DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36838#0119
70 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
his neck. His rehned features and gentle expression
recall the young mother who died in giving him
birth, and the white forehead, blue eyes, and fair hair
agree with Castiglione's description. Guidobaldo, we
are told, grew up tall and handsome, with long
delicate features and well-shaped limbs, until, as his
biographer sadly remarks, prolonged illness marred
the beauty of his face and form. From early years
he was noted for his literary tastes and love of
learning. Odasio, to whom Federico entrusted his
education, and whose misfortune it was to survive
his pupil, describes him as a child of exceptional in-
telligence. Both Castiglione and Bembo were struck
by his remarkable powers of memory and wide know-
ledge of classical literature. He could repeat whole
books of Homer and Virgil by heart, and spoke
Greek as if it were his own language. Like Federico,
he was particularly fond of history and theology.
Nenophon and Chrysostom were his favourite authors.
The rites and ceremonies of the Church also in-
terested him deeply, and laymen and ecclesiastics
alike were surprised to hear the clearness and
accuracy with which he could explain the differences
that are to be found in the Greek and Roman liturgies.
It was the hard fate of this thoughtful youth to
live in the most troubled times, and to be engaged in
almost perpetual warfare. At the age of ten he was
elected Captain of the armies of the League in his
father's place, and although this appointment was
naturally purely nominal, he took the held as soon as
he was old enough to bear arms. His father's friend,
King Ferrante of Naples, enlisted him in his service,
and Pope Innocent VIII. employed him to repress
the turbulent barons of the Marches. But he was
as unfortunate in battle as his father had been for-
his neck. His rehned features and gentle expression
recall the young mother who died in giving him
birth, and the white forehead, blue eyes, and fair hair
agree with Castiglione's description. Guidobaldo, we
are told, grew up tall and handsome, with long
delicate features and well-shaped limbs, until, as his
biographer sadly remarks, prolonged illness marred
the beauty of his face and form. From early years
he was noted for his literary tastes and love of
learning. Odasio, to whom Federico entrusted his
education, and whose misfortune it was to survive
his pupil, describes him as a child of exceptional in-
telligence. Both Castiglione and Bembo were struck
by his remarkable powers of memory and wide know-
ledge of classical literature. He could repeat whole
books of Homer and Virgil by heart, and spoke
Greek as if it were his own language. Like Federico,
he was particularly fond of history and theology.
Nenophon and Chrysostom were his favourite authors.
The rites and ceremonies of the Church also in-
terested him deeply, and laymen and ecclesiastics
alike were surprised to hear the clearness and
accuracy with which he could explain the differences
that are to be found in the Greek and Roman liturgies.
It was the hard fate of this thoughtful youth to
live in the most troubled times, and to be engaged in
almost perpetual warfare. At the age of ten he was
elected Captain of the armies of the League in his
father's place, and although this appointment was
naturally purely nominal, he took the held as soon as
he was old enough to bear arms. His father's friend,
King Ferrante of Naples, enlisted him in his service,
and Pope Innocent VIII. employed him to repress
the turbulent barons of the Marches. But he was
as unfortunate in battle as his father had been for-