DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36838#0259
200 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
To his brother, Bartolommeo, Bembo expressed
himself with still greater frankness in a letter written
on the same day, December 10, 1506:
' As to the surprise which all my family show
at my remaining in Urbino, all I wish to say is that
I wonder they should think me so mad as not to
realize what I am doing. Know, then, that I do not
stay here without good reason, and that if I could
advance my interests better by going to Rome, I
would do so. But let them say what they choose !
They are fools who think themselves wise, and
imagine they can manage the lives of others better
than their own. If God grants me a few more years
of life, and the world does not move out of its courses
for a few more months, they will, I hope, see that
I have acted wisely. And even if the Pope dies,
and the face of the world is changed, I shall not be
worse off than I am now. But keep your counsel,
and let men say what they please. Most people
cannot see further than their own feet. You need
not be all-aid lest the charms of these ladies should
make me forget myself. I can assure you that I am
not asleep. . . . And let this sulhce you. As for
the extravagance with which I am charged, do not
disturb yourself. For I am not as great a fool as
your Solomons would make me out A
There can be no doubt that Bembo knew his own
mind and that he had chosen well. A typical
humanist of his day, he saw that his only hope of
obtaining an easy life and freedom from care was to
attach himself to a noble patron, at whose court he
could devote himself to the study of literature. This
was his one great passion, and with all his faults and
weaknesses he remained, it must be said to his credit,
true to the Muse whom he had served from boy-
i 'Lettere,' ii. 17.
To his brother, Bartolommeo, Bembo expressed
himself with still greater frankness in a letter written
on the same day, December 10, 1506:
' As to the surprise which all my family show
at my remaining in Urbino, all I wish to say is that
I wonder they should think me so mad as not to
realize what I am doing. Know, then, that I do not
stay here without good reason, and that if I could
advance my interests better by going to Rome, I
would do so. But let them say what they choose !
They are fools who think themselves wise, and
imagine they can manage the lives of others better
than their own. If God grants me a few more years
of life, and the world does not move out of its courses
for a few more months, they will, I hope, see that
I have acted wisely. And even if the Pope dies,
and the face of the world is changed, I shall not be
worse off than I am now. But keep your counsel,
and let men say what they please. Most people
cannot see further than their own feet. You need
not be all-aid lest the charms of these ladies should
make me forget myself. I can assure you that I am
not asleep. . . . And let this sulhce you. As for
the extravagance with which I am charged, do not
disturb yourself. For I am not as great a fool as
your Solomons would make me out A
There can be no doubt that Bembo knew his own
mind and that he had chosen well. A typical
humanist of his day, he saw that his only hope of
obtaining an easy life and freedom from care was to
attach himself to a noble patron, at whose court he
could devote himself to the study of literature. This
was his one great passion, and with all his faults and
weaknesses he remained, it must be said to his credit,
true to the Muse whom he had served from boy-
i 'Lettere,' ii. 17.