Bot-S: Vol 31: The Classics

I then, thinking it would suit my purpose,
took it and hid it in my straw mattress. The time had now come
for me to use it; so I began to try the nails which kept the hinges
of my door in place. 1 The door was double, and the clinching of the
nails could not be seen; so that when I attempted to draw one out,
I met with the greatest trouble; in the end, however, I succeeded.
When I had drawn the first nail, I bethought me how to prevent
its being noticed. For this purpose I mixed some rust, which I had
scraped from old iron, with a little wax, obtaining exactly the same
colour as the heads of the long nails which I had extracted. Then
I set myself to counterfeit these heads and place them on the hold-
fasts; for each nail I extracted I made a counterfeit in wax. I left
the hinges attached to their door-posts at top and bottom by means
of some of the same nails that I had drawn; but I took care to cut
these and replace them lightly, so that they only just supported
the irons of the hinges.

All this I performed with the greatest difficulty, because the
castellan kept dreaming every night that I had escaped, which made
him send from time to time to inspect my prison. The man who
came had the title and behaviour of a catch-poll. He was called
Bozza, and used always to bring with him another of the same sort,
named Giovanni and nicknamed Pedignone; the latter was a soldier,
and Bozza a serving-man. Giovanni never entered my prison with-
out saying something offensive to me. He came from the district of
Prato, and had been an apothecary in the town there. Every evening
he minutely examined the holdfasts of the hinges and the whole
chamber, and I used to say: "Keep a good watch over me, for I am
resolved by all means to escape." These words bred a great enmity
between him and me, so that I was obliged to use precautions to
conceal my tools, that is to say, my pincers and a great big poniard
and other appurtenances. All these I put away together in my
mattress, where I also kept the strips of linen I had made. When day

1 The door seems to have been hung upon hinges with plates nailed into the posts.
Cellini calls these plates bandelle.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

broke, I used immediately to sweep my room out; and though I am
by nature a lover of cleanliness, at that time I kept myself unusually
spick and span. After sweeping up, I made my bed as daintily as I
could, laying flowers upon it, which a Savoyard used to bring me
nearly every morning. He had the care of the cistern and the casks,
and also amused himself with carpentering; it was from him I
stole the pincers which I used in order to draw out the nails from
the holdfasts of the hinges.

cix

Well, to return to the subject of my bed; when Bozza and Pedi-
gnone came, I always told them to give it a wide berth, so as not to
dirty and spoil it for me. Now and then, just to irritate me, they
would touch it lightly, upon which I cried: "Ah, dirty cowards! I'll
lay my hand on one of your swords there, and will do you a mischief
that will make you wonder. Do you think you are fit to touch the
bed of a man like me ? When I chastise you I shall not heed my own
life, for I am certain to take yours. Let me alone then with my
troubles and my tribulations, and don't give me more annoyance
than I have already; if not, I shall make you see what a desperate
man is able to do." These words they reported to the castellan, who
gave them express orders never to go near my bed, and when they
came to me, to come without swords, but for the rest to keep a
watchful guard upon me.

Having thus secured my bed from meddlers, I felt as though the
main point was gained; for there lay all things needful to my venture.
It happened on the evening of a certain feast-day that the castellan
was seriously indisposed; his humours grew extravagant; he kept
repeating that he was a bat, and if they heard that Benvenuto had
flown away, they must let him go to catch me up, since he could fly
by night most certainly as well or better than myself; for it was
thus he argued: "Benvenuto is a counterfeit bat, but I am a real one;
and since he is committed to my care, leave me to act; I shall be
sure to catch him." He had passed several nights in this frenzy,
and had worn out all his servants, whereof I received full informa-
tion through divers channels, but especially from the Savoyard, who
was my friend at heart.

2l8 BENVENUTO CELLINI

On the evening of that feast-day, then, I made my mind up to
escape, come what might; and first I prayed most devoutly to God,
imploring His Divine Majesty to protect and succour me in that so
perilous a venture. Afterwards I set to work at all the things I
needed, and laboured the whole of the night. It was two hours
before daybreak when at last I removed those hinges with the
greatest toil; but the wooden panel itself and the bolt too offered
such resistance that I could not open the door; so I had to cut into
the wood; yet in the end I got it open, and shouldering the strips of
linen which I had rolled up like bundles of flax upon two sticks, I
went forth and directed my steps towards the latrines of the keep.
Spying from within two tiles upon the roof, I was able at once to
clamber up with ease. I wore a white doublet with a pair of white
hose and a pair of half boots, into which I had stuck the poniard I
have mentioned.

After scaling the roof, I took one end of my linen roll and attached
it to a piece of antique tile which was built into the fortress wall; it
happened to jut out scarcely four fingers. In order to fix the band,
I gave it the form of a stirrup. When I had attached it to that piece
of tile, I turned to God and said: "Lord God, give aid to my good
cause; you know that it is good; you see that I am aiding myself."
Then I let myself go gently by degrees, supporting myself with the
sinews of my arms, until I touched the ground. There was no
moonshine, but the light of a fair open heaven. When I stood upon
my feet on solid earth, I looked up at the vast height which I had
descended with such spirit, and went gladly away, thinking I was
free. But this was not the case; for the castellan on that side of the
fortress had built two lofty walls, the space between which he used
for stable and henyard; the place was barred with thick iron bolts
outside. I was terribly disgusted to find there was no exit from this
trap; but while I paced up and down debating what to do, I
stumbled on a long pole which was covered up with straw. Not
without great trouble I succeeded in placing it against the wall, and
then swarmed up it by the force of my arms until I reached the top.
But since the wall ended in a sharp ridge, I had not strength enough
to drag the pole up after me. Accordingly I made my mind up to

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 219

use a portion of the second roll of linen which I had there; the other
was left hanging from the keep of the castle. So I cut a piece off,
tied it to the pole, and clambered down the wall, enduring the
utmost toil and fatigue. I was quite exhausted, and had, moreover,
flayed the inside of my hands, which bled freely. This compelled me
to rest awhile, and I bathed my hands in my own urine. When I
thought that my strength was recovered, I advanced quickly toward
the last rampart, which faces toward Prati. There I put my bundle
of linen lines down upon the ground, meaning to fasten them
round a battlement, and descend the lesser as I had the greater height.
But no sooner had I placed the linen, than I became aware behind
me of a sentinel, who was going the rounds. Seeing my designs
interrupted and my life in peril, I resolved to face the guard. This
fellow, when he noticed my bold front, and that I was marching
on him with weapon in hand, quickened his pace and gave me a
wide berth. I had left my lines some little way behind; so I turned
with hasty steps to regain them; and though I came within sight of
another sentinel, he seemed as though he did not choose to take
notice of me. Having found my lines and attached them to the
battlement, I let myself go. On the descent, whether it was that I
thought I had really come to earth and relaxed my grasp to jump,
or whether my hands were so tired that they could not keep their
hold, at any rate I fell, struck my head in falling, and lay stunned for
more than an hour and a half, so far as I could judge.

It was just upon daybreak, when the fresh breeze which blows an
hour before the sun revived me; yet I did not immediately recover
my senses, for I thought my head had been cut oft and fancied that
I was in purgatory. With time, little by little, my faculties returned,
and I perceived that I was outside the castle, and in a flash remem-
bered all my adventures. I was aware of the wound in my head
before I knew my leg was broken; for I put my hands up, and
withdrew them covered with blood. Then I searched the spot well,
and judged and ascertained that I had sustained no injury of con-
sequence there; but when I wanted to stand up, I discovered that
my right leg was broken three inches above the heel. Not even this
dismayed me: I drew forth my poniard with its scabbard; the latter

22O . BENVENUTO CELLINI

had a metal point ending in a large ball, which had caused the
fracture of my leg; for the bone, coming into violent contact with
the ball, and not being able to bend, had snapped at that point.
I threw the sheath away, and with the poniard cut a piece of the
linen which I had left. Then I bound my leg up as well as I could,
and crawled on all fours with the poniard in my hand toward the
city gate. When I reached it, I found it shut; but I noticed a stone
just beneath the door which did not appear to be very firmly fixed.
This I attempted to dislodge; after setting my hands to it, and
feeling it move, it easily gave way, and I drew it out. Through
the gap thus made I crept into the town.

I had crawled more than five hundred paces from the place where
I fell, to the gate by which I entered. No sooner had I got inside
than some mastiff dogs set upon me and bit me badly. When they
returned to the attack and worried me, I drew my poniard and
wounded one of them so sharply that he howled aloud, and all the
dogs, according to their nature, ran after him. I meanwhile made the
best way I could on all fours toward the church of the Trespontina.

On arriving at the opening of the street which leads to Sant'
Agnolo, I turned of? in the direction of San Piero; and now the
dawn had risen over me, and I felt myself in danger. When there-
fore I chanced to meet a water-carrier driving his donkey laden with
full buckets, I called the fellow, and begged him to carry me upon
his back to the terrace by the steps of San Piero, adding: "I am an
unfortunate young man, who, while escaping from a window in a
love-adventure, have fallen and broken my leg. The place from
which I made my exit is one of great importance; and if I am dis-
covered, I run risk of being cut to pieces; so for heaven's sake lift me
quickly, and I will give you a crown of gold." Saying this, I clapped
my hand to my purse, where I had a good quantity. He took me
up at once, hitched me on his back, and carried me to the raised
terrace by the steps to San Piero. There I bade him leave me,
saying he must run back to his donkey.

I resumed my march, crawling always on all fours, and making
for the palace of the Duchess, wife of Duke Ottavio and daughter

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 221

of the Emperor. 1 She was his natural child, and had been married
to Duke Alessandro. I chose her house for refuge, because I was
quite certain that many of my friends, who had come with that
great princess from Florence, were tarrying there; also because she
had taken me into favour through something which the castellan
had said in my behalf. Wishing to be of service to me, he told the
Pope that I had saved the city more than a thousand crowns of
damage, caused by heavy rain on the occasion when the Duchess
made her entrance into Rome. He related how he was in despair,
and how I put heart into him, and went on to describe how I had
pointed several large pieces of artillery in the direction where the
clouds were thickest, and whence a deluge of water was already
pouring; then, when I began to fire, the rain stopped, and at the
fourth discharge the sun shone out; and so I was the sole cause of
the festival succeeding, to the joy of everybody. On hearing this
narration the Duchess said : "That Benvenuto is one of the artists of
merit, who enjoyed the goodwill of my late husband, Duke Ales-
sandro, and I shall always hold them in mind if an opportunity
comes of doing such men service." She also talked of me to Duke
Ottavio. For these reasons I meant to go straight to the house of
her Excellency, which was a very fine palace situated in Borgio
Vecchio.

I should have been quite safe from recapture by the Pope if I
could have stayed there; but my exploits up to this point had been
too marvellous for a human being, and God was unwilling to encour-
age my vainglory; accordingly, for my own good, He chastised me a
second time worse even than the first. The cause of this was that
while I was crawling on all fours up those steps, a servant of Cardinal
Cornaro recognised me. His master was then lodging in the palace ;
so the servant ran up to his room and woke him, crying: "Most
reverend Monsignor, your friend Benvenuto is down there; he has
escaped from the castle, and is crawling on all fours, streaming with
blood; to all appearances he has broken a leg, and we don't know
whither he is going." The Cardinal exclaimed at once: "Run and
carry him upon your back into my room here." When I arrived,

1 Margaret of Austria, who married Ottaviano Farnese in November 1538, after
Alessandro's murder.

222 BENVENUTO CELLINI

he told me to be under no apprehension, and sent for the first
physicians of Rome to take my case in hand. Among them was
Maestro Jacomo of Perugia, a most excellent and able surgeon. He
set the bone with dexterity, then bound the limb up, and bled me
with his own hand. It happened that my veins were swollen far
beyond their usual size, and he too wished to make a pretty wide
incision; accordingly the blood sprang forth so copiously, and spurted
with such force into his face, that he had to abandon the operation.
He regarded this as a very bad omen, and could hardly be prevailed
upon to undertake my cure. Indeed, he often expressed a wish to
leave me, remembering that he ran no little risk of punishment for
having treated my case, or rather for having proceeded to the end
with it. The Cardinal had me placed in a secret chamber, and went
off immediately to beg me from the Pope.

CXI

During this while all Rome was in an uproar; for they had
observed the bands of linen fastened to the great keep of the castle,
and folk were running in crowds to behold so extraordinary a thing.
The castellan had gone of? into one of his worst fits of frenzy; in
spite of all his servants, he insisted upon taking his flight also from
the tower, saying that no one could recapture me except himself if he
were to fly after me. Messer Ruberto Pucci, the father of Messer
Pandolfo, 1 having heard of the great event, went in person to inspect
the place; afterwards he came to the palace, where he met with
Cardinal Cornaro, who told him exactly what had happened, and
how I was lodged in one of his own chambers, and already in the
doctor's hands. These two worthy men went together, and threw
themselves upon their knees before the Pope; but he, before they
could get a word out, cried aloud: "I know all that you want of
me." Messer Ruberto Pucci then began: "Most blessed Father, we
beg you for Heaven's grace to give us up that unfortunate man;
surely his great talents entitle him to exceptional treatment; more-
over, he has displayed such audacity, blent with so much ingenuity,
that his exploit might seem superhuman. We know not for what
crimes your Holiness has kept him so long in prison; however, if

1 See above, p. 114.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 223

those crimes are too exorbitant, your Holiness is wise and holy, and
may your will be done unquestioned; still, if they are such as can
be condoned, we entreat you to pardon him for our sake." The
Pope, when he heard this, felt shame, and answered: "I have kept
him in prison at the request of some of my people, since he is a little
too violent in his behaviour; but recognising his talents, and wishing
to keep him near our person, we had intended to treat him so well
that he should have no reason to return to France. I am very sorry
to hear of his bad accident; tell him to mind his health, and when
he is recovered, we will make it up to him for all his troubles."

Those two excellent men returned and told me the good news
they were bringing from the Pope. Meanwhile the nobility of
Rome, young, old, and all sorts, came to visit me. The castellan, out
of his mind as he was, had himself carried to the Pope; and when
he was in the presence of his Holiness, began to cry out, and to say
that if he did not send me back to prison, he would do him a great
wrong. "He escaped under parole which he gave me; woe is me that
he has flown away when he promised not to fly!" The Pope said,
laughing: "Go, go; for I will give him back to you without fail."
The castellan then added, speaking to the Pope: "Send the Gover-
nor to him to find out who helped him to escape; for if it is one of
my men, I will hang him from the battlement whence Benvenuto
leaped." On his departure the Pope called the Governor, and said,
smiling: "That is a brave fellow, and his exploit is something mar-
vellous; all the same, when I was a young man, I also descended from
the fortress at that very spot." In so saying the Pope spoke the
truth: for he had been imprisoned in the castle for forging a brief
at the time when he was abbreviator di Parco Majoris 2 Pope
Alexander kept him confined for some length of time; and after-
wards, his offence being of too ugly a nature, had resolved on cutting
of! his head. He postponed the execution, however, till after Corpus
Domini; and Farnese, getting wind of the Pope's will, summoned
Pietro Chiavelluzzi with a lot of horses, and managed to corrupt
some of the castle guards with money. Accordingly, upon the day

2 The Collegium Abbreviatorum di Parco Major! consisted of seventy-two members.
It was established by Pius II. Onofrio Panvinio tells this story of Paul III.'s imprison-
ment and escape, but places it in the Papacy of Innocent VIII. See Vila Fault III., in
continuation of Platina.

224 BENVENUTO CELLINI

of Corpus Domini, while the Pope was going in procession, Farnese
got into a basket and was let down by a rope to the ground. At
that time the outer walls had not been built around the castle; only
the great central tower existed; so that he had not the same enormous
difficulty that I met with in escaping; moreover, he had been impris-
oned justly, and I against all equity. What he wanted was to brag
before the Governor of having in his youth been spirited and brave;
and it did not occur to him that he was calling attention to his own
huge rogueries. He said then : "Go and tell him to reveal his accom-
plice without apprehension to you, be the man who he may be, since
I have pardoned him; and this you may assure him without reser-
vation."

cxn

So the Governor came to see me. Two days before he had been
made Bishop of Jesi; 1 and when he entered he said: "Friend Ben-
venuto, although my office is wont to frighten men, I come to set
your mind at rest, and to do this I have full authority from his
Holiness's own lips, who told me how he also escaped from Sant'
Angelo, but had many aids and much company, else he would not
have been able to accomplish it. I swear by the sacraments which I
carry on my person (for I was consecrated Bishop two days since)
that the Pope has set you free and pardoned you, and is very sorry
for your accident. Attend to your health, and take all things for the
best; for your imprisonment, which you certainly underwent without
a shadow of guilt, will have been for your perpetual welfare. Hence-
forward you will tread down poverty, and will have to go back to
France, wearing out your life in this place and in that. Tell me then
frankly how the matter went, and who rendered you assistance;
afterwards take comfort, repose, and recover." I began at the begin-
ning, and related the whole story exactly as it had happened, giving
him the most minute countersigns, down to the water-carrier who
bore me on his back. When the Governor had heard the whole, he
said: "Of a surety these are too great exploits for one man alone;
no one but you could have performed them." So he made me reach
my hand forth, and said: "Be of good courage and comfort your

1 Cellini confuses Jesi with Forlimpopoli. See above, p. 203, note.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 225

heart, for by this hand which I am holding you are free, and if you
live, shall live in happiness." While thus conversing with me, he had
kept a whole heap of great lords and noblemen waiting, who were
come to visit me, saying one to the other: "Let us go to see this
man who works miracles." So, when he departed, they stayed by
me, and one made me offers of kindness, and another made me
presents.

