with eager expectation for the debate appointed.
6.—Then messer Federico turned to the Unico, and said:
“So, my lord Unico, you do not think that a laborious part and a great
burden are imposed on me this evening, having to show in what way,
manner and time the Courtier ought to employ his good accomplishments
and practise those things that have been said to befit him?”
“It seems to me no great matter,” replied the Unico; “and I think it is
quite enough to say that the Courtier should have good judgment, as the
Count last evening rightly said he must; and this being so, I think that
without other precepts he ought to be able to use what he knows
seasonably and in a well bred way. To try to reduce this to more exact
rules would be too difficult and perhaps superfluous. For I know no man
so stupid as to wish to fence when others are intent on dancing; or to
go through the street dancing a morris-dance, however admirably he might
know how; or in trying to comfort a mother whose child has died, to
begin with pleasantries and witticism. Surely methinks no gentleman
would do this, who was not altogether a fool.”
Then messer Federico said:
“It seems to me, my lord Unico, that you run too much to extremes. For
one may sometimes be silly in a way that is not so easily seen, and
faults are not always of the same degree: and it may be that a man will
refrain from public and too patent folly,—such as that would be of which
you tell, to dance a morris-dance about the piazza,—and yet cannot
refrain from praising himself out of season, from displaying a tiresome
conceit, from occasionally saying something to cause laughter, which
falls cold and wholly flat from being said inopportunely. And these
faults are often covered by a kind of veil that does not suffer them to
be seen by him who commits them, unless he searches for them with care;
and although our eyes see little for many reasons, they most of all are
clouded by conceit, since everyone likes to make a show in that wherein
he believes himself proficient, whether his belief be true or false.
“Therefore it seems to me that the right course in this regard lies in a
certain prudent and judicious choice, and in discerning the more or less
which all things gain or lose by being done opportunely or out of
season. And although the Courtier may possess good enough judgment to
perceive these distinctions, yet I think it would surely be easier for
him to attain what he is seeking, if we were to broaden his mind by a
few precepts, and show him the way and as it were the foundations upon
which he must build,—than if he were to follow generalities only.
7.—“Last evening the Count spoke about Courtiership so fully and so
beautifully, that he has aroused in me no little fear and doubt whether
I shall be able to satisfy this noble company so well in what I have to
say, as he did in what it fell to him to say. Yet to make myself a
sharer in his fame as far as I can, and to be sure of avoiding this one
mistake at least, I shall contradict him in nothing.
“Accepting his opinions then, and among others his opinion as to the
Courtier’s noble birth, capacities, bodily form and grace of feature,—I
say that to win praise justly and good opinion from everyone and favour
from the princes whom he serves, I deem it necessary for the Courtier to
know how to dispose his whole life, and to make the most of his good
qualities in intercourse with all men everywhere, without exciting envy
thereby. And how difficult this in itself is, we may infer from the
fewness of those who are seen to reach the goal; for by nature we all
are more ready to censure mistakes than to praise things well done, and
many men, from a kind of innate malignity and although they clearly see
the good, seem to strive with every effort and pains to find either some
hidden fault in us or at least some semblance of fault.
“Thus it is needful for our Courtier to be cautious in his every action,
and always to mingle good sense with what he says or does. And let him
not only take care that his separate parts and qualities are excellent,
but let him order the tenour of his life in such fashion, that the whole
may be in keeping with these parts and be seen to be always and in
everything accordant with his own self and form one single body of all
these good qualities; so that his every act may be the result and
compound of all his faculties, as the Stoics say is the duty of him who
is wise.
“Still, although in every action one faculty is always chief, yet all
are so enlinked together, that they make for one end and may all further
and serve every purpose. Hence he must know how to make the most of
them, and by means of contrast and as it were foil to the one, he must
make the other more clearly seen;—like good painters, who display and
show forth the lights of projecting objects by the use of shadow, and
likewise deepen the shadows of flat objects by means of light, and so
assemble their divers colours that both the one and the other are better
displayed by reason of that diversity, and the placing of figures in
opposition one to another aids them to perform that office which is the
painter’s aim.
