Page:The Book of the Courtier.djvu/573

 NOTES TO THE FIRST BOOK OF THE COURTIER tainly not the modern cithern, but more probably a kind of large lyre, supported by a ribbon and played with a plectrum of metal, wood or ivory. Note 123, page 63. In a note to this passage, Cian says: " Ahito [rendered 'habit of mind'] is a special condition or habitual quality of the mind, which manifests itself outwardly in a special costume [rendered ' habitual tendency '], or equally habitual behaviour, which in turn reacts upon the disposition and moral attitude of the individual." Note 124, page 64. Lycurgus probably lived in the gth century B.C., and was the reputed author of the Spartan laws and institutions. Note 125, page 64. Epaminondas, a Theban general, defeated the Spartans at Leuctra in 371 B.C. and at Mantinea in 362 B.C., and lost his life in the latter battle. Note 126, page 64. Themistocles, the Athenian statesman and general, persuaded the Greeks to resist the second Persian invasion by naval force at Salamis in 480 B.C. Note 127, page 64. One of the finest of the Pompeian frescoes represents the centaur Chiron teaching Achilles to play upon the lyre. Note 128, page 64. The reference here is of course to the familiar story of Orpheus and the beasts. Note i2g, page 64. Castiglione doubtless had in mind the legend of Arion, a Greek poet of Lesbos, who probably flourished about 700 B.C. W^e have a fragment of his verse addressed to Poseidon and telling of the dolphins, who had wafted the poet safely to land when he had lost his course. Note 130, page 65. As we shall see, the Magniflco's request was not com- plied with until the second evening (page 81). Note 131, page 65. QuiNTOS Fabius Pictor was a Roman general who served in the Second Punic W^ar, and wrote a Greek history of Rome, much esteemed by the ancients, but now lost. Pliny affirms that Fabius painted the temple in the 450th year after the founding of Rome (i.e. 300 B.C.), and that the painting was still extant about the beginning of our era. Note 132, page 66. The Apollo Belvedere was discovered in 1503, the Laocoon group in 1506, and other famous antique statues only a few years earlier. -^ Note 133, page 66. The comparative merits of painting and sculpture were a frequent subject of discussion during this period. The Renaissance writers 349