While I was being entertained in this way, the Governor returned
to the Pope, and reported all that I had said. As chance would have
it, Signer Pier Luigi, the Pope's son, happened to be present, and all
the company gave signs of great astonishment. His Holiness
remarked: "Of a truth this is a marvellous exploit." Then Pier
Luigi began to speak as follows: "Most blessed Father, if you set
that man free, he will do something still more marvellous, because
he has by far too bold a spirit. I will tell you another story about
him which you do not know. That Benvenuto of yours, before he
was imprisoned, came to words with a gentleman of Cardinal Santa
Fiore, 2 about some trifle which the latter had said to him. Now
Benvenuto's retort was so swaggeringly insolent that it amounted
to throwing down a cartel. The gentleman referred the matter to
the Cardinal, who said that if he once laid hands on Benvenuto he
would soon clear his head of such folly. When the fellow heard this,
he got a little fowling-piece of his ready, with which he is accustomed
to hit a penny in the middle; accordingly, one day when the Cardinal
was looking out of a window, Benvenuto's shop being under the
palace of the Cardinal, he took his gun and pointed it upon the
Cardinal. The Cardinal, however, had been warned, and presently
withdrew. Benvenuto, in order that his intention might escape
notice, aimed at a pigeon which was brooding high up in a hole
of the palace, and hit it exactly in the head a feat one would have
thought incredible. Now let your Holiness do what you think best
about him; I have discharged my duty by saying what I have. It
might even come into his head, imagining that he had been wrongly
imprisoned, to fire upon your Holiness. Indeed he is too truculent,
by far too confident in his own powers. When he killed Pompeo, he

2 Ascanio Sforza, son of Bosio, Count of Santa Fiore, and grandson of Paul III.
He got the hat in 1534, at the age of sixteen.

226 BENVENUTO CELLINI

gave him two stabs with a poniard in the throat, in the midst of
ten men who were guarding him; then he escaped, to their great
shame, and yet they were no inconsiderable persons."

CXIII

While these words were being spoken, the gentleman of Santa
Fiore with whom I had that quarrel was present, and confirmed to
the Pope what had been spoken by his son. The Pope swelled with
rage, but said nothing. I shall now proceed to give my own version
of the affair, truly and honestly.

This gentleman came to me one day, and showed me a little gold
ring which had been discoloured by quicksilver, saying at the same
time: "Polish up this ring for me, and be quick about it." I was
engaged at the moment upon jewel- work of gold and gems of great
importance: besides, I did not care to be ordered about so haughtily
by a man I had never seen or spoken to; so I replied that I did not
happen to have by me the proper tool for cleaning up his ring, 1 and
that he had better go to another goldsmith. Without further provo-
cation he retorted that I was a donkey; whereupon I said that he
was not speaking the truth; that I was a better man than he in every
respect, but that if he kept on irritating me I would give him harder
kicks than any donkey could. He related the matter to the Cardinal,
and painted me as black as the devil in hell. Two days afterwards
I shot a wild pigeon in a cleft high up behind the palace. The bird
was brooding in that cleft, and I had often seen a goldsmith named
Giovan Francesco della Tacca, from Milan, fire at it; but he never
hit it. On the day when I shot it, the pigeon scarcely showed its
head, being suspicious because it had been so often fired at. Now this
Giovan Francesco and I were rivals in shooting wildfowl; and some
gentlemen of my acquaintance, who happened to be at my shop,
called my attention, saying: "Up there is Giovan Francesco della
Tacca's pigeon, at which he has so often fired; look now, the poor
creature is so frightened that it hardly ventures to put its head out."
I raised my eyes, and said: "That morsel of its head is quite enough
for me to shoot it by, if it only stays till I can point my gun." The

1 Cellini calls it isvivatoio. It is properly avvivatoio, a sort of brass rod with a
wooden handle.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

gentlemen protested that even the man who invented firearms could
not hit it. I replied: "I bet a bottle of that excellent Greek wine
Palombo the host keeps, that if it keeps quiet long enough for me
to point my good Broccardo (so I used to call my gun), I will hit it
in that portion of its head which it is showing." So I aimed my
gun, elevating my arms, and using no other rest, and did what I
had promised, without thinking of the Cardinal or any other person;
on the contrary, I held the Cardinal for my very good patron. Let
the world, then, take notice, when Fortune has the will to ruin a
man, how many divers ways she takes! The Pope, swelling with
rage and grumbling, remained revolving what his son had told him.

cxiv

Two days afterwards the Cardinal Cornaro went to beg a bishopric
from the Pope for a gentleman of his called Messer Andrea Centano.
The Pope, in truth, had promised him a bishopric; and this being
now vacant, the Cardinal reminded him of his word. The Pope
acknowledged his obligation, but said that he too wanted a favour
from his most reverend lordship, which was that he would give up
Benvenuto to him. On this the Cardinal replied: "Oh, if your Holi-
ness has pardoned him and set him free at my disposal, what will the
world say of you and me?" The Pope answered: "I want Benvenuto,
you want the bishopric; let the world say what it chooses." The good
Cardinal entreated his Holiness to give him the bishopric, and for
the rest to think the matter over, and then to act according as his
Holiness decided. The Pope, feeling a certain amount of shame at
so wickedly breaking his word, took what seemed a middle course:
"I will send for Benvenuto, and in order to gratify the whim I have,
will put him in those rooms which open on my private garden;
there he can attend to his recovery, and I will not prevent any of his
friends from coming to visit him. Moreover, I will defray his
expenses until this caprice of mine has left me."

The Cardinal came home, and sent the candidate for this bishopric
on the spot to inform me that the Pope was resolved to have me
back, but that he meant to keep me in a ground-floor room in his
private garden, where I could receive the visits of my friends, as I had
done in his own house. I implored this Messer Andrea to ask the

228 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Cardinal not to give me up to the Pope, but to let me act on my
own account. I would have myself wrapped up in a mattress, and
carried to a safe place outside Rome; for if he gave me up to the
Pope, he would certainly be sending me to death. It is believed that
when the Cardinal heard my petition he was not ill-disposed to grant
it; but Messer Andrea, wanting to secure the bishopric, denounced
me to the Pope, who sent at once and had me lodged in the ground-
floor chamber of his private garden. The Cardinal sent me word
not to eat the food provided for me by the Pope; he would supply
me with provisions; meanwhile I was to keep my spirits up, for he
would work in my cause till I was set free. Matters being thus
arranged, I received daily visits and generous offers from many great
lords and gentlemen. Food came from the Pope, which I refused to
touch, only eating that which came from Cardinal Cornaro; and
thus I remained awhile.

I had among my friends a young Greek of the age of twenty-five
years. He was extremely active in all physical exercises, and the best
swordsman in Rome; rather poor-spirited, however, but loyal to the
backbone; honest, and ready to believe what people told him. He
had heard it said that the Pope made known his intention of com-
pensating me for all I had gone through. It is true that the Pope
began by saying so, but he ended by saying quite the opposite. I
then determined to confide in the young Greek, and said to him:
"Dearest brother, they are plotting my ruin; so now the time has
come to help me. Do they imagine, when they heap those extraor-
dinary favours on me, that I am not aware they are done to
betray me?" The worthy young man answered: "My Benvenuto,
they say in Rome that the Pope has bestowed on you an office with
an income of five hundred crowns; I beseech you therefore not to let
those suspicions deprive you of so great a windfall." All the same
I begged him with clasped hands to aid me in escaping from that
place, saying I knew well that a Pope of that sort, though he could
do me much good if he chose, was really studying secretly, and to
save appearances, how he might best destroy me; therefore we must
be quick and try to save me from his clutches. If my friend would
get me out of that place by the means I meant to tell him, I should
always regard him as the saviour of my life, and when occasion came

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 229

would lay it down for him with gladness. The poor young man shed
tears, and cried: "Oh, my dear brother, though you are bringing
destruction on your head, I cannot but fulfil your wishes; so explain
your plan, and I will do whatever you may order, albeit much against
my will." Accordingly we came to an agreement, and I disclosed to
him the details of my scheme, which was certain to have succeeded
without difficulty. When I hoped that he was coming to execute it,
he came and told me that for my own good he meant to disobey me,
being convinced of the truth of what he had heard from men close
to the Pope's person, who understood the real state of my affairs.
Having nothing else to rely upon, I remained in despair and misery.
This passed on the day of Corpus Domini 1539.

cxv

After my conversation with the Greek, the whole day wore away,
and at night there came abundant provisions from the kitchen of the
Pope; the Cardinal Cornaro also sent good store of viands from his
kitchen; and some friends of mine being present when they arrived,
I made them stay to supper, and enjoyed their society, keeping my
leg in splints beneath the bed-clothes. An hour after nightfall they
left me; and two of my servants, having made me comfortable for
the night, went to sleep in the antechamber. I had a dog, black as a
mulberry, one of those hairy ones, who followed me admirably when
I went out shooting, and never left my side. During the night he lay
beneath my bed, and I had to call out at least three times to my
servant to turn him out, because he howled so fearfully. When the
servants entered, the dog flew at them and tried to bite them. They
were frightened, and thought he must be mad, because he went on
howling. In this way we passed the first four hours of the night. At
the stroke of four the Bargello came into my room with a band of
constables. Then the dog sprang forth and flew at them with such
fury, tearing their capes and hose, that in their fright they fancied
he was mad. But the Bargello, like an experienced person, told them :
"It is the nature of good dogs to divine and foretell the mischance
coming on their masters. Two of you take sticks and beat the dog
off; while the others strap Benvenuto on this chair; then carry him

230 BENVENUTO CELLINI

to the place you wot o." It was, as I have said, the night after
Corpus Domini, and about four o'clock.

The officers carried me, well shut up and covered, and four of
them went in front, making the few passengers who were still
abroad get out of the way. So they bore me to Torre di Nona, such
is the name of the place, and put me in the condemned cell. I was
left upon a wretched mattress under the care of a guard, who kept
all night mourning over my bad luck, and saying to me: "Alas!
poor Benvenuto, what have you done to those great folk?" I could
now form a very good opinion of what was going to happen to me,
partly by the place in which I found myself, and also by what the
man had told me. 1 During a portion of that night I kept racking
my brains what the cause could be why God thought fit to try me
so, and not being able to discover it, I was violently agitated in my
soul. The guard did the best he could to comfort me; but I begged
him for the love of God to stop talking, seeing I should be better
able to compose myself alone in quiet. He promised to do as I asked;
and then I turned my whole heart to God, devoutly entreating Him
to deign to take me into His kingdom. I had, it is true, murmured
against my lot, because it seemed to me that, so far as human laws
go, my departure from the world in this way would be too unjust;
it is true also that I had committed homicides, but His Vicar had
called me from my native city and pardoned me by the authority
he had from Him and from the laws; and what I had done had all
been done in defence of the body which His Majesty had lent me;
so I could not admit that I deserved death according to the dispen-
sation under which man dwells here; but it seemed that what was
happening to me was the same as what happens to unlucky people
in the street, when a stone falls from some great height upon their
head and kills them; this we see clearly to be the influence of the
stars; not indeed that the stars conspire to do us good or evil, but
the effect results from their conjunctions, to which we are subordi-
nated. At the same time I know that I am possessed of free-will, and
if I could exert the faith of a saint, I am sure that the angels of heaven
would bear me from this dungeon and relieve me of all my afflic-

1 Cellini thought he was going to have his throat cut. And indeed the Torre di
Nona was a suspicious place, it being one of the worst criminal prisons in Rome.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 23!

tions; yet inasmuch as God has not deemed me worthy of such
miracles, I conclude that those celestial influences must be wreaking
their malignity upon me. In this long struggle of the soul I spent
some time; then I found comfort, and fell presently asleep.

cxvi

When the day dawned, the guard woke me up and said: "Oh,
unfortunate but worthy man, you have no more time to go on
sleeping, for one is waiting here to give you evil news." I answered :
"The sooner I escape from this earthly prison, the happier shall I be;
especially as I am sure my soul is saved, and that I am going to
an undeserved death. Christ, the glorious and divine, elects me to
the company of His disciples and friends, who, like Himself, were
condemned to die unjustly. I too am sentenced to an unjust death,
and I thank God with humility for this sign of grace. Why does
not the man come forward who has to pronounce my doom?" The
guard replied : "He is too grieved for you, and sheds tears." Then I
called him by his name of Messer Benedetto da Cagli, 1 and cried:
"Come forward, Messer Benedetto, my friend, for now, I am resolved
and in good frame of mind; far greater glory is it for me to die
unjustly than if I had deserved this fate. Come forward, I beg, and
let me have a priest, in order that I may speak a couple of words
with him. I do not indeed stand in need of this, for I have already
made my heart's confession to my Lord God; yet I should like to
observe the ordinances of our Holy Mother Church; for though she
has done me this abominable wrong, I pardon her with all my soul.
So come, friend Messer Benedetto, and despatch my business before
I lose control over my better instincts."

After I had uttered these words, the worthy man told the guard
to lock the door, because nothing could be done without his presence.
He then repaired to the house of Signor Pier Luigi's wife, who
happened to be in company with the Duchess of whom I spoke
above. 2 Presenting himself before them both, he spoke as follows:
"My most illustrious mistress, I entreat you for the love of God to

1 It will be remembered that Benedetto da Cagli was one of Cellini's three examiners
during his first imprisonment in S. Angelo.

2 The wife of Pier Luigi Farnese was Jeronima, daughter of Luigi Orsini, Count of
Pitigliano.

232 BENVENUTO CELLINI

tell the Pope, that he must send some one else to pronounce sentence
upon Benvenuto and perform my office; I renounce the task, and am
quite decided not to carry it through." Then, sighing, he departed
with the strongest signs of inward sorrow. The Duchess, who was
present, frowned and said: "So this is the fine justice dealt out here
in Rome by God's Vicar! The Duke, my late husband, particularly
esteemed this man for his good qualities and eminent abilities; he
was unwilling to let him return to Rome, and would gladly have
kept him close to his own person." Upon this she retired, muttering
words of indignation and displeasure. Signor Pier Luigi's wife, who
was called Signora Jerolima, betook herself to the Pope, and threw
herself upon her knees before him in the presence of several cardinals.
She pleaded my cause so warmly that she woke the Pope to shame;
whereupon he said: "For your sake we will leave him quiet; yet you
must know that we had no ill-will against him." These words he
spoke because of the cardinals who were around him, and had lis-
tened to the eloquence of that brave-spirited lady.

Meanwhile I abode in extreme discomfort, and my heart kept
thumping against my ribs. Not less was the discomfort of the men
appointed to discharge the evil business of my execution; but when
the hour for dinner was already past, they betook themselves to their
several affairs, and my meal was also served me. This filled me with
a glad astonishment, and I exclaimed: "For once truth has been
stronger than the malice of the stars! I pray God, therefore, that, if it
be His pleasure, He will save me from this fearful peril. Then I
fell to eating with the same stout heart for my salvation as I had
previously prepared for my perdition. I dined well, and afterwards
remained without seeing or hearing any one until an hour after
nightfall. At that time the Bargello arrived with a large part of his
guard, and had me replaced in the chair which brought me on the
previous evening to the prison. He spoke very kindly to me, bidding
me be under no apprehension; and bade his constables take good care
not to strike against my broken leg, but to treat me as though I
were the apple of their eye. The men obeyed, and brought me to the
castle whence I had escaped; then, when we had mounted to the
keep, they left me shut up in a dungeon opening upon a little court
there is there.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 233

cxvn

The castellan, meanwhile, ill and afflicted as he was, had himself
transported to my prison, and exclaimed: "You see that I have
recaptured you!" "Yes," said I, "but you see that I escaped, as I told
you I would. And if I had not been sold by a Venetian Cardinal,
under Papal guarantee, for the price of a bishopric, the Pope a
Roman and a Farnese (and both of them have scratched with
impious hands the face of the most sacred laws), you would not
have recovered me. But now that they have opened this vile way of
dealing, do you the worst you can in your turn; I care for nothing
in the world." The wretched man began shouting at the top of
his voice: "Ah, woe is me! woe is me! It is all the same to this
fellow whether he lives or dies, and behold, he is more fiery than
when he was in health. Put him down there below the garden, and
do not speak to me of him again, for he is the destined cause of
my death."

So I was taken into a gloomy dungeon below the level of a garden,
which swam with water, and was full of big spiders and many
venomous worms. They flung me a wretched mattress of course
hemp, gave me no supper, and locked four doors upon me. In that
condition I abode until the nineteenth hour of the following day.
Then I received food, and I requested my jailers to give me some
of my books to read. None of them spoke a word, but they referred
my prayer to the unfortunate castellan, who had made inquiries con-
cerning what I said. Next morning they brought me an Italian Bible
which belonged to me, and a copy of the Chronicles of Giovanni
Villani. 1 When I asked for certain other of my books, I was told that
I could have no more, and that I had got too many already.

Thus, then, I continued to exist in misery upon that rotten mat-
tress, which in three days soaked up water like a sponge. I could
hardly stir because of my broken leg; and when I had to get out
of bed to obey a call of nature, I crawled on all fours with extreme
distress, in order not to foul the place I slept in. For one hour and
a half each day I got a little glimmering of light, which penetrated

1 This mention of an Italian Bible shows that we are still in the days before the
Council of Trent.

234 BENVENUTO CELLINI

that unhappy cavern through a very narrow aperture. Only for
so short a space of time could I read; the rest of the day and night
I abode in darkness, enduring my lot, nor ever without meditations
upon God and on our human frailty. I thought it certain that a few
more days would put an end of my unlucky life in that sad place
and in that miserable manner. Nevertheless, as well as I was able, I
comforted my soul by calling to mind how much more painful it
would have been, on passing from this life, to have suffered that
unimaginable horror of the hangman's knife. Now, being as I was,
I should depart with the anodyne of sleepiness, which robbed death
of half its former terrors. Little by little I felt my vital forces waning,
until at last my vigorous temperament had become adapted to that
purgatory. When I felt it quite acclimatised, I resolved to put up
with all those indescribable discomforts so long as it held out.

