Page:The Book of the Courtier.djvu/384

 THE THIRD BOOK OF THE COURTIER all elegance, all gentle manners, all knowledge, and all the graces heaped together, — like a single flower composed of all the excellences in the world. Thus if my Court Lady have a dearth of those loves that spring from evil hope, she will not on that account be left without a lover; for she will not lack those loves that spring both from her merits and from her lovers' con- fidence in their own worth, whereby they will know themselves to be worthy of being loved by her," 60.— Messer Roberto still objected, but my lady Duchess held him in the wrong, supporting my lord Magnifico's argument; then she continued: " We have no cause to complain of my lord Magnifico, for I truly think that the Court Lady described by him may stand on a par with the Courtier, and even with some advantage ; for he has taught her how to love, which these gentlemen did not do for their Courtier." Then the Unico Aretino said: " It is very fitting to teach women how to love, for rarely have I seen any that knew how: since they nearly all accompany their beauty with cruelty and ingratitude towards those who serve them most faithfully and deserve the reward of their love by nobility of birth, gentleness and worth ; and then they often give themselves a prey to men who are very silly, base, and of small account, and who not only love them not, but hate them. " So, to avoid such grievous errours as these, perhaps it was well to teach them first how to make choice of a man w^ho shall deserve to be loved, and then how to love him ; which is not needful in the case of men, who know it but too well of them- selves. And here I can be a good witness; for love was never taught me save by the divine beauty and divinest behaviour of a Lady whom it was beyond my power not to adore, wherein I had no need of art or any master ;*"" and I think that the same happens with all who love truly. Hence it were fitting to teach the Courtier how to make himself loved rather than how to love." 61.— Here my lady Emilia said: " Then discourse of this now, my lord Unico." The Unico replied : 228