XXVII
IT happened that just at this period an action was brought against me in
Paris by the second lodger I had ousted from my castle, who pretended
that on that occasion I had stolen a large quantity of his effects. This
lawsuit tormented me beyond measure, and took up so much of my time that
I often thought of decamping in despair from the country. Now the French
are in the habit of making much capital out of any action they commence
against a foreigner, or against such persons as they notice to be
indolent in litigation. No sooner do they observe that they are getting
some advantage in the suit, than they find the means to sell it; some
have even been known to give a lawsuit in dowry with their daughters to
men who make a business out of such transactions. They have another ugly
custom, which is that the Normans, nearly all of them, traffic in false
evidence; so that the men who buy up lawsuits, engage at once the
services of four or six of these false witnesses, according to their
need; their adversary, if he neglect to produce as many on the other
side, being perhaps unacquainted with the custom, is certain to have the
verdict given against him.
All this happened in my case, and thinking it a most disgraceful breach
of justice, I made my appearance in the great hall of Paris, to defend
my right. There I saw a judge, lieutenant for the King in civil causes,
enthroned upon a high tribunal. He was tall, stout, and fat, and of an
extremely severe countenance. All round him on each side stood a crowd
of solicitors and advocates, ranged upon the right hand and the left.
Others were coming, one by one, to explain their several causes to the
judge. From time to time, too, I noticed that the attorneys at the side
of the tribunal talked all at once: and much admiration was roused in me
by that extraordinary man, the very image of Pluto, who listened with
marked attention first to one and then to the other, answering each with
learning and sagacity. I have always delighted in watching and
experiencing every kind of skill; so I would not have lost this
spectacle for much. It happened that the hall being very large, and
filled with a multitude of folk, they were strict in excluding every one
who had no business there, and kept the door shut with a guard to hold
it. Sometimes the guardian, in his effort to prevent the entrance of
some improper person, interrupted the judge by the great noise he made,
and the judge in anger turned to chide him. This happened frequently, so
that my attention was directed to the fact. On one occasion, when two
gentlemen were pushing their way in as spectators, and the porter was
opposing them with violence, the judge raised his voice, and spoke the
following words precisely as I heard them: “Keep peace, Satan, begone,
and hold your tongue.” These words in the French tongue sound as
follows: 'Phe phe, Satan, Phe, Phe, ale, phe!' [1] Now I had learned the
French tongue well; and on hearing this sentence, the meaning of that
phrase used by Dante came into my memory, when he and his master Virgil
entered the doors of Hell. Dante and the painter Giotto were together in
France, and particularly in the city of Paris, where, owing to the
circumstances I have just described, the hall of justice may be truly
called a hell. Dante then, who also understood French well, made use of
the phrase in question, and it has struck me as singular that this
interpretation has never yet been put upon the passage; indeed, it
confirms my opinion that the commentators make him say things which
never came into his head.
Note 1. 'Paix, paix, Satan, allez, paix.' The line in Dante to which
Cellini alludes is the first of the seventh canto of the 'Inferno.' His
suggestion is both curious and ingenious; but we have no reason to think
that French judges used the same imprecations, when interrupted, in the
thirteenth as they did in the sixteenth century, or that what Cellini
heard on this occasion was more than an accidental similarity of sounds,
striking his quick ear and awakening his lively memory.
XXVIII
WELL, then, to return to my affairs. When certain decisions of the court
were sent me by those lawyers, and I perceived that my cause had been
unjustly lost, I had recourse for my defence to a great dagger which I
carried; for I have always taken pleasure in keeping fine weapons. The
first man I attacked was the plaintiff who had sued me; and one evening
I wounded him in the legs and arms so severely, taking care, however,
not to kill him, that I deprived him of the use of both his legs. Then I
sought out the other fellow who had brought the suit, and used him also
in such wise that he dropped it.
Returning thanks to God for this and every other dispensation, and
hoping to be left awhile without worries, I bade the young men of my
household, especially the Italians, for God’s sake to attend each
diligently to the work I set him, and to help me till such time as I
could finish the things I had in hand. I thought they might soon be
completed, and then I meant to return to Italy, being no longer able to
put up with the rogueries of those Frenchmen; the good King too, if he
once grew angry, might bring me into mischief for many of my acts in
self-defence. I will describe who these Italians were; the first, and
the one I liked best, was Ascanio, from Tagliacozzo in the kingdom of
Naples; the second was Pagolo, a Roman of such humble origin that he did
now know his own father. These were the two men who had been with me in
Rome, and whom I had taken with me on the journey. Another Roman had
also come on purpose to enter my service; he too bore the name of
Pagolo, and was the son of a poor nobleman of the family of the
Macaroni; he had small acquirements in our art, but was an excellent and
courageous swordsman. I had another from Ferrara called Bartolommeo
Chioccia. There was also another from Florence named Pagolo Micceri; his
brother, nicknamed “Il Gatta,” was a clever clerk, but had spent too
much money in managing the property of Tommaso Guadagni, a very wealthy
merchant. This Gatta put in order for me the books in which I wrote the
accounts of his most Christian Majesty and my other employers. Now
Pagolo Micceri, having learned how to keep them from his brother, went
on doing this work for me in return for a liberal salary. He appeared,
so far as I could judge, to be a very honest lad, for I noticed him to
be devout, and when I heard him sometimes muttering psalms, and
sometimes telling his beads, I reckoned much upon his feigned virtue.
