The cantos of ezra pound [from The Cantos of Ezra Pound (1972)]
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2872 And the old man went on there 2873 beating his mule with an asphodel. [Page 101] XXII
2874 An' that man sweat blood 2875 to put through that railway, 2876 And what he ever got out of it? 2877 And he said one thing: As it costs, 2878 As in any indian war it costs the government 2879 20,000 dollars per head 2880 To kill off the red warriors, it might be more humane 2881 And even cheaper, to educate. 2882 And there was the other type, Warenhauser, 2883 That beat him, and broke up his business, 2884 Tale of the American Curia that gave him, 2885 Warenhauser permission to build the Northwestern railway 2886 And to take the timber he cut in the process; 2887 So he cut a road through the forest, 2888 Two miles wide, an' perfectly legal. 2889 Who wuz agoin' to stop him! 2890 And he came in and said: Can't do it, 2891 Not at that price, we can't do it." 2892 That was in the last war, here in England, 2893 And he was making chunks for a turbine 2894 In some sort of an army plane; 2895 An' the inspector says: "How many rejects?" 2896 "What you mean, rejects?" 2897 And the inspector says: "How many do you get?" 2898 And Joe said: "We don't get any rejects, our ..." 2899 And the inspector says: "Well then of course 2900 you can't do it." 2901 Price of life in the occident. 2902 And C. H. said to the renowned Mr. Bukos: 2903 "What is the cause of the H. C. L.?" and Mr. Bukos, [Page 102] 2904 The economist consulted of nations, said: 2905 "Lack of labour." 2906 And there were two millions of men out of work. 2907 And C. H. shut up, he said 2908 He would save his breath to cool his own porridge, 2909 But I didn't, and I went on plaguing Mr. Bukos 2910 Who said finally: "I am an orthodox 2911 "Economist." 2912 Jesu Christo! 2913 Standu nel paradiso terrestre 2914 Pensando come si fesse compagna d'Adamo!! 2915 And Mr. H. B. wrote in to the office: 2916 I would like to accept C. H.'s book 2917 But it would make my own seem so out of date. 2918 Heaven will protect 2919 The lay reader. The whole fortune of 2920 Mac Narpen and Company is founded 2921 Upon Palgrave's Golden Treasury. Nel paradiso terrestre 2922 And all the material was used up, Jesu Christo, 2923 And everything in its place, and nothing left over 2924 To make una compagna d'Adamo. Come si fesse? 2925 E poi ha vishtu una volpe 2926 And the tail of the volpe, the vixen, 2927 Fine, spreading and handsome, e pensava: 2928 That will do for this business; 2929 And la volpe saw in his eye what was coming, 2930 Corre, volpe corre, Christu corre, volpecorre, 2931 Christucorre, e dav' un saltu, ed ha preso la coda 2932 Della volpe, and the volpe wrenched loose 2933 And left the tail in his hand, e di questu 2934 Fu fatta, 2935 e per questu 2936 E la donna una furia, 2937 Una fuRRia-e-una rabbia. [Page 103] 2938 And a voice behind me in the street. 2939 "Meestair Freer! Meestair ..." 2940 And I thought I was three thousand 2941 Miles from the nearest connection; 2942 And he'd known me for three days, years before that, 2943 And he said, one day a week later: Woud you lak 2944 To meet a wholley man, yais he is a veree wholley man. 2945 So I met Mohamed Ben Abt el Hjameed, 2946 And that evening he spent his whole time 2947 Queering the shirt-seller's business, 2948 And taking hot whiskey. The sailors 2949 Come in there for two nights a week and fill up the café 2950 And the rock scorpions cling to the edge 2951 Until they can't jes' nacherly stand it 2952 And then they go to the Calpe (Lyceo) 2953 NO MEMBER OF THE MILITARY 2954 OF WHATEVER RANK 2955 IS PERMITTED WITHIN THE WALLS 2956 OF THIS CLUB[Image]
