Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-19
THE LIBRARY TABLE


traits Of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, mother
OF Lorenzo de- Medici; one of the best
Is by Botticelli, another Is by Verroc-
chic. They show a beautiful. strong
face. with straight finely modelled nose.
small rounded chin, large, dark, intelli-
gent eyes and high, arched eyebrows.
one portrait Of LucreZia Is reproduced
IN Lorenzo the Magnificent" by David
10th, but without the courtesy to the
long-dead artist or to the reader Of the
book Of an inscription mentioning the
artists name. Instead there is placed
under the picture quotation regarding
Lucrezia from her father in-law, Cosimo
de- Medici, She is the best men among
US" Married to Piero de- Medici, son
OF Cosimo, LucreZia Tornabuoni was,
Mr.. 10th tells us in his book, "a great
acquisition for she was a beautiful, in
telligent girl with large number of
| able brothers who could be used to good
advantage" Those were days when
family connections which brought fight
ing allies counted for much. But Lu-
crezia had her own value, though her
mother-in-law. Contessina, did not es-
TEEN her quite as highly as did old
| Cos1n1o. She was not the exclusively
housekeeping young woman that Con-
| teSsira approved. She was interested
In things unnatural for a woman
books, pictures, sculpture, music and
discourses on philosophy and litera-
ture-and she did not bring up her
children as Contessina had brought up
hers. Nevertheless, she was not very
radical, for she trained them in the OBJ
/ servances of their religion. Every
morning when the family was In Flor
ence. Lucrezia took her four children
there were two girls, Blanca and Nam
nina, besides the boys-to pray at the
chapel OF the Confraternity of st. Paul.
They were always attended by swarms
OF the beggars that infested Florence,
Tor Lucrezia had taught her children
never to refuse aims" Her children's
education was also her great concern.
/ She was never very we'll and spent
much time in the country "Careggi
and the half villa, half fortress, which
M1cheloZzi had built for Cosimo at
Cafaggiuolo were her favorite resorts
when her own weakness or a recur-
renee OF the plague, an epidemic which
| hovered over Italy almost constantly
drove her from the CITY, Most of the
horde of teachers went with her" and
when Lorenzo was IL, he had read
much Of Ovid.
When the time came for Lorenzo to
marry, 1t was Lucrezis who went tc
important Orsini family, after first
carefully inspecting the daughter
Clarice. Lorenzo remained in Florence
absorbed in preparations for a tourna-
ment, in which he was crowned with a
chaplet of violets by his mistress
Lucrezia Donati Meanwhile his mother
was writing from Rome about the pro-
spective bride: She is of good height
and has nice complexion, her man
ners are gentle though not so winning
as those of our girls, but she Is very
modest and would soon learn our Gus
toms. Her throat is fairly ele-
CANT, but it seems to me little meagre
:. She does not carry her heac
proudly like our girls, but poked it q
little forward; I think she was shy
indeed see no fault In her save shy
ness. Her hands are long and delicate
In short, think the girl is much above
the common" To this measured praise
Lucrezia added that, of course, Clarice
was inferior to her own daughters, but
concluded, Let us leave the issue Il
God" The marriage of Lorenzo ane
Clarice took place in due season ane
was not remarkably happy. The Mag.
niflcent habitually spent as much timt
away from her as possible.
When Lucrezia Tornabuoni died, "hel
| COIIlDdulOHAOU
member of his family. Alone of the
Medici, man or woman, Lucrezia hac
been competent to share his troubles
and his joys. Whenever her health anc
the plague permitted her to be in Flor.
ence she had taken her part In the
talk of the wits and scholars who sur.
rounded Lorenzo. They never admitted
their patrons wife to the bright discus.
sions, nor did she care to Join them
| ell $hss tas a .t-.~
of his mother She criticized anS
approved his poetry, wrote poetry her.
self, advised him about political affairs
received all his condolences, and tool
an active, If more or less secret, part II
the government of Florence. She wa.
her sons best friend. "All through
her last illness he neglected his friends
his business. his family and his politica
duties to sit at her bedside. He reaG
to her from new books which had JUS
arrived from his agents, he retailet
the latest bons mots :, he talked O
public affairs" and when she died HI
refused to be comforted and shut him.
self up alone, writing an account o.
her virtues.
A critical but by no means pessimis.
tic view of England's present and fu.
ture Is that of a scholar of the nation
which was recently England's wal
enemy-Germany. Wilhelm Dibelius
professor Of English in the University
of Berlin, has written a book, which
Is remarkably free from bitterness anc
shows thorough research, in England
Its Character and Genius" The bool
Is translated by Mary Agnes Hamilton
| M. p, and has an introduction BY
A. D. Lindsay, master of Balliol Col.
lege, oxford. Prof. Dibelius discusse,
the results of the World War to Great
Britain and then turns to the question
which Is of supreme importance Il
England herself and of great impor-
lance to the rest of the world-tht
future of Great Britain as a worlc
power. He differs from many histo-
rians and economists in believing or
what he considers good evidence, that
though England is going through q
difficult period and Is menaced BY
dangers within and without, her end Il
not yet nor will be for years to come
He says: Has England become power.
less? Is 1t moving toward dissolu.
ton? The answer to this question car
only be a decisive No. The pessimistit
criticism Of civilization. universal al
the moment in England, does not Rc
| very deep even there. Essentially, Il
Is confined to London and to the
younger circles at the universities. Il
| represents the utteranceS of men oil
letters and of learning, of theologian,
and of many politicians-in other words
of thinking England. But England'S
greatness does not rest with its think.
ing minority, but with the great mass
of men of instructive action and power
full will
| y X X
Clemenceau's book Grandeur anc
Misery of Victory" has been called by
some reviewers a hymn of hate. There
is not much of the mellowness anc
sweetness of old age, of which the
poets sing, in this volume of memoirs
At 81, the Tiger" apparently felt aS
| keoplv and hated aS vipor0ilSlv &C IN