Lovers’ Debates for the Stage: A Bilingual Edition (Volume 91) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series) [Bilingual ed.] 1649590482, 9781649590480

Citation preview

Isabella Andreini

Lovers’ Debates for the Stage E D I TE D A ND TR A NS L ATE D BY

and Eric Nicholson

A BILINGUAL EDITION

Pamela Allen Brown, Julie D. Campbell,

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series, 91

LOVERS’ DEBATES FOR THE STAGE

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series, 91

SENIOR EDITOR

Margaret L. King SERIES EDITORS

Jaime Goodrich Elizabeth H. Hageman EDITORIAL BOARD

Anne Cruz Margaret Ezell Anne Larsen Elissa Weaver

ISABELLA ANDREINI

Lovers’ Debates for the Stage A BILINGUAL EDITION

•

Edited and translated by PAMELA ALLEN BROWN, JULIE D. CAMPBELL, AND ERIC NICHOLSON

2022

© Iter Inc. 2022 New York and Toronto IterPress.org All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America

978-1-64959-048-0 (paper) 978-1-64959-049-7 (pdf) 978-1-64959-050-3 (epub)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Andreini, Isabella, 1562-1604, author. | Brown, Pamela Allen, editor, translator. | Campbell, Julie D., 1965- editor, translator. | Nicholson, Eric, 1960- editor, translator. | Andreini, Isabella, 1562-1604. Fragmenti di alcune scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini, comica gelosa & academica intenta. | Andreini, Isabella, 1562-1604. Fragmenti di alcune scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini, comica gelosa & academica intenta. English. Title: Lovers’ debates for the stage : a bilingual edition / Isabella Andreini ; edited and translated by Pamela Allen Brown, Julie D. Campbell, and Eric Nicholson. Description: New York : Iter Press, 2022. | Series: The other voice in early modern Europe: the Toronto series ; 91 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “A bilingual edition of 31 dialogues by the famous sixteenth-century Italian actress and author Isabella Andreini, composed to serve as modules to be developed by performers in extemporaneous commedia dell’arte productions”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2022003069 (print) | LCCN 2022003070 (ebook) | ISBN 9781649590480 (paperback) | ISBN 9781649590497 (pdf) | ISBN 9781649590503 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Andreini, Isabella, 1562-1604--Translations into English. | LCGFT: Commedia dell’arte. | Dialogues (Literature) Classification: LCC PQ4562.A72 F7313 2022 (print) | LCC PQ4562.A72 (ebook) | DDC 852/.5--dc23/ eng/20220307 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022003069 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022003070

Cover Illustration Louis de Caullery, An Allegory of the Five Senses in the Garden of Love, 1618 (detail). The Lobkowicz Collections, Nelahozeves Castle, Czech Republic. Cover Design Maureen Morin, Library Communications, University of Toronto Libraries.

Contents Acknowledgments

vii

Illustrations

xi

Introduction The Other Voice Life, Works, Legend: “A Brilliant Discursive Mask” Playing the Game: Genre and Occasion Structure and Themes: The Lovers’ Debates in Action Diva on Top: The Professor, the Realist, the Bawdy Virago The Art of Losing Control: Madness and Frenzy Theater and Metatheater, Comedy and Tragedy Posthumous Success: Fragmenti, Alone and with Lettere Note on the Italian Text and Transcription Note on the Translation

1 1 7 13 17 22 29 31 34 40 41

Lovers’ Debates for the Stage Amorosi contrasti Prefazione Dedicazione Tavola de’ Contrasti Scenici Nomi di tutti i Personnagi Amorosi contrasti: Italian Text Lovers’ Debates Preface Dedication Table of Debates for the Stage Names of All the Characters Lovers’ Debates: English Translation Notes

45

47 49 51 53 55 350

Bibliography

377

Index

393

46 48 50 52 54

Acknowledgments This project has taken longer than expected, and we welcome the chance to thank everyone who inspired and encouraged us. We were lucky to find allies among those who pioneered the study of women performers and writers in the Renaissance. Jane Tylus gave us the gifts of her expertise and brilliance as she meticulously read and commented on early drafts. Margaret King’s enthusiasm gave us an enormous boost of confidence as we worked toward publication. Richard Andrews inspired us with his deep erudition about Isabella and the Fragmenti. M. A. Katritzky’s wide-ranging research helped us go beyond texts as we strove to piece together the methods and working life of the diva. Robert Henke’s nuanced work on Isabella’s range and virtuosity constantly informed our thinking about this complex text. We also wish to recognize our scholarly debt to Louise George Clubb, whose publications on links between Isabella’s contrasti and Shakespeare’s comedies blazed the trail for our project. Theater Without Borders, an international research collaborative, has been our sounding board for many years. Our heartfelt thanks go to Susanne Wofford, our intrepid anchor, and to all our TWB friends who provided a lively, warm, and collegial platform for Lovers’ Debates and related topics. We wish to extend special thanks to colleagues who shared their expertise about women, gender, and performance, including Michael Armstrong Roche, Maria Mercedes Carrión, Barbara Fuchs,  Melinda Gough, Rosalind Kerr, Natasha Korda, Clare McManus, and Melissa Walter. In addition, we’d like to thank others who have generously given advice and support, including Tom Bishop, Bianca Calabresi, Monica Calabritto, Celia Caputi, Alexandra Coller, Virginia Cox, Stefania Del Do, Sara Díaz, Kate Driscoll, Jessica Goethals, Renzo Guardenti, Erith Jaffe-Berg, Anne Larsen, Anne MacNeil, Lia Markey, Oliver Morgan, Ian Moulton, Susan O’Malley, Courtney Quaintance, Diana Robin, Sarah Gwyneth Ross, Edel Semple, Janet Smarr, Maria Galli Stampino, Martine van Elk, Ema Vyroubalová, Anna Wainwright, and Elissa Weaver. We also benefited from feedback at meetings of the Renaissance Society of America, the European Shakespeare Research Association, and the Society of the Study of Women in the Renaissance in New York.  The Other Voice team was a joy to work with. Our reader was Lisa Sampson, and we could not have wished for a more sensitive and erudite critic. We are deeply grateful for her careful commentary on our text. Working with three co-authors on a dual-language edition in a pandemic is not easy, but Margaret English-Haskin did a terrific job of communicating and problem-solving. Cheryl Lemmens was an outstanding copy editor, and the book is much the better for her scrupulous work.  We would also like to extend special thanks to Caterina Mongiat Farina and Paola De Santo, who are co-translating Isabella’s Lettere for vii

viii Acknowledgments The Other Voice, and who shared early translations of letters with us; it is exciting to see how the letters function as an intertext with the Fragmenti. We took great pleasure in “testing” our translations by performing them. JoJo Hill, Jonathan Soffer, and Noémie Ndiaye helped us bring the  contrasti  to life by participating in productions on video and staged readings.  Jonathan helped produce and edit  Amorous Debate on Arms and Letters,  which features JoJo Hill as Isabella and Eric Nicholson as the Capitano (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=JPJZzh2v6hA). Noémie kindly agreed to play Fedra opposite Eric’s Valerio in a staged reading for the TWB conference in Paris (hosted by Queen Mary University of London), an event that showed Isabella’s skill in composing mad scenes. We also learned more about Isabella’s theatrical writing by staging a scene from Isabella’s La Mirtilla for TWB Wesleyan, and our thanks go to the players, Jackie Abbott and Dylan Eshbaugh. Julie Campbell would especially like to thank Marylin Winkle and the L.A. Camerata who performed staged readings of her translation of La Mirtilla at the University of Southern California and Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles in 2019. That group’s wonderful enthusiasm for exploring and capturing the energy and humor of Isabella’s scenes made it clear that the Lovers’ Debates, too, should still be performed. Many people helped us gain access to vital archives and artworks. We are deeply grateful to  Cait Coker and the staff at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Illinois; Petr Slouka at the Lobkowicz Collections, Nelahozeves Castle, Czech Republic; Fabiola De Santis at the Biblioteca Museo Teatrale SIAE, Rome, Italy; Alessandra Faes at the Biblioteca Comunale di Trento; and the librarians and assistants of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.  Eric Nicholson also thanks the congenial and ever-helpful administration, librarians, and staff of Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. We are also grateful for support from our institutions. Julie Campbell has received two Summer Research Awards from Eastern Illinois University for work on this and other Andreini projects. The University of Connecticut awarded grants to Pamela Brown for travel and publication costs. Eric Nicholson won a special Faculty Development Grant from Syracuse University for publication costs; he also received travel grants from New York University Florence and Syracuse University Florence. Eric Nicholson also would like to thank his students at Syracuse University Florence, who have helpfully read and discussed draft versions of several of the debates—especially “On Comedy” and “On Arms and Letters”—in his courses on comedy in Italy and early modern European drama. Paula Seebode, Pam’s sister, generously assisted us in the painstaking process of checking formats and preparing the manuscript for the press. Pamela Brown would also like to thank her writing group for their feedback: Julie Crawford, Natasha Korda, Tanya Pollard, Nancy Selleck, Bianca Calabresi, and Bella Mirabella.  

Acknowledgments ix  Finally, all three of us wish to dedicate this volume to our closest friends and family members, whose love and support are unquestionable, and therefore not subject to debate.

Illustrations Cover.

Louis de Caullery, An Allegory of the Five Senses in the Garden of Love, 1618 (detail). The Lobkowicz Collections, Nelahozeves Castle, Czech Republic.

Figure 1.

Title page from Fragmenti di Alcune Scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini . . . , Gio. Battista Combi, Venice, 1617. Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Figure 2.

Anonymous portrait etching of Isabella Andreini, ca. 1589. Rome, Biblioteca Museo Teatrale SIAE.

Figure 3.

List of speakers from Fragmenti di Alcune Scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini. . . . Third and fourth pages. Gio. Battista Combi, Venice, 1617. Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Figure 4.

Jacques Callot, Capitano Cerimonia & Signora Lavinia, etching from I Balli di Sfessania, ca. 1622. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Open Access program. https://www.metmuseum.org/ art/collection/search/681453.

xi

Introduction The Other Voice Isabella Andreini (1562–1604) made her name by inventing and playing “other voices,” including her own. From obscure beginnings she managed to create and market a new persona infused with stardom, known as la divina Isabella.1 Offstage she promoted her image as a virtuous wife and devout mother, while on stage she played the headstrong, proudly intellectual “Isabella,” who could lose control in a second when passion moved her. A prodigy in theater, literature, and music, Andreini wrote the bestselling Mirtilla (1588), distinctive in being “more theatrical” and “more sensual” than other Renaissance pastorals by women.2 Despite a frantic schedule of travel, punctuated by the births of seven children, she produced hundreds of poems and wrote and performed in both genders, as she reminded her admirers in the opening sonnet in her Rime—“as in the Theatre, now a woman, / Now a man, I’ve played in varied style, / As Nature would instruct, and Art.”3 1. On Andreini’s persona and self-marketing see Rosalind Kerr, The Rise of the Diva on the SixteenthCentury Commedia dell’Arte Stage (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015). For biographical details see Siro Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte: Attrici e attori italiani in Europa (XVI–XVIII secolo) (Turin: Einaudi, 2014), 262–63; Achille Fiocco, “Isabella Andreini,” in vol. 1 of Enciclopedia dello spettacolo (Rome: Casa Editrice Le Maschere, 1954), 555–58; Anne MacNeil, Music and Women of the Commedia dell’Arte in the Late Sixteenth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 188; and Stefano Mazzoni, “Genealogia e vicende della famiglia Andreini,” in Origini della Commedia Improvvisa o dell’Arte, ed. Maria Luisa Chiabò and Federico Doglio (Rome: Edizioni Torre d’Orfeo, 1996), 107–61. 2. Virginia Cox, The Prodigious Muse: Women’s Writing in Counter-Reformation Italy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011), 101–2. Mirtilla is one of seven pastorals by women in the period: they include Barbara Torelli Benedetti’s Partenia (ca. 1586), Maddalena Campiglia’s Flori (1588), Leonora Bernardi’s Clorilli (ca. 1591), Valeria Miani’s Amorosa speranza (1604), and Isabetta Coreglia’s La Dori (1634) and Erindo il Fido (1650). For translations of some of these plays in the Other Voice series, see Andreini’s Mirtilla, ed. Valeria Finucci and trans. Julia Kisacky (2018); Torelli Benedetti’s Partenia, ed. and trans. Lisa Sampson and Barbara Burgess-Van Aken (2013); Campiglia’s Flori, ed. Virginia Cox and Lisa Sampson, trans. Virginia Cox (2004); Miani’s Amorosa speranza, ed. and trans. by Alexandra Coller as Amorous Hope, a Pastoral Play (2020), and Coreglia’s La Dori, also ed. and trans. by Alexandra Coller (forthcoming). 3. The much-quoted sonnet is characteristically bold and challenging: If ever anyone reads my neglected verses, Do not believe in their false ardours, For loves imagined onstage I have set forth with unreal emotions. With lies, no less with false words, I have portrayed the Muses’ high madnesses,

1

2 Introduction For her literary talents the male-only Academy of the Intenti admitted her as a member, bestowing on her the honorary epithet “l’Accesa” (“the woman on fire”), while humanists and poets praised her eloquence and masculine virtù. In France, she was the favorite actress of Henri IV and Marie de’ Medici, admired by poets and courtiers, and befriended by Marie de Beaulieu, a lady-in-waiting to Marguerite de Valois. Tragically, she died on the road, after suffering a miscarriage in Lyon. Even in death, however, her stardom refused to succumb to oblivion, the fate that awaited most players. She was honored in Lyon with a torchlit funeral and a church burial—the ultimate form of respect for an actress whose profession was often equated with prostitution. Her reputation would continue to resonate on the Continent for decades after her death. The French reading public, especially, embraced her Lettere (first published in 1607), which were often printed with her Fragmenti (first published in 1617).4 And, in a sense, Andreini managed to project her voice beyond the grave with these successful posthumous publications, which were edited by her husband Francesco Andreini (c. 1548–1624). A celebrity himself, Francesco played the innamorato and the Capitano opposite his much younger wife, who was by far the bigger star. As editor, Francesco took great pains to ensure that the published contrasti would please a wide audience and preserve his wife’s reputation, while steering clear of Counter-Reformation censors. For example, he omitted the title of the debate “On Idolatry in Love” from the table of contents in the first two editions, possibly because “idolatry” had become something of a taboo word in this period, with Protestants constantly accusing the Catholic Church of tolerating idolatrous attitudes and practices.5 Sometimes bewailing my fictive sorrows, Sometimes singing my fictive delights. And as in the Theatre, now a woman, Now a man, I’ve played in varied style As Nature would instruct, and Art. Following once more my star of fleeting years, In green April, with varied style, A good thousand pages. (Rime [Milano: 1601] sig. A.) See Selected Poems of Isabella Andreini, ed. Anne MacNeil and trans. James Wyatt Cook (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005). On Andreini’s playfully bi-gendered voice, capable of “ventriloquizing” male speakers and their rhetorical habits, see Virginia Cox, Lyric Poetry by Women of the Italian Renaissance (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013), 174–84. 4. See Bernard A. Bray, L’Art de la lettre amoureuse: Des manuels aux romans (1550–1700) (The Hague and Paris: Mouton, 1967), 14. 5. The contrasto on “Idolatry in Love” is in both editions, but the title is omitted from the table of contents in each. The content may have been considered sacrilegious, since it describes a scene of a woman worshipping the god Jove in his temple, while a man worships her. Idolatry was an especially sensitive matter for the comici, since antitheatrical clergy sometimes attacked divas such as Isabella

Introduction 3

Figure 1. Title page from Fragmenti di Alcune Scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini . . . , Gio. Battista Combi, Venice, 1617. Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. for being idolized and even worshipped by their many admirers. Giovan Battista Andreini and others wrote defenses on the subject; see Fabrizio Fiaschini, L’“incessabil agitazione”: Giovan Battista Andreini tra professione teatrale, cultura, letteratura e religione (Pisa: Giardini, 2007), 16–20, 55–62; Carina L. Johnson, “Stone Gods and Counter-Reformation Knowledges,” in Making Knowledge in Early Modern Europe: Practices, Objects, and Texts, 1400–1800, ed. Pamela H. Smith and Benjamin Schmidt (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008), 233–47; and Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte, 40–51.

4 Introduction In terms of theater history, Fragmenti di alcune scritture6 is the only source of its kind: an insider’s guide to arte playing and playmaking by its most acclaimed actress, revised by her lifelong stage partner. Nonetheless, the book’s framing apparatus is disarmingly modest. The title suggests the sad remains of unedited works, while the “Tavola” promises little more than dry academic exercises. These fragments, however, reveal themselves to be far from arid. The text seeks to entertain and inspire the reader with a lively assortment of amorous debates, or contrasti. Thirty-one pairs of elegant innamorati with intriguing monikers enter in quick succession to perform amorous vignettes. They bat around learned topoi to further their ends, but these civil conversations often turn into hot encounters full of pitched arguments. Serious issues emerge, such as the ways husbands can turn into tyrants, or the dangers of slander and sexual violence that face young women. One innamorata resists marrying, citing the propensity of fathers-in-law to lust after their sons’ brides. A virago mocks a Capitano who threatens to blow up her impregnable “citadel,” telling him his “cannonballs” are small and weak. Besotted suitors spout Neoplatonic absurdities, punctured by the innamorata’s barbs. Just one happy young woman makes blissful plans to marry, but many others wage all-out wars of frustration or jealousy. In the grip of conflicting passions one male lover runs mad, and another faints dead away.7 While each innamorata has a distinctive profile, all are facets of Isabella Andreini. In this special theater of memory, readers are invited to envision the great diva acting at the height of her powers. Verbal arts are paramount in these brief mementoes of her skills and her career. Each woman speaker is never at a loss for words: she upstages her opponent by out-talking, out-thinking, and outmocking him. If he cites one authority, she cites four. If he launches a conceit, she tops it. If he grows lewd, she hits back—hard, fast, and sometimes below the belt. If a suitor presses for a kiss, she can chill him with a blast of Counter-Reformation rhetoric. Even when jealousy or frustrated love makes her lose control, she expresses herself with an intensity that dominates the action, and in quick-changing tones, whether arch, seductive, playful, professorial, furious, frenzied, logical, disdainful, or amused. Readers and colleagues would expect no less. A genius at self-marketing, Isabella Andreini trumpeted her own versatility, proudly boasting in her Rime about her emotive and generic range.8 Owing largely to the diva’s talents, the 6. Fragmenti di alcune scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini Comica Gelosa et Academica intenta, first published in Venice in 1617 by Giovanni Battista Combi, is also known as the Ragionamenti and the Contrasti amorosi. 7. See contrasti 13 (“On Conjugal Love”), 29 (“On Feigning Love for One Woman, While Loving Another”), 30 (“On Loving Idolatrously”), and 31 (“With a Passionate Swoon”). 8. See note 3 on her opening sonnet in Rime, in which she boasts of multiple skills, musical, poetic, and theatrical, and of playing comic, tragic, female, and male roles. See also Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, on the eroticized aspects of her self-marketing.

Introduction 5 Gelosi company had a repertory wider than that of the traveling players in Hamlet, who had no star actresses. She could play a naive ingenue or a tricky adulterous wife, a suicidal Moroccan princess or a cross-dressed Turkish slave; she could be totally mad or learnedly sane, chaste or unchaste, madcap or scholarly; she could imitate every comic maschera in her troupe, and play brilliantly in every genre, including tragicomic pastoral, commedia grave, and tragedy.9 As a writer, Isabella created works to burnish her literary reputation, but at the same time they were absorbed into her stock of material for the stage. Any of her poems, letters, or contrasti could be memorized and put to use, adapted for performance. This is why they have a distinctly theatrical quality, stressing the impersonation of character in all kinds of moods and occasions. Common themes and character types point to the shared roots of works in different genres: in her bestselling pastoral Mirtilla (1588), for example, the witty, histrionic nymphs strongly resemble several innamorate in the contrasti. Her “highly theatricalized” fictional letters present a parade of characters, male and female, whose utterances resemble stage soliloquies, laments, and tirades in a variety of situations, some thematically and verbally similar to those in her contrasti.10 Scholarly interest in her life and works is on the rise, largely because of the abundance and significance of these publications. Mirtilla, for example, has had no fewer than three modern editions: an English edition, translated and edited by Julie D. Campbell; a bilingual edition edited by Valeria Finucci and translated by Julia Kisacky for The Other Voice; and an Italian edition by Maria Luisa Doglio.11 Andreini’s Lettere, her most famous posthumous work, is now being edited and translated by Caterina Mongiat Farina and Paola De Santo for this series. The boom would undoubtedly please Isabella, who not only sought lasting fame, but worked overtime to imbue her writing with theatricality and the sheen of learning, culled from many sources. Tasso, Ariosto, and other male poets of the period were major influences on her work and career, but so were women writers and celebrities. To be famous 9. See the index and individual scenarios in Richard Andrews, ed. and trans., The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala: A Translation and Analysis of 30 Scenarios (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008). The original collection of fifty scenarios (mostly comedies, but with several works in other genres, including tragedy) is a memorial to Isabella Andreini and other great players; any of the innamorate could have been played by Isabella, and some plays and leading roles bear her name. 10. According to Robert Henke, “The typical apostrophic address of the Petrarchan speaker to the object of desire characterizes, in fact, most of the highly theatricalized Lettere of Isabella Andreini.” See Performance and Literature in the Commedia dell’Arte (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 40. For discussion and examples, see Meredith K. Ray, “Between Stage and Page: The Letters of Isabella Andreini,” in her Writing Gender in Women’s Letter Collections of the Italian Renaissance (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009), 164–66. 11. La Mirtilla: A Pastoral, ed. and trans. Julie D. Campbell (Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2002); Mirtilla, a Pastoral: A Bilingual Edition, ed. Finucci and trans. Kisacky; and La Mirtilla, ed. Maria Luisa Doglio (Lucca: Fazzi, 1995).

6 Introduction throughout Italy for one’s writing and intellect was a distinction achieved by few women before the 1580s, when Isabella began to publish.12 To perfect her mask of untouchable refinement joined with intellect, Isabella could look to a handful of stellar women far above her in social rank. Vittoria Colonna (1492–1547), the Marchioness of Pescara, for example, won accolades for her piety and virtue as a poet and wife, and Ariosto honored her by name in Orlando Furioso.13 The glittering memory of Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua (1474–1539)—hailed as “la prima donna del mondo”—was very much alive, especially in Mantua, home of the Gonzaga dukes, patrons of the Gelosi. When Isabella styles herself “una Cittadina del Mondo” in the preface to Lettere, she evokes the past glory and worldly grandeur of this far more exalted Isabella.14 The actress’s patrons, especially Eleonora de’ Medici and Marie de’ Medici, lent her priceless cachet, and as she grew familiar with them, she had ample opportunity to observe their bearing, manners and hauteur. But Andreini did not stick to safe topics or courtly women in her debates for the stage: she also set about to dazzle and thrill with daring passages of eroticism spiced with bawdy wit and satire. Her risky audacity also had famous precedents. Despite Isabella’s lifelong public campaign to put distance between herself and the cortigiana and meretrice, several contrasti allude to or imitate the passions and poetic performances of the courtesan Tullia d’Aragona. Another debate evokes the turbulent life of courtesan-poet Veronica 12. Noted authors who have appeared in this series include Vittoria Colonna, Sonnets for Michelangelo: A Bilingual Edition, ed. and trans. Abigail Brundin (2005); Isabella d’Este, Selected Letters, ed. and trans. Deanna Shemek (2017); Tullia d’Aragona, Dialogue on the Infinity of Love, ed. and trans. Rinaldina Russell and Bruce Merry (1997); and Aragona’s Poems and Letters, ed. and trans. Julia L. Hairston (2014). Contemporaries wrote key works on issues important to Andreini’s writings, such as Moderata Fonte, The Worth of Women (1600), edited and translated by Virginia Cox (1997). 13. Ariosto, Orlando Furioso (1532), canto 37. Colonna’s poetry, first published in 1538, was in circulation earlier. 14. From the author’s preface to Lettere: “Asked why he was born, Anaxagoras replied: to contemplate the stars above. Since this can only be accomplished by means of knowledge, we come to recognize that each one of us who is born, is born with the desire to gain knowledge. Now, being by the grace of the Supreme Maker sent out to become a Citizen of the World, and my desire of gaining knowledge being by chance born more fervent in me than in many other women of our age, who can find that by virtue of their long study, many women have become famous and immortal . . . I wished with all my powers to nourish it.” [“Dimandato Anassagora, perch’era nato, disse: per contemplar le stelle, la qual cosa non potendosi fare, se non per mezzo del sapere, ci fa conoscer’, che ogn’uno che nasce, nasce con desiderio di sapere; hor essend’io stata dalla bontà del Sommo Fattore mandata ad esser’ Cittadina del Mondo, & essendo per avventura questo desiderio di sapere nato in me più ardente, che in molt’ altre donne dell’età nostra, le quali come che scuoprano in virtù degli studi molte, e molte esser’ divenute celebri, & immortali . . . ho voluto a tutta mia possanza alimentarlo.”] Isabella Andreini, Lettere (Venice: Marc’ Antonio Zaltieri, 1607). In this preface, the diva created a “Pan-European persona” and “stretched the bounds of citizenship” by calling herself a “cittadina del mondo,” according to Erith Jaffe-Berg, The Multilingual Art of Commedia dell’Arte (New York: Legas, 2009), 62.

Introduction 7 Franco, who was accused of witchcraft.15 “Other voices” like these fill Fragmenti, but the strongest and clearest are those of professional players at work. And not just any players, but the most famous innamorati in the most famous troupe, with an international reputation made possible by its versatile diva.

Figure 2. With its laughing mask (comedy), serious mask (tragedy), and pair of satyrs (pastoral), this portrait celebrates Isabella’s versatility.

Life, Works, Legend: “A Brilliant Discursive Mask” Any assessment of Isabella’s early life must begin in speculation. Her father has been vaguely identified as one Paolo Canali of Venice, but scholars have been unable to document any connection to that family. According to Sarah Gwyneth Ross, the actress may have been an illegitimate daughter of the patrician Canali 15. Marked allusions to Tullia d’Aragona’s works and milieu occur in Contrasto 1 (“On the Worthiness of Lovers”), 8 (“On the Exchange of Souls”), and 18 (“That There Is No Love without Pleasure”), discussed later in the Introduction and in endnotes. For an allusion to Veronica Franco and the accusations of witchcraft against her, see Contrasto 10 (“On the Enchantment of the Eyes”).

8 Introduction family of Venice, but even this appears highly unlikely.16 How she gained her education and artistic skills is also a mystery. In The Rise of the Diva, Rosalind Kerr observes that her “extensive classical education and training in the fine arts and her skills as a poet and musician are more consistent with the traditional upbringing of an honest courtesan than of a woman of a respectable family,” expressing the consensus today among most scholars of early Italian actresses.17 When Isabella married Francesco in 1578, he was about twice her age: she was sixteen and he was in his early thirties. Francesco was unusually well educated, and had years of experience as an actor; it may have been he who “introduced Isabella to learned discourse.”18 Isabella took on her husband’s impressive surname (his family name was purportedly Cerracchi) and became his lifelong collaborator in presenting “a brilliant discursive mask” of refinement to the world.19 Being (or seeming) chastely and happily married, unlike many other couples among the comici, was key to their prestige and success. The Andreini would ultimately have three sons and four daughters. Only the firstborn, Giovan Battista Andreini, would join the profession, carrying on their legacy in acting and writing.20 Isabella’s unsullied reputation as wife and mother helped bolster her stardom and made her more acceptable in elite circles, and even to some in the church. As Louise George Clubb and Alexandra Coller have shown, Isabella used CounterReformation virtue in her roles and writings as a tool of self-fashioning, and as

16. Sarah Gwyneth Ross, The Birth of Feminism: Woman as Intellect in Renaissance Italy and England (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), 214. 17. Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 103, based on the work of, among others, Ferdinando Taviani and Mirella Schino, Il segreto della Commedia dell’Arte: La memoria delle compagnie italiane del XVI, XVII e XVIII secolo (Florence: La Casa Usher, 2007). 18. Ross, Birth of Feminism, 213. 19. Ross, Birth of Feminism, 213. Together they built “a monument of literary nobility” and spotless virtue that proved a success: “the Andreini carved out a respected place within the cultural elite, but their success had nothing to do with social status or wealth; they had neither” (213). 20. Giovan Battista Andreini was born in 1576. If his mother Isabella was born in 1562 and married in 1578, she was unmarried and fourteen years old at his birth. Giovan Battista became a famous actor-playwright and leader of the Fedeli troupe; he married the diva Virginia Ramponi, a star in early opera (1583–ca. 1630). Isabella and Francesco had six more children: Lavinia, later known as suor Fulvia (dates unknown), who was placed in service to Eleonora de’ Medici in Mantua, 1587–97, then entered the monastery of the Madri della Catelma, Mantua; Pietro Paolo, dates unknown, who entered the Vallombrosian order in 1595; Domenico, dates unknown; a daughter who served the grand duke and duchess of Florence “by April 1587”; and two daughters about whom nothing is currently known (MacNeil, Music and Women, 48, 238, 259). On G. B. Andreini see Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 102–4, and Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte, 260–62. He wrote many innovative plays; The Other Voice has published his Love in the Mirror (“Amor nello specchio”), ed. and trans. Jon R. Snyder (Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2009).

Introduction 9 a shield in the face of perennial attacks on actresses.21 Taking a one-dimensional view of Andreini is always misleading, however. While she frequently makes reference to Counter-Reformation pieties, she tempers her tone with enough wit, verve, and subversive exuberance to keep her audiences in thrall. Although the sources of Andreini’s learning are obscure, her published work shows evidence of an elite humanist education that sets her apart from other prime donne. Her membership in the Accademia degli Intenti of Pavia, and her correspondence with the Belgian humanist scholar Erycius Puteanus, illustrate her hard-won status among learned male elites in Italy. As Lisa Sampson has shown, many humanists did not relish the idea of a woman, much less an actress, joining their ranks.22 Perhaps for this reason, Puteanus harped on her manliness in his letters. In one missive he observed that the name Andreini was based on the Greek for “man,” which suited her perfectly.23 Her performances with the Gelosi, which she co-directed in some periods with her husband, as well as her intellectual and literary prowess and publications, brought her to the attention of Torquato Tasso, Giovan Battista Marino, Jacopo Castelvetro, Gabriello Chiabrera, and Ridolfo Campeggi, among others.24 Her popularity among the literati extended to France. Italian players met with great success in Paris, but the Gelosi were favored above the rest in court circles during the reigns of Henri III and Henri IV.25 Popular with Medici women 21. Louise George Clubb, Italian Drama in Shakespeare’s Time (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989), 271, and Alexandra Coller, “Isabella Andreini’s La Mirtilla (1588): Pastoral Drama and Conjugal Love in Counter-Reformation Italy,” Italian Quarterly 46, no. 179/180 (2009): 17–29. On her use of this discourse in self-fashioning, see Kathryn Bosi, “Accolades for an Actress: On Some Literary and Musical Tributes for Isabella Andreini,” Recercare 15 (2003): 73–117; MacNeil, Music and Women, 48–51, 90–92; and Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 103–32. 22. See the correspondence between Andreini and Puteanus in MacNeil, Music and Women, 305–23, and the discussion in Ross, Birth of Feminism, 216–25. On academies, see Lisa Sampson, “Amateurs Meet Professionals: Theatrical Activities in Late Sixteenth-Century Italian Academies,” in The Reinvention of Theatre in Sixteenth-Century Europe: Traditions, Texts and Performance, ed. T. F. Earle and Catarina Fouto (Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2015), 187–218, and, also by Lisa Sampson, “Isabella Andreini and the Intenti Academy of Pavia” (a talk delivered at New York University on March 31, 2014; the video can be seen at ). 23. Puteanus wrote the diva admiring letters in Latin, to which she responded in Italian. When he sought to compliment her masculine wit and virtú, he joked: “Shall I not call you by the name Andreini with good reason, and compare you to men?” (MacNeil, Music and Women, 311). 24. See MacNeil, Music and Women, 77–126; Ross, Birth of Feminism, 212–34; and Valeria Finucci, “Editor’s Introduction,” in the Other Voice edition of Mirtilla, 6–7. 25. See Jacqueline Boucher, Société et mentalités autour de Henri III, 4 vols. (Paris: Champion, 1981), 3:1,025–28, and Meredith K. Ray, “Isabella Andreini (1562–1604),” Italian Women Writers Library (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008), .

10 Introduction in France, including Marie de’ Medici and Marguerite de Valois, daughter of Catherine de’ Medici, the French fortunes of the Andreini benefited enormously from their connections to the dynasty: “Medici patronage, by definition, had a strong French cast due to the long history of interwoven relations between the two courts.” 26 This influence radiated from Mantua as well as Florence, especially after Eleonora de’ Medici married Vincenzo Gonzaga in 1584. Both were strong supporters of the Andreini and Gelosi, and their sustained patronage made Mantua the Italian center of the commedia dell’arte. The Gelosi’s performance for the wedding celebration of Ferdinando de’ Medici and Christine de Lorraine in 1589 in Florence further cemented Medici patronage.27 Aiming for readers among fans at the French court, Andreini published a small volume of her verse in Paris in 1603, and an anonymously translated edition of La Mirtilla was published in Paris in 1602.28 During the Gelosi’s visits to the Italianate French court, new patron-client relationships formed between female aristocrats and players, despite the vast disparity in social status. As a result, it was a Frenchwoman who wrote the first sustained defense of the actress and her troupe. During the troupe’s triumphant French tour of 1602–4, Marie de Beaulieu (ca. 1563–after 1603), wrote La Première atteinte contre ceux qui accusent les comedies (1603). An author and fille d’honneur first to Catherine de’ Médici and then to Marguerite de Valois, Beaulieu praised the Gelosi, but saved her highest praise for “Isabelle.”29 She noted that the “prudence that guides [her] discourse, and the wisdom that shines in [her] actions, has satisfied our desires, and surpassed the hopes that the glory of the past could have us attain.” In a grand flourish, she called Isabella the “honor of her sex, regret of centuries past, glory of the present, envy of the ages to come, ornament of the earth, Marvel of heaven, miracle of nature, sacred Temple.”30 In gratitude for her friendship Andreini dedicated four sonnets and three madrigals to Beaulieu. 26. MacNeil, Music and Women, 3. 27. MacNeil, Music and Women, 32–33. 28. Rime d’Isabella Andreini (Paris: Appresso Claudio de Monstr’œil, 1603); Myrtille Bergerie, trans. Adradan (Paris: Matthieu Guillemot, 1602). 29. Marie de Beaulieu, La Première atteinte contre ceux qui accusent les comedies (Paris: Jean Richer, 1603), 2v, 8r, 9v, 21r. Translations from La Première atteinte are by Julie D. Campbell. See also Campbell’s “Marie de Beaulieu and Isabella Andreini: Cross-Cultural Patronage at the French Court,” Sixteenth Century Journal 45, no. 4 (2014): 851–74. 30. Beaulieu, La premiere atteinte, 21r. She writes: “La prudence qui guide vos discours, & la sagesse qui reluit en vos actions, a satisfait nos desirs, & surmonté les esperances que la gloire du passé nous faisoit attendre à l’advenir, de ceste rare Isabelle, honneur de son sexe, regret des siecles passez, gloire du present, envie des futurs, ornement de la terre, Merveille du ciel, miracle de nature, Temple sacré: qui ouvrant ses levres de roses nous faict veoir les images de son ame, la douce prison des nostres, les liens de nos esprits, où elle inspire les passions qu’elle desire . . .”

Introduction 11 French poets also joined the chorus of adulation for Isabella, writing poems in her honor after seeing her perform in comedies and tragedies.31 When their Paris tour came to an end in the summer of 1604, the Gelosi turned homeward, stopping as usual in Lyon. At the time Isabella was pregnant with her eighth child. She suffered complications from a miscarriage and died there. While it was not unusual for women to die in childbirth, her death had an immediate and profound impact, in ways that demonstrate her unique celebrity. The city of Lyon and its Italian community paid her the honor of a lavish funeral full of official eulogies, pomp, and poetry. She was buried in the church of StCroix, and a commemorative medallion with the motto aeterna fama was struck in her honor. Two years later, her son edited and published a volume of funerary tributes.32 At the time, her international fame in literature and drama far exceeded that of another poet-playwright, William Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, two years after Andreini.33 In the long run, his fame would outstrip hers, becoming a global phenomenon. But at the time of her death, Isabella enjoyed wild acclaim and literary success far beyond Italy, while he toiled away in London conjuring memorable female parts for boy actors, including the intellectual Portia in The Merchant of Venice, the charismatic Viola of Twelfth Night, the mad Ophelia in Hamlet, and the prodigious Juliet of Romeo and Juliet. These and other roles bore the imprint of stellar prime donne such as Isabella, from their expertise in gender disguise to their playing methods and virtuosic star scenes.34 31. Isabella’s dedicatory poems to Beaulieu appear in the new edition of Rime (1605) published after her death. For verse encomia by Ysac du Ryer and Simon-Guillaume de la Roque, see Federico Doglio, “Isabella enigmatica diva e versatile artista nella vita culturale del suo tempo,” in La mujer: De los bastidores al proscenio en el teatro del siglo XVI, ed. Irene Romera Pintor and Josep Lluís Sirera (Valencia: Universitat de València, 2011), 110–11. 32. On the funeral see MacNeil, Music and Women, 30–31. The church is now in ruins, having been demolished by real estate speculators during the French Revolution. On tributes by poets, see Giovan Battista Andreini, Pianto d’Apollo: Rime funebri in morte d’Isabella Andreini (Milan: Girolamo Bordone and Pietromartire Locarni, 1606), as well as Giovan Battista’s prefatory poem to the Lettere, quoted by MacNeil in Music and Women, 56. 33. Louise George Clubb, Italian Drama in Shakespeare’s Time, 23–24, 67–68, 264–65. 34. See Pamela Allen Brown, The Diva’s Gift to the Shakespearean Stage: Agency, Theatricality, and the Innamorata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021). Studies of individual plays include Julie D. Campbell, “ ‘Merry, nimble, stirring spirit[s]’: Academic, Salon and Commedia dell’Arte Influence on the Innamorate of Love’s Labour’s Lost,” in Women Players in England, 1500–1660: Beyond the All-Male Stage, ed. Pamela Allen Brown and Peter Parolin (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005), 145–70; Eric Nicholson, “Ophelia Sings Like a Prima Donna Innamorata: Ophelia’s Mad Scene and the Italian Female Performer,” in Transnational Exchange in Early Modern Theater, ed. Robert Henke and Eric Nicholson (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008), 81–98; and Nicholson’s “Helen, the Italianate Theatrical Wayfarer of All’s Well That Ends Well,” in Shakespeare and the Italian Renaissance: Appropriation, Transformation, Opposition, ed. Michele Marrapodi (Farnham, UK, and

12 Introduction Stricken by grief at his wife’s untimely death, Francesco Andreini disbanded the Gelosi and ended his acting career. In semi-retirement as a citizen of Mantua—a privilege granted to him by Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga—Francesco bought property outside the city, where he took up the task of editing, publishing, and promoting Isabella’s writings, sometimes with the aid of Flaminio Scala (1552–1624), author of Il teatro delle favole rappresentative (1611) and one of the most famous actors, playwrights, and directors of the commedia dell’arte.35 Francesco’s aims were to keep her renown and stardom alive, and his actor’s memory assisted him in this effort. As a result, the Lovers’ Debates are the product of a lifetime of composing and playing together in endless variations on the theme of love, often more antagonistic and competitive than affectionate. Because these contrasti are dialogues for performance, albeit without settings or full plots, they bear an intimate relation to the Scala scenarios commemorating Isabella, Francesco, and other star players. Scenarios are outlines without dialogue, laying out the plot and specifying roles, major actions, props, and cues, guiding players who fleshed out their scenes with suitable speech and expression. For this reason we have noted important connections to plays and scenarios which feature important thematic relationships with the contrasti. Francesco was more deeply involved in shaping Fragmenti than the title page indicates. As Isabella’s editor, co-actor, and collaborator, he was the moving force behind the book’s publication. What he actually wrote, rather than edited, is an open question. As Meredith Ray observes, on stage Isabella and Francesco had always “played off one another . . . and they knew one another’s theatrical voices and personae intimately.”36 It is reasonable to assume that Francesco recalled parts of speeches he had performed himself, and that he may have inserted his own writings to piece out some scenes. “With the Fragmenti,” as Richard Andrews observes, “we are certainly in the realm of the actor-author, but perhaps not entirely sure which actor we are dealing with.”37 Daria Perocco has considered the question of the “paternità” of Isabella’s works in depth, speculating that Francesco had a large part in writing her Lettere and in editing everything produced after she died.38 Isabella’s comic contrasti are certainly produced by multivalent methods of Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014), 163–79. See also Pamela Allen Brown, “ ‘Cattle of this colour’: Boying the Diva in As You Like It,” Early Theatre 15, no. 1 (2012): 145–66. 35. For information on Francesco’s career in retirement, see Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte, 258–59. On his association with Scala, see the section on “Posthumous Success” in this Introduction. 36. Meredith K. Ray, “Between Stage and Page,” 164. 37. Richard Andrews, “Isabella Andreini’s Stage Repertoire: The ‘Lettere’ and ‘Fragmenti,’ ” in The Tradition of the Actor-Author in Italian Theatre, ed. Donatella Fischer (Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2013), 33. 38. Daria Perocco, “Donna/Uomo, Attrice/Scrittice, Isabella/Francesco: Metamorfosi della Scrittura di Isabella Andreini,” in Instabilità e Metamorfosi dei generi nella Letteratura Barocca: Atti del convegno

Introduction 13 authorial collaboration and bricolage; such methods were also used by the Sienese Intronati, which produced Gl’Ingannati, and by Shakespeare and his peers. As texts for performance, the contrasti are best read not as polished, definitive texts, but as samples of matter for joint improvisation, showing how pairs of innamorati could play with and dilate on these topics, varying their emotive charge and turning them to use in all kinds of plots. Any editorial or authorial contributions by Francesco should be considered as appropriate on the page, as they no doubt were on the stage in performance. It must be noted that the scholarly tendency here and in other cases of male-female collaboration is to disprove female authorship. It is interesting that no one questions Francesco’s authorship of the works attributed to him. Hailed as a literary prodigy in Italy and France, Isabella was far more acclaimed for her writing than her husband. Given her predominance, it seems more than likely that the debt ran the other way.39 As an actress-playwright who acted both male and female parts, Isabella could have composed a lover’s or a Capitano’s lines with ease, just as she could improvise in the persona of every comedian in the company. For these reasons it is not possible to state with any confidence which speeches are “by” Isabella or Francesco. What we do know is that the title page announces that Isabella wrote them and Francesco gathered them.

Playing the Game: Genre and Occasion The debates of the Fragmenti are offshoots of the Renaissance dialogue between women and men, a genre that the comici adapted to encompass the most serious philosophical questions and the most frivolous bagatelles between besotted lovers.40 Some contrasti aim to have it both ways, in scenes that shift quickly in mood and tone. Some topics seem coldly academic until the players turn up the heat. Innamorati flirt wildly as they name-drop Aristotle and Plato and debate “who is more worthy, the lover or the beloved?” Others profess their hatred for di studi Genova, Auditorium di Palazzo Rosso 5–6–7 ottobre 2006, ed. Simona Morando (Venice: Marsilio, 2007), 90, 94–102. 39. Valeria Finucci makes a similar argument in her Introduction to Mirtilla, 8–9. 40. See Virginia Cox, “The Female Voice in Italian Renaissance Dialogue,” Modern Language Notes 128 (2013): 53–78, and The Renaissance Dialogue: Literary Dialogue in its Social and Political Contexts, Castiglione to Galileo (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); see also Peter Burke, “The Renaissance Dialogue,” Renaissance Studies 3, no. 1 (1989): 1–12. On medieval and popular precedents, see the introduction in Antonia Arveda, ed., Contrasti Amorosi nella poesia Italiana antica (Rome: Salerno Editrice, 1992), xv; on street performers entertaining with “dramatized debates or quarrels (contrasti),” see Richard Andrews, Scripts and Scenarios: The Performance of Comedy in Renaissance Italy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 22–23. See also Kathleen McGill, “Women and Performance: The Development of Improvisation by the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte,” Theatre Journal 43, no. 1 (1991): 59–69.

14 Introduction each other, and almost come to blows over the primacy and value of law versus medicine, a popular topic common in academic settings and dinner conversation. Such staid-sounding topics provide the armature for many encounters that are nonetheless dramatic and erotically charged. As Andrews observes, “every one of these dialogues contains a strong element of erotic tension between the two interlocutors: the apparently academic arguments are excuses for complex, allusive verbal sparring between two people who have emotional issues to resolve.”41 The Lovers’ Debates adapt many topoi from “the great tradition of questioni d’amore enshrined in the writings of Boccaccio, Ficino, Alberti, Bembo, Castiglione, Tasso, and a host of others.”42 When improvising or composing, innamorati drew constantly on these sources, culling materials for roles, scenes, and speeches. This tradition had its birth in Boccaccio’s romance Filocolo (1335–36), in which the questing hero encounters an open-air party of gentlemen and ladies in Naples, who welcome him to take part in their game of questions and answers, creating the dialogue form known as questioni d’amore. In its essence, the original game was an elite round-robin in which an elected queen poses questions about love to individuals in a mixed group, inspiring witty dialogues. The episode became enormously influential, providing a model for Pietro Bembo’s Gli Asolani, Castiglione’s Il Cortegiano, and their imitators.43 In Filocolo the strong-willed Fiammetta serves as queen; she reappears frequently in Boccaccio’s later works.44 Proudly theatrical and literary, she would 41. Richard Andrews, “Isabella Andreini’s Stage Repertoire,” 32. 42. Catherine Bates, The Rhetoric of Courtship in Elizabethan Language and Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 99. The other authors named are indebted to Boccaccio’s Il Filocolo (ca. 1336). That work’s “questioni d’amore” (also known as “the thirteen questions”) also led to extensions and variations in such texts as Francesco Sansovino’s Ragionamenti d’amore (1547) and Ortensio Landi’s Questi amorosi (1575). See Maiko Favaro, “Boccaccio nella trattistica amorosa, del Cinquecento e di primo Seicento,” Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana 12 (2009), 9–29, and Robert R. Edwards, “ ‘Lessons Meete to Be Followed’: The European Reception of Boccaccio’s ‘Questioni d’amore,’ ” Textual Cultures 10, no. 2 (2016 [2018]): 146–63. In a satiric vein, the prostitutes Nanna and Pippa explore questions about sex and love in Pietro Aretino’s Ragionamento – Dialogo (“Sei giornate”) of 1536. More refined dialogues on love and courtship appear in Baldesar Castiglione’s Libro del cortegiano (The Book of the Courtier, 1528); on other nontheatrical dialogues between women and men, see Cox, “The Female Voice.” 43. Bembo is a featured speaker on Neoplatonic love in Castiglione’s text; his writing and thinking influenced Isabella Andreini (e.g., Contrasto 10) and such luminaries as Vittoria Colonna. On Il Filocolo see Robert R. Edwards, “ ‘Lessons Meete to Be Followed,’ ” cited in the preceding note. An English version appeared as Thirteene most pleasaunt and delectable questions, entitled, a disport of diverse noble personages, written in Italian by M. John Bocace . . . (London: Thomas Woodcock, 1587). 44. See Giovanni Boccaccio, The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta, ed. and trans. Mariangela Causa-Steiner and Thomas Mauch (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990), esp. xiii, and Janet Levarie Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta: The Narrator as Lover (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986).

Introduction 15 come to serve as an icon of the headstrong innamorata, functioning as a model for those who played the type. In one famous passage written by innamorato actor Domenico Bruni, the servetta Ricciolina gripes that her fellow actors are making her fetch and carry books for them to study, to help stock their minds for improvisation. The Lover wants her to bring him Plato, while Zanni wants a book of jests. The innamorata calls for Boccaccio’s Fiammetta, his unique first-person novel narrated by the character he had invented to reign over the amorous games in Filocolo. Three of the debates in Fragmenti examine questions such as those in Boccaccio. The first question posed in Filocolo—what type of lover is most worthy of love?—is also a topic in Isabella’s first debate (“On the Worthiness of Lovers”). Andreini’s Contrasto 19 (“On Seeing and Thinking in Love”) asks whether it is a greater delight to see one’s lover, or to think of her when absent—precisely the same question posed in Filocolo’s question 11. Midway through the game, a young man who adores Queen Fiammetta poses a serious and searching query: should one ever fall in love prompted by amorous desire (question 7)? Sadly for him, she rules that erotic love is not permissible under any circumstances, just as Prasilla does in “On Honest Love” (Contrasto 16).45 Italian aristocrats actually did play this game at parties, and readers eagerly bought up accounts of them.46 Annibale Romei’s The Courtier’s Academie, published in Italian in 1586, describes one such affair at which the Gelosi performed. The hosts are the duke of Ferrara, Don Alfonso d’Este, and his duchess.47 Between bouts of hunting, eating, and dancing, the guests elect a queen and answer her questions. These turn out to be standard topics, such as “which is better, to love or be loved?”—one of the issues in Isabella’s first debate (“On the Worthiness of Lovers”). Joking and wordplay fill the air, with the women generally prevailing over the men. One countess resembles a witty innamorata, who is so nimble of tongue and full of conceits that she astonishes the company. Another lady wryly asks why there are so many sad lovers and cruel mistresses around if, as Dante 45. Thirteeene most pleasaunt and delectable questions . . . , 12–14 (question 1), 54–61 (question 7), 74–77 (question 11). 46. In an English example from the same period, playwright George Whetstone describes a lavish feast he attends in Ravenna during his travels. The guests of his host elect a queen, who directs them to take turns in a “marriage debate” based on the questioni d’amore tradition. After days spent in amorous sparring, it is time for a play. Professional actresses and actors enter and improvise a comedy based on the guests’ suggestions, delighting Whetstone, who compliments their skill. See Whetstone, An Heptameron of Civill Discourses, Containing: The Christmasse Excercise of sundrie well courted Gentlemen and Gentlewomen . . . (London: Richard Jones, 1582), sigs. R2r, R3v. 47. Annibale Romei, The Courtiers Academie. Comprehending Seuen Seuerall Dayes Discourses . . . (London: Valentine Sims, 1598), a translation of Discorsi del conte Annibale Romei . . . nelle quali tra dame e cavaglieri ragionando . . . (Ferrara: Baldini, 1586).

16 Introduction says, all true love must be returned by the beloved. This controversial statement from Dante’s Inferno provides the main topic of Contrasto 3 (“On Whether Every Beloved Person Must Love in Return”), and serves as a leitmotif throughout the contrasti. After dinner this critical crowd watches a comedy by the sought-after Gelosi: Evening beeing come, his highnesse caused a most pleasant Comedie to bee recited by the Gelosi. These bee certain Coemedians, who requested everie yeare by his highnesse, are wont to come in the end of Autumne, and hee taketh them along to the sea side, as also the whole Carnevale or Shrovetide, to their great gaine, and contentment of all the Cittie, they employ themselves in Commicall representations, and are verie apte in imitating all manner of persons and actions humane, but especially those, which are fittest to procure laughter, in which poynte they are prompt and excellent, that they would make Heraclitus himselfe to laugh.48 Gelosi comedies certainly contained lovers’ dialogues strongly indebted to literary models going back to Boccaccio. But there is a crucial difference in Fragmenti, signaled by the adjective “scenici” applied to contrasti in the list of roles. Isabella’s contrasti scenici emulate the theatrical practices of professionals, unlike “questioni d’amore” or dialogues in courtesy books or novelle. The diva’s innovative “debates for the stage” exploit wordplay, rhetorical variety, and invention, while providing cues for action and delivery suited to stage adaptation. Such a compendium offered potential buyers and readers multiple uses. A playwright creating a scenario or script might recycle any of these “fragments” into an appropriate plot about love and its trials. Professionals might add them to their own collections of material (zibaldoni) to use during improvisation in a future play. The contrasti give players explicit and implicit cues for self-dramatizing tears, attempted kisses, furious threats, and bawdy jokes, not to mention distracted asides to the audience and flamboyant fainting spells. Anyone who was literate could try their hand at this game, which was aimed at mixed groups. In his preface, Francesco explicitly recommended that they be read aloud “for pleasure, in the presence of your most honored Gentlewomen.”49 Such reading practices were collective and performa48. Romei, The Courtiers Academie, L2v, p76. During one day, they debate the worth of arms versus letters (as in Fragmenti, Contrasto 6). 49. Francesco Andreini, “To the Kind Reader,” prefatory letter, Isabella Andreini, Fragmenti (1617), 4. On reading non-religious texts—including drama and theatrical scripts—as an emerging leisure activity in early modern Europe, see Roger Chartier, “Reading Matter and ‘Popular’ Reading: From the Renaissance to the Seventeenth Century,” in A History of Reading in the West, ed. Guglielmo Cavallo

Introduction 17 tive. Amateur players could choose to act the scenes, to imitate and recall the great stars of the past, as they might do with a scene from a commedia ridicolosa—a subgenre of arte comedy emulating the comici’s famed performance style and dramaturgy, but with written lines replacing improvisation, and marketed to both readers and performers.50 In part because of its inclusive marketing strategy and star allure, Lovers’ Debates offers an unparalleled trove of evidence about the acting and playmaking of the most famous innamorata actress and her suitors. For readers and scholars the book is a virtual database of playing modules—rhetorical units, improvisational models, dramatic templates, erudite references, poetic allusions, emotional exempla, and interpersonal conflicts/resolutions—with all the dazzling copia and varietas prized in the period. The pleasure of reading it from beginning to end lies in the way leitmotifs are given dramatic form in varying scenes, inviting readers to play out these encounters on a real or imagined stage.

Structure and Themes: The Lovers’ Debates in Action Despite their erudite air, the thirty-one debates do not operate on a strictly intellectual plane. La divina Isabella was not just a prodigy of intellect, but a laughgetter and a star. Like other famous comici, Isabella and Francesco did not always perform for dukes, duchesses, kings, and queens, but for more ordinary audiences on simple stages in town squares and civic halls; all looked to them for comic brilliance. Since the Lovers offered glamour and high fashion, they stood out in marked contrast to the masked Pantalone (a stingy, lustful Venetian merchant) and Zanni (an antic servant) and the humbler female roles such as Francischina (a tricky, often bawdy maidservant) and Balia (a nurse). Always speaking in refined Tuscan, the Lovers put their own comic spin on the games of love played by courtly elites, such as those in Ferrara. While capable of serious emotions and genres, their excesses were often matter for comedy—especially their madcap whims, affected airs, and intense self-absorption (for example, see debate 19, starring Genevra and Aurelio).

and Roger Chartier, trans. Lydia G. Cochrane (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999), 269–83, esp. 276–78. See also Brian Richardson, Printing, Writers and Readers in Renaissance Italy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), and by the same author, Women and the Circulation of Texts in Renaissance Italy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020); see also Roger Chartier, Publishing Drama in Early Modern Europe (London: British Library, 1999). 50. See the Introduction to Margherita Costa, The Buffoons, a Ridiculous Comedy: A Bilingual Edition, ed. and trans. Sara E. Díaz and Jessica Goethals (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2018), 48–52.

18 Introduction

Introduction 19

Figure 3. The Fragmenti cleverly sets the mood with a provocative “playbill” full of famous names and odd couples. Third and fourth pages.

20 Introduction The volume sets the tone of serio ludere (serious play) with an enticing “playbill” entitled “Names of All the Characters Who Speak in the Lovers’ Debates.” By browsing this list of classical luminaries, the reader starts to people her mental stage with players, female and male, famous and obscure, noted and notorious. The list is tailor-made to prompt pleasurable speculation. If these are debates by arte lovers, where are the usual suspects, with names like “Flaminia and Flavio”? For that matter, where are “Isabella” and her suitors? Given the diva’s stardom, which exceeded that of any actor who played the lover, the women in the list clamor for special attention. Most of the names in the cast are posh and literary, like those of the gentlewomen-debaters of Ferrara in the Courtier’s Academie; but the classical ones also bear a titillating resemblance to the monikers of famous courtesans.51 Some names are easy to identify; others are obscure. Some, like Sappho and Diotima, are intellectual prodigies whose scenes show off Isabella’s rare virtue and intellect. Names such as Tullia and Genevra summon up contemporary figures as well, arousing curiosity about why they were chosen. The most intriguing ones do not align with Isabella’s famous reputation for purity and wifely chastity. Every reader would recognize the passion-torn Cleopatra, Helena, Deianira, and Fedra from lists of famous women, especially Boccaccio’s De claris mulieribus. Cleopatra is an emblem of Eastern luxury and excess; Fedra’s namesake is driven to crime by incestuous passion, and jealous Deianira unwittingly causes the death of her husband Hercules (her name means “destroyer of men”). None of these dire events occurs within these brief playlets, but the names do mark the innamorata in each with relevant and distinctive traits. These flamboyant icons showcase aspects of Isabella’s acknowledged powers of impersonation. They also demonstrate her social prestige, the interpretive flexibility of the contrasti, and the playfulness of the naming practices at hand. Name games were an important tool for self-fashioning in ducal courts, humanist academies, the palazzi of patrons, and the houses of great courtesans. Self-naming was an artful game, like inventing an impresa. Prime donne played the game with a difference, taking on stage names from high-toned pastoral and romance. Isabella Andreini was known as “Filli” when she was not simply “Isabella,” and her daughter-in-law Virginia Ramponi was “Florinda.” Ambitious courtesans were in the habit of taking names of virtuous Roman matrons such as Cornelia or Imperia, both to mask their true identities and to signal their elegant (and high-priced) attainments. Veronica Franco took a different tack, playfully calling herself “vero, unica” (“true, unique”), while the poet-musician Gaspara 51. See Fiora A. Bassanese, “What’s in a Name? Self-Naming and Renaissance Women Poets,” Annali d’Italianistica 7 (1989): 104–15. The names of the Duke’s female guests in Ferrara include “the two right illustrious and most beautiful sisters, the Lady D. Marfisa and Bradamante, the Lady Leonora Tieni Countesse of Scandiano, the lady Isabella Bentivoglia Marquess of Galtieri, the Lady Camilla Costabili, the Lady Lucretia Calcagnina, the Lady Victoria Tassona, the Lady Camilla Bevelacqua, the Lady Lucrezia Machiavella” and others (Romei, The Courtiers Academie, sig. B2).

Introduction 21 Stampa styled herself “Anassilla,” a name derived from the river bordering her lover’s estate.52 To evoke this world of masquerade, Lovers’ Debates poses an intriguing game of hide-and-seek with role names, making some obvious and some puzzles. The content of the debates provides the most obvious clues. While the contrasti may seem randomly arranged, they possess a sequential structure based on thematic groupings and dramatic intensity. The first dozen feature the intellectual diva who boldly schools men in masculine disciplines—medical, legal, philosophical, and literary. The sequence opens with Attilio and Diotima, who converse with affectionate gravity on “the worthiness of lovers,” facing off on the question who is more worthy, the lover or the beloved?53 Diotima emerges as the more nimble debater, which is appropriate since Diotima is the Greek priestess who taught Socrates about ideal love, as noted in Plato’s Symposium. Attilio yields to her clinching argument, agreeing that both are worthy and mutual love is best. The debaters in the middle third address the nature of love and its social manifestations, especially marriage (“On Conjugal Love,” Contrasto 13) and love’s ethical ramifications (“On Vows,” 15; “On Honest Love,” 16; and “On True Love,” 21). Dramatic tension mounts in the finale, as men and women lose control of their emotions and even their wits (see “On Jealousy,” 24, and “On Feigning Love for One Woman, While Loving Another,” 29), ending with the tragicomic epiphanies of Cleopatra and Palamede in “With a Passionate Swoon,” 31.54 The episodes also possess internal patterns that bring cohesion to the whole. Each contrasto tends to adhere to the following schema: 1. Polite salutations by the interlocutors, sometimes with flattering compliments; in some, however, an offended or wounded speaker begins abruptly with a lament or accusation. 2. Short, often stichomythic exchanges that establish the topic. 3. The debate itself, with defenses and explanations. Each speaker tends to cite philosophers (especially Plato and Aristotle) and poets (Dante, 52. Bassanese, “What’s in a Name?,” 105, 113. 53. Andreini uses a similar stately opening in the Lettere, which begins with “Di quanto pregio sia l’honore” [“Of Honor’s High Esteem”]. In Fragmenti the name Diotima shows up again in the intensely Neoplatonic Contrasto 8, “On the Exchange of Souls.” 54. The structure recalls Bembo’s mounting Neoplatonic ecstasy in Il Cortegiano, Book 4; he goes into a trance, to the amusement of the other guests. In the final debates, the idolization of the beloved reaches new heights, yet idols and idolatrous worship were special targets of the Counter-Reformation. Since the penultimate debate (“On Loving Idolatrously”) explicitly dramatizes idolatry in love, it seems to have been deliberately “hidden” from potential censors by its omission in the “Tavola” of the first two Fragmenti editions (see note 5). Yet it appears in the text itself, thus giving a total of 30 or 31 debates, one for every day of the month.

22 Introduction Petrarch, Ariosto, and others), often adding proverbs and conventional wisdom; some rebuttals evince a feminist viewpoint. 4. The clinching of the argument, often in a long speech by the winning party, usually the female speaker. 5. Capitulation by the loser, often with an amicable or loving final reconciliation. 6. Often the woman gets the last word. Some final remarks are harsh and stinging (alla stoccata), forming a painful finale to cruel rejection, mockery, and disdain (sdegno); others are more gentle. Andreini’s text seems positively orderly when placed alongside a similar collection by innamorato actor Domenico Bruni of the Confidenti.55 Both show evidence of comic practice, in which “actors learned and prepared material for stock situations, which would regularly recur in standard comic plots.”56 While Bruni’s remain unpublished and exist only in manuscript, Isabella’s dialogues became a successful printed book. Her thirty-one scenes recall the famous literary “giornate” of Boccaccio’s Decameron and Marguerite de Navarre’s Heptameron, not to mention Scala’s Teatro delle Favole Rappresentative, with its fifty “days” of scenarios. While Bruni handles similar topics, such as “Superiority of the soldier or the man of letters,” his collection is a potluck anthology of favorite routines— with many inside jokes about the other divas who appear in them. Some are slanging matches and feature roles for women of ill repute (one is entitled “A seducing bawd, on constancy in love”). Isabella, like other actresses, might play adulterous wives and possibly courtesans when a plot called for it, as Scala’s collection shows, but this facet appears only by suggestion in Fragmenti, in which the women present a more respectable image—despite many bawdy moments.

Diva on Top: The Professor, the Realist, the Bawdy Virago Boldly competing with men in the world of learning, Isabella created her own variation on “the woman as intellect,” as Ross calls the newly prominent figure of the female intellectual in the period.57 Other women writers pursued the same aim, but many were raised in learned households and enjoyed paternal support. Isabella had to develop strategies to shield herself from constant charges that actresses incited dangerous lust in audiences, and that their profession was no more than prostitution. This volume suggests that she took the high road by 55. Domenico Bruni, Dialoghi Scenici di Domenico Bruni detto Fulvio, Comico Confidente . . . (Biblioteca del Burcardo, Rome), cod. 3-37-3-35. 56. Andrews, Scripts and Scenarios, 190. 57. See the Introduction in Ross, Birth of Feminism, esp. 1–5; on Andreini as a category-defying member of a “household salon,” see Chapter 5.

Introduction 23 situating herself as an authority in the more polite forms of love, refusing the subaltern status of student. In the first third of the debates, the innamorate are intensely professorial, eager to instruct lovers in taming their passions and their faulty logic. One could describe this initial sequence as “a seminar for men in the science of love,” taught by a female prodigy, with a syllabus featuring Aristotle, Plato, and Dante. This comic reversal of gender norms may account for the sheer size of some of the innamorata’s more didactic speeches—they are showpieces of rhetorical copia, meant to overawe and wear down an opponent.

Figure 4. On stage the swaggering Capitano constantly pursued the Innamorata; Isabella’s husband Francesco played this role, usually losing out to the younger, more elegant Lover. Knowledge of philosophy provides a mantle of authority, but it is rhetorical skill that wins the battle. Several learned innamorate prescribe Platonic disciplining of male passions and sensual instincts by reason. In the face of a clever verbal assault, Corinna marshals her forces and argues this position with such sublime eloquence that Capitano Alessandro, who has fought long and hard, suddenly capitulates (Contrasto 6, “On Arms and Letters”). Other innamorate openly preach Aristotelian moderation to steer men toward greater self-control, as in contrasti 24 (“On Jealousy”) and 21 (“On True Love”). In fact, women in the series cite

24 Introduction Aristotle more often than any other authority. Some of them put the lie to his much-cited assertions about women’s inferiority to men by besting men in intellectual debate. If women’s brains were supposedly weaker, then Isabella and her avatars would make an ostentatious display of learning—by quoting Aristotle. The most celebrated writers of the early Renaissance play a major role in these lectures. Many concetti and paradoxes are Petrarchan, the lifeblood of the lovers’ dramatic poeticism. Dante is also a looming presence: both men and women quote or allude to Francesca’s speech in The Inferno, asserting that no one may refuse to love when offered sincere love.58 In Contrasto 3 (“On Whether Every Beloved Person Must Love in Return”) the frustrated Furio launches Dante’s famous tag at Istrina. But she comes back with two learned citations, one from Aristotle, and the other about the contest between Eros, erotic love, and Anteros, reciprocal love. True love is born of free will, so nothing may compel her to love him because “duty and obligation have no place in love.”59 She will exercise her own free will in choosing to love him or not, a conclusion that Furio graciously accepts. In this case, Aristotle’s authority—culled from his Nicomachean Ethics—serves the purposes of the female speaker expert in the ways of love.60 In performance terms, the female interlocutor comes off as a performer capable of adapting philosophical tradition to her immediate needs, reflecting the quickwitted, improvisational talents of the actress-author. Recognizing that no one could stomach a steady diet of high-flown abstractions or lessons about virtuous love, the comici always offered change and variety, modulating rapidly from poeticizing dialogue to vulgar farce within a single scene. Lovers’ Debates also offers welcome breaks from high-mindedness and long-windedness. Angered by a suitor who wants to give her “a long, long lecture,” the innamorata retaliates: “Long things are boring, and sometimes need to be cut off and made shorter” (debate 14, “On the Power of Love”). Nicostrata puts the brakes on her lover’s Neoplatonic rhapsodizing, stating: “I am no Greek priestess Diotima” (debate 8, “On the Exchange of Souls”). In debate 13 (“On Conjugal 58. Furio cites Francesca da Rimini’s speech in the Inferno, canto 5: “Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona” (“Love, which pardons no one loved from loving in return”). See Dante Alighieri, The Inferno, 5.103, in The Divine Comedy, ed. and trans. Robert M. Durling (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996). 59. Andreini, Fragmenti, our transcription, 20: “Ma s’io v’amo, non vorrei, che credeste, che forza alcuna mi spingesse a farlo perche il dovere non si ritrova in amore. . . .” 60. Aristotle’s treatment of questions of love, especially philia, appears in the Nicomachean Ethics, Books 8 and 9, with Book 8, section 2 serving Istrina’s purposes in this contrasto. Andreini also draws frequently on more recent treatises and compendia, among them Alessandro Piccolomini’s Della nobiltà et eccellenza delle donne (Venice: Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1549), itself a translation of an influential pro-women treatise by Cornelius Agrippa, and the Officina of the French humanist scholar Jean Tixier de Révisy (“Johannes Textor,” ca. 1470–1542), a best-selling encyclopedic work in Latin, published and reprinted numerous times after 1520 in several European cities, including Venice. In short, erudition is one of Isabella’s own leading hallmarks.

Introduction 25 Love”), Hippodamia is a hard-headed realist who knows that marriage poses threats to a young woman’s security, financial and sexual. To her fiancé’s dismay, she is not at all excited about marrying and moving into his parents’ household. When Tarquinio (an ominous name) asks why, she is blunt: “ordinarily mothersin-law don’t take too kindly to their daughters-in-law! Of your Lordship’s father I don’t worry much, since it has long been proved that daughters-in-law are much loved and caressed by their fathers-in-law—that’s all I would say to you.”61 Her sarcasm brings to light a taboo topic: the threat of sexual abuse of brides by their husbands’ fathers. Tarquinio finally convinces her that his father will love her “like a daughter, not like a daughter-in-law.” Hippodamia also raises the topic of her dowry and her concerns over its security, and he hastens to reassure her about her financial future. He promises that he will never become a tyrant like other husbands, and says that he is willing to renounce absolute power for her sake.62 All in all, despite his name, Tarquinio seems a mild-mannered, slightly befuddled Counter-Reformation patriarch, while Hippodamia comes off as a protofeminist with keen debating skills. Women’s status and level of education vary across the thirty-one contrasti. While Hippodamia is clearly from a bourgeois background, she is not as educated in her speech and manner as the courtly intellectuals who lecture men in other contrasti. Yet even the most elegant women can lapse into low speech at times. In real life, gentlewomen who modeled themselves on Castiglione’s buttoned-up donna di palazzo also enjoyed bawdy jokes and vulgar lazzi, just as commoners did. Even in the most refined contrasti, female speakers can jettison civility, erupting in tirades and insults more suited to the street corner than the salon. At other moments, couples move from intellectual riffing to sexual quibbling, while veiling it in Greek or Roman drapery. They know precisely how to shift registers while preserving decorum. In this regard, the author/performer also displays her verbal and rhetorical versatility, emulating and spoofing Petrarchan tropes and postures and introducing variations on emerging Baroque styles, from the grandiloquent to the unadorned.63 Several contrasti show men and women verbally “playing doctor,” or reaching for new “polite” metaphors for genitalia, tumescence, and 61. On the name Tarquinio, probably an allusion to the rape of Lucrece, see note 94 on p. 362. The original passage reads: “Dubito per aver’ a venire in casa di vostro padre, e di vostra madre, sapendo essere l’ordinario dell suocere non veder troppo volontieri le nuore loro: del padre di V.S. non dubito molto, poiche per lunga prova si sà che le nuore sono da i suoceri loro molto amate, & accarezzate, con tutto ciò vi sarebbe che dire.” (Fragmenti, 89). 62. Andreini, Fragmenti, 93: “mio padre è huomo civile, e di buona natura, il quale v’amerà come figliuola, e non come nuora. . . .” 63. For an incisive essay on the question of early seventeenth-century Italian challenges to Renaissance rhetorical forms, especially in the context of amorous discourses and personae, see Maiko Favaro, “La retorica della schiettezza: Sulle Lettere amorose (1642) di Girolamo Brusoni,” The Italianist 37, no. 1 (2017), 20–35.

26 Introduction orgasm, all of which could be made explicit by a look, prop, or gesture (see, for example, the risqué exploding “alembic” at the end of the seventh contrasto, “On the Amorous Fever”). The bawdiest contrasto of all (debate 28, “On Loving Loftily”) avoids street talk entirely. Disdainful Deianira and lustful Livio, a Capitano type, deploy the familiar martial trope of “the lovers’ war,” bristling with assaults and weaponry; in this popular type of set-piece, blustering threats of rape meet castrating scorn. This sort of duel invites cocky, insinuating stances and gestures from both players to achieve full comic potential. Both maintain verbal decorum, however, by using military language to show their brash resolve, a motif used elsewhere, but not at this length or with this degree of violence (see, for example, debate 6, “On Arms and Letters”). As the tension mounts, the fiery Deianira describes her impregnable “stronghold” and dares him to attack, and Livio responds with innuendos lewd enough to raise blushes: Deianira: . . . This stronghold of mine, then, is situated above a hill divided in two parts, but so high, and so well defended, that no one can enter it except Love, and furthermore, two clean and white columns guard the entrance, and passageway; whence to enter you need to gain the flanks ardently, and with great skill. Now, if you have enough will and courage to attack it and make it yours, get ready for the task! Livio: I know very well, Signora, that in similar assaults one needs to have great vigor, and great strength; and how, having attained the portals of the gate, one needs to push boldly forward to make the fortress yield. I also know that in the assaults, and in the skirmishes, one must never retreat, but valorously show one’s face bathed in honorable sweat, and thrust oneself inside, so that, proceeding in this way, with just a few blows, the valorous soldier makes himself master of the stubborn fortress.64 This well-worn formula invites over-the-top performances. Bawdiness was part and parcel of all comic acting, just as in Shakespeare’s works. For the players, 64. Deianira: Questa mia rocca poi, è posta sopra una collina divisa in due parti, ma cosi alta, e cosi ben difesa, che nessuno vi può entrare salvo, che amore: e tanto più quanto, che due colonne bianche, e polite guardano l’entrata, & passaggio: la onde per entrarvi bisogna arditamente, e con grand’arte guadagnare i fianchi: hora se vi dà l’animo di darli l’assalto, e di farne acquisto ponetevi all’impresa. Livio: Io sò benissimo Signora mia che in simili assalti bisogna haver gran lena, e gran forza; e come gionto sù gli orli della porta bisogna spingere audacemente innanzi per far’ arrender la fortezza, & ancora sò, che ne gli assalti, e nelle scaramuccie non bisogna mai piegare a dietro, ma valorosamente mostrar la fronte bagnata d’honorato sudore, e ficcarsi dentro, che cosi facendo in pochi colpi si fa il valoroso soldato padrone dell’ostinata fortezza (Fragmenti [1617], 202).

Introduction 27 a far more risky move was to take part in political debate and controversy. Yet even here, there are moments in which Isabella plunges in, openly advocating against tyrants not only in the family, but in the state. She aligns herself with the memory of republican principles in Florence, for example, by ridiculing the Medici as “harmful” parasites ejected by the state, although they were her patrons (debate 4, “On the Doctor and the Judge”). While her interlocutor quickly observes that the Medici were recalled to govern the city, there is a sense that Isabella—here in the guise of the legendary Greek poet Erinna—is using the licence of the comedian to teasingly deride her courtly employers, as Margherita Costa would do with her “ridiculous comedy” Li buffoni (1641) a generation later.65 The Andreini family may have relied on the support of the rulers of Tuscany, but they were not merely servile, and they maintained their players’ right to advise as well as entertain.66 Another risky move, given Isabella’s lifelong campaign to promote her chastity, is the distinct web of allusions to famous cortigiane oneste, whose literary skills were part of their glamour. Like Isabella’s “Diotima” in the opening contrasto, poet-courtesan Tullia d’Aragona (ca. 1501–1556) argues that the beloved is worthier than the lover in her Dialogue on the Infinity of Love. No fewer than three contrasti (1, 7, and 18) point to Aragona directly or indirectly.67 In each case the allusion provides a cover of “deniability” because of its classical mask. An ambitious and talented poet, musician, and intellectual, Tullia resembled Isabella in many ways; the allusion suggests that Isabella found her passionate verse and bold persona worthy of imitation. Nonetheless, the contrasto of Tullia versus Celio is shadowed by venality and violence. By the end he threatens to blow up her resistance with a “petard.” While references to cash are rare in the debates, he offers her “a fistful of gold” to enter her “gate,” driving her into a rage: “To hell with you!”68

65. On Costa and her play, which facetiously satirizes the world of the Medici court, see The Buffoons, especially the Introduction, 26–35. 66. On the strong familial and professional ties between the Medici and Francesco and Isabella Andreini and their children, which endured for decades, see MacNeil, Music and Women, 47–49, 88. 67. “Tullia” is the female speaker in Fragmenti, debate 18, and “Diotima” wins the debates in 1 and 8 (see the notes to the individual debates). Diotima is mentioned in Tullia d’Aragona’s Dialogo della infinità di amore (1547), and in the work that inspired it, Sperone Speroni’s Dialogo d’amore (1542). Tullia is a major character in Speroni’s dialogue. Her desires are erotic and carnal, but the interlocutor Nicolò Grazia argues that she should see herself as a Diotima figure. In her own dialogue, Tullia namedrops Diotima as she bests her interlocutor in debate. See Tullia d’Aragona, Dialogo della infinità di amore, in Trattati d’amore del Cinquecento, ed. Giuseppe Zonta (Bari: Giuseppe Laterza e Figli, 1912), 185–243, esp. 198, 201–2, and the English translation by Rinaldina Russell and Bruce Merry in the Other Voice series, Dialogue on the Infinity of Love; see also Sperone Speroni, Dialogo d’Amore, in Opere, vol. 1, ed. Natale dalle Laste and Marco Forcelli (Venice: Appresso Domenico Occhi, 1740; reprint, Rome: Vecchiarelli, 1989), 27. 68. Lovers’ Debates, 221.

28 Introduction Debate 10 (“On the Enchantment of the Eyes”) is even cruder, perhaps because it almost certainly alludes to a scandal involving the celebrated beauty and poet-courtesan Veronica Franco (1546–1591). Pompeo whines that Artemisia’s eyes have bewitched him—a charge commonly leveled at actresses and courtesans. When she spurns him, he taunts her by calling her Maga (sorceress) again and again, more in anger than jest; the insult was dangerous, since a woman accused of witchcraft could be prosecuted by the Inquisition. Finally, Artemisia declares she is a sorceress, and pulls out a pack of cards, asserting that she can contact amorous spirits. The card-playing woman features in many images of courtesans and gypsies, but the portrait points to one in particular. A high-profile contemporary of Isabella and Francesco, Veronica Franco published erotic poems and interacted boldly with male intellectuals; her famous liaison with Henri III during his tour of Venice brought her acclaim and notoriety. She was put on trial in 1580, when the vengeful ex-tutor of her children accused her of playing prohibited card games, practicing witchcraft to raise demonic spirits, and causing the spread of syphilis. She was acquitted, but her reputation was damaged.69 The scene between Artemisia and Pompeo ends comically: he grows as lewd as any randy customer or masked zanni, and demands a “teat-treat” from her apple-like breasts. She finally drives him away using a battery of low ingiurie (insults). With great vigor, she calls him an ass who should flay himself and get a sweat-cure and enema for his “Gallic disease” (syphilis).70 Their rough language evokes zannate (arte clowning) or a brothel brawl—a far cry from the implicitly genteel arenas in other contrasti. Like Deianira and Tullia, other women demonstrate manly virtù (strength, power, virility) rather than typically “feminine” qualities of virtue and chastity.71 Several are so domineering that they become the virago-like “woman on top.” Cross-dressing had become a familiar vehicle for adventurous amorose, and the Isabella character in Scala’s Teatro delle Favole Rappresentative often dons male attire to carry out her intrigues. While the device is not deployed literally in the contrasti, many speakers show a boldness that would have been considered mas69. Margaret F. Rosenthal, The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in SixteenthCentury Venice (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), 155–200. Franco was also accused by the misogynistic part-time poet Maffio Venier of being infected with syphilis; ironically, he himself would later die of the disease (see Rosenthal, 49–50). Even more pertinent to Andreini’s development of the contrasto form is Franco’s own use of the term in several of her poems, including a tenzone with the same Maffio Venier. See Eric Nicholson, “ ‘She Speaks Poniards’: Shakespearean Drama and the Italianate Leading Lady as Verbal Duellist,” Early Modern Literary Studies 27 (2017), 1–16, esp. 9–12. 70. Lovers’ Debates, 10, 151. 71. On the crucial breakthrough made by early Italian actresses in gaining agency through the practice of their authentic “virtù” as women, i.e., their talents, skills, and individual powers, see Jane Tylus, “Natural Women: Isabella Andreini and the First Italian Actresses,” Italian Culture 13, no. 1 (1995): 75–85, and Alexandra Coller, Introduction, Women, Rhetoric, and Drama in Early Modern Italy.

Introduction 29 culine. In “On the Exchange of Souls” (debate 8) Nicostrata declares that, through the magic of Neoplatonic thinking, she has become a man and Curio a woman. When Curio protests that she lacks an essential part, she calls it unnecessary to their love, shocking him. As we have seen, other women strap on verbal armor and go to war, clashing with Capitano types in bawdy battles. Some female debaters attack love itself as an enemy and traitor (see debates 17, 20, and 26, for example). These anti-love tirades were a basic element in the innamorata’s toolkit. The cross-dressed Isabella/Fabrizio of Scala’s “Faithful Loving Pilgrim” recounts sad tales of lovers’ sufferings to support her attack on love. Such love-phobia often turned into its opposite in the course of a play, displaying the diva’s versatility in playing both the “adamant” and “ardent” versions of her role.72 The conversion of an aloof, disdainful young woman to a contrite and amorous one—like Silvia in Tasso’s Aminta—was a popular pattern in comedy and pastoral. The final debate delivers this pleasure: when Cleopatra cruelly rejects Palamade, he falls down in a faint, as if dead. She delivers a stirring lament full of remorse over his body. He revives, and she agrees to marry and live happily with him, to his delight.

The Art of Losing Control: Madness and Frenzy Three contrasti in the final part of the book take on tragic tones, using the popular theatergram of derangement associated with Isabella and her virtuosic performances of madness. In debates 27 (“On Suspicion in Love”), 29 (“On Feigning Love for One Woman, While Loving Another”), and 31 (“With a Passionate Swoon”), men and women are driven to despair by lovers or by their own jealous imaginations. Debate 27 begins with Eudosia loudly weeping, erupting in unfounded accusations and tirades against Evandro. She shifts from her initial “lamento dell’innamorata” (“lover’s complaint”) to roaming about the stage as she seeks out her non-existent rival in the audience. Addressing this unseen “other woman” in a mad fury, she says that her rival won’t enjoy her stolen lover for long. Eudosia then threatens Evandro, saying she will kill herself and rise from the grave to haunt him, as the ghost of Clytemnestra haunts Orestes. Here Isabella reminds her readers of the classicizing tragic episodes she has played, to great acclaim. Not every company had a star of her caliber who excelled at playing tragic heroines. Those that did gained prestige from offering plays in the genre. The first dive played Hecuba, Medea, Dido, and other tragic roles that they adapted themselves, such as Drusilla from Orlando Furioso. To play them well required virtuosity in performing moving laments and tirades, scenes of frenzied despair and suicide, and, on occasion, bloody acts of revenge. The tragic, pathos-laden 72. On “adamant” versus “ardent” innamorata types, see Emily Wilbourne, Seventeenth-Century Opera and the Sound of the Commedia dell’Arte (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016), 34–35.

30 Introduction performances of the first female stars—and after them, the first sopranos of opera—were held in high esteem by courtly patrons and elite audiences, altering both the writing and playing of tragedies.73 One of Isabella’s last recorded performances was that of a tragedy, Il califfo d’Egitto, during her final French tour with the Gelosi in 1603–4.74 In a sonnet published as a preface to her Lettere, Giovan Battista Marino singles out Isabella’s “tragico stil” as having the power to move audiences to pity and tears.75 Comedy is restored quickly in Eudosia’s case, since her misery is entirely self-inflicted. Her tirades seem bathetic, especially after she swiftly recants her jealous attacks and reconciles with Evandro. Her hyperbolic alternation of furious rejection and ardent acceptance puts a tragicomic spin on Isabella’s best-known star turn. This was the pazzia of the “donna forsennata”—the mad scene of the woman driven to distraction. Isabella’s mad scenes could be comic or tragic or farcical, or all of these modes in one scene. In Scala’s tragic scenario La forsennata principessa (“The Demented Princess”), for example, the title character Alvira “becomes stark raving mad,” and after having chased clowns offstage, torn her hair and clothes, and spoken torrents of delirious nonsense, she “leaps into the sea, is drowned, and is seen no more.”76 Similar lazzi of madness distinguish the Isabella of Scala’s “Pazzia di Isabella” (Day 38), who like Alvira assaults male characters with a stick, and utters wild nonsense: “The soul, according to Aristotle, is a spirit diffused throughout the barrels of muscatel wine from Monte Fiascone.”77 In the famous tour de force pazzia staged in Florence for the 1589 wedding of Ferdinando de’ Medici, grand duke of Tuscany, and Christine de Lorraine, Andreini imitated all the other “maschere” performing in the show, among them the Venetian Pantalone, the Bolognese Dottor Graziano, and the bawdy servetta Francischina, before regaining her wits thanks to a potion, “then pronouncing in elegant and learned style on the passion of love and on the torments felt by those ensnared in its traps.”78 Isabella’s learned disquisition probably resembled the 73. On the evidence showing that dive Barbara Flaminia, Vincenza Armani, Vittoria Piissimi, and Isabella Andreini won fame for their tragic performances, altering tragedy as a genre, see Pamela Allen Brown, “The Traveling Diva and Generic Innovation,” Renaissance Drama 44, no. 2 (2016): 249–67. 74. See Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte, 263. 75. Marino’s poem is reprinted in full in Ferruccio Marotti and Giovanna Romei, eds., La Professione del teatro, vol. 2 of La Commedia dell’Arte e la società barocca (Rome: Bulzoni, 1991), 167, as well as in Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 151. 76. Andrews, The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala, Day 41, 268, 270. 77. Andrews, The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala, 233. Montefiascone was, and still is, a wellknown wine region in Italy. 78. See Andrews, The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala, 238, for a full translation of the eyewitness account of the performance published by Giuseppe Pavoni, in his Diario descritto da Giuseppe Pavoni. Delle feste celebrate nelle solennissime nozze delli Serenissimi Sposi, il Sig. Don Ferdinando Medici e la Sig. Donna Christina di Loreno Gran Duchi di Toscana . . . (Bologna: Giovanni de’ Rossi, 1589). Among

Introduction 31 mini-lectures on the topic given by several of the female debaters. Pavoni records that Isabella’s lover Fileno also “became deranged, or mad,” confirming that actors regularly took on this difficult theatergram. Appropriately, then, Lovers’ Debates features a long monologue for Valerio, who goes to pieces when Fedra rejects him and exits in “Feigning Love for One Woman While Loving Another” (debate 29). Like Alvira and Isabella, Valerio randomly and nonsensically cites “philosophers” (Aristotle in particular), and makes bawdy, alimentary, and scatological jokes. It is easy to imagine Francesco using brilliant mad speeches by his wife, a specialist in such compositions, then adapting them to suit his Capitano Spavento during a spell of insanity. Readers of this bravura scene could readily link this pazzia with those performed by the Gelosi’s star couple. Once again, like several other debates, this contrasto draws attention to its own quicksilver theatricality, in a way that accentuates the protean orchestration of the oral and the written, and in a variety of modes which encompass the theoretical, rhetorical, intellectual, and emotional.

Theater and Metatheater, Comedy and Tragedy Literary theory and stage practice join forces in two witty metatheatrical debates that stand alone in the collection. They both demonstrate (counterintuitively) how Aristotle can act as a practical guide not only for playwrights, but for lovers. In the “Lovers’ Debate on Comedy” (Contrasto 9), Ersilia has a star scene showcasing the diva’s self-possession and her command of Aristotelian theory. She warns her suitor Diomede not to fall in love with the “belle e graziose” actresses who are in town playing comedies, lest he despair when they depart. Then she introduces her major theme: I have enjoyed reading—and reading many times—the Poetics of Aristotle, as the first and foremost of all treatises on poetry, and I have learned that the title [of the play] must take its name from the principal character . . . or truly from some character who conducts the plot with deceptive tricks, even if neither the peripeteia nor the recognition befalls this character directly, but who is at least the cause that the peripeteia and recognition befall other characters.79 the many historical and critical studies of the wedding, and this rendition of Isabella’s pazzia, see James M. Saslow, The Medici Wedding of 1589: Florentine Festival as Theatrum Mundi (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996), esp. 169–70; Henke, Performance and Literature, 103–5; MacNeil, Music and Women, 64–76; and Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 124–27. 79. “Ersilia: Io mi son’ compiaciuto di legger, e di rilegger più volte la Poetica d’Aristotele, come principale di tutte l’altre poetiche, & ho trovato, che il titolo si debbe pigliare dal nome della persona principale . . . o vero d’alcuna persona, che condisca tutta la favola con burle ingannevoli, ancor che in essa non cada nè la Peripetia, nè la Ricognitione; ma che però sia cagione, che la Peripetia, & la Ricognitione cada sopra d’altre persone.” Fragmenti, 64.

32 Introduction Ersilia goes on to appoint herself playwriting teacher and love-coach for Diomede, telling him in no uncertain terms how to apply classical precepts to his comedy, which is based on his passionate hopes for making her love him. She judges him a callow playwright, much too eager to write and act a happy romantic ending. Ersilia reminds him that “comedy, right up to its transmutation, and resolution, is usually full of many trials and tribulations that make it more passionate.” Describing a commedia grave, she counsels him to endure with patience the trials and tribulations of his love, to render it “more perfect and more deserving of recompense.”80 Diomede wants to title his comedy “Ersilia in Love,” but she mocks his presumption: “Entitle it instead ‘The Unfortunate Diomede’—that will be more to the point!”81 What might have been a dry exercise in Aristotelian theory turns out to be a short sketch full of theatrical irony and wordplay, ending in “touché!” Ersilia’s brief warning about actresses suggests how “inside” the ironies could get in the theater of the professionals, especially when the author was the chaste and virtuous Isabella, who nonetheless marketed her own erotic appeal as a commodity.82 In the extraordinary Scala scenario entitled Il Ritratto (“The Portrait,” Day 39), a troupe led by the glamorous but venal Vittoria arrives in town, causing an uproar. There is little doubt that this role refers to Vittoria Piissimi (ca. 1550–ca. 1600), who preceded Isabella as the Gelosi’s star actress and is often painted as her rival.83 In the scenario, Vittoria inspires jealousies and fighting among suitors, husbands, and wives. Along the way the married Isabella (who is no saint, since she herself has a lover) denounces Vittoria as a “wandering whore,” and tells her to her face that contact with actresses dishonors respectable wives like herself, and everyone else. After Vittoria is run out of town, “there is a discussion about how plays are good as fun and entertainment, but that they are also the cause of many scandals.”84 Here Scala portrays the proud Gelosi as so secure in their fame that they can skewer themselves, and even make fun of their virtuous prodigy Isabella. Metatheatrical energy and ironic innuendo also distinguish the eleventh debate, “On Tragedy, and the Heroic Poem.” The regal Sappho lectures Eurialo on tragedy, then decides to invent a brief psychodrama, or play-within-the-play. 80. Here Ersilia states, in the Italian original, “per tanto sopportate con patienza questi affanni, e travagli dell’ amor vostro, li quali faranno molto più affettuoso l’ amor vostro, e degno, & per conseguenza più perfetto, & più meritevole di ricompensa.” Fragmenti, 69. 81. In the Italian: “sperando di ridurre a buon termine questa mia amorosa comedia intitolata l’ innamorata Ersilia. Ersilia Intitolatela pure lo Sventurato Diomede, che sarà meglio.” Fragmenti, 69. 82. See Kerr’s Introduction in The Rise of the Diva. 83. On Piissimi, contemporary eulogies of her, and Scala’s figuration of her in “The Portrait,” see Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 74–81. For facts of her career, see Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte, 304–5. 84. This is the translation by Richard Andrews in his edition The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala, 248.