CXVIII

I began the Bible from the commencement, reading and reflecting
on it so devoutly, and finding in it such deep treasures of delight,
that, if I had been able, I should have done naught else but study it.
However, light was wanting; and the thought of all my troubles
kept recurring and gnawing at me in the darkness, until I often
made my mind up to put an end somehow to my own life. They did
not allow me a knife, however, and so it was no easy matter to
commit suicide. Once, notwithstanding, I took and propped a
wooden pole I found there, in position like a trap. I meant to make
it topple over on my head, and it would certainly have dashed my
brains out; but when I had arranged the whole machine, and was
approaching to put it in motion, just at the moment of my setting
my hand to it, I was seized by an invisible power and flung four
cubits from the spot, in such a terror that I lay half dead. Like that
I remained from dawn until the nineteenth hour, when they brought
my food. The jailers must have visited my cell several times without
my taking notice of them; for when at last I heard them, Captain
Sandrino Monaldi 1 had entered, and I heard him saying: "Ah,
unhappy man! behold the end to which so rare a genius has come!"
Roused by these words, I opened my eyes, and caught sight of priests

1 A Florentine, banished in 1530 for having been in arms against the Medici.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 235

with long gowns on their backs, who were saying: "Oh, you told
us he was dead!" Bozza replied: "Dead I found him, and therefore
I told you so." Then they lifted me from where I lay, and after shak-
ing up the mattress, which was now as soppy as a dish of maccaroni,
they flung it outside the dungeon. The castellan, when these things
were reported to him, sent me another mattress. Thereafter, when
I searched my memory to find what could have diverted me from
that design of suicide, I came to the conclusion that it must have
been some power divine and my good guardian angel.

cxix

During the following night there appeared to me in dreams a
marvellous being in the form of a most lovely youth, who cried, as
though he wanted to reprove me : "Knowest thou who lent thee that
body, which thou wouldst have spoiled before its time?" I seemed
to answer that I recognized all things pertaining to me as gifts from
the God of nature. "So, then," he said, "thou hast contempt for His
handiwork, through this thy will to spoil it? Commit thyself unto
His guidance, and lose not hope in His great goodness!" Much more
he added, in words of marvellous efficacy, the thousandth part of
which I cannot now remember.

I began to consider that the angel of my vision spoke the truth.
So I cast my eyes around the prison, and saw some scraps of rotten
brick, with the fragments of which, rubbing one against the other,
I composed a paste. Then, creeping on all fours, as I was compelled
to go, I crawled up to an angle of my dungeon door, and gnawed a
splinter from it with my teeth. Having achieved this feat, I waited
till the light came on my prison; that was from the hour of twenty
and a half to twenty-one and a half. When it arrived, I began to
write, the best I could, on some blank pages in my Bible, and
rebuked the regents of my intellectual self for being too impatient to
endure this life; they replied to my body with excuses drawn from
all that they had suffered; and the body gave them hope of better
fortune. To this effect, then, by way of dialogue, I wrote as follows :

Benvenuto in the body.
Afflicted regents of my soul!

Ah, cruel ye! have ye such hate of life?

236 BENVENUTO CELLINI

The Spirits of his soul.

If Heaven against you roll,

Who stands for us? who saves us in the strife?
Let us, O let us go toward better life!

Benvenuto.

Nay, go not yet awhile!

Ye shall be happier and lighter far

Heaven gives this hope than ye were ever yet!

The Spirits.

We will remain some little while,

If only by great God you promised are
Such grace that no worse woes on us be set.

After this I recovered strength; and when I had heartened up
myself, I continued reading in the Bible, and my eyes became so
used to that darkness that I could now read for three hours instead
of the bare hour and a half I was able to employ before.

With profound astonishment I dwelt upon the force of God's
Spirit in those men of great simplicity, who believed so fervently
that He would bring all their heart's desire to pass. I then proceeded
to reckon in my own case too on God's assistance, both because of
His divine power and mercy, and also because of my own innocence;
and at all hours, sometimes in prayer and sometimes in communion
with God, I abode in those high thoughts of Him. There flowed
into my soul so powerful a delight from these reflections upon God,
that I took no further thought for all the anguish I had suffered,
but rather spent the day in singing psalms and divers other com-
positions on the theme of His divinity.

I was greatly troubled, however, by one particular annoyance: my
nails had grown so long that I could not touch my body without
wounding it; I could not dress myself but what they turned inside
or out, to my great torment. Moreover, my teeth began to perish in
my mouth. I became aware of this because the dead teeth being
pushed out by the living ones, my gums were gradually perforated,
and the points of the roots pierced through the tops of their cases.
When I was aware of this, I used to pull one out, as though it were

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 237

a weapon from a scabbard, without any pain or loss of blood. Very
many of them did I lose in this way. Nevertheless, I accommodated
myself to these new troubles also; at times I sang, at times I prayed,
and at times I wrote by means of the paste of brick-dust I have
described above. At this time I began composing a Capitolo in
praise of my prison, relating in it all the accidents which had befallen
me. 1 This poem I mean to insert in its proper place.

cxx

The good castellan used frequently to send messengers to find out
secretly what I was doing. So it happened on the last day of July
that I was rejoicing greatly by myself alone while I bethought me
of the festival they keep in Rome upon the ist of August; and I was
saying to myself: "In former years I kept the feast among the
pleasures and the frailties of the world; this year I shall keep it in
communion with God. Oh, how far more happy am I thus than I
was then!" The persons who heard me speak these words reported
them to the castellan. He was greatly annoyed, and exclaimed : "Ah,
God! that fellow lives and triumphs in his infinite distress, while I
lack all things in the midst of comfort, and am dying only on
account of him! Go quickly, and fling him into that deepest of the
subterranean dungeons where the preacher Foiano was starved to
death. 2 Perhaps when he finds himself in such ill plight he will
begin to droop his crest."

Captain Sandrino Monaldi came at once into my prison with about
twenty of the castellan's servants. They found me on my knees;
and I did not turn at their approach, but went on paying my orisons
before a God the Father, surrounded with angels, and a Christ
arising victorious from the grave, which I had sketched upon the

1 Capitolo is the technical name for a copy of verses in terza rima on a chosen
theme. Poems of this kind, mostly burlesque or satirical, were very popular in Cellini's
age. They used to be written on trifling or obscene subjects in a mock-heroic style.
Berni stamped the character of high art upon the species, which had long been in use
among the unlettered vulgar. See for further particulars Symonds' Renaissance in
Italy, vol. v. chap. xiv.

2 Fra Benedetto da Foiano had incurred the wrath of Pope Clement VII. by preach-
ing against the Medici in Florence. He was sent to Rome and imprisoned in a noisome
dungeon of S. Angelo in the year 1530, where Clement made him perish miserably by
diminishing his food and water daily till he died. See Varchi's Sforia Fiorentina, lib.
xii. chap. 4.

238 BENVENUTO CELLINI

wall with a little piece of charcoal I had found covered up with
earth. This was after I had lain four months upon my back in bed
with my leg broken, and had so often dreamed that angels came
and ministered to me, that at the end of those four months the limb
became as sound as though it never had been fractured. So then
these fellows entered, all in armour, as fearful of me as though I
were a poison-breathing dragon. The captain spoke as follows:
"You must be aware that there are many of us here, and our entrance
has made a tumult in this place, yet you do not turn round." When
I heard these words, I was well able to conceive what greater harm
might happen to me, but being used and hardened to misfortune, I
said to them : "Unto this God who supports me, to Him in heaven I
have turned my soul, my contemplation, and all my vital spirits; to
you I have turned precisely what belongs to you. What there is of
good in me, you are not worthy to behold, nor can you touch it.
Do then to that which is under your control all the evil you are
able." The captain, in some alarm, and not knowing what I might
be on the point of doing, said to four of his tallest fellows: "Put all
your arms aside." When they had done so, he added: "Now upon
the instant leap on him, and secure him well. Do you think he is
the devil, that so many of us should be afraid of him? Hold him
tight now, that he may not escape you." Seized by them with force
and roughly handled, and anticipating something far worse than
what afterwards happened, I lifted my eyes to Christ and said:
"Oh, just God, Thou paidest all our debts upon that high-raised
cross of Thine; wherefore then must my innocence be made to pay
the debts of whom I do not even know? Nevertheless, Thy will be
done." Meanwhile the men were carrying me away with a great
lighted torch; and I thought that they were about to throw me
down the oubliette of Sammabo. This was the name given to a
fearful place which had swallowed many men alive; for when they
are cast into it, they fall to the bottom of a deep pit in the founda-
tions of the castle. This did not, however, happen to me; wherefore
I thought that I had made a very good bargain when they placed
me in that hideous dungeon I have spoken of, where Fra Foiano
died of hunger, and left me there without doing me further injury.
When I was alone, I began to sing a De projundis damavi, a

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 239

Miserere, and In te Domine speraui. During the whole of that first
day of August I kept festival with God, my heart rejoicing ever in
the strength of hope and faith. On the second day they drew me
from that hole, and took me back again to the prison where I had
drawn those representations of God. On arriving there, the sight
of them filled me with such sweetness and such gladness that I wept
abundantly. On every day that followed, the castellan sent to know
what I was doing and saying. The Pope, who had heard the whole
history (and I must add that the doctors had already given the
castellan over), spoke as follows: "Before my castellan dies I will
let him put that Benvenuto to death in any way he likes, for he is
the cause of his death, and so the good man shall not die unre-
venged." On hearing these words from the mouth of Duke Pier
Luigi, the castellan replied: "So, then, the Pope has given me Ben-
venuto, and wishes me to take my vengeance on him? Dismiss the
matter from your mind, and leave me to act." If the heart of the
Pope was ill-disposed against me, that of the castellan was now at
the commencement savage and cruel in the extreme. At this junc-
ture the invisible being who had diverted me from my intention of
suicide, came to me, being still invisible, but with a clear voice, and
shook me, and made me rise, and said to me: "Ah me! my Ben-
venuto, quick, quick, betake thyself to God with thy accustomed
prayers, and cry out loudly, loudly!" In a sudden consternation I
fell upon my knees, and recited several of my prayers in a loud
voice; after this I said Qui habitat in adjutorio; then I communed
a space with God; and in an instant the same clear and open voice
said to me: "Go to rest, and have no further fear!" The meaning of
this was, that the castellan, after giving the most cruel orders for
my death, suddenly countermanded them, and said: "Is not this
Benvenuto the man whom I have so warmly defended, whom I
know of a surety to be innocent, and who has been so greatly
wronged ? Oh, how will God have mercy on me and my sins if I do
not pardon those who have done me the greatest injuries? Oh, why
should I injure a man both worthy and innocent, who has only done
me services and honour? Go to! instead of killing him, I give him
life and liberty: and in my will I'll have it written that none shall
demand of him the heavy debt for his expenses here which he would

240 BENVENUTO CELLINI

elsewise have to pay." This the Pope heard, and took it very ill
indeed.

cxxi

I meanwhile continued to pray as usual, and to write my Capitolo,
and every night I was visited with the gladdest and most pleasant
dreams that could be possibly imagined. It seemed to me while
dreaming that I was always in the visible company of that being
whose voice and touch, while he was still invisible, I had so often
felt. To him I made but one request, and this I urged most earnestly,
namely, that he would bring me where I could behold the sun. I told
him that this was the sole desire I had, and that if I could but see
the sun once only, I should die contented. All the disagreeable
circumstances of my prison had become, as it were, to me friendly
and companionable; not one of them gave me annoyance. Never-
theless, I ought to say that the castellan's parasites, who were waiting
for him to hang me from the battlement whence I had made my
escape, when they saw that he had changed his mind to the exact
opposite of what he previously threatened, were unable to endure the
disappointment. Accordingly, they kept continually trying to inspire
me with the fear of imminent death by means of various terrifying
hints. But, as I have already said, I had become so well acquainted
with troubles of this sort that I was incapable of fear, and nothing
any longer could disturb me; only I had that one great longing to
behold the sphere of the sun, if only in a dream.

Thus then, while I spent many hours a day in prayer with dee]
emotion of the spirit toward Christ, I used always to say: "Ah, vei
Son of God! I pray Thee by Thy birth, by Thy death upon the cros
and by Thy glorious resurrection, that Thou wilt deign to let me
see the sun, if not otherwise, at least in dreams. But if Thou wilt
grant me to behold it with these mortal eyes of mine, I engage myse
to come and visit Thee at Thy holy sepulchre." This vow and the
my greatest prayers to God I made upon the 2nd of October in tl
year 1539. Upon the following morning, which was the 3rd
October, I woke at daybreak, perhaps an hour before the rising of
the sun. Dragging myself from the miserable lair in which I lay,
I put some clothes on, for it had begun to be cold; then I pray

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 24!

more devoutly than ever I had done in the past, fervently imploring
Christ that He would at least grant me the favour of knowing by
divine inspiration what sin I was so sorely expiating; and since His
Divine Majesty had not deemed me worthy of beholding the sun
even in a dream I besought Him to let me know the cause of my
punishment.

cxxn

I had barely uttered these words, when that invisible being, like
a whirlwind, caught me up and bore me away into a large room,
where he made himself visible to my eyes in human form, appearing
like a young man whose beard is just growing, with a face of inde-
scribable beauty, but austere, not wanton. He bade me look around
the room, and said : "The crowd of men thou seest in this place are
all those who up to this day have been born and afterwards have
died upon the earth." Thereupon I asked him why he brought me
hither, and he answered: "Come with me and thou shalt soon
behold." In my hand I had a poniard, and upon my back a coat
of mail; and so he led me through that vast hall, pointing out the
people who were walking by innumerable thousands up and down,
this way and that. He led me onward, and went forth in front of
me through a little low door into a place which looked like a
narrow street; and when he drew me after him into the street, at
the moment of leaving the hall, behold I was disarmed and clothed
in a white shirt, with nothing on my head, and I was walking on
the right hand of my companion. Finding myself in this condition,
I was seized with wonder, because I did not recognise the street;
and when I lifted my eyes, I discerned that the splendour of the sun
was striking on a wall, as it were a house-front, just above my head.
Then I said: "Oh, my friend! what must I do in order to be able
to ascend so high that I may gaze upon the sphere of the sun him-
self?" He pointed out some huge stairs which were on my right
hand, and said to me: "Go up thither by thyself." Quitting his side,
I ascended the stairs backwards, and gradually began to come within
the region of the sunlight. Then I hastened my steps, and went on,
always walking backwards as I have described, until I discovered the
whole sphere of the sun. The strength of his rays, as is their wont,

242 BENVENUTO CELLINI

first made me close my eyes; but becoming aware of my misdoing,
I opened them wide, and gazing steadfastly at the sun, exclaimed:
"Oh, my sun, for whom I have so passionately yearned! Albeit your
rays may blind me, I do not wish to look on anything again but
this!" So I stayed awhile with my eyes fixed steadily on him; and
after a brief space I beheld in one moment the whole might of those
great burning rays fling themselves upon the left side of the sun; so
that the orb remained quite clear without its rays, and I was able
to contemplate it with vast delight. It seemed to me something
marvellous that the rays should be removed in that manner. Then
I reflected what divine grace it was which God had granted me that
morning, and cried aloud: "Oh, wonderful Thy power! oh, glorious
Thy virtue! How far greater is the grace which Thou art granting
me than that which I expected!" The sun without his rays appeared
to me to be a bath of the purest molten gold, neither more nor less.
While I stood contemplating this wondrous thing, I noticed that
the middle of the sphere began to swell, and the swollen surface
grew, and suddenly a Christ upon the cross formed itself out of the
same substance as the sun. He bore the aspect of divine benignity,
with such fair grace that the mind of man could not conceive the
thousandth part of it; and while I gazed in ecstasy, I shouted: "A
miracle! a miracle! O God! O clemency Divine! O immeasurable
Goodness! what is it Thou hast deigned this day to show me!"
While I was gazing and exclaiming thus, the Christ moved toward
that part where his rays were settled, and the middle of the sun
once more bulged out as it had done before; the boss expanded,
and suddenly transformed itself into the shape of a most beautiful
Madonna, who appeared to be sitting enthroned on high, holding
her child in her arms with an attitude of the greatest charm and a
smile upon her face. On each side of her was an angel, whose beauty
far surpasses man's imagination. I also saw within the rondure of
the sun, upon the right hand, a figure robed like a priest; this turned
its back to me, and kept its face directed to the Madonna and the
Christ. All these things I beheld, actual, clear, and vivid, and kept
returning thanks to the glory of God as loud as I was able. The
marvellous apparition remained before me little more than half a

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 243

quarter of an hour: then it dissolved, and I was carried back to my
dark lair.