“Thus gentleness is very admirable in a man of noble birth who is
valiant and strong. And as his boldness seems greater when accompanied
by modesty, so his modesty is enhanced and set off by his boldness.[153]
Hence to speak little, to do much, and not to boast of praiseworthy
deeds but to conceal them tactfully,—enhances both these attributes in
the case of one who knows how to employ this method with discretion; and
so it is with all other good qualities.
“Therefore in what our Courtier does or says I would have him follow a
few universal rules, which I think comprise briefly all that I have to
say. And for the first and most important let him above all avoid
affectation, as the Count rightly advised last evening. Next let him
consider well what thing it is that he is doing or saying, the place
where he is doing it, in whose presence, the cause that impels him, his
age, his profession, the object he has in view, and the means that may
conduce thereto; and so, with these precautions let him apply himself
discreetly to whatever he has a mind to do or say.”
8.—After messer Federico had spoken thus, he seemed to pause a little.
Whereupon my lord Morello da Ortona at once said:
“These rules of yours teach little, it seems to me; and for my part I
know as much about it now, as I did before you propounded them. Still I
remember having heard them several times before also from the friars to
whom I made confession, and who called them ‘the circumstances,’ I
think.”
Then messer Federico laughed and said:
“If you remember rightly, the Count declared last evening that the
Courtier’s chief business should be that of arms, and spoke at length
about the way in which he ought to practise it; therefore we will not
repeat this. Yet among our rules we may also lay it down that when our
Courtier finds himself in a skirmish or action or battle, or in other
such affairs, he ought to arrange discreetly to withdraw from the crowd,
and to perform those glorious and brave deeds that he has to do, with as
little company as he can, and in sight of all the noblest and most
respected men in the army, and especially in the presence and (if it is
possible) before the very eyes of his king or of the prince whom he
serves; for in truth it is very proper to make the most of one’s good
deeds. And I think that just as it is wrong to seek false and unmerited
renown, so it is wrong also to defraud oneself of the honour that is
one’s due, and not to seek that praise which alone is the true reward of
worthy effort.
“And I remember having in my time known some men who were very stupid in
this regard, although valiant, and who put their lives as much in danger
to capture a flock of sheep, as to be the first to scale the walls of a
beleaguered town; which our Courtier will not do if he bears in mind the
motive that leads him into war, which should be honour only. And again
if he happens to be playing at arms in public shows,—such as jousts,
tourneys, stick-throwing, or any other bodily exercise,—mindful of the
place and presence in which he is, he will contrive to be not less
elegant and graceful than unerring with his weapons, and to feast the
spectators’ eyes with all those things which he thinks may give him an
added grace. He will take care that his horse is bravely caparisoned,
that his attire becomes him, that his mottoes are appropriate and his
devices clever, so that they may attract the eyes of the bystanders as
the loadstone attracts iron. He will never be among the last to show
themselves, knowing that the crowd and especially women gaze much more
attentively upon the first than upon the last; for their eyes and minds,
which at the start are eager for novelty and observe and are impressed
by every trifle, are afterwards not only sated by repetition but even
grow weary. Thus there was an excellent actor of ancient times, who for
this reason always wished to be the first to perform his part in the
play.
“So too, even in speaking of arms, our Courtier will have regard to the
profession of those with whom he converses, and will govern himself
accordingly,—speaking in one way with men and in another way with women.
And if he wishes to touch on something that is to his credit, he will do
so covertly, as if by chance in passing, and with the discreetness and
caution that Count Ludovico expounded to us yesterday.