Accordingly I called the fellow apart and said to him, “Pagolo, my
dearest brother, you know what a good place you have with me, and how
you had formerly nothing to depend on; besides, you are a Florentine. I
have also the greater confidence in you because I observe that you are
pious and religious, which is a thing that pleases me. I beg you
therefore to assist me, for I cannot put the same trust in any of your
companions: so then I shall ask you to keep watch over two matters of
the highest importance, which might prove a source of much annoyance to
me. In the first place, I want you to guard my property from being
stolen, and not touch it yourself. In the next place, you know that poor
young girl, Caterina; I keep her principally for my art’s sake, since I
cannot do without a model; but being a man also, I have used her for my
pleasures, and it is possible that she may bear me a child. Now I do not
want to maintain another man’s bastards, nor will I sit down under such
an insult. If any one in this house had the audacity to attempt anything
of the sort, and I were to become aware of it, I verily believe that I
should kill both her and him. Accordingly, dear brother, I entreat you
to be my helper; should you notice anything, tell it me at once; for I
am sure to send her and her mother and her fellow to the gallows. Be you
the first upon your watch against falling into this snare.” The rascal
made a sign of the cross from his head to his feet and cried out: “O
blessed Jesus! God preserve me from ever thinking of such a thing! In
the first place, I am not given to those evil ways; in the next place,
do you imagine I am ignorant of your great benefits toward me?” When I
heard these words, which he uttered with all appearance of simplicity
and affection for me, I believed that matters stood precisely as he
asserted.
XXIX
TWO days after this conversation, M. Mattio del Nazaro took the occasion
of some feast-day to invite me and my workpeople to an entertainment in
a garden. [1] He was an Italian in the King’s service, and practised the
same art as we did with remarkable ability. I got myself in readiness,
and told Pagolo that he might go abroad too and amuse himself with us;
the annoyances arising from that lawsuit being, as I judged, now settled
down. The young man replied in these words: “Upon my word, it would be a
great mistake to leave the house so unprotected. Only look how much of
gold, silver, and jewels you have here. Living as we do in a city of
thieves, we ought to be upon our guard by day and night. I will spend
the time in religious exercises, while I keep watch over the premises.
Go then with mind at rest to take your pleasure and divert your spirits.
Some other day another man will take my place as guardian here.”
Thinking that I could go of with a quiet mind, I took Pagolo, Ascanio,
and Chioccia to the garden, where we spent a large portion of the day
agreeably. Toward the middle of the afternoon, however, when it began to
draw toward sundown, a suspicion came into my head, and I recollected
the words which that traitor had spoken with his feigned simplicity. So
I mounted my horse, and with two servants to attend me, returned to the
castle, where I all but caught Pagolo and that little wretch Caterina
'in flagrante.' No sooner had I reached the place, than that French
bawd, her mother, screamed out: “Pagolo! Caterina! here is the master!”
When I saw the pair advancing, overcome with fright, their clothes in
disorder, not knowing what they said, nor, like people in a trance,
where they were going, it was only too easy to guess what they had been
about. The sight drowned reason in rage, and I drew my sword, resolved
to kill them both. The man took to his heels; the girl flung herself
upon her knees, and shrieked to Heaven for mercy. In my first fury I
wanted to strike at the male; but before I had the time to catch him up,
second thoughts arose which made me think it would be best for me to
drive them both away together. I had so many acts of violence upon my
hands, that if I killed him I could hardly hope to save my life. I said
then to Pagolo: “Had I seen with my own eyes, scoundrel, what your
behaviour and appearance force me to believe, I should have run you with
this sword here ten times through the guts. Get out of my sight; and if
you say a Paternoster, let it be San Giuliano’s.” [2] Then I drove the
whole lot forth, mother and daughter, lamming into them with fist and
foot. They made their minds up to have the law of me, and consulted a
Norman advocate, who advised them to declare that I had used the girl
after the Italian fashion; what this meant I need hardly explain. [3]
The man argued: “At the very least, when this Italian hears what you are
after, he will pay down several hundred ducats, knowing how great the
danger is, and how heavily that offence is punished in France.” Upon
this they were agreed. The accusation was brought against me, and I
received a summons from the court.
Note 1. Matteo del Nassaro, a native of Verona, was employed in France
as engraver, die-caster, and musician.
Note 2. See Boccaccio, 'Decam.,' Gior. ii. Nov. ii.
Note 3. 'Qual modo s’intendeva contro natura, cioe in soddomia.'
XXX
THE MORE I sought for rest, the more I was annoyed with all sorts of
embarrassments. Being thus daily exposed to divers persecutions, I
pondered which of two courses I ought to take; whether to decamp and
leave France to the devil, or else to fight this battle through as I had
done the rest, and see to what end God had made me. For a long while I
kept anxiously revolving the matter. At last I resolved to make off,
dreading to tempt my evil fortune, lest this should bring me to the
gallows. My dispositions were all fixed; I had made arrangements for
putting away the property I could not carry, and for charging the
lighter articles, to the best of my ability, upon myself and servants;
yet it was with great and heavy reluctance that I looked forward to such
a departure.
I had shut myself up alone in a little study. My young men were advising
me to fly; but I told them that it would be well for me to meditate this
step in solitude, although I very much inclined to their opinion.
