to discover another continent,
and begin a third era in the history of mankind.

THE TOMB OF PAUL III. Historians and artists alike agree in placing
the monument of Paul III. at the head of this class of artistic
creations. In a niche on the left of the high altar of S. Peter's the
figure of the noble old pontiff is seated on a bronze throne. With his
head bent upon his breast, he seems absorbed in thought. Great events,
to be sure, had taken place during his administration, which were more
or less connected with the affairs of his own family: such as the
foundation of the duchy of Parma in favor of his son, Pierluigi, the
marriage of his grandson Ottavio to Marguerite, daughter of Charles
V., and the creation of the order of the Jesuits; and as some of these
events had resulted differently from what he had expected, no wonder
his countenance betrays a feeling of disappointment. Two female
figures of marble are seen reclining against the sarcophagus: one old,
representing Prudence, the other young, representing Justice; the one
holds a mirror, the other a bundle of rods. It seems that Guglielmo
della Porta modelled them according to a sketch proposed by
Michelangelo; in fact, they bear a strong resemblance to the figures
of Night and Day on the tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici, at Florence. The
Prudence is said to be a portrait of Giovannella Caetani da Sermoneta,
the mother of the Pope, while Justice represents his sister-in-law,
Giulia Farnese, according to Martinelli, or his daughter Constance,
the wife of Bosio Sforza, according to Rotti. The elder woman's
profile is exactly that of Dante,--so much so that Maes speaks of her
as the "Dantessa di S. Pietro." Her younger companion is, or rather
was, of marvellous beauty, before Bernini draped her form with a
leaden tunic. During my lifetime, this has been removed once, for the
benefit of a Frenchman who was collecting materials for the life of
della Porta; but I have not been able to obtain a copy of the
photograph taken at the time. Formerly the statue was miscalled Truth,
which gave rise to the saying that, although Truth as a rule is not
pleasing, this pleased too much. The strange infatuation of a Spanish
gentleman for her is described by Sprenger, Caylus, and
Cancellieri.[119]

The original design of the monument required four statues, because it
was intended to stand alone in the middle of the church, and not half
concealed in a niche. The other two statues were ac