The Book of the Courtier
highly, yet in such fashion as to give the donor cause to offer them
again with far more urgency. For the greater the reluctance with which
they are accepted, the more highly will the prince who gives them think
himself esteemed, and the benefit that he bestows will seem the greater,
the more the recipient seems to prize it and to hold himself honoured by
it. Moreover these are the true and solid favours that make a man
esteemed by those who see him from without; for, being unsought, they
are assumed by everyone to be the reward of true worth, the more so when
they are accompanied by modesty.”
20.—Then messer Cesare Gonzaga said:
“Methinks you have stolen this passage from the Evangelist, where he
says: ‘When thou art bidden to a wedding, go and sit down in the lowest
room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say: Friend, go up
higher: and thus shalt thou have honour in the presence of them that sit
at meat with thee.’”[163]
Messer Federico laughed, and said:
“It were too great sacrilege to steal from the Evangelist; but you are
more learned in Holy Writ than I thought;” then he went on: “You see
what great danger those men sometimes run who boldly begin conversation
before a lord without being invited; and to put them down, the lord
often makes no reply and turns his head another way, and even if he
replies to them, everyone sees that he does it with an ill grace.
BALDESAR CASTIGLIONE
CESAR DE GONZAGA
LUDOVICO CANOSSA
PIETRO BEMBO
BERNARDO DE BIBBIENA
AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURES OF THE AUTHOR AND OF
FOUR OF HIS FRIENDS
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.
“To have the favour of princes, then, there is no better way than to
deserve it. And when we see another man who is pleasing to a prince for
any reason, we must not think to reach the same height ourselves by
imitating him, for all things are not proper to all men. Thus there will
sometimes be found a man who by nature is so ready at jesting that
whatever he may say carries laughter with it, and he seems to have been
born solely for that; and if another man, who has a sober habit of mind
(however excellently endowed) tries to do the like, it will fall so cold
and flat as to disgust those who hear him, and he will prove exactly
like that ass who tried to copy the dog by frolicking with their
master.[164] Hence every man must understand himself and his own powers,
and govern himself accordingly, and consider what things he ought to
imitate, and what things he ought not.”
21.—Here Vincenzo Calmeta said:
“Before you go on, if I heard aright I think you said awhile ago that
the best way to win favours is to deserve them, and that the Courtier
ought to wait for them to be offered him rather than ask for them
presumptuously. I greatly fear this rule is little to the purpose, and I
think experience very clearly teaches us the contrary. For to-day very
few are favoured by their lords, save the presumptuous; and I know you
can give good testimony as to some, who on finding themselves in small
favour with their princes, have made themselves acceptable solely by
their presumption. While as for those who have risen through modesty, I
for my part do not know any, and I even give you time to think about it
and believe you will find few. And if you consider the court of France,
which is to-day one of the noblest in Christendom, you will find that
all men who have universal favour there are somewhat presumptuous, and
not only towards one another but towards the king himself.”
“Now do not say that,” replied messer Federico; “for in France there are
very modest and courteous gentlemen. It is true that they behave with a
certain freedom and unceremonious familiarity, which are proper and
natural to them; and therefore it ought not to be called presumption,
because in this very manner of theirs, whilst they deride and make sport
of the presumptuous, yet they rate highly those who seem to them to have
worth and modesty.”
Calmeta replied:
“Look at the Spaniards, who it seems are our masters in Courtiership,
and consider how many you will find who are not very presumptuous with
ladies and with gentlemen; and even more so than the French, because at
first sight they show the greatest modesty. And in this they are truly
clever, for as I said, the princes of our time all favour only those who
have such manners.”
22.—Then messer Federico replied:
“I will by no means suffer you, messer Vincenzo, to cast this reproach
upon the princes of our time. For indeed there are also many who love
modesty, which I do not however say alone suffices to make a man
acceptable; but I do say that when united to high worth, it greatly
honours its possessor. And although it be silent about itself,
praiseworthy deeds speak aloud and are far more admirable than if they
were accompanied by presumption and rashness. I will not indeed deny
that there are many presumptuous Spaniards, but I say that those who are
much esteemed are as a rule very modest.
“Again, there are also some men who are so reserved that they shun human
company beyond reason, and so far exceed a certain limit of moderation
that they come to be regarded as either too timid or too proud. For
these I have no praise, nor would I have modesty so dry and arid as to
become clownishness; but let the Courtier be fluent on occasion, and
prudent and sagacious in discussing statecraft, and let him have the
good sense to adapt himself to the customs of the nations where he finds
himself; then in lesser matters let him be agreeable and speak well
about everything.
“But above all, he should make for right; not envious, not evil-tongued:
nor let him ever bring himself to seek grace or favour by foul ways or
dishonourable means.”
