Francisco de Quevedo

A un hombre de gran nariz

Erase un hombre a una nariz pegado,
érase una nariz superlativa,
érase una alquitara medio viva,
érase un peje espada mal barbado;

era un reloj de sol mal encarado,
érase un elefante boca arriba,
érase una nariz sayón y escriba,
un Ovidio Nasón mal narigado.

Erase el espolón de una galera,
érase una pirámide de Egito,
las doce tribus de narices era;

érase un naricísimo infinito
frisón archinariz, caratulera,
sabañón garrafal, morado y frito.

Otra versión (posiblemente la original)
del terceto final:

érase un naricísimo infinito,
muchísimo nariz, nariz tan fiera,
que en la cara de Anás fuera delito.



To a man with a big nose

Once there was a man stuck to a nose,
it was a nose more marvellous than weird,
it was a nearly living web of tubes,
it was a swordfish with an awful beard,

it was a sundial doomed to face the shade,
an elephant that looked up to the sky,
it was a nose of hangman and of scribe,
Ovidius Naso nostrilled all awry,

it was the bowsprit of a mighty ship,
like Egypt's pyramid it pierced the sky,
it was of noses all of the twelve tribes;

it was in noseness truly infinite,
an archnose shudder, and a frightening mask,
a monstrous chilblain, purpley and fried.

Translation of the alternate final tercet
(possibly the original):

it was in noseness truly infinite,
an awful lot of nose, a nose so fierce
that on Annas's face would be a crime. 

                     (©Alix Ingber, 1995)



 Revisions contributed by la Discreta Academia .



E-mail your comments and questions to:

Alix Ingber
Professor of Spanish
Sweet Briar College

ingber@sbc.edu



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