ones; and besides those already mentioned, I could show you a thousand
other instances on my side, of benefits done to Rome by women, and could
tell you why a temple was dedicated of old to Venus Armata,[371] and
another to Venus Calva,[372] and how the Festival of the Handmaidens was
instituted in honour of Juno because handmaidens once delivered Rome
from the wiles of the enemy.[373] But leaving all these things aside,
did not that lofty deed—the discovery of Cataline’s conspiracy, whereof
Cicero so vaunts himself—spring chiefly from a vile woman?[374]—who for
this might be said to have been the cause of all the good that Cicero
boasts of having wrought the Roman commonwealth. And had I time enough,
I should further show you that women have often corrected many of men’s
errours; but I fear that this discourse of mine is already too long and
wearisome: so, having performed according to my ability the task imposed
upon me by these ladies, I think it well to give place to someone who
will say things worthier to be listened to than any I can say.”
32.—Then my lady Emilia said:
“Do not deprive women of those true praises that are their due; and
remember that if my lord Gaspar, and perhaps my lord Ottaviano as well,
listen to you with weariness, we and all these other gentlemen listen to
you with pleasure.”
The Magnifico still wished to stop, but all the ladies began begging him
to speak: whereupon he said, laughing:
“In order not to make my lord Gaspar more my enemy than he is, I will
tell briefly of a few women who occur to my mind, omitting many that I
might mention.” Then he continued: “When Philip, son of Demetrius, was
laying siege to the city of Chios, he issued an edict promising freedom
and their masters’ wives to all slaves who should escape from the city
and come to him. So great was the women’s wrath at this shameful edict
that they rushed to the walls in arms, and fought so fiercely that in a
short time they drove Philip off with disgrace and loss: which their
husbands had not been able to do.[375]
“When these same women came to Leuconia with their husbands, fathers and
brothers (who were going into exile), they performed a deed no less
glorious than this: the Erythræans,[376] who were there with their
allies, waged war upon these Chiotes, who were unable to resist, and so
bound themselves to quit the city in tunic and shift only. Hearing of
this shameful bargain, the women bewailed and upbraided the men for
abandoning their weapons and going forth almost naked among the enemy;
and the men answering that they were already bound, the women told them
to wear their shields and spears and leave their clothes behind, and to
tell the enemy that this was their attire. And thus, acting upon the
advice of their women, they in great part atoned for the shame that they
could not wholly escape.
“Again, Cyrus having routed an army of Persians in battle, in fleeing to
their city they met their women outside the gate, who, stopping in the
way, said: ‘Whither do ye flee, base men? Would ye perchance hide
yourselves in us, from whence ye came?’ On hearing these and other like
words, and being sensible how inferior they were in courage to their
women, the men were ashamed, and returning against the enemy, fought
with him anew and routed him.”[377]
33.—Having thus far spoken, the Magnifico stopped, and turning to my
lady Duchess, said:
“Now, my Lady, you will give me leave to be silent.”
My lord Gaspar replied:
“You will forsooth have to be silent, for you do not know what more to
say.”
The Magnifico said, laughing:
“You provoke me so, that you run risk of having to listen to women’s
praises all night; and to hear of many Spartan women who rejoiced in the
glorious death of their children;[378] and of those who disowned or even
slew theirs when seen to behave basely. Then how in the ruin of their
country the Saguntine women took up arms against the forces of
Hannibal;[379] and how, when Marius overcame the army of the Germans,
the women, being unable to get leave to live free at Rome in the service
of the Vestal Virgins, all killed themselves and their little
children;[380] and of a thousand others whereof all the ancient
histories are full.”
Then my lord Gaspar said:
“Ah, my lord Magnifico, but God knows how those things happened; for
that age is so remote from us that many lies can be told and there is
none to refute them.”
34.—The Magnifico said:
“If in every age you will compare women’s worth with that of men, you
will find that they have never been and are not now at all inferior to
men in worth; for leaving aside the times that are so ancient, if you
come to the time when the Goths ruled in Italy, you will find that there
was a queen among them, Amalasontha,[381] who long reigned with
admirable wisdom; then Theodolinda,[382] queen of the Lombards, of
singular worth; Theodora,[383] the Greek empress; and in Italy among
many others the Countess Matilda was a most illustrious lady, of whose
praises I will leave Count Ludovico to speak, since she was of his
family.”[384]
“Nay,” said the Count, “that rests with you, for you know it does not
become a man to praise what is his own.”
