Walter Mapps: de Mauro et Zoilo

Nuper ductu serio plagam ad australem,
locum gentis incidi, non silebo qualem,
locus gentem decuit clarus monachalem,
spaciosus plurimum, dives hospitalem.

Recently, under a serious conduct I came upon a region to the south,
I fell upon a place of that people; I will not be silent as to what sort,
the place befitted the people, famous and monastic,
most spacious, rich in hospitality.

Factus ibi socius hospitum multorum,
dum contemplor singulos situs singulorum,
duos sum intuitus, sed ordo duorum
dispar et disparium vestium et morum.

There I became a socius of many guests,
while I contemplate each one's stations of each,
I beheld two, but the order of the two
was disparate, and of disparate vestments and of manners.

Comae circumcisio, rota coronarum,
cultus hiis monasticus, lex caenobitarum;
sed alter astutior satis, et non parum
impugnabat alterum, ut vafer ignarum.

The circumcision of the hair, a wheel of crowns,
their dress monastic, the law of the caenobites;
but one of them, sufficiently more astute, and by no means small,
assailed the other, like a crafty man against the ignorant.

Sedebant oppositi simplex et astutus;
is in veste placida, sagis hic indutus;
illi vultus pronior, huic acer obtutus;
estque Mauro Zoilus prior sic locutus:

They sat opposed, the simple and the crafty;
one in a placid robe, the other clad in a sagum-cloak;
to the one a more open countenance, to this a piercing glance;
and Zoilus, the former, thus spoke to Maurus:

Z. - "O quam vilis habitus monachi nigrati
miror posse teneros tam austera pati,
subdi tam ingenuos tantae vilitati,
ut sint olim simies corvos imitati.

Z. - "O how vile the habit of the blackened monk
I marvel that the tender can endure so austere a life,
submit so ingenuous to such vileness,
that they are like apes once imitating crows.

Sed cum rem conspicio sub hac veste pulla,
leviter exploditur quod inflavi bulla,
nitent delicatius fila serum nulla,
videtur in pretio cyclas haec cuculla."

But when I behold the thing beneath this dusky vesture,
lightly is expelled that which the swollen bulla had inflated,
the threads gleam more delicately than any serum oil,
this cowl seems valued as a cyclas of price."

M. - "Siste loqui, mimice, cum sis cucullatus,
in sagis, in sericis, non est monachatus;
caelis est vicinior, Deo magis gratus,
sericatus humilis quam tumens togatus.

M. - "Be silent, mimic, though you are hooded,
in sagas, in silks there is no monachate;
nearer to the heavens, more pleasing unto God,
is humble silk-clad than swelling toga-clad.

Gratior vel gracilis non me dampnat vestis;
non te salvat tunica rigens ritu restis;
animum non habitum judicat caelestis,
nec id quod videmini pensat, sed quod estis."

A fairer or more slender vest does not condemn me;
nor does a tunic stiffened by the rite of cord save you;
the heavenly one judges the soul, not the habit;
nor weighs that which you seem, but what you are."

Z. - "Simplicis simplicitas non timet mentiri;
ipsa vetat veritas mollibus vestiri;
stillas dum elicimus, dicimur delirii
latent quidam gurgites quos deceret sciri.

Z. - "The simplicity of the simple does not fear to lie;
truth itself forbids being robed in soft things;
while we draw out drops, we are called madmen;
there lie certain whirlpools which it would be fitting to be known.

Quid ad te tuniculi, quid catinae pelles?
lateris et lectuli pellea supelles,
sunt si nosti regulam, regulae rebelles,
restat in tam mollibus te sponsum appelles."

What to you are little tunics, what the skins of basins?
wall-hangings and the bed’s pelted trappings,
are, if you know the regula, rebels of the regula,
it remains that one so soft should be called a husband."

M. - "Tunica pellicea primus est amictus,
et villosum tegimen tradit Benedictus,
qui dum sit dispositor vestium et victus,
nec nimis nec minus est clemens vel districtus.

