Le Opere Italiane di Giordano Bruno

1 The Candlebearer. Do you want me to show him to you? Do you desire to see him? Here he is.
Make way. Give him space. Withdraw to the sides; if you don’t want
those horns to hurt you: which make people flee beyond the mountains. The "horns" are a recurring joke about cuckoldry—the shame of a husband whose wife is unfaithful—which is a central theme of the play.

Scene One.

5 Bo. Go find him right this minute and strive to drag him here.
Go, do it, and come back quickly.
As. I will strive to do it quickly and well. Better a little late than
10 a little poorly. Quickly enough, if well enough. original: "sat cito; si sat bene"; a Latin proverb meaning that quality is more important than speed.
Bo. Praised be God. I thought I had only one servant;
and I have a servant, a house-master, a satrap A term for a provincial governor, here used sarcastically to mean a self-important official., a doctor, and a counselor; and
they say then that I am a poor gentleman. I tell you in the name | of the
blessed tail of the donkey that the Genoese worship at Castello; A satirical reference to the veneration of absurd relics. Hurry
15 up, you rogue, and do it even if you're unwilling. And take care not to enter the house: do you understand?
Call him so he appears at the window; and you will tell him what I told you.
Do you understand?
Asc. Yes, sir. I’m going.

Scene II.

20

Art compensates for the defect of nature, Bonifacio. Now, since
in an evil hour I cannot make this traitress love me, or at
least look back at me with a simulated, loving glance. Who
knows? Perhaps she who was not moved by the words of Bonifacio,
25 the love of Bonifacio, the sight of Bonifacio in agony: might be forced with this
occult philosophy. original: "occolta philosophia"; here Bonifacio refers to magic or alchemy as a "philosophy" to justify his desperate measures. It is said that the Magic art is of such importance
that against nature it makes rivers turn back, fixes the
sea, makes mountains roar, the abyss resound, prohibits the sun, tears down
the moon, uproots the stars, takes away the day and makes the night stand still: therefore
30 the Academic of no Academy original: "Achademico di nula Achademia"; this was Giordano Bruno’s own mocking pseudonym, signaling his independence from formal university structures. in that hateful title, and lost
poem, said:

He gives to rapid rivers a return upward,
He moves the golden stars from the high heaven.
He makes the night be day, and day be night.
35 > And tears the moon from her own orb
And changes her right horn into a left.

Translator's note on printer's corrections:
12 d = of | 16 said. | 30 Academic of no Academy | 33 Moves | 33 stars