Poems

Ballade de bon conseil/Ballade of Good Counsel

212 the poems of françois villon 13 Ballade de bon conseil Hommes failliz, bertaudez de raison, Desnaturez et hors de congnoissance, Desmis du sens, comblez de desraison, Folz abusez, plains de descongnoissance, Qui procurez contre vostre naissance, 5 Vous submettans a detestable mort Par lascheté. Las! que ne vous remort L’orribleté qui a honte vous maine? Voyez comment maint jeunes homs est mort Par offensser et prendre autruy demaine. 10 Chascun en soy voye sa mesprison! Ne nous vengons, prenons en pacïence; Nous congnoissons que ce monde est prison Aux vertueux franchis d’impacïence. Batre, rouiller pour ce n’est pas scïence, 15 Tollir, ravir, piller, meurtrir a tort; De Dieu ne chault, trop de verité se tort Qui en telz faiz sa jeunesse demaine, Dont a la fin ses poins doloureux tort Par offenser et prendre autruy demaine. 20 Que vault piper, flater, rire en trahyson, Quester, mentir, affermer sans fiance, Farcer, tromper, artifier poison, Vivre en peché, dormir en deffiance De son prouchain sans avoir confience? 25 Pour ce, conclus: de bien faisons effort, Represnons cueur, ayons en Dieu confort. Nous n’avons jour certain en la sepmaine. De noz maulx ont noz parens le ressort. Par offencer et prendre autruy demaine. 30 shorter poems 213 13 Ballade of Good Counsel Treacherous men, shorn of your reason, denatured, and strangers to insight; stripped of all sense, brim-full of unreason! Deluded fools, steeped in incomprehension, striving perversely against your own birthright, 5 surrendering to an execrable death, so cowardly! How are you not appalled by the vileness that leads you to shame? See how many young men have found their death by harming others or taking their goods. 10 Let each one see his own iniquity! Instead of vengeance let us practice patience; we recognize this world is but a prison to the virtuous, who patiently endure. It makes no sense to beat a man, attack 15 or rob; steal, pillage, murder wrongfully; the man who spends his youth in such misdeeds cares naught for God and twists away from truth then wrings his hands in grief for what he’s come to by harming others or taking their goods. 20 What good is it to flatter, cheat, or scam, to smilingly betray, make pledges in bad faith, to swindle, lie, deceive, or brew up poisons, to live in sin and sleep in fear of one’s fellows, lacking all security? 25 So I declare, let us strive toward goodness, take heart again, find comfort in God. Nothing’s certain, not one day in any week. We make our brothers pay for our misdeeds by harming others or taking their goods. 30 214 the poems of françois villon Vivons en paix, exterminons discord. Ieunes et vieulx, soyons tous d’ung accord: La loy le veult, l’appostre le ramaine Licitement en l’espistre rommaine. Ordre nous fault, estat ou aucun port. 35 Nottons ces poins, ne laissons le vray port Par offensser et prendre autruy demaine. shorter poems 215 Vie for a life of peace, let discord die. Ill and well, young and old, let us find accord: Law exhorts it, the apostle reminds us Lucidly, in his Epistle to the Romans. Order and stability sustain us; 35 Now let’s heed this and not lose our true reward by harming others or taking their goods. ...