M. - "The fur‑lined tunic is the first garment,
and Benedict delivers a hairy covering,
who, while he is the steward of garments and of victuals,
is neither excessive nor deficient in clemency or in strictness.

Quid ad vestros loculos legis transgressores
tegminis septemplicis villi lautiores,
et bis binis tunicis corpus ut honores,
non dant cui nos obligas regulae rigores."

What have your little chests to do with transgressors of the law,
the more dainty of the seven‑fold fur covering,
and tunics doubled twice, as honors to the body,
which you do not give to him whom you bind with the rigors of the rule.

Z. - "Simplex es, sed nequiter paci subest hamus;
fas est ut id fatear, multa relaxamus;
isto pede singuli saepe claudicamus,
de hiis ita breviter, de braccis agamus.

Z. - "You are simple, but under your peace a hook lies wickedly;
it is right that I confess this, we relax many things;
by that foot each of us often limps,
of these things briefly, let us speak of the braccae.

Vel servetur regula nobis non braccatis,
ut in hiis illicitis illam irritatis
foris id permittitur, non intro seratis,
intus neque validis neque delicatis."

"Or let the rule be preserved for us, not wearing trousers,
so that in these illicit things you do not provoke it;
outdoors it is permitted, not to be brought in past locked doors,
inside neither for the strong nor for the delicate."

M. - "Verbis Euvangelii qui nos genuere,
honestatis gratia sic instituere,
ut sit in quo differant, non sint pares fere
monachus cum monacha, vir cum muliere.

M. - "By the words of the Evangel which begot us,
for the sake of honesty thus to institute,
that there be wherein they differ, that they be not almost equal—
monk with nun, man with woman.

Benedictus finibus in arctis locatus,
cauma voi inopiam forsan est causatus;
quid a scurra discrepat homo non braccatus,
quasi palam clamitet: 'Ecce, sum paratus."

Benedictus, placed within narrow bounds,
by the heat of voice perhaps has caused a shortage;
what differs a man not braccated from a buffoon,
as if openly he cries: "Behold, I am prepared."

Z. - "Dolus in te colubri mentitur murenam,
homeliam transtulit comicus in scenam;
sed jam qua te vinciam teneo catenam,
de sompno respondeas quo vincis hyenam.

Z. - "Deceit in you feigns a moray within the serpent,
the comic has carried a homily onto the stage;
but now the chain by which I shall bind you I hold,
answer from sleep by what you conquer the hyena.

Quid est quod ex otio praemium speratis,
quod laborem debitum requie mutatis?
est fortasse regula rea vanitatis,
rasis assit habitus, et est vobis satis."

What is it that from otium you hope as a praemium,
that you exchange owed laborem for repose?
perhaps it is a regula, guilty of vanitas,
let a shorn habitus be present, and that is enough for you.

M. - "In umbrosis vallibus vos cum sitis siti,
ad laborem liberum satis est eniti;
non ho mittit Beemoth glaream Cociti;
procul hinc sunt hospites, procul parasiti.

M. - "When you, thirsty, sit in shadowy valleys,
it suffices to strive for honest toil;
Behemoth here does not cast Cocytus’ glare;
far from here are guests, far away the parasites.

Conclusos in gremio populosae polis,
nos ad praedam oculi perurgere nolis,
exponi bestiolis et scurrarum scholis;
strictum gelu solvitur ad ardorem solis."

Enclosed in the bosom of a populous polis,
you do not wish our eyes to scorch themselves for prey;
to be exposed to little beasts and to the schools of buffoons;
the tight frost is loosened by the ardor of the sun.

Z. - "Velis nolis, verum est, monachos nos esse,
quos illud non praeterit regulae necesse,
tam pressos in hyeme quam fessos in messe,
dum vos pompa triplici psallitis 'Styrps Jessae.'

Z. - "Will you or will you not, it is true we are monks,
to whom, by the necessity of the rule, that does not pass;
as much pressed in winter as tired in the harvest,
while you, in triple pomp, chant 'Styrps Jessae.'"

In epithalamicis quam mercedern quaeris,
labor labiorum est, nihil hinc mereris
par garritus avium sub tepore veris,
restat parce metere parcius si seris."

