Page:The Book of the Courtier.djvu/241

 THE SECOND BOOK OF THE COURTIER half of all there were) became pregnant ; and the affair being discovered, the friar wished to flee but knew not how. The bishop had him taken into custody, and he soon confessed that he had brought the five nuns to this pass, being tempted of the devil; wherefore the bishop was firmly resolved to punish him roundly. But as the man was learned, he had many friends who all tried to help him, and along with the rest messer Marcantonio went to the bishop to implore some measure of pardon for him. The bishop would in no wise listen to them; and after they had pleaded hard, and recommended the culprit, and urged in ex- cuse the opportunities of his position, the frailty of human na- ture, and many other things, — at last the bishop said: 'I will do nothing for him, because I shall have to render God an account of the matter.' And when they repeated their argu- ments, the bishop said: 'W^hat answer shall I make to God on the Day of Judgment, when he says to me, Give an account of thy stewardship?^^ Then messer Marcantonio at once said: ' My Lord, say that which the Evangelist says : Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold I have gained besides them, five talents more."^ Whereupon the bishop could not keep from laughing, and greatly softened his anger and the punish- ment intended for the offender. 62 " It is also amusing to interpret names, and to pretend some reason why the man who is spoken of bears such a name, or why something is done. As a few days ago, when Proto da Lucca"^ (who is very amusing, as you know) asked for the bishopric of Caglio, the Pope replied : ' Knowest thou not that in the Spanish tongue caglio means I keep silence? And thou art a babbler; wherefore it would be unseemly for a bishop never to be able to repeat his title without telling an untruth. So be thou silent {caglio) now.' Here Proto made a reply, which, although it was not of this sort, yet was not less to the point; for having several times repeated his request, and seeing that it was of no avail, at last he said: ' Holy Father, if your Holiness grant me this bishopric, it will not be without advantage, for I shall leave your Holiness two offices {ufficii).' • And what offices have you to leave?' said the Pope. Proto replied: 'The full office {ufficio grande), and the Madonna's office {ufficio della 137