2958 "Jeen-jah! Jeen-jah!" squawked Mohamed, 2959 "O-ah, geef heem sax-pence." 2960 And a chap in a red fez came in, and grinned at Mohamed 2961 Who spat across four metres of tables 2962 At Mustafa. That was all there was 2963 To that greeting; and three nights later 2964 Ginger came back as a customer, and took it out of Mohamed. 2965 He hadn't sold a damn shirt on the Tuesday. 2966 And I met Yusuf and eight men in the calle, 2967 So I sez: Wot is the matter? 2968 And Yusuf said: Vairy foolish, it will [Page 104] 2969 Be sefen an' seex for the summons 2970 --- Mohamed want to sue heem for libel --- 2971 To give all that to the court! 2972 So I went off to Granada 2973 And when I came back I saw Ginger, and I said: 2974 What about it? 2975 And he said: O-ah, I geef heem a 2976 Seex-pence. Customs of the sha-ha-reef. 2977 And they were all there in the lyceo, 2978 Cab drivers, and chaps from tobacco shops, 2979 And Edward the Seventh's guide, and they were all 2980 For secession. 2981 Dance halls being closed at two in the morning, 2982 By the governor's order. And another day on the pier 2983 Was a fat fellah from Rhode Island, a-sayin': 2984 "Bi Hek! I been all thru Italy 2985 An' ain't never been stuck!" 2986 "But this place is plumb full er scoundrels." 2987 And Yusuf said: Yais? an' the reech man 2988 In youah countree, haowa they get their money; 2989 They no go rob some poor pairsons? 2990 And the fat fellah shut up, and went off. 2991 And Yusuf said: Woat, he iss all thru Eetaly 2992 An' ee is nevair been stuck, ee ees a liar. 2993 W'en I goa to some forain's country 2994 I am stuck. 2995 W'en yeou goa to some forain's country 2996 You moss be stuck; w'en they come 'ere I steek thaim. 2997 And we went down to the synagogue, 2998 All full of silver lamps 2999 And the top gallery stacked with old benches; 3000 And in came the levite and six little choir kids 3001 And began yowling the ritual 3002 As if it was crammed full of jokes, 3003 And they went through a whole book of it;
3005 About five or six and the rabbi 3006 And he sat down, and grinned, and pulled out his snuff-box, 3007 And sniffed up a thumb-full, and grinned, 3008 And called over a kid from the choir, and whispered, 3009 And nodded toward one old buffer, 3010 And the kid took him the snuff-box and he grinned, 3011 And bowed his head, and sniffed up a thumb-full, 3012 And the kid took the box back to the rabbi, 3013 And he grinned, e faceva bisbiglio, 3014 And the kid toted off the box to 3015 another old bunch of whiskers, 3016 And he sniffed up his thumb-full, 3017 And so on till they'd each had his sniff; 3018 And then the rabbi looked at the stranger, and they 3019 All grinned half a yard wider, and the rabbi 3020 Whispered for about two minutes longer, 3021 An' the kid brought the box over to me, 3022 And I grinned and sniffed up my thumb-full. 3023 And then they got out the scrolls of the law 3024 And had their little procession 3025 And kissed the ends of the markers. 3026 And there was a case on for rape and blackmail 3027 Down at the court-house, behind the big patio 3028 full of wistaria; 3029 An' the nigger in the red fez, Mustafa, on the boat later 3030 An' I said to him: Yusuf, Yusuf's a damn good feller. 3031 And he says: 3032 "Yais, he ees a goot fello, 3033 "But after all a chew 3034 ees a chew." 3035 And the judge says: That veil is too long. 3036 And the girl takes off the veil 3037 That she has stuck onto her hat with a pin, 3038 "Not a veil," she says, "'at's a scarf."
3040 Don't you know you aren't allowed all those buttons? 3041 And she says: Those ain't buttons, them's bobbles. 3042 Can't you see there ain't any button-holes? 3043 And the Judge says: Well, anyway, you're not allowed ermine. 3044 "Ermine?" the girl says, "Not ermine, that ain't, 3045 "'At's lattittzo." 3046 And the judge says: And just what is a lattittzo? 3047 And the girl says: 3048 "It'z a animal." 3049 Signori, you go and enforce it.