Then Calmeta said:
“I assure you that all other ways are more uncertain and longer than
this one which you censure. For to repeat, princes at the present day
love only those who tread that path.”
“Say not so,” then replied messer Federico, “for that would be too clear
an argument that the princes of our time are all vicious and
wicked,—which is not true, since several good ones are to be found. But
if our Courtier should chance to find himself in the service of one who
is vicious and malign, let him depart as soon as he discovers it, lest
he suffer that keen anguish which all good men feel who serve the
wicked.”
“We must needs pray God,” replied Calmeta, “to send us good masters, for
when we have them, we are forced to endure them such as they are;
because an infinity of reasons constrain a gentleman not to leave the
patron he has once begun to serve; but the misfortune consists in
beginning to serve a bad patron, and Courtiers in this condition are
like those unhappy birds that are hatched in a gloomy valley.”
“It seems to me,” said messer Federico, “that duty ought to outweigh all
other reasons. And provided a gentleman does not leave his patron when
at war or in adversity,—lest he be thought to have done so to better his
fortunes or because he feared that he might lack opportunity for gain,—I
think that at any other time he rightly may and ought to leave a service
that is like to disgrace him before all good men; for everyone assumes
that whoever serves the good is good, and that whoever serves the wicked
is wicked.”
23.—Then my lord Ludovico Pio said:
“I should like to have you clear a doubt that is in my mind; that is,
whether a gentleman in the service of a prince is bound to obey him in
all things that he commands, even if they be dishonourable and
infamous.”
“In dishonourable things we are not bound to obey any man,” replied
messer Federico.
“And how,” returned my lord Ludovico, “if I am in the service of a
prince who uses me well and trusts to my doing for him all that can be
done, commanding me to go kill a man or do anything else you
please,—ought I to refuse to do it?”
“You ought,” replied messer Federico, “to obey your lord in all things
that are advantageous and honourable to him, not in those that bring him
injury and disgrace. Therefore if he were to command you to commit an
act of treachery, not only would you not be bound to do it, but you
would be bound not to do it,—both for your own sake and for the sake of
not being a minister to your lord’s disgrace. True it is that many
things which are evil seem at first sight good, and many seem evil and
yet are good. Hence in our lords’ service it is sometimes permitted to
kill not one man but ten thousand, and to do many other things that
would seem evil to a man who did not rightly consider them, and yet are
not evil.”
Then my lord Gaspar Pallavicino replied:
“On your faith, I pray you discuss this a little, and teach us how the
really good can be distinguished from that which only seems so.”
“Pardon me,” said messer Federico; “I am unwilling to enter upon that,
for there would be too much to say; but let the whole matter be left to
your own wisdom.”
24.—“At least clear another doubt for me,” returned my lord Gaspar.
“And what doubt?” said messer Federico.
“It is this,” replied my lord Gaspar. “I should like to know,—my lord
having charged me exactly what I must do in an enterprise or any other
business whatever, if I being engaged upon it think that my doing more
or less or otherwise than I was charged, may make the affair turn out
better and more advantageously for him who gave me the task,—whether I
ought to govern myself by the original plan without exceeding the limits
of my command, or on the contrary to do that which seems to me better.”
Then messer Federico replied:
“In this I should give you the precept and example of Manlius Torquatus
(who in like case slew his son, from too stern a sense of duty), if I
thought he deserved much credit, which I do not.[165] And yet I dare not
blame him against the verdict of so many centuries. For without doubt it
is a very perilous thing to deviate from our superiors’ commands,
relying more on our own judgment than on theirs whom we ought in reason
to obey; because if our expectation fails and the affair turns out ill,
we run into the errour of disobedience and ruin that which we have to
do, without any possibility of excuse or hope of pardon. On the other
hand, if the affair turns out according to our wish, we must give the
credit to fortune and be content at that. Moreover in this way a fashion
is set of rating the commands of our superiors lightly; and following
the example of one man who happened to succeed and who perhaps was
prudent and had reasoned well and been aided by fortune too,—a thousand
other ignorant featherheads will make bold to do as they please in the
most important matters, and for the sake of showing that they are
sagacious and have authority, to deviate from their masters’ commands;
which is a very evil thing and often the cause of numberless mistakes.
“But I think that in such a case the man whom it concerns ought to
consider carefully, and as it were to place in the balance the profit
and advantage that he stands to win by acting contrary to orders, in
case his design turns out according to his hopes; and on the other hand
to weigh the evil and disadvantage that will accrue if the affair
chances to turn out ill through his disobedience of orders. And if he
finds the damage in case of failure to be greater and more serious than
the gain in case of success, he ought to restrain himself and carry out