9.—“Does it not seem to you now, my lord Morello, that our rules may
teach something? Does it not seem to you that our friend, of whom I was
telling you a few days since, quite forgot with whom and why he was
speaking, when to entertain a lady he had never seen before, he began
his talk by telling her that he had slain so many men, and that he was a
terrible fellow and knew how to handle a sword with both hands? Nor did
he leave her until he had tried to explain to her how certain blows of
the battle-axe ought to be parried when one is armed and how when
unarmed, and to show the different ways of grasping the handle; so that
the poor soul was on the rack, and thought the hour seemed a thousand
years before she could send him off, almost fearing that he would slay
her like the others. Such are the mistakes committed by those who pay no
regard to the ‘circumstances,’ of which you say you heard from the
friars.
“Next I say that of bodily exercises there are some that are almost
never practised except in public,—such as jousts, tourneys,
stick-throwing, and all the rest that have to do with arms. Hence when
our Courtier has to take part in these, he must first contrive to be so
well equipped in point of horses, weapons and dress, that he lacks
nothing. And if he does not feel himself well provided with everything,
let him on no account engage, for if he fails to do well, the excuse
cannot be made that these things are not his business. Then he must
carefully consider in whose presence he is seen and of what sort the
company is, for it would not be seemly for a gentleman to honour a
rustic festival with his presence, where the spectators and the company
are of low degree.”
10.—Then my lord Gaspar Pallavicino said:
“In our Lombard country we do not make these distinctions. On the
contrary, there are many young gentlemen who dance all day with peasants
in the sun on holidays, and play with them at throwing the bar,
wrestling, running and leaping. And I do not think it amiss, for there
the rivalry is not of birth, but of strength and agility, wherein
villagers are often quite a match for nobles; and this condescension
seems to have in it a pleasant touch of generosity.”
Messer Federico replied:
“This dancing of yours in the sun pleases me not in any way, nor do I
see what gain there is in it. But in my opinion whoever cares to wrestle
or run or leap with peasants, ought to do so as a matter of practice and
out of courtesy as we say, not in rivalry with them. And a man ought to
be almost sure of winning; else let him not engage, because it is too
unseemly and shameful a thing, and beneath his dignity, to see a
gentleman vanquished by a peasant, and especially at wrestling. Hence I
think it is well to abstain, at least in the presence of many, for the
gain of beating is very small and the loss of being beaten is very
great.
“The game of tennis also is nearly always played in public, and is one
of those sports to which a crowd lends much distinction. Therefore I
would have our Courtier practise this, and all the others except the
handling of arms, as something that is not his profession, and let him
show that he does not seek or expect praise for it, nor let him seem to
devote much care or time to it, although he may do it admirably. Nor let
him be like some men who delight in music, and in speaking with anyone
always begin to sing under their breath whenever there is a pause in the
conversation. Others always go dancing as they pass through streets and
churches. Others, when they meet a friend in the piazza or anywhere
else, at once put themselves in posture as if for fencing or wrestling,
according to their favourite humour.”
Here messer Cesare Gonzaga said:
“A young cardinal we have in Rome does better than that; for out of
pride in his fine bodily frame, he conducts into his garden all who come
to visit him (even although he has never seen them before), and urgently
presses them to strip to the doublet and try a turn with him at
leaping.”
11.—Messer Federico laughed; then he went on:
“There are certain other exercises that can be practised in public and
in private, like dancing; and in this I think the Courtier ought to have
a care, for when dancing in the presence of many and in a place full of
people, it seems to me that he should preserve a certain dignity, albeit
tempered with a lithe and airy grace of movement; and although he may
feel himself to be very nimble and a master of time and measure, let him
not attempt those agilities of foot and double steps which we find very
becoming in our friend Barletta, but which perhaps would be little
suited to a gentleman. Yet in a room privately, as we are now, I think
he may try both, and may dance morris-dances and brawls;[154] but not in
public unless he be masked, when it is not displeasing even though he be
recognized by all.