XXIII
3050 Et omniformis," Psellos, "omnis 3051 "Intellectus est." God's fire. Gemisto: 3052 "Never with this religion 3053 "Will you make men of the greeks. 3054 "But build wall across Peloponesus 3055 "And organize, and ... 3056 damn these Eyetalian barbarians." 3057 And Novvy's ship went down in the tempest 3058 Or at least they chucked the books overboard. 3059 How dissolve Irol in sugar ... Houille blanche, 3060 Auto-chenille, destroy all bacteria in the kidney, 3061 Invention-d'entités-plus-ou-moins-abstraits- 3062 en-nombre-égal-aux-choses-à-expliquer ... 3063 La Science ne peut pas y consister. "J'ai 3064 Obtenu une brulure" M. Curie, or some other scientist 3065 "Qui m'a coûté six mois de guérison." 3066 and continued his experiments. 3067 Tropismes! "We believe the attraction is chemical." 3068 With the sun in a golden cup 3069 and going toward the low fords of ocean 3070 3071
3072 ima vada noctis obscurae 3073 Seeking doubtless the sex in bread-moulds 3074 , , = 3075 ("Derivation uncertain." The idiot 3076 Odysseus furrowed the sand.) 3077 alixantos, aliotrephès, eiskatebaine, down into, 3078 descended, to the end that, beyond ocean, 3079 pass through, traverse [Page 108] 3080 3081 ,
3082 , 3083 . . . . 3084 Precisely, the selv' oscura 3085 And in the morning, in the Phrygian head-sack 3086 Barefooted, dumping sand from their boat 3087 'Yperionides! 3088 And the rose grown while I slept, 3089 And the strings shaken with music, 3090 Capriped, the loose twigs under foot; 3091 We here on the hill, with the olives 3092 Where a man might carry his oar up, 3093 And the boat there in the inlet; 3094 As we had lain there in the autumn 3095 Under the arras, or wall painted below like arras, 3096 And above with a garden of rose-trees, 3097 Sound coming up from the cross-street; 3098 As we had stood there, 3099 Watching road from the window, 3100 Fa Han and I at the window, 3101 And her head bound with gold cords. 3102 Cloud over mountain: hill-gap, in mist, like a sea-coast. 3103 Leaf over leaf, dawn-branch in the sky 3104 And the sea dark, under wind, 3105 The boat's sails hung loose at the mooring, 3106 Cloud like a sail inverted, 3107 And the men dumping sand by the sea-wall 3108 Olive trees there on tile hill 3109 where a man might carry his oar up. 3110 And my brother De Mænsac 3111 Bet with me for the castle, 3112 And we put it on the toss of a coin, 3113 And I, Austors, won the coin-toss and kept it, [Page 109] 3114 And he went out to Tierci, a jongleur 3115 And on the road for his living, 3116 And twice he went down to Tierci, 3117 And took off the girl there that was just married to Bernart. 3118 And went to Auvergne, to the Dauphin, 3119 And Tierci came with a posse to Auvergnat, 3120 And went back for an army 3121 And came to Auvergne with the army 3122 But never got Pierre nor the woman. 3123 And he went down past Chaise Dieu, 3124 And went after it all to Mount Segur, 3125 after the end of all things, 3126 And they hadn't left even the stair, 3127 And Simone was dead by that time, 3128 And they called us the Manicheans 3129 Wotever the hellsarse that is. 3130 And that was when Troy was down, all right, 3131 superbo Ilion ... 3132 And they were sailing along 3133 Sitting in the stern-sheets, 3134 Under the lee of an island 3135 And the wind drifting off from the island. 3136 "Tet, tet ... 3137 what is it?" said Anchises. 3138 "Tethnéké," said the helmsman, "I think they 3139 "Are howling because Adonis died virgin." 3140 "Huh! tet ..." said Anchises, 3141 "well, they've made a bloody mess of that city." 3142 "King Otreus, of Phrygia, 3143 "That king is my father." 3144 and saw then, as of waves taking form, 3145 As the sea, hard, a glitter of crystal, 3146 And the waves rising but formed, holding their form. 3147 No light reaching through them. [Page 110] XXIV