Indeed, I reasoned that if I could escape imprisonment and let the storm
pass over, I should be able to explain matters to the King by letter,
setting forth the trap which had been laid to ruin me by the malice of
my enemies. And as I have said above, my mind was made up to this point;
when, just as I rose to act on the decision, some power took me by the
shoulder and turned me round, and I heard a voice which cried with
vehemence: “Benvenuto, do as thou art wont, and fear not!” Then, on the
instant, I changed the whole course of my plans, and said to my
Italians: “Take your good arms and come with me; obey me to the letter;
have no other thought, for I am now determined to put in my appearance.
If I were to leave Paris, you would vanish the next day in smoke; so do
as I command, and follow me.” They all began together with one heart and
voice to say: “Since we are here, and draw our livelihood from him, it
is our duty to go with him and bear him out so long as we have life to
execute what he proposes. He has hit the mark better than we did in this
matter; for on the instant when he leaves the place, his enemies will
send us to the devil. Let us keep well in mind what great works we have
begun here, and what vast importance they possess; we should not know
how to finish them without him, and his enemies would say that he had
taken flight because he shrank before such undertakings.” Many other
things bearing weightily upon the subject were said among them. But it
was the young Roman, Macaroni, who first put heart into the company; and
he also raised recruits from the Germans and the Frenchmen, who felt
well disposed toward me.
We were ten men, all counted. I set out, firmly resolved not to let
myself be taken and imprisoned alive. When we appeared before the judges
for criminal affairs, I found Caterina and her mother waiting; and on
the moment of my arrival, the two women were laughing with their
advocate. I pushed my way in, and called boldly for the judge, who was
seated, blown out big and fat, upon a tribunal high above the rest. On
catching sight of me, he threatened with his head, and spoke in a
subdued voice: “Although your name is Benvenuto, this time you are an
ill-comer.” I understood his speech, and called out the second time:
“Despatch my business quickly. Tell me what I have come to do here.”
Then the judge turned to Caterina, and said: “Caterina, relate all that
happened between you and Benvenuto.” She answered that I had used her
after the Italian fashion. The judge turned to me and said: “You hear
what Caterina deposes, Benvenuto.” I replied: “If I have consorted with
her after the Italian fashion, I have only done the same as you folk of
other nations do.” He demurred: “She means that you improperly abused
her.” I retorted that, so far from being the Italian fashion, it must be
some French habit, seeing she knew all about it, while I was ignorant;
and I commanded her to explain precisely how I had consorted with her.
Then the impudent baggage entered into plain and circumstantial details
regarding all the filth she lyingly accused me of. I made her repeat her
deposition three times in succession. When she had finished, I cried out
with a loud voice: “Lord judge, lieutenant of the Most Christian King, I
call on you for justice. Well I know that by the laws of his Most
Christian Majesty both agent and patient in this kind of crime are
punished with the stake. The woman confesses her guilt; I admit nothing
whatsoever of the sort with regard to her; her go-between of a mother is
here, who deserves to be burned for either one or the other offence.
Therefore I appeal to you for justice.” These words I repeated over and
over again at the top of my voice, continually calling out: “To the
stake with her and her mother!” I also threatened the judge that, if he
did not send her to prison there before me, I would go to the King at
once, and tell him how his lieutenant in criminal affairs of justice had
wronged me. When they heard what a tumult I was making, my adversaries
lowered their voices, but I lifted mine the more. The little hussy and
her mother fell to weeping, while I shouted to the judge: “Fire, fire!
to the stake with them!” The coward on the bench, finding that the
matter was not going as he intended, began to use soft words and excuse
the weakness of the female sex. Thereupon I felt that I had won the
victory in a nasty encounter; and, muttering threats between my teeth, I
took myself off, not without great inward satisfaction. Indeed, I would
gladly have paid five hundred crowns down to have avoided that
appearance in court. However, after escaping from the tempest, I thanked
God with all my heart, and returned in gladness with my young men to the
castle.
XXXI
WHEN adverse fortune, or, if we prefer to call it, our malignant planet,
undertakes to persecute a man, it never lacks new ways of injuring him.
So now, when I thought I had emerged from this tempestuous sea of
troubles, and hoped my evil star would leave me quiet for a moment, it
began to set two schemes in motion against me before I had recovered my
breath from that great struggle. Within three days two things happened,
each of which brought my life into extreme hazard. One of these occurred
in this way: I went to Fontainebleau to consult with the King; for he
had written me a letter saying he wanted me to stamp the coins of his
whole realm, and enclosing some little drawings to explain his wishes in
the matter; at the same time he left me free to execute them as I liked;
upon which I made new designs according to my own conception, and
according to the ideal of art. When I reached Fontainebleau, one of the
treasurers commissioned by the King to defray my expenses (he was called
Monsignor della Fa 1) addressed me in these words: “Benvenuto, the
painter Bologna has obtained commission from the King to execute your
great Colossus, and all the orders previously given as on your behalf
have been transferred to him. [2] We are all indignant; and it seems to
us that that countryman of yours has acted towards you in a most
unwarrantable manner. The work was assigned you on the strength of your
models and studies. He is robbing you of it, only through the favour of
Madame d’Etampes; and though several months have passed since he
received the order, he has not yet made any sign of commencing it.” I
answered in surprise: “How is it possible that I should have heard
nothing at all about this?” He then informed me that the man had kept it
very dark, and had obtained the King’s commission with great difficulty,
since his Majesty at first would not concede it; only the importunity of
Madame d’Etampes secured this favour for him.