I began at once to shout aloud: "The virtue of God hath deigned
to show me all His glory, the which perchance no mortal eye hath
ever seen before. Therefore I know surely that I am free and
fortunate and in the grace of God; but you miscreants shall be mis-
creants still, accursed, and in the wrath of God. Mark this, for I am
certain of it, that on the day of All Saints, the day upon which I
was born in 1500, on the first of November, at four hours after night-
fall, on that day which is coming you will be forced to lead me from
this gloomy dungeon; less than this you will not be able to do, be-
cause I have seen it with these eyes of mine and in that throne of
God. The priest who kept his face turned to God and his back to
me, that priest was S. Peter, pleading my cause, for the shame he
felt that such foul wrongs should be done to Christians in his own
house. You may go and tell it to whom you like; for none on earth
has the power to do me harm henceforward; and tell that lord who
keeps me here, that if he will give me wax or paper and the means
of portraying this glory of God which was revealed to me, most
assuredly shall I convince him of that which now perhaps he holds
in doubt."

CXXIII

The physicians gave the castellan no hope of his recovery, yet he
remained with a clear intellect, and the humours which used to
afflict him every year had passed away. He devoted himself entirely
to the care of his soul, and his conscience seemed to smite him,
because he felt that I had suffered and was suffering a grievous
wrong. The Pope received information from him of the extraor-
dinary things which I related; in answer to which his Holiness
sent word as one who had no faith either in God or aught beside
that I was mad, and that he must do his best to mend his health.
When the castellan received this message, he sent to cheer me up,
and furnished me with writing materials and wax, and certain little
wooden instruments employed in working wax, adding many words
of courtesy, which were reported by one of his servants who bore

244 BENVENUTO CELLINI

me good-will. This man was totally the opposite of that rascally
gang who had wished to see me hanged. I took the paper and the
wax, and began to work; and while I was working I wrote the
following sonnet addressed to the castellan:

"If I, my lord, could show to you the truth,
Of that Eternal Light to me by Heaven
In this low life revealed, you sure had given
More heed to mine than to a monarch's sooth.

Ah! could the Pastor of Christ's flock in ruth

Believe how God this soul with sight hath shriven
Of glory unto which no wight hath striven
Ere he escaped earth's cave of care uncouth;

The gates of Justice, holy and austere,

Would roll asunder, and rude impious Rage

Fall chained with shrieks that should assail the skies.

Had I but light, ah me! my art should rear
A monument of Heaven's high equipage!
Nor should my misery bear so grim a guise."

cxxiv

On the following day, when the servant of the castellan who was
my friend brought me my food, I gave him this sonnet copied out in
writing. Without informing the other ill-disposed servants who
were my enemies, he handed it to the castellan. At that time this
worthy man would gladly have granted me my liberty, because
he fancied that the great wrong done to me was a main cause of
his death. He took the sonnet, and having read it more than once,
exclaimed: "These are neither the words nor the thoughts of a mad-
man, but rather of a sound and worthy fellow." Without delay he
ordered his secretary to take it to the Pope, and place it in his own
hands, adding a request for my deliverance.

While the secretary was on his way with my sonnet to the Pope,
the castellan sent me lights for day and night, together with all the
conveniences one could wish for in that place. The result of this
was that I began to recover from my physical depression, which had
reached a very serious degree.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 245

The Pope read the sonnet several times. Then he sent word to the
castellan that he meant presently to do what would be pleasing to
him. Certainly the Pope had no unwillingness to release me then;
but Signer Pier Luigi, his son, as it were in the Pope's despite, kept
me there by force.

The death of the castellan was drawing near; and while I was
engaged in drawing and modelling that miracle which I had seen,
upon the morning of All Saints' day he sent his nephew, Piero
Ugolini, to show me certain jewels. No sooner had I set eyes on them
than I exclaimed: "This is the countersign of my deliverance!" Then
the young man, who was not a person of much intelligence, began
to say: "Never think of that, Benvenuto!" I replied: "Take your
gems away, for I am so treated here that I have no light to see by
except what this murky cavern gives, and that is not enough to test
the quality of precious stones. But, as regards my deliverance from
this dungeon, the day will not end before you come to fetch me
out. It shall and must be so, and you will not be able to prevent it."
The man departed, and had me locked in; but after he had remained
away two hours by the clock, he returned without armed men, bring-
ing only a couple of lads to assist my movements; so after this fashion
he conducted me to the spacious rooms which I had previously occu-
pied (that is to say, in 1538), where I obtained all the conveniences
I asked for.

cxxv

After the lapse of a few days, the castellan, who now believed that
I was at large and free, succumbed to his disease and departed this
life. In his room remained his brother, Messer Antonio Ugolini,
who had informed the deceased governor that I was duly released.
From what I learned, this Messer Antonio received commission from
the Pope to let me occupy that commodious prison until he had
decided what to do with me.

Messer Durante of Brescia, whom I have previously mentioned,
engaged the soldier (formerly druggist of Prato) to administer some
deadly liquor in my food; 1 the poison was to work slowly, producing

1 For Messer Durante, see above, p. 180. For the druggist of Prato employed as
a warder in S. Angelo, see above, p. 216.

246 BENVENUTO CELLINI

its effect at the end of four or five months. They resolved on mixing
pounded diamond with my victuals. Now the diamond is not a
poison in any true sense of the word, but its incomparable hardness
enables it, unlike ordinary stones, to retain very acute angles. When
every other stone is pounded, that extreme sharpness of edge is lost;
their fragments becoming blunt and rounded. The diamond alone
preserves its trenchant qualities; wherefore, if it chances to enter the
stomach together with food, the peristaltic motion 2 needful to diges-
tion brings it into contact with the coats of the stomach and the
bowels, where it sticks, and by the action of fresh food forcing it
farther inwards, after some time perforates the organs. This even-
tually causes death. Any other sort of stone or glass mingled with
the food has not the power to attach itself, but passes onward with
the victuals. Now Messer Durante entrusted a diamond of trifling
value to one of the guards; and it is said that a certain Lione, a
goldsmith of Arezzo, my great enemy, was commissioned to pound
it. 3 The man happened to be very poor, and the diamond was worth
perhaps some scores of crowns. He told the guard that the dust he
gave him back was the diamond in question properly ground down.
The morning when I took it, they mixed it with all I had to eat; it
was a Friday, and I had it in salad, sauce, and pottage. That morn-
ing I ate heartily, for I had fasted on the previous evening; and this
day was a festival. It is true that I felt the victuals scrunch beneath
my teeth; but I was not thinking about knaveries of this sort. When
I had finished, some scraps of salad remained upon my plate, and
certain very fine and glittering splinters caught my eye among these
remnants. I collected them, and took them to the window, which
let a flood of light into the room; and while I was examining them,
I remembered that the food I ate that morning had scrunched more
than usual. On applying my senses stricdy to the matter, the verdict
of my eyesight was that they were certainly fragments of pounded
diamond. Upon this I gave myself up without doubt as dead, and
in my sorrow had recourse with pious heart to holy prayers. I had

2 In quel girare che e' fanno e' cibi. I have for the sake of clearness used the
technical phrase above.

3 The name of Leone Leoni is otherwise known as a goldsmith and bronze-caster.
He made the tomb for Giangiacomo de' Medici, II Medighino, in the Cathedral of

Milan.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 247

resolved the question, and thought that I was doomed. For the
space of a whole hour I prayed fervently to God, returning thanks
to Him for so merciful a death. Since my stars had sentenced me
to die, I thought it no bad bargain to escape from life so easily. I
was resigned, and blessed the world and all the years which I had
passed in it. Now I was returning to a better kingdom with the
grace of God, the which I thought I had most certainly acquired.

While I stood revolving these thoughts in my mind, I held in my
hand some flimsy particles of the reputed diamond, which of a
truth I firmly believed to be such. Now hope is immortal in the
human breast; therefore I felt myself, as it were, lured onward by a
gleam of idle expectation. Accordingly, I took up a little knife and
a few of those particles, and placed them on an iron bar of my
prison. Then I brought the knife's point with a slow strong grind-
ing pressure to bear upon the stone, and felt it crumble. Examining
the substance with my eyes, I saw that it was so. In a moment new
hope took possession of my soul, and I exclaimed: "Here I do not
find my true foe, Messer Durante, but a piece of bad soft stone,
which cannot do me any harm whatever!" Previously I had been
resolved to remain quiet and to die in peace; now I revolved other
plans; but first I rendered thanks to God and blessed poverty; for
though poverty is oftentimes the cause of bringing men to death, on
this occasion it had been the very cause of my salvation. I mean
in this way: Messer Durante, my enemy, or whoever it was, gave
a diamond to Lione to pound for me of the worth of more than a
hundred crowns; poverty induced him to keep this for himself, and
to pound for me a greenish beryl of the value of two carlins, think-
ing perhaps, because it also was a stone, that it would work the same
effect as the diamond.

cxxvi

At this time the Bishop of Pavia, brother of the Count of San
Secondo, and commonly called Monsignor de' Rossi of Parma, hap-
pened to be imprisoned in the castle for some troublesome affairs
at Pavia. 1 Knowing him to be my friend, I thrust my head out of the

1 Gio. Girolamo de' Rossi, known in literature as a poet and historian of secondary
importance.

248 BENVENUTO CELLINI

hole in my cell, and called him with a loud voice, crying that those
thieves had given me a pounded diamond with the intention of kill-
ing me. I also sent some of the splinters which I had preserved, by
the hand of one of his servants, for him to see. I did not disclose my
discovery that the stone was not a diamond, but told him that they
had most assuredly poisoned me, after the death of that most worthy
man the castellan. During the short space of time I had to live, I
begged him to allow me one loaf a day from his own stores, seeing
that I had resolved to eat nothing which came from them. To this
request he answered that he would supply me with victuals.

Messer Antonio, who was certainly not cognisant of the plot
against my life, stirred up a great noise, and demanded to see the
pounded stone, being also persuaded that it was a diamond; but
on reflection that the Pope was probably at the bottom of the
affair, he passed it over lightly after giving his attention to the inci-
dent.

Henceforth I ate the victuals sent me by the Bishop, and continued
writing my Capitolo on the prison, into which I inserted daily all the
new events which happened to me, point by point. But Messer An-
tonio also sent me food; and he did this by the hand of that Giovanni
of Prato, the druggist, then soldier in the castle, whom I have pre-
viously mentioned. He was a deadly foe of mine, and was the man
who had administered the powdered diamond. So I told him that
I would partake of nothing he brought me unless he tasted it before
my eyes. 2 The man replied that Popes have their meat tasted. I
answered: "Noblemen are bound to taste the meat for Popes; in like
measure, you, soldier, druggist, peasant from Prato, are bound to
taste the meat for a Florentine of my station." He retorted with
coarse words, which I was not slow to pay back in kind.

Now Messer Antonio felt a certain shame for his behaviour; he
had it also in his mind to make me pay the costs which the late cas-
tellan, poor man, remitted in my favour. So he hunted out another
of his servants, who was my friend, and sent me food by this man's
hands. The meat was tasted for me now with good grace, and no
need for altercation. The servant in question told me that the Pope
was being pestered every day by Monsignor di Morluc, who kept

2 Me ne faceva la credenza.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 249

asking for my extradition on the part of the French King. The
Pope, however, showed little disposition to give me up; and Cardinal
Farnese, formerly my friend and patron, had declared that I ought
not to reckon on issuing from that prison for some length of time. 5
I replied that I should get out in spite of them all. The excellent
young fellow besought me to keep quiet, and not to let such words
of mine be heard, for they might do me some grave injury; having
firm confidence in God, it was my duty to await His mercy, remain-
ing in the meanwhile tranquil. I answered that the power and good-
ness of God are not bound to stand in awe before the malign forces
of iniquity.

CXXVII

A few days had passed when the Cardinal of Ferrara arrived in
Rome. He went to pay his respects to the Pope, and the Pope de-
tained him up to supper-time. Now the Pope was a man of great
talent for affairs, and he wanted to talk at his ease with the Cardinal
about French politics. Everybody knows that folk, when they are
feasting together, say things which they would otherwise retain.
This therefore happened. The great King Francis was most frank
and liberal in all his dealings, and the Cardinal was well acquainted
with his temper. Therefore the latter could indulge the Pope beyond
his boldest expectations. This raised his Holiness to a high pitch
of merriment and gladness, all the more because he was accustomed
to drink freely once a week, and went indeed to vomit after his
indulgence. When, therefore, the Cardinal observed that the Pope
was well disposed, and ripe to grant favours, he begged for me at
the King's demand, pressing the matter hotly, and proving that his
Majesty had it much at heart. Upon this the Pope laughed aloud;
he felt the moment for his vomit at hand; the excessive quantity of
wine which he had drunk was also operating; so he said: "On the
spot, this instant, you shall take him to your house." Then, having
given express orders to this purpose, he rose from table. The Car-
dinal immediately sent for me, before Signer Pier Luigi could get
wind of the affair; for it was certain that he would not have allowed
me to be loosed from prison.

3 This was the Cardinal Alessandro, son of Pier Luigi Farnese.

250 BENVENUTO CELLINI

The Pope's mandatary came together with two great gentlemen of
the Cardinal's, and when four o'clock of the night was passed, they
removed me from my prison, and brought me into the presence of
the Cardinal, who received me with indescribable kindness. I was
well lodged, and left to enjoy the comforts of my situation.

Messer Antonio, the old castellan's brother, and his successor in
the office, insisted on extracting from me the costs for food and other
fees and perquisites claimed by sheriffs and such fry, paying no
heed to his predecessor's will in my behalf. This affair cost me
several scores of crowns; but I paid them, because the Cardinal told
me to be well upon my guard if I wanted to preserve my life, adding
that had he not extracted me that evening from the prison, I should
never have got out. Indeed, he had already been informed that the
Pope greatly regretted having let me go.

CXXVIII

I am now obliged to take a step backwards, in order to resume the
thread of some events which will be found in my Capitolo. While
I was sojourning those few days in the chamber of the Cardinal,
and afterwards in the Pope's private garden, there came among my
other friends to visit me a cashier of Messer Bindo Altoviti, who
was called Bernardo Galluzzi. I had entrusted to him a sum of
several hundred crowns, and the young man sought me out in the
Pope's garden, expressing his wish to give back this money to the
uttermost farthing. I answered that I did not know where to place
my property, either with a dearer friend or in a place that seemed
to me more safe. He showed the strongest possible repugnance to
keeping it, and I was, as it were, obliged to force him. Now that
I had left the castle for the last time, I discovered that poor Ber-
nardo Galluzzi was ruined, whereby I lost my money. Now while
I was still imprisoned in that dungeon, I had a terrible dream, in
which it seemed to me that words of the greatest consequence were
written with a pen upon my forehead; the being who did this to
me repeated at least three times that I should hold my tongue and
not report the words to any one. When I awoke I felt that my
forehead had been meddled with. In my Capitolo upon the prison

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 25 1

I have related many incidents o this sort. Among others, it was told
me (I not knowing what I then prophesied) how everything which
afterwards happened to Signer Pier Luigi would take place, so
clearly and so circumstantially that I am under the persuasion it was
an angel from heaven who informed me. I will not omit to relate
another circumstance also, which is perhaps the most remarkable
which has ever happened to any one. I do so in order to justify
the divinity of God and of His secrets, who deigned to grant me
that great favour; for ever since the time of my strange vision until
now an aureole of glory (marvellous to relate) has rested on my
head. This is visible to every sort of men to whom I have chosen
to point it out; but those have been very few. This halo can be ob-
served above my shadow in the morning from the rising of the sun
for about two hours, and far better when the grass is drenched with
dew. It is also visible at evening about sunset. I became aware of
it in France at Paris; for the air in those parts is so much freer from
mist, that one can see it there far better manifested than in Italy,
mists being far more frequent among us. However, I am always able
to see it and to show it to others, but not so well as in the country I
have mentioned.

Now I will set forth the Capitolo I wrote in prison, and in praise
of the said prison; after that I will follow the course of the good
and evil things which have happened to me from time to time; and
I mean also to relate what happens in the future.

THIS CAPITOLO I WRITE TO LUCA MARTIN
ADDRESSING HIM IN IT AS WILL APPEAR. 1

Whoso would know the power of God's dominion,
And how a man resembles that high good,
Must lie in prison, is my firm opinion:

On grievous thoughts and cares of home must brood,
Oppressed with carking pains in flesh and bone,
Far from his native land full many a rood.

1 Cellini's Capitolo in Praise of the Prison is clearly made up of pieces written, as
described above, in the dungeon of S. Angelo, and of passages which he afterwards
composed to bring these pieces into a coherent whole. He has not displayed much
literary skill in the redaction, and I have been at pains to preserve the roughness of
the original.

252 BENVENUTO CELLINI

If you would fain by worthy deeds be known,
Seek to be prisoned without cause, lie long,
And find no friend to listen to your moan.

See that men rob you of your all by wrong;

Add perils to your life; be used with force,
Hopeless of help, by brutal foes and strong.

Be driven at length to some mad desperate course;
Burst from your dungeon, leap the castle wall;
Recaptured, find the prison ten times worse.

Now listen, Luca, to the best of all!

Your leg's been broken; you've been bought and sold;
Your dungeon's dripping; you've no cloak or shawl.

Never one friendly word; your victuals cold

Are brought with sorry news by some base groom
Of Prato soldier now druggist of old.

Mark well how Glory steeps her sons in gloom!
You have no seat to sit on, save the stool:
Yet were you active from your mother's womb.

The knave who serves hath orders strict and cool
To list no word you utter, give you naught,
Scarcely to ope the door; such is their rule.

These toys hath Glory for her nursling wrought!
No paper, pens, ink, fire, or tools of steel,
To exercise the quick brain's teeming thought.

Alack that I so little can reveal!

Fancy one hundred for each separate ill:
Full space and place I've left for prison weal!

