THE THIRD BOOK OF THE COURTIER
BY COUNT BALDESAR CASTIGLIONE

TO MESSER ALFONSO ARIOSTO

1.—We read that Pythagoras very ingeniously and cleverly discovered the measure of Hercules’s body; and the way was this: it being known that the space where the Olympic games were celebrated every five years, before the temple of Olympian Jove near Elis, in Achaia,[[331]] had been measured by Hercules, and a stadium made six hundred and twenty-five times the length of his own foot; and that the other stadia which were afterwards established throughout Greece by later generations, were likewise of the length of six hundred and twenty-five feet, and yet were somewhat shorter than the first one: by this proportion Pythagoras easily reckoned how much larger Hercules’s foot was than other human feet; and thus, knowing the measure of the foot, from this he argued that the whole body of Hercules was larger than other men’s in the same proportion that the first stadium bore to the other stadia.

So you, my dear messer Alfonso, by the same reasoning may clearly see, from this small part of the whole body, how superior the court of Urbino was to all others in Italy, considering how much the games that were devised for the refreshment of minds wearied by the most arduous labours, were superior to those that were practised in the other courts of Italy. And if these were of such sort, think what were the other worthy pursuits to which our minds were bent and wholly given; and of this I confidently make bold to speak with hope of being believed; for I am not praising things so ancient that I might be allowed to invent, but can prove what I affirm by the testimony of many men worthy of faith, who are still living and personally saw and knew the life and behaviour that one time flourished in that court: and I hold myself bound, as far as I can, to strive with every effort to rescue this bright memory from mortal oblivion, and by my writing to make it live in the hearts of posterity.

Wherefore perhaps in the future there will not be lacking some to envy our century for this also; since no one reads the wonderful exploits of the ancients, who in his mind does not conceive a somewhat higher opinion of those that are written of than the books themselves seem able to express, however divinely they be written. Even so we desire that all to whose hands this work of ours shall come (if indeed it shall ever be worthy of such favour as to deserve being seen by noble cavaliers and virtuous ladies) may assume and take for certain that the court of Urbino was far more excellent, and adorned by men of singular worth, than we can express in writing; and if we had as great eloquence as they had merit, we should have no need of other proof to make our words believed by those who saw it not.

2.—Now the company being assembled the next day at the accustomed hour and place, and seated in silence, everyone turned his eyes to messer Federico and to the Magnifico Giuliano, waiting to see which of them would begin the discussion. Wherefore my lady Duchess, having been silent awhile, said:

“My lord Magnifico, everyone desires to see this lady of yours well adorned; and if you do not display her to us in such fashion that all her beauties may be seen, we shall think that you are jealous of her.”

The Magnifico replied:

“My Lady, if I deemed her beautiful, I should display her all unadorned and in the same fashion wherein Paris chose to view the three goddesses;[[332]] but if these ladies here, who well know how, do not aid me to deck her forth, I fear that not only my lord Gaspar and Frisio, but all these other gentlemen, will have just cause to say ill of her. So, while still she stands in some repute for beauty, perhaps it will be better to keep her hidden, and to see what messer Federico has left to say about the Courtier, which without doubt is far more beautiful than my Lady can be.”

“What I had in mind,” replied messer Federico, “is not so necessary to the Courtier that it may not be omitted without any harm; nay, it is rather different matter from that which has thus far been discussed.”