91.
De domno Humberto archiepiscopo qui sederat ad dexteram papae et ego ad sinistram1
Concerning Lord Archbishop Humbert who was sitting to the right of the pope and I to his left
Sortior haedinam, tu sedem tollis ovinam;
Laevus habet dextram, dexter quandoque sinistram.
I choose the seat of a goat, you take up the seat of a sheep;2
The left has the right at one time, and sometimes the right has the left.
92.
Super saecularibus elegidia
A short elegy over the seculars
Lugeo vos, miseri, quibus est mens dedita carni;
Caelum despicitis, quaestus bona summa putatis.
Quid vos horter ego, quid vos optare monebo?
Nunc male iucundas mundi sorbete medullas,
Exta replete cibis, artus onerate saginis,
Ne pereant vermes macie, vos semper edentes;
Fontibus irriguas gelidis extendite villas.
Non numerus nummis, non sit mensura metallis.
Post erit angustum possessio vestra sepulcrum.
At quos spes fulvo ditat pretiosior auro.
Quorum divitiae verae sunt praemia vitae,
Quas fur non temerat, nec edax male tarmula sulcat,
Vana repentinis obnoxia lucra ruinis
Spernite; lapsuro cedant sua munera mundo.
Sufficiant Christi famulis patrimonia caeli;
Pectoris eximium fidei tegat arca talentum.
Sit studium rutilas virtutum condere gemmas
Et male nascentes vitiorum vellere sentes.
Turbida fluctivagi vitate negotia mundi.
Incubet eloquiis iugiter mens libera sacris;
iam modice gustet mel, quo post plena redundet;
Ad sua sic nostra redeat primordia forma.
Hae cumulentur opes, isti quaerantur honores;
His homo iure potens, his fit per saecula dives.
I mourn for you, wretched ones, whose heart is dedicated to the flesh;
You despise heaven, you think gain is the highest good.
What do I urge you, what will I advise you to choose?
Now drink down the evil marrow of the world,
Fill up the nobler internal organs of the body with food, load up your limbs with feasting,
So that the worms may not perish for lack of food, you are always eating;
Farms well-watered by icy springs stretch forth.
Let there be no number of coins, no measure of metal.
Afterward your only possession will be a small tomb.
But what hope enriches more precious than yellow gold.
Of which true riches are the reward of life,
Which things a thief does not defile, nor does a little woodworm plough a banquet,
Avoid the emptiness of failing repentance of hateful
profit; your gifts yield to a tottering world.
The patrimony of heaven is sufficient for the servants of Christ;
Let the chest of the heart conceal the priceless coin of faith.
Let it be your study to store up the red jewels of virtue
And may you pluck out the growing evil of your sins.
Scorn the disordered business of the fluctuating world.
The free mind exerts itself joining to holy speech;
Let him now discretely taste the honey, by which after being full is overflowing;
In this way may our nature return to its original form.
These riches are to be accumulated, those are the honors to be sought;
Man being powerful by this law, riches come to them forever.
93.
Paractericum carmen sanctae crucis3
Paratactic song of the holy cross
1.
Unica spes hominum, crux o venerabile signum,
Omnibus esto salus, unica spes hominum.
The only hope of men, Cross, O venerable sign,
Thou shalt be the salvation of all, the only hope of men.
2.
Baiula tu pretii, quod mundi debita solvit,
Quo meruit redimi, baiula tu pretii. Unica…
You carrier of the price, which releases the debts of the world,
For which it deserved the ransom, you carrier of the price. The only hope of men.
3.
Tartara victa tuis spolium cessere triumphis;
Lugent vexillis Tartara victa tuis.
The underworld conquered yielded its prey to your triumph;
The conquered of Tartarus mourn your raised standards.
4.
Pandis et astra piis, proprio quos stigmate signas;
Das requiem fessis, pandis et astra piis. Unica…
You even open the stars to the righteous, whom you mark with your wounds;
You give rest to the weary, You even open the stars to the righteous. The only hope of men.
5.
Chirographum vetiti, pepigit quod cautio, ligni,
Diluis et pomi chirographum vetiti.