But now my former purpose to fulfil,

And sing the dungeon's praise with honour due
For this angelic tongues were scant of skill.

Here never languish honest men and true,

Except by placemen's fraud, misgovernment,
Jealousies, anger, or some spiteful crew.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 253

To tell the truth whereon my mind is bent,

Here man knows God, nor ever stints to pray,
Feeling his soul with hell's fierce anguish rent.

Let one be famed as bad as mortal may,

Send him in jail two sorry years to pine,
He'll come forth holy, wise, beloved alway.

Here soul, flesh, clothes their substance gross refine;
Each bulky lout grows light like gossamere;
Celestial thrones before purged eyeballs shine.

I'll tell thee a great marvel! Friend, give ear!
The fancy took me on one day to write:
Learn now what shifts one may be put to here.

My cell I search, prick brows and hair upright,
Then turn me toward a cranny in the door,
And with my teeth a splinter disunite;

Next find a piece of brick upon the floor,
Crumble a part thereof to powder small,
And form a paste by sprinkling water o'er. 2

Then, then came Poesy with fiery call

Into my carcass, by the way methought

Whence bread goes forth there was none else at all.

Now to return unto my primal thought:

Who wills to know what weal awaits him, must
First learn the ill that God for him hath wrought.

The jail contains all arts in act and trust;

Should you but hanker after surgeon's skill,

'Twill draw the spoiled blood from your veins adust.

Next there is something in itself that will

Make you right eloquent, a bold brave spark,
Big with high-soaring thoughts for good and ill.

Blessed is the man who lies in dungeon dark,

Languishing many a month, then takes his flight
Of war, truce, peace he knows, and tells the mark.

2 The Italian is acqua mortal probably a slang phrase for urine.

254 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Needs be that all things turn to his delight;

The jail has crammed his brains so full of wit,
They'll dance no morris to upset the wight.

Perchance thou'lt urge: "Think how thy life did flit;
Nor is it true the jail can teach thee lore,
To fill thy breast and heart with strength of it!"

Nay, for myself I'll ever praise it more:

Yet would I like one law passed that the man
Whose acts deserve it should not scape this score.

Whoso hath gotten the poor folk in ban,

I'd make him learn those lessons of the jail;
For then he'd know all a good ruler can:

He'd act like men who weigh by reason's scale,
Nor dare to swerve from truth and right aside,
Nor would confusion in the realm prevail.

While I was bound in prison to abide,

Poison of priests, friars, soldiers I could see;
But those who best deserved it least I spied.

Ah! could you know what rage came over me,

When for such rogues the jail relaxed her hold!
This makes one weep that one was born to be!

I'll add no more. Now I'm become fine gold,

Such gold as none flings lightly to the wind,
Fit for the best work eyes shall e'er behold.

Another point hath passed into my mind,

Which I've not told thee, Luca; where I wrote
Was in the book of one our kith and kind. 3

There down the margins I was wont to note

Each torment grim that crushed me like a vice:
The paste my hurrying thoughts could hardly float.

To make an O, I dipped the splinter thrice

In that thick mud; worse woe could scarcely grind
Spirits in hell debarred from Paradise.

3 Un nostro parente. He says above that he wrote the Capitolo on the leaves of
his Bible.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 255

Seeing I'm not the first by fraud confined,

This I'll omit; and once more seek the cell
Wherein I rack for rage both heart and mind.

I praise it more than other tongues will tell;
And, for advice to such as do not know,
Swear that without it none can labour well.

Yet oh! for one like Him I learned but now,
Who'd cry to me as by Bethesda's shore:
Take thy clothes, Benvenuto, rise and go!

Credo I'd sing, Salve reginas pour

And Paternosters; alms I'd then bestow

Morn after morn on blind folk, lame, and poor.

Ah me! how many a time my cheek must grow
Blanched by those lilies! Shall I then forswear
Florence and France through them for evermore? 4

If to the hospital I come, and fair

Find the Annunziata limned, I'll fly:

Else shall I show myself a brute beast there. 5

These words flout not Her worshipped sanctity,
Nor those Her lilies, glorious, holy, pure,
The which illumine earth and heaven high!

But for I find at every coign obscure

Base lilies which spread hooks where flowers should blow
Needs must I fear lest these to ruin lure. 6

To think how many walk like me in woe!

Born what, how slaved to serve that hateful sign!
Souls lively, graceful, like to gods below!

I saw that lethal heraldry decline

From heaven like lightning among people vain;
Then on the stone I saw strange lustre shine.

4 Here he begins to play upon the lilies, which were arms of the Farnesi, of
Florence, and of France.

Gabriel holds the lily in Italian paintings when he salutes the Virgin Mary with
Ave Virgo!

6 That is, he finds everywhere in Italy the arms of the Farnesi.

256 BENVENUTO CELLINI

The castle's bell must break ere I with strain

Thence issued; and these things Who speaketh true
In heaven on earth, to me made wondrous plain. 7

Next I beheld a bier of sombre hue

Adorned with broken lilies; crosses, tears;
And on their beds a lost woe-stricken crew. 8

I saw the Death who racks our souls with fears;

This man and that she menaced, while she cried:
"I clip the folk who harm thee with these shears!"

That worthy one then on my brow wrote wide

With Peter's pen words which for he bade shun
To speak them thrice within my breast I hide. 9

Him I beheld who drives and checks the sun,

Clad with its splendour 'mid his court on high,
Seld-seen by mortal eyes, if e'er by one. 10

Then did a solitary sparrow cry

Loud from the keep; hearing which note, I said:
"He tells that I shall live and you must die!"

I sang, and wrote my hard case, head by head,
Asking from God pardon and aid in need,
For now I felt mine eyes outworn and dead.

Ne'er lion, tiger, wolf, or bear knew greed

Hungrier than that man felt for human blood;
Nor viper with more venomous fang did feed. 11

The cruel chief was he of robbers' brood,

Worst of the worst among a gang of knaves;
Hist! I'll speak soft lest I be understood!

Say, have ye seen catchpolls, the famished slaves,
In act a poor man's homestead to distrain,
Smashing down Christs, Madonnas, with their staves?

7 Allusion to his prevision of the castellan's death.

8 Allusion to his prevision of Pier Luigi Farnese's murder.

9 Allusion to the angel who visited him in prison.

10 Allusion to his vision of the sun in the dungeon.

11 An invective against Pier Luigi Farnese.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 257

So on the first of August did that train

Dislodge me to a tomb more foul, more cold:
"November damns and dooms each rogue to pain!" "

I at mine ears a trumpet had which told

Truth; and each word to them I did repeat,
Reckless, if but grief's load from me were rolled.

They, when they saw their final hope retreat,
Gave me a diamond, pounded, no fair ring,
Deeming that I must die if I should eat.

That villain churl whose office 'twas to bring

My food, I bade taste first; but meanwhile thought:
"Not here I find my foe Durante's sting!"

Yet erst my mind unto high God I brought
Beseeching Him to pardon all my sin,
And spoke a Miserere sorrow-fraught.

Then when I gained some respite from that din
Of troubles, and had given my soul to God,
Contented better realms and state to win,

I saw along the path which saints have trod,

From heaven descending, glad, with glorious palm,
An angel: clear he cried, "Upon earth's sod

Live longer thou! Through Him who heard thy psalm,
Those foes shall perish, each and all, in strife,
While thou remainest happy, free, and calm,

Blessed by our Sire in heaven on earth for life!"

12 Allusion to the prophetic words he flung at the officers who took him to Foiano's
dungeon.

BOOK SECOND

I REMAINED for some time in the Cardinal of Ferrara's pal-
ace, very well regarded in general by everybody, and much
more visited even than I had previously been. Everybody was
astonished that I should have come out of prison and have been
able to live through such indescribable afflictions; 1 and while I was
recovering my breath and endeavouring to resume the habit of my
art, I had great pleasure in re-writing the Capitolo. Afterwards, with
a view to re-establishing my strength, I determined to take a journey
of a few days for change of air. My good friend the Cardinal gave
me permission and lent me horses; and I had two young Romans
for my companions, one of them a craftsman in my trade, the other
only a comrade in our journey. We left Rome, and took the road
to Tagliacozzo, intending to visit my pupil Ascanio, who lived there.
On our arrival, I found the lad, together with his father, brothers,
sisters, and stepmother. I was entertained by them two days with
indescribable kindness; then I turned my face towards Rome, taking
Ascanio with me. On the road we fell to conversing about our art,
which made me die of impatience to get back and recommence my
labours.

Having reached Rome, I got myself at once in readiness to work,
and was fortunate enough to find again a silver basin which I had
begun for the Cardinal before I was imprisoned. Together with
this basin I had begun a very beautiful little jug; but this had been
stolen, with a great quantity of other valuable articles. I set Pagolo,
whom I have previously mentioned, to work upon the basin. At the
same time I recommenced the jug, which was designed with round
figures and bas-reliefs. The basin was executed in a similar style,
with round figures and fishes in bas-relief. The whole had such rich-
1 This assertion is well supported by contemporary letters of Caro and Alamanni.

258

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 259

ness and good keeping, that every one who beheld it expressed
astonishment at the force o the design and beauty of invention, and
also at the delicacy 2 with which these young men worked.

The Cardinal came at least twice a day to see me, bringing with
him Messer Luigi Alamanni and Messer Gabriel Cesano; 3 and here
we used to pass an hour or two pleasantly together. Notwithstand-
ing I had very much to do, he kept giving me fresh commissions.
Among others, I had to make his pontifical seal of the size of the
hand of a boy of twelve. On it I engraved in intaglio two little his-
tories, the one of San Giovanni preaching in the wilderness, the other
of Sant' Ambrogio expelling the Arians 4 on horseback with a lash
in his hand. The fire and correctness of design of this piece, and
its nicety of workmanship, made every one say that I had surpassed
the great Lautizio, who ranked alone in this branch of the profes-
sion. The Cardinal was so proud of it that he used to compare it
complacently with the other seals of the Roman cardinals, which
were nearly all from the hand of Lautizio.

In addition to these things the Cardinal ordered me to make the
model for a salt-cellar; but he said he should like me to leave the
beaten track pursued by such as fabricated these things. Messer
Luigi, apropos of this salt-cellar, made an eloquent description of
his own idea; Messer Gabriello Cesano also spoke exceedingly well
to the same purpose. The Cardinal, who was a very kindly listener,
showed extreme satisfaction with the designs which these two able
men of letters had described in words. Then he turned to me and
said : "My Benvenuto, the design of Messer Luigi and that of Messer
Gabriello please me both so well that I know not how to choose
between them; therefore I leave the choice to you, who will have
to execute the work." I replied as follows: "It is apparent, my lords,
of what vast consequence are the sons of kings and emperors, and
what a marvellous brightness of divinity appears in them; neverthe-
less, if you ask some poor humble shepherd which he loves best, those
royal children or his sons, he will certainly tell you that he loves his

*Pulitezza. This indicates precision, neatness, cleanness of execution.

3 The name of Cesano is well known in the literary correspondence of those times.

4 It will be remembered that the Cardinal was Archbishop of Milan.

260 BENVENUTO CELLINI

own sons best. Now I too have a great affection for the children
which I bring forth from my art; consequently the first which I will
show you, most reverend monsignor my good master, shall be of
my own making and invention. There are many things beautiful
enough in words which do not match together well when executed
by an artist." Then I turned to the two scholars and said : "You have
spoken, I will do." Upon this Messer Luigi Alamanni smiled, and
added a great many witty things, with the greatest charm of man-
ner, in my praise; they became him well, for he was handsome of
face and figure, and had a gentle voice. Messer Gabriello Cesano
was quite the opposite, as ugly and displeasing as the other was
agreeable; accordingly he spoke as he looked.

Messer Luigi had suggested that I should fashion a Venus with
Cupid, surrounded by a crowd of pretty emblems, all in proper keep-
ing with the subject. Messer Gabriello proposed that I should model
an Amphitrite, the wife of Neptune, together with those Tritons of
the sea, and many such-like fancies, good enough to describe in
words, but not to execute in metal.

I first laid down an oval framework, considerably longer than half
a cubit almost two-thirds, in fact; and upon this ground, wishing
to suggest the interminglement of land and ocean, I modelled two
figures, considerably taller than a palm in height, which were seated
with their legs interlaced, suggesting those lengthier branches of the
sea which run up into the continents. The sea was a man, and in his
hand I placed a ship, elaborately wrought in all its details, and well
adapted to hold a quantity of salt. Beneath him I grouped the four
sea-horses, and in his right hand he held his trident. The earth I
fashioned like a woman, with all the beauty of form, the grace, and
charm of which my art was capable. She had a richly decorated
temple firmly based upon the ground at one side; and here her hand
rested. This I intended to receive the pepper. In her other hand I
put a cornucopia, overflowing with all the natural treasures I could
think of. Below this goddess, in the part which represented earth,
I collected the fairest animals that haunt our globe. In the quarter
presided over by the deity of ocean, I fashioned such choice kinds
of fishes and shells as could be properly displayed in that small
space. What remained of the oval I filled in with luxuriant orna-
mentation.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 26 1

Then I waited for the Cardinal; and when he came, attended by
the two accomplished gentlemen, I produced the model I had made
in wax. On beholding it, Messer Gabriel Cesano was the first to lift
his voice up, and to cry : "This is a piece which it will take the lives
of ten men to finish: do not expect, most reverend monsignor, if
you order it, to get it in your lifetime. Benvenuto, it seems, has
chosen to display his children in a vision, but not to give them to the
touch, as we did when we spoke of things that could be carried
out, while he has shown a thing beyond the bounds of possibility."
Messer Alamanni took my side; but the Cardinal said he did not
care to undertake so important an affair. Then I turned to them and
said: "Most reverend monsignor, and you, gentlemen, fulfilled with
learning; I tell you that I hope to complete this piece for whosoever
shall be destined to possess it; 1 and each one of you shall live to
see it executed a hundred times more richly than the model. Indeed,
I hope that time will be left me to produce far greater things
than this." The Cardinal replied in heat: "Unless you make it for
the King, to whom I mean to take you, I do not think that you will
make it for another man alive." Then he showed me letters in which
the King, under one heading, bade him return as soon as possible,
bringing Benvenuto with him. At this I raised my hands to heaven,
exclaiming: "Oh, when will that moment come, and quickly?"
The Cardinal bade me put myself in readiness, and arrange the
affairs I had in Rome. He gave me ten days for these prepara-
tions.

When the time came to travel, he gave me a fine and excellent
horse. The animal was called Tornon, because it was a gift from
the Cardinal Tornon. 2 My apprentices, Pagolo and Ascanio, were
also furnished with good mounts.

The Cardinal divided his household, which was very numerous,
into two sections. The first, and the more distinguished, he took
with him, following the route of Romagna, with the object of visit-
ing Madonna del Loreto, and then making for Ferrara, his own
home. The other section he sent upon the road to Florence. This was

* A chl I'ard avere. For whomsoever it is going to belong to.

2 This was the famous Francis de Tournon, made Cardinal in 1530, and employed
as minister by Francois I.

262 BENVENUTO CELLINI

the larger train; it counted a great multitude, including the flower
of his horse. He told me that if I wished to make the journey with-
out peril, I had better go with him, otherwise I ran some risk of
my life. I expressed my inclination to his most reverend lordship
to travel in his suite. But, having done so, since the will of Heaven
must be accomplished, it pleased God to remind me of my poor
sister, who had suffered greatly from the news of my misfortunes.
I also remembered my cousins, who were nuns in Viterbo, the one
abbess and the other camerlinga, 3 and who had therefore that rich
convent under their control. They too had endured sore tribulation
for my sake, and to their fervent prayers I firmly believed that I
owed the grace of my deliverance by God. Accordingly, when these
things came into my mind, I decided for the route to Florence. I
might have travelled free of expense with the Cardinal or with that
other train of his, but I chose to take my own way by myself.
Eventually I joined company with a very famous clockmaker, called
Maestro Cherubino, my esteemed friend. Thrown together by acci-
dent, we performed the journey with much enjoyment on both sides.
I had left Rome on Monday in Passion Week, together with Pagolo
and Ascanio. 4 At Monte Ruosi we joined the company which I have
mentioned. Since I had expressed my intention of following the
Cardinal, I did not anticipate that any of my enemies would be upon
the watch to harm me. Yet I ran a narrow risk of coming to grief
at Monte Ruosi; for a band of men had been sent forward, well
armed, to do me mischief there. It was so ordained by God that,
while we were at dinner, these fellows, on the news that I was not
travelling in the Cardinal's suite, made preparation to attack me.
Just at that moment the Cardinal's retinue arrived, and I was glad
enough to travel with their escort safely to Viterbo. From that place
onward I had no apprehension of danger, especially as I made a
point of travelling a few miles in front, and the best men of the
retinue kept a good watch over me. 5 I arrived by God's grace safe
and sound at Viterbo, where my cousins and all the convent re-
ceived me with the greatest kindness.

3 This official in a convent was the same as cellarer or superintendent of the cellar
and provisions. 4 This was March 22, 1540. 5 Tenevano molto conto di me.
This is perhaps equivalent to held me in high esteem. But Cellini uses the same
phrase with the meaning I have given above, in Book I. chap. Ixxxvi,

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 263

After leaving Viterbo with the comrades I have mentioned, we
pursued our journey on horseback, sometimes in front and some-
times behind the Cardinal's household. This brought us upon
Maundy Thursday at twenty-two o'clock within one stage of Siena.
At this place there happened to be some return-horses; and the
people of the post were waiting for an opportunity to hire them at
a small fee to any traveller who would take them back to the post-
station in Siena. When I was aware of this, I dismounted from my
horse Tornon, saddled one of the beasts with my pad and stirrups,
and gave a giulio to the groom in waiting. 1

I left my horse under the care of my young men to bring after me,
and rode on in front, wishing to arrive half-an-hour earlier in Siena,
where I had some friends to visit and some business to transact. Al-
though I went at a smart pace, I did not override the post-horse.
When I reached Siena, I engaged good rooms at the inn for five per-
sons, and told the groom of the house to take the horse back to the
post, which was outside the Camollia gate; I forgot, however, to
remove my stirrups and my pad.