Introduction 33 Directing and casting with great élan, she takes the role of Tragedy, while she gives Eurialo the role of the Heroic Poem. Again, Isabella displays her detailed familiarity with the Poetics, but the true “diletto” of this exchange comes in its dénouement: Eurialo: I say that Tragedy must believe in the Heroic Poem, and be subjected to him. Sappho: And I answer that the Peripatetic Philosopher [Aristotle] has determined, against all your objections, that Tragedy is more beautiful and perfect than the Heroic Poem. And as I told you before, it will always be so. Go, go, Signor Heroic Poem, go and dabble with your many fables, with which you deck out your beloved Peripeteia, and leave me in my grandeur and my royal state.85 Sappho’s speech affords a golden opportunity for the actress to play the grande dame to the hilt, using voice and gesture to embody high tragedy. Poor Eurialo is in love with Sappho, who does not requite his love, and it is obvious that tragedy will triumph over epic poetry emotionally as well as critically. Rejected and defeated, Eurialo slouches off the scene, cursing himself and the works he admires but could never impersonate, including The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. Sappho and Sophocles win out over Homer and Virgil, but it is not a fair fight. Not content with her victory, Sappho aims a final blow: “Farewell, Signor Heroic Poem, go rewrite and reprint yourself anew, because in this state you aren’t worth anything” [“Addio Signor Poema heroico, andate farvi ricorreggere, e ristampar’ di nuovo, perchè così non valete niente”]. Once more, a bold female voice gets the last word, distilled from a selfconsciously intertextual, wittily revisionist mix of literary, philosophical, and popular references. The supreme virtuosa enhances her own hybrid theatrical poetics, invoking both the authoritative prestige of Aristotle and the woman who lords it over him, like the courtesan Phyllis who mounts and rides the besotted philosopher in popular legend. Aristotle was to be cited, he was to be admired, but he was also to be “ridden” in new ways by the actress, who sought respect and fame while earning her living as a skilled comica.

85. Eurialo: Dico, che la Tragedia debbe creder’ l Poema eroico, e starle sotto. Sapho: Et io vi rispondo, che il Peripatetico contra tutte le obiettioni, hà terminato, che la Tragedia sia Poema più bello, è più perfetto del Poema eroico: Et come quella che precede vi dico, che non ne sarà altro: Andate, andate Signor Poema eroico, a trattar con le vostre molte favole, che ponete per ornamento dell’ Peripeteia amor vostro, e me lasciate nella grandezza mia, e nello stato mio reale (Fragmenti, 80).

34 Introduction

Posthumous Success: Fragmenti, Alone and with Lettere Andreini’s contrasti were first published as the Fragmenti di alcune scritture in 1617. Shortly thereafter, in 1620, Francesco Andreini and Flaminio Scala published them in a volume combined with the Lettere (first published in 1607).86 The Fragmenti (sometimes called Ragionamenti on the cover) and the Lettere—published most often together, but sometimes separately—would continue to find an impressively wide readership, if we may judge by publication history. The Lettere were in steady publication from 1607 to 1663, with selections published in 1642 in François de Grenaille’s Nouveau recueil de lettres des dames tant anciennes que modernes and in 1699 in Henri Bousanquet’s Lettres choisies sur diverses matieres tres-importantes; the Fragmenti were also regularly in print from 1617 to 1663.87 The sheer number of editions of Isabella Andreini’s works published during this period suggests that publishers found printing them a worthwhile business investment, and the editions that we consulted, frequently riddled with printing errors and published in inexpensive bindings, suggest that they were produced quickly for an avid fan base of readers.88 If we include the 1588 publication date for La Mirtilla in perspective with the 1699 date of Bousanquet’s Lettres choisies, we may see that Isabella’s major works—her Mirtilla, Rime, Lettere, and Fragmenti—were in publication for more than a hundred years, with the most frequently republished being the Lettere and Fragmenti.89 While the majority of her posthumous publication occurred in Italy, her work also continued to gain fans in France, long after her death in Lyon in 1604. Her letters, especially, struck a chord with French readers as the immense popularity of the epistolary genre—largely imported from Italy—took hold. In L’Art de la lettre amoureuse: Des manuels aux romans (1550–1700) Bernard Bray writes that the “three principal sources . . . in the first half of the seventeenth century” for the “lettre amoureuse in its conventional form” are Ovid’s Héroïdes, the letters of Héloïse and Abélard, and the Italian letters, “in the first rank of which are those 86. Curiously, there are volumes of the lettere published in 1611 and 1616 that claim in their titles to include the Ragionamenti as well, but they do not. 87. By “steady publication,” we mean that new editions typically came out every four years or fewer, especially during the first half of this period. A gap between editions of approximately a decade occurs between 1638 and 1647, and a lapse of 36 years occurs between 1663 and 1699. WorldCat includes an entry for the Fragmenti published in Venice: Alla Minerva, 1697, but we have not been able to ascertain that this is not the 1647 edition from the same press. Databases consulted include WorldCat, Gallica (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Opac (Biblioteca Marciana), and Catálogo BNE (Biblioteca Nacional de España). 88. See the Note on the Italian Text and Transcription regarding printing issues. 89. Poetry by Andreini was also included in the volume, Rime di diversi celebri poeti dell’ età nostra, nuovamente raccolte e poste in luce (Bergamo: C. Ventura, 1587), edited by Giovanni Battista Licino.

Introduction 35 of Isabella Andreini.”90 The letters, however, were seldom published without the Fragmenti (sometimes called Ragionamenti) attached. In the second volume of his Nouveau recueil de lettres des dames (1642), in which he includes thirty-nine letters by Andreini translated into French, François de Grenaille writes: The name of Isabella Andreini [has been made] too famous by her works for there to be any need for me to make her known through my writing. I believe I offend her by praising her after Tasso, Marini, and the other great personages who have been praised. It is commonly said that her beauty made her pass for a Venus, but for a chaste Venus, and that her high self-confidence caused her to be taken for a Minerva, but a married Minerva. She composed on the contrastes of love [her contrasti amorosi] and wrote such beautiful letters that she has appeared to Padua as a new Cornelia, if ever there was an ancient one in Rome.91 Grenaille’s mention of Andreini’s contrasti, in a work primarily concerned with her Lettere, suggests that the main theme in both—that of the many vicissitudes of love—attracted her readership. Her fictional Lettere, after all, are written in male and female personas, young and old, and address many more topics than love. Moreover, it suggests that these volumes of entertaining letters and debates took on lives of their own, so to speak—as Bousanquet’s Lettres choisies also suggest—because Francesco Andreini and Flaminio Scala had been dead since 1624. Although their early editing and promotion of her work were no doubt catalysts for her posthumous publication success, demand continued long after Francesco and Flaminio were gone. By 1642, when Grenaille published his volume of letters, Andreini’s lettere and contrasti had been in steady publication since 1607 and 1617, respectively, 90. Bray, L’Art de la lettre amoureuse, 14 (translation by Julie D. Campbell). He writes: “Les trois principales sources que, dans la première moitié du XVIIe siècle, on peut attribuer à la lettre amoureuse sous sa forme conventionelle sont: les Héroïdes d’Ovide, les lettres d’Héloïse et Abélard, et les lettres italiennes, au premier rang desquelles celles d’Isabella Andréini.” 91. Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus and mother of the Gracchi, had a high reputation for learning, teaching, and eloquence. For the quoted passage, see François de Grenaille, Nouveau recueil de lettres des dames tant anciennes que modernes, vol. 2 (Paris: Toussainct Quinet, 1642), 20 (translation by Julie D. Campbell). He writes: “Le nom d’Isabella Andreini est trop celebre par ses ouvrages pour avoir besoin de se faire connoistre par mes écrits. Je croirois l’offenser en luy donnent des éloges apres que le Tasso, le Marini & d’autres grands personnages l’on loüée. On disoit communément que sa beauté la faisoit passer pour une Venus, mais pour une Venus chaste, & que sa haute suffisance la faisoit prendre pour une Minerve, mais pour une Minerve mariée. Elle a compose sur des contrastes d’amour & escrit de si belles lettres qu’elle a fait voir à Padoüe une nouvelle Cornelie, s’il y en avoit eu une ancienne à Rome.”

36 Introduction with a double volume most recently published in 1638 in Venice by G.B. Combi. Before that, Combi had published double volumes of the Lettere and the Fragmenti/ Ragionamenti in 1634, 1627, and 1625; they were published in 1621 and 1628 in double volumes by the Heredi di G.D. Tarino in Turin. In 1620, double volumes were published by Zaltieri in Venice and by Francesco Cavaleri in Turin. Single volumes appeared as well. Meanwhile, Isabella’s fame continued to resonate through Europe: in Spain, she would be recalled as “la Andrelina,” an actress “de fama” and of spellbinding talent in Lope de Vega’s tragedy El Castigo sin venganza (“Punishment without Revenge,”1631, set in Ferrara), and in Venice, as the selfmade, virtuosic performer, deemed superior to Petrarch’s exalted and idealized Laura, in Luca Assarino’s journalistic poem Ragguagli del regno di Cipro (“News from the Realm of Cyprus,” 1642).92 The afterlife of Andreini’s works, then, was extensive, and they continue to be studied with great interest today. Scholarship on Isabella Andreini and her family has increased exponentially over the last thirty years, ranging across disciplines with a fluidity that might have pleased proponents of Renaissance humanism. Literary critics, musicologists, historians, and theater specialists from a variety of backgrounds have built on the work of Luigi Rasi (1852–1918), Armand Baschet (1829–1886), Winifred Smith (1879–1967), K. M. Lea (1903–1995), Rosamund Gilder (1891–1986), Ferdinando Taviani, and Louise George Clubb, among others.93 Researchers have augmented our knowledge of the Andreini family by relying on archival documentation of their travels with various troupes, letters by nobles and royals mentioning their patronage of the family, letters between the Andreini and their patrons, and the published contemporary encomia of the brilliance of the actors and their performances, along with the occasional anti-theatrical protests. Francesco Andreini, his son Giovan Battista Andreini, and the latter’s wife, the diva Virginia Ramponi, are receiving a good share of scholars’ attention, but for the most part studies have concentrated on Isabella.94 92. See Lope de Vega, El Castigo sin venganza, ed. Antonio Carreño (Madrid: Cátedra, 2001), 116–18, cited and discussed by Nancy D’Antuono in her chapter on “Commedia dell’Arte and the Spanish Golden Age Theatre,” in The Routledge Companion to Commedia dell’Arte, ed. Judith Chaffee and Olly Crick (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 242; and Luca Assarino, Ragguagli d’amore del regno di Cipro (Bologna, 1642), also cited and discussed by Valeria Finucci in the introduction to Mirtilla, 13–14. 93. Luigi Rasi, I Comici Italiani: Biografia, bibliografia, iconografia, 3 vols. (Florence: Fratelli Bocca, 1897–1905); Armand Baschet, Les Comédiens italiens à la cour de France (Paris: E. Plon, 1882); Winifred Smith, Italian Actors of the Renaissance (New York: Benjamin Blom, 1930, rpt. 1968); Ferdinando Taviani, ed., La Fascinazione del teatro, vol. 1 of La Commedia dell’Arte e la società barocca (Rome: Bulzoni, 1969); K. M. Lea, Italian Popular Comedy: A Study in the Commedia dell’Arte, 1560–1620, with Special Reference to the English Stage, 2 vols. (New York: Russell and Russell, 1934, rpt. 1962); Rosamund Gilder, Enter the Actress (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931); and Clubb, Italian Drama in Shakespeare’s Time. 94. On Francesco’s life and career, see Robert Henke, Performance and Literature, 175–96; Roberto Tessari, ed., Le Bravure del Capitano Spavento, by Francesco Andreini (Pisa: Giardini, 1987), and

Introduction 37 Recent scholarship that features significant inquiry into Isabella’s life, writing, and performances includes Rosalind Kerr’s The Rise of the Diva (2015), an insightful study of Andreini and the innovative diva persona as an eroticized “commodity fetish”; Virginia Cox’s Women’s Writing in Italy 1400–1650 (2008), which situates her works in Italian women’s literary history; Sarah G. Ross’s The Birth of Feminism (2009), which assesses Andreini’s life and education; Kathryn Bosi’s “Accolades for an Actress: On Some Literary and Musical Tributes for Isabella Andreini” (2003), another assessment of her fame; and Julie D. Campbell’s “Marie de Beaulieu and Isabella Andreini: Cross-Cultural Patronage at the French Court” (2014), which explores her connections at the French court.95 These augment Francesca Romana de’Angelis’s biography, La divina Isabella (1991), Anne MacNeil’s Music and Women of the Commedia dell’Arte (2003), and the important collection of essays Isabella Andreini: Una letterata in scena (2014), edited by Carlo Manfio, which have greatly enlarged the scope of knowledge about Andreini’s career and musical performances.96 While Isabella’s pastoral La Mirtilla (1588) has received a great deal of attention, her contrasti amorosi, as edited by Francesco, have yet to receive extensive

Cesare Molinari, “Francesco Andreini,” in La Commedia dell’Arte (Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, 1999), 849–921. On Giovan Battista Andreini, see Michael A. Zampelli, S. J., “ ‘Verbo in carne’: Giovan Battista Andreini and the Performing Bodies of the Professional ‘Comici,’ ” Text and Presentation: Journal of the Comparative Drama Conference 21, no. 4 (2000): 27–41; Cesare Molinari, “Actor-authors of the Commedia dell’Arte: The Dramatic Writings of Flaminio Scala and Giambattista Andreini,” trans. M. A. Katritzky, Theatre Research International 23, no. 2 (1998): 142–51; Maurizio Rebaudengo, Giovan Battista Andreini tra poetica e drammaturgia (Turin: Rosenberg and Sellier, 1994); Roberto Cuppone, “ ‘Commedie fortunate . . .’: ‘Le due comedie in comedia’ di Giovan Battista Andreini,” in The Tradition of the Actor-Author in Italian Theatre, ed. Donatella Fischer (Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2013), 41–57; Giovan Battista Andreini, Love in the Mirror, ed. and trans. Jon R. Snyder; and Emily Wilbourne, “Lo Schiavetto (1612): Travestied Sound, Ethnic Performance, and the Eloquence of the Body,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 63, no. 1 (2010): 1–43. G. B. Andreini’s L’Adamo (1613) is of special interest as a possible source for John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667). See Winifred Smith, “Giovan Battista Andreini as a Theatrical Innovator,” Modern Language Review 17, no. 1 (1922), 31–41. On Virginia Ramponi Andreini, see Emily Wilbourne, “ ‘Isabella ringiovinita’: Virginia Ramponi Andreini before ‘Arianna,’ ” Recercare 19, no. 1/2 (2007): 47–71, and Wilbourne’s dissertation, “La Florinda: The Performance of Virginia Ramponi Andreini,” New York University, 2008; and Anne MacNeil, Music and Women, 127–86. 95. See Francesca Romana de’Angelis, La Divina Isabella: Vita Straordinaria di una Donna del Cinquecento (Florence: Sansoni, 1991); Anne MacNeil, Music and Women, 32 et passim; Kerr, The Rise of the Diva, 102–46; Cox, Women’s Writing in Italy, 121 et passim; Ross, Birth of Feminism, 203 et passim; Kathryn Bosi, “Accolades for an Actress”; and Julie D. Campbell, “Marie de Beaulieu and Isabella Andreini.” 96. See Carlo Manfio, ed., Isabella Andreini: Una letterata in scena (Padua: il Poligrafo, 2014).

38 Introduction analysis.97 Some scholars have pointed out what a rich trove of references to theater and literary traditions they contain. Speaking of the “intimate relationship between regular comedy and commedia dell’arte,” Louise George Clubb observes that the contrasti move easily between the intellectual and the amorous, while treating their own craft of playmaking as excellent theatrical matter: The celebrated Isabella Andreini offers a view of the relationship in her Contrasti scenici, which include sharp dialogues for various theatrical occasions on such subjects as unrequited love, conjugal happiness, jealousy, tragedy, and comedy. Her discussion of comedy, half critical discourse, half love scene, echoes the prologues of commedie gravi, emphasizing the dignity and difficulty of writing comedy and citing as authorities and models the ancients and three moderns—Piccolomini, Calderari, and Pino.98 As Clubb points out, Andreini’s contrasti engage with the so-called literary tradition of comedy, especially the commedia grave, providing readers and performers with a fascinating sense of the interstices between improvisation and script, and, for that matter, between the serious and the ridiculous. The most intriguing intertext for Fragmenti is Andreini’s own Lettere, a famous collection of fictive letters published in 1607, three years after her death. Meredith K. Ray points out the close connection between the two works, noting that the contrasti provide evidence about the “emotional states actors performing the innamorati were required to perform,” while the letters constitute a “kind of hybrid of literary and theatrical text, of letter and dramatic sketch.”99 Both possess some of the qualities of the working actor’s personal zibaldone—a varied collection of theatrical material, from poetry, scenes, and full plays to jokes, bits, 97. See Maria Luisa Doglio’s edition, La Mirtilla (1995), and Campbell’s edition/translation, La Mirtilla (2002), as well as Campbell, “The Querelle over Silvia: La Mirtilla and Aminta in Dialogue,” in Literary Circles and Gender in Early Modern Europe: A Cross-Cultural Approach (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006), 51–72. See also the recent bilingual edition/translation of La Mirtilla edited by Valeria Finucci and translated by Julia Kisacky for The Other Voice. Additionally, see Franco Vazzoler, “Le Pastorali dei Comici dell’Arte: La Mirtilla di Isabella Andreini,” in Sviluppi della drammaturgia pastorale nell’Europa del Cinque-Seicento, ed. Maria Chiabò and Federico Doglio (Rome: Centro Studi sul Teatro Medioevale e Rinascimentale, 1992), 281–99; Lisa Sampson, “Imitations and Innovations after Tasso’s Aminta: Accommodating a Female Voice,” in Pastoral Drama in Early Modern Italy: The Making of a New Genre (Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2006), 98–128; and Alexandra Coller, “Isabella Andreini’s La Mirtilla (1588): Pastoral Drama and Conjugal Love.” 98. Louise George Clubb, “Italian Comedy and the Comedy of Errors,” Comparative Literature 19, no. 3 (1967), 244; and Ilana Walder-Biesanz, “Writing Pastoral Drama as Woman and an Actor: Isabella Andreini’s Mirtilla,” Italian Studies 71, no. 1 (2016): 49–66. 99. Ray, “Between Stage and Page,” 165.

Introduction 39 songs, and scenarios from which to draw in creating stage performances.100 Read as related works (as the practice of joint publication strongly suggests), the Lettere and the debates in Fragmenti reflect the interconnectivity of literary and performance modes in these texts.101 Their intertextuality appears deliberate because they both explore, from a female perspective, such issues as violent male jealousy, the subjection of girls and wives in courtship and marriage, and the nature of love. Read together, the two texts create a sort of stereophonic echo. For example, Andreini’s letter about an aged lover, “Complaint about Old Lovers/Biasimo de’ vecchi innamorati” strongly resembles Teossena’s comments to her lover about old versus young suitors in “On Jealousy in Love” (debate 24). Debate 16 (“On Honest Love”), considers the nature of desire and pleasure (and the lack thereof) in chaste love, as do the letters “Jests about Honest Love / Scherzi d’honesto amante,” and “simili” (similar ones) that follow.102 In an analysis focused on the Italian players’ practice of improvising from scenarios (canovacci), which provided plots, cues, and actions, but not speeches, Renzo Guardenti contends that Andreini’s contrasti help flesh out the bare bones of these skeleton scripts. These distinctive dialogues embody the fundamental nucleus of the plot of dell’Arte scenarios: the theme of love, which in the canovacci is hidden behind the condensed action of the scenes; here [one finds] ample motives of the development in the words of lovers who examine, almost dissect, from opposite positions the canonical topoi of the dynamics of love through a generous and articulate exposition of rhetorical figures and perfect response to the dominant Baroque poetic style.103

100. Ray, “Between Stage and Page,” 166. The most comprehensive zibaldone that has survived is that of comico Stefanelo Botarga, who performed with the Ganassa troupe and its diva Barbara Flaminia in Spain in the late sixteenth century; see Maria Del Valle Ojeda Calvo, Stefanelo Botarga e Zan Ganasa: Scenari e Zibaldoni di Comici Italiani nella Spagna del Cinquecento (Rome: Bulzoni, 2007). 101. See Henke, Performance and Literature, 40. 102. Cited passages in Lettere are on 35–36, 140–44; in Fragmenti, 186–92, 116–23. See Ray, “Between Stage and Page” (167–69), on thematic parallels, giving examples in the letters and debates regarding jealousy, specifically Eliodoro and Teossena’s comments in debate 24 (“On Jealousy in Love”) and the letter entitled “Della medesima” that follows “della gelosia.” 103. Renzo Guardenti, “Isabella Andreini,” in La Commedia dell’Arte, ed. Cesare Molinari (Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, 1999), 953. He writes, “prende corpo il nucleo fonamentale dell’intreccio degli scenari dell’Arte: il tema amoroso, che nei canovacci viene nascosto dietro il condensarsi dell’azione scenic, qui trova ampi motivi di sviluppo nelle parole degli amanti che esaminano, quasi dissezionandoli da posizioni opposte, i topoi canonici delle dinamiche amorose per mezzo di un’ampia e articolata esposizione di figure retoriche e di stilemi perfettamente rispondenti alla dominante poetica barocca.”

40 Introduction Like Clubb, Guardenti grasps the elegant articulation of humanist arguments about love grounded in the contrasti, and he takes his observations a step further by recognizing the depth of delineation of physical gesture and psychological framework present in them. In these stage debates, “[t]he link with stage practice is clear, and not only for structuring the composition in dramatic form, but also through the studied treatment of the various arguments on the part of the innamorati, from whom, behind the artifice of their rhetorical formulation, it is possible to distinctly grasp the physiognomy and also, ultimately, even a tenuous psychological dimension.”104 Guardenti’s intriguing reference to “physiognomy” invites us to glimpse the human faces under the masks of “Personaggi.” One of these faces is Isabella’s, the other Francesco’s, as they launch into their final round of lovers’ debates—but there are other faces as well. Thousands of readers have imagined, given voice to, and thus reanimated these contrasti scenici over the years. Their participation has turned the text into a moving memorial tribute, a game-player’s guidebook, and a script for a theater of memory. In his preface, Francesco plays the bereaved husband still eager for fame. Isabella’s absence haunts page and stage, spurring his desire to preserve her name and his own as he grows old. Within the special ambiance of the contrasti true lovers exchange souls and hearts, and love lives beyond death. The couples’ excessive Neoplatonic rhetoric and posturing is often amusing, and sometimes absurd. All their encounters are offered as entertainment, but with a serious intent—to defeat oblivion and conquer silence. Francesco lets his “Kind Readers” know that this posthumous gift is valuable, for “the dead are those who make the living speak.”105 He calls on Isabella’s admirers, new and old, to piece together these fragments and animate these roles—quite literally, to take part.

Note on the Italian Text and Transcription The transcription for the Italian text is taken from the 1627 edition of the Fragmenti di Alcune Scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini Comica Gelosa, & Academica intenta, closely based on the original 1617 edition, both published in Venice by G. B. Combi. For our base text, we used the digitized version of the 1627 Fragmenti available through the University of Chicago’s Italian Women Writers Library, which is taken from the Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Ohio State 104. Guardenti, “Isabella Andreini,” 953. He writes, “Il legame con la pratica scenica appare evidente, e non solo per la strutturazione in forma drammatica del componimento, ma anche per la ricercata trattazione dei vari argomenti da parte degli Innamorati, dei quali, dietro l’artificio della formulazione retorica, è possibile cogliere distintamente la fisionomia ed anche, al limite, una sia pur labile dimensione psicologica.” 105. Francesco Andreini, “To the Kind Readers,” Fragmenti, 4.

Introduction 41 University. We also consulted the 1617 editions in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois, as well as at the Biblioteca Comunale di Trento (Trent, Italy). Because of the discrepancy in the table of contents in the 1617 edition regarding the omission of “Sopra l’idolatrare amando” (the text itself does contain the text of the contrasto in full), we also consulted editions from 1620, 1621, 1625, 1627, and 1634 at the Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze, the Biblioteca Teatrale di Roma, the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, and the University of Illinois. We have added the title in its correct place in the table of contents and included an endnote to acknowledge the print history. The 1617 and 1627 editions of the Fragmenti are both full of printer’s errors, including some gaps, and thus required judicious interventions in the Italian text. To that end, we have silently corrected basic typographical errors, but we have placed other corrections in brackets when we felt it necessary. Additionally, we have modernized “v” to “u,” and “u” to “v,” as well as substituting “i” for the terminal “j” when possible. We have also inserted numerals in brackets for ease of identifying each debate. Aside from these minimal interventions, we have left the text very close to its original form. Our aim was to retain the sense of the text from the period, while improving ease of basic comprehension for the modern reader.

Note on the Translation Our goal as translators has been to produce a performable English text that adheres as closely as possible to succinct and careful translation of the Italian. We have added or amended punctuation when necessary for a smooth and nuanced flow of the lines in English. We have also added stage directions (there were none in the original text) to aid in performance of these debates and to assist the reader in envisioning them as scenes. To convey the sound and atmosphere of the Italian text, we have kept the classical names of the speakers in their Italian form, rather than using their standard English translations, with the exception of one debate (Number 11, “On Tragedy”). For example, “Palamede” remains “Palamede,” rather than becoming “Palamedes,” and “Diomede “ remains “Diomede” rather than turning into “Diomedes.” In our one exception, “Sapho” of the “Lover’s Debate On Tragedy” is changed to the more familiar form in English usage, i.e. “Sappho.” We have also retained the Italian honorific titles “Signora” and “Signore,” used frequently in the debates, to communicate the high social status and respectability of the innamorati and the deep significance of the title to low-born players, and especially actresses. Even the Jesuit Domenico Ottonelli, who opposed plays and sought to reform the stage, conceded that professional acting was preferable to a life of tedious women’s work: “once [women] are received into acting companies,

42 Introduction they have the best and most secure parts; they are cherished and honored; and they are able to win esteem with the gracious title of Signora.”106 Like other arte-influenced plays of the period—among them Giovan Battista Andreini’s “Love in the Mirror” (Amor nello specchio) and Margherita Costa’s “The Buffoons” (Li buffoni)—Andreini’s Lovers’ Debates presents special challenges for twenty-first-century translators. Italian authors of this period, especially of poetry and dramatic dialogue (whether in verse or prose), tended to favor lengthy sentences, intricate grammatical structures, and rhetorical ornaments and flourishes. This trend is particularly evident with high-status, well-educated innamorati, who most often spoke in an elegant literary Tuscan dialect. We aimed to strike a balance between Andreini’s Baroque verbal maneuvers, elaborate syntax, and prolix tendencies and a smooth, colloquial, accessible style in line with modern conversational English. In many cases we chose to stress the former, because Andreini often characterizes the debaters as showing off their own erudition and command of poetic tropes, even as they express intense passions. The comical delight of the debates often involves self-parody, exaggeration, bathos, and abrupt shifts in rhythm and tone. We thus have sought to capture Andreini’s spoofs of the hyperbolic usages and overwrought Petrarchisms of the period. Classical names are part of this “classy” style: they stud the text, creating a glossy veneer of learning and sophistication. For most of our notes identifying classical figures we have consulted John Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary. For other, more specific references, we have included the source information in the notes. All these “contrasti scenici” are indeed debates crafted for the stage, and as such provide scripts that can be cut and expanded at will. Consequently, our objective is to make them attractive and serviceable to contemporary actors— whether students or professionals—seeking new material for two-person performances. The lines are laden with learned and sophisticated qualities, but the emotional byplay is more modern than archaic, full of ironies and mockery that today’s readers, actors, and audiences can enjoy. Produced during the same period as that of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and 106. The original text of the passage runs: “ricevute nelle compagnie de’ comici hanno la parte migliore e più sicura; son accarezzate et onorate; e si posson pregiare del grazioso titolo di Signora.”  A few lines later, Ottonelli cites Isabella Andreini:  “O che bella, anzi bellissima cosa ricevere onori grandi, e gran presenti di vesti, di collane, di gioie e di piastre d’argento e d’oro da qualificati personaggi, et anche da supremi Principi, et alla fine sperare di poter conseguire dopo morte l’onore d’una nobilissima sepoltura; come si legge della famosa comica Isabella Andreini” [“O what a fine, indeed an exceptionally fine thing, to receive great honors, and highly valued presents of clothes, of necklaces, of jewels and plates of silver and gold from persons of quality, and even from sovereign princes, and in the end, after death, to hope to be given the honor of a most noble funeral: as we read, this was granted to the famous actress Isabella Andreini”]: from Domenico Ottonelli, Della Christiana Moderatione del Teatro, Libro I: “Detto la Qualità delle Commedie” (Florence: Luca Franceschini and Alessandro Logi, 1648), reprinted in Taviani, ed., La Fascinazione del teatro, 356.

Introduction 43 As You Like It, and anticipating the feisty, quick-witted banter of such silver screen stars as Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable or Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant in their classic 1930s “screwball comedies,” Andreini’s Lovers’ Debates offer useful enrichment for understanding and practicing the ingenious, fast-paced, and exhilarating “skirmishes of wit” in both the Italian and English repertory. In often lively prose, the debates avoid “that sing-song of spoken verse”—as Diomede puts it in the debate “On Comedy”—in order “to make it more appealing to the ears of the speakers as well as those of the listeners.” Our own renditions of these debates for the stage strive to please and appeal to “kind readers,” scholars, players, and spectators, following the lead of their author and editor.

AMOROSI CONTRASTI • LOVERS’ DEBATES

46 Amorosi contrasti [Prefazione]

Ai benigni Lettori [Francesco Andreini]: Benigni Lettori, sò, che non mancheranno lingue alquanto pungenti, intorno a queste mie poche fatiche, le quali non sapendo altro, che dire, diranno, che non sono tutte mie, e ch’io doveva lasciar stare le fatiche altrui. Al che rispondo, e dico, che con le mie sono annesse alcune poche scritture, avanzate alla felice memoria d’Isabella Comica, et Accademica intenta, mia moglie; delle quali m’è parso servirmene a gloria sua, per non lasciarle in poter della Fortuna. Queste mie poche fatiche sono tutte amorose, e d’onesto amore sempre ragionano, per non apportare al mondo, e per non introdurre cattivi costumi. E perchè sopra delle Scene, e nelle Comedie si tratta sempre con qualche piacevole scherzo, e piacevole metafora per dar diletto, ho voluto a quella sembianza andar’ onestamente scherzando in questi miei Amorosi contrasti, li quali potrete alcuna volta per diporto leggere alla presenza delle vostre onoratissime Gentildonne. E quando pure cotali lingue non volessero quietarsi, potrete loro dire in mia difesa, che i morti sono quelli che fanno parlar’i vivi, e ch’io mi sono ingegnato d’aver’ vita da loro, come tutti gli altri scrittori fanno, togliendo da questo, da quello, e da quell’altro, e leggiadramente applicando, e tanto basti. Vivete lieti, e felici. Di Mantova il dì 28 d’Aprile, 1616. Vostro affettionatiss.[imo] servit.[ore] Franc.[esco] Andr.[eini] Comico Geloso, detto il Capitano Spavento.

Lovers’ Debates 47 [Preface]

To the Kind Readers [Francesco Andreini]: Kind readers, I know that there will be no lack of some rather stinging tongues, who, regarding these few efforts of mine, not knowing what else to say, will say and keep saying that they are not entirely mine, and that I ought to have left alone the efforts of others.* To them I respond, and I declare, that to my own are added some brief writings, preserved to increase the happy memory of the Actress Isabella, Member of the Academy of the Intenti, and my wife. These seemed to me fit to use for the sake of her glory, rather than to leave them in the hands of Fortune. These slight efforts of mine are entirely amorous ones, and always talk of honest love, in order not to bring and introduce wicked customs to the world; and because on the stage, and in comedies, delight is given by pleasant jests and pleasant metaphors, I wished in this guise to proceed honestly, jesting in these my Lovers’ Debates, which you may sometimes read for a pastime in the presence of your most honored Gentlewomen. And when such tongues may still not want to fall silent, you can say to them in my defense that the dead are those who make the living speak, and that I will have endeavoured to gain life from them, as all other writers do, taking from this one, that one, and then another one, and lightly applying them—and let that be enough. Live merrily, and happily. From Mantua, April 28, 1616. Your most affectionate servant, Franc.[esco] Andr.[eini], Comico Geloso, called Captain Spavento

* Here, as we note in the Introduction, Francesco introduces the Lovers’ Debates as a blend of his work and others. As the letter continues, it appears that he has taken the fragments of Isabella’s writings, which he does not wish to leave “in the hands of Fortune,” and added his own work to them—and potentially that of others. There are certainly many others—writers from classical antiquity and from the Renaissance—whose words are blended into these debates.

48 Amorosi contrasti [Dedicazione]

Illustrissimo Signore [Flaminio Scala a Filippo Capponi] . . . Dirà V. S. Illustrissima, Patron mio, che ha che far’ Flamminio Scala, con Francesco Andreini? E io le risponderò, che ambidue si accordano nell’esserli devotissimi servitori, onde non è meraviglia, che avendomi egli dato facoltà di disporre di questi Fragmenti, io a Lei gl’invio, e sotto la sua protezione gli faccia vedere, essendo questo tanto più ragionevole, quanto Ella ha favorito sempre benignamente l’arte Comica a spada tratta, proteggendo chi l’esercita. Signor mio picciol dono, è indizio di molta cognizione dell’umanità di chi deve riceverlo, e segno evidentissimo, che maggior’ cosa non ha che donare servo devoto. Io per me vorrei poterle donare un Regno, e per interesse di V. S. Illustrissima, e mio molto più. Sovvengali, mio Signore, che il mare non sdegna il tributo dei piccioli ruscelli, onde ella coll’immensa vastità della cortesia, e benignità sua, accetti la devozione mia, e conservandomi quella grazia, della quale per sua bontà [la] mi ha fatto degno, assicurisi, che io Le vivo affettuosissimo, e affezionatissimo servitore, e Le fò riverenza, desiderandole da Dio somma felicità.

Lovers’ Debates 49 [Dedication]

Most Illustrious Lord [Flaminio Scala to Filippo Capponi]1 . . . Your most illustrious lordship, my patron, you will say, “What does Flaminio Scala2 have to do with Francesco Andreini?” And I shall reply to you that both these men agree in being your most devoted servants, whence it is no wonder that, since he gave me the faculty to make arrangements for these Fragments, I now send them to you, and under your protection I am showing them to you. This action is all the more reasonable, since you have always kindly favored the theatrical arts, and in a most steadfast way, protecting those who practice them. My lord, a small gift is a token of great recognition, of the humanity of the receiver, and it is a most evident sign that the devoted servant has no greater thing to give than his service. For my own part, I wish that I could give you a Kingdom, and indeed much more, for the benefit of Your Most Excellent Lordship, and thus my own. Remember, my lord, that the sea does not disdain the tribute of little streams: thus you, with the immense vastness of your courtesy and kindness, may accept my devotion, and keeping me in your graces—for which, thanks to your bounty, you have made me worthy—rest assured that I live your most affectionate and loving servant, and I do you reverence, wishing that God will give you supreme happiness.

50 Amorosi contrasti

Tavola de’ Contrasti Scenici [1] Sopra la dignità degli amanti. 54 [2] Sopra le passioni dell’odio, e dell’amore. 64 [3] Sopra se ogni amato convien’ che ami. 74 [4] Sopra il Medico, e il Leggista. 82 [5] Sopra le morti d’Amore. 94 [6] Sopra le armi, e le lettere. 104 [7] Sopra la febre amorosa. 116 [8] Sopra il cambio dell’anime. 126 [9] Sopra la Comedia. 134 [10] Sopra il fascino degli occhi. 144 [11] Sopra la Tragedia, e il Poema Eroico. 152 [12] Sopra il modo di disamare. 160 [13] Sopra l’amor coniugale. 168 [14] Sopra la forza d’amore. 176 [15] Sopra i giuramenti. 184 [16] Sopra l’amor onesto. 190 [17] Sopra il biasimo d’Amore. 200 [18] Sopra che non è amor senza godere. 212 [19] Sopra il vedere, e pensare in amore. 222 [20] Sopra il seguire, e fuggire amore. 234 [21] Sopra il vero amore. 244 [22] Sopra l’amar’ più altrui, che se stesso. 254 [23] Sopra i pensieri amorosi. 262 [24] Sopra la gelosia in Amore. 272 [25] Sopra i rimedii d’Amore. 280 [26] Sopra i saluti. 290 [27] Sopra la sospettione amando. 298 [28] Sopra l’amare altamente. 308 [29] Sopra il finger d’amar una, e amar un’altra. 318 [30] Sopra l’idolatrare amando.** 328 [31] Sopra un’amoroso svenimento. 340

** In the 1617 edition of the Fragmenti, this title is missing from the tavola, but the contrasto in question is, in fact, included in the volume.

Lovers’ Debates 51

Table of Debates for the Stage [1] On the Worthiness of Lovers. [2] On the Passions of Hate and of Love. [3] On Whether Every Beloved Person Must Love in Return. [4] On the Doctor and the Judge. [5] On Those Who Die for Love. [6] On Arms and Letters. [7] On the Amorous Fever. [8] On the Exchange of Souls. [9] On Comedy. [10] On the Enchantment of the Eyes. [11] On Tragedy, and the Heroic Poem. [12] On How to Fall Out of Love. [13] On Conjugal Love. [14] On the Power of Love. [15] On Vows. [16] On Honest Love. [17] On the Blame of Love. [18] That There Is No Love without Pleasure. [19] On Seeing and Thinking in Love. [20] On Following and Fleeing from Love. [21] On True Love. [22] On Loving Another More than Oneself. [23] On Loving Thoughts. [24] On Jealousy in Love.*** [25] On Remedies of Love. [26] On Salutations. [27] On Suspicion in Love. [28] On Loving Loftily. [29] On Feigning Love for One Woman, While Loving Another. [30] On Loving Idolatrously. [31] With a Passionate Swoon.

55 65 75 83 95 105 117 127 135 145 153 161 169 177 185 191 201 213 223 235 245 255 263 273 281 291 299 309 319 329 341

*** Here we have translated the full original title in this “Table,” i.e. “Sopra la gelosia in Amore.” In the actual text, however, the title is simply “Sopra la Gelosia.”

52 Amorosi contrasti

Nomi di tutti i Personaggi [1] Attilio, e Diotima. [2] Tacito, e Amasia. [3] Furio, e Istrina. [4] Arturo, e Erinna. [5] Manlio, e Eudosia. [6] Alessandro, e Corinna. [7] Amilcare, e Diotima. [8] Curio, e Nicostrata. [9] Diomede, e Ersilia. [10] Pompeo, e Artemisia. [11] Eurialo, e Sapho. [12] Eurimaco, e Lesbia. [13] Tarquinio, e Hippodamia. [14] Leocrito, e Arianna. [15] Telamone, e Helena. [16] Lissandro, e Prasilla. [17] Tiberio, e Criseida. [18] Celio, e Tullia. [19] Aurelio, e Genevra. [20] Pirro, e Mutia. [21] Dario, e Talesia. [22] Claudio, e Targelia. [23] Flessippo, e Aspasia. [24] Eliodoro, e Teossena. [25] Troilo, e Marcella. [26] Mario, e Costanza. [27] Evandro, e Eudosia. [28] Livio, e Deianira. [29] Valerio, e Fedra. [30] Aristomene, e Martesia. [31] Palamede, e Cleopatra.

Lovers’ Debates 53

Names of All the Characters**** [1] Attilio and Diotima. [2] Tacito and Amasia. [3] Furio and Istrina. [4] Arturo and Erinna. [5] Manlio and Eudosia. [6] Alessandro and Corinna. [7] Amilcare and Diotima. [8] Curio and Nicostrata. [9] Diomede and Ersilia. [10] Pompeo and Artemisia. [11] Eurialo and Sappho. [12] Eurimaco and Lesbia. [13] Tarquinio and Hippodamia. [14] Leocrito and Arianna. [15] Telamone and Helena. [16] Lissandro and Prasilla. [17] Tiberio and Criseida. [18] Celio and Tullia. [19] Aurelio and Genevra. [20] Pirro and Mutia. [21] Dario and Talesia. [22] Claudio and Targelia. [23] Flessippo and Aspasia. [24] Eliodoro and Teossena. [25] Troilo and Marcella. [26] Mario and Costanza. [27] Evandro and Eudosia. [28] Livio and Deianira. [29] Valerio and Fedra. [30] Aristomene and Martesia. [31] Palamede and Cleopatra.

**** While this list always names the male interlocutors first, a few of the headings of the actual texts of the debates give the woman’s name first (e.g. “Erinna and Arturo,” in Debate number 4, and “Corinna and Alessandro” in Debate number 6).

54 Amorosi contrasti

Amorosi contrasti [1] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la dignità degli amanti Attilio, e Diotima

Attilio Ben trovata la Signora Diotima, la bellezza di cui mette in fuga tutti gli amorosi miei tormenti nell’istesso modo, che il giorno mette in fuga i sogni della notte. Diotima Benvenuto, il Sign. Attilio, all’ apparir’ della cui bramata presenza sento che tutti questi miei spiriti si mettono in punto per andarsene a lui, nè sò, chi prima di loro aprirà le porte del mio sen’ per lasciarmi. Attilio O care, o grate parole, che mi fanno con ragione desiderar d’esser’ quella terra, dove ponete il piede, e me felice, se [io] fatto terra, potessi sostenervi, che allora potrei dire di sostener più nobil peso, che non sostiene Atlante. Diotima Deh, cara mia vita, perché bramar questo, quando non potete aver forma a me più grata di quella che il ciel vi diede, con tanto vostro onore, e con tanta meraviglia, e contento di chi vi mira? A che bramar d’esser’ terra per non esserì uomo, quando per beneficio dell’uomo, e la terra, e tutte le cose, che nella terra sono, furono create? Se terra foste, e voi e io saremmo privi di contento: voi, perché essendo terra, sareste privo di senso e di ragione, onde non potreste sentir quella infinita allegrezza, che dite di sentire per l’amore, ch’io vi porto. Io, perché essendo voi terra, non potrei esser’ da voi cambievolmente amata, il quale amor cambievole, m’è di tanta consolazione, che in questa vita non posso aver la maggiore, e di tal consolazione sarei priva, perché le cose inanimate (come meglio di me sapete) possono ben’essere amate, ma non possono mai esser’ amanti. Attilio Con le vostre parole, Signora mia, voi m’aprite così ben l’intelletto, ch’io voglio interamente dar’ bando a così fatto desiderio. Non posso già, e non voglio bandirne un’altro, che in me vive continuamente.

Lovers’ Debates 55

Lovers’ Debates [1] Lovers’ Debate on the Worthiness of Lovers Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Attilio and Diotima3 Attilio Well met, Signora Diotima, whose beauty puts to flight all my amorous torments, in the same way that the day chases away the dreams of the night. Diotima Welcome, Signor Attilio, at the sight of whose long-desired presence I feel all my spirits at the ready to go to him! Nor would I know anyone else who could open the portals of my very soul to let my spirits forth. Attilio O precious, gracious words, that rightly make me wish to be that ground whereon you place your foot! And how happy I’d be if I, transformed into earth, could hold you up, so that I then could say I were carrying a weight more noble than the one carried by Atlas. Diotima Well, my dearest, why long for this, when you could not have any form more charming to me than the one Heaven gave you (to your very great honor), which gives such wonder and joy to whoever sees you? What pleasure is there in being earth, and not man, when earth is made for the benefit of man, and all the things that are on the earth, were created for him? If you were earth, both you and I would be deprived of happiness. You, because by being earth, you would be deprived of sense and reason, whereby you could not feel that infinite happiness you say you feel from the love that I bring to you. I, because by your being earth, I could not be loved by you reciprocally. This same reciprocal love is such a comfort to me that I could not have any better one in this life. I would be deprived of that very comfort, because inanimate things (as you know better than I do) can be loved, but they can never be lovers. Attilio With your words, Signora, you open my mind so well that I want to banish such desires completely. For the moment I cannot banish, nor do I wish to banish, another desire that lives in me continually.

56 Amorosi contrasti Diotima Si può saper per grazia questo desiderio, al quale non volete, e non potete dar’ bando? Attilio A voi, che siete ogni mio bene non devo io celare alcuna cosa: sappiate, ch’io desidero, che tutti gli uomini siano e ciechi e sordi, perch’io non vorrei, che altri occhi, che i miei godessero della vostra bellezza, nè altre orecchie che le mie delle vostre parole. Diotima Troppo inumano, e troppo empio è questo vostro desiderio, onde non men’ del primo dovete da voi sbandirlo: anzi, che dovreste, a mio giudizio, bramar che tutti gli uomini che mi vedono e che m’udono avessero più occhi d’Argo, e più orecchie della Fama. Attilio Questo sarebbe un bramar il mio male, e la mia morte. Diotima Anzi, questo sarebbe un far’ conoscere il vostro giudizio, ed un’accrescer’ le vostre contentezze. Attilio In che modo Signora? Diotima Ogni volta, che molti con molti occhi mi vedessero, confessandomi bella (come dite, che ognuno, che mi vede, è sforzato di confessare) bisognerebbe insieme, che vi dessero lode di giudizioso, amandomi, per la qual cosa ve ne seguirebbe onore e contento. Similmente udendomi ragionar’ accortamente (per dir’ quello che vi piace dir’ di me) n’acquistereste altrettanta lode ed altrettanto contento. Attilio E’ ben vero Signora. Ma voi non considerate, che tutti quelli che vedendovi ed udendovi per bella e per giudiziosa vi conosceranno: onde, mossi dalla cognizione di tanta eccellenza, che in voi si scopre, sariano sforzati ad amarvi, e come foste amata da tanti, io vivrei in continuo tormento; sapendo che una cosa, che a molti piace, difficilmente si può guardare.

Lovers’ Debates 57 Diotima May one please know this desire that you cannot banish, nor wish to banish? Attilio From you, who are all good things to me, I must not conceal a single thing. Know then that I desire all men to be blind and deaf, because I wouldn’t want any other eyes than mine to enjoy your beauty, nor other ears than mine to delight in your words. Diotima Too inhuman and too impious is your desire! Therefore, no less than with the first, you must banish it. Instead, in my judgment, you must wish for all men who see me and hear me to have more eyes than Argus and more ears than Fame. Attilio That would be wishing me evil, and even death. Diotima Rather it would be recognizing your fine taste, and increasing your joys. Attilio In what way, Signora? Diotima Each time that many men with many eyes see me, acknowledging me beautiful (as you say everyone who sees me is forced to confess), it would necessarily follow that they will praise you for your wise judgment in loving me. For that same reason, honor and happiness will be yours. Similarly, hearing me converse so wisely (to say what it pleases you to say of me), you will acquire so many more praises, and so many more delights.4 Attilio That’s certainly true, Signora—but you are not taking into account that all those who, seeing and hearing you, know you are both wise and beautiful: thus, moved by the knowledge of so much excellence discovered in you, they would be forced to love you. And were you to be loved by so many, I would live in continual torment, knowing that a thing that pleases many is very hard to keep an eye on.

58 Amorosi contrasti Diotima Se gli uomini per conoscermi bella ed eloquente potessero farsi del merito vostro, forse ci sarebbe qualche pericolo: ma come non sarà mai, che a presso di me alcuno meriti al pari di voi, così non sarà meno, che io ami altr’uomo che voi. Attilio Se abbiamo a parlare di meriti, Signora Diotima, parliamo dei vostri: ma che dico io? Chi sarà tanto ardito, che voglia entrare in così vasto Oceano? Io no: poichè son’ certo, che prima sarebbe possibile ritrarre il numero delle stelle, che fregiano i cieli; degli augelli, che popolano l’aere; dei pesci, che vanno scherzando per le onde, e dei fiori dei quali il vago e ridente Aprile dipinge la terra, che mai ritrarre il numero di quei meriti, che nascono dalle sue virtù innumerabili ed incomparabili. Diotima Se alcuno ha da spaventarsi per ragionar’ dei meriti altrui, io devo spaventarmi a parlar’ dei vostri. Poichè i vostri meriti sono tali, che l’intelletto, considerandoli, dentro vi si smarrisce; la fantasia immaginandoli, nel soverchio dell’oggetto si perde; la memoria rimembrandoli, tutta vi si confonde: l’occhio v’abbaglia, l’orecchio vi stordisce, la voce svanisce, e la lingua diventa mutola, sì ch’io non posso mai meritar tanto che voi di vantaggio non meritiate. Attilio S’io merito più di voi, Signora, non merito come Attilio, ma come amante; poiché l’amante è più degno dell’amata. Diotima Piano, Sign. Attilio, perché così parlando veniremmo alle armi, come Attilio mi contento, che meritiate più di me, e sò che è vero: ma come amante non voglio acconsentirlo, perché io porto opinione, che l’amata sia più degna dell’amante, si come è più degno l’esser amato che l’amare. Attilio In questo, il mio parere è contrario a quello di V. S., e credo quanto a me, che sia migliore. Udite la ragione: tutte le cose agenti sono più degne delle patienti, l’amante in amore è l’agente, e l’amata la patiente, dunque l’amante è più degno dell’amata.

Lovers’ Debates 59 Diotima If men, by acknowledging me beautiful and eloquent, could make themselves your equal, perhaps there would be some danger. But that will never happen, because for me, no one’s merits come anywhere close to yours—and so I will love no other man but you. Attilio If we are going to chatter about merits, Signora Diotima, let’s talk about yours. But what am I saying? Who will be so foolhardy? Who wants to enter this vast Ocean? Not I, because I know it would be easier to portray the numerous stars that adorn the heavens, the birds that populate the winds, the fish that go frisking through the waves, and the flowers with which the lovely, smiling April paints the earth, than ever to portray the number of those merits that are born from your innumerable and incomparable virtues. Diotima If someone needs to fear speaking about the merits of others, I must be afraid to speak of yours, because your merits are such that the intellect, considering them, loses itself within them; fantasy itself, imagining them, in the bounty of the object loses itself; memory, remembering them, confounds itself entirely; the eye is dazzled, the ear is stunned, the voice vanishes, and the tongue grows mute. Yes, I could never have so much merit that it would exceed yours. Attilio If I deserve more than you, Signora, I don’t deserve it as Attilio but as a lover: because the lover is more worthy than the beloved. Diotima Slow down, Signor Attilio, because talking this way we will come to blows. I am happy with your being Attilio himself, for you are worthier than I am, and I know this for a fact. But as a lover? No, I do not wish to give in to him, because I hold the opinion that the beloved is worthier than the lover, just as it is more worthy to be loved than to love.5 Attilio On this question my view is contrary to that of my Ladyship, and as it pertains to me, I believe that it is superior. Hear my reason: all active things are more worthy than passive ones—the lover is the agent of love, and the beloved is passive. Therefore the lover is more worthy than the beloved.

60 Amorosi contrasti Diotima Confermo la maggiore, e nego la minore. Io sò che gli agenti sono più degni dei patienti: ma non voglio già dire, che l’amante sia agente, e l’amata patiente. Anzi, al contrario vi dico, che l’amata è l’agente, e l’amante il patiente. E siccome non c’è dubbio, ch’ è più nobilissimo quegli, che muove, che quello ch’ è mosso; così non c’è dubbio, che l’amata è quello, che muove, e genera l’amore nell’animo dell’amante. Attilio Ditemi Signora, chi merita più nel regno d’amore: quello che per amor continuamente s’affatica, o quello che nei suoi servizi ozioso si vive? Diotima Forse, che chi vive ozioso è di maggior beneficio ad Amore, perché s’Egli nasce d’ozio, chi vive nell’ozio, non lo fa per altro che per dar’ vita ad amore, ed accrescer’ la sua possanza. Attilio Qual’ Protagora v’insegna ragioni tante sofistiche? Diotima Io burlo, Signor Attilio: quello più merita, che più s’affatica di viver ozioso? E qual cosa è più biasimevole dell’ozio? Certo che siccome l’acque stagnanti, se non sono mosse, putride diventano, e il ferro per lungo ozio diventa rugginoso, così s’arrugginisce, e si putrifà quella mente che nell’ozio sepolta si vive. Nell’ozio non risplende mai raggio alcuno dell’ingegno nostro; anzi, ch’egli è la morte dell’istesso intelletto, e più biasimo devono haver gli oziosi che i viziosi: perché, se i viziosi si spogliano della ragione, ed adoperando col senso si fanno simili a gli animali brutti, gli oziosi si spogliano e della ragione e del senso, ed ai sassi ed a tutte le altre cose inanimate nello stupore e nella pigrizia si fanno conformi. Attilio Confessando questo, confessate ancora, che sia più nobile, e più degno l’amante, che l’amata, come quello che sempre s’affatica per amore, e l’amata non mai. Diotima Avvertite Signore, che quelle degli amanti non sono azioni, ma passioni. E posto, che fossero azioni, non sapete voi che tutto quello che l’amante pensa, dice, e fa, lo pensa, dice, e fa in virtù della cosa amata? Ah Signor Attilio, volete dunque che sia più nobile il servo del padrone, e l’effetto della cagione?

Lovers’ Debates 61 Diotima I confirm the major argument and deny the minor one.6 I know that agents are more worthy than passive objects: but I do not want to concede that the lover is the agent and the beloved the passive object. Rather the contrary: I say that the loved one is the agent and the lover the object. And just as there’s no doubt that those things that move are far nobler than that which is moved, so there is no doubt that the loved one is the one that moves and engenders love in the soul of the lover. Attilio Tell me, Signora, who is of greater merit in the kingdom of Love: those who continually exert themselves for love, or those who live idly in his service? Diotima Perhaps the one who lives idly is of greater benefit to Love, because if Love is born from idleness, he who lives in idleness only does so in order to give life to love, and to increase Love’s power. Attilio What Protagoras taught you such sophistical discourses?7 Diotima I’m joking, Signor Attilio—are they more worthy who work hardest at being lazy? And what is more blameworthy than idleness? Surely, in the same way that stagnant waters, if they don’t move, become putrid, and iron that sits idle becomes rusty, so too does that mind rot which lives entombed in idleness. In laziness the ray of our genius never shines; rather it is the death of that same intellect. And the idle are more to blame than the vicious, because if the vicious strip themselves of reason, using their senses as if they were brute beasts, the lazy strip themselves of reason and of sense, and make themselves like stones and all other inanimate things in their stupor and their sloth. Attilio Conceding this, concede as well that the lover is more noble and more worthy than the beloved, as he is the one who always toils hard for love, and the loved one never does. Diotima Be aware, Signor, that the deeds of lovers are not actions, but passions. Suppose that they were actions—don’t you know that everything the lover thinks, says, and does, he thinks, says, and does by virtue of the beloved? Ah, Signor Attilio, you hold, therefore, that the servant is nobler than the master, and the effect nobler than the cause?

62 Amorosi contrasti Attilio In fine, non si può contrastar’ con voi, Signora, io mi confesso perditore. Diotima Nè voi avete perduto, nè io ho vinto: la vittoria è comune, perché ognuno di noi, in virtù d’Amore, è tanto amante, quanto amato, anzi amandoci noi cambievolmente, come facciamo, veniamo ad esser uno e quattro. Uno per la conformità dei pensieri, due per gli oggetti differenti, e quattro, perché essendo ognuno di noi ed amante ed amato, veniamo veramente ad esser’ quattro. Dunque, se ognuno di noi è amante e amato, tanto è meritevole l’uno quanto l’altro. Attilio O cara unione, o gloriosa vittoria, che non meno onori il vincitore che il vinto. Diotima Orsù, sia terminato il ragionamento, e non termini mai l’amore. Addio. Attilio Conservatemi vostro.

Lovers’ Debates 63 Attilio There’s an end! It’s just not possible to debate with you, Signora! I concede I am the loser. Diotima You have not lost, nor have I won: the victory is mutual. Because each one of us, by virtue of Love, is as much the lover as the beloved. Indeed, in loving each other mutually as we do, we come to be one and four. One for the conformity of our thoughts, two for the different objects, and four, because by our being—each one of us—both lover and beloved, we come truly to be four. Thus, if each one of us is a lover and beloved, one of us is just as worthy as the other. Attilio O dear union and glorious victory, that honors the victor no less than the vanquished. Diotima Enough, let our talk come to an end, but may our love never end. Fare ye well! Attilio Keep me yours forever!

64 Amorosi contrasti [2] Amoroso Contrasto sopra le passioni dell’odio, e dell’amore Tacito, e Amasia

Tacito Signora: ecco il vostro fedele ed infelicissimo servo, che umilmente vi chiede pietà delle sue pene. Amasia Dite piuttosto (e direte il vero), Amasia, ecco colui che sotto sembianza d’amico è mortalissimo nimico. Tacito Oimè anima mia, perché chiamate voi nimico colui, che vi ama più della pupilla degli occhi suoi? Amasia Chi procurasse di levarvi la vita, non l’avreste voi per nemico Signor Tacito. Tacito Signora sì. Amasia Mentre che voi mi amate, non mi amate voi con intenzione, che io vi ami? Tacito Ognuno, che ama, ordinariamente procura d’esser riamato: ond’io seguendo l’uso di tutti quei, che amano, altro non desidero, ed altro con fatica non procuro, ch’esser amato da voi. Amasia Se così è, (come sò che è) voi vi dichiarate molto maggior nimico, che non si dichiarerebbe nemico colui, che cercasse di levarvi la vita. Tacito Fate digrazia cara Signora, che io intenda la ragione di questo vostro sottilissimo argomento.

Lovers’ Debates 65 [2] Lovers’ Debate on the Passions of Hate and of Love Translated by Julie D. Campbell Tacito and Amasia8 Tacito Signora: you see before you your faithful and most unhappy servant, who humbly asks you to take pity on his pains. Amasia Rather say (and speak the truth), “Amasia, here is he who, under the guise of a friend, is a mortal enemy to you!” Tacito Alas, my soul, why do you call him your enemy, the man who loves you more than the pupils of his own eyes? Amasia Whoever would seek to take from you your life, wouldn’t he be your enemy, Signor Tacito? Tacito Signora, yes. Amasia While you love me, don’t you love me with the intention that I love you? Tacito Anyone who loves usually seeks to be loved in return: thus I, following this custom of all those who love desire nothing else, sweat and toil for nothing else, than to be loved by you. Amasia If this is so (as I know it is), you declare yourself a much deadlier enemy than he who would openly declare himself a foe, who would seek to take your life. Tacito Do me the courtesy [of explaining], dear Signora, so that I may understand the gist of this, your most subtle argument.

66 Amorosi contrasti Amasia La ragion è in pronto: la libertà è un dono tanto singolare, che viene anteposto alla vita. Tosto, che amor’ entra in noi, tiranneggiando ucccide la nostra libertà. Ora, desiderando e procurando voi di farmi dar luogo ad amore, desiderate e procurate insieme che la mia libertà rimanga morta; per la qual cosa ne segue, che mi siate nimico, e nimico tanto più crudele, quanto è più degna la libertà della vita. Tacito Gran sottigliezze v’insegna la crudeltà Signora mia. Amasia Anzi, pur la verità, mio Sig., la quale molte volte risplende ancora nella bocca degli ignoranti. Tacito Di niuna cosa ignorante, salvo, che della mia passione, la quale non volete mai, che venga a vostra notizia per non ricompensarmi. Amasia Le cose che si formano con l’immaginazione non appariscono: la vostra passione è una passione immaginata, e se ella è immaginata non apparisce, e se ella non appare, io non posso vederla, e se io non la vedo non posso crederla, e se non la credo, non son tenuta a ricompensarvi. Tacito In fine Signora, in tutte le vostre parole si conosce l’odio grande, che mi portate, se l’odio non è minore passione, che l’amore, volendo voi dar luogo ad una passione d’animo, che non lo date voi piuttosto a quella dell’amore, che a quella dell’odio. Amasia Quando fosse vero, che l’affetto, o la passione dell’odio (come dite) fosse cosi grande come è quella dell’amore, forse, che invece d’odiarvi vi amerei. Ma perché la passione dell’odio è molto minore, che la passion dell’amore, e leggend’io di due mali il più leggiero, parmi che l’elezione sia fatta con giudizio. Tacito Io ho detto, che la passione dell’odio non è minore di quella dell’amore: [Ma ora meglio discorrendo] dico la passione dell’odio esser molto maggiore di quella dell’amore. E che sia vero, l’amore molte volte si converte in odio, e l’odio non mai in amore. Dunque, se l’odio vince l’amore, l’odio è d’amor più possente.

Lovers’ Debates 67 Amasia The argument is quickly stated: liberty is so singular a gift that it is to be valued more than life itself. As soon as love enters us, it kills our liberty, just as a tyrant would. Now, desiring and seeking to make me yield to love, you desire and seek the death of my liberty. Thus it follows that you are my enemy, and a most cruel one, since liberty is a greater good than life itself. Tacito Cruelty teaches you great subtleties, Signora! Amasia Rather, it teaches me the truth, my Signor, which many times shines forth even from the mouths of the ignorant. Tacito Ignorant of nothing save my passion, which you never wish to come to your notice, for the sake of not requiting me! Amasia Things formed with the imagination cannot be seen: your passion is an imagined passion, and if it is imagined, it is not real, and if it is not real, I can’t see it, and if I don’t see it, I can’t believe in it, and if I don’t believe it, I owe you nothing! Tacito In conclusion, Signora, in every word you speak, one recognizes the great hatred that you bear me! If hatred is no less a passion than love, and since you wish for passion to hold a place in your soul, why don’t you sooner give in to the passion of love than to that of hate? Amasia If it were true that the feeling, or the passion, of hatred (as you say) were as great as is that of love, perhaps, instead of hating you, I would love you. But because the passion of hatred is much less than the passion of love, I, having to choose the lesser of two evils, deem it in my view a judicious choice. Tacito I have said that the passion of hatred is not less than that of love: but now, speaking better of it, I say the passion of hate is much greater than that of love. And while it is true that love many times changes to hate, hate never [changes] to love. Therefore, if hate conquers love, hate is stronger than love.

68 Amorosi contrasti Amasia Par bene, che diciate il vero, ma realmente voi dite il falso: non è l’odio che vinca amore, ma è l’istesso amore, che vince amore, perche nessuno quand’ama rimane giammai d’amare, che per cagione d’amore. Tacito Se mai fuoco per fuoco non si spense, nè fiume fù giammai seco per pioggia, com’esser può, che si possa disamare amando? Credetemi Signora, che per disamare bisogna odiare. Amasia Non dite così Signor Tacito: perche è cosa tanto brutta, quanto grande l’odiar quelle cose, che si sono altre volte amate. Non con l’odio si vince amore, ma con l’istesso amore. Perché ognuno, che rimane d’amare, lo fà solo in virtù d’un maggior’ amore, il quale sia volto, o verso se stesso, o verso altrui, nell’istesso modo che un luogo illuminato non può esser privo di luce, se non per mezzo dell’istessa luce, che quando parte il luogo da lei illuminato per lei divien’ oscuro. Tacito Riducetevi per grazia in memoria quanti, e quali terribil’ avvenimenti ne ha prodotti, e tuttavia produce l’odio, e troverete, che egli si oppone sempre ad amore, e quasi sempre lo vince. Amasia Non lo vince mai, se non nel modo ch’io vi ho detto: l’ombra, il male, l’odio, e simili sono per loro stessi niente, e niente operar non possono, e tutto quello che sono ed operano, sono ed operano in virtù dei loro contrari, e senza essi non si trovano. Ecco, senza il corpo non è l’ombra: senza il bene non si conosce il male, e senza l’amore non si può sapere ciò che sia l’odio, poichè l’odio deriva dell’amore, da sua cagione, onde ne segue, che l’amore sia molto maggior dell’odio. Tacito Con vostra pace Signora Amasia, non credo che ogn’odio derivi d’amore, come da sua cagione, poi che si trovano di quelli che odiano persone, che non hanno mai vedute, non che amate. Amasia Sono varii gli amori, ond’ è da sapere, che quest’odio ancora deriva d’amore, il quale è amor di se stesso: i nostri Geni si conoscono in un subito tra di loro, e conoscendosi contrarii, si sforzano quasi ad odiar molte volte persone da noi non più vedute.

Lovers’ Debates 69 Amasia It appears that you speak the truth, but actually you speak falsehood: it is not hate that conquers love but love itself that conquers love, because no one when he loves ever stays in love, but by reason of love. Tacito If fire by fire is not extinguished, nor a river ever made dry by rain, how can it be that love can stop one from loving? Believe me, Signora, to stop loving requires hatred! Amasia Don’t say that, Signor Tacito! Because it is an ugly and terrible thing, the hatred of those things that at other times are loved. Not with hate is love conquered, but with love itself. Because everyone who stays in love does so only by virtue of a greater love, which is directed toward himself or aimed at others in the same way that a bright place cannot be deprived of light except by the light itself. When the light departs, the place that it once brightened becomes dark. Tacito Please recall the many terrible events that hatred has produced in history! In any case, hate produces hate, and you will find that it is always opposed to love and almost always conquers it. Amasia Hate never conquers it, if not in the way that I have told you. A shadow, evil, hatred, and the like are nothing in themselves, and they can do nothing, and anything that they are and can do, they are and can do only by virtue of their opposites, and without them, they do not exist. Behold, without the body there is no shadow; without good one doesn’t know evil; and without love one can’t know what hate is, since hate derives from love, as its cause, whence it follows that love is much greater than hate.9 Tacito By your leave, Signora Amasia, I don’t believe that every hatred derives from love as its cause, since one finds people who hate persons they have never seen, nor loved. Amasia There are loves of all kinds, and thus it follows that this hate still derives from love, that is, from love of one’s self: our Guiding Spirits10 can readily tell that these loves differ from each other, and knowing opposites all too well, they strive almost to hate, very often, people whom we no longer see.

70 Amorosi contrasti Tacito Se questi Genii avessero quella forza che dite, ogni odiato odierebbe, il che non segue. Anzi, al contrario si vedono molti, che odiati a morte, amano sopra tutte le cose quelle persone dalle quali sono odiate, e non occorre (misero me) ch’io vada mendicando esempi lontani. Amasia In quanto alla contrarietà dei Genii, veramente sì, ch’ella dovrebbe cagionare, che ogni odiato odiasse, e se ciò non segue credo io che sia perche l’uomo, ben che inclinato dalle stelle (che sono in noi questi Genii), non è però sforzato. L’uomo, anzi, può quando vuole sforzar le stelle. E uno, che si veda odiato, se si risolve di non curar l’odio dell’amata, e di amarla sempre con lealtà, e servirla fedelmente, viene a poco a poco a vincer quella mala inclinazione, ed a disporre l’amata ad amare. Ovvero, se amando è odiato, conviene che sia, perché i corpi celesti alcuni sono, ed altri obedienti. Se uno ama, e invece d’esser amato è odiato, conosca subito quel tale, che i suoi segni sono obedienti, e quelli dell’amata imperanti. Ma perché le Sfere si volgono, e onde, se l’amante persevera nell’amare in virtù della sua perseveranza, e di questa mutazione de gli Orbi celestine viene cambievolmente amato. Tacito Queste ultime e valide ragioni mi hanno tutto consolato. Dunque, io non mancherò di amare, e di servir sin tanto che io superi la contrarietà di quella stella che mi è nemica, e che i miei segni, ora obbedienti, si facciano col girar delle sfere imperanti, sicchè voi, mia bella e cruda nemica, siete costretta col tempo ad amarmi. Amasia Io son donna, e non sfera, ho il cuor di carne, e non di marmo, e se egli è vero che: Non è si duro cuor, che lagrimando, Pregando, e amando tal’ hor non si mova. Nè si freddo voler, che non si scalde, converrà, ch’anch’io ceda ad amore. Ma se per esser i miei segni imperanti e i vostri obbedienti voi amate me, e io odio voi, per l’istessa ragione, quando i vostri saranno imperanti, e i miei obedienti amand’io voi, sarò da voi odiata, il qual odio mi sarà tanto più acerbo da sopportare, quanto che l’eserciterete contro di me, e per inclinazione fatale e per desio di vendetta.

Lovers’ Debates 71 Tacito If these Guiding Spirits had this power, as you say, every hated person would hate, which doesn’t follow. Rather, on the contrary, one sees many people who, hated to death, love above all other things those very persons by whom they are hated, and I have no need (alas, poor me) to go begging for distant examples! Amasia As for the opposition of the Guiding Spirits, yes, really, it must cause every hated one to hate, and if it does not follow, I believe that it is because man, albeit inclined by the stars (that in us are these Guiding Spirits), is not, however, forced. Rather, man may, when he wants, force the stars. And one who sees himself hated, if he resolves not to remedy the hatred of the beloved, and to love her always with loyalty, and serve her faithfully, he comes little by little to overcome this contrary inclination [of hers], and to dispose the beloved to love. Or else, if though loving, he is hated, it must be because some [persons] are of great sway and others are obedient to them. If one loves, and instead of being loved is hated, he knows immediately that his signs are obedient, and those of his beloved, dominant. But because the spheres turn, and are in continuous motion, revolving in the heavens, these signs that were first dominant make themselves obedient. Thus, if the lover perseveres in loving, by virtue of his perseverance, through this changing movement of the celestial Orbs he becomes loved in return. Tacito These last valid arguments have consoled me completely! Therefore, I will not fail in loving and serving until I overcome the opposition of that star, which is an enemy to me. My signs, now obedient, will make themselves turn with the dominant spheres, so that you, my beautiful and cruel enemy, are compelled in time to love me. Amasia I am a woman, and no sphere! I have a heart of flesh, not of marble, and if it is true that: There is no heart so hard that by weeping Praying, loving it may not sometime be moved, no will so cold that it cannot be warmed,11 it makes sense that I also give in to love. Yet if, because my signs are dominant and yours obedient, you love me, and I hate you, by the same token, when yours will be dominant and mine obedient, I, in loving you, will be hated by you. And this hatred will be much more bitter to endure because of what you will carry out against me, both through a fatal inclination and a desire for revenge.

72 Amorosi contrasti Tacito Chi ha fatto l’abito ad amare non può odiare: non vi affanni questo dubbio, Signora mia, che non sarà mai, che io non vi ami, e siate certa che io non serberò mai memoria dell’offese, e se io me ne ricorderò, non potrò meno aver pensiero di vendicarmene. Amasia Se così ha da essere, io prego Amore che volga di sua propria mano le Sfere, e faccia il lor corso più veloce, che quello del Primo Mobile, affinché nel breve spazio di ventiquattro ore o meno, io divenga amante, e voi siate felice. Tacito Che occorre, cara Signora, che Amor le volga quando che voi con la forza del vostro volere potete volgerle. Amasia Orsù, Signor Tacito, io non voglio più tormentar me stessa, nei vostri tormenti: eccole volte affatto, ed ecco i miei segni obedienti, e i vostri imperanti. Dunque i vostri commandino. Tacito Non commandano, ma supplicano, che siate mia. Amasia E vostra sono, e credetemi certo, che ora, non comincio ad esser vostra, poiché è gran tempo che vostra mi fece il vostro merito. E se mi vi sono mostrata contraria, non l’ho fatto per altro che per far prova della vostra fermezza. Tacito Prova troppo pericolosa Signora. Con tutto ciò, sempre mi sarà cara, poi che nella considerazione del perìcolo c’è la sicurezza d’amore.

Lovers’ Debates 73 Tacito He who has made a habit of loving cannot hate. Don’t trouble yourself with this doubt, my Signora. It will never be that I do not love you. Be sure that I will never preserve these offenses in my memory, and even if I do remember them, I won’t be able to think about revenge. Amasia If it is to be thus, I implore Love, who turns with his own hand the Spheres and makes their courses run faster than that of the Prime Mover,12 that in the brief span of twenty-four or even fewer hours I will become a lover, and you will be happy! Tacito What does it matter, dear Signora, if Love turns them, when you yourself with the strength of your own will can turn them? Amasia Come, Signor Tacito, I no longer want to torment myself, nor [do I desire] your torments: things are now turned upside down indeed, and my signs are the obedient ones and yours dominant. Thus, yours are the ones in command! Tacito They do not command, but humbly beseech, that you be mine. Amasia And I am yours! Believe me for sure: I am not starting to be yours right now, because a long time ago your great merit made me yours. And if I have shown myself contrary to you, I did it for no other reason than to test your constancy. Tacito Too dangerous a test, Signora, [yet] for all that, it will always be dear to me, since in the contemplation of danger there is the security of love.

74 Amorosi contrasti [3] Amoroso Contrasto sopra se ogni amato convien’ che ami Furio, e Istrina

Furio Ben trovata la Signora Istrina, che si può veramente chiamare il bello della bellezza. Istrina Benvenuto il Sign. Furio, che si può con ragione chiamare il perfetto della perfettione. Furio Egli è vero Signora mia, ché si come il forte Alcide pose Abila, e Calpe all’Oceano per segno, che non si poteva passar più oltre, cosi Natura pose nella tranquilla e serena vostra fronte quei due belli occhi, oltre la bellezza de quali non è chi possa passare. Istrina Confesserò per non vi far bugiardo, che si come Alcide pose quei due monti per termine all’Oceano, così Natura pose nella mia fronte quest’occhi per termini di bellezza. Ma siccome infiniti Naviganti hanno varcato oltre quei termini, cosi molte, anzi infinite donne hanno passata [la] bellezza che la Natura mi diede. Furio Benche molti abbiano passati i termini di Alcide, non è però che altra donna abbia passata la vostra bellezza: Bellezza che m’ha indotto di maniera ad amarvi, ch’io posso dir con ragione d’esser fatto la vera Metropoli d’Amore, il quale sprezza ogn’altro albergo per abitar nel cuor mio, conoscendo ch’egli è più d’ogni altro fido, e più d’ogn’altro amante. Istrina Se le parole, che m’avete più volte dette non son false, quest’onore che vi ascrivete non è vostro, ma mio; perch’io sono la vera Metropoli d’Amore. Furio Io vi ho detto sempre il vero. Ma realmente noi siamo due come siamo, non può essere che Amore abiti in voi, e in me: perché un Prencipe non può essere in due luoghi in un medesimo tempo.

Lovers’ Debates 75 [3] Lovers’ Debate on Whether Every Beloved Person Must Love in Return13 Translated by Eric Nicholson Furio and Istrina14 Furio Well met, Signora Istrina, whom one may truly call the beauty of Beauty herself. Istrina Welcome, Signor Furio, whom one may rightly call the perfect essence of Perfection itself. Furio It is true, Signora, that just as the mighty Alcides placed Abila and Calpe at the Ocean’s edge, as the sign beyond which no one could pass,15 so Nature placed in your tranquil and serene visage those two beautiful eyes, beyond whose beauty no one can pass. Istrina I will admit, in order not to give you the lie, that just as Alcides placed those two mountains at the Ocean’s limit, so Nature placed these eyes in my visage as the limit of beauty. But just as an infinite number of navigators have crossed over these limits, so many, or rather an infinite number of women have surpassed that beauty which Nature has given me. Furio Even though many have passed the limits of Alcides, nonetheless there is no other woman who has surpassed you in beauty—a beauty that has inspired me to love you in such a way that I can rightly say I have been turned into the Capital of Love, who disdains all other dwellings, in order to inhabit my heart, knowing that it is more faithful than any other, and more of a true lover than any other. Istrina If the words that you have often spoken to me are not false ones, this honor that you ascribe to yourself is not yours, but rather mine, because I am the true Capital of Love. Furio I have always spoken the truth to you. But truly, we two being two, it can only be that Love dwells in you, in the same way as he does in me, for a Prince cannot be in two different places at one and the same time.

76 Amorosi contrasti Istrina Se vogliamo considerar Amore come un Dio possente, e divino com’egli è, diremo, che può a guisa del Sole esser in un sol punto in ogni parte: ma se vogliamo considerarlo altramente, non può essere in più d’un luogo in un sol tempo. Ma voglio tornarui in mente quello che m’avete detto, e poi vi farò conoscere, ch’io sono la vera fede d’Amore. Ditemi Signor Curio, non mi avete voi mille volte detto, che mi portate nel cuore? Furio L’ho detto, lo dico, e lo dirò sempre, perché è così. Istrina Me ne allegro, e ve rendo grazie. Voi dite, che siete la Metropoli d’Amore, perche Amore si compiace più di voi che de gli altri suoi fedeli, à guisa di un Rè, o di un Prencipe, che per molte Città che possegga, si compiace più d’una, che di tutte l’altre, onde quella è chiamata sua Metropoli, non è così? Furio Signora sì, ma veniamo al punto. Istrina Ora benche il Rè, o il Prencipe sia nella sua Metropoli, non però l’occupa tutta, ma solo alberga nel suo Palazzo, e di quel Palazzo non scieglie se non una stanza. Vero è che scieglie la più degna e la più commoda per sua particolar abitazione. Ora, albergando Amore in voi, non tutto occupa, ma solo si vive nella più bella e degna parte che in voi sia, e a lui più conveniente; la quale senza dubbio è il vostro cuore, Ora, vivendo io nel vostro cuore, e quivi fermata l’abitazione mia, perche Amore senza l’aiuto mio albergar non vi potea, io gli apersi il seno, ove egli postosi felicemente, e vive, e regna, ond’io posso con ragione chiamarmi la vera Metropoli d’Amore. Furio Questa dolce gara, questa cara tenzone mi fà chiaramente conoscere l’amor che mi portate, benché di questo io non sia mai vissuto in forse, perche dall’ora che io cominciai ad amarvi, fui certo, che in virtù dell’amor mio sarei stato cambievolmente amato, essendo che io sò che ogni amato necessariamente riama.

Lovers’ Debates 77 Istrina If we deem Love to be a potent god, and as divine as he is, then let us maintain that like the sun he can be in one fixed point, yet everywhere all at once. But if we deem him otherwise, then he cannot be in more than one place at any one time. But I wish to remind you of what you have told me, and then I shall make you know that I am the true faith of Love. Tell me now, Signor [Furio],16 have you not told me a thousand times that you carry me in your heart? Furio I have said it, I say it, and I will say it forever, for it is the very truth. Istrina I rejoice in that, and I give you my thanks. You say that you are the Capital of Love, because Love prefers you over his other faithful followers, in the way that a King, or a Prince, among the many cities that are in his possession, prefers a single one, above all the rest. The preferred city is therefore called his capital, yes? Furio Yes indeed, Signora, but let’s get to the point. Istrina Now even though the king, or the prince, may live in his capital, he does not occupy it entirely: instead, he resides only in his palace, and in that same palace he chooses only one room, the room of his choice being the most worthy and most comfortable for his particular habitation. Now, since Love resides in you, he does not occupy you entirely, but lives only in the worthiest and loveliest part of you, and the one most convenient to him: and this is doubtless your heart. Now, since I live in your heart, my residence is fixed there, because without my help Love could not reside there, since it is also true that I have opened to him your breast, where he—happily placed—lives and reigns . . . whereby I can rightly call myself the true Capital of Love. Furio This sweet contest, this dear dispute makes me clearly know your love for me, though I’ve never lived in any doubt, because from the moment that I began to love you, I was certain, by virtue of my love, I would likewise be loved, since I know that every beloved person must needs love in return.

78 Amorosi contrasti Istrina Si finge che li due Amori, Erote e Anterote, procurano, gareggiando, di levarsi la palma di mano, non per altro che per avvertir l’amante e l’amata a procurar la palma del ben’amare. Ma se io vi amo, non vorrei, che credeste, che forza alcuna mi spingesse a farlo, perché il dovere non si ritrova in amore. Sono bene alcuni, che affermando quello che credono, dicono di sì, fondando principalmente le loro opinioni sù quel verso di Dante, che dice Amor a nullo amato amar perdona. Perché non si ritrova Giudice in amore che punisca quelli che amati non riamano. Furio Amore nasce dalla similitudine, e la similitudine non è altro che una medesima natura in più cose. Dunque la medesima similitudine, che invita e sforza l’amante amata, invita e sforza l’amata ad amar l’amante. Istrina Queste vostre ragioni hanno alquanto del verisimile, ma dubito che non sia il verisimile d’Agatone, il quale dice che ha del verisimile, che possa alcuna volta avvenir cosa che non habbia del verisimile, alle quali rispondo, e dico, che dove ha luogo l’esperienza non occorrono altre ragioni. Quanti ci sono che ardentemente amando, non solo non sono riamati, ma mortalmente odiati? Infelicità, che trappassa tutte quelle che in amor si sopportano. Se ogni amato riamar dovesse, non si sentirebbono tutti i Poeti di tutte le lingue lamentarsi, non meno delle loro Donne che d’Amore. Furio Tutti gli amanti hanno l’immagini delle donne amate scolpite nel cuore, talché l’animo dell’amante, anzi l’amante istesso è quasi uno specchio dell’amato; e da questo nasce, che riconoscendo l’amata se stessa nell’amante, è forza che lo riami (ohimè). Se noi amiamo una tela, un marmo, un legno, un bronzo, o simili, ove sia l’immagine nostra, o dipinta, o scolpita, quanto maggiormente ameremo un cuore, e massimamente un cuor gentile, in cui non finta, ma vera vediamo la sembianza nostra? Istrina Per mostrar che ogni amato non sia sforzato a riamare, dice lo Stagirita, che quando l’amante ama solo, quello si chiama amor semplice, e morto. E che quando ama accompagnato quello si chiama amore cambievole e vivo, e che allora l’amante vive con due vite, per le quali parole conosciamo, che si può amar solo, ed accompagnatì.

Lovers’ Debates 79 Istrina Pictures show us how the two Loves, Eros and Anteros, vie and compete with each other to snatch the palm of victory out of the other’s hand, for no other reason than to advise lovers to strive for the palm of loving well.17 But if I love you, I would not want you to believe that any kind of force compelled me to do so, because duty and obligation have no place in love. There are some who, affirming what they believe, answer yes to this question, mainly basing their opinion on that line by Dante, which states: “Amor a nullo amato amar perdona,” that is, “Love, which pardons no one loved from loving in return.”18 Yet why can no judge of love be found, who punishes those who are loved but do not love in return? Furio Love is born from likeness, and likeness is none other than the same nature in many things. Therefore, the same likeness which invites and compels the beloved lover, invites and compels the beloved to love the lover. Istrina Your reasoning has a fair measure of probability, but I suspect that it is the probability of Agathon, who states that it does seem probable that something improbable sometimes will happen.19 To this I respond, and assert, that no other reasoning is needed, where experience itself holds forth. How many souls have ardently loved, who not only have not been loved in return, but mortally hated? This is an unhappiness exceeding all other sorrows that lovers may suffer. If every beloved must love in return, then we would not hear all poets in all languages making their moans and laments, not only about their ladies but also about Love. Furio All lovers keep the image of their ladies engraved in their hearts, so much so that the soul of the lover, indeed the lover himself, is almost the mirror of the beloved. From this it follows that the beloved, recognizing herself within her lover, perforce loves him in return. Ay me, if we love a canvas, or a piece of marble, wood, bronze, or the like, where there is painted or carved our image, how much more shall we love a heart, and especially a gentle heart, in which we see not a false but our own true semblance?20 Istrina To demonstrate that every beloved person is not constrained to love in return, the Stagirite21 affirms that when only the lover loves, this is called simple, and dead love. When instead he loves together with another, that is called reciprocal, and living love. In that case the lover lives with two lives. From these words we know that one can love on one’s own, or with another.

80 Amorosi contrasti Furio L’amar alcuno non è altro che un torre se stesso a se mèdesimo, e darsi ad altrui, cioè all’amato. Dunque, gli amanti non sono di lor proprii, ma degli amati. Dunque gli amati amano gli amanti, nè si può dire in contrario, perche ogn’uno naturalmente ama, e tiene care le cose sue. Istrina Questa condizione Signor Furio passa tra l’amico e l’amico, e non tra l’amante e l’amata. E che sia vero, tra l’amore e l’amicizia non ci è altra differenza se non che l’uno non richiede l’amor cambievole, e l’altra sì. Nell’amicizia bisogna necessariamente che l’uno amico ami l’altro; ma nell’amore questa necessità non è necessaria. Furio Io voglio confermar quanto V. S. dice, e rallegrarmene insieme, conoscendo che l’amore (che bontà vostra mi portate) nasce non dall’obligo, non dalla forza, ma dalla vostra volontà, e dalla gentilezza a cui sarò perpetuamente obligato. Istrina Dalla mia volontà e dal vostro merito insieme è nato l’amor mio, e credete che questa mia nobil fiamma viverà ancora nelle ceneri miè, poiché la bella cagione che l’accese, sarà sempre l’istessa.

Lovers’ Debates 81 Furio To love someone else is nothing other than a taking of one’s self out of one’s self and giving one’s self to another, that is, to the beloved. Therefore, lovers do not belong to their own selves, but to their beloveds. Therefore, beloved ones love their lovers, and one can say nothing to the contrary, because everyone naturally loves and holds dear what is their own. Istrina This condition, Signor Furio, holds for friend and friend, but not for the lover and the beloved. For it is true that between love and friendship there is no difference, except this: the one does not demand reciprocal love, while the other one does. In friendship, a friend must needs love the other friend. In love, however, this necessity is not necessary. Furio I would like to confirm what your Ladyship says, and at the same time rejoice in it, recognizing that the love which your great kindness brings me is born neither from obligation nor force, but from your own will and gentility, to which I am forever obliged. Istrina From my will, put together with your merits, is born my love, and you may believe that this my noble flame will live forever, even in my ashes, since the lovely cause that kindled it will always be the same.

82 Amorosi contrasti [4] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il Medico, e il Leggista Erinna, e Arturo Erinna Ben trovato Signor Eccellente: ben trovato colui che d’altro non gioisce che della miseria mia, e del mio male. Arturo Di grazia Signora, lasciatemi stare, che io per me vi ho tanto in fastidio, che se voi aveste la febbre non vorrei neanche toccarvi il polso. Erinna Questo mi importerebbe poco, perche ne troverei degli altri, che me lo toccherebbono. Ma l’importanza è, che della mia amorosa infermità solo voi Medico mio pietoso potete sanarmi. Arturo Se così è, voi per me sarete sempre inferma. Erinna Maggior fasto, o maggior alterezza voi non potreste avere quando ancora voi foste Leggista, non che Medico. Arturo Non sò tanti fasti, nè tante alterezze, Signora, sò ben questo, che son più nobile essendo Medico, che se io fossi Leggista. Erinna Meglio sarebbe per me, che voi foste Leggista, che forse avereste pietà dei miei tormenti. Arturo Se io fossi Leggista vi condannarei alla morte, perché non mi deste più noia.

Lovers’ Debates 83 [4] Lovers’ Debate on the Doctor and the Judge Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Erinna and Arturo22 Erinna Well met, most excellent Signor: greetings to the man who enjoys nothing but my misery and my pain. Arturo For God’s sake, Signora, let me alone! I find you so tedious that if you were feverish, I wouldn’t even want to feel your pulse. Erinna This would mean little to me, because I would find others who’d feel it for me . . . but the meaningful thing is that my amorous ailment can only be cured by you, my merciful Doctor. Arturo If that’s how it is, for me you will always be ill. Erinna Greater pride and haughtiness you could not show unless you were a judge, not a doctor. Arturo I don’t know about that! I am not so very proud or arrogant, Signora, but I know this well, that I am nobler being a doctor than if I were a judge. Erinna It would be better for me that you were a judge, so that perhaps you would take pity on my torments. Arturo If I were a judge, I would condemn you to death, so that you would give me no more grief.

84 Amorosi contrasti Erinna Sì, quand’io fossi rea di morte, e che le leggi a ciò mi condannassero. Ma ritornando a quello che avete detto intorno all’essere come Medico più nobile, che se voi foste Leggista, di cui, che voi come interessato portate questa opinione. Ma che altrui con voi la porti, non lo posso credere: perché, se l’antichità arguisce nobiltà, non è dubbio che il Leggista è più nobile dell’Artista, essendo più antico. Imperoché innanzi la creazione dell’uomo furono discacciati i superbi dal Cielo; il che non fu altro, che una esecuzione di giustizia, e perché l’esecuzione e la punizione soppongono la legge, bisogna dire che sin’ allora avesse avuto origine la legge, come fu creato il Mondo fu data la legge al Mare, alle Tempeste e ai Venti. Subito poi che fu creato l’uomo, li fu data la legge, vietandoli di gustar i frutti, che gustar non doveva, sotto pena della morte. E tuttavia in quei tempi non aveva avuto origine la facoltà de gli Artisti, non la Medicina, perché non era ancora introdotta l’infermità, nè v’era bisogno di conservarsi in sanità, non essendo allora di temer del contrario, bastando solo per la conservazione d’ogni bene d’osservar la legge data. Non faceva meno di bisogno in quei tempi la Filosofia, perché non era necessario l’andar considerando dalla causa all’effetto, essendo ogni cosa manifesta all’huomo primo. Dunque la scienza legale per l’antichità delle leggi debbe esser più nobile. Arturo Poiché noi siamo entrati in disputa converrà pur ch’io vi risponda, e rispondendovi ch’io vi veda più di quello ch’io non vorrei. Ricordatevi Signora, che la cognizione delle cose eterne è sempre più nobile di quella che conosce le corruttibili, per tanto son più nobili le cose conosciute perpetue, di quelle, che non sono perpetue. Quella facoltà, che ragiona delle cose eterne è detta scienza, e quella che ragiona delle cose corruttibili è arte. Ma così è, che la facoltà de gli Artisti, e particolarmente le Filosofie sono scienze, e le leggi non sono scienze, considerando le cose particolari, e corruttibili, si come anche i Leggisti confessano di considerar sempre casi particolari. Adunque la facoltà de gli Artisti è più nobile. Erinna La Medicina, ed altre arti sono nate dal difetto, che hanno veduto gli uomini nell’umana natura; al quale hanno cercato di supplir artificiosamente. Et perciò si dice, che l’arte imita la natura, anzi supplisce al suo difetto. La Filosofia poi è nata, perche vedendo gli uomini gli effetti, entrarono in meraviglia e in desiderio di saperne le cagioni; onde la facoltà de gli Artisti è stata invenzione de gli uomini, e quella dei Leggisti degli alti Iddi, dai quali son venute le prime leggi. Però segue che la facoltà dei Leggisti sia tanto più eccellente, quanto sono più degni gli alti Iddi de gli uomini terreni.

