Sunday song

  

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375)
The Fates of Illustrious Men

Nature has hidden gold in the most secret depths of the earth, as it is dangerous to the human species. But Avarice, the prospector, searches voraciously and brings it to light. Avarice taught us to dig out the mountains, tunnel the bowels of the earth, and even to invade the depths of the sea with fish hooks. First, Avarice leveled the height of the mountains and cut down the woods to make roads. Then he showed us how to occupy foreign shores, to sign false contracts, to deceive wild beasts, to put serpents to sleep, to spread discord, to lie. He armed mankind in violence, invented poisons and treacheries. By all these methods and others as well, he gathered this glittering peril for some men in vast quantities.