That evening of Holy Thursday we passed together with much
gaiety; and next morning, which was Good Friday, I remembered
my stirrups and my pad. On my sending for them, the postmaster
replied that he did not mean to give them up, because I had over-
ridden his horse. We exchanged messages several times, and he kept
saying that he meant to keep them, adding expressions of intolerable
insult. The host where I was lodging told me: "You will get off
well if he does nothing worse than to detain your gear; for you
must know that he is the most brutal fellow that ever disgraced
our city, and has two sons, soldiers of great courage, who are
even more brutal than he is. I advise you then to purchase what
you want, and to pursue your journey without moving farther in
this matter."

I bought a new pair of stirrups, although I still hoped to regain
my good pad by persuasion; and since I was very well mounted,

J The word I have translated by "pad" above is cucino in the original. It seems
to have been a sort of cushion flung upon the saddle, and to which the stirrups were
attached.

264 BENVENUTO CELLINI

and well armed with shirt and sleeves of mail, and carried an ex-
cellent arquebuse upon my saddle-bow, I was not afraid of the
brutality and violence which that mad beast was said to be possessed
of. I had also accustomed my young men to carry shirts of mail,
and had great confidence in the Roman, who, while we were in
Rome together, had never left it off, so far as I could see; Ascanio
too, although he was but a stripling, was in the habit of wearing one.
Besides, as it was Good Friday, I imagined that the madnesses of
madmen might be giving themselves a holiday. When we came to
the Camellia gate, I at once recognised the postmaster by the indica-
tions given me; for he was blind of the left eye. Riding up to him
then, and leaving my young men and companions at a little distance,
I courteously addressed him : "Master of the post, if I assure you that
I did not override your horse, why are you unwilling to give me
back my pad and stirrups?" The reply he made was precisely as
mad and brutal as had been foretold me. This roused me to ex-
claim: "How then! are you not a Christian? or do you want upon
Good Friday to force us both into a scandal?" He answered that
Good Friday or the Devil's Friday was all the same to him, and that
if I did not take myself away, he would fell me to the ground with
a spontoon which he had taken up me and the arquebuse I had
my hand on. Upon hearing these truculent words, an old gentleman
of Siena joined us; he was dressed like a citizen, and was returning
from the religious functions proper to that day. It seems that he had
gathered the sense of my arguments before he came up to where
we stood; and this impelled him to rebuke the postmaster with
warmth, taking my side, and reprimanding the man's two sons for
not doing their duty to passing strangers; so that their manners
were an oflence to God and a disgrace to the city of Siena. The
two young fellows wagged their heads without saying a word, and
withdrew inside the house. Their father, stung to fury by the
scolding of that respectable gentleman, poured out a volley of abusive
blasphemies, and levelled his spontoon, swearing he would murder
me. When I saw him determined to do some act of bestial violence,
I pointed the muzzle of my arquebuse, with the object only of keep-

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 265

ing him at a distance. Doubly enraged by this, he flung himself upon
me. Though I had prepared the arquebuse for my defence, I had
not yet levelled it exactly at him; indeed it was pointed too high.
It went off of itself; and the ball, striking the arch of the door and
glancing backwards, wounded him in the throat, so that he fell
dead to earth. Upon this the two young men came running out; one
caught up a partisan from the rack which stood there, the other
seized the spontoon of his father. Springing upon my followers,
the one who had the spontoon smote Pagolo the Roman first above
the left nipple. The other attacked a Milanese who was in our com-
pany, and had the ways and manners of a perfect fool. This man
screamed out that he had nothing in the world to do with me, and
parried the point of the partisan with a little stick he held; but this
availed him naught : in spite of his words and fencing, he received a
flesh wound in the mouth. Messer Cherubino wore the habit of a
priest; for though he was a clockmaker by trade, he held benefices
of some value from the Pope. Ascanio, who was well armed, stood
his ground without trying to escape, as the Milanese had done; so
these two came off unhurt. I had set spurs to my horse, and while
he was galloping, had charged and got my arquebuse in readiness
again; but now I turned back, burning with fury, and meaning to
play my part this time in earnest. I thought that my young men had
been killed, and was resolved to die with them. The horse had not
gone many paces when I met them riding toward me, and asked
if they were hurt. Ascanio answered that Pagolo was wounded to
the death. Then I said: "O Pagolo, my son, did the spontoon then
pierce through your armour?" "No," he replied, "for I put my shirt
of mail in the valise this morning." "So then, I suppose, one wears
chain-mail in Rome to swagger before ladies, but where there is
danger, and one wants it, one keeps it locked up in a portmanteau ?
You deserve what you have got, and you are now the cause of send-
ing me back to die here too." While I was uttering these words, I
kept riding briskly onward; but both the young men implored me
for the love of God to save myself and them, and not to rush on
certain death. Just then I met Messer Cherubino and the wounded

266 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Milanese. The former cried out that no one was badly wounded;
the blow given to Pagolo had only grazed the skin; 2 but the old
postmaster was stretched out dead; his sons with other folk were
getting ready for attack, and we must almost certainly be cut to
pieces: "Accordingly, Benvenuto, since fortune has saved us from
this first tempest, do not tempt her again, for things may not go
so favourably a second time." To this I replied: "If you are satisfied
to have it thus, so also am I;" and turning to Pagolo and Ascanio,
I said: "Strike spurs to your horses, and let us gallop to Staggia
without stopping; 3 there we shall be in safety." The wounded Mi-
lanese groaned out: "A pox upon our peccadilloes! the sole cause
of my misfortune was that I sinned by taking a little broth this
morning, having nothing else to break my fast with." In spite of
the great peril we were in, we could not help laughing a little at
the donkey and his silly speeches. Then we set spurs to our horses,
and left Messer Cherubino and the Milanese to follow at their
leisure.

While we were making our escape, the sons of the dead man ran
to the Duke of Melfi, and begged for some light horsemen to catch
us up and take us prisoners. 1 The Duke upon being informed that
we were the Cardinal of Ferrara's men, refused to give them troops
or leave to follow. We meanwhile arrived at Staggia, where we
were in safety. There we sent for a doctor, the best who could be had
in such a place; and on his examining Pagolo, we discovered that
the wound was only skin-deep; so I felt sure 2 that he would escape
without mischief. Then we ordered dinner; and at this juncture
there arrived Messer Cherubino and that Milanese simpleton, who
kept always muttering: "A plague upon your quarrels," and com-
plaining that he was excommunicated because he had not been able
to say a single Paternoster on that holy morning. He was very ugly,
and his mouth, which nature had made large, had been expanded

2 The Italian is peculiar: il colpo di Pagolo era ito tanto ritto che non era isjandato.

3 Staggia is the next post on the way to Florence.

1 The Duke of Melfi, or Amalfi, was at this time Alfonso Piccolomini, acting as
captain-general of the Sienese in the interests of Charles V.

2 Cognobbi. The subject to this verb may be either Cellini or the doctor.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 267

at least three inches by his wound; so that what with his ludicrous
Milanese jargon and his silly way of talking, he gave us so much
matter for mirth, that, instead of bemoaning our ill-luck, we could
not hold from laughing at every word he uttered. When the doctor
wanted to sew up his wound, and had already made three stitches
with his needle, the fellow told him to hold hard a while, since he
did not want him out of malice to sew his whole mouth up. Then
he took up a spoon, and said he wished to have his mouth left open
enough to take that spoon in, in order that he might return alive to
his own folk. These things he said with such odd waggings of the
head, that we never stopped from laughing, and so pursued our jour-
ney mirthfully to Florence.

We dismounted at the house of my poor sister, who, together with
her husband, overwhelmed us with kind attentions. Messer Cheru-
bino and the Milanese went about their business. In Florence we
remained four days, during which Pagolo got well. It was lucky
for us that whenever we talked about that Milanese donkey, we
laughed as much as our misfortunes made us weep, so that we kept
laughing and crying both at the same moment.

Pagolo recovered, as I have said, with ease; and then we travelled
toward Ferrara, where we found our lord the Cardinal had not
yet arrived. He had already heard of all our accidents, and said,
when he expressed his concern for them : "I pray to God that I may
be allowed to bring you alive to the King, according to my promise."
In Ferrara he sent me to reside at a palace of his, a very handsome
place called Belfiore, close under the city walls. There he provided
me with all things necessary for my work. A little later, he ar-
ranged to leave for France without me; and observing that I was
very ill pleased with this, he said to me : "Benvenuto, I am acting for
your welfare; before I take you out of Italy, I want you to know
exactly what you will have to do when you come to France. Mean-
while, push on my basin and the jug with all the speed you can. I
shall leave orders with my factor to give you everything that you
may want."

He then departed, and I remained sorely dissatisfied, and more
than once I was upon the point of taking myself off without license.
The only thing which kept me back was that he had procured my

268 BENVENUTO CELLINI

freedom from Pope Paolo; for the rest, I was ill-contented and put
to considerable losses. However, I clothed my mind with the grati-
tude due to that great benefit, and disposed myself to be patient and
to await the termination of the business. So I set myself to work
with my two men, and made great progress with the jug and basin.
The air was unwholesome where we lodged, and toward summer
we all of us suffered somewhat in our health. During our indispo-
sition we went about inspecting the domain; it was very large, and
left in a wild state for about a mile of open ground, haunted too
by multitudes of peacocks, which bred and nested there like wild-
fowl. This put it into my head to charge my gun with a noiseless
kind of powder; then I tracked some of the young birds, and every
other day killed one, which furnished us with abundance of meat,
of such excellent quality that we shook our sickness or!. For several
months following we went on working merrily, and got the jug and
basin forward; but it was a task that required much time.

At that period the Duke of Ferrara came to terms with Pope Paul
about some old matters in dispute between them relating to Modena
and certain other cities. The Church having a strong claim to them,
the Duke was forced to purchase peace by paying down an enor-
mous sum of money; I think that it exceeded three hundred thou-
sand ducats of the Camera. There was an old treasurer in the service
of the Duke, who had been brought up by his father, Duke Alfonso,
and was called Messer Girolamo Giliolo. He could not endure to see
so much money going to the Pope, and went about the streets crying :
''Duke Alfonso, his father, would sooner have attacked and taken
Rome with this money than have shown it to the Pope." Nothing
would induce him to disburse it; at last, however, the Duke com-
pelled him to make the payments, which caused the old man such
anguish that he sickened of a dangerous colic and was brought to
death's door. During this man's illness the Duke sent for me, and
bade me take his portrait; this I did upon a circular piece of black
stone about the size of a little trencher. The Duke took so much
pleasure in my work and conversation, that he not unfrequently

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 269

posed through four or five hours at a stretch for his own portrait,
and sometimes invited me to supper. It took me eight days to com-
plete his likeness; then he ordered me to design the reverse. On it
I modelled Peace, giving her the form of a woman with a torch in
her hand, setting fire to a trophy of arms; I portrayed her in an atti-
tude of gladness, with very thin drapery, and below her feet lay
Fury in despair, downcast and sad, and loaded with chains. I de-
voted much study and attenti^ti to this work, and it won me the
greatest honour. The Duke was never tired of expressing his satis-
faction, and gave me inscriptions for both sides of the medal. That
on the reverse ran as follows: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini; it meant
that his peace with the Pope had been dearly bought.

VII

While I was still engaged upon the reverse of this medal, the Car-
dinal sent me letters bidding me prepare for my journey, since the
King had asked after me. His next communication would contain
full details respecting all that he had promised. Accordingly, I had
my jug and basin packed up, after showing them to the Duke. Now
a Ferrarese gentleman named Alberto Bendedio was the Cardinal's
agent, and he had been twelve years confined to his house, without
once leaving it, by reason of some physical infirmity. One day he
sent in a vast hurry for me, saying I must take the post at once, in
order to present myself before the King of France, who had eagerly
been asking for me, under the impression that I was in France. By
way of apology, the Cardinal told him that I was staying, slightly
indisposed, in his abbey at Lyons, but that he would have me brought
immediately to his Majesty. Therefore I must lose no time, but
travel with the post.

Now Messer Alberto was a man of sterling worth, but proud, and
illness had made his haughty temper insupportable. As I have just
said, he bade me to get ready on the spot and take the journey by
the common post. I said that it was not the custom to pursue my
profession in the post, and that if I had to go, it was my intention
to make easy stages and to take with me the workmen Ascanio and
Pagolo, whom I had brought from Rome. Moreover, I wanted a

270 BENVENUTO CELLINI

servant on horseback to be at my orders, and money sufficient for my
costs upon the way. The infirm old man replied, upon a tone of
mighty haughtiness, that the sons of dukes were wont to travel as
I had described, and in no other fashion. I retorted that the sons of
my art travelled in the way I had informed him, and that not being a
duke's son, I knew nothing about the customs of such folk; if he
treated me to language with which my ears were unfamiliar, I would
not go at all; the Cardinal having broken faith with me, and such
scurvy words having been spoken, I should make my mind up once
for all to take no further trouble with the Ferrarese. Then I turned
my back, and, he threatening, I grumbling, took my leave.

I next went to the Duke with my medal, which was finished. He
received me with the highest marks of honour and esteem. It seems
that he had given orders to Messer Girolamo Giliolo to reward me
for my labour with a diamond ring worth two hundred crowns,
which was to be presented by Fiaschino, his chamberlain. Accord-
ingly, this fellow, on the evening after I had brought the medal, at
one hour past nightfall, handed me a ring with a diamond of showy
appearance, and spoke as follows on the part of his master: "Take
this diamond as a remembrance of his Excellency, to adorn the
unique artist's hand which has produced a masterpiece of so singular
merit." When day broke, I examined the ring, and found the stone
to be a miserable thin diamond, worth about ten crowns. I felt
sure that the Duke had not meant to accompany such magnificent
compliments with so trifling a gift, but that he must have intended
to reward me handsomely. Being then convinced that the trick pro-
ceeded from his rogue of a treasurer, I gave the ring to a friend of
mine, begging him to return it to the chamberlain, Fiaschino, as he
best could. The man I chose was Bernardo Saliti, who executed his
commission admirably. Fiaschino came at once to see me, and de-
clared, with vehement expostulations, that the Duke would take it
very ill if I refused a present he had meant so kindly; perhaps I
should have to repent of my waywardness. I answered that the ring
his Excellency had given me was worth about ten crowns, and that
the work I had done for him was worth more than two hundred.
Wishing, however, to show his Excellency how highly I esteemed his
courtesy, I should be happy if he bestowed on me only one of those

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 27!

rings for the cramp, which come from England and are worth ten-
pence. 1 I would treasure that so long as I lived in remembrance of
his Excellency, together with the honourable message he had sent
me; for I considered that the splendid favours of his Excellency had
amply recompensed my pains, whereas that paltry stone insulted
them. This speech annoyed the Duke so much that he sent for his
treasurer, and scolded him more sharply than he had ever done be-
fore. At the same time he gave me orders, under pain of his dis-
pleasure, not to leave Ferrara without duly informing him; and com-
manded the treasurer to present me with a diamond up to three
hundred crowns in value. The miserly official found a stone rising
a trifle above sixty crowns, and let it be heard that it was worth
upwards of two hundred.

VIII

Meanwhile Messer Alberto returned to reason, and provided me
with all I had demanded. My mind was made up to quit Ferrara
without fail that very day; but the Duke's attentive chamberlain
arranged with Messer Alberto that I should get no horses then. I
had loaded a mule with my baggage, including the case which held
the Cardinal's jug and basin. Just then a Ferrarese nobleman named
Messer Alfonso de' Trotti arrived. 2 He was far advanced in years,
and a person of excessive affectation; a great dilettante of the arts,
but one of those men who are very difficult to satisfy, and who, if
they chance to stumble on something which suits their taste, exalt it
so in their own fancy that they never expect to see the like of it again.
Well, this Messer Alfonso arrived, and Messer Alberto said to him :
"I am sorry that you are come so late; the jug and basin we are
sending to the Cardinal in France have been already packed." He
answered that it did not signify to him; and beckoning to his serv-
ant, sent him home to fetch a jug in white Faenzo clay, the work-
manship of which was very exquisite. During the time the servant
took to go and return, Messer Alfonso said to Messer Alberto: "I
will tell you why I do not care any longer to look at vases; it is that

1 Anello del granchio, a metal ring of lead and copper, such as are now worn in
Italy under the name of anello di salute.

