81.
Urbane gratulatur, qui Romae factus est pauper episcopus
Polite congratulations, poor man, who has been made bishop of Rome
Quod sibi Bethsaide,1 nunc est mihi Petrus in urbe:
Hoc, cum sceptra tenet, quod erat, cum retia neret;
Semper lina lavat, pelagi mihi caerula sulcat;
Me premit in terris, qui pressus egebat in undis;
Me siliquis recreat, modicus quem piscis alebat.
Who was from Bethsaida, now in Rome is to Peter to me;
In this place where he holds the sceptre, for me he is as always, caring for the nets;
He is always washing the sails, he plows the blue seas for me;
He pressed me to the land, who crushed by the waves was in need;
He revives me with husks, who was nourished with modest fish.
82.
De illo qui filium habet
Concerning that man who has a son
Cum superest suboles, vivunt de morte parentes,
Et velut una caro viret in radice propago.
When the offspring remains, the parents though dead still live,
And as if one flesh, the offspring flourish in its roots.
83.
Ut hi qui praedicant, invicem non discordent
So that those who preach do not disagree
Non sapiens stulto, non bos societur asello;
Qui divina docent, a se non prorsus oberrent.
The wise man does not agree with the fool, the ox does not agree with the ass;
They who teach divine things, let them not later stray from what they have taught.
84.
De stercore turdi fit viscus, unde turdus ipse capitur 2
From the manure of a thrush birdlime comes, from that same birdlime the thrush is caught
Podice digeritur, pede quo turdela tenetur.
It is spread from the anus, by which the thrush is held by the foot.
85.
Illi cui ego prolixam misi epistolam, et ipse mihi parvam
To one to whom I sent a long letter, and sent me a little one
Non obolus solidum, non aequat libra talentum;
Plane gomor modio cedit, et iste coro.
Non licet exiguum compensat epistola librum,
Contrutinet lances pendula libra pares.3
An obulus is not worth a solidus; a pound is not worth a talent;
Clearly a measure is less than a peck, and also less than a cor.
Although a letter does not equal a small book,
A balance weighs with equal pans.
86.
De Florentia in qua papa Stephanus obit, et Nicolaus papa ex eadem processit 4
Concerning Florence where Pope Stephen died, and from where Pope Stephen came
Parva virum viduae debet Florentia Romae;
Quae tenet exstinctum, cogatur reddere vivum.
Sic nova Bethleis lux mundo fulsit ab oris.
Little Florence owes a man to widowed Rome;
She who holds what is gone, is urged to return one living.
In this way from Bethlehem shines forth a new light from its shores to the world.
87.
De illo qui semetipsum subiugat, ut sua recipiat
Concerning that man who subdues himself, so that he may take back himself
Nil sibi prorsus emit, qui se sub fenore vendit.
He buys nothing for himself, who sells himself for profit.
88.
Quod Roma mundo praefuit, donec legibus oboedivit
That Rome was in charge of the world, as long as it obeyed the laws
Praefuit urbs orbi, fuerat dum subdita legi;
Iustitiae spretis regnum contraxit habenis.
The city was in charge of the world, while placed under the law;
Having scorned justice, the domain was held together by thongs.
89.
Quod plerique casti sunt tenaces
Most of us chaste ones are stingy
Vix opibus largum videas et corpore castum.
Hardly may you see one generous with his wealth and chaste with his body.
90.
De illo qui nutritus Arretii, Pomposiae abbas fuit 5
Concerning the abbot of Pomposa who was nourished by Arezzo
Qui solet insipidis ventrem satiare lupinis,
Gutture nunc epulas ructat turgente marinas.
He is accustomed to satisfy his stomach with tasteless peas,
With his gullet now swollen he belches a meal of sea creatures.
1 A fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The home of the Apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip.
2 No literal translation can do justice to this epigram without some knowledge which most of us do not have. viscum, – ī, n. or viscus, – ī, m. is mistletoe or, in this case, birdlime made from the berries of mistletoe. Birdlime is a sticky substance placed on tree branches to catch small birds. The thrush is known for eating mistletoe berries, thus its excrement is, indeed, birdlime.
3 obulus, – ī, m., a small Greek coin which could buy a loaf of bread; solidus, – ī, m. an imperial gold coin probably worth 12 denarii in the 11th century (a denarius was a day’s wages for a skilled laborer); lībra, -ae, f., a Roman pound (in the 11th century it might pay the rent on a modest house for a year); talentum, – ī, m., a talent (in the 11th century this might equal a laborer’s wages for 20 years); gomor, n. indecl, is a unit of measure from the Old Testament (about 2.3 L); modius, – ī, m., a peck or 2.3 gallons; cor, a unit of measurement from the Old Testament, about 220 liters.
4 Stephen X (1057 – 58) and Nicholas II (1058 – 61) were both Popes of the reforming party of Hildebrand and Peter Damian. Stephen died in Florence in 1058, and Nicholas, Bishop of Florence succeeded him.
5 Guy (Guido) of Arezzo was the Abbot of Pomposa, a Benedictine monastery north of Ravenna and so in the area of Peter Damian’s activities. He (and the Abbots of other nearby monasteries) invited Peter Damian to instruct their monks. Both Guy and Peter had similar spirituality and reforming ideas, although Guy was committed to the cenobitic, and Peter to the eremitic, life.
