IT chanced one day that I was leaning against a shop of one of these
men, who called out to me, and began partly reproaching, partly
bullying. I answered that had they done their duty by me, I should have
spoken of them what one speaks of good and worthy men; but as they had
done the contrary, they ought to complain of themselves and not of me.
While I was standing there and talking, one of them, named Gherardo
Guasconti, their cousin, having perhaps been put up to it by them, lay
in wait till a beast of burden went by. [1] It was a load of bricks.
When the load reached me, Gherardo pushed it so violently on my body
that I was very much hurt. Turning suddenly round and seeing him
laughing, I struck him such a blow on the temple that he fell down,
stunned, like one dead. Then I faced round to his cousins, and said:
“That’s the way to treat cowardly thieves of your sort;” and when they
wanted to make a move upon me, trusting to their numbers, I, whose blood
was now well up, laid hands to a little knife I had, and cried: “If one
of you comes out of the shop, let the other run for the confessor,
because the doctor will have nothing to do here.” These words so
frightened them that not one stirred to help their cousin. As soon as I
had gone, the fathers and sons ran to the Eight, and declared that I had
assaulted them in their shops with sword in hand, a thing which had
never yet been seen in Florence. The magistrates had me summoned. I
appeared before them; and they began to upbraid and cry out upon
me-partly, I think, because they saw me in my cloak, while the others
were dressed like citizens in mantle and hood; [2] but also because my
adversaries had been to the houses of those magistrates, and had talked
with all of them in private, while I, inexperienced in such matters, had
not spoken to any of them, trusting in the goodness of my cause. I said
that, having received such outrage and insult from Gherardo, and in my
fury having only given him a box on the ear, I did not think I deserved
such a vehement reprimand. I had hardly time to finish the word box,
before Prinzivalle della Stufa, [3] who was one of the Eight,
interrupted me by saying: “You gave him a blow, and not a box, on the
ear.” The bell was rung and we were all ordered out, when Prinzivalle
spoke thus in my defence to his brother judges: “Mark, sirs, the
simplicity of this poor young man, who has accused himself of having
given a box on the ear, under the impression that this is of less
importance than a blow; whereas a box on the ear in the New Market
carries a fine of twenty-five crowns, while a blow costs little or
nothing. He is a young man of admirable talents, and supports his poor
family by his labour in great abundance; I would to God that our city
had plenty of this sort, instead of the present dearth of them.”
Note 1. The Italian is 'appostò che passassi una soma.' The verb
'appostare' has the double meaning of lying in wait and arranging
something on purpose. Cellini’s words may mean, 'caused a beast of
burden to pass by.'
Note 2. Varchi says that a man who went about with only his cloak or
cape by daytime, if he were not a soldier, was reputed an ill-liver. The
Florentine citizens at this time still wore their ancient civil dress of
the long gown and hood called 'lucco.'
Note 3. This man was an ardent supporter of the Medici, and in 1510
organized a conspiracy in their favour against the Gonfalonier Soderini.