"If you seek pay in epithalamics,
it is the work of works; you deserve nothing from this
but the equal chirring of birds beneath the warmth of spring,
so remains: reap sparingly, reap more sparingly if you sow."

M. - "Spiritu nos ducimur, litteram impletis;
Rachel Lyae praeminet, credite prophetis;
excusata satis est nostrae lex quietis,
nec mirum laboribus si vos praevaletis.

M. - "We are led by the Spirit, you fulfill the letter;
Rachel prevails over Leah, believe the prophets;
the law of our quiet is sufficiently excused,
and no wonder if you prevail over labors."

Sunt taurinis fortibus lares nostri pleni,
asinis ad onora dignis pastu foeni,
in cellis, in grangiis hii sunt quos inveni,
Jebal, Ammon, Amalech, Moab, Agareni."

Our lares are full of bull-strong beasts,
asses worthy of honours by a fodder of hay,
in cellars, in granges these are whom I found,
Jebal, Ammon, Amalech, Moab, Agareni."

Z. - "Nos ex omni genere nuptias implemus,
aeque sumus homines primus et extremus,
Albani, Aethiopes, Argus, Poliphemus;
solis Deo meritis stamus vel jacemus.

Z. - "We of every lineage perform marriages,
we are equally men, first and last,
Albani, Aethiopes, Argus, Polyphemus;
to God alone by merits we stand or we lie.

Sed per diverticula quid tergiversaris?
De jocosis cantibus obicem furaris?
Quae laus in ecclesia cantus saecularis?

But why do you equivocate over trifling diverticula?
Do you set an obstacle with playful songs?
What praise has secular song in the church?

Sapienter psallite coram sacris aris."

"Sing wisely before the sacred altars."

M. - "Non est jocus saeculi cantus gregis mei;
hymnus est qui excitet animos plebei,
non ut plebi placeat, sed ut Deus ei;
ad hoc per se jubilat sanctus agnus Dei.

M. - "The song of my flock is not a worldly jest;
it is a hymn which arouses the minds of the plebs,
not so that it may please the plebs, but that God;
for this very reason the holy Lamb of God rejoices."

Plebs ad nos qui confluit allecta canore,
multo fit devotior Dei in amore;
vos in vestris latebris, remoto censore,
sufficit si ruditis asinino more."

The plebs that gathers to us, enticed by song,
becomes much more devout in the love of God;
you, in your retreats, with the censor removed,
are satisfied if, in an asinine manner, you please the rude."

Z. - "Multa sunt superflua vanae vestrae gentis
tam in parietibus quam in pavimentis;
duri nitent lapides auri ornamentis,
vestiti duplicibus, ut mos est algentis.

Z. - "Many things are superfluous in your vain people
both on the walls and on the pavements;
hard stones of gold gleam with ornaments,
clothed in double garments, as is the custom of the chilly."

Aera, ligna, lapides vos deificatis,
in Christos, in angelos, truncos transformatis;
mihi cum ingredior tot muris palatis,
videtur quod idolis sacra prophanatis."

Bronzes, woods, stones—you deify;
into Christs, into angels, you transform them, into trunks;
when I myself enter amid so many palatial walls,
it seems that you profane sacred things for idols."

M. - "Amisisti, Zoile, pulchrum hic tacere;
disce domum Domini decorem decere;
velis et tapetibus fulvo sparsis aere
tempio quid est dignius? Nil tam dignum vere.

M. - "You have lost, Zoilus, the beauty of keeping silent here;
learn that it befits to deck the house of the Lord;
with veils and tapestries, sprinkled with tawny bronze,
what is more worthy for a temple? Nothing so worthy, truly.

Ritus tot imaginum sanus est, non vanus;
visis hiis devotior ut sit Christianus;
nihil secus sentiunt rustici vel alius,
in hac fanatica solus es prophanus."

The ritual of so many images is sound, not vain;
seeing these things a Christian may be the more devout;
the rustics or any other feel no otherwise,
in this fanaticism alone you are profane."

