he had promised hun, SI81smundo, per capttoJz
to see that he, Malatesta, should have Pesaro" And this cut us off from our south half
and fimshed our game, thus, In the begmnmg, And he, 5181smundo, spoke hiS mmd to Francesco
and we drove them out of the Marches
And the Kmg 0' Ragona, Alphonse Ie roy d'Aragon, was the next nau 10 our coffin,
And all you can say IS, anyway,
that he 51glSmundo called a town councIl
And Valturlo said cc as well for a sheep as a lamb"
and thIS change-over (htec tradItIo)
As old bladder saId rr rem eorum saluavtt "
Saved the Florent1Oc state, and that, maybe, was somethIng And co Florence our natural ally" as they said 10 the meeting
for whatever that was worth afterward And he began buudmg the TEMPIO,
and Pohxena, hlS second WIfe, dIed And the Venetians sent down an ambassador And said co speak humanely,
But tell rumIt's no tune for ralSIng rus pay" And the Venetians sent down an ambassador
Wlth three pages of secret InStructIons
To the effect Did he thmk the campaign was a Joy-tlde) And old Wattle-wattle slIpped 1Oto MIlan
But he couldn't stand 51dg being so high With the Venetians And he talked It over with Feddy, and Feddy saId C< Pesaro . .
35
? And old Foscarl wrote It Caro mlO
. . If we splIt wIth Francesco you can have It . . And we'll help you m every wa) possIble"
But Feddy offered It sooner And Slglsmundo got up a few arches,
And stole that marble 10 Classe, . . stoic" that IS,
Casus est talts
Foscart doge, to the prefect of Ravenn1
. . Why, what, whIch, thunder, damn1tlOn'~~' "
Cams est talzs
FUlPPO, commendatary of the abbazI1
Of Sant Apolhnalre, Classe, Cardmal of Bologfl1
That he dId one mght (quadam 11octC) sell to the
Illmo DO, DO Slgismund Malatesta
Lord of Anmm1Oum, marble, porphyry, serpentme,
Whose men, Slglsmundo's, came wIth more than an hundred two wheeled ox carts and deported, for the beautlfymg
of the tempto where was Santa MarIa m TrIVlO
Where the same are now on the walls Four hundred
ducats to be paId back to the abbazt4 by the saId swmdlIng CardInal or hIs heIrS
grnnh' rrnnh, pthg
wheels, plaustra, oxen under nIght-shIeld,
And on the 13th of August AloysIus Purtheo,
The next abbot, to Slglsmundo, receipt for 200 ducats Corn-salve for the damage done 10 that scurry
And there was the row about that German-Burgundian female And It Was hiS meSSlamc year, Pohorcetes,
but he was be10g a bIt too POLUMETIS
And the Venetlans wouldn't gtve hIm SIX months vacatlon
And he went down to the old bnck heap of Pesaro and waIted for Feddy
36
? And Feddy finally saId" I am commg' to help Alessandro"
And he saId cc ThIs tune MIster Feddy has done It . . He saId . . Brogho, I'm the goat ThIS tIme
Mr Feddy has done It (m'l'ha calata) " And he'd lost hIS Job WIth the VenetIans,
And the stone dIdn't come In from Istria
And we sent men to the suk war,
And Wattle never paxd up on the naIl
Though we SIgned on WIth MIlan and Florence, And he set up the bombards In muck down by Vada
where nobody else could have set 'em and he took the wood out of the bombs and made 'em of two scoops of metal
And the Jobs gettIng smaller and smaller, Unci he sIgned on WIth SIena,
And that tIme they grabbed hxs post-bag And what was It, anyhow>
Pitighano, a man WIth a ten acre lot, Two lumps of tufa,
and they"d taken hlS pasture land from hun, And SIdg had got back theIr horses,
and he had two bIg lumps of tufa
WIth Slx hundred pIgs In the basements And the poor deVIls were dymg of cold
And thIS IS what they found m the post-bag
Ex Anmmo d,e xxn Decembrts
rr Magntfice tiC potens domme, mt smgulartsstme
cc I adVIse yr LordshIp how
cc I have been WIth master AlWIdge who
. . has shown me the deSIgn of the nave that goes jn the mIddle, cc of the church and the deSIgn for the roof and "
cc JHesus,
rr Magntfico exso SIgnor MlO
. . Sence to-day I am recommanded that I have to tel you my
37
? . . father's op. mum that he has shode to Mr Gcnare about the . . valts of the cherch etc
c. GlOvane of Master alwIse P S I t~lUk It advlsabl that . . I shud go to rome to talk to mIster Alb(. rt so as I can no . . what he thInks about It nte
. . Sagramoro "
rf Illustre szgnor 11110, MessIre Battista "
. . FIrst Ten slabs best red, se"en by I 5, by onc thIrd, " EIght dItto, good red, 15 by three by one,
. . SIX of same, 15 by one by one
. . EIght columns 15 by three and one third
etc WIth carrIage, danars I 5I . . MONSEIGNEUR
. . Madame ! sotta has had me WrIte today about Sr Galeazzo's . . daughter The man who saId young pullets make thIn . . soup, knew what he was talkIng about We went to see the . . gIrl the other day for all the good that dId, and she dented . . the whole matter and kept her end up wIthout lOSIng her . . temper I thInk Madame Ixotta very nearly eAhausted the . . matter M, pare che aHa decto hogm choma All the . . children are well Where you are everyone IS pleased and "happy because of your takIng the chate'lu here we are the . . reverse as you mIght say drIftIng wIthout a rudder Madame
. . LucreZla has probably, or should have, WrItten to you, I
. . suppose you have the letter by now " remembered to you
. . sagramoro to put up the derncks . . beams at . .
Everyone wants to be 2. I Dec D de M "
There IS a supply of
. . MAGNIFICENT LORD WITH DUB REVERENCE
. . MessIre Malatesta IS well and asks for you every day He
"IS so much pleased With hIS pony, It wd take me a month . . to wrIte you all the fun he gets out of that pony I want to . . agaIn remmd you to wrIte to GeorgIo Rambottom or to hls
38
? . . boss to fix up that wall to the httle garden that madame Isotta . . uses, for It IS all flat on the ground now as I have already told . . hIm a lot of t1Il1es, for all the good that does, so I am Wrttmg . . to your lordshIp m the matter I have done all th'lt I can, for . . all the good that does as noboddy hear can do anythIng . . WIthout you
. . your faithful
LUNARDA DA PALLA 2. 0 Dec 1454"
cc gone over It WIth all the foremen and engmeers And " about the suver for the small medal "
tt Magmfiee ae potens
. . because the walls of "
tt Malatesta de Malatestls ad Magntficum Domtnum Patremque tt suum
. . Exl! O Dno et Dno sm Dno S1g1smundum Pandolfi FIllum . . Malatestls CapItan General
c? Magm1l. cent and Exalted Lord and Fathel In especIal my "lord With due recommend'ltlon your letter has been pre- . . sented to me by Gentlhno da Gradara and With It the bay . . pony (lonZlnO balectmo) the whIch you have sent me, and to whIch appears m my eyes a fine caparlson'd charger, upon " which I mtend to learn all there IS to know about ndmg, In . . consIderatlon of yr paternal affectIon for whIch I than! . . to your excellency thus bnefly and pray you contmue to hold C< me m thlS esteem notIfYIng you by the bearer of thIS that . . we are all m good health, as I hope and deslre }our Exct to LordshIp IS also WIth contInued remembrance I remaIn
<t Your son and servant
MALATESTA DE MALATESTIS
Gwen In Rtmtm, thIS the 2. 2nd day 0/ December anno domInI 1454 "
(m the sIxth year of h,s age)
39
? ? ? ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE
tc Unfittmg as It IS that I should offer counsels to Hanntbal "
. . Magnzfier! ac potelH d0111111? , dom1l1(, 1111 HlI! ! ,ularmlme, "httmtlz recomendatzone PI emma etc ThIS to advise your
. . Mgt LdshP how the second load of Veronese marble has ? ? finally got here, after bemg held up at Ferrara with no end . . of fuss and botheratlOn, the whole of It havmg been there t. unloaded
. . I learned how It happened, and It h1S co~t a few flonns to . . get back the saId load whIch had been seIzed for the skIpper's . . debt and defalcatlOn, he havmg fled when the lIghter was . . seIzed But that yr Mgt Ldshp may not lose the moneys . . paId out on hIs account I have had the lIghter brought here . . and am holdIng It, agamst hIs arrIval If not we stIll have t'the lIghter
. . As soon as the Xmas fetes are over I WIll have the stone ? ? floor laId m the sacresty, for whIch the stone 15 already cut . . The wall of the buudmg IS fimshed and I shall now get the . . roof on
. . We have not begun puttmg new stone Into the martyr to chapel, first because the heavy frosts wd certamly spOIl . . the Job, secondly because the ahofants aren't yet here and to one can't get the measurements for the cormce to the columns . . that are to rest on the ahofants
. . They are domg the stairs to your room In the c1stle I tt have had Messire Antonto degh Attl'S court paved and the . . stone benches put m It
t. Ottavian 15 illummatIng the bull I mean the bull for ? ? the chapel All the stone-cutters are waItIng for sprmg tt weathertostartworkagaIn
? ? The tomb IS all done except part of the lId, and as soon as . . MesSlre AgostInO gets back from Cesena I wIll see that he . . :finIshes It, ever recommendIng me to yr Mgt Ldshp
. .
belIeve me yr faIthful PETRUS GENARIIS"
? That's what they found 10 the post-bag And some more of It to the effect that
he . . hved and ruled . .
. . et amava perdutamente Ixotta deglt Att. " e . . ne fu degna . .
