“Pardon me,” said messer Federico; “I am unwilling to enter upon that, for there would be too much to say; but let the whole matter be left to your own wisdom.”
24.—“At least clear another doubt for me,” returned my lord Gaspar.
“And what doubt?” said messer Federico.
“It is this,” replied my lord Gaspar. “I should like to know,—my lord having charged me exactly what I must do in an enterprise or any other business whatever, if I being engaged upon it think that my doing more or less or otherwise than I was charged, may make the affair turn out better and more advantageously for him who gave me the task,—whether I ought to govern myself by the original plan without exceeding the limits of my command, or on the contrary to do that which seems to me better.”
Then messer Federico replied:
“In this I should give you the precept and example of Manlius Torquatus (who in like case slew his son, from too stern a sense of duty), if I thought he deserved much credit, which I do not.[[165]] And yet I dare not blame him against the verdict of so many centuries. For without doubt it is a very perilous thing to deviate from our superiors’ commands, relying more on our own judgment than on theirs whom we ought in reason to obey; because if our expectation fails and the affair turns out ill, we run into the errour of disobedience and ruin that which we have to do, without any possibility of excuse or hope of pardon. On the other hand, if the affair turns out according to our wish, we must give the credit to fortune and be content at that. Moreover in this way a fashion is set of rating the commands of our superiors lightly; and following the example of one man who happened to succeed and who perhaps was prudent and had reasoned well and been aided by fortune too,—a thousand other ignorant featherheads will make bold to do as they please in the most important matters, and for the sake of showing that they are sagacious and have authority, to deviate from their masters’ commands; which is a very evil thing and often the cause of numberless mistakes.
“But I think that in such a case the man whom it concerns ought to consider carefully, and as it were to place in the balance the profit and advantage that he stands to win by acting contrary to orders, in case his design turns out according to his hopes; and on the other hand to weigh the evil and disadvantage that will accrue if the affair chances to turn out ill through his disobedience of orders. And if he finds the damage in case of failure to be greater and more serious than the gain in case of success, he ought to restrain himself and carry out his orders to the letter; while on the contrary if the gain in case of success is like to be more serious than the damage in case of failure, I think he may properly venture to do that which his reason and judgment dictate, and somewhat disregard the very letter of his orders,—so as to act like good merchants, who to gain much risk little, but never risk much to gain little.
“I strongly approve of the Courtier’s observing above all the character of the prince whom he serves, and of his governing himself accordingly: for if it be severe, as is the case with many, I should never advise anyone who was my friend to change one jot the order given him; lest that might befall him which is recorded as having befallen a master engineer of the Athenians, to whom Publius Crassus Mucianus,[[166]] when he was in Asia and wished to besiege a fortified place, sent to ask for one of two ship’s masts that he had seen at Athens, in order to make a ram wherewith to batter down the wall, and said he wished the larger one. Being very intelligent, the engineer knew that the larger mast was unsuitable for the purpose, and as the smaller one was easier to transport and better adapted for making the machine in question, he sent it to Mucianus. The latter, hearing how things had gone, sent for the poor engineer, asked why he had disobeyed his orders, and refusing to listen to any excuse from him, caused him to be stripped naked and so flogged and scourged with rods that he died, because it seemed to Mucianus that instead of obeying, the man had tried to offer advice. So we had best use great caution with these rigourous men.
25.—“But now let us leave this subject of intercourse with princes, and come to conversation with our equals or with those that are nearly so: for we must pay heed to this also, since it is universally more practised and a man more often finds himself engaged in it than in conversation with princes.
“There are however some simpletons, who, even in the company of the best friend they have in the world, on meeting a man who is better dressed, at once attach themselves to him, and then if they happen on one still better dressed, they do the like to him. And later, when the prince is passing through the squares or churches or other public places, they elbow their way past everyone until they reach his side: and even if they have naught to say to him, they still must talk, and go on babbling, and laugh and clap their hands and head, to show they have business of importance, so that the crowd may see them in favour. But since these fellows deign to speak only with their lords, I would not have us deign to speak of them.”