Z. - "Leniter ad libitum legem tibi ponis,
sed quod sentis sentio sub verborum sonis,
memorans quod superest superstitionis,
timeo ne nimia mora sit agonis.

Z. - "You gently set a law to your liking,
but what you feel I feel beneath the sounds of words,
noting what of superstition still remains,
I fear lest there be too great a delay in the contests."

Tangam tamen fercula quae multiplicatis,
et panes cum potibus dulce pigmentatis,
et cum generalibus dapes pietatis;
pietas est impia vesci plusquam satis."

Yet I will touch the dishes which you multiply,
and the breads with drinks sweetly seasoned,
and with the general banquets of piety;
piety is impious to feed beyond enough.

M. - "Tuum, o Zoile, bonis invidere,
novercari Herculi, Joseph absorbere;
erumpant quos parturis scorpionis serae,
Racha sic suscipiam ut jocundum chaere.

M. - "To begrudge what is yours, O Zoile, to envy the good,
to act as stepmother to Hercules, to swallow up Joseph;
may those burst forth whom the late travail of the scorpion brings forth,
thus will I receive Racha as a jocund chaere.

Nos in illis computas quorum Deus venter,
caepisti subsequere pulchre vel prudenter;
subsequar veridicus, absit ut commenter,
ambulans simpliciter agam confidenter."

"We are counted among those for whom God is belly,
you have begun to follow after, be it comely or prudent;
I will follow truthful, far be it that I counterfeit,
walking simply I shall act confidently."

Z. - "Regula quae statuit, velim mihi dicas,
placentas, artocreas, et cornutas micas,
crispas, fabas mysticas, pastillos et picas,
nominum tot plasmata, tot escas apricas.

Z. - "The rule which he set down, I would you tell me,
placentas, artocreas, and horned morsels,
crisp treats, mystical beans, little pastils and picas,
so many fashioned names, so many sun-warmed dishes.

Coctis pulmentariis dulce dat fermentum,
pene caro sagimen, o quale pigmentum!
Longo et dissimile Zoyli pulmentum,
in tali martyrio leve est tormentum."

Sweet lends a leaven to cooked pottages,
almost flesh as sustenance — O what a seasoning!
Long and unlike is Zoylus’s pottage,
in such a martyrdom the torment is light."

M. - "Vesci semper splendide falso nos putatis,
diebus solempnibus, id est caritatis;
Esdrae est traditio, si hunc approbatis,
pinguia comedite cum solempnizatis.

M. - "You think that we always feast splendidly in falsehood,
on solemn days, that is, of charity;
it is a tradition of Esdras, if you approve this,
eat rich fare when you solemnize.

Nos id apostolicum cum priscis sequentes
'omnia percipite gratias agentes,'
ex hiis nil abjicimus multa relinquentes,
ut solemur hospites aegros et egentes."

We, following that apostolic [teaching] with the ancients
'receive all things, giving thanks,'
from these we cast away nothing, leaving many things behind,
so that we are wont to treat guests as sick and needy."

Z. - "Mauro, quid subterfugis? Restant ad hoc plura;
de excoctis piscibus magna coci cura,
crate vel sartagine, vel in aqua pura,
quos saporant species varia mixtura.

Z. - "Mauro, why do you shirk? There remain many more for this;
concerning boiled fishes the cook has great care,
on a rack or in a frying-pan, or in pure water,
which various mixtures of seasonings flavor.

Crocum, garyophillum, piper, et cyminum,
cocus terit, conficit, onerat catinum;
perfundunt diluvio gustum hunc divinum
medus, mera, sicera, moretum, et vinum."

Saffron, clove, pepper, and cumin,
the cook grinds, prepares, and heaps into the dish;
they pour, in a deluge, this divine savour—
mead, pure (mere) wine, sicera (a strong liquor), moretum, and wine."

M. - "Vera quaedam innovas additis figmentis;
quaedam ex hiis accidunt multis non obtentis;
nobis nil superfluit cunctis ex augmentis,
si praemissa retines, mecum aequa sentis.