3148 Thus the book of the mandates: 3149 Feb. 1422. 3150 We desire that you our factors give to Zohanne of 3151 Rimini 3152 our servant, six lire marchesini, 3153 for the three prizes he has won racing our barbarisci, 3154 at the rate we have agreed on. The races he has won 3155 are the Modena, the San Petronio at Bologna 3156 and the last race at San Zorzo. 3157 (Signed) Parisina Marchesa 3158 .. pay them for binding 3159 un libro franxese che si chiama Tristano ... 3160 Carissimi nostri 3161 Zohanne da Rimini 3162 has won the palio at Milan with our horse and writes that 3163 he is now on the hotel, and wants money. 3164 Send what you think he needs, 3165 but when you get him back in Ferrara find out 3166 what he has done with the first lot, I think over 25 ducats 3167 But send the other cash quickly, as I don't want him 3168 there on the hotel. 3169 ... perfumes, parrot seed, combs, two great and two 3170 small ones from Venice, for madama la marxesana ... 3171 ... 20 ducats to 3172 give to a friend of ours who paid a bill for us 3173 on this trip to Romagna ... 3174 ... verde colore predeletto, 25 ducats ziparello 3175 silver embroidered for Ugo fiolo del Signore ... 3176 (27 nov. 1427) 3177 PROCURATIO NOMINE PATRIS, Leonello Este [Page 111] 3178 (arranging dot for Margarita his sister, to 3179 Roberto Malatesta of Rimini) 3180 natae praelibati margaritae 3181 Ill. D. Nicolai Marchionis Esten. et Sponsae: 3182 The tower of Gualdo 3183 with plenary jurisdiction in civils; and in criminal: 3184 to fine and have scourged all delinquents 3185 as in the rest of their lands, 3186 "which things 3187 this tower, estate at Gualdo had the Illustrious 3188 Nicolaus Marquis of Este received from the said 3189 Don Carlo (Malatesta) 3190 for dower 3191 Illustrae Dominae Parisinae Marxesana." 3192 under my hand D. Michaeli de Magnabucis 3193 Not. pub. Ferr. 3194 D. Nicolaeque Guiduccioli de Arimino. 3195 Sequit bonorum descriptio. 3196 And he in his young youth, in the wake of Odysseus 3197 To Cithera (a.d. 1413) "dove fu Elena rapta da Paris" 3198 Dinners in orange groves, prows attended of dolphins, 3199 Vestige of Rome at Pola, fair wind as far as Naxos 3200 Ora vela, ora a remi, sino ad ora di vespero 3201 Or with the sail tight hauled, by the crook'd land's arm 3202 Zefalonia 3203 And at Corfu, greek singers; by Rhodos 3204 Of the windmills, and to Paphos, 3205 Donkey boys, dust, deserts, Jerusalem, backsheesh 3206 And an endless fuss over passports; 3207 One groat for the Jordan, whether you go there or not, 3208 The school where the madonna in girlhood 3209 Went to learn letters, and Pilate's house closed to the public; 3210 2 soldi for Olivet (to the Saracens) 3211 And no indulgence at Judas's tree; and [Page 112] 3212 "Here Christ put his thumb on a rock 3213 "Saying: hic est medium mundi." 3214 (That, I assure you, happened. 3215 Ego, scriptor cantilenae.) 3216 For worse? for better? but happened. 3217 After which, the greek girls at Corfu, and the 3218 Ladies, Venetian, and they all sang in the evening 3219 Benche niuno cantasse, although none of them could, 3220 Witness Luchino del Campo. 3221 Plus one turkish juggler, and they had a bath 3222 When they got out of Jerusalem 3223 And for cargo: one leopard of Cyprus 3224 And falcons, and small birds of Cyprus, 3225 Sparrow hawks, and grayhounds from Turkey 3226 To breed in Ferrara among thin-legged Ferrarese, 3227 Owls, hawks, fishing tackle. 3228 Was beheaded Aldovrandino (1425, vent'uno Maggio) 3229 Who was cause of this evil, and after 3230 The Marchese asked was Ugo beheaded. And the Captain: 3231 "Signor... si." and il Marchese began crying 3232 "Fa me hora tagliar la testa 3233 "dapoi cosi presto hai decapitato il mio Ugo." 3234 Rodendo con denti una bachetta che havea in mani. 3235 And passed that night weeping, and calling Ugo, his son. 3236 Affable, bullnecked, that brought seduction in place of 3237 Rape into government, ter pacis Italiae auctor; 3238 With the boys pulling the tow-ropes on the river 3239 Tre cento bastardi (or bombardi fired off at his funeral) 3240 And the next year a standard from Venice 3241 (Where they'd called off a horse race) 3242 And the baton from the Florentine baily. 3243 "Of Fair aspect, gentle in manner" 3244 Forty years old at the time; 3245 "And they killed a judge's wife among other, [Page 113] 3246 That was a judge of the court and noble, 3247 And called Madonna Laodamia delli Romei, 3248 Beheaded in the pa della justicia; 3249 And in Modena, a madonna Agnesina 3250 Who had poisoned her husband, 3251 "All women known as adulterous, 3252 "That his should not suffer alone." 