Lovers’ Debates 85 Erinna Yes, when I am found guilty of murder and the laws condemn me. But returning to what you said about being a doctor, that it is more noble than being a judge, I say that you have a personal interest in holding this opinion. That others hold it with you, I cannot believe, because if antiquity is evidence of nobility, there is no doubt that the judge is nobler than the physician, being more ancient; seeing that before the creation of man, the rebel angels were chased out of heaven, so it was nothing other than an execution of justice. And because execution and punishment presuppose the law, it needs to be said that from that time, the laws had their origin. In the same way, just as when God created the earth, he gave the law to the sea, the tempests, and the winds, as soon as man was created, he received the law forbidding him to taste and enjoy the fruits that he must not eat under pain of death. And yet at that time they had none of the sciences, nor medical arts, because there was not yet any sickness, nor was it necessary to conserve their health, for there was no need in that time to fear the contrary, needing only to obey the laws given them to conserve every good. They had no need of philosophy in those times, because it was not necessary to go around mulling over cause and effect, given that everything had been made manifest to the first man. Therefore, legal knowledge, through the antiquity of the laws, must be more noble. Arturo Since we have entered into debate, it’s best that I answer you, and respond that I see more of you than I want to. Remember, Signora, that the knowledge of eternal things is always more noble than the knowledge of corruptible ones, just as perpetual things are more noble than those that are not perpetual. That branch of learning which reasons about eternal things is called science, and that which reasons of corruptible things is art. But so it is that the skills of the learned, and particularly those of philosophers, are sciences, and the laws are not sciences, since they consider particular and corruptible things. Even the men of law confess that they always consider particular things. Therefore, the skill of physicians is more noble. Erinna Medicine and other skilled crafts are born from the defect that human beings see in human nature, which they find ways to correct by artificial means. For this reason, it is said that the arts and crafts imitate nature, or rather, they correct her defects. Philosophy was born, because once men witnessed effects, they were filled with wonder, and desired to know causes. Therefore, the skill of physicians was an invention of men, and that of jurists of the high gods, from whom came the first laws. Thus, it follows that the ability of judges is so much more excellent, just as the high gods are more worthy than earthly men.

86 Amorosi contrasti Arturo Se la Medicina è nata dal difetto, che hanno veduto gli uomini nell’umana natura, e le leggi sono state trovate per la necessità dei cattivi, tanto che e quella e queste saranno invenzioni de gli uomini. Ma se il soggetto più degno fa ancora la facoltà più degna, si come è chiaro, perché quella degli Artisti ha materia più degna, seguiva ch’ella ancora sia più degna, il che sarà manifesto se vederemo di che cosa ella ragiona, e circa a che si versa. Quello di che ragionano le Filosofie scienze proprissime del Medico si sà, che è tutto il mondo, il quale è naturalmente considerato dalla naturale Filosofia, cioè in quanto mobile, o per generazione, o per corruzione, o per augumento, e diminuzione, o per alterazione, o per moto locale. Perciò considera la natura de i Cieli, circa all’essenza loro, e circa ai movimenti, fa menzione degli Elementi, e delle loro mutazioni, dimostra come se ne fa il misto perfetto, discorre circa le cose animate d’anima vegetativa, come le piante; di sensitiva come degli Animali, di intellettiva come l’uomo, e più oltre passando, va fino alla cognizione dei felici abitatori del Cielo. Erinna Quietatevi Sig. Arturo, e considerate che il dar le leggi è atto di maggioranza, e modo di farsi conoscere per superiore, e la maggioranza arguisce potenza, e la potenza arguisce dignità. Arturo Se per potenza vale, voi sarete sempre più degna di me, avendo di me maggior potenza. Erinna Così aveste voi tanto naturale e buono intelletto che potesse penetrarla a pieno. Arturo Benché la natura mi abbia dotato d’assai buono e gagliardo intelletto naturale, non credo però, che egli potesse bastare a così fatto offizio. Erinna Et però non volete mettervi all’impresa, certo: è sicuro che ne rimarreste abbattuto e vinto. Ma torniamo a noi. Signor Medico, non è da dubitare che il bene universale è più eccellente del particolare, e che se una facoltà ha per fine di conservare il bene universale, eccede in dignità quella che ha per fine di conservar il bene particolare. Ma tali sono le leggi, il fine delle quali è la conservazione della Repubblica, che è bene universale, rispetto alla conservazione che viene dalla facoltà de gli Artisti, atteso che il Medico introduce la sanità in un particolare. E ben che paia introdurla in tutta la Repubblica (e però è detto uomo publico),

Lovers’ Debates 87 Arturo If medicine was born from defects that we as humans saw in human nature, and the laws were invented by necessity because of evil people, then both of these are inventions of men. But if the worthier subject also makes the skill more worthy (as is clearly true) because doctors of science and philosophy have more worthy material, so it follows that it [medicine] is even worthier. This will be most obvious if we look at what it considers, and around which it turns. That which concerns the philosophic sciences proper to the doctor (as everyone knows) is all the world, which is naturally considered natural philosophy, that is, all things animate, either by generation, or by corruption, or by augmentation, or by diminution, or by alteration, or by locomotion. Therefore it considers the nature of the heavens, concerning their essence and movement; it observes the Elements and their mutations, demonstrating how they reach a perfect mixture; it treats of things animated with vegetative souls, as with plants; the sensitive, as with the Animals, and the intellectual, as with man; and reaching still further heights, it arrives at the knowledge of the happy inhabitants of Heaven.23 Erinna Calm yourself, Signor Arturo, and consider that to make laws is the act of greatness, and the way to make oneself known as superior. Greatness is evidence of power, and power confers dignity. Arturo If it’s power one values, you will always be more worthy than myself, having greater power. Erinna This shows you have a natural and good intellect, that can pierce to the heart of the question. Arturo Even if nature gave me a very good and lively natural intellect, I don’t believe, however, that it can be enough to accomplish such a mission. Erinna Therefore, you don’t want to put yourself to the test. I am sure that you would end up beaten and conquered. But let’s return to our debate. Signor Doctor, there is no doubt that the universal good is more excellent than the particular, and that if a faculty has the end of preserving the universal good, it exceeds in dignity that which has as its aim conserving the particular good. But such are laws, the purpose of which is the conservation of the Republic, which is a universal good.

88 Amorosi contrasti nondimeno si può dire che l’introduce in particolare poi che riguarda immediatamente il bene particolare, e mediatamente il publico. Ma le leggi riguardano immediatamente ben publico, e mediatamente il particolare. Oltre di ciò si può dire che il fine del Medico è bene particolare, ed incerto, essendo che non sana universalmente, e sempre. Ma le leggi sempre, e universalmente conservano, dunque sono più degne. Arturo Due parti sono in noi: anima e corpo, all’una ed all’ altra delle quali dà la natura, quella maggior perfezione che può. Ma spesso manca in tanto, ch’è di necessità adoperar l’industria umana. E’ perfezione del corpo la sanità del corpo, ed è perfezione dell’anima la sanità dell’anima. Se natura dà conveniente sanità naturale, bisogna cercar di conservarla, e s’ella manca naturalmente in qualche parte, bisogna cercar di riacquistarla, il che si fà con la Medicina, qual si versa circa il corpo humano in quanto, che può introdurre, e conservar la sanità. la Filosofia poi (che come ho detto) è propria della medicina, è quella che dà capacità all’ anima per mezzo dello studio, e l’induce a discacciar il vizio, e introdur la virtù, la qual virtù è vera sanità dell’anima, e conseguentemente vera perfezione. Veggasi un poco se il leggista è buono a far questo, la prima cosa egli non ha parte nella sanità del corpo. Se dice d’averla nell’anima castigando i vizi, io dico di nò, perche le leggi, benche spaventino, e benche diano punizione, non per questo fanno virtuoso un’animo maligno e vitioso. Con ciò sia che l’astenersi dal vizio per timore, non si può mai chiamare virtù. La facoltà dell’Artista dunque è una medicina dell’anima e del corpo. Erinna E la scienza legale anch’essa è medicina dell’anima e del corpo: dell’anima, discacciando il vizio, e introducendo la virtù per mezzo della Filosofia, sopra la quale è fondata; del corpo, preservando le Città dalle ingiurie, da gli homicidi, e da altri danni del corpo Ma concludiamo il nostro duellare, dicendo che quella facoltà è più da essere apprezzata, che è più giovevole. Ma tale è la facoltà del Leggista, dunque è più degna. Et ch’ella sia più giovevole leggasi Platone, il quale dice ch’era da infonder ai mortali l’amor delle leggi, e della Giustizia, percioché senza legge non è Republica alcuna, nè picciola compagnia d’uomini, nè ancora picciola casa, che possa conservarsi. Et Marco Tullio dice che la legge è un vincolo delle Città, un fondamento di libertà, un fonte d’equità, la mente, l’animo, il consiglio, il parer della Città. E che siccome i nostri corpi non possono senza la mente servirsi delle membra, del sangue, e dell’altre parti, così la Città non può servirsi delle sue parti senza le leggi. E chi non vede, che senza le leggi, l’audacia umana andrebbe tanto vagando, che tra gli empi non sarebbe sicura l’innocenza? Onde è necessario, che i possenti maligni siano costretti dalle leggi, come da freni, e da ceppi di ferro.

Lovers’ Debates 89 As for the conservation itself, it derives from the skill of the physicians, seeing that the doctor brings health to particular individuals. Respecting conservation that comes from the skill of physicians, the Doctor introduces health in particular ways; and even though he seems to introduce it into the entire Republic (and thus is called a public man), nonetheless one can say that he introduces it in the particular because he seeks immediately for the particular good, and then the public’s. But the laws seek immediately for public good, and then the particular. Other than that, one can say that the end of Medicine is a particular and uncertain good, it being that there is no health that exists universally and always. But the laws always and universally preserve the public good, therefore they are more worthy of honor. Arturo Two parts are in us, soul and body. To the one, as to the other, Nature gives the most perfection that she can. Often, however, there exists such a lack that by necessity human labor is to be employed, just as perfection of the body is the health of the body, and perfection of the soul is the health of the soul. If nature gives one the necessary natural health, one needs to find a way to preserve it. Or, if it is naturally lacking in some part, one needs to find a way to reacquire it, which is the doctor’s job, who treats the human body in such a way that he can bring and preserve health. Philosophy, then (as I said), is itself medicinal, for by means of study it empowers the soul and induces it to drive away vice and let in virtue, that virtue which is the true health of the soul and, consequently, true perfection. Let us see whether the lawyer is any good for this function. The first thing is, he takes no part in maintaining the health of the body. It is said that the law castigates vices within the soul, but I say no, because the laws, even when terrifying and harshly punitive, do not make a sinful and malignant soul virtuous, given that the abstention from vice through fear can never be called virtue. The faculty of the physician, therefore, is a medicine to the soul and the body. Erinna And legal knowledge is also medicine for the soul and the body: from the soul it chases away vice and lets in virtue by means of philosophy, on which it is founded. As for the soul, it protects the city from injury, from homicides, and from other damages to the body. Let us, however, conclude our duel, saying thus: that faculty is more prized, which is more helpful. But such is the faculty of the lawyer, therefore it is more worthy. And that it is more worthy, read Plato, who says that the love of laws and justice was infused into mortals because without laws there is no Republic, nor any small band of men, nor even a small hut that can protect itself. And Marcus Tullius Cicero says that the law is a binding of the state, a foundation of liberty, a fountain of equity, the mind, the soul, the counsel, and the thought of the city.

90 Amorosi contrasti Mancando la ragion civile, non c’è alcuno che possa sapere qual cosa sia sua, o qual d’altrui, quello che s’ha d’aver dal Padre, e quello che s’habbia da lasciar ai figliuoli, e finalmente senza le leggi nessuna cosa rimarrebbe concorde tra noi mortali. E poi non sapete, che i Medici come inutili, anzi dannosi, sono stati da certi Popoli discacciati dalla Repubblica? Arturo Se i Medici furono già discacciati dalla Repubblica, come inutili, furono ancora richiamati con loro utile, e onore come profittevoli. Signora so che voi sapete, che la varietà d’alcuna cosa è indizio della sua imperfezione: le leggi variano, e la scienza de gli Artisti non varia, dunque perfetta è questa, e imperfette son quelle. Che la scienza de gli Artisti non vari, non occorre dubitare perch’ella è cognizione delle cose eterne, fatta per mezzi eterni, e per ragioni permanenti. La varietà delle leggi si vede chiarissima, poiché secondo i vari Imperatori le istesse leggi Imperiali sono state derogate, e mutate, e le stesse tutto dì per gli statuti delle città particolari si veggono di molto alterate. Si conosce poi la varietà loro, secondo la varietà dei popoli, e dei luoghi; onde si può senza dubbio dire, ch’elle siano varie, e per conseguenza imperfette, rispetto alla facoltà dell’Artista ferma certa, e perfetta. Erinna Le leggi, benche varino, contenute nei loro principi e nelle loro regole, sono però sempre l’istesso, e permanenti, come l’oro, il quale benché lavorato diversamente, è pur sempre il medesimo oro. Ma dato, che la varietà sia indizio d’imperfezione, chi varia più della Medicina percioché variano i medicamenti secondo la diversità delle complessioni, dell’età, dei tempi, dei luoghi, e delle occasioni. Arturo Io m’avvedo, che questo ragionamento non avrebbe che dire, cosi à voi non mancherebbe che respondere. Per terminarlo dunque vi dico, che con tutto che voi siate bella, graziosa, e letterata non sono mai per amarvi. Erinna Voi non volete amarmi come quello, che godete del mio male, e veramente, che non sareste Medico, quando che non godeste dell’altrui male, poiche l’altrui male è vostro proprio bene. Ma io prego il Cielo, che mantenga gli uomini, e le donne sempre sani, e particolarmente in questa città, accioché voi non possiate per l’abbondanza dei poveri infermi arricchirvi giammai.

Lovers’ Debates 91 And that if like our bodies we cannot without the mind make use of the limbs, the blood, and the other parts, in this way the City cannot make use of its parts without the laws.24 And who does not see that, lacking civil justice, human boldness would range so far that innocence would not be safe from wickedness and impiety? Thus it is necessary for malignant powers to be constrained by the laws, as with bridles and stocks of iron. Lacking civil reason, no one could be sure what belongs to him or to another, or what is due to him from his father, and what belongs to his heirs. And finally, without the laws nothing would remain in harmony between mortals. And don’t you know that certain people have held doctors to be useless, indeed harmful, and have chased them out of the Republic?25 Arturo If the Medici were chased out of the Republic as useless, they were recalled again for their usefulness, and honored as profitable. Signora, I know you realize that the variety of every thing is an index of its imperfection: the laws vary, and the science of the physician does not vary, therefore this science is perfect and those laws are imperfect. That the science of physicians does not vary there is no doubt, because it is the recognition of eternal things, made by eternal means, and for permanent reasons. The variety of the laws one clearly sees, because according to the wishes of the various Emperors, the imperial laws were derogated and changed, and the same is recorded about the statutes of particular cities that saw much alteration. If one knows their variety, according to the variety of people and places, then one can doubtless say that they are various, and consequently imperfect, while the faculty of the physician remains certain and perfect. Erinna The laws, however various in their principles and in their rules, are always the same, and as permanent as gold, which, however one may work it in various ways, is always the same gold. But given that variety is a sign of imperfection, who varies more than a doctor, seeing how medications vary according to the diversity of complexions, age, time, place, and occasion? Arturo I perceive that this so-called discourse is just so much chit-chat, so you will never lack an answer. To bring it to an end, therefore, I tell you that, despite everything you are—beautiful, charming, and learned—I shall never love you. Erinna You don’t wish to love me, just like a person who delights in my pain. And truly, it’s best that you not be a doctor, when all you want is the pain of others, because their sickness is what makes you prosper. But I pray Heaven that it keeps men and women always healthy, and particularly in this city, so that you never get rich from the bounty you receive from your poor patients.

92 Amorosi contrasti Arturo Et voi possiate esser sempre mai tale, che nessuno vi debba amare. Erinna Piuttosto cieco, che indovino.

Lovers’ Debates 93 Arturo And you can be always just as you are, so that no one ever loves you. Erinna You’re certainly blind, but you’re no prophet.26

94 Amorosi contrasti [5] Amoroso Contrasto sopra le morti d’Amore Eudosia, e Manlio Eudosia Signor Manlio, mi rallegro della vostra sanità, e che non siate morto, come publicamente si diceva. Manlio Fù pur troppo vera la mia morte, e ancora semivivo mi trovo, anzi per dir meglio sono morto affatto. Eudosia Voi mi fate venir voglia di ridere, dicendo d’esser morto, poiché i morti non parlano, e non si muovono, e voi pur tuttavia parlate, e vi movete: ora, come può stare questa vostra vivente morte? Manlio L’amante comincia a morire, all’ora che egli comincia ad amare, poiché l’animo suo, nel suo proprio corpo si muore vivendo nel corpo d’altra persona. Eudosia Di grazia andiamo adagio con questi vostri termini moribondi, che se bene mi ricordo di quello che ho sentito dire, mi pare che questa vostra morte, che andate accennando, sia una morte dolce e soave. Manlio Amore è chiamato dolce amaro; essendo l’amore volontaria morte, e come morte è cosa amara, ma come volontaria è dolce, e soave, onde benissimo diceste Signora Eudosia. Eudosia Tanto, che voi siete morto in voi stesso, e vivete in altri di vita dolce e soave: felice voi, poiché avete avuto in sorte di morir così dolcemente, e simile al Cigno, che muore cantando, come si dice. Manlio Signora mia, la cosa non sta come voi l’andate descrivendo, e per scherzo raccontando, poiché a me è intervenuta più trista sciagura.

Lovers’ Debates 95 [5] Lovers’ Debate on Those Who Die for Love Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Eudosia and Manlio27 Eudosia Signor Manlio, I rejoice that you are in good health and not dead, as had been publicly announced.28 Manlio My death was only too true, and I find myself still half-alive—actually, it is better to say that I am completely dead. Eudosia You make me want to laugh, saying that you are dead, since the dead don’t talk, and don’t move, and nevertheless you talk and move: now how can your living death be possible? Manlio The lover begins to die at the moment that he begins to love, since his soul in his own body dies because it is living in the body of another person.29 Eudosia For heaven’s sake, let’s slow down, with all your moribund terms. If I remember what I’ve heard, it seems that this death of yours, which you have touched on, is a death both sweet and delicious. Manlio Love is called bittersweet—love being a willing death, and death a bitter thing. But as it is voluntary, it is sweet and delicious. Therefore, you have put it well, Signora Eudosia. Eudosia Well, you are dead in yourself, and you live through others a sweet and gentle life. Happy you, because you have had the good fortune to die so sweetly, like the swan, who dies singing, as they say. Manlio My Lady, it’s not as you’re describing it, treating it as a joke. To me it is a much sadder affliction.

96 Amorosi contrasti Eudosia Come sarebbe a dire che? Manlio Muore amando chiunque ama, perche il suo pensiero dimenticando se stesso, solo nella persona amata si rivolge, e vive. Eudosia Questa è non meno ridicolosa della prima. Io non hò mai udito dire, che l’uomo possa dimenticar se stesso, nè morendo viver in altri come andate dicendo. Manlio Se bene vi andate infingendo di non intendere, tuttavia poiche così volete vi andrò agevolando la materia per farvi in tutto, e per tutto capace di quello che non volete capire, ora attendete: l’amante che non pensa di se, certamente non pensa in se, e però tal animo non opera in se medesimo, con ciò sia che la principal operazione dell’animo è il pensare. Eudosia Se la principale operazione dell’animo è il pensare, come dite, come non può l’animo pensar di se stesso, se il pensare è sua propria operazione? Manlio Colui, che non opera in se, non è in se, perche queste due cose insieme si ragguagliano: poiché non è l’essere senza l’operare, non opera alcuno dov’egli non è, e dovunque egli opera ivi è, adunque non è in se l’animo dell’amante poiché in se non opera. Se egli non è in se, non vive ancora in se medesimo; chi non vive è morto, e però è morto qualunque ama, o egli vive in altri. Eudosia Comincio a poco a poco a capir la parte, ma non capisco il tutto. Manlio Se vorrete, capirete ogni cosa. Eudosia Sì, perche non si dà vacuo in Natura. Ma prima che ad altra dichiarazione si venga, ditemi di grazia, perche vi chiamate voi morto affatto, e come siete morto affatto? A me pare che il morire affatto sia quando l’anima dal corpo si divide, e che il corpo cadavero rimane.

Lovers’ Debates 97 Eudosia What do you mean? Manlio Whoever loves, dies while loving, because, forgetting himself, his thought turns toward the beloved and lives in her. Eudosia This idea is no less ridiculous than the first. I’ve never heard that a man could forget himself, nor of one dying to live in others, as you’re saying. Manlio Well, if you go on pretending not to understand, because you wish me to help you by simplifying everything you don’t wish to understand, now listen: the lover who doesn’t think of himself, certainly doesn’t think at all, therefore that soul does not function in itself, because the principal function of the soul is to think. Eudosia If the principal function of the soul is thinking, as you say, how can the soul not think about itself, if thinking is its proper function? Manlio The man who does not act in himself, is not in himself, because these two things are the same. Since there is no being without action, and no one can act where he is not, and wherever he is, is where he acts, therefore the soul of the lover is not in himself, because it doesn’t act there. If he is not in himself, he doesn’t live in himself. Whoever does not live is dead, and so whoever loves is dead—or he lives in others. Eudosia I am beginning little by little to understand part of it, but I don’t understand the whole. Manlio If you’d like, you will understand everything. Eudosia Yes, because there is no vacuum in Nature.30 But before another lecture begins, tell me, if you please, why did you call yourself actually dead, and how did you die completely? It seems to me that actual death is when the body and soul separate, and only the corpse remains.

98 Amorosi contrasti Manlio Una sola è la morte nell’amor reciproco, e le resurrezioni sono due, perché chi ama muore una volta in sè quando si lascia. Risuscita subito nell’amata, quando l’amata lo riceve con ardente pensiero, e risuscita ancora quand’egli nell’amata finalmente si riconosce, e non dubita di non esser riamato. Eudosia Per quello che io m’avvedo, Signor Manlio, voi ardete di amoroso fuoco, perciò andate così minutamente di amor trattando, e tanto più lo credo, quanto che nel principio del nostro ragionamento diceste che eravate morto affatto. Il che se cosi è, voi amate d’amor semplice, perche amor semplice si dice esser quello quando l’amante non è riamato. E stando in questo termine, non vivendo in voi, non vivete neanche in Acqua, nè in Fuoco, nè in Terra, nè in corpo di brutto animale. Ma meglio sarebbe per voi, che viveste nel fuoco come la Salamandra, che nell’ardenti fiamme si conserva, e vive. Manlio Dunque non prima che ora Signora Eudosia vi siete avveduta dell’amor mio? Eudosia Ogni altra cosa mi sarei pensata in voi, eccetto che passione, ed effetto amoroso. Manlio Perché Signora, non sono io persona che merita di esser amata? Eudosia Non dico incontra: ma dico bene che il vero oggetto d’amore si è la bellezza, e questo basti. Manlio Voi mi offendete con la consequenza, e avete il torto, perche quando io non meriti di esser amato per bellezza, merito almeno per aver saputo elegger persona degna di esser amata per grazia, e per beltade. Eudosia E chi è questa Signora cotanto bella, gratiosa, e cotanto avventurata? Manlio Voi siete quella, se bene fingete di non avvedervi dell’amor mio.

Lovers’ Debates 99 Manlio There is only one death within reciprocal love. Yet there are two resurrections, because he who loves dies one time in himself when his spirit leaves his body. He revives instantly in the loved one, when she receives him with ardent thoughts. He revives again when he finally sees himself within the beloved and does not doubt that he is loved in return. Eudosia As to that: what I understand, Signor Manlio, is that you burn with amorous fire, and this is why you have gone on and on about love, and why at the start of our discussion you said that you were completely dead. If this is so, your love is a simple love, because simple love is said to be one in which the lover is not loved in return. In this way you’re not living in yourself, nor in water, nor in fire, nor in earth, nor in the body of an ugly animal.31 But it would be better for you to live in fire like the salamander, which survives within burning flames, and lives. Manlio So, not until now, Signora Eudosia, did you become aware of my love for you? Eudosia I could have imagined anything in you, except passion and amorous feelings. Manlio Why, Signora, am I not a person who deserves to be loved? Eudosia I won’t contradict you, but I maintain that the true object of love is beauty, and that must suffice. Manlio You offend me with your conclusion, and you are wrong, because if I don’t deserve to be loved for my beauty, I at least deserve it for having chosen someone worthy of being loved for her grace and beauty. Eudosia And who is this Lady so beautiful, gracious, and fortunate? Manlio You are she: even though you pretend not to recognize my love.

100 Amorosi contrasti Eudosia Se io son quella che voi amate, in confermazione di quanto avete detto, voi siete morto affatto, poiché non vivete in me, nè in niun’altra cosa. Manlio Mi assicurate voi di questo? Eudosia Ve ne assicuro, e ve ne accerto. Manlio Se cosi è come voi dite, io posso giustamente chiamarvi ladra, micidiale, e sacrilege. Ladra, perche m’avete rapita l’anima; micidiale, perché m’avete morto, non riamandomi; e sacrilege perché avete profanata la legge d’Amore, la quale vuole che ogni amante riamar si debba, e come rea di morte dovreste esser di tre morti condannata, e morta. Eudosia Questo non dico io. Ma se io vi riamassi, che ne seguirebbe? Manlio Che ne seguirebbe? Ne seguirebbe la mia vita, anzi una doppia vita, essendo questa restituzione molto debita nel render l’anima à chi la si tolse, e potrei dire: “O felicissima morte, alla quale seguitano due vite: O meraviglioso contratto, nel quale l’amante dona se stesso per altri, e ad altri, e se non lascia, e non abbandona. O inestimabile guadagno, quando due in tal modo uno divengono, che ciascheduno dei due per un solo diventa due, e come raddoppiato colui, che una vita aveva intercedente una morte ha già due vite; imperoché colui, che sendo una volta morto, due volte risorge, senza dubbio per una vita due vite, e per se uno, due se racquista.” Eudosia E se io non vi riamassi, che n’avverrebbe? Manlio Ne seguirebbe (non dirò la morte amorosa narrata) ma realmente la mia morte: una morte disperata, anzi una doppia morte, perche disperatamente uccidendomi, ucciderei in uno stesso tempo, e l’anima, e il corpo insieme. Eudosia Et s’io vi tenessi sospeso, e in forse, che partito prendereste voi?

Lovers’ Debates 101 Eudosia If I am the one you love, I shall confirm what you have said. You are completely dead, since you do not live in me, or in any other thing. Manlio Are you certain of that? Eudosia I assure you of it, and I confirm it to you. Manlio If it’s as you say, I can justly call you a thief, a murderer, and a blasphemer: a thief because you have stolen my soul, a murderer because you have slain me by not returning my love, and a blasphemer because you have profaned the law of love, which demands that each lover must return the other’s love.32 And since you are guilty of murder, you must be condemned and executed for three deaths. Eudosia This I don’t agree with. But if I did return your love, what would happen? Manlio What would happen? My life would happen—even two lives, for my soul would be restored and returned to the beloved, much revived, and I could say, O most happy death, which is followed by two lives! O marvelous contract, in which the lover gives himself for others, and never loses or abandons himself! O inestimable reward: when two in this way become one, when each one becomes two for one, and because of one death, has two lives; so that he, being dead once, resurrects twice, gaining without doubt one life for two; losing one, regaining two. Eudosia And if I did not return your love, what would happen? Manlio What would happen? A desperate death—not the amorous death we spoke of, but my real death, even a double death, because, desperately killing myself, I would kill body and soul at the same instant. Eudosia And if I kept you hanging in suspense, what part would you play?

102 Amorosi contrasti Manlio Viverei con speranza di esser da voi col tempo riamato, poiché la speranza gli amanti giammai non abbandona, sperando che l’amor nostro debba esser cambievole, o per gli ascendenti, o per i Pianeti benigni o per li Geni, o per le complessioni tra di noi simili e concordi. Eudosia Orsù, per terminar questo nostro ragionamento, e per mantenervi in qualche speranza, non essendo di dovuto, che in un subito io mi risolva, e all’improvviso d’amarvi o di non amarvi, dicovi che in questo mentre che voi anderete trovando la verità di queste vostre platoniche opinioni, che io parimente andrò pensando se devo amarvi o no. Manlio Non occorrerà, che voi mettiate in dubbio quelle cose che ci sforzeranno ad amarci cambievolmente. Eudosia Signor Manlio, i Pianeti inclinano, ma non sforzano. Manlio Se non vi sforzeranno, vi sforzerò io. Eudosia Me ne rido, perch’è passato il tempo dei Paladini, e voi non siete uno di quelli.

Lovers’ Debates 103 Manlio I would live in the hope of being loved by you in time, since lovers never abandon hope, in hoping that our love becomes mutual, whether by our ascendant stars or by benign planets or Genii, or through the concordance of our resemblances and harmonies.33 Eudosia Well, to end our discussion, and to give you a little hope (though it is not my duty to come to a sudden decision about whether to love you or not love you), I tell you that while you go seeking the truth of these Platonic arguments of yours, I, at the same time, will be wondering whether I must love you or not. Manlio It cannot be that you will ever place in doubt those things that will compel us to love each other mutually. Eudosia Signor Manlio, the planets influence, but they do not compel. Manlio If they do not compel you, I will. Eudosia That makes me laugh, because the time of the Paladins is past, and you aren’t one of them.34

104 Amorosi contrasti [6] Amoroso Contrasto sopra le armi, e le lettere Corinna, e Alessandro Corinna Ben trovato Signore Capitano Alessandro: il cui valore avanza il valore di quel Magno, del quale degnamente portate il nome. Alessandro Benvenuta, Signora Corinna, la cui sapienza super[a] il sapere di quella famosa Greca, della quale meritamente porta il nome. Corinna Foss’io pur tale, che vorrei col mio scrivere rendervi immortale. Alessandro Io vi ringrazio, Signora, ma senza, che voi duraste questa fatica, sono di già più che umano, anzi fatto immortale, essendo come io sono Capitano d’esercito di soldati a piede, e a cavallo. Corinna Veramente grande è la dignità del soldato, me a me pare che maggiore sia quella di letterato. Alessandro Signora, voi avete sinistra opinione. Sono i letterati quelli che non sono così degni come i soldati, perche le armi (come si sà) sono più antiche delle lettere. E se per l’antichità quelle cose che sono più antiche sono insieme più nobili, le Armi furono ritrovate prima, che fosse creato l’uomo, e le lettere dopo. Dunque le Armi sono più degne, e per conseguenza più degno il Capitano del Dottore. Corinna Or questo non dico io; ma si bene che le armi cedono alle lettere, come a quelle che sono d’esse più degne. La vera nobiltà è quella che deriva dalla virtù, la quale si acquista per le lettere, e non per la milizia, che ha solamente per fine la vittoria piena di sangue, di rovine, e di morti, e in oltre l’uomo nasce con molte imperfezioni, alle quali rimediano le lettere, e non le armi, dunque le lettere devono esser più apprezzate dall’uomo.

Lovers’ Debates 105 [6] Lovers’ Debate on Arms and Letters35 Translated by Eric Nicholson Corinna and Alessandro36 Corinna A pleasure to see you, Signore Capitano Alessandro!—the one whose valor surpasses the valor of that Great One, whose name you so worthily bear. Alessandro Welcome, Signora Corinna! The one whose knowledge outshines the learning of that famous Greek woman, whose name you so deservedly bear. Corinna I only wish I were my namesake, for I would like to make you immortal with my writing. Alessandro I thank you, Signora, but to prevent you from enduring this hardship, I can assure you that I am already superhuman—indeed I have become immortal, being as I am the Captain of an army of foot soldiers as well as of a cavalry. Corinna Truly great is the dignity of the soldier, but in my view, greater still is that of the man of letters.37 Alessandro Signora, you are truly mistaken: men of letters are not so worthy as soldiers, because Arms (as everyone knows), are more ancient than Letters; and if by their antiquity those things which are older are by the same token more noble, Arms were found before man was even created,38 and Letters afterwards. Therefore Arms are worthier, and consequently the Captain is more worthy than the Doctor. Corinna Now I could hardly say that, but rather I assert that Arms yield to Letters, as the latter are worthier than the former. True nobility is that which derives from virtue, which is gained through Letters, and not by military combat, which only aims at victories filled with blood, ruin, and corpses. Moreover, men are born with many imperfections, which can be remedied by Letters, and not by Arms. Therefore, men ought to prize Letters over Arms.

106 Amorosi contrasti Alessandro Le armi furono ritrovate in Cielo, e le lettere in terra, dunque sono delle arme più nobili. Corinna Adag[i]o Signor Capitano; mettiamo la contesa nostra in termine, e poi vi diremo sopra. Ma bisogna prima, che occorra alcun patto (come occorse tra Rodomonte e Isabella) tra di noi, accioché se io perdo, mi tocchi a star di sotto, e a voi di sopra, come vincente. Alessandro Che patti hanno da esser questi? Et intorno a che materia hanno da versare? Corinna I patti sono questi: che se io vi proverò che le lettere siano più degni delle armi, che voi siate in obligo di amarmi, ove mi odiate. Alessandro E se voi non me lo provate, che sarà poi di voi? Corinna Quello che piacerà al mio Signor Capitano, il quale tiene assoluto impero sopra di me. Alessandro Larga cortesia è la vostra: alla quale non voglio esser ingrato. Cominciate dunque. Corinna A voi ne vengo Signore, e dico che i beni, che si acquistano per le lettere sono più degne che quelli che si acquistano per le armi, perché non ci possono esser tolti, e non soggiacciono all’instabil voler della Fortuna: il che non fà la milizia, il fine della quale è incertissimo per esser sottoposto alla fortuna. Alessandro Chi si espone la vita per la Patria è più degno di lode, che chi non l’espone: Il soldato si espone ad ogni pericolo per la patria, e il letterato se ne vive sepolto nei suoi volumi. Dunque il soldato lo supera in dignità.

Lovers’ Debates 107 Alessandro Arms were invented in Heaven, and Letters on earth, therefore Arms are more noble. Corinna Softly now, Signor Capitano: let’s set some terms for our contest, and then we shall determine its outcome. But first we need to make a solemn pact (as did Rodomonte and Isabella) between us, so that if I lose, I will be obliged to stay below, and you above me, as the winner.39 Alessandro What pacts are these, exactly? And to what matter would they apply? Corinna The pacts are these: if I prove to you that Letters are worthier than Arms, then you will be obliged to love me, whereas now you hate me. Alessandro And if you don’t prove your claim, what will become of you? Corinna That which will please my very own Signor Capitano, the one who holds absolute sway over me. Alessandro Yours is bounteous courtesy, for which I do not wish to be ungrateful. Therefore begin! Corinna I shall commence, Signore; and I say that those things acquired by Letters are more worthy than those acquired by Arms because they cannot be taken away, and they do not lie subject to the shifting will of Fortune. Letters do not engage in combat, whose end is most uncertain, by the very fact of being at the mercy of Fortune. Alessandro Whoever risks his life for his Country is more worthy of praise than he who does not risk it. The soldier exposes himself to every kind of danger for the good of his fatherland, while the man of letters lies buried in his books. Thus the soldier surpasses the writer in dignity.

108 Amorosi contrasti Corinna Le lettere sono qualità di anima, e le armi sono qualità del corpo, e come il corpo cede all’anima, così le lettere eccedono all’armi: la felicità di questo mondo consiste nell’aver cognizione di tutte le cose, la quale cognizione acquistandosi per le lettere, e non per la milizia, ne segue che le lettere siano assai più nobili delle armi. Alessandro Quando una cosa ha bisogno dell’altra, e che l’altra non ha bisogno dell’una, non è dubbio che quella che ha bisogno è inferiore di dignità; perché una cosa perfetta consiste nel non aver bisogno di cosa alcuna. Le armi non hanno bisogno delle lettere, ma le lettere delle armi, per acquisto delle ore oziose dello studio, e per conservazione di quelle, e dunque sono inferiori alle armi. Corinna Il sommo bene si acquista per lo sapere, il saper si acquista per le lettere, e non per le armi, dunque le lettere sono delle armi più degne. Alessandro Le cose naturali sono più degne dell’artificiose, e non solo perché procedono l’antichità di tempo, ma ancora perché sono guidate dall’intelligenza della natura, la quale ha per costume di non errar mai. Ora, le armi sono naturali, e questo si vede negli Animali bruti, i quali per lo più nascono armati, chi di denti, chi di rostro, chi di artigli, chi di cuoio, chi di squame, che di veleno, e finalmente chi di una cosa, e chi di un’altra, e le lettere sono artificiose, dunque le armi prevagliono alle lettere. Corinna Io ho sempre udito dire, che non il soldato, ma il letterato è quello che domina le stelle, il che ci dimostra la maggioranza che tengono le lettere sopra le armi. Alessandro Costei comincia a farmi toccar le corde dello steccato; onde bisogna rincalzarla gagliardamente, e abbatterla. Poco gioverebbe ai letterati il dritto, e giusto modo delle leggi, se la spada non lo facesse osservare. Ligurgo grandissimo legislatore disse non esser cosa più utile alla Repubblica della Milizia, e per questo egli faceva esercitar gli Spartani in questa nobilissima arte, onde poi si seppero difendere dall’innumerablile esercito di Xerse.

Lovers’ Debates 109 Corinna Letters are an attribute of the soul, Arms are an attribute of the body, and as the body is inferior to the soul, so Letters are superior to Arms. The happiness of this world consists in having knowledge of all things, and such knowledge is gained by reading and writing, not by the practice of war. It follows, then, that Letters are far more noble than Arms. Alessandro When one thing needs another thing, but that other thing needs not the former, there can be no doubt that the thing in need is inferior in dignity: for a perfect thing consists in its not needing anything else. Arms have no need of Letters, but Letters do need Arms, for the acquisition of leisurely hours of study, and for their continuance: thus they are inferior to Arms.40 Corinna The supreme good is reached through wisdom; wisdom is reached through Letters, and not through Arms: thus Letters are worthier than Arms. Alessandro Natural things are worthier than artificial ones, and not only because they precede them in the order of creation, but also because they are guided by the intelligence of Nature, whose custom is never to err. Now, Arms are natural, as can be seen in brute beasts, most of whom are born well-armed, one with teeth, another with a beak, one with claws, another with leather hide, one with scales, another with poison, and finally one with one thing, and another with another, and Letters are artificial, and therefore Arms prevail over Letters. Corinna I have always heard that it is not the soldier but the man of letters who commands the stars,41 and this is demonstrated by the precedence that Letters take over Arms. Alessandro [aside]42 This woman here is backing me into a corner, and almost on to the ropes; it’s necessary to uproot her boldly and cut her down. [To Corinna] The law, and the just application of laws, would be of little benefit to men of letters if the sword did not ensure their observance. That most great legislator Lygurgus [sic] said that there was nothing so useful to the Republic as military service, and for this reason he ordained the training of the Spartans in this most noble art, whence they were able to defend themselves against the innumerable troops of Xerxes.43

110 Amorosi contrasti Corinna Questo Capitano è uomo forte, robusto, gagliardo, e di buon nervo, onde durerò fatica a resisterle contra; pure, con tutto ciò, mi dà l’animo di vincerlo, e di straccarlo. Archita Tarentino dice che la sapienza è tra tutte le cose umane la più eccellente, e che ella è appunto come il veder tra i sensi, nell’anima la mente, e tra le stelle il Sole, e Platone disse che solo l’uomo sapiente doveva reggere e governar le città, e di più dice che non possono esser felici quelle città dove l’uomo sapiente non signoreggia, e l’arte della Guerra non solo non ha parte nell’umana felicità, ma più tosto è contraria a quella. Alessandro Nella famosa città di Roma fu dall’Oracolo d’Apolline, eletto Curzio valorosissimo Cavaliero per liberar la Patria dalla voragine, e pure in quel tempo fiorivano infiniti huomini eccellentissimi nella professione delle lettere, atteso che Pitagora, e Numa Pompilio vi avevano sparsa la loro degna filosofia. La dignità delle armi si può conoscere, se non da altro, almeno da questo, che gli Antichi tanto giudiziosi non vollero lasciarla senza qualche particolare onore: onde elessero Marte, e Bellona per loro Protettori, nè si trova che le lettere abbiano giammai avute queste prerogative. Credo, Signora, che ormai comincierete ad arrendervi. Corinna Io non m’arrenderò mai, ma toccherà bene a voi a piegar l’Asta. E’ cosa chiara, che dove domina la fortuna, ivi l’intelletto poco giova, e dove l’intelletto non prevale, ivi è manifesto segno d’imperfezione. Ora, qual cosa è più dominata dalla fortuna della milizia? E qual cosa hà più bisogno dell’intelletto, e più lo manifesta delle lettere? Dunque le lettere prevagliono alle armi. Qui bisogna un gran scanso di vita, a fuggir questa punta, Signor Capitano. Alessandro Quella professione è più eccellente, che al suo professore acquista titoli più eccellenti. Uno che attenda alle lettere per molto studio, che vi faccia se non s’addottora non acquista titolo alcuno, e se si addottora acquista nome d’Eccellente, e se pubblicamente segue leggendo a lettura principale una quantità d’anni, acquista nome d’Illustre, e questo è il maggior titolo del letterato. Ma il professor della milizia acquista subito nome di strenuo, et se è soldato a piedi, che è il men degno grado della milizia, in dieci anni si fà nobile, e se è uomo di arme, in meno. Ad un Capitano, o Colonello d’uomini d’arme si dà dell’Illustre, ed a un Generale da Mare, o da Terra si dà dell’Eccellentissimo: onde sono più eccellenti le armi delle lettere, e per concluder, vi dico, che tanto più vaglino l’armi delle lettere, quanto più vagliono i fatti delle parole. Signora mia, parate ben con la vostra Rotella questa imbroccata.

Lovers’ Debates 111 Corinna [aside] This Capitano is strong, robust, and valiant, a man of steady nerve: it will cost me much to resist him. Yet all the same, my spirit rouses me to defeat him and to wear him out. [To Alessandro] Archytas of Taranto44 states that wisdom is the most excellent of all human qualities, and that it is indeed like sight with respect to the other senses, like the mind with respect to the spirit, like the sun to the other stars. For his part, Plato affirmed that only wise men should rule over and govern cities. Moreover, he states that those cities where wise men do not rule cannot be happy ones, and that not only does the art of war have no place in human well-being, but rather that it is opposed to our happiness.45 Alessandro In the famous city of Rome, by the oracle of Apollo, the most valorous knight Curtius was chosen to liberate his homeland from the chasm, and yet in that time there flourished an infinite number of men most excellently gifted in the profession of Letters, given that Pythagoras and Numa Pompilius had spread their worthy philosophy far and wide.46 The dignity of Arms can be acknowledged, if not by anything else, at least by this: that those most judicious Ancients did not wish to leave them without some particular honor. They therefore elected Mars and Bellona47 to be their Protectors; one cannot find that Letters have ever enjoyed such prerogatives. I believe, Signora, that by now you’re starting to give in! Corinna I shall never surrender! Instead it befits you to let your spear hang limp, that’s for sure! For where Fortune dominates, there the intellect serves little, and where the intellect does not prevail, there imperfection is fully evident. Now, what thing is more dominated by Fortune than is warfare? And what thing has more need of the intellect, and shows it better, than Letters? Therefore Letters prevail over Arms. Here you need to duck quickly to avoid my thrust, Signor Capitano! Alessandro That profession is more excellent, which obtains for its practitioner more excellent titles. A man can devote much study to Letters, but unless he does so and earns a degree, he does not acquire any title. Even if a man does graduate and thus acquires the title of “Excellent,” and if he continues publicly reading as a principal lecturer for a great number of years, he acquires only the title of “Illustrious,” and this is the highest title of the man of letters. In contrast, the practitioner of Arms quickly acquires the title of Brave, and if one is a foot soldier, which is the lowest rank in the army, within ten years he becomes ennobled, and if one is a man of arms, in fewer years. To a Captain, or Colonel of men of arms, the title “Illustrious” is given, and to a General either of sea or land, the title of “Most Excellent” is given; whence comes it that Arms are more excellent than Letters. In conclusion, I tell you that Arms are worth more than Letters, just as deeds are worth more than words. Now, Signora, parry with your little shield this strong thrust!

112 Amorosi contrasti Corinna La mia Rotella gli rinturrà la punta senz’altro. Quelle cose sono più perfette, che da cose più perfette esercitate sono. Le armi si esercitano per mezzo del corpo, e le lettere per mezzo della mente, la quale è chiamata divina, perch’è divisa da questi sensi. Dunque le armi sono inferiori alle lettere, e quelle cose che si fanno con lunghezza di tempo sono più degne di quelle, che si fanno in breve spazio. Noi vediamo per isperienza, che in un’ora si fanno cento Cavalieri, e a far un Dottore bisogna durar fatica cinque, sei, e più anni, e per concluder vi dico, che siccome l’anima informa il corpo, cosi le lettere informano l’anima. E quell’anima che è priva di scienza, si può dire che sia priva di forma. Alessandro Questa nostra questione è alta, e difficile, essendo le armi e le lettere due professioni cosi nobili, ed eccellenti, che difficilmente si può giudicare a cui si deve la vittrice palma dell’onore, conciosia che per le armi si difendono, e si amplificano le Cittadi e i Regni, e per le lettere si governano, e si conservano, e tanto l’una professione ha bisogno dell’altra, che l’una senza l’altra esercitar non si può giustamente, e l’altra senza l’una mantener non si può sicuramente. Corinna Alla fè Signor Capitano, che voi cominciate a lenare, a diventar pigro, e lento nel menar delle mani, e io all’incontro mi sento più fresca, e più gagliarda nel fine, che nel principio. No, no, diciamo pure che se tutti gli huomini del mondo fossero letterati, non vi sarebbe di bisogno nè di arme, nè di valore, Ma se tutti fossero soldati, e non avessero il dritto e giusto modo di guerreggiare, non si smetterebbono mai le ingiurie, e il tutto anderebbe in conquasso. Sono cagione le lettere che si fugga il vizio, e si abbracci la virtù, che s’introduca la scienza, e si discacci la ignoranza dall’intelletto nostro; il che non può fare niun’altra cosa. Onde ne segue, che siano più degne di che si sia. E’ certo con ragione, perché le lettere sono quelle che ci insegnano a discacciar l’infermità dai corpi, e conservar la sanità, come si contrasti e vinca la fortuna, gli accidenti del mondo, e quello che più importa, le proprie passioni. Oltre di ciò le lettere sono più necessarie, e più utili all’uomo delle armi, e non solo giovano al bene particolare, ma all’universale. Il che è in virtù delle leggi, le quali giovano a tutto il mondo, e non offendono alcuno, e le armi se pur giovano, giovano ad un solo Prencipe, o ad un sol popolo, e ciò non possono far senza offender molti. A tale che concluder si può, che essendo la vittoria dalla parte dei letterati, che conseguentemente toccherà a voi Sig. Capitano (stando nei patti) ad amarmi.

Lovers’ Debates 113 Corinna My little shield will blunt your point, without question. Those things are more perfect that are employed and exercised by yet more perfect things. Arms are employed and exercised by the body, and Letters by the mind, and the latter is called divine, because it is separate from the bodily senses. Thus, Arms are inferior to Letters, and those things which are done for a lengthy stretch of time are worthier than those which are done in a brief span of time. We see by experience that in one hour a hundred knights are created, but to become a doctor one needs to sweat and labor for five, six, and even more years. To conclude, I tell you that just as the soul shapes the body, so do Letters shape the soul; and the soul that lacks knowledge can be said to lack any kind of shape. Alessandro Our question is both a lofty and difficult one, Arms and Letters being such noble and excellent professions that only with difficulty may one judge which of the two deserves to win the palm of honor. For we are conscious of the fact that by Arms cities and realms are defended and expanded, and that by Letters they are governed and maintained. The one profession so needs the other that the one cannot be properly practiced without the other, nor surely can one survive without the other. Corinna In good faith, Signor Capitano, you do begin to soften, and go slack, and slow to fight, while I, in contrast, feel myself getting fresher and lustier here at the end than at the beginning! No, no, let us also admit that if all men on earth were men of letters, there would be no need of arms, nor of valor. But if all men were soldiers, and they lacked the right and proper way of waging war, there would be no end to ruin and ravages, and all things would be smashed and shattered. Letters lead one to flee vice and to embrace virtue, they admit knowledge into our intellect and expel ignorance from it, a feat nothing else can achieve. From this it follows that Letters are worthier than any other thing. And with good reason: they teach us to remove infirmities from our bodies, and to preserve our health, they teach us how to combat and defeat contrary fortune, as well as the world’s shocks and blows and—most importantly of all—our own passions. Furthermore, Letters are more necessary and more useful to men than Arms, and not only do they benefit the particular but also the universal good. This power derives from the laws, which benefit everyone and harm no one, and if arms do bring benefits, they bring them to a single prince, or single people, and this cannot happen without harming many others. And thus, to draw to a close, victory being on the side of the men of letters, it is your duty, Signor Capitano—this being our pact—to love me.

114 Amorosi contrasti Alessandro Signora Corinna io non voglio far torto, nè all’una, nè all’altra onoratissima professione, le quali (come dinanzi dissi) hanno l’una dell’altra bisogno, non potendosi l’una senza l’altra mantenere, e perche la nostra questione rimane del pari, mi contento di amarvi, accioché del pari vadano gli amori nostri, e che pari siano i piaceri, i diletti, e gli amorosi contenti. Corinna Et cosi facendo, come mi giova di credere, farete insieme osservator dei patti fatti tra di noi. Alessandro La vostra bellezza, la vostra grazia, et il vostro alto sapere hanno forza di farmi vostro, senz’altri patti.

Lovers’ Debates 115 Alessandro Signora Corinna, I do not wish to wrong either the one or the other most honored profession, for each—as stated before—has need of the other, since the one without the other could not survive. And so that our contest results in an even decision, I shall be happy to love you, in order that our love proceeds evenly, and that our pleasures, delights, and amorous contentment likewise thrive on even and equal terms. Corinna And by doing so, as it pleases me to believe, you shall also observe the pacts made between us. Alessandro Your beauty, your grace, and your high wisdom have the power to make me yours, without the need for any other pacts.

116 Amorosi contrasti [7] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la febre amorosa Diotima, e Amilcare Diotima Signor Amilcare si conosce bene, che la febbre vi ha mal concio, poiché non avete più il solito colore nel viso. Amilcare Le febbri mie sono state molte, e diverse, ed è male commune, poiche ognuno è sottoposto a questa infermità; ciascuno ne sente l’eccesso crudele, o più temperato, secondo che gli umori albergano nei nostri corpi, e secondo che il sangue caldo o freddo si agita, o si riposa in noi. Le cui febbre mi pare che abbiano grandissima conformità con le febbri d’amore. Diotima Ho sempre udito dire, che i nostri corpi sono ripieni di cattivi umori, che giammai non son sani, che sempre languiscono di qualche sorte di febbre lenta, che sono sempre ammalati, ancor che non lo sentino, secondo che la flemma sovrabonda in loro, o che il sangue è troppo caldo, o che l’umor radicale, o il calore vien meno, o che i quattro Elementi padri del nostro nascimento non li tengono mai in ugual bilancia. Anzi, come contrarii nemici tra di loro combattono sempre, e si travagliano sin tanto che uno di loro riman vincitore. Ma non ho mai inteso che le febbri dei nostri corpi abbiano conformità con le febbri d’amore, come voi dite. Amilcare Bisogna che V. Sig. abbia avuto qualcuno dei suoi, che sia stato buon Filosofo, ed eccellente Fisico, e che da lui abbiate appreso, poiché sì dottamente delle febbri parlate, e per risponder al vostro dubbio, dico che l’amor non è mai senza passione, né senza qualche piacevol noia, che il cuore è come un corpo, del quale gli umori sono i nostri pensieri, li quali sono diversamente della sua fiamma sospinti. Onde ne nasce una continua guerra: la speranza, il desire, lo sdegno, il dispetto, il timore, il piacere, la p[a]ura e la gelosia, tutti tra di loro differenti, entrano nel campo della nostra fantasia, e guadagnando alcuno di loro la vittoria, cagionano che l’uomo non è mai senza febbre d’amore.

Lovers’ Debates 117 [7] Lovers’ Debate on the Amorous Fever48 Translated by Eric Nicholson Diotima and Amilcare49 Diotima Signor Amilcare, it’s plain to see that the fever has hit you hard, since your face no longer has its usual color. Amilcare My fevers are of many different kinds, and it’s a common malady, for every one of us is subject to this infirmity. Each of us feels its excess, whether cruel or more temperate, depending on the humors that inhabit our bodies, and depending on how the hot or cold blood either gets agitated, or remains at rest in us. It seems to me that these fevers have a great deal in common with the fevers of love.50 Diotima I have always heard it said that our bodies are filled with noxious humors that are never healthy, that always languish in some kind of slow fever, that are always in sickness, even before one feels sick, depending on whether phlegm is overabundant in them, or whether the blood is too hot, or whether a radical humor or the heat lessens, or whether because the four Elements, Fathers of our birth into this world, never keep themselves in equilibrium. It is indeed the case that they always fight each other as mortal enemies, and they sweat and strain until one of them comes out the winner. But still, I have never heard that the fevers of our bodies have much in common with the fevers of love, as you claim. Amilcare Your ladyship must have had among her tutors one who was a good philosopher and an excellent physician, and from him you have learned well, since you speak so discerningly of the fevers.51 To answer your doubt, however, I declare that love is never without passion nor without some pleasing disturbance, for the heart is like a body, whose humors are our thoughts, which are driven in divers ways by its flame—whence a continual war is born. Hope, desire, disdain, spite, dread, pleasure, fear, and jealousy, each different from the other, enter the battlefield of our imagination, and with some of them claiming victory, they change things so that a man is never without the fever of love.

118 Amorosi contrasti Diotima Signor mio sono molto differenti le febbri de[i] nostri corpi dalle febbri d’Amore. Perché se bene mi ricordo di quello, che più volte ho udito dire ad un mio parente, qual’era valentissimo Medico, e vecchio, trovo che le febbri si generano in noi per gli accidenti del sangue, dicend’egli che dal sangue grosso, infetto, e melanconico si generava la febbre quartana; del sangue meno corrotto la febbre terzana, e dal sangue caldo, e sottile la febbre co[n]tinua, i quali accidenti sono molto differenti dai pensieri degli amanti. Amilcare Poich’ella conosce queste differenze, bisogna che habbia provata l’una e l’altra febbre, cioè febbre di corpo, e febbre amorosa di animo. Diotima Non so quello ch’io m’abbia provato, né son tenuto a darvene conto. Amilcare Anzi, che siete tenuta a dirlo, accioché ognuno di noi possa ricorrere al Medico per sanarsi del suo male. Diotima Se voi siete molestato da febbre amorosa, in vano potete sperar rimedio al vostro male. Perché questa è quella piaga crudele e velenosa alla quale non giova né liquore né impiastro, e che per ultimo conduce l’amante a disperata morte. Amilcare Adagio con questo morire, e torniamo al nostro ragionamento. Le febbri d’amore, secondo le loro qualità naturali, sono ancora diverse, e fanno diversi effetti in diverse maniere, e non hanno quel fine miserabile che voi dite. Diotima Se voi sarete vero amante, e che la donna da voi amata vi sta sempre crudele, ci converrà, vostro mal grado, che o con ferro, o con veleno, ò con laccio vi leviate la penosa vita. Ma seguitate quello, che avete cominciato sopra le febbri amorose.

Lovers’ Debates 119 Diotima Signore, the fevers of our bodies are extremely different from the fevers of Love: for if I correctly recall what I heard explained by a relative of mine, an elderly and most expert doctor, I know that fevers are engendered in us by circumstances of the blood and—as he affirmed—that from thick, infected, and melancholic blood the quartan fever is engendered; from less corrupted blood the tertian fever, and from hot and thin blood the continual fever,52 whose circumstances are extremely different from the thoughts of lovers. Amilcare Since you know these differences so well, you must have felt the one and the other fever, that is, the fever of the body, and the loving fever of the soul. Diotima I’m not sure which of the two I’ve felt, nor am I obliged to tell you about it. Amilcare Not so—you are obliged to reveal which one, so that each of us may visit the doctor to be cured of the malady. Diotima If you are afflicted by the amorous fever, you can only hope in vain for a remedy to your sickness: for it’s that cruel and envenomed wound which neither medicinal drops nor a poultice can heal, and which in the end leads the lover to a desperate death. Amilcare Softly, softly with this talk of death, and let us return to our debate. The fevers of love, following their natural qualities, are still diverse among themselves, and cause diverse effects in diverse ways, and don’t have this miserable end as you say they do. Diotima If you are a true lover, and if the woman whom you love is always cruel to you, then it befits you, in spite of yourself, that either with blade, or with poison, or with noose, you take leave of your life of pain and sorrow. But proceed with what you had started to say about amorous fevers.

120 Amorosi contrasti Amilcare Le febbri amorose cagionano negli amanti diversi effetti, come udirete. Se la febbre d’amore rincontra a sorte qualche valor grosso, quel tal vapore rende l’amante mesto, tristo, dolente, solitario, pensoso, e mal contento; il quale d’altro non si pasce che di vana speranza, di sogni vani, fabbrica i suoi disegni nell’aria, piglia la menzogna per verità, diventa muto, non sa parlare, e se pur parla, parla, con se medesimo, porta le ciglia basse, ha il color pallido nel viso, la morte su la fronte, la languidezza negli occhi, e solo delle sue miserie è testimonio, e segretario. Diotima E per finirla, un’amante come siete voi. Amilcare Ve ne siete pur finalmente avveduta, e se avveduta ve ne siete, perché non rimediate al mio male? Diotima Io non ho ancora compresa la febbre che vi tormenta, e per questo non vengo al rimedio. Ditela, fatela palese, ch’io non mancherò di porgervi qualche medicamento. Amilcare Altro non brama il febbricitante, che avere innanzi. Al quale per l’alterazione del sangue il polso batte gagliardamente, ed è alterato fuor dell’ordinario. Diotima Non mancherà rimedio per farli abbassar l’orgoglio, e l’alterezza soverchia. Amilcare La febbre mia in breve la saprete, mentre andrò con voi discorrendo sopra la febbre d’amore. Di già vi ho accennata la febbre quartana del miserello amante. Ora vi dico, che altri amanti sono poi più gagliardi nel loro male, e che non sono tanto travagliati dalla tristezza, e dalla noia, che sono volubili, che hanno la franchigia in fronte, e che di falso sembiante sanno ricoprir le loro finzioni, e questi tali hanno la febbre terzana d’amore, i quali sono da essa tormentati tanto quanto l’oggetto che amano se la rappresenta innanzi, e sovente per spasso e per diletto si fingono appassionati amanti.

Lovers’ Debates 121 Amilcare Amorous fevers cause diverse effects in lovers, as you shall hear. If the fever of love chances to meet some immensely worthy object, that same vapor renders the lover sullen, sad, woeful, solitary, gloomy, and discontented. He then feeds himself on nothing but vain hopes, vain dreams, and builds castles in the air, takes lies for truth, becomes mute, no longer knowing how to speak. If he does speak, he talks to himself. He keeps his eyes downcast, his face goes pale, death is written on his forehead, languor in his eyes, and he is both the witness and secretary of nothing else but his own miseries. Diotima In short, a lover like you. Amilcare You have finally realized the truth, and if you have realized it, why do you not provide the cure to my illness? Diotima I have not yet understood exactly what fever torments you, and for this I have not yet provided the cure. Speak! Reveal it! I shall not fail to give you some remedy. Amilcare The fevered one yearns only to have [you] before him; by which, because of an alteration of the blood, his pulse beats vigorously, and is indeed altered in extraordinary ways. Diotima He won’t lack a remedy that will make him lower his pride, and his excessive haughtiness. Amilcare In brief, my fever you know very well: while I discuss the fever of love with you, I’ve already mentioned the quartan fever of the puny, miserable lover.53 Now I tell you, that other lovers are more resilient in their suffering, and that they are not so tormented by sadness and vexation, that they are voluble, that they have liberty stamped on their foreheads, and that with false appearances they are able to cover up their feigning, and these men have the tertian fever of love. They are tormented by this fever as much as the object that they love, if he or she is shown before him, and often for amusement and for delight they pretend to be passionate lovers.

122 Amorosi contrasti Diotima Così credo io che siate voi, Sig. Amilcare, poiché sapete così ben parlare e così ben fingere. Ora veniamo alla febbre continua d’amore, e poi vi dirò l’animo mio. Amilcare Quelli poi che sono accesi d’un ardente calore, che non in fronte sentono, ma si bene nel cuore l’amoroso ardore, che amando non amano nella loro giovanezza, perdendo male accorti il loro più sano intelletto, quelli dico hanno la febbre continua, dove l’eccessivo ardore giammai non minuisce, anzi sempre sono in fuoco, il cui ardore sfavilla negli occhi, e li conduce a morte: Questa incurabile malattia non gli abbandona mai, amando solo quello, che li tormenta, cibandosi d’incerta speranza, gloriandosi per tutto di così strana, ed avventurosa sorte; (lasso così son’io) il dolore, che mi hanno fatto i vostri bellisssimi occhi, è così duro, e così forte, e così grave è lamia pena, e il mio fuoco così ardente, del quale amore m’abbruccia, che d’una febbre continua in breve tempo devrò finir la miserabil vita. Diotima Tanto che voi siete ancora infermo di febbre continua. Amilcare Così è Signora, solo per mia fiera sventura, che se io fosse ammalato di febbre terzana potrei sperare con lunghezza di tempo sentirla men grave, ma la sua forza rabbiosa non si vedrà mai moderare, ma piuttosto il tempo l’andrà accrescendo, e il tempo, che tutto divora, e tutto frange, và sempre sforzando l’amor mio ad essere immutabile, se ella fosse febre quartana, e che per avventurarsi, di amar in altra parte io mi potessi guardare dalla mia propinqua morte, mi potrei porre a simil’impresa, e per novella fiamma, come d’asse si trae chiodo con chiodo, spegner simil’incendio, e liberarmi dal presente male. Ma che mi gioverebbe simil impresa, poiche spesso paragono i vostri begli occhi, i vostri saggi discorsi, la vostra singolar bellezza, alle bellezze che io vedo, e così paragonando l’imperfetto al perfetto, divengo come morto allo splendor del vostro vago viso, e son costretto ad amarvi. Così voi sola siete il paradiso del mio cuore, l’Idolo della mia vita, il Dio dei miei pensieri, la chiarezza degli occhi miei, lo scettro delle mie mani, il sole del mio cielo, il cielo dell’amor mio, la favilla delle mie fiamme, l’oggetto dei miei desiri, lo specchio dell’anima mia, e così felicemente amandovi, felicissimo sarà il mio morire.

Lovers’ Debates 123 Diotima Thus, I also believe this lover to be you, Signor Amilcare, for you can speak so well, and you can also pretend so well. Now let’s proceed to the continual fever of love, and then I’ll tell you about my soul’s passion. Amilcare Those men, then, who are ignited by an ardent heat, who do not feel amorous ardor as much in their foreheads as in their hearts, who loving, do not love in their youth, and they are little aware of how they are losing their healthier intellect— these, I say, have the continual fever, where excessive ardor never diminishes. On the contrary, they are always on fire, a fire so intensely passionate that it strikes them in their eyes and leads them to their death. This incurable malady does not take its leave of them, loving only that which torments them, subsisting on uncertain hopes, exulting for all this strange, adventurous fate. Alas, that I am so! The pain that your most beautiful eyes have caused me is so harsh and so strong, and so serious is my suffering, and so ardent is my fire by which Love burns me, that by a continual fever in a short amount of time I must end my miserable life. Diotima I see: you’re so afflicted that you’re still sick with continual fever. Amilcare Thus it is, Signora, only for my cruel misfortune, that if I were sick with the tertian fever I could hope that over a long period of time I would feel it grow less severe, but its raging force will never diminish, or rather, the course of time will make it increase forever, and Time, who devours all, and shatters all, compels my love to be immutable. If it were a quartan fever,54 and that I could, for the sake of adventure, love someone and somewhere else, I could save myself from my imminent death, I would undertake such an endeavour, and for a new flame—just as one nail drives another out of the beam, thus extinguishing a similar fire55—liberate myself from my current affliction. But what good would such an endeavour do me, since I so often compare your beautiful eyes, your wise discourses, your singular beauty, to the other beauties that I see, and thus comparing the imperfect with the perfect, I become like a dead man in the shining splendour of your lovely face, and I am constrained to love you. Thus you and you alone are the paradise of my heart, the Idol of my life, the God of my thoughts, the brightness of my eyes, the sceptre in my hands, the sun in my sky, the blue sky of my love, the spark of my flames, the object of my desires, the mirror of my soul. Loving you thus, most happy shall be my death.

124 Amorosi contrasti Diotima Signor Amilcare, ora ch’io conosco il vostro male, e qual sorte di febbre amorosa vi tormenta, e che a me chiedete rimedio alla vostra infermità, datemi tanto tempo, che io possa far distillare alcune cose a tale bisogno dovute, accioché voi possiate fare una buona purga. Amilcare Signora Diotima, fate che gli ingredienti dei miei pensieri siano posti nella bocca della vostra pietà, e che passiamo per lambicco dell’amor mio, accioché le parti si riduchino al tutto, e se ne cavi un’Elemento elementato, una quinta essenza, e un succo dolce, e soave, che mi consoli, e sani di questa amorosa febre continua, e soprattutto guardate a non darli il fuoco tanto gagliardo, che la boccia crepi, e il recipiente vada in pezzi, che il lambicco s’imbratti tutto. Diotima Il fuoco sarà temperato in modo tale, che l’opera venirà perfetta, e con questo vi bacio le mani. Amilcare Servitor di Vostra Signoria.

Lovers’ Debates 125 Diotima Signor Amilcare, now that I know the nature of your malady and what sort of amorous fever afflicts you, and that you beseech me to cure your illness, give me enough time to distill some things suited to your need, so that you can achieve a thorough purge. Amilcare Signora Diotima, do it in such a way that the ingredients of my thoughts are placed in the mouth of your pity, and that we pass through the alembic of my love,56 so that the parts are reduced in every way, and an elemented Element will be extracted, a fifth essence and a sweet smooth syrup, that may console me, and heal me of this continual amorous fever. Above all take care not to make the flame so lively that the beaker cracks and the recipient shatters in little pieces, so that the alembic becomes all dirty and smeared. Diotima The flame will be tempered in such a way that the work will come out perfectly; and with this I kiss your hands.57 Amilcare I remain the servant of Your Ladyship.

126 Amorosi contrasti [8] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il cambio dell’anime Curio, e Nicostrata Curio Signora Nicostrata, Signora, e padrona della più nobil parte che alberga in me, anzi di quella parte che alberga in voi, con nobile scambio dell’anima vostra, che alberga in me. Ditemi in cortesia, ora che le anime nostre hanno cambiato albergo, e che ognuno è fuora di casa sua, che è dell’anima mia, che nella vostra casa alberga, e soggiorna? Nicostrata La stessa dimanda fò anch’io à Vostra Signoria, Signor Curio. Curio L’anima vostra nel picciolo ristretto della casa dello spirito mio alberga, e soggiorna. Nicostrata Questo vostro ristretto, e modo di parlare genera in me confusione, poiché non vi intendo. Ricordandovi che io non sono Diotima Sacerdotessa greca, la quale, inspirata da furor divino, trovando Socrate Filosofo, dato in tutto per tutto all’amore, gli dichiarò che cosa fosse quell’ardente desiderio, e per qual via si possa cader nel sommo male, e per qual via salire al sommo bene. Però parlate più chiaro, e lasciatevi intendere. Curio Ora mi intendete: la casa del pensiero umano è l’anima, la casa dell’anima è lo spirito, e la casa dello spirito è il corpo. Ora ciascuno di costoro per amore esce di casa sua; perché ogni pensiero dell’amante si rivolge piuttosto al servizio dell’amato, che al suo bene, e lascia addietro il ministerio, e la cura del corpo suo, e sforzasi di trapassare nel corpo dell’amato: lo spirito, che è il carro dell’anima, mentre, che l’anima attende altrove, anch’egli altrove s’invola. Sicché di casa sua esce il pensiero, esce l’anima, ed esce lo spirito. Nicostrata Comincio à poco à poco à capire, ed intendere queste dolci tramutationi dell’anime innamorate: Hora se l’anime sono quelle che informano i corpi, io vengo con voi à far un grandissimo guadagno, poiche di donna, ch’io era sono huomo diventata nello scambiar dell’anime, e voi siete diventato Donna per la stessa cagione, ond’io non più Nicostrata, ma Curio sono, e voi non più Curio, ma Nicostrata siete.

Lovers’ Debates 127 [8] Lovers’ Debate on the Exchange of Souls Translated by Julie D. Campbell Curio and Nicostrata58 Curio Signora, my lady and the mistress of the most noble part that dwells in me, or rather that part which dwells in you, with the noble exchange of your soul, which dwells in me. Kindly tell me, now that our souls have exchanged lodgings, and each is outside its home, how is it that my soul can make its home in yours and abide [there]? Nicostrata I would ask the same question of Your Lordship, Signor Curio. Curio Your soul has taken up residence in the secret confines of the house of my spirit and dwells there. Nicostrata These secret confines of yours and your way of speaking confuse me, for I don’t understand you. Remember that I am no Greek priestess Diotima, who, inspired with divine fury, finding the Philosopher Socrates given completely to love, declared to him what this ardent desire was—and by what way one could fall into utmost evil, and by what way climb to the highest good. Therefore, speak more clearly so that one may understand you.59 Curio Now listen to me: The house of human thought is the soul, the house of the soul is the spirit, and the house of the spirit is the body. Now each of these leaves its home for love, for every thought of the lover sooner turns to the service of the beloved than to his own good. He casts aside the care and regard for his body and makes his soul pass into the body of the beloved. The spirit, which is the chariot of the soul, steals away, too, while the soul awaits elsewhere. If thought leaves its house, the soul and the spirit also leave. Nicostrata Little by little I begin to comprehend and understand these sweet mutations of souls in love. Now if souls are those things that give shape to bodies, I’m about to profit greatly by you, because from the woman I was, I have become a man in the exchange of souls, and you have become a woman for the same reason. Thus, I am no longer Nicostrata, but Curio, and you are no longer Curio, but Nicostrata.

128 Amorosi contrasti Curio E vero Signora: ma à V. S. manca quello che fà Curio esser Curio. Nicostrata Facciamo pur senza quello, poi che egli non ha parte nell’amor nostro. Curio Come che egli non vi hà parte, anzi che a me pare, che vi abbia il tutto poiché il tutto è quello, che dà perfezione all’opera d’amore. Nicostrata A me pare, che intorno à questa trasformazioni l’opinione del Filosofo sia abbastanza: la quale è che l’amante cerca di trasferirsi nella cosa amata, imitandola ne i gesti, e nelle parole, laonde pare che donna diventi per usar gesti, e parole feminili, e alla donna pare che avvenga lo stesso; ma che realmente possino i corpi l’uno nell’altro trasformarsi non si troverà mai. Curio Come che non può essere? Facciave di ciò fede Tiresia indovino, che di maschio femina divenne, rendendo poi ragione come nei piaceri di Venere la femina sente maggior dolcezza, che il maschio non sente. Nicostrata Questa è transformazione favolosa. Ma diciamo realmente la cosa com’ella stà: le porte dell’anima sono gli occhi, e gli orecchi: per la porta degli orecchi entrano molte cose nell’anima, e gli affetti, e costumi dell’anima chiaramente per gli occhi si manifestano. Quindi avviene, che gli amanti consumano il più del tempo nel badare con gli occhi, e con gli orecchi intorno all’amata, e rare volte la mente in loro si raccoglie, vagando spesso per gli occhi, e per gli orecchi, come ora facciamo noi, spendendo il tempo in parole, e nel rimirarsi l’un l’altro. Curio Io vi intendo Signora Nicostrata: meglio sarà dunque, che ognuno di noi rimanga con l’anima, con lo spirito, e col corpo suo, accioché meglio si possa sodisfare agli amorosi nostri desideri. Nicostrata Meglio sarà per certo. Curio Che stiamo dunque a fare? A che si tarda? Entriamo ormai nell’amoroso certame.

Lovers’ Debates 129 Curio It’s true, Signora. But you, my lady, lack that which makes Curio, Curio. Nicostrata We can easily do without that, since it has no part in our love. Curio How can you say it has no part in it? In fact, it appears to me that it has everything to do with it, since every thing is that which brings perfection to the work of love. Nicostrata It seems to me, in regard to these transformations, that the opinion of the Philosopher is sufficient: which is, that the lover seeks to transfer himself into the beloved, imitating her in gestures and words, whence it seems that he becomes a woman through use of feminine words and gestures. Now, it appears that the same thing happens to a woman. But one will never find that bodies can really transform themselves one into the other. Curio How can that not be? Trust in the soothsayer Tiresias, who changed from man to woman, confirming afterwards that in the pleasures of Venus women feel greater sweetness than men do.60 Nicostrata This transformation is a mere fable! But let’s speak honestly of the thing as it is. The doors of the soul are the eyes and the ears: through the door of the ears many things enter the soul, and the effects and customs of the soul clearly manifest themselves through the eyes. Therefore it happens that lovers spend most of their time attending to the beloved with their eyes and ears. At rare moments the mind gathers itself together in them, wandering through their eyes and ears, as we do now, passing time talking and admiring each other. Curio I understand you, Signora Nicostrata: it therefore would be better that each of us remain with his soul, spirit, and body, so that we could better satisfy our amorous desires. Nicostrata Better it would be, for sure! Curio What are we doing, then? Why delay? Let us begin our amorous duel!

130 Amorosi contrasti Nicostrata Adagio Signor Curio, perche io non l’intendo come l’intendete voi. Curio E come l’intendete Signora? Nicostrata Ora lo saprete: chiara cosa è Signor Curio, e noi siamo generati, e allevati con inclinazione all’una delle tre vite, cioè vita contemplativa, vita attiva, e vita voluttuosa. Per la contemplativa, subito per l’aspetto della forma corporale, ci innalziamo alla considerazione della spirituale, e divina. Per la voluttuosa, subito dal vedere cadiamo nella concupiscenza del tatto, e per l’attiva e morale solamente perseveriamo in quella dilettatzione del vedere, e del conversare, e questa terza, e ultima vita, è la vita degli honesti amanti. Per tanto contentatevi, come onesto amante del vedere, e del conversare, e non cercate altro da me. Curio Dura legge d’amor, ma ben che obliqua servar conviensi, come dice il Petrarca: poiché cosi volete, cosi sia. Ma che occorre che io vi brami per moglie, e che io vi ottenga, se poi tutto il tempo nostro si debbe spendere nel riguardarsi come le oche fanno. Nicostrata Allora, che voi sarete mio marito, dalla vita contemplativa e dalla morale passeremo alla voluttuosa, e dilettevole di onesto matrimonio, in aspettando i dolci frutti delle nostre nozze, che saranno i dolci ed amati figliuoli. Curio Ora mi avete ritornato in vita: poiché per lo vostro dire era di già morto agli amorosi contenti. Viviamo dunque con sicurissima speranza di esser felicissimi amanti nella vita dilettevole, e gioconda, come detto avete. Io vò or ora a chiedervi per moglie a vostro Padre, il quale credo, che senz’altro mi vi concederà. Nicostrata Siatene pur certo, perché di già me ne ha ragionato. Andate felice, e felicissimo sia il vostro ritorno. Curio Così spero che debba essere. Voi fra tanto Signora Nicostrata mia, entrate in casa a dar lume e splendore col raggio della vostra bellezza alle camere vostre, le quali senza di voi sono oscure e tenebrose.

Lovers’ Debates 131 Nicostrata Softly, Curio, because I don’t see it as you see it. Curio And how do you see it, Signora? Nicostrata Now you’ll know. It’s obvious, Signor Curio: we are born and reared with an inclination to one of three lives, that is, the contemplative life, the active life, and the voluptuous life.61 In the contemplative life, quickly through the presence of the corporeal form we elevate ourselves to consideration of the spiritual and divine; in the voluptuous life, by quickly seeing, we fall into lust for touching and feeling, and in the active and moral life we solemnly persevere in that delight of seeing and conversing. This third and ultimate life is the life of honest lovers. Therefore, content yourself like an honest lover with seeing and conversing, and don’t look for anything else from me! Curio Hard is the law of Love, but one is obliged to serve it to please him, as Petrarch says.62 Thus, as you wish, so be it. But what happens if I long for you for my wife, and I obtain you, if then we spend all our time looking at each other as geese do? Nicostrata Very well, you will be my husband, and from the contemplative and moral life we will pass into the voluptuous and delightful life of honest marriage, awaiting the sweet fruits of our wedding, which will be our sweet and beloved children.63 Curio Now you have brought me back to life, for what you had said made me dead to amorous joys. Let us live therefore with the most certain hope of being happy lovers in the delightful and joyful life, as you have said. I am going immediately to ask your father for your hand in marriage, which I believe, he will give to no other but myself. Nicostrata You can be entirely sure of that, because my father has already spoken to me about it. Go happy, and most happy be your return! Curio So I hope that it must be thus. In the meantime, my Signora Nicostrata, enter into the house to give light and splendor with the ray of your beauty, and thence to your rooms—without you, they are dark and shadowy.

132 Amorosi contrasti Nicostrata Io entro. Addio sposo mio caro. Curio Addio, moglie mia cara e diletta.

Lovers’ Debates 133 Nicostrata I’m going in. Goodbye, my dear spouse! Curio Goodbye, my dear wife, and my delight!

134 Amorosi contrasti [9] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la Comedia Ersilia, e Diomede Ersilia Signor Diomede io intendo, che in questa città sono arrivati molti Comici, quali giornalmente recitano comedie publicamente, e per quello ch’io m’immagino credo che Vostra Signoria vada ogni giorno ad ascoltarli. Diomede E vero Signora, e ne ricevo grandissimo diletto. Ersilia Credo che il vostro maggior diletto sia nel veder quelle Signore Comiche, le quali intendo esser molto belle, e graziose. Diomede La natura non è stata avara nel dar loro quelle parti, che più a donna convengonsi. Ersilia E poi intendo, che vanno riccamente vestite, che suol’essere di grande accrescimento alla bellezza femminile. Diomede Così è veramente. Ersilia Guardate pur Signor Diomede a non vi innamorar di qualcuna di loro: perchè nella loro dipartenza sentirete poi grandissimo dolore come intendo essere intervenuto a degli altri della nostra città. Diomede Signora non vi sono questi pericoli per me. Ersilia Di questo ne lascio il pensiero a voi. Ma che comedia hanno promesso di recitar oggi? Diomede Il loro cartello invita all’ amante ingrato, comedia bellissima.

Lovers’ Debates 135 [9] Lovers’ Debate on Comedy64 Translated by Eric Nicholson Ersilia and Diomede65 Ersilia Signor Diomede, I understand that many troupes of actors have arrived in this city, who perform their plays every day in public. Therefore, I imagine your lordship goes every day to hear them. Diomede This is true, Signora, and I take great delight in doing so. Ersilia I believe that your greatest delight comes from seeing the actresses, for I hear that these ladies are full of grace and beautiful indeed. Diomede Nature has not been stingy in giving them those parts that most befit a woman to possess. Ersilia And I also hear that they go about richly attired, which tends to increase feminine beauty most notably. Diomede This is true indeed. Ersilia Then be careful, Signor Diomede, not to fall in love with one of them: for at their departure, you shall feel terrible sorrow, as I also hear has happened to some other gentlemen of our city. Diomede Signora, for me these dangers do not exist. Ersilia I’ll leave it to you to ponder that point. But tell me, what play have they promised to perform today? Diomede Their signboard invites us to “The Ungrateful Lover, a most excellent comedy.”

136 Amorosi contrasti Ersilia Bella intitolazione, poiché per lo più gli uomini sogliono esser alle donne ingrati. E veramente che in ciò si deve andar consideratamente: perché colui, che si propone di comporre una comedia, debba prima considerar ben bene tutta la favola, la quale (come vuole il filosofo) è l’anima del Poema, e quella tutta come in un corpo ridotta darle un titolo conveniente. Diomede Saviamente ragiona Vostra Signoria, perché il titolo conveniente è cosa di non poca importanza, poiché Poeti d’onorato nome nel dare ai loro poemi titolo convenevole hanno errato grandemente. Ersilia Io per me credo, che la maggior parte di questi Comici erranti e mercenari ponghino titoli a caso alle loro comedie, non guardando più ad un nome, che ad un’altro, pur che sia strepitoso, e per invitar gli ascoltanti, per far maggior guadagno. Diomede Lo credo anch’io, salvando sempre l’onore di quelli che sono intendenti, come tra di loro ve ne sono. Ma secondo il vostro giudizio, come si dovrebbe intitolar la comedia? Ersilia Io mi sono compiaciuta di legger, e di rilegger più volte la Poetica d’Aristotele, come principale di tutte le altre poetiche, e ho trovato che il titolo si deve pigliare dal nome della persona principale, intorno la quale è il soggetto di tutta la comedia, o d’alcuna persona introdotta nella comedia insolitamente, o vero d’alcuna persona che condisca tutta la favola con burle ingannevoli, ancor che in essa non cada nè la Peripetia, nè la Ricognizione, ma che però sia cagione che la Peripetia e la Ricognizione cada sopra di altre persone. Diomede V. Sig. mi favorisca di darmene qualche esempio, se così le piace. Ersilia Gli esempi sono molti, gli quali (volendo) potrete vedere in Plauto, in Terenzio, nel Piccolomini, nel Trissino, in Aristofane, nel Cavalier Calderari, nel Pino, e da quello che dice il dotto Scaligero, per non esser noiosa nel raccontarli.

Lovers’ Debates 137 Ersilia A fine title, that, since most men tend to be ungrateful toward women. And truly in these matters, good care and consideration ought to be taken. For he who undertakes to compose a comedy must first consider the plot most thoroughly, which (as the philosopher holds66) is the heart and soul of the poem. Therefore, he needs to give it an appropriate title, as if it were framed as one single body. Diomede Your Ladyship speaks wisely indeed, because giving the appropriate title is something of no little importance, since even some highly honored poets, when it has come to giving their poems suitable titles, have erred grievously. Ersilia As far as I can tell, most of these traveling mercenary comedians give titles to their plays quite at random. They take little or no care whether it has this, that, or another name, as long as it causes a sensation, and so attracts bigger audiences, in order to make higher profits. Diomede I believe it too, saving the honor of the few learned ones who are found among them. But in your opinion, how should a play be given its title? Ersilia I have enjoyed reading—and reading many times—the Poetics of Aristotle, as the first and foremost of all treatises on poetry, and I have learned that the title must take its name from the principal character, around whom the subject matter of the entire play turns, or from some character introduced unexpectedly into the play . . . or truly from some character who conducts the plot with deceptive tricks, even if neither the peripeteia nor the recognition befalls this character directly, but who is at least the cause that the peripeteia and recognition befall other characters. Diomede I beseech your Ladyship to give me some examples, if it please you. Ersilia There are many examples, which you can find, if you like, in Plautus, in Terence, in Piccolomini, Trissino, Aristophanes, in the Cavalier Calderari, in Pino, and from the book by the learned Scaliger, to which I refer you, to avoid my becoming a bore.67

138 Amorosi contrasti Diomede L’intitolazione della comedia (com’ ella sà) è molto più libera che non è quella della Tragedia, e del poema heroico, poiché la prima sempre s’intitolò dalla persona principale tragica, sopra la quale cade la Peripetia e la Ricognitione. L’altro è solito prender il titolo, o della persona principale ch’è suggetto del Poema eroico, ovvero dal loco ove succedono le cose appartenenti alla principale azione. Ersilia Guardate si conosce bene, che il Signor Diomede intende benissimo, e possiede tutta l’arte poetica, poiché cosi dottamente ne tratta, e ragiona, e forse che a quest’ora deve aver alla stampa qualche cosa degna del suo nobile ingegno. Diomede E’ vero Sign., come gli altri scrittori fanno, vò cercando la via più facile e più nobile per giunger in Parnaso, e accostar le labbra a quella fonte tanto dolce e soave per trarmi l’amorosa sete. Ersilia La maggior parte dei Poeti cercano questo, e come si suol dire, il verace Poeta è sempre amante; laonde mi pare che la conseguenza cada ancora sopra di voi. Diomede Io non voglio negar d’esser amante: ma amante sventurato, perché quanto più m’avvicino per bere a questa fonte da me tanto amata, e desiderata, tanto più ella si và da me allontanando, laonde rimango infelicissimo Tantalo arso, e abbrucciato d’amorosa sete. Ersilia Tentate, tentate Signor Diomede come gli altri Poeti fanno, o col poema comico, o col tragico, o con l’eroico componendo, far che questa bramata fonte getti per voi qualche soave stilla d’acqua per rinfrescarvi l’amorosa arsura. Diomede Io voleva tra l’altre mie composizioni comporre ancora una comedia, e intitolarla l’Ersilia, dal nome vostro, essendo voi la persona principale dell’amorosa mia favola, sopra della quale doveva cadere la Peripetia, o tramutamento, e la Ricognizione dell’amor mio.

Lovers’ Debates 139 Diomede As you well know, more freedom can be given to the entitling of comedies than of tragedies, or of heroic poems, since tragedies always take their titles from the leading character, on whom falls the peripeteia, and the recognition. Heroic poems, on the other hand, take their titles either from the leading character, or from the main place of the action.68 Ersilia It’s more than evident that Signor Diomede is a true expert, and that he commands full knowledge of the poetic arts, since he explains so many points so learnedly and perhaps at this very moment is about to publish something worthy of his noble intellect. Diomede Signora, this is true, and as other writers do, I proceed in my search of the easiest and most noble way to reach Parnassus, where I hope to touch my lips to that most sweet and delicious fountain, there to quench my amorous thirst. Ersilia Almost all poets search for this, and as they say, the true poet is always a lover. Thus, I perceive that you also undergo such effects. Diomede I do not wish to deny that I am a lover. But I am an unfortunate lover, for the more that I draw near to this fountain which I so love, and so desire, the more she draws away from me, so far away . . . whence I remain a most unhappy parched Tantalus, burned up by my own amorous thirst. Ersilia Try, O try your best Signor Diomede, as other poets do, by composing either a comedic poem, or a tragic poem, or a heroic one: make this longed-for fountain spray out a few sweet drops of water for you, to quench your ardent thirst. Diomede Among my other compositions, I had wished to compose yet another comedy, and call it “Ersilia” after you, since you are the principal character of my amorous story, on whom was visited the Peripeteia, or Transmutation, and the Recognition of my love.

140 Amorosi contrasti Ersilia Buon pensiero era il vostro, poiché la comedia non si discosta da precetti della Tragedia, con la quale ella molte cose ha communi: come la rappresentazione, con tutto il resto dell’apparato il Ritmo, e l’armonia, il tempo limitato, la favola drammatica, il verosimile, la ricognizione, e il rivolgimento. Benché nell’azione, nei personaggi, nei costumi, e nella dizione sia da lei molto dissimile, ma come la volevi voi scrivere in prosa, o pure in versi? Diomede Io voleva haver la mira alla favola, che è l’anima principale del Poema, perche lo scriverla in prosa, o in versi questo poco importava. Ma è ben vero, che per levar il tedio a gli ascoltanti da quella cantinela del verso, l’avrei composta in prosa per esser più accommodata all’orecchie dei recitanti, e degli ascoltatori, e perché più grata sarebbe stata l’amorosa mia favola. Ersilia Siccome la comedia deve esser tutta favola nulla prendendo dalla Storia, cosi credo, che favoloso sia l’amor vostro, poiché nulla piglia dal vero. La Tragedia per lo più si cava dalla Storia (come sapete) prendendo ancora alcuni nomi dalla Storia, nomi veri, e soprattutto dei più principali personaggi. A tal che per significar meglio l’amor vostro meglio sarebbe stato comporre una Tragedia, che ne avreste acquistato ancora maggior onore. Diomede No no Signora, il comporre una comedia, che sia buona, non è cosi facile come la persona si crede, e il Poeta, che la compone, deve fare come fa il Pittore (che vien nomato Poeta muto), il quale prima abbozza la figura, ch’egli intende di fare, poi fa quella perfetta, dandole i lineamenti con i colori: così il Poeta prima deve formar la favola, e poi addattarle i costumi, che la fanno perfetta. Così io nell’amor mio, che si può dire ancora abbozzato, vò cercando con i colori della mia fede e della mia speranza darli i veri lineamenti per render lo più perfetto. Ersilia A voler comporre questa vostra amorosa comedia vi bisogna aggiungere ancora di molti Episodi li quali mi credo, che sarebbono stati quelli amanti che voi avreste avuti per concorrenti nel vostro amore.

Lovers’ Debates 141 Ersilia Yours was a fine idea, since comedy does not stray far from the precepts of tragedy, with which it has many things in common, such as its needing to be performed, with all the rest of the stage apparatus, the rhythm, the harmony, the limited time, the guiding dramatic plot, the life-likeness, the recognition, and the reversal, even though in terms of action, characters, costumes, and diction comedy differs very much from tragedy. But how did you choose to write your script, in prose, or in verse? Diomede I wished to keep my aim especially on the plot, which is the very soul of the poem, because writing it in prose or in verse matters little. It is quite true, however, that in order to relieve audiences of the tedium of having to hear that sing-song of spoken verse, I would have composed it in prose, to make it more appealing to the ears of the speakers as well as those of the listeners, and also because this would have made my amorous plot all the more pleasing. Ersilia Ah, since comedy needs to be entirely fictional, and have nothing to do with real events, I believe that your love is a fiction, because it has nothing to do with the truth. Most often Tragedy is based on history (as you know), taking some names from history, real names, above all those of the leading characters. Hence, in order to signify your love better, your best choice would have been to compose a tragedy, by which you would have achieved greater honor. Diomede No, no, Signora, composing a good comedy is not such an easy thing as is thought, and the poet who composes one must do as a painter does (a painter is in fact called a mute poet).69 He first sketches out the figure that he means to make, then makes the perfected one, giving it lineaments with colors. So too must the poet first form the story, and then adapt it according to customs and behaviors to make it perfect: so too my love, already sketched out, goes searching with the colors of my faith, and of my hope, to give it its true lineaments and render it more perfect. Ersilia To compose this amorous comedy of yours, one would need to add many episodes—and I believe they would be those lovers with whom you would have had to contend as rivals of your love.

142 Amorosi contrasti Diomede L’Episodio nella Tragedia, e nella comedia s’intende quell’azione, che si aggiunge alla principale azione per aiutarla ad aver la sua grandezza convenevole, che dimostri la natura del fatto che si propone di scrivere sin che si giunge alla tramutazione, e al suo fine. Avvertendo abbia la sua grandezza convenevole (come ho detto) sia maravigliosamente intrecciata di Peripetia, di riconoscimento affettuosa, e non Episodica. A tale che nell’amorosa mia favola non occorrevano Episodi d’amanti concorrenti, e rivali nell’amor mio, come avete detto. Ersilia Voi volevi, che la vostra amorosa favola, come si ricerca, avesse il principio travagliato, il mezzo turbulento, e il fine lieto e giocondo, senza ornamenti, e senza altri Episodi. Diomede Tale era la mia intenzione. Ersilia Voi sapete Signor Diomede, che la comedia sino alla tramutatione e scioglimento suo, suol sempre esser piena di molti affanni, e travagli, che la fanno affettuosa molto; (benche non abbia quell’attrocità in se, che ha la Tragedia). Per tanto sopportate con pazienza questi affanni, e travagli dell’amor vostro, li quali faranno molto più affettuoso l’amor vostro, e degno, e per conseguenza più perfetto e più meritevole di ricompensa. Diomede Io mi era apparecchiato a dir dei costumi della comedia, della sentenza, e della dizione: ma poi che io mi avvedo, esser opera d’Aragne, mi quieterò a queste vostre ultime parole, sperando di ridurre a buon termine questa mia amorosa comedia intitolata l’Innamorata Ersilia. Ersilia Intitolatela pure lo sventurato Diomede, che sarà meglio.

