‘At least resolve another of my doubts,’ said signor Gaspare.
‘What is that?’ asked Federico.
‘It is as follows,’ signor Gaspare continued. ‘If I have been told precisely what I am to do in some project or affair of importance, what should I decide if during the course of it I become convinced that by departing more or less from his detailed instructions I can achieve a better or more profitable result for the master who gave me my orders? Should I obey his first command to the letter, or should I do what seems to me best?’
‘Concerning this,’ said Federico, ‘I would base my opinion on the example of Manlius Torquatus, who in such circumstances killed his son because he was too dutiful, if I considered him at all praiseworthy which indeed I do not; none the less I would not venture to blame him, against the judgement of so many centuries, for without doubt it is highly dangerous to transgress the commands of one’s superiors, and to trust one’s own judgement more than that of those whom it is legitimate to obey.6 For if by chance one then fails in one’s purpose, and the enterprise collapses, one is guilty of disobedience as well as failure, and no excuse or pardon is at all possible. On the other hand, if one achieves one’s purpose, then one must give the credit to Fortune, and be satisfied with that. Then again, this kind of behaviour encourages people to slight the commands of their superiors; and following the example of one individual (who may have been successful but was perhaps a prudent man, making a considered departure and helped by Fortune) a thousand other ignorant and shallow men will trust themselves to follow their own inclinations in highly important matters and, to demonstrate their wisdom and powers of authority, will deviate from their lords’ commands. This is a very heinous offence and often leads to countless other blunders. But in my opinion the person concerned should consider at length and, so to say, weigh in the balance the benefits and advantages accruing to him should he disobey, given that his purpose is achieved. On the other side, he should weigh the losses and the disadvantages that would ensue should it happen that, after he had disobeyed, his plan misfired. And if he realizes that, if he fails, the evil consequences will be greater and more serious than the advantages if he succeeds, he should check himself and obey meticulously the orders he has been given. On the other hand, if the advantages, in the case of success, would be greater than the harm resulting from failure, he can, I believe, reasonably set out to do what his judgement and common sense suggest, and depart a little from the letter of command, following the example of a merchant who will risk a little to gain a great deal, but not risk a great deal merely to gain a little. I would, above all, commend him for studying the nature of the lord whom he serves, and governing his own actions accordingly; for if his master were to be as strict as many rulers are, then if he were a friend of mine I would never advise him to modify his orders in the slightest. Then he would escape what is recorded to have happened to a military engineer of the Athenians to whom Publius Crassus Mucianus, when he was in Asia and intending to besiege a town, sent a request for one of two ships’ masts that he had seen in Athens, in order to make a battering-ram, stipulating that he send the larger one. The engineer, being a highly skilled expert, knew that the larger mast was hardly suited for the purpose, and since the smaller was both easier to transport and more fitted for the machine that was to be constructed this was the one he sent to Mucianus. Hearing what had transpired, Mucianus sent for the wretched engineer and, after he had asked why he had disobeyed him, refusing to accept any of his explanations, he had him stripped naked and flogged and scourged with rods until he died; for he considered that rather than obey him the fellow had wanted to give him advice.7 When dealing with masters as strict as this, one should be on one’s guard.
‘But now let us leave the question of how to deal with princes and come to the matter of relations with one’s equals, or those who are nearly so. For we must study this as well, seeing that it is the more common experience and a man finds himself more often dealing with his peers than with princes. Of course, there are some fools who if they were enjoying the company of the best friend they had in the world and were then to meet someone better dressed, would immediately attach themselves to him; and then if someone better dressed still came along, they would move on once more. And if the prince should pass by in some public place, they elbow their way through the crowd until they are by his side, and even though they have nothing to say to him they insist on speaking and launch into a long discourse, laughing and clapping their hands and slapping their heads, to let it be understood that they have important business with him so that everyone imagines they are in his good books. However, since men like this deign to speak only with lords, we shall not deign to speak of them.’
At this, the Magnifico Giuliano remarked: ‘Federico, since you have mentioned those who are so eager to be seen with the best-dressed people, I should like you to explain to us how the courtier should be dressed, and what clothes are most fitting for him to wear, and also what rules he should follow regarding his physical appearance in general. For in this matter we see endless variations: some dress after the French style, others like the Spaniards and others again like the Germans; and there are also those who dress in the manner of Turks. Some wear beards whereas others do not. It would, therefore, be rewarding to know, given all this confusion, what way is best.’
Federico replied: ‘To be sure, I would not know how to lay down any hard and fast rules about dress, save that one should adapt oneself to the custom of the majority; and since, as you say, customs are so varied and the Italians are so eager to adopt the styles of others, I believe that everyone may be allowed to follow his own inclinations. But I do not know by what fate it happens that Italy does not have, as it used to, a distinctively Italian costume: for although the new fashions in use may make earlier ways of dressing appear uncouth, still these were perhaps a sign of our freedom, as the former have proved to be an augury of servitude, in my opinion now clearly fulfilled. It is recorded that when Darius, the year before he fought with Alexander, changed the style of the sword he wore at his side from Persian to Macedonian, the soothsayers interpreted this as meaning that those into whose style Darius had changed his Persian sword would come to be the rulers of Persia; and in the same way it seems to me that our having exchanged our Italian style of dress for that of foreigners means that all those whose fashions we have adopted in place of our own must come to subjugate us. And this has proved only too true, since there is no nation in the world that has not preyed upon us, to the extent that little is left to prey upon, although the depredations go on.
‘However, I do not want to embark on a tale of woe and so we would do better to discuss the clothes our courtier ought to wear. And I consider that provided these are not outlandish or inappropriate to his calling they will for the rest be perfectly acceptable if they please the one who wears them. Admittedly, for my part, I should prefer them not to be in any way exaggerated, as the French tend to be in the way they are overdressed and the Germans in the way their clothes are skimped, but as the one and the other style can be when corrected and given a better appearance by the Italians. I am also always pleased when clothes tend to be sober and restrained rather than foppish; so it seems to me that the most agreeable colour is black, and if not black, then at least something fairly dark. I am talking of ordinary attire, for there is no doubt that light and gay colours are more suitable for wearing on top of armour, and it is also more fitting for holiday clothes to have trimmings, and to be ornate and gay. The same applies when it comes to public occasions, such as festivals, games and masquerades, because if they are designed in this way they suggest a certain liveliness and exuberance, very appropriate for arms and sport. But for the rest, I should like the clothes our courtier wears to reflect the sobriety characteristic of the Spaniards, since external appearances often bear witness to what is within.’
Then Cesare Gonzaga remarked: ‘I am quite happy about this, because if a gentleman is worthy in other things
, what he wears will neither enhance nor diminish his reputation.’
‘You are right,’ answered Federico, ‘although who of us when he sees a gentleman passing by wearing a gown quartered in various colours, or covered with strings and ribbons and bows, and cross-lacings, does not take him for a fool or a clown?’
‘Anyone who may have lived for some while in Lombardy,’ said Pietro Bembo, ‘would take him neither for a fool nor a clown, since everyone there goes about like that.’
‘In that case,’ added the Duchess with a laugh, ‘if everyone goes about like that they cannot be blamed for it, since that kind of attire is as fitting and proper for them as it is for the Venetians to wear puffed sleeves or the Florentines to wear hoods.’
‘I am not speaking of Lombardy more than of other places,’ said Federico, ‘because every nation has its share of those who are foolish and those who are sensible. But, to let you know what I think is important when it comes to the way one should dress, let me add that I would like our courtier always to appear neat and refined and to observe a certain modest elegance, though he should avoid being effeminate or foppish in his attire and not exaggerate one feature more than another, as do some who attend so much to their hair that they forget the rest, others who concentrate on their beard, others on their boots, their bonnets or their coifs. For then they seem to have borrowed the things that are rather carefully looked after, whereas the rest, which are completely tasteless, are recognized as being their own. So my advice to our courtier is to shun this kind of dress; and I would add that he should decide for himself what appearance he wants to have and what sort of man he wants to seem, and then dress accordingly, so that his clothes help him to be taken for such, even by those who do not hear him speak or see him perform anything at all.’
‘It does not seem to me,’ said signor Gaspare Pallavicino, ‘that it is either right or indeed usual for people of quality to judge a man’s character by his dress rather than by his words or actions, for in that case there would be many mistakes; and there is good reason for the proverb which says that the habit does not make the monk.’
‘I am not saying,’ replied Federico, ‘that clothes provide the basis for making hard and fast judgements about a man’s character, or that we cannot discover far more from someone’s words and actions than from his attire. But I do maintain that a man’s attire is also no small evidence for what kind of personality he has, allowing that it can sometimes prove misleading. Moreover, habits and manners, as well as actions and words, provide clues to the quality of the man.’
‘And on what kind of things, other than words or actions, do you suggest we can base our judgement?’ asked signor Gaspare.
Federico replied: ‘I think you are splitting hairs. But to explain what I mean; there are some activities which still endure after they have been completed, such as building and writing, and there are others which do not endure, and those are what I am thinking of now. Thus in this sense I do not call walking, laughing, looking and so forth, activities, and yet all these external things often provide information about what is within. Tell me, didn’t you decide that that friend of ours of whom we were speaking only this morning was a conceited and frivolous man, as soon as you saw him walking with that head-tossing and wriggling about, and smiling invitations to all and sundry to doff their caps to him? So too, whenever you see someone staring too intently, with blank eyes like an idiot, or laughing stupidly like those goitred mutes of the mountains of Bergamo, even though he doesn’t say or do anything else, don’t you take him for a great oaf? Do you not see, therefore, that these habits and manners, which for the moment I do not think of as acts, are in great part what men are known by?
‘But there is another thing which seems to me greatly to damage or enhance a man’s reputation, and this is his choice of really intimate friends. For to be sure it stands to reason that persons who are joined together in close amity and indissoluble companionship should also conform in their wishes, thoughts, opinions and aptitudes. So a man who associates with the ignorant or wicked is taken to be ignorant or wicked; and, on the other hand, a man who associates with those who are good, wise and discreet, is taken for such himself. For it seems natural for like to attract like. Hence I think it is right to take great care in forming these friendships, for of two close friends whoever knows one immediately assumes the other to be of the same character.’
To this, Pietro Bembo answered: ‘In contracting such intimate friendships as you describe it certainly seems to me that one ought to be extremely careful, not only because of the question of enhancing or damaging one’s reputation but also because nowadays there are very few true friends to be found. Indeed, I doubt whether there exist in the world any more a Pylades and Orestes, a Theseus and Pirithous,8 or a Scipio and Laelius. Rather, I wonder by what fate it happens every day that two friends, after years of heartfelt and mutual affection, will end by deceiving one another in some way or other, either from malice or envy or inconstancy or some other evil motive. And they heap on each other the blame both doubtless deserve. Thus for my own part I have more than once been deceived by the person I loved most and of whose love, above everyone else’s, I have been most confident; and because of this I have sometimes thought to myself that it may be as well never to trust anyone in this world nor to give oneself as a hostage to a friend, however dear and cherished he may be, to the extent of telling him all one’s thoughts without reserve as if he were one’s very self. For there are so many concealed places and recesses in our minds that it is humanly impossible to discover and judge the pretences hidden there. So I believe that it may be right to love and serve one person above all others, according to merit and worth, but never to trust so much in this tempting trap of friendship as to have cause to repent of it later on.’
Then Federico remarked: ‘But certainly the loss would be far greater than the gain if from human intercourse should be removed that supreme degree of friendship which, I maintain, contains the best of life. Therefore I can in no way allow that what you say is reasonable; on the contrary, I would go so far as to maintain, for the most cogent reasons, that without this perfect friendship men would be the unhappiest of all creatures; and because some profane persons sully the sacred name of friendship, this does not mean that we should uproot it from our souls and because of the faults of the wicked deprive the good of so much happiness. And it is my opinion that here in our midst may be found more than one pair of friends, whose love is constant and without deceit, and bound to endure in all its intimacy until death, no less than if they were those of the ancient world whom you named earlier on. This is what happens when one chooses for a friend someone of similar ways, apart from the influence of the stars; and all that I have said I mean as regards good and virtuous persons, since the friendship of wicked men is not friendship at all. I also believe that the bond of friendship should not involve more than two people, for otherwise it could perhaps be dangerous. The reason for this is that, as you know, harmony is more difficult to achieve with several instruments than with two. I wish our courtier, therefore, to have a sincere and intimate friend of his own, if possible, of the kind we have described and then that he should love, honour and respect all his other friends, according to their worth and merits, and also endeavour to associate more with those who are highly esteemed and noble and recognized as virtuous than with the ignoble and those of little worth, so that he in turn may be loved and honoured by them. And he will succeed in this if he is courteous, compassionate, generous, affable and charming as a companion, lively and diligent in serving and forwarding the advantage and honour of his friends, whether they are absent or present, tolerating their natural and excusable defects, without breaking with them for trifling reasons, and correcting in himself the defects that are amicably pointed out to him. He will succeed by never pushing in front of others to secure the first and most honoured place and by never doing as some do, who affect to despise the world and wish to lay down the law to everyone with a
certain tiresome severity, and who, as well as being contentious over every little thing at all the wrong times, seek to censure what they do not do themselves and always find cause to complain of their friends, which is a detestable habit.’
After Federico had fallen silent, signor Gaspare Pallavicino began as follows:
‘I should like you to go into rather more detail than you have done on the subject of behaviour between friends, for truly you talk very much in generalities and seem to discuss everything, as it were, merely in passing.’
‘What do you mean, “in passing”?’ replied Federico. ‘Do you perhaps want me to tell you as well the very words you ought to use? Do you not agree that we have said enough on the subject?’
‘Enough, I think,’ answered signor Gaspare. ‘But I should like to hear some more particulars concerning the manner in which men and women ought to converse among themselves. For in my opinion this is of considerable importance, seeing that at Court this is the chief occupation for most of the time, and if it never varied it would soon become tiresome.’
‘It seems to me,’ replied Federico, ‘that we have given the courtier a knowledge of so many subjects that he can readily vary his conversation a great deal and adapt himself to the qualities of those with whom he has dealings, assuming that he possesses good judgement and allows himself to be ruled by that, and, depending on the circumstances, attends sometimes to grave matters and sometimes to festivities and games.’
‘And which games?’ asked signor Gaspare.
Federico answered with a laugh: ‘For this, let us go for advice to Fra Serafino, who invents new ones every day.’
‘Joking apart,’ answered signor Gaspare, ‘does it seem to you that it is wrong for the courtier to play at cards and dice?’
The Book of the Courtier Page 15