When I felt how greatly and how wrongfully I had been betrayed, and saw
a work which I had gained with my great toil thus stolen from me, I made
my mind up for a serious stroke of business, and marched off with my
good sword at my side to find Bologna. [3] He was in his room, engaged
in studies; after telling the servant to introduce me, he greeted me
with some of his Lombard compliments, and asked what good business had
brought me hither. I replied: “A most excellent business, and one of
great importance.” He then sent for wine, and said: “Before we begin to
talk, we must drink together, for such is the French custom.” I
answered: “Messer Francesco, you must know that the conversation we have
to engage in does not call for drinking at the commencement; after it is
over, perhaps we shall be glad to take a glass.” Then I opened the
matter in this way: “All men who wish to pass for persons of worth allow
it to be seen that they are so by their actions; if they do the
contrary, they lose the name of honest men. I am aware that you knew the
King had commissioned me with that great Colossus; it had been talked of
these eighteen months past; yet neither you nor anybody else came
forward to speak a word about it. By my great labours I made myself
known to his Majesty, who approved of my models and gave the work into
my hands. During many months I have heard nothing to the contrary; only
this morning I was informed that you have got hold of it, and have
filched it from me. I earned it by the talents I displayed, and you are
robbing me of it merely by your idle talking.”
Note 1. His name in full was Jacques de la Fa. He and his son Pierre
after him held the office of 'tresorier de l’epargne.' See Plon, p. 63.
Note 2. By Colossus, Cellini means the fountain with the great statue of
Mars.
Note 3. 'I. e.,' Primaticcio.
XXXII
TO this speech Bologna answered: “O Benvenuto! all men try to push their
affairs in every way they can. If this is the King’s will, what have you
to say against it? You would only throw away your time, because I have
it now, and it is mine. Now tell me what you choose, and I will listen
to you.” I replied: “I should like you to know, Messer Francesco, that I
could say much which would prove irrefragably, and make you admit, that
such ways of acting as you have described and used are not in vogue
among rational animals. I will, however, come quickly to the point at
issue; give close attention to my meaning, because the affair is
serious.” He made as though he would rise form the chair on which he was
sitting, since he saw my colour heightened and my features greatly
discomposed. I told him that the time had not yet come for moving; he
had better sit and listen to me. Then I recommenced: “Messer Francesco,
you know that I first received the work, and that the time has long gone
by during which my right could be reasonably disputed by any one. Now I
tell you that I shall be satisfied if you will make a model, while I
make another in addition to the one I have already shown. Then we will
take them without any clamour to our great King; and whosoever in this
way shall have gained the credit of the best design will justly have
deserved the commission. If it falls to you, I will dismiss from my mind
the memory of the great injury you have done me, and will bless your
hands, as being worthier than mine of so glorious a performance. Let us
abide by this agreement, and we shall be friends; otherwise we must be
enemies; and God, who always helps the right, and I, who know how to
assert it, will show you to what extent you have done wrong.” Messer
Francesco answered: “The work is mine, and since it has been given me, I
do not choose to put what is my own to hazard.” To this I retorted:
“Messer Francesco, if you will not take the right course which is just
and reasonable, I will show you another which shall be like your own,
that is to say, ugly and disagreeable. I tell you plainly that if I ever
hear that you have spoken one single word about this work of mine, I
will kill you like a dog. We are neither in Rome, nor in Bologna, nor in
Florence; here one lives in quite a different fashion; if then it comes
to my ears that you talk about this to the King or anybody else, I vow
that I will kill you. Reflect upon the way you mean to take, whether
that for good which I formerly described, or this latter bad one I have
just now set before you.”
The man did not know what to say or do, and I was inclined to cut the
matter short upon the spot rather than to postpone action. Bologna found
no other words than these to utter: “If I act like a man of honesty, I
shall stand in no fear.” I replied: “You have spoken well, but if you
act otherwise, you will have to fear, because the affair is serious.”
Upon this I left him, and betook myself to the King. With his Majesty I
disputed some time about the fashion of his coinage, a point upon which
we were not of the same opinion; his council, who were present, kept
persuading him that the monies ought to be struck in the French style,
as they had hitherto always been done. I urged in reply that his Majesty
had sent for me from Italy in order that I might execute good work; if
he now wanted me to do the contrary, I could not bring myself to submit.
So the matter was postponed till another occasion, and I set off again
at once for Paris.