Lovers’ Debates 143 Diomede By “episode,” in tragedy as well as in comedy, one means that action which is added to the main action to help it obtain its appropriate grand stature, which shows the nature of the event that is proposed to be narrated in writing all the way until the goal of the transmutation is reached, along with its outcome. To satisfy the need for appropriate grandeur (as I have stated), a marvelous intertwining with the peripeteia must be crafted, with loving and not episodic recognition. Thus, my amorous story has no need for episodes with rival lovers, nor with rivals of my own love, as I have stated before. Ersilia So, it was your wish that your amorous story, I presume, would have a tortuous beginning, a turbulent middle, and a happy as well as jocund ending, without ornaments and without other episodes? Diomede That indeed was my intention. Ersilia You do realize, Signor Diomede, that comedy, right up to its transmutation, and resolution, is usually full of many trials and tribulations that make it more passionate (even though it lacks that essential atrocity that tragedy has). Therefore, endure with patience these trials and tribulations of your love, which will make your love all the more passionate, and worthy, and, as a result, more perfect and more deserving of recompense. Diomede I was well prepared to explain the costumes, together with the language and diction of comedy: but since I perceive this to be a labor like that of Arachne, I will be soothed by these last words of yours, hoping to bring to a happy ending this my amorous comedy entitled “Ersilia in Love.” Ersilia Entitle it instead “The Unfortunate Diomede”—that will be more to the point!

144 Amorosi contrasti [10] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il fascino degli occhi Pompeo, e Artemisia Pompeo Signora Artemisia con tutto ch’io sappia che voi mi abbiate rubata l’anima, e che m’abbiate morto, con tutto ciò sono sforzato ad amarvi, e d’accostarmi sempre a voi. Artemisia Officio contrario a quello, che si deve: voi dovreste esser sdegnato meco, e portarmi odio mortale per avervi (come dite) rubata l’anima, e data morte. Ma vi scuso, perche voi non sapete quello che vi dite, nè quello che vi fate. Pompeo Io sò quello, che dico, sò quello che fò, e sò di far bene amando voi, che tanto meritate d’esser amata, e quindi nasce ch’io non mi sdegno contro di voi se bene mi avete rubata l’anima, e data morte. Artemisia Mi fate compassione, ma non voglia di piangere. Io per me credo che voi siate come quell’amante, che va cercando se stesso fuori di se medesimo, e che si va accostando a colei che l’ha rubato per veder di liberarsi da quella prigione, ove egli vive imprigionato. Voi vorreste col vostro dire distorvi dall’amor mio, ma non sapete trovarvi la strada. Pompeo O questo non dico io Sig. Artemisia. Artemisia Signor Pompeo io intendo benissimo quello che voi non sapete dire, cioè voi non vorreste amare, perche non vorreste languire, e ancora non vorreste non amare, perche giudicate di servire a bellezza, che vi serve per scala all’immagine delle cose celesti, a tale che voi siete un’astuto platonico.

Lovers’ Debates 145 [10] Lovers’ Debate on the Enchantment of the Eyes Translated by Julie D. Campbell Pompeo and Artemisia70 Pompeo Signora Artemisia, for all that I know, you have stolen my soul and killed me. Yet for all that, I am compelled to love you and always be near you. Artemisia That is the opposite of what you should do! You should be angry with me! You should bear toward me mortal hatred for having (as you say) robbed you of your soul and caused your death. But I excuse you, because you don’t know what you say, or what you do. Pompeo I know what I say, I know what I do, and I know I do well by loving you, who so greatly merits being loved, and thus it comes to pass that I’m not angry with you, even if you have stolen my soul, and given me death. Artemisia You move me to pity, but not to tears. As for me, I believe that you are like that lover who goes searching for himself outside himself, and who keeps accosting the woman who has “stolen his soul” in order to free himself from that prison, where he lives a captive. You would like with what you say to disentangle yourself from my love, but you don’t know how. Pompeo O this I do not say, Signora Artemisia! Artemisia Signor Pompeo, I understand very well what you don’t know how to say; that is, you would not want to love, because you would not want to languish, and yet you would not want not to love, because you deem that serving beauty serves as your ladder [of love] to images of celestial things. In this respect, you are an astute Platonist!71

146 Amorosi contrasti Pompeo L’amore (come vuole il Filosofo) piglia origine dal vedere: il vedere è posto in mezzo tra la mente e il tatto; e di quì sempre nasce, che l’anima dell’amante si distrae, e hora in sù, e hora in giù, scambievolmente si getta. Ora sorge alla cupidità del toccare, e ora brama, or l’una e or l’altra bellezza, E quando avviene che l’anima dà raggio di singolar bellezza, rimanga ferita. Subito l’amante ricorre al refrigerio e alla medicina, come interviene a me, che essendo dalla vostra unica beltà ferito, ricorro a voi per medicina e refrigerio. Artemisia Io non son Medica da purgarvi. Pompeo Se non siete Medica, siete Maga, e avete forza magica in voi. Artemisia S’io son Maga, voi siete Sofista, e come tale siete acciecato dalla nebbia d’amore, pigliate le cose false per le vere, mentre che voi vi stimate esser più bello, più acuto, e più buono che voi non siete, ed anco a voi medesimo contradite per la violenza d’amore, imperoché altro consiglia la ragione, e altro il senso. Pompeo S’io son Sofista come dite, io dico che senz’altro voi siete Maga, che con opera magica tirate l’una cosa all’altra per similitudine di natura, onde ne nasce il commune tiramento nomato amore, e forza magica. Artemisia Secondo il mio parere voi siete il Mago, poiché a voi stà il tiramento magico. Ma dubito che voi non vogliate pigliarvi questa impresa, perché non vi deve dar l’animo di tirar la cosa per similitudine di natura. Pompeo Alla prova si scorticano gli Asini. Artemisia E perciò voi vorreste venire alla prova, ma non ne sarà altro.

Lovers’ Debates 147 Pompeo Love (as the Philosopher would have it) first takes hold through sight: sight is placed in the middle between the mind and touch; thence it always comes to pass that the soul of the lover is distracted and casts itself about in a volatile, changeable way, now above and now below. Now it surges into greediness for touch, and then it longs for one and then another beauty. And when it happens that the soul sustains injury from glimpsing the bright rays of a singular beauty, immediately the lover seeks comfort and medicine. Thus, it happens that I, being wounded by your unique beauty, reach out to you for medicine and comfort.72 Artemisia I am not a doctor who can purge you of your malady! Pompeo You are not a doctor; you are a sorceress, and you have magic powers in you! Artemisia If I am a sorceress, you are a Sophist, and as such you are blinded by the fog of love. You take false things for true, as long as you consider yourself to be more handsome, more witty, and more honest than you are. Besides, the violence of your love makes you contradict yourself, given that reason counsels one thing, and the senses another. Pompeo If I am a Sophist as you say, I say that without doubt you are a Sorceress: with magical work you pull one thing toward another, through likeness of their natures, whence is born the spell and magical force called love. Artemisia In my opinion, you are the Sorcerer, since you are the one to cast the spell: but I doubt that you wish to undertake this enterprise, because you shouldn’t surrender your soul to attract something through mere natural affinity. Pompeo Put to the test, asses would flay their own hide!73 Artemisia And therefore you would like to be put to the test, but there will be no other.

148 Amorosi contrasti Pompeo Insomma, se voi non siete Maga, avete senz’altro il Fascino negli occhi, e affascinate con lo sguardo chiunque vi mira, come avete affascinato ed ammaliato me. Artemisia Povero bambino a cui è stato fatto mal d’occhio, e ammaliato. Correte donne, a dare un poco di pappa a questo bambino, che non può poppare. Pompeo Invece di pappa, meglio sarebbe un poco di poppa, e delle vostre, che sono due poma ritondette acerbe, e pur d’avorio fatte, come dice il Poeta. Artemisia Questo sarebbe troppo. Pompeo Non è troppo a chi molto desidera. E di nuovo torno a dire che siete Maga, che conversate con spiriti, che fate incantesmi e stregarie, la volete più chiara? Artemisia Con questo vostro modo di dire, voi mi andate tanto stimolando, che è forza dire quello, che dir non vorrei. E poiché volete ch’io sia maga, mi contento d’essere per compiacervi. Ora, per trattar dell’arte mia, e per quello che mi mostrano le car[t] e, che di ciò ragionano, dico che l’arte magica fù dagli Antichi attribuita a gli spiriti, ò demoni che dir vogliamo, perché essi intendono qual sia la parentela delle cose naturali tra di loro, e qual cosa son qual cosa consuoni, e come la concordia delle cose si possa ristorare. Ora uno spirito amoroso mi dice, che tra voi e me non è parentela, nè consonanza alcuna, e che per tanto potete levarvi da questa impresa. L’intendete, Sig. Pompeo povero bambino ammaliato? Pompeo L’intendo, Sig. Artemisia. Ma non credo a questo vostro spirito, perché tutti di natura sono falsi, e bugiardi. E parimente non credo che voi abbiate quella dimestichezza con loro, come aveva Zoroastro, Socrate, Appollonio, e Porfirio, alli quali vigilando porgevano segni, voci, e cose mostruose in segno, e rivelazioni, e visioni, e per questo non credo quello che avete detto.

Lovers’ Debates 149 Pompeo In sum, if you are not a sorceress, you have without doubt witchcraft in your eyes, and with your gaze you charm anyone who admires you, as you have charmed and enthralled me. Artemisia Poor baby—he has been given the evil eye, and been charmed! [Addressing audience] Ladies, run quickly to give a little pap to this baby, who cannot be suckled! Pompeo Instead of a pap-treat, a little teat-treat would be better, and from yours, which are two tart, round apples, but made of ivory, as the Poet says.74 Artemisia This would be too much! Pompeo It’s not too much for one who so much desires it! Once more I say that you are a sorceress, who speaks with spirits, who enchants and bewitches me—you want it [stated] more clearly? Artemisia With what you say, you so provoke me that I am forced to say that which I would not like to say: since you insist that I am a sorceress, I am happy to be one, just to please you. Now to discourse of my art, and of that which my cards do show and reveal concerning this matter, I say that the magic arts were by the Ancients attributed to the spirits, or demons as we like to say, because they understood the kinship among all natural things, and how one thing ought to agree with another, and how one can restore concord between those things. Now a certain amorous spirit tells me that between you and me there is no relationship, nor any agreement, and thus you must give up this undertaking. Listen to it, Milord Pompeo, [you] poor, bewitched baby! Pompeo I understand, Signora Artemisia. But I don’t believe this spirit of yours, because all such things are false by nature, and liars. Likewise, I don’t believe that you have this acquaintance with them, as had Zoroaster, Socrates, Apollonius, and Porphyry,75 to whom the spirits offered signs, voices, and monstrous things as omens, as well as revelations and visions. Because of this, I don’t believe what you have said.

150 Amorosi contrasti Artemisia Voi non avete nè fermezza, nè stabilità: perché, quando volete ch’io conversi con gli spiriti, e quando lo negate. A tale ch’io giudico, che voi siate fiora di voi stesso, e che non sappiate sotto qual clima nè sotto qual cielo voi vi vivate. Pompeo Io vivo sotto il cielo dei bei vostri occhi: di quegli occhi dico che mi hanno affascinato. Artemisia E pur di nuovo torniamo al fascino: Voi fareste meglio a far un fascio d’herba, e darla a mangiare a quel vostro Asino, che ha tanta fame, e così poca discrezione. Pompeo Foss’io pur l’Asino, e fossi l’Asino d’Apuleio, l’Asino d’oro, che buon per me. Artemisia Senza bramar d’esser’Asino, credo che di già possiate farvi comprar un basto, metter una cavezza al collo, e portando la somma farvi dar di buone bastonate, che ciò sacendo, non anderete raggiando per amore, come fanno gli Asini il mese di Maggio, e non mi sarete così importuno, nè così molesto. Io non vi voglio, non v’amo, e non vi desidero: m’intendete, o siete sordo? Pompeo Piacesse al cielo, ch’io fossi sordo, perche non sentirei sì cruda, e dispietata sentenza, pronunciata da ingiustissima Tiranna: onde m’appello di così ingiusta sentenza al Tribunal di Amore, giustissimo legislatore, e giustissimo Giudice. Artemisia Meglio sarebbe pelarsi, che appellarsi, e che un Medico valente vi confinasse dentro una stuffa per quaranta giorni, a purgarvi del morbo gallico, del quale credo che ne siate pieno. Andate dunque a pelarvi quanto prima, e poi tornate doppo la purga, che forse vi darò altra risposta. Pompeo O questa sarebbe bella, ch’io avessi il mal Francese, e ch’io non me ne fossi avveduto, e ch’io mi scusassi come molti fanno dicendo avere catarro salso. Orsù, pazienza. Addio.

Lovers’ Debates 151 Artemisia You have neither constancy nor stability, because first you wish me to converse with spirits, and then you deny it. For this, I judge that you are out of your mind, and that you don’t know in what climate or under what heaven you live. Pompeo I live under the heaven of your beautiful eyes. These eyes, I say, have bewitched me! Artemisia And here we go again with the witchcraft! You would do better to craft a bundle of grass and give it to your ass to eat, who has so much hunger and so little discretion! Pompeo If I were an Ass, I would be the ass of Apuleius, the Golden Ass: how wonderful that would be for me!76 Artemisia Without longing to be an ass, I think that you can go ahead and buy yourself a pack-saddle, put a halter around your neck, and carrying the burden, give yourself some good beatings, so that wising up, you will not go braying for love, as donkeys do in the month of May, and you will no longer importune and molest me! I don’t want you, I don’t love you, and I don’t desire you: do you understand me, or are you deaf? Pompeo Would to Heaven that I were deaf, so I would not hear such a cruel and pitiless judgment, pronounced by the most unjust Tyrant. I appeal such an unjust judgment to the High Court of Love, the most just law-maker and the most just Judge. Artemisia It would be better to flay your own hide than to appeal it, and that a worthy Physician would confine you in a stove77 for forty days, to purge you of the Gallic disease,78 which I believe you are full of! Go, therefore, to flay yourself at once, and then return after the purge; maybe I will give you another kind of answer. Pompeo O this would be great, that I should have the French disease, and I didn’t know it happened to me! I should excuse myself as many men do, claiming that they have only some brackish phlegm. Very well then, patience! Adieu.

152 Amorosi contrasti [11] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la Tragedia, e il Poema Eroico Sapho, e Eurialo Sapho Ringrazio V. Sapho, Sig. Eurialo, del Sonetto inviatomi per la vostra fidata Messaggiera; il quale è bello, ancorché lontano dalla verità, essendo favoloso, e pieno d’adulazione. Ma per picciol Poema può passare. Eurialo Sò bene, che à V. S. Sig. Sapho, sarebbe stato di più gusto un Poema grande, che un picciolo, com’è il Sonetto, tuttavia la prego contentarsi di quel poco ch’io le porgo, e non di quel molto ch’ella vorrebbe. Sapho Come voi non date di mano a cose grandi non farete nulla, e sempre sarete un Poeta da farne poca stima. Eurialo Le cose picciole più volte reviste e maneggiate, sogliono accrescer grandezza all’esser loro. Sapho Voi non farete mai che un Pigmeo diventi Gigante, Orsù, sia come si voglia: io mi contento ancora del poco, purché abbia in se qualche sostanza, perché ancora nelle cose picciole si trova qualche gusto e qualche diletto, come nei madrigali, nelle canzonette, nelle sestine, nei sonetti, ed altre simili composizioni che suol produrre l’arte poetica. Eurialo Io comincio avvedermi, che il mio scrivere, e le mie composizioni dirette à V. Sig sono appunto, come si suol dire, un portar vasi à Samo, Nottole [ad] Athene, e Cocodrilli à Egitto, essendo voi così versata nella poesia. Sapho Per natura e non per arte, ho qualche picciola vena di poesia. Eurialo Et io credo, che la vena sia grande da introdurre ogni gran Poema.

Lovers’ Debates 153 [11] Lovers’ Debate on Tragedy, and the Heroic Poem Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Sappho and Eurialo79 Sappho I, your Sappho, again give thanks to you, dear Signor Eurialo, for the sonnet you sent me by your faithful female messenger. It is lovely, although far from the truth, being a mere fable full of adulation. But for a little poem, it will pass. Eurialo I know very well that to you, my dear mistress Sappho, a long and grand poem would be more to your taste than a small one like my sonnet. Even so I beg you to content yourself with the little one I offer, and not the grand one that you’d like. Sappho If you don’t try your hand at ambitious things you won’t accomplish anything, and you will always be a poet of small repute. Eurialo Small things that are revised and worked on many times often grow great in their essence. Sappho You will never make a pygmy become a giant. But do as you like. I will be content with a little, as long as it has something of substance, because even in little things one finds some pleasure and some delight, as in madrigals, canzonets, sestinas, and sonnets, and other similar compositions that poetic art manages to produce.80 Eurialo I am starting to realize that dedicating my writing and my compositions to you, Signora, is (as the saying goes) like bringing vases to Samos, owls to Athens, and crocodiles to Egypt, since you are so well versed in poetry.81 Sappho By nature, and not by art, I do have a modest gift for poetry. Eurialo And I believe that this gift is great enough to support any grand poem.

154 Amorosi contrasti Sapho Come sarebbe a dire, qual sorte di Poema? Eurialo Un Poema come quello dell’Ariosto, o del Tasso, i quali oggidì sono la gloria e lo splendore della poesia. Sapho Qual giudicate voi, che debba essere il primo Poema? Eurialo Il Poema Eroico detto Epopeia, il secondo la Tragedia, e il terzo quello della Comedia. Sapho Lasciamo la comedia in disparate, della quale Aristotele ne fà pochissima mentione, essendo cosa picciola, e di poco rilievo. Eurialo E pur tornate su le cose picciole, e poiché tanto le avete in odio, tratterò con voi delle grandi. Ma qual frutto ne caverà poi l’amor mio di si fatto ragionamento, e in questo trattare con V. Sapho del poema eroico, e della Tragedia? Sapho Vi dirò, mentre che sopra di ciò andremo brevemente trattando, veniremo in cognizione quelle di questi due Poemi preceda, e conosciuto questo, tireremo al nostro senso quello che più farà per noi. Ma per meglio mettersi in contesa, dividiamo le parti, cioè uno di noi serva per lo Poema heroico, e l’altro per la Tragedia. Et perché il Poema eroico e nome mascolino, e la Tragedia feminino, voi come maschio vi appiglierete a quello, e io come feminino a quest’ altro. Eurialo Sono più che contento perche dal Poema dell’amor mio, si conosceranno gli Episodi della mia fede, e della perseveranza, li quali essendo verisimili, sono anco annestati in modo tale con la favola dell’amor mio, che levatone via uno, rovinerebbe tutta la fabrica dell’amoroso mio Poema.

Lovers’ Debates 155 Sappho What do you mean, which kind of poem? Eurialo A Poem like that of Ariosto or Tasso, which today are the glory and the splendor of poetry.82 Sappho Which in your judgment is the first and best kind of poem? Eurialo The first and best is the heroic poem or epic; the second, tragedy, and the third, that of comedy. Sappho Let’s leave aside comedy, which Aristotle hardly mentioned, it being so minor and of little importance.83 Eurialo And now you return to the little things, yet since you detest them so much, I will discuss great works with you. But what amorous fruit will I receive from engaging with you, Signora, in this debate about the heroic poem and about tragedy? Sappho I will tell you . . . while we talk a bit about this topic, we’ll come to realize which of the two genres is pre-eminent. Having understood this, we’ll sense which one is more appropriate for each of us. But to manage our contest even better, let’s divide the parts, so one of us will play Heroic Poem, and the other will play Tragedy. And because Heroic Poem is a masculine noun and Tragedy feminine, you, being male, will take that part, and I being female will take the other. Eurialo I am more than happy, because in the poem about my love, one will encounter episodes of my fidelity and perseverance, which are true to life. These are inserted in the story of my love in such a way that, if you leave one out, it would ruin the structure of my amorous poem.

156 Amorosi contrasti Sapho Benissimo ragione il Poema eroico, al quale la Tragedia risponde, e dice che tutti i Poemi imitano, ma sono differenti trà di loro per tre conti, o perché imitano con cose diverse di spezie, o perché imitano cose diverse, o perché imitano in modo diverso, e non in un medesimo. Ora questa vostra imitazione amorosa, in quale di questi modi và ella imitando? Eurialo Saggiamente propone la Tragedia, onde le dico: che l’imitazione del Poema si fà ò col verso, ò col verso mescolato, e di più sorti, ovvero con quello, che sia d’una sola spezie. Ora l’amoroso mio Poema và imitando con versi lamentevoli accompagnati, da cocenti sospiri, e da lagrime di dolor calde e amare, l’angoscioso suo stato. Sapho La Tragedia antica, e prima, era d’una sola persona. Eschilo Poeta fù il primo di tutti, le accrebbe il numero delle persone d’una insino in due. Et Sofocle di poi vi aggiunse il numero insino a tre. A tale che questa Tragedia che voi amate, non è d’una sola persona come voi vorreste, ma si bene di due, anzi di tre persone insieme. Eurialo E quali sono i fortunati amanti, che sono introdotti nell’amorosa mia Tragedia? Sapho Tragedia vostra non già: ma si bene del mio genitore, della mia genitrice, e del marito, che da loro mi sarà dato. Queste sono le persone gravi, che ragionano in me con versi eroici, con sentenze gravissime, senz’altri Episodi, senz’altre mutazioni, e senz’altri riconoscimenti. Ora che ne dite, Signor Poema eroico? Eurialo Dico che la Tragedia debba creder’ il Poema eroico, e starle sotto. Sapho Et io vi rispondo che il Peripatetico, contra tutte le obiezioni ha terminato che la Tragedia sia Poema più bello è più perfetto del Poema eroico. E come quella che precede vi dico, che non ne sarà altro. Andate, andate Signor Poema eroico, a trattar con le vostre molte favole, che ponete per ornamento dell’ Peripeteia amor vostro, e me lasciate nella grandezza mia, e nello stato mio reale.

Lovers’ Debates 157 Sappho Very well-reasoned, Heroic Poem; to which Tragedy responds and says that all poems imitate, but they differ from each other on three counts. Either they imitate things of different kinds, or they imitate different things, or they imitate differently and not in a single way. Now this amorous imitation of yours, in which of these ways does it imitate? Eurialo Wisely propounds Tragedy, to which I say that the imitation of the poem is done either with heroic verse, or with mixed verses, or with that which is of one type only. Now my amorous poem imitates his state of anguish with lamenting verses, accompanied by sighs of fire, and tears of hot and bitter pain. Sappho The first and most ancient tragedy concerned only one character. Aeschylus the poet was the first to expand the number of roles from one to two; next, Sophocles increased them to three. The result was that this Tragedy that you love so much, is not just a single person as you would like, but two and even three persons together. Eurialo And who are the lucky lovers that are to perform in my amorous tragedy? Sappho I’m not yet “your” Tragedy: but rather, one belonging to my father, my mother, and my husband, who they themselves will give to me. These are the serious persons who speak heroic verses and very grave sentences in me, without any other episodes, alterations, and recognitions. Now what do you say, Signor Heroic Poem? Eurialo I say that Tragedy must believe in the Heroic Poem, and be subjected to him. Sappho And I answer that the Peripatetic Philosopher84 has determined, against all your objections, that Tragedy is more beautiful and perfect than the Heroic Poem. And as I told you before, it will always be so. Go, go, Signor Heroic Poem, go and dabble with your many fables, with which you deck out your beloved Peripeteia,85 and leave me in my grandeur and my royal state.

158 Amorosi contrasti Eurialo Sia maladetto il Poema eroico, la Poesia, l’imitazione, il Verso, gli Episodi, le Peripete, le Agnizioni, le Tragedie, le Comedie, e chi l’ascolta ancora. Poiché io mi rimango quà un Poema abbandonato, derelitto, mal veduto da voi, e da tutti, mal composto, e malamente stimato. E forse, ch’io non mi credeva d’essere l’Odissea d’Homero, l’Eneida di Vergilio, Orlando furioso dell’Ariosto, il Goffredo del Tasso. E ora chiaramente conosco che io non sono neanche Dama Rovenza, nè Drusian dal Leone, nè Morgante, e Margutte. Orsù, pazienza. Addio Signora Tragedia. Sapho Addio Signor Poema eroico, andate farvi ricorreggere, e ristampar’ di nuovo, perche così non valete niente.

Lovers’ Debates 159 Eurialo Cursed be the Heroic Poem, poetry, imitation, verse, episodes, peripeties, recognitions, tragedies, comedies, and those who listen as well, since I am a Poem that is abandoned, derelict, ill-regarded by you and by all, badly composed and ill-esteemed. And perhaps I didn’t believe I was the Odyssey of Homer, the Aeneid of Virgil, Orlando Furioso of Ariosto, or Goffredo of Tasso. And now, clearly, I understand that I am not even Dama Rovenza, nor Drusian dal Leone, nor Morgante and Margutte.86 Well, I must have patience. Farewell, Signora Tragedy. Sappho Farewell, Signor Heroic Poem, go rewrite and reprint yourself anew, because in this state you aren’t worth anything.87

160 Amorosi contrasti [12] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il modo di disamare Eurimacho, e Lesbia Eurimacho Signora Lesbia, poiché l’amor mio e la mia fede appresso di voi non trovano nè pietade, nè ricompensa alcuna, mi delibero in tutto per tutto d’abbandonare questa per me mal cominciata impresa, e rimanere d’amarvi. Lesbia Se cosi farete, mi darete occasione di volervi bene, cosa che non ebbi giammai in pensiero di fare. Eurimacho Mi piace questa vostra buona volontà, poiché non volendo, venirò ad esser riamato da voi: imperoché, se bene mi rimarrò d’amarvi, non perciò vorrò odiarvi; onde vedendomi poscia amato da voi, ritornerò di nuovo come prima ad amarvi. Lesbia Cose lunghe sono le Picche, disse il Fiorentino: quando saremo a questo, qualche cosa sarà. Ma volendomi disamare, Quale strada trovarete voi per non amarmi? Eurimacho Venga da voi per saperla: poi che voi, che mi feriste, potete ancora risanar l’amorosa mia ferita. Lesbia Io non hò la virtù che aveva l’hasta d’Achille, che da un capo feriva, e dall’altro sanava: perciò, bisogna trovar’ altro rimedio a questo vostro discioglimento d’amore. Eurimacho Come sarebbe a dir quale? Cominciate a dirne qualcuno, acciò ch’io possa eleggere il migliore per uscir d’impaccio. Lesbia Per quello che ho più volte udito dire, mi pare che il modo di disciogliersi dall’amoroso laccio sia di due ragioni, uno della natura, e l’altro dell’arte.

Lovers’ Debates 161 [12] Lovers’ Debate on How to Fall Out of Love Translated by Eric Nicholson Eurimacho and Lesbia88 Eurimacho Signora Lesbia, since my love for you, and my faith in you, find neither the least pity, nor the least recompense, I have decided once and for all to abandon this my ill-begun endeavor, but to remain in a state of loving you. Lesbia If you do so, you will give me cause to love you, a thing that never yet had crossed my mind. Eurimacho Your kind wish pleases me, especially since without my wishing it I will be loved in return by you. For then, if I remain in a state of loving you, for that same cause I will not wish to hate you, whence by finding myself loved by you, I shall return anew to loving you. Lesbia “Pikes are long things indeed,” said the Florentine:89 when we’ll have reached that point, then something will surely happen. But in your wishing to love me no longer, which path will you follow? Eurimacho I’ve come to you on purpose to learn all about that: since you, who wound me, may yet heal my amorous wound. Lesbia Mine is not the power of Achilles’s lance, which could wound with one end, and heal with the other.90 Therefore you need to find another remedy that will help dissolve your love. Eurimacho Is it possible to tell me which? Begin to explain one to me, so that I may choose the best way to break my bonds. Lesbia From what I many times have heard, it seems to me that there are two ways to snap the chains of love, the one being by means of Nature, and the other by means of Art.

162 Amorosi contrasti Eurimacho Quello della natura credo, che sia il migliore, e con essa vorrei liberarmi dall’amore. Lesbia Voi sareste come l’Orso che gustato un poco di dolce miele, non vi sapreste partir dal favo di quella dolcezza. Eurimacho Sarebbe facilissima cosa, ch’ io diuentassi famelico amante, e ch’ io non mi satiassi mai: Hora per dirui che duo sieno i modi da disciogliersi, e non dir’ altro, io non sò come fare, nè a quale mi debba appigliare, se voi non me lo dite. Lesbia Quello della natura, o naturale che vogliamo dire. Eurimacho Dite pur naturale, perche è più proprio della donna, e vi tornerà meglio. Lesbia Meglio sarà, che voi ne trattiate poi che siete tutto naturale. Ma per tornar a noi: Vi dico, che il modo naturale è quello, che con certi intervalli di tempo, fà l’opera sua. E questo modo è comune a questa infermità, e a tutte l’altre ancora. Eurimacho Quanto più m’andate dicendo, tanto meno v’intendo: bisogna parlar più chiaro Signora Lesbia mia. Lesbia Voglio dire, che tanto dura il pizzicore nella pelle quanto dura la feccia del sangue nelle vene, o la flemma salsa nei membri, poiché chiarito il sangue e ammortita la flemma, si ferma il pizzicore, e la rogna si parte. Eurimacho Il mio pizzicore è talmente internato, e và talmente rodendo, ch’io dubito di non sanarmi mai. Lesbia Come voi credete di non guarir giammai, non occorre ch’io m’affatichi nel raccontarvi gli ottimi rimedi.

Lovers’ Debates 163 Eurimacho I believe that the way of Nature is best, and with it I would wish to free myself from Love. Lesbia You would be like the bear, who, having tasted a bit of sweet honey, no longer could leave the honeycomb and all its sweetness. Eurimacho It would be a most easy thing for me to become an insatiate lover: now if you say that there are two ways to dissolve the ties of love, but you only tell me one and not the other, I know not how to proceed, nor which one to pick, unless you at last do tell me! Lesbia The way of Nature, or the Natural Way, we would say. Eurimacho Tell me the Natural Way, for that is the Way of Women, and therefore it will suit you better to tell it. Lesbia Better it would be were you to explain such matters, for you are thoroughly natural.91 But to return to our subject: I tell you, the Natural Way is that which, at certain intervals of time, does its work. And this way is fit to cure this infirmity, as it does all others. Eurimacho The more you carry on saying such things, the less I understand you: you need to speak more clearly, Signora Lesbia. Lesbia I mean to say that the itching of the skin lasts as long as there remain dregs of blood in the veins, or thick phlegm in the organs. For once the blood is purified, and the phlegm eliminated, so does the tingling subside, and the itch goes away. Eurimacho My tingling is so deeply ingrained, and keeps afflicting me so strongly, that I doubt I ever will regain my health. Lesbia Since you believe that you’ll never be cured, there’s no use in my straining to reveal to you the best remedies.

164 Amorosi contrasti Eurimacho Seguitate pur Signora, e non vi pentite. Lesbia Tra molti rimedi vogliono i Medici, che il cavarsi sangue, l’usar’ vino chiaro, e odoroso, e anche spesso inebriarsi si a modo attissimo a sciogliersi dall’amore: accioché traendo il sangue vecchio, qual era contaminato si rifaccia nuovo sangue, e nuovo spirito. Perciò potrete cominciar a farvi cavar di molto sangue, bever’ buonissimo vino, e imbriacarvi spesso, che così vi libererete dall’amore. Eurimacho Se il rimedio dell’imbriacarsi valesse, i Tedeschi non sarebbono mai innamorati, poiché il più delle volte sono imbriachi. Eppure se ne trovano tanti, e tanti di loro, che ardono d’amore tra le gelate nevi dell’agghiacciato Settentrione, laonde mi pare che questo rimedio non sia buono per me. Lesbia Se questo non vi piace, provate quest’altro: cominciate un poco a pensar’ intorno a qualche difetto della cosa che amate, o nell’animo, o nel corpo, e andatevelo spesso rivolgendo per la mente, ovvero applicate l’animo vostro a varii negotii gravi e importanti, che questi forse vi gioveranno. Eurimacho Signora Lesbia mi pare che V. S. faccia come quel Medico mal pratico, che non sapendo il vero rimedio, ne tenta di molti per risanar l’infermo, e il più delle volte, non volendo, l’uccide, così voi mi andate insegnando di molti rimedii per sanarmi, e perche non sapete il vero rimedio, in cambio di sciogliermi dall’amore più mandate annodando, essendo ch’io non trovo nella donna ch’io amo, difetto nè mancamento alcuno. Lesbia Orsù, voglio dirvene uno, che vi sanerà senz’altro. Eurimacho Sì, di gratia, Signora, speditemi, sanatemi, ritornatemi in pristino, perche ne ho grandissimo bisogno. Lesbia Bisogna Signor Eurimaco, che voi abbiate cura grande di non guardarmi, in modo tale, che gli occhi vostri si rincontrino con li miei per levar la forza a quegli spiriti che dentro v’albergano, quali hanno grandissima forza di far’ amare; che ciò facendo rimarrete sano: e quest’è afforismo di Platone.

Lovers’ Debates 165 Eurimacho Continue all the same, Signora, and you won’t regret it. Lesbia Among the many remedies available, doctors maintain that bloodletting, the use of light and fragrant wine, and even frequent inebriation is a most apt way of dissolving the ties of love: for in driving away the old, contaminated blood, new blood and new energy arrive. Therefore you ought to begin to practice bloodletting, drink the finest wine, and get drunk often, and thus you will free yourself from love. Eurimacho If the remedy of getting drunk were valid, then the Germans would never fall in love, since they are drunk most of the time. And yet one finds so very many of them, who burn with love amidst the frozen snows of the icy north—hence it seems that this is not the right remedy for me. Lesbia If that remedy isn’t to your liking, try this other one: begin to think a little about some defect or flaw in the thing that you love, either in body or in soul, and return to that thought as often as you can. Or instead, dedicate your soul to various weighty and important matters, and these perhaps will help you.92 Eurimacho Signora Lesbia, to me it seems that you’re acting like that inept doctor, who in his ignorance of the one true remedy, tries many, in order to cure the sick person, and very often kills him without wanting to. In like fashion, you go on teaching many remedies to cure me. But, because you don’t know the one true remedy, in place of releasing me from love you tie its knots still tighter, as seen in the fact that I cannot find a single flaw or blemish in the woman I love. Lesbia Very well, then, now I’ll tell you about a remedy that will cure you for sure. Eurimacho Yes, please, Signora, deliver me, heal me, and restore me to my former state, for I have great need thereof. Lesbia Signor Eurimacho, you must take great care not to look at me, so that your eyes will not encounter mine, in order to remove the power of those spirits that reside there: they have great power indeed in making you love. If you do this, you will return to your healthy condition: and this is Plato’s aphorism.93

166 Amorosi contrasti Eurimacho O questo è quel rimedio ch’io non lo posso, nè devo fare. Ch’io non vi guardi? ch’io non vi miri? che gli occhi miei non facciano l’usato loro, cioè di fruire la corporale bellezza, che regna in voi? Ch’io non guardi quella bellezza, la quale è quello splendore, che l’animo rapisce, e invola? Et che io non ammiri la bellezza dell’animo vostro, quale è fulgore nella consonanza di scienze, e costumi? Questo non si troverà mai. Lesbia Io vi intendo: voi siete un’amante furioso. Siete caduto in questo furore, siete acceso di collera, e vi affliggete nell’umor melanconico. E chiunque così ama, come amate voi, d’uomo diventa bestia, e così, bestia, vi lascio. Eurimacho E così piano piano posso andare alla stalla a mangiar fieno e biada, come le bestie fanno.

Lovers’ Debates 167 Eurimacho O, this is the very remedy that I cannot nor must not attempt: that I will not look at you? That I will not admire you? That my eyes do not carry out their function, that is, to enjoy the physical beauty that reigns in you? That I no longer behold that beauty, which is indeed that splendor which ravishes the soul, and takes possession of it? That I no longer admire the beauty of your soul, which is true radiance in the world of ideas and of actions? No! This will never be! Lesbia I understand: you are a mad lover, fallen into this fury, burning with rage, and afflicting yourself with your melancholic humor. And whoever loves in this way, as you do, from a man turns into a beast. And thus, beast, I leave you. Eurimacho And thus, softly, softly, I can go to the stall and eat hay, and munch on fodder as beasts do.

168 Amorosi contrasti [13] Amoroso Contrasto sopra l’amor coniugale Tarquinio, e Hippodamia Tarquinio Signora Hippodamia, essendo venuto il giorno delle nostre nozze, da noi tanto bramate, e tanto desiderate, vengo con Vostra Signoria a rallegrarmi delle nostre comuni contentezze, atteso che nella nostra patria, credo che non vi saranno più di noi sposi felici. Hippodamia Questo vostro dire così felici, mi fà dubitare, poi che come sapete non si dà felicità in terra, pur’ voglialo il cielo. Tarquinio Questo vostro parlare così languido, e con questo vostro modo di dire par quasi, che voi non vi rallegrate di questo nostro matrimonio, e per conseguenza pare che dal canto vostro l’amore si sia raffreddato, e che voi più non mi amiate. Hippodamia Non è, che io non v’ami, e ch’io non vi desideri. Ma, ma basta. Tarquinio Cotesto vostro replicato “ma,” mi reca grandissimo sospetto: per tanto vi prego a dirmi quello che voi sentite. Hippodamia Si suol dire per divulgato proverbio, che chi si marita in fretta, stenta adagio. Dubito di quello, che mi potrebbe intervenire, e per questo me ne stò cosi dubbiosa, e irresoluta. Tarquinio Ditemi una volta di quello che dubitate, e levatemi di sospetto. Hippodamia Dubito per aver’ a venire in casa di vostro padre, e di vostra madre, sapendo essere l’ordinario delle suocere non veder troppo volontieri le nuore loro. Del padre di V. S. non dubito molto, poiché per lunga prova si sà che le nuore sono dai suoceri loro molto amate e accarezzate, con tutto ciò vi sarebbe che dire.

Lovers’ Debates 169 [13] Lovers’ Debate on Conjugal Love Translated by Julie D. Campbell Tarquinio and Hippodamia94 Tarquinio Signora Hippodamia, as the long awaited and so greatly desired day of our nuptials has arrived, I come to your ladyship to rejoice in our mutual bliss. For in our country, I believe there will be no couples happier than we! Hippodamia What you say so happily makes me doubt, for as you know, one is not given happiness on earth unless heaven desires it.95 Tarquinio You say this with such a lifeless voice and manner that it almost seems you do not rejoice in our marriage, and consequently from your tone of voice it seems that love has grown cold and you no longer love me! Hippodamia It’s not that I no longer love you and that I don’t desire you . . . But . . . but enough. Tarquinio Ah, this “but” that you speak—it fills me with great doubt: I beseech you to tell me what you feel! Hippodamia They say, in that well-known proverb: marry in haste, suffer at leisure.96 I feel that this could happen to me, and because of this I am thus uncertain and irresolute. Tarquinio Tell me at once what you fear and relieve me of doubt! Hippodamia I’m afraid of having to move into your father and mother’s house, knowing that ordinarily mothers-in-law don’t take too kindly to their daughters-in-law! Of your Lordship’s father I don’t worry much, since it has long been proved that daughters-in-law are much loved and caressed by their fathers-in-law—that’s all I would say to you.97

170 Amorosi contrasti Tarquinio Signora mia, sò quanto voi siete amatrice delle belle lettere, e come tutto il giorno altro non fate, che studiare, laonde dubito, che nel leggere abbiate incontrata qualche materia stravagante, e che con quella vi siate sposata per non esser mia. Hippodamia La mia dubitazione è fondata sopra buonissima dottrina. Tarquinio Non lo diss’io: O quanto meglio sarebbe, che le fanciulle attendessero all’ago e al fuso, che alla lettura de i libri, che se ciò fosse, non succederebbono tanti disordini, e il negozio starebbe solamente tra il fuso e la conocchia. Hippodamia Sarebbe meglio senz’altro. Ora, per dar principio alla mia dubitazione accennata intorno alli vostri Genitori, vi dico che conoscend’io, per lungo studio fatto da me, la diversità degli stati, e dei governi, e come per similitudine l’istesso si trova nelle proprie case ancora, fa ch’io viva con qualche sospetto. Tarquinio Lasciatevi intendere una volta, e particolarmente sopra gli stati, che voi accennate. Hippodamia Signor Tarquinio, come voi sapete meglio di me, tre sono le specie di stato, e altrettanto dei contrari, che sono trapassamenti d’esse, li quali sono come distruggitori, che danno la morte alle prime specie: la prima è il Regno, la seconda gli Ottimati, e la terza dello stato popolare, che da molti è detto Republica. Il trappassamento del Regno è tirannide, e la ragione è, che nell’una, e nell’altra sorte di stato, sempre v’è un solo che commanda. Tarquinio Bene stà: ma sono però tra di loro molto differenti, imperoché il Tiranno hà per fine il commodo proprio, e il Re hà per fine il commodo dei sudditi suoi, non si dovendo chiamar Re se non chi è per se stesso sufficiente, e che non avanza gli altri in tutti i beni.

Lovers’ Debates 171 Tarquinio My Signora, I know how much you are a lover of literature, and how all day you do nothing but study. Because of this I fear that in reading you have encountered some extravagant fantasy, and to this you are now wed—not to be mine! Hippodamia My uncertainty is founded on the soundest principles. Tarquinio I couldn’t agree less! O how much better it would be if young ladies attended to the needle and the spindle rather than to the reading of books, for if this were so, so much disorder would be averted, and the affair would be only between the spindle and the distaff. Hippodamia It would be better, no doubt. [But] now to address the uncertainty I expressed concerning your parents, I tell you something that I’ve learned from long study: the difference between states and governments is by similitude the same as the one found in private homes. It gives me doubts of my own. Tarquinio Let’s hear it at once, and particularly about the states at which you hint. Hippodamia Signor Tarquinio, as you know better than I, there are three kinds of state, and just as many of their opposites that are abominations of them, which are like destroyers that condemn to death the first kinds. The first is monarchy, the second is oligarchy, and the third is the popular state called by many the republic. The abomination of monarchy is tyranny, and the reason is that in one and in the other the fate of the state is always under one sole command. Tarquinio Very well, but there are many differences between them, because the tyrant’s own comfort is his goal, and the king’s goal is the comfort of his subjects, not [just] getting to call himself king, even if he is not self-sufficient, and he doesn’t advance others in all good things.

172 Amorosi contrasti Hippodamia Non nego quello, che dite. Perché un’uomo tale, che non ha bisogno di nullo, non fà di mestiero considerar l’utile suo proprio, ma si bene quello dei sudditi. E chi è fatto altramente, piuttosto si deve dir Principe a caso, che Re. Ora veniamo alla compagnia del padre con i figliuoli, la quale ha somiglianza col Regno, essendo tutti i figliuoli sotto la cura del padre, non essendo altro il Regno che un principato paterno. Tarquinio Che volete voi concludere con cotesto vostro modo di ragionare? Hippodamia Ora lo saperete: è perche la compagnia che è tra padre, e figliuoli, il più delle volte (anzi sovente) è tirranica, per la ragione ch’egli usa con loro tenendoli quasi per servire, dubito che vostro padre tale non divenga con voi, e peggiore con meco. Della madre non dirò altro, poich’ella non deve haver imperio sopra la nuora se non tanto quanto la nuora se ne compiace. Ma veniamo un poco all’altre compagnie. Tarquinio Non vi rimane altra compagnia che quella che è trà padrone e servo, la quale si chiama imperio tirannico. Ma questo non fa per noi, poi che in casa nostra, i servi son ben trattati oltre il loro salario, che non l’hanno a contendere. Hippodamia Or dove lasciate voi la compagnia del marito, e della moglie? Tarquinio La compagnia del marito e della moglie, è simile allo stato degli Ottimati, come vuole il Filosofo. Hippodamia Si quando in tal compagnia il marito, comanda secondo che richiede la sua dignità, e quelle cose che a lui stanno bene di comandare alla moglie. Ma dove il marito ogni cosa vuol comandare, quivi si fà lo stato dei pochi possenti. Tarquinio Buono. Ma dove lasciate voi di dire, quando la moglie vuol comandar assolutamente, facendo poca stima del marito suo, come di molte se ne trovano?

Lovers’ Debates 173 Hippodamia I don’t deny what you say, because such a man, who has need of nothing, doesn’t necessarily have to consider his own gain, but the well-being of his subjects. And one who is made otherwise must sooner be called prince by chance, than king.98 Now we come to the company of the father with his sons, which resembles a monarchy, since all the sons are under the care of the father, being none other than the monarchy, which is a paternal principality. Tarquinio What would you like to conclude with this manner of reasoning of yours? Hippodamia Now, you will know: most of the time (even often), the relationship between a father and his sons is tyrannical, because he uses them almost like servants. I fear that your father will be like this with you and even worse with me. Of your mother I will say nothing else, because she should not rule over her daughter-in-law if the daughter-in-law isn’t pleased with it. But let us consider other relationships. Tarquinio There remains only one other relationship, that between the master and the servant, which is called a tyrannous empire. But this has nothing to do with us because in our house, the servants are well-treated beyond their merely earning a salary, so they have no reason to wrangle. Hippodamia So, how do you see the relationship of husband and wife? Tarquinio The relationship of the husband and the wife is like the state of oligarchy, as the Philosopher puts it.99 Hippodamia Yes, when in this relationship, the husband commands according to what his dignity requires, and knows those things it’s best for him to bid his wife to do. But when the husband wants to control everything, it makes the state weak. Tarquinio Fine. But allow me to ask: [what about] when the wife wants absolute control, holding her husband in little esteem—as we find many doing?

174 Amorosi contrasti Hippodamia Questo si troverà alcuna volta, ma non sempre, e in alcune mogli le quali per l’heredità, e per la robba che hanno, diventano tali, qual cosà non caderà mai in me, poiché ho di molti fratelli come avete voi. La mia dote è bella, e apparecchiata, e nessun’altra cosa posso pretendere, sicché dal canto mio potete star sicuro di quello che avete detto. Ma non posso già io assicurarmi di non esser tiranneggiata dal padre, dalla madre, dai fratelli, e dalle sorelle. Tarquinio Non occorre aver tante dubitazioni, perché come si suol dire, che nulla fà chi troppe cose pensa: mio padre è huomo civile, e di buona natura, il quale v’amerà come figliuola, e non come nuora. Mia madre farà il simile, essend’ella carica d’anni, e voltata tutta alla cura dell’anima. Le mie sorelle hanno le doti loro in pronto, le quali non haveranno se non occasione d’amarvi, l’istesso fanno i miei fratelli vostri cognati, poi che sanno quello che hanno di avere doppo la morte del padre, non essendo alcuno di noi, nè diviso, nè mancipato, perche tale è il voler di mio padre per conservare e mantenere l’imperio suo, che ha sopra i suoi figliuoli, e in questo lo lodo. A tale, che voi potete venirvene tutta allegra, e baldanzosa a casa di mio padre, là dove sarete da tutti amata, riverita, e onorata. Hippodamia Il cielo lo voglia, pregandovi in questo mentre a non tener’ memoria di quello che ho detto, che io per me mi contento, che a voglia vostra possiate meco trappassare al regno della tirannide, e che sempre tiranneggiate la moglie vostra. Tarquinio Sarò tiranno secondo i tempi, e a certi altri lascierò la tirannide, renunziandovi in tutto per tutto l’assoluta potenza. Hippodamia O questo no: io non intendo d’esser sola in potenza, ma voglio che voi sempre concorriate con l’atto. Tarquinio Hor sù sarà quello, che vorrete voi. Fra tanto mettetevi all’ordine di fare una bella entrata in casa nostra, anzi per meglio dire in casa vostra. Hippodamia Non mancherò di far quello, che è più debito vostro, che mio.

Lovers’ Debates 175 Hippodamia One will find this type occasionally, but not all the time. A few wives become like this, because of their high birth and wealth—something that will never happen to me because I have many brothers, just as you do. My beautiful dowry is all set, and I can expect nothing else, other than what I have, so you can be sure that my portion is that which you have discussed.100 But I cannot assure myself that I will not be tyrannized by your father, mother, brothers, and sisters. Tarquinio You do not need to have so many doubts, because, as they say, it is useless to think too much. My father is a civil, good-natured man, who will love you like a daughter, not like a daughter-in-law. My mother will do the same, as she feels the weight of her years and is completely attuned to the care of her soul. My sisters have their dowries at the ready, which [ensures that] they will have only occasion to love you, the same as your brothers-in-law, since they know what they are to have after the death of our father. None of us are divided or emancipated, because such is the will of my father to conserve and maintain the authority that he has over his sons, and for this I praise him. As such, you may happily and boldly move into my father’s house, where you will be completely loved, revered, and honored. Hippodamia May heaven will it! I beg you not to remember what I have said, so I can resign myself to go happily, as you wish, passing with me into the rule of tyranny, where you will always lord it over your wife! Tarquinio I will be a tyrant in the style of the times, and I will leave to certain other [husbands] the tyranny, renouncing absolute power altogether for you. Hippodamia Oh, this—no! I do not mean to be the only one in power, but I want you always to concur with the course of action. Tarquinio Yes, indeed, it will be as you wish. Let us both ready ourselves to make a beautiful entrance into our home, or rather into your home. Hippodamia I will certainly do that, but it is more to your credit than to mine.

176 Amorosi contrasti [14] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la forza d’amore Arianna, e Leocrito Arianna E pur di nuovo, siete quì Signor Leocrito. E che pensiero è il vostro? Leocrito D’amare, e di servire Amore, giustissimo Signore. Arianna Perche chiamate voi Amore giustissimo? Leocrito Perche dove è vero e intiero amore, ivi è scambievole benevolenza, la quale non patisce, che si faccia ingiuria, nè di fatti, nè di parole: ed è tanta la forza di questa carità, ch’ella sola può conservare la generazione umana in tranquilla pace. E questo non lo può fare, nè la Prudenza, nè la Fortezza, nè forza delle armi, nè di legge, nè d’eloquenza, se già la benevolenza non l’aiuta. Arianna Benissimo ha detto V.S. Ma perche non chiamar’ amore temperato, così come l’avete chiamato giusto? Leocrito E perché temperato? Arianna Perché egli tempera e doma, i non giusti appetiti, cercando sempre la bellezza, la quale consiste in un certo ordine, e temperament. Egli ha in odio le cose vili, e immoderate voglie; e dove regna Amore, tutti i mal nati appetiti si disprezzano. Leocrito Come noi caminiamo per questo sentiero non faremo buon viaggio. Arianna Strano viaggio fà, chi molte cose pensa. Leocrito Il pensare è proprio di persona prudente: ma ditemi di grazia cara Signora, a che pensate voi, quando non pensate a niente?

Lovers’ Debates 177 [14] Lovers’ Debate on the Power of Love Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Arianna and Leocrito101 Arianna So here you are again, Signor Leocrito: and what are you thinking of? Leocrito Of love, of serving the most just Lord of Love. Arianna Why do you call Love the most just? Leocrito Because where there is true and complete love, there is mutual goodwill that does not accept anything that causes injury, either in deeds, or in words. So forceful is this charity that she alone can conserve the human race in tranquil peace, and neither Prudence, nor Strength, nor force of arms, nor laws, nor eloquence, can do this, if benevolence does not help them. Arianna My lordship has spoken very well. But why don’t you call Love temperate in the same way that you have called it just? Leocrito And why temperate? Arianna Because he controls and tames unjust appetites, seeking always beauty, which consists of a certain order and moderation. He hates vile things and immoderate longings, and where Love reigns, all vulgar desires are despised. Leocrito If we keep to this path we shall not have a good voyage. Arianna Whoever thinks of too many things has a strange voyage. Leocrito Thoughtfulness is seemly in a prudent person. But please tell me, my dear Lady, what do you think of when you think of nothing?

178 Amorosi contrasti Arianna A rispondervi quando non direte niente. Leocrito Galantissima risposta. Ora ricordatevi Signora Arianna, che Amore oltre l’esser giusto, e temperato (come s’è detto) è ancora fortissimo Signore. Arianna Io per me credo, ch’egli non abbia forza alcuna, poiché non mi sforza ad amarvi. Leocrito Sapete voi perche? Perche Amore non vuole mostrar con voi l’audacia sua: che s’egli mostrar la volesse, vostro malgrado mi amereste, poiché non si trova cosa più forte dell’audacia. Arianna Quando mi ricordo d’aver libera la volontà, non credo che Amore mi possa fare forza, nè violentarmi. Leocrito Questo è un passo molto difficile da passare, però domando tempo di potervi rispondere. Arianna Son contenta, ma soprattutto siate breve, e non parlate troppo a lungo. Leocrito Così farò, se bene vorrei esser lungo, lungo nel trattar seco. Arianna Le cose lunghe sono noiose, e bisogna alle volte smozzarle, e farle più corte. Leocrito Sì, quando la parte contraria se ne contenta. Arianna Voi siete sugli scherzi, e io non voglio scherzare. Ma rispondetemi intorno al violentar la volontà mia, come voi prometteste. Leocrito Son content. Ma datemi tempo, ch’io mi metta all’ordine, come vidissi.

Lovers’ Debates 179 Arianna To answer you when you say nothing. Leocrito A most gracious reply; now remember, Lady Arianna, that Love, other than being just, is temperate (as you’ve said), and also a very powerful Lord. Arianna Personally, I believe that he has no force, since he does not force me to love you. Leocrito Do you know why? Because Love does not want to show you his boldness: if he wanted to show it to you, you would love me without wanting to, because there is nothing stronger than boldness. Arianna When I recall that I have a free will, I don’t believe that Love could force me or ravish me.102 Leocrito This is a very hard and steep pass to pass through, so I ask for time to be able to respond to you. Arianna I’m glad to oblige, but above all be brief, and don’t go on too long. Leocrito I will do what you say, even if I would like to take a long, long time in discussing it. Arianna Long things are boring, and sometimes need to be cut off and made shorter. Leocrito Yes, when the party103 on the receiving end is satisfied with it. Arianna You are full of jokes, and I don’t want to joke; but answer me about forcing my will, as you promised. Leocrito I’m glad to: but give me some time, so I can get ready . . . you see . . .

180 Amorosi contrasti Arianna Ancora non siete all’ordine? Stiamo freschi: aspetta cavallo, che l’herba cresce. Leocrito Signora, voi avete errato nel genere mascolino. Arianna Ogni parola non vuol risposta. Cominciate pure a sciogler l’obligazione vostra. Leocrito Eccomi Signora, e dico: che Orfeo Poeta più che umano cantò due Imperi in duo inni, l’imperio della Necessità nell’inno della note, dicendo la Necessità signoreggiar tutte le cose. L’imperio d’Amore nell’inno di Venere, dicendo, tu comandi a tre Fati, nei quali la necessità, consiste. Ora se Amore comanda, necessita, e sforza tutte le cose, come non sforzerà la vostra libera volontà? Ora che dite Signora Arianna? Darà vi l’animo di star salda questo gagliardo argomento? Arianna Io mi rido di così fatti argomenti, e non voglio entrar con voi per ora nel genere giudiciale, perché saprei benissimo diffendermi e accusarvi. Con tutto ciò, voglio levarmi da questo impaccio, e rispondervi, al che venendo dico, Amore altro non essere che desiderio di bello, essend’egli bellissimo di corpo, e ottimo in bontade, che solo ama le cose belle simili a se. Ora se così è, come potrà Amore sforzarmi a volervi bene, e amarvi, se voi non siete nella bellezza simile a lui, nè simile a me? Leocrito Amore le cose disuguali adegua, e le fà simili tra di loro. Arianna Queste sono favole dei Poeti. Come voi non mutate aspetto, e che non facciate una bella Metamorfosi, starete molto male. Leocrito Bisognerebbe ch’io avessi quell’unguento che diede Venere à Faone, che di brutto barcarolo lo fece bellissimo garzone, onde fù poscia amato dalla dotta Sapho.

Lovers’ Debates 181 Arianna You’re still not ready? We’re getting stuck . . . “hang in there, colt, the grass will grow” . . .104 Leocrito Lady, you have made an error in the masculine gender.105 Arianna Every word is not worth a reply. Now start doing what you promised! Leocrito Right away, Signora, and I say that Orpheus the Poet, who was more than human, sang of two Empires in two Hymns: the Empire of Necessity in the Hymn to the Night, saying Necessity commands everything; and the Empire of Love, in the Hymn to Venus, saying You command the three Fates that constitute Necessity. Now if Love commands Necessity and overpowers all things, couldn’t it overpower your free will? Now what do you say, Lady Arianna? Can your spirit withstand this lusty argument? Arianna I laugh at such arguments: and I don’t want to start arguing with you now in judicial language, though I would know very well how to defend myself and accuse you. With all that, I want to get beyond this impasse, and to answer what you say. I declare, then, that Love is nothing other than the desire for beauty, himself being most beautiful in body and perfect in goodness, and loving only beautiful things similar to himself. Now if this is so, how could Love force me to love and desire you, if you don’t possess beauty similar to his, or to my own? Leocrito Love makes unequal things equal, and makes them resemble each other. Arianna These are fables of poets. If you don’t change your countenance, and you don’t undergo a beautiful metamorphosis, you will stay quite ugly. Leocrito I’d need to have that ointment Venus gave Phaon, that turned him from an ugly boatman to a beautiful lad, whence he then became the beloved of Sappho, renowned in letters.106

182 Amorosi contrasti Arianna Senz’altro: e ancora non gioverebbe. Leocrito S’io fossi bello com’era Faone, sarei da voi amato, O mia dottissima. Arianna Noi ce ne andiamo in girandole, ne si viene al punto, e mi vò imaginando, che voi abbiate in animo di dirmi quello che temeva di dire Alceo Poeta a Sapho da lui cotanto amata. Leocrito Una cosa simile: l’avete indovinata alla prima. Arianna E io vi rispondo com’ella rispose ad Alceo: e dico, che se voi aveste in animo di dirmi cosa onesta avreste la lingua libera, e sciolta, nè per vergogna gli occhi bassi tenereste. Ma perche voi bramate dirmi cosa meno che onesta, perciò temete, e non avete ardire di palesarla. Laonde come disonesto amante, vi discaccio dalla mia presenza per sempre. Nè crediate mai vedermi piegata alle vostre voglie, che se ciò avvenir dovesse, piuttosto eleggerei di morire, che di esser mai vostra.

Lovers’ Debates 183 Arianna Exactly, and still it wouldn’t change things between us. Leocrito If I were as handsome as Phaon, I’d be loved by you, O my most learned one. Arianna We’re going around in circles; we’re not coming to a point. I’m thinking that you might have a mind to tell me the same thing that Alkaios the Poet feared to tell Sappho, whom he loved so much.107 Leocrito A similar thing—you guessed it at first. Arianna And I answer you as she replied to Alkaios. I say that if your soul wants to tell me something honest, you wouldn’t be tongue-tied, nor would you lower your eyes in shame. But because you long to tell me something less than honest, you’re afraid, and you don’t dare to reveal it. As a result of all this, since you are a dishonest lover, I expel you from my presence forever: don’t think you will ever see me yield to your desires. If that should ever happen, I would rather choose to die than ever be yours.

184 Amorosi contrasti [15] Amoroso Contrasto sopra i giuramenti Telamone, e Helena Telamone Signora Helena vengo da V. S. per sapere se gli è vero, che abbiate giurato di non amarmi giammai, come ciascuno dice. Helena Egli è purtroppo vèro, e alla presenza vostra raffermo il giuramento. Telamone E giuramenti e le promesse vanno per l’aria sparse (come dice l’Ariosto), a tale che non ne sarà altro, e vi muterete di parere. Helena Questo non dico io, anzi sarà da me inviolabilmente osservato. Telamone Non sò come voi abbiate potuto far questo vostro giuramento, senza non offender la conscienza vostra, se già voi non aveste (come dir si suole) una conscienza pelosa. Helena La mia conscienza è bella e netta, e non occorre starvi a dar di naso: e non occorre pretender’ cosa alcuna da me, perche sò di non v’andar’ debitrice. Telamone Così dicono tutti coloro che non vogliono pagare i propri debiti. Voi non siete debitrice, mi negate il debito, onde vi cito innanzi al tribunale della ragione à difender la causa vostra. Helena Senza ridurmi al foro ove concorre la moltitudine dei litiganti per arricchire i Notari e i Procuratori, saprò ben’io diffender la causa mia senza partirmi di quì, essend’io alquanto istrutta nelle leggi civili, ammaestrata da un mio fratello maggiore, qual’è Dottor di Collegio. Telamone Poiché così volete, me ne contento.

Lovers’ Debates 185 [15] Lovers’ Debate on Vows Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Telamone and Helena108 Telamone Signora Helena, I come to your ladyship to know if it is true that you have sworn never to love me, as everyone is saying. Helena This is only too true, and in your presence, I reaffirm the vow. Telamone And “vows and promises float through the air and disperse” (as Ariosto says) in such a way that nothing will remain of them, and you will change your opinion.109 Helena That is not what I say. Instead, I will keep my vow, inviolably. Telamone I don’t know how you were able to make this vow, without offending your conscience—if you don’t already have (as they say) a conscience spotted with guilt. Helena My conscience is clean and lovely, and it’s wrong of me to let you hold it in contempt, just as it’s wrong of you to presume anything of me, because I am sure I am not in your debt. Telamone So say all who don’t want to pay their own debts! You claim you are not a debtor, you deny owing me any debt. Therefore I call you to the tribunal of reason to defend your case. Helena Without resorting to the court, where crowds of litigants gather to enrich notaries and procurators, I’ll defend my own cause well without budging from this spot, being somewhat trained in the civil law, instructed by my older brother, the one who is a professor at the college.110 Telamone Since you wish it, that’s fine with me.

186 Amorosi contrasti Helena Voi che siete la parte che pretende, cominciate un poco a dire quello che pretendete da me, e di che cosa vi sono debitrice. Telamone Quì di giusta ragione bisognerebbe che fosse il Giudice sedente, per poter dare giustamente poi la sentenza, come ricerca la ragion civile. Helena L’animo mi dà, che voi vogliate fare come quel Procuratore, che vedendo la legge scritta esser contra la causa, ricorre alla legge commune, e all’equità. Ma credetemi, che voi non farete nulla. Telamone Chi giudica rettamente non usa in tutto la legge scritta. L’equità dura sempre, e la legge commune non si muta mai per esser’ naturale. Helena Orsù a noi, e finiamola una volta. Ma dove sono i testimoni, che facciano fede del debito, che voi dite? Telamone I testimoni sono in pronto: e sono tre, come ricerca la causa pendente, e il terzo è il più gagliardo di tutti. Helena Credo che tutti rimarranno chiariti, e più degli altri quel terzo, e che gli bisognerà andarsene con la testa bassa. Ma dove sono le scritture? Telamone Nell’archivio d’Amore, nè si possono averle per ora. Helena Ditemi il contenuto della scrittura. Telamone Me ne contento, Signora mia, e la scrittura fatta di vostra mano dice così: “Io Helena Gentile per questa mia scritta, e sottoscritta di mia propria mano, confesso, d’aver ricevuto dal Signor Telamone fedele, un cuore tutto ferito, e piagato d’amorosi strali, il quale prometto di renderlo ad ogni sua richiesta, presenti li sotto scritti testimoni”: questo Dì 28 Aprile 1616, in Venezia.

Lovers’ Debates 187 Helena You who are the party with a claim, begin by saying a little of what you are trying to claim from me, and in what matter I am your debtor. Telamone Here where just reasoning would be needed, it should be the sitting Judge who has the power to give justice and then the sentence, as the civil law dictates. Helena My spirit tells me that you want to play that Solicitor, who, seeing the written law is against your case, resorts to the common law, and to equity. But believe me, your efforts will come to nothing. Telamone Who judges rightly does not use only the written law: equity lasts forever, and common law never changes, since its being is natural. Helena Well, let’s get to it and finish one round. But where are the witnesses who will testify to the debt that you speak of? Telamone All the witnesses are ready. There are three (as the pending case shows), and the third is the most vigorous of all. Helena I believe that all will be sorted out, and especially the third one, and that he will have to go away with his head hanging low. But where are the documents? Telamone In the Archive of Love, but they can’t be consulted right now. Helena Tell me the contents of the documents. Telamone I will be happy to, Signora. It is the writing made by your own hand, saying this: I, Helena Gentile, by this my writing, and signed by my own hand, confess to having received from Signor Telamone the Faithful, a heart all wounded, and pierced by amorous darts, which I promise to give him back any time he would request it, presented here before the undersigned witnesses on this day 28 April 1616, in Venice.111

188 Amorosi contrasti Helena E chi sono i testimoni sottoscritti? Telamone Sono questi, ch’io vi nomino: amore, fede, speranza con lealtà congiunta. Helena Nego d’averla fatta. E che questo vostro cuore dovete averlo dato à qualche strozziero, perche ne cibi qualche civetta, o qualche barbagianni simile à voi. Telamone Orsù, la intendo: e poiché negate le scritture e i testimoni, bisognerà venire al giuramento, e bisognando, anche ai tormenti. Helena I tormenti credo che li proverete voi, e maggior di quelli che provate amando non essendo riamato. Telamone I tormenti sono quasi testimoni: e pare che si dia lor fede per esservi dentro una necessità di crederli. Helena Bisogna terminar questo nostro tedioso ragionamento: onde vi dico, che tutto il giusto, e l’ingiusto si termina col rispetto avuto a due leggi, e agli huomini: cioè, la legge propria, e la legge commune. Legge propria è quella che è determinata a ciascuno verso se stesso; e questa si divide in legge scritta, e in legge non scritta. Legge commune è quella che è secondo la natura, come sarebbe a dire per essempio il dar sepoltura ai morti, essendo cotal giusto naturale. Ora, se nessuna di queste raccontate leggi non sforzano a pagar quel debito che non appare, e che non si vede, io non sò vedere, perche vi vogliate esser pagato da me di quello ch’io non vi devo, e che non appare. Telamone Voi tirate la cosa dove la non và, Signora mia. Helena Siete pur voi, che non tirate al giusto, e all’honesto, laonde dovreste andare alla campagna a tirare a qualche Gazza, a qualche cornacchia, ovvero a qualche cornacchione come voi siete.

Lovers’ Debates 189 Helena And who are the undersigned witnesses? Telamone They are these that I name to you: love, faith, hope, with loyalty conjoined. Helena I deny having done it! And I say that you must have given this heart of yours to some murderer, so he could feed it to some owlet, or some screech-owl like you! Telamone Oh, now I understand: since you deny the writings and testimonies it will be necessary to come to the vow, also to the torments. Helena I believe you’ll suffer torments, and greater than those you suffer by loving without being loved in return. Telamone Torments are practically evidence, and it seems that one puts faith in them when there’s a pressing need to believe in them. Helena This tedious conversation needs to come to an end. Therefore I say that all justices and injustices are delimited by two laws and by men: that is, the law itself, and the common law. The law itself is that which is determined to someone against itself; and this is divided into written law and unwritten law. Common law is that which follows nature, as would, for example, burying the dead, such being natural justice. Now if none of these aforementioned laws forces one to pay a debt that doesn’t appear to exist, and that one cannot see, I don’t see that I should pay, because you want me to pay you something that I don’t owe you, and that has no substance. Telamone You’re shooting at something that isn’t even there, Signora. Helena Instead it’s you who are not aiming in the honest and proper way, and therefore you should go off to the country to shoot at some magpie, some jackdaw, or some big ugly carrion crow like yourself!

190 Amorosi contrasti [16] Amoroso Contrasto sopra l’amor onesto Lisandro, e Prasilla Lisandro Signora Prasilla mia, s’io potessi con parole significarvi il mio tormento mi rendo sicuro che vi moverei a pietà dell’infelice mia sorte. Prasilla Le cose, che volontariamente si fanno, o nulla o poco molestano, le vostre pene nascono dalla vostra volontà, dunque, o nulla, o poco v’offendono. Se cosi volete, perche vi lamentate? Non sapete, che non deve dolersi chi al suo mal consente? Lisandro La natura ci insegna a schermirsi dal male, ond’io da quella ammaestrato non lo procuro, non lo cerco, non lo consento, anzi bramo fuggirlo. Ma la vostra crudeltà indita, è quella: che cagiona il mio male, che lo brama, e che ne gioisce. Prasilla Se voi non m’amaste, poco importerebbe, ch’io fossi o crudele, o pietosa. Lisandro Sarà dunque Amore cagione del mio tormento: Amore, che per sua natura è sempre cattivo. Prasilla Ah Signor Lisandro, così fatte bestemmie vi escono di bocca? Non parlate mai più così. Voi non penate per amore, nè per amare, ma per non saper’ amare. Non sapete voi, che le cose naturali son sempre buone? L’amore è cosa naturale, dunque è sempre buono, e non può esser cattivo se non per accidente, cioè bisogna che il mancamento venga dalla persona, che ama, che non ama di quell’amore, e in quel modo, che deve: onde, se voi m’amaste di quell’amore, in quel modo, che dovreste, non sentireste passione alcuna: anzi, provereste con vostro piacere quel bene, che dalla bontà d’amore continuamente deriva. Dunque non per amore, nè per amare, ma per non saper’ amare penate. Tal che voi solo siete artefice della vostra infelicità.

Lovers’ Debates 191 [16] Lovers’ Debate on Honest Love Translated by Julie D. Campbell Lisandro and Prasilla112 Lisandro My Signora Prasilla, if I could convince you of my torment with words, I am sure that I would move you to pity my misfortune. Prasilla Things that are done willingly bother one little or not at all. Therefore your pains, born of your will, offend you either little or not at all. If you want [things] thus, why do you complain? Don’t you know that he who consents to his own suffering shouldn’t grieve over it? Lisandro Nature teaches us to protect ourselves from evil, thus by Her I am taught not to procure it, nor search for it, nor agree to it. Instead, I long to flee it. But your unheard-of cruelty is precisely what causes my misfortune, longs for it, and rejoices in it. Prasilla If you didn’t love me, you would care little whether I were cruel or kind. Lisandro Love will therefore be the cause of my torment: Love, who by his nature is always bad. Prasilla Ah, Signor Lisandro, what makes these curses come from your mouth? Never again speak in this way! You do not suffer for love, nor for loving, but for not knowing how to love. Don’t you know that natural things are always good? Love is a natural thing, thus it is always good, and cannot be bad unless by accident; that is, it must be that the defect comes from someone who loves but doesn’t love with that [honest] love, and in the way that one ought. Thus if you love me with this love, in this way, as you should, you would not feel any passion. Instead, you would experience with pleasure that goodness which continually comes from the bounty of love. Thus not for love, nor for loving, but for not knowing how to love you are in pain. So, then, you are the only artificer of your unhappiness.

192 Amorosi contrasti Lisandro Io vi dico Signora, che vi amo di quell’amore, e in quel modo che devo: perché l’amor mio non s’allontana dai termini dell’onestà, e se io sapessi così ben parlare, come sò ben’amare, ve lo farei senz’alcun dubbio conoscere, e confessare. Prasilla Se voi sapeste così ben parlare, come sapete ben’amare, dite, che mi fareste conoscere, e confessare, che infinitamente m’amate? Lisandro Signora sì. Prasilla Voi dite il vero, perche è proprio di chi ben’ama il parlar con voci tronche, con parole interrotte da sospiri, ed altre cose simili, che non lasciano ben significar quel tormento che ben si chiude nel seno. Lisandro E da questo mosso, disse l’innamorato Poeta, Così potess’io ben chiuder’ in versi i miei dolor, come nel cor li chiudo. Prasilla Dico anch’io con voi, che chi ben’ama mal ragiona; non male che dica male, ma male perché non può parlar come vorrebbe, conciosia che passione ben sentita non fu mai ben narrate. Or non diremo noi per lo contrario, che chi ben parla mal’ama? Voi non solamente parlate bene, ma parlate così bene, che l’istessa Dea Suada, Dea della persuasione, e l’istessa Pitho Dea dell’eloquenza ragionano con la vostra lingua. Dunque quanto meglio parlate tanto meno amate, tanto meno siete degno di ricompensa. Lisandro Bel modo è questo di fare, lodarmi come eloquente per non premiarmi come amante. Perch’io parli bene (per confermar’ il detto di V. S. e non per lodarmi) non è però ch’io ami male, o poco come vi piace d’intendere; sovvengavi Signora, che il dolore ha grandissima forza per far eloquente un’appassionata lingua. Prasilla Dunque benché eloquente, siete nondimeno amante. Perdonatemi s’io dissi in contrario, perch’io fui mossa dalle vostre prime parole.

Lovers’ Debates 193 Lisandro I tell you, Signora, that I love you with this love in the way that I ought: because my love does not distance itself from the ends of honesty, and if I knew how to speak as well as I know how to love, I would undoubtedly make you know it and acknowledge it. Prasilla If you knew how to speak as well as you know how to love, you say that you would make me know and acknowledge how infinitely you love me? Lisandro Signora, yes. Prasilla You speak the truth, because he who loves well typically speaks with a shaky voice, with words interrupted by sighs, and other similar things that do not permit him to express so well the torment enclosed in his breast. Lisandro And moved by this, the beloved Poet said, “If I could thus enclose my sorrow in verses as well as I enclose it within my heart.”113 Prasilla I agree with you that he who loves well speaks poorly. The one who speaks badly isn’t bad, but ill-pleased because he can’t speak as he would like, since passion strongly felt was never well expressed. Therefore, shall we say on the contrary that he who speaks well loves badly? You not only speak well, but speak so well that the Goddess Suada herself, Goddess of persuasion, and Pitho herself, Goddess of eloquence, reason with your tongue! 114 Therefore, the more you speak well, the less you love, and the less you are worthy of reward. Lisandro Oh, that’s a fine way of proceeding! To praise me as eloquent in order to reject me as a lover! Because I speak well (to confirm what you have said, Signora, and not to praise myself) does not mean, however, that I love badly or little, as you prefer to understand. Remember, Signora, that pain has very great power to make eloquent an impassioned tongue! Prasilla So, however eloquent, you are nonetheless a lover. Pardon me if I spoke to the contrary, because I was moved by your first words.

194 Amorosi contrasti Lisandro Sono amante Signora, della bellezza vostra, e sarò mentre ch’io viva. Ma mi duol bene di consumar tutti i miei giorni senza provar’ amando alcun diletto. Prasilla Come, che amando non provate diletto? Non mi amate voi d’amor onesto? Lisandro Signora sì. Prasilla Se voi m’amate d’amor onesto, non potete amar senza piacere, poiché l’amor onesto non si allontana mai dal piacere. Lisandro Sò ben, che l’amor mio è onesto, ma non sò già d’aver amando piacere alcuno, e sò ancora di sostenere in amore molti, anzi infiniti affanni. Prasilla Signor mio, o voi siete bugiardo, o siete poco conoscitor del piacere; poiché mentre lo godete non lo conoscete: amar d’amor onesto, e non gioire, questo è certo impossibile. Perché nell’amor onesto, non solo v’è un piacere, ma ve ne son molti. E che sia vero, il primo piacere è nell’istesso amore, quando si conosce d’amar persona degna, il secondo quando si vede l’oggetto amato, il terzo quando seco si parla, il quarto quando s’ode qualche grata risposta, e il quinto quando si è amato cambievolmente, che è il più importante, e il maggiore che si possa dar’in amore. Nessuno quando si conosce, che la donna amata gioisce, e si reputa felice d’aver’un cosi fatto amante: ecco dunque, che non un solo, ma molti piaceri si trovano nell’amor onesto. Lisandro Io non posso non confessar, che nell’amor onesto non si trovi piacere, ma non posso già dire di provar’ il maggiore, essendo che voi crudele non volete amarmi. Prasilla Forse averrà col tempo, che proverete cosi fatto piacere, il quale nascerà dalla vostra fermezza, e dalla vostra perseveranza.

Lovers’ Debates 195 Lisandro I am a lover, Signora, of your beauty, and so I will be as long as I live! But it grieves me much that I consume all my days without experiencing any amorous delight. Prasilla What’s this you say? Loving doesn’t give you delight? Don’t you love me with honest love? Lisandro Signora, yes. Prasilla If you love me with honest love, you can’t love without pleasure, since honest love is never far from pleasure. Lisandro I know very well that my love is honest, but I don’t yet know how to enjoy any pleasure in loving, and yet I know how to endure in love many, or rather, infinite troubles. Prasilla My signor, you are either a liar, or you know little of pleasure, since you enjoy it without realizing it. To love with honest love and not rejoice? This is certainly impossible. For in honest love, there is not one single pleasure, but many. This is evident, in that the primary pleasure is in love itself, when one knows he loves a worthy person. The second is when he sees the beloved object. The third is when he speaks with her. The fourth is when she grants him some gracious response. And the fifth is when he is loved in return. That is the greatest and most important [pleasure] that one may give in love: [there is nothing like it] when one knows the beloved lady rejoices and believes herself happy to have such a lover. And thus you have it: not only one but many pleasures are to be found in honest love.115 Lisandro I cannot confess that in honest love one doesn’t find pleasure, but I cannot yet say that I have experienced the greatest [pleasure], since you are so cruel [and] do not wish to love me. Prasilla Perhaps in time you will experience such pleasure, which will be born from your determination and perseverance.

196 Amorosi contrasti Lisandro Quando per mia avventura avvenisse, che voi vi degnaste di amarmi, ne avrei quel maggior contento, che immaginar si possa, e l’anteporre a qual si voglia utile, ancorché grande. Prasilla Non dite antepor’ il cor contento all’utile, perche l’uno, e l’altro vanno del pari; e come l’amor honesto non è senza diletto, cosi non è senz’utile. Ditemi di gratia qual maggior utile si può trovar’ amando, che sentirsi a poco, a poco rapir dalla bellezza della donna amata, a tutte le azioni virtuose per farsi degno di lei, e dell’amor suo? Qual maggior utile, che lasciar tutte le cose indegne riempendosi tutto di pensieri leggiadri per farsi alla sua cara donna somigliante, alla qual mentre studia di piacere piace ad ognuno? Qual’utile più grande si può finalmente desiderare, che unirsi e trasformarsi dolcemente in lei? Lisandro Certo nessuno, Signora mia. Ma questo utile pare a me, che ritorni solo in beneficio dell’amante. E quando per mia ventura voi m’amaste non sarebbe già convenevole, che dove l’amore fosse commune, l’utile dovesse esser particolare. Prasilla V. S. non discorre male. Ma bisogna considerare che in amore ci è più d’una sorte d’utile, e che i belli tengono per utile grandissimo il poter far parte della loro bellezza ad altrui, senza menomarla, anzi che accrescendo senza loro perdita il numero dei belli imitano quasi la beltà celeste, dalla quale ogni beltà deriva, e senza la quale i belli istessi diventeriano diformi. Ecco dunque, che l’amor onesto è sempre accompagnato dall’utile, e che l’utile dall’onesto disgiunto diviene inutile. Lisandro Che un brutto di volto, e di corpo praticando con un bello d’aspetto, e di presenza divenga bello, Signora con pace vostra parmi impossibile. Prasilla Se essendo brutto di volto, e di presenza, praticando con persona amata, e bella non potrà farsi bello di quella bellezza, che voi intendete, si farà bello di costumi, e di opere, che è la bellezza di che parlo io, molto più degna, e molto più durabile e amabile insieme, poiché la bellezza del corpo si ama un tempo, e quella dell’animo si ama sempre.

Lovers’ Debates 197 Lisandro When by my good fortune it should chance that you deign to love me, then I shall have the greatest happiness that one might imagine, and prefer it to whatever good, useful, and greater thing there is. Prasilla Don’t say you prefer the happy heart to the useful one, because both go together. As honest love is not without delight, neither is it without utility. Tell me, please, what greater profit may be found in loving, than by he who feels himself little by little captured by the beauty of his beloved lady, in all the virtuous acts that make him worthy of her and of her love? What greater profit than to leave behind all unworthy things, filling his head instead with all sweet thoughts of how to make himself resemble his dear lady, while figuring out how to please in a way that pleases everyone? What greater benefit can he ultimately desire than to unite himself with her and to transform himself into her? Lisandro Certainly none, my Signora. But this benefit appears to me useful only for the lover. And when for my good fortune you were to love me, would it not already be seemly that while love might be held in common, the benefit would be particular? Prasilla Your lordship does not reason badly, but we must consider that in love there is more than one type of usefulness. Beautiful people benefit greatly from their power to impart their beauty to others, without diminishing it, but rather increasing [it] without their loss—the number of the beautiful people almost imitates the celestial beauty, from which every beauty derives, and without which the beautiful people themselves would become deformed. Thus it is that honest love is always accompanied by the useful, and that when the useful is disconnected from honest love, it becomes useless. Lisandro That someone ugly of face and body, by conversing with someone beautiful in appearance and presence should become beautiful?! With all due respect, Signora— it is impossible for me to believe. Prasilla If someone ugly of face and presence by conversing with a beloved and beautiful person will not be made beautiful with this beauty, as you suggest, he will make himself beautiful with manners and actions. That is the beauty of which I speak— much more worthy and much more durable and lovable altogether, since the beauty of the body one loves for a passing season, and that of the soul, one loves forever.

198 Amorosi contrasti Lisandro Non si può negare quello, che V. Sign. dice. Fatemi dunque grazia Signora mia, ch’io possa conversar con voi a fine, che rendendomi adorno di quelle parti di che io son privo, possa ricever quell’utile ch’io bramo, e per mezzo di esso rendermi degno dell’amor vostro. Fatelo cara Signora Prasilla, poiché voi ancora n’acquisterete utile, accrescendosi la bellezza dell’animo nel comunicarla, e la persona sapiente si fa sempre più dotta nell’insegnare. Prasilla Quand’io saprò tanto, ch’io conosca di potervi insegnare, all’hora faro volentieri quanto V. S. dice, sapendo che la donna amata mentre incita l’amante alla virtù, gioisce in se stessa, conoscendo che le ricchezze dell’amante sono i suoi propri tesori usciti del suo errario, senza impoverirlo, così l’una bellezza per l’altra maggiormente fiammeggia, e risplende. E cosi l’uno, e l’altro onesto amante riceve piacere e utile grandissimo. Attendete voi dunque ad amar onestamente, ch’io in tanto attenderò a studiar diligentemente, perché poi conversando V. S. meco possa, com’ella brama, avere e piacer e utile dalla mia conversazione. Lisandro Tanto farò Signora Prasilla, quanto m’imponete, vivendo con speranza, anzi con certezza di sentirli tali quali voi gli accennate.

Lovers’ Debates 199 Lisandro There is no denying that which your ladyship says. Therefore do me the favor, my Signora, that I may converse with you, in order that, by rendering me adorned with those parts of which I am deprived, I may thus receive the benefit for which I long. Permit me in this way to make myself worthy of your love. Do it, dear Signora Prasilla, since you will yet acquire the benefit of increasing the beauty of your soul in communicating it, and the wise person always becomes more learned through teaching. Prasilla When I know enough that I feel sure of how to teach you, then I will gladly do as your lordship says, knowing that the beloved lady, while urging the lover on to virtue, rejoices in herself, knowing that the riches of the lover are her own treasures taken from a treasury without impoverishing it. Thus, the one beauty through the other blazes strongly and shines brightly, and thus each of the two honest lovers receives pleasure, and the greatest benefit. Therefore, you wait to love honestly, while I will wait to study diligently. By then, when your lordship converses with me, you may, as you desire, take both pleasure and benefit from my conversation. Lisandro So I shall do, Signora Prasilla, as much as you impose upon me, living with hope, indeed with certainty, of hearing and feeling those very things that you mention.

200 Amorosi contrasti [17] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il biasimo d’Amore Tiberio, e Criseida Tiberio Signora Criseida, io conosco, che quanto più vò celando la mia pena, tanto più m’avvicino alla mia morte, poiché le brace più coperte ardono e abbruciano con maggior forza: laonde, dovendo morire, son costretto lamentarmi con voi, facendole sapere come i begli occhi vostri cagionano la mia pena, e il mio tormento. Criseida Io non ho mai udito dire, che da bella cagione nasca brutto, e cattivo effetto. Ma perché conoscendo il vostro male, non cercate di sanarvi come gli altri infermi fanno? Tiberio Fui consigliato da molti amici, di ridurmi ai Bagni di Pozzolo, le cui acque hanno molte virtù secrete, miracolose, e che giovano a tutti i mali. V’andai, e trovai che per la mia infermità non avevano niuno effetto, che giovevole fosse. Criseida Et a che mali sono buone, e salutifere quell’acque? Tiberio Quelli, che sono afflitti da qualche intemperie, che hanno il sangue troppo alterato, le reni tutte renose e ulcerate, che per arte non possono esser sanati, trovano alla fine per la virtù di quell’acque il vero rimedio assicurato. Quelli parimente che hanno il corpo pieno d’umori pesanti, e che si riempiono di crudità, e di vento, e che languendo conducono la vita loro miserabilmente alla morte, trovano alla fine anch’essi la salute loro. Ciascuno riceve beneficio da quell’acque, io solo non ho potuto trovare rimedio alcuno al mio male, e il Medico che mi cura, conosce bene la natura mia e la mia complessione, ma non conosce (misero me) la natura d’amore. Criseida Al mal d’amore siete ridotto? State fresco, ed è possibile, che cotesto vostro Medico, come Filosofo non conosce la natura d’amore?

Lovers’ Debates 201 [17] Lovers’ Debate on the Blame of Love Translated by Eric Nicholson Tiberio and Criseida116 Tiberio Signora Criseida, I know that the more I hide my pain, the more I draw closer to my death, since covered embers blaze more strongly, and burn with greater force. Since I needs must die, I am constrained therefore to make my complaint to you, letting you know that your beautiful eyes are the cause of my pain and my torment. Criseida I never have heard that from a beautiful cause there can be born an ugly and evil effect. But why, knowing your own ill, do you not seek to cure it, as most other sick men do? Tiberio Many friends advised me to seek refuge at the Bagni di Pozzolo,117 whose waters have many secret and miraculous powers, and are good for all maladies. I went there, and I found that, despite their beneficial qualities, the waters had no effect at all on my infirmity.118 Criseida And for which maladies are those waters good, and health-giving? Tiberio Those who are afflicted by certain distempers, whose blood is too much tainted, whose kidneys are too gravelly, and ulcerative, who by standard means cannot be cured, in the end find true and assured remedy thanks to the power of those waters. Likewise, those whose bodies are filled with heavy humors, swollen with raw gas and bad air, and languishing thus, draw out their lives miserably toward death, in the end they too regain their health: everyone receives benefits from those waters. I alone can find no cure to my malady, and the Doctor who is treating me knows my natural condition, and my complexion, but does not know—ay me, to be so miserable!—the nature of love. Criseida Lovesickness has reduced you to this state? Surely you jest! Is it possible that your doctor, as a philosopher, does not know the nature of love?

202 Amorosi contrasti Tiberio Egli non la conosce, certissimo. Criseida Se non conosce la natura d’amore non sà nulla, e io (ancorché donna) mi vanto di saperne più di lui. Tiberio Se cosi è (come mi giova di credere), spero da voi, conoscendola, trovar qualche rimedio a questo mal che mi tormenta. Criseida Or poich’egli non conosce la natura d’amore, o che nega di volerla dire, ve la dirò io. Sappiate dunque, che amore altro non è che un falso pensiero, che per vane ragioni inganna il nostro giudizio. Il pensiero è nostro, dunque in noi si forma questo Dio senza ragione, e questo diforme mostro. Tiberio Il mio Fisico ha fatto giudizio dal color del mio volto, che un sangue troppo riscaldato mi và seccando a poco a poco, mi ha ordinata l’acqua, per uso commune, poiché ciascuno corre all’acqua per spegnere il fuoco. Ma (misero me) egli s’inganna, e non conosce di dove procede il fuoco, che cagiona il mio morire, essendo che il fuoco d’amore trapassa la scienza, ne potrebbe tutta l’acqua del mare spegnere una minima favilla del mio fuoco. Criseida Io voglio brevemente descrivervi la maligna natura d’amore, accioché voi sappiate come governarvi. Voi dunque, che lo seguitate, e che avete lasciato ogni vostro diletto, e perduta la vostra libertade, ascoltate le humane dolcezze e l’umana natura di questo vostro Dio, che voi chiamate amore. Egli è un tiranno accorto, un Re senza fede, un Prencipe senza onore, un Monarca infedele, un falso Dio senza giustizia, un Profeta bugiardo, amico finto di chi lo segue, l’esempio del male, il modello del vizio, la regola e il compasso della malizia, impaziente, audace, imperioso, pieno di sospetto, di crudeltà, d’audacia, malizioso ingannatore. I suoi piaceri non sono altro che vento, il suo riposo non è altro che paura, e per ricompensa di ben servire, dona ad altrui la perdita di se medesmo accompagnata da un lungo pentimento.

Lovers’ Debates 203 Tiberio He certainly does not know it. Criseida If he does not know the nature of love, he knows nothing, and I, even though a woman, can boast of knowing more about it than he does. Tiberio If this is so, as it befits me to believe, I hope that from you—who know the nature of love so well—I shall find some remedy to this malady that torments me. Criseida Very well—since he does not know the nature of love, or refuses to share what he knows, I will tell you myself. Know therefore, that love is none other than a false thought, which for vain reasons deceives our judgment. The thought is ours, therefore inside of us there is formed this God without reason, this deformed monster. Tiberio My physician has judged, by the color of my face, that overheated blood is drying me out, little by little. He has prescribed me water, in its customary usage, since everyone makes use of water to put out fire. But alas, miserable me, he is in error, and does not know from whence proceeds this fire that is causing my death. Given that the fire of love surpasses any science, not all the water in the sea could put out the tiniest spark of my fire. Criseida I will briefly describe for you the malignant nature of love, so that you shall know how to govern yourself. You, then, who follow him, and have put aside all your other delights, and have lost your liberty, you listen to the human sweetness and human nature of this your god, whom you call Love. He is a shrewd tyrant, a faithless king, a prince without honor, a disloyal monarch, a false god without justice, a lying prophet, a feigned friend of those who follow him, an exemplar of evil, the model of vice, the rule and compass of malice, impatient, audacious, and imperious, full of suspicion, of cruelty, of boldness. He is a malicious deceiver, and his pleasures are none other than wind, his repose none other than fear, and as the reward to those who serve him well, he gives loss of one’s self, accompanied by long repentance.

