The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio
furnished him with all that behoved unto the recovery of his health.
But every succour was in vain, for that, by the physicians' report,
the good man, who was now old and had lived disorderly, grew daily
worse, as one who had a mortal sickness; wherefore the two brothers
were sore concerned and one day, being pretty near the chamber where
he lay sick, they began to take counsel together, saying one to the
other, 'How shall we do with yonder fellow? We have a sorry bargain on
our hands of his affair, for that to send him forth of our house, thus
sick, were a sore reproach to us and a manifest sign of little wit on
our part, if the folk, who have seen us first receive him and after
let tend and medicine him with such solicitude, should now see him
suddenly put out of our house, sick unto death as he is, without it
being possible for him to have done aught that should displease us. On
the other hand, he hath been so wicked a man that he will never
consent to confess or take any sacrament of the church; and he dying
without confession, no church will receive his body; nay, he will be
cast into a ditch, like a dog. Again, even if he do confess, his sins
are so many and so horrible that the like will come of it, for that
there is nor priest nor friar who can or will absolve him thereof;
wherefore, being unshriven, he will still be cast into the ditches.
Should it happen thus, the people of the city, as well on account of
our trade, which appeareth to them most iniquitous and of which they
missay all day, as of their itch to plunder us, seeing this, will rise
up in riot and cry out, "These Lombard dogs, whom the church refuseth
to receive, are to be suffered here no longer";--and they will run to
our houses and despoil us not only of our good, but may be of our
lives, to boot; wherefore in any case it will go ill with us, if
yonder fellow die.'
Master Ciappelletto, who, as we have said, lay near the place where
the two brothers were in discourse, being quick of hearing, as is most
times the case with the sick, heard what they said of him and calling
them to him, bespoke them thus: 'I will not have you anywise misdoubt
of me nor fear to take any hurt by me. I have heard what you say of me
and am well assured that it would happen even as you say, should
matters pass as you expect; but it shall go otherwise. I have in my
lifetime done God the Lord so many an affront that it will make
neither more nor less, an I do Him yet another at the point of death;
wherefore do you make shift to bring me the holiest and worthiest
friar you may avail to have, if any such there be,[38] and leave the
rest to me, for that I will assuredly order your affairs and mine own
on such wise that all shall go well and you shall have good cause to
be satisfied.'
[Footnote 38: _i.e._ if there be such a thing as a holy and worthy
friar.]
The two brothers, albeit they conceived no great hope of this,
nevertheless betook themselves to a brotherhood of monks and demanded
some holy and learned man to hear the confession of a Lombard who lay
sick in their house. There was given them a venerable brother of holy
and good life and a past master in Holy Writ, a very reverend man, for
whom all the townsfolk had a very great and special regard, and they
carried him to their house; where, coming to the chamber where Master
Ciappelletto lay and seating himself by his side, he began first
tenderly to comfort him and after asked him how long it was since he
had confessed last; whereto Master Ciappelletto, who had never
confessed in his life, answered, 'Father, it hath been my usance to
confess every week once at the least and often more; it is true that,
since I fell sick, to wit, these eight days past, I have not
confessed, such is the annoy that my sickness hath given me.' Quoth
the friar, 'My son, thou hast done well and so must thou do
henceforward. I see, since thou confessest so often, that I shall be
at little pains either of hearing or questioning.' 'Sir,' answered
Master Ciappelletto, 'say not so; I have never confessed so much nor
so often but I would still fain make a general confession of all my
sins that I could call to mind from the day of my birth to that of my
confession; wherefore I pray you, good my father, question me as
punctually of everything, nay, everything, as if I had never
confessed; and consider me not because I am sick, for that I had far
liefer displease this my flesh than, in consulting its ease, do aught
that might be the perdition of my soul, which my Saviour redeemed with
His precious blood.'
These words much pleased the holy man and seemed to him to argue a
well-disposed mind; wherefore, after he had much commended Master
Ciappelletto for that his usance, he asked him if he had ever sinned
by way of lust with any woman. 'Father,' replied Master Ciappelletto,
sighing, 'on this point I am ashamed to tell you the truth, fearing to
sin by way of vainglory.' Quoth the friar, 'Speak in all security, for
never did one sin by telling the truth, whether in confession or
otherwise.' 'Then,' said Master Ciappelletto, 'since you certify me of
this, I will tell you; I am yet a virgin, even as I came forth of my
mother's body.' 'O blessed be thou of God!' cried the monk. 'How well
hast thou done! And doing thus, thou hast the more deserved, inasmuch
as, an thou wouldst, thou hadst more leisure to do the contrary than
we and whatsoever others are limited by any rule.'
After this he asked him if he had ever offended against God in the sin
of gluttony; whereto Master Ciappelletto answered, sighing, Ay had he,
and that many a time; for that, albeit, over and above the Lenten
fasts that are yearly observed of the devout, he had been wont to fast
on bread and water three days at the least in every week,--he had
oftentimes (and especially whenas he had endured any fatigue, either
praying or going a-pilgrimage) drunken the water with as much appetite
and as keen a relish as great drinkers do wine. And many a time he had
longed to have such homely salads of potherbs as women make when they
go into the country; and whiles eating had given him more pleasure
than himseemed it should do to one who fasteth for devotion, as did
he. 'My son,' said the friar, 'these sins are natural and very slight
and I would not therefore have thee burden thy conscience withal more
than behoveth. It happeneth to every man, how devout soever he be,
that, after long fasting, meat seemeth good to him, and after travail,
drink.'
