Part 21

“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 King Ferdinand of Naples; who (like gold in the fire) showed her virtue and worth amid the storms of fortune.[396]

Reduced from a part of Braun’s photograph (no. 34.093) of the portrait by Titian (1477-1576) in the Imperial Museum at Vienna. The picture was painted about 1536 from a portrait painted about 1511 by Francesco Raibolini, better known as Francia, (1450-1517). See Alessandro Luzio’s article in the _Emporium_ (Bergamo), nos. 65-6.

“If you come to Lombardy, you will find my lady Isabella, Marchioness of Mantua;[397] to whose very admirable virtues injustice would be done in speaking as soberly as in this place anyone must needs do who would speak of her at all. I regret, too, that you did not all know her sister the Duchess Beatrice of Milan, in order that you might never more have need to marvel at woman’s capacity.[398] And Eleanora of Aragon, Duchess of Ferrara and mother of both these two ladies whom I have mentioned, was of such sort that her very admirable virtues bore good witness to all the world that she not only was a worthy daughter of a king, but deserved to be queen over a much greater realm than all her ancestors had possessed.[399] And to tell you of another, how many men do you know in the world who have borne the cruel blows of fortune as patiently as Queen Isabella of Naples has done?[400]—who, after the loss of her kingdom, the exile and death of her husband King Federico[401] and of two children, and the captivity of her first-born, the Duke of Calabria,[402] still shows herself to be a queen, and so endures the grievous burdens of bitter poverty as to give all men proof that although her fortunes are changed, her rank is not.

“I refrain from mentioning countless other ladies, and also women of low degree; like many Pisan women, who in defence of their city against the Florentines displayed that generous daring, without any fear of death, which might have been displayed by the most unconquerable souls that have ever been on earth; wherefore some of them have been celebrated by many noble poets.[403]

“I could tell you of some who were very excellent in letters, in music, in painting, in sculpture; but I do not wish to go on selecting from among these instances that are perfectly well known to you all. It is enough that if you reflect upon the women whom you yourselves know, it is not difficult for you to perceive that they are for the most part not inferior in worth and merits to their fathers, brothers and husbands; and that not a few have been the source of good to men and often have corrected many a one of his errours; and if there are not now to be found on earth those great queens who march to the conquest of distant lands, and erect great buildings, pyramids and cities,—like that famous Tomyris, Queen of Scythia, Artemisia, Zenobia, Semiramis or Cleopatra,[404]—neither are there men like Cæsar, Alexander, Scipio, Lucullus and those other Roman commanders.”

37.—“Say not so,” replied Frisio, laughing; “for now more than ever are there women to be found like Cleopatra or Semiramis; and if they have not such great states, power and riches, yet they lack not the good will to imitate those queens in giving themselves pleasure, and in satisfying as far as they can all their appetites.”

The Magnifico Giuliano said:

“You always wish to go beyond bounds, Frisio; but if there are some Cleopatras to be found, there is no lack of countless Sardanapaluses, which is far worse.”[405]

Then my lord Gaspar said:

“Do not draw these comparisons, or imagine that men are more incontinent than women; and even if they were so, it would not be worse, for from women’s incontinence countless evils result that do not from men’s. Therefore, as was said yesterday, it is wisely ordained that women are allowed to fail in all other things without blame, to the end that they may be able to devote all their strength to keeping themselves in this one virtue of chastity; without which their children would be uncertain, and that tie would be dissolved which binds the whole world by blood and by the natural love of each man for what he has produced. Hence loose living is more forbidden to women than to men, who do not carry their children for nine months within them.”

38.—Then the Magnifico replied:

“Verily these are fine arguments which you cite, and I do not see why you do not commit them to writing.

“But tell me why it is not ordained that loose living is as disgraceful a thing in men as in women, seeing that if men are by nature more virtuous and of greater worth, they could all the more easily practise this virtue of continence also; and their children would be neither more nor less certain, for although women were unchaste, they could of themselves merely and without other aid in no wise bear children, provided men were continent and did not take part in women’s unchastity. But if you will say the truth, even you know that we men have of our own authority arrogated to ourselves a licence, whereby we insist that the same sins are in us very trivial and sometimes praiseworthy, and in women cannot be sufficiently punished, unless by shameful death or perpetual infamy at least.

“Wherefore, since this opinion is prevalent, methinks it were a fitting thing to punish severely those also who with lies cast infamy on women; and I think that every noble cavalier is bound always to defend the truth with arms where there is need, and especially when he knows some woman to be falsely accused of little chastity.”

39.—“And I,” replied my lord Gaspar, laughing, “not only affirm that which you say is the duty of every noble cavalier, but I think that it is an act of great courtesy and gentleness to conceal the fault a woman may have committed through mischance or over-love; and thus you may see that I am more on the side of women, where reason permits it, than you are.

“I do not, indeed, deny that men have taken a little liberty; and this because they know that according to universal opinion loose living does not bring them the infamy that it does to women; who by reason of the frailty of their sex are much more inclined towards their appetites than men are; and if they sometimes refrain from satisfying their desires, they do so from shame and not because their will is not quite ready. Therefore men have put the fear of infamy upon them as a bridle to keep them almost by force to this virtue, without which they were in truth little to be prized; for the world has no good from women except the bearing of children.

