The sun., 1909-02-21

vogue Of Hoby's version Of Cas,ipljor.,.
work passed away with the society viii,
gave birth to it, and after the s!rd 81
ton Of that TRANSLATION had a3ss.,,
in 1908, some three centuries clap, bsn.
1t was reprinted. Indeed, a l,as4e. l.
the "Blaok Book Of the Carter co,urrsI
In 1724. indicates that at that tIme ,ha
very name Of CastRlione had Teen fo,.
gotten In England. A revival was a,
hand. however. In The very same yss,
q now TRANSLATION OF the 'Corteslano'vs,
printed In London and was shortly tol
lowed by more important publlca.ie,
namely. q new version printed by r3ovv,,
In 1877 and dedicated TO King George I. IN
which the Italian text and the EneBsA
counterpart are placed aide by side.
While. however. his one book has bs,D
20 widely circulated little conlpan.
lively has been or is now known abort
the author. No biography Of him vas
published until 1884. when a sketch an.
peared at Venice based on infor-natior
derived from members Of his family
A few more details were supplied in
work issued In 1908, and an account q,
him was published In the eighteenth On.
tury in q work called the "StIittori v
Italia A comparatively full biograph,
Of CastiRhone was written in 17oO. and in
our own day a summary of his life, sur.
plemented with forty-five unpublshel
letters, has bean given to the world b,
DR.. Martinat. In England there have
been few notices Of him in the works Of
Hsllssn, Roscoe. Dennistoun and Jon,
Addington Symonds. . memoir in tho
translation Of the .Corteeiano,' pub.
lished in 1777; two short Biographical
studies by Prof. Raleigh and MIR. Opdyk.
and sketch by Miss Scott,
The author Of these volumes inairs
that Count Baldaszare Castiglione was
himself an exceedingly interesting and
attrs ctive figure. His contemporaries with
one accord acclaimed him as living
example Of his ideal oourtier, the per.
feet knight Of his own dreams. Il am not
surpt isod.' wrote Vittoria Colonna, when
the Count sent her his manuscript,
.that you have described perfect cour.
tier. since you had only TO hold up mir.
ror before yourself and consider your
external and internal qualities Cas-.
tislione. indeed. modestly discaimed
any pretenoe at self-portraiture but in
his case there certainly seems TO have
been o correspondence between what
the man admired and what he was. 1
will not deny he writes. -that have
striven TO attain those qualities which
desired to zee in my oourtier.' As Slrs
Ady puts IT, Just as Aristotle defined
tho virtuous act as that which the good and
the great man does, 90 Castiglione main.
tanned that the perfect gentleman must
frame his own canons Of moial taste, and
that his instinct must in the final resort
determine what right conduct is
The author has no difficulty in show
ing that in his own person Castiglione
Afforded brilliant example Of the union
Of chivalry and scholarship, union
which hourished on Italian soil during
the Renaissance. She comedies that
many other instances might be named
Luigi da Porto. the brave yicentins
who wrote the story Of Romeo and Juliet
Niccolo da Coreggio. the condottiere and
Gaspare Visoonti, the Milanese
cavalier. To her mind. however. OF oil
the gallant company Castiglione was
the brightest and the best. She goes 50
far as TO aver that -in his threefold capa-
city OF soldier. statesman and scholar he
foremost place among the most
figures OF the sixteenth cen.
tury.- He certainly was employed by
popes and monarchs on some important
and enjoyed the favor ofLeo
K. and Clement VII, of Francis I. and
Charles Y. 1t must also be acknowledged
that sin an age when cleverness was
abundant but character was lacking
he not only believed In virtue but prao-
tised it. In circles where crime and
we're oondoned and to deceive
others was held to be the first duty Of q
diplomat he spoke the truth boldly and
absolutely loyal to his masters
He moved unsoiled through dark scenes
Of intrigue and bloodshed, and he gained
the confidence and respect Of those who
we're most unlike him. It is true that hi7
career was a checkered one, overshad.
owed by heavy losses and sorroWs in
private life and by failures and disar
in his public capacity. To
the end, however, he was widely honored
and greatly beloved and left stainless
n ma IN his children