XXXIII
I HAD but just dismounted from my horse, when one of those excellent
people who rejoice in mischief-making came to tell me that Pagolo
Micceri had taken a house for the little hussy Caterina and her mother,
and that he was always going there, and whenever he mentioned me, used
words of scorn to this effect: “Benvenuto set the fox to watch the
grapes, [1] and thought I would not eat them! Now he is satisfied with
going about and talking big, and thinks I am afraid of him. But I have
girt this sword and dagger to my side in order to show him that my steel
can cut as well as his, and that I too am a Florentine, of the Micceri,
a far better family than his Cellini.” The scoundrel who reported this
poisonous gossip spoke it with such good effect that I felt a fever in
the instant swoop upon me; and when I say fever, I mean fever, and no
mere metaphor. The insane passion which took possession of me might have
been my death, had I not resolved to give it vent as the occasion
offered. I ordered the Ferrarese workman, Chioccia, to come with me, and
made a servant follow with my horse. When we reached the house where
that worthless villain was, I found the door ajar, and entered. I
noticed that he carried sword and dagger, and was sitting on a big chest
with his arm round Caterina’s neck; at the moment of my arrival, I could
hear that he and her mother were talking about me. Pushing the door
open, I drew my sword, and set the point of it at his throat, not giving
him the time to think whether he too carried steel. At the same instant
I cried out: “Vile coward! recommend your soul to God, for you are a
dead man.” Without budging from his seat, he called three times:
“Mother, mother, help me!” Though I had come there fully determined to
take his life, half my fury ebbed away when I heard this idiotic
exclamation. I ought to add that I had told Chioccia not to let the girl
or her mother leave the house, since I meant to deal with those trollops
after I had disposed of their bully. So I went on holding my sword at
his throat, and now and then just pricked him with the point, pouring
out a torrent of terrific threats at the same time. But when I found he
did not stir a finger in his own defence, I began to wonder what I
should do next; my menacing attitude could not be kept up for ever; so
at last it came into my head to make them marry, and complete my
vengeance at a later period. Accordingly, I formed my resolution, and
began: “Take that ring, coward, from your finger, and marry her, that I
may get satisfaction from you afterwards according to your deserts.” He
replied at once: “If only you do not kill me, I will do whatever you
command.” “Then,” said I, “put that ring upon her hand.” When the
sword’s point was withdrawn a few inches from his throat, he wedded her
with the ring. But I added: “This is not enough. I shall send for two
notaries, in order that the marriage may be ratified by contract.”
Bidding Chioccia go for the lawyers, I turned to the girl and her
mother, and, using the French language, spoke as follows: “Notaries and
witnesses are coming; the first of you who blabs about this affair will
be killed upon the spot; nay, I will murder you all three. So beware,
and keep a quiet tongue in your heads.” To him I said in Italian: “If
you offer any resistance to what I shall propose, upon the slightest
word you utter I will stab you till your guts run out upon this floor.”
He answered: “Only promise not to kill me, and I will do whatever you
command.” The notaries and witnesses arrived; a contract, valid and in
due form, was drawn up; then my heat and fever left me. I paid the
lawyers and took my departure.
On the following day Bologna came to Paris on purpose, and sent for me
through Mattio del Nasaro. I went to see him; and he met me with a glad
face, entreating me to regard him as a brother, and saying that he would
never speak about that work again, since he recognised quite well that I
was right.
Note 1. 'Aveva dato a guardia la lattuga ai paperi.'
XXXIV
IF I did not confess that in some of these episodes I acted wrongly, the
world might think I was not telling the truth about those in which I say
I acted rightly. Therefore I admit that it was a mistake to inflict so
singular a vengeance upon Pagolo Micceri. In truth, had I believed him
to be so utterly feeble, I should not have conceived the notion of
branding him with such infamy as I am going to relate.
Not satisfied with having made him take a vicious drab to wife, I
completed my revenge by inviting her to sit to me as a model, and
dealing with her thus. I gave her thirty sous a day, paid in advance,
and a good meal, and obliged her to pose before me naked. Then I made
her serve my pleasure, out of spite against her husband, jeering at them
both the while. Furthermore, I kept her for hours together in position,
greatly to her discomfort. This gave her as much annoyance as it gave me
pleasure; for she was beautifully made, and brought me much credit as a
model. At last, noticing that I did not treat her with the same
consideration as before her marriage, she began to grumble and talk big
in her French way about her husband, who was now serving the Prior of
Capua, a brother of Piero Strozzi. [1] On the first occasion when she
did this, the mere mention of the fellow aroused me to intolerable fury;
still I bore it, greatly against the grain, as well as I was able,
reflecting that I could hardly find so suitable a subject for my art as
she was. So I reasoned thus in my own mind: “I am now taking two
different kinds of revenge. In the first place, she is married; and what
I am doing to her husband is something far more serious than what he did
to me, when she was only a girl of loose life. If then I wreak my spite
so fully upon him, while upon her I inflict the discomfort of posing in
such strange attitudes for such a length of time--which, beside the
pleasure I derive, brings me both profit and credit through my art--what
more can I desire?” While I was turning over these calculations, the
wretch redoubled her insulting speeches, always prating big about her
husband, till she goaded me beyond the bounds of reason. Yielding myself
up to blind rage, I seized her by the hair, and dragged her up and down
my room, beating and kicking her till I was tired. There was no one who
could come to her assistance. When I had well pounded her she swore that
she would never visit me again. Then for the first time I perceived that
I had acted very wrongly; for I was losing a grand model, who brought me
honour through my art. Moreover, when I saw her body all torn and
bruised and swollen, I reflected that, even if I persuaded her to
return, I should have to put her under medical treatment for at least a
fortnight before I could make use of her.
Note 1. Leone, son of Filippo Strozzi, Knight of Jerusalem and Prior of
Capua, was, like his brother Piero, a distinguished French general.
XXXV
WELL, to return to Caterina. I sent my old serving-woman, named Ruberta,
who had a most kindly disposition, to help her dress. She brought food
and drink to the miserable baggage; and after rubbing a little bacon fat
into her worst wounds, they ate what was left of the meat together. When
she had finished dressing, she went off blaspheming and cursing all
Italians in the King’s service, and so returned with tears and murmurs
to her home.
