rthy of a man who aspires to be a gentleman and
not an athlete. Another indispensable quality is gracefulness in all he
does and says. In order to secure this elegance, he must beware of every
form of affectation: 'Let him shun affectation, as though it were a most
perilous rock; and let him seek in everything a certain carelessness, to
hide his art, and show that what he says or does comes from him without
effort or deliberation.' This vice of affectation in all its kinds, and
the ways of avoiding it, are discussed with a delicacy of insight which
would do credit to a Chesterfield of the present century, sending forth
his son into society for the first time. Castiglione goes so far as to
condemn the pedantry of far-fetched words and the coxcombry of elaborate
costumes, as dangerous forms of affectation. His courtier must speak and
write with force and freedom. He need not be a purist in his use of
language, but may use such foreign phrases and modern idioms as are
current in good society, aiming only at simplicity and clearness. He
must add to excellence in arms polite culture in letters and sound
scholarship, avoiding that barbarism of the French, who think it
impossible to be a good soldier and an accomplished student at the same
time. Yet his learning should be always held in reserve, to give
brilliancy and flavor to his wit, and not brought forth for merely
erudite parade. He must have a practical acquaintance with music and
dancing; it would be well for him to sing and touch various stringed and
keyed instruments, so as to relax his own spirits and to make himself
agreeable to ladies. If he can compose verses and sing them to his own
accompaniment, so much the better. Finally, he ought to understand the
arts of painting and sculpture; for criticism, even though a man be
neither poet nor artist, is an elegant accomplishment. Such are the
principal qualities of the Cortegiano.

[1] Italy, earlier than any other European nation, developed
theoretical democracy. Dante had defined true nobility to consist of
personal excellence in a man or in his ancestors; he also called
'nobilta' sister of 'filosofia.' Poggio in his 'Dialogue De
Nobilitate,' into which he introduces Niccolo Niccoli and Lorenzo
de' Medici (Cosimo's brother), decides that only merit constitutes
true nobility. Hawking and hunting are far less noble occupations
than agriculture; descent from a long line of historic criminal