The Magnifico continued:
“And how many women in times past do you find belonging to this most
noble house of Montefeltro![385] How many of the house of Gonzaga, of
Este, of Pio![386] Then, if we wish to speak of the present times, we
shall have no need to seek very far for instances, because we have them
at home. But I shall not avail myself of those we see before us, lest
you pretend to grant me out of courtesy that which you can in no wise
deny. And to go outside of Italy, remember that we in our day have seen
Queen Anne of France,[387] a very great lady not less in worth than in
state; and if you will compare her in justice and clemency, liberality
and pureness of life, with Kings Charles[388] and Louis[250] (to both of
whom she was consort), you will not find her at all their inferior. You
see madonna Margarita[389] (daughter of the Emperor Maximilian)[390] who
has until now governed and still governs her state with the utmost
wisdom and justice.
35.—“But laying all others aside, tell me, my lord Gaspar, what king or
what prince has there been in our days, or even for many years past in
Christendom, who deserves to be compared with Queen Isabella of
Spain?”[391]
My lord Gaspar replied:
“King Ferdinand, her husband.”[392]
The Magnifico continued:
“That I shall not deny; for since the queen judged him worthy to be her
husband, and so loved and honoured him, we cannot say that he did not
deserve to be compared with her: yet I believe that the fame he had by
her was a dowry not inferior to the kingdom of Castile.”
[Illustration:
ISABELLA THE CATHOLIC
1451-1504
]
Much enlarged from a part of Laurent’s photograph (no. 533) of an
altar-piece, formerly in the royal chapel of the Convent of St.
Thomas de Avila, but now in the Prado Gallery at Madrid. It was
painted about 1491 by order of the Inquisitor Torquemada, and has
been attributed to Miguel Zittoz.
“Nay,” replied my lord Gaspar, “I think that Queen Isabella had credit
for many of King Ferdinand’s deeds.”
Then the Magnifico said:
“Unless the people of Spain,—lords, commons, men and women, poor and
rich,—have all agreed to lie in praise of her, there has not been in our
time on earth a brighter example of true goodness, of lofty spirit, of
wisdom, of piety, of purity, of courtesy, of liberality,—in short, of
every virtue,—than Queen Isabella; and although the fame of that
illustrious lady is very great in every place and among every nation,
those who lived in her company and were witness to her actions, do all
affirm that this fame sprang from her virtue and merits. And whoever
will consider her deeds will easily perceive such to be the truth. For
leaving aside countless things that give proof of this and could be told
if it were our theme, everyone knows that when she came to reign she
found the greater part of Castile usurped by the grandees; yet she
recovered the whole so righteously and in such fashion that the very men
who were deprived of it, remained very devoted to her and content to
give up that which they possessed.
“A very noted thing also is with what courage and wisdom she always
defended her realms against very powerful enemies; and likewise to her
alone can be given the honour of the glorious conquest of the kingdom of
Granada; for in this long and difficult war against obstinate
enemies,—who were fighting for property, for life, for religion, and (to
their thinking) for God,—she always showed, both in her counsel and in
her very person, such virtue that perhaps few princes in our time have
had the hardihood, I will not say to imitate, but even to envy her.
“Besides this, all who knew her affirm that she had such a divine manner
of ruling that her mere wish seemed enough to make every man do quietly
that which he ought to do; so that men hardly dared in their own houses
and secretly to do anything they thought would displease her: and in
great part the cause of this was the admirable judgment she had in
discerning and choosing right agents for the duties she meant to employ
them in; and so well did she know how to unite the rigour of justice
with the gentleness of mercy and liberality, that in her day there was
no good man who complained of being ill rewarded, nor any bad man of
being too severely punished. Thus there sprang up among the people an
exceeding great reverence for her, composed of love and fear, which
still remains so implanted in the minds of all, that they almost seem to
think that she looks down upon them from heaven and must bestow praise
or blame upon them from above; and thus those realms are still governed
by her name and the methods she ordained, so that although her life is
at an end, her authority lives,—like a wheel which, long revolved with
force, still turns of itself for a good space, although nothing more
impels it.