The written decree of prohibition, that is fixed as an obligation on wood,
You wash away that bond which has been forbidden and fix it to the fruit tree.
6.
Lux, honor, imperium, laus, gloria, doxa per aevum.
Sic tibi, trine Deus, lux, honor, imperium. Unica…
Light, honor, command, praise, fame, glory through eternity.
Let them be thus to you, threefold God, light, honor, command. The only hope of men.
94.
Paractericum carmen sanctae Mariae
A paratactic poem to holy Mary
Scala thronusque Dei, nitor orbis, ianua caeli,
Mater, ave, Christi, scala thronusque Dei.
Stairs and throne of God, light of the world, door to heaven,
Hail mother of Christ, stairs and throne of God.
Tu nova stella maris, qua lux est reddita terris,
Ortus et es solis, tu nova stella maris.
You new star of the sea, who has returned light to the earth,
You are as the risen sun, you new star of the sea.
Concipis absque viro, tu sola puerpera virgo,
Quae verbum verbo concipis absque viro.
You conceive without a man, you the only virgin who has given birth,
To which word by the word you give birth without a man.
Tartara quod metuunt, tellus pavet, astra verentur,
Pectoris antra ferunt, Tartara quod metuunt,
What the underworld fears, the earth is struck with fear, the stars revere,
The caves of your stomach, that is what the underworld fears.
Virgine vita redit homini, quem virgo peremit;
Mors nece victa perit, virgine vita redit.
By a virgin life returns to man, that which a virgin had hindered;
Death is destroyed by death, by a virgin life returns to man.
Tu super astra leva, petimus, quos subruit Eva;
Illa gravat culpa, tu super astra leva.
You, we seek, raise above the stars those whom Eve demolished;
She oppresses them with guilt, you raise above the stars.
Gloria summa patri, genitae sit gloria proli
Flamine cum parili, gloria summa patri.
Amen.
Glory to the father on high, let there also be glory to his offspring the son
With to the equal holy spirit, glory to the father on high.
Amen.
95.
Epitaphium Lodoici sancti presbyteri4
Epitaph for the holy priest Ludwig
Vir Domini clauso iacet hoc Lodoicus in antro,
Cui sine carnificum fit nece martyrium.
In this sepulcher lies Lodovicus, a man of God,
Whose martyrdom occurs without death by executioners.
Vinum respuerat, panem non prorsus edebat;
Hebdomas binum sic dabat una cibum.
He refused wine, he ate no bread;
In this way he ate only twice a week.
Ordine diverso pictor fuit atque sacerdos;
Obtulit ex aequo munus utrumque Deo.
In some orders he was a painter, and in some he was a priest;
He offered each gift equally to God.
Lux oriens urbi, lux omni claruit orbi;
Arsit et incendit, ivit et ire dedit.
As light rising on a city, he shown light on the whole world;
It blazed and burned, he went and he caused to go.
Ecclesiae speculum, vivus lapis, hostia, templum,
Nos precibus releva, quos mala nostra gravant.
A mirror of the church, a living stone, a holy offering, a temple,
Lift us up with your prayers, who are weighed down with sin.
96.
Aliud epitaphium5
Another epitaph
Quod nunc es, fuimus; es, quod sumus, ipse futurus.
Hic sit nulla fides, quae peritura vides.
That which you are now, we were; you yourself will be what we are now.
You trust nothing that might be here, which you will see as vanished.
Frivola sinceris, praecurrunt somnia veris;
Succedunt brevibus saecula temporibus.
Worthless things precede genuine ones, dreams precede the truth;
Centuries follow brief times.
Vive memor mortis, quo semper vivere possis.
Quicquid adest, transit; quod manet, ecce venit.
Live mindful of death, by which you might always live.
What is with you now, goes away; that which abides, behold it comes.
Quam bene providit, qui te, male munde, reliquit,
Mente prius carni quam tibi carne mori,
Caelica terrenis, prefer mansura caducis.
Mens repetat proprium libera principium.
How well does he see ahead, who abandons you, O evil world,
First with the mind being dead to the flesh then with the flesh being dead to you,
Heaven to earth prefer, prefer what abides to what has fallen.
