The Book of the Courtier

by Baldassare Castiglione

Then the Magnifico Giuliano replied: ‘Madam, it seems to me that you do great honour to your enemy and very little to your defender. For, to be sure, so far signor Gaspare has said against women nothing that Bernardo has not answered most competently. And I think that we each and all of us know that it is fitting for the courtier to have the greatest reverence for women, and that no man of discretion and courtesy should ever assail them for lack of chastity, either in jest or in earnest. And so to discuss this obvious truth is almost to cast doubt on what is self-evident. However, I think that signor Ottaviano went a little too far when he said that women are most imperfect creatures and incapable of any virtuous act and of little or no dignity in comparison with men. And then, since trust is often placed in those who have great authority, even if they do not speak the whole truth or speak in jest, signor Gaspare has allowed himself to be led by the words of signor Ottaviano into claiming that wise men have no respect for women; and this is completely false. On the contrary, I have known few men of worth who do not love and pay tribute to women, whose virtue and therefore whose dignity I consider to be not the slightest degree inferior to men’s. Nevertheless, if this has to be a matter for dispute, the cause of women would be at a grave disadvantage. For these gentlemen have fashioned a courtier of such excellence and of such inspiring qualities that whoever imagines him so must consider that the merits of women cannot compare. To redress the balance, however, it would first be necessary for someone as clever and eloquent as Count Lodovico and Federico to fashion a Court lady with all the perfections proper to woman, just as they have fashioned the courtier with the perfections proper to a man. And then if the one defending their cause were of merely ordinary eloquence and wit I think that, with the help of the truth, he would show plainly that women have as many virtues as men.’

  ‘Rather,’ added signora Emilia, ‘far more; and to prove it, consider that virtue is feminine whereas vice is masculine.’*

  At this, signor Gaspare laughed before turning to Niccolò Frisio to say:

  ‘What do you think of this, Frisio?’

  Frisio replied: ‘I feel sorry for the Magnifico who has been taken in by signora Emilia’s promises and blandishments and has fallen into the error of saying things that make me blush for him.’

  Signora Emilia replied, still smiling: ‘You will rather blush for yourself when you see signor Gaspare won over and confessing his own error as well as yours, and begging for the forgiveness we will refuse to give him.’

  Then the Duchess said: ‘As it is now very late, I should like to postpone everything until tomorrow; and all the more so because I think it sensible to follow the advice of the Magnifico, namely, that before we enter into this dispute we should fashion a Court lady, perfect in everything, just as these gentlemen have fashioned the perfect courtier.’

  ‘Madam,’ answered signora Emilia, ‘God grant that we do not happen to give this task to some fellow conspirator of signor Gaspare’s who might fashion a Court lady knowing only how to cook and spin.’

  Then Frisio said: ‘But that’s exactly her proper business.’

  And the Duchess continued: ‘I wish to put my trust in the Magnifico who, with the wit and judgement I know he has, will imagine the highest perfection that can be desired in a woman, and also express this in suitable language; and then we shall have something to set against the false slanders of signor Gaspare.’

  ‘Madam,’ replied the Magnifico, ‘I do not know whether you are well advised to entrust me with an enterprise of such importance that I certainly do not feel equal to it; nor am I like the Count and Federico here, who have fashioned with their eloquence a courtier that never was, nor perhaps ever could be. Yet if it pleases you that I should undertake this task let it at least be on the same conditions as these gentlemen obtained, namely, that anyone may contradict me when he wishes to, and I shall regard this not as contradiction but as help; and perhaps, through the correction of my mistakes, we shall discover the perfection that we are seeking.’

  ‘I trust,’ answered the Duchess, ‘that what you say will be such that there will be little room for contradiction. So use all your imagination, and fashion for us such a woman that these adversaries of ours will be ashamed to deny that she is equal in worth to the courtier, about whom it will be well for Federico to say no more, since he has already adorned him far too well, and especially as he must now be looked at in comparison with a woman.’

  ‘For me, madam,’ Federico then said, ‘there is now nothing left to say about the courtier, and what I had thought to say has been driven from my mind because of Bernardo’s jokes.’

