The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (best classic books of all time txt) 📕

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Or, in modern parlance, “twopennny-halfpenny.” ↩

Syn. encourager, helper, auxiliary (confortatore). ↩

This sudden change from the third to the second person, in speaking of Nicostratus, is a characteristic example of Boccaccio’s constant abuse of the figure enallage in his dialogues. ↩

I.e. those eyes. ↩

I.e. the Siennese. ↩

I.e. from discovering to his friend his liking for the lady. ↩

Or, in modern parlance, logic-chopping (sillogizzando). ↩

I.e. with that whereof you bear the name, i.e. laurel (laurea). ↩

Or “on this subject” (in questo). ↩

Quaere, “half-complines,” i.e. half-past seven p.m. “Half-vespers” would be half-past four, which seems too early. ↩

Carolando, i.e. dancing in a round and singing the while, the original meaning of our word “carol.” ↩

I.e. half-past seven a.m. ↩

Where the papal court then was. See note 276 in the third story of Day 5. ↩

Or, as La Fontaine would say, “aussi bien faite pour armer un lit.” ↩

Or apron. ↩

Se n’andò col ceteratojo; a proverbial expression of similar meaning to our “was whistled down the wind,” i.e. was lightly dismissed without provision, like a cast-off hawk. ↩

A play of words upon the Italian equivalent of the French word Douay (Duagio, i.e. Twoay, Treagio, Quattragio) invented by the roguish priest to impose upon the simple goodwife. ↩

Or in modern parlance, “making her a connection by marriage of etc.,” Boccaccio feigning priests to be members of the Holy Family, by virtue of their office. ↩

I.e. good cheer. ↩

A play upon the double meaning of a denajo, which signifies also “for money.” ↩

A kind of rissole made of eggs, sweet herbs and cheese. ↩

Vernaccia, a kind of rich white wine like Malmsey. ↩

I.e. not strait-cut. ↩

Sforzandosi, i.e. recovering his wind with an effort. ↩

I.e. love him, grant him her favours. See ante, passim. ↩

I.e. in the malaria district. ↩

I.e. great ugly Ciuta. ↩

Quarantanove, a proverbial expression for an indefinite number. ↩

I.e. how they might do this. ↩

I.e. in the old sense of “manager” (massajo). ↩

I.e. white wine, see note 375 in the third story of Day 8. ↩

I.e. embarked on a bootless quest. ↩

A proverbial way of saying that he bore malice and was vindictive. ↩

Lit. out of hand (fuor di mano). ↩

Boccaccio here misquotes himself. See here earlier in this story, where the lady says to her lover, “Whether seemeth to thee the greater, his wit or the love I bear him?” This is only one of the numberless instances of negligence and inconsistency which occur in the Decameron and which make it evident to the student that it must have passed into the hands of the public without the final revision and correction by the author, that limae labor without which no book is complete and which is especially necessary in the case of such a work as the present, where Boccaccio figures as the virtual creator of Italian prose. ↩

Lit. face, aspect (viso). ↩

I.e. thy lover’s. ↩

V’è donato, i.e. young lovers look to receive gifts of their mistresses, whilst those of more mature age bestow them. ↩

Lit. red as rabies (rabbia). Some commentators suppose that Boccaccio meant to write robbia, madder. ↩

I.e. resource (consiglio). See ante, passim. ↩

Boccaccio appears to have forgotten to mention that Rinieri had broken the rounds of the ladder, when he withdrew it (as stated earlier in this story), apparently to place an additional obstacle in the way of the lady’s escape. ↩

Quaere, the street of that name? ↩

Danza trivigiana, lit. Trevisan dance, O.E. the shaking of the sheets. ↩

I.e. with the doctor’s hood of miniver. ↩

The colour of the doctors’ robes of that time. ↩

The commentators note here that on the church door of San Gallo was depicted an especially frightful Lucifer, with many mouths. ↩

Legnaja is said to be famous for big pumpkins. ↩

I.e. they think of and cherish us alone, holding us as dear as their very eyes. ↩

I.e. Fat-hog and Get-thee-to-supper, burlesque perversions of the names Ipocrasso (Hippocrates) and Avicenna. ↩

I.e. love her beyond anything in the world. For former instances of this idiomatic expression, see ante, passim. ↩

Syn. cauterized (calterita), a nonsensical word employed by Bruno for the purpose of mystifying the credulous physician. ↩

Syn. secretary, confidant (segretaro). ↩

A play of words upon mela (apple) and mellone (pumpkin). Mellone is strictly a watermelon; but I have rendered