Assuredly, upon that first occasion, I felt I had done very wrong, and
Ruberta rebuked me after this fashion: “You are a cruel monster to
maltreat such a handsome girl so brutally.” When I excused my conduct by
narrating all the tricks which she and her mother had played off upon me
under my own roof, Ruberta scoldingly replied that 'that' was
nothing--that was only French manners, and she was sure there was not a
husband in France without his horns. When I heard this argument, I
laughed aloud, and then told Ruberta to go and see how Caterina was,
since I should like to employ her again while finishing the work I had
on hand. The old woman took me sharply up, saying that I had no 'savoir
vivre:' “Only wait till daybreak, and she will come of herself; whereas,
if you send to ask after her or visit her, she will give herself airs
and keep away.”
On the following morning Caterina came to our door, and knocked so
violently, that, being below, I ran to see whether it was a madman or
some member of the household. When I opened, the creature laughed and
fell upon my neck, embracing and kissing me, and asked me if I was still
angry with her. I said, “No!” Then she added: “Let me have something
good to break my fast on.” So I supplied her well with food, and partook
of it at the same table in sign of reconciliation. Afterwards I began to
model from her, during which occurred some amorous diversions; and at
last, just at the same hour as on the previous day, she irritated me to
such a pitch that I gave her the same drubbing. So we went on several
days, repeating the old round like clockwork. There was little or no
variation in the incidents.
Meanwhile, I completed my work in a style which did me the greatest
credit. Next I set about to cast it in bronze. This entailed some
difficulties, to relate which would be interesting from the point of
view of art; but since the whole history would occupy too much space, I
must omit it. Suffice it to say, that the figure came out splendidly,
and was as fine a specimen of foundry as had ever been seen. 1
Note 1. This figure was undoubtedly the Nymph of Fontainebleau.
XXXVI
WHILE this work was going forward, I set aside certain hours of the day
for the salt-cellar, and certain others for the Jupiter. There were more
men engaged upon the former than I had at my disposal for the latter, so
the salt-cellar was by this time completely finished. The King had now
returned to Paris; and when I paid him my respects, I took the piece
with me. As I have already related, it was oval in form, standing about
two-thirds of a cubit, wrought of solid gold, and worked entirely with
the chisel. While speaking of the model, I said before how I had
represented Sea and Earth, seated, with their legs interlaced, as we
observe in the case of firths and promontories; this attitude was
therefore metaphorically appropriate. The Sea carried a trident in his
right hand, and in his left I put a ship of delicate workmanship to hold
the salt. Below him were his four sea-horses, fashioned like our horses
from the head to the front hoofs; all the rest of their body, from the
middle backwards, resembled a fish, and the tails of these creatures
were agreeably inter-woven. Above this group the Sea sat throned in an
attitude of pride and dignity; around him were many kinds of fishes and
other creatures of the ocean. The water was represented with its waves,
and enamelled in the appropriate colour. I had portrayed Earth under the
form of a very handsome woman, holding her horn of plenty, entirely nude
like the male figure; in her left hand I placed a little temple of Ionic
architecture, most delicately wrought, which was meant to contain the
pepper. Beneath her were the handsomest living creatures which the earth
produces; and the rocks were partly enamelled, partly left in gold. The
whole piece reposed upon a base of ebony, properly proportioned, but
with a projecting cornice, upon which I introduced four golden figures
in rather more than half-relief. They represented Night, Day, Twilight,
and Dawn. I put, moreover, into the same frieze four other figures,
similar in size, and intended for the four chief winds; these were
executed, and in part enamelled, with the most exquisite refinement. 1
When I exhibited this piece to his Majesty, he uttered a loud outcry of
astonishment, and could not satiate his eyes with gazing at it. Then he
bade me take it back to my house, saying he would tell me at the proper
time what I should have to do with it. So I carried it home, and sent at
once to invite several of my best friends; we dined gaily together,
placing the salt-cellar in the middle of the table, and thus we were the
first to use it. After this, I went on working at my Jupiter in silver,
and also at the great vase I have already described, which was richly
decorated with a variety of ornaments and figures.
Note 1. This salt-cellar is now at Vienna. It is beautifully represented
by two photogravures in Plon’s great book on Cellini.
XXXVII
AT that time Bologna, the painter, suggested to the King that it would
be well if his Majesty sent him to Rome, with letters of recommendation,
to the end that he might cast the foremost masterpieces of antiquity,
namely, the Laocoon, the Cleopatra, the Venus, the Commodus, the
Zingara, and the Apollo. [1] These, of a truth, are by far the finest
things in Rome. He told the King that when his Majesty had once set eyes
upon those marvellous works, he would then, and not till then, be able
to criticise the arts of design, since everything which he had seen by
us moderns was far removed from the perfection of the ancients. The King
accepted his proposal, and gave him the introductions he required.
Accordingly that beast went off, and took his bad luck with him. Not
having the force and courage to contend with his own hands against me,
he adopted the truly Lombard device of depreciating my performances by
becoming a copyist of antiques. In its own proper place I shall relate
how, though he had these statues excellently cast, he obtained a result
quite contrary to his imagination.