“But this is not the case with men, who rule cities and armies, and do so many other things of importance. Since you will have it so, I do not care to deny that women can do these things; it is enough that they do not. And when men have seen fit to set a pattern of continence, they have excelled women in this virtue as well as in the others also, although you do not admit it. And as to this I will not rehearse so many histories and fables as you have done, but merely refer you to the continence of two very great young lords, and to their victory, which is wont to make even men of lowest rank insolent. One is that of Alexander the Great towards the very beautiful women of Darius,—an enemy, and a vanquished one at that;[406] the other, of Scipio, who having at the age of twenty-four years taken a city in Spain by force, there was brought before him a very beautiful and noble young woman, captured along with many others; and hearing that she was the bride of a gentleman of the country, Scipio not only abstained from any wanton act towards her, but restored her unspotted to her husband, bestowing a rich gift upon her besides.[407]

“I could tell you of Xenocrates,[408] who was so continent that a very beautiful woman having laid herself down unclothed beside him, and employing all the caresses and using all the arts that she knew, whereof she was an admirable mistress, she had not the power to make him show the slightest sign of impudicity, although she tried one whole night long; and of Pericles, who on merely hearing someone praise a boy’s beauty with overwarmth, reproved him sharply;[409] and of many others who have been very continent of their own choice, and not from shame or fear of punishment, which move most women who practise this virtue: who for all that deserve to be highly praised, and he who falsely casts the infamy of unchasteness upon them is worthy of the heaviest punishment, as you have said.”

40.—Then messer Cesare, who had been silent a long while, said:

“Think in what fashion my lord Gaspar is wont to speak in blame of woman, if these are the things that he says in their praise. But if my lord Magnifico will let me say a few things in his stead by way of reply to such matters as my lord Gaspar has, to my thinking, said falsely against women, it were well for both of us; as he will rest awhile and then be better able to go on to declare some other excellence of the Court Lady, and I shall hold myself much favoured at having an opportunity to share with him this duty of a good cavalier—that is, to defend the truth.”

“Nay, I pray you do so,” replied my lord Magnifico; “for methinks I have already fulfilled my duty to the extent of my powers, and this discussion is now outside my subject.”

Messer Cesare continued:

“I am far from wishing to speak of the good that women do in the world besides the bearing of children, for it has been sufficiently shown how necessary they are not only to our being, but to our well-being; but I say, my lord Gaspar, that if they are as you say more inclined to their appetites than men, and if for all that they abstain therefrom more than men, which you admit,—they are as much worthier of praise as their sex is less strong to resist their natural appetites. And if you say they do it from shame, methinks that in place of a single virtue you give them two; for if shame is stronger in them than appetite and they for that reason abstain from evil acts, I think that this shame (which in short is nothing else but fear of infamy) is a very rare virtue and one possessed by very few men. And if I could, without infinite disgrace to men, tell how many of them are plunged in shamelessness (which is the vice opposed to this virtue), I should pollute these chaste ears that hear me. These offenders against God and nature are for the most part men already old, who make a calling, some of the priesthood, some of philosophy, some of sacred law; and govern public affairs with a Catonian severity of countenance that gives promise of all the integrity in the world; and always allege the feminine sex to be very incontinent; nor do they ever lament anything more than their loss of natural vigor, which renders them unable to satisfy the abominable desires that still linger in their thoughts after being denied by nature to their bodies; and hence they often find ways wherein strength is not necessary.

41.—“But I do not wish to say more; and it is enough for me that you grant me that women abstain from unchaste living more than men; and certain it is that they are restrained by no other bridle than that which they themselves put on. That this is true, the greater part of those who are confined with too close care, or beaten by their husbands or fathers, are less chaste than those who have some liberty.

“But a great bridle to women generally is their love of true virtue and their desire for honour, whereof many whom I have known in my time make more account than of their very life; and if you will say the truth, every one of us has seen very noble youths, discreet, wise, valiant and beautiful, spend many years in love, without omitting aught of care, of gifts, of prayers, of tears, in short, of anything that can be imagined; and all in vain. And but that I might be told that my qualities have never made me worthy of ever being loved, I should call myself as witness, who have more than once been nigh to death because of a woman’s unchangeable and too stern chastity.”

My lord Gaspar replied:

“Marvel not at that: for women who are always wooed refuse to please him who wooes them; and they who are not wooed, woo others.”[410]

42.—Messer Cesare said:

“I have never known these men who are wooed by women; but very many who, on finding that they have tried in vain and spent time foolishly, resort to this noble revenge, and say they have had an abundance of that which they have only imagined, and think it a kind of courtiership to speak evil and invent tales to the end that slanderous stories of some noble lady may spring up among the rabble. But such as these, who make vile boast (whether true or false) of conquering a gentle lady, deserve punishment or torture most severe; and if they sometimes meet it, we cannot measure the praise due to those who perform the office. For if they are telling lies, what villainy can be greater than to steal from a worthy lady that which she values more than life? And for no other reason than that which ought to win endless praise for her? Again, if they are telling the truth, what punishment could suffice for a man who is so vile as to reward with such ingratitude a woman, who,—vanquished by false flatteries, by feigned tears, by continual wooing, by laments, by arts, tricks and perjuries,—has suffered herself to be led into too great love, and then without reserve has fondly given herself a prey to such a malign spirit?

“But to answer you further touching that unheard-of continence of Alexander and Scipio which you have cited, I say I am unwilling to deny that both performed an act worthy of much praise; yet to the end that you may not be able to say that in rehearsing ancient matters I tell you fables, I wish to cite a woman of low degree in our own times, who showed far more continence than these two great men.