66v

But if the soul wants to live by reason
and rule the body with measure
according to divine inspiration,
it [=the soul] will care little for trivial matters.
It will fix its attention on eternal goods
since nothing in the world lasts forever.
Above all these things, it will go flying
to the heavens with loving zeal.

Worldly Goods

These impure corruptible things
—that cannot last and are never enough
to sate the cravings of sensitive souls^{1This is the technical aristotilian term indicating the part of the soul characterized by movement and sensation}—
are acquired in abundance with great toil.
We clutch ahold of them, but they are fleeting
and slip from our grasp, leading to sorrow and tears.
Whomever sees them for what they are
will not trouble himself with them.

These things are loaned to us for our use:
they are made, and laid at our feet.
Those who do not have an obscured view
appreciate them on their merits.
But if your heart is befuddled by them,
it would be like sitting at the feet of your servant.
For such vanities, it would be great madness
to deprive yourself of your own sovereignty.^{2Our translation of lines 25-28 follows the alternate reading from the printed text. It reads as follows: "ma s'entro a esse arai lo cor confuso / fie come quello ch'a pie del seruo siede / E per vil cosa ch'è somma pazzia / Si priva della sua gran Signoria." However, our manuscript, as transcribed at left, suggests the following translation of the last four lines of this stanza: "But if within you, your heart is befuddled / it will be like one who descends into darkness / as a vain thing which is a great madness / he deprives himself of his own control."}