The Book of the Courtier
31.—Here having paused a little, and seeing that my lord Gaspar did not
speak, the Magnifico Giuliano said:
“Do you not think that these women were the cause of good to their
men-folk and contributed to the greatness of Rome?”
My lord Gaspar replied:
“No doubt they were worthy of much praise; but had you been as willing
to tell the sins of women as their good works, you would not have
omitted to say that in this war of Titus Tatius a woman betrayed Rome
and showed the enemy the way to seize the Capitol, whereby the Romans
came near being all destroyed.”[370]
The Magnifico Giuliano replied:
“You tell me of a single bad woman, while I tell you of countless good
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.”
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