You Men (English)
Silly, you men-so very adept
at wrongly faulting womankind,
not seeing you alone to blame
for faults you plant in woman's mind.
After you've won by urgent plea
the right to tarnish her good name,
you still expect her to behave--
you, that coaxed her into shame.
You batter her resistance down
and then, all righteousness, proclaim
that feminine frivolity,
not your persistence, is to blame.
When it comes to bravely posturing,
your witlessness must take the prize:
you're the child that makes Bogeyman,
And then recoils in fear and cries.
Presumptuous beyond belief,
you'd have the woman you pursue
Thais when you're courting her,
Lucretia once she falls to you.
For plain default of common sense,
could any action be so queer
oneself to cloud the mirror,
then complain that it's not clear?
Whether you're favored or disdained,
nothing can leave you satisfied.
You whimper if you're turned away,
you sneer if you've been gratified.
With you, no woman can hope to score;
Whichever way, she's bound to lose;
Spurning you, she's ungrateful--
succumbing, you call her lewd.
Your folly is always the same:
you apply a single rule
to the one you accuse of looseness
and the one you brand as cruel.
What is the meaning of the word
for the woman who catches your eye,
if, unresponsive, she offends,
yet whose complaisance you decry?
Still, whether it's torment or anger--
and both ways you've yourselves to blame--
God bless the woman who will not have you,
no matter how loud you complain.
Item'
S your persistent entreaties that change her from timid to bold.
Having made her so naughty,
you would have her good gold.
So where does the greater guilt lie be
that it should not be:
with the man who pleads out of baseness
or the woman debased by his plea?
Or what is more to be blamed -
though both will have cause for chagrin:
the woman who sins for money
or the man who pays money to sin?
So you are all men so stunned
at the thought you're all guilty alike?
I like them for you
Make them or make them like you.
If you'd give up pursuing them,
you'd discover, without a doubt,
you've got a stronger case to make
against those who seek you out.
I well know what powerful arms
you wield in pressing for evil:
your arrogance is allied
with the world, the flesh, and the devil!
at wrongly faulting womankind,
not seeing you alone to blame
for faults you plant in woman's mind.
After you've won by urgent plea
the right to tarnish her good name,
you still expect her to behave--
you, that coaxed her into shame.
You batter her resistance down
and then, all righteousness, proclaim
that feminine frivolity,
not your persistence, is to blame.
When it comes to bravely posturing,
your witlessness must take the prize:
you're the child that makes Bogeyman,
And then recoils in fear and cries.
Presumptuous beyond belief,
you'd have the woman you pursue
Thais when you're courting her,
Lucretia once she falls to you.
For plain default of common sense,
could any action be so queer
oneself to cloud the mirror,
then complain that it's not clear?
Whether you're favored or disdained,
nothing can leave you satisfied.
You whimper if you're turned away,
you sneer if you've been gratified.
With you, no woman can hope to score;
Whichever way, she's bound to lose;
Spurning you, she's ungrateful--
succumbing, you call her lewd.
Your folly is always the same:
you apply a single rule
to the one you accuse of looseness
and the one you brand as cruel.
What is the meaning of the word
for the woman who catches your eye,
if, unresponsive, she offends,
yet whose complaisance you decry?
Still, whether it's torment or anger--
and both ways you've yourselves to blame--
God bless the woman who will not have you,
no matter how loud you complain.
Item'
S your persistent entreaties that change her from timid to bold.
Having made her so naughty,
you would have her good gold.
So where does the greater guilt lie be
that it should not be:
with the man who pleads out of baseness
or the woman debased by his plea?
Or what is more to be blamed -
though both will have cause for chagrin:
the woman who sins for money
or the man who pays money to sin?
So you are all men so stunned
at the thought you're all guilty alike?
I like them for you
Make them or make them like you.
If you'd give up pursuing them,
you'd discover, without a doubt,
you've got a stronger case to make
against those who seek you out.
I well know what powerful arms
you wield in pressing for evil:
your arrogance is allied
with the world, the flesh, and the devil!
____________________________________________________________________
Wow, I can hardly believe she lived in the 1600s with such a strong written voice on feminism. She managed to outwit the religious men trying to silence her through debates and writings. She did get her works published thanks to her secular female friend, (the wife of the Viceroy). A voice for women explaining the folly of religious roles imposed on women. I concur completely.
No comments:
Post a Comment