Nugo. I will declare unto you the reason. The cuckoo and the nightingale sing at the same time, that is, from the middle of April till the end of May or thereabouts. These two birds once met in a contest of sweetness of song, when a judge was sought, and because it was a trial concerning sound, an ass seemed the most suitable for this decision, since he of all the animals had the longest ears. The ass rejected the nightingale, because he could not understand her harmony, and awarded the victory to the cuckoo. The nightingale appealed to men, and when she sees a man she immediately pours forth her song, and sings with zest so as to approve herself to him, so as to avenge the wrong which she received from the ass.
Grac. This is a subject worthy of a poet.
XI. Our Masters
Nugo. Why, don’t you think it worthy of a philosopher? Ask the question of our new masters from Paris.
Grac. Many of them are philosophers in their clothes, not in their brains.
Nugo. Why do you say on account of their dress? For you should rather say that they seem to be cooks or mule-drivers.
Grac. I say so because they wear clothes which are clumsy, worn out, torn, muddy, dirty, and full of lice in them.
Nugo. Why this almost constitutes them cynic philosophers!
Grac. Nay, they are rather cimici[35] but not what they desire to seem, viz., peripatetics, for Aristotle, the leader of this sect, was a most polished man. But I have long since bidden farewell to philosophy, if I cannot any other way than theirs become a philosopher. For what is more comely and worthy in a man than cleanliness and a certain refinement in bearing and in dress? In this respect I consider the Lovanians are superior to the Parisians.
Turd. But don’t you think that too much attention to cleanliness and elegance is a hindrance to studies?