“Consider also, my lord Gaspar, that in our times nearly all the men in
Spain who are great or famous for anything whatever, were made so by
Queen Isabella; and Consalvo Ferdinando, the Great Captain, was far
prouder of this than of all his famous victories, and of those eminent
and worthy deeds which have made him so bright and illustrious in peace
and war, that if fame is not very thankless, she will always herald his
immortal praises to the world, and give proof that we have in our age
had few kings or great princes who have not been surpassed by him in
magnanimity, wisdom, and in every virtue.
36.—“Returning now to Italy, I say that here too there is no lack of
very admirable ladies; for in Naples we have two remarkable queens;[393]
and a short time since there died at Naples also the other queen of
Hungary,[394] you know how admirable a lady, and worthy to be the peer
of the unconquerable and glorious king, Matthias Corvinus, her
husband.[395] Likewise the Duchess Isabella of Aragon, worthy sister to
King Ferdinand of Naples; who (like gold in the fire) showed her virtue
and worth amid the storms of fortune.[396]
[Illustration:
ISABELLA D’ESTE
MARCHIONESS OF MANTUA
1474-1539
]
Reduced from a part of Braun’s photograph (no. 34.093) of the portrait
by Titian (1477-1576) in the Imperial Museum at Vienna. The picture
was painted about 1536 from a portrait painted about 1511 by
Francesco Raibolini, better known as Francia, (1450-1517). See
Alessandro Luzio’s article in the _Emporium_ (Bergamo), nos. 65-6.
“If you come to Lombardy, you will find my lady Isabella, Marchioness of
Mantua;[397] to whose very admirable virtues injustice would be done in
speaking as soberly as in this place anyone must needs do who would
speak of her at all. I regret, too, that you did not all know her sister
the Duchess Beatrice of Milan, in order that you might never more have
need to marvel at woman’s capacity.[398] And Eleanora of Aragon, Duchess
of Ferrara and mother of both these two ladies whom I have mentioned,
was of such sort that her very admirable virtues bore good witness to
all the world that she not only was a worthy daughter of a king, but
deserved to be queen over a much greater realm than all her ancestors
had possessed.[399] And to tell you of another, how many men do you know
in the world who have borne the cruel blows of fortune as patiently as
Queen Isabella of Naples has done?[400]—who, after the loss of her
kingdom, the exile and death of her husband King Federico[401] and of
two children, and the captivity of her first-born, the Duke of
Calabria,[402] still shows herself to be a queen, and so endures the
grievous burdens of bitter poverty as to give all men proof that
although her fortunes are changed, her rank is not.
“I refrain from mentioning countless other ladies, and also women of low
degree; like many Pisan women, who in defence of their city against the
Florentines displayed that generous daring, without any fear of death,
which might have been displayed by the most unconquerable souls that
have ever been on earth; wherefore some of them have been celebrated by
many noble poets.[403]
“I could tell you of some who were very excellent in letters, in music,
in painting, in sculpture; but I do not wish to go on selecting from
among these instances that are perfectly well known to you all. It is
enough that if you reflect upon the women whom you yourselves know, it
is not difficult for you to perceive that they are for the most part not
inferior in worth and merits to their fathers, brothers and husbands;
and that not a few have been the source of good to men and often have
corrected many a one of his errours; and if there are not now to be
found on earth those great queens who march to the conquest of distant
lands, and erect great buildings, pyramids and cities,—like that famous
Tomyris, Queen of Scythia, Artemisia, Zenobia, Semiramis or
Cleopatra,[404]—neither are there men like Cæsar, Alexander, Scipio,
Lucullus and those other Roman commanders.”
37.—“Say not so,” replied Frisio, laughing; “for now more than ever are
there women to be found like Cleopatra or Semiramis; and if they have
not such great states, power and riches, yet they lack not the good will
to imitate those queens in giving themselves pleasure, and in satisfying
as far as they can all their appetites.”
