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Cruise Scientific Visual Statistics Studio Visual Statistics Illustrated |
Francois Villon
Francois Villon (1431-1474) wrote about transitory temporal things:
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Prince, n'enquerez de sepmaine
Ou elles sont, ne de cest an,
Qu'a ce reffrain ne vous remaine:
Mais ou sont les neiges d'antan?
Don't ask: Where are they?
Now and then, every day.
Don't refrain from refrain:
Where are the snows of yester-day?
| Necessite fait gens mesprendre Et faim saillir le loup du bois. |
Poverty people into villains turns; Because of hunger wolves leave the woods. |
When facing death by hanging he wrote
Soon they’ll
put the noose around my neck
To make me
feel the weight of my back.
You know, Francois, he used instead of 'back' the name of that part of the human body where the back loses its good name.
The general malaise of his time is reflected in his ballads, such as this one
about Plump Margot.
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Tres doulce face et portraicture Foy que doy brulare bigod Assez devote creature Je l'aime de propre nature Et elle moy, la doulce sade. Qui la trouvera d'adventure
Qu'on luy lise ceste ballade. |
Sweet face, sweet profile By God, I adore this devoted creature I love her own nature And she loves me, the sweet odalisque. Whoever meets her when she plies her trade
Must read her this ballade. |
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Se j'ayme et sers la belle de bon hait M'en devez vous tenir ne vil ne sot? Elle a en soy des biens a fin souhait Pour son amour sains bouclier et passot Quant viennent gens je cours et happe ung pot Au vin m'en fuis sans demener grant bruit Je leur tens eaue, frommage, pain et fruit S'ilz paient bien je leur dis bene stat Retournez cy quant vous serez en ruit
En ce bordeau ou tenons nostre estat. |
I love to serve this belle Why to call me degenerate and fool? She is beautiful and proper, I protect her with my dagger. When a gentleman calls, I run to fetch a pot of wine to keep them happy, quiet, satisfied. I get them water, cheese, bread, and fruit To make him pay well. If he does I say When feeling horny come again in
To this inn we both live in. |
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Mais adoncques il y a grant deshait Quant sans argent s'ne vient couchier Margot Veoir ne la puis, mon cuer a mort la hait Sa robe prens, demy saint et surcot Si luy jure qu'il tendra pour l'escot Par les costes se prent"c'est Antecrist!" Crie et jure par la mort Jhesucrist Que non fera, lors j'empoingne ung esclat Dessus son nez luy en fais ung escript
En ce bordeau ou tenons nostre estat. |
Sometimes we fall on hard times When Margot fucks a john who does not pay, When she comes home, I hate her. I seize her her dress, slip, jacket To keep them as my share. With hands on her hips, she calls me Antichrist. She cries and swears by Jesus H. Christ.
Then I, seizing a stick
In this cat house we inhabit. |
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Vente, gresle, gelle, j'ay mon pain cuit Ie suis paillart, la paillarde me suit Lequel vault mieulx? Chascun bien s'entresuit L'ung vault l'autre, c'est a mau rat mau chat Ordure amons, ordure nous assuit Nous deffuyons onneur, il nous deffuit En ce bordeau ou tenons nostre estat. |
Wind, hail, frost, my life is not sweet, I am dissolute, she follows my suite. One like the other, copulated, Cursed rat, cursed cat, catenated. I linger in a garbage can, she follows my suite. No, our lives are not sweet In the cat house we inhabit. |