"Messer Paolo dell' Ottonaio, a Canon of San Lorenzo in Florence, a
cheerful and facetious man, found a certain citizen one of his friends,
who had taken refuge as a debtor in the church; and the latter stood in
sorrowful and pensive attitude, having in no wise the appearance of one
who had found a treasure, or who was going to be married, or to dine with
the Duke, or anything of the kind.
"'Man, what aileth thee?' cried the Canon. 'Has thy wife beaten thee, or
the cat broken thy best crockery, or thy favourite housemaid run away?'
"'What I have,' replied the poor man, 'is ten times worse than all that
put together.' And so, _havendo caro di sfogarsi_, being glad to relieve
himself, he told Messer Paolo all his sorrows, wailing that his
creditors, having taken all his property, threatened his person, swearing
that they would put him in the _Stinche_, which was so horrible a prison
that it was infamous even then all the world over as an _inferno_ where
every one confined at once became _infermo_, or a hell which made men
ill, and that, being in despair, he would have taken his own life had he
not come across a charming book on patience which had consoled him.
"Messer Paolo asked him whether the creditors had been paid in full.
"'Alas, no!' replied the debtor; 'not one half; nor will they ever get
the rest, for I have naught.'
"'In that case,' answered the Canon, 'it seems to me that it is your
creditors and not you who should read that charming book, since it is
evident that, as they are to have nothing till the Greek Kalends, or on
Saint Never's day, that they must have patience whether they will or no.'
"Well, as the saying is, _Pazienza vince scienza_ (Patience beats
knowledge), and _Chi ha pazienza vede le sue vendette_ (Wait long enough
and you'll get your revenges), the Canon got for the poor man money
enough to make a composition with his creditors, and he, having
expectations which they knew not of, compounded with them for five per
cent., on conditions written, that he should pay all up 'as he earned
more money.'
"And so he was set free, and it befell on a day that some relation died
and left him a fortune, whereupon his creditors summoned him to pay his
old debts, which he refused to do. Then they cited him before the
Council as a fraudulent debtor, but he replied by showing his quittance
or agreement, and declared that he was only obliged to pay out of his
_earnings_, and that he had inherited his money and not earned it.
Whereupon there was great dispute, and one of the creditors who had shown
himself most unfeeling and inhuman protested that to get money in any way
whatever was to _guadagnare_ (a gain by labour), since it was labour even
to put it in one's pocket. Now, this man had a handsome wife, who, it
was generally known, greatly enriched her husband by dishonouring him, at
which he willingly winked.
"Whereupon the debtor asked the magistrate if an ox carried off a bundle
of hay on his horns, which had by chance been stuck into it, he could be
said to have earned it by honest labour? At which there was such a roar
of laughter, and so many cries of 'No! no! no!' that the court went no
further, and acquitted the culprit."
* * * * *
There is an odd bit of folklore attached to this church. As may be
supposed, and as I have frequently verified, "the idle repetition of vain
words," as the heathen do, or prayers in a language which people do not
understand, generally lead to most ridiculous perversions of the unknown
tongue. A popular specimen of this is the _Salve Regina delle Ciane
Fiorentine di San Lorenzo_, or the "_Salve Regina_ of the Florentine
women of the lower class, as given in San Lorenzo." _Ciana_ is given by
Barretti as a specially Florentine word.