Free The essential writings of Machiavelli by Niccolò Machiavelli; Peter Constantine
most while meaning the least will be held in highest esteem and honored above all others of the company.
Every lady and gentleman must attend every single feast, church fête, and pardoning in the city, as well as every afternoon gathering, soiree, spectacle, dinner, or other entertainment arranged in people’s houses. A lady who fails to attend any of these must submit to being locked up with monks, and a gentleman in a nunnery.
The ladies of the circle will be compelled to spend three-quarters of their time standing by a window or a door—behind or in front, as they please—while the gentlemen of the company must parade before them at least twelve times a day.
No lady of the company may have a mother-in-law. Should one of the ladies still be inconvenienced by one, said lady will have to dispose of her within six months by a purgative or some such means, which may also be used against a husband who does not fulfill his obligations.
The ladies of the circle may not wear crinolines or other such impeding undergarments, and the gentlemen must not lace and bind their underdrawers, which they must instead pin together, a practice strictly prohibited the ladies under pain of their having to inspect the David on the piazza through glasses. 2
In order to appear in a better light, the ladies of the circle as well as the gentlemen will be forced to boast of things they do not own and do not do. Should any individual speak the truth about straitened circumstances and the like, they will be punished at the pleasure of the leader.
No one must show an inner state through any outward sign. In fact, quite the opposite: The lady or gentleman who can conceal true feeling best will deserve the highest commendation.
The greatest part of a lady or gentleman’s time must be spent in dressing and preening. Any member of the circle who contravenes this rule will do so under pain of not being glanced at a single time.
A lady or gentleman who dreamily recounts what he or she did or said the day before will have to kneel with his or her bottom up for half an hour while everyone administers corrective measures.
Anyone attending Mass who does not keep looking around, or seat himself in a prominent position to be admired by all, will be punished for the sin of lèse-majesté.
No lady or gentleman, particularly those wishing to have children, must put a shoe on the right foot first under pain of having to walk barefoot for a month, or longer if the leader of the circle decrees it.
No one lying down to sleep will be allowed to close both eyes at the same time. The lady or gentleman must close one eye first and then the other—which is in fact the best method for conserving one’s eyesight.
The ladies will have to walk in a way that will not show how much of their foot is revealed by their shoe.
No one may blow his nose while observed, except in an emergency.
The ladies and gentlemen of the circle will be obligated to scratch when it itches, under pain of a fine to the Florentine Office of Finances.
Fingernails and toenails are to be cleaned every four days.
In order to appear taller, the ladies of the circle will be compelled to put something beneath them whenever they sit.
A doctor no older than the age of twenty-four must be chosen for the social circle, so that he will be able to administer first aid to all the members without succumbing to exhaustion.
1. In Mandrake , act III, scene 2, Lucrezia stopped going to the Friars of the Servi because she was molested by one of the friars.
2. Michelangelo’s statue of David had recently been placed on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.
B ELFAGOR
Machiavelli’s contemporaries prized him for his stories, but “Belfagor” is the only one that has come down to us. It is uncertain when it was written, but it is believed to have been composed between 1518 and 1520, after Machiavelli had completed The Prince and The Discourses. The theme of “Belfagor” existed in medieval literature
Every lady and gentleman must attend every single feast, church fête, and pardoning in the city, as well as every afternoon gathering, soiree, spectacle, dinner, or other entertainment arranged in people’s houses. A lady who fails to attend any of these must submit to being locked up with monks, and a gentleman in a nunnery.
The ladies of the circle will be compelled to spend three-quarters of their time standing by a window or a door—behind or in front, as they please—while the gentlemen of the company must parade before them at least twelve times a day.
No lady of the company may have a mother-in-law. Should one of the ladies still be inconvenienced by one, said lady will have to dispose of her within six months by a purgative or some such means, which may also be used against a husband who does not fulfill his obligations.
The ladies of the circle may not wear crinolines or other such impeding undergarments, and the gentlemen must not lace and bind their underdrawers, which they must instead pin together, a practice strictly prohibited the ladies under pain of their having to inspect the David on the piazza through glasses. 2
In order to appear in a better light, the ladies of the circle as well as the gentlemen will be forced to boast of things they do not own and do not do. Should any individual speak the truth about straitened circumstances and the like, they will be punished at the pleasure of the leader.
No one must show an inner state through any outward sign. In fact, quite the opposite: The lady or gentleman who can conceal true feeling best will deserve the highest commendation.
The greatest part of a lady or gentleman’s time must be spent in dressing and preening. Any member of the circle who contravenes this rule will do so under pain of not being glanced at a single time.
A lady or gentleman who dreamily recounts what he or she did or said the day before will have to kneel with his or her bottom up for half an hour while everyone administers corrective measures.
Anyone attending Mass who does not keep looking around, or seat himself in a prominent position to be admired by all, will be punished for the sin of lèse-majesté.
No lady or gentleman, particularly those wishing to have children, must put a shoe on the right foot first under pain of having to walk barefoot for a month, or longer if the leader of the circle decrees it.
No one lying down to sleep will be allowed to close both eyes at the same time. The lady or gentleman must close one eye first and then the other—which is in fact the best method for conserving one’s eyesight.
The ladies will have to walk in a way that will not show how much of their foot is revealed by their shoe.
No one may blow his nose while observed, except in an emergency.
The ladies and gentlemen of the circle will be obligated to scratch when it itches, under pain of a fine to the Florentine Office of Finances.
Fingernails and toenails are to be cleaned every four days.
In order to appear taller, the ladies of the circle will be compelled to put something beneath them whenever they sit.
A doctor no older than the age of twenty-four must be chosen for the social circle, so that he will be able to administer first aid to all the members without succumbing to exhaustion.
1. In Mandrake , act III, scene 2, Lucrezia stopped going to the Friars of the Servi because she was molested by one of the friars.
2. Michelangelo’s statue of David had recently been placed on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.
B ELFAGOR
Machiavelli’s contemporaries prized him for his stories, but “Belfagor” is the only one that has come down to us. It is uncertain when it was written, but it is believed to have been composed between 1518 and 1520, after Machiavelli had completed The Prince and The Discourses. The theme of “Belfagor” existed in medieval literature
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