204 Amorosi contrasti Tiberio L’acque son per le fiamme un rimedio ordinario; con tutto ciò questo rimedio non mi può soccorrere. Egli è ben vero, che per li contrari si guariscono i mali, e il mio male può solo esser sanato da chi lo fece. La fiamma mia, che esce di sì degno fuoco, che mi fà consumare sotto le ceneri dei miei tormenti, si potrebbe spegnere per l’acqua delle mie lagrime, se l’acqua avesse forza d’estinguer le fiamme d’amore. La cagion principale del mio male (come da principio dissi) viene da bei vostri occhi, li quali avventano in un colpo per la loro chiarezza, l’amore dentro l’anima, e l’ardor dentro il cuore. Criseida Tanto che voi siete per quello che dite, innamorato di me, io non mi doglio per voi m’amiate, ma mi dispiace solo di non potervi amare. Tiberio Bisogna che V. S. si muova da qualche cagione. Criseida La cagione principale è che io non voglio servire, come vi dissi, ad un’accorto tiranno, ad un Re infedele, ad un Prencipe senza onore, e ad un Monarca senza fede. Tiberio Per dire, che amore è tiranno, infedele, senza onore e senza fede, non proceder’ più oltre; il dire è senza i suoi fondamenti. Bisogna ricercarne la verità, e conoscere se la cosa è, e per quello ch’ella è. Criseida Signor Tiberio, quando saprete più oltre intorno alla sua maligna natura, forse, e senza forse ancora, che voi cercherete di levarvi al suo tirannico imperio, essendo che l’uomo fà quello che vuole; e per tornar di nuovo ad amore dico, (come molti altri dicono) ch’egli altro non è che un Porto senza riposo, un riposo senza piacere, un piacer senza solazzo, un solazzo senza piacere, una Nave senz’acqua, una barca senza remi, un Verno senza freddo, un Estate senza calore, un vero laberinto, una oscura prigione, un bosco di tradimenti, e una deità senza pietade. Tiberio Io non confesso tanto male d’amore, come voi dite Signora, nè avrei giammai tanto ardire di biasimare una cosa celeste, e divina.

Lovers’ Debates 205 Tiberio Waters are for flames the usual remedy, but for all that, this remedy cannot relieve me. It is most true that maladies are healed by contraries, and my malady can be cured only by the one who causes it: my flame, which arises from such a worthy fire, which consumes me beneath the ashes of my torments, could only be put out by the water of my tears, if the water had any force to extinguish the flames of love. The first cause of my sickness—as I said from the beginning—comes from your beauteous eyes, whose brightness kindles love within the soul, and ardor within the heart. Criseida I am not sorry that you feel that way—as you say, in love with me—or for the fact that you love me, but I only regret that I cannot love you. Tiberio Your Ladyship must have some reason for feeling this way. Criseida As I’ve told you, the principal reason is that I do not wish to serve a shrewd tyrant, a disloyal king, a prince without honor, and a faithless monarch. Tiberio To say that Love is a tyrant, disloyal, without honor, and without faith—you cannot go any farther than that! Such words have no foundation: one needs to seek the truth and know why things are the way they are. Criseida Signor Tiberio, when you know more about his malignant nature, perhaps, and then without any “perhaps,” you will strive to rise up against his tyrannical rule, since a man does that which he wills. To return again to the subject of love, I say—as many others say—that it is none other than a port without refuge, a refuge without pleasure, a pleasure without solace, a solace without pleasure, a ship out of water, a boat without oars, a winter without cold, a summer without heat, a true labyrinth, a dark prison, a forest of betrayals, and a god without pity. Tiberio I cannot ascribe such evil to Love, as you do, Signora, nor would I ever be so bold to blame something so celestial and divine.

206 Amorosi contrasti Criseida S’egli fosse cosa divina, avrebbe in se pietà, perche gli Iddi hanno pietà degli huomini. Ma perché l’origine sua vien dall’inferno, quindi nasce ch’egli si nutre e pasce dei sospiri degli amanti, del sangue, delle lagrime, dei tormenti, e di tutte le azioni mortali. Chi lo fornisce d’arco, di faretra, e di strali, se non le vostre segrete passioni, e i vostri segreti desideri, ch’escono fuora dai vostri innamorati cuori? Se dunque se voi sapete, ch’egli nasce di voi medesimi è, ch’egli non ha il suo potere dalla volontà suprema, come a ragione direte voi ch’egli sia cosa divina, et insieme disceso dagli alti cieli? Tiberio S’egli non ha pietà (come voi dite) abbiatela voi, Signora Criseida, e non oscurate il raggio della vostra bellezza con nube di crudeltà. Criseida L’amor del corpo è cosa molto vana, e poco durabile, pigliando l’essere suo da un debile oggetto. Ma l’amor dello spirito non è tale, poich’egli piglia delle qualità dell’anima, ch’è immortale, facendosi immortale, perché delle loro cagioni sempre participano gli effetti come ciascuno sà; dove voi dite, che egli trae l’origine sua dal cielo, io vi rispondo e dico che tutto quello, che viene dal cielo, al cielo ne conduce: e quello che procede dall’inferno, all’inferno ne guida. Amore ebbe origine tale, e voi che lo seguite, a casa caldo ve ne andrete. Tiberio Per servire e seguitare amore, io non andrò mai all’inferno, e se pure vi andrò, vi andrò solo per la vostra crudeltà, la quale m’indurra ad esser’ micidiale di me stesso. Criseida Sapete di donde deriva questo? Deriva dalla vostra cecità, la quale vi avviene, perche seguitate un cieco, e come cieco amate le tenebre, e fuggite la chiarezza. Come significa quella benda, che gli vela tutti due gli occhi, misterio occulto della cecità degli amanti infelici e miserabili. Tiberio In fine io non posso dir’ male di chi m’ha fatto innamorato delle vostre bellezze. Criseida Amore non ha che fare nelle mia bellezza, la quale è dono di Natura, alla quale se volete potete aver qualche obbligazione, e non d’amore, che non vi ha parte alcuna.

Lovers’ Debates 207 Criseida If he were something divine, he would have pity in him, because the gods take pity on men. But because his origin lies in hell, it follows that he feeds and nourishes himself with the sighs of lovers, with their blood, their tears, their torments, and all their mortal actions. Who equips him with quiver, bow, and arrows, if not your secret passions, and your secret desires, that issue forth from your enamored hearts? If therefore you know that he is your own offspring, and that he does not receive any power from supreme will, how can you reasonably say that he is something divine, descended from the high heavens? Tiberio If, as you claim, he has no pity, then may you have some pity, Signora Criseida— do not darken the rays of your beauty with the clouds of cruelty. Criseida Carnal love is something very vain and fleeting, which takes its being from a weak object. But spiritual love is not of this kind, because it takes root in the qualities of the soul, which is immortal, thus making itself immortal, because effects always have their causes, as everyone knows. To your claim that he draws his origin from heaven, I respond and I affirm that everything which comes from heaven leads on toward heaven . . . and that everything which proceeds from hell leads back toward hell. Love has its origins in that place, and you who follow him will go home in fiery heat. Tiberio To serve, and to follow love, I shall never go to hell, and if somehow I do go there, I will go there only because of your cruelty, which will drive me to be murderous to myself. Criseida Do you know whence this comes? It comes from your own blindness, which suits you well, because you follow a blind being, and like a blind man you love the shadows and flee from the light. Such is the meaning of that blindfold, which covers both his eyes, the occult mystery of the blindness of unhappy, miserable lovers. Tiberio In the end, I cannot speak ill of he who made me fall in love with your beauty. Criseida Love has nothing to do with the making of my beauty: it is a gift of Nature, to whom, if you wish, you can feel yourself obliged. It is not a gift of Love, who holds no part in it.

208 Amorosi contrasti Tiberio Mi volterò dunque alla natura, che vi fece tale, e insieme dirolle un mancamento grande, ch’ella fece nel formarvi; il quale fù, che invece di farvi il cuore di carne tenero e molle, lo vi fece di durissimo sasso, e perciò armata siete di durissima crudeltà contra chi vi ama e vi desidera. Criseida Non sò che farvi. Provate a disamare, date ricetto allo sdegno, che forse vi gioverà. Tiberio Strano abbattimento veramente fanno nell’anima mia amore, e sdegno: lo sdegno sovente viene per trarne amore, e amore in un’istesso tempo ralluma la sua fiamma. Lo sdegno mi fà credere un’amante infedele, e l’amore mi fa vedere pieno di fedeltà. Lo sdegno mi dice, che voi amate un’altro amante, e l’amor m’assicura, che voi m’amate, e ch’io debba osservar la fede. Lo sdegno mi agghiaccia, e amor mi rinfiamma, a tale ch’io non ho in me altro di certo che l’incerto. Criseida Mi dispiace d’ogni vostro travaglio, e quì conosco come questi due Avversari v’hanno tolto in mezzo; e che per pigliarsi scherzo, e gioco di voi, vi travagliano di questa maniera, e giorno, e notte, per tanto bisogna, che voi facciate una bella risoluzione: o d’abbandonare uno di loro, overo di sbandir l’uno, e l’altro in un medesimo tempo da voi, e liberarvi da questo tormento, essendo certo, e sicuro, che da me non siete mai per esser riamato, non perche voi non meritate, ma perche non voglio vivere sotto l’imperio di questo tiranno amore, e tanto vi basti, senza alcuna replica. Tiberio Poiché lo sdegno e l’amor mi tormentano, e godono del mio male, e non altra cosa: e che perciò si sono accordati insieme per darmi maggior travaglio, io alla presenza vostra, lascio lo sdegno, e discaccio l’Amore per poter poi vivere senza alcuna noia. Sgombra dunque dal mio seno, e dal mio core, O sdegno, furia d’Averno, e dentro al tenebroso Regno vatti à nascondere. E tu, O Amore, O amore crudele, e perfido tiranno, và, e prendi per tuo albergo il negro Cocito, e colà trà le tenebre ve ne vivete in compagnia de gli altri mostri infernali, poiché senza di voi nessuna cosa mi può più molestare. Ora, che ve ne pare Signora Criseida, non è stata la mia una bella, e una gagliarda resoluzione a liberarsi in uno istesso tempo da duo fieri inimici?

Lovers’ Debates 209 Tiberio Then I shall take Nature to task, who made you so beautiful, and I shall accuse her of a great fault that She committed in shaping you. The fault was this: instead of forming you of soft and tender flesh, She made you of hardest stone, and therefore you are armed with the hardest cruelty against he who loves and desires you. Criseida I know not what to do for you . . . try to love me no more . . . take refuge in disdain, perhaps that will do you good. Tiberio A strange turbulence, truly, do love and disdain agitate within my soul: disdain often comes to take away love, and love at the same time reignites its flame. Disdain makes me believe that I am a disloyal lover, and love makes me feel full of loyalty. Disdain tells me that you love another lover, and love reassures me that you love me, and that I must keep my faith. Disdain freezes me, and Love relights my fire, in such a way that I have nothing within me that’s certain, except uncertainty. Criseida I am sorry for all your afflictions, and I understand how these two adversaries have laid you to waste. To toy with you, and to play tricks on you, they torment you in this way, day and night. Therefore you need to make a firm resolution, either to abandon one of them, or to banish both of them at the same time, far away from you, and thus to free yourself from this torment, being certain, and resting assured, that you will never be loved in return by me. Not because you do not deserve me, but because I do not wish to live under the dominion of this tyrant Love. May this suffice for you, without any objection. Tiberio [addressing unseen spirits] Since disdain and love torment me, and take their sole delight in my suffering, and therefore have agreed to give me still greater affliction . . . I, in your presence, leave disdain behind, and drive away love, in order to live without any troubles. Thus do I rid you from my breast, and from my heart, O Disdain, you fury from hell! Go and hide yourself in the kingdom of the shades! And you, O Love, O cruel Love, you perfidious tyrant, go and make black Cocytus119 your dwelling, and there amidst the shadows may you live in the company of the other infernal monsters, so that without your presence, nothing will any longer disturb me. Now, what do you think of that, Signora Criseida? Wasn’t that a fine and spirited resolution I just made, to free myself of two savage enemies at one and the same time?

210 Amorosi contrasti Criseida Bellissima, non che bella, pur che questi spiriti a qualche tempo non ritornino a darvi un nuovo assalto e non si risentino. Tiberio Io non dubito più di loro, perche di già mi sento libero affatto, e scarico dell’uno e dell’altro assetto. Rimanete felice Signora mia, perché io non sono più innamorato, ne più ardo per voi. Criseida Et io quasi, quasi, ch’io cominciava, a sentire un certo stimolo d’amore, e di pietà verso di voi, ma poiché siete libero non voglio più travagliarvi. Tiberio Dite pur Signora Criseida, non vi pentite, perché io sono ancora a tempo di poter’ riamare. Criseida Non vi diss’io, che gli spiriti si risentirebbono? Io burlo con V. S. Andate pure, e andate felice.

Lovers’ Debates 211 Criseida Not just a fine one, but the very finest: as long as these spirits do not feel themselves offended, and some day return to make a new assault on you. Tiberio I no longer worry about them, because already I feel truly free, unburdened of the one, and well clear of the other. Be happy, Signora, because I am no longer in love with you, nor do I burn with desire for you. Criseida And I . . . I almost . . . almost begin to feel a certain tingle of love, and of pity toward you . . . but since you now are free, I do not wish to afflict you. Tiberio No, please, do tell me more, Signora Criseida, do not feel regret, because there’s still time for me to love you again. Criseida Didn’t I tell you that those spirits would feel offended? I jest with your lordship. Be on your way, then, and may your way be merry.

212 Amorosi contrasti [18] Amoroso Contrasto sopra che non è amor senza godere Celio, e Tullia Celio Signora Tullia mia, si come le stagioni sempre si rinovano, così miei desiri l’un l’altro si richiamano, e sempre ritornano nel lor primiero stato. Gli occhi vostri così pieni d’ardore, dove i miei desiri s’accendono, fanno che i miei caldi desiri giammai non si consumino, se non per la mia morte. Tullia Noi siamo sempre alle medesime contese, e mai non vi lasciate intendere, nè pronunciate quello, che voi vorreste da me. Celio Io credo, che non vi sia cosa al mondo, che nutrisca, e che ritenga più l’amante nella sua servitù, che la bella speranza di quel piacere, che se gli aspetta. Tullia E che piacere è questo, che voi sperate amando? Celio I marinari combattuti dai venti e dalle procelle del mare, nella maggior fortuna, e nella maggior tempesta dell’onde, hanno la speranza, che loro porge qualche conforto, di riveder le case loro, e li fà viver costanti. Gli agricoltori travagliano, e dai lor campi ricevono alla bella stagione l’usura delle lor pene, e i miseri amanti rimarranno, dunque senza raccogliere il frutto dovuto del loro amore, e della loro fedel servitù? Questa mi pare una pena da non poter sopportare. Tullia Se la speranza è quella, che dagli amanti mai non s’allontana, a che dolervi? A che lamentarvi? Sperate, e tanto basta. Celio Amore, quando vuol saettar’ un’amante tira diritto agli occhi, dopo alla fantasia, e per ultimo al senso commune, dov’egli si vuole accampare. E seguendo alla vittoria, dà un generoso assalto all’anima innamorata, in quella parte accesa, ove i nostri desiri s’infiammano. Per la qual cosa amore non viene ad esser’altro che desiderio, e l’amare altro non è che desiderare; il desiderio corre sempre alle cose possibili, accioché elle non potendo, si rendino piacevoli e amicabili, e la speranza con la sua forza ne punge, proponendosi nel fine un qualche effetto. A tale, ch’io concludo, che l’amore, il desiderio, la speranza, e l’effetto siano una cosa istessa.

Lovers’ Debates 213 [18] Lovers’ Debate, That There Is No Love without Pleasure Translated by Eric Nicholson Celio and Tullia120 Celio My Lady Tullia, just as the seasons renew themselves,121 so my desires call and recall unto each other, and always return to their primal state. Your eyes so full of ardor, where my desires are kindled, ensure that my hot desires never shall consume themselves, until the day I die. Tullia We’re always debating the same things, because you never make yourself understood, nor do you declare exactly what you would wish from me. Celio I believe that there is nothing in the world that sustains, and keeps a lover in his state of servitude, so much as the fair hope of that pleasure which awaits him. Tullia And what pleasure is this, that you wish for in your loving? Celio Sailors, when buffeted by the winds, and by the squalls of the sea, in the greatest storm, and in the greatest tempest of the waves, still have hope, and this hope offers them some comfort, of seeing their homes once more, and this makes them steadfast. Ploughmen toil, and from their fields they reap, during the fair season, the profit of their pains. Yet miserable lovers therefore remain without the harvest of the fruits due to their love and their faithful servitude? To me, this seems a pain impossible to bear. Tullia If hope is that which never abandons lovers, why do you grieve? And why do you complain? Live in hope, for that’s enough. Celio Love, when he wants to pierce a lover with his arrows, shoots straight at the eyes, then at the imagination, and lastly at common sense, where he loves to set up camp: and after his triumph, he makes a generous assault on the soul in love, in that kindled part where our desires start to blaze. Thanks to this, love comes to be nothing else than desire, and loving another is nothing else than desiring another. Desire always runs after things that are possible, so that they, empowered, make themselves pleasing and friendly, and then hope with its force stings them, proposing at last some kind of an effect. Therefore I conclude that love, desire, hope, and effect are one and the same thing.

214 Amorosi contrasti Tullia Questa vostra conseguenza (negando) si potrebbe gettar a terra, senz’altro. Ma seguitate pure quello che volete dire. Celio Dico così, Signora, che l’amore senza favore non è altro, che corroccio, lamento, furore, confusione: un’aria piena di tempeste, e una sospettosa Guerra. Un cavalliero errante và cercando la sua avventura, il piacere è il punto, e l’effetto d’amore, e fà che sempre l’amor dura. Per tanto non è dovere, che un’amante ami e serva senza mercede, e senza ricompensa alcuna. Tullia Io v’intendo Sig. Celio mio galante, voi aspirate al godimento delle bellezze corporali, e non avete riguardo alcuno all’onor mio, à quell’onore, che si deve alla vita anteporre. Io vi ringrazio del favore che voi mi vorreste fare. Celio L’onore è la scusa delle semplici donne, che non fanno altro che dire. Ma per disingannarvi, Signora, vi dico, che l’amore e l’onore sono una cosa istessa, o tra di loro poco differenti. Gli Savi dicono che l’onore non è altro che un’artificio mascherato di equi[t]à, di virtù sopra il vizio, e un laccio ingannevole, che si tende alle donne ignoranti. Il nome dell’onore è bello a pronunziare, e mi piacerebbe assai quando l’effetto suo non fosse miserabile, e che la cagione sua non fosse piena di mille tiri, che ci vanno ingannando. E brevemente le dico, che l’onore è solo una parola, che si trova in la bocca, e il piacere si vede, si sente, e si gusta, e il piacere è un corpo, e l’onore altro non è che vento. Tullia Se tutte le donne fossero del vostro parere, non occorrerebbe, ch’elle fossero tanto ritrose, ma che liberamente ad ogni richiesta di loro amanti si dessero loro in preda. Celio Signora là dove io dissi, che l’onore non è altro che vento, dissi male: perché non solamente non è vento, ma è una cosa meno che vento. E quel meno mi divora, vi fa perdere la vostra gioventù, e v’inganna, come nimico d’ogni vostro bene. Che è dunque questo onore? Un niente, che la persona s’immagina; un niente, che da niente ha l’origine sua, e per dirlo brevemente l’honore è meno che niente, e quel niente meno, è una cosa non conosciuta, un sogno, una chimera, una fantasma, una nube, un’ombra che nell’aria serve per spavento, e come un picciolo fanciullo, che nella notte si spaventa tosto ch’egli vede la sua ombra.

Lovers’ Debates 215 Tullia This conclusion of yours? Through refutation, it could be thrown to the ground, for sure. All the same, proceed with what you wish to say. Celio I say thus, Signora, that love without favor is nothing other than annoyance, lamentation, fury, confusion: ’tis the air filled with tempests, and a fearful war. A wandering knight goes in search of his adventure: pleasure is the point and the effect of his love, and causes love to last. Therefore nothing requires that a lover would love and serve without reward, nor any recompense at all. Tullia I now understand you, my gallant Signor Celio: you aim at enjoying fleshly beauty, and you have no regard at all for my honor—that honor, which must be valued more than life itself. I thank you for this favor you wish to do me. Celio Honor is the excuse made by simple women, who are all talk and no action. But to undeceive you, Signora: ’tis said that love and honor are the same thing, or that there’s little difference between them. Wise men, however, say that honor is nothing other than a cunning trick masked as fair play, as a virtue covering up a vice, and that it is a deceptive snare, offered to ignorant women. The name of honor is beautiful to pronounce, and it would please me very much were its effect not so miserable, and its cause not filled with a thousand ploys that keep deceiving us. In brief, I tell you, that honor is only a word, that is uttered in the mouth, whereas pleasure is seen, is felt, and is tasted. Pleasure is a body, but honor is nothing but air.122 Tullia If all women were of your mind, it would not do for them to be so modest, but instead that they freely give themselves as prey to every request of their lovers. Celio Signora, when I said that honor is nothing but air, I misspoke, because honor actually is not air, but something less than air. Yet that something less . . . it devours me, and it makes you lose your youth, and deceives you, as the enemy of all your fine qualities. What, then, is this honor? A nothing, that a person imagines is a something; a nothing that from nothing takes its origin, or to put it briefly, honor is less than nothing, and that nothing is even less than any real thing—’tis a chimera, a phantasm, a cloud, a shadow that flits in the air causing fear, just like a little boy who in the night gets frightened as soon as he sees his own shadow.

216 Amorosi contrasti Alla fine io conosco che l’onore altro non è che la discrezione d’un’amante fedele, che sà tacere appresso il fatto, il contento, e il diletto, che ha ricevuto con la cosa amata, e poi come si suol dire, l’error celato è mezzo perdonato. Tullia Bella deffinizione intorno all’onore avete fatta, Signor Celio. Tanto che al vostro dire, semplice e ignorante è quella donna, che lascia e perde un ben che la contenta, per seguitare una speme ingannatrice di un’onor finto, e simulato; e ch’ella devrebbe sciegliersi un’amante discrete, fedele, e saggio, al quale facendo copia di se stessa punto non perderà dell’esser suo. E tanto più, quanto che l’error celato non è errore: non è così Signore? Celio Signora sì. Tullia Questa bella, graziosa, e dotta lezione dovreste voi leggere sera e mattina alla vostra moglie, e alle figliuole e sorelle, se ne avete, per inanimirle a così degna impresa. Ah Signor Celio, così biasimate l’onore, tanto amato da ciascuna persona? Or non sapete voi, che come la donna ha perduto l’honore, che non li rimane più che perdere, che degno sia. Mutate, mutate pensiero e insieme parole alla presenza mia, perché se non lo farete, lo farò io col dirlo ai miei parenti. Celio S’io fossi certo di quello, che voi dite, lo farei, ma perche io ne stò in dubbio, seguiterò l’impresa, e ve ne darò molti assalti, talmente che vi bisognerà arrendersi, o per amore o per forza, e per dar principio a nuovo assalto. Vi prego, che non vi piaccia l’amorosa mia perdita, e di vedermi tormentare con la vostra crudeltà, perche ciò facendo, guastate tutti i miei disegni, li quali stanno per dirmi l’ultimo Addio, e che pensate voi di fare con l’essermi crudele? Ricordatevi che voi levate ad Amore la sua natura immortale, e che è grandissima crudeltà a far morire un Dio: l’amore senza il gioire si nutre della speranza, la speranza di timore, il timor d’impazienza, l’impazienza conduce una mutazione, la mutazione spesso guida l’incertezza, e dopo l’incertezza si fa l’ingratitudine. A tale, che il gioire, o il piacere, che si hà con la cosa amata serve per fondamento dell’istesso amore. Tullia Se questo assalto, che dato m’avete non hà maggior forza, credo che vi bisognerà fare una bella ritirata. E già mi par di sentire la vostra perdita, e sonar a raccolta.

Lovers’ Debates 217 In the end, I know that honor is none other than the discretion of a faithful lover, who knows how to keep quiet about the deed, the happiness, and the delight he has received from the object of his love. After all, as they say, a hidden error is an error already half forgiven. Tullia A fine definition of honor you have given, Signor Celio: so fine that, according to you, simple and ignorant is that woman who would let go of and lose a treasure that makes her happy, to follow the deceptive hope of a false and simulated honor. [You propose] that she should choose a discreet lover, faithful and wise, with whom, by creating a copy of herself, she will not fail to be his . . . all the more so, given that a hidden error is not an error at all. Is not this true, Signore? Celio Signora, this is true. Tullia [sarcastically] O yes, you should read this fine, gracious, and learned lesson every morning and evening to your wife, your daughters, and your sisters, if you have them, to encourage them to undertake such a worthy enterprise: Ah, Signor Celio, will you thus disparage honor, so much loved by everyone? Do not you know, that when a woman has lost her honor, there is nothing else left for her to lose, of any worth? Change, change your opinion, and with it your words, in my presence: for if you do not, I shall do so, by telling my relatives. Celio If I were certain of what you are saying, I would do what you ask of me . . . but because I have some doubt, I shall carry out my campaign, and I shall make many assaults on you, so that you’ll need to surrender, by either love or force. And so, to start a new assault: I pray you, do not be pleased by my amorous defeat, and at seeing me tormented by your cruelty. By behaving in this way, you ruin all my plans, which are now ready to bid me the final Adieu. What do you think you’ll achieve by being so cruel to me? Remember, that thus you take from Love his immortal nature, and that it is utmost cruelty to cause the death of a god. Love without pleasure nourishes itself with hope, hope with fear, fear with impatience, impatience brings a mutation, mutation often leads to uncertainty, and after uncertainty arrives ingratitude. Therefore [it’s clear] that taking joy, or pleasure, with one’s beloved serves as the foundation for that self-same love. Tullia If this assault that you have launched against me is not any stronger, I believe that you’ll need to make a full retreat: already I can sense your defeat, and I seem to hear you vainly trying to rally yourself!

218 Amorosi contrasti Celio Piano Signora, non ve ne andate tanto altiera: perché con la batteria da più parti finalmente si rompe ogni durezza. Tullia Potete batter quanto voi volete, perché le vostre palle sempre daranno in nulla, e non di punto in bianco. Celio L’ingratitudine, che voi m’usate, è la peste, e il veleno d’amore: il ghiaccio, che lo gela; la semenza dello sdegno; la balia del dolore; la madre della crudeltà, regina delle discordie, il fonte dell’oblivione, rovina degli amanti, e inferno della loro mala fortuna. Credetemi Signora, che la perfezione d’un vero amore, non è solamente l’affezione, che per una bellezza s’imprime nell’anime nostre, ma bisogna che due raggi egualmente vincitori si percuotino insieme in un medesimo tempo per far bruciare i nostri cuori, in quella guisa, che da due sassi vediamo uscir la fiamma, e il fuoco. E perché credete voi, che ad Amore si diano due ali, due corde all’arco, e due freccie? Non per altro se non per dinotare la sua forza cambievole: l’amore non è amore se due cuori non son’uno, e il vero amore con amor si merita. Tullia L’ingratitudine mia, e la mia crudeltà, sono le difese della rocca della mia pudicizia, e dell’onor mio, e sin quì questi vostri debili assalti non fanno cosa alcuna. Credete a me, che voi non pianterete mai lo stendardo della vostra vittoria sopra le mura della mia fermezza, e della mia costanza. Celio Quando non gioveranno gli assalti, si venirà alle vie sotterranee, alle cave, alle mine, e per forza d’amorosa polvere s’acquisterà la fortezza della vostra ingratitudine. Tullia La mia fortezza è fornita di buona munizione, e al suo bombardiero non mancano nè palle nè buoni pezzi. Celio Cercheremo di rimboccarli il pezzo migliore, e più gagliardo. Tullia Il pezzo è bene ingabbionato, ed è riposto in loco che non se li può fare offesa, e tira più di notte che non fa il giorno.

Lovers’ Debates 219 Celio Softly, Signora, don’t go parading around on your high horse: for being under siege from many sides, the strongest resistance will break. Tullia You can lay siege to me as much as you like, because your cannonballs always come to nothing, since they do not shoot straight. Celio The ingratitude you show me is the plague, and the poison of love: ’tis the ice that freezes it; the seed of disdain, the nurse of sorrow, the mother of cruelty, queen of discords, wellspring of oblivion, ruin of lovers, and the Inferno of their misfortune. Believe me, Signora, that the perfection of a true love is not only the desire, that for a beauty becomes imprinted in our souls; but ’tis necessary that two equally triumphant rays strike each other at the same time, to make our hearts burn together, in the way that—as we sometimes see—a flaming fire comes out of two stones. Why do you think that Love is endowed with two wings, two strings in his bow, and two arrows? Surely, it denotes his power to bring mutual exchange: love is not love if two hearts are not one, for true love with love is won. Tullia My ingratitude and my cruelty are the defenses of the fortress of my chastity, and of my honor. So far, these your weak assaults do absolutely nothing. Believe me, you shall never plant the standard of your victory atop the walls of my resolution and my constancy. Celio When assaults do not succeed, one turns to tunneling and to laying mines, and by the force of amorous gunpowder the fortress of your ingratitude will be conquered. Tullia My fortress is supplied with strong ammunition, and her bombardier lacks neither balls nor strong guns. Celio We shall strive to fill her case with the very best gun—that’s more lusty. Tullia The gun is shut up in his cage, laid down, and hidden away where it can do no harm: it shoots more by night than by day.

220 Amorosi contrasti Celio Tenteremo con qualche gran donativo d’esser padroni della fortezza, che per un pugno d’oro, rompe qual si voglia durissima porta. Tullia La porta è fortissima. Celio V’attaccheremo un petardo. Tullia Meglio fareste attaccarvi ad una corda, e dar l’ultimo crollo. Andate in malora, ch’io non voglio più ascoltarvi.

Lovers’ Debates 221 Celio Then we shall try, with some rich gift, to become masters of her fortress: for a fistful of gold, the hardest of gates will break open. Tullia Her gate is the strongest there is. Celio We shall hoist you with a petard! Tullia You’d do better to go and hoist yourself up by a rope, to hang yourself! To hell with you! I’ll listen to you no longer.

222 Amorosi contrasti [19] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il vedere, e pensare in amore Aurelio, e Genevra Aurelio Ben trovata quell’unica donna, la bellissima presenza di cui manda nel fondo dell’oscuro oblio tutti quei noiosi tormenti, ch’io amaramente sostengo da lei lontano. Genevra Benvenuto quel virtuoso giovane, che frena, e regge con dolcissimo impero tutti gli amorosi miei pensieri. Aurelio Sogliono Signora Genevra mia, tutti gli altri viventi distinguere il giorno dalla notte dallo spuntar del Sole, e dal nascer dell’ombra. Ma io altra notte non conosco che quella della vostra assenza, nè altro giorno che quello della vostra presenza, onde per discacciar le tenebre de gli occhi miei (colpa del non vedervi) vengo a goder di quella amata presenza, che è sola, e mia vita e mia luce. Genevra Essendo la vostra bellezza Signora e Padrona del cuor mio, è giusto ancora, che la vostra volontà sia Signora e Padrona della mia. A voi è piaciuto di visitarmi per goder della mia presenza, e io per vostro compiacimento ne godo, si che io antepongo il vostro ad ogni mio piacere. Ma per gusto mio, sarebbe stato molto meglio che voi non foste comparso. Aurelio Ohimè Signora mia, che v’odo io dire? Questo procede forse perche poco m’amate. Genevra Anzi perchè molto, e infinitamente io v’amo. Aurelio Se infinitamente m’amate, perche dunque non v’è caro il vedermi? Genevra Io non dico, che non mi sia caro il vedervi, dico solo ch’io godo più non vedendovi.

Lovers’ Debates 223 [19] Lovers’ Debate on Seeing and Thinking in Love Translated by Julie D. Campbell Aurelio and Genevra123 Aurelio Well met, unique woman, whose most beautiful presence sends into the depths of dark oblivion all those painful torments that I bitterly sustain when I am far from her! Genevra Welcome, virtuous young man, who rules and reigns with the sweetest imperial power over all my loving thoughts.124 Aurelio All other living things are wont, my Signora Genevra, to distinguish day from night by sunrise and lengthening shadows, but I know no other night than your absence nor day other than your presence, and so to drive the dimness from my eyes (the fault of not seeing you), I come to rejoice in that beloved presence, which alone is my life and my light. Genevra Your beauty being the Lady and the Mistress of my heart, it is also right that your good will be Lady and Mistress of my own good will. It pleases you to visit me to enjoy my presence, and I through your contentment enjoy it [too], so I put your pleasure before each of my pleasures. But for my taste, it would have been much better if you had not appeared. Aurelio Alas, my Signora, what do I hear you say? Perhaps you say this because you love me so little. Genevra Rather, because I love you so much—infinitely. Aurelio If you love me infinitely, why then is it not dear to you to see me? Genevra I do not say that it is not dear to me to see you. I only say that I enjoy not seeing you even more.

224 Amorosi contrasti Aurelio Deh vita mia, che nuovo e particolar privilegio è questo, ch’Amor’ vi concede? Voi lontana da me sentite contento, quand’io privo di voi son l’istesso dolore? Genevra Antico e universal privilegio è quello che Amor vi concede, poiche quel piacere di cui io godo fu sempre, ed è conceduto a chi gustar lo vuole. Aurelio Sò pure, ch’io sono fido servo d’Amore di lunga mano, e non solo non ho mai provato questo piacere, ma non ho meno Saputo che alcun’altro amante goda o possa goder più non vedendo la cosa amata che vedendola. Genevra Questo che dite, è così incredibile Sig. Aurelio, che non devrà dispiacervi s’io nol credo. Ditemi per vita vostra, quando non mi vedete pensate voi alcuna volta a me? Aurelio Sempre, ch’io non vi vedo, Signora mia, penso di voi. Genevra Se ogni volta, che non mi vedete di me pensate, voi mostrate di goder di quel bene ordinario de gli amanti, benché in me vi paresse insolito, poiché non si può pensare alla cosa amata senza diletto, anzi ch’egli è tanto grande, ch’io sono sforzata a chiedervi se voi provate maggior contento nel pensar di me, che nel vedermi. Aurelio Sono sforzato a confessare ch’io sento diletto mentre vi sono lontano pensando di voi, tuttavia io sento (e credo, che ciò intervenga ad ogni altro amante) molto maggior piacere nel vedervi, e non può essere altramente, perche la cosa amata quanto più è veduta tanto più diletta. Genevra Et io provo (e credo, che infiniti altri amanti meco provino l’istesso) molto maggior diletto nel pensar di voi, che nel vedervi, perche mentre ch’io penso di voi, tutti questi miei spiriti egualmente godono, cosa che non m’avviene nel vedervi, perche vedendovi solo il senso del vedere gode, e gioisce, e gli altri sensi e spiriti s’accendono tanto d’amoroso desiderio di goder’ anch’essi, che appena sostener lo possono.

Lovers’ Debates 225 Aurelio Alas, my life, what strange125 and peculiar privilege is this that Love grants you? When you are far away from me, you feel content? While I, deprived of you, am pain itself? Genevra An ancient and universal privilege is what Love grants me—and you—since that pleasure which I enjoy was and is always granted to those who wish to experience it. Aurelio I also know that I am a long-time servant of Love, and not only have I never tried this pleasure, but I have never known of any other lover who enjoys or could enjoy not seeing his beloved more than seeing her. Genevra What you say is so incredible, Signor Aurelio, that it must not displease you if I don’t believe it. On your life now, tell me, when you don’t see me, do you sometimes think of me? Aurelio Always, when I do not see you, my Signora, I think of you. Genevra If every time that you don’t see me, you think of me, you show that you enjoy that ordinary blessing of lovers, although to me you would seem unusual, since one cannot think of the beloved without delight. Indeed, it is [a delight] so great that I am compelled to ask if you experience greater contentment in thinking of me than in seeing me. Aurelio I am compelled to confess that I feel delight even when I am far from you, in thinking of you. Anyway, I feel (and I believe that this holds true for every other lover) that the greatest pleasure is in seeing you. It cannot be otherwise, because the more the beloved is seen, so much greater is the delight. Genevra And I experience (and I believe that an infinite number of other lovers experience the same) much greater delight in thinking of you than in seeing you, because while I think of you, all my spirits take pleasure equally, which is not what happens when I see you—[then] only the sense of sight takes pleasure and rejoices, and the other senses and spirits burn with such amorous desire to enjoy themselves, too, that they are scarcely able to stand it.

226 Amorosi contrasti Aurelio Signora, io dirò con pace vostra, che siate sola in questa opinione. Niuna bellezza è mai tanto amata quanto quella che si gode col senso del vedere, per la qual cosa possiamo conoscere quanto sia maggior il diletto del vedere, che del pensare. Ogni savio afferma, che gli occhi sono le finestre dell’anima, talmente che per mezzo di quest’occhi gode l’anima anch’essa l’oggetto amato. Genevra Se gli occhi sono finestre dell’anima, e i pensieri sono radici dell’anima, ond’ è che pensando alla cosa amata senza impedimento alcuno, e l’anima, e la mente dolcemente si bea, credete Sign. Aurelio, che tanto è più degno il pensare del vedere, quant’è più degno il contemplar del mirare. E che sia più degno quello, che questo, si conosce per tanti uomini prudenti, che per meglio contemplare si privarono volontariamente degli occhi conoscendo di quanto impedimento erano alla vera contemplazione. Aurelio Quelli che si privarono della luce erano amanti di bellezza invisibile, e incorporea, che se avessero amata bellezza visibile e corporea, non solo non si sarebbono privati degli occhi, ma avrebbono procurato di torre i suoi tant’occhi al cielo per meglio vederla, come vorrei far’io. Genevra L’amante virtuoso deve amar sempre più la bellezza dell’animo che quella del corpo, qual non potendosi godere se non per mezzo della mente è forza, che colui, o colei, che virtuosamente ama senta maggior diletto nel pensare, ond’io, che v’amo di così fatto amore desidero che vi partiate, a fine ch’io possa con maggior contento di quello che al presente provo, pascer la mente di più cibo. Aurelio Reputo esser virtuoso amante anch’io mia Signora, poiché vi amo con puro affetto, e con intenzione castissima. Genevra Quand’io non fossi certa di questo non v’amerei, ma poi ci avete goduto abbastanza nel vedere. Lasciate ch’anch’io goda nel pensare, partitevi dunque Signor Aurelio.

Lovers’ Debates 227 Aurelio Signora, I will say, with your permission that you are the only one who holds this opinion. No beauty is ever as loved as much as the one that is enjoyed with the sense of sight, by which we are able to know how much greater the delight of seeing is than that of thinking. Every wise man affirms that the eyes are the windows of the soul, so that by means of the eyes, the soul also takes pleasure in the beloved object. Genevra If eyes are windows of the soul, and thoughts are roots of the soul, so it is that thinking of the beloved without any impediment to the soul and the mind sweetly blesses one. Believe [me], Signor Aurelio, thinking is much more worthy than seeing, just as it is more worthy to contemplate something than it is to merely look at it. That the former actions are worthier than the latter ones, one surely knows, thanks to so many prudent men who, in order to contemplate better, voluntarily deprived themselves of the use of their eyes, knowing how much they were an impediment to true contemplation. Aurelio Those who deprived themselves of light were lovers of invisible and non-corporeal beauty, but if they had loved visible and corporeal beauty, not only would they have not deprived themselves of their eyes, but they would have succeeded in taking and using the myriad eyes of heaven to see such beauty better, as I would like to do. Genevra The virtuous lover must always love the beauty of the soul more than that of the body. Given that the soul is only able to enjoy itself by means of the mind, it necessarily follows that he or she who loves virtuously feels greater delight in thinking: whence I, who love you with this [virtuous] type of love, desire that you leave, so that I may, with greater happiness than I am experiencing now, nourish my mind with greater sustenance. Aurelio I am also reputed to be a virtuous lover, my Signora, since I love you with pure affection, and with most chaste intention. Genevra If I were not sure of this, I would not love you. But since you have enjoyed me sufficiently through sight, allow me to enjoy [you] through thought. [Please] leave then, Signor Aurelio.

228 Amorosi contrasti Aurelio Io voglio partirmi senz’altro, Sign. Genevra mia, ma prima ch’io parta vorrei, vorrei. Genevra Che vorreste? Ditelo arditamente Sig. mio. Aurelio Vorrei un pegno del vostro amore. Genevra E qual pegno vi sarà caro? Aurelio Un saluto d’Amore. Genevra E come saluta Amore quando saluta? Aurelio Come saluta? Saluta quando da due rosate e dolci labbra soavemente sugge la Dolcezza e’ l colore, il che è d’Amore saluto, vita, spirito, ed anima. Genevra Volete dunque ch’io vi dia un bacio? Aurelio Io lo desidero in estremo, poiché un bacio da voi dato, e da me reso, può rendermi il più felice di quanti amanti sono in terra. Genevra Se così è, non solo un bacio, ma dieci, e cento, e mille io son pronta a concedervi. E se Amore ha ne suoi baci, e suoi ricchi pegni e i suoi cari saluti, io son pronta a baciarvi quanto volete. Aurelio O felice Aurelio. Genevra Anzi, O felice Genevra.

Lovers’ Debates 229 Aurelio I want nothing more than to leave, my Signora Genevra, but before I leave, I would like . . . I would like . . . Genevra What would you like? Say it boldly, my Signor. Aurelio I would like a sign of your love. Genevra And what sign will be dear to you? Aurelio A salute from Amore. Genevra And how does Amore salute one when he salutes? Aurelio How does he salute? He salutes when from two rosy and sweet lips he sweetly sucks the sweetness and the color: that is Amore’s salute, his life, spirit, and soul. Genevra You therefore want me to give you a kiss? Aurelio I desire it in the extreme, since a kiss given by you and received by me will make me the happiest of lovers on earth. Genevra If that’s how it is, not just one kiss, but ten, or a hundred or a thousand, I am ready to yield to you. And if Amore has in his kisses both his rich signs and his dear greetings, I am ready to kiss you as many times as you want. Aurelio Oh happy Aurelio! Genevra Rather, oh happy Genevra!

230 Amorosi contrasti Aurelio Avertite, Signora, che quello è pegno, e saluto di Amore, che baciato ribacia, e quanto piglia soavemente rende. Genevra Io credo, che sia vero quanto voi dite, perch’io hò udito dire più volte, che mentre si toglie, e si rende il bacio, è proprio un seminare e un raccorre in un medesimo tempo. E che passando il bacio per le labbra al cuore, con le labbra d’amor v’imprime amore. Aurelio O mia vita, io so ch’egli è vero quanto voi dite. Genevra Se così è, perche spendiamo il tempo in parlare, e non in baciarsi? Aurelio O fortunato, O felice, anzi felicissimo Aurelio, io vengo Signora mia. Genevra Fermatevi Sig. Aurelio. Aurelio Ohimè, e perché questo Sign. Genevra? Genevra Perché non c’è alcuno che ci veda. Aurelio E questo è bene. Genevra Anzi questo è male. Aurelio E perché, di grazia?

Lovers’ Debates 231 Aurelio Take heed, Signora: it is a sign and a salute of Amore that [when] kissed, he kisses again, and takes as much sweetness as he gives. Genevra I believe what you say is true, because I have heard people say many times that while one takes and gives a kiss, it is its own seed and harvest at the same time. Also that the kiss, passing through the lips to the heart with the lips of love, imprints the word “love” there. Aurelio Oh, my life, I know what you say is true. Genevra So then . . . why do we waste time in speaking and not in kissing each other? Aurelio Oh fortunate, oh happy, or rather, happiest Aurelio! I come, my Signora. [Tries to kiss her, but she puts him off.] Genevra Calm yourself, Signor Aurelio! Aurelio Alas, and why this, Signora Genevra? Genevra Because there is no one here who may see us. Aurelio And this is good! Genevra Rather, this is bad! Aurelio And why is that, please?

232 Amorosi contrasti Genevra Perche non è dovere che tanto nostro diletto segua senza testimonianza. Aspetteremo dunque, che ci siano molte, e molte persone presenti ai nostri baci, perché da molti e molti sia fatta al mondo fede di tanta nostra felicità. Aurelio Se cosi è, bisognerà ch’io la bacia in piazza. Orsù, pazienza.

Lovers’ Debates 233 Genevra Because it shouldn’t be that our great delight occurs without witnesses! We will wait, therefore, to kiss each other until there are many, many people present, because then these many will testify to the world how very happy we are. Aurelio If that’s how it is, I’ll need to kiss you in the piazza . . . Ah well, be patient!

234 Amorosi contrasti [20] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il seguire, e fuggire amore Pirro, e Mutia Pirro Ecco, Signora mia, il vostro infelice Pirro. Ecco colui, che può giustamente chiamarsi misero mostro d’infelice amore. Mutia I mostri sono difetti di natura, se voi siete mostro d’amore, questo è difetto dell’istesso amore, tal che non avete a dolervi se non di lui. Pirro Non per colpa d’amore, ma per colpa della vostra fierezza son tale. Onde non d’amore, ma di voi, doler mi devo. Mutia S’io son cagione del vostro male, perché non mi fuggite? Pirro Perche non voglio che si dica ch’io fugga per viltà, e veramente ch’io sarei indegno del cuore, quando questo cuor mio non sapesse quei martiri sostenere, che sostengono gli altri amanti. Mutia Gli altri amanti, quando veggono di penare, e di servire infruttuosamente come fate voi, con giudizio governandosi lasciano la mal incominciata impresa, e cosi dovreste far voi. Pirro Tolga il cielo ch’io faccia questo Signora: può ben essere, che alcuno impaziente faccia quello che dice V. S., ma gli esempi cattivi non si devono imitare. Io per me reputo molto più degno di lode quell’amante, che benché infelice in amore, armato di costanza e di fede rimane di seguitar la cominciata impresa, che quello che vedendo di non poter trar frutto dell’amor suo non si rimane d’amare. Mutia Io per me reputo più degno di lode, colui, che fugge il suo male, che colui che ostinatamente lo segue. Fuggono gli animali privi di ragione quello che lor nuoce: e non lo deve fuggire l’uomo animale dotato di ragione per esser da meno delle fiere?

Lovers’ Debates 235 [20] Lovers’ Debate on Following and Fleeing from Love Translated by Julie D. Campbell Pirro and Mutia126 Pirro Here, my Signora, is your unhappy Pirro. Here is he who can justly call himself a miserable monster of unhappy love. Mutia Monsters are defects of nature. If you are a monster of love, this is a defect of love itself, so you have nothing to whine about if it doesn’t come from Love. Pirro It is not love’s fault, but the fault of your pride that I am in this state. Thus, not because of love but because of you I must suffer. Mutia If I am the cause of your misfortune, why not flee me? Pirro Because I don’t want it to be said that I flee for cowardice. Truly, I would be unworthy to the core if this heart of mine could not bear the torments that other lovers bear. Mutia When other lovers see they are going to suffer and serve to no end, as you do, they with judicious self-control forego the badly begun enterprise, and so should you. Pirro Heaven forbid that I do this, Signora: it may well be that some impatient [lovers] do this, as you say, but bad examples should not be imitated. As for me, I find much more praiseworthy that lover who, despite being unhappy in love, yet armed with constancy and faith, does not cease to follow the undertaking, than that one who, seeing that he cannot gather the fruit of his love, ceases to love. Mutia As for me, I consider more worthy of praise the one who flees his misfortune than the one who obstinately seeks it out. Animals deprived of reason flee that which harms them. Shouldn’t the human animal blessed with reason flee [harm], no less than do the wild beasts?

236 Amorosi contrasti Pirro Un’amante, che per non sopportar gli amorosi tormenti lascia d’amare, è a guisa d’un’ardito guerriero, che, essendo andato ad una gloriosa impresa, se ne sia poi per viltà fuggito. Mutia Dunque volete, che uno, che sia offeso, potendo difendersi non si difenda? A me pare che sia grandissima lode il fuggir da quel luogo, e da quelle persone dalle quali si riceve ingiuria a torto. Pirro E’ molto meglio il morir combattendo che per viltà fuggire, i codardi non sono accetti ad amore, nemmeno sono amati dalle donne. Mutia Al vostro dire, quel nocchiero, che vede il suo legno in gran tempesta cinto dagli scogli, e combattuto dal furor del mare e della rabbia dei venti, non prende buon consiglio se procura di ritirarsi in porto prima ch’egli perisca. Pirro Altro è l’onde solcar, altro è l’amore, Sig. mia. Mutia Anzi, che non è altro amore, che un procelloso mare di tormenti, e d’affanni, il sottrarsi al grave giogo amoroso, e riaver la libertà comunque si sia è sempre bene. Pirro Colui, che senza temer’ il nemico segue coraggiosamente il suo disegno, sprezzando ogni pericolo, merita nome di forte, di valoroso. Mutia Chi non teme l’avversario si deve chiamar piuttosto forsennato e bestiale, che forte e valoroso. Parmi che sia grandissima prudenza, il temere dei possibili danni, e il fuggirli ancora. Pirro Dite quel che vi pare Signora, che non sarà, ch’io non v’ami, e non vi segua sin tanto, che non vi risolviate d’esser mia. Mutia Non sarà mai ch’io sia vostra.

Lovers’ Debates 237 Pirro A lover who stops loving in order to evade the torments of love is like a bold warrior who, sent out on a glorious undertaking, then flees in cowardice. Mutia So, you want the one who is offended, being able to defend himself, not to defend himself? It seems to me much more praiseworthy to flee from that place and those persons who would wrongfully do one harm. Pirro It is much better to die fighting than to flee in cowardice! Cowards are not acceptable to Love, much less are they loved by women. Mutia According to what you say, the pilot who sees his ship in a great storm, surrounded by rocks and dashed by the fury of the sea and the rage of the winds, is not well-advised if he decides to return to port before he perishes. Pirro It’s one thing to plough the waves. Love is another thing entirely, my Signora. Mutia Indeed, love is none other than a stormy sea of torments and troubles! To shake off the heavy amorous yoke and regain one’s liberty, however one may, is always good. Pirro He who without fearing the enemy bravely follows his plan, scorning every danger, deserves to be called strong and valorous! Mutia He who does not fear his adversary should sooner be called mad and beastly than strong and valorous. It seems to me that the greatest prudence is to fear possible dangers and, moreover, to flee them. Pirro Say what you will, Signora, but it will not be that I won’t love you and follow you until you resolve to be mine. Mutia It will never be that I am yours!

238 Amorosi contrasti Pirro Signora, se voi provaste una volta i piaceri e i diletti degli amanti, io mi rendo sicuro che cangiereste pensiero. Mutia Che piacere, che diletto, possono mai provar gli amanti? Pirro Che piacere, che diletto? Pigliatemi per marito, e lo saprete. Mutia Non lo voglia il cielo. Pirro Per qual cagione vi dispiace tanto il dolce nome moglie, e di marito? Mutia Perché, benché io non abbia provato mai che cosa sia marito, lo sò, nondimeno, che’ l giogo del matrimonio è gravissimo. Pirro Sig., voi mi fate credere che non siate composta di carne, nè di senso, come sono le altre donne. Mutia Et perché credete questo? Io credo pur d’esser donna come le altre. Pirro Perche se voi aveste carne e senso, provereste gli acuti stimoli della carne e del senso, e avreste pietade della carne e del senso. Mutia Sapete voi, perché io ricuso di maritarmi, Signor Pirro? Pirro Signora no. Mutia Perché essendo io crudele, come voi dite, ed essendo nemica d’amore, come io so di essere, dubiterei di partorir figliole più crudeli di me, e più nemiche d’amore ch’io non sono.

Lovers’ Debates 239 Pirro Signora, if you tried just one time the pleasures and delights of lovers, I am sure that you would change your mind. Mutia What pleasure, what delight can lovers ever experience? Pirro What pleasure, what delight? Take me for your husband, and you will know. Mutia Heaven forfend! Pirro For what reason do you so dislike the sweet name of wife or of husband? Mutia Because even though I have never tried it, this thing that is a husband, I know nonetheless that the yoke of matrimony is most heavy. Pirro Signora, you would have me believe that you are not made of flesh, nor of feelings, as other women are. Mutia And why do you believe this? I certainly believe that I am a woman like the others. Pirro Because if you were of flesh and had feelings, you would experience the acute urges of the flesh and of feelings, and you would have pity on your flesh and feelings! Mutia Do you know why I refuse to get married, Signor Pirro? Pirro Signora, no. Mutia It’s because I, being so cruel, as you say, and being the enemy of love, as I know I am, would doubtless give birth to daughters even more cruel than myself, and more the enemies of love than I am.

240 Amorosi contrasti Pirro Quando vi maritaste so certo, che diverreste pietosa e deporreste ogni odio ed ogni alterezza. Mutia S’io divenissi vostra moglie, so che frà pochi giorni bramareste anche voi quello che brama la maggior parte dei mariti. Pirro E che brama la maggior parte dei mariti? Mutia Di tener la dote per se, e di rimandar la moglie a casa. Pirro Questo non avverebbe giammai. Mutia Quando questo non m’avvenisse, non mi mancherebbe almeno un perpetuo cruccio, poiché il marito non è altro che martire della moglie. Pirro Anzi, la moglie è maglio dèl marito. Mutia Perché dunque volete prender moglie? Pirro Perché ogni sventura mi sarebbe grata, pigliando voi, che cotanto amo. Mutia Io ho udito dire da mille lingue, che amore accompagna marito e moglie insieme, e poi lascia, che la discordia, la rabbia, e il vano e tardo pentimento stringa il durissimo nodo, il quale per loro estrema infelicità non è disciolto, se non per morte. Sicché, lasciate ogni speranza d’avermi per moglie. Pirro Sareste voi mai per mia sventura la porta dell’inferno, sopra della quale è scritto, lasciate ogni speranza, o voi ch’entrate?

Lovers’ Debates 241 Pirro Were you ever to marry, I am certain that you would become full of pity and put aside all hatred and all pride. Mutia If I became your wife, I know that in a few days you would long for what most husbands long for. Pirro And for what do most husbands long? Mutia To keep the dowry for themselves and to send the wife back to her home. Pirro This would never happen! Mutia Even if this didn’t happen to me, I would still not lack a perpetual vexation, since the husband is none other than the torturer of the wife. Pirro Rather, the wife is the sledgehammer of the husband! Mutia Then why do you want to get married? Pirro Because I would be grateful for every misfortune, having chosen you, whom I love so much. Mutia I’ve heard it said in a thousand languages that love brings the husband and wife together and then abandons them, so that discord, anger, and vain, belated repentance tie the hardest knot. Their extreme unhappiness is only loosened by death. Therefore abandon all hope of having me for your wife! Pirro Might you be, for my misfortune, the gate of Inferno, on which is written “abandon every hope, you who enter”?127

242 Amorosi contrasti Mutia Peggio, se peggio si può credere. Pirro Se cosi è, come voi dite, mi fate credere d’essere una Dea d’Averno, priva d’ogni pietade. Mutia Credetelo pure. Pirro Ma com’è possibile, che una tanta bellezza come la vostra possa habitar l’oscurissime tenebre dell’inferno? Mutia E’ purtroppo possibile. Pirro Io sto per dire che la vostra bellezza faccia sì che l’inferno rassembri un paradiso. Mutia Noi ce ne andremmo nell’infinito. Meglio sarà che da voi io mi parta, per [levarvi l’occasione] dell’andar favoleggiando come fanno la maggior parte degli amanti.

Lovers’ Debates 243 Mutia Worse than that, if you can believe there can be something worse. Pirro If it is as you say, you make me believe that you are a goddess of hellish Avernus,128 void of all pity. Mutia Oh, you can believe it! Pirro But how is it possible that such a beauty as yourself can live in the most obscure darkness of hell? Mutia It is only too possible! Pirro I still hold that your beauty makes hell resemble paradise! Mutia We will go on into infinity! It will be better if I take my leave of you, to keep you from spouting nonsense as most lovers do.

244 Amorosi contrasti [21] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il vero amore Dario, e Talesia Dario Perché il costume degli uomini, Signora Talesia, e di pregar le donne a mostrarsi loro cortesi, non dovrà parere strano à V. S. s’io la pregherò a concedermi la sua grazia. Talesia E perché il costume e il debito delle donne è di negare, non dovrà dispiacervi, se io negherò di concedervi il mio amore. Dario Deh, cara Signora mia, non sapete voi che vano è il possesso senza l’uso? A che vi serve il posseder tanta bellezza quando non la godete voi, e non volete che altri in voi la goda? Quest’è un disprezzar’ il tesoro di che il cielo vi fece, e la natura erede. Talesia Per non disprezzar quei doni, che il cielo e la natura mi diedero, et per non parer così ignorante ed avara ch’io non sappia, o non voglia valermene, o che altri per me se ne vaglia, dite che posso, o che devo fare? Dario La terra, l’acqua, il cielo, il Sole, la Luna, le stelle, ed altre cose molte non sono create per loro, ma solo per utile e soddisfazione delle genti, così la bellezza della donna non è creata per se, ma perché l’uomo sua vera compagnia lo goda a voglia sua. Talesia Orsù, quando a vostra persuasione io vi lasci goder quella bellezza, che dite splendere in me, non sarete voi contento? Dario Sarò contento in guisa che s’altro in terra sarà più contento di me, certo non sarà mortale.

Lovers’ Debates 245 [21] Lovers’ Debate on True Love Translated by Julie D. Campbell Dario and Talesia129 Dario Since it is the custom of men, Signora Talesia, to entreat ladies to show them courtesy, it should not appear strange to you, Signora, if I beseech you to grant me your goodwill. Talesia And since it is the custom and the duty of ladies to withhold it, you should not be displeased if I refuse to grant you my love. Dario Alas, my dear Signora, don’t you know how vain it is to possess something without using it? What good does it do you to possess so much beauty when you don’t enjoy it and you don’t want others to enjoy it? This is contempt of the treasure that heaven and Nature made you the heir of. Talesia So as not to scorn those gifts that heaven and nature have given me, and so as not to appear thus ignorant and greedy because I don’t know how to, or wish to, value them myself, or how others value me for them, tell me, what can or should I do? Dario The earth, water, sky, sun, moon, stars, and many other things were not created for themselves, but only for the use and satisfaction of people. Thus, the beauty of woman was not created for her, but because man, her true companion, might enjoy it according to his desire. Talesia Now, when thanks to your persuasion I allow you to enjoy this beauty, which you say shines in me, won’t you be content? Dario I will be content in such a way that if anyone else on earth will be more content than I, certainly he won’t be mortal.

246 Amorosi contrasti Talesia Non sia mai che per me vi sia tanta felicità contesa, Se voi, Signor Dario, non v’ingannate nell’amare, e nel chiedere, voi siete il più fortunato amante che viva. Voi bramate di goder la bellezza mia. Ora bisogna vedere ciò che sia bellezza, e come si divida: si divide la bellezza in tre parti, e in queste tre parti la bellezza è conosciuta: Bellezza di corpo, bellezza d’animo, e bellezza di voce. Queste tre parti di bellezza si godono col vedere, con la mente, e con l’udito: voi mi vedete spessissime volte, e spessissime volte m’udite. Alla mente poi non può mai esser vietato il suo piacere, dunque se con gli occhi, se con l’orecchie, e se con la mente godete la bellezza del corpo, della voce, e dell’animo, e se la bellezza non consiste in altro, voi a voglia vostra la godete, onde siete pienamente felice. Dario Se quì ha da fermarsi il godimento dell’amata bellezza, parmi che molto poco mi concediate, e parmi insieme che questa sia una infelice felicità. Talesia Non vi diss’io, Signor Dario, che voi guardaste il non v’ingannare nell’amare, e nel chiedere? Non son’io che vi concede poco, siete voi che desiderate troppo, e chi non si contenta del poco, non ha mai tanto che li paia abbastanza. Colui che possiede il bene, e non lo conosce, può dir senz’altro di non possederlo. Dario Ogni volta ch’io potessi a voglia mia, e toccarvi e bacciarvi, mi chiamerei felice. Ma nel modo, che voi dite non mai. Talesia Se voi m’amate onestamente (come io credo), non dovete chieder questo, perché nell’amor honesto, nè la bocca, nè le mani vi hanno parte. Dario Questo vostro amor onesto, Sign. Talesia, è troppo sterile, bisogna al parer mio accompagnarlo con amor dilettevole, accioché l’uno mantenga l’altro.

Lovers’ Debates 247 Talesia Never may it be that such happiness were contested for my sake. If you, Signor Dario, aren’t fooled in your loving and in begging [for love], you are the most fortunate lover that lives. You long to enjoy my beauty: now let us see what beauty is and how it is divided. It is divided into three parts, and in these three parts, beauty is known: the beauty of the body, the beauty of the soul, and the beauty of the voice. These three parts of beauty are enjoyed with sight, mind, and hearing. You see me very often, and very often you hear me. Your mind, then, can’t ever be denied its pleasure. Thus, if with your eyes, if with your ears, and if with your mind you enjoy the beauty of my body, my voice, and my soul, and if beauty consists in nothing else, you, according to your will, enjoy it, whence you are full of happiness. Dario If one must stop here the enjoyment of your beloved beauty, it seems to me that you grant me very little, and that this is an unhappy happiness. Talesia Did not I tell you, Signor Dario, to watch out for being fooled in love, and in begging for it? I am not the one who grants you little. You are the one who desires too much, and he who is not content with little, never has that which seems to be enough for him. He who possesses the good and doesn’t know it, can say without doubt that he doesn’t possess it. Dario Every time that I could do as I like—touch you and kiss you—I would call myself happy; but in such a way that you would never say “no”! Talesia If you love me honestly (as I believe), you won’t ask for this, because in honest love, the mouth and the hands have no part. Dario This honest love of yours, Signora Talesia, is too sterile. In my opinion, it needs to be accompanied by delectable love, so that the one sustains the other.

248 Amorosi contrasti Talesia Voi siete uno di quegli amanti che desidera l’amor dall’animo, e il frutto dal corpo. Dissi ben’io, che molti amano e pochi conoscono amore, e interviene a questi come a colui che in acqua fetida vede qualche bella immagine che sia dietro a lui, che senza considerare o aver pazienza di guardarsi addietro, si getta in quell’acqua, pensandola vera habitazione di così bella sembianza, e senza ritrovarla ci perde la vita. Così interviene a coloro che vogliono amare senza considerar bene che cosa sia l’amare, e dove e come bisogna cercar’ il vero amore, e la vera bellezza. Chi ama come deve, trova senz’altro nell’amor onesto l’amor dilettevole. Dario Credete a me, Signora, che i baci, gli abbracciamenti, e i godimenti amorosi sono la vera perfezione, e la vera immortalità a’ amore. E che sia vero, per questo mezzo si perpetua la specie umana, senza la quale il mondo e l’istesso amore in poco tempo finirebbe. Talesia Chi vuol’ amar perfettamente, bisogna che ami con intenzione di dare, e non di ricever gusto, e certo che colui, che ricerca così fatte cose, e ricerca per dar piacere a se, e non ad altrui. Onde si può dubitare, se questo tale sia amante, o no. Troppo si disdice ad uomo dotato di ragione il non bramar’ altro in amore che quei piaceri, che son’ ancora communi ai bruti, e chi gli brama non ama. Dario Anzi, che (perdonatemi se dico tant’oltre) chi non li brama, non ama: come può aver piacere un’huomo baciando, e accarezzando una donna, ch’egli non ami? Credete a me, che non possono dilettar questi contenti, se non a colui che ama. Talesia E’ vero, che questi piaceri non dilettano, se non a colui che ama, e che grandemente ama. Ma vorrei, che mi diceste, che ama colui, ch’altro non desidera che questi contenti, e questi godimenti? Dario Questo è facile a dirvi: egli ama quella persona, ch’egli accarezza, o che vorrebbe accarezzare. Talesia Questo lo dite voi.

Lovers’ Debates 249 Talesia You are one of those lovers who desires the love of the soul and the fruit of the body. Certainly I say that many love and few know how to love, and things fall out for these people the way they do for the man who sees in fetid water some beautiful image that is behind him. Without a second thought, or having patience to look behind him, he jumps into this water thinking it the true habitation of a very beautiful face, and without finding it there, he loses his life. This likewise happens to those who want to love without considering well what it is to love, and where and how one needs to search for true love and true beauty. The one who loves as he should certainly finds in honest love, delectable love. Dario Believe me, Signora, kisses, embraces, and amorous pleasures are the true perfection and the true immortality of love. And it is true that by these means the human species is perpetuated, without which the world and love itself would end in a short amount of time! Talesia He who wishes to love perfectly needs to love with the intention of giving and not of receiving enjoyment. Of course, the one who thus looks for such things and seeks to give pleasure to himself and not to others—one may doubt that he is a true lover. Oh, no, too often men endowed with reason must be reproved for their longing, in their loving, for only those pleasures that are common to brute beasts, and [also must be reminded] that he who lusts after these things does not love. Dario On the contrary (forgive me if I speak so boldly), but he who doesn’t long for such things, doesn’t love: how can a man have pleasure kissing and caressing a woman if he doesn’t love her? Believe me, it is not possible to enjoy these contentments if he doesn’t love her! Talesia It’s true that these pleasures delight only he who loves, and who loves greatly. But I would like you to tell me, whom does that man truly love, who desires nothing other than these contentments, and these pleasures? Dario This is easy to tell you: he loves that person whom he caresses, or whom he would like to caress. Talesia This is what you say.

250 Amorosi contrasti Dario Lo dico, perché è vero. Talesia Amate voi così me? Dario Signora sì. Talesia Se m’amate così, voi non amate me, ma voi medesimo. Dario Come questo? Talesia Se qualche donna giurasse d’amarvi infinitamente, standosi in dolce trattenimento con voi, e poi per qualche accidente non potendo aver’altro godimento di voi che sguardi, e parole lasciasse di amarvi, e se medesima vi togliesse, direste voi, che ella v’avesse amato? Dario Ne starei in dubbio. Talesia Non direste voi colei non mi amava, ma solo amava se stessa, non bramando altro che trar da me quel piacere ch’ella più desiderava per se medesima? Dario Veramente sì, che io lo direi Signora. Talesia Dicendolo, direste il vero. Ma ditemi di grazia, non può la donna con la medesima ragione dir l’istesso dell’uomo, che abbia pari intentione? Dario Signora sì: voi m’avete tanto aggirato, che m’avete ferito con le armi proprie. Onde non posso dir’altro, se non che avete mille ragioni.

Lovers’ Debates 251 Dario I say it because it’s true. Talesia Do you love me in this way? Dario Yes, Signora. Talesia If you love me in that way, you do not love me, but yourself. Dario How is that? Talesia If some woman swore that she loved you infinitely, dallying with you in sweet courtship, and then, by some accident, not being able to have any other enjoyment of you than through looks and words, she ceased to love you and took her leave of you, would you say that she had loved you? Dario I would doubt it. Talesia Wouldn’t you say, “She didn’t love me, but she only loved herself, not longing for anything more than taking from me that pleasure that she desired more for herself ”? Dario Truly, yes, that is what I would say, Signora. Talesia In saying that, you speak the truth. But please tell me: may not a woman, with the same argument, say the same of a man who has the same intention? Dario Signora, yes. You have so turned me around that you have wounded me with my own weapons: thus I can only say that you are right, a thousand times over!

252 Amorosi contrasti Talesia Or, poiché finalmente avete pur confessato che amate voi stesso, date voi stesso il premio a voi medesimo di quell’amore, che vi portate; che quand’io conoscerò, che amiate me, allora procurerò di ricompensarvi. Conoscete dunque, e confessate in tanto, che l’amor di così fatti godimenti non è amore, ma voluttà, e se pur’è amore è amor di se stesso, e andate a studiar meglio le vostre lezioni. Dario Io le ho studiate benissimo, e voleva di già addottorarmi, e far la mia prima amorosa lezione sopra la vostra catedra. Talesia La mia catedra vuol’ altro Dottore che voi, e di già quello che deve leggervi sopra, ha preso i punti. Sì, che rimanete, e andate a dottorarvi altrove.

Lovers’ Debates 253 Talesia Now, since you have finally confessed freely that you love yourself, give yourself the prize of yourself for that love that you bear. When I know for certain that you love me, then I will find a way to reward you. Know, therefore, and confess as much, that love of such pleasures is not love, but lust, and if it is any kind of love, it is love of oneself. Now go, and do a better job of studying your lessons. Dario I studied them very well, and now I want to take my doctorate, giving my first amorous lesson on your learned seat. Talesia My seat would prefer a scholar other than you—and surely one who has read more than you, and who has scored top marks. So get out of here and educate yourself elsewhere!

254 Amorosi contrasti [22] Amoroso Contrasto sopra l’amar’ più altrui, che se stesso Claudio, e Targelia Claudio Signora Targelia, è così grande l’amor ch’io vi porto, che non sò trovar parole che siano atte per esprimerlo: se io dico d’amarvi al pari degli occhi dico poco, perché questi occhi me li trarrei, quando che fosse in vostro servizio. Se io dico d’amarvi al pari della vita, dico medesimamente poco, perché questa vita non stimerei, quando porgesse occasione il tempo, che per la mia si salvasse la vostra. Dunque, che devo dire? Dirò, che vi amo più che me stesso, e voi, perché più, che me stesso vi amo, dovreste avermi compassione, e ricompensare il mio amore. Targelia Voi dite così, non perché sia vero, non perché lo crediate: ma perché vi sia creduto. Non sarò già io così sciocca nè così credula, che voglia creder cosa che per se stessa è incredibile. Non è persona tanto inesperta che non sappia naturalmente ognuno amar più se stesso che qual’ altro si voglia. Claudio Anzi, che fa errore colui, che ama più se stesso che altrui, e che sia vero, nessuno amore è più biasimato, nè più ripreso di quello che ama se stesso. Di ciò ne rende testimonianza Narciso. Ohimè Signora, non sapete che dall’amor di se stesso nascono tutti i vizi? Targelia Questo nostro ragionamento ha bisogno di distinzione: quel primo amor di noi stessi, che ne induce a lasciar’ il bene, e a seguir’ il male (ch’è l’amor del senso di che al parer mio trattate voi) è quello veramente che è tanto biasimato in noi, invece, e in scrittura. Il secondo amore, col quale amiamo noi stessi, che è l’amor ragionevole di che parl’io, è quello che sprezza tutti i pericoli, e sottentra a tutte le fatiche per acquistarsi gloria e onore: del qual’amore non si può mai dir tanto bene, che non sia poco. E quanto più uno è virtuoso, tanto più ama se stesso di questo amore. Or voi, che non avete pari in virtù, di giusta ragione amate più voi che me. Claudio Queste ultime parole, Signora, siccome da me sono state udite con rossore, così sono passate con silenzio. Vengo alla mia verità, e dico che molti, anzi infiniti uomini valorosi, e nobili in tutte le nazioni, e in tutti i secoli hanno volontariamente detto di morire, o per la patria, o per i parenti, o per gli amici, la qual cosa ci fa

Lovers’ Debates 255 [22] Lovers’ Debate on Loving Another More than Oneself Translated by Julie D. Campbell Claudio and Targelia130 Claudio Signora Targelia, the love I bear for you is so great that I can’t find words capable of expressing it! If I say I love you as much as I love my eyes, I say little, because I would pluck out these very eyes of mine when required, for your service! If I say I love you as much as I love my life, I likewise say little—because I would not esteem my life if time presented the opportunity to save yours. Therefore, what should I say? I will say that I love you more than myself, and you, because more than myself I love you, should have pity on me and reward my love. Targelia You say so, not because it is true, nor because you believe it, but because it might be believed. I will not yet be so foolish nor so credulous that I’ll believe something that is in itself unbelievable. There is no one so naïve who doesn’t know that everyone naturally loves himself or herself more than anyone else. Claudio On the contrary, the one who loves himself more than others makes a mistake. It is true that no love is more blamed, nor is more reproved than love of one’s own self. To this, Narcissus bears witness.131 Alas, Signora, don’t you know that from love of one’s self all vices are born? Targelia Our discussion needs further refinement: that first love of ourselves, which induces us to leave [the path of] goodness and to follow [that of] evil (that is, the love of the senses, which it appears to me you address) is that which, truly, is much blamed in us, and in scripture. The second love, with which we love ourselves, is the reasonable love of which I speak. It is that which scorns all dangers and undertakes all efforts to acquire glory and honor; about that kind of love, one can never say too many good things, which is no small thing. And the more one is virtuous, all the more one loves oneself with this kind of love. Now you, who have no equal in virtue, have all the more reason to love yourself more than me. Claudio Hearing these last words, Signora, has made me blush and fall silent. [But,] I come to my truth, and I say, that many, rather, infinite valorous and noble men in all nations and in all centuries have willingly said that they would die for their country,

256 Amorosi contrasti chiaramente conoscere che questi tali amarono più la patria, i parenti, e gli amici che loro stessi. Targelia Quei Deci, quei Fabii, quegli Scipioni, e tanti altri, di cui m’avete ravvivata la memoria, che sprezzando la vita si offersero a volontaria morte, furono mossi da quell’amor virtuoso, che già vi ho detto, il quale quanto più è volto verso se stesso, tanto più è lodevole, perche siccome dall’altro vengono tutti i mali, così da questo procedono tutti i beni. Claudio V. S. non ha voluto farmi valida la ragione, che io le ho detta. Ma se non ha voluto confessar quella, bisognerà confessar quest’altra: ditemi Signora, qual’ amante si trova, il qual non dica, non creda, e finalmente non ami più la cosa amata, che se medesimo? Voi non potrete già arguirmi contro, poiché tutti gli amorosi Poeti altro non cantano, e io che amante sono, so che vi amo più che me stesso. Targelia Io credo, e so di non creder’ il falso, che voi e tutti gli altri amanti amate per compiacimento di voi stessi, che se questo non fosse, voi non amareste: ognuno ama quello che egli ama per cagion di se stesso, dunque ama più se stesso, ch’altrui. E se non volete credere all’esperienza di voi, o d’alcun’altro, credete all’istessa ragione: tutte le cause sono migliori dei causati, e i principi dei principiati. L’amor di se stesso (come dice il Petrarca) è cagione, e principio di tutti gli altri, dunque è migliore; dunque deve ognuno amar più se stesso, che altrui. Oltre di ciò, chi ama una cosa per cagion d’un’altra, ama più l’altra, che quella: come per esempio amando voi me, per fine delle vostre contentezze, amate più le contentezze vostre, che me. Intorno poi agli amorosi Poeti vi rispondo, che essi cantano quello che credono forse vero, ma non quello, ch’è vero in effetto, perché la Poesia non è altro che un sogno di quelli che non dormono, come i sogni non sono altro che poesia di quelli che non sono desti. Claudio Voi vorreste confondermi, ma non sarà così. Quanti sono stati, che si sono uccisi da loro, o lasciati morir di disagio per amore? Or chi sarà colui, che vedendo alcuno eleggere per altrui di morire, non dica quel tale amare più altrui, che se stesso?

Lovers’ Debates 257 their family, or their friends, which clearly lets us know that such men love their country, family, and friends more than themselves. Targelia These Deciuses, Fabiuses, Scipios,132 and many others whose memories you have revived for me [are those who], scorning their lives, voluntarily offered themselves to death. They were moved by the virtuous love that I have already told you about, which, the more it is given to oneself, the more it is praiseworthy, since just as from the other [kind of love] come all evils, from this [love] proceed all good things. Claudio You, Signora, as I have said, have not wished to accept my argument, but, since you have not wished to confess [that I am right], it will be necessary to concede something else. Tell me, Signora, what lover can one find who doesn’t say, who doesn’t believe, and finally, who doesn’t love the beloved more than himself? Now you can’t refute me, since all the amorous Poets sing of nothing else, and I, lover that I am, know that I love you more than myself! Targelia I believe, and I know I do not believe in something false, that you and all other lovers love in order to please yourselves. If this were not the case, you wouldn’t love. Everyone loves what he loves for his own sake, thus he loves himself more than others. If you do not wish to believe in your own experience, or in any other, you [would] believe the same argument. All causes are better than things caused, and beginnings are better [than] their consequences. Love of oneself (as Petrarch says) is the cause and beginning of all other things: therefore it is the best.133 Thus, everyone ought to love himself more than others. Moreover, he who loves one thing because of another, loves the other more than that thing: for example, in loving me for the sake of your own happiness, you love your happiness more than me. And as for the amorous poets, I reply that they do sing what they believe may be true, but not what is, in actual fact, true—because poetry is nothing more than a dream of those who do not sleep, just as dreams are none other than the poetry of those who are not awake. Claudio You would like to confuse me, but it will not be so. How many are there who have killed themselves, or have let themselves die of disease for love? Now, who will be the one who, seeing someone choosing to die for others, will say he doesn’t love others more than himself?

258 Amorosi contrasti Targelia Io lo dirò, e lo dirò con verità: poiché nessuno eleggerà di morir per persona, che non ami di cuore, e chi ama di cuore stima assai maggior dolore il viver senza l’amato. Bene, che morir per lui, similmente, chi per altra cagione s’uccide, o si lascia morir di disagio, lo fa solo e principalmente per l’amor di se stesso, cercando con la morte, o di conseguir’ alcun bene, o di fuggir’ alcun male. Claudio E quale è maggior male della morte? Non sapete, che ella è l’estremo mal di tutti i mali? Targelia Il lasciar di far bene per far male, il mancar del debito d’uomo da bene, come fate voi con pace vostra molestandomi tutto il giorno, e il perder l’onore è peggio che mille morti, e poi non sapete voi, che la morte a chi è misero, non è pena, ma fine della pena? Claudio Due parole ancora, cara Signora Targelia. Potrei dir molto, ma dirò poco: nessuna cosa può amarsi, la quale non sia veramente buona, o tenuta buona. Quanto dunque una cosa è migliore, tanto maggiormente si deve amare. Dunque ciascuno deve amare più i migliori di se che se medesimo. Voi siete miglior di me, dunque vi amo più che me stesso. Ciascuna parte ama più il suo tutto che se stessa. E che sia vero, se alcuno vi tirasse un colpo al capo, il braccio, ch’è parte s’esporrebbe a perdita manifesta per salvar la vita, ch’è tutto. Il buon Prencipe ama più il bene del suo popolo che il suo proprio, e molti padri esponendosi a pericoli per i figliuoli hanno mostrato d’amar più i figlioli, che loro stessi. Targelia Voi dite d’amarmi perche son migliore di voi, non è cosi Signor Claudio? Claudio Signora sì.

Lovers’ Debates 259 Targelia I’ll tell you, and I’ll speak the truth, since no one will choose to die for a person whom he or she does not love from the heart, and he who loves from the heart esteems it much greater pain to live without the beloved than to die for him. Likewise, he who kills himself for another reason, or allows himself to die of disease, does it solely and principally for love of himself, seeking through death either to achieve some good, or to flee some harm. Claudio And what is more harmful than death? Don’t you know that it is the most extreme of all harmful things? Targelia To shirk doing good for evil, the dereliction of duty of an honest man—as you do, by your leave, bothering me all day—and the loss of honor is worse than a thousand deaths. And then, don’t you know that death to one who is miserable, isn’t pain but the end of pain? Claudio Two words more, dear Signora Targelia! I could say much, but I will say little: nothing can love itself, unless it is truly good, or possesses goodness. Therefore, as much as something is better, the more it must be loved. Thus, everyone must love more than himself those better than himself. You are better than I; thus, I love you more than myself. Every part loves his whole better than himself. It is true: if someone dealt you a blow to the head, your arm is the part that would expose itself to this manifest danger to save your life, which is the whole. The good prince loves the good of his people more than his own, and many fathers expose themselves to danger for their children, thus demonstrating that they love their children more than themselves. Targelia You say that you love me because I am better than you, is that not it, Signor Claudio? Claudio Signora, yes.

260 Amorosi contrasti Targelia Voi sapete, che la similitudine è cagione d’amore, procurate d’essere buono quanto me, che poi v’amerò. Se queste vostre ragioni Signor Claudio fossero vere, i padri e le madri amerebbono più gli altrui che i propri figli, ogni volta che quelli fossero dei loro migliori, la qual cosa è falsissima, perché ognuno ama più le cose sue, ancorché vili, che l’altrui, benché pregiate. Amando il buon Prencipe più il bene del suo popolo che il suo proprio, viene ad amar più il suo, perche il vero bene e la vera ricchezza del Prencipe è l’amor del suo popolo. Se il braccio cerca di difender la testa, non è perche ami più il tutto, che sè, ch’è parte, ma perche mancando il tutto, mancherebbe ancor la parte. L’amore si fonda sopra la cognizione, sopra l’unione, e sopra la similitudine. Ognuno conosce meglio sè, è più unito a se, e più simile a se di nessun’altro: dunque ognuno ama più se che nessun’altro. Chi vuol conoscere per chiara esperienza, che ognuno ama più se stesso ch’altrui, lo conosca da questo, che se stesse a noi di poter dare il maggior bene che sia, a cui volessimo, ognuno eleggerebbe di darlo a se, e perché il maggior bene che si possa desiderare è la felicità, nessuno può eleggere di far piuttosto felice altrui, che se stesso. E per concluder vi dico, che tutto quello che da tutte le nazioni, in tutti i tempi e in tutti i luoghi, si fà solo e principalmente per l’amor di se stesso. Claudio Voi m’avete vinto con la bellezza. Conviene ancora che mi vinciate con la virtù.

Lovers’ Debates 261 Targelia You know that likeness is the cause of love, [thus] you seek to be as good as I am, so that I will love you. If this argument of yours were true, Signor Claudio, fathers and mothers would love others’ children more than their own, every time, when they would be among their betters, which is most false, because everyone loves his own things, even if they be vile, more than even the prized things that others have. The good prince, loving the good of his people, who are his own, comes to love his own [people] more, because the true good and the true wealth of the prince is the love of his people. If the arm tries to defend the head, it is not because it loves the whole [body] more than itself, but because [by] lacking the whole, it would thus lack the part. Love is based on recognition, on union, and on similarity. Everyone knows himself best, is most united with himself, and more similar to himself than any other. Therefore, everyone loves himself more than any other. He who wants to know through clear experience that everyone loves himself more than others, knows it by this: that if we ourselves could give the greatest good that there is, to whom we wanted, everyone would choose to give it to himself, and because the greatest good that one may desire is happiness, anyone may sooner choose to make others happy than himself. To conclude what I tell you: that all of those, from all nations, in all times, and in all places, do things only and principally for the love of the self. Claudio You have conquered me with your beauty, so it is all the more fitting that you conquer me with your virtue.

262 Amorosi contrasti [23] Amoroso Contrasto sopra i pensieri amorosi Flessippo, e Aspasia Flessippo Che fate voi, Signora Aspasia padrona mia cara? Aspasia E che altro posso far’io, che amare e desiderare il Sig. Flessippo? Flessippo Certo avete ragione d’amarmi, poiché io son tutto vostro. Non sò già come potete desiderarmi, essendo il desiderio ordinariamente rivolto alle cose che non son possedute. Aspasia Benché il desiderio possa star senza l’amore, non è però che amore possa star senza desiderio. Le cose che si posseggono veramente s’amano, ma non è però quest’amore senza il suo desiderio, essendo che l’amante desidera di conservar le sue gioie, i suoi piaceri, e soprattutto desidera di conservar la cosa amata, e la sicurezza dell’amor suo. Dunque il desiderio dura tanto, quanto dura l’amore, onde si conosce che le cose che si posseggono s’amano, e si desiderano ad un tempo, e quelle che non si posseggono solamente si desiderano. Dunque Sig. Flessippo, se voi siete mio, v’amo e desidero di perseverar in quest’amore. Oltre, che bramando, vanno gli amanti d’unir cosí i corpi, come sono uniti gli animi, ed essendo questo impossibile, è forza che amore sia sempre congiunto col desiderio. Flessippo Io conosco in virtù delle vostre saggie e accorte parole, ch’io son molto più felice di quello ch’io mi riputava. Mi riputai felice per esser’amato da voi, e felicissimo or mi confesso, poiché voi mio bene desiderate di perseverar nell’amore. Ond’io vi giuro, che di quanti pensieri nasceranno in me, la maggior parte sarà sempre la vostra. Aspasia E io, sopravanzando la vostra cortesia, vi giuro che tutti i pensieri che nasceranno in me, saranno vostri, anzi che prima che siano concetti voglio, voglio, che siano vostri, e vostri saranno dopo l’esser concetti, e dopo nati.

Lovers’ Debates 263 [23] Lovers’ Debate on Loving Thoughts Translated by Eric Nicholson Flessippo and Aspasia134 Flessippo What are you doing, Signora Aspasia, my dear mistress? Aspasia What else can I do, but love and desire Signor Flessippo? Flessippo You are surely right in loving me, since I am entirely yours: yet I know not how you can desire me, since desire is usually directed toward things which one does not possess. Aspasia Although desire can exist without love, it does not follow that love can exist without desire: those things that one possesses, one loves truly, but all the same this love is not without its flame of desire, given that a lover desires to maintain her joys and her pleasures. Above all, she desires to preserve the desired object, and the security of her love. Thus desire lasts as long as love lasts, whence one recognizes that the things one possesses, one loves and desires at the same time, whereas those things which are not possessed, one desires only. And thus, Signore Flessippo, if you are mine indeed, I love you, and I desire to persevere in this love. Besides, since lovers yearn to unite their bodies forever, just as they unite their souls, and this being impossible, it needs must be that love is always joined with desire.135 Flessippo By virtue of your wise and discerning words, I realize that I am far happier than I considered myself before. I considered myself happy to be loved by you, but now I declare myself exceptionally happy, because you, my darling, desire to persevere in your love. And therefore I swear that no matter how many thoughts may be born within me, the great majority of them will always be yours. Aspasia And I, outdoing even your courtesy—I swear to you, that all the thoughts that will be born with me will be yours . . . or better yet, that even before they are conceived, I do wish . . . yes, I do wish that they be yours, and indeed they will be yours after they are conceived, and after they are born.

264 Amorosi contrasti Flessippo S’io ho detto, che la maggior parte dei miei pensieri sarà vostra, non l’ho detto perché io non brami di dedicarvi ogni mio pensiero, ma per dubbio che tra tanti non ce ne sia alcuno che non meriti di venir’ a voi, il quale come indegno voglio che stia in disparte. Aspasia Or ditemi, vi prego, come farete a conoscer i degni dagli indegni (per dir come voi dite) ch’io per me reputo, che non possa nascer pensiero del vuostro bel seno che non sia degnissima. Flessippo Io dirò, che tutti i pensieri che in me nascono, per non far V. S. bugiarda, siano degni. Ma quando ciò sia vero, non sà la Signora Aspasia, che in tutte le cose si dà il più e il meno? Quei pensieri in me dunque, che sono più degni son’ inviati a lei, e quelli che sono men’ degni si rimangono addietro. Aspasia Come fate voi a conoscergli? Flessippo Per mezzo dell’esperienza, vera maestra di tutte le cose. Aspasia Deh, di grazia ditemi come gli esperimentate. Flessippo Molto volontieri Signora. L’Aquila, quando ha i figli nel nido, benché gli vegga dotati di rostro, d’artigli, e di penne come lei, non per questo vuole assicurarsi, che siano suoi sin tanto ch’ella non fà prova della lor vista: li fà dunque affissar nel Sole. Chi non sostiene quella chiara luce, viene da lei come non suo figlio discacciato dal nido. Chi regge il nobil lume viene da lei, come sua vera prole, accolto ed accarezzato. Così, benché tutti i miei pensieri abbiano (per dir come V. S. dice) un non sò che del gentile, non per questo li reputo degni di voi mia vita, sin tanto che non sostengano con lo sguardo il lucidissimo Sole della vuostra bellezza, e delle vostre virtù.

Lovers’ Debates 265 Flessippo If I said that nearly all my thoughts will be yours, I did not say so because I did not long to dedicate my every thought to you, but for the doubt that among so many thoughts, there might be some that would not deserve to reach you. As they would be unworthy, I would wish for them to be put aside. Aspasia Tell me then, I pray you: how do you manage to tell the worthy thoughts from the unworthy ones—to speak of them as you do—when I truly believe that no thought could ever be born in your fine soul that would not be of the utmost worth? Flessippo Not to give you the lie, I would say that all the thoughts that are born in me are worthy. But for that to be true, does not Signora Aspasia know that in all things there exists the greater and the lesser? Therefore those thoughts within me that are of greater worth are sent to you, and those that are of lesser worth remain behind. Aspasia How are you able to recognize them? Flessippo By means of experience, the true teacher of all things. Aspasia Ahh! Please tell me how you experience them! Flessippo Most gladly, Signora. The eagle, when her eaglets are in the nest, can see that they are endowed with a beak, with claws, and with feathers like herself: yet, nonetheless, she will not be assured that they are truly hers until she has tested their eyesight. Therefore she makes them gaze at the Sun: the ones who do not endure its dazzling rays, come back to her as if they were not her sons, as if they had been chased out of the nest. Those eaglets who, on the other hand, keep their eyes steady amidst that noble light return to her welcomed and caressed as her true offspring.136 And thus, even though all my thoughts have—as your Ladyship says—some taste of gentle sweetness, I only hold them worthy of you, my Love and my Life, if they can sustain with their gaze the most brilliantly shining sun of your beauty, and of your virtues.

266 Amorosi contrasti Aspasia Duolmi, che nelle lodi che vi piace di darmi, io vi discopro molto più eloquente che verace. Ma godo che dal vostro dire ho imparato anch’io a far esperienza de miei pensieri. Anch’io per mezzo della prova (ancorché differente) conoscerò quali dei miei pensieri sarà degno del Signor Flessippo mio. Flessippo Come, prova differente? Aspasia Signor sì. Flessippo E qual sarà, affinché anch’io possa impararla? Aspasia Non per insegnarvi, ma per obbedire, dirò ch’io farò esperienza dei miei pensieri in quel modo che facevano esperienza i Celti dei figli loro. Flessippo E qual’era l’esperienza di quei popoli? Aspasia Quando nasceva loro un figlio, per conoscer se era legitimo, o naturale, subito nato lo gettavano nel fiume Reno. Se era naturale (fama è così) andava al fondo, se era legitimo, stava di sopra. I pensieri, che nasceranno in me, porrò io nel fiume del mio pianto. Se andranno al fondo, come grevi d’indegnità, gli lascierò perire, e li conoscerò indegni di voi. Se staranno nella superficie dell’acqua, come elevati e sublimi, li conoscerò meritevoli del mio Signore, onde a lui solo saranno dedicati. Flessippo Come, che ponerete i vostri pensieri nel fiume del vostro pianto, Signora? Il pianto nasce dal dolore, e io sò pure, che non ve ne dò, come neanche vi darò giammai occasione di dolervi.