3253 Then the writ ran no further. 3254 And in '31 married Monna Ricarda. 3255 CHARLES ... scavoir faisans ... et advenir ... a haute 3256 noblesse du Linage et Hostel ... e faictz hautex ... 3257 vaillance ... affection ... notre dict Cousin ... 3258 puissance, auctorite Royal ... il et ses hors yssus ... et 3259 a leur loise avoir doresenavant 3260 A TOUSIUOURS EN LEURS ARMES ESCARTELURE 3261 ... trois fleurs Liz d'or ... en champs a'asur dentelle ... 3262 ioissent et usent. 3263 Mil CCCC trente et ung, conseil 3264 à Chinon, le Roy, l'Esne de la Trimouill, 3265 Vendoise, Jehan Rabateau. 3266 And in '32 came the Marchese Saluzzo 3267 To visit them, his son in law and his daughter, 3268 And to see Hercules his grandson, piccolo e putino. 3269 And in '41 Polenta went up to Venice 3270 Against Niccolo's caution 3271 And was swallowed up in that city. 3272 E fu sepulto nudo, Niccolo, 3273 Without decoration, as ordered in testament, 3274 Ter pacis Italiae. 3275 And if you want to know what became of his statue, 3276 I had a rifle class in Bondeno 3277 And the priest sent a boy to the hardware 3278 And he brought back the nails in a wrapping,
3280 And he got the rest from the hardware 3281 (Cassini, libraio, speaking) 3282 And on the first leaf of the wrapping 3283 Was how in Napoleon's time 3284 Came down a load of brass fittings from Modena 3285 Via del Po, all went by the river, 3286 To Piacenza for cannon, bells, door-knobs 3287 And the statues of the Marchese Niccolo and of Borso 3288 That were in the Piazza on columns. 3289 And the Commendatore has made it a monograph 3290 Without saying I told him and sent him 3291 The name of the priest. 3292 After him and his day 3293 Were the cake-eaters, the consumers of icing, 3294 That read all day per diletto 3295 And left the night work to the servants; 3296 Ferrara, paradiso dei sarti, "feste stomagose." 3297 "Is it likely Divine Apollo, 3298 That I should have stolen your cattle? 3299 A child of my age, a mere infant, 3300 And besides, I have been here all night in my crib." 3301 "Albert made me, Tura painted my wall, 3302 And Julia the Countess sold to a tannery....... [Page 115] XXV
3303 THE BOOK OF THE COUNCIL MAJOR 3304 1255 be it enacted: 3305 That they mustn't shoot crap in the hall 3306 of the council, nor in the small court under 3307 pain of 20 danari, be it enacted: 3308 1266 no squire of Venice to throw dice 3309 anywhere in the palace or 3310 in the loggia of the Rialto under pain of ten soldi 3311 or half that for kids, and if they wont pay 3312 they are to be chucked in the water. be it enacted 3313 In libro pactorum 3314 To the things everlasting 3315 memory both for live men and for the future et 3316 quod publice innotescat 3317 in the said date, dicto millessimo 3318 of the illustrious lord, Lord John Soranzo 3319 by god's grace doge of Venice in the Curia 3320 of the Palace of the Doges, 3321 neath the portico next the house of the dwelling of 3322 the Castaldio and of the heralds of the Lord Doge. 3323 being beneath same a penthouse or cages 3324 or room timbered (trabesilis) like a cellar 3325 one Lion male and one female simul commorantes 3326 which beasts to the Lord Doge were transmitted small 3327 by that serene Lord King Frederic of Sicily, the 3328 said lion knew carnally and in nature the Lioness 3329 aforesaid and impregnated in that manner that animals 3330 leap on one another to know and impregnate 3331 on the faith of several ocular witnesses 3332 Which lioness bore pregnant for about three months 3333 (as is said by those who saw her assaulted)
3335 12th. of the month of September about sunrise on 3336 St. Mark's day early but with the light already apparent 3337 the said lioness as is the nature of animals 3338 whelped per naturam three lion cubs vivos et pilosos 3339 living and hairy which born at once began life and motion 3340 and to go gyring about their mother throughout the Yüklə 2,9 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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