THE GUARD was now about fifty paces from us; for Maffio, their officer,
had made some of them turn back to take up the corporal my brother
killed. Accordingly, I quickly traversed that short space, wrapped in my
cape, which I had tightened round me, and came up with Maffio, whom I
should most certainly have murdered, for there were plenty of people
round, and I had wound my way among them. With the rapidity of
lightning, I had half drawn my sword from the sheath, when Berlinghier
Berlinghieri, a young man of the greatest daring and my good friend,
threw himself from behind upon my arms; he had four other fellows of
like kidney with him, who cried out to Maffio: “Away with you, for this
man here alone was killing you!” He asked: “Who is he?” and they
answered: “Own brother to the man you see there.” Without waiting to
hear more, he made haste for Torre di Nona; [1] and they said:
“Benvenuto, we prevented you against your will, but did it for your
good; now let us go to succour him who must die shortly.” Accordingly,
we turned and went back to my brother, whom I had at once conveyed into
a house. The doctors who were called in consultation, treated him with
medicaments, but could not decide to amputate the leg, which might
perhaps have saved him.
As soon as his wound had been dressed, Duke Alessandro appeared and most
affectionately greeted him. My brother had not as yet lost
consciousness; so he said to the Duke: “My lord, this only grieves me,
that your Excellency is losing a servant than whom you may perchance
find men more valiant in the profession of arms, but none more lovingly
and loyally devoted to your service than I have been.” The Duke bade him
do all he could to keep alive; for the rest, he well knew him to be a
man of worth and courage, He then turned to his attendants, ordering
them to see that the brave young fellow wanted for nothing.
When he was gone, my brother lost blood so copiously, for nothing could
be done to stop it, that he went off his head, and kept raving all the
following night, with the exception that once, when they wanted to give
him the communion, he said: “You would have done well to confess me
before; now it is impossible that I should receive the divine sacrament
in this already ruined frame; it will be enough if I partake of it by
the divine virtue of the eyesight, whereby it shall be transmitted into
my immortal soul, which only prays to Him for mercy and forgiveness.”
Having spoken thus, the host was elevated; but he straightway relapsed
into the same delirious ravings as before, pouring forth a torrent of
the most terrible frenzies and horrible imprecations that the mind of
man could imagine; nor did he cease once all that night until the day
broke.
When the sun appeared above our horizon, he turned to me and said:
“Brother, I do not wish to stay here longer, for these fellows will end
by making me do something tremendous, which may cause them to repent of
the annoyance they have given me.” Then he kicked out both his legs-the
injured limb we had enclosed in a very heavy box-and made as though he
would fling it across a horse’s back. Turning his face round to me, he
called out thrice-”Farewell, farewell!” and with the last word that most
valiant spirit passed away.
At the proper hour, toward nightfall, I had him buried with due ceremony
in the church of the Florentines; and afterwards I erected to his memory
a very handsome monument of marble, upon which I caused trophies and
banners to be carved. I must not omit to mention that one of his friends
had asked him who the man was that had killed him, and if he could
recognise him; to which he answered that he could, and gave his
description. My brother, indeed, attempted to prevent this coming to my
ears; but I got it very well impressed upon my mind, as will appear in
the sequel. 2
Note 1. The Torre di Nona was one of the principal prisons in Rome, used
especially for criminals condemned to death.
Note 2. Varchi, in his 'Storia Florentina,' lib. xi., gives a short
account of Cecchino Cellini’s death in Rome, mentioning also Bertino
Aldobrandi, in the attempt to revenge whom he lost his life.
L
RETURNING to the monument, I should relate that certain famous men of
letters, who knew my brother, composed for me an epitaph, telling me
that the noble young man deserved it. The inscription ran thus:-
'“Francisco Cellino Florentino, qui quod in teneris annis ad Ioannem
Medicem ducem plures victorias retulit et signifer fuit, facile
documentum dedit quantæ fortitudinis et consilii vir futurus erat, ni
crudelis fati archibuso transfossus, quinto ætatis lustro jaceret,
Benvenutus frater posuit. Obiit die' xxvii 'Maii' MD.XXIX.”
He was twenty-five years of age; and since the soldiers called him
Cecchino del Piffero, [1] his real name being Giovanfrancesco Cellini, I
wanted to engrave the former, by which he was commonly known, under the
armorial bearings of our family. This name then I had cut in fine
antique characters, all of which were broken save the first and last. I
was asked by the learned men who had composed that beautiful epitaph,
wherefore I used these broken letters; and my answer was, because the
marvellous framework of his body was spoiled and dead; and the reason
why the first and last remained entire was, that the first should
symbolise the great gift God had given him, namely, of a human soul,
inflamed with his divinity, the which hath never broken, while the
second represented the glorious renown of his brave actions. The thought
gave satisfaction, and several persons have since availed themselves of
my device. Close to the name I had the coat of us Cellini carved upon
the stone, altering it in some particulars. In Ravenna, which is a most
ancient city, there exist Cellini of our name in the quality of very
honourable gentry, who bear a lion rampant or upon a field of azure,
holding a lily gules in his dexter paw, with a label in chief and three
little lilies or. [2] These are the true arms of the Cellini. My father
showed me a shield as ours which had the paw only, together with the
other bearings; but I should prefer to follow those of the Cellini of
Ravenna, which I have described above. Now to return to what I caused to
be engraved upon my brother’s tomb: it was the lion’s paw, but instead
of a lily, I made the lion hold an axe, with the field of the scutcheon
quartered; and I put the axe in solely that I might not be unmindful to
revenge him.
Note 1. That is, Frank, the Fifer’s son.
Note 2. I believe Cellini meant here to write “on a chief argent a label
of four points, and three lilies gules.” He has tricked the arms thus in
a MS. of the Palatine Library. See Leclanchè, p. 103; see also Piatti,
vol. i. p. 233, and Plon, p. 2.