  ‘If that is so,’ added the Duchess, ‘let us meet together at an early hour tomorrow so that we may have time to settle both the one matter and the other.’

  And then, after she had spoken, all rose to their feet and, after having respectfully taken leave of the Duchess, everyone went to his own room.

  THE THIRD

  BOOK OF THE COURTIER

  TO ALFONSO ARIOSTO

  WE read that Pythagoras in a very subtle and marvellous way discovered what was the size of Hercules’ body; and the way he did it was as follows: it was known that the space where the Olympic games were celebrated every five years, in front of the temple of Olympic Jove, near Elis in Achaia, had been measured by Hercules, and that a stadium had been made of six hundred and twenty-five feet, using Hercules’ own foot as the standard; the other stadiums which were later established throughout Greece by succeeding generations were also six hundred and twenty-five feet long, though somewhat shorter than the first. So, following that proportion, Pythagoras easily determined how much larger than normal Hercules’ foot had been; and thus, having ascertained the size of his foot, he realized that Hercules’ body had been as much larger than other men’s bodies as, in the same proportion, the first stadium had been to those that followed.1 Therefore, my dear Alfonso, by the same process of reasoning you can clearly understand from this small part of the whole how greatly superior was Urbino to all the other Courts of Italy, considering the superiority of these games (devised to refresh minds wearied by more demanding activities) to those practised elsewhere. And if the games were such, imagine the quality of the other worthy pursuits, to which we gave ourselves heart and soul; and here I dare to speak in the hope and certainty of being believed, for I am not praising things so ancient that I am at liberty to invent, and I can prove whatever I say by the testimony of many trustworthy men who are still living and have in person seen and experienced the life and customs that at one time flourished in that ducal house. And then, I hold myself bound, as best I can, to bend all my efforts to preserve this bright memory from human forgetfulness and, through my writing, to make it live for posterity. Perhaps in the future, then, there will not be lacking someone to envy our century for this as well; because no one reads of the marvellous deeds of the ancients without forming in his mind a certain higher opinion of those who are written about than the books seem able to express, even though they are truly inspired works. So we wish all those into whose hands this work of ours may come (if indeed it ever proves so worthy of favour as to be seen by noble knights and virtuous ladies) to suppose and believe for certain that the Court of Urbino was far more outstanding and far more adorned with singular men than our writing has been able to convey; and if our eloquence were equal to their high qualities we should need no other testimony to cause those who have not seen it to place complete trust in our words.

  Now when the company had come together the following day, at the usual time and place, and all were sitting down in silence, everyone turned to look at Federico and the Magnifico Giuliano and waited to see which of them would begin the discussion. After a moment’s silence, therefore, the Duchess said:

  ‘Signor Magnifico, all of us wish to see this lady of yours well adorned; and if you do not show her to us in such a way as to reveal all her beauties, we shall suppose that you are jealous of her.’

  ‘Madam,’ replied the Magnifico, ‘if I
thought her beautiful, I should show her unadorned, and in the condition in which Paris wanted to see the three goddesses; but if these ladies, who well know how, do not assist me to attire her, I fear that not only signor Gaspare and Frisio but all these other gentlemen will be fully entitled to speak ill of her. Therefore, while she still has some reputation for beauty perhaps it would be better to keep her hidden and see what more Federico has to say about the courtier, who without doubt is far more attactive than my lady can be.’

  ‘What I had in mind,’ said Federico, ‘is not so pertinent to the courtier that it cannot be left aside without loss; indeed, it is a somewhat different subject from what has been discussed so far.’

  ‘Then what is it?’ asked the Duchess.

