Read Ebook: The Book of the Courtier by Castiglione Baldassarre Conte Opdycke Leonard Eckstein Translator

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Ebook has 2527 lines and 135390 words, and 51 pages

"Beatrice can be excused on no other plea than that of love, which ought to be allowed in the case of men as well as in that of women."

Then messer Bernardo replied:

"No doubt the passion of love affords great excuse for every fault. But for my part I think that a gentleman of worth, who is in love, ought to be sincere and truthful in this as in all things else; and if it be true that to betray even an enemy is such a vile act and abominable crime, consider how much more heinous the offence ought to be deemed when it is committed against one whom we love.

"Moreover, I think that every gentle lover endures so many toils, so many vigils, braves so many perils, sheds so many tears, employs so many means and ways to please the lady of his love,--not chiefly in order to possess her person, but to capture the fortress of her mind, and to shatter those hardest diamonds, to melt that coldest ice, that often are in the tender breast of woman. This, I think, is the true and sound pleasure and the purposed goal of every noble heart. For myself, were I in love, I certainly should prefer to be assured that she whom I served returned my love from her heart and had given me her mind,--without ever having any other satisfaction from her,--than to enjoy her to the full against her will; for in such case I should deem myself the master of a lifeless body. Hence they who pursue their desires by means of such trickery, which might perhaps be called treachery rather than trickery, do injury to others; nor have they yet that bliss which is to be desired in love, if they possess the body without the will.

"The same I say of certain others who use enchantments in their love, charms and sometimes force, sometimes sleeping potions and such like things. Be assured, too, that gifts much lessen the pleasures of love; for a man may suspect that he is not loved and that his lady makes a show of loving him in order to profit by it. Hence you see that great ladies' love is prized because it could hardly spring from other source than real and true affection, nor is it credible that a great lady should ever pretend to love one of her inferiors unless she loves him truly."

"I do not deny that the purpose, toils and dangers of lovers ought to have their aim directed chiefly towards the conquest of the mind rather than of the body of their beloved. But I say that these deceits, which you call treachery in men and trickery in women, are excellent means of attaining this aim, for whoever possesses a woman's person is master of her mind as well. And if you remember rightly, Filippello's wife, after much lament over the deceit practised on her by Riciardo, discovered how much more delicious than her husband's were the kisses of her lover, and her coldness to Riciardo changed to sweet affection, so that from that day forth she loved him most tenderly. Thus it came about that what his frequent fond visits, his gifts and countless other tokens shown unceasingly, could not affect, a taste of his embraces soon accomplished. You now see that this same trickery, or treachery as you would call it, was a good way to capture the fortress of her mind."

Then messer Bernardo said:

"You advance a very false premise, for if women always surrendered their mind to the man who possessed their person, no wife would be found who did not love her husband more than every other person in the world; the contrary of which we find to be the case. But Giovanni Boccaccio was very unjustly hostile to women, as you are also."

"I am not at all hostile to them; but there are very few men of worth who as a rule make any account of women whatever, although for their own purposes they sometimes pretend the contrary."

Then messer Bernardo replied:

"You wrong not women only, but also all men who hold them in respect. However, as I said, I do not wish for the present to go outside my original subject of practical joking, and enter upon so difficult an enterprise as would be the defence of women against you, who are a most redoubtable warrior. So I will make an end of this talk of mine, which has perhaps been far longer than was necessary, and certainly less amusing than you expected. And since I see the ladies sit so quiet, enduring your insults thus patiently as they do, I shall henceforth regard a part of what my lord Ottaviano said as true, namely, that they care not what other evil is said of them, provided they be not taunted with lack of chastity."

Then at a signal from my lady Duchess, many of the ladies rose to their feet, and all ran laughing towards my lord Gaspar, as if to shower blows upon him and treat him as the bacchants treated Orpheus,--meanwhile saying:

"You shall see now whether we care if evil be said of us."

"You see that being in the wrong, they would fain use force and thus end the discussion by giving us a Braccesque leave, as the saying is."

Then my lady Emilia replied:

"Nay, that shall not help you; for when you saw messer Bernardo wearied by his long talk, you began to say all manner of evil about women, thinking to have no antagonist. But we shall put a fresh champion in the field to fight you, to the end that your offence may not go long unpunished."

So, turning to the Magnifico Giuliano, who had thus far spoken little, she said:

"You are accounted the defender of women's honour; wherefore the time has come for you to show that you have not acquired this title falsely. And if hitherto you have ever found profit in your office, you ought now to consider that by putting down so bitter an enemy of ours, you will render all women still more beholden to you, so much so that although nothing else be ever done but requite you, yet the obligation must always stand and can never fully be requited."

