Dialogue between a Chair in Italy and a Gentleman from England
[Page 367]
DIALOGUE FROM ALFIERI;(1)
BETWEEN A CHAIR IN ITALY AND A GENTLEMAN FROM
ENGLAND.
CHAIR.
What is the reason, Sir, that every day
You load me thus for nothing, hours and hours?
Is this the manner, pray,
Of making love in that cold clime of yours?
You may be heavy for a century,
And get no further with the lovely she.
GENTLEMAN.
And hast thou too conspired against me, chair?
I love, tis true—too true—and dare not say it:
But surely my whole air,
My looks, my very silence, all display it:
Every one, doubtless, must perceive the fire,
That gnaws and eats me up with fierce desire.
CHAIR.
For God’s sake, speak then, or you’ll never do:
What you do now by the fair lady’s side,
I boast of doing too: —
It makes her mad to find you thus tongue-tied,
To see you sit and stare, like a stuck pig:
You make me speak myself, who am but fig.
VOL. II. B B
[Page 368]
[Page 368]
SEGGIOLA.
Signor, perchè(2) del tuo disutil peso
Ogni giorno mi vuoi gravar tant’ore?
Si fa così all’ amore
Tra i gelati Britanni?
Me premerai mill’ anni,
E mai non ti avverrà d’essere inteso.
IL SEDUTO.
Sedia e tu pur congiuri a danno mio?
Amo pur troppo è vero, e dir non l’oso:
Ma l’amor sì nascoso
Non ho, che nel mio, sguardo
Non legga ognun, ch’io ardo,
Che mi consuma e rode un fier desio.
SEGGIOLA.
SEGGIOLA.
Non di parlar, bensì d’an dartene osa:
Ciò che tu fai della Sandrina accanto
Di farlo anch’io mi vento.
A lei l’anima e il senso
Toglie il tuo starti intenso:
Me fai parlare inanimata cosa.
EDITORIAL NOTES
EDITORIAL NOTES
[1] Vittorio Alfieri (1749-1803), Italian dramatist and poet, often regarded as the founder of Italian tragedy. “Dialogo fra una seggiola e chi vi sta su” is one of the epigrams Alfieri composed in Pisa in June 1766.
[2] Misprint for perché.
Ultimo aggiornamento
01.05.2025