. . constans tn propostto . . PlaC1ut ocults prtnCZpls
. . p'lelchra aspectu"
. . populo grata (Italtaeque decus)
. . and bwlt a temple so full of pagan works"
I e SlglSmund
and m the style cc Past rUlO'd Latium . . The filIgree hldmg the gothic,
with a touch of rhetotlc 10 the whole And the old sarcophagi,
such as he, smothered m grass, by San VItale
4I
? x
AD the poor devtls dymg of cold, outsIde Saran0,
And from the other sIde, from m~ld(. the chateau, Orsml, Count Pltlghano, on the 17th of November "Slggy, darhnt, wd you not stop makmg wat 011
. . l11senslbIe objects, such as trees and domestIc VlOes, that have . . no means to hIt back but If you wtll hIre youlself out to a . . commune (SIena) whIch you ought r'lther to rule than
. . serve "
whIch with Trachulo's damn'd epIstle And what of It al1)'how~ a man WIth a tln acre lot, Pltlghano a lump of tufa,
And S had got back the r horses And the poor devtls dymg of cold
(And there was another tIme, you know, He sIgned on WIth the Fanesl,
and Just couldn't be bothered ) And there were three men on a one man Job
And CareggI wantmg the baton, And not gettlOg It Just then 1U any case
And he, SIglsmundo, refused an 1OvltatlOn to lunch In commemoratIOn of Carm1gnola
(VIde Vemce, between the two columns where Carmagnola was el. . ecuted )
Et
rr anno messo a saccho el StglIor Stgzsmul1do "
As FJlPPo StrozZl wrote to Zan Lottlen, then 10 Naples,
. . I thlOk they'll let hIm through at Campigha " Florence, Arehtvto Storteo, 4th Serres t tlt, e
rr La Guerra det Senest col conte dt pzttgltano"
And he found Carlo Gonzaga sltt10g lIke a mud-frog 10 Orbetello
? And he saId
tt Caro mlo, I can not receIve you
It really IS not the moment"
And BroglIo says he ought to have tIpped Gono Lolh But he got back home here somehow,
And Plccmmo was out of a Job,
And the old lOW WIth Naples contmued
And what he saId was all nght m Mantua,
And Borso had the paIr of th(. m up to Bel Flore,
The paIr of them, Sigismundo and Fedenco Urhmo,
Or perhaps 10 the palace, FClrua, SlglSml. 1nd l. 'pstalrs And Urbmo's gang 10 the basement,
And a regIment of guards 10, to keep order,
For all the good that dId
tt Te cavcro la bzedella del corpo' " El conte levatost
tt 10 te cavero la corata ate'"
And that day Coslmo smIled, That IS, the day they saId
. . DruSlana IS to marry Count GIacomo " (Plccm1Oo) 1tn sorrtso maltztoso
Druslana, another of Franco Sfolza's,
It would at least keep the row out of Tuscany
And he fell out of a w1Odow, Count GIacomo,
Three days after hIS death, that was years later In Naples, For trust10g Ferdmando of Naples,
And old Wattle could do notlung about It
Et
INTEREA PRO GRADIBUS BASILlCAE S PIETRI EX ARlDA MATERIA INGENS PYRA EXTRUITUR IN CUJUS SUMMIT A TE IMAGO SIGIS- MUNDI COLLOCA TUR HOMINIS LlNEAMENT A, ET VESTIMENn MODVM ADEO PROPRIE REDDENS, UT VERA MAGIS PERSONA, QUAM IMAGO VIDERETUR, NE QUEM TAMEN IMAGO FALLERET,
43
? ET SCIUPTURA EX ORE PRODnT, QUAE DICERET SIGISMUNDUS HIC EGO SUM
MALATESTA, FILIUS PANDULPHI, REX PRODITORUM,
DEO ATQUE HOMINIBUS INFESTUS, SACRI CI:NSURA SENATUS IGNI DAMNATUS,
SCRIPTURAM
MUL TI LEGERUNT DEINDE AST ANTE POPULO, IGN! :. IMMISSO,
ET PYR. A SIMULACRUM REPENTE FLAGRA VIT
Com PtO II, Ltv VII, P 85 Yrzarte, p 2. 88
So that xn the end that pot-scraplng httle runt Andreas BenZl, da Siena
Got up to spout out the bunkum
That that monstrous swollen, swellxng s o b
Papa PIO Secundo
lEneas SllVIUS Plccolomlnl da Siena
Had told hun to spout, In their best bear's-greased latlnlty,
Stupro, efeae, aaulter,
homoadta, parrzadta ac pmurus,
presbttertetdta, Max, Itbtdznosus,
WIves, Jew-girls, nuns, necrophulast, fornzcarzum fie stcartum,
prod'ltor, raptor, tnC"estuosus, lnC"endtarzus, ae concubmmus,
and that he rejected the whole symbol of the apostles, and that he said the monks ought not to own property and that he dlSbeheved In the temporal power,
neither chrIStian, Jew, genttie,
nor any sect pagan, nzsz forsttan eptcureee
And that he dId among other thUlgS
Empty the fonts of the chlexa of holy water And fill up the same full WIth mk
44
? That he mIght 10 God's dIshonour
Stand before the doors of the saId chlexa
Mak10g mock of the 10ky faIthful, they
Issu10g thence by the doors 10 the pale lIght of the sunrIse WhIch mIght be consIdered youthful levIty
but was really a profound 1Odlcatlon,
. . Whence that hIS, Slgtsmundo's, fretor :filled the earth And stank up through the aIr and stars to heaven Where - save they were unmune from suffermgs-
It had made the emparadlsed spmts pewk"
from theIr Jeweled terrace
rr Lussurzoso meestuoso, perfide, SOZZU1e ae crapulone, assassmo, mgordo, avaro, superbo, ,nfidelc
fattore d, monete false, sodomJtleo, uxorzCJdo"
and the whole lump lot given over to
I mean after PIO had said, or at least PIO says that he SaId that thiS was elegant oratory rr Oratlonem ElegantlSszmam et ornatzsszmam
Audwtmus venerabllts zn Xt, frat1 es ae dtlectzsslmz fibt (stone In hIS bladder
testtbus tdonets)
The lump lot gIven over
To that kid-slapp1Og fanatIC 11 cardInale dl San PIetro In Vmco! t
To find hIm guuty, of the lump lot
As he duly dId, calhng rumour, and MeSSlre FederiCO d'Ulh. . ra And other equally ununpeachable WItnesses
So they burnt our brother 10 effigy
A rare magmficent effigy costIng 8 florinS 48 bol
(I e for the paIr, as the first one wasn't a good enough lIkeness) And Borso saId the tIme was tll-swted
to tanta novzta, such dOIngs or innovatIons, 45
? God's enemy and man's enemy, stuprum, raptum
I N R I SlglSmund Imperator, Rex Prodltorum
And old PIlls who trIed to get hIm mto a front rank actIon In order to dnve the lear guard at hIs buttocks,
Old PIlls hsted among the murdered, although he
Came out of }axlllVlng later
Et les angloys ne povans desraciner ventn de hayne
Had got back GlSors from the Angevms,
And the Angevms were gunnmg after Naples
And we dragged m the Angevms,
And we dragged m LOUIS Eleventh,
And the tIers Caltxte was dead, and Alfonso,
And agamst us we had ? ? thIS }Eneas" and young Ferdmando That we had smashed at PlOmbmo and dnven out of the Terrene of the Florentmes,
And Plccmmo, out of a Job,
And he, Sldg, had had three chances of Makmg It up WIth Alfonso, and an offer of Marnage allIance,
And what he Sald was all nght there m Mantua,
But PIO, SometIme or other, PIO lost hIS pustulous temper And they struck alum at Tolfa, m the pope's land,
To pay for theIr devIlment And Francesco saId
I also have suffered When you take It, glve me a slIce
And they nearly JaUed a chap for saymg
The Job was mal hecho, and they caught poor old Pastl In Vemce, and were hke to pull all hIS teeth out,
And they had a bow-shot at Borso
As he was gomg down the Grand Canal In hlS gondola
(the mce kmd With 26 barbs on It) 46
? And they saId Novvy'll sell any man for the sake of Count GIacomo
(PlcClntnO, the one that fell out of the wmdow)
And they came at us With theIr eccleSlastlcallegates
UntIl the eagle ht on hIS tent pole
And he saId The Romans would have called that an augury E gradment It al1tzch, cavaler roman]
davano fed a qUtstl annutzl,
All I want you to do IS to follow the orders, They've got a bIgger army,
but there are more men In thIS camp
47
? XI
EGRADMENT It anttchz cavaler roman1 davano fcd a qUlstt annut" And he put us under the chiefs,
and the chiefs went back to thelr squadrons Bernardo ReggJ. o, Nlc Benzo, GlOvan Nestorno,
Paulo Vlterbo, Buardmo of Brescla,
Cetho Brandolmo,
And Sunone Malespma, Petracco Samt Archangelo, fuoberto da Canossa,
And for the tenth Agmolo da Roma
And that gay bIrd Plero della Bella, And to the eleventh Roberto,
And the papIShes were three thousand on horses,
<idly cavalh tre milia,
And a thousand on foot,
And the Lord SlgISmundo had but mdle tre cento cavallI And hardly 500 fantl (and one spmgard),
And we beat the papishes and fought them back through the tents
And he came up to the dyke agam
. And fought through the dyke-gate
And It went on from dawn to sunset
And we broke them and took theIr baggage
and mille cmquecento cavallI E It hOIIllm dl Messtre Slgtsmundo
non furono che IIlllle trecento
And the VenetIans sent m theIr compltments
And vanous and sundry sent In thetr complunents, But we got It next August,
And Roberto got beaten at Fano,
And he went by shlp to Tarentum,
48
? I mean SIdg went to Tarentum
And he found 'em, the antI-Aragons,
busted and weepIng Into tllexr beards
And they, the paplshes, came up to the walls,
And that nIck-nosed sob Feddy UrbIno
SaId . tParchee/lIordtqltesto SzgtS mundo""
" They say he dodders about the streets
. . And can put hIS hand to neIther one thmg nor the other,'~ And he was In the SIck wards, and on the hIgh tower
And everywhere, keepIng us at It
And, thank God, they got the sIckness outsIde
As we had the sIckness InsIde,
And they had netther town nor castello
But dey got de mos' bloody rottenes' peace on u s -
Qualz loch, sono questt
SoglIano,
Torrano and La Serra, SbrIgara, San MartInO, Clola, Pondo, SpInello, Clgna and Buchlo, Pratalxne, Monte Cogruzzo,
and the vula at Rufiano RIght up to the door-yard
And anythIng else the Revmo Monslgnore could remember. And the water-rIghts on the SaVIO
(And the salt heaps wIth the reed mats on them Gone long ago to the VenetIans)
And when lame Novvy dIed, they got even Cesena
And he wrote to young Plero
Send me a couple of huntIn' dogs,
They may take my mInd off It
And one day he was sIttmg In the chlexa,
On a bIt of cornIce, a bIt of stone grooved for a cornIce,. Too narrow to :fit hIS bIg beam,
hunched up and notmg what was done wrong,
49
? And an old woman came In and giggled to 'iCC him slttmg there In the dark
She nearly fell over hun, And he thought
Old Zuhano IS fimshed,
If he's left anythmg we must see the kids get It,
WrIte that to Robert
And Vanm must gIve that peasant a decent pflce for hiS horses, Say that I WIll refund
A. nd the wnts run In Fano,
For the long room over the arches
Sub annulo pucatorts, palattum seu Cltrtam OLIM de Malatest. s Gone, and Cesena, Zezena d"'e b'''e colonize,
And the bIg dIamond pawned 10 Vemce,
And he gone out mto Morea,
Where they sent him to do In the Mo'ammeds, WIth S,ooo agaInst 2. S,OOO,
and he nearly died out 10 Sparta, Morea, Lakeda:mon,
and came back with no pep In him And we SIt here I have sat here
For forty four thousand years,
And they trapped him down here In the m'1rsh land,
10 '46 that was,
And the poor deVIls dYing of cold, that was Rocca Sorano, And he Said 10 h15 young youth
V oghamo,
che Ie donne, we wIll that they, Ie donne, go ornate, As be thetr pleasure, for the C1ty'S glory thereby
-\nd PlatIna Said afterward, when they JaIlrd hIm
And the AccademIa Romana,
For SIngmg to Zeus m the catacombs,
So
? Yes, I saw hIm when he was down here
Ready to murder fatty Barbo, "Formosus," And they want to know what we talked about)
. . de l. tterlS et de armiS, praestanttbusque mgentls, Both of anCIent tImes and our own, books, arms,
And of men of unusual gemus,
Both of anCIent tImes and our own, In short the usual subjects Of conversatIon between mtelhgent men"
And he With hIS luck gone out of hIm
64 lances m hlS company, and hIs pay 8,000 a year, 64 and no more, and he not to try to get any more And all of It down on paper
sexagmta quatuoy nee tentatu1 habere plures
But leave to keep 'em m Rtmml
1 e to watch the VenetIans:-
Damn pIty he dIdn't
(1 e get the kmfe mto hIm)
Llttle fat squab <C Formosus . . Barbo said . . Call me Formosus" But the conclave wouldn't have It
and they called hlm Paolo Secondo
And he left three horses at one gate And three horses at the other,
And Fatty recelved hIm
Wlth a guard of seven cardmals . . whom he could trust -,
And the castelan of Monte:fiore wrote down,
. . You'd better keep hun. out of the dIstrIct
. . When he got back here from Sparta, the people ? ? Llt:fires,andturnedoutyelhng ? PANDOLro'I"
In the gloom, the gold gathers the lIght agamst It
5I
? And one day he said Henry, you C'ln h1Ve It, On condltlon, you can have It for four months You 11 stand any reasonable Joke that I play on you, And you can Joke bach. .
