Evening star., 1928-05-13

Tended, he tried to restrain himself, but
he came near to choking, and to save
himself from suffocation he rushed with
brandished dagger upon his enemy.
Next to murder, he loved love. He
speaks with charming innocence OF his
fornications, tells without shame of
being incapacitated for time by vene-
real disease. Wfthal, he Is pious. or,
rather superstitious; he always says
when the knife has found Its mark he
thanks God for His cooperation. Not
content with divine assistance he seeks
also that of the devil; In the Colosseum.
at night, he recites necromantic for
mulae and believes that he sees many
demons He is q child Of his century.
Suddenly, despite his friendship with
| God and Satan, he found himself In
prison, in that same CASTILLO SAINT An
gelo which he had defended so well
| for Clement VII; and 1t was Clements
successor, exasperated by repeated
crimes, who had put him there. Fran
els / of France offered a persuasive
sum to Paul II to set him free on con-
| dition that the artist would come and
| work for him In Paris: but this sug-
gestion that barbaric foreigners might
/ win Cellini from him angered the Pope
and had no result. "a gentleman from
Milan argued against even sending
samples of Cellini's artistry to France :
| Most blessed father" he said, please
to reflect that the French are a people
of no culture. and will not understand
the excellence Of Benvenutos work.
Escapes From Castle.
| One of the most brilliant episodes of
the autobiography is the story OF Ben'S
escape from the castle; here the pas
sion that makes great art Is transformed
into limitless audacity and bravery
The escape completed after hundred
| tribulations and achievements. simplici-
| ty' cost him his freedom; the Pope lured
him back by treachery. and sent him
off to be hanged. But Ben was so loved
by the people of Rome that those who
had been commissioned to choke him
refused to go through with 1t. and sent
pretty duchess to plead with the Pope
for Cellini's life. Meanwhile abode
In extreme discomfort, and my heart
kept humping against my ribs" The
Pope condescended to commute the
punishment TO imprisonment in one of
the deepest dungeons OF SAINT Angelo.
But Cardinal Ferrara, acting for
Francis. bought him back to freedom.
and gave him money enough to pay his
way to France.
|
enough by the King who paid him the
same salary which he paid Leonardo 90
years before; and when Cellini saw that
he was dealing with gentleman he
set to work with all his skill Tired
Of petty hostility at the court, Cellini
asked permission to return TO italy for
time. The King agreed, or condition
that he would come back within year
Benvenuto promised, went, and never
saw France again.
| For many years now he worked for
the Medici dukes in Florence. There he
made his most famous work, the Per-
seus, which stili stands in its place in
the loggia Of the Palazzo Vecchio. nav-
ing defied the elements for nearly 400
years.
Romance Dies With Him.
So he continued to labor and love,
defending himself. between master
pieces. against recurrent charges OF
abnormal immortality. There is no doubt
that he honored the commandments
Nevertheless he lived to a ripe age
Writing his famous book at 81, he spoke
of himself as healthier then than at any
time before. He died at the age of II,
loved by all Florence despite and be-
cause of his sins, and was buried with
great pomp in the Church of the An
nunziata. He had escaped a hundred
swords to die In his bed at threescore
| years and 10. Some have lived longer;
In that same age Luigi Cornaro of
Venice stretched his years to 90 by tax
| ing IL ounces of food land IA ounces
Of wine) every day. and Titan achieved
a similar longevity without theories
| But It would be hard, In all the realms
OF history, to find many men that had
died more deaths and lived more lives,
than Benvenuto Cellini When ne died
the romance of the Renaissance dieo
with him.
j lConyright 1881