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Longa sazon ai estat vas Amor
Humils e francs, et ai fait son coman
En tot quan puosc; que anc per nulh afan
Qu'ieu en sufris, ni per nulha dolor,
De lieis amar, non parti mon coratge
A cui m'era rendutz de bon talen,
Tro qu'ieu conuc en lieis un fol usatge
Ab que·s dechai e m'a camjat mon sen.

Agut m'aura per leial servidor;
Mas tan la vei adonar ad enjan,
Per que no·m platz s'amistat derenan,
Ni·m pot far ben que ja m'agues sabor.
Anz m'en partirai - qu'aissi·m ven d'agradatge,
Puois ilh se part de bon pretz eissamen,
Et er m'alhors tener autre viatge
On restaure so que·m a fait perden.

Be sai si·m part de lieis ni·m vir alhor,
Que no·lh er greu ni par que·l tegn' a dan;
E si cug eu saber e valer tan
Qu'aissi cum suelh enantir sa valor
Li sabria percassar son damnatge;
Pero m'en lais per mon dreit chauzimen.
Quar assatz fai qui de mal senhoratge
Si sap partir e luenhar bonamen.

En patz m'en part; mas quan cossir l'error
E·l dan qu'ai pres e·l destric lieis aman,
Ni cum m'agra trobat ses cor truan
Qui·m feira ben e·m tengra en doussor!
No·m puesc mudar que no·m sia salvatge,
Mais si·m conort: Qu'auzit ai dir soven
Qu'ades pass' om primiers per lo folhatge
Mas puois tanh be qu'om s'an reconoissen.

A! Cum cuidei fos dins d'aital color
Cum aparec de foras per semblan!
Et enaissi cum ilh a beutat gran
E cum val mais, gardes genser s'onor;
Et enaissi cum es de belh estatge
Agues en si mais de retenemen;
Et enaissi cum es d'aussor paratge
Contra son pretz temses far falhimen!

Ja non degra beutatz far son estatge
Ni remaner en domna d'autramen,
Si non gardes s'onor e son paratge
E non agues en si retenemen.

For a long time I have been, towards Love,
humble and loyal, and I have obeyed his order
as much as I could; for, no matter the toils
that I'd suffer, no matter the pain
my heart didn't renounce loving her
to whom I had surrendered with good cheer,
until I found in her a foolish habit
that makes her less in my eyes, and has changed my intentions.

She would have had me as a loyal servant;
but I see her so committed to deception
that I don't wish for her love from now on,
nor can she do me any good that will be to my taste.
Instead, I'll leave–which I find appropriate,
for she leaves good virtue the same way,
I want to follow another way
where to recover that which she made me lose.

I know well that, if I part from her and turn elsewhere,
it doesn't grieve her, nor she thinks it's harm;
and still, I think I know and can so much
that, just as I used to extol her virtue,
I could bring her downfall;
but I renounce it out of my common sense.
For one does enough by knowing how to leave a bad suzerainty
and putting distance between himself and it.

I leave her in peace; but when I consider the mistake
and the damage and pain I've suffered by loving her,
and how she would have found me without a deceiving heart,
one who who would [have] be[en] good to me, and ke<e>p[t] me sweetly,
I can't help but being mad at myself,
but I console myself like this: for I have often heard
that one often passes first through folly
but he then needs to come to his senses.

A! How did I think she was of the same colour inside
as she appeared on the outside!
And that, just as she has great beauty
and as she is worth much, she would keep her honour more appropriately;
and just as she is of noble station,
she would have in herself much restraint;
and just as she is of high birth,
she would fear failing her virtue!

Beauty should never take residence,
nor else remain in a lady
unless she watches her honour and lineage
and has restraint in herself.

Note: this poem has the most contentious authorship of any Provençal one, being attributed, in different manuscripts, also to Gaucelm Faidit, Jordan de l'Isla de Venaissi (also known as Escudier de la Ylha, Rostanh de Merguas and Jordan), Peire Raimon de Tolosa and Peire de Maensac.