LINGUAE VASCONUM PRIMITIAE - Euskaltzaindia

212
111. IN DEFENCE OF WOMEN
1 Do not speak ill of women, for goodness' sake,
if men left them well alone, they would do no wrong.
3 If many men speak ill of ladies,
in referring to them frivolously and dishonestly,
'twould be best for them to keep silent;
women can do no wrong save with meno
7 Few wise men might speak ill of women.
'Twould be more honest to speak well of them.
Why, then, must they speak ill of women
when all of us, great and small, have been born of them?
11 'Tis a foolish bit of bravado to speak ill of women,
all are lumped together when one of their kind is disparaged.
I'd much prefer such people to keep quieto
'Tis a great pity such people were nursed by a woman!
15 All those who speak ill of women should think back
on who gave birth to him and the rest of uso
I should like to ask whether his mother was a woman or not;
he should adore all women for his mother alone.
19 A woman is always beneficial for aman;
we carne into the world through them;
after our birth we should have perish had she not fed us,
and having grown up, we need her daily.
23 When in health we need a hand to clothe and feed us;
in sickness the ailing man is lost without a woman
Should he die, who would watch over him like she does?
We undoubtedly need them every hour.
27 Where there is no woman, I see nothing good;
Neither man nor home are tidy
At home, disorder is the order of the day;
I would not wish for a paradise wanting of women.
31 I have never heard of a woman striking aman first,
rather, it is always the man who strikes the first blow.
Wickedness always comes from meno
Why, then, should women be blamed?