The free mind finds its own beginning.
Spiritus alta petat, quo prodit fonte, recurrat;
Sub se despiciat, quicquid in ima gravat.
Let the spirit seek the heights, let it run back to the spring by which it was produced;
Let him despise what is beneath him, whatever oppresses in the deepest.
Sis memor, oro, mei, cineres pius inspice Petri;
Cum prece, cum gemitu dic: «Sibi parce, Deus».
May you be mindful of me I beg, look at the ashes of pius Peter;
With prayer, with lamenting say: “Be lenient to him, Lord.”
97.
Contra cluniacensem abbatem qui eum in Gallias duxit6
Against the Abbot of Cluny who ledinduced him to go to France
Mors mea, grandaevam primis, Cluniacae, senectam;
Efficis, ut non sim, dum petis, ut bene sis,
Ut tibi mella fluant epulae, pigmenta rubescant,
Amplaque conditos praebat olla cibos.
My death,my great old age, (comes) by the leader of Cluny;
While you seek all so that you may be well, you bring about my not being so.
So that the honey of sumptuous foods may flow, the colors might shine,
And offered large pots of stored food.
Scabra fit ut nostris desint vel cantabra mensis.
Dum tibi servo dapes, me manet atra fames.
Rough are our meals or absent altogether.
While I serve you a solemn feast, there remains to me dark hunger.
98.
Versus pauperis
Poem of a poor man
Ulceribus vacuus sed paupertate repletus
Lazarus ecce venit, qui micis vivere quaerit.
Absunt ora canum, non desunt rostra pedonum;
Illa cutem lambunt, haec membra scatentia rodunt.
The poor are empty but filled with sores
Behold Lazarus comes, who asks a crumb to live.
Mouths of dogs are not there that will lick his skin
Mouths of lice are not far that gnaw these teeming limbs.
99.
Ariminum, luge, lacrimarum flumina funde;
Laus tua Benno fuit, pro dolor ecce ruit.7
Arīminum, mourn, let flow a river of tears;
Benno was your glory, behold he goes to grievous ruin.
Benno decus regni, Romanae gloria genti,
Ipse pater patriae, lux erat Italiae.
Benno worthy of rule, the glory of the Roman race,
Himself father of his nation, he was the light of Italy.
Hunc socium miseri, durum sensere superbi;
Lapsos restituit, turgida colla premit.
These wretched (found him) a companion, arrogant ones felt his hardness;
He revives those who have fallen, he presses swollen necks.
Fit leo pugnanti frendens, tener agnus inermi;
Hinc semper iustus perstitit, inde pius.
He becomes a lion gnashing his teeth to those fighting, a tender lamb to the unarmed;
With the first there is always justice, with the second, piety.
Hic fidei dum iura colit, dum cedere nescit,
Firma tenens rigidae pondera iustitiae,
Reticolae iugulus pravorum pertulit ictus.
Per quem pax viguit, bellica sors perimit.
He cultivated the laws of this faith, while he did not know how to yield,
Holding firm the weight of strict justice,
His neck endured the blows of the wicked networks.
Through whom peace flourished, the chance of war was prevented.
Obsecro, tam diram sapientes flete ruinam
Et pia pro socio fundite vota Deo.
I implore, you wise men (mourn) with tears such a dreadful death
And (make) pious vows deeply for your companion to the God.
100.
Versus de simoniacis8
A poem concerning those who commit simony
Incudem Simonis fabrilis et antra monetae
Damnat pestiferas Deus evertendo cathedras;
Nam postica latro per diverticula repit;
Pervia gratuito pastor petit ostia gressu.
God condemns the anvil of Simon and the
Caves where he forges money by overturning their chairs;
For he sneaks through the back door as a thief;
The shepherd seeks a way out through the open doors.
Ast ubi mangonum scelerata negotia desunt,
Nec grave corbina turget venale talentum,9
Non distractor obest, quia non commercia sordent.
But when there is no wicked business of the dishonest merchants,
Nor is there any heavily swollen treasury of money to be sold,
The moneychanger is not present, because the market is not dirty.
Nam quid mummati, nequeunt ubi laedere nummi?