Lovers’ Debates 267 Aspasia It saddens me, that in the praises you like to give me, I find you far more eloquent than truthful, but I relish the fact that from your way of speaking I have learned to gain experience by my thoughts. I, too, by means of testing them—even if differently—will understand which of my thoughts will be worthy of my Signore Flessippo. Flessippo How’s that, “testing them differently”? Aspasia O yes, Signore. Flessippo And what exactly would this be? Tell me, so I can learn it! Aspasia Not in order to teach you, but to honor your request, I shall tell you that I shall test my thoughts in the same way that the Celts tested their children. Flessippo And what was the testing practiced by the Celtic peoples? Aspasia Whenever a son was born, to know whether he was legitimate or not, he was thrown into the river Rhine. If he was illegitimate, he sank to the bottom—so the legend goes—but if he was legitimate he remained floating above.137 I will place the thoughts that are born within me in the river of my tears, and if they descend to the bottom, like the heaviest of indignities, I will let them perish, knowing them to be unworthy of you. If they remain on the surface of the water, as elevated and sublime thoughts, I will know them to be most worthy of your Lordship, and thus to him only they will be dedicated. Flessippo How’s this?! You will place your thoughts in the river of your tears? Signora, tears and lamentation are born from pains and sorrows, and yet I know that I do not give you them, nor shall I ever give you cause for grieving.

268 Amorosi contrasti Aspasia Amore non è mai senza dolore, e conseguentemente non è mai senza lagrime. Non sapete, che ordinariamente si dice, che nè di rivi i prati, nè le Api di fiori, nè le Capre di frondi, nè di lagrime Amore, si vider sazii giammai. Dunque, benché voi non siate (bontà vostra) per darmi occasione di doglia, non perciò rimarrò di piangere, oltre che versano ancor gli amanti lagrime di contento. Flessippo Sian’ lagrime di contento le vostre, Signora mia, ch’io ne goderò, e se pur di duolo, siano solamente per quel tributo che Amor chiede agli amanti, e non per mio mancamento. Ma per mio mancamento non sarà, avend’io fisso nell’animo di non darvene mai una minima occasione. Ma voi diceste, che quei pensieri che non andranno al fondo, saranno a me rivolti. O mia vita, pure che lo star’ a gala nella superficie dell’acqua, non denoti leggerezza, e conseguentemente volubilità. Ogni cosa andrà bene. Aspasia Saranno leggieri sì, ma non però volubili, quanto più saranno lievi, tanto più saranno degni. Le cose gravi, quanto son gravi, tanto più facilmente scendono al centro, così le leggiere quanto più son leggiere, tanto più facilmente poggiano al cielo. Dunque i miei pensieri, quanto più saranno leggieri, tanto più saranno celesti. Flessippo L’argomento è buono, ma io per me goderei più che fossero gravi, perche li riputerei stabili. Aspasia Orsù, farò esperienza di loro in altro modo, e forse vi sarà più caro. Flessippo Facilmente, ma qual sarà la seconda esperienza? Aspasia Farò esperienza dei miei pensieri come faceva la minor [dea del mare] Theti de figli suoi. Flessippo Come faceva ella, Signora?

Lovers’ Debates 269 Aspasia Love never exists without pains and sorrows, and consequently it is never without tears. Do you not know? It is commonly said that Love is never sated with flowing tears, just as the brooks are never sated of meadows, the bees of flowers, and the goats of leafy fronds. Therefore, although you would never—O your kindness!— give me cause for grieving, nonetheless I will have some reason to cry, for, after all, lovers still shed tears of joy. Flessippo May yours be tears of joy, Signora mia, so I too may delight in them, or, if they be of sorrow, may they be so only as that tribute which Love demands of lovers, and not for my insufficiency. But no, it will not be for my insufficiency, having resolved and determined in my soul never to give you the slightest cause or occasion for grief. But you did say, that those thoughts which do not sink to the bottom will be aimed at me; O my Love and my Life, as long as floating across the surface of the water does not denote lightness, and consequently instability, everything will go well. Aspasia O yes, they will be light, but not at all unstable. The lighter they will be, the more worthy they will be: heavy things, the heavier they are, the more easily drop to the center—just so, light things, the lighter they are, the more easily rise toward heaven. Therefore my thoughts, the lighter they are, the more heavenly they will be. Flessippo The argument is a good one. But for my part, I would be all the more pleased were they heavy, for then I would deem them stable. Aspasia O come now, let me experiment with them in another way, perhaps one that will be more convincing to you.138 Flessippo Certainly—but what will be the second experiment? Aspasia I shall experiment with—and gain experience of—my thoughts in the way that the sea goddess Thetis did with her sons. Flessippo And what did she do, Signora?

270 Amorosi contrasti Aspasia Questa essendo Dea, ed essendo maritata in Peleo, ch’era mortale, ogni volta che partoriva per conoscer se i parti avevano la qualità del padre, o della madre, li gettava nel fuoco. Se ardevano, li conosceva mortali, e sdegnandoli lasciava consumare. Avendo partorito Achille, parimente l’abbruciava, ma Peleo se ne avvide, e la impedì, ond’ella poi per farlo almeno impenetrabile (poiché non nacque immortale) lo tuffò nel fiume Lethe. E perché lo prese per un piede, e si scordò di bagnarglielo, Paride poi l’uccise, saettandoli quella parte. Se dunque per conoscere i pensieri mortali dagli immortali, li metterò nel fuoco del mio seno. Se li conoscerò mortali, gli lascierò incenerire, se immortali saranno destinati alle vostre immortali virtù. Flessippo O felicissimo cambio d’amorosi pensieri: O felicissimo Flessippo, a cui sarà dato in sorte di pensar’ alle azioni sue con pensieri immortali dell’immortale sua donna. Aspasia In virtù di questo gentile, e gradito cambio di pensieri, Signor Flessippo mio, l’uno potrò assicurarsi dell’amor dell’altra, e l’altra dell’amor dell’uno, perché i miei pensieri come miei, non lascieranno mai che voi pensiate ad altra che a me, e i vostri non consentiranno, ch’io d’altrui che di Flessippo pensi. Flessippo Addio, dunque, ricetto di tutti i miei pensieri. Aspasia Addio, preziosa conserva dei miei.

Lovers’ Debates 271 Aspasia She, being a goddess, and married to the mortal Peleus, each time that she gave birth, in order to know if the newborn infants had the traits of their father or of their mother, she threw them into the fire: if they burned, she knew that they were mortal, and disdaining them, she let them be consumed by the flames. When she gave birth to Achilles, she likewise burned him, but Peleus caught her in the act, and stopped her—after which, to make her son at least impenetrable (since he was not born immortal), she washed him in the waters of the River Lethe, and because she held him by a heel, and forgot to bathe it, Paris then killed him, shooting his arrow at that exact point.139 Therefore, to distinguish mortal thoughts from immortal ones, I shall put them in the fire of my breast: if I realize that they are mortal, I shall let them turn to ashes, but if I know that they are immortal, they will be turned toward your own immortal virtues. Flessippo O most happy exchange of loving thoughts! O most happy Flessippo, to whom shall be given the good fortune of thinking of his actions with the immortal thoughts of his immortal woman! Aspasia By virtue of this gentle, and most pleasing exchange of thoughts, my own Signor Flessippo, you will be assured of my love, and I of your love, because my thoughts, being mine, will never let you think of any woman but me, just as your thoughts will not allow me to think of anyone but Flessippo. Flessippo Farewell, then, refuge of all my thoughts! Aspasia Farewell, precious storehouse of mine!

272 Amorosi contrasti [24] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la gelosia in Amore Eliodoro, e Theossena Eliodoro Or sì, ch’io posso dire, vedendovi: ecco l’Aurora che sponta dalla dorata porta d’Oriente. Teossena Veramente sì, che potete chiamarmi Aurora, poi ch’io col vento degli amorosi miei sospiri, spente le facelle della notte, vengo messaggiera felice di voi mio lucidissimo Sole, che con lo splendor dei begli occhi consumate i vapori dell’amorose mie pene. Eliodoro E non può essere Signora mia, ch’essendo insieme come noi siamo, voi siate l’Aurora, e io il Sole, perché l’Aurora e il Sole non sono amanti. Teossena Poiché l’Aurora e il Sole non sono (come veramente non sono) amanti, bisognerà dire, amarvi io come v’amo, che voi siate o Cefalo o Titone. Guardate quale dei due vorreste essere. Eliodoro Signora, Cefalo era giovane, e Titone vecchio: in amore è miglior la gioventù che la vecchiezza, dunque sarebbe meglio ch’io fossi Cefalo. Teossena Se volete esser Cefalo, non mi sarete amante, ma nemico: poiché Cefalo fu così contrario all’Aurora, ch’ella fu sforzata a rapirlo e io vorrei, che dovendo seguir contentezza tra noi, seguisse per volontà, e non per forza. Eliodoro Dunque sarò Titone, Signora. Teossena Come Titone, sarete vecchio, e conseguentemente geloso, essendo la vecchiezza proprio albergo della gelosia.

Lovers’ Debates 273 [24] Lovers’ Debate on Jealousy in Love Translated by Eric Nicholson Eliodoro and Teossena140 Eliodoro O yes, I can truly say, upon seeing you: “Behold, ’tis Aurora, the Dawn, who bursts forth from the golden portals of the East!” Teossena Indeed, yes—you can call me Aurora, since I, once night’s torches are put out, arrive with the soft breeze of my amorous sighs as your happy messenger, O most brilliantly shining Sun, who with the splendour of your lovely eyes dispels the mists of my amorous pains. Eliodoro And yet this cannot be, my Signora, being together as we are, with you as Aurora and myself as the Sun, because Aurora and the Sun are not lovers. Teossena Since Aurora and the Sun are not lovers—and truly they are not—it needs to be decided, to love you as I do love you, that you are either Cephalus or Tithonus:141 choose which of these two you would like to be. Eliodoro Signora, Cephalus was young, and Tithonus old: in love, youth is better than old age, therefore it would be better for me to be Cephalus. Teossena If you wish to be Cephalus, you will not be my lover, but my enemy: for Cephalus resisted Aurora so much that she was forced to seize and abduct him, and I would wish, in order for us to pursue happiness, to pursue it because of our shared will, and not because of force. Eliodoro Therefore I shall be Tithonus, Signora. Teossena As Tithonus, you shall be old, and consequently, jealous, old age being the true and proper dwelling-place of jealousy.

274 Amorosi contrasti Eliodoro Toglietemi Titone nei suoi prim’anni, e toglietemi in ogni modo geloso, essendo buona la gelosia in Amore. Teossena Anzi, che non è cosa più cattiva in amore della gelosia, essend’ ella appunto in lui come il loglio nelle biade, le rughe nelle spighe, e il tarlo nel legno, la gelosia è come l’edera, che, serpendo intorno al cuore degli infelici amanti, va rovinando quanto Amor vi fabbrica. Eliodoro Sì, la disperazione, Signora, e non la gelosia. Io sono amante, ed essendo amante non posso far di meno di non esser geloso, poiché chi ama teme, e la gelosia non è altro che timore. Dunque, chi ama, naturalmente teme, e naturalmente è geloso. Teossena Argomento, che in sembianza di vero, è tutto falso. Al quale rispondendo dico, che non è necessario a chi ama l’esser geloso; chi è geloso veramente ama, ma ognuno che ama non è geloso. Così, ciò che è gelosia è ben timore, ma ciò che è timore non è gelosia. Come ancora ciò che è uomo, è animale, ma ciò che è animale non è uomo. Conosca si la differenza, che è tra il timore e la gelosia in questo: che il timore conserva ed accresce l’amore, e la gelosia lo scema, e lo trasforma in rabbia. Ecco Scilla, da Circe per gelosia conversa in cane rabbioso, ci dimostra che i cuori degli infelici gelosi vengono sempre divorati da famelici cani, cioè da rabbiosi pensieri, che gli distruggono. Eliodoro Se io fossi di soverchio geloso, potrebb’ essere, che mi avvenisce quel che V. S dice, ma essendo geloso temperatamente (è forza contraddirvi Signora) la gelosia quando non è molto grande, è come l’acqua che si getta sopra la calce, che se è poca, maggiormente l’infiamma, e se è molta, l’estingue. Teossena La gelosia suppone mancamento, o in se stesso, o nella cosa amata, in sè di merito, in lei di fede. In voi non è mancamento di merito, dunque secondo questa opinione, sarà in me fede, e ogni volta, che mi riputerete infedele, voi non m’amerete.

Lovers’ Debates 275 Eliodoro Take me as Tithonus in his younger years, and take me in any case as a jealous man, jealousy being a good thing for lovers to feel. Teossena On the contrary, there is nothing more evil in love than jealousy, ’tis like the darnel142 in the fodder, wrinkles in the ear of corn, termites in the wood; jealousy is like ivy, which snakes around the hearts of unhappy lovers, and goes about destroying as much as Love creates. Eliodoro Yes, but that’s the work of desperation, Signora, not jealousy. I am a lover, and being a lover, I cannot help but be jealous, for he who loves also fears, and jealousy is nothing else than fearfulness. Therefore he who loves naturally fears, and naturally he is jealous. Teossena Your argument seems to be true, but it is completely false. In response, I say that it is not necessary for one who loves to be jealous. He who is jealous naturally loves, but anyone who loves is not necessarily jealous. Thus, that which is jealousy is indeed a fearfulness, but that which is fearfulness is not jealousy: just as that which is human is animal, but that which is animal is not human. Learn, then, the difference between that which is fear and that which is jealousy, in this matter, and you will understand that fearfulness preserves love, and makes it grow, but jealousy tears it apart, and transforms it into rage. Consider the tale of Scilla, how she was changed by Circe, out of jealousy, into a rabid dog.143 This demonstrates that the hearts of unhappy, jealous lovers are always devoured by famished dogs, that is, by rabid thoughts, which destroy them. Eliodoro If I were excessively jealous, it might be that I would become what your Ladyship describes, but being moderately jealous (I must needs contradict you, Signora), [I say that] jealousy, when it is not extreme, is like water, which, when it’s thrown on quicklime, if it is but little, makes it more intensely burn, but when it is much, extinguishes the fire. Teossena Jealousy presupposes a lack, either in one’s own self, or in the beloved, of merit on the one hand, and of faith on the other. In you there is no lack of merit; therefore, following this view, there will be faith inside of me, and every time that you repute me unfaithful, you will not be loving me.

276 Amorosi contrasti Eliodoro Signora io v’amo, e più tosto che creder’ in voi mancamento di fede, voglio confessar’ in me mancamento di merito (e così non fosse, come è purtroppo vero), onde mancando di merito, temo che altrui meritevole non mi vi tolga. Teossena Discacciate pur Signor Eliodoro mio questo pauroso sospetto, essendo che non vi è alcuno a mio giudizio, che di merito vi pareggi, non che vi superi. Dunque, date bando interamente a questa furia d’Averno, che nascondendo le sue ceraste tra i fiori dell amorose contentezze, gli infetta e gli consuma. Eliodoro Dica quanto Vostra Signoria a mio onore si è compiaciuta di dire, le rendo grazie, e serberà nel cuore l’obbligo pari alla gentilezza. In quanto poi al non esser geloso, io non m’acqueto, sapendo, che amore e gelosia sono tra loro come il raggio e la luce, il baleno e il folgore, lo spirito e la vita. Eh Signora, che sempre la gelosia è segno e indizio d’amore. Teossena Ancor l’aceto è segno del vino, e la febre indizio della vita. Ma non mi negherete già, che il vino non possa stare senza l’aceto, e la vita senza la febre, così ancora molto meglio può stare, e stà amore senza gelosia. L’aceto guasta il vino, e la gelosia guasta l’amore. La febre, entrando nella vita v’entra piuttosto per ridurla a morte che per altro, e la gelosia entrando in amore, v’entra piuttosto per distruggerlo, e ridurlo in rabbia, che per accrescerlo, ed annentarlo. Eliodoro Non sia vero Signora Teossena, ch’io sia uccisore (consentendo alla gelosia) d’un’amore così bene impiegato, e dico bene impiegato, aver riguardo all’eccellenza delle vostre virtù. Dunque darò bando ad ogni molesto pensiero. Teossena Fatelo, Signor mio sì, perché io lo merito come fedele, come perché non si conviene ad uomo tanto perfetto, e amar meno che perfettamente, e certo, che non amereste perfettamente ogni volta che fosse geloso, perché la gelosia è difetto. Dove è difetto, è imperfezione, e dov’è imperfezione, non può essere amor perfetto. Eliodoro Per ubbidirvi, negherò a me stesso la propria volontà. Fra tanto ricordatevi di chi vi porta scolpita nel cuore.

Lovers’ Debates 277 Eliodoro Signora, I love you, and rather than believe that you lack faith, I need to recognize my own lack of merit (would it were not so, but alas, ’tis all too true), whereby, knowing I lack merit, I fear that one more worthy will take you from me. Teossena My Signor Eliodoro, chase away this fearful doubt, there being no one, in my mind, who surpasses or even equals you in merit. Therefore banish entirely this Infernal Fury, who, hiding her vipers among the flowers of amorous contentments, infects and devours them. Eliodoro For the great honor that your Ladyship’s words have done me, I give thanks. And my obligation, equal to your gentleness, shall be kept inside my heart. As for not being jealous, I cannot be assuaged, knowing that love and jealousy go together like a ray of light, and light itself, like lightning and a thunderbolt, like life and vital spirit. Ah, Signora, you see that jealousy is always a sign and symptom of love. Teossena Vinegar is a sign of wine, and a fever an indication of life, but you cannot deny the fact that wine can exist without vinegar, and life without fever. Thus love can abide all the better without jealousy, for just as vinegar spoils wine, so jealousy spoils love. A fever, entering into life, enters to reduce it to death, more than for any other reason, and so jealousy, entering into love, enters more to destroy it, and reduce it to rage, than to make it grow, and add to it. Eliodoro Let it not be the case, Signora Teossena, that I will yield to jealousy and be the killer of a love so well bestowed, indeed very well bestowed, considering the excellence of your virtues and merits. Therefore I shall banish any vexing thought from my mind. Teossena Do so, Signor mio! For indeed I deserve it as a faithful lover, just as it is not fitting for such a perfect man to love in any way less than perfectly. Certainly, you would not love perfectly any time that you were jealous, because jealousy is a defect, and where there is a defect there is imperfection, and where there is imperfection, there can no longer be perfect love. Eliodoro In order to obey you, I shall deny myself my own will. Above all, remember who carries you forever engraved in his heart.

278 Amorosi contrasti Teossena E voi siate ricordevole, di chi vi porta nell’anima. Eliodoro O me felice, poiché raccolgo sì buon frutto delle mie lunghe fatiche. Teossena Sinora avete goduti i fiori dell’amorosa primavera, con speranza, anzi, con certezza di raccogliere i frutti nell’amoroso Autunno. E così sarà piacendo ad Amore. Eliodoro Amore tutto lieto, e festoso alberga nella vostra gentilissima grazia, e nella vostra innata bontade. Addio, anima mia. Teossena Addio, mio cuore.

Lovers’ Debates 279 Teossena And for your part, remember who carries you in her soul. Eliodoro O happy me, for thus I gather the delicious fruit of my long labors! Teossena Until now you have enjoyed the flowers of the amorous spring, with the hope—or rather with the certainty—of gathering the fruits in the amorous autumn. With Love wishing it so, thus it shall be. Eliodoro Most happy and joyous Love lives in your most gentle grace, and in your innate bounty. Farewell, my soul! Teossena Farewell, mine own heart!

280 Amorosi contrasti [25] Amoroso Contrasto sopra i rimedii d’Amore Marcella, e Troilo Marcella Ben’ trovato il Sig. Troilo, la crudeltà di cui accresce continuamente il numero degli amorosi miei tormenti. Troilo Se la mia crudeltà (per dir come voi dite) accresce il numero dei vostri amorosi tormenti, e la speranza vostra a me noiosa è cagione, ch’io senta infinito dispiacere, talmente che voi stessa fate le vostre contro di me. Marcella Così acerbamente mi rispondete Signor Troilo? Così poco vi curate di chi tanto v’ama? Ah crudele, non possono dunque le mie parole muovervi a pietà del mio dolore? Non possono dunque le mie lagrime intenerir quel duro smalto, in cui sta involto il vostro cuore? Non possono dunque i miei sospiri riscaldar quel petto, che già fatto per me tutto di ghiaccio, il lor calor non cura? Troilo Credete pure Signora Marcella, che nè vostre parole, nè vostre lagrime, nè vostri sospiri sono mai per vincer l’animo mio: sicché, lasciate oggimai per util vostro d’amarmi. Marcella Ohimè, Sign. Troilo, che non è in mia facoltà di lasciar quello che non fù in mia potestà d’eleggere. Troilo Come no? Credete pur Signora, che si può disamar quando si vuole, e se voi vorrete disamarmi, il potere non andrà disgiunto dal volere. Marcella Eh mio Signore, può bene alcuno per avventura guardarsi di non ammalare, o di non essere ferito, ma ammalato o ferito ch’egli è, non può a sua voglia risanare. Così può facilmente alcuno, guardarsi nel principio di non s’innamorare, ma innamorato, ch’egli è, non può a sua voglia disamare.

Lovers’ Debates 281 [25] Lovers’ Debate on Remedies of Love Translated by Eric Nicholson Marcella and Troilo144 Marcella Well met, Signor Troilo, you whose cruelty continually increases my amorous torments. Troilo If my cruelty (to speak as you do) increases the number of your amorous torments, it is because of your own hope, which annoys me, and makes me feel infinite displeasure, so much so that you make your torments mine as well. Marcella How can you respond to me with such bitterness, Signor Troilo? Do you really care so little for she who loves you so much? Ah, cruel one, cannot my words move you to take pity on my sorrow? Cannot my tears soften that hard, steely armor which encases your heart? Cannot my sighs light fire within that breast, which already has become a block of ice toward me, disdainful of my breathing heat? Troilo Believe me, Signora Marcella, neither your words, nor your tears, nor your sighs will ever win my soul: therefore, for your own good, you would do best to stop loving me. Marcella Ay me, Signor Troilo, I have no power to leave what was never in my power to choose. Troilo How can that be? Believe it, Signora, one can fall out of love when one wishes, and if you wish to fall out of love with me, the ability to do so will accord with the will. Marcella Ah, mio Signore, it might happen that one takes care not to fall ill, or be wounded, but ill or wounded as he becomes, he cannot, according to his will, regain his health. Just so, a person can readily resist falling in love at the beginning, but once in love cannot, simply by wishing it, fall out of love.

282 Amorosi contrasti Troilo Signora, Amore nasce nel campo dei nostri voleri, senza i quali, si come pianta senza terreno, egli non può aver loco giammai. Se dunque Amore nasce (come nasce) dalla volontà nostra, ogni volta che vorremo non amare, potremmo farlo. Marcella La passion d’Amore è differente da tutte le altre passioni, conciosia che tutte l’altre perturbazioni degli animi lasciano libera la volontà. Ma questa perturbazione amorosa lega subito la volontà nostra, o tiranneggiando la fa serva, in modo che chi ben’ama, come fò io, non può volere se non quello ch’amor vuole. Troilo Il cielo istesso non sforza la nostra volontà, e la sforzerà Amore? Chi non sà disporre di se stesso non merita di vivere. Conosco ben’io molti che sanno amare, e disamare a lor voglia, e io per me sarei uno di quelli quando volessi. Marcella Potreste chiamarvi felice, poi che felice è colui, che può amare e disamare a sua voglia. Ma come non si dà felicità tra i mortali, così al parer mio non si trova alcuno che possa amare e non amare a suo piacere. Credetemi Sig. Troilo, che chi può a suo piacere disamare non ama. Come può alcuno non voler quel che egli vuole? Ceome non essere dove egli è, o partirsi da se stesso? Troilo Molti sono i modi per liberarsi dall’amore, come sarebbe il non vedere la cosa amata, il non conversare con lei, e allontanarsi da quella. Marcella Quel che nel cuor si porta, in vano si fugge. Non sapete voi, che non si toglie al cuore, quel’ che agli occhi si toglie? Troilo Credetemi, che la fuga è il vero rimedio per sanar l’amorose ferite. Marcella Chi può sperare di salvarsi con la fuga da un Signore che ha le ali? Ma posto, che si possa fuggir’ amore, non si fuggirà il tormento da lui cagionato: fugge il cervo il cacciatore, ma non fugge però la ferita. Può bene alcuno amando desiderar di non sentir dolore, ma di non amar, non già.

Lovers’ Debates 283 Troilo Signora, Love is born in the field of our desires, without which, just like a plant without soil, he would never have a place to function. If, then, Love is born (as it is born) from our wills, every time that we desire not to love, we can do so. Marcella The passion of Love is different from all other passions, given that all the other perturbations of souls leave the will free. But this amorous perturbation quickly enchains our will, or, playing the tyrant, it enslaves it, so that whoever loves well, as I do, can only wish for that which Love wishes. Troilo Heaven itself does not force our will to do something, and you claim that Love will force our will? One who is unable to take care of one’s own self does not deserve to live! I know many people who can fall in and then fall out of love as they will, and speaking for myself, I would be one of them, whenever I would wish it. Marcella You can call yourself happy, since happy is he who can love and not love as he wishes. But as happiness is not the lot of mortals, so I believe that there cannot be found anyone who can love and not love as he or she pleases. Believe me, Signor Troilo, he who can fall out of love as he pleases does not love at all. How can anyone not desire what he or she desires? How can he not be where he is, or separate himself from himself? Troilo Many are the ways to free oneself from love: it could be that you don’t see any longer the beloved thing, or you don’t speak with it, or you become distant from it. Marcella One flees in vain from that which one carries in one’s heart. Do not you know that you cannot take from the heart what one can take from the vision of the eyes? Troilo Believe me, taking flight is the true remedy for healing the wounds of love. Marcella Who can hope to save herself by fleeing from a Lord who has wings? But suppose one could flee love, one still cannot flee the torment caused by love. The deer may flee from the hunter, but does not free itself of its wound. It may happen that a person who loves will desire not to feel pain, but fleeing from loving? No, that she will not.

284 Amorosi contrasti Troilo Quando la fuga non sia possente rimedio per liberarsi dalla tirannide d’Amore, non mi negherete già, che il pensar ai difetti della cosa amata non vaglia. Pensate dunque ai miei difetti, che sono infiniti, e per mezzo di quelli procurate di riaver la libertà, che io per contento vostro ne goderò. Marcella Se voi aveste caro il mio contento, mi amereste. Deh, mio Signore, come poss’io pensare a vostri difetti, se in voi non ce n’è alcuno? E quando alcun difetto voi aveste, non sapete che i difetti, a chi ama, paiono grazie? Oltre, che quando ardentemente si ama, si giudica la cosa amata l’istessa perfezione, e questo essendo non si può pensar ai difetti, perché nella perfezione difetto alcuno non cade. Troilo Non vive alcuno in terra, per compiuto che egli si sia, che non abbia qualche mancamento, e il mancamento non è altro che difetto, il quale credo che in quel fervor d’amore non si conosca. Ma quando la passione amorosa dà luogo alla ragione, si conosce chiaramente ogni minuzia. Marcella Chi trovasse Amore e Ragione uniti insieme, potrebbe dire d’aver trovato maggior mostro che non era il Minotauro in Creta. Troilo Secondo i Medici, amore è una passione molto simile all umore melanconico, onde vi pongono la cura come all’altre indisposizioni, per la qual cosa si conosce che l’infermità d’amore si può risanare. Marcella Non è alcuno che possa dubitare se amore è infermità della mente, e del corpo. Ma sono ben molti che dubitano s’ella può sanarsi. Se vogliamo credere al Toscano Poeta, che tanto seppe, diremo che non, poiché anch’egli lo dice in questi versi che dicono: Quando che’ l primo strale Fece la piaga, ond’io non guarrò mai. Apollo fu pur Dio della medicina, e non però potè sanar se stesso della febre amorosa. Troilo Secondo voi in vano dunque, e Ovidio e Lucrezio scrissero dei rimedi d’amore?

Lovers’ Debates 285 Troilo When fleeing does not serve as a potent remedy for freeing oneself from the tyranny of Love, do not deny the worth of thinking of the beloved object’s defects. Therefore think of my defects, which are infinite, and by doing so you will regain your freedom, and I shall rejoice in your contentment. Marcella If you held dear my contentment, then you would love me. Ah, mio Signore, how can I think of your defects, if in you there is not a single one? And even if you did have a defect, do not you know that to a person in love, defects seem graces? Besides, when one loves ardently, one deems the beloved object to be Perfection itself, and this being the case, it is impossible to think of defects, because no defect can appear in Perfection. Troilo There is no man alive on this planet, no matter how accomplished he may be, who does not have some shortcoming, and a shortcoming is nothing other than a defect. Yet, as I believe, this defect is not recognized by someone possessed by the fervor of love. But when amorous passion gives way to reason, then minute detail is clearly recognized. Marcella Whoever found Love and Reason united together could claim to have found a monster even greater than the Minotaur of Crete! Troilo According to doctors, love is a passion very like the melancholic humor, to which a cure can be applied, just as with other maladies, whereby it is evident that the infirmity of love can indeed be cured. Marcella No one can doubt that love is an infirmity of both mind and body, but many people doubt that it can be cured. If we wish to believe the Tuscan Poet,145 who knew so much about so many things, we would have to say “no,” because he too speaks his view in these verses: “Quando che’l primo strale Fece la piaga, ond’io non guarrò mai,” that is, “When the first arrow made its wound, / from which I shall never heal.” Apollo was the god of medicine, but he could not cure himself of the amorous fever. Troilo You would affirm, then, that Ovid and Lucretius wrote their Remedies of Love146 in vain?

286 Amorosi contrasti Marcella Micale donna della Thessalia, essendo intendentissima, scrisse anch’ella con valide ragioni dei rimedi d’amore, ma il cielo sà quel ch’ella fece, e sofferse per amore. Ovidio amò grandemente Corinna. Lucrezio poi, ben ch’egli scrisse dei rimedi d’amore, è chiaro che per sua cagione prima diventò pazzo, e poi s’uccise. Troilo Costui fu più tosto bestiale, che amante. Sovvengavi Signora, che levando l’ozio si spezza l’arco di Cupido. Marcella E’ vero: ma questo si deve far nel principio, e prima ch’altri sia ferito. Ma, poiché siamo feriti, è vano. Piaga per allentar d’arco non sana. Troilo Non può negar’alcuno che amore non se ne vada per lungo oblio. Marcella Questo è poco meno che dire, chi vuol guarir dall’amore non ami. Quella fiamma, che amore accende con la sua forza in noi, null’altra forza ammorzar può, che amore. Troilo Amore al giudizio mio non può esser fine d’amore. Ne hà del verisimile, ch’egli estingua il proprio fuoco. Lo spegne ben lo sdegno, onde con ragion fu detto che un giusto sdegno ogni gran fuoco ammorza. Marcella Par bene che sia lo sdegno che spegna il fuoco d’amore. Ma è però l’istesso amore, perché non si lascia il primo amore se non per mezzo del secondo, o sia volto verso se stesso, o verso altrui. Dunque si discaccia amore con amore, come d’asse si trae chiodo con chiodo. Troilo Amate dunque per utile vostro più voi stessa, o altra persona, che mè, accioché possiate vincer’ amor con amore, che così avrete trovato rimedio al vostro male.

Lovers’ Debates 287 Marcella Being so wise and learned, Mycale, the woman of Thessaly,147 wrote with good reason of the remedies of love, but heaven knows what she did and suffered for love. Ovid loved Corinna greatly.148 Lucretius, for his part—even though it is clear that he wrote of the remedies of love—because of love first went mad, and then he killed himself.149 Troilo Then he was more of a beast than a lover. It can happen, Signora, that by removing leisure time the bow of Cupid can be broken. Marcella This is true: but this must be done at the outset, and before others might be wounded. But since we are wounded, ’tis all in vain. [quoting] “Piaga per allentar d’arco non sana” [“a wound is not healed by the loosening of the bow”].150 Troilo No one can deny that love goes away because of forgetfulness. Marcella This is as much as to say that she who wishes to be cured of love does not love. That flame, which Love with his power ignites in us, cannot be extinguished by any other power but Love himself. Troilo In my mind, Love himself cannot be the one who ends love: it does not seem likely that he extinguishes his own fire. Disdain snuffs it out, for which with reason it was said: Ch’un giusto sdegno ogni gran foco ammorza.” [“A righteous disdain puts out every great fire.”]151 Marcella It seems true that disdain puts out the flames of love: but it is still the same love, for the first love does not leave, unless by means of a second love, whether turned toward oneself or toward another. Thus love is chased away with love, as from a beam one nail drives out another.152 Troilo Therefore love yourself, for your own benefit, rather than love me, or another person, so that you may conquer love with love, and thus you will have found the remedy to your malady.

288 Amorosi contrasti Marcella Non sia vero che io ami altr’uomo più di voi, benché mi siate crudele e fiero, atteso che mi è più caro di languir per voi che per altro esser contenta. Nè men sia che io giammai ami più me stessa che voi. Amerò dunque mentre avrò vita, più di ogn’altro, e più di me stessa, e prima che io rimanga d’amarvi, si fermerà l’Avoltoio di Titio, il sasso di Sisifo, la ruota d’Isione, e l’altre pene tutte degli infelici dannati.

Lovers’ Debates 289 Marcella It cannot be true that I love another man more than you, for even though you are cruel and savage to me, it is sweeter to languish for you than to be content with someone else. Nor can it ever be that I would love myself more than I love you. Therefore I shall love you as long as I shall live, more than any other, and more than my very self, and ere I cease to love you the vulture will stop devouring Tityus, Sisyphus will stop rolling his boulder, Ixion’s wheel will stop turning, and so too will end the other torments of all unhappy damned souls.153

290 Amorosi contrasti [26] Amoroso Contrasto sopra i saluti Costanza, e Mario Costanza Che siete voi venuto a far quì, o sempre molesto e importuno Sig. Mario? Mario Son venuto per salutarvi, o sempre bella e cruda Signora Costanza. Costanza In fine, un bugiardo ha sempre bisogno di buona memoria. Non m’avete voi mille volte detto, e giurato, che per colpa della mia crudeltà non solo non avete salute alcuna, ma che neanche la sperate? Mario Signora sì. Costanza Come dunque non avendo salute in voi, vi date a credere di poterla dar ad altrui? Niuno può dar quello che egli per se stesso non possiede. Mario Possono far molte cose gli amanti in virtù d’Amore, che non possono far gli altri, Signora mia. Costanza Sig. Mario, quello che non può fare alcuno, non possono far meno gli amanti. Troppo sarebbono privilegiati, quando essi potessero far quello che non possono fare tutti gli altri viventi. Mario Perdonatemi, Signora, non è così. Perché io sono certo di darvi quello, che per me stesso non posseggo. E sò parimente che voi (ben che non amante) mi date quello che per voi medesima non avete. Costanza Sarete un gran Logico, e un gran Sofista, se per mezzo di sillogismi e di sofismi mi farete conoscer questo.

Lovers’ Debates 291 [26] Lovers’ Debate on Salutations154 Translated by Julie D. Campbell Costanza and Mario155 Costanza What have you come here for, O perpetually annoying and importunate Signor Mario? Mario I’ve come to bring you salutations, O always beautiful and cruel Signora Costanza. Costanza [Salutary, indeed!] In the end, a liar always needs a good memory. Haven’t you told me a thousand times and sworn that by dint of my cruelty, you not only have no health but also no hope? Mario Signora, yes. Costanza How is it, then, having no health in you, you presume you can give it? No one can give what he doesn’t possess himself. Mario Lovers can do many things, thanks to the power of the god of Love, that others cannot do, my Signora. Costanza Signor Mario, what someone isn’t capable of doing, lovers can’t do either. They would be too privileged if they could do something that all other living beings can’t do. Mario Pardon me, Signora, it’s not like that! I know for certain that I give you that which I myself do not possess, and I know likewise that you (even though not a lover) give me that which you yourself do not have. Costanza You will be a great Logician and a great Sophist, if by means of syllogisms and sophisms you teach me this.156

292 Amorosi contrasti Mario Non sò quello, che io mi sarò; sò bene che dirò il vero. Costanza Per dar più tosto fine, date principio. Mario Ora comincio: Signora, voi siete tutto ghiaccio contro di me, e nondimeno accendete co’ bei vostri occhi di questo mio seno ardentissimo fuoco. Io non ho vita, poiché son’ morto, e sepolto nei martiri, e pur dò vita a voi, che d’altro che dei miei tormenti non vivete. Ecco dunque, che ognuno di noi dà al suo vicino quello che per se medesimo non possiede. Dunque, benché in me non sia salute, per la medesima ragione posso pure a V. S. darla. Costanza Questo è quel verisimile d’Agatone: dir cose, che non essendo, abbiano sembianza di poter essere. Certo gli amanti sono (come diceste) privilegiati tra gli uomini, poiché possono dir molte bugie, e giurando affermando per verità senza pericolo di punizione, o pregiudizio d’onore, non tenendosi conto alcuno delle bugie e dei giuramenti degli innamorati, a beneficio dei quali i molini macinano continuamente, e giuramenti, e menzogne. Io dunque sono di ghiaccio, e desto nel vostro seno il fuoco, a guisa del Sole, che altrui riscalda, e non è caldo in esso. Io non dirò già, che non avendo voi vita, date vita a me coi vostri martiri, perché io non intendo di pascermi di cosi amaro cibo. Ma, ritornando ai saluti, mi sarà caro l’intendere, come non avendo voi salute, potete darmi salute. Mario Vi darò salute ancorché io non l’abbia, salutandovi come salutano gli augelli il Sole. Costanza Volete voi salutarmi come Rosignolo, o come Canario? Cioè piangendo, o cantando? Mario Vi saluterò cantando come canario, perche il pianto è di troppo mal’augurio. Costanza Il canto nasce da Letizia: se volete salutarmi cantando, voi non sentite passione, e se cosi è, come convien che sia, non è giusto che finto dolore desti vera pietade.

Lovers’ Debates 293 Mario I don’t know what I will be, but I know very well that I speak the truth. Costanza To get to your end, hurry up and get started. Mario Now, I shall begin: Signora, you are completely made of ice when it comes to me. Nonetheless you, with your beautiful eyes, kindle a most ardent fire in my breast. I have no life, since I am dead and buried with the martyrs. And yet, I give life to you. You, however, do not experience my torments. So, here we have it: each of us gives to his nearest and dearest that which he cannot possess himself. Therefore, since health is not in me, by the same token, I can surely give it to you, Signora. Costanza This is like Agathon’s “likelihood of the unlikely”: to say things that aren’t true, but seem that they can be true.157 Certainly lovers are (as you said) “privileged among men,” since they can tell many lies, while swearing to tell the truth without danger of punishment or injury to their honor. The endless lies and oaths of young men in love! They are never brought to account, for which benefit the mills of falsehood grind continuously with their swearing and lying. I, therefore, am [made] of ice, and awaken fire in your breast in the guise of the sun, who warms others, yet is not warm in and of itself.158 You won’t catch me saying that “not having life, you give life to me through your martyrdom”—because I don’t intend to feed on such bitter food. But, returning to your salutations, I would dearly like to know how, not having your health, you can give me health? Mario Even if I do not have it myself, I will give you health, greeting you as the little birds greet the sun. Costanza You want to salute me like the nightingale, or like the canary? That is, by crying or by singing? Mario I will salute you singing like a canary, because crying is too evil an omen. [Starts to sing] Costanza Song is born of joy. If you wish to greet me with singing, you do not feel true passion, and if it is thus, as we agree that it is, it isn’t right that false pain awakens true pity.

294 Amorosi contrasti Mario Non sapete come dice l’innamorato Poeta, Signora mia. Però s’alcuna volta io rido, o canto, Faccio lo, perche non ho se non quest’una Via da sfogar’il mio angoscioso pianto. Costanza Si, si, è bene alcuna volta simulare quel’ che si sente con effetti contrari. L’istesso Petrarca dice ancora che, Cesare, poi che il traditor d’Egitto, Gli fece il don dell’onorata testa Pianse per celar l’allegrezza, ed Annibale avendo la fortuna contraria, rise frà gente lagrimosa, e mesta per occultar la doglia. Ora, poiché pur volete come augello salutarmi, salutatemi come fa il corvo il mal tempo. Mario Vi saluterò come corvo, poiché cosi volete, ma non vorrò già dire che voi siete il mal tempo. Costanza Anzi, che io sono lo stesso mal tempo per voi, poiché per me dite che non avete mai buon tempo. Noi sogliamo dire quando il cielo è coperto di nubi, ch’egli è mal tempo, e voi mille volte m’avete detto, che il mio viso è un cielo angusto, ma che le mie ciglia torve di sdegno son quelle nubi che lo rendono fosco e oscuro. L’oscurità cagiona mal tempo, dunque sono il vostro mal tempo. Mario Si trova che un corvo in Roma salutò Cesare Imperatore dicendo: Ave Cesare. Poiché volete che io vi saluti come corvo, lo farò, non come mal tempo, ma come Imperatrice, dicendo: Ave Costanza. Costanza Se io avrò il Corvo tanto favorevole, bisognerà che io mi chiami Costanza Corvina, come fece Marco Valerio, che guerreggiando e vincendo il nimico suo col favor d’un corvo, si chiamò poi Marco Valerio Corvino.

Lovers’ Debates 295 Mario Don’t you know what the Poet in love says, my Signora? So if at any time I laugh or sing, I do so for I have no other way but this of hiding all my anguished tears.159 Costanza Yes, yes, it is good sometimes to feign that, even if one feels the opposite emotions. The same Petrarch also said that, Caesar, when the traitor of Egypt made him a gift of that great, honored head, wept to conceal his joy, and Hannibal, having the opposite fortune, laughed among his sad and tearful people to hide his pain.160 Now, since you wish to greet me as a bird would, greet me as a crow greets foul weather.161 Mario I will salute you like a crow, since that is what you wish, but now I would not want to say that you are foul weather. Costanza But I myself am foul weather for you, since because of me you say that you never have good weather. We usually say when the sky is covered with clouds, there is bad weather—and you have said a thousand times that my face is a miniature heaven, but that when my brow glowers with disdain, there are clouds that render it dark and gloomy. The darkness causes the bad weather, therefore I am your foul weather. Mario It is well-known that a crow in Rome saluted the Emperor Caesar, saying: Hail, Caesar!162 So, since you want me to salute you like a crow—I will do so, not to make foul weather, but [to greet you] as an Empress, saying, Hail, Costanza! [Saluting comically.] Costanza If I hold the Crow to be so favorable, it will be necessary that I call myself Costanza Corvina as did Marco Valerio, who, fighting against and conquering his enemy with the help of a crow, was then called Marco Valerio Corvino.163

296 Amorosi contrasti Mario Signora, Voi scherzate, e insieme mi burlate, e io vorrei far da dovere: concedetemi la grazia, e lasciamo le burle in disparte. Costanza Se non fosse caro l’esser amata da voi, potrei far quanto mi dite. Ma essendomi caro l’esser amata, non devo farlo. Mario Che ragioni sono le vostre, Signora? Anzi se vi è caro l’esser amata da me, dovete amarmi, poi che amore con amor si premia, e si mantiene, e che sia vero sovvengavi, che quel primo amore, che partorì Venere non cresceva, e che bisognò ch’ella partorisse il secondo, a fine che l’uno conservasse l’altro. Costanza Amore non è già altro che desiderio. Mario Signora sì. Costanza Se così è, come veramente è, voi sapete che il desiderio non nasce se non dalla privazione, non potendosi desiderar quello che si possiede. Ecco non desidera la sanità se non l’infermo: non desidera il porto se non colui, che n’è lontano, e non desidera la libertà se non colui ch’è prigione, o schiavo. Così non desidera la donna, se non colui che non l’ha. Se io fossi vostra, voi non mi desiderereste, e conseguentemente non mi amereste, non essendo amore altro che desiderio. Dunque, perché sempre abbiate ad amarmi, convien che sempre mi desideriate, e perche abbiate sempre a desiderarmi non bisogna che mai vi conceda, nè l’amor mio, nè me stessa. Mario Amore veramente non è altro che desiderio, e il desiderio non attende ad altro che a posseder la cosa amata. Ma perch’ egli la possegga, non rimane però di desiderare, e conseguentemente di amare, perché desidera la perseveranza dell’amore. Ecco dunque che ben che foste mia non rimarrei di desiderare, e d’amare in uno. Costanza I godimenti cagionano sazietà, e la sazietà è il fine d’amore. Dunque chi vuol esser amata, bisogna che non si lascia goder giammai. Perciò voglio mantener in voi il desiderio, col desiderio l’amerò. Ma voglio che il desiderio sia non di perseveranza, ma si bene di necessità.

Lovers’ Debates 297 Mario You are both joking and making fun of me, but I would like to be earnest: kindly grant me this, and we’ll leave the jokes aside. Costanza If it weren’t dear to me to be loved by you, I could do as you say, but since it is dear to me to be loved by you, I need not do it. Mario What are your reasons, Signora? If indeed it is dear to be loved by me, you should love me in return, since love is rewarded and sustained by love. And that this is true, let us recall how that first love, born of Venus, didn’t grow, and it was necessary that she give birth to the second, so that the one would sustain the other.164 Costanza Love is yet none other than desire. Mario Signora, yes. Costanza If it is thus, as truly it is, you know that desire is only born through deprivation—since one can’t desire what he [already] possesses. Look, one doesn’t desire wellness if he is not sick. One won’t long for port unless he is far away, and one won’t wish for liberty unless he is a prisoner or a slave. Thus, one does not desire the lady unless he can’t have her. If I were yours, you would not long for me, and consequently you wouldn’t love me, love being nothing other than desire. Therefore, in order that you always love me, it needs must be that you always desire me, and in order that you always desire me, it needs must be that I never grant you my love, nor myself. Mario Love truly is none other than desire, and desire longs for nothing other than to possess the beloved. But just because he possesses her, it does not follow that he ceases to desire and consequently love [her], because he desires the continuation of love. So, then, if you were mine, I would continually both desire you and love you. Costanza Pleasures cause satiety, and satiety is the end of love. Therefore, she who wishes to be loved cannot ever yield herself to pleasure. And so, since I wish to maintain desire in you, I will love with desire. But I want this desire to be born not from perseverance, but from necessity.

298 Amorosi contrasti [27] Amoroso Contrasto sopra la sospettione amando Eudosia, e Evandro Eudosia Saranno dunque i miei pianti, e i miei gridi per voi, ingrato e disleale amante, messi in dispregio? Saranno dunque le mie giuste preghiere, l’amor mio, e la mia fede per voi, ingrato, poste in oblio? Voi dunque, voi medesimo, avete sciolto quel nodo che vi teneva legato, e stretto? Voi dunque avete spente, ed ammorzate le fiamme di quel fuoco sì perfetto? E le vostre mani hanno spezzate e rotte quelle saette che dolcemente l’anima vi piagavano? Or, poiché così è, io mi risolvo d’acconsentir’ alla mia morte, piuttosto che sentire un’altro amore, e che altra donna goda e gioisca delle mie lunghe fatiche. Evandro Signora Eudosia, non correte così in furia alla morte, perché al vostro morire non mancherà mai tempo. Eudosia Insomma, io voglio morire: non voglio che mai più strale m’offenda, e mi saetti, se non lo strale inevitabile della morte. Evandro E qual cosa potete voi sperare da quest’ultimo fine delle cose terribili? Eudosia Spero che gli Dei, giustamente sdegnati per la vostra ingratitudine, debbano diventar’ furiosi, e darvi castigo, tale che dentro il monumento ove io sarò rinchiusa, sarò astretta a tremare d’un così spaventoso orrore. Evandro E inoltre, che credete voi, che sia per essere? Eudosia Sarà di voi quello che fù del Troiano Enea, il quale per l’ingratitudine usata all’infelice Dido fù condannato all’inferno, la dove sente doppio dolore del suo male, vedendo Leandro che si ride di lui, mentre egli lieto e giocondo se ne vive ne i fortunati campi dell’anime innamorate.

Lovers’ Debates 299 [27] Lovers’ Debate on Suspicion in Love Translated by Eric Nicholson Eudosia and Evandro165 Eudosia [weeping and pacing] Shall my tears, then, and my laments be scorned by you, ungrateful and disloyal lover that you are? Shall my righteous pleas and requests, my faithfulness, and my very love be placed in oblivion by you, you ungrateful one? Can it be that you yourself have loosened that knot which held you tied so closely to me? Can it be that you have snuffed out and extinguished the flames of our perfect fire of love? And have your very own hands snapped and broken those arrows which had wounded you so sweetly in your heart and soul? Since all this is so, I am resolved now to consent to my death, rather than hear of another love, a love that another woman enjoys, who rejoices in her having triumphed over my long travails. Evandro Signora Eudosia, run not so fast and furiously to your death, for there will always be time for dying. Eudosia In short, I wish to die. I do not wish for any arrow to harm me or pierce me any longer, except for the final, inevitable arrow of death. Evandro And what can you hope for, from this final ending of terrible things? Eudosia I hope that the gods, rightly outraged by your ingratitude, become furious, and give you such dire castigation that inside the monument where I shall be walled up, I shall be constrained to tremble at such a fearful horror. Evandro And what horror, then, do you believe it might be? Eudosia It shall be the same punishment given to Trojan Aeneas, who, for his ingratitude toward unhappy Dido, was condemned to hell, where he feels double torment for his wrong, seeing Leander who laughs at him, while he lives happy and jocund in the Fortunate Fields of True Lovers’ souls.166

300 Amorosi contrasti Evandro E poi? Eudosia E poi vorrò, ombra infelice, mostrarmi sempre agli occhi vostri per tormentarvi in quella guise che già fù tormentato Oreste dall’ombra spaventosa di sua madre. Evandro E doppo questo, sarà vi altro che fare? Eudosia Non mancheranno modi di tormentar l’anima vostra ingrata. Evandro E perché tanto male? Eudosia Per aver’io tenuto nell’anima mia per un Dio un’uomo ingrato, e il più ingrato che trovarsi possa, il quale finalmente m’ha fatto conoscere, e sapere, (ahi trista rimembranza) che mala cosa è l’ignoranza, ma peggiore il sapere. Misera mè, che più mi resta di sapere? Poi che quello per lo cui ardo, e sospiro, ma un’altra donna, e per lei muore? Potrò io dunque soffrire, che una medesma donna viva signora e padrona dell’anima mia, e serva di quella d’altrui? No, no, più tosto il cielo mi trasformi in qualche statua di freddo sasso, accioché io più non veda, e più non senta cosa alcuna. Evandro Quando avrete finito d’esagerare, vorrò pur anch’io dir qualche cosa sopra questa materia d’ingratitudine. Eudosia Io non ho appena cominciato, non che finito di querelarmi. Donna, qual tu ti sia, che ti sei fatta così tosto signora e padrona di lui, non lodar tanto la buona ventura di questo tuo novello amore. Abbilo non dal suo giudizio, ma solo dalla sua inconstanza, e dalla sua volubilità. Evandro Voi m’offendete troppo con questo chiamarmi tante, e tante volte ingrato, volubile, e inconstante, laonde sarò sforzato a farne qualche grave risentimento.

Lovers’ Debates 301 Evandro And then? Eudosia What else? I’ll want my unhappy shade to appear forever before your eyes, to torment you in the same way that Orestes was tormented by the terrifying shade of his own mother.167 Evandro And after this, what else will you do? Eudosia There shall remain ways to torment your ungrateful soul. Evandro And why so much affliction? Eudosia Why?—for my soul’s having esteemed and held that man to be a god, who is so ungrateful, and indeed the most ungrateful man who could exist! That man who finally made me recognize, and fully know—ah, such sad remembrance!—what an evil thing is ignorance! But still worse is knowledge. Miserable me, what is there left for me to know? And then, he for whom I burn, and sigh, has another woman, and for her he is dying of love? Shall I therefore suffer, and endure that the self-same woman live the lady and mistress of my soul, and servant of the soul of another? No, no! Rather let heaven transform me into some statue of cold stone, so that I may no longer see nor feel a single thing. Evandro Once you’ve finished your exaggerating, I will want to say something about this matter of ingratitude. Eudosia Finished my complaint? I’ve only just begun it! [Wildly] Woman, whoever you are, who have so quickly made yourself his lady and his sovereign mistress, don’t overpraise the good fortune of this your new love, due not to his judgment, but only to his inconstancy and his fickleness.168 Evandro You offend me too much with your calling me over and over again ungrateful, fickle, and inconstant, for which I shall be compelled to bear some serious grievance in return.

302 Amorosi contrasti Eudosia Fate quello che volete, perché à mè poco importa, essendo dalla disperazione fatta sicura. Donna, di nuovo à te ritorno, e dico, che a qualche tempo potrà avvenire che questa tua ventura (che ti par cosi estrema), ti vedrai cader di mano. Perché la donna è come una città, che quanto più la presa e facile, tanto più è difficile da guardare. Evandro Quando volete voi darmi tempo, ch’io possa rispondere? Questa vostra mal nata opinione mi par la legge falsa e bugiarda di Mahometto, sopra la quale non si può disputare, ma solo credere quello ch’ella dice. Eudosia Ancora non siete sazio d’avermi ingannata? Di nuovo vorreste tradirmi, come fatto avete? Quel cuore, quella bocca, e quegli occhi ladri e traditori hanno pur conseguito l’intento loro; e forse ch’io non credevo che i sospiri fossero veri, le lagrime non finte, e la fede non simulate. Ma lassa, con mio grave dolor, m’avvidi poi, altro non essere che acqua e vento. O quanto m’ingannai, credendo che le lagrime che vi bagno il seno con la loro umidità fossero due vive fontane, e che dentro avessero una tocca di fede, e di fermezza. Ma in breve tempo mi aviddi come quei sospiri altro non erano che vento rinchiuso nel vostro cervello, il quale ridotto in pioggia se ne usciva per gli occhi converso in lagrime. Ma da questi vostri inganni ho imparato anch’io come per l’avvenire devo governarmi: farò la guerra agli occhi, starò sulle difese, e sulla mia, amerò secondo ch’io sarò amata. E non mi obligherò se prima non conoscerò esser’ vero, e provato, essendo che la vostra infedeltà mi rende più saggia, più accorta, e più scaltrita. Evandro Quando dite di voler morire, e quando dite di voler’ vivere; quando dite di volere amare, e quando dite di voler’ far prova dell’amore, della fede, e della costanza del vostro novello amante. A tale, che io non vi sò intendere, nè sò da qual capo cominciare a disciogliere questa matassa di seta. Con tutto ciò, voglio dirne quello ch’io sento, quello ch’io sono, quello ch’io sono stato, e quello ch’io sarò sempre per voi. E cominciando vi dice: O bellissima Signora Eudosia, a cui sono offerti i voti della mia costanza, perche non giudicate voi l’effetto dell’apparenza, senza formarvi un vero nella mente contra la verità? Voi mi chiamate ad ogni ora infedele, attribuendomi (senza ragione) il nome di volubile, d’instabile, e di leggiero. Sovvenga vi Signora, che voi siete cosi bella, che l’uomo non può, se non con grave offesa di se stesso, cambiarvi per altra, che sia di voi men bella. Dicono i Poeti, che Giove negli Amori suoi fù volubile, è leggiero con molte ninfe, e Dive; ma credete a me, che se egli avesse provata la dolcezza dei vostri dolci sguardi, non sarebbe

Lovers’ Debates 303 Eudosia Do whatever you wish! To me it matters little, being pushed to complete desperation. [Turning to address someone unseen] Woman, I turn to you again, and I say: ere long it shall pass that this your good fortune, that seems so bounteous, shall slide through your hands. For women are like cities: the easier their capture, the harder their defense. Evandro When will you give me a moment to respond? This your ill-formed opinion of me seems like the false and lying Law of Muhammad, about which one cannot debate, but only believe in what it says.169 Eudosia You still haven’t had enough of deceiving me?! You’d like to betray me once more, as you did before? Your heart, your mouth, and your thieving, treacherous eyes have already achieved their aim, perhaps also to make me believe that your sighs were true, your tears unfeigned, and your faith unsimulated. But alas, to my great sorrow, I then realized that they were nothing but so much wind and water. O, how much I deceived myself, believing the flowing tears that bathed your chest were two fresh fountains, and that within them there lived a touch of faith and loyalty! Yet soon I perceived that your sighs were none other than vapors kept inside your brain, which dripping down like rain were converted into tears that spilled forth from your eyes. But from these deceits of yours I have also learned how to act in the future: I will declare war on your eyes, I will be on full guard, and upon my soul, I will love only when I am loved in return. And I shall not pledge myself, if first I am unsure that the “love” is indeed tried and true, given that your infidelity renders me wiser, shrewder, and more prudent. Evandro When you say that you want to die, and when you say that you want to live, when you say that you want to love, and when you say that you want to test the love, the faith, and the constancy of your new lover—all this talk of yours I cannot understand, nor can I possibly know at which point to start sorting out this tangled skein of silk. All the same, I want to tell you what I feel, what I am, what I have been, and what I shall always be for you. To begin, I say to you, O most beautiful Signora Eudosia (to whom have been offered the vows of my constancy), why don’t you judge by the effects of appearances, without forming in your mind a “truth” against the truth? You keep calling me unfaithful, without reason attaching to me the name of fickle, unstable, and shallow. Remember, my Lady, you are so beautiful that a man could not without serious offense to himself change you for another, who inevitably would be less lovely than you. The poets say that Jove was fickle, light, and frivolous in his loves with many nymphs and goddesses, but

304 Amorosi contrasti stato tale, ma si bene fermo è costante. Io dunque che sono tutto pieno della dolce influenza donde i vostri occhi e il mio cuore hanno fermato un cosi grande amore, potrò con un colpo di vento d’incostanza spegnere l’amorose facelle così bene accese? Grandissimo errore è il pensare che una bellezza sopranaturale abbia per numero di giorni il suo termine limitato, poiché il tempo non può disporre delle cose celesti, e divine. Così quel vivo fuoco, che si accese nell’anima mia, caduto dai bei vostri occhi divini, mi scaldi il seno di così viva fiamma ch’ella non può morire, più di quello che si possa morir’un Dio. Eudosia La pianta del creder mio non si svelle per vento si leggiero, e non cade per colpi di accetta che non taglia. Evandro Il fuoco mio, e la mia fiamma, è simile a quel fuoco che dalle vergini vestali era caramente custodito. Le mie passioni sono le lampade accese innanzi alla vostra bellezza, [che] ardono inestinguibilmente. No, no, Signora mia, non dubitate più dell’amor mio, perchè io sono di tal sorte dall’oro delle vostre chiome schiavo ritenuto. I ferri sono si duri, e le catene cosi forti, che la morte solo ne può rompere i nodi, e ancora che il vostro vigore vi dia qualche speranza di poter rompere questa vostra prigione: la sappia, o mia Signora, che nessuna cosa può ammollire la rocca della mia costanza, e una simile sventura non è portata dalla ragione. Scacciate dunque da voi questi debili pensieri, e quelle strane opinioni, per le quali vi muovete all’ira e allo sdegno, perché troppo grave offesa fate all’amor mio. Con tutto ciò, perdono alla vostra impazienza, scusando il vostro errore e la vostra cecità, ricordandovi per fine che un’amore percosso dalla violenza, suole il più delle volte ai troppo risoluti amanti il giudizio levare. Eudosia Assicurata dalle vostre non simulate parole, comincio a maledire quello sdegno insensate e folle, che consigliò l’anima mia per lieve offesa a spegner quell’amorosa fiamma nella quale io dolcemente ardeva. Io allora era una viva facella d’Amore, e faceva un privarmi della luce del giorno, e mettermi in sepoltura. Ma voglio di nuovo ravvivare l’amoroso mio incendio, se bene io fossi certa di ridurre il mio corpo in fredda cenere. Voglio che la ragione cessi di dolersi, e di querelarsi di me. Io lo voglio, ed ella lo vuole. Sù, sù dunque cuor mio, di nuovo getta fuoco da tutte le parti, poiché io conosco, ch’io facevi guerra a me stessa, e di tal sorte tenevi incatenata la ragione, che mi parevi d’aver acquistata la monarchia di tutto il mondo.

Lovers’ Debates 305 believe me—had he felt the sweetness of your sweet looks, he would not have been that way, but instead constant and steadfast. Therefore I, who am filled with the sweet sensations by which your eyes and my heart have together formed such a great love for you—how could I, with a slight gust of inconstancy, put out the shining lights of love, so ardently lit for you? It is the greatest error to think that a supernatural beauty has any limit to its days, for Time cannot dissolve things celestial and divine: thus that glowing fire, kindled in my soul by your divinely beautiful eyes, heats my breast with such a lively flame that it cannot die, any more than a god could die. Eudosia The tree of my belief shall not be uprooted by such a light breeze, nor shall it fall under axe-blows that do not cut. Evandro [kneeling] My loving fire, and my flame, are like that fire which the Vestal Virgins kept with such devoted care,170 and my passions are the lamps which, lit before your beauty, burn continually, and cannot be extinguished. No, no, Signora, doubt my love no longer, for I am, by destiny, the slave of your locks of gold—and the shackles are so hard, and the chains so strong, that only death can break such ties. Even if your vigor gave you some hope of breaking this your prison, you need to know, Signora, that nothing can soften the rock of my constancy, and Reason does not admit of such a mishap. Therefore chase out these vain, idle thoughts, and strange opinions, which move me to feel anger and disdain, because they are too serious an offense to my love. All the same, I pardon your impatience, forgiving your error, and your blindness, reminding you, in the end, that a love shaken by violence most often takes away the wits of overly resolute lovers. Eudosia Reassured by your honest words, I begin to curse that mad and senseless disdain, which for a slight offense advised my soul to extinguish that amorous flame in which I sweetly felt so much warmth. At one time I was a bright, lively light of Love, and so what I did was to deprive myself of the light of day, and descend into the tomb. But I want yet again to revive my amorous fire, even if I was intent on reducing my body to cold ashes. I want Reason to stop lamenting and complaining about me: I want this to be so, and Reason does as well. Get up, get up then, my sweetheart, once more spread fire all around, for now I see that I waged war against myself, and doing so I held Reason in chains, seeming in my mind to have become a monarch over the entire world.

306 Amorosi contrasti Evandro Il fuoco che levemente s’accende, il più delle volte si spegne al più debile, e al più vile oggetto, che amore li mostra, e questo era per avvenirvi certo. E sallo il cielo se voi avreste trovato un’amante così fermo, e costante, come sono io nel vostro amore. E se la pianta delle vostre rose, che con le vostre belle mani, nel nostro cuore piantaste (orto d’infedeltà), avesse avute le radici bene abbarbicate, e che voi alcuna volta l’aveste bagnata con l’acqua delle vostre lagrime, amore avrebbe sovente fatto nascere i fiori, onde non sareste stata astretta a credere alle spine. Or sia quì fine all’amoroso pianto, al vostro sospetto, al vostro sdegno, ma non già al vostro amore. Amatemi, ch’io v’amo, di vero, e non di finto e simulato amore. Eudosia E voi per accertarvi dell’amor mio, apritemi il seno, cavatene il cuore, e mostratelo alla luce del giorno, che voi conoscerete allora ch’egli è il più fedele di quanti abbia nel suo regno Amore. Evandro Conservatelo pur nel vostro candido seno, nell’orto Esperio, dove sono quegli aurati pomi, sotto la guardia di me, vostro vigilantissimo Drago. Bacevi le mani, vivete felice. Eudosia E voi per sempre felicissimo vivete. Addio.

Lovers’ Debates 307 Evandro The flame that is faintly lit most often goes out when it meets the weakest and most vile object that love presents it with, and this was surely going to happen to you, had not—thank Heaven—you found a lover so firm and constant as I am in your love. And if the bush of your roses, which you planted with your own lovely hands in our hearts—a garden of imagined infidelity—had its roots deeply embedded, and if you sometimes bathed it with the water of your tears, Love often would have made the flowers blossom, whence you would not have been constrained to believe in the thorns. Now let there be an end to your lover’s weeping, your suspicions, your disdain, but not to your love. Love me, for I love you with true love, not with a false and feigning one. Eudosia And to make yourself certain of my love, open my breast, take out my heart, and hold it up to the light of day, to recognize that it is the most true and faithful one that Love could have in his entire realm.171 Evandro Yet keep it in your own fair breast, your Garden of the Hesperides, where shine those golden apples guarded by me, your ever-vigilant Dragon.172 And so I kiss your hands—may you live happily! Eudosia And may you live most happily, ever after! Farewell!

308 Amorosi contrasti [28] Amoroso Contrasto sopra l’amare altamente Livio, e Deianira Livio Io vi prego, Sig. Deianira, a non volermi accusare, perch’io vada idolatrando, i begli occhi vostri dai quali uscirono quegli amorosi dardi, che penetrando dentro al cuor mio, hanno d’un’amorosa morte uccisa l’anima mia. Perché, essendo i loro raggi pieni di divinità, il non adorarli è maggior impietà, che non è l’idolatria nell’adorarli, e chi non adorerebbe ai raggi di sì begli occhi, quella eterna beltà, che anima tutte le cose create? Quella beltà, dico, figurata dagli antichi Egizii con quella piramide, sopra della quale era un occhio solo per Gieroglifico? Deianira Se voi andaste, Sig. Livio, minutamente pensando intorno a questo vostro amore, voi trovereste, che tra di noi non è paritade alcuna. E che voi per voi medesimo vi siete inalzato a troppo alta, e troppo difficile impresa. Con tutto ciò, per non parer discortese e mal creata, voglio ascoltarvi, per sentire qualche bel pensiero sopra di questo vostro amore: perciò, seguitate. Livio Tutti i secreti che amore insegna ai nostri spiriti, sono scritti a lettere di fuoco dentro dei begli occhi vostri, per li quali io volo al cielo sopra l’ali di fiamme, senza l’aiuto dei quali tutti i bei pensieri al mondo sarebbono morti, perche l’anima è un fuoco divino, che dona vita ai corpi, e i suoi raggi un fuoco, che dà vita all’anime. Cosi sono quegli occhi, che amore già soleva possedere, e che di propria mano, ne fece dono alla vostra bellissima fronte, all’ora che tutti gli Dei vi presentarono per farvi si bella. E perché egli conobbe, che per tal mezzo ritornerebbe in piedi il suo Imperio abbatuto, persuaso dalla speranza, e dal dono, per regnar per voi, per voi volontariamente elesse diventar cieco. Deianira E di quì nasce, ch’egli rende ciechi i suoi seguaci, i quali amando non sanno quello che amano, se illuminati non sono dallo splendore della bellezza della cosa amata, come fate ancor voi.

Lovers’ Debates 309 [28] Lovers’ Debate on Loving Loftily173 Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Livio and Deianira174 Livio I beg you, Signora Deianira, do not accuse me because I go about idolizing your lovely eyes, from which issue those amorous darts that, penetrating into my heart, have killed my soul with a loving death! Since I feel their rays are full of divinity, not to adore them is greater impiety than the idolatry of adoring them—and who would not adore, in the rays of such beautiful eyes, that eternal beauty that animates all created things? That beauty, I say, depicted by the ancient Egyptians, with that pyramid on which there was just one eye as a Hieroglyph?175 Deianira If you go on, Signor Livio, minutely thinking about this topic of your love, you will find that between us there is not the slightest similarity; and that you, for your own sake, have aspired to perform a task that is too lofty and too difficult for you. With all that, so as not to seem rude and badly brought up, I will listen to you, to hear some lovely thoughts on this love of yours. Therefore, go ahead. Livio All the secrets that Love teaches our spirits are written in letters of fire within your beautiful eyes, through which I fly to the heavens on wings of flames. Without their help, all the beautiful thoughts in this world would be lifeless, because the soul is a divine fire that gives life to bodies, and their rays are a fire that gives life to the soul. Such are those eyes, that Love himself used to possess, and that from his own hand were made a gift for your most lovely face, at the time when all the gods presented you, to make you so beautiful. Because he knew that in this way his vanquished Empire would be put back on its feet—persuaded by the hope, and the gift, of reigning through you; for you he willingly chose to become blind. Deianira Thence it falls out that he renders his followers blind, who, in their loving, do not know what they love, unless they be illuminated by the splendor of the beauty of she who is beloved—just as you are doing now.176

310 Amorosi contrasti Livio Cosa alcuna non può difenderci dai loro assalti: nessuna anima non può andar sicura dagli amorosi sguardi degli occhi vostri. La vittoria loro è certissima al Mondo, e inoltre vi dico, che se gli Dei di nuovo volessero muover la guerra con l’acque alla terra, che la loro libertà se ne fuggirebbe dinanzi a i loro sguardi. E finalmente credo, che se i vostri occhi slanciassero per tutto i loro dardi, che bisognerebbe senz’altro sbandirli dalla terra. Deianira E in qual parte del mondo andrebbono gli sbanditi occhi miei? Io credo, anzi tengo per fermo, che loro ritornerebbono nella fronte d’Amore, laonde ne rimarrei per sempre cieca. Livio Quei begli occhi, dei quali amore vi fece cortese dono non faranno mai da voi partita, poiché lo mantengono nel suo imperio. Quegli occhi che non vanno a ferire i comuni obietti, avendoli ad’isdegno, godendo solo di ferire i divini spiriti, né ardere del fuoco loro che l’anime reali, rassomigliando in ciò il Sole, occhio dell’universo, che non si degna d’accendere di tutti gli obietti che il letto della fenice, e il fuoco delle sacrate vergini vestali. Deianira Con questa vostra figura della fenice volete tassarmi di troppo superba, e di troppo altiera della mia bellezza, come si dice di Marfisa, che tale insegna portava sopra l’elmo per cimiero. Livio Non dico per aditarvi di fasto, e d’alterezza. Ma dico bene, che siccome non si trova nel mondo altra che una sola fenice, così non si trova altra bellezza, nè singolar splendore del raggio di quella che voi possedete, laonde il cuor mio, conoscendosi tanto avventurato, si conosce parimente anche indegno di ridursi in cenere per lei. E perché un tanto onore alla morte l’accompagni, come arido tronco si terrebbe onorato, se da quel fuoco istesso fosse arso e distrutto, che non arde, e non abbruccia se non le cime degli alti pini. Deianira Espressa follia, è quella di quello amante che osa a simil bellezza volger lo sguardo, e l’amor suo, poiché tenta cosa impossibile.

Lovers’ Debates 311 Livio Nothing can defend itself against their assaults; not one soul can be safe from the amorous looks of your eyes: their victory is the most certain thing on earth, and moreover I say that if the gods wished once again to wage war, with waters flooding the earth, their freedom would flee before the looks from your eyes. And finally, I believe that if your eyes were to unleash their darts everywhere, it would be necessary without question to banish them from the earth. Deianira And to what part of the world would those banished eyes of mine go? I believe, rather I firmly hold, that they would return to the face of Love, there where they would remain forever blind. Livio Those lovely eyes, of which Love made you a courtly gift, never will be parted from you, because they maintain him on his imperial throne. Those eyes, that do not seek to wound common objects, holding them in disdain, only taking joy in wounding divine spirits and to light the fire only of royal souls. Thus they resemble the sun, eye of the universe, that does not deign to kindle all objects, but only the bed of the phoenix, and the fire of the sacred vestal virgins.177 Deianira In your figure of the phoenix, you want to tax me with too much haughtiness and pride in my beauty, as they say of Marfisa, who wears this same emblem on the top of her helmet.178 Livio I don’t say it to point a finger at your pride or hauteur. But I do say, just as one does not find in the world more than one sole phoenix, so one does not find other beauty like yours, or the singular splendor of the radiance you possess. Whereby my heart, knowing itself very willing to take risks, knows itself equally unworthy to reduce itself to ashes for you, and because it is a great honor to accompany you to the point of death, just as a dry tree-trunk would be honored, if it were burnt and destroyed by that same fire that does not kindle or burn tree-tops other than those of the tall pines. Deianira Such deliberate folly is that of the lover who dares to gaze on any beauty like this—and so is his love, since he attempts an impossible thing.

312 Amorosi contrasti Livio La mia insania, e la mia follia è buona, e bella, e in questo mio amore amo più di parer senza ragione, che senz’occhi, e senza cuore, e piuttosto detto mal saggio, che insensibile. Deianira Valetevi dunque, dicendo, come accenna il Poeta Ferrarese, Pur ch’altamente abbia locato il core Pianger non dè, se ben languisce, e more. Livio Senz’altro, Signora. Ma se il cielo avesse volute che quel fuoco acceso avesse consumati gli spiriti del mio demerito, purificando il Tempio dove abitano le loro immagini, e se allora, che il cuor mio seppe sì bene sciogliere, e eleggere, il cielo m’avesse donato in un istesso tempo la grazia del merito mio, come mi diede l’audacia, e il desire (lasso), io non sarei tormentato da un secreto sentimento della mia indegnità, che fa, che il mio desire veda la sua gioia imperfetta, e dolente, che la vittoria acquistata sopra il cuor mio non è così gloriosa a quei begli occhi, come la perdita, e la sconfitta dell’anima mia. Deianira Voi andate figurando una vittoria, e una perdita tutta a vostro modo, senz’aver combattuto, e senza aver dato l’assalto alla rocca dell’amor mio. E per quello ch’io m’avvedo, voi non siete molto pratico negli assalti delle fortezze, e delle piazze principali. Livio Se cotesta vostra rocca si vedesse, come non si vede, non mancherebbono assalti da valoroso guerriero. Deianira Or, poiché voi non la vedete, ve la voglio descrivere come buona matematica, accioché voi non possiate dolervi, e querelarvi. Sappiate dunque, che la rocca dell’amor mio è ritonda, e di poco spazio desiderata sopra tutte l’altre fortezze, la quale è circondata da un’acqua viva sorgente così bene, e così bene accomodata, che non teme il romore dell’artiglieria, poiche in tempo di pace, e in tempo di guerra è sempre apparecchiata alla battaglia. Ella hà buona fossa, e profonda, che la tiene in sicura difesa, sicché nessuno non ne può aver vittoria. E se pure qualcuno, o per dolcezza, o per furore, si drizzasse all’impresa, in valore i suoi pezzi, e i suoi ingegni si drizzerebbono; [. . .] che chi vorrà fare un tale acquisto, bisognerà che molto sudi, e molto peni. Questa mia rocca poi è posta sopra una collina divisa in due parti, ma così alta, e così ben difesa, che nessuno vi può entrare, salvo che amore. E tanto più quanto, che due colonne bianche e polite guardano

Lovers’ Debates 313 Livio My dotage and folly are good and beautiful, and in this my love, I love to seem without reason rather than without eyes and without heart, and sooner be called witless, than insensible. Deianira You rate yourself highly, then, saying in the style of the Ferrarese Poet: “He who has placed his heart’s desire on a lofty plane, / Has no cause to weep, even if he languish and die.”179 Livio Exactly so, Signora, but if Heaven wishes that the kindled fire will consume the spirits of my unworthy self, purifying the Temple where their images reside, and if, at the time my heart knew how to melt as well as choose, Heaven would have given me the grace of my merit, as it gave me audacity, and desire—alas, I would not be tormented by a secret sentiment of my indignity, that ensures that my desire see the sad and imperfect joy the victory acquired over my heart, for it is not so glorious to those beautiful eyes, as the loss and defeat of my soul. Deianira You go on imagining a victory and a loss completely in your own style, without having fought, and without having attacked the citadel of my love. Because of that, I realize that you are not very practiced in the assaults of the fortresses and principal squares. Livio If this your stronghold could be seen (as we do not see it now), there would be no lack of assaults from this valorous warrior. Deianira But because you don’t see it, I want to describe it to you like a good mathematician, so that you won’t be able to lament or complain. Know, therefore, that the citadel of my love is round, and small, desired above all other forts. It is circled by lively running waters and so well seated that it does not fear the noise of artillery, since that in times of peace, and in times of war, it is always prepared for battle. It has a good and deep moat, which is securely defended, so that no one is able to gain a victory; and then if someone, whether through sweetness or fury, is able to rise to the heroic occasion, both his parts and his wits would also need to arise, fully erect. Thus, whoever would desire to make such a capture, will need to sweat and strain for it. This stronghold of mine, then, is situated above a hill divided in two parts, but so high, and so well defended, that no one can enter it except Love, and furthermore, two clean and white columns guard the entrance, and

314 Amorosi contrasti l’entrata, e passaggio: laonde per entrarvi bisogna arditamente, e con grand’arte guadagnare i fianchi. Ora se vi dà l’animo di darli l’assalto, e di farne acquisto, ponetevi all’impresa. Livio Io sò benissimo, Signora mia, che in simili assalti bisogna aver gran lena, e gran forza. E come giunto sù gli orli della porta, bisogna spingere audacemente innanzi per far’ arrender la fortezza, e ancora sò, che negli assalti e nelle scaramuccie non bisogna mai piegare a dietro, ma valorosamente mostrar la fronte bagnata d’onorato sudore, e ficcarsi dentro, che cosi facendo in pochi colpi si fa il valoroso soldato padrone dell’ostinata fortezza. Deianira Ora, se voi tanto sapete della milizia, a che tardate, che non date l’assalto? Voi non vi muovete? Orsù, l’intesa: voi siete uno di quei soldati belli in banca, un soldato lascivo, effeminato, e molle, più ben vestito che bene armato, armato di bellezza più che di valore, e vorreste passar per bello, più che per bravo. Ma le fortezze hanno bisogno d’altro; bisogna al buon soldato aver le fiasche piene di buona polvere, e che il suo moschetto tiri giustamente; e provarsi anche spesso per dar drittamente nel segno, perché ciò facendo bene spesso avrà vittoria onorata de suoi valorosi assalti. Livio Voi discorrete così bene della milizia, che par quasi che siate stata molte volte in battaglia, e che abbiate maneggiati di molti moschetti, anzi di molti moschettoni, cioè di quelli da cavalletto, che sono di tiro più gagliardo. Deianira Signor Livio, egli è tempo ormai di parlar più chiaro, e ritornando a noi, dico che l’egualità, che voi desiderate delle due fiamme nell’anime nostre, non si possono vedere nè conoscere tra di noi, perché io amo poco (anzi niente), e voi m’amate in estremo. Voi vorreste vedermi soggetta al servizio d’amore, come voi siete, e questo altro non è che un’abbassarsi, e chi potrebbe in un’istesso tempo essere padrone e servo, se già non ritornasse l’età di Saturno, nella quale i servi commandavano? Niuno, certo, e finalmente se io vi riamassi, e facessi la mia fiamma eguale alla vostra, sarebbe un’accender maggior fuoco per ardervi, e consumarvi. Bastivi solo d’aver parte della grazia mia, poiché altro non posso concedervi, perché il cercar più oltre di quello che non si conviene è propriamente un far naufragio, e perdere il tutto per troppo dimandare. Addio.

Lovers’ Debates 315 passageway; whence to enter you need to gain the flanks ardently, and with great skill. Now, if you have enough will and courage to attack it and make it yours, get ready for the task! Livio I know very well, Signora, that in similar assaults one needs to have great vigor, and great strength; and how, having attained the portals of the gate, one needs to push boldly forward to make the fortress yield. I also know that in the assaults, and in the skirmishes, one must never retreat, but valorously show one’s face bathed in honorable sweat, and thrust oneself inside, so that, proceeding in this way, with just a few blows, the valorous soldier makes himself master of the stubborn fortress. Deianira Now if you know so much about military maneuvers, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you launch an assault? Why don’t you make a move? Look at you! You’re one of those soldiers who preen on the sidelines, a soft, lewd, and effeminate soldier, better dressed than well-equipped, armed with beauty more than valor, who would rather be known as handsome than brave. But to gain the fortresses requires something else: it needs a good soldier endowed with a full flask of good gunpowder, able to shoot his musket justly and well, and to hit the center of the target again and again. By doing this well, he often will achieve the honorable victory of his valorous assaults. Livio You discourse so very well of warfare that it almost seems you have been many times in battle, and that you have managed many muskets—or rather many double muskets, that is to say, those of the full round mounts,180 that shoot the lustiest shots. Deianira Signor Livio, it is time to speak more clearly. And returning to us, I say that the equality you desire in the two flames of our souls cannot be seen or known between us because I love you very little (rather not at all) and you love me extremely. You would like to see me subjected to the service of Love, as you are, and this is no other than self-abasement; and who could be master and servant at the same time, unless the age of Saturn has returned, in which servants commanded?181 If, finally, I were to return your love, and I made my flame equal to yours, it would be to light a greater fire to enflame you, and consume you. Let it be enough for you to live in my good graces, because that is all I can concede to you. Seeking to obtain more than that which is appropriate is indeed like sailing toward shipwreck and losing all, by asking too much. Goodbye.

316 Amorosi contrasti Livio Addio Signora, ma non per sempre addio. Ora, poiché di giorno non ho potuto acquistar la rocca dell’amor vostro, cercherò d’acquistarla all’ora che gli astri della note, compagni del sonno, cortigiani della Luna, e vassalli del Sole adornano l’umido manto della negra sorella del placido sonno, vero riposo dei mortali. Deianira Nè giorno, nè di notte, non farete questo bramato acquisto.

Lovers’ Debates 317 Livio Goodbye, Signora, but not goodbye forever! Since by day I haven’t been able to conquer this citadel of your love, I shall seek to capture it at the hour in which the night stars—the companions of sleep, courtiers of the Moon and vassals of the Sun—adorn the dewy mantle of the black sister of calm and tranquil sleep, the true repose of mortals. Deianira Neither by day nor by night will you make this coveted acquisition!

318 Amorosi contrasti [29] Amoroso Contrasto sopra il finger d’amar una, e amar un’altra Valerio, e Fedra Valerio Signora Fedra, io potrei bene in me medesimo (ancora, che l’amor mio sia estremo) dire di non amare, ma finger d’amar’un’altra, e non adorare i bellissimi occhi vostri (che fanno invidia al Sole), come ch’io adoro, questo tratta dell’impossibile. Ma poiché così volete, e commandate, ch’io viva in questa pena di amare, e non osar di farlo palese, non amare, e giurare il contrario, non posso se non obbedirvi. E se bene si suol dire, che due contrari non possono in un medesimo tempo essere in un medesimo luogo, tuttavia il vero e finto amore sono ordinariamente le mie azioni. E questi sono i miracoli che vengono da voi, mia bellissima Dea. Fedra Ricordatevi Sig. Valerio, che la prudenza maggiore degli amanti è di tener l’affezione nascosa, ovvero di non far mai apparir segno, che inutile sia. Valerio Se la dissimulazione, alla quale m’avete costretto, è solo per farmi morire di pena, e di dolore, voi potete più facilmente farlo con una sola vostra parola. E se per punire il mio troppo orgoglio parimente lo fate, voi siete un Giudice troppo dolce, condannandomi ad un minimo supplizio, che è la morte. Se voi lo fate similmente, per provare che possanza avete sopra di me, perché non cercate voi un testimonio maggiore, che non è questo del mio morire? Ma, poiché non volete, m’allontanerò da voi, riducendomi in parte solitaria, poiché all’estrema noia, la solitudine deve essere il suo apparecchio; essendo che in compagnia l’anima non osa liberamente mandar fuora il veleno del su male, e insin tanto, che non è scarica, ella non può esser capace di consolazione alcuna per suo rimedio. Fedra Se il pregio d’amore, è l’amore istesso, voi non foste mai amato da persona, poiché voi non amaste giammai, laonde potete bene mercantare più sorti d’amori, ma non mai comperarli, non avendo la moneta con la quale simil mercanzia si paga. Valerio Come, ch’io non amo? Come, ch’io non potrò mercare amore, con amore? Ah Signora Fedra, voi m’offendete troppo, non avendo riguardo al merito vostro, e all’amor mio. Ma a che segno conoscete voi, ch’io non v’ami?

Lovers’ Debates 319 [29] Lovers’ Debate on Feigning Love for One Woman, While Loving Another Translated by Eric Nicholson Valerio and Fedra182 Valerio Signora Fedra, I could go ahead and tell myself—even now, when my love is so extreme—that I do not love, but to pretend to love another and not adore your most beauteous eyes, that are the envy of the Sun, and which I truly do adore—this is something which borders on the impossible! But since you wish and command that I live in this torment of loving, and not daring to show the signs of it, and of not loving by swearing the contrary, I cannot but obey you. And even if it is well said that two opposites cannot exist at the same time and in the same place, yet true love and feigned love are now my normal actions. These are the miracles wrought by you, my loveliest goddess. Fedra Remember, Signor Valerio, that a lover’s most prudent action is to keep his desire hidden, or in truth, never to reveal any impertinent sign of love. Valerio If dissimulation, to which you have constrained me, is only meant to make me die of pain and sorrow, you can more easily kill me with just one word from your lips. And if you likewise do it to punish my excessive pride, you are too kind a judge, condemning me to the least of tortures—death itself. Or in the same vein, if you do it to test the power that you hold over me, why not seek a greater proof than this, of my own death? But since you do not wish it so, I shall remove myself far away from your presence, reducing myself to the solitary state, since solitude is the best prop to suffering. For in the company of others, the soul does not freely dare to release the poison of its affliction, and being thus burdened with it, neither can the soul find any consolation that might serve as a remedy. Fedra If the reward of love is love itself, then you were never loved by anyone, for you have never loved anyone yourself. It follows, then, that you can readily trade and bargain for various sorts of love, but never buy them, not having the coin with which you would be paid in kind. Valerio How’s that? I do not love? What do you mean, that I cannot trade for love, with love? Ah, Signora Fedra, you do offend me too much, not showing respect for your merits, or for my love. But by what signs do you perceive that I do not love you?

320 Amorosi contrasti Fedra Alla vostra poca fermezza, e all’esser voi cosi mutabile come siete. Valerio Noi siamo d’un’opinione molto differente: io ho sempre udito dire, che un’artigiano si rende tanto più perfetto, quanto più esercita l’arte, della quale egli fa professione. Io professo l’amarvi, e quanto più v’amo, tanto più mi rendo perfetto nell’amor mio. Fedra Sì, quando la persona seguita le regole dell’arte. Ma, quando l’uomo fa altramente, gli interviene come a colui che si trova in viaggio, che quanto più s’affretta più cammina, più s’allontana dal suo cammino, e come alla ruota del carro, che continuamente girando sempre s’imbratta. Così la vostra leggerezza può bene acquistar’ vergogna, ma non muore. Valerio Io non vi sò intendere. Voi volete ch’io v’ami, ma che non si conosca segno alcuno dell’amor ch’io vi porto, e in uno istesso tempo volete ch’io finga d’amar un’altra, e ch’io non l’ami. Queste sono di quelle cose da far perder l’intelletto al maggior savio del mondo. Ma sò ben’io quello che voi volete inferire: voi, non amandomi, volete procurar la mia morte con questi mezzi. Or, poiché a questo se ha da venire, e che bisogna cavar la profonda radice, che amore (in vedendovi) mi piantò nel core, la quale sinora è stata nutrita di tanti desideri, e di tanti tormenti, sia destino ciò che voi volete. Ma concedetemi una grazia, almeno per non vivere in tanti tormenti: leviamo con un sol colpo, e i fiori e le spine, scacciamo tutti i nostri desideri, spegniamo tutti i fuochi, rompiamo tutti i lacci serrati da tanti nodi, e pigliamo da noi stessi un congedo volontario, che così facendo, vinceremo questo tiranno Amore, e faremo saggiamente di nostra volontà quello che il tempo alla fine ci sforzerebbe di fare. Fedra Non vi dissi io, che voi non havevi fermezza, e vi trovate volubile, ed inconstante? Ora lodato sia il cielo, poiché pur’una volta vi risolveste di confessarlo. Ora, che dite Signor Valerio? Valerio Dico che amore e la fortuna si fanno beffe, e si ridono della prudenza de gli amanti. E particolarmente di me, poiché mi fanno offendere da un nimico, che mi ferisce senza pensarvi.

Lovers’ Debates 321 Fedra By your lack of firmness, and by your being so changeable. Valerio We hold two very different opinions: I have always heard it said, that an artist makes himself more and more perfect the more he practices the art which he professes. I profess loving you, and the more I love you, the more I make myself perfect in my love. Fedra Yes, this is so, when one follows the rules of art. But when a lover does the same, he is like a traveler who, the more he hurries the more he walks about, and thus the more he may stray from his path. Or, like the wheel of a cart, that by constantly spinning becomes all the more coated with mud, so too your frivolous lightness may well bring you disgrace, but never die. Valerio I cannot understand you: you want me to love you, but you also want me not to show the least sign of my love for you. At the same time, you want me to feign love for another, while not loving her. These are among those things that make the wisest men in the world lose their minds. Yet I know well what you, who do not love me, wish to inflict: you wish by these means to cause my end, that is, my death! Now, since this is what’s destined to happen, I need to tear out that root which Love—in seeing you—planted so deeply in my heart. Until now, this root was nourished by so many desires, so many torments! Let it be destiny, then, that which you wish! But at least grant me this favor, not to live with so many torments. With one fell swoop, let’s take away the roses and the thorns, let’s drive out all desires, put out all flames, cut all the ties bound up in so many knots, and let us take voluntary leave of each other. Doing thus, we shall overcome this Tyrant Love, and by our own wills we shall wisely do that which, in the end, Time would force us to do. Fedra Didn’t I tell you that you have no firmness, no resolve, and that you show yourself wavering and inconstant? Heaven be praised, at last you did resolve to confess it! Now what do you have to say, Signor Valerio? Valerio I say that Love and Fortune play tricks, and they laugh at the prudence of lovers. In particular, they laugh at me, for they cause me to be hurt by an enemy who wounds without thinking she does.

322 Amorosi contrasti Fedra Colui che ferisce per sua difesa non merita nome di nimico. Valerio E’ vero Signora. Ma quegli, che non s’arrestano mai agli effetti, ma solamente alle parole? Fedra Colui che offende come che si sia, è nimico; laonde per questo posso darvi questo nome. Valerio Io non offendo altrui, nè con parole, nè con fatti, nè con pensieri. Ma si ben voi offendete, poiché portate amore negli occhi, nella bocca, ma non nel cuore. Fedra Io non voglio aver’ amore negli occhi, nella bocca, e nel cuore per persona vivente. Valerio Conosco benissimo, che non è elezione d’amore, ma cattivo influsso del mio malvagio destino, che mi fa esser’ vostro. Fedra Voi potrete bene a voglia vostra cambiar condizione, ma non farete mai ch’io muti pensiero, essendo risoluta di non esser meno di me stessa di quella ch’io sono, per dar luogo à qual si voglia affezione, ricordandovi per ultimo, che amore non può stare con l’onestà di Fedra, e tanto vi basti. Valerio Tanto, che non volendo, confessate d’essermi nimica: ora siatemi pur nimica quanto volete, ch’io vi fò sapere che amore non muore giammai in un cuor generoso, sin tanto che la radice non si svelle, e che un generoso cuore soffre mal volentieri un disprezzo senza risentimento. Fedra La vostra ostinazione trapassa la mia, ma la mia senz’altro sormonterà la vostra. Onde vi dico, che se da principio mostrai d’amarvi, fù solo per imporvi quella legge cosi dura, per farvi perdere in tutto per tutto l’intelletto, come credo che lo perderete senz’altro, come fece Orlando. E quì vi lascio.