2 This man was a member of a very noble Ferrarese family, and much esteemed for
his official talents.

272 BENVENUTO CELLINI

I once beheld a piece of silver, antique, of such beauty and such
finish that the human imagination cannot possibly conceive its rarity.
Therefore I would rather not inspect any objects of the kind, for fear
of spoiling the unique impression I retain of that. I must tell you
that a gentleman of great quality and accomplishments, who went
to Rome upon matters of business, had this antique vase shown to
him in secret. By adroitly using a large sum of money, he bribed
the person in whose hands it was, and brought it with him to these
parts; but he keeps it jealously from all eyes, in order that the Duke
may not get wind of it, fearing he should in some way be deprived
of his treasure." While spinning out this lengthy yarn, Messer
Alfonso did not look at me, because we were not previously ac-
quainted. But when that precious clay model appeared, he displayed
it with such airs of ostentation, pomp, and mountebank ceremony,
that, after inspecting it, I turned to Messer Alberto and said: "I am
indeed lucky to have had the privilege to see it!" 3 Messer Alfonso,
quite affronted, let some contemptuous words escape him, and ex-
claimed: "Who are you, then, you who do not know what you are
saying?" I replied: "Listen for a moment, and afterwards judge
which of us knows best what he is saying." Then turning to Messer
Alberto, who was a man of great gravity and talent, I began : "This
is a copy from a little silver goblet, of such and such a weight, which
I made at such and such a time for that charlatan Maestro Jacopo,
the surgeon from Carpi. He came to Rome and spent six months
there, during which he bedaubed some scores of noblemen and un-
fortunate gentlefolk with his dirty salves, extracting many thousands
of ducats from their pockets. At that time I made for him this vase
and one of a different pattern. He paid me very badly; and at the
present moment in Rome all the miserable people who used his oint-
ment are crippled and in a deplorable state of health. 4 It is indeed
great glory for me that my works are held in such repute among you
wealthy lords; but I can assure you that during these many years
past I have been progressing in my art with all my might, and I
think that the vase I am taking with me into France is far more

3 Pur beato che io I' ho veduto! Leclanche" translates thus: "Par Dieu! il y a long-
temps aue je /' ai vu!" I think Cellini probably meant to hint that he had seen it
before.

4 See above, book i., p. 51, for this story.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 273

worthy of cardinals and kings than that piece belonging to your little
quack doctor."

After I had made this speech, Messer Alfonso seemed dying with
desire to see the jug and basin, but I refused to open the box. We
remained some while disputing the matter, when he said that he
would go to the Duke and get an order from his Excellency to have
it shown him. Then Messer Alberto Bendedio, in the high and
mighty manner which belonged to him, exclaimed: "Before you
leave this room, Messer Alfonso, you shall see it, without employing
the Duke's influence." On hearing these words I took my leave, and
left Ascanio and Pagolo to show it. They told me afterwards that he
had spoken enthusiastically in my praise. After this he wanted to
become better acquainted with me; but I was wearying to leave
Ferrara and get away from all its folk. The only advantages I had
enjoyed there were the society of Cardinal Salviati and the Cardinal
of Ravenna, and the friendship of some ingenious musicians; 5 no
one else had been to me of any good; for the Ferrarese are a very
avaricious people, greedy of their neighbours' money, however they
may lay their hands on it; they are all the same in this respect.

At the hour of twenty-two Fiaschino arrived, and gave me the dia-
mond of sixty crowns, of which I spoke above. He told me, with a
hang-dog look and a few brief words, that I might wear it for his
Excellency's sake. I replied: "I will do so." Then putting my foot in
the stirrup in his presence, I set of! upon my travels without further
leave-taking. The man noted down my act and words, and reported
them to the Duke, who was highly incensed, and showed a strong
inclination to make me retrace my steps.

That evening I rode more than ten miles, always at a trot; and
when, upon the next day, I found myself outside the Ferrarese do-
main, I felt excessively relieved; indeed I had met with nothing to
my liking there, except those peacocks which restored my health.
We journeyed by the Monsanese, avoiding the city of Milan on ac-

5 Cardinal Giovanni Salviati was Archbishop of Ferrara; Cardinal Benedetto Accolti,
Archbishop of Ravenna, was then staying at Ferrara; the court was famous for its
excellent orchestra and theatrical display of all kinds.

274 BENVENUTO CELLINI

count of the apprehension I have spoken of j 1 so that we arrived safe
and sound at Lyons. Counting Pagolo and Ascanio and a servant,
we were four men, with four very good horses. At Lyons we waited
several days for the muleteer, who carried the silver cup and basin,
as well as our other baggage; our lodging was in an abbey of the
Cardinal's. When the muleteer arrived, we loaded all our goods
upon a little cart, and then set of! toward Paris. On the road we met
with some annoyances, but not of any great moment.

We found the Court of the King at Fontana Belio; 2 there we pre-
sented ourselves to the Cardinal, who provided us at once with lodg-
ings, and that evening we were comfortable. On the following day
the cart turned up; so we unpacked our things, and when the Car-
dinal heard this he told the King, who expressed a wish to see me
at once. I went to his Majesty with the cup and basin; then, upon
entering his presence, I kissed his knee, and he received me very
graciously. I thanked his Majesty for freeing me from prison, saying
that all princes unique for generosity upon this earth, as was his
Majesty, lay under special obligations to set free men of talent, and
particularly those that were innocent, as I was; such benefits, I added,
were inscribed upon the book of God before any other good actions.
The King, while I was delivering this speech, continued listening
till the end with the utmost courtesy, dropping a few words such as
only he could utter. Then he took the vase and basin, and exclaimed:
"Of a truth I hardly think the ancients can have seen a piece so
beautiful as this. I well remember to have inspected all the best
works, and by the greatest masters of all Italy, but I never set my
eyes on anything which stirred me to such admiration." These
words the King addressed in French to the Cardinal of Ferrara, with
many others of even warmer praise. Then he turned to me and said
in Italian: "Benvenuto, amuse yourself for a few days, make good
cheer, and spend your time in pleasure; in the meanwhile we will
think of giving you the wherewithal to execute some fine works
of art for us."

1 The Monsanese is the Mont Cents. Cellini forgets that he has not mentioned this
apprehension which made him turn aside from Milan. It may have been the fear
of plague, or perhaps of some enemy.

2 It is thus that Cellini always writes Fontainebleau.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 275

The Cardinal of Ferrara saw that the King had been vastly pleased
by my arrival; he also judged that the trifles which I showed him of
my handicraft had encouraged him to hope for the execution of some
considerable things he had in mind. At this time, however, we were
following the court with the weariest trouble and fatigue; the reason
of this was that the train of the King drags itself along with never
less than 12,000 horse behind it; this calculation is the very lowest;
for when the court is complete in times of peace, there are some
18,000, which makes 12,000 less than the average. Consequently we
had to journey after it through places where sometimes there were
scarcely two houses to be found; and then we set up canvas tents like
gipsies, and suffered at times very great discomfort. I therefore kept
urging the Cardinal to put the King in mind of employing me in
some locality where I could stop and work. The Cardinal answered
that it was far better to wait until the King should think of it him-
self, and that I ought to show myself at times to his Majesty while
he was at table. This I did then; and one morning, at his dinner,
the King called me. He began to talk to me in Italian, saying he
had it in his mind to execute several great works, and that he would
soon give orders where I was to labour, and provide me with all
necessaries. These communications he mingled with discourse on
divers pleasant matters. The Cardinal of Ferrara was there, because
he almost always ate in the morning at the King's table. He had
heard our conversation, and when the King rose, he spoke in my
favour to this purport, as I afterwards was informed: "Sacred
Majesty, this man Benvenuto is very eager to get to work again; it
seems almost a sin to let an artist of his abilities waste his time." The
King replied that he had spoken well, and told him to arrange with
me all things for my support according to my wishes.

Upon the evening of the day when he received this commission,
the Cardinal sent for me after supper, and told me that his Majesty
was resolved to let me begin working, but that he wanted me first
to come to an understanding about my appointments. To this the
Cardinal added: "It seems to me that if his Majesty allows you three
hundred crowns a year, you will be able to keep yourself very well

276 BENVENUTO CELLINI

indeed; furthermore, I advise you to leave yourself in my hands, for
every day offers the opportunity of doing some service in this great
kingdom, and I shall exert myself with vigour in your interest."
Then I began to speak as follows : "When your most reverend lord-
ship left me in Ferrara, you gave me a promise, which I had never
asked for, not to bring me out of Italy before I clearly understood
the terms on which I should be placed here with his Majesty. Instead
of sending to communicate these details, your most reverend lord-
ship urgently ordered me to come by the post, as if an art like mine
was carried on post-haste. Had you written to tell me of three
hundred crowns, as you have now spoken, I would not have stirred
a foot for twice that sum. Nevertheless, I thank God and your most
reverend lordship for all things, seeing God has employed you as
the instrument for my great good in procuring my liberation from
imprisonment. Therefore I assure your lordship that all the troubles
you are now causing me fall a thousand times short of the great
good which you have done me. With all my heart I thank you, and
take good leave of you; wherever I may be, so long as I have life, I
will pray God for you." The Cardinal was greatly irritated, and
cried out in a rage: "Go where you choose; it is impossible to help
people against their will." Some of his good-for-nothing courtiers
who were present said: "That fellow sets great store on himself, for
he is refusing three hundred ducats a year." Another, who was a
man of talent, replied : "The King will never find his equal, and our
Cardinal wants to cheapen him, as though he were a load of wood."
This was Messer Luigi Alamanni who spoke to the above effect, as
I was afterwards informed. All this happened on the last day of
October, in Dauphine, at a castle the name of which I do not
remember.

On leaving the Cardinal I repaired to my lodging, which was
three miles distant, in company with a secretary of the Cardinal
returning to the same quarters. On the road, this man never stopped
asking me what I meant to do with myself, and what my own terms
regarding the appointment would have been. I gave him only one
word back for answer which was that I knew all. When we came

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 277

to our quarters, I found Pagolo and Ascanio there; and seeing me
much troubled, they implored me to tell them what was the matter.
To the poor young men, who were all dismayed, I said for answer :
"To-morrow I shall give you money amply sufficient for your
journey home. I mean myself to go about a most important business
without you, which for a long time I have had it in my mind to do."
Our room adjoined that of the secretary; and I think it not improb-
able that he wrote to the Cardinal, and informed him of my pur-
pose. However, I never knew anything for certain about this. The
night passed without sleep, and I kept wearying for the day, in
order to carry out my resolution.

No sooner did it dawn than I ordered out the horses, made my
preparations in a moment, and gave the two young men everything
which I had brought with me, and fifty ducats of gold in addition.
I reserved the same sum for myself, together with the diamond the
Duke had given me; I only kept two shirts and some well-worn
riding-clothes which I had upon my back. I found it almost impos-
sible to get free of the two young men, who insisted upon going
with me, whatever happened. At last I was obliged to treat them
with contempt, and use this language: "One of you has his first
beard, and the other is just getting it; and both of you have learned
as much from me as I could teach in my poor art, so that you are
now the first craftsmen among the youths of Italy. Are you not
ashamed to have no courage to quit this go-cart, but must always
creep about in leading-strings? The thing is too disgraceful! Or if
I were to send you away without money, what would you say then ?
Come, take yourselves out of my sight, and may God bless you a
thousand times. Farewell!"

I turned my horse and left them weeping. Then I took my way
along a very fair road through a forest, hoping to make at least
forty miles that day, and reach the most out-of-the-way place I
could. I had already ridden about two miles, and during that short
time had resolved never to revisit any of those parts where I was
known. I also determined to abandon my art so soon as I had made
a Christ three cubits in height, reproducing, so far as I was able, that
infinite beauty which He had Himself revealed to me. So then,
being thoroughly resolved, I turned my face toward the Holy

278 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Sepulchre. 1 Just when I thought I had got so far that nobody could
find me, I heard horses galloping after. They filled me with some
uneasiness, because that district is infested with a race of brigands,
who bear the name of Venturers, and are apt to murder men upon
the road. Though numbers of them are hanged every day, it seems
as though they did not care. However, when the riders approached,
I found they were a messenger from the King and my lad Ascanio.
The former came up to me and said: "From the King I order you
to come immediately to his presence." I replied : "You have been sent
by the Cardinal, and for this reason I will not come." The man said
that since gentle usage would not bring me, he had authority to
raise the folk, and they would take me bound hand and foot like a
prisoner. Ascanio, for his part, did all he could to persuade me,
reminding me that when the King sent a man to prison, he kept
him there five years at least before he let him out again. This word
about the prison, when I remembered what I had endured in Rome,
struck such terror into me, that I wheeled my horse round briskly
and followed the King's messenger. He kept perpetually chattering
in French through all our journey, up to the very precincts of the
court, at one time bullying, now saying one thing, then another, till
I felt inclined to deny God and the world.

XII

On our way to the lodgings of the King we passed before those of
the Cardinal of Ferrara. Standing at his door, he called to me and
said: "Our most Christian monarch has of his own accord assigned
you the same appointments which his Majesty allowed the painter
Lionardo da Vinci, that is, a salary of seven hundred crowns; in
addition, he will pay you for all the works you do for him; also for
your journey hither he gives you five hundred golden crowns, which
will be paid you before you quit this place." At the end of this
announcement, I replied that those were ofTers worthy of the great
King he was. The messenger, not knowing anything about me, and
hearing what splendid offers had been made me by the King, begged
my pardon over and over again. Pagolo and Ascanio exclaimed:
"It is God who has helped us to get back into so honoured a go-cart!"
1 See above, p, 2401 for Cellini's vow in the Castle of S. Angelo.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 279

On the day following I went to thank the King, who ordered me
to make the models of twelve silver statues, which were to stand as
candelabra round his table. He wanted them to represent six gods
and six goddesses, and to have exactly the same height as his Majesty,
which was a trifle under four cubits. Having dictated this commis-
sion, he turned to his treasurer, and asked whether he had paid me
the five hundred crowns. The official said that he had received no
orders to that effect. The King took this very ill, for he had requested
the Cardinal to speak to him about it. Furthermore, he told me to
go to Paris and seek out a place to live in, fitted for the execution of
such work; he would see that I obtained it.

I got the five hundred crowns of gold, and took up my quarters
at Paris in a house of the Cardinal of Ferrara. There I began, in
God's name, to work, and fashioned four little waxen models, about
two-thirds of a cubit each in height. They were Jupiter, Juno, Apollo,
and Vulcan. In this while the King returned to Paris; whereupon
I went to him at once, taking my models with me, and my two
prentices, Ascanio and Pagolo. On perceiving that the King was
pleased with my work, and being commissioned to execute the
Jupiter in silver of the height above described, I introduced the two
young men, and said that I had brought them with me out of Italy
to serve his Majesty; for inasmuch as they had been brought up by
me, I could at the beginning get more help from them than from
the Paris workmen. To this the King replied that I might name a
salary which I thought sufficient for their maintenance. I said that
a hundred crowns of gold apiece would be quite proper, and that
I would make them earn their wages well. This agreement was
concluded. Then I said that I had found a place which seemed to
me exactly suited to my industry; it was his Majesty's own property,
and called the Little Nello. The Provost of Paris was then in
possession of it from his Majesty; but since the Provost made no
use of the castle, his Majesty perhaps might grant it me to employ
in his service. 1 He replied upon the instant : "That place is my own
house, and I know well that the man I gave it to does not inhabit or
use it. So you shall have it for the work you have to do." He then

J This was the castle of Le Petit Nesle, on the site of which now stands the Palace
of the Institute. The Provost of Paris was then Jean d'Estouteville, lord of Villebon.

28O BENVENUTO CELLINI

told his lieutenant to install me in the Nello. This officer made some
resistance, pleading that he could not carry out the order. The King
answered in anger that he meant to bestow his property on whom he
pleased, and on a man who would serve him, seeing that he got
nothing from the other; therefore he would hear no more about it.
The lieutenant then submitted that some small force would have
to be employed in order to effect an entrance. To which the King
answered: "Go, then, and if a small force is not enough, use a
great one."

The officer took me immediately to the castle, and there put me
in possession, not, however, without violence; after that he warned
me to take very good care that I was not murdered. I installed
myself, enrolled serving-men, and bought a quantity of pikes and
partisans; but I remained for several days exposed to grievous annoy-
ances, for the Provost was a great nobleman of Paris, and all the
other gentlefolk took part against me; they attacked me with such
insults that I could hardly hold my own against them. I must not
omit to mention that I entered the service of his Majesty in the year
1540, which was exactly the year in which I reached the age of
forty.

XIII

The affronts and insults I received made me have recourse to the
King, begging his Majesty to establish me in some other place. He
answered: "Who are you, and what is your name?" I remained in
great confusion, and could not comprehend what he meant. Holding
my tongue thus, the King repeated the same words a second time
angrily. Then I said my name was Benvenuto. "If, then, you are
the Benvenuto of whom I have heard," replied the King, "act
according to your wont, for you have my full leave to do so." I told
his Majesty that all I wanted was to keep his favour; for the rest,
I knew of nothing that could harm me. He gave a little laugh, and
said: "Go your ways, then; you shall never want my favour." Upon
this he told his first secretary, Monsignor di Villerois, to see me
provided and accommodated with all I needed. 1

This Villerois was an intimate friend of the Provost, to whom the
1 M. Nicholas de Neufville, lord of Villeroy.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 28 1

castle had been given. It was built in a triangle, right up against
the city walls, and was of some antiquity, but had no garrison. The
building was of considerable size. Monsignor di Villerois counselled
me to look about for something else, and by all means to leave this
place alone, seeing that its owner was a man of vast power, who
would most assuredly have me killed. I answered that I had come
from Italy to France only in order to serve that illustrious King;
and as for dying, I knew for certain that die I must; a little earlier
or a little later was a matter of supreme indifference to me.