  ‘I had decided,’ Federico went on, ‘to explain in so far as I could the origins of these companies and orders of chivalry which great princes have founded under various emblems: such as that of St Michael at the royal Court of France, that of the Garter, under the patronage of St George, at the royal Court of England, and the Golden Fleece at the Court of Burgundy; and how these dignities are bestowed and those who deserve to be are deprived of them; whence they arose, who were their originators, and for what purpose they established them: for these knights are always honoured, even in great courts. As well as discussing the various customs to be found at the Courts of Christian rulers in the matter of serving princes, observing festivals and appearing at public games, I thought also, if there were enough time, to say something on the same lines with regard to the Court of the Grand Turk and more especially the Court of the Sophi, King of Persia. For I have heard from merchants who have stayed a long time in that country that the noblemen there are very valiant and mannerly, and that in their dealings with one another, in serving their ladies and in all their actions they behave with the utmost courtesy and discretion and, on the due occasions, they display in their feats of arms, games and festivals much magnificence, great liberality and elegance. So I have been delighted to learn what fashions they prize most in all these things, what their ceremonies and elegance of dress and arms are like, and in what ways they are different from us or similar, how their ladies amuse themselves, and how modestly they show favour to those who serve them in love. However, it is surely not fitting to begin this discussion now, especially as there are other things to say which are far more to our purpose.’

  ‘On the contrary,’ said signor Gaspare, ‘both this and many other things are more to the purpose than the portrayal of this Court lady, considering that the same rules as apply to the courtier serve also for her. For she, too, should pay heed to time and place and, insofar as her frailty allows, follow all those other ways that have been so fully discussed in regard to the courtier. And so instead of this it would not perhaps have been wrong to teach some of the particulars of those things that belong to the personal service of the prince, for the courtier ought rightly to understand them and to perform them gracefully; or indeed to speak of the way in which we should conduct our sports, such as riding, handling weapons and wrestling, and to discuss the problems involved in these activities.’

  Then with a smile the Duchess remarked: ‘Princes do not employ such an excellent courtier as this for their personal service; and as for recreation and physical strength and agility, we shall leave the task of teaching them to our Pietro Monte, on a more suitable occasion, since now the Magnifico has no other duty than to speak of this lady, whom, I suspect, you have already started to fear and so have wanted to make us stray from the subject.’

  Then Frisio answered: ‘But surely it would be neither pertinent nor opportune to speak about women, especially as more remains to be said about the courtier, and we ought not to confuse one thing with another.’

  ‘You are greatly in error,’ replied Cesare Gonzaga, ‘because just as there is no Court, however great, that can possess adornment or splendour or gaiety without the presence of women, and no courtier, no matter how graceful, pleasing or bold, who can ever perform gallant deeds of chivalry unless inspired by the loving and delightful company of women, so any discussion of the courtier must be imperfect unless ladies take part in it and contribute their share of the grace by which courtiership is adorned and perfected.’

  At this, signor Ottaviano laughed and said: ‘And there you catch a glimpse of the allurement that turns mens’ heads.’

  Then, turning to the Duchess, the Magnifico continued: ‘Madam, since it is your wish, I shall say what I have to, though with great fear that I shall fail to please. Certainly, it would cost me far less effort to fashion a woman worthy to be the queen of the world than a perfect Court lady. For I do not know where to find my model for her, whereas for the queen of the world I would not need to seek far, seeing that it would be enough for me to imagine all the divine attributes of a certain lady and, as I contemplate them, to concentrate on expressing clearly in words what so many see with their eyes; and, if I could do no more, by naming her I should have fulfilled my task.’

  Then the Duchess remarked: ‘Signor Magnifico, you must keep to the rules. So please follow the order agreed on and fashion the Court lady so that so noble a ruler may have someone to serve her worthily.’