Immo quid arboreis manus obsit squalida plantis?
For what (are) men with money, when they cannot injure money?
How can a dirty hand hurt plants and trees?
Saepe salutiferam medicus dedit aeger oryzam;
Mancipites pugilem, caeci genuere videntem;
Clinica procerum peperit, male foeda venustum,
Nec suboles noxis est addicenda paternis,
Quisque sua premitur, socii nec labe tenetur.
Often the healing physician gave rice to the healthy;
Cripples give birth to a fighter, the blind give birth to the seeing;
A physician gave birth to the tall, a foul person, evilly, gave birth to a charming person,
Nor is an offspring adding to the harms of his parents,
Whoever is assaulted by him, nor are his companions held by his sinking.
101.
Segnes rumpe moras, torporis frange catenas.
Break the sluggishness of delay, break the chains of dullness.
102.
Versus
A Poem
Ultio divina, populi, Cadaloe, ruina,
Te manet, ut diro medium transverberet ictu.
Altipetax, Simonem sequeris, Simon, astra petentem.
Te quoque Tartareus simul absorbebit hiatus.
Divine justice remains to you, O Cadalus, ruin of the people
May it bore through your middle with a cruel blow.
You follow Simon, that Simon who sought the stars.
At that same time Tartarus will swallow you also.
103.
Non canonem solvit, qui psallens nocte redormit.
Ne tamen hoc passim ponat caput ante synaxim.
He is not free of the rule, who during night psalms goes back to sleep.
Nevertheless so that he might not do this, let him not put down his head before the gathering.
1 Archbishop Umberto da Silva-Candida (ca. 1000 – 10761), a French Benedictine Abbot, Cardinal, and Archbishop. He was active in the reform movement, but his argument that simoniacal ordinations and sacraments were invalid was refuted by Peter Damian. He is credited with the schism between the Roman and Greek churches and with the 1059 Election Decree that popes would be elected by the College of Cardinals.
2 Here one must recall Matthew Chapter 25. Where it is reported that when Jesus returns to heaven he will separate all men, placing the sheep (good men and believers) on his right and the goats (evil men and nonbelievers) on his left. All those on the left will be sent to hell. Frightening. I will leave the interpretation of all this to the theologians.
3 Paractericum is certainly related to parataxis, where two clauses or phrases are used one after the other without a subordinating conjunction to show a relationship. Not much different in my estimation from asyndeton, a simple omission of conjunctions. This poem also has characteristics of epanalepsis, in which the beginning of a clause or sentence is repeated at the end of that same clause or sentence.
4 Lodovico has not been identified.
5 This has been called ‘the famous autoepitaph.’
6 Hugh of Cluny (1024 – 1109) was a reformer although not as severe as Peter Damian who criticized what he perceived as laxities in some of the practices at Cluny. He was very influential with Pope Urban II who had been prior at Cluny under Hugh as abbot. He was an (unsuccessful) mediator between Pope Gregory VII and the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV.
7 Lokrantz and Facchini 2007 identify Benno as Bennone, benefactor of the monastery of S. Gregorio in Conca, near Rimini, founded by Peter Damian, KL Jasper in her dissertation of 2012 (Mapping a Monastic Network: Peter Damian and Fonte Avellana in the Eleventh Centur) says that while John of Lodi lists Conca as a monastery founded by Peter Damian, he “never pulled Saint Gregory at Conca into the fold of Fonte Avellana. The management of its patrimony contradicted the fundamental aspects of Damian’s economic practices at Fonte Avellana. The community also paid no annual tribute to Fonte Avellana, and, perhaps more significantly, received no communications from Damian.”
8 Simony was one the two sins Peter Damian was most committed to fighting (the other was the lack of celibacy among priests). The term derives from Simon Magis who is portrayed in the Acts of the Apostles. He was a magicians who, it is told, used sorcery to bewitch the people of Samaria. When Philip preached there the people were converted to Christianity including Simon. Later Simon saw the miracles performed by Peter and offered to pay him to obtain similar powers.
9 Once more Lokrantz and Facchini 2007 are less meticulous than Lokrantz 1964. ‘corbina’ should be ‘corbona.’