Now Villerois was a man of the highest talent, exceptionally
distinguished in all points, and possessed of vast wealth. There was
nothing he would not gladly have done to harm me, but he made
no open demonstration of his mind. He was grave, and of a noble
presence, and spoke slowly, at his ease. To another gentleman,
Monsignor di Marmagna, the treasurer of Languedoc, he left the
duty of molesting me. 2 The first thing which this man did was to
look out the best apartments in the castle, and to have them fitted up
for himself. I told him that the King had given me the place to serve
him in, and that I did not choose it should be occupied by any but
myself and my attendants. The fellow, who was haughty, bold, and
spirited, replied that he meant to do just what he liked; that I should
run my head against a wall if I presumed to oppose him, and that
Villerois had given him authority to do what he was doing. I told
him that, by the King's authority given to me, neither he nor
Villerois could do it. When I said that he gave vent to offensive
language in French, whereat I retorted in my own tongue that he
lied. Stung with rage, he clapped his hand upon a little dagger
which he had; then I set my hand also to a large dirk which I always
wore for my defence, and cried out: "If you dare to draw, I'll kill
you on the spot." He had two servants to back him, and I had my
two lads. For a moment or two Marmagna stood in doubt, not
knowing exactly what to do, but rather inclined to mischief, and
muttering: "I will never put up with such insults." Seeing then
that the affair was taking a bad turn, I took a sudden resolution, and
cried to Pagolo and Ascanio: "When you see me draw my dirk,
throw yourselves upon those serving-men, and kill them if you can;

* Francois 1'Allemand, Seigneur de Marmagne.

282 BENVENUTO CELLINI

I mean to kill this fellow at the first stroke, and then we will decamp
together, with God's grace." Marmagna, when he understood my
purpose, was glad enough to get alive out of the castle.

All these things, toning them down a trifle, I wrote to the Cardinal
of Ferrara, who related them at once to the King. The King, deeply
irritated, committed me to the care of another officer of his body-
guard who was named Monsignor lo Iscontro d'Orbech. 3 By him I
was accommodated with all that I required in the most gracious
way imaginable.

XIV

After fitting up my own lodgings in the castle and the workshop
with all conveniences for carrying on my business, and putting my
household upon a most respectable footing, I began at once to con-
struct three models exactly of the size which the silver statues were
to be. These were Jupiter, Vulcan and Mars. I moulded them in
clay, and set them well up on irons; then I went to the King, who
disbursed three hundred pounds weight of silver, if I remember
rightly, for the commencement of the undertaking. While I was
getting these things ready, we brought the little vase and oval basin
to completion, which had been several months in hand. Then I had
them richly gilt, and they showed like the finest piece of plate which
had been seen in France.

Afterwards I took them to the Cardinal, who thanked me greatly;
and, without requesting my attendance, carried and presented them
to the King. He was delighted with the gift, and praised me as no
artist was ever praised before. In return, he bestowed upon the
Cardinal an abbey worth seven thousand crowns a year, and
expressed his intention of rewarding me too. The Cardinal, how-
ever, prevented him, telling his Majesty that he was going ahead
too fast, since I had as yet produced nothing for him. The King,
who was exceedingly generous, replied: "For that very reason will
I put heart and hope into him." The Cardinal, ashamed at his own
meanness, said: "Sire, I beg you to leave that to me; I will allow
him a pension of at least three hundred crowns when I have taken
possession of the abbey." He never gave me anything; and it

3 Le Vicomte d'Orbec. It seems that by Iscontro Cellini meant Viscount.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 283

would be tedious to relate all the knavish tricks of this prelate. I
prefer to dwell on matters of greater moment.

When I returned to Paris, the great favour shown me by the King
made me a mark for all men's admiration. I received the silver and
began my statue of Jupiter. Many journeymen were now in my
employ; and the work went onward briskly day and night; so that,
by the time I had finished the clay models of Jupiter, Vulcan, and
Mars, and had begun to get the silver statue forward, my workshop
made already a grand show.

The King now came to Paris, and I went to pay him my respects.
No sooner had his Majesty set eyes upon me than he called me cheer-
fully, and asked if I had something fine to exhibit at my lodging, for
he would come to inspect it. I related all I had been doing; upon
which he was seized with a strong desire to come. Accordingly,
after his dinner, he set off with Madame de Tampes, the Cardinal of
Lorraine, and some other of his greatest nobles, among whom were
the King of Navarre, his cousin, and the Queen, his sister; the
Dauphin and Dauphiness also attended him; so that upon that day
the very flower of the French court came to visit me. 1 I had been
some time at home, and was hard at work. When the King arrived
at the door of the castle, and heard our hammers going, he bade his
company keep silence. Everybody in my house was busily employed,
so that the unexpected entrance of his Majesty took me by surprise.
The first thing he saw on coming into the great hall was myself
with a huge plate of silver in my hand, which I was beating for the
body of my Jupiter; one of my men was finishing the head, another
the legs; and it is easy to imagine what a din we made between us.
It happened that a little French lad was working at my side, who
had just been guilty of some trifling blunder. I gave the lad a kick,
and, as my good luck would have it, caught him with my foot
exactly in the fork between his legs, and sent him spinning several
yards, so that he came stumbling up against the King precisely at

1 These personages were Madame d'Etampes, the King's mistress; John of Lorraine,
son of Duke Rene'e II., who was made Cardinal in 1518; Henri d'Albret II. and
Marguerite de Valois, his wife; the Dauphin, afterwards Henri II., and his wife, the
celebrated Caterina de' Medici, daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino.

284 BENVENUTO CELLINI

the moment when his Majesty arrived. The King was vastly amused,
but I felt covered with confusion. He began to ask me what I was
engaged upon, and told me to go on working; then he said that he
would much rather have me not employ my strength on manual
labour, but take as many men as I wanted, and make them do the
rough work; he should like me to keep myself in health, in order
that he might enjoy my services through many years to come. I
replied to his Majesty that the moment I left off working I should
fall ill; also that my art itself would suffer, and not attain the mark
I aimed at for his Majesty. Thinking that I spoke thus only to brag,
and not because it was the truth, he made the Cardinal of Lorraine
repeat what he had said; but I explained my reasons so fully and
clearly, that the Cardinal perceived my drift; he then advised the
King to let me labour as much or little as I liked.

XVI

Being very well satisfied with what he had seen, the King returned
to his palace, after bestowing on me too many marks of favour to be
here recorded. On the following day he sent for me at his dinner-
hour. The Cardinal of Ferrara was there at meat with him. When
I arrived, the King had reached his second course; he began at once
to speak to me, saying, with a pleasant cheer, that having now so
fine a basin and jug of my workmanship, he wanted an equally
handsome salt-cellar to match them; and begged me to make a
design, and to lose no time about it. I replied: "Your Majesty shall
see a model of the sort even sooner than you have commanded; for
while I was making the basin, I thought there ought to be a salt-
cellar to match it; therefore I have already designed one, and if it is
your pleasure, I will at once exhibit my conception." The King
turned with a lively movement of surprise and pleasure to the lords
in his company they were the King of Navarre, the Cardinal of
Lorraine, and the Cardinal of Ferrara exclaiming as he did so:
"Upon my word, this is a man to be loved and cherished by every
one who knows him." Then he told me that he would very gladly
see my model.

I set off, and returned in a few minutes; for I had only to cross
the river, that is, the Seine. I carried with me the wax model which

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 285

I had made in Rome at the Cardinal of Ferrara's request. When I
appeared again before the King and uncovered my piece, he cried
out in astonishment: "This is a hundred times more divine a thing
than I had ever dreamed of. What a miracle of a man! He ought
never to stop working." Then he turned to me with a beaming
countenance, and told me that he greatly liked the piece, and
wished me to execute it in gold. The Cardinal of Ferrara looked
me in the face, and let me understand that he recognised the model
as the same which I had made for him in Rome. I replied that I
had already told him I should carry it out for one who was worthy
of it. The Cardinal, remembering my words, and nettled by the
revenge he thought that I was taking on him, remarked to the King :
"Sire, this is an enormous undertaking; I am only afraid that we
shall never see it finished. These able artists who have great con-
ceptions in their brain are ready enough to put the same in execution
without duly considering when they are to be accomplished. I
therefore, if I gave commission for things of such magnitude, should
like to know when I was likely to get them." The King replied
that if a man was so scrupulous about the termination of a work,
he would never begin anything at all; these words he uttered with
a certain look, which implied that such enterprises were not for
folk of little spirit. I then began to say my say: "Princes who put
heart and courage in their servants, as your Majesty does by deed
and word, render undertakings of the greatest magnitude quite easy.
Now that God has sent me so magnificent a patron, I hope to
perform for him a multitude of great and splendid master-pieces."
"I believe it," said the King, and rose from table. Then he called me
into his chamber, and asked me how much gold was wanted for
the salt-cellar. "A thousand crowns," I answered. He called his
treasurer at once, who was the Viscount of Orbec, and ordered him
that very day to disburse to me a thousand crowns of good weight
and old gold.

When I left his Majesty, I went for the two notaries who had
helped me in procuring silver for the Jupiter and many other things.
Crossing the Seine, I then took a small hand-basket, which one of my
cousins, a nun, had given me on my journey through Florence. It
made for my good fortune that I took this basket and not a bag.

286 BENVENUTO CELLINI

So then, thinking I could do the business by daylight, for it was still
early, and not caring to interrupt my workmen, and being indisposed
to take a servant with me, I set off alone. When I reached the house
of the treasurer, I found that he had the money laid out before him,
and was selecting the best pieces as the King had ordered. It seemed
to me, however, that that thief of a treasurer was doing all he could
to postpone the payment of the money; nor were the pieces counted
out until three hours after nightfall.

I meanwhile was not wanting in despatch, for I sent word to
several of my journeymen that they should come and attend me,
since the matter was one of serious importance. When I found that
they did not arrive, I asked the messenger if he had done my errand.
The rascal of a groom whom I had sent replied that he had done so,
but that they had answered that they could not come; he, however,
would gladly carry the money for me. I answered that I meant to
carry the money myself. By this time the contract was drawn up
and signed. On the money being counted, I put it all into my little
basket, and then thrust my arm through the two handles. Since I
did this with some difficulty, the gold was well shut in, and I carried
it more conveniently than if the vehicle had been a bag. I was well
armed with shirt and sleeves of mail, and having my sword and
dagger at my side, made off along the street as quick as my two legs
would carry me.

XVII

Just as I left the house, I observed some servants whispering
among themselves, who also went off at a round pace in another
direction from the one I took. Walking with all haste, I passed the
bridge of the Exchange, 1 and went up along a wall beside the river
which led to my lodging in the castle. I had just come to the
Augustines now this was a very perilous passage, and though it was
only five hundred paces distant from my dwelling, yet the lodging in
the castle being quite as far removed inside, no one could have
heard my voice if I had shouted when I saw four men with four
swords in their hands advancing to attack me. 2 My resolution was

1 The Pont du Change, replaced by the Pont Neuf.

2 The excitement of his recollection makes Cellini more than usually incoherent
about this episode. The translator has to collect the whole sense of the passage.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 287

taken in an instant. I covered the basket with my cape, drew my
sword, and seeing that they were pushing hotly forward, cried aloud :
"With soldiers there is only the cape and sword to gain; and these,
before I give them up, I hope you'll get not much to your advantage."
Then crossing my sword boldly with them, I more than once spread
out my arms, in order that, if the ruffians were put on by the servants
who had seen me take my money, they might be led to judge I was
not carrying it. The encounter was soon over; for they retired step
by step, saying among themselves in their own language: "This is a
brave Italian, and certainly not the man we are after; or if he be the
man, he cannot be carrying anything." I spoke Italian, and kept
harrying them with thrust and slash so hotly that I narrowly missed
killing one or the other. My skill in using the sword made them
think I was a soldier rather than a fellow of some other calling. They
drew together and began to fall back, muttering all the while beneath
their breath in their own tongue. I meanwhile continued always
calling out, but not too loudly, that those who wanted my cape and
blade would have to get them with some trouble. Then I quickened
pace, while they still followed slowly at my heels; this augmented
my fear, for I thought I might be falling into an ambuscade, which
would have cut me off in front as well as rear. Accordingly, when
I was at the distance of a hundred paces from my home, I ran with
all my might, and shouted at the top of my voice: "To arms, to arms!
out with you, out with you! I am being murdered." In a moment
four of my young men came running, with four pikes in their hands.
They wanted to pursue the ruffians, who could still be seen; but I
stopped them, calling back so as to let the villains hear: "Those
cowards yonder, four against one man alone, had not pluck enough
to capture a thousand golden crowns in metal, which have almost
broken this arm of mine. Let us haste inside and put the money
away; then I will take my big two-handed sword, and go with you
whithersoever you like." We went inside to secure the gold; and my
lads, while expressing deep concern for the peril I had run, gently
chided me, and said: "You risk yourself too much alone; the time
will come when you will make us all bemoan your loss." A thousand
words and exclamations were exchanged between us; my adversaries
took to flight; and we all sat down and supped together with mirth

288 BENVENUTO CELLINI

and gladness, laughing over those great blows which fortune strikes,
for good as well as evil, and which, what time they do not hit the
mark, are just the same as though they had not happened. 3 It is very
true that one says to oneself: "You will have had a lesson for next
time." But that is not the case; for fortune always comes upon us in
new ways, quite unforeseen by our imagination.

XVIII

On the morning which followed these events, I made the first step
in my work upon the great salt-cellar, pressing this and my other
pieces forward with incessant industry. My workpeople at this time,
who were pretty numerous, included both sculptors and goldsmiths.
They belonged to several nations, Italian, French, and German; for
I took the best I could find, and changed them often, retaining only
those who knew their business well. These select craftsmen I worked
to the bone with perpetual labour. They wanted to rival me; but I
had a better constitution. Consequently, in their inability to bear up
against such a continuous strain, they took to eating and drinking
copiously, some of the Germans in particular, who were more skilled
than their comrades, and wanted to march apace with me, sank
under these excesses, and perished.

While I was at work upon the Jupiter, I noticed that I had plenty
of silver to spare. So I took in hand, without consulting the King, to
make a great two-handled vase, about one cubit and a half in height.
I also conceived the notion of casting the large model of my Jupiter
in bronze. Having up to this date done nothing of the sort, I con-
ferred with certain old men experienced in that art at Paris, and
described to them the methods in use with us in Italy. They told
me they had never gone that way about the business; but that if I
gave them leave to act upon their own principles, they would bring
the bronze out as clean and perfect as the clay. I chose to strike an
agreement, throwing on them the responsibility, and promising
several crowns above the price they bargained for. Thereupon they
put the work in progress; but I soon saw that they were going the
wrong way about it, and began on my own account a head of Julius
Caesar, bust and armour, much larger than the life, which I modelled

3 Cellini's philosophy is summed up in the proverb: "A miss is as good as a mile."

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 289

from a reduced copy o a splendid antique portrait I had brought
with me from Rome. I also undertook another head o the same size,
studied from a very handsome girl, whom I kept for my own
pleasures. I called this Fontainebleau, after the place selected by
the King for his particular delight.

We constructed an admirable little furnace for the casting of the
bronze, got all things ready, and baked our moulds; those French
masters undertaking the Jupiter, while I looked after my two heads.
Then I said: "I do not think you will succeed with your Jupiter,
because you have not provided sufficient vents beneath for the air to
circulate; therefore you are but losing your time and trouble." They
replied that, if their work proved a failure, they would pay back the
money I had given on account, and recoup me for current expenses;
but they bade me give good heed to my own proceedings, 1 for the fine
heads I meant to cast in my Italian fashion would never succeed.

At this dispute between us there were present the treasurers and
other gentlefolk commissioned by the King to superintend my pro-
ceedings. Everything which passed by word or act was duly reported
to his Majesty. The two old men who had undertaken to cast my
Jupiter postponed the experiment, saying they would like to arrange
the moulds of my two heads. They argued that, according to my
method, no success could be expected, and it was a pity to waste
such fine models. When the King was informed of this, he sent
word that they should give their minds to learning, and not try to
teach their master.

So then they put their own piece into the furnace with much
laughter; while I, maintaining a firm carriage, showing neither
mirth nor anger (though I felt it), placed my two heads, one on each
side of the Jupiter. The metal came all right to melting, and we let
it in with joy and gladness; it filled the mould of the Jupiter most
admirably, and at the same time my two heads. This furnished them
with matter for rejoicing and me with satisfaction; for I was not
sorry to have predicted wrongly of their work, and they made as
though they were delighted to have been mistaken about mine.
Then, as the custom in France is, they asked to drink, in high good

1 Ma che to guardassi bene, che, &c. This is perhaps : but they bade me note well
that.

290 BENVENUTO CELLINI

spirits. I was very willing, and ordered a handsome collation for
their entertainment. When this was over, they requested me to pay
the money due to them and the surplus I had promised. I replied:
"You have been laughing over what, I fear, may make you weep. On
reflection, it seems to me that too much metal flowed into your
mould. Therefore I shall wait until to-morrow before I disburse
more money." The poor fellows swallowed my words and chewed
the cud of them; then they went home without further argument.

At daybreak they began, quite quietly, to break into the pit of the
furnace. They could not uncover their large mould until they had
extracted my two heads; these were in excellent condition, and they
placed them where they could be well seen. When they came to
Jupiter, and had dug but scarcely two cubits, they sent up such a
yell, they and their four workmen, that it woke me up. Fancying
it was a shout of triumph, I set off running, for my bedroom was at
the distance of more than five hundred paces. On reaching the spot,
I found them looking like the guardians of Christ's sepulchre in a
picture, downcast and terrified. Casting a hasty glance upon my
two heads, and seeing they were all right, I tempered my annoyance
with the pleasure that sight gave me. Then they began to make
excuses, crying: " Our bad luck!" I retorted: "Your luck has been
most excellent, but what has been indeed bad is your deficiency of
knowