PRELUDE.

TO GAMBARA.

Truly, I did not wish to deceive you with a witty joke,
Gambara:
When I was saying that mortal things
Are snatched away prematurely, tossed through the West Winds original: "Zephyros"
Like a spinning ball.
Alas! all things fall, Gambara: nor does the
Bold and wicked Boy Cupid, the personification of desire and impulse
Allow anything to stand for long. Do you not see
The chariot of Cupid leaping into the air,
And of fickle Fortune?
In which they carry the whole world through the nations
As a resounding mockery,
Like a pile of snow;
Such as the snow deposited on the Caucasian ridge;
Or such as Winter, giving birth to smooth crystal ice
Upon our sea.
Bah! The world, rushing with its great mass,
Is led by a slippery chariot and a witty nose original: "lepido naso," a Latin idiom for being mocked or led by the nose
At the same time; a single little Boy
Spins with a clumsy right hand,
And not without a quiet laugh,
A weight that so many Hercules could not carry;
Even if the hundred-handed ones The Hecatoncheires, mythological giants with fifty heads and a hundred arms
Should touch the Tigris River, and the rivers of Libyan Bagrada. The Medjerda River in North Africa, famous in Roman history.
For this reason, sail-flying fleets undergo the South Winds original: "Notos",
And rowers swim across the blue marble of Nereus; The sea, named after the ancient sea god.
And the bronze-sounding angers of Generals, and those
Of purple-clad Kings, thunder at the trumpets.
Soldier, stay your step. At what price do you rage?
To whom do you hire out the threats of drawn steel,
And the flame of a swift heart?