provided you don't get too ormy And they put It all down In wrItmg
for a green cloak with sLIver brocade
Actum zn Cattro Szgmnundo1 prewzte Roberto de ValtuHbus sponte et ex certa sctenta to Enrtcho de Aquabel/o
? XII
AD we SIt here
under the wall,
Arena romana, DlOcletlan's, les gradms
quarante-trOls rangees en calcaIre
Baldy Bacon
bought all the lIttle copper penUles m Cuba
Un centavo, dos centavos,
told hIs peons to <<brmg 'em m "
c< Bnng 'em to the mam shack," saId Baldy, And the peons brought 'em,
c< to the mam shack brought 'em,"
As Henry would have saId
NIcholas Castano m Habana,
He also had a few centavos, but the others Had to pay a percentage
Percentage when they wanted centavos, PublIc centavos
Baldy's mterest Was m money busmess
<<No Interest In any other kmd uv bISrus," Saxd Baldy
Sleepmg WIth two buck mggers chamed to hun,. GuardIa regIa, chamed to hIS waIst
To keep 'em from slIppmg off m the nIght, Bemg by now unpopular wIth the Cubans,
By fever reduced to Ibs 108
Returned to Manhattan, ultunately to Manhattan %4 E 47th, when I met htm,
Domg Job prmtmg, 1 e, agent,
gOIng to hIS old acquaxntances,
Hls office In Nassau St , dIstrIbutIng Jobs to the prInters,.
53
? CommercIal statIOnely,
and later, 111surance,
Employers' habIhty,
odd sorts of 111surance,
FIre on brothels, etc, commISSIOn, RIS1l1g from 15 dollars a wed. . ,
Pollon a'anth1 0 pon tde11,
Knew whIch shIPP1l1g compames wele most (. ueiess,
where a man was most hl"cly
To lose a leg 111 bad hOlst111g mach111ery, Also nre, as when pass111g a whore-house, Arnved, rruraculous Hermes, by accIdent, Two mmutes after the propnetor's flngeios Had been sent for hIm
Saved hIS people 11,000 m four months
on that Cuba Job, But they busted,
Also ran up to 40,000 bones on hIS own,
Once, but wanted to " eat up the whole'r Wall St"
And dropped It all three weeks later
HabItat cum Quade, damn good fellow,
Mons Quade who wore a monocle on a WIde sable nbbon
(Elsewhere recorded) Dos Santos, Jose Mana dos Santos,
Hearmg that a gram shIp
Was wrecked m the estuary of the Tagus, Bought It at auctIOn, nemo obstabat,
No one else bIdd1l1g . . Damn fool'" . . MaIze SpOIled With salt water,
No use, can't do anyth1l1g wIth It" Dos Santos All the stuff rotted With sea water
Dos Santos Portuguese lunatlc bought It, Mortgaged then all hls patrImony,
e tot 10 Sleu aver,
And bought suck1l1g plgS, plgS, small pIgS,
54
? Porkers, throughout all Portugal, fed on the cargo,
FIrst lot mortgaged to buy the second lot, u. ,dsowelter, Porkers of Portugal,
fattemng wIth the fulness of time,
And Dos Santos fattened, a great landlord of Portugal Now gathered to hIS fathers
DId It on water-soaked corn (Watel probably fresh I n that estuary)
Go to hell Apovitch, ChIcago amt the whole punkm JIm X
In a bankers' meetmg,
bored wIth theIr hard luck stones, Bored WIth theIr bloomln' prImness
and the 'tttle wrute rnns
They wore around inSIde the edge of theIr vests
To make 'em look as If they had on two Waistcoats, Told 'em the Tale of the Honest Sauor
Bored WIth theIr proprIeties,
as they sat, the ranked presbyterIans, Directors, dealers through holdmg compames, Deacons In churches, ownmg slum properties, Allas usurers In excelsls,
the qUintessentIal essence ot usurers,
The purveyors of employment, whining over theIr 2. 0 p c
and the hard tImes,
And the bust-up of Brazulan seCUrItIes
(S A securItIes),
And the general uncertamty of all mvestment Save Investment In new bank buIldmgs,
productIve of bank butldmgs, And not lIkely to ease dlStnbutIon,
Bored WIth the way theIr mouths tWItched over thelC CIgar-ends,
55
? SaId Jun X
There once was a pore honest saIlor, a heavy dnnker,
A hell of a cuss, a rowster, a boozer, and
The dnnk finally sent hIm to hospItal,
And they operated, and there was a poor whore m
The woman's ward had a kid, whIle
They were fixmg the satior, and they brought hIm the kId When he came to, and saId
. . Here' thIS IS what we took out of you"
An' he looked at It, an' he got better,
And when he left the hospItal, qUIt the drmk, And when he was well enough
SIgned on WIth another shIp And saved up rus pay money,
and kept on savm' hIS pay money, And bought a share in the srup,
and finally had half shares, Then a srup
and m tune a whole hne of steamers, And educated the kId,
and when the kId was m college, The ole satior was agam taken bad
and the doctors saId he was dymg, And the boy came to the bedSIde,
and the old satior saId
~. Boy, I'm sorry I can't hang on a bIt longer, . . You're young yet
I leave you re-sponsa-blhttes
. . . Wish I could ha' WaIted till you were older, . . . More fit to take over the bISness . .
. . But, father,
c'Don't, don't talk about me, I'm all nght, C'It's you, father"
. . That's It, boy, you Said It 56
? . . You called me your father, and I aIn't
. . I a111't your dad, no,
. . I am not your fader but your moder," quod he, cc Your fader was a rIch merchant 111 Stambouli ,.
57
? XIII
K NGWalked
by the dynastIc temple
and Into the ced'1r grove,
and then out by the lower Civer,
And wIth hIm KhIeu, Tchl
and Tlan the low speakIng
And tt we are unknown," saId Kung, u Y ou will take up chanoteenng)
Then you WIll become known,
. . Or perhaps I should take up charioteerIng, or archery)
It Or the praCtice of pubhc speakIng) "
And Tseu-Iou saId, . . I would put the defences In order," And Khleu Said, . . If I were lord of a prOVInce
I would put It In better order than thIS IS "
And Tchl saId, cc I would prefer a small mountaIn temple, . . Wlth order U l the observances,
Wlth a sUItable performance of the ntual," And Tlan saId, Wlth hIS hand on the strIngs of hIS lute The low sounds contInu1llg
after hIS h'lnd left the strmgs,
And the sound went up lIke smoke, under the leaves, And he looked after the sound
. c The old SWImming hole,
. . And the boys flopping off the planks,
. . Or SItting In the underbrush plaYing mandolms "
And Kung smtled upon all of them equally And Thseng-sie deSIred to know
. . WhIch had answered correctly)"
And Kung saId, . . They have all answered correctly, to That IS to say, each Ul hIS nature"
And Kung ralSed hIS cane agaInst Yuan Jang,
Yuan lang beIng hIS elder, 58
? For Yuan Jang sat by the roadsIde pretendmg to be reCeIVIng wIsdom
And Kung saId
. . You old fool, come out of It,
Get up and do somethIng useful . . And Kung s:ud
. . Respect a chtld's facultIes
. . From the moment It Inhales the clear aIr, . . But a man of fifty who knows nothmg
Is worthy of no respect"
A nd" When the prInce has gathered about hIm
. . All the savants and artISts, hIS rIches wtll be fully mployed" And Kung saId, and wrote on the bo leaves
If a man have not order WIthIn rum He can not spread order about hIm,
And If a man have not order WIthIn hIm HIs famtly WIll not act WIth due order,
And 1f the prInce have not order withm hun He can not put order In hIS domlD1ons
And Kung gave the words . . order"
and co brotherly deference"
And saId nothIng of the . . hfe after death . . And he saId
cc Anyone can run to excesses, It 15 easy to shoot past the mark,
It IS hard to stand nrm In the mIddle . .
And they saId If a man commIt murder
Should hIS father protect hun, and rude hun'
And Kung SaId
He should hIde hun
And Kung gave rus daughter to Kong-Tch'ang Although Kong-Tch'ang was 10 prlSon
And he gave hts mece to Nan-Young
although Nan-Young was out of office
59
? And Kung said <<Wang ruled with moderation, In hiS day the State was well kept,
And even I can remember
A day when the hlstonans left blanks 10 their wrltmgs, I mean for thmgs they didn't know,
But that time seems to be passmg . .
And Kung said, . . Wlthout character you will
be unable to play on that mstrument Or to execute the mUSlC fit for the Odes
The blossoms of the apncot
blow from the east to the west, And I have tried to keep them from fallIng . .
60
? XIV
10 venru In luogo d'ogru luce muto,
The stench of wet coal, pohtlClans
e and n, their wrists bound to
their ankles, Standmg bare bum,
Faces smeared on their rumps, Wide eye on flat buttock,
Bush hangmg for beard,
Addressmg crowds through their arse-holes,
Addressmg the multttudes m the ooze, newts, water-slugs, water-maggots,
And With them r,
a scrupulously clean table-napktn
Tucked under hIs perus,
and m
Who dtshked colloqwal language, Sttff-starched, but soded, collars
clrcumscrIbmg hIS legs, The pImply and hairy skm
pushmg over the collar's edge,
Profiteers drmkmg blood sweetened With sh-t, And behmd them f and the finanCIers
lashmg them Wlth steel Wires
And the betrayers of language
n and the press gang
And those who had hed for hire,
the perverts, the perverters of language,
the perverts, who have set money-lust Before the pleasures of the senses,
howlmg, as of a hen-yard m a prmtIng-house, the clatter of presses,
61
? the bloWIng of dry dust and stray paper, ftttor, sweat, the stench of stale oranges, dung, last cess-pool of the umverse, mystenum, aCid of sulphur,
the pusillammous, ragIng, plungIng Jewels xn mud,
and howhng to find them unstaIned,
sadlc mothers driVIng their daughters to bed wIth decrepItude, sows eatIng their lItters,
and here the placard EIKn~ rH~,
and here THE PERSONNEL CHANGES,
meltmg hke dIrty wax,
decayed candles, the bums smkIng lower,
faces submerged under hams, And In the ooze under them, reversed, foot-palm to foot-palm,
hand-palm to hand-palm, the agents provocateurs The murderers of Pearse and MacDonagh,
Captam H the chief torturer, The petrIfied turd that was Verres,
b1gots, CalVIn and St Clement of Alexandna' black-beetles, burrowmg Into the sh-t,
The sou a decrepitude, the ooze full of morsels,
lost contours, eroSIons
Above the hell-rot the great arse-hole,
broken With pues, hangmg stalactItes,
greasy as sky over Westmxnster, the mVlSlble, many Enghsh,
the place lackmg m Interest, last squalor, utter decrepItude,
62.
? the VIce-crusaders, fahrtmg through stlk, waVIng the ChrlStlan symbols,
frIggIng a tm penny whIstle,
FlIes carrymg news, harpIes dnppmg sh-t through the alt,
The slough of unamlable hars, bog of stupldtnes,
malevolent stupldlnes, and stupIdItIes, the sot! hvmg pus, full of vetmln, dead maggots begettmg lIve maggots,
slum owners,
usurers squeeZIng crab-hce, pandars to authorIty, pets-de-Ioup, sltnng on pt! es of stone books, obscurmg the texts WIth pht! ology,
htdmg them under thelt persons, the aIr WIthout refuge of st! ence,
the dnft of ! tce, teetrung, and above It the mouthmg of orators,
the arse-belcrung of preachers
And Invlrua,
the corruptto, fretor, fungus,
hqwd anImals, melted ossmcatlons, slow rot, frend combustIOn,
chewed CIgar-butts, Without dIgnIty, WIthout tragedy, m EplSCOpUS, wavmg a condom full of black-beetles,
monopohsts, obstructors of knowledge, obstructors of dlstnbutlon
? xv
TEiE saccharescent, lymg 10 glucose,
the pompous 10 cotton wool
With a stench hke the fats at Grasse,
the great scabrous arse-hole, sh-ttmg flles, rumbhng Wlth Imperlahsm,
ultunate unnal, mlddan, plSswa110w Without a cloaca,
r less rowdy,
EP1SCOpUS
SlS,
head down, screwed Into the swlll,
h1S legs waVlD. g and pustular,
a clerlcal Jock strap hangmg back over the navel
h1S condom full of black beedes,
ta"ttoo marks round the anus, and a CIrcle of lady golfers about htm
the courageous Vlolent
slashmg themselves With kruves,
the cowardly mClters to vlolence
nand h eaten by weeVIls,
11 hke a swollen fO! :tus,
the beast wlth a hundred legs, USURA
and the sWllI full of respecters,
bOWIng to the lords of the place,
explammg Its advantages,
and the laudatores tempons actI
clalmlng that the sh-t used to be blacker and rlcher
and the fabtans cry10g for the petnficatIon of putrefaction, for a new dung-flow cut In lozenges,
the conservatives chattlllg,
dlStlngwhed by gatters of slum-flesh, and the back-scratchers 10 a great rucle,
complalllmg of msuffiClent attention, 64
? the search WithOut end, counterclaxm for the mlSslDg scratch the lItigious,
a green bIle-sweat, the news owners, S
the anonymous :? fe, broken
hxs head shot hke a cannon-ball toward the glass gate, peermg through It an mstant,
fallmg back to the trunk, epileptIc, et nulla :6. dentla mter eos,
all With theIr tWitchmg backs, WIth daggers, and bottle ends, waitIng an
unguarded moment,
a stench, stuck In the nostrxIs, beneath one
nothmg that mIght not move, mobIle earth, a dung hatchmg obscenxtIes,
mchoate error, boredom born out of boredom,
bntish weeklIes, COPIeS of the c, a multIple nn,
and I SaId, co How IS It done) "
and my gwde Tlus sort breeds by sClSslon,
ThIS IS the fourmx1honth tumour
In thIs bolge bores are gathered,
In:6. nxte pUS flakes, scabs of a lastIng pox
skm-flakes, repetItiOns, erOSIons, endless ram from the arse-haIrs, as the earth moves, the centre
passes over all parts m succeSSIon, a contInual bum-belch
dIstrIbutIng Its productIons 65
? Andlamo'
One's feet sunk,
the welsh of mud gnpped one, no hand-rail, the bog-suck lIke a whIrl-pool,
and he SaId
Close the pores of your feet' And my eyes clung to the hOrIzon,
od mIXIng WIth soot, and agam PlotInus
To the door,
Keep your eyes on the mIrror
Prayed we to the Medusa,
petnfymg the sod by the shIeld,
HoldIng It downward
he hardened the track
Inch before us, by Inch,
the matter reSIStIng,
The heads rose from the shIeld, lussmg, held downwards
Devounng maggots,
the face only half potent,
The serpents' tongues
grazmg the swt11 top,
Hammermg the souse mto hardness, the narrow rast,
Half the WIdth of a sword's edge
By tlus through the dem eVIl,
now smkmg, now chngmg,
Holdmg the unsInkable shteld
ObhVlon,
forget how long, sleep, faIntIng nausea
. . Whether 10 NaIShapur or Babylon " I heard In the dream
PlotInus gone,
66
? And the shIeld tIed under me, woke, The gate swung on Its hlnges, Pantlng hke a sIck dog, staggered, Bathed In alkalI, and In aCId
'H~MOll T' 'HE~Wll
blInd Wlth the sunlIght,
Swollen-eyed, rested,
lIds SInkIng, darkness unconsCIous
? XVI
}f.
? LIes heavy m my arms, dead we1ght Drownmg, WIth tears, new Eros,
And the hfe goes on, moomng upon bare h1lls, Flame leaps from the hand, the ram 1S hstless, Yet drmks the thlrst from our hps,
sohd as echo,
PaSSlon to breed a form 10 shImmer of ram-blur,
But Eros drowned, drowned, heavy-half dead WIth tears
For dead Slcheus
LIfe to make mock of motIon For the husks, before me, move,
The words rattle shells gIven out by shells The hve man, out of lands and prISons,
shakes the dry pods,
Probes for old WIlls and frIendshIps, and the bIg ! ocust-casques Bend to the tawdry table,
LIft up theIr spoons to mouths, put fOlks m cutlets,
And make sound lIke the sound of VOIces
Lorenzacclo
Bemg more hve than they, more full of flames and VOIces Ma se mor1sse'
Credesse caduto da se, ma se morISse And the tallmddference moves,
a more hvmg shell,
Dnft m the alr of fate, dry phantom, but mtact o Alessandro, cruef and thrIce warned, watcher,
Eternal watcher of thmgs, Of thmgs, of men, of paSSIOns
Eyes floatmg m dry, dark alr,
E bIondo, Wlth glass-grey ms, Wlth an even SIde-fall of halt The stIff, stIll features
? VIII
THESE fragments you have shelved (shored) "Slut'" "BItch'" Truth and Calhop;: Slang10g each other sous les laurlers
That Alessandro was negroId Slgtsmund
Frater tamquam Et compater carzsstme tergo
And Malatesta
EqUlvalent to
hannt de dzcts entza
Glohanm of the MedICI,
Florence
Letter receIved, and 10 the matter of our Messlte GlanozlO,
One from htm also, sent on In form and WIth all due dIspatch, HaVing added your wlShes and memoranda
As to arrang10g peace between you and the K10g of Ragona,
So far as I am concerned, It wd
GIve me the greatest possible pleasure,
At any rate nothlOg wd gIve me more pleasure
or be more acceptable to me,
And I shd hke to be party to It, as was promIsed me,
etther as participant or adherent As for my serVIce money,
Perhaps you and your father wd draw It And send It on to me as qUIckly as pOSSIble And tell the Maestro dz pe1'ltore
That there can be no question of
HIS paIntIng the walls for the moment,
As the mortar IS not yet dry
And It wd be merely work chucked away
(buttato VIa)
? But I want It to be qUIte clear, that untIl the chapels are ready I wlll arrange for hIm to palnt somethlng else
So that both he and I shall
Get as much enjoyment as possIble from It,
And In order that he may enter my serVIce
And also because you WrIte me that he needs cash,
I want to arrange With hIm to gIve hIm so much per year And to assure hIm that he Will get the sum agreed on You may say that I WIll depOSIt securIty
For hIm wherever he hkes
And let me have a clear answer,
For I mean to give hIm good treatment
So that he may come to hve the rest
Of hts hfe m my lands-
Unless you put hIm off It -
And for thIS I mean to make due prOVISIon,
So that he can work as he lIkes,
Or waste hIS tIme as he lIkes
(affattgandose per suo ptacere 0 no non glt manchera la proVlxtone mat)
neveI lackmg prOVlSlon SIGISMUNDUS P ANDOLPHUS DE MALA TESTIS
In campo Ilim Doment VenetorU1n aze 7 aprzlts 1449 contra Cremonam
and because the aforesaId most IllustrIOUS Duke of Mllan
Is content and Wills that the aforesaId Lord 51gISmundo Go mto the serVIce of the most magnIficent commune of the Florentlnes
For alhance defenSIve of the two states,
Therefore between the aforesaid IllustrIOUS Sigismund And the respectable man Agnolo della Stufa,
ambassador, SlndlC and procurator ApPolnted by the ten of the bally, etc, the half
29
? Of these 50,000 florIns, free of attal11der, For 1400 cavalry and four hundred foot To come Into the terrene of the commune
or elsewhere m Tuscany . & please the ten of the Bally,
And to be hImself thele With them In the sen-ICC of the commune
WIth hIS horsemen and hIS footmen
(gente dt cavallo c da pte) etc
Aug 5 1452, regtster of the Tw of tbe Barly
From the forked rocks of Penna and BIlh, on Cal pegna With the road leading under the cMf,
m the WInd-shelter Into Tuscany, And the north road, toward the Marecchla
the mud-stretch full of cobbles
L yra
. . Ye Spltlts who of olde were m thIS lard Each under Love, 1. nd shaken,
Go WIth your lutes, awaken
The summer WithIn her mmd,
Who hath not Helen for peer
Yseut nor Batsabe " With the InterruptIon
Magnifico, compater et cartSS11ne
(JohannI dl Coslmo) VenIce has taken me on agaIn
At 7,000 a month, fiorznt dt Camera For 2,000 horse and four hundred footmen, And It rams here by the gallon,
We have had to dig a new dItch
In three or four days
I shall try to set up the bombards
Under the plumes, With the flakes and small wads of colour ShowerIng from the balCOnIes
30
? WIth the sheets spread from Wlndows,
WIth leaves and small branches pmned on them,
Arras hung from the raumgs, out of the dus~, WIth pheasant taus upnght on theIr forelocks, The small whIte horses, the
Twelve gIrls ndmg m order, green satin In panmer'd habIts, Under the baldachmo, sIlver'd WIth heavy stItches,
Blanca VIscontI, WIth Sforza,
The peasant's son and the duchess,
To RImmI, and to the wars southward,
Boats drawn on the sand, red-orange salls m the creek's mouth, For two days' pleasure, mosdy rr 1a pesca," ? Shmg,
D I CUI m the whIch he, Francesco, godeva molto
To the war southward
In whIch he, at that tune, receIved an excellent hldmg And the Greek emperor was In FloLence
(Ferrara haVIng the pest) And WIth hIm Gemlsthus Plethon
Talkmg of the war about the temple at Delphos,
And of POSEIDON, concret Allgemezne,
And tellmg of how Plato went to Dlonyslus of Syracuse Because he had observed that tyrants
Were most efficIent In all that they set theIr hands to,
But he was unable to persuade DlOnyslUs
To any amelIoratIon
And m the gate at Ancona, between the foregate
And the mam-gates
SIgIsmundo, ally, come through an enemy force,
To patch up some sort of treaty, passes one gate
And they shut It before they open the next gate, and he says . . Now you have me,
Caught lIke a hen In a coop"
And the captam of the watch says . . Yes MeSSIre SIglsmundo, But we want thIs town for ourselves"
31
? WIth the church agamst hIm, WIth the MedICI bank for Itself,
WIth wattle Sforza agaInst hIm
Sforza Francesco, wattle-nose,
Who mamed hIm (SIgismundo) hIs (Francesco's)
Daughter In September,
Who stole Pesaro In October (as Brogho says tr bc~tlalmel1te") Who stood wIth the VenetIans In November,
WIth the Mtlanese m December,
Sold Mtlan In November, stole Muan In December
Or sometbUlg of that sort,
Commanded the Muanese In the sprmg,
the VenetIans at mIdsummer,
The Mtlanese In the autumn,
And was Naples' ally In October,
He, SIglsmundo, te11tplum tedtficavtt In Romagna, teemmg WIth cattle thleves,
wlth the game lost Ul mld-channel, And never qUIte lost tul' 50,
and never qUIte lost ttll the end, m Romagna, So that Galeaz sold Pesaro . . to get pay for hIS cattle"
And POlctiers, you know, Guulaume POlctleIs, had brought the song up out of Spam
With the SIngers and vieis But here they wanted a settIng. By Mareccrua, where the water comes down over the cobbles And Mason had come to VerucchlO,
and the sword, Paolo tl Bello's,
caught m the arras And, m Este's house, Parlsma
Paid
For thIS tnbe pald always, and the house Called also Atreldes',
And the wmd IS stu! for a lIttle
31
? And the dusk rolled
to one sIde a httle
And he was twelve at the ome, Sigismundo, And no dues had been paId for three years, And hIS elder brother gone PIOUS,
And that year they fought m the streets, And that year he got out to Cesena
And brought back the leVIes,
And that year he crossed by nxght over Fogha, and
33
? IX
ONE year floods rose.
One year they fought 10 the sno'" 5,
One year hau fell. breakIng the trec~ md walls Down here In the marsh they trapped hIm
In one year,
And he stood m the water up to hIs neck
to keep the hounds off him, And he floundered about In the marsh and came m after three days.
That was Astorre ManfredI of Faenza who worked the ambush
and set the dogs off to find hIm, In the marsh, down here under Mantua, And he fought m Fano, In a street fight,
and that was nearly the end of him,
And the Emperor came down and knxghted us, And they had a wooden castle set up for fiesta,
And one year BastnlO went out Into the courtyard
Where the lIsts were, and the pahsades
had been set for the tourneys, And he talked down the antI-Hellene,
And there was an heIr male to the selgnor,
And Madame Gmevra dIed
And he, Slgu;mundo, was Capitan for the VenetIans And he had sold off small castles
and butit the great Rocca to hIS plan, And he fought lIke ten devus at Monteluro
and got notll1ng but the VlctOry And old Sforza bItched us at Pesaro,
(SIC) March the x6th tC that Mesme Alessandro Sforza
IS become lord of Pesaro
? through the wangle of the Illus 5gr Mr Fedtlcho d'Orblllo Who worked the wangle with Galeaz
through the WigglIng of Messer Francesco, Who waggled It so that Galeaz should sell Pesaro
to Alex and Fossembrone to Feddy, and he hadn't the nght to sell
And thlS he did besttalmente, that IS Sforza dId besttalmente as he had promised hun, SI81smundo, per capttoJz
to see that he, Malatesta, should have Pesaro" And this cut us off from our south half
and fimshed our game, thus, In the begmnmg, And he, 5181smundo, spoke hiS mmd to Francesco
and we drove them out of the Marches
And the Kmg 0' Ragona, Alphonse Ie roy d'Aragon, was the next nau 10 our coffin,
And all you can say IS, anyway,
that he 51glSmundo called a town councIl
And Valturlo said cc as well for a sheep as a lamb"
and thIS change-over (htec tradItIo)
As old bladder saId rr rem eorum saluavtt "
Saved the Florent1Oc state, and that, maybe, was somethIng And co Florence our natural ally" as they said 10 the meeting
for whatever that was worth afterward And he began buudmg the TEMPIO,
and Pohxena, hlS second WIfe, dIed And the Venetians sent down an ambassador And said co speak humanely,
But tell rumIt's no tune for ralSIng rus pay" And the Venetians sent down an ambassador
Wlth three pages of secret InStructIons
To the effect Did he thmk the campaign was a Joy-tlde) And old Wattle-wattle slIpped 1Oto MIlan
But he couldn't stand 51dg being so high With the Venetians And he talked It over with Feddy, and Feddy saId C< Pesaro . .
35
? And old Foscarl wrote It Caro mlO
. . If we splIt wIth Francesco you can have It . . And we'll help you m every wa) possIble"
But Feddy offered It sooner And Slglsmundo got up a few arches,
And stole that marble 10 Classe, . . stoic" that IS,
Casus est talts
Foscart doge, to the prefect of Ravenn1
. . Why, what, whIch, thunder, damn1tlOn'~~' "
Cams est talzs
FUlPPO, commendatary of the abbazI1
Of Sant Apolhnalre, Classe, Cardmal of Bologfl1
That he dId one mght (quadam 11octC) sell to the
Illmo DO, DO Slgismund Malatesta
Lord of Anmm1Oum, marble, porphyry, serpentme,
Whose men, Slglsmundo's, came wIth more than an hundred two wheeled ox carts and deported, for the beautlfymg
of the tempto where was Santa MarIa m TrIVlO
Where the same are now on the walls Four hundred
ducats to be paId back to the abbazt4 by the saId swmdlIng CardInal or hIs heIrS
grnnh' rrnnh, pthg
wheels, plaustra, oxen under nIght-shIeld,
And on the 13th of August AloysIus Purtheo,
The next abbot, to Slglsmundo, receipt for 200 ducats Corn-salve for the damage done 10 that scurry
And there was the row about that German-Burgundian female And It Was hiS meSSlamc year, Pohorcetes,
but he was be10g a bIt too POLUMETIS
And the Venetlans wouldn't gtve hIm SIX months vacatlon
And he went down to the old bnck heap of Pesaro and waIted for Feddy
36
? And Feddy finally saId" I am commg' to help Alessandro"
And he saId cc ThIs tune MIster Feddy has done It . . He saId . . Brogho, I'm the goat ThIS tIme
Mr Feddy has done It (m'l'ha calata) " And he'd lost hIS Job WIth the VenetIans,
And the stone dIdn't come In from Istria
And we sent men to the suk war,
And Wattle never paxd up on the naIl
Though we SIgned on WIth MIlan and Florence, And he set up the bombards In muck down by Vada
where nobody else could have set 'em and he took the wood out of the bombs and made 'em of two scoops of metal
And the Jobs gettIng smaller and smaller, Unci he sIgned on WIth SIena,
And that tIme they grabbed hxs post-bag And what was It, anyhow>
Pitighano, a man WIth a ten acre lot, Two lumps of tufa,
and they"d taken hlS pasture land from hun, And SIdg had got back theIr horses,
and he had two bIg lumps of tufa
WIth Slx hundred pIgs In the basements And the poor deVIls were dymg of cold
And thIS IS what they found m the post-bag
Ex Anmmo d,e xxn Decembrts
rr Magntfice tiC potens domme, mt smgulartsstme
cc I adVIse yr LordshIp how
cc I have been WIth master AlWIdge who
. . has shown me the deSIgn of the nave that goes jn the mIddle, cc of the church and the deSIgn for the roof and "
cc JHesus,
rr Magntfico exso SIgnor MlO
. . Sence to-day I am recommanded that I have to tel you my
37
? . . father's op. mum that he has shode to Mr Gcnare about the . . valts of the cherch etc
c. GlOvane of Master alwIse P S I t~lUk It advlsabl that . . I shud go to rome to talk to mIster Alb(. rt so as I can no . . what he thInks about It nte
. . Sagramoro "
rf Illustre szgnor 11110, MessIre Battista "
. . FIrst Ten slabs best red, se"en by I 5, by onc thIrd, " EIght dItto, good red, 15 by three by one,
. . SIX of same, 15 by one by one
. . EIght columns 15 by three and one third
etc WIth carrIage, danars I 5I . . MONSEIGNEUR
. . Madame ! sotta has had me WrIte today about Sr Galeazzo's . . daughter The man who saId young pullets make thIn . . soup, knew what he was talkIng about We went to see the . . gIrl the other day for all the good that dId, and she dented . . the whole matter and kept her end up wIthout lOSIng her . . temper I thInk Madame Ixotta very nearly eAhausted the . . matter M, pare che aHa decto hogm choma All the . . children are well Where you are everyone IS pleased and "happy because of your takIng the chate'lu here we are the . . reverse as you mIght say drIftIng wIthout a rudder Madame
. . LucreZla has probably, or should have, WrItten to you, I
. . suppose you have the letter by now " remembered to you
. . sagramoro to put up the derncks . . beams at . .
Everyone wants to be 2. I Dec D de M "
There IS a supply of
. . MAGNIFICENT LORD WITH DUB REVERENCE
. . MessIre Malatesta IS well and asks for you every day He
"IS so much pleased With hIS pony, It wd take me a month . . to wrIte you all the fun he gets out of that pony I want to . . agaIn remmd you to wrIte to GeorgIo Rambottom or to hls
38
? . . boss to fix up that wall to the httle garden that madame Isotta . . uses, for It IS all flat on the ground now as I have already told . . hIm a lot of t1Il1es, for all the good that does, so I am Wrttmg . . to your lordshIp m the matter I have done all th'lt I can, for . . all the good that does as noboddy hear can do anythIng . . WIthout you
. . your faithful
LUNARDA DA PALLA 2. 0 Dec 1454"
cc gone over It WIth all the foremen and engmeers And " about the suver for the small medal "
tt Magmfiee ae potens
. . because the walls of "
tt Malatesta de Malatestls ad Magntficum Domtnum Patremque tt suum
. . Exl! O Dno et Dno sm Dno S1g1smundum Pandolfi FIllum . . Malatestls CapItan General
c? Magm1l. cent and Exalted Lord and Fathel In especIal my "lord With due recommend'ltlon your letter has been pre- . . sented to me by Gentlhno da Gradara and With It the bay . . pony (lonZlnO balectmo) the whIch you have sent me, and to whIch appears m my eyes a fine caparlson'd charger, upon " which I mtend to learn all there IS to know about ndmg, In . . consIderatlon of yr paternal affectIon for whIch I than! . . to your excellency thus bnefly and pray you contmue to hold C< me m thlS esteem notIfYIng you by the bearer of thIS that . . we are all m good health, as I hope and deslre }our Exct to LordshIp IS also WIth contInued remembrance I remaIn
<t Your son and servant
MALATESTA DE MALATESTIS
Gwen In Rtmtm, thIS the 2. 2nd day 0/ December anno domInI 1454 "
(m the sIxth year of h,s age)
39
? ? ? ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE
tc Unfittmg as It IS that I should offer counsels to Hanntbal "
. . Magnzfier! ac potelH d0111111? , dom1l1(, 1111 HlI! ! ,ularmlme, "httmtlz recomendatzone PI emma etc ThIS to advise your
. . Mgt LdshP how the second load of Veronese marble has ? ? finally got here, after bemg held up at Ferrara with no end . . of fuss and botheratlOn, the whole of It havmg been there t. unloaded
. . I learned how It happened, and It h1S co~t a few flonns to . . get back the saId load whIch had been seIzed for the skIpper's . . debt and defalcatlOn, he havmg fled when the lIghter was . . seIzed But that yr Mgt Ldshp may not lose the moneys . . paId out on hIs account I have had the lIghter brought here . . and am holdIng It, agamst hIs arrIval If not we stIll have t'the lIghter
. . As soon as the Xmas fetes are over I WIll have the stone ? ? floor laId m the sacresty, for whIch the stone 15 already cut . . The wall of the buudmg IS fimshed and I shall now get the . . roof on
. . We have not begun puttmg new stone Into the martyr to chapel, first because the heavy frosts wd certamly spOIl . . the Job, secondly because the ahofants aren't yet here and to one can't get the measurements for the cormce to the columns . . that are to rest on the ahofants
. . They are domg the stairs to your room In the c1stle I tt have had Messire Antonto degh Attl'S court paved and the . . stone benches put m It
t. Ottavian 15 illummatIng the bull I mean the bull for ? ? the chapel All the stone-cutters are waItIng for sprmg tt weathertostartworkagaIn
? ? The tomb IS all done except part of the lId, and as soon as . . MesSlre AgostInO gets back from Cesena I wIll see that he . . :finIshes It, ever recommendIng me to yr Mgt Ldshp
. .
belIeve me yr faIthful PETRUS GENARIIS"
? That's what they found 10 the post-bag And some more of It to the effect that
he . . hved and ruled . .
. . et amava perdutamente Ixotta deglt Att. " e . . ne fu degna . .
. . constans tn propostto . . PlaC1ut ocults prtnCZpls
. . p'lelchra aspectu"
. . populo grata (Italtaeque decus)
. . and bwlt a temple so full of pagan works"
I e SlglSmund
and m the style cc Past rUlO'd Latium . . The filIgree hldmg the gothic,
with a touch of rhetotlc 10 the whole And the old sarcophagi,
such as he, smothered m grass, by San VItale
4I
? x
AD the poor devtls dymg of cold, outsIde Saran0,
And from the other sIde, from m~ld(. the chateau, Orsml, Count Pltlghano, on the 17th of November "Slggy, darhnt, wd you not stop makmg wat 011
. . l11senslbIe objects, such as trees and domestIc VlOes, that have . . no means to hIt back but If you wtll hIre youlself out to a . . commune (SIena) whIch you ought r'lther to rule than
. . serve "
whIch with Trachulo's damn'd epIstle And what of It al1)'how~ a man WIth a tln acre lot, Pltlghano a lump of tufa,
And S had got back the r horses And the poor devtls dymg of cold
(And there was another tIme, you know, He sIgned on WIth the Fanesl,
and Just couldn't be bothered ) And there were three men on a one man Job
And CareggI wantmg the baton, And not gettlOg It Just then 1U any case
And he, SIglsmundo, refused an 1OvltatlOn to lunch In commemoratIOn of Carm1gnola
(VIde Vemce, between the two columns where Carmagnola was el. . ecuted )
Et
rr anno messo a saccho el StglIor Stgzsmul1do "
As FJlPPo StrozZl wrote to Zan Lottlen, then 10 Naples,
. . I thlOk they'll let hIm through at Campigha " Florence, Arehtvto Storteo, 4th Serres t tlt, e
rr La Guerra det Senest col conte dt pzttgltano"
And he found Carlo Gonzaga sltt10g lIke a mud-frog 10 Orbetello
? And he saId
tt Caro mlo, I can not receIve you
It really IS not the moment"
And BroglIo says he ought to have tIpped Gono Lolh But he got back home here somehow,
And Plccmmo was out of a Job,
And the old lOW WIth Naples contmued
And what he saId was all nght m Mantua,
And Borso had the paIr of th(. m up to Bel Flore,
The paIr of them, Sigismundo and Fedenco Urhmo,
Or perhaps 10 the palace, FClrua, SlglSml. 1nd l. 'pstalrs And Urbmo's gang 10 the basement,
And a regIment of guards 10, to keep order,
For all the good that dId
tt Te cavcro la bzedella del corpo' " El conte levatost
tt 10 te cavero la corata ate'"
And that day Coslmo smIled, That IS, the day they saId
. . DruSlana IS to marry Count GIacomo " (Plccm1Oo) 1tn sorrtso maltztoso
Druslana, another of Franco Sfolza's,
It would at least keep the row out of Tuscany
And he fell out of a w1Odow, Count GIacomo,
Three days after hIS death, that was years later In Naples, For trust10g Ferdmando of Naples,
And old Wattle could do notlung about It
Et
INTEREA PRO GRADIBUS BASILlCAE S PIETRI EX ARlDA MATERIA INGENS PYRA EXTRUITUR IN CUJUS SUMMIT A TE IMAGO SIGIS- MUNDI COLLOCA TUR HOMINIS LlNEAMENT A, ET VESTIMENn MODVM ADEO PROPRIE REDDENS, UT VERA MAGIS PERSONA, QUAM IMAGO VIDERETUR, NE QUEM TAMEN IMAGO FALLERET,
43
? ET SCIUPTURA EX ORE PRODnT, QUAE DICERET SIGISMUNDUS HIC EGO SUM
MALATESTA, FILIUS PANDULPHI, REX PRODITORUM,
DEO ATQUE HOMINIBUS INFESTUS, SACRI CI:NSURA SENATUS IGNI DAMNATUS,
SCRIPTURAM
MUL TI LEGERUNT DEINDE AST ANTE POPULO, IGN! :. IMMISSO,
ET PYR. A SIMULACRUM REPENTE FLAGRA VIT
Com PtO II, Ltv VII, P 85 Yrzarte, p 2. 88
So that xn the end that pot-scraplng httle runt Andreas BenZl, da Siena
Got up to spout out the bunkum
That that monstrous swollen, swellxng s o b
Papa PIO Secundo
lEneas SllVIUS Plccolomlnl da Siena
Had told hun to spout, In their best bear's-greased latlnlty,
Stupro, efeae, aaulter,
homoadta, parrzadta ac pmurus,
presbttertetdta, Max, Itbtdznosus,
WIves, Jew-girls, nuns, necrophulast, fornzcarzum fie stcartum,
prod'ltor, raptor, tnC"estuosus, lnC"endtarzus, ae concubmmus,
and that he rejected the whole symbol of the apostles, and that he said the monks ought not to own property and that he dlSbeheved In the temporal power,
neither chrIStian, Jew, genttie,
nor any sect pagan, nzsz forsttan eptcureee
And that he dId among other thUlgS
Empty the fonts of the chlexa of holy water And fill up the same full WIth mk
44
? That he mIght 10 God's dIshonour
Stand before the doors of the saId chlexa
Mak10g mock of the 10ky faIthful, they
Issu10g thence by the doors 10 the pale lIght of the sunrIse WhIch mIght be consIdered youthful levIty
but was really a profound 1Odlcatlon,
. . Whence that hIS, Slgtsmundo's, fretor :filled the earth And stank up through the aIr and stars to heaven Where - save they were unmune from suffermgs-
It had made the emparadlsed spmts pewk"
from theIr Jeweled terrace
rr Lussurzoso meestuoso, perfide, SOZZU1e ae crapulone, assassmo, mgordo, avaro, superbo, ,nfidelc
fattore d, monete false, sodomJtleo, uxorzCJdo"
and the whole lump lot given over to
I mean after PIO had said, or at least PIO says that he SaId that thiS was elegant oratory rr Oratlonem ElegantlSszmam et ornatzsszmam
Audwtmus venerabllts zn Xt, frat1 es ae dtlectzsslmz fibt (stone In hIS bladder
testtbus tdonets)
The lump lot gIven over
To that kid-slapp1Og fanatIC 11 cardInale dl San PIetro In Vmco! t
To find hIm guuty, of the lump lot
As he duly dId, calhng rumour, and MeSSlre FederiCO d'Ulh. . ra And other equally ununpeachable WItnesses
So they burnt our brother 10 effigy
A rare magmficent effigy costIng 8 florinS 48 bol
(I e for the paIr, as the first one wasn't a good enough lIkeness) And Borso saId the tIme was tll-swted
to tanta novzta, such dOIngs or innovatIons, 45
? God's enemy and man's enemy, stuprum, raptum
I N R I SlglSmund Imperator, Rex Prodltorum
And old PIlls who trIed to get hIm mto a front rank actIon In order to dnve the lear guard at hIs buttocks,
Old PIlls hsted among the murdered, although he
Came out of }axlllVlng later
Et les angloys ne povans desraciner ventn de hayne
Had got back GlSors from the Angevms,
And the Angevms were gunnmg after Naples
And we dragged m the Angevms,
And we dragged m LOUIS Eleventh,
And the tIers Caltxte was dead, and Alfonso,
And agamst us we had ? ? thIS }Eneas" and young Ferdmando That we had smashed at PlOmbmo and dnven out of the Terrene of the Florentmes,
And Plccmmo, out of a Job,
And he, Sldg, had had three chances of Makmg It up WIth Alfonso, and an offer of Marnage allIance,
And what he Sald was all nght there m Mantua,
But PIO, SometIme or other, PIO lost hIS pustulous temper And they struck alum at Tolfa, m the pope's land,
To pay for theIr devIlment And Francesco saId
I also have suffered When you take It, glve me a slIce
And they nearly JaUed a chap for saymg
The Job was mal hecho, and they caught poor old Pastl In Vemce, and were hke to pull all hIS teeth out,
And they had a bow-shot at Borso
As he was gomg down the Grand Canal In hlS gondola
(the mce kmd With 26 barbs on It) 46
? And they saId Novvy'll sell any man for the sake of Count GIacomo
(PlcClntnO, the one that fell out of the wmdow)
And they came at us With theIr eccleSlastlcallegates
UntIl the eagle ht on hIS tent pole
And he saId The Romans would have called that an augury E gradment It al1tzch, cavaler roman]
davano fed a qUtstl annutzl,
All I want you to do IS to follow the orders, They've got a bIgger army,
but there are more men In thIS camp
47
? XI
EGRADMENT It anttchz cavaler roman1 davano fcd a qUlstt annut" And he put us under the chiefs,
and the chiefs went back to thelr squadrons Bernardo ReggJ. o, Nlc Benzo, GlOvan Nestorno,
Paulo Vlterbo, Buardmo of Brescla,
Cetho Brandolmo,
And Sunone Malespma, Petracco Samt Archangelo, fuoberto da Canossa,
And for the tenth Agmolo da Roma
And that gay bIrd Plero della Bella, And to the eleventh Roberto,
And the papIShes were three thousand on horses,
<idly cavalh tre milia,
And a thousand on foot,
And the Lord SlgISmundo had but mdle tre cento cavallI And hardly 500 fantl (and one spmgard),
And we beat the papishes and fought them back through the tents
And he came up to the dyke agam
. And fought through the dyke-gate
And It went on from dawn to sunset
And we broke them and took theIr baggage
and mille cmquecento cavallI E It hOIIllm dl Messtre Slgtsmundo
non furono che IIlllle trecento
And the VenetIans sent m theIr compltments
And vanous and sundry sent In thetr complunents, But we got It next August,
And Roberto got beaten at Fano,
And he went by shlp to Tarentum,
48
? I mean SIdg went to Tarentum
And he found 'em, the antI-Aragons,
busted and weepIng Into tllexr beards
And they, the paplshes, came up to the walls,
And that nIck-nosed sob Feddy UrbIno
SaId . tParchee/lIordtqltesto SzgtS mundo""
" They say he dodders about the streets
. . And can put hIS hand to neIther one thmg nor the other,'~ And he was In the SIck wards, and on the hIgh tower
And everywhere, keepIng us at It
And, thank God, they got the sIckness outsIde
As we had the sIckness InsIde,
And they had netther town nor castello
But dey got de mos' bloody rottenes' peace on u s -
Qualz loch, sono questt
SoglIano,
Torrano and La Serra, SbrIgara, San MartInO, Clola, Pondo, SpInello, Clgna and Buchlo, Pratalxne, Monte Cogruzzo,
and the vula at Rufiano RIght up to the door-yard
And anythIng else the Revmo Monslgnore could remember. And the water-rIghts on the SaVIO
(And the salt heaps wIth the reed mats on them Gone long ago to the VenetIans)
And when lame Novvy dIed, they got even Cesena
And he wrote to young Plero
Send me a couple of huntIn' dogs,
They may take my mInd off It
And one day he was sIttmg In the chlexa,
On a bIt of cornIce, a bIt of stone grooved for a cornIce,. Too narrow to :fit hIS bIg beam,
hunched up and notmg what was done wrong,
49
? And an old woman came In and giggled to 'iCC him slttmg there In the dark
She nearly fell over hun, And he thought
Old Zuhano IS fimshed,
If he's left anythmg we must see the kids get It,
WrIte that to Robert
And Vanm must gIve that peasant a decent pflce for hiS horses, Say that I WIll refund
A. nd the wnts run In Fano,
For the long room over the arches
Sub annulo pucatorts, palattum seu Cltrtam OLIM de Malatest. s Gone, and Cesena, Zezena d"'e b'''e colonize,
And the bIg dIamond pawned 10 Vemce,
And he gone out mto Morea,
Where they sent him to do In the Mo'ammeds, WIth S,ooo agaInst 2. S,OOO,
and he nearly died out 10 Sparta, Morea, Lakeda:mon,
and came back with no pep In him And we SIt here I have sat here
For forty four thousand years,
And they trapped him down here In the m'1rsh land,
10 '46 that was,
And the poor deVIls dYing of cold, that was Rocca Sorano, And he Said 10 h15 young youth
V oghamo,
che Ie donne, we wIll that they, Ie donne, go ornate, As be thetr pleasure, for the C1ty'S glory thereby
-\nd PlatIna Said afterward, when they JaIlrd hIm
And the AccademIa Romana,
For SIngmg to Zeus m the catacombs,
So
? Yes, I saw hIm when he was down here
Ready to murder fatty Barbo, "Formosus," And they want to know what we talked about)
. . de l. tterlS et de armiS, praestanttbusque mgentls, Both of anCIent tImes and our own, books, arms,
And of men of unusual gemus,
Both of anCIent tImes and our own, In short the usual subjects Of conversatIon between mtelhgent men"
And he With hIS luck gone out of hIm
64 lances m hlS company, and hIs pay 8,000 a year, 64 and no more, and he not to try to get any more And all of It down on paper
sexagmta quatuoy nee tentatu1 habere plures
But leave to keep 'em m Rtmml
1 e to watch the VenetIans:-
Damn pIty he dIdn't
(1 e get the kmfe mto hIm)
Llttle fat squab <C Formosus . . Barbo said . . Call me Formosus" But the conclave wouldn't have It
and they called hlm Paolo Secondo
And he left three horses at one gate And three horses at the other,
And Fatty recelved hIm
Wlth a guard of seven cardmals . . whom he could trust -,
And the castelan of Monte:fiore wrote down,
. . You'd better keep hun. out of the dIstrIct
. . When he got back here from Sparta, the people ? ? Llt:fires,andturnedoutyelhng ? PANDOLro'I"
In the gloom, the gold gathers the lIght agamst It
5I
? And one day he said Henry, you C'ln h1Ve It, On condltlon, you can have It for four months You 11 stand any reasonable Joke that I play on you, And you can Joke bach. .
provided you don't get too ormy And they put It all down In wrItmg
for a green cloak with sLIver brocade
Actum zn Cattro Szgmnundo1 prewzte Roberto de ValtuHbus sponte et ex certa sctenta to Enrtcho de Aquabel/o
? XII
AD we SIt here
under the wall,
Arena romana, DlOcletlan's, les gradms
quarante-trOls rangees en calcaIre
Baldy Bacon
bought all the lIttle copper penUles m Cuba
Un centavo, dos centavos,
told hIs peons to <<brmg 'em m "
c< Bnng 'em to the mam shack," saId Baldy, And the peons brought 'em,
c< to the mam shack brought 'em,"
As Henry would have saId
NIcholas Castano m Habana,
He also had a few centavos, but the others Had to pay a percentage
Percentage when they wanted centavos, PublIc centavos
Baldy's mterest Was m money busmess
<<No Interest In any other kmd uv bISrus," Saxd Baldy
Sleepmg WIth two buck mggers chamed to hun,. GuardIa regIa, chamed to hIS waIst
To keep 'em from slIppmg off m the nIght, Bemg by now unpopular wIth the Cubans,
By fever reduced to Ibs 108
Returned to Manhattan, ultunately to Manhattan %4 E 47th, when I met htm,
Domg Job prmtmg, 1 e, agent,
gOIng to hIS old acquaxntances,
Hls office In Nassau St , dIstrIbutIng Jobs to the prInters,.
53
? CommercIal statIOnely,
and later, 111surance,
Employers' habIhty,
odd sorts of 111surance,
FIre on brothels, etc, commISSIOn, RIS1l1g from 15 dollars a wed. . ,
Pollon a'anth1 0 pon tde11,
Knew whIch shIPP1l1g compames wele most (. ueiess,
where a man was most hl"cly
To lose a leg 111 bad hOlst111g mach111ery, Also nre, as when pass111g a whore-house, Arnved, rruraculous Hermes, by accIdent, Two mmutes after the propnetor's flngeios Had been sent for hIm
Saved hIS people 11,000 m four months
on that Cuba Job, But they busted,
Also ran up to 40,000 bones on hIS own,
Once, but wanted to " eat up the whole'r Wall St"
And dropped It all three weeks later
HabItat cum Quade, damn good fellow,
Mons Quade who wore a monocle on a WIde sable nbbon
(Elsewhere recorded) Dos Santos, Jose Mana dos Santos,
Hearmg that a gram shIp
Was wrecked m the estuary of the Tagus, Bought It at auctIOn, nemo obstabat,
No one else bIdd1l1g . . Damn fool'" . . MaIze SpOIled With salt water,
No use, can't do anyth1l1g wIth It" Dos Santos All the stuff rotted With sea water
Dos Santos Portuguese lunatlc bought It, Mortgaged then all hls patrImony,
e tot 10 Sleu aver,
And bought suck1l1g plgS, plgS, small pIgS,
54
? Porkers, throughout all Portugal, fed on the cargo,
FIrst lot mortgaged to buy the second lot, u. ,dsowelter, Porkers of Portugal,
fattemng wIth the fulness of time,
And Dos Santos fattened, a great landlord of Portugal Now gathered to hIS fathers
DId It on water-soaked corn (Watel probably fresh I n that estuary)
Go to hell Apovitch, ChIcago amt the whole punkm JIm X
In a bankers' meetmg,
bored wIth theIr hard luck stones, Bored WIth theIr bloomln' prImness
and the 'tttle wrute rnns
They wore around inSIde the edge of theIr vests
To make 'em look as If they had on two Waistcoats, Told 'em the Tale of the Honest Sauor
Bored WIth theIr proprIeties,
as they sat, the ranked presbyterIans, Directors, dealers through holdmg compames, Deacons In churches, ownmg slum properties, Allas usurers In excelsls,
the qUintessentIal essence ot usurers,
The purveyors of employment, whining over theIr 2. 0 p c
and the hard tImes,
And the bust-up of Brazulan seCUrItIes
(S A securItIes),
And the general uncertamty of all mvestment Save Investment In new bank buIldmgs,
productIve of bank butldmgs, And not lIkely to ease dlStnbutIon,
Bored WIth the way theIr mouths tWItched over thelC CIgar-ends,
55
? SaId Jun X
There once was a pore honest saIlor, a heavy dnnker,
A hell of a cuss, a rowster, a boozer, and
The dnnk finally sent hIm to hospItal,
And they operated, and there was a poor whore m
The woman's ward had a kid, whIle
They were fixmg the satior, and they brought hIm the kId When he came to, and saId
. . Here' thIS IS what we took out of you"
An' he looked at It, an' he got better,
And when he left the hospItal, qUIt the drmk, And when he was well enough
SIgned on WIth another shIp And saved up rus pay money,
and kept on savm' hIS pay money, And bought a share in the srup,
and finally had half shares, Then a srup
and m tune a whole hne of steamers, And educated the kId,
and when the kId was m college, The ole satior was agam taken bad
and the doctors saId he was dymg, And the boy came to the bedSIde,
and the old satior saId
~. Boy, I'm sorry I can't hang on a bIt longer, . . You're young yet
I leave you re-sponsa-blhttes
. . . Wish I could ha' WaIted till you were older, . . . More fit to take over the bISness . .
