Against the Real Presence

Poem by Théodore Agrippa D'Aubigné Period 16th century

Is it not without reason that these bedbugs desire
To be respected by humans in every place,
For they are demigods, since their fathers draw
Their praiseworthy excrement from the substance of the Gods.

And if you adore a ciborium for being
The lodging of your God, you must, without lying,
Adore either the belly or else the arse of a Priest,
When this same God lodges there and is about to come out.

Everything the Priest holds in his pocket, in his sleeve,
In his codpiece is holy, and moreover I tell you
That having breakfasted on his God on Sunday,
You must adore his turd on Monday.

Do you find this phrase both harsh and unmannerly?
The prophet Isaiah, treating of this point,
Used it, calling your Gods Gods of dung,
So digest the whole thing and leave none of it for me.

Théodore Agrippa d’Aubigné

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/poem-against-the-real-presence-theodore-agrippa-d-aubigne/