“Indeed there is no better way of displaying oneself in such matters at
public sports, either armed or unarmed; because disguise carries with it
a certain freedom and licence, which among other things enable a man to
choose a part for which he feels himself qualified, and to use care and
elaboration upon the chief point of the thing wherein he would display
himself, and a certain nonchalance as to that which does not
count,—which greatly enhances the charm: as for a youth to array himself
like an old man, yet in easy dress so as to be able to show his vigour;
a cavalier in the guise of a rustic shepherd or some other like costume,
but with a perfect horse and gracefully bedecked in character;—because
the mind of the spectators is quick to fill out the image of that which
is presented to the eyes at first glance; and then seeing the thing turn
out much better than the costume promised, they are amused and
delighted.
“But in these sports and shows where masks are worn, it would not be
seemly for a prince to try to enact the part of a prince, because that
pleasure which the spectators find in novelty would be in great measure
lacking, since it is news to no one that the prince is the prince; and
he, conscious that besides being the prince he is trying to play the
prince, loses the freedom to do all those things that are beneath a
prince’s dignity. And if there were any contest in these sports,
especially with arms, he might even make men think that he chose to
impersonate a prince in order not to be beaten but spared by others;
moreover were he to do in sport the same that it behooves him to do in
earnest upon occasion, he would deprive his own proper action of
dignity, and make it almost seem as if that too were sport. But at such
times, if the prince lays aside his character of prince, and mingles
equally with his inferiors yet in such fashion as to be recognizable, by
renouncing his own rank he attains a higher one, in that he prefers to
excel the rest not by authority but by merit, and to show that his worth
is not enhanced by the fact that he is a prince.
12.—“I say then that in these martial sports the Courtier ought to use
the like discretion, according to his rank. In horseback vaulting too,
in wrestling, running and leaping, I should be well pleased to have him
shun the vulgar crowd, or at most let himself be very rarely seen; for
there is not on earth a thing so excellent but the ignorant will tire of
it and hold it of small account, if they see it often.
“As to music I hold the same opinion: hence I would not have our
Courtier behave like many, who are no sooner come anywhere (even into
the presence of gentlemen with whom they have no acquaintance), than
without waiting to be urged they set about doing what they know and
often what they do not know; so that it seems as if they had come only
for the purpose of showing themselves, and had that for their chief
profession. Therefore let the Courtier resort to music as a pastime and
almost unwillingly, and not before vulgar people nor very many. And
although he may know and understand that which he is doing, in this too
I would have him hide the study and pains that are necessary in
everything one would do well, and seem to value this accomplishment
lightly in himself, but by practising it admirably make others value it
highly.”
13.—Then my lord Gaspar Pallavicino said:
“There are many kinds of music, vocal as well as instrumental: therefore
I should like to hear which is the best of all, and at what time the
Courtier ought to perform it.”[155]
Messer Federico replied:
“I regard as beautiful music, to sing well by note, with ease and in
beautiful style; but as even far more beautiful, to sing to the
accompaniment of the viol,[156] because nearly all the sweetness lies in
the solo part, and we note and observe the fine manner and the melody
with much greater attention when our ears are not occupied with more
than a single voice, and moreover every little fault is more clearly
discerned,—which is not the case when several sing together, because
each singer helps his neighbour. But above all, singing to the viol by
way of recitative seems to me most delightful, which adds to the words a
charm and grace that are very admirable.
[Illustration]
ELISABET DE GONZAGA FELTRIA
“My Lady Duchess”
EMILIA
“My Lady Emilia”
MARGARITA DE GONZAGA
“Madonna Margarita”
FRANC^O M^A
“My Lord Prefect”
JULIANO DE MEDICI
“My Lord Magnifico”
AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURES OF INTERLOCUTORS
From negatives, made by Premi and by Signor Lanzoni, from originals
preserved in the Royal State Archives at Mantua and selected by the
Director, Signor Alessandro Luzio.