"My Lady, methinks you do your enemy much honour, and your defender very little; for so far my lord Gaspar has certainly said nothing against women that messer Bernardo has not most consummately answered. And I believe we all know that it is fitting for the Courtier to show women the greatest reverence, and that he who is discreet and courteous must never taunt them with lack of chastity, either in jest or in earnest. Therefore, to discuss such obvious truth as this, is almost to cast doubt upon that which is undoubted. But indeed I think my lord Ottaviano went rather too far when he said that women are very imperfect creatures, incapable of any worthy action, and possessed of little or no dignity in comparison with men. And as trust is often placed in those who have great authority, even when they say what is not the exact truth and also when they speak in jest,--my lord Gaspar suffered himself to be led by my lord Ottaviano's words to say that wise men make no account of women whatever, which is most false. On the contrary, I have known very few men of merit who did not love and honour women,--whose worth I regard as in no wise inferior to men's.

UNICUS ARETINUS Bernardo Accolti

JO. CHRISTOFANO ROMANO

VINCENTIO CALMETA

NICOLO PHRYSIO

SERAPHINO

AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURES OF INTERLOCUTORS

From negatives, made by Signor Lanzoni, from originals preserved in the Royal State Archives at Mantua and selected by the Director, Signor Alessandro Luzio.

"Yet if this were to be the subject of dispute, women's cause would be at serious disadvantage; because these gentlemen have described a Courtier so excellent and of such heavenly accomplishments, that whoso undertook to consider him as they have pictured him, would imagine that women's merits could not attain that pitch. But if the contest were to be fair, we should first need to have someone as clever and eloquent as Count Ludovico and messer Federico are, to describe a Court Lady with all the perfections proper to woman, just as they have described the Courtier with the perfections proper to man. And then, if he who defended their cause were of only moderate cleverness and eloquence, I think that with truth for ally, he would clearly prove that women are as full of virtue as men are."

"Nay," replied my lady Emilia, "far more so; and in proof of this, you see that virtue is feminine, and vice is masculine."

"What think you of this, Frisio?"

Frisio replied:

"I am sorry for my lord Magnifico, who has been beguiled by my lady Emilia's promises and soft words into the errour of saying that which I blush for on his behalf."

My lady Emilia replied, still laughing:

"You will be ashamed rather of yourself, when you see my lord Gaspar confuted, confessing his own and your errour, and imploring a pardon that we shall refuse to grant him."

Then my lady Duchess said:

"As the hour is very late, let the whole matter be postponed until to-morrow; especially since it seems to me wise to follow my lord Magnifico's counsel, which is: that before we enter upon this controversy, a Court Lady be described with all her perfections, just as these gentlemen have described the perfect Courtier."

Then my lady Emilia said:

"My Lady, God forbid that we chance to entrust this task to any fellow-conspirator of my lord Gaspar, who will describe us a Court Lady that can do naught but cook and spin."

Frisio said:

"But this is her proper calling."

Then my lady Emilia said:

"I am willing to trust my lord Magnifico, who will imagine the highest perfection that can be desired in woman, and will set it forth in beautiful language too; and then we shall have something to offer against my lord Gaspar's false aspersions."

"I hope," replied my lady Duchess, "that your talk will be of such sort that little may be found in it to contradict. So give your whole mind to it, and describe for us such a woman that these adversaries of ours shall be ashamed to say she is not equal in worth to the Courtier; of whom it will be well for messer Federico to say no more, since the Courtier has been only too well adorned by him, especially as there is now need to give him a paragon in woman."

Then messer Federico said:

"My Lady, little or nothing is now left for me to tell about the Courtier; and what I thought of saying has been driven from my mind by messer Bernardo's pleasantries."

"If that be so," said my lady Duchess, "let us come together again early to-morrow, and we shall have time to attend to both matters."

Thereupon all rose to their feet, and having reverently taken leave of my lady Duchess, everyone went to his own room.

THE THIRD BOOK OF THE COURTIER BY COUNT BALDESAR CASTIGLIONE

TO MESSER ALFONSO ARIOSTO

So you, my dear messer Alfonso, by the same reasoning may clearly see, from this small part of the whole body, how superior the court of Urbino was to all others in Italy, considering how much the games that were devised for the refreshment of minds wearied by the most arduous labours, were superior to those that were practised in the other courts of Italy. And if these were of such sort, think what were the other worthy pursuits to which our minds were bent and wholly given; and of this I confidently make bold to speak with hope of being believed; for I am not praising things so ancient that I might be allowed to invent, but can prove what I affirm by the testimony of many men worthy of faith, who are still living and personally saw and knew the life and behaviour that one time flourished in that court: and I hold myself bound, as far as I can, to strive with every effort to rescue this bright memory from mortal oblivion, and by my writing to make it live in the hearts of posterity.

Wherefore perhaps in the future there will not be lacking some to envy our century for this also; since no one reads the wonderful exploits of the ancients, who in his mind does not conceive a somewhat higher opinion of those that are written of than the books themselves seem able to express, however divinely they be written. Even so we desire that all to whose hands this work of ours shall come may assume and take for certain that the court of Urbino was far more excellent, and adorned by men of singular worth, than we can express in writing; and if we had as great eloquence as they had merit, we should have no need of other proof to make our words believed by those who saw it not.

"My lord Magnifico, everyone desires to see this lady of yours well adorned; and if you do not display her to us in such fashion that all her beauties may be seen, we shall think that you are jealous of her."

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