'Alack, father mine,' rejoined Ciappelletto, 'tell me not this to
comfort me; you must know I know that things done for the service of
God should be done sincerely and with an ungrudging mind; and whoso
doth otherwise sinneth.' Quoth the friar, exceeding well pleased, 'I
am content that thou shouldst thus apprehend it and thy pure and good
conscience therein pleaseth me exceedingly. But, tell me, hast thou
sinned by way of avarice, desiring more than befitted or withholding
that which it behoved thee not to withhold?' 'Father mine,' replied
Ciappelletto, 'I would not have you look to my being in the house of
these usurers; I have nought to do here; nay, I came hither to
admonish and chasten them and turn them from this their abominable way
of gain; and methinketh I should have made shift to do so, had not God
thus visited me. But you must know that I was left a rich man by my
father, of whose good, when he was dead, I bestowed the most part in
alms, and after, to sustain my life and that I might be able to
succour Christ's poor, I have done my little traffickings, and in
these I have desired to gain; but still with God's poor have I shared
that which I gained, converting my own half to my occasion and giving
them the other, and in this so well hath my Creator prospered me that
my affairs have still gone from good to better.'
'Well hast thou done,' said the friar; 'but hast thou often been
angered?' 'Oh,' cried Master Ciappelletto, 'that I must tell you I
have very often been! And who could keep himself therefrom, seeing men
do unseemly things all day long, keeping not the commandments of God
neither fearing His judgment? Many times a day I had liefer been dead
than alive, seeing young men follow after vanities and hearing them
curse and forswear themselves, haunting the taverns, visiting not the
churches and ensuing rather the ways of the world than that of God.'
'My son,' said the friar, 'this is a righteous anger, nor for my part
might I enjoin thee any penance therefor. But hath anger at any time
availed to move thee to do any manslaughter or to bespeak any one
unseemly or do any other unright?' 'Alack, sir,' answered the sick
man, 'you, who seem to me a man of God, how can you say such words?
Had I ever had the least thought of doing any one of the things
whereof you speak, think you I believe that God would so long have
forborne me? These be the doings of outlaws and men of nought, whereof
I never saw any but I said still, "Go, may God amend thee!"'
Then said the friar, 'Now tell me, my son (blessed be thou of God),
hast thou never borne false witness against any or missaid of another,
or taken others' good, without leave of him to whom it pertained?'
'Ay, indeed, sir,' replied Master Ciappelletto; 'I have missaid of
others; for that I had a neighbour aforetime, who, with the greatest
unright in the world, did nought but beat his wife, insomuch that I
once spoke ill of him to her kinsfolk, so great was the compassion
that overcame me for the poor woman, whom he used as God alone can
tell, whenassoever he had drunken overmuch.' Quoth the friar, 'Thou
tellest me thou hast been a merchant. Hast thou never cheated any one,
as merchants do whiles!' 'I' faith, yes, sir,' answered Master
Ciappelletto; 'but I know not whom, except it were a certain man, who
once brought me monies which he owed me for cloth I had sold him and
which I threw into a chest, without counting. A good month after, I
found that they were four farthings more than they should have been;
wherefore, not seeing him again and having kept them by me a full
year, that I might restore them to him, I gave them away in alms.'
Quoth the friar, 'This was a small matter, and thou didst well to deal
with it as thou didst.'
Then he questioned him of many other things, of all which he answered
after the same fashion, and the holy father offering to proceed to
absolution, Master Ciappelletto said, 'Sir, I have yet sundry sins
that I have not told you.' The friar asked him what they were, and he
answered, 'I mind me that one Saturday, after none, I caused my
servant sweep out the house and had not that reverence for the Lord's
holy day which it behoved me have.' 'Oh,' said the friar, 'that is a
light matter, my son.' 'Nay,' rejoined Master Ciappelletto, 'call it
not a light matter, for that the Lord's Day is greatly to be honoured,
seeing that on such a day our Lord rose from the dead.' Then said the
friar, 'Well, hast thou done aught else?' 'Ay, sir,' answered Master
Ciappelletto; 'once, unthinking what I did, I spat in the church of
God.' Thereupon the friar fell a-smiling, and said, 'My son, that is
no thing to be recked of; we who are of the clergy, we spit there all
day long.' 'And you do very ill,' rejoined Master Ciappelletto; 'for
that there is nought which it so straitly behoveth to keep clean as
the holy temple wherein is rendered sacrifice to God.'
Brief, he told him great plenty of such like things and presently fell
a-sighing and after weeping sore, as he knew full well to do, whenas
he would. Quoth the holy friar, 'What aileth thee, my son?' 'Alas,
sir,' replied Master Ciappelletto, 'I have one sin left, whereof I
never yet confessed me, such shame have I to tell it; and every time I
call it to mind, I weep, even as you see, and meseemeth very certain