The opening three lines of Francois Villon’s Le (Grand) Testament.
En l’an trentiesme de mon eage,
Que toutes mes hontes j’eu beues,
Ne du tout fol, ne du tout sage.
In the thirtieth year of my life,
now that I’ve drunk down all my shames,
neither fully fool nor fully wise.
I turn 32 today and can for the last time round myself down to this over Dante’s nel mezzo of 35.
Extracts 