The Indianapolis times., 1928-04-23

WE AXE olnihg at Lorenzo S
w table, Ii the palace Of the
Afedici. 1t is an immense room,
ornate from ceiling to floor; you had
not expected such wealth and lux
ury from the harsh fortress-like eX-
terror; but that exterior was made
for enemies, while this room was
made for friends.
Here wealth is anxious to gradu-
ate from means to ends, from money
to beauty, from power to grace, and
from force to courtesy; on every
wall great paintings, in every corner
statuary and every inch Of the cell
ing adorned with luxuriant forms
and rich designs; on the floor color
full mOsaics and soft rugs; every
chair a work of art, ennobling the
sitter, and every table laced with
gold or inlaid with precious stones.
Here taste has passed from timid
puberty to an audacious adolescence,
infancy is over, but maturity has
not come.
We are out of place at this table,
because we are not giants. What
men these FlorentineS are-each
body here seems powerful and mus
cular, every head gaunt or enor-
nous, every face alive with energy;
energy is the synonym of Italy. And
yet these men are not Italians only;
obviously there is German stock in
them, and the great invasions Of the
last thousand years have vitalized
the desiccated blood Of the parChed
peninsula.
But their clothing is not German;
there is nothing Of Luther's stern
ness, or Erasmus simplicity, about
these bright garments; their volup-
tuouS texture and enticing color,
their lace and silk and gold reveal
the Orient, and tell of the trade that
Florence has developed with the
East
1T is a common thing" says a
contemporary EngliShman envious
of these Italians, Ito put a thousand
goats and a hundred oxen on a coat
and to carry whole manor on ones
back"
TINE women are not more bright
l. ly clothed than the men; the
French Revolution has not come
yet to put an end to variety and
color in male dress. But the women
are radiant with italian fire and
verve; brilliant of eye and speech,
dominating with submission; grac-
ing themselves with literature and
philosophy, creating the new art Of
conversation and practicing only
such reserve as makes them perfect
in the art of love.
They are free now as never since
the days of Imperial Rome; chiv-
airy disappears because women no
longer tolerate condescension; :;
women stand on a perfect footing
of equality with men" in these high
er strata of Florentine society; in
Anne and Margaret of France, in
Margaret of Savoy, in Vittoria Co
lonna and Lucrezia Borgia, in Cath
crime de Medici and Mary Queen Of
Scots and Elizabeth Queen of Eng
land, women emerges into history
and the feminist movement begins;
henceforth civilization will be BIZ
sexual.
But who are these others at the
table-scolars, poets, artists? Are
they, too, right?-and if not, what
brings them to this palatial scene?
In truth they are the brightest Or
naments of the feast; Lorenzo could
not bear to be without them; he is
ashamed of having wealth without
art and has gathered about him the
men who are reviving ancient let
terS and creating modern sculpture
and painting.
Here, morose and silent, like some
young Ignatius brooding on human
wrongs and sufferings, is Michel
angelo Buonarotti, who is carving
for Lorenz a laughing faun; and
here is a lad more worthy of angelic
name, as beautiful as a woman, as
modest and tender as a girl; Loren
20 has just recommended him
Leonardo da Vinci-to the Duke of
Milan, not so much as an artist, but
as a charming player of the lutte.
But more numerous than the art
lists here are the scholars. For these
merchants have travelled East and
learned to envy its classic lore; they
have brought back with them manu-
scripts and teachers of Greek lit
erature; and all Florence is agog
with them.
The first to come were Chrysoloras
] and Chalcondylas; others followed
when the triumphant Turks made