M. - "You make certain truths new with added fictions;
some of these befall many who have not obtained them;
to us nothing is superfluous from all the augmentations,
if you retain the foregoing things, you feel with me equally."

Major est in copia virtus abstinere,
quam cum larga cupias parcius prandere;
abundamus sobrie, grave fers egere,
saepe tibi modica murmur peperere."

Greater is the virtue to abstain in abundance,
than when, with plenty, you desire to dine more sparingly;
we abound soberly, you carry as a burden to lack,
often a modest murmur has spared you."

Z. - "Ovi, Mauro, memores tociens mactati,
tot modos martyrii sumus admirati;
Decius Laurentium dans paenalitati
non coegit saepius cruciatus pati.

Z. - "Ovi, Maurus, remembering ourselves thus mactated so often,
we have admired so many modes of martyrdom;
Decius, giving Laurentium over to penalty,
did not more often compel him to suffer cruciates."

Ovis passis nomina tot sunt et figurae,
ut se movet Protheus in hoc novo jure,
ut quid tot superflua, tot inanes curae?
Vere tot fictitia proba sunt naturae."

To the suffering sheep are so many names and figures,
as Protheus shifts himself in this new law,
why then so many superfluous, so many empty cares?
Truly so many fictitious things are approved as nature.

M. - "Discurrens per singula fercula coquinae,
discursus omnimodos uno claudes fine,
multis morbis congruunt [aegris] medicinae,
sobriis nil nimium, nil causa ruinae.

M. - "Running through each platter of the kitchen,
you close all manner of courses with one end,
for many maladies medicines suit the sick,
for the sober, nothing excessive, nothing a cause of ruin.

Tu qui nos transgrederis per iter anhelum,
qui tantis inediis transvolas ad coelum,
o quantum te proterit quo pressus es praelum?
Patenter hoc praedicat pellis pingue velum."

You who transgress us by the breathless road,
who with such fasts fly across to heaven,
O how greatly has the battle that presses you worn you down?
Plainly this fat skin, this cloak, proclaims it.

Z. - "Homo, juste judices hominem eventus,
me inflavit obiter bue tendentem ventus,
et sum pingui sileris homo corpulentus,
inde tumet facies, venter est distentus.

Z. - "Man, judge justly a man's events,
a wind, passing by, incidentally puffed me up,
and I am fat, a corpulent man silent with fatness,
thereupon the face swells, the belly is distended."

Nescio quae haereat mihi crassitudo,
de pane furfureo, de pulmento crudo,
qui labore manuum jugiter desudo,
qui quietem excreo, qui ludum excludo."

I do not know what thickness clings to me,
from bran bread, from raw pottage,
which I continually sweat out by the labour of my hands,
which banishes rest, which shuts out play."

M. - "Morbo corpulentiae quam excusas, cedo
te teneri taliter; nec nego, nec credo;
sed admiror caeteris unde sit pinguedo,
cum sit labor virium perditor et praedo.

M. - "As for the disease of corpulence which you excuse, I concede
you are held in such a way; I neither deny it, nor accept it;
but I marvel whence the fatness in others may be,
since it is a destroyer of the labor of strength and a plunderer."

Quatuor sunt facies plurimis tuorum,
ventres, genae, latera, renes, tumor horum,
loquor id ad libitum lege laicorum,
buxi esse poterit nomen plurimorum."

There are four faces to very many of your sort,
bellies, cheeks, sides, loins—the swelling of these;
I speak this to the liking of laymen’s law,
the name "buxus" may well be applied to many.

Z. - "Irridere miserum vetuit paganus;
nobis quis miserior? Nemo subsolanus;
is aeger, is aegrior, nemo fere sanus,
sic nos agit ordinis rigor inhumanus.

Z. - "To mock the wretched the pagan forbade;
who is more wretched than we? No one, O east-wind;
this one sick, that one more sick, almost no one sound,
so the inhuman rigor of the order drives us.

Pastus raro placidus semper ad horrorem,
et morbus inedia, nutriens pallorem;
ex malis humoribus conflant hunc tumorem,
mirum est nos vivere contra vitae morem."