“All keyed instruments also are pleasing to the ear, because they
produce very perfect consonances, and upon them one can play many things
that fill the mind with musical delight. And not less charming is the
music of the stringed quartet, which is most sweet and exquisite. The
human voice lends much ornament and grace to all these instruments, with
which I would have our Courtier at least to some degree acquainted,
albeit the more he excels with them, the better,—without troubling
himself much with those that Minerva forbade to Alcibiades, because it
seems that they are ungraceful.[157]
“Then, as to the time for enjoying these various kinds of music, I think
it is whenever a man finds himself in familiar and beloved companionship
and there are not other occupations. But above all it is fitting where
ladies are present, because their aspect fills the listener’s heart with
sweetness, renders it more sensitive to the tenderness of the music, and
quickens the musician’s soul.
“As I have already said, it pleases me well that we should avoid the
crowd, and especially the ignoble crowd. But discretion must needs be
the spice of everything, for it would be quite impossible to foresee all
the cases that occur; and if the Courtier rightly understands himself,
he will adapt himself to the occasion and will perceive when the minds
of his hearers are disposed to listen and when not. He will take his own
age into account: for it is indeed unseemly and unlovely in the extreme
to see a man of any quality,—old, hoary and toothless, full of
wrinkles,—playing on a viol and singing in the midst of a company of
ladies, even though he be a passable performer. And the reason of this
is that in singing the words are usually amourous, and love is a
ridiculous thing in old men,—albeit it is sometimes pleased among its
other miracles to kindle frozen hearts in spite of years.”
14.—Then the Magnifico replied:
“Do not deprive old men of this pleasure, messer Federico; for in my
time I have known old men who had right perfect voices and hands very
dexterous upon their instruments, far more than some young men.”
“I do not wish,” said messer Federico, “to deprive old men of this
pleasure, but I do wish to deprive you and these ladies of the pleasure
of laughing at such folly. And if old men wish to sing to the viol, let
them do so in secret and only to drive from their minds those painful
thoughts and grievous troubles with which our life is filled, and to
taste that rapture which I believe Pythagoras and Socrates found in
music.[158] And even although they practise it not, by somewhat
accustoming their minds to it they will enjoy it far more when they hear
it than a man who knows nothing of it. For just as the arms of a smith,
who is weak in his other members, become stronger by exercise than those
of another man who is more robust but unaccustomed to use his arms,—in
like manner ears practised in harmony will perceive it better and more
speedily and will appreciate it with far greater pleasure, than others,
however good and sharp they be, that are not versed in the varieties of
musical consonance; because these modulations do not penetrate ears
unused to hearing them, but pass aside without leaving any savour of
themselves; albeit even the beasts have some enjoyment in melody.
“This then is the pleasure it is fitting old men should take in music. I
say the like of dancing, for in truth we ought to give up these
exercises before our age forces us to give them up against our will.”
Here my lord Morello replied with a little heat:
“So it is better to exclude all old men, and to say that only young men
have a right to be called Courtiers.”
Then messer Federico laughed, and said:
“You see, my lord Morello, that they who like these things strive to
seem young when they are not, and hence they dye their hair and shave
twice a week.[159] And this is because nature silently tells them that
such things are proper only to the young.”
All the ladies laughed, for each one of them felt that these words
fitted my lord Morello; and he seemed rather stung by them. Messer
Federico soon continued:
15.—“But there are many other ways of entertaining ladies that are
proper to old men.”
“What are they?” said my lord Morello. “Telling stories?”
“That is one,” replied messer Federico. “But as you know, every age
brings its own thoughts with it, and has some peculiar virtue and some
peculiar vice. Thus, while old men are ordinarily more prudent than
young men, more continent and wiser, so too they are more garrulous,
miserly, querulous and timid; they are always scolding about the house,
harsh to their children, and wish everyone to follow their way. And on
the contrary young men are spirited, generous, frank, but prone to
quarrel, voluble, loving and hating in an instant, eager in all their
pleasures, unfriendly to him who counsels well.