Lovers’ Debates 323 Fedra She who wounds in her own defense does not deserve the name of enemy. Valerio This is true, Signora: but are they enemies, those who never move on to deeds, but only use words? Fedra He who in any way hurts another, is an enemy: for this fact, therefore, I can give you this name. Valerio I hurt nobody, neither in words, nor deeds, nor even thoughts. You, however, do hurt me thoroughly, for you have love in your eyes and in your mouth, but not in your heart. Fedra I don’t want to have love in my eyes, or in my mouth, or in my heart, for any living soul. Valerio I know very well that it is not by any free choice of love, but by the evil influence of my cruel fate, that made me be yours. Fedra You can willingly change your condition, but you shall never make me change my mind, for I am resolute in this: not to be any less than what I am, and thus not to yield to any affection or desire, reminding you, finally, that there’s no room for Love in the honesty of Fedra—and let this be enough for you. Valerio O yes, it’s enough, for without wanting to do so, you have confessed yourself to be my enemy: now be my enemy as much as you wish, it doesn’t matter! I’ll make you know that love never dies in a generous heart, for there it can never be uprooted, and that a generous heart does not gladly suffer disdain without feeling resentment. Fedra Your persistence surpasses even mine, but mine will certainly prevail over yours. Let me tell you something: if at first I showed you love, it was only to impose on you that harsh law, the one that makes you utterly lose your mind. And I believe that you undoubtedly will lose it, just as Orlando did. And here I leave you.183 [She exits.]

324 Amorosi contrasti Valerio Ora sì, ch’è tornato à farsi notte: ora sì, che le tenebre di crudeltà oscurano l’anima mia, ora sì ch’io son cieco affatto. (Ahi) crudelissima donna, tù pur lo dicesti, tù pur lo pronunciasti: ch’io diventerei in un subito il più savio huomo del mondo, e che à me toccherebbe il governo di tutto l’universo. Ed ecco, che pur’è vero: holà, holà, à chi dich’io? Portatemi il manto reale, lo scettro, e la corona, e levatemi questi stracci d’intorno, indegni di vestire un Re, un’Imperatore, e un Monarca come son’io. Holà, holà, vestitemi tosto. Ora, ch’io sono reggiamente vestito, fate comparire tutti i miei cortigiani, fate che vengano i miei consiglieri, perche voglio consiglio da loro sopra l’amor mio, e sopra le ricotte fresche. Holà, ò galant’huomo, chi t’hà dato licenza di portar quella pistola carica di malvasia, contra l’editto nostro? Sù, sù, pigliatelo, lardatelo, e mettetelo arrosto, perch’io voglio mangiarmelo a guazzetto, stufato, e fritto nella padella. Suonatori, suonate quel balletto, che comincia il primo d’Aprile, e finisce l’ultimo di Maggio, perche voglio dar da desinare a certi amici miei, che si dilettano di componer versi vestiti alla martingala. Chi avrebbe mai creduto, che quella Scimmia avesse saputo tanto intorno alle ragioni di stato? E pur’è vero: ma se Aristotele non li dava della Politica nel capo, quel campanone della giustizia non si fermava mai, e le passere mangiavano tutto il miglio del Lodigiano. Fermatevi madonna, che ve ne sarà ancora per voi. Barbiero, fateli quel cristiero di buono inchiostro, accioché la lettera sia di credenza appresso il Re de Tartari. Holà, ammazzate quel barbagianni, che si ride di me. O bene, non ti diss’io, che l’Asino d’Apuleio componeva un madrigale a cinque voci così galante, che non si scorgeva sulla mezzanotte alcun raggio di Sole, e l’Aurora non era ancora andata all’Occaso. Oh buonasera, Missier buongiorno, come state voi? Bene, bene, disse la Gazza dell’oste da Francolino. Ma se quel Tedesco non s’ubriacava, non si finiva mai la contesa tra Annibal Caro e’ l Casteluetro sopra le fritelle del monte Parnaso. Pure come piacque all’Orsa maggiore, la Nave si pose gli stivali, e gli sproni, e correndo le poste all’indietro, come i gambari, cascò da cavallo, e si ruppe il naso, nel Promontorio Siciliano. Ma dove lascio la mia Fedra, la mia cara muletta, che mi portava così bene quando andava a toccare il polso ai grilli, e alle cicale, che avevano la febre maligna? Sì, sì, e ben vero, che il carro di Lezzafusina farà a correre con le tartarughe, e che l’anno bisestile piglierà l’acqua del legno, per purgarsi di quella bastonata che li dette Giulio Cesare Imperatore. Fermatevi, holà, che io non sono quello, che voi andate cercando. Chi sei tù dunque? Io sono, quel che non sono: anzi, pur sono quel ch’io sono, Valerio Massimo innamorato della fiera di Bergamo, che per la sua crudeltà non posso andar del corpo. Spiegate quello stendardo, valorosi soldati, andate innanzi con una bella ritirata, svaligiate quelle gatte, inghiottite quei topi, mangiate quelle rane. Basta, basta, avete fatto assai, a non vi affogare in canal Orfano. Holà, holà, galant’huomini, che fate voi a quella tavola così ben’apparecchiata? Non fate i bocconi così grandi, perché ancor noi vogliamo sonar di ribeca, in contrapunto. Io dico di sì, io dico di nò: la mia Fedra vi darà delle bastonate, la mia Fedra farà,

Lovers’ Debates 325 Valerio [alone onstage] Ah yes, now night has fallen once more! Ah yes, now the dark shadows of cruelty obscure my soul! Ah yes, now I am truly blind! Ay me, most cruel lady, indeed you did say it, indeed you did pronounce it: that instantly I would become the wisest man in the world, and that I would rule over the entire universe. And yes indeed, I see ’tis True! Hallo there, Halloo! Is anyone there?! Bring me my royal robes, my scepter, and my crown, and remove these rags from my body, so unworthy to dress a King, an Emperor, a Monarch like me! Hallo there, Halloo! Dress me up right away! Now that I am regally attired, make all my courtiers appear, make all my advisors come here, because I want their advice about my love, and about fresh ricotta.184 Hey there, O you gallant gentleman! Who gave you permission to carry that pistol full of Malvasia wine, against the terms of Our edict? Come now, come, take it in your hands, grease it up with lard, heat it up and roast it, because I want to eat it sauced, stewed, and stir-fried in the pan. Musicians! Play that dance tune, the one that begins on the first day of April and ends on the last day of May, for I want to host a dinner with certain friends of mine, who delight in composing verses dressed in Martingale style.185 Whoever would have believed that the little Monkey would know so much about the reasons of state? And yet ’tis True! But if Aristotle didn’t put Politics in his brain, that great big bell of justice never would have stopped ringing, and the pussy-birds would have eaten all the millet of Lodigiano:186 stop there, Signora, there will still be some left for you! Good barber, go carve her a frenemy enema, that crystal clyster carrier of fine black ink, so that the letter may be of credit to the King of the Tartars.187 ’Allo there! Kill those tedious owl-ed fools, who keep laughing at me . . . O yes, didn’t I tell thee, that Apuleius’s Ass composed a five-voiced madrigal that was so gallant you couldn’t glimpse a single ray of sunlight at the very stroke of midnight?188 And Aurora had yet to go to her Occidental demise . . . Oh, good evening, Mr. Good Morning, how are you? Well, I’m very well, said the Magpie of the Host at Francolino’s place: but if that German hadn’t got so drunk, there would have been no end to the dispute between Annibal Caro and Castelvetro about the fried round doughnuts on Mount Parnassus.189 Yet as it pleased Ursa Major, the Ship rested its boots and its spurs, and with the couriers running backward, like shrimps, it fell off the horse, and broke its nose on the Sicilian promontory. But where shall I leave my Fedra, my darling little mule, who bore me so well when she went to take the pulse of the crickets and the cicadas, who had malignant fevers? Yes, yes, ’tis most true that the coach of Lezzafusina will run a race with the turtles, and that the leap year will fetch water from wood, to purge itself of that beating and battering it took from Julius Caesar.190 Stop there, hey, wait a moment, I’m not the one you’re looking for: who are you, then? I am he who I am not: or rather, I am who I am, Valerio Massimo, in love with the haughty beast of Bergamo, who for her cruelty cannot move around in her own body . . . Unfurl that flag, valorous soldiers, advance with a fine retreat, ransack those cats, gulp down those mice, eat up all those

326 Amorosi contrasti che il ricolto di quest’anno sarà tanto grande che non si conoscerà se Caballao vende, o menole, o pur’aghi da pomolo. Quando io vò pensando intorno alle matematiche, conosco ch’io son pure il bel minchione a credere che le ranocchie abbiano i denti, come voleva quel galant’huomo dall’acqua di vita. Io vengo, non vi partite. Bacio le mani di V. S. Quando quà? quando là? quando sù? quando giù? Trovai che la veniva dall’acqua aloò, presila per la mano, baciar la volsi amore? Fala là, li là, li là là. Addio.

Lovers’ Debates 327 frogs! Enough, enough, you’ve done enough, and don’t go drowning yourselves in Orphans’ Canal 191 . . . Ho there, hey there, ho ho, you brave and gallant men, what are you doing at that table laid out so finely? Don’t take such large bites, because we still want to play our rebecs, in counterpoint.192 I say Yes, I say No: my Fedra will give all of you beatings, my Fedra will do it, so much that this year’s harvest will be so great that you won’t be able to tell if Horsey-horse or Coddy-cod sells either pickerels or pipefish with pommels193 . . . When I go around thinking about mathematics, I know that I am one fine gullible fool to believe that toads have teeth, as that gallant acqua-vita man claimed . . . I’m coming, don’t go away! I kiss your Worship’s hands . . . when here? When there? When up? When down? I found out that it came from the allooo water, taken by the hand . . . did you want to kiss it, Love? Falalà, li là, li là là là. Goodbye, Addio, Adieu . . .

328 Amorosi contrasti [30] Amoroso Contrasto sopra l’idolatrare amando Martesia, e Aristomene Martesia Intendo Sig. Aristomene, che voi avete composti alcuni versi sopra d’una gentildonna, li quali sono giudicati molto belli, e mi farete favor singolare a darmene copia. Aristomene Io sono in obligo con V. Sig. di cosa molto maggiore, e non mancherò di fargliela aver quanto prima. Martesia Si potrebb’ egli sapere il nome della gentildonna sopra della quale sono composti? Aristomene V. S. lo sà meglio di me. Martesia Io non la conosco, nè sò chi ella si sia, se non me lo dite. Aristomene Quando sarà tempo lo saprete. Martesia Il presente mi piace. Aristomene E a me il futuro. Per ora contentavi Signora, ch’io vi celi il nome suo, pregandovi che vogliate ascoltar’ quello che son per dirvi di lei, che la conoscerete senz’altro. Martesia Dite quello, che volete, ch’io sono prontissima per ascoltarvi: e servirà per passar l’ore oziose del giorno in questi caldi estivi. Aristomene Saggiamente parlate, Signora; e ora darò principio à raccontarvi come e quando m’innamorai di questa gentildonna.

Lovers’ Debates 329 [30] Lovers’ Debate on Loving Idolatrously Translated by Pamela Allen Brown Martesia and Aristomene194 Martesia I hear you have composed, Signor Aristomene, some verses about a gentlewoman which are judged very beautiful, and you’d do me a singular favor by giving me a copy. Aristomene I am obliged to you for a more important thing than that, and I won’t forget to let you have it right away. Martesia May I know the name of the lady about whom you wrote the poems? Aristomene You, Signora, know her name better than I. Martesia I don’t know her, or who she might be, if you don’t tell me. Aristomene In time you’ll find out. Martesia I like the present. Aristomene And I prefer the future. For now, rest content that I conceal her name, praying that you will listen to something that I am about to tell you of her, that will surely cause you to know who she is. Martesia Say whatever you like, I am most ready to listen to you, and it will help pass the idle hours in these hot summer days. Aristomene You speak wisely, Signora, and now I’ll begin to tell the story of how I fell in love with this lady.195

330 Amorosi contrasti Martesia Sì, di grazia, poiché io ardo di desiderio di saperlo. Aristomene Dentro il sacrato tempio, adorava il gran Giove colei, la quale ordinariamente come Dea, viene adorata da tutti i cuori, vestita di quella grazia, e di quello splendore, senza della quale il modo non diletterebbe a niuno, ornata di bellissimi occhi e di dolcissima favela. E ancor, ch’ella volesse disarmar’ i suoi begli occhi, e lasciar della sua voce, i dolci accenti, nondimeno quegli occhi, e quella bocca, avevano tal’ armi, che l’uomo non la poteva vedere, nè udire, senza non darle volontario il cuore. Martesia Voi mi dipingete una donna molto bella, e insieme molto divota, le cui parti sono molto riguardevoli in chi le possiede. Aristomene Credete pur Signora Martesia, ch’ella è tale come ve la descrivo. E s’ella alcuna volta alzava quei bellissimi occhi infiammati d’un puro ardore vagheggiando il cielo, anima là dentro non era, che non rimanesse infiammata d’amoroso ardore, e se talora ella abbassava gli occhi, tenendoli pietosamente mezzi aperti rimirando la terra, quei movimenti erano tanti amorosi spiriti che furtivamente le anime involavano. Martesia Felice lei, poiché nacque tale. Con tutto ciò, non posso ancora riconoscerla, nè poco, nè molto. Aristomene La conoscerete ben tosto. E se alle volte dal vivo del cuore (rapita quasi in estasi) dolcemente sospirava riguardando il cielo, quell aere fuggitivo della sua bellissima bocca rincontrava altri sospiri mossi da uno spirito molto differente dal suo, i quali amorosamente interrompevano il suo viaggio. Martesia E questi, senz’altro, erano i vostri amorosi sospiri.

Lovers’ Debates 331 Martesia Yes, for goodness’ sake, for I am burning with desire to hear it. Aristomene Within the sacred temple, great Jove was worshipped by this lady, who, just as befits a goddess, was worshipped by all hearts, dressed in that kind of grace and that kind of splendor without which there would be no delight for anyone, adorned with the most beautiful eyes and with the sweetest way of speaking. And what’s more, though she wished to undo the power of her own lovely eyes, and remove the sweet tones of her voice, nonetheless those eyes and that mouth had such compelling force that a man could not see or hear them without willingly giving her his heart. Martesia You paint for me a woman both very beautiful and very devoted, very admirable qualities indeed, in whoever possesses them. Aristomene You must believe, Signora Martesia, that she is just as I describe her: and that every time she raised her most lovely eyes, inflamed with a pure ardor and straying longingly toward the heavens, there was not a single soul there that did not remain inflamed with amorous ardor, and each time she lowered her eyes, piously keeping them half open while gazing at the earth, her movements were none other than amorous spirits who furtively stole those same souls who admired her. Martesia Happy woman, since she was born thus. With all this, however, I still can’t recognize her, neither a little bit nor a great deal. Aristomene You will recognize her quite soon. If sometimes from her heart of hearts (transported almost into ecstasy) she sweetly sighed beholding the heavens, that breath, fleeing from her most lovely mouth, encountered other sighs, moved by a spirit very different from hers, which lovingly interrupted her journey. Martesia And these, without doubt, were your amorous sighs.

332 Amorosi contrasti Aristomene Così è Signora, ma sentite più oltre. Ella orando diceva: “O gran padre Giove, abbiate di me pietade.” Ed io, che l’ascoltava rivolto a lei tacitamente diceva, “abbiate di me pietade, perché chi pietade domanda, deve ancora gli effetti della pietade sentir in se medesimo.” E seguitando le sue meditazioni diceva, “O fulminante padre, siatemi padre benigno, e non giudicate irato.” E io, con la lingua della mente dicevo: “O potentissimo Giove, O altitonante padre, poiché voi volete che ognuno padre vi domandi, fate padre pietoso, che la nemica mia non mi sia crudele.” Martesia Bellissimo modo d’orare era il vostro, ancorché tra di voi molto differente. Aristomene E’ vero, Signora mia, e penetrando più oltre nel suo orare, diceva con gran fervore, “O fulminante Dio, riguardate piuttosto alla vostra bontade che al vostro rigore, quando volete castigare un’offesa.” E io, rivolto a lei diceva, “pensate l’istesso O mia Signora, e che agli occhi vostri pieni d’humanità, deve ancora rassimigliarsi il vostro cuore.” Martesia Chi potrà mai esser costei cotanto favorita dagli uomini, e dagli Dei? Aristomene Una, che voi non ve la immaginareste giammai. Udite pure, perché nel fine lo saprete, ed è vostra carissima amica, e tanto amica, che si può dire che voi, e lei siate una cosa istessa. Martesia A tale, che anche io vado a parte di tanta bellezza, e di tanta devozione. Aristomene Io credo che V. S. n’abbia la parte maggiore. Martesia Non dite così, perche venite ad offender la Vostra Signoria.

Lovers’ Debates 333 Aristomene That’s it, Signora, but listen to something more. Praying, she said: “O great father Jove, have pity on me,” and I who listened, turned to her and silently said, “Have pity on me, because the one who asks for pity must also feel the effects of pity in herself.” And continuing her meditations, she said, “O father of thunder, be a kind father to me, and don’t judge me angrily,” and I said silently, with the tongue of my mind, “O most powerful Jove, O high-thundering father, since you wish that all fathers ask you, be a kind father to me, that my enemy shall not be cruel to me.” Martesia Yours was a most beautiful way of praying, even though it was very different from hers. Aristomene It’s true, Signora, and entering more deeply into her prayer, she said with great fervor, “O God of lightning, pay more regard to your bounty than your rigor, when you wish to punish an offender,” and I bent toward her and said, “Think the same, O Signora; moreover, may your eyes full of humanity resemble your heart.” Martesia What woman could ever be so favored by both men and gods? Aristomene One you would never imagine. Listen well, so that finally you will know, and it is your very dear friend, and such a friend, that one might say, that you and she are one and the same. Martesia Meaning that I share in so much beauty and so much devotion. Aristomene I believe, Signora, that you possess the greater portion. Martesia Don’t say it that way, because you are about to offend your Lady.

334 Amorosi contrasti Aristomene Non vi rincresca l’ascoltare. “Soviengavi” (diceva ella), “O sommo Giove, che io sin dal nascer mio son vostra, e che fra tutti gli Dei voi solo adoro.” Io misero diceva, “sin dalle fasce son vostro, e altra deità nei miei voti adorar non conviemmi.” “Misurate, O Rettor del cielo, all’amor mio la vostra pietade,” e io dicevo, “va misurate ancor voi, O mia bellissima Dea la vostra pietade non con me, ma con l’amor mio.” Furono le sue preghiere esaudite e ricevute, e le mie in tutto per tutto ripulsate. Ella ottenne perdono, e io meschino ne riporto, e la colpa e la pena, poiché ella allontanandosi da tutte le cose umane, non per altro mi vede, che per fuggirmi, e disprezzarmi. Martesia In questo ella si porta molto male, e sto per dire che non la voglio per amica. Ma che fine ebbe questo vostro modo d’idolatrare? Aristomene Il fine fù, che io rivolto al gran Padre Giove dissi, “è questo dunque il premio che voi concedete a coloro, che vi adorano? Se io ho errato, ho errato perché gli occhi di lei me l’hanno imposto, e commandato. A lei dunque conviensi d’un’irato cuore, un severissimo castigo.” Martesia Tanto che questo vostro avvenimento fornì in danno vostro, e a salute della donna, che amate, poiché ella ottenne ciò che bramava, e voi rimaneste con l’istessa pena. Con tutto ciò, io non posso venire in cognizione di questa vostra Dama, se voi di bocca propria non la nominate. Aristomene Ella è quella che sapete voi come da principio vi dissi. Martesia Io non sono indovina. Aristomene Anzi, siete una di quelle che non obbediscono alla deità, che parla per la bocca loro, ma si fanno obbedir da quella. Martesia Come intendete voi questo Enigma?

Lovers’ Debates 335 Aristomene You won’t regret listening. “Don’t forget (said she), O high Jove, I have been yours since I was born, and among all the gods I adore only you. Ever since I was a babe I belong to you, and it is not right for me to worship other gods in my vows: make your pity, O great ruler of heaven, be equal to my love!” And I said, “Make your pity, O most lovely goddess mine, be likewise equal, not to my worth but to my love.” Her prayers were received and granted, and mine were utterly rejected. She obtained pardon, and I, miserable wretch that I am, retain the hurt and the blame, for she, removing herself from all things human, only deigned to see me in order to flee from me, and to show me disdain. Martesia In this she behaved badly, and I wouldn’t want her for a friend. But what was the result of your way of idolizing? Aristomene The end was that I turned toward Father Jove, and said, “Is this then the reward that you grant those who worship you? If I have erred, I’ve erred because her eyes have captured me and commanded me. It is fitting that her heart is angry, a most severe punishment.” Martesia So much so, that this plot of yours brought harm to you, and health to the lady you love: for she obtained what she was yearning for, and you remained with the same pain. Yet with all that, I still cannot recognize your Lady, if you don’t name her with your own mouth. Aristomene She is the one you know, as I told you at the beginning. Martesia I cannot guess. Aristomene Then you are one of those who will not obey the goddess who speaks through their mouths, but makes others obey what she wills. Martesia What are you driving at with this enigma?

336 Amorosi contrasti Aristomene Voglio dire, che Amore parla con la vostra bocca, e che perciò le vostre parole sono piene di fuoco, e d’amore, le quali hanno forza d’accender amorose fiamme, e che tuttavia voi non l’obbedite, ancor ch’egli comandi, che chi ama, sia parimente amato. Martesia A questo vostro dire, pare quasi che voi accenniate ch’io sia quella. Aristomene Quella siete senz’altro. Martesia E perché non lo dire alla prima? Aristomene Molti rispetti m’hanno ritenuto, e il principale l’aver riguardo a non vi muovere a sdegno. Martesia Dubitando di che? Aristomene Del mio demerito. Martesia Se voi non avete merito, non occorre dunque ch’io v’ami. Aristomene Le cicatrici ch’io portò nel cuore fanno fede dell’amor mio. Martesia Il valoroso soldato mostra le sue cicatrici al suo Capitano per esser degnamente ricompensato: ora, s’Amore vostro Capitano volesse vedere le vostre ferite per darvene ricompensa, come fareste voi à mostrargliele? Aristomene Se amore ciò mi cercasse, direi rivolto à lui: O Amore, levati quella benda, e riguardo gli occhi della nemica mia, il che facendo, non avrebbe appena aperti gli occhi, che sentirebbe l’istesse ferite, ch’io porto nel cuore, e non quelle, che dite voi, e se amore volesse entrar meco a ragione l’avrei più tosto sodisfatto che voi, provand’egli quei colpi che voi non potete sentire, in quel modo che un fuoco non

Lovers’ Debates 337 Aristomene I mean to say that Love speaks with your mouth, and that is why your words are full of fire and love, which have the power to kindle amorous flames, and that moreover you do not obey, even when it commands you, that whoever loves, should likewise be loved.196 Martesia So you mean to say, by what you imply, that I could be the one. Aristomene You are the one, of course. Martesia And why didn’t you say that at first? Aristomene I have been held back by great respect for you, and most of all I was careful not to provoke your disdain. Martesia What did you have doubts about? Aristomene My own lack of merit. Martesia If you do not have merit, it would therefore be impossible for me to love you. Aristomene The scars that I carry in my heart bear witness to my love. Martesia The valorous soldier shows his scars to his Captain to be worthily compensated. Now, if Love, your Captain, wanted to see your wounds to give you your reward, what would you do to show them to him? Aristomene If Love sought me out, I would say to his face, “O Love, take off that blindfold, and gaze on the eyes of my enemy!” In doing so, he will have scarcely opened his eyes but he will feel the same wounds that I carry in my heart, and not those that you are speaking of, and if Love wants to argue with me about my reasons, I will say that you are delivering blows to him that you cannot feel, in such a way, that a fire

338 Amorosi contrasti può ardere nè abbrucciar se medesimo. Così non dovete voi, ancorché insensibile alla vostra bellezza, esser l’istessa alle lagrime mie, e non vi Maravigliate se dove le armi del merito non possono resistere, quelle della pietà rintuzzano almeno il taglio dei vostri rigori, affinché come vi adoro per bella, possa lodarvi per umana. Martesia Se l’amor vostro è tale quale voi dite, il tempo ne darà più conoscimento, che le vostre parole troppo ben dette per proceder dalla vostra affezione. Perché sempre hò udito dire, che l’affezione non può esser senza passione, e che la passione non può permettere alla mente, nè alla bocca un cosi libero discorso. Ma quando il tempo me ne averà detto tanto quanto voi m’avete detto, dovete credere che io non sono di pietra, e cosi sconoscente, che i vostri meriti non conosca, e che il vostro amore non mi smuova. Ricordandovi per ultimo, che quando amore e la fortuna cominciano a cadere, cadono abbasso del tutto. Aristomene Io vi intendo Signora, e sò benissimo come amore ordina a suoi seguaci, che dopo l’aver ricercate le amate loro per qualche tempo, e vedute le loro ostinazioni, e quasi disperata la fatica loro, devono cominciare ad intepidir l’ardore, e quelle tosto abbandonate. Ma io non sarò di quelli tanto obedienti, anzi vorrò sino alla morte amarvi, e se dopo la morte amar si puote, tenete per fermo e per sicuro che ancora dopo la morte sono per amarvi. Rimanete felice, e tenete memoria d’uno che vi adora in quella guisa, che voi nel Tempio di Giove adoravi l’imagine sua, e più se più idolatrar si puote. Baciovi le mani. Martesia Terrò memoria della nostra amorosa idolatria. Addio.

Lovers’ Debates 339 cannot kindle, nor burn itself. Thus you must not, even though you are insensible to your own beauty, also be insensible to my tears. Also do not marvel if, where the weapons of merit cannot prevail, those of pity may at least soften the edge of your harsh cruelty, so that, just as I adore you for your beauty, I might praise you as a human being. Martesia If your love is really what you say it is, time will make it more known, seeing that your words are too well said to proceed from your affections, because I have always heard that affection cannot be without passion, and that passion does not permit the mind or the mouth such free discourse. But when time confirms all that you have told me, you must believe that I am not made of stone, or so lacking in understanding, that I will not recognize your merits, or that your love will not move me. Take heed, in the end, that when love and fortune begin to fade, everything falls apart. Aristomene I understand you, Signora, and I know very well how Love orders his followers, that after having sought their beloved ones for some time, and seen their obstinacies, and almost despairing of their efforts, they must become tepid in their ardor, and let their loves go abandoned. But I will not be among those who are so obedient. Instead, I will love you until I die, and if after death it is possible to love, you can hold it as a fact, and for a surety, that even after death I will love you. Continue to be happy, and hold in your memory one who adores you in the same way that you were adoring Jove’s image in his temple, and who will idolize you more and more, if possible. I kiss your hands. Martesia I will hold in my memory our amorous idolatry. Farewell.

340 Amorosi contrasti [31] Amoroso Contrasto sopra un’amoroso svenimento Cleopatra, e Palamede Palamede Se gli occhi vostri (bellissima Sig. Cleopatra) fossero così pieni di verità, come sono cagione d’amore, la dolcezza, che promettono me li farebbe adorare con tanto contento quant’ella produce in me molte vane speranze. Ma perché sempre sono pronti a soddisfare alle loro false promesse, sono parimente così lontani dal sanar le mie piaghe, che non se ne vogliono confessar gli Autori, ancorché non lo possino negare, considerando che niuna altra bellezza che la loro possa farne di co[s]ì grandi. E tuttavia, come se voi aveste disegnato d’adeguare la vostra crudeltà alla vostra bellezza ordinate, che l’affezione, che avete fatta nascere mora crudelmente in me. Ma io, che ho più caro quello che viene da voi che la mia propria vita, non potendo soffrire una così grande ingiustizia, sono risoluto portar questa affezione sin dentro del sepolcro, sperando che il cielo, mosso alla fine per la mia pazienza, debba obbligarvi qualche volta ad essermi così pietosa, come mi siete in uno cara e crudele. Cleopatra Poiché voi dite, ch’io hò sopra di voi così intiera possanza, voglio con vostra buona grazia farne la prova, aggiungendo alle mie calde preghiere un’amoroso commandamento. Palamede Non è cosa che voi non mi possiate commandare, perciò dite. Cleopatra Dal giorno, che voi m’assicuraste del vostro amore, giudicai sempre in voi questa istessa volontà: la quale m’obbligò d’amarvi, e d’onorarvi più di qual si voglia altra persona che viva. Ora per quello ch’io vi voglio dire, non voglio che voi crediate che punto sia menomata la mia buona volontà, la quale m’accompagnerà sino alla morte. Pertanto vi prego ad assicurarmi di far quello che sono per commandarvi, e poi ve lo dirò. Palamede Prometto à V. S. con gioia, e con tremore, di far quanto che da lei mi sarà imposto, e commandato.

Lovers’ Debates 341 [31] Lovers’ Debate, with a Passionate Swoon Translated by Eric Nicholson Cleopatra and Palamede197 Palamede If your eyes, most lovely Signora Cleopatra, were as full of truth as they are the cause of love, the sweetness they promise would make me adore them with a joy equal to the many vain hopes that you give me. But, because they are always ready to satisfy their own false promises, they are just as far from healing my wounds as they, the actors, would be willing to confess—even though they could not deny it, considering that no other beauty than theirs could cut so deeply. And yet, as if you aim to make your cruelty match your beauty, you command me to let my desire, to which you yourself gave life, die a most cruel death. But I, who hold dear whatever comes from you more than my own life, not being able to suffer so great an injustice, I—I am resolved to carry this loving passion all the way to the grave, hoping that heaven, moved at last, will reward my patience by constraining you, every now and then, to take pity on me, you who are at once most dear and most cruel to me. Cleopatra Since you say that I have complete power over you, I wish, with your kind permission, to put your claim to the test, adding to my fervent prayers an amorous commandment. Palamede There is no command of yours that I would not obey—therefore say it! Cleopatra Ever since the day that you swore your love to me, I have perceived in you this steadfast desire: that is, to oblige me to love you, and to honor you, more than any other living person. Now, for the sake of what I wish to tell you, I don’t want you to believe that my good will has been impaired, for it will stay with me until my death. Therefore, I ask you to assure me that you’ll do what I command you to do, and then I shall tell you what it is. Palamede I promise you, Signora, with both joy and trembling, to do whatever you shall impose on me, and command me to do.

342 Amorosi contrasti Cleopatra Assicurata dunque dalle vostre promesse non farò altra difficoltà di pregare, ma si bene di scongiurare il Sig. Palamade per quell’amore, col quale si degna di favorire la sua Cleopatra ad obbedirla per questa volta; assicurandolo, che non li sarà commandata cosa impossibile. Palamede Poiche voi avete un’assoluto imperio di commandarmi, commandate ormai, accioché io possa cominciar ad obbedirvi. Cleopatra Il commandamento è questo: che voi mi mettiate l’amor vostro in una delle belle gentildonne della nostra città. Voi direte che questo è un officio molto strano per Cleopatra. Tuttavia, se considererete, che quella di ch’io vi parlo vi vuole per marito, e che ella è la più cara amica che io m’abbia, sò che non ve ne ammirerete: questa è la Signora Herminiona, la quale vi ama al pari della sua vita, nè altri vuole che voi. Altro che questo, non vi commando. Palamede Ah crudelissima Cleopatra, avete voi sin quì conservata la mia vita per rapirmela poi con tanta inumanità? Questo commandamento è troppo crudele per lasciarmi vivere, e la mia affezione troppo grande per lasciarmi morire disperatamente. (Misero me) permettete almeno ch’io mora, ma ch’io mora fedele, che se non v’è altro rimedio per sanar la Sig. Herminiona, che la mia morte, io volontariamente m’offrirò in sacrificio per la sua sanità, e invece di questo commandamento, commandarmi assolutamente ch’io mora. Cleopatra Lasciamo stare queste vane parole. Voi mi darete poca occasione di creder di voi quello che dite, se non soddisfate alla prima preghiera, che io vi ho fatta. Palamede Crudelissima Donna, se voi volete ch’io cambi questo amore, qual potere vi resterà poi più di commandarmi? Ese non è possible il farlo, perche volete voi per prova della mia affezione una cosa che non può essere? Cleopatra Abbiatemi per quella che voi volete, ch’io sono risoluta di non volervi mai più, sin tanto che voi non abbiate effettuata la mia preghiera, e la vostra promessa.

Lovers’ Debates 343 Cleopatra Reassured then, by your promises, I will not make any further trouble about requesting or requiring anything, but I do beg, Signor Palamede, for that same love with which he deigns to favor his Cleopatra, to obey her on this occasion, assuring him that nothing impossible shall be commanded of him. Palamede Since you have absolute power to command me anything, command me now, so that I may begin to obey you. Cleopatra The commandment is the following: that for my sake, you dedicate your love to one of the fair ladies of our city. You will say that this is a most strange mission to accomplish for your Cleopatra. Yet if you take time to consider that she of whom I speak desires you to be her husband, and that she is the dearest friend I have, I know that you will not be amazed. Yes, she is Herminiona,198 who loves you as much as life itself, and desires no other man but you. And this is all that I command you to do. Palamede O most cruel Cleopatra, have you kept me alive this long, only to take away my life with such inhumanity? This commandment is too cruel to let me live, and my desire for you too great to let me die in desperation. Miserable me! At least permit me, as I die, to die faithful to you, for if there is no other remedy that can cure Signora Herminiona than my death, I willfully offer myself in sacrifice for her health, and so instead of this commandment, command me in no uncertain terms to die. Cleopatra Let’s ignore these empty words! You give me little cause to believe what you say, if you won’t satisfy the first request that I made to you. Palamede Most cruel woman, if you wish me to change my love, what power remains to you, to command me with? And if it’s not possible to do this thing, why do you want, as the proof of my love for you, a thing that simply cannot be? Cleopatra Be at odds with me for whatever you wish, but I am resolved never to love or desire you until the moment when you’ll have satisfied my request, and your own promise.

344 Amorosi contrasti Palamede S’io avessi meritato un così aspro, e rigido commandamento come ricevo da voi, piuttosto che il non esseguirlo avrei sostenuta la morte. Ma poiché è solo per vostro contento, io lo ricevo con un poco più di piacere, che se in quel cambio voi mi aveste ordinato il morire. Tuttavia, perché son tutto vostro, egli è ragionevole ancora ch’io vi obbedisca. Io mi proverò dunque d’obbedirvi; ma ricordatevi, che in così longo tempo, che durerà questa mia pena, bisognerà cancellare ogni giorno un giorno della mia vita, perch’io non chiamerò mai vita, quella che m’apporta più dolore della morte. Abbreviatelo dunque, o mia troppo rigorosa signora, se pure ancora regna in voi alcuna scintilla, non dirò d’amore, ma si ben di pietade. Cleopatra Sapete voi, perche vi ho fatto simil commandamento? Palamede Signora no, se voi non me lo dite. Cleopatra Prima per aiutar l’amica mia, che per voi si more, seconda perché mi bisogna pigliar marito, essendo tale il voler di mio padre. Palamede E chi vi vuol dar per marito? Cleopatra Il Sig. Aristippo, da voi molto ben conosciuto. Palamede E voi lo pigliarete? Cleopatra Bisogna ben ch’io lo pigli, voglia o non voglia. Palamede Ah bellissima Sig. Cleopatra, con qual’occhio vedrete voi questo vostro novello amante? Con qual cuore l’amerete, e con quali favori l’accarezzarete, poiché i vostri occhi mi hanno mille volte promesso, e il vostro cuore giurato di non vedere e di non amare mai altri che me? Or poiché cosi volete, ch’io vi lasci, lo voglio fare, perche non voglio nel fine della mia vita cominciare a disubbidirvi. Vivete dunque felice col vostro Signor Aristippo, e ricevete tanto contento, quanto io aveva volontà di servirvi, se i miei giorni me l’avessero permesso, assicurandovi che il mio fedele amore mi cruderà per voi gli occhi con estremo duolo.

Lovers’ Debates 345 Palamede If I had deserved such a harsh and bitter commandment such as the one you’re now giving me, rather than obeying and carrying it out I would have preferred to suffer death. But since it is meant only to please you, I accept your commandment with just slightly more pleasure than if, in that exchange, you had ordered my death. All the same, since I am completely and utterly yours, it is reasonable for me to obey you. I therefore shall try my best to obey you . . . but remember, that in the great amount of time during which my penalty will last, there must be cancelled, every day, a day of my life, because I will never call anything “life” which brings me more pain than death itself. Shorten my life then, O my too, too severe Lady, if there still reigns in you some tiny spark, if not of love, then of pity. Cleopatra Do you know why I have given you such a commandment? Palamede No, I do not, Signora, unless you tell me. Cleopatra First, to help my friend, who is dying for you, and secondly because I must marry another, that being the wish of my father. Palamede And whom does he wish to give you, for your husband? Cleopatra Signor Aristippo,199 whom you know very well. Palamede And you will take him as your husband? Cleopatra I have to take him, whether I like it or not. Palamede Ah, fairest Cleopatra, with what sort of eye shall you behold this new lover of yours? With what kind of heart shall you love him, and with what favors shall you lovingly entertain him, since your eyes have a thousand times promised, and your heart sworn, not to see or love any other person but me? Still, now that you wish me to leave you, I do wish it too, because here at the end of my life I do not wish to begin disobeying you. Therefore live joyfully with your Signor Aristippo, with as much happiness as I had desire to serve you, if only my days had permitted it. You can rest assured that my faithful love for you shall afflict my eyes with the most extreme sorrow.

346 Amorosi contrasti Cleopatra I commandamenti paterni, che sono leggi inviolabili, alla quali l’onor mio non permette ch’io contradica, mi fa esser tale. Palamede Dunque (o inconstante Signora Cleopatra), bisogna che la mia pena sopravviva all’amor mio? Dunque bisogna, che senza amarvi, io abbia tante pene per vedervi in poter d’un’altro amante? Non so se gli Dei mi vogliano punire per avervi amata più ch’io non doveva; ovvero, perché in questo punto, io mi figuri di non vi amar più, e che tuttavia io senta più d’amore per voi che io habbia giammai sentito. Ma perché vi ho io di amare, poiché voi siete di un’altro? Ma come non v’amerò io, poiché vi ho tanto amata? Egli è vero: ma io non vi devo amare, perché voi siete una donna ingrata, un’anima tutta d’oblio, che non ha alcun risentimento d’amore. Tuttavia quella, che voi siete sarete sempre, sarete Cleopatra, e Cleopatra potrà essere senza che Palamede la ami? Io vi amo dunque, o non vi amo . . . giudicatelo voi signora, perché in quanto a me, ho gli spiriti così turbati, che io non so discernere altra cosa, se non che io sono il più infelice amante che viva, e con questo vi lascio. Addio. Cleopatra Ohimè, ch’è quel, ch’io vedo? L’estremo, e subito dolore gli ha senz’altro levata la vita. O infelice amante, a che termine ti ha ridotto l’amor tuo, e la tua fede, o sovrana bontade, cavami da questa miseria, o levami la vita. Deh, rompi per pietade questo crudele avvenimento, o per me troppo fedele amante, che non per altro sei miserabile, se non perché tu ami questa miserabil amata. Il cielo ti voglia dare, o quel contento, che merita l’amor tuo, ovvero levarmi del mondo, poiché io sono la cagione per la quale tu senti tante pene, e non le meriti. O come è difficile di ben’amare, ed esser saggia insieme. Io ti amava o mio fedel Palamede, ti amo, e ti amerò fin che lo spirito reggerà queste misere membra. Ma perche troppo osài, e troppo volli, che ho, poco saggia, ridotto alla morte. Perdonami dunque o mio fedele amante, il cielo ti dia tanto contento nel tuo viaggio, quanto dolore tu mi lasci nel tuo partire. Palamede Deh, non partite ancora, anima cara, perche partendo rimango qui infelice cadavero di amare. Deh, non partite, vita di questo cuore, spirito di quest’anima, ed anima di questo corpo.

Lovers’ Debates 347 Cleopatra Commandments of the father are sacrosanct laws: therefore my honor does not allow me to go against them, and makes me be this way. Palamede Thus must it be the case—O inconstant Signora Cleopatra—that my suffering shall outlive my love? Thus must it be, barred from loving you, that I suffer even more pains seeing you in the power of another lover? I know not if the gods wish to punish me for having loved you more than I ought to have. For indeed, at this point, where I am preparing to love you no longer, all the same, I feel more love for you than I have ever felt before. But what am I doing, loving you, when you are being held by another? But how can it be that I will not love you, since I have loved you so very much? O, it’s all true. Yet I should not love you, for you are an ungrateful woman, a soul all too forgetful, and incapable of feeling love! And yet you are who you are, and shall be forever: you are Cleopatra, and is it possible for Cleopatra to live without Palamede being in love with her? I love you, then . . . or I do not love you . . . Judge the case yourself, Signora, for in my current state, my spirits are so troubled that I can no longer tell anything from anything else, except that I am the unhappiest lover alive . . . and with this I leave you. Adieu! [Falls in a swoon, seeming dead.] Cleopatra Alas, what is this I see? His extreme and perpetual suffering has no doubt claimed his life! O unhappy lover, to what end have your love and faith finally reduced you? O Sovereign Good, release me from this misery, O take from me my very life! Ah, for pity, stop this cruel event! O my far too faithful lover, you are miserable only because you love me, your miserable beloved! May the heavens give you either that happiness your love deserves, or may they remove me from the world of the living, for I am the cause of your feeling so much undeserved grief. O how hard it is to love well and be wise at the same time! I have loved you, O my faithful Palamede, I do love you, and I shall love you as long as my spirits sustain these my wretched limbs. But why did I, so very unwise and reckless, dare too much, and wish too much, so much that I have brought you to the doors of death? Forgive me, therefore, O my faithful lover! May the heavens give you as much happiness in your voyage, as your passing gives me sorrow. Palamede [stirring weakly] Ahh, do not part from me yet, my dear soul, for in parting I remain here, an unhappy cadaver for you to love. Ahh, leave me not, life of this heart, inspiration of this soul, and soul of this body.

348 Amorosi contrasti Cleopatra Ohimè, che parole son queste? Siete voi morto, o vivo? Palamede Io son’ morto ai diletti, e vivo al duolo, che per voi sola, e per lo fiero commandamento impostomi, sono stato vicino al Regno delle perdute genti. Ora qual prova vi resta più di fare intorno all’amor mio e alla mia fede? Ditela ormai, accioché io possa di nuovo ritornar’ a servirvi? Cleopatra Si suol dire, che l’amore non si fabbrica se non d’una precedente rovina, e ora dalla rovina della vostra creduta morte, si fabbrica di nuovo l’amor mio, con nodi più forti e più tenaci. E se io sono stata mal saggia, e imprudente in guardar la fabbrica prima dell’amor mio, riducendovi a cosi estrema necessità, di nuovo ve ne domando umilmente perdono, perché quanto dissi, tutto fu per far prova della constanza vostra, e della nostra fermezza. Ora non occorrono altre prove, sono per sempre disingannata delle false opinioni, che io haveva del vostro amore. Vero, fermo, saldo, e costante fu sempre l’amor mio, e tale sarò mentre ch’io viva. E di ciò ve ne faccia fede la vostra bellissima immagine, che nel mio core alberga e vive. E per segno, che non và il cuore diverso dalla lingua, eccovi la mia destra per segno di fede, e di matrimonio con voi. Ripigliate dunque gli smarriti spiriti, e chiedetemi in moglie al padre mio, perché senz’altro, voglio esser la vostra. Palamede Tanto farò quanto imposto m’avete, riserbando ad altro tempo il ringraziarla d’un tanto dono.

Lovers’ Debates 349 Cleopatra Ay me, what words are these? Are you dead, or alive? Palamede I am dead to delights, and alive to sorrows, since for you alone, and for the fierce commandment you imposed on me, I nearly reached the Realm of the Lost Souls.200 Now what trial of my love and my faith remains for you to make? Say it right away, so I can return again to serving you! Cleopatra It is said that love is only built upon a previous ruination, and now, upon the ruins of your presumed death, my new love shall be built, with stronger and firmer knots than before. If I was unwise, and imprudent in poorly maintaining the first fabric of my love, reducing it to such desperate extremities, I again most humbly beg you to forgive me, because all that I said was meant to be a test of your constancy, and your steadfastness. Now no further trials need to be made, I am forever free of the false opinions I had about your love. Always true, steady, firm, and constant was my love, and so shall it be for as long as I live—and all of that can be witnessed by your most lovely image, which dwells and lives inside my heart. And as the sign that my heart does not stray from my tongue, here is my right hand, as the pledge of my faith, and of my marriage to you. Revive, therefore, your dismayed spirits! Ask my father to let me be your bride, for I surely wish to be yours forever. [They join hands.] Palamede I shall do everything you have ordered me to do, leaving till another time my giving you thanks for such a precious gift.

350 Notes

Notes 1. Although biographical information on Filippo Capponi (1585–1628) is sparse, it is evident that he was a staunch supporter of theatre, especially as practiced by Flaminio Scala and the latter’s Compagnia dei Confidenti in Florence. Filippo is frequently cited in Scala’s letters to his patron Giovanni de’ Medici, which suggest a steady friendship between the actor/director and the aristocrat; see Comici dell’Arte: Corrispondenze, ed. Siro Ferrone et al. (Florence: Le Lettere, 1993), 1:495–520. A member of the illustrious Florentine Capponi family, and brother of the prominent cardinal Luigi, Filippo was involved in international commerce, notably in Nuremberg, and was employed on diplomatic missions to Germany by the Medici grand-ducal government; see Elisa Goudriaan, Florentine Patricians and their Networks: Structures Behind the Cultural Success and the Political Representation of the Medici Court (1600–1660) (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 41–42. Clearly a prominent figure in Florentine cultural life of the time, Capponi is also mentioned in the sources for hosting theological debates at his home, and for intervening in a group street duel, where he saved the life of one of the swordfighters; see Edward Goldberg, A Jew at the Medici Court: The Letters of Benedetto Blanis, Hebreo, 1615–1621 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), 192, 105. 2. Flaminio Scala (1552–1624) was one of the most prominent actors, directors, and playwrights of the early commedia dell’arte. Along with playing the innamorato role of Flavio for many years, he eventually directed the Compagnia dei Confidenti, which enjoyed the support and protection of the Medici prince Don Giovanni during the second decade of the seventeenth century. Scala was active in Mantua and Venice— where he also ran a perfume shop—and in the latter city he published his Teatro delle favole rappresentative (1611), a collection of fifty scenarios for performance, as well as the Fragmenti (1617) and his play Il finto marito (1618). Although he was probably not a full-time member of the Compagnia dei Gelosi, he had an excellent professional relationship with Francesco Andreini, positively recognized in each other’s publications. See Siro Ferrone, La Commedia dell’Arte: Attrici e attori italiani in Europa (XVI– XVIII secolo) (Turin: Einaudi, 2014), 316–17. Also see the Introduction and notes to Flaminio Scala, The Fake Husband, a Comedy (Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe: ACMRS Press, 2020), the recent translation by Rosalind Kerr of Il Finto Marito. 3. Diotima: an ancient Greek prophetess, acknowledged by Socrates in Plato’s Symposium (201d–212c) for teaching him that love leads to contemplation of the divine. She has a special prominence in the Fragmenti; in Contrasto 7 the innamorata has the same name, and she is mentioned again in Contrasto 8 (see note 49). Attilio: the name recalls the third-century CE soldier from Piedmont, a member of the famous Theban Legion that according to Christian legend was martyred down to the last man for refusing to sacrifice to the emperor Maximian. Atilius is also the name of a Roman poet who translated Sophocles’s Electra into Latin.

Notes 351 4. This teasing exchange is highly metatheatrical: Isabella did draw eyes and ears as an actress in the Gelosi with her husband Francesco, who often portrayed her jealous lover or suitor in plays, while promoting her celebrity and chastity offstage. As the diva’s editor and the compiler of Fragmenti and other works after her death in 1604, he continued to perpetuate her fame. 5. The idea that the beloved is more worthy than the lover originates with Plato; see his Symposium in Great Dialogues of Plato, trans. W. H. D. Rouse, ed. Eric H. Warmington and Philip G. Rouse (New York: New American Library, 1956), 76–78. This contrasto has an intertextual relationship with Tullia d’Aragona’s dialogue On the Infinity of Love (“Della infinità d’amore,” published in 1547), which mentions Diotima and makes a similar beloved/lover argument. Tullia d’Aragona was a famous poet-courtesan of the previous generation, known for her bold love poetry (see the Introduction and note 120). Isabella also uses the famous name Tullia for the arch and witty innamorata in Contrasto 18 (“There Is No Love without Pleasure”). 6. Diotima uses the terms of formal rhetorical debates concerning major and minor assertions. 7. Protagoras, famous for stating that “man is the measure of all things,” was a Greek philosopher-mathematician of the fifth century BCE. He is often called the first Sophist, meaning a professional teacher of intellectual subtlety, rhetorical skill, and wisdom. The Sophists drew criticism for being over-refined and for taking fees. The negative connotations of “sophistry” (tricky reasoning), and the more positive term “sophisticated,” are rooted in this history. 8. The debaters are well-matched, both being famous for their rhetorical skill. Tacito is named for Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, a brilliant historian of Rome, consul, senator, and governor of the Empire, and a scathing critic of tyranny. Amasia is named for Amaesia Sentia, a Roman matron who, despite her guilt in a case, pleaded so eloquently that she was acquitted. According to Valerius Maximus, she was called “Androgyne” because “under the shape of a woman she carried a manly resolution.” See Jennifer Richards and Alison Thorne, ed., Rhetoric, Women and Politics in Early Modern England (London and New York: Routledge, 2007), 60. Isabella marketed her own androgynous allure, manlike virtù, and eloquence; see Rosalind Kerr, The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte Stage (University of Toronto Press, 2015), 82–101, 102–46. 9. Regarding Aristotelian contraries, see Aristotle’s Categories in The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, ed. Jonathan Barnes, 2 vols. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), 1:18–22. 10. Guiding spirits (geni, the plural of genio) were benevolent teacher-spirits who assisted each person throughout life, according to Greek and Roman myth.

352 Notes 11. From Petrarch’s Canzoniere, sonnet 265, lines 12–14, in Petrarch’s Lyric Poems: The Rime sparse and Other Lyrics, trans. Robert M. Durling (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976), 434–35. 12. On the concept of a prime mover, that which is an unmoved, primary cause of the development of the universe, see Aristotle, Physics, in The Complete Works, ed. Jonathan Barnes, 1:316. Andreini may also be thinking of Dante’s Paradiso, 33.145, the last line in the Divine Comedy: “by the Love that moves the sun and the other stars” (“l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle”); Paradiso, trans Robert M. Durling (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 667. 13. Although not entitled as “amoroso,” Contrasto 3 takes up a prominent question in the courtly love tradition: namely, whether or not a person, of either sex, is obliged to return the love of someone who truly loves her or him. The best-known assertion in support (quoted later in this contrasto) occurs in Dante’s Inferno when Francesca da Rimini declares: “Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona” (“Love, which pardons no one loved from loving in return”). See Inferno, 5.103, trans. Robert M. Durling (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996). 14. Furio’s name evokes Furius Camillus (Marcus Furius Camillus), a valorous Roman general and leader of the late fifth to early fourth century BCE, who celebrated four triumphs, was named dictator five times, and after retaking the city from the Gauls was known as “The Second Founder of Rome.” Istrina is probably named after the mother of the Scythian prince Sylus, who taught him the Greek language. Andreini could have found this reference in a highly influential early feminist treatise by Cornelius Agrippa, translated by Alessandro Piccolomini and published as Della nobiltà et eccellenza delle donne (Venice: Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1549): the citation of Istrina appears on page 22v. Istrina is also cited as the mother and teacher of Sylus in the Officina of the French humanist scholar Jean Tixier de Révisy (ca. 1470–1542), an encyclopedic tome in Latin, repeatedly published after 1520 throughout the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, in Basel, Lyon, Venice, and elsewhere, eventually with the full title of Officina Ionnis Rauisii Textoris Niuernensis, nunc demum post tot editions diligenter emendate, aucta, & in longe commodiorem ordinem redacta. Texier was eventually better known by the Latinized version of his name, Johannes Textor. It is highly probable that Andreini consulted the list of “Muliebres Doctae” (pages 161v– 163v) in the edition of the book printed in Venice in 1588 by Marc’ Antonio Zaltieri, who would publish Isabella’s Lettere in 1607. Almost half of the female interlocutors’ names in The Lovers’ Debates appear on Textor’s list, some of them not present in Piccolomini’s book, or in other readily available sixteenth-century sources. 15. Alcides is Hercules; Abila and Calpe are the classical names of, respectively, the modern-day Jebel Musa (in Morocco) and the Rock of Gibraltar, the two “Pillars of Hercules” that the great hero created to mark the limits of the known world.

Notes 353 16. The original reads “Curio,” probably a typographical error. 17. Anteros is the spirit of reciprocal love, depicted in ancient art as a naked winged boy accompanying his brother Eros (the traditional embodiment of amorous desire and passion). Images of these two “erotes” fighting to gain control of a palm branch were revived in the Renaissance, notably in Vincenzo Cartari’s Imagini dei Dei degli Antichi (Venice: Giordano Ziletti, 1571). Around the year 1600, Annibale Carracci and his assistants painted a vivid, full-color version of the myth on the ceiling of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. See Guy de Tervarent, “Eros and Anteros, or Reciprocal Love in Ancient and Renaissance Art,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtald Institutes 28 (1965): 205–8. 18. An allusion to Francesca’s famous line in Dante’s Inferno, 5.103: “Love exempts no one beloved from loving [Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona].” Lovers debate this topic directly in Contrasto 3. 19. See Aristotle, Poetics, 1456a.23–25, the locus classicus of Agathon’s paradox, and probable source of Andreini’s citation. 20. With the “gentle heart” reference, Andreini’s text again recalls Francesca’s speech in canto 5 of the Inferno (here, 5.100), as well as its sources in the language of the courtly love tradition and “Dolce stil novo” poets. 21. “The Stagirite” is an epithet for Aristotle. 22. Erinna: Greek elegiac poet, who lived towards the end of the fourth century BCE. She died young, which may be why Isabella used her name for this debate about medicine. Arturo: medieval name, alluding to Britain’s King Arthur and the Arthurian cycle, mentioned several times in Orlando Furioso, canto 2. 23. Arturo defines types of souls in terms familiar from Aristotle’s De Anima. 24. Erinna cites Plato’s Republic and Marcus Tullius Cicero’s De Legibus (On the Laws), but her comments on law have political resonance for republican ideals in her own time, especially in Florence and Venice. 25. Erinna’s putdown of doctors employs a pun on “medici” (doctors) to satirize the powerful family that controlled Florence. Her jest mocks them as useless parasites who were “chased out” of Florence, but the humor is risky because many Medici family members were patrons of the Gelosi. The Medici were expelled from the city in 1494 after Piero de’ Medici ruined the city’s finances and failed at war diplomacy; the family remained in exile until 1512. The Medici again held power until 1527, when republicans forced them into a second exile; they returned in 1530, after the siege of Florence. This spelled the doom of the republic, as Florence became a hereditary dukedom ruled by the Medici; Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519–1574) would expand his territory beyond Florentine borders and become grand duke of Tuscany in 1569.

354 Notes Arturo quickly counters Erinna’s barb with praise for the Medici, who became both useful and “profitable” to the Gelosi and other players after their return; see MacNeil, Music and Women, 3–4. 26. This quip alludes to the best-known of all ancient Greek prophets, the blind Teiresias, who appears in The Odyssey, as well as several famous tragedies, including Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Euripides’ The Bacchae. 27. Eudosia: The name could allude to the Christian martyr and saint Eudokia of Heliopolis, or to one of a number of Byzantine empresses. (The same name appears in Contrasto 27, “On Suspicion in Love.”) Manlio: possibly derived from Manlius (Marcus Manlius Capitolinus), a Roman consul who saved Rome from the Gauls in the fourth century BCE. 28. Louise George Clubb points out the similarity of this contrasto to Beatrice and Benedick’s opening verbal bout in Much Ado About Nothing (1.1.121–24); see Italian Drama in Shakespeare’s Time (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989), 267–69. 29. Manlio begins his exposition of the Neoplatonic concepts about amorous deaths with this principle, which appears in Marsilio Ficino’s De Amore (Commentary on Plato’s Symposium on Love, written ca. 1491 and published in 1544); see Oratione 6, capitolo 6, “Del modo dello innamorare” (“Of the way of falling in love”). The text of Ficino’s El Libro dell’Amore, as edited by Sandra Niccoli (Florence: Olschki, 1987), is accessible at . 30. A casual reference to Aristotle’s precept from Physics, 4.6–9. 31. Eudosia is also skilled in playful Neoplatonic mind games, and takes this concept from Ficino: “Simple Love is where the beloved does not love the lover. There the lover is completely dead”—in this case, because love does not exist in either party (Ficino, De Amore, Oratione 2, capitolo 8). 32. See note 13. 33. These references to “benign Planets or Genii” and to “harmonies” evoke elements in Neoplatonic philosophy concerning the attraction of souls to beauty and to each other. Lovers in arte dialogues often drew on such terms. See MacNeil, Music and Women, esp. 52–56, 58–61. 34. The Paladins were twelve noble peers of Charlemagne in the medieval French Chanson de Roland, renowned for valor and feats of arms. Their adventures were recounted in chivalric romances by Matteo Maria Boiardo (Orlando Innamorato, first full edition, 1495) and Ariosto (Orlando Furioso, first full edition, 1532). 35. The verbal battle between a learned innamorata and a lusty and boastful Capitano was a popular comic staple in arte performance. What is unusual here is that she

Notes 355 loves him and wants to make him love her, while his aim is to make her submit to his desires. Accordingly, this contrasto is especially bawdy, as they stake their fates on winning this debate about whether the pen is mightier than the sword. 36. “Corinna” alludes to the sixth-century Greek poet Corinna or Korinna, known in legend as the teacher and rival of Pindar; it is also the name of Ovid’s beloved, celebrated in his Amores. “Alessandro” evokes Alexander the Great, the most famous and admired of all classical military leaders and conquerors. 37. Edward Bulwer-Lytton coined the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword” in his play Richelieu, or, The Conspiracy (1839), but the topos was familiar in the Renaissance and known since ancient times (see, for example, Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword”). In Petrarch’s Canzoniere, sonnet 187, Alexander sighs at the tomb of Achilles because he has no Homer to immortalize his exploits, thus proving letters superior to arms. The topos also appears in a sonnet by Alessandro Piccolomini and in Antonio de Guevera’s Reloj de principes, translated into Italian in 1562. See Konrad Eisenbichler, The Sword and the Pen: Women, Politics, and Poetry in Sixteenth-Century Siena (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2012). 38. Possibly referring to Vulcan’s forging of arms for Jove, or Ovid’s version of creation in Metamorphoses 1, in which the presiding god of nature creates thunderbolts later used as Jove’s weapons. 39. Isabella darkens the comedy and raises the stakes with an allusion to a bloody tale from Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. Rodomonte, the Saracen knight and King of Algiers, makes a pact with his captive Isabella, a chaste Saracen princess whom he has threatened with rape. Preferring death over dishonor, she devises a trick. She says she has a magic salve that will make him invulnerable to all weapons, but if she gives it to him, he must vow not to touch her. She puts it on her own neck and urges him to test the salve: he beheads her with his sword, to his shock (Orlando Furioso 29.10–31). 40. Alessandro contradicts his namesake Alexander, who prized poetry as a means to immortalize his fame (see note 37). 41. This observation possibly refers to the astrologer-magus who could read the future by reading the heavens, or more generally, the Platonic idea of using the intellect to overcome the vicissitudes of fate. Isabella Andreini plays a magician-seer in Isabella astrologa, a scenario in Flaminio Scala’s Il teatro delle favole rappresentative (1611), which showcases famous roles of Andreini and her colleagues. See Richard Andrews, ed. and trans., The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala: A Translation and Analysis of 30 Scenarios (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008), “Day 36: Isabella the Astrologer,” 204–14.

356 Notes 42. The phrasing here and in Corinna’s reply displays the “aside” technique used in live performance, strong evidence that the contrasti evoke stage dialogues performed by Andreini and her co-actors. 43. The name “Lygurgus” (i.e., Lycurgus) is purposefully misspelled here to retain a possible joke at Alessandro’s expense (the Capitano type, such as Don Armado in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost, often made verbal blunders). The correct Italian spelling would be “Licurgo,” referring to the famous Spartan leader whose name became synonymous with wise legislation and arduous military training. Alessandro refers to the famous Spartan defense of the pass of Thermopylae against the invading Persians in 480 BCE. 44. Archytas of Taranto was a fourth-century BCE Pythagorean philosopher, inventor, and mathematician reputed to be exceptionally virtuous and just. 45. See Plato, The Republic, 5.473d and following. 46. Marcus Curtius was a legendary hero who saved Rome from being destroyed by a mysterious chasm by leaping into the pit atop his horse. Andreini again displays her familiarity with Ovid by alluding to the Ionian philosopher Pythagoras and the early Roman king Numa Pompilius, whose stories are linked in Metamorphoses 15. 47. Bellona is the Roman goddess of war. 48. Contrasto 7 (“On Amorous Fever”) plays on the differences as well as potential correspondences between physical and emotional fevers, between general medical phenomena and individual pathologies, and, perhaps most pointedly, between actual physiological symptoms and conventional romantic tropes. In so doing, the speakers demonstrate their author’s familiarity with the standard medical as well as poetic vocabularies of the day. 49. This is the second time Isabella names her speaker Diotima (see Contrasto 1). A priestess in early fifth-century Athens, she was famed as the teacher of Socrates, especially in the philosophy of love (see Plato, Symposium, 201d–212c). Amilcare (Hamilcar Barca) was a Carthaginian general of the third century BCE, father of the more famous Hannibal. Renowned for his speed in battle, he acquired the epithet and eventual family surname of Barca—a name that scholars have argued is related to Semitic words for “lightning” (as in the Hebrew name “Barak” or the Phoenician “brq”). 50. Here Amilcare invokes traditional Galenic “humors” theory, which determines the physical-emotional composition of the human individual based on the four dispositions linked to the balance (and potential imbalance) of fluids in the body, as well as inclinations in the soul. These “humors” were the sanguine (blood), phlegmatic (phlegm), choleric (yellow bile), and melancholic (black bile). See Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity (New York: W.W. Norton, 1999), 56–58, and Mary Lindemann, Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 17–19.

Notes 357 51. Elite Italian women of this period who received humanist educations were typically schooled in the home by their fathers and tutors. See for example, Sarah Ross on the educations of Cassandra Fedele and Helena Bemba in The Birth of Feminism: Woman as Intellect in Renaissance Italy and England (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), 41, 55. Isabella Andreini was not from this class, so she probably did not gain her impressive education by being privately tutored as a child. 52. Diotima cites the standard early modern diagnostic of the various levels of fever, “tertian” meaning every other day, “quartan” every three days, and “continual” every day; literary texts often cited all three types of fever together. The thirteenth-century Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi, for example, wrote one poem (“Lauda 48”) which asked God to send him “the fever quartan, / The continual and the tertian, / And the double quotidian.” See Marlin E. Blaine’s translation and commentary in Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature 34, no. 1 (2019): 28–38. See also the entry for “continuo” in vol. 3 of the Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana (Turin: UTET, 1964). 53. Amilcare performs a kind of pseudo-authoritative medical diagnosis on himself, which at moments resembles the bombastic, long-winded speeches of the “Dottore” maschera of the commedia dell’arte, and the highly theatrical sales pitches of quacks and mountebanks. See M.A. Katritzky, Women, Medicine, and Theatre, 1500–1750: Literary Mountebanks and Performing Quacks (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007). 54. See note 52 on these types of fevers. 55. Probably an allusion to Petrarch,“The Triumph of Love”. See Francesco Petrarca, Trionfo d’amore (“Triumph of Love”) in Il Canzoniere e I Trionfi, ed. Andrea Moschetti (Milan: Casa Editrice Vallardi, 1908), 428: 3.66. 56. The diction becomes alchemical here, since an alembic was the large round beaker in which the alchemist distilled “elements” and “essences.” 57. This was a standard farewell formula; it would have been unlikely that a gentlewoman would initiate actual hand-kissing here. 58. Curio’s name probably refers to Gaius Scribonius Curio, the name of both a father and son of ancient Rome who were famous orators. The father, especially, was also known as a great governor of Macedonia and the conqueror of the Dardani. See John Lemprière, Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary (London: Bracken, 1994), 207. Nicostrata, also called Carmenta, was the Roman goddess of childbirth, but was also credited with having great learning and eloquence; she was said to have instituted law in ancient Rome, as well as to have invented the Latin alphabet, syntax, and spelling. Boccaccio included her in his list of famous women in De claris mulieribus; see also Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies, trans. Earl Jeffrey Richards (New York: Persea, 1982), 71–73. She also appears in the list of “Mulieres Doctae” in the Officina, by

358 Notes Johannes Textor (see note 14). In his defense of theater, Isabella and Francesco’s son Giovan Battista Andreini praised actresses like his mother, whose “eloquent conversing and soliloquizing . . . makes you believe even more in the fame of the ancient Carmentas and Sapphos, women, rather rare and illustrious gifts of heaven.” See La Ferza. Ragionamento secondo contra l’accuse date alla Commedia (Paris: Nicolao Callemont, 1625), in La Professione del teatro, ed. Ferruccio Marotti and Giovanna Romei, vol. 2 of La Commedia dell’Arte e la società barocca (Rome: Bulzoni, 1991), 503. 59. Once again Andreini (via Nicostrata) names Diotima, the Greek priestess and advisor to Socrates who has already appeared as a speaker in contrasti 1 and 7. Despite her demurral, she manages to lecture Curio on love with great panache. 60. The reference is to Tiresias, the blind seer of Thebes, who lived for a time as a woman. Andreini’s source is likely the third book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. David Raeburn (London: Penguin, 2004), 108. 61. On these contrasting ways of living see Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, ed. and trans. David Ross (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986), 6. See also Thomas Aquinas, On Prayer and the Contemplative Life, trans. Hugh Pope (London: R. and T. Washbourne, 1914), 178–232. 62. Francesco Petrarca, Trionfo d’amore (“Triumph of Love”) in Il Canzoniere e I Trionfi, ed. Andrea Moschetti (Milan: Casa Editrice Vallardi, 1908), 429: .2.148–149. Petrarch refers here to the laws of Cupid or Amore. 63. This reference to marriage and offspring seems intended to burnish the reputation of Isabella and Francesco as a pious, devoted couple with many children. 64. In Contrasto 9 (“On Comedy”), Andreini provides revealing indications of how professional theatre companies and actors—like herself—were perceived in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Italy. She also transmits contemporary ideas about the composition and purposes of the genre of comedy. 65. Respectively, these mythological names recall Ersilia, who became Romulus’s wife after the rape of the Sabines, and Diomedes, one of the wisest and most capable Greek heroes of the Trojan War. Diomedes was often linked to Odysseus/Ulysses, with whom he stole the sacred Palladium (the statue of Pallas Athena) from her temple at Troy, and he was also known for taking the Trojan princess Cressida as his concubine, thus ending her love affair with Troilus. In Dante’s Inferno, he is condemned to inhabit the same “tongue” of fire with Ulysses (canto 26). 66. Here “the Philosopher” is Aristotle, author of the Poetics, which by Andreini’s time had become the most influential of all classical texts on poetry and drama (as confirmed in this very debate).

Notes 359 67. In a casual style that avoids strict chronological order, Ersilia cites the Roman comic playwrights Plautus and Terence, from the third and second centuries BCE; the Sienese Alessandro Piccolomini (1508–1579), a leading member of the Accademia degli Intronati, writer of the comedies l’Amor costante (1536) and l’Alessandro (1544), as well as dialogues in praise of women; the humanist Gian Giorgio Trissino (1478–1550), author of the classical style tragedy Sofonisba (published 1524); the leading ancient Greek comic playwright Aristophanes (ca. 448–388 BCE); the late sixteenth-century poet Giovan Battista Calderari, Knight of the Order of Malta and author of the comedy La schiava (“The Slave-woman,” 1589); and the abbot Bernardino Pino da Cagli (ca. 1525–1601), author of various minor comedies. Scaliger is the polymath philosopher Julius Caesar Scaliger (1484–1558), whose posthumously published Poetices (1561) became a widely read and influential work of late Renaissance literary criticism. 68. Andreini here makes standard distinctions, and in the case of “heroic poems,” expects that readers will immediately think of Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1532) and Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata (1581). 69. For this idea, widely expressed in the early modern period, see among other sources Lodovico Dolce’s L’Aretino, o Dialogo della pittura (Aretin, or Dialogue on Painting) (Venice: Appresso Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1557), 153. The critical comparison between poetry and painting goes back to Horace’s Ars Poetica, 361: “Ut pictura poesis” (“A poem is like a picture”). 70. Pompeo, or Pompeius, is the name of several Roman generals; the name resonates, of course, with that of Pompey the Great, or Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, the Roman statesman who was part of the First Triumvirate with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar. Artemisia is the name of two ancient Anatolian queens. The first, Artemisia I of Caria, was renowned for her military prowess and skill as a naval strategist; she assisted Xerxes in his expedition against Greece by providing a fleet, which sailed into battle under her command. Artemisia II of Caria, sister and successor to Mausolus of Halicarnassus, was named in Boccaccio’s list of famous women in De claris mulieribus; after her brother’s death she continued work on the massive tomb named after him, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The name Artemisia is sometimes associated with magic, enchantment, and witchcraft, and is also a plant commonly used for casting spells and healing. According to Pliny the Elder (Natural History, 25.36.73), the plant was named after Artemisia II, who was a botanist and medical researcher. 71. In Plato’s Symposium, the interlocutors articulate a graduated series of experiences in love from the carnal to the divine. During the Renaissance, the Neoplatonic ladder of love based on Plato’s theory became a trope often employed by poets. The notion is, in part, that contemplation of physical beauty will eventually lead the lover to higher, divine visions and, ultimately, perfect spiritual love. See the Symposium in Great Dialogues of Plato, trans. Rouse, 69–117. The most famous contemporary exposition

360 Notes is Bembo’s famous speech on love in Book 4 of Il libro del cortigiano: see Baldesar Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, trans. Charles Singleton, ed. Daniel Javitch (New York: Norton, 2002), 248–58. 72. Here, Pompeo seems to refer to the thought of Marsilio Ficino in Oratione 6, Capitolo 10 of De Amore. Ficino writes: “L’anima ferita e l’appetito acceso induce alla medicina e ’l refrigerio suo” (“The wounded soul and enflamed appetite move one to seek its medicine and comfort”). 73. This idiom, repeated a bit later, refers to fools who are their own worst enemies; when put to the test, they reveal their folly and “dig their own graves.” 74. In canto 7, stanza 14 of Orlando Furioso, Ariosto describes the sorceress Alcina’s breasts as “a pair of apples not yet ripe, fashioned in ivory.” See the translation by Guido Waldman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), 61. 75. Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra (dates unknown), was the ancient Persian founder of Zoroastrian philosophy and religious practice; Socrates (ca. 470–399 BCE) was a key founder of Western philosophy; Apollonius of Tyana (ca. 15–100 CE) was a Neo-Pythagorean philosopher and a contemporary of Jesus; Porphyry of Tyre (233– 305 CE) was a Neoplatonic philosopher. All, but especially Zoroaster, Apollonius, and Porphyry, were seen as opponents, or at least suspect alternatives, to Christianity. 76. A reference to the Metamorphoses of Apuleius (ca. 125–180 CE), a Latin novel also called The Golden Ass, in which the main character Lucius’s obsession with magic leads to his being turned into an ass, as well as leading him into erotic adventures. 77. This is a reference to a fumigation stove, which was used to attempt to sweat out venereal disease. See, for example, Jacques Lagniet’s engraving (Paris, 1659–1663) captioned, “For One Pleasure a Thousand Pains,” which illustrates a man in a fumigation stove undergoing treatment for syphilis. 78. “Gallic disease” is most likely a reference to syphilis. 79. These speakers’ names show Isabella’s propensity for playing with gender and genre: while Sappho is a historical figure and Eurialo—better known to English-speaking readers as Euryalus—a character from epic, both are famous for same-sex love. The renowned Greek lyric poet Sappho lived and wrote in Lesbos in the seventh century BCE. Called a genius and a prodigy by other writers, she wrote brilliant love poems, many addressed to young women, and performed them on the lyre. Later legends rewrote her life and loves as heterosexual, and held that she died tragically for the love of a young ferryman. Over the centuries her works were attacked, scattered, and destroyed, and most of them survive only in fragments. Euryalus is the name of a young and vigorous Phaiakian athlete in Book 8 of The Odyssey, but far more important and famous is the Euryalus of Virgil’s Aeneid, where he appears as a young Trojan warrior who serves under Aeneas with his beloved Nisus, an older warrior. Euryalus and Nisus

Notes 361 fight heroically but die together tragically, and their loving bond is applauded as amor pius by Virgil. They became a celebrated example of paiderastia, or a sexual friendship and love between a younger and an older man. 80. Sappho’s dismissal of short poetic forms is playfully ironic: her namesake was unsurpassed in writing short lyric poems, and Isabella published many herself in her Rime (1601). 81. Eurialo’s idiomatic usage means he is giving her things she has in abundance, much like “bringing coals to Newcastle.” The images of vase, owl, and crocodile are carefully chosen to connote prodigious refinement, learning, and exoticism, qualities associated with Isabella as author and performer. The owl is especially appropriate as the sacred bird of Athena, symbolic of divine wisdom. The Egyptian crocodile may be a glancing reference to Cleopatra, who makes a memorable appearance in the tragicomic finale of the book (Contrasto 31, “With a Passionate Swoon”). 82. Eurialo refers to Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso and Tasso’s Gerusalemma Liberata, the two great Italian heroic poems of the period. 83. Isabella demonstrates her familiarity with Aristotle’s Poetics, in which he describes the development of drama and its components and ranks the genres, with epic as highest. See The Rhetoric and the Poetics of Aristole, trans. W. Rhys Roberts and Ingram Bywater, introd. Edward P.J. Corbett (New York: Modern Library, 1954; rpt., 1984). By instructing her suitor about literature and philosophy, Isabella also alludes to legends about Sappho that depicted her as a teacher of young women. 84. Aristotle was known as the founder of the “Peripatetic School” of philosophers, taken from the cloister (peripatos) in which they walked and ruminated. 85. Sappho mocks Eurialo for his attachment to the epic “peripeteia” (sudden reversal), which Aristotle recognizes as a shared element of both epic poetry and tragedy: see Poetics, 1452a.22–1452b.7. For Sappho, the peripeteia of tragic drama is far superior. 86. Eurialo’s comic self-deflation cleverly mixes lofty and popular epic figures. Goffredo di Buglione (Godfrey of Boulogne) is the protagonist of Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata, the heroic captain of the First Crusade. Dama Rovenza, a famous puppet character, was a legendary queen of Syria who killed crusaders with a steel hammer. Drusian del Leone is the eponymous hero of a chivalric epic. Morgante has two referents: a famously fat dwarf at the court of Cosimo I de’Medici, and the titular hero of Luigi Pulci’s Il Morgante (1483). Margutte is a villain in Pulci’s poem. The dwarf Morgante, whose real name was Braccio di Bartolo, was nicknamed ironically after Pulci’s protagonist, a giant. 87. Isabella’s offhand allusion to revising and reprinting shows her familiarity with editing and publishing; her Rime (1601) and Mirtilla (1588) were both successes. For more on these matters, see the Introduction.

362 Notes 88. The speakers bear names with particularly amorous and poetic connotations. Lesbia is the code-name used by Catullus for his married lover, in his elegiac poems narrating a passionate and often tormented love affair. The name again evokes and honors Sappho, the poet who exerted a crucial influence on Catullus and the writers of Latin love lyric (and the speaker in Contrasto 11). Eurimaco (Eurymachus) is one of the two leading suitors of the married Penelope in Homer’s Odyssey: in contrast to the brutal, often ill-mannered Antinous, he is handsome, well-spoken, and capable of apparent generosity. 89. “The Florentine” is Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), and the phrase “lunghe sono le picche” appears in his Arte della guerra (Art of War), Book 3. 90. A reference to the legendary lance of Achilles, which had this double power: see Ovid, Metamorphoses 13:171–72, and Dante, Inferno, 31.4–6. 91. Lesbia quips on a meaning of “naturale” (“natural”) current in the period, expressed in the phrase “a natural born fool.” 92. Ovid advises the same in “The Remedies for Love.” See The Art of Love, trans. Rolfe Humphries (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1957), 190–91. 93. Quite a few aphorisms on vision and the eyes can be found in Plato’s works, but perhaps the most salient would be “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” and “the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes: either from coming out of the light or going into the light, which is as true of the mind’s eye quite as much as of the bodily eye.” See Plato, Symposium, 210a, and The Republic, Book 7, 515b. 94. A number of men named Tarquinio (Tarquinius) from classical Rome held positions of rule—some tyrannical, some not. The most notorious “Tarquin” was Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the Roman king, who raped Lucretia, wife of a Roman nobleman—causing her to kill herself in public, and leading to the downfall of the monarchy. Others that resonate here are Tarquinius the Elder (d. 579 BCE), the fifth king of Rome, who was distinguished by his “liberality and engaging manners” and ruled with “moderation and popularity,” and his grandson, “Tarquin the Proud” (d. 495 BCE), the seventh and final king of Rome, a tyrant known for his “pride and insolence.” The name Hippodamia would bring to mind the daughter of Œnomaus, tyrannical king of Pisa. It had been foretold that Œnomaus would be killed by his son-in-law, so he challenged each of Hippodamia’s suitors to a chariot race with the warning that if they lost, they would be executed. In this way he eliminated eighteen of her suitors before losing to Pelops, who won by bribing Œnomaus’s driver Myrtilus to sabotage his chariot. When the chariot wheels flew off, Œnomaus was dragged to his death by his horses. See Lemprière, Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary, 312, 657–58. 95. Hippodamia’s concerns about marriage resonate with those in Isabella’s lettera, “Dei pensieri honesti di giovanetta da marito,” in which a young woman laments her

Notes 363 parents’ right to marry her off to a man she dislikes and fears. See Lettere della signora Isabella Andreini . . . (Venice: Alla Minerva, 1647), 254–56. See also Julie D. Campbell, “Francesco Andreini: ‘On Taking a Wife,’ ” in In Dialogue with the Other Voice in Sixteenth-Century Italy, ed. Julie D. Campbell and Maria Galli Stampino (Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2011), 265–72. 96. Our translation of “chi si marita in fretta, stenta adagio” respects the sense of “to suffer” in the early modern Italian usage of the verb “stentare.” A variant of this proverb circulated in early modern England: “marry in haste, repent at leisure.” See John Day, Day’s Festivals; or, Twelve of His Sermons (Oxford: 1615)—“Marrying in hast, and Repenting by leasure”, 282—and William Congreve, The Old Batchelour (1693), Act Five, scene one: “Married in haste, we may repent at leisure” (in The Complete Works of William Congreve, edited by Montague Summers (New York: Russell & Russell, 1964), 218. Also see the proverbs “Marry today repent tomorrow” and “Marrying is marring,” numbers M694 and M701 in M. P. Tilley, A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: a Collection Found in English Literature and Dictionaries of the period (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950), 446. 97. There is an allusion here to the incestuous abuse of daughters-in-law by their fathers-in-law. 98. Possibly a reference to Machiavelli’s The Prince (1513), in which the Prince’s goal is to obtain and hold power, not necessarily to consider the good of his people. 99. “Ottimati” may be a reference to Book 7 of Plato’s Republic, in which he suggests that optimally educated mature men who will be the guardians of the city should “labour hard yet again in politics; rulers they must each be, for the city’s sake, doing it not as a beautiful thing but as a necessity.” He also has Socrates say to Glaucon, “And don’t forget the women . . . they may be rulers, too! Don’t suppose that what I have said was meant only for men; women, too, as many as are born among us with natures sufficiently capable.” See Great Dialogues of Plato, trans. Rouse, 340. 100. Dowries were the key negotiating tool for marriages in early modern Italy, since a dowry was the financial bond that cemented one family with another and determined a daughter’s future finances and rights to property. As soon as a girl was born into a genteel family, parents would worry over saving enough for a good dowry, and keeping it safely intact for the daughter, despite pressures on many sides. Producing a dowry for all daughters constituted a serious financial burden, and many girls were sent to convents because of lack of dowries. As indicated in this contrasto, a husband’s brothers and sisters also competed for money in any household, so their finances created additional conflicts for brides like Nicostrata. The need for the dowry to be fair and well received was paramount in order to have the sense of a good deal for both families involved. See “Dowries and Kinsmen” in Stanley Chojnacki’s Women and Men in Renaissance Venice: Twelve Essays on Patrician Society (Baltimore: Johns

364 Notes Hopkins University Press, 2000), 132–52; see also Margaret L. King, Women of the Renaissance (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991), 26–28, 49, 59. 101. Arianna (Ariadne), famous for her tragic laments, was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and lover of Theseus, to whom she gave the clue that enabled him to kill the Minotaur. Despite her devotion, he abandoned her on an island. Ariadne inspired many dramatic plots and theatrical productions about betrayed women in love, in which Isabella and other divas starred; her daughter-in-law Virginia Ramponi sang the famous “Lamento d’Arianna” [“Arianna’s Lament”] in the debut of Monteverdi’s opera L’Arianna (first performed in 1608). Leocrito (Leocritus) was a Greek warrior in the Trojan War, mentioned briefly as a combatant in the battle for the body of Patroclus in Homer’s Iliad (17.344); he was killed by Aeneas. Another Leocritus appears in Homer’s Odyssey as one of Penelope’s suitors: in an early scene, he stands up and mocks both Mentor and Telemakhos (2.240–50), and in a later one (22.294), he falls face forward, killed by Telemakhos’s spear thrust from behind. 102. Here we have an echo of the debate in Protestant and Counter-Reformation circles regarding the existence and utility of free will. For women, whose autonomy was strictly limited, asserting their free will using Reformation doctrine possessed a defiant charge, especially against men threatening to force their compliance. See Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther: Discourse on Free Will, ed. and trans. Ernst F. Winter (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013). 103. Here the original “parte” (part) is a bawdy triple pun, playing on part of the body, stage part or role, and section of a speech. 104. A variation on the Italian saying “campa cavallo che l’erba cresce,” often used by someone tired of waiting, or sceptical about a promise: similar to “come on, slowpoke,” or “that will be the day . . .” 105. Leocrito quibbles that Arianna has used the word cavallo (a male horse) instead of cavalla (mare). 106. In Andreini’s time, Sappho was frequently mentioned by women writers, operating as a symbol of female genius and fame. She was celebrated for her passionate love poems about and to young women. Sappho also inspired many legends; in the story cited here, she fell in love with Phaon, a ferryman, after Venus gave him a beautifying ointment. For more on Sappho, see note 79. 107. Alkaios: a seventh-century BCE lyric poet from Lesbos and a contemporary of Sappho. He mentions her in one fragment of poetry, but his unrequited love appears to be legend rather than fact. 108. Telamone (Telamon) sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, and took part in the hunt for the Caledonian boar. Father of Ajax and friend of Heracles, he also fought at Troy. Helena (“Helen of Troy”) was the wife of Menelaus. Renowned as the most

Notes 365 beautiful woman in the world, she also became a byword for inconstancy. Her abduction by the Trojan Paris, who was awarded Helen as a prize by Venus, spurred the Greeks to wage war to reclaim her. 109. Telamone quotes from Orlando Furioso, 10.6.1–2 (“I giuramenti e le promesse vanno / dai venti in aria dissipate e sparse”). 110. Helena lives in Venice, as Telamone later reveals, so her mention of her brother’s “Collegio” may evoke nearby Padua, with its famous ancient school of law. Isabella was from Padua, and called herself “Isabella Andreini, Paduan, and Actress of the Gelosi” in the inscription on her portrait. 111. “Gentile” is a rare example of a surname in these dialogues. Indeed, Gentile (“gentle/kind/genteel”) may be somewhat ironic, given her later show of temper. The document’s dating is posthumous, since Isabella died in 1604; Francesco Andreini gives the same date in his dedicatory letter to the Fragmenti. 112. Lisandro, or Lysander, was a famous Spartan general who destroyed most of the Athenian fleet in 405 BCE; he installed thirty tyrants to rule over Athens in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War. See Lemprière, Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary, 374. Prasilla refers to Praxila, a female poet of Sicyon, famous for the invention of the dactylic meter called the Paraxilleion; her work was parodied by Aristophanes in The Wasps. See I.M. Plant, ed., Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004), 38. 113. Petrarch’s sonnet 95, lines 1–2. The first stanza reads, “Cosi potess’io ben chiudere in versi / I miei pensier come nel cor gli chiudo,” or “If I could as well enclose my thoughts in verses as I enclose them / in my heart . . .” See Durling, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems, 198–99. 114. Suada and Pitho (Peitho) are alternate names for the Roman goddess of persuasion and eloquence, a daughter of Venus. 115. Her words echo those of Pietro Bembo in Book 4 of Castiglione’s The Courtier, trans. Bull, 337–43. 116. Tiberio is the Italian form of Tiberius, name of the Roman emperor who ruled from 14 to 37 CE. Along with being in power at the time of Jesus’s crucifixion, he had a negative reputation for his supposed morbidity and pedophilic inclinations. Criseida is the Italian form of Cressida, the famous fictional Trojan woman and lover of Prince Troilus. As depicted in such major works as Boccaccio’s Filostrato, Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, she is forced to leave Troilus, and becomes the lover of the Greek hero Diomedes—therefore becoming associated with female infidelity. See also note 65.

366 Notes 117. “Pozzolo” is an archaic, alternate Italian form of “Pozzuoli,” the seaside town near Naples renowned since antiquity for its healing thermal waters. Elaborate and sumptuous baths were built there during the Roman empire. Although these had fallen into ruin during the Middle Ages, the site was still active as a kind of health spa in Andreini’s time. 118. Here and in the following exchanges, Andreini plays on the trope of the male lover who seeks to cure his burning lovesickness in the healing waters of a spa, only to find that the same waters fire his amorous passion all the more. The classic source for this topos is the epigram by the sixth-century CE Byzantine poet Marianus Scholasticus, found in the Greek Anthology, and later brilliantly elaborated on by Shakespeare in his Sonnets 153 and 154. 119. Cocytus is the dark, frozen lake in the lowest part of hell, imagined by Dante to contain the worst sinners of all, the treacherously fraudulent (see Inferno, cantos 32 through 34). 120. “Celio” is a common name for a stage lover. In a classical context, it is the Italianized form of the Latin Caelius Vibenna, who with his brother conquered Rome and installed Servius Tullius as the sixth king in the sixth century BCE. Tullia might evoke Tullia Minor, the second wife of Tarquin the Proud, or Tullia Ciceronis, daughter of Cicero. It is even more likely that the name evoked that of Tullia d’Aragona (ca. 1510–1556), the widely admired Italian courtesan, poet, and intellectual (see note 5, and the Introduction). See Tullia d’Aragona, Dialogue on the Infinity of Love, ed. and trans. Rinaldina Russell and Bruce Merry (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997), and The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others, ed. and trans. Julia L. Hairston (Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2014). 121. The “rimovano” of the original Italian text is almost certainly a typesetter’s error for “rinuovano,” i.e. “[they] renew.” 122. Celio’s skeptical reduction of “honor” to even less than a word invites comparison to Falstaff ’s famous deconstruction of “honor” in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, Part One (5.1.127–141). The close parallels between these two contemporary speeches suggest the existence of a common rhetorical resource for actors, in particular those playing the “Capitano” type, of which Celio and Falstaff are versions. In addition, both Andreini and Shakespeare would have known the extended, eloquent critique of the “tyrant” Honor made by the Chorus of Torquato Tasso’s Aminta (1573), as they praise the Golden Age at the end of Act 1 of the play. 123. The name Aurelio resonates with that of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and philosopher of the second century BCE. The name Genevra would be familiar from Ariosto’s famous tale of Ariodante and the wrongly accused Ginevra in Orlando Furioso, cantos 4 and 5. It is also related to “juniper” (“ginepro” in Italian), the

Notes 367 coniferous tree whose berries are used in the production of gin. In Andreini’s context, the name may evoke Ginevra de’ Benci (born ca. 1458), a Florentine noblewoman who was the subject of a famous portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. She was also known for her Platonic relationship with Bernardo Bembo, who dedicated poems to her. 124. A reference to Cupid and to Aurelio’s namesake, Marcus Aurelius. 125. “Strange” is a period-correct translation of nuovo, according to John Florio, Queen Anna’s New World of Words . . . (London, 1611). 126. The most prominent use of the name Pirro is that which comes from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who defeated the Romans in battle, albeit with heavy losses: thus the phrase “a Pyrrhic victory.” Mutia (Mucia) was the name of Pompey’s third wife, the daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola. 127. In this speech and the one above, Andreini refers to Dante’s Inferno, 3.9 (Inferno, trans. Durling, 54–55). 128. Avernus is the name of an actual lake, located near the town of Pozzuoli to the west of Naples (see note 117). Nestled within a volcanic crater, the lake was considered by the Romans to be an entry-way to the underworld: it appears as such in Book 6 of Virgil’s Aeneid. 129. The name Dario or Darius recalls that of three kings of Persia. Talesia is reminiscent of Thalia, the Muse associated with pastoral and comic poetry as well as festivals, and it resonates with Thalestris, a queen of the Amazons. It may also be the feminized version of Thales, a famously learned man of ancient Greece. 130. Numerous ancient men of renown were named Claudius, with perhaps the most famous being the first-century Roman emperor Claudius. The name Targelia could be associated with Thargella, a noblewoman reputed to be enamored of philosophy, and it is also closely related to Thargelia, the Greek May festivals that celebrated Apollo and Diana. In Plutarch’s life of Pericles, Thargella or Thargelia is identified as a brilliant, highly influential hetaera, a courtesan; see Plutarch, Pericles, at . 131. The reference is to the well-known myth of Narcissus, the beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection. 132. Targelia refers to famous ancient men such as the Roman emperor Decius, who died in battle against the Goths with his men; Fabius (Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus), the Roman consul and general who risked his life to save his fellow general and political enemy Minucius from Hannibal’s forces; and Scipio Africanus, the general who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War. After his victory, Scipio refused the honor of becoming a permanent consul or dictator, and thus was perceived to put Rome’s good above his own.