  The Magnifico continued: ‘Then, madam, to make it clear that your commands can induce me to attempt what I do not even know how to do, I shall describe this excellent lady as I would wish her to be. And when I have fashioned her to my own liking, since I may have no other I shall, like Pygmalion, take her for my own. And although signor Gaspare has stated that the rules laid down for the courtier also serve for the lady, I am of a different opinion; for although they have in common some qualities, which are as necessary to the man as to the woman, there are yet others befitting a woman rather than a man, and others again which befit a man but which a woman should regard as completely foreign to her. I believe this is true as regards the sports we have discussed; but, above all, I hold that a woman should in no way resemble a man as regards her ways, manners, words, gestures and bearing. Thus just as it is very fitting that a man should display a certain robust and sturdy manliness, so it is well for a woman to have a certain soft and delicate tenderness, with an air of feminine sweetness in her every movement, which, in her going and staying and whatsoever she does, always makes her appear a woman, without any resemblance to a man. If this precept be added to the rules that these gentlemen have taught the courtier, then I think that she ought to be able to make use of many of them, and adorn herself with the finest accomplishments, as signor Gaspare says. For I consider that many virtues of the mind are as necessary to a woman as to a man; as it is to be of good family; to shun affectation: to be naturally graceful; to be well mannered, clever and prudent; to be neither proud, envious or evil-tongued, nor vain, contentious or clumsy; to know how to gain and keep the favour of her mistress and of everyone else; to perform well and gracefully the sports suitable for women. It also seems to me that good looks are more important to her than to the courtier, for much is lacking to a woman who lacks beauty. She must also be more circumspect and at greater pains to avoid giving an excuse for someone to speak ill of her; she should not only be beyond reproach but also beyond even suspicion, for a woman lacks a man’s resources when it comes to defending herself. And now, seeing that Count Lodovico has explained in great detail what should be the principal occupation of a courtier, namely, to his mind, the profession of arms, it seems right for me to say what I consider ought to be that of the lady at Court. And when I have done this, then I shall believe that most of my task has been carried out.

  ‘Leaving aside, therefore, those virtues of the mind which she must have in common with the courtier, such as prudence, magnanimity, continence and many others besides, and also the qualities that are common to all kinds of women, such as goodness and discretion, the ability to take good care, if she is married, of her husband’s belongings and house and children, and the virtues belonging to a good mother, I say that the lady who is at Court should properly have, before a
ll else, a certain pleasing affability whereby she will know how to entertain graciously every kind of man with charming and honest conversation, suited to the time and the place and the rank of the person with whom she is talking. And her serene and modest behaviour, and the candour that ought to inform all her actions, should be accompanied by a quick and vivacious spirit by which she shows her freedom from boorishness; but with such a virtuous manner that she makes herself thought no less chaste, prudent and benign than she is pleasing, witty and discreet. Thus she must observe a certain difficult mean, composed as it were of contrasting qualities, and take care not to stray beyond certain fixed limits. Nor in her desire to be thought chaste and virtuous, should she appear withdrawn or run off if she dislikes the company she finds herself in or thinks the conversation improper. For it might easily be thought that she was pretending to be straitlaced simply to hide something she feared others could find out about her; and in any case, unsociable manners are always deplorable. Nor again, in order to prove herself free and easy, should she talk immodestly or practise a certain unrestrained and excessive familiarity or the kind of behaviour that leads people to suppose of her what is perhaps untrue. If she happens to find herself present at such talk, she should listen to it with a slight blush of shame. Moreover, she should avoid an error into which I have seen many women fall, namely, eagerly talking and listening to someone speaking evil of others. For those women who when they hear of the immodest behaviour of other women grow hot and bothered and pretend it is unbelievable and that to them an unchaste woman is simply a monster, in showing that they think this is such an enormous crime, suggest that they might be committing it themselves. And those who go about continually prying into the love affairs of other women, relating them in such detail and with such pleasure, appear to be envious and anxious that everyone should know how the matter stands lest by mistake the same thing should be imputed to them; and so they laugh in a certain way, with various mannerisms which betray the pleasure they feel. As a result, although men seem ready enough to listen, they nearly always form a bad opinion of them and hold them in very little respect, and they imagine that the mannerisms they affect are meant to lead them on; and then often they do go so far that the women concerned deservedly fall into ill repute, and finally they come to esteem them so little that they do not care to be with them and in fact regard them with distaste. On the other hand, there is no man so profligate and brash that he does not respect those women who are considered to be chaste and virtuous; for in a woman a serious disposition enhanced by virtue and discernment acts as a shield against the insolence and beastliness of arrogant men; and thus we see that a word, a laugh or an act of kindness, however small, coming from an honest woman is more universally appreciated than all the blandishments and caresses of those who without reserve display their lack of shame, and who, if they are not unchaste, with their wanton laughter, loquacity, brashness and scurrilous behaviour of this sort, certainly appear to be.