I had now done for ever with that disreputable Caterina, and the
unfortunate young man, her husband, had decamped from Paris. Wanting
then to finish off my Fontainebleau, which was already cast in bronze,
as well as to execute the two Victories which were going to fill the
angles above the lunette of the door, I engaged a poor girl of the age
of about fifteen. She was beautifully made and of a brunette complexion.
Being somewhat savage in her ways and spare of speech, quick in
movement, with a look of sullenness about her eyes, I nicknamed her
Scorzone; [2] her real name was Jeanne. With her for model, I gave
perfect finish to the bronze Fontainebleau, and also to the two
Victories.
Now this girl was a clean maid, and I got her with child. She gave birth
to a daughter on the 7th of June, at thirteen hours of the day, in 1544,
when I had exactly reached the age of forty-four. I named the infant
Costanza; and Mr. Guido Guidi, the King’s physician, and my most
intimate friend, as I have previously related, held her at the font. He
was the only godfather; for it is customary in France to have but one
godfather and two godmothers. One of the latter was Madame Maddalena,
wife to M. Luigi Alamanni, a gentleman of Florence and an accomplished
poet. The other was the wife of M. Ricciardo del Bene, our Florentine
burgher, and a great merchant in Paris; she was herself a French lady of
distinguished family. This was the first child I ever had, so far as I
remember. I settled money enough upon the girl for dowry to satisfy an
aunt of hers, under whose tutelage I placed her, and from that time
forwards I had nothing more to do with her.
Note 1. The Cleopatra is that recumbent statue of a sleeping Ariadne or
Bacchante now in the Vatican. The Venus (neither the Medicean nor the
Capitoline) represents the goddess issuing from the bath; it is now in
the Museo Pio Clementino of the Vatican. The Commodus is a statue of
Hercules, with the lion’s skin and an infant in his arms, also in the
Vatican. The Zingara may be a statue of Diana forming part of the
Borghese collection. The Apollo is the famous Belvedere Apollo of the
Vatican.
Note 2. That is, in Italian, “the rough rind,” a name given to rustics.
'Scorzone' is also the name for a little black venomous serpent.
XXXVIII
BY labouring incessantly I had now got my various works well forward;
the Jupiter was nearly finished, and the vase also; the door began to
reveal its beauties. At that time the King came to Paris; and though I
gave the right date of the year 1544 for my daughter’s birth, we were
still in 1543; but an opportunity of mentioning my daughter having
arisen, I availed myself of it, so as not to interrupt the narrative of
more important things. Well, the King, as I have said, came to Paris,
and paid me a visit soon after his arrival. The magnificent show of
works brought well-nigh to completion was enough to satisfy anybody’s
eye; and indeed it gave that glorious monarch no less contentment than
the artist who had worked so hard upon them desired. While inspecting
these things, it came into his head that the Cardinal of Ferrara had
fulfilled none of his promises to me, either as regarded a pension or
anything else. Whispering with his Admiral, he said that the Cardinal of
Ferrara had behaved very badly in the matter; and that he intended to
make it up to me himself, because he saw I was a man of few words, who
in the twinkling of an eye might decamp without complaining or asking
leave.
On returning home, his Majesty, after dinner, told the Cardinal to give
orders to his treasurer of the Exchequer that he should pay me at an
early date seven thousand crowns of gold, in three or four instalments,
according to his own convenience, provided only that he executed the
commission faithfully. At the same time he repeated words to this
effect: “I gave Benvenuto into your charge, and you have forgotten all
about him.” The Cardinal said that he would punctually perform his
Majesty’s commands; but his own bad nature made him wait till the King’s
fit of generosity was over. Meanwhile wars and rumours of wars were on
the increase; it was the moment when the Emperor with a huge army was
marching upon Paris. [1] Seeing the realm of France to be in great need
of money, the Cardinal one day began to talk of me, and said: “Sacred
Majesty, acting for the best, I have not had that money given to
Benvenuto. First, it is sorely wanted now for public uses. Secondly, so
great a donation would have exposed you to the risk of losing Benvenuto
altogether; for if he found himself a rich man, he might have invested
his money in Italy, and the moment some caprice took of him, he would
have decamped without hesitation. I therefore consider that your
Majesty’s best course will be to present him with something in your
kingdom, if you want to keep him in your service for any length of
time.” The King, being really in want of money, approved of these
arguments; nevertheless, like the noble soul he was, and truly worthy of
his royal station, he judged rightly that the Cardinal had acted thus in
order to curry favour rather than from any clear prevision of distressed
finances in so vast a realm.
Note 1. In 1544 Charles V. advanced toward Champagne and threatened
Paris, while the English were besieging Boulogne.
XXXIX
AS I have just said, his Majesty affected to concur with the Cardinal,
but his own private mind was otherwise made up. Accordingly, upon the
day after his arrival, without solicitation upon my part, he came of his
own accord to my house. I went to meet him, and conducted him through
several rooms where divers works of art were on view. Beginning with the
less important, I pointed out a quantity of things in bronze; and it was
long since he had seen so many at once. Then I took him to see the
Jupiter in silver, now nearly completed, with all its splendid
decorations. It so happened that a grievous disappointment which he had
suffered a few years earlier, made him think this piece more admirable
than it might perhaps have appeared to any other man. The occasion to
which I refer was this: After the capture of Tunis, the Emperor passed
through Paris with the consent of his brother-in-law, King Francis, [1]
who wanted to present him with something worthy of so great a potentate.
