Vincitore Alexandro l'ira vinse,
et fe' 'l minore in parte che Philippo:
che li val se Pyrgotile et Lysippo
l'intagliâr solo et Appelle il depinse?
L'ira Tydëo a tal rabbia sospinse,
che, morendo ei, si róse Menalippo;
l'ira cieco del tutto, non pur lippo,
fatto avea Silla: a l'ultimo l'extinse.
Sa 'l Valentinïan, ch'a simil pena
ira conduce: et sa 'l quei che ne more,
Aiace in molti, et poi in se stesso, forte.
Ira è breve furore, et chi nol frena,
è furor lungo, che 'l suo possessore
spesso a vergogna, et talor mena a morte.
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Anger conquered Alexander the conqueror,
and made him less than Philip his father:
what matter if Pyrgoteles and Lysippus
alone could sculpt him, or Apelles paint him?
Anger had Tydeus in such a rage
that dying he gnawed at Menalippus:
anger made Sulla's eyes not only dull,
but blind: and in the end destroyed him.
Anger led Valentinianus to the same pain:
and brought mighty Ajax to kill
many others, and at last himself.
Anger's a brief madness, he who does not
curb it's a long time mad, and it often leads
those who possess it to shame, and sometimes death.
Note:
Alexander the Great's father was Philip II
of Macedon. Lysippus, Pyrgoteles and Apelles
were artists at Alexander's court (4th century BC).
Tydeus was one of the seven against Thebes. Sulla
the Roman dictator (c138-78BC).Valentinianus
was Roman Emperor. Ajax the Greater
committed suicide after failing to win the arms of Achilles.
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