The Magnifico Giuliano said:
“You always wish to go beyond bounds, Frisio; but if there are some
Cleopatras to be found, there is no lack of countless Sardanapaluses,
which is far worse.”[405]
Then my lord Gaspar said:
“Do not draw these comparisons, or imagine that men are more incontinent
than women; and even if they were so, it would not be worse, for from
women’s incontinence countless evils result that do not from men’s.
Therefore, as was said yesterday, it is wisely ordained that women are
allowed to fail in all other things without blame, to the end that they
may be able to devote all their strength to keeping themselves in this
one virtue of chastity; without which their children would be uncertain,
and that tie would be dissolved which binds the whole world by blood and
by the natural love of each man for what he has produced. Hence loose
living is more forbidden to women than to men, who do not carry their
children for nine months within them.”
38.—Then the Magnifico replied:
“Verily these are fine arguments which you cite, and I do not see why
you do not commit them to writing.
“But tell me why it is not ordained that loose living is as disgraceful
a thing in men as in women, seeing that if men are by nature more
virtuous and of greater worth, they could all the more easily practise
this virtue of continence also; and their children would be neither more
nor less certain, for although women were unchaste, they could of
themselves merely and without other aid in no wise bear children,
provided men were continent and did not take part in women’s unchastity.
But if you will say the truth, even you know that we men have of our own
authority arrogated to ourselves a licence, whereby we insist that the
same sins are in us very trivial and sometimes praiseworthy, and in
women cannot be sufficiently punished, unless by shameful death or
perpetual infamy at least.
“Wherefore, since this opinion is prevalent, methinks it were a fitting
thing to punish severely those also who with lies cast infamy on women;
and I think that every noble cavalier is bound always to defend the
truth with arms where there is need, and especially when he knows some
woman to be falsely accused of little chastity.”
39.—“And I,” replied my lord Gaspar, laughing, “not only affirm that
which you say is the duty of every noble cavalier, but I think that it
is an act of great courtesy and gentleness to conceal the fault a woman
may have committed through mischance or over-love; and thus you may see
that I am more on the side of women, where reason permits it, than you
are.
“I do not, indeed, deny that men have taken a little liberty; and this
because they know that according to universal opinion loose living does
not bring them the infamy that it does to women; who by reason of the
frailty of their sex are much more inclined towards their appetites than
men are; and if they sometimes refrain from satisfying their desires,
they do so from shame and not because their will is not quite ready.
Therefore men have put the fear of infamy upon them as a bridle to keep
them almost by force to this virtue, without which they were in truth
little to be prized; for the world has no good from women except the
bearing of children.
“But this is not the case with men, who rule cities and armies, and do
so many other things of importance. Since you will have it so, I do not
care to deny that women can do these things; it is enough that they do
not. And when men have seen fit to set a pattern of continence, they
have excelled women in this virtue as well as in the others also,
although you do not admit it. And as to this I will not rehearse so many
histories and fables as you have done, but merely refer you to the
continence of two very great young lords, and to their victory, which is
wont to make even men of lowest rank insolent. One is that of Alexander
the Great towards the very beautiful women of Darius,—an enemy, and a
vanquished one at that;[406] the other, of Scipio, who having at the age
of twenty-four years taken a city in Spain by force, there was brought
before him a very beautiful and noble young woman, captured along with
many others; and hearing that she was the bride of a gentleman of the
country, Scipio not only abstained from any wanton act towards her, but
restored her unspotted to her husband, bestowing a rich gift upon her
besides.[407]
“I could tell you of Xenocrates,[408] who was so continent that a very
beautiful woman having laid herself down unclothed beside him, and
employing all the caresses and using all the arts that she knew, whereof
she was an admirable mistress, she had not the power to make him show
the slightest sign of impudicity, although she tried one whole night
long; and of Pericles, who on merely hearing someone praise a boy’s
beauty with overwarmth, reproved him sharply;[409] and of many others
who have been very continent of their own choice, and not from shame or
fear of punishment, which move most women who practise this virtue: who
for all that deserve to be highly praised, and he who falsely casts the
infamy of unchasteness upon them is worthy of the heaviest punishment,
as you have said.”