368 Notes 133. For example, see Petrarch’s Sonnet 296, lines 1–2: “I’ mi soglio accusare, et or mi scuso, / anzi me pregio et tengo assai più caro . . .” (I used to accuse myself and now I excuse, rather I praise myself / and hold myself much more dear . . .). See Durling, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems, 474–75. 134. These two speakers have contrasting name recognition: Aspasia evokes the mistress and advisor of Pericles, who led Athens in the fifth century BCE; she was renowned for her wisdom and conversational skills. “Flessippo,” on the other hand, is a variant of “Plessippo,” the Italian form of “Plexippus,” a somewhat obscure mythological character. He was an uncle of the hero Meleager, and briefly appears in Book 8 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where he seizes the prizes—the Calydonian boar’s head and hide—given to the huntress Atalanta, and is thereupon slain by his angry nephew. 135. Here as elsewhere, Aspasia speaks the language of sixteenth-century Italian Neoplatonic treatises on love. Her terms become so elaborate and grandiloquent that they achieve a parody of such treatises, or at least of exaggerated uses of them. 136. This belief concerning eagle mothers and their young appears in several ancient and medieval texts, including Lucan’s Pharsalia, Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, and the Sermons of Saint Anthony of Padua. 137. This legend is cited in the Greek Anthology, a work widely read in the Renaissance. 138. Aspasia proposes a series of fanciful thought-experiments to test her ideas as valid or invalid; “esperienza” is translated as “experiment,” the meaning that is clear from the context. During the early Seicento, innovative Italian scientists such as Galileo Galilei were performing the first systematic modern experiments based on inductive reasoning and empirical methods. 139. Another demonstration of Andreini’s extensive knowledge of the classics: while most educated Europeans knew why Achilles’s heel was the only vulnerable part of his body, fewer were familiar with the story of how Thetis tested her sons’ mortality. The tale appears in the fragmentary epic poem Aegimius, traditionally attributed to Hesiod. 140. In English, these names are usually rendered as Heliodorus and Theoxena. The first would have been associated with either the second-century BCE Heliodorus, minister of King Seleucus IV of Syria—famous in Judeo-Christian history for being driven out by divine spirits from the Temple of Jerusalem, when he tried to seize its treasure—or the fourth-century CE Heliodorus of Emesa, author of the novel The Aethiopica. This late Greek romance, rich with comic and theatrical touches, became widely popular during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century in Europe: for example, it helped to inspire Miguel de Cervantes’s final novel, Persiles y Sigismunda (1617). For her part, Theoxena was a fourth-century BCE princess of Thessaly, renowned for her self-sacrificing resistance to the tyranny of King Philip of Macedon; she is named in Boccaccio’s list of famous women in De claris mulieribus.

Notes 369 141. As the following lines confirm, Cephalus and Tithonus were both beloved by the goddess of the Dawn (Aurora in Latin, Eos in Greek). The first was the beautiful son of the god Hermes and the Athenian princess Herse, while the second was a Trojan prince, half-brother of Priam. After taking Tithonus to be her lover, Eos pleaded with Zeus to make him immortal, but neglected to ask for his eternal youth as well. Thus Tithonus lived forever, but in such decrepitude that in some accounts he turned into a cicada (tettix), wishing to die. 142. Darnel, known as “false wheat,” grows among stalks of wheat and must be separated from that crop at harvest time. In her pastoral Mirtilla (line 2151), Andreini includes a reference to darnel, which she calls the “unwholesome cockle” (“cockle” being another term for darnel). Darnel is also referred to as “tares” in Jesus’s parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24–30). 143. Here Teossena cites the mythological tale of Scylla and Circe, recounted by Ovid (Metamorphoses 14.1–74): jealously enraged that the demi-god Glaucus preferred Scylla over her, the sorceress goddess Circe used poisons and magic spells to turn the beautiful mortal maiden into a monster, with her legs transformed into rabid hounds. 144. In this case, the classical-style names of the speakers seem deliberately ironic, given that Troilo would evoke Troilus, not a cold, emotionally detached person but the passionate, devoted, and ultimately betrayed lover of Cressida; Marcella’s name, in Latin, means “fierce, warlike.” 145. Marcella cites Petrarch, Sonnet 97, lines 1–4. The complete stanza reads “Ahi bella libertà, come tu m’ài,/ partendoti da me, mostrato quale/ era ’l mio stato quando il primo strale/ fece la piaga ond’io non guerrò mai!” [“Ah, sweet liberty, how by departing from me you have shown me what my state was when the first arrow made the wound of which I shall never be cured!”]. See Durling, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems, 200–1. 146. Marcella alludes casually to Ovid’s long poem Remedia Amoris and to Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura, both of which offer their readers “cures” for love. 147. Whether deliberately or not, Marcella is making her own elaboration of classical references to Mycale, a witch of Thessaly: none of the sources state that she wrote any kind of a “remedia amoris” treatise. In Metamorphoses, Book 12, 263–4, Ovid mentions her power to draw down the moon’s horns, while Seneca the Younger (or another ancient Latin author), in the play Hercules Oetaeus, cites Mycale’s supposed ability to create magical love charms (lines 523–5). A contemporary of Isabella Andreini, the English-Czech poet Elizabeth Jane Weston (1581/82–1612) does include Mycale in her “Catalogus” of learned women at the end of her anthology of neo-Latin poetry and prose texts Parthenica (1608): “Mycale, a female centaur, taught Thessalian women the remedies of love.” See Elizabeth Jane Weston: Collected Writings, ed. and trans. Donald Cheney and Brenda M. Hosington (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000), 291.

370 Notes Weston, however, lifted her citation from Johannes Textor’s widely published Officina (162v), which would have been Andreini’s likely source. It is also true that ancient Thessalian female scientists—especially the secondcentury BCE astronomer and sage Aglaonike and her students—were reputed to have practiced love magic and sorcery. Thus, thanks also to Roman imperial period texts such as Lucan’s Pharsalia and Apuleius’s The Golden Ass, “Thessaly had an old tradition of witchcraft, the Thessalian witches being notorious for their specialty of ‘drawing down the moon.’ ” See Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, eds., The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 440. 148. Corinna is the name of the beautiful, high-ranking married woman loved by Ovid in the loose narrative of his Amores elegies. 149. Here Marcella refers both to Lucretius’s comments on love in his first-century BCE poem De rerum natura (“The Nature of Things”), and the legend spread by St. Jerome of the poet’s supposed suicide being caused by a love-potion that drove him mad. 150. Again Marcella quotes Petrarch, this time the last line of sonnet 90; see Durling, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems, 192–93. 151. Troilo quotes a line from a madrigal by the sixteenth-century Italian composer Palestrina, entitled “Pose un gran foco nel mio petto Amore” [“Love placed a great fire in my heart”]. Andreini’s son Giovan Battista has a character speak this line in his play Lo schiavetto (1612). 152. Petrarch, Trionfo d’amore, 3.66. 153. In Book 11 of The Odyssey, Odysseus narrates that in the underworld he saw Tityus, the Titan son of Gaia, “stretched out nine miles,” with two vultures who “sit on either side of him, ripping his liver, plunging in his bowels,” as a punishment for his having raped Leto, the lover of Zeus; and how he saw “Sisyphus in torment, pushing/ a giant rock with both hands, leaning on it/ whith all his might to shove it up towards/ a hilltop,” before the rock would roll back down the hill again. See Homer, The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson (New York: Norton, 2018), 298. 154. Translator’s note: The dialogue’s humor stems from wordplay on saluto, meaning a greeting; salute, meaning health, safety, salvation; and salutare, meaning to greet or salute, but also evoking wishes for good health (and thus our modern word “salutary”). It also rests on the double meanings of the word caro, dear and costly. The dialogue leads the reader to imagine many bows, waves, and kisses of the hand to punctuate the scene. 155. Mario, or Marius, was the name of several noted ancient Romans, but the most famous was the tyrannical consul Gaius Marius. Costanza, or Constantia, was the name of a granddaughter of Constantine the Great.

Notes 371 156. Here and elsewhere in the contrasti, the lovers accuse each other of sophistry (and see also note 7). Sophists were teachers in ancient Greece who used logic and rhetoric in their pedagogy; they were known more as clever manipulators of language rather than as seekers of truth. They also charged for their lessons, drawing criticism, which led to the term Sophist having a pejorative connotation. 157. Agathon was a tragic poet of Athens, whose paradox is cited by Aristotle in his Poetics 1456a.23–25 and by Andreini herself in Contrasto 3 (see note 19). His works have been lost, although a few titles remain. He is especially remembered for his role as the handsome host of the party in Plato’s Symposium. See the Symposium in Great Dialogues of Plato, trans. Rouse, 69–117. 158. There was a widespread pseudo-scientific notion that the sun did not have its own heat; rather, its rays supposedly became heated on their way down to earth. 159. Petrarch, Canzoniere, sonnet 102, lines 12–14; see Durling, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems, 2014–15. 160. Translation by Julie D. Campbell. Andreini seems to be quoting the poem from rather faulty memory or transcribing from a text that varies from the original. The original lines are as follows: Cesare, poi che l’traditor d’Egitto Li fece il don de l’onorata testa, Calando l’allegrezza manifesta Pianse per gli occhi fuor, si come è scritto; Et Anibàl, quando a l’imperio afflitto Vide farse Fortuna sì molesta, Rise fra gente lagrimosa et mesta Per isfogare il suo acerbo despitto. Caesar, when the Egyptian traitor made him a present of that honored head, hiding his indubitable joy wept with his eyes, externally, as it is written; and Hannibal, when he saw Fortune become so cruel to the afflicted empire, laughed among his tearful sad people, to vent his bitter chagrin . . . Petrarch, Canzoniere, sonnet 102, lines 1–8; see Durling, Petrarch’s Lyric Poems, 204–205 . 161. When crows croaked in a hoarse, rasping way it was believed to presage rain and storms. 162. During the Roman Saturnalia, Augustus encountered a man with a talking raven, who congratulated him on the victory at Actium by saying, “Hail Caesar, the

372 Notes victorious commander!” See John Marzluff and Tony Angell, Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans (New York: Atria Books, 2013), 45. 163. Marcus Valerius Corvus was a consul of the Roman Republic, known for his learning and his military prowess. Early in his career, he served as a tribune with soldiers under the consul Lucius Furius Camillus. Before one battle, Valerius fought a giant Gallic warrior and triumphed over him, largely because a crow attacked the man’s face, thus assisting Valerius and providing the addition of the name Corvinus. Here, as in other contrasti, Isabella plays with gender, in this case aligning herself with the masculine virtù of a military hero. 164. The reference is to the story of Anteros and Eros. Anteros was born to provide a brother for Eros, so that the two loves might sustain each other (see note 17). 165. These Greek names are complementary: Eudosia (“Eudoxia”) literally means “good deeds,” and Evandro (“Evander”) means “good man.” Evander was the legendary Greek founder of “Pallantium,” later the site of Rome; he figures prominently in Virgil’s Aeneid, Books 8–12. This is the second use of Eudosia: the first is in Contrasto 5, “On Those Who Die for Love.” It may also evoke Eudoxia, a Christian martyr and saint, or several late Roman empresses; see note 27. 166. In her tirade Eudosia takes liberties with the mythological tradition: although Aeneas was famous for having abandoned Dido, there are no major texts describing his torments in hell. Dante, in fact, places him in Limbo, where condemned souls suffer the least (Inferno, canto 4). Leander, famous for his doomed love affair with Hero, was not usually associated with Aeneas at all. 167. Eudosia compares herself to the ghost of Clytemnestra, who haunted and tormented her son Orestes after he killed her in revenge for the killing of his father Agamemnon. See the tragedies by Aeschylus, The Eumenides, and Euripides, Orestes. 168. In fully theatrical style, the furious Eudosia spins out of control, as she imagines a rival, located just off-stage or in the audience. This is one of two contrasti that evoke Isabella Andreini’s virtuosity in playing and composing mad scenes; the other is Contrasto 29, in which a male lover goes insane from his beloved’s cruelty. The diva’s most renowned vehicle was La Pazzia (“The Madness”), which she performed at the Medici wedding of 1589. For more on Andreini’s distinctive star scene or pezzo pregiato (“prized piece”), see the Introduction. 169. Evandro’s sarcastic remark expresses the widespread early modern Christian European prejudice against Islam and its founder. 170. Evandro cites the “eternal flame” tended by the thirty Vestal Virgins at their temple precinct near the heart of the Roman Forum. It was believed that Rome would endure as long as this flame kept burning.

Notes 373 171. Eudosia deploys a well-known trope of the medieval courtly love tradition, found for example in Dante’s Vita Nuova (1.15–17), in which the enamored poet dreams that his flaming heart is being held by Love himself, who offers it to Beatrice to eat. 172. Evandro alludes to the classical myth of the Garden of the Hesperides and its golden apples sacred to the goddess Hera, guarded by a ferocious dragon named Ladon who is sometimes described as having a hundred heads. In a version popular in Renaissance poetry and painting, Hercules succeeds in vanquishing the dragon, and taking the apples. 173. Befitting its themes about lowliness and sublimity, this dialogue swerves from Neoplatonism to a racy bout of mockery and insults, with the haughty innamorata daring the suitor to penetrate and conquer her lofty “citadel.” 174. The name Livio may evoke Livy (ca. 59 BCE–12 CE), the historian whose History of Rome extolled the greatness of Rome, especially the emperor Augustus and his deeds. In Greek myth, Deianira (whose name means “destroyer of her husband” or “man-destroyer”) was the wife of Hercules, named in Boccaccio’s list of famous women in De claris mulieribius. As recounted in the play Hercules Oetaeus, cited in note 147, Hercules saved her from the centaur Nessus, who was trying to rape her, by fatally wounding him with a poisoned arrow. As Nessus lay dying, he tricked Deianira into taking a vial of his poisonous blood, saying she could use it to make the straying Hercules faithful forever. She rubbed it on Hercules’s lion-skin robe, but it burned him so terribly that he built a pyre and threw himself on it; the gods wafted him to heaven, and Deianira killed herself. See Lucia Impelluso, Miti: Storie e Immagini degli Dei ed Eroi dell’Antichità (Milan: Mondadori, 2007), 580–82. 175. Livio’s speech shows he is au courant with works on hieroglyphics by Alberti, Ficino, and others, especially when he alludes to the piercing gaze of the all-seeing eye atop a pyramid (the “Eye of Providence”), a symbol that syncretizes ancient and Christian elements. In ancient Egypt the single eye signified both the sun and Horus, the young sun god. In Christian iconography, “the eye, surrounded by sunbeams or inside a triangle with its apex pointing upward, is a well-known symbol of divine omnipotence or of the Trinity.” By the eighteenth century it was also seen as the Eye of Providence: this image appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, which is in turn depicted on the U.S. one-dollar bill. See Hans Biederman, Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them (New York: Meridian, 1994), 123. 176. The term “illuminati” (illuminated) may be a complimentary allusion to the Roman Academy of the Illuminati, founded by the Marchesa Isabella Aldobrandini Pallavicino in 1598; Isabella knew many influential members. 177. The phoenix of legend lives for hundreds of years, then builds a pyre and immolates itself, only to rise anew from the ashes. The Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome

374 Notes were votaries who kept the sacred flame burning day and night in their shrine at the Capitol; see note 170. 178. As the virgin knight Marfisa goes to fight Bradamante in Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, she wears her famous helmet topped by a phoenix crest. The narrator asks: “Does the emblem signify that she has haughty pride / in being unique in the world in strength and power, / Or is it that she will never be a bride, / much less a lover” (“o sia per sua superbia, dinotando/ se stessa unica al mondo in esser forte/ o pur sia casta intenzion lodando/ di viver sempremai senza consorte” canto 36.17–18.1–4). Irony marks this passage: Bradamante soon knocks Marfisa off her high horse. 179. “The Ferrarese poet” is Ariosto, who lived and wrote at the Estense court, and the quotation is again from Orlando Furioso (canto 16.2, “pur ch’altamente abbia locata il core,/ pianger non de’, se ben languisce e muore”). 180. The Italian term for “full round mounts” (“cavaletto”) is a triple bawdy pun: it applies not only to muskets but to a “little bedstead” as well as “any little nagge or horse.” See John Florio, Queen Anna’s New World of Words, 90. 181. “The age of Saturn” refers to the supposed Golden Age under Saturn’s sway, when no man ruled over another, and all beings lived in harmony. 182. The title and theme of this debate recall Dante’s Vita Nuova (1295), in which the poet-lover pretends to love another woman—“una donna schermo,” literally “a screen-woman”—to keep his true love for Beatrice secret, and to protect her reputation. The names of the interlocutors would remind learned readers of the first century CE Roman rhetorician Valerius Maximus, and the mythological Phaedra, doomed daughter of Minos of Crete and consort of Theseus, whom the goddess Aphrodite possesses with unrequited, disastrous love for her stepson Hippolytus. 183. Fedra alludes to the best-known and most influential case of love-madness in Italian literature, that of the Christian paladin Orlando in Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso (1533). After being repeatedly rejected by his beloved Angelica, and then discovering that she has married the low-ranking Saracen Medoro, Orlando completely and violently loses his sanity. 184. This use of bathos introduces a rhetorical pattern favored by Andreini to communicate madness in comically performative terms: Isabella’s signature solo routine was her “Pazzia,” which among its various devices of theatrical bravura included improvisational mixing of “high” philosophical references to “low” alimentary ones. 185. Although a martingale is a specific form of tack (equipment), in fact “a strap or arrangement of straps” (OED) used to prevent a horse from throwing its head above a certain height, the word’s proximity here to musical and poetic references also suggests a deformation of “madrigal,” appropriate for the lexical and semantic scramblings of Valerio’s agitated ramblings. Valerio later makes further references

Notes 375 to horsemanship, from “boots and spurs” to “pommels” (the pommel is the slightly raised area of a saddle, directly in front of the rider). 186. “Pussy-birds” conveys the bawdy sense of “passera,” which means “sparrow” but is also a slang term for pubic hair; “Lodigiano” is the province of the rural town of Lodi, located about 25 miles east of Milan. The jocular reference to Aristotle’s Politics shows yet again the Greek philosopher’s prominence in Andreini’s writings. 187. Since Fedra has provoked the desperate Valerio by calling him “Orlando,” this reference would evoke Agrican, King of the Tartars in Boiardo’s chivalric romance poem Orlando Innamorato (1495), and Orlando’s rival for the love of Angelica. Orlando kills Agricane in a duel, and baptizes him as a Christian, to satisfy the dying king’s final request. See Matteo Maria Boiardo, Orlando Innamorato, edited by Andrea Canova (Milan: BUR Rizzoli, 2011), Book I, Canto 19, stanza 16. 188. Another spin on madrigal composition, this time with a reference to the widely read, famously bawdy novel The Golden Ass by Apuleius, mentioned in two other contrasti (see notes 76 and 147). 189. More ludicrously nonsensical hodgepodge, yoking together a food reference, the sacred home of the Muses, and two of the disputants—Annibale Caro and Lodovico Castelvetro—in Italy’s ongoing debate over language, the questione della lingua. This sixteenth-century debate was focused on the use of popular, conversational words and habits of speech in serious works of prose and poetry. The quarrel between Caro and Castelvetro became a cause célèbre, in part because it involved the killing of one of Caro’s supporters (possibly by Castelvetro himself). 190. “Lezzafusina” evokes “Lizza Fusina,” a place located along the long mainland canals connecting the area around Padua to the Adriatic Sea. The joke involving Julius Caesar depends on knowing that the Roman dictator introduced the use of the leap year, thus beginning the so-called Julian calendar; this was in use until reforms initiated by the Catholic Church resulted in the Gregorian calendar, established in October 1582. 191. According to one tradition, the Orphans’ Canal (Canal Orfani) of Venice got its name after Pepin, son of Charlemagne and king of the Lombards, led an unsuccessful siege against that city in 810. After six months, Pepin was forced to retreat, with many of his men having drowned in the fighting or having succumbed to diseases in their watery battlefield—and leaving many children fatherless, hence the reference to orphans. In later times, the Orphans’ Canal, actually located in the Venetian lagoon, and not in the city itself, was sometimes used to dispose of bodies after executions. 192. A rebec was a bowed stringed instrument of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance introduced into Western Europe at the time of the Arabic conquest of Spain. Counterpoint: “the combination of two or more independent melodies into a single harmonic texture in which each retains its linear character” (Webster’s), synonymous with polyphony.

376 Notes 193. A fine example of multi-linguistic punning and wordplay: “Caballao” means “mackerel” in Spanish (the modern word is “caballa”), which makes sense in the nonsense if Mr. Mackerel sells pickerel or pipefish. Seventeenth-century dictionaries confirm the fishy meaning of this word, which equates to the French “cabeillau” or “cabillau,” or “fresh cod.” The primary associations, however, are with the Italian “cavallo” (and Spanish “caballo”), meaning “horse.” 194. Andreini’s “Martesia” seems to be a variation on Marpesia, an Amazon queen who governed jointly with her sister Lampedo. They called themselves “daughters of Mars” due to “their glorious fame in war.” See Giovanni Boccaccio, Famous Women, ed. and trans. Virginia Brown (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001), 51. Aristomenes was King of Messenia, who heroically fought the Spartans on Mount Ira but was defeated after eleven years. 195. Aristomene invents an allegorical scene and acts out both male and female parts to flatter Martesia and persuade her of his passion. In this amorous play-acting, the idolized woman has an impact like that of a great actress on her adoring audience, which follows and imitates her every move. Robert Henke calls this effect “the mimetic aesthetic,” a dramatic innovation made possible by the virtuosity and charisma of Isabella and other great divas of the period. See “Virtuosity and Mimesis in the Commedia dell’Arte and Hamlet,” in Italian Culture in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries: Rewriting, Remaking, Refashioning, ed. Michele Marrapodi (Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007), 77–78. 196. Once again Isabella refers to the familiar precept, made famous by Dante in the Inferno, 5.103, that every beloved must love in return (see Contrasto 3). 197. Fittingly for the book’s finale, the lead role is named after Cleopatra, the consummate diva, lover and consort of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, and the last autonomous queen of Egypt. Here, however, she is a headstrong innamorata who tests her lover by claiming that her father is forcing her to marry another. Palamedes, who literally swoons before her, is named for a fictional character, a Greek trickster-hero who supposedly helped to invent the alphabet, and who used deception to lure the reluctant Odysseus into joining the expedition to defeat Troy. In revenge, Odysseus later used a trick to disgrace Palamedes, setting up his execution on the orders of Agamemnon. 198. A rare name, with an echo of Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaus, who as a bride was disputed between Orestes (son of Agamemnon) and Neoptolemus (son of Achilles). 199. The historical Aristippus was a disciple of Socrates, who later in life founded the Cyrenaic School of philosophy. Sometimes given a false image as a mere hedonist, he instead propounded a balanced, moderate way of living. 200. The line “Regno della perduta gente” is a reference to the words inscribed on the Gates of Hell, in Dante, Inferno, 3.3: “per me si va tra la perduta gente.”

Bibliography Works by Isabella Andreini (editions of each work are listed chronologically) Andreini, Isabella. Fragmenti di alcune scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini Comica Gelosa et Academica Intenta. Raccolti dal marito Francesco Andreini Comico Geloso detto il Capitano Spavento. Venice: Giovanni Battista Combi, 1617, 1620, 1621, 1625, 1627, 1634. ———. Lettere d’Isabella Andreini Padovana, Comica Gelosa et Academica Intenta Nominata l’Accesa.Venice: Marc’ Antonio Zaltieri, 1607. ———. Lettere d’Isabella Andreini Padovana, Comica Gelosa et Academica Intenta, Nominata l’Accesa. Venice: Sebastiano Combi, 1612. ———. Lettere della signora Isabella Andreini padovana, Comica Gelosa, & Academica Intenta, nominata l’Accesa: Aggiuntovi di nuovo li ragionamenti piacevoli dell’istessa: vi sono due tavole, una delle lettere, & l’altra de’ ragionamenti, che nell’opera si contengono. Venice: Giovanni Battista Combi, 1620, 1628, 1638. ———. Lettere della Signora Isabella Andreini Padovana, Comica Gelosa, & Academica Intenta, nominata l’Accesa. Venice: Giovanni Battista Combi, 1627. ———. Lettere della signora Isabella Andreini padoana, Comica Gelosa, & Academica Intenta, nominata l’Accesa: Aggiuntovi di nuovo li ragionamenti piacevoli dell’istessa . . . Fragmenti di alcune scritture della Signora Isabella Andreini Comica Gelosa et Academica Intenta. Raccolti dal marito Francesco Andreini Comico Geloso detto il Capitano Spavento e dati in luce da Flaminio Scala comico. Venice: Alla Minerva, 1647. ———. Lettere della signora Isabella Andreini padovana, Comica Gelosa, & Academica Intenta, nominata l’Accesa: Aggiuntovi di nuovo li ragionamenti piacevoli dell’istessa. Venice: Carlo Conzatti, 1663. ———. La Mirtilla, Favola Pastorale . . . di Nuovo . . . Riveduta, & in Molti Luoghi Abbellita. Verona: Francesco dalle Donne and Scipione Vargnano, 1599. ———. Myrtille Bergerie. Translated by Adradan. Paris: Matthieu Guillemot, 1602. ———. La Mirtilla. Edited by Maria Luisa Doglio. Lucca: Fazzi, 1995. ———. La Mirtilla: A Pastoral. Translated by Julie D. Campbell. Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2002. ———. Mirtilla, a Pastoral: A Bilingual Edition. Edited by Valeria Finucci. Translated by Julia Kisacky. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2018. ———. Rime d’Isabella Andreini Padovana, comica gelosa. Milan: Girolamo Bordone and Pietromartire Locarni, 1601, 1605. 377

378 Bibliography ———. Rime d’Isabella Andreini. Paris: Appresso Claudio de Monstr’œil, 1603. ———. Selected Poems of Isabella Andreini. Edited by Anne MacNeil. Translated by James Wyatt Cook. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005.

Other Primary Sources Agrippa, Heinrich Cornelius. Della nobiltà et eccellenza della donne. Translated by Alessandro Piccolomini. Venice: Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1549. Andreini, Francesco. Le Bravure del Capitano Spavento. Edited by Roberto Tessari. Pisa: Giardini, 1987. ———. Le Bravvre del Capitano Spauento: Divise in Molti Ragionamenti in Forma di Dialogo. Et in questa seconda impressione dal proprio autore ricorrette, & aggiuntovi molte cose curiose à discorso per discorso. Venice: Giacomo Antonio Somasco, 1609. ———. Ragionamenti Fantastici di Francesco Andreini, da Pistoia comico Geloso, detto il Capitano Spavento: Posti in Forma di Dialoghi Rappresentativi. . . . Venice: Giacomo Antonio Somasco, 1612. Andreini, Giovan Battista. La Ferza. Ragionamento secondo contra l’accuse date alla Commedia (Paris: Nicolao Callemont, 1625). In La Professione del teatro, edited by Ferruccio Marotti and Giovanna Romei, vol. 2 of La Commedia dell’Arte e la società barocca, 489–534. Rome: Bulzoni, 1991. ———. Love in the Mirror. Edited and translated by Jon R. Snyder. Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2009. ———. Pianto d’Apollo: Rime funebri in morte d’Isabella Andreini. Milan: Girolamo Bordone and Pietromartire Locarni, 1606. Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Translated by P.G. Walsh. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Aquinas, Thomas. On Prayer and the Contemplative Life. Translated by Hugh Pope. London: R. and T. Washbourne, 1914. Aragona, Tullia d’. Dialogo della Signora Tullia d’Aragona della infinità di amore. Venice: Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1547. ———. Dialogo della infinità di amore. In Trattati d’amore del Cinquecento. Edited by Giuseppe Zonta, 185–248. Bari: Giuseppe Laterza e Figli, 1912. ———. Dialogue on the Infinity of Love. Edited and translated by Rinaldina Russell and Bruce Merry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. ———. The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others. Edited and translated by Julia L. Hairston. Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2014. Aretino, Pietro. Ragionamento – Dialogo (“Sei giornate”). Edited by Nino Borsellino and Paolo Procaccioli. Milan: Garzanti, 1984. Ariosto, Ludovico. Orlando Furioso. 2 vols. Edited by Lanfranco Caretti. Turin: Einaudi, 1992.

Bibliography 379 ———. Orlando Furioso. Translated by Guido Waldman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. Aristotle.The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation. Edited by Jonathan Barnes. 2 vols. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984. ———. The Nicomachean Ethics. Edited and translated by David Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. ———. The Rhetoric and the Poetics of Aristotle. Translated by W. Rhys Roberts and Ingram Bywater. Introduction by Edward P.    J. Corbett. New York: Modern Library, 1954; reprint, 1984. Assarino, Luca. Ragguagli del regno di Cipro. Bologna, 1642. Beaulieu, Marie de. Le Première atteinte contre ceux qui accusent les comedies. Paris: Jean Richer, 1603. Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta. Edited and translated by Mariangela Causa-Steiner and Thomas Mauch. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. ———. Famous Women (De Claris Mulieribus). Edited and translated by Virginia Brown. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001. ———. Filocolo. Edited by Antonio Enzo Quaglio. Milan: Mondadori, 1998. ———. Thirteene most pleasaunt and delectable questions, entitled, a disport of diverse noble personages, written in Italian by M. John Bocace Florentine and poet laureate, in his booke named Philocopo: English by H.G. London: Thomas Woodcock, 1587. Boiardo, Matteo. Orlando Innamorato. Edited by Andrea Canova. Milan: BUR Rizzoli, 2011. ———. Orlando Innamorato. Translated by Charles Stanley Ross. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press, 2004. Borgogni, Gherardo. “La fonte del diporto.” 1598. In Diporti: Scritti di Girolamo Parabosco, Gherardo Borgogni. Edited by Donato Pirovano. Rome: Salerno, 2005. Bousanquet, Henri, trans. Lettres choisies sur diverses matieres tres-importantes. Zuric: Guessner, 1699. Bruni, Domenico. Dialoghi Scenici di Domenico Bruni detto Fulvio, Comico Confidente Fatti da lui in diverse occasioni ad istanza delle sue compagne Flaminia, Delia, Valeria, Lavinia, e Celia. Manuscript 37, Biblioteca del Burcardo, Rome. Cartari, Vincenzo. Imagini dei Dei degli Antichi. Venice: Giordano Ziletti, 1571. Castiglione, Baldesar. The Book of the Courtier. Translated by Charles Singleton, edited by Daniel Javitch. New York: Norton, 2002. ———. Il Libro del Cortegiano. Introduction by Amedeo Quondam. Notes by Nicola Longo. Milan: Garzanti, 2000. Comici dell’Arte: Corrispondenze. Edited by Siro Ferrone, Claudia Burattelli, Domenica Landolfi, and Anna Zinanni. 2 vols. Florence: Le Lettere, 1993.

380 Bibliography Congreve, William. The Old Batchelour (1693). In The Complete Works of William Congreve. Edited by Montague Summers. 155–225. New York: Russell & Russell, 1964. Costa, Margherita. The Buffoons, a Ridiculous Comedy: A Bilingual Edition. Edited and translated by Sara E. Díaz and Jessica Goethals. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2018. Dante Alighieri.The Divine Comedy. Edited and translated by Robert M. Durling. 3 vols. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996–2011. ———. The Divine Comedy. Translated by John D. Sinclair. 3 vols. London: John Lane, 1939–46. Day, John. Festivals; or, Twelve of His Sermons. Oxford: Joseph Barnes, 1615. Dolce, Lodovico. L’Aretino, o Dialogo della pittura. Aretin, or Dialogue on Painting. Venice: Appresso Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1557. Ebreo, Leone. Dialogues of Love. Translated by Cosmos Damian Bacich and Rossella Pescatori. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009. Ficino, Marsilio. El Libro dell’amore. 1544. Edited by Sandra Niccoli. Florence: Olschki, 1987. . Florio, John. Queen Anna’s New World of Words, or Dictionarie of the Italian and English Tongues. London: Printed by Melchior Bradwood for Edward Blount and William Barret, 1611. ———. A Worlde of Wordes, or Most copious, and exact Dictionarie in Italian and English. London: Printed by Arnold Hatfield for Edward Blount, 1598. Franco, Veronica. Poems and Selected Letters. Translated and edited by Ann Rosalind Jones and Margaret F. Rosenthal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Garzoni, Tommaso. La piazza universale di tutte le professioni del mondo, e nobili et ignobili. Venice: Giovanni Battista Somasco, 1585. Grenaille, François de. Nouveau recueil de lettres des dames tant anciennes que modernes. 2 vols. Paris: Toussainct Quinet, 1642. Ingegneri, Angelo. Della poesia rappresentativa e del modo di rappresentare le favole sceniche. 1598. Edited by Maria Luisa Doglio. Ferrara: Panini, 1989. Landi, Ortensio. Quattro libri de’ dubbi: con le solutioni a ciascun dubbio accommodate. Venice: Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari e fratelli, 1552. Lemprière, John. Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary. 1788. Reprint, London: Bracken, 1994. L’Estoile, Pierre de. The Paris of Henry of Navarre as Seen by Pierre de l’Estoile: Selections from his Mémoires-Journaux. Edited and translated by Nancy Lyman Roelker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1958. Machiavelli, Niccolò. Art of War. Translated and edited by Christopher Lynch. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by David Raeburn. London: Penguin, 2004.

Bibliography 381 ———. “The Remedies for Love.” In The Art of Love, translated by Rolfe Humphries, 181–206. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1957. Pavoni, Giuseppe. Diario descritto da Giuseppe Pavoni. Delle feste celebrate nelle solennissime nozze delli Serenissimi Sposi, il Sig. Don Ferdinando Medici e la Sig. Donna Christina di Loreno gran duchi di Toscana. . . . Bologna: Giovanni de’ Rossi, 1589. Perrucci, Andrea. Dell’Arte rappresentativa, premeditata, ed all’improvviso. Naples: Michele Luigi Mutio, 1699. ———. A Treatise on Acting, from Memory and by Improvisation (1699). Translated and edited by Francesco Cotticelli, Anne Goodrich Heck, and Thomas F. Heck. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008. Petrarca, Francesco. Petrarch’s Lyric Poems: The Rime sparse and Other Lyrics. Translated and edited by Robert M. Durling. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976. ———. Trionfo d’amore. In Il Canzoniere e I Trionfi, edited by Andrea Moschetti, 415–47. Milan: Casa Editrice Vallardi, 1908. Pizan, Christine de. The Book of the City of Ladies. Translated by Earl Jeffrey Richards. New York: Persea, 1982. Plato. Symposium. In Great Dialogues of Plato, translated by W. H. D. Rouse, edited by Eric H. Warmington and Philip G. Rouse, 69–117. New York: New American Library, 1956. Plutarch. Pericles. Translated by John Dryden. . Romei, Annibale. The Courtiers Academie. Comprehending Seuen Seuerall Dayes Discourses: Wherein Be Discussed, Seuen Noble and Important Arguments, Worthy by All Gentlemen to Be Perused. 1 Of Beautie. 2 Of Humane Loue. 3 Of Honour. 4 Of Combate and Single Fight. 5 Of Nobilitie. 6 Of Riches. 7 Of Precedence of Letters or Armes. . . . Translated into English by I.K. London: Valentine Sims, 1598. Scala, Flaminio. The Fake Husband, a Comedy. Edited and translated by Rosalind Kerr. Toronto: Iter Press; Tempe: ACMRS Press, 2020. ———. Il teatro delle favole rappresentative. 1611. Edited by Ferruccio Marotti. 2 vols. Rome: Il Polifilo, 1976. Speroni, Sperone. Dialogo d’Amore. In Opere, edited by Natale dalle Laste and Marco Forcelli, 1:1–45. Venice: Appresso Domenico Occhi, 1740. Reprint, Rome: Vecchiarelli, 1989. Tasso, Torquato. Aminta: A Pastoral Play. Edited and translated by Charles Jernigan and Irene Marchegiani Jones. New York: Italica Press, 2000. ———. Gerusalemme liberata. Edited by Franco Tomasi. Milan: Rizzoli, 2009. ———. Jerusalem Delivered. Edited and translated by Anthony M. Esolen. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.

382 Bibliography Tixier, Jean (de Révisy). Officina Ionnis Rauisii Textoris Niuernensis, nunc demum post tot editions diligenter emendate, aucta, & in longe commodiorem ordinem redacta. Venice: Marc’ Antonio Zaltieri, 1588. Vega, Lope de. El Castigo sin venganza. Edited by Antonio Carreño. Madrid: Cátedra, 2001. Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage, 1990. Whetstone, George. An Heptameron of Civill Discourses, Containing: The Christmasse Exercise of sundrie well courted Gentlemen and Gentlewomen. . . . London: Richard Jones, 1582. Winter, Ernst F., ed. and trans. Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther: Discourse on Free Will. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.

Secondary Sources Aliverti, Maria Ines. “An Icon for a New Woman: A Previously Unidentified Portrait of Isabella Andreini by Paolo Veronese.” Early Theatre 11, no. 2 (2008): 159–80. ———. “Isabella Andreini nelle immagini: Indagine sopra alcuni ritratti ipotetici.” In Isabella Andreini: Una letterata in scena, edited by Carlo Manfio, 137–94. Padua: Poligrafo, 2014. Andrews, Richard, ed. and trans. The Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala: A Translation and Analysis of 30 Scenarios. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008. ———. “Isabella Andreini and Others: Women on Stage in the Late Cinquecento.” In Women in Italian Renaissance Culture and Society, ed. Letizia Panizza, 316–33. London: Legenda, 2000. ———. “Isabella Andreini’s Stage Repertoire: The ‘Lettere’ and ‘Fragmenti.’ ” In The Tradition of the Actor-Author in Italian Theatre, edited by Donatella Fischer, 30–40. Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2013. ———. Scripts and Scenarios: The Performance of Comedy in Renaissance Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Arveda, Antonia, ed. Contrasti Amorosi nella poesia Italiana antica. Rome: Salerno Editrice, 1992. Balme, Christopher B., Piermario Vescovo, and Daniele Vianello, eds., Commedia dell’Arte in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Baschet, Armand. Les Comédiens italiens à la cour de France. Paris: E. Plon, 1882. Bassanese, Fiora A. “What’s in a Name? Self-Naming and Renaissance Women Poets.” Annali d’Italianistica 7 (1989): 104–15. Basso, Jeannine. Le Genre épistolaire en langue italienne: 1538–1662: Répertoire chronologique et analytique. Rome: Bulzoni; Nancy: Presses universitaires de Nancy, 1990.

Bibliography 383 Bates, Catherine. The Rhetoric of Courtship in Elizabethan Language and Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Biederman, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them. New York: Meridian, 1994. Blaine, Marlin E. “ ‘Lauda 48’ by Iacopone da Todi.” Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature 34, no. 1 (2019): 28–38. Boggio, Maricla, ed. Le Isabelle: Dal Teatro della Maddalena alla Isabella Andreini. 2 vols. Nardò: Besa, 2002. Bosi, Kathryn. “Accolades for an Actress: On Some Literary and Musical Tributes for Isabella Andreini.” Recercare 15 (2003): 73–117. Boucher, Jacqueline. Société et mentalités autour de Henri III. 4 vols. Paris: Champion, 1981. Bray, Bernard A. L’Art de la lettre amoureuse: Des manuels aux romans (1550– 1700). The Hague and Paris: Mouton, 1967. Brown, Pamela Allen. “ ‘Cattle of this colour’: Boying the Diva in As You Like It.” Early Theatre 15, no. 1 (2012): 145–66. ———. “The Counterfeit Innamorata, or, The Diva Vanishes,” in Shakespeare and Italy, edited by Holger Michael Klein and Michele Marrapodi, 402–26. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1999. ———. The Diva’s Gift to the Shakespearean Stage: Agency, Theatricality, and the Innamorata. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. ———. “The Traveling Diva and Generic Innovation.” Renaissance Drama 44, no. 2 (2016): 249–67. Brown, Pamela Allen, and Peter Parolin, eds. Women Players in England, 1500– 1660: Beyond the All-Male Stage. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005. Burke, Peter. “The Renaissance Dialogue.” Renaissance Studies 3, no. 1 (1989): 1–12. Campbell, Julie D. “Francesco Andreini: ‘On Taking a Wife.’ ” In In Dialogue with the Other Voice in Sixteenth-Century Italy, edited by Julie D. Campbell and Maria Galli Stampino, 265–72. Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2011. ———. Literary Circles and Gender in Early Modern Europe: A Cross-Cultural Approach. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006. ———.“Marie de Beaulieu and Isabella Andreini: Cross-Cultural Patronage at the French Court.” Sixteenth Century Journal 45, no. 4 (2014): 851–74. ———. “ ‘Merry, nimble, stirring spirit[s]’: Academic, Salon and Commedia dell’Arte Influence on the Innamorate of Love’s Labour’s Lost.” In Women Players in England, 1500–1660: Beyond the All-Male Stage, edited by Pamela Allen Brown and Peter Parolin, 145–70. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005.

384 Bibliography ———. “The Querelle over Silvia: La Mirtilla and Aminta in Dialogue.” In Literary Circles and Gender in Early Modern Europe: A Cross-Cultural Approach, 51–72. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006. Campbell, Julie D., and Maria Galli Stampino, eds. In Dialogue with the Other Voice in Sixteenth-Century Italy. Toronto: Iter Inc. and Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2011. Cavallo, Guglielmo, and Roger Chartier, eds. A History of Reading in the West. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999. Chartier, Roger. Publishing Drama in Early Modern Europe. London: British Library, 1999. ———. “Reading Matter and ‘Popular’ Reading: From the Renaissance to the Seventeenth Century.” In A History of Reading in the West, edited by Guglielmo Cavallo and Roger Chartier, translated by Lydia G. Cochrane, 269– 83. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1999. Chojnacki, Stanley. Women and Men in Renaissance Venice: Twelve Essays on Patrician Society. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. Clubb, Louise George. “Italian Comedy and the Comedy of Errors.” Comparative Literature 19, no. 3 (1967): 240–51. ———. Italian Drama in Shakespeare’s Time. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989. ———. “Looking Back on Shakespeare and Italian Theater.” Renaissance Drama 36/37 (2010): 3–19. ———. “The State of the Arte in the Andreini’s Time.” In Studies in the Italian Renaissance: Essays in Memory of Arnolfo B. Ferruolo, edited by Gian Paolo Biasin et al., 263–81. Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1985. Coller, Alexandra. “Isabella Andreini’s La Mirtilla (1588): Pastoral Drama and Conjugal Love in Counter-Reformation Italy.” Italian Quarterly 46, no. 179/180 (2009): 17–29. ———. Women, Rhetoric, and Drama in Early Modern Italy. London: Routledge, 2017. Cowan, Alexander. Marriage, Manners and Mobility in Early Modern Venice. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007. Cox, Virginia. “The Female Voice in Italian Renaissance Dialogue.” Modern Language Notes 128 (2013): 53–78. ———. Lyric Poetry by Women of the Italian Renaissance. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. ———. “Members, Muses, Mascots: Women and Italian Academies.” In The Italian Academies, 1525–1700: Networks of Culture, Innovation and Dissent, edited by Jane E. Everson, Denis V. Reidy, and Lisa Sampson, 132–69. Cambridge and Abingdon, UK: Legenda, 2016.

Bibliography 385 ———. The Prodigious Muse: Women’s Writing in Counter-Reformation Italy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011. ———. The Renaissance Dialogue: Literary Dialogue in its Social and Political Contexts, Castiglione to Galileo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.  ———. Women’s Writing in Italy, 1400–1650. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. Croce, Benedetto. “Isabella Andreini.” Quaderni Della Critica 6 (1950): 85–90. Cuppone, Roberto. “ ‘Commedie fortunate . . .’: ‘Le due comedie in comedia’ di Giovan Battista Andreini.” In The Tradition of the Actor-Author in Italian Theatre, edited by Donatella Fischer, 41–57. Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2013. Dean, Trevor, and K.J.P. Lowe, eds. Marriage in Italy, 1300–1650. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. De’Angelis, Francesca Romana. La Divina Isabella: Vita Straordinaria di una Donna del Cinquecento. Florence: Sansoni, 1991. Decroisette, Françoise. “La première ‘divine’: Isabella Andreini ou l’invention d’un rôle.” In Au théâtre, au cinéma, au féminin, edited by Hélène Cixous and Mireille Calle-Gruber, 193–215. Paris: Harmattan, 2001. Dersofi, Nancy. “Andreini, Isabella.” In Encyclopedia of the Renaissance, edited by Paul F. Grendler, 1:67–88. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999. Doglio, Federico. “Isabella enigmatica diva e versatile artista nella vita culturale del suo tempo.” In La mujer: De los bastidores al proscenio en el teatro del siglo XVI, edited by Irene Romera Pintor and Josep Lluís Sirera, 109–18. Valencia: Universitat de València, 2011. Edwards, Robert R. “ ‘Lessons Meete to Be Followed’: The European Reception of Boccaccio’s ‘Questioni d’amore.’ ” Textual Cultures 10, no. 2 (2016 [2018]): 146–63. Eisenbichler, Conrad. The Sword and the Pen: Women, Politics, and Poetry in Sixteenth-Century Siena. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2012. Erenstein, Robert L. “Isabella Andreini: A Lady of Virtue and High Renown.” In Essays on Drama and Theatre: Liber amicorum Benjamin Hunnigher, 37–49. Amsterdam: Moussalt’s Uitgeverij, 1973. Favaro, Maiko. “Boccaccio nella trattistica amorosa, del Cinquecento e di primo Seicento.” Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana 12 (2009): 9–29. ———. “La retorica della schiettezza: Sulle Lettere amorose (1642) di Girolamo Brusoni.” The Italianist 37, no. 1 (2017): 20–35. Ferracuti, Alexia. “Reflections of Isabella: Hermaphroditic Mirroring in Mirtilla and Giovan Battista Andreini’s Amor nello specchio.” California Italian Studies 5, no. 2 (2014): 125–54.

386 Bibliography Ferrone, Siro. Attori, mercanti, corsari: La Commedia dell’Arte in Europa tra Cinque e Seicento. Turin: Einaudi, 1993. ———. La Commedia dell’Arte: Attrici e attori italiani in Europa (XVI–XVIII secolo). Turin: Einaudi, 2014. Fiaschini, Fabrizio. L’“incessabil agitazione”: Giovan Battista Andreini tra professione teatrale, cultura, letteratura e religione. Pisa: Giardini, 2007. Fiocco, Achille. “Isabella Andreini.” In vol. 1 of Enciclopedia dello spettacolo, 555– 58. Rome: Casa Editrice Le Maschere, 1954. Giachino, Luisella. “Dall’effimero teatrale alla quête dell’immortalità: Le Rime di Isabella Andreini.” Giornale Storico della Letteratura Italiana 178, no. 584 (2001): 530–52. Gilder, Rosamond. Enter the Actress. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1931. ———. “Isabella Andreini: The First Actress of Europe.” Theatre Arts Monthly 14 (1930): 145. Goldberg, Edward. A Jew at the Medici Court: The Letters of Benedetto Blanis, Hebreo, 1615–1621. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011. Goudriaan, Elisa. Florentine Patricians and their Networks: Structures Behind the Cultural Success and the Political Representation of the Medici Court (1600– 1660). Leiden: Brill, 2017. Guardenti, Renzo. “Attrici in effigie.” Culture teatrali 10 (2004): 55–71. ———. “Isabella Andreini.” In La Commedia dell’Arte, edited by Cesare Molinari, 949–96. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, 1999. Henderson, Liza. “Acting Herself: Isabella Andreini and the Masks of a Renaissance Woman.” PhD diss., Yale University, 1993. Henke, Robert. Performance and Literature in the Commedia dell’Arte. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ———. “Virtuosity and Mimesis in the Commedia dell’Arte and Hamlet.” In Italian Culture in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries: Rewriting, Remaking, Refashioning, edited by Michele Marrapodi, 69–82. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007. Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Hurley, Clarissa. “Commedia dell’Arte Actresses and the Performance of Lovesickness.” The Brock Review 10, no. 2 (2009): 26–37. Impelluso, Lucia. Miti: Storie e Immagini degli Dei ed Eroi dell’Antichita. Milan: Mondadori, 2007. Jaffe-Berg, Erith. The Multilingual Art of Commedia dell’Arte. New York: Legas, 2009. Johnson, Carina L. “Stone Gods and Counter-Reformation Knowledges.” In Making Knowledge in Early Modern Europe: Practices, Objects, and Texts, 1400– 1800, edited by Pamela H. Smith and Benjamin Schmidt, 233–47. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Bibliography 387 Katritzky, M. A. The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia dell’Arte 1560– 1620 with Special Reference to the Visual Records. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006. ———. “Reading the Actress in Commedia Imagery.” In Women Players in England, 1500–1660: Beyond the All-Male Stage. Edited by Pamela Allen Brown and Peter Parolin, 109–143. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005. ———. Women, Medicine, and Theatre, 1500–1750: Literary Mountebanks and Performing Quacks. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007. Kerr, Rosalind. “The Fame Monster: Diva Worship from Isabella Andreini to Lady Gaga.” Italian Studies 70, no. 3 (2015): 402–15. ———. “Isabella Andreini (Comica Gelosa 1560–1604): Petrarchism for the Theatre Public.” Quaderni d’Italianistica 27, no. 2 (2006): 71–92. ———. “The Italian Actress and the Foundations of Early Modern European Theatre: Performing Sexual Identities on the Commedia dell’Arte Stage.” Early Theatre 11, no. 2 (2008): 181–97. ———. The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte Stage. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015. King, Margaret L. Women of the Renaissance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Laiena, Serena. “Meretrices ergo Dive: Academic Encomia and the Metamorphosis of Early Modern Actresses.” The Italianist 41, no. 1 (2021): 23–40. Lea, K. M. Italian Popular Comedy: A Study in the Commedia dell’Arte, 1560– 1620, with Special Reference to the English Stage. 2 vols. New York: Russell and Russell, 1934; reprint, 1962. Lindemann, Mary. Medicine and Society in Early Modern Europe. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. MacNeil, Anne. “The Divine Madness of Isabella Andreini.” Journal of the Royal Musical Association 120, no. 2 (1995): 195–215. ———. Music and Women of the Commedia dell’Arte in the Late Sixteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. ———. “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman.” Musical Quarterly 83, no. 2 (1999): 247–79. Majorana, Bernadette. “Un ‘Gemino Valor’: Mestiere e virtù dei Comici dell’Arte nel Primo Seicento.” Medioevo e Rinascimento 6 (1992): 173–93. Manfio, Carlo, ed. Isabella Andreini: Una letterata in scena. Padua: Poligrafo, 2014. Marini, Quinto. Review of L’Arte dei comici. Omaggio a Isabella Andreini nel quarto centenario della morte (1604–2004) [The Art of Comics. Homage to Isabella Andreini in the Fourth Centenary of Her Death (1604–2004)], edited by Gerardo Guccini, Culture teatrali 10 (2004). Rassegna della Letterature Italiana 110, no. 1 (2006): 156–58. Marotti, Ferruccio, and Giovanna Romei, eds. La Professione del teatro. Vol. 2 of La Commedia dell’Arte e la società barocca. Rome: Bulzoni, 1991.

388 Bibliography Marzluff, John, and Tony Angell. Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans. New York: Atria Books, 2013. Mazzoni, Stefano. “Genealogia e vicende della famiglia Andreini.” In Origini della Commedia Improvvisa o dell’Arte, edited by Maria Luisa Chiabò and Federico Doglio, 107–61. Rome: Edizioni Torre d’Orfeo, 1996. ———. “Isabella Andreini: Vicende sceniche e registri d’interprete.” In Isabella Andreini: Una letterata in scena, edited by Carlo Manfio, 25–49. Padua: Il Poligrafo, 2014. ———. “La vita di Isabella.” Culture teatrali 10 (2004): 85–105. McGill, Kathleen. “Women and Performance: The Development of Improvisation by the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte.” Theatre Journal 43, no. 1 (1991): 59–69. McManus, Clare. “Early Modern Women’s Performance: Toward a New History of Early Modern Theater?” Shakespeare Studies 37 (2009): 161–77. Molinari, Cesare. “Actor-authors of the Commedia dell’Arte: The Dramatic Writings of Flaminio Scala and Giambettista Andreini.” Translated by M. A. Katritzky. Theatre Research International 23, no. 2 (1998): 142–51. ———. “L’altra faccia del 1589: Isabella Andreini e la sua ‘pazzia.’ ” In Firenze e Toscana dei Medici nell’Europa del Cinquecento, 2:565–73. Florence: Olschki, 1983. ———. “Francesco Andreini.” In La Commedia dell’Arte, 849–921. Rome: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, 1999. Nicholson, Eric. “Helen, the Italianate Theatrical Wayfarer of All’s Well That Ends Well.” In Shakespeare and the Italian Renaissance: Appropriation, Transformation, Opposition, edited by Michele Marrapodi, 163–79. Farnham, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008. ———. “Ophelia Sings Like a Prima Donna Innamorata: Ophelia’s Mad Scene and the Italian Female Performer.” In Transnational Exchange in Early Modern Theater, edited by Robert Henke and Eric Nicholson, 81–98. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008. ———. “Romance as Role Model: Early Female Performances of Orlando Furioso and Gerusalemme Liberata.” In Renaissance Transactions: Ariosto and Tasso, edited by Valeria Finucci, 246–69. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1999. ———. “ ‘She Speaks Poniards’: Shakespearean Drama and the Italianate Leading Lady as Verbal Duellist.” In “European Women in Early Modern Drama,” edited by Edel Semple and Ema Vyroubalova, special issue, Early Modern Literary Studies 27 (2017): 1–16. Ojeda Calvo, Maria Del Valle. Stefanelo Botarga e Zan Ganasa: Scenari e Zibaldoni di Comici Italiani nella Spagna del Cinquecento. Rome: Bulzoni, 2007.

Bibliography 389 Ottonelli, Domenico. Della Christiana Moderatione del Teatro, Libro I: “Detto la Qualità delle Commedie” (1648). Reprinted in La Fascinazione del teatro, edited by Ferdinando Taviani. 315–526. Roma: Bulzoni, 1970. Panizza, Letizia, ed. Women in Italian Renaissance Culture and Society. London: Legenda, 2000. Perocco, Daria. “ ‘Donna/Uomo, Attrice/Scrittrice, Isabella/Francesco: Metamorfosi della Scrittura di Isabella Andreini.” In Instabilità e Metamorfosi dei generi nella Letteratura Barocca: Atti del convegno di studi Genova, Auditorium di Palazzo Rosso 5–6–7 ottobre 2006, edited by Simona Morando, 87–111.Venice: Marsilio, 2007. ———. “Isabella Andreini Ossia: Il Teatro Non è ‘Ianua Diavoli.’ ” In Donne e Teatro: Atti del Convegno Venezia, Auditorium Santa Margherita 6 ottobre 2003, 19–40. Venice: Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, 2004. Plant, I.M., ed. Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. Porter, Roy. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. Rasi, Luigi. I Comici Italiani: Biografia, bibliografia, iconografia. 3 vols. Florence: Fratelli Bocca, 1897–1905. Ray, Meredith K. “Between Stage and Page: The Letters of Isabella Andreini.” In Writing Gender in Women’s Letter Collections of the Italian Renaissance, 156–83. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009. ———. Daughters of Alchemy: Women and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. ———. “Isabella Andreini (1562–1604).” Italian Women Writers Library. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008. . Rebaudengo, Maurizio. Giovan Battista Andreini tra poetica e drammaturgia. Turin: Rosenberg and Sellier, 1994. Richards, Jennifer, and Allison Thorne, ed. Rhetoric, Women and Politics in Early Modern England. London and New York: Routledge, 2007. Richardson, Brian. Printing, Writers and Readers in Renaissance Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. ———. Women and the Circulation of Texts in Renaissance Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Riverso, Nicla. “Fighting Eve: Women on the Stage in Early Modern Italy.” Quaderni d’Italianistica 37, no. 2 (2016): 23–47. Robin, Diana. Publishing Women: Salons, the Presses, and the Counter-Reformation in Sixteenth-Century Italy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007. Rogers, Mary, and Paola Tinagli. Women in Italy, 1350–1650: Ideals and Realities: A Sourcebook. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005.

390 Bibliography Rosenthal, Margaret F. The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-Century Venice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. Ross, Sarah Gwyneth. The Birth of Feminism: Woman as Intellect in Renaissance Italy and England. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. Ruelens, Charles. Erycius Puteanus et Isabella Andreini. . . . Antwerp: Van Merlen, 1889. Russell, Rinaldina, ed. The Feminist Encyclopedia of Italian Literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Sampson, Lisa. “Amateurs Meet Professionals: Theatrical Activities in Late Sixteenth-Century Italian Academies.” In The Reinvention of Theatre in Sixteenth-Century Europe: Traditions, Texts and Performance, edited by T. F. Earle and Catarina Fouto, 187–218. Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2015. ———. “Imitations and Innovations after Tasso’s Aminta: Accommodating a Female Voice.” In Pastoral Drama in Early Modern Italy: The Making of a New Genre, 98–128. Abingdon, UK, and New York: Legenda, 2006. ———. “Isabella Andreini and the Intenti Academy of Pavia.” Talk delivered at New York University, March 31, 2014. . ———. Pastoral Drama in Early Modern Italy: The Making of a New Genre. Oxford: Legenda, 2006. Saslow, James M. The Medici Wedding of 1589: Florentine Festival as Theatrum Mundi. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996. Schmitt, Natalie Crohn. Befriending the Commedia dell’Arte of Flaminio Scala. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014. Scott, Virginia. “La vertu et la volupté: Models for the Actress in Early Modern Italy and France.” Theatre Research International 23 (1998): 152–58. Smarr, Janet Levarie. Boccacio and Fiammetta: The Narrator as Lover. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986. Smith, Winifred. “Giovan Battista Andreini as a Theatrical Innovator.” Modern Language Review 17, no. 1 (1922): 31–41. ———. Italian Actors of the Renaissance. New York: Benjamin Blom, 1930; reprint, 1968. Stampino, Maria Galli. “Pastoral Constraints, Textual and Dramatic Strategies: Isabella Andreini’s La Mirtilla and Torquato Tasso’s Aminta.” Italian Culture 22 (2004): 1–19. Taviani, Ferdinando. “Bella d’Asia: Torquato Tasso, gli attori e l’immortalità.” Paragone/Letteratura 35 (1984): 3–76. ———, ed. La Fascinazione del teatro. Vol. 1 of La Commedia dell’Arte e la società barocca. Rome: Bulzoni, 1969. ———. “Un vivo contrasto: Seminario su attrici e attori della Commedia dell’Arte.” Teatro e storia 1 (1986): 25–75.

Bibliography 391 Taviani, Ferdinando, and Mirella Schino. Il segreto della Commedia dell’Arte: La memoria delle compagnie italiane del XVI, XVII e XVIII secolo. Florence: La Casa Usher, 2007. Tervarent, Guy de. “Eros and Anteros, or Reciprocal Love in Ancient and Renaissance Art.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 28 (1965): 205–8. Tessari, Roberto. “ ‘O Diva, o ‘estable a tous chevaux’. L’ultimo Viaggio di Isabella Andreini.” Il Castello di Elsinore 2 (1988): 20–32. ———. “Sotto il Segno di Giano: La Commedia dell’Arte di Isabella e di Francesco Andreini.” In The Commedia dell’Arte from the Renaissance to Dario Fo, edited by Christopher Cairns, 1–33. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989. Tilley, M. P. A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: a Collection Found in English Literature and Dictionaries of the Period. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950. Tricou, Jean. “La Médaille d’Isabella Andreini.” Revue Numismatique, 6th ser., 2 (1959): 283–87. Tylus, Jane. “Natural Women: Isabella Andreini and the First Italian Actresses.” Italian Culture 13, no. 1 (1995): 75–85. ———. “Women at the Windows: ‘Commedia dell’Arte’ and Theatrical Practice in Early Modern Italy.” Theatre Journal 49, no. 3 (1997): 323–42. Vazzoler, Franco. “Le Pastorali dei Comici dell’Arte: La Mirtilla di Isabella Andreini.” In Sviluppi della drammaturgia pastorale nell’Europa del Cinque-Seicento, edited by Maria Chiabò and Federico Doglio, 281–99. Rome: Centro Studi sul Teatro Medioevale e Rinascimentale, 1992. ———. Review of “Isabella Andreini Ossia: Il Teatro Non è ‘Ianua Diabuli,’ ” by Daria Perocco, in Donne e Teatro: Atti del Convegno Venezia, Auditorium Santa Margherita 6 ottobre 2003, 19–40 (Venice: Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, 2004). Rassegna della Letteratura Italiana 110, no. 1 (2006): 160. Vickery-Bareford, Melissa Jo. “Isabella Andreini: Reimagining ‘Woman’ in Early Modern Italy.” PhD diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. Walder-Biesanz, Ilana. “Writing Pastoral Drama as a Woman and an Actor: Isabella Andreini’s Mirtilla.” Italian Studies 71, no. 1 (2016): 49–66. Wilbourne, Emily. “La Florinda: The Performance of Virginia Ramponi Andreini.” PhD diss., New York University, 2008. ———. “ ‘Isabella ringiovinita’: Virginia Ramponi Andreini before ‘Arianna.’ ” Recercare 19, no. 1/2 (2007): 47–71. ———. “Lo Schiavetto (1612): Travestied Sound, Ethnic Performance, and the Eloquence of the Body.” Journal of the American Musicological Society 63, no. 1 (2010): 1–43. ———. Seventeenth-Century Opera and the Sound of the Commedia dell’Arte. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016.

392 Bibliography Zampelli, Michael A. “The ‘Most Honest and Most Devoted of Women’: An Early Modern Defense of the Professional Actress.” Theatre Survey 42, no. 1 (2001): 1–23. ———. “ ‘Verbo in carne’: Giovan Battista Andreini and the Performing Bodies of the Professional ‘Comici.’ ” Text and Presentation: Journal of the Comparative Drama Conference 21, no. 4 (2000): 27–41.

Index Page numbers in italics refer to figures. For complete list of debates see page 51.

Accademia degli Intenti, 1, 9 Achilles, 160, 161, 270, 271 Aeneas, 298, 299 Aeschylus, 156, 157 Agathon, 78, 79, 292, 293 Agrippa, Cornelius, 352n14 Alkaios, 182, 183. See also Sappho Aminta (Tasso), 29 Andreini, Francesco, 2, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 30, 31, 40, 46 author of Fragmenti’s preface and dedication, 30, 46 as editor/publisher of late wife’s works, 2, 12–13 See also Capitano Spavento Andreini, Giovan Battista, 8, 36 Andreini, Isabella birth in Padua, 7 career as prodigy and Gelosi diva cross-border travels, 10–11, 30 marketing of skills and virtues, 1, 4, 32 membership in Accademia degli Intenti, 1, 9 death in Lyon and church burial, 2, 11 education, probably among courtesans, 7–8 family background, 7–8 marriage to co-actor Francesco Andreini, 1 patrons and literary admirers in France, 2, 6, 9–12, 30 in Italy, 9–10, 12

posthumous fame and multiple editions, 11–12, 34–35, 38– 40. See also Scala, Flaminio; Vega, Lope de publications Fragmenti, 2–4, 34–40 Lettere, 2, 5, 6, 34–36, 38–40 co-published with Fragmenti, 34–36 La Mirtilla, 1, 5 Rime, 1 special skills and star scenes cross-dressing and playing male parts, 1, 5, 29 madness and mad scenes, 29, 30, 372n168 (see also Medici Wedding of 1589; pazzia) multi-generic playing, 5, 7 music and singing, 2, 8, 37 tragic and tragicomic playing, 21, 30 See also Fabrizio; Filli Andreini, Virginia Ramponi, 8n19, 20, 36, 364n101 Apollo, 110, 111, 284, 285 Apuleius, 150, 151, 324, 325 Arianna, 464n101 Ariosto, Ludovico, 5, 6, 29, 33, 154, 155, 158, 159, 185, 186 Aristophanes, 136, 137 Aristotle, 13, 24, 31, 33, 136, 137, 154, 155, 324, 325 393

394 Index Phyllis the courtesan, 33 Poetics, 31, 33, 136, 137

Assarino, Luca, 36 attacks on and defenses of actresses, 2, 9, 10, 41 Aurora, 272, 273, 324, 325 Balia, 17 bawdy jests and insults in contrasti, 24–26, 149, 151, 217–20, 253 Beaulieu, Marie de, 2, 10. See also attacks on and defenses of actresses Bembo, Pietro, 14, 21n54, 365n115 Boccaccio, Giovanni, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22 Bousanquet, Henri, 34 Bray, Bernard, 34 Brown, Pamela Allen, 11 Bruni, Domenico, 14, 22 Calderari, Giovan Battista, 136, 137 Campbell, Julie D., 5, 11, 37 Campeggi, Ridolfo, 9 Capitano (stage type), 2, 4, 13, 23, 26, 29, 104–15 Capitano Spavento (Francesco Andreini), 31, 36n94, 46 Capponi, Filippo (dedicatee), 48, 49 Caro, Annibale, 324, 325 Castelvetro, Jacopo, 9, 324, 325 Chiabrera, Gabriello, 9 Circe, 274, 275 Cleopatra, 20, 21, 340–49 Clubb, Louise George, 8, 38 Coller, Alexandra, 8 Colonna, Vittoria, 6 commedia dell’arte, 5, 7, 10, 17. See also Balia; Capitano; Dottore,

Graziano; Francischina; improvisation; Pantalone; Ricciolina; scenarios for improvisation; Zanni commedia grave, 5, 32 contrasti scenici (debates for the stage), 4, 13–17, 17–20, 38, 51 typical structure, 21–22 theatrical-performative elements, 26, 27, 29, 33, 38, 42, 151, 231, 324, 347 Corinna, 104–15, 286, 287 cortigiana onesta, 6, 8, 20. See also d’Aragona, Tullia; Franco, Veronica Costa, Margherita, 27, 42 Counter-Reformation politics and doctrine, 2, 8, 25 Cox, Virginia, 37 cross-dressing and male impersonation, 1, 5, 29 cross-ethnic and racial impersonation, 5 Dante, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 78, 79 d’Aragona, Tullia, 6, 27. See also Tullia De claris mulieribus (Boccaccio), 20 Decameron (Boccaccio), 22 Deianira, 20, 28, 308–17 Dido, 28, 298, 299 Diotima, 20, 24, 32, 55–63, 116–25 Doglio, Maria Luisa, 5 Dottore Graziano, 30 dreams, 54, 55, 120, 121, 256, 257 Este, Alfonso II d’ (duke of Ferrara), 15

Index 395

Este, Isabella d’ (marchioness of Mantua), 6 Fabrizio (Isabella in male disguise), 29 fame, 5, 11, 17, 32, 33, 36, 37, 40, 56, 57, 180, 181 Fedra, 30–31, 318–27 Fiammetta (The Elegy of Lady Fiammetta, Boccaccio), 14–15 Filli (Isabella’s pastoral persona), 20 Finucci, Valeria, 5 Francischina, 30 Franco, Veronica, 6, 7, 20, 28, 144–51 freedom and liberty (libertà), 66, 67, 88, 89, 120, 121, 138, 139, 202, 203, 236, 237, 284, 285, 296, 297, 310, 311 friends and friendship (amici e amicizia), 10, 64, 65, 80, 81, 200–203, 212, 213, 256, 257, 324, 325, 332–35, 342–45 genii (guiding spirits), 68–71 genres (comedy, tragedy, heroic poem), compared in debate, 31–33 Gl’ingannati (The Deceived, Intronati), 13 gods and goddesses. See Apollo; Jove; Minerva; Saturn; Thetis; Venus Gonzaga, Vincenzo (duke of Mantua), 10, 12 Grenaille, François de, 35 Guardenti, Renzo, 39

Henri III (king of France), 28 Henri IV (king of France), 2 Hercules, 20, 74, 75 Homer, 33, 158, 159 honor and honors, 2, 6, 11, 16, 33, 41, 54, 55, 62, 63, 74, 75, 88–91, 110–15 passim, 136, 137, 140, 141, 204, 205, 214–19 passim, 254, 255, 258, 259, 276, 277, 292–95, 310, 311, 314, 315, 346, 347 idols and idolatry, 2–3, 21n54, 328–39. See also CounterReformation politics and doctrine Il califfo d’Egitto (The Caliph of Egypt), 30 Il Cortegiano (Castiglione), 14 Il Filocolo (Boccaccio), 14, 15 Il Ritratto (The Portrait), 32 Il Teatro delle Favole Rappresentative (The Theater of Tales for Performance), 12, 28, 32. See also Scala, Flaminio; scenarios for improvisation improvisation, 17, 24 innamorata and innamorato. See roles of lovers in the debates Jove, 302, 303, 330–39 passim Julius Caesar, 294, 295, 324, 325 Kerr, Rosalind, 8, 37 La forsennata principessa (The Demented Princess), 30

396 Index

La Première atteinte contre ceux qui accusent les comédies (The First Counter-attack against Those Who Put Blame on Plays, Beaulieu), 10 laments (lamenti), 29, 299–302 Lettere (Isabella Andreini), 2, 5, 6, 34–36, 38–40 published with Fragmenti, 34–36 Li buffoni (The Buffoons). See Costa, Margherita Lorraine, Christine de (grand duchess of Tuscany), 10, 30. See also Medici Wedding of 1589 Lucretius, 286, 287 madness and mad scenes. See pazzia magic and witchcraft, 7, 28, 29, 146–51. See also Franco, Veronica Marfisa, 310, 311, 374n178 Marino, Giovan Battista, 9, 30 marriage, dowries, in-laws, 21, 25, 130, 131, 168, 169, 173–75, 348, 349, 363n100 power of husbands and status of wives, 25, 39, 358n63, 362n95 Medici, Catherine de’ (queen of France), 10 Medici, Cosimo I de’ (grand duke of Tuscany), 353n25, 361n86 Medici, Eleonora de’, 6, 8, 10 Medici, family name, 9, 10, 27, 90, 91, 350, 353n25, 354n25 Medici, Ferdinando I de’ (grand duke of Tuscany), 10, 30 Medici, Giovanni de’, 350n1

Medici, Marie de’ (queen of France), 2, 6, 10 Medici, Piero de’, 353n25 Medici Wedding of 1589, 10, 30, 31, 372n168. See also pazzia medicine and doctors, 14, 82–93, 146, 147, 203–6, 284, 285 memory (memoria) and renown, 4, 6, 12, 27, 40, 46, 47, 58, 59, 72, 73, 290, 291, 338, 339 metatheatricality, 31–33, 134–43, 152–59 Minerva, 35, 110, 111 Muhammad, 302, 303 music and singing, 2, 10, 30, 364n101 “Names of All the Characters,” 52, 53. See also roles of lovers in the debates naming strategies of actresses and courtesans, 17–20 Navarre, Marguerite de, 22 Neoplatonism, 2, 24, 29, 40 exchanging souls, 126–33 topos of “death in love,” 57, 67, 95, 99, 101, 119, 121, 123, 145, 201, 203, 257, 259, 277, 299, 309, 319, 321, 339, 341–43 Nicholson, Eric, 11 Orestes, 29, 301 Orlando Furioso (Ariosto), 6, 29, 30, 33, 158, 159, 322, 323 Orpheus, 180, 181 Ottonelli, Domenico, 41. See also attacks on and defenses of actresses

Index 397

Ovid, 34, 284–87 Pantalone, 17 pastorals, 1, 20, 29. See also Andreini, Isabella: publications (La mirtilla); Tasso, Torquato patrons in Italy and France, 2, 6, 10, 12 Pavoni, Giuseppe, 30n78. See also Medici Wedding of 1589 pazzia (madness), 29–31, 94–103, 324–26 La Pazzia (star performance), 30 La pazzia d’Isabella (scenario), 30 See also Medici Wedding of 1589 Perocco, Daria, 12 Petrarch, Petrarchism, 22, 24, 25, 36, 42, 130, 131, 256, 257, 294, 295 philosophy and philosophers. See Aristotle; Diotima; Plato; Protagoras; Pythagoras; Socrates; sophists, sophistry Piccolomini, Alessandro, 25, 38, 136, 137 Piissimi, Vittoria, 32 Pino da Cagli, Bernardino, 136, 137 Plato, 13, 15, 21, 23, 88, 89, 102, 103, 110, 111, 144, 145, 164, 165. See also Diotima; Socrates Plautus, 136, 137 praises (lodi), 2, 10, 35, 56, 57, 106, 107, 174, 175, 192, 193, 234, 235, 236, 237, 256, 257, 266, 267, 300, 301, 320, 321, 338, 339

Protagoras, 60, 61 Puteanus, Erycius, 9 Pythagoras, 110, 111 questioni d’amore, 14–16. See also Bembo, Pietro; Boccaccio, Giovanni; contrasti scenici; Renaissance dialogue Ramponi, Virginia. See Andreini, Virginia Ramponi Ray, Meredith K., 12, 38 Renaissance dialogue, 13–14 Ricciolina, 14 Rodomonte, 106, 107 roles of lovers in the debates, 18–19 Note: innamorata roles listed first Diotima and Attilio, 54–63 (debate 1) Amasia and Tacito, 64–73 (debate 2) Istrina and Furio, 74–81 (debate 3) Erinna and Arturo, 82–93 (debate 4) Eudosia and Manlio, 94–103 (debate 5) Corinna and Allessandro, 104–15 (debate 6) Diotima and Amilcare, 116–25 (debate 7) Nicostrata and Curio, 126–33 (debate 8) Ersilia and Diomede, 134–43 (debate 9) Artemisia and Pompeo, 144–51 (debate 10) Sappho and Eurialo, 152–59 (debate 11)

398 Index

Lesbia and Eurimaco, 160–67 (debate 12) Hippodamia and Tarquinio, 168–75 (debate 13) Arianna and Leocrito, 176–83 (debate 14) Helena and Telamone, 184–89 (debate 15) Prasilla and Lissandro, 190–99 (debate 16) Criseida and Tiberio, 200–211 (debate 17) Tullia and Celio, 212–21 (debate 18) Genevra and Aurelio, 222–33 (debate 19) Mutia and Pirro, 234–43 (debate 20) Talesia and Dario, 244–53 (debate 21) Targelia and Claudio, 254–61 (debate 22) Aspasia and Flessippo, 262–71 (debate 23) Teossena and Eiodoro, 272–79 (debate 24) Marcella and Troilo, 280–89 (debate 25) Costanza and Mario, 290–97 (debate 26) Eudosia and Evandro, 298–307 (debate 27) Deianira and Livio, 308–17 (debate 28) Fedra and Valerio, 318–27 (debate 29) Martesia and Aristomene, 328–39 (debate 30)

Cleopatra and Palamede, 340–49 (debate 31) See also Cleopatra; Corinna; Deianira; Diotima; naming strategies of actresses and courtesans; Sappho; Tullia Romei; Annibale, 15 Ross, Sarah Gwyneth, 7, 37 Sampson, Lisa, 9 Sappho, 32, 152–59, 362n88, 364n106 satire, 6, 27, 353n25 Saturn 314, 315 Scala, Flaminio, 22, 28, 34. Scaliger, Julius Caesar, 136, 137 scenarios for improvisation, 12, 22, 30, 32, 39 Scipio Africanus, 256, 257 Shakespeare, William, 11, 13 Socrates, 126, 127, 148, 149 sophists, sophistry, 60, 61, 146, 147, 291, 292 Sophocles, 33, 156, 157 Stampa, Gaspara, 20–21 star scenes. See Andreini, Isabella; cross-dressing and male impersonation; improvisation; pazzia; tragedy Tasso, Torquato, 5, 9, 14, 29, 35, 154, 155, 158, 159. See also Aminta Terence, 136, 137 Thetis, 268, 269 Tiresias, 128, 129 Tithonus, 272–75 tragedy, 5, 29, 32–33, 38, 152–59, 300, 301

Index 399

Trissino, Gian Giorgio, 136, 137 Tullia, 212–21. See also d’Aragona, Tullia Valois, Marguerite de, 10 Vega, Lope de, 36 Venus, 35, 128, 129, 180, 181, 296, 297 Vestal Virgins, 304, 305, 310, 311 Virgil, 33, 158, 159 warfare and weapons, love as combat, 26, 29, 108–13 passim, 116, 117, 236, 237, 251, 252, 302–5, 310–15 passim, 338, 339 Zanni, 17 zibaldone (actor’s notebook), 16, 38

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series

SENIOR EDITOR SERIES EDITORS Jaime

Margaret L. King

Goodrich, Elizabeth H. Hageman

Series Titles Madre María Rosa Journey of Five Capuchin Nuns Edited and translated by Sarah E. Owens Volume 1, 2009 Giovan Battista Andreini Love in the Mirror: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Jon R. Snyder Volume 2, 2009 Raymond de Sabanac and Simone Zanacchi Two Women of the Great Schism: The Revelations of Constance de Rabastens by Raymond de Sabanac and Life of the Blessed Ursulina of Parma by Simone Zanacchi Edited and translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Bruce L. Venarde Volume 3, 2010 Oliva Sabuco de Nantes Barrera The True Medicine Edited and translated by Gianna Pomata Volume 4, 2010 Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Sainctonge Dramatizing Dido, Circe, and Griselda Edited and translated by Janet Levarie Smarr Volume 5, 2010

Pernette du Guillet Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition Edited with introduction and notes by Karen Simroth James Poems translated by Marta Rijn Finch Volume 6, 2010 Antonia Pulci Saints’ Lives and Bible Stories for the Stage: A Bilingual Edition Edited by Elissa B. Weaver Translated by James Wyatt Cook Volume 7, 2010 Valeria Miani Celinda, A Tragedy: A Bilingual Edition Edited with an introduction by Valeria Finucci Translated by Julia Kisacky Annotated by Valeria Finucci and Julia Kisacky Volume 8, 2010 Enchanted Eloquence: Fairy Tales by Seventeenth-Century French Women Writers Edited and translated by Lewis C. Seifert and Domna C. Stanton Volume 9, 2010

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Sophie, Electress of Hanover and Queen Sophie Charlotte of Prussia Leibniz and the Two Sophies: The Philosophical Correspondence Edited and translated by Lloyd Strickland Volume 10, 2011 In Dialogue with the Other Voice in Sixteenth-Century Italy: Literary and Social Contexts for Women’s Writing Edited by Julie D. Campbell and Maria Galli Stampino Volume 11, 2011 Sister Giustina Niccolini The Chronicle of Le Murate Edited and translated by Saundra Weddle Volume 12, 2011 Liubov Krichevskaya No Good without Reward: Selected Writings: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Brian James Baer Volume 13, 2011 Elizabeth Cooke Hoby Russell The Writings of an English Sappho Edited by Patricia Phillippy With translations from Greek and Latin by Jaime Goodrich Volume 14, 2011 Lucrezia Marinella Exhortations to Women and to Others If They Please Edited and translated by Laura Benedetti Volume 15, 2012 Margherita Datini Letters to Francesco Datini Translated by Carolyn James and Antonio Pagliaro Volume 16, 2012

Delarivier Manley and Mary Pix English Women Staging Islam, 1696–1707 Edited and introduced by Bernadette Andrea Volume 17, 2012 Cecilia del Nacimiento Journeys of a Mystic Soul in Poetry and Prose Introduction and prose translations by Kevin Donnelly Poetry translations by Sandra Sider Volume 18, 2012 Lady Margaret Douglas and Others The Devonshire Manuscript: A Women’s Book of Courtly Poetry Edited and introduced by Elizabeth Heale Volume 19, 2012 Arcangela Tarabotti Letters Familiar and Formal Edited and translated by Meredith K. Ray and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 20, 2012 Pere Torrellas and Juan de Flores Three Spanish Querelle Texts: Grisel and Mirabella, The Slander against Women, and The Defense of Ladies against Slanderers: A Bilingual Edition and Study Edited and translated by Emily C. Francomano Volume 21, 2013 Barbara Torelli Benedetti Partenia, a Pastoral Play: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Lisa Sampson and Barbara Burgess-Van Aken Volume 22, 2013

François Rousset, Jean Liebault, Jacques Guillemeau, Jacques Duval and Louis de Serres Pregnancy and Birth in Early Modern France: Treatises by Caring Physicians and Surgeons (1581–1625) Edited and translated by Valerie WorthStylianou Volume 23, 2013 Mary Astell The Christian Religion, as Professed by a Daughter of the Church of England Edited by Jacqueline Broad Volume 24, 2013 Sophia of Hanover Memoirs (1630–1680) Edited and translated by Sean Ward Volume 25, 2013 Katherine Austen Book M: A London Widow’s Life Writings Edited by Pamela S. Hammons Volume 26, 2013 Anne Killigrew “My Rare Wit Killing Sin”: Poems of a Restoration Courtier Edited by Margaret J. M. Ezell Volume 27, 2013 Tullia d’Aragona and Others The Poems and Letters of Tullia d’Aragona and Others: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Julia L. Hairston Volume 28, 2014 Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza The Life and Writings of Luisa de Carvajal y Mendoza Edited and translated by Anne J. Cruz Volume 29, 2014

Russian Women Poets of the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Amanda Ewington Volume 30, 2014 Jacques Du Bosc L’Honnête Femme: The Respectable Woman in Society and the New Collection of Letters and Responses by Contemporary Women Edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell and Aurora Wolfgang Volume 31, 2014 Lady Hester Pulter Poems, Emblems, and The Unfortunate Florinda Edited by Alice Eardley Volume 32, 2014 Jeanne Flore Tales and Trials of Love, Concerning Venus’s Punishment of Those Who Scorn True Love and Denounce Cupid’s Sovereignity: A Bilingual Edition and Study Edited and translated by Kelly Digby Peebles Poems translated by Marta Rijn Finch Volume 33, 2014 Veronica Gambara Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition Critical introduction by Molly M. Martin Edited and translated by Molly M. Martin and Paola Ugolini Volume 34, 2014 Catherine de Médicis and Others Portraits of the Queen Mother: Polemics, Panegyrics, Letters Translation and study by Leah L. Chang and Katherine Kong Volume 35, 2014

Françoise Pascal, MarieCatherine Desjardins, Antoinette Deshoulières, and Catherine Durand Challenges to Traditional Authority: Plays by French Women Authors, 1650–1700 Edited and translated by Perry Gethner Volume 36, 2015 Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa Selected Drama and Verse Edited by Patrick John Corness and Barbara Judkowiak Translated by Patrick John Corness Translation Editor Aldona Zwierzyńska-Coldicott Introduction by Barbara Judkowiak Volume 37, 2015 Diodata Malvasia Writings on the Sisters of San Luca and Their Miraculous Madonna Edited and translated by Danielle Callegari and Shannon McHugh Volume 38, 2015 Margaret Van Noort Spiritual Writings of Sister Margaret of the Mother of God (1635–1643) Edited by Cordula van Wyhe Translated by Susan M. Smith Volume 39, 2015 Giovan Francesco Straparola The Pleasant Nights Edited and translated by Suzanne Magnanini Volume 40, 2015 Angélique de Saint-Jean Arnauld d’Andilly Writings of Resistance Edited and translated by John J. Conley, S.J. Volume 41, 2015

Francesco Barbaro The Wealth of Wives: A Fifteenth-Century Marriage Manual Edited and translated by Margaret L. King Volume 42, 2015 Jeanne d’Albret Letters from the Queen of Navarre with an Ample Declaration Edited and translated by Kathleen M. Llewellyn, Emily E. Thompson, and Colette H. Winn Volume 43, 2016 Bathsua Makin and Mary More with a reply to More by Robert Whitehall Educating English Daughters: Late Seventeenth-Century Debates Edited by Frances Teague and Margaret J. M. Ezell Associate Editor Jessica Walker Volume 44, 2016 Anna StanisŁawska Orphan Girl: A Transaction, or an Account of the Entire Life of an Orphan Girl by way of Plaintful Threnodies in the Year 1685: The Aesop Episode Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane Volume 45, 2016 Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi Letters to Her Sons, 1447–1470 Edited and translated by Judith Bryce Volume 46, 2016 Mother Juana de la Cruz Mother Juana de la Cruz, 1481–1534: Visionary Sermons Edited by Jessica A. Boon and Ronald E. Surtz Introductory material and notes by Jessica A. Boon Translated by Ronald E. Surtz and Nora Weinerth Volume 47, 2016

Claudine-Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin Memoirs of the Count of Comminge and The Misfortunes of Love Edited and translated by Jonathan Walsh Foreword by Michel Delon Volume 48, 2016 Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán, Ana Caro Mallén, and Sor Marcela de San Félix Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain Edited by Nieves Romero-Díaz and Lisa Vollendorf Translated and annotated by Harley Erdman Volume 49, 2016 Anna Trapnel Anna Trapnel’s Report and Plea; or, A Narrative of Her Journey from London into Cornwall Edited by Hilary Hinds Volume 50, 2016 María Vela y Cueto Autobiography and Letters of a Spanish Nun Edited by Susan Diane Laningham Translated by Jane Tar Volume 51, 2016 Christine de Pizan The Book of the Mutability of Fortune Edited and translated by Geri L. Smith Volume 52, 2017 Marguerite d’Auge, Renée Burlamacchi, and Jeanne du Laurens Sin and Salvation in Early Modern France: Three Women’s Stories Edited, and with an introduction by Colette H. Winn Translated by Nicholas Van Handel and Colette H. Winn Volume 53, 2017

Isabella d’Este Selected Letters Edited and translated by Deanna Shemek Volume 54, 2017 Ippolita Maria Sforza Duchess and Hostage in Renaissance Naples: Letters and Orations Edited and translated by Diana Robin and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 55, 2017 Louise Bourgeois Midwife to the Queen of France: Diverse Observations Translated by Stephanie O’Hara Edited by Alison Klairmont Lingo Volume 56, 2017 Christine de Pizan Othea’s Letter to Hector Edited and translated by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski and Earl Jeffrey Richards Volume 57, 2017 Marie-Geneviève-Charlotte Thiroux d’Arconville Selected Philosophical, Scientific, and Autobiographical Writings Edited and translated by Julie Candler Hayes Volume 58, 2018 Lady Mary Wroth Pamphilia to Amphilanthus in Manuscript and Print Edited by Ilona Bell Texts by Steven W. May and Ilona Bell Volume 59, 2017 Witness, Warning, and Prophecy: Quaker Women’s Writing, 1655–1700 Edited by Teresa Feroli and Margaret Olofson Thickstun Volume 60, 2018

Symphorien Champier The Ship of Virtuous Ladies Edited and translated by Todd W. Reeser Volume 61, 2018 Isabella Andreini Mirtilla, A Pastoral: A Bilingual Edition Edited by Valeria Finucci Translated by Julia Kisacky Volume 62, 2018 Margherita Costa The Buffoons, A Ridiculous Comedy: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Sara E. Díaz and Jessica Goethals Volume 63, 2018 Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle Poems and Fancies with The Animal Parliament Edited by Brandie R. Siegfried Volume 64, 2018 Margaret Fell Women’s Speaking Justified and Other Pamphlets Edited by Jane Donawerth and Rebecca M. Lush Volume 65, 2018 Mary Wroth, Jane Cavendish, and Elizabeth Brackley Women’s Household Drama: Loves Victorie, A Pastorall, and The concealed Fansyes Edited by Marta Straznicky and Sara Mueller Volume 66, 2018 Eleonora Fonseca Pimentel From Arcadia to Revolution: The Neapolitan Monitor and Other Writings Edited and translated by Verina R. Jones Volume 67, 2019

Charlotte Arbaleste DuplessisMornay, Anne de Chaufepié, and Anne Marguerite Petit Du Noyer The Huguenot Experience of Persecution and Exile: Three Women’s Stories Edited by Colette H. Winn Translated by Lauren King and Colette H. Winn Volume 68, 2019 Anne Bradstreet Poems and Meditations Edited by Margaret Olofson Thickstun Volume 69, 2019 Arcangela Tarabotti Antisatire: In Defense of Women, against Francesco Buoninsegni Edited and translated by Elissa B. Weaver Volume 70, 2020 Mary Franklin and Hannah Burton She Being Dead Yet Speaketh: The Franklin Family Papers Edited by Vera J. Camden Volume 71, 2020 Lucrezia Marinella Love Enamored and Driven Mad Edited and translated by Janet E. Gomez and Maria Galli Stampino Volume 72, 2020 Arcangela Tarabotti Convent Paradise Edited and translated by Meredith K. Ray and Lynn Lara Westwater Volume 73, 2020 Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve Beauty and the Beast: The Original Story Edited and translated by Aurora Wolfgang Volume 74, 2020

Flaminio Scala The Fake Husband, A Comedy Edited and translated by Rosalind Kerr Volume 75, 2020 Anne Vaughan Lock Selected Poetry, Prose, and Translations, with Contextual Materials Edited by Susan M. Felch Volume 76, 2021 Camilla Erculiani Letters on Natural Philosophy: The Scientific Correspondence of a SixteenthCentury Pharmacist, with Related Texts Edited by Eleonora Carinci Translated by Hannah Marcus Foreword by Paula Findlen Volume 77, 2021 Regina Salomea Pilsztynowa My Life’s Travels and Adventures: An Eighteenth-Century Oculist in the Ottoman Empire and the European Hinterland Edited and translated by Władysław Roczniak Volume 78, 2021 Christine de Pizan The God of Love’s Letter and The Tale of the Rose: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Thelma S. Fenster and Christine Reno With Jean Gerson, “A Poem on Man and Woman.” Translated from the Latin by Thomas O’Donnell Foreword by Jocelyn Wogan-Browne Volume 79, 2021

Marie Gigault de Bellefonds, Marquise de Villars Letters from Spain: A Seventeenth-Century French Noblewoman at the Spanish Royal Court Edited and translated by Nathalie Hester Volume 80, 2021 Anna Maria van Schurman Letters and Poems to and from Her Mentor and Other Members of Her Circle Edited and translated by Anne R. Larsen and Steve Maiullo Volume 81, 2021 Vittoria Colonna Poems of Widowhood: A Bilingual Edition of the 1538 Rime Translation and introduction by Ramie Targoff Edited by Ramie Targoff and Troy Tower Volume 82, 2021 Valeria Miani Amorous Hope, A Pastoral Play: A Bilingual Edition Edited and translated by Alexandra Coller Volume 83, 2020 Madeleine de Scudéry Lucrece and Brutus: Glory in the Land of Tender Edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell Volume 84, 2021 Anna StanisŁawska One Body with Two Souls Entwined: An Epic Tale of Married Love in Seventeenth-Century Poland Orphan Girl: The Oleśnicki Episode Verse translation, introduction, and commentary by Barry Keane Volume 85, 2021

Christine de Pizan Book of the Body Politic Edited and translated by Angus J. Kennedy Volume 86, 2021 Anne, Lady Halkett A True Account of My Life and Selected Meditations Edited by Suzanne Trill Volume 87, 2022 Vittoria Colonna Selected Letters, 1523–1546: A Bilingual Edition Edited and annotated by Veronica Copello Translated by Abigail Brundin Introduction by Abigail Brundin and Veronica Copello Volume 88, 2022 Michele Savonarola A Mother’s Manual for the Women of Ferrara: A Fifteenth-Century Guide to Pregnancy and Pediatrics Edited, with introduction and notes, by Gabriella Zuccolin Translated by Martin Marafioti Volume 89, 2022 Maria Salviati de’ Medici Selected Letters, 1514–1543 Edited and translated by Natalie R. Tomas Volume 90, 2022