if there’s anything in man

Ad Ajesh Binki e Valentine Jelestine, pescatori

Schroeder the Fisherman

I sat on the bank above Bernadotte
And dropped crumbs in the water,
Just to see the minnows bump each other,
Until the strongest got the prize.
Or I went to my little pasture,
Where the peaceful swine were asleep in the wallow,
Or nosing each other lovingly,
And emptied a basket of yellow corn,
And watched them push and squeal and bite,
And trample each other to get the corn.
And I saw how Christian Dallman’s farm,
Of more than three thousand acres,
Swallowed the patch of Felix Schmidt,
As a bass will swallow a minnow.
And I say if there’s anything in man -
Spirit, or conscience, or breath of God
That makes him different from fishes or hogs,
I’d like to see it work!

Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology, 1916


Schroeder, il pescatore

Sedevo sulla riva del Bernadotte
e gettavo molliche nell'acqua,
per vedere i pesciolini combattere
finché il più forte otteneva la preda.
Oppure andavo al mio piccolo pascolo,
dove i maiali tranquilli se ne dormivano nella broda,
o ammusando amorosamente fra loro,
e vuotavo un canestro di meliga gialla
e li osservavo spingersi e strillare e mordersi
e pestarsi l'un l'altro per arrivarci.
E così vidi la tenuta di Christian Dallmann
di più di tremila acri
inghiottire il pezzetto di Felix Schmidt,
come un luccio inghiotte un pesciolino.
Dico, se c'è qualcosa nell'uomo -
spirito, o coscienza, o soffio di Dio -
che lo renda diverso dai pesci e dai porci,
mi piacerebbe vederlo!

Spoon River anthology: testo integrale con traduzione a fronte, Einaudi 1948, traduzione di Fernanda Pivano

(Reuters) - Two Italian marines on anti-pirate duty charged in India with killing two fishermen in February arrived home on Saturday for a family Christmas after India gave them special leave. "Finally we are breathing the air of home. We have to thank all the institutions which made all this possible," said Massimiliano Latorre on arrival at Rome's Ciampino airport with his colleague, Salvatore Girone. "Ten long months have passed and we really didn't expect to be coming back for Christmas." The two sailors, part of a military security team protecting the tanker Enrica Lexie, are accused of shooting the two fishermen they say they mistook for pirates off the southern Indian state of Kerala. The incident has caused a serious diplomatic dispute between Italy and India, which have traditionally had good relations. The two non-commissioned officers had been out of detention on bail but had not been permitted to leave India until the Kerala high court accepted a request to allow them to return home for Christmas. The Italian government has undertaken to ensure they return to India by January 10. The men were welcomed at the airport by Foreign Minister Giuliano Terzi and Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola. Prime Minister Mario Monti also called the two shortly after their arrival to reiterate the government's determination to reach a final settlement of the case.

(Reporting by Roberto Landucci, edited by Richard Meares)

Reuters India, 22.12.2012

Ricevuti al Quirinale i marò Latorre e Girone rientrati dall'India

Il Presidente della Repubblica Giorgio Napolitano ha ricevuto al Quirinale i due sottufficiali della Marina militare, Massimiliano Latorre e Salvatore Girone, appena rientrati dall'India, accompagnati dal Ministro della Difesa, Giampaolo Di Paola, dal Ministro degli Affari Esteri, Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, e dal Sottosegretario agli Esteri Staffan de Mistura.

Presidenza della Repubblica