40.—Then messer Cesare, who had been silent a long while, said:
“Think in what fashion my lord Gaspar is wont to speak in blame of
woman, if these are the things that he says in their praise. But if my
lord Magnifico will let me say a few things in his stead by way of reply
to such matters as my lord Gaspar has, to my thinking, said falsely
against women, it were well for both of us; as he will rest awhile and
then be better able to go on to declare some other excellence of the
Court Lady, and I shall hold myself much favoured at having an
opportunity to share with him this duty of a good cavalier—that is, to
defend the truth.”
“Nay, I pray you do so,” replied my lord Magnifico; “for methinks I have
already fulfilled my duty to the extent of my powers, and this
discussion is now outside my subject.”
Messer Cesare continued:
“I am far from wishing to speak of the good that women do in the world
besides the bearing of children, for it has been sufficiently shown how
necessary they are not only to our being, but to our well-being; but I
say, my lord Gaspar, that if they are as you say more inclined to their
appetites than men, and if for all that they abstain therefrom more than
men, which you admit,—they are as much worthier of praise as their sex
is less strong to resist their natural appetites. And if you say they do
it from shame, methinks that in place of a single virtue you give them
two; for if shame is stronger in them than appetite and they for that
reason abstain from evil acts, I think that this shame (which in short
is nothing else but fear of infamy) is a very rare virtue and one
possessed by very few men. And if I could, without infinite disgrace to
men, tell how many of them are plunged in shamelessness (which is the
vice opposed to this virtue), I should pollute these chaste ears that
hear me. These offenders against God and nature are for the most part
men already old, who make a calling, some of the priesthood, some of
philosophy, some of sacred law; and govern public affairs with a
Catonian severity of countenance that gives promise of all the integrity
in the world; and always allege the feminine sex to be very incontinent;
nor do they ever lament anything more than their loss of natural vigor,
which renders them unable to satisfy the abominable desires that still
linger in their thoughts after being denied by nature to their bodies;
and hence they often find ways wherein strength is not necessary.
41.—“But I do not wish to say more; and it is enough for me that you
grant me that women abstain from unchaste living more than men; and
certain it is that they are restrained by no other bridle than that
which they themselves put on. That this is true, the greater part of
those who are confined with too close care, or beaten by their husbands
or fathers, are less chaste than those who have some liberty.
“But a great bridle to women generally is their love of true virtue and
their desire for honour, whereof many whom I have known in my time make
more account than of their very life; and if you will say the truth,
every one of us has seen very noble youths, discreet, wise, valiant and
beautiful, spend many years in love, without omitting aught of care, of
gifts, of prayers, of tears, in short, of anything that can be imagined;
and all in vain. And but that I might be told that my qualities have
never made me worthy of ever being loved, I should call myself as
witness, who have more than once been nigh to death because of a woman’s
unchangeable and too stern chastity.”
My lord Gaspar replied:
“Marvel not at that: for women who are always wooed refuse to please him
who wooes them; and they who are not wooed, woo others.”[410]
42.—Messer Cesare said:
“I have never known these men who are wooed by women; but very many who,
on finding that they have tried in vain and spent time foolishly, resort
to this noble revenge, and say they have had an abundance of that which
they have only imagined, and think it a kind of courtiership to speak
evil and invent tales to the end that slanderous stories of some noble
lady may spring up among the rabble. But such as these, who make vile
boast (whether true or false) of conquering a gentle lady, deserve
punishment or torture most severe; and if they sometimes meet it, we
cannot measure the praise due to those who perform the office. For if
they are telling lies, what villainy can be greater than to steal from a
worthy lady that which she values more than life? And for no other
reason than that which ought to win endless praise for her? Again, if
they are telling the truth, what punishment could suffice for a man who
is so vile as to reward with such ingratitude a woman, who,—vanquished
by false flatteries, by feigned tears, by continual wooing, by laments,
by arts, tricks and perjuries,—has suffered herself to be led into too
great love, and then without reserve has fondly given herself a prey to
such a malign spirit?