Canto XLVWith Usura With usura hath no man a house of good stoneeach block cut smooth and well fittingthat design might cover their face,with usurahath no man a painted paradise on his church wallharpes et luzor where virgin receiveth messageand halo projects from incision,with usuraseeth no man Gonzaga his heirs and his concubinesno picture is made to endure nor to live withbut it is made to sell and sell quicklywith usura, sin against nature,is thy bread ever more of stale ragsis thy bread dry as paper,with no mountain wheat, no strong flourwith usura the line grows thickwith usura is no clear demarcationand no man can find site for his dwelling.Stonecutter is kept from his toneweaver is kept from his loomWITH USURAwool comes not to marketsheep bringeth no gain with usuraUsura is a murrain, usurablunteth the needle in the maid’s handand stoppeth the spinner’s cunning. Pietro Lombardocame not by usuraDuccio came not by usuranor Pier della Francesca; Zuan Bellin’ not by usuranor was ‘La Calunnia’ painted.Came not by usura Angelico; came not Ambrogio Praedis,Came no church of cut stone signed: Adamo me fecit.Not by usura St. TrophimeNot by usura Saint Hilaire,Usura rusteth the chiselIt rusteth the craft and the craftsmanIt gnaweth the thread in the loomNone learneth to weave gold in her pattern;Azure hath a canker by usura; cramoisi is unbroideredEmerald findeth no MemlingUsura slayeth the child in the wombIt stayeth the young man’s courtingIt hath brought palsey to bed, lyethbetween the young bride and her bridegroom CONTRA NATURAM They have brought whores for EleusisCorpses are set to banquetat behest of usura.N.B. Usury: A charge for the use of purchasing power, levied without regard to production; often without regard to the possibilities of production. (Hence the failure of the Medici bank.)
Ezra Pound, I Cantos, a cura di Mary de Rachewiltz, Mondadori (“I Meridiani”, 1985 [2011 l’edizione ultima]), pp. 444-447
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