. . But, father,
c'Don't, don't talk about me, I'm all nght, C'It's you, father"
. . That's It, boy, you Said It 56
? . . You called me your father, and I aIn't
. . I a111't your dad, no,
. . I am not your fader but your moder," quod he, cc Your fader was a rIch merchant 111 Stambouli ,.
57
? XIII
K NGWalked
by the dynastIc temple
and Into the ced'1r grove,
and then out by the lower Civer,
And wIth hIm KhIeu, Tchl
and Tlan the low speakIng
And tt we are unknown," saId Kung, u Y ou will take up chanoteenng)
Then you WIll become known,
. . Or perhaps I should take up charioteerIng, or archery)
It Or the praCtice of pubhc speakIng) "
And Tseu-Iou saId, . . I would put the defences In order," And Khleu Said, . . If I were lord of a prOVInce
I would put It In better order than thIS IS "
And Tchl saId, cc I would prefer a small mountaIn temple, . . Wlth order U l the observances,
Wlth a sUItable performance of the ntual," And Tlan saId, Wlth hIS hand on the strIngs of hIS lute The low sounds contInu1llg
after hIS h'lnd left the strmgs,
And the sound went up lIke smoke, under the leaves, And he looked after the sound
. c The old SWImming hole,
. . And the boys flopping off the planks,
. . Or SItting In the underbrush plaYing mandolms "
And Kung smtled upon all of them equally And Thseng-sie deSIred to know
. . WhIch had answered correctly)"
And Kung saId, . . They have all answered correctly, to That IS to say, each Ul hIS nature"
And Kung ralSed hIS cane agaInst Yuan Jang,
Yuan lang beIng hIS elder, 58
? For Yuan Jang sat by the roadsIde pretendmg to be reCeIVIng wIsdom
And Kung saId
. . You old fool, come out of It,
Get up and do somethIng useful . . And Kung s:ud
. . Respect a chtld's facultIes
. . From the moment It Inhales the clear aIr, . . But a man of fifty who knows nothmg
Is worthy of no respect"
A nd" When the prInce has gathered about hIm
. . All the savants and artISts, hIS rIches wtll be fully mployed" And Kung saId, and wrote on the bo leaves
If a man have not order WIthIn rum He can not spread order about hIm,
And If a man have not order WIthIn hIm HIs famtly WIll not act WIth due order,
And 1f the prInce have not order withm hun He can not put order In hIS domlD1ons
And Kung gave the words . . order"
and co brotherly deference"
And saId nothIng of the . . hfe after death . . And he saId
cc Anyone can run to excesses, It 15 easy to shoot past the mark,
It IS hard to stand nrm In the mIddle . .
And they saId If a man commIt murder
Should hIS father protect hun, and rude hun'
And Kung SaId
He should hIde hun
And Kung gave rus daughter to Kong-Tch'ang Although Kong-Tch'ang was 10 prlSon
And he gave hts mece to Nan-Young
although Nan-Young was out of office
59
? And Kung said <<Wang ruled with moderation, In hiS day the State was well kept,
And even I can remember
A day when the hlstonans left blanks 10 their wrltmgs, I mean for thmgs they didn't know,
But that time seems to be passmg . .
And Kung said, . . Wlthout character you will
be unable to play on that mstrument Or to execute the mUSlC fit for the Odes
The blossoms of the apncot
blow from the east to the west, And I have tried to keep them from fallIng . .
60
? XIV
10 venru In luogo d'ogru luce muto,
The stench of wet coal, pohtlClans
e and n, their wrists bound to
their ankles, Standmg bare bum,
Faces smeared on their rumps, Wide eye on flat buttock,
Bush hangmg for beard,
Addressmg crowds through their arse-holes,
Addressmg the multttudes m the ooze, newts, water-slugs, water-maggots,
And With them r,
a scrupulously clean table-napktn
Tucked under hIs perus,
and m
Who dtshked colloqwal language, Sttff-starched, but soded, collars
clrcumscrIbmg hIS legs, The pImply and hairy skm
pushmg over the collar's edge,
Profiteers drmkmg blood sweetened With sh-t, And behmd them f and the finanCIers
lashmg them Wlth steel Wires
And the betrayers of language
n and the press gang
And those who had hed for hire,
the perverts, the perverters of language,
the perverts, who have set money-lust Before the pleasures of the senses,
howlmg, as of a hen-yard m a prmtIng-house, the clatter of presses,
61
? the bloWIng of dry dust and stray paper, ftttor, sweat, the stench of stale oranges, dung, last cess-pool of the umverse, mystenum, aCid of sulphur,
the pusillammous, ragIng, plungIng Jewels xn mud,
and howhng to find them unstaIned,
sadlc mothers driVIng their daughters to bed wIth decrepItude, sows eatIng their lItters,
and here the placard EIKn~ rH~,
and here THE PERSONNEL CHANGES,
meltmg hke dIrty wax,
decayed candles, the bums smkIng lower,
faces submerged under hams, And In the ooze under them, reversed, foot-palm to foot-palm,
hand-palm to hand-palm, the agents provocateurs The murderers of Pearse and MacDonagh,
Captam H the chief torturer, The petrIfied turd that was Verres,
b1gots, CalVIn and St Clement of Alexandna' black-beetles, burrowmg Into the sh-t,
The sou a decrepitude, the ooze full of morsels,
lost contours, eroSIons
Above the hell-rot the great arse-hole,
broken With pues, hangmg stalactItes,
greasy as sky over Westmxnster, the mVlSlble, many Enghsh,
the place lackmg m Interest, last squalor, utter decrepItude,
62.
? the VIce-crusaders, fahrtmg through stlk, waVIng the ChrlStlan symbols,
frIggIng a tm penny whIstle,
FlIes carrymg news, harpIes dnppmg sh-t through the alt,
The slough of unamlable hars, bog of stupldtnes,
malevolent stupldlnes, and stupIdItIes, the sot! hvmg pus, full of vetmln, dead maggots begettmg lIve maggots,
slum owners,
usurers squeeZIng crab-hce, pandars to authorIty, pets-de-Ioup, sltnng on pt! es of stone books, obscurmg the texts WIth pht! ology,
htdmg them under thelt persons, the aIr WIthout refuge of st! ence,
the dnft of ! tce, teetrung, and above It the mouthmg of orators,
the arse-belcrung of preachers
And Invlrua,
the corruptto, fretor, fungus,
hqwd anImals, melted ossmcatlons, slow rot, frend combustIOn,
chewed CIgar-butts, Without dIgnIty, WIthout tragedy, m EplSCOpUS, wavmg a condom full of black-beetles,
monopohsts, obstructors of knowledge, obstructors of dlstnbutlon
? xv
TEiE saccharescent, lymg 10 glucose,
the pompous 10 cotton wool
With a stench hke the fats at Grasse,
the great scabrous arse-hole, sh-ttmg flles, rumbhng Wlth Imperlahsm,
ultunate unnal, mlddan, plSswa110w Without a cloaca,
r less rowdy,
EP1SCOpUS
SlS,
head down, screwed Into the swlll,
h1S legs waVlD. g and pustular,
a clerlcal Jock strap hangmg back over the navel
h1S condom full of black beedes,
ta"ttoo marks round the anus, and a CIrcle of lady golfers about htm
the courageous Vlolent
slashmg themselves With kruves,
the cowardly mClters to vlolence
nand h eaten by weeVIls,
11 hke a swollen fO! :tus,
the beast wlth a hundred legs, USURA
and the sWllI full of respecters,
bOWIng to the lords of the place,
explammg Its advantages,
and the laudatores tempons actI
clalmlng that the sh-t used to be blacker and rlcher
and the fabtans cry10g for the petnficatIon of putrefaction, for a new dung-flow cut In lozenges,
the conservatives chattlllg,
dlStlngwhed by gatters of slum-flesh, and the back-scratchers 10 a great rucle,
complalllmg of msuffiClent attention, 64
? the search WithOut end, counterclaxm for the mlSslDg scratch the lItigious,
a green bIle-sweat, the news owners, S
the anonymous :? fe, broken
hxs head shot hke a cannon-ball toward the glass gate, peermg through It an mstant,
fallmg back to the trunk, epileptIc, et nulla :6. dentla mter eos,
all With theIr tWitchmg backs, WIth daggers, and bottle ends, waitIng an
unguarded moment,
a stench, stuck In the nostrxIs, beneath one
nothmg that mIght not move, mobIle earth, a dung hatchmg obscenxtIes,
mchoate error, boredom born out of boredom,
bntish weeklIes, COPIeS of the c, a multIple nn,
and I SaId, co How IS It done) "
and my gwde Tlus sort breeds by sClSslon,
ThIS IS the fourmx1honth tumour
In thIs bolge bores are gathered,
In:6. nxte pUS flakes, scabs of a lastIng pox
skm-flakes, repetItiOns, erOSIons, endless ram from the arse-haIrs, as the earth moves, the centre
passes over all parts m succeSSIon, a contInual bum-belch
dIstrIbutIng Its productIons 65
? Andlamo'
One's feet sunk,
the welsh of mud gnpped one, no hand-rail, the bog-suck lIke a whIrl-pool,
and he SaId
Close the pores of your feet' And my eyes clung to the hOrIzon,
od mIXIng WIth soot, and agam PlotInus
To the door,
Keep your eyes on the mIrror
Prayed we to the Medusa,
petnfymg the sod by the shIeld,
HoldIng It downward
he hardened the track
Inch before us, by Inch,
the matter reSIStIng,
The heads rose from the shIeld, lussmg, held downwards
Devounng maggots,
the face only half potent,
The serpents' tongues
grazmg the swt11 top,
Hammermg the souse mto hardness, the narrow rast,
Half the WIdth of a sword's edge
By tlus through the dem eVIl,
now smkmg, now chngmg,
Holdmg the unsInkable shteld
ObhVlon,
forget how long, sleep, faIntIng nausea
. . Whether 10 NaIShapur or Babylon " I heard In the dream
PlotInus gone,
66
? And the shIeld tIed under me, woke, The gate swung on Its hlnges, Pantlng hke a sIck dog, staggered, Bathed In alkalI, and In aCId
'H~MOll T' 'HE~Wll
blInd Wlth the sunlIght,
Swollen-eyed, rested,
lIds SInkIng, darkness unconsCIous
? XVI
}f.