Having this in view, he ordered a Hercules to be executed in silver,
exactly of the same size as my Jupiter. The King declared this Hercules
to be the ugliest work of art that he had ever seen, and spoke his
opinion plainly to the craftsmen of Paris. They vaunted themselves to be
the ablest craftsmen in the world for works of this kind, and informed
the King that nothing more perfect could possibly have been produced in
silver, insisting at the same time upon being paid two thousand ducats
for their filthy piece of work. This made the King, when he beheld mine,
affirm that the finish of its workmanship exceeded his highest
expectations. Accordingly he made an equitable judgment, and had my
statue valued also at two thousand ducats, saying: “I gave those other
men no salary; Cellini, who gets about a thousand crowns a year from me,
can surely let me have this masterpiece for two thousand crowns of gold,
since he has his salary into the bargain.” Then I exhibited other things
in gold and silver, and a variety of models for new undertakings. At the
last, just when he was taking leave, I pointed out upon the lawn of the
castle that great giant, which roused him to higher astonishment than
any of the other things he had inspected. Turning to his Admiral, who
was called Monsignor Aniballe, [2] he said: “Since the Cardinal had made
him no provision, we must do so, and all the more because the man
himself is so slow at asking favours--to cut it short, I mean to have
him well provided for; yes, these men who ask for nothing feel that
their masterpieces call aloud for recompense; therefore see that he gets
the first abbey that falls vacant worth two thousand crowns a year. If
this cannot be had in one benefice, let him have two or three to that
amount, for in his case it will come to the same thing.” As I was
standing by, I could hear what the King said, and thanked his Majesty at
once for the donation, as though I were already in possession. I told
him that as soon as his orders were carried into effect, I would work
for his Majesty without other salary or recompense of any kind until old
age deprived me of the power to labour, when I hoped to rest my tired
body in peace, maintaining myself with honour on that income, and always
bearing in mind that I had served so great a monarch as his Majesty. At
the end of this speech the King turned toward me with a lively gesture
and a joyous countenance, saying, “So let it then be done.” After that
he departed, highly satisfied with what he had seen there.
Note 1. In the year 1539 Charles V obtained leave to traverse France
with his army on the way Flanders.
Note 2. Claude d’ Annebault; captured at Pavia with Francois; Marshall
in 1538; Admiral of France in 1543.
XL
MADAME D’ETAMPES, when she heard how well my affairs were going,
redoubled her spite against me, saying in her own heart: “It is I who
rule the world to-day, and a little fellow like that snaps his fingers
at me! She put every iron into the fire which she could think of, in
order to stir up mischief against me. Now a certain man fell in her way,
who enjoyed great fame as a distiller; he supplied her with perfumed
waters, which were excellent for the complexion, and hitherto unknown in
France. This fellow she introduced to the King, who was much delighted
by the processes for distilling which he exhibited. While engaged in
these experiments, the man begged his Majesty to give him a tennis-court
I had in my castle, together with some little apartments which he said I
did not use. The good King, guessing who was at the bottom of the
business, made no answer; but Madame d’Etampes used those wiles with
which women know so well to work on men, and very easily succeeded in
her enterprise; for having taken the King at a moment of amorous
weakness, to which he was much subject, she wheedled him into conceding
what she wanted.
The distiller came, accompanied by Treasurer Grolier, a very great
nobleman of France, who spoke Italian excellently, and when he entered
my castle, began to jest with me in that language. [1] Watching his
opportunity, [2] he said: “In the King’s name I put this man here into
possession of that tennis-court, together with the lodgings that pertain
to it.” To this I answered: “The sacred King is lord of all things here:
so then you might have effected an entrance with more freedom: coming
thus with notaries and people of the court looks more like a fraud than
the mandate of a powerful monarch. I assure you that, before I carry my
complaints before the King, I shall defend my right in the way his
Majesty gave me orders two days since to do. I shall fling the man whom
you have put upon me out of windows if I do not see a warrant under the
King’s own hand and seal.” After this speech the treasurer went off
threatening and grumbling, and I remained doing the same, without,
however, beginning the attack at once. Then I went to the notaries who
had put the fellow in possession. I was well acquainted with them; and
they gave me to understand that this was a formal proceeding, done
indeed at the King’s orders, but which had not any great significance;
if I had offered some trifling opposition the fellow would not have
installed himself as he had done. The formalities were acts and customs
of the court, which did not concern obedience to the King; consequently,
if I succeeded in ousting him, I should have acted rightly, and should
not incur any risk.
This hint was enough for me, and next morning I had recourse to arms;
and though the job cost me some trouble, I enjoyed it. Each day that
followed, I made an attack with stones, pikes and arquebuses, firing,
however, without ball; nevertheless, I inspired such terror that no one
dared to help my antagonist. Accordingly, when I noticed one day that
his defence was feeble, I entered the house by force, and expelled the
fellow, turning all his goods and chattels into the street. Then I
betook me to the King, and told him that I had done precisely as his
Majesty had ordered, by defending myself against every one who sought to
hinder me in his service. The King laughed at the matter, and made me
out new letters-patent to secure me from further molestation. 3
Note 1. Jean Grolier, the famous French Mæcenas, collector of books, antiquities, &c. |
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