Rarely fed, ever placid to a horror,
and the malady of inanition, nourishing pallor;
from corrupt humors they forge this tumor,
it is wondrous that we live against the manner of life.

M. - "Si novi discernere mundum ab inmundo,
quod effundis vanum est, verum quod refundo;
novi quid significet in vaso faecundo,
sub pulmento latitans veritas in fundo.

M. - "If I know to discern the world from the unclean,
what you pour away is vain, what I pour back is true;
I know what it signifies in a fecund vessel,
the truth, lurking beneath the pulment, lies at the bottom.

Placida satietas placans convivantes,
et succi furfurei ciphi scintillantes,
carnis nos pinguedine faciunt pregnantes,
morbum et inediam procul hinc explantes."

A placid satiety pleasing the guests,
and the sparkling cups of branny juice,
make us heavy with the fatness of flesh,
driving disease and hunger far from here.

Z. - "Nos reos ne judices, ne fias blasphemus,
in te Jhesum impetit caecus Nichodemus;
vos grana, nos paleas, bibimus, prandemus,
onus et non honor est quod nos sustinemus.

Z. - "Do not judge us guilty, lest you become a blasphemer,
in you the blind Nichodemus attacks Jhesum;
you (have) grana, we (have) paleas, we drink, we dine,
it is a burden and not an honor that we sustain."

Panibus lapideis, potui sentinae,
pulmentis insipidis, quod festum affine?
Quae hinc ex lateribus pendeant arvinae?
Si probasses saperes, o frater Maurine.'

With bread like stones, could I be of the bilge,
with insipid pottages—what festival is near?
What country-crusts hang down from the sides here?
Had you but sampled, you would know, O brother Maurine.

M. - "Pulvis pigmentarii caseus effectus,
lacti, hei! Bis oleo confervet injectus,
fit electuarium cibus sic confectus,
inde qui vos onerat tumor est collectus.

M. - "Dust of the pigment made into cheese,
milk, alas! twice with oil conglued when injected,
thus an electuary is made into food prepared,
whence a tumor is collected that burdens you.

Vi Bacchi et Cereris vos intumuistis,
cum medulla tritici ciphis euphonistis,
apum alveariis et butyri cistis,
lacte, sero, caseo, singulis admixtis;
nec pisces sed piscium ossa devovistis,
et pulmento Ysaac non semel assistis,
vel fessus itinere, vel morbo subtristis;
tali zelo, Zoile, viges et subsistis,
granis et non paleis, fructu non aristis,
latent haec et reliqua tecta sagis istis."

By the force of Bacchus and Ceres you are swollen,
with the marrow of wheat in casks of euphonists,
of bees in hives and of butter in chests,
with milk, whey, cheese, each mixed in;
and not fish but the bones of fishes you have consumed,
and at Isaac’s stew you have been present more than once,
either weary from journey, or saddened by sickness;
with such zeal, Zoilus, you flourish and endure,
on grains and not on chaff, on fruit not on ears,
these and the rest lie hidden in those covered sacks.

Z. - "Sol petit Oceanum, nos invitat meta
indulgendum genio, monuit poeta
nulla est durabile res irrequieta,
est absque levamine nulla lex decreta.

Z. - "The Sun seeks the Ocean, the goal invites us to indulge the genius,
the poet warned: nothing unrestful is durable,
there is no law decreed without some levation (relief).

Litem in concordiam mutuo mutemus,
nos et vos levamine pariter egemus;
utrumque navigium rectus agit remus,
aeque dignos monachos habent urbs et nemus."

Let us change strife into mutual concord,
we and you alike shall need a consolation;
the proper oar propels each vessel,
the city and the grove alike have worthy monks.

A. - Simplicis et callidi sic sedata lite,
dignam, inquam, vivitis vitam, coenobitae,
digna est diversitas utriusque vitae,
estis ambo palmites in aeterna vitae.

A. - Thus, with the quarrel of the simple and the crafty so settled,
you live a worthy life, I say, O coenobites,
the diversity of each life is worthy,
you both are vine-shoots unto eternal life.