Cambridge Pieces by Samuel Butler
On the Italian Priesthood
This an adaptation of the following epigram, which appeared in Giuseppe Giusti’s Raccolta di Proverbi Toscani (Firenze, 1853)
Con arte e con inganno si vive mezzo l’anno Con inganno e con arte si vive l’altra parte.
In knavish art and gathering gear They spend the one half of the year; In gathering gear and knavish art They somehow spend the other part.