New-York tribune., 1902-01-05

.
n'e NJ charles V, failing to prevent the
ne H- Pon,e and the humiliation of the Pope.
sS0H ,o,,Id look back with satisfaction to those
pU' Lo-+ wears which he had spent near Guido
haldo. ,-,,
:, ,iveIv intellect, of fine presence and of
u" - manners he had been admitted as a
ia prest 10 those symposia in which some
80 brightest wits and most urbane courtiers
=. T.o,, had talked at large Of all things under
y -, save those which universal respect for
I1of.,, characters Of the duke and his duchess
= al, mt outside the bounds of conversation.
- and there in The Book Of the Courtier''
= "a are Messages marked by certain freedom.
=. .ra work IS distinguished among the courtly
.,r.ca+jons Of the time for the sustained ele-
F.:,r of its argument and the essential refine
- If ifs tone. Castiglione, we may be sure,
=. m rrig He was a soldier. He had quilted
,:sa,F yaIiantly in the field. He had seen
,b of men and Of affairs He could carry
t;saIf on even terms with those artists and
.,.fo-s. princes and prelates, courtiers and men
:. arms. who being what they were, and living
= ono of the raciest as well as one Of the most
,+,-ed epochs of the world, We're accustomed
% call a spade q spade, even in the presence Of
,,,an But il was one of the engaging para
s,vae of the Renaissance that the man who
,,,1s relish jest of PogEio. or Boccaccio. or
1sn5ello, could delight in the mysticism Of PicO;
- 70 was free with his dagger he could put his
r.n 10 good purpose and CastiglOne. who must
tsve been Well yersed in the sinister ways of his
oon+ernporaries was one of those men whose
+oete inclined them, on the whole. to the cuti-
ration of the humanities on their fairer side.
Tins The Bo k IF the C0urtier'' remains so edi-
fy5rg contribution TO the literature of manners
tpat Roger. Ascham himself could find a good
word 10 say for it, and DR.. Johnson did not hest
tate TO give il his countenance.
It's popularity has been due to variety of
causes Conspicuous among these is its value
as a picture Of a representative court of the
Renaissance iu Italy. There is, too, the charm
of its style to which, may observe in pass
ing. Nj Opdycke does full justice. The compo-
sition IS cast moreover, in a very interesting
form. the four books into which it is divided
being made up Of supposiiuous conversations
which the author does not hesitate TO attribute
TO historical Uersonages. Not only my lady
duchess" and other members Of the house Of
Urbino but GIuliano de Medici Bibbiena,
Bembo and similarly noted individuals are
among the irtarlocutors. and the references to
divers notaIii If the Renaissance in and out
seem to Zee in the private company Of the great
ones Of this earth. And Of what do they talk?
Of art and of love; Of literature and of politics;
Of war and If humor, Of all the things that
entered into The busy life Of an Italian gentle
man in the sixteenth century. But while they
talk Of what We may call the mint and cummin
Of their various themes. they are guided chiefly
by a desire 10 fix the broad lines on which the
perfect life Of the gentleman should be lived;
they aim always at the spirit rather than at the
letter OF noble conduct. There could be no
greater mistake than 20 look in this book for
mere forms of ceremony. Though Johnson could
speak warmly Of Castiglione ne did him as
much injustice when he credited him with no
higher ambition than "to teach the minuter
decencies and inferior duties as when he re
preached Chesterfield with having the manners
Of a dancing master. Just as there is a vast
difference between the substantial drift OF
Chesterield's famous admonitions and the mar
row precepts OF an ordinary Manual of Ell
quette," so there is q great gulf between the
philosophical breadth Of The Book Of the
COurtier" and the limited scope Of a book, say,
like the shallow compendium OF courtly maxims
put together by the Spanish Gracian. If a
prince would perform his duties rightly. says
Castisliene, "he must devote every study and
diligence TO wisdom" and his book makes not
simply for the good form Of well disciplined
Society, but for wisdom" which raises man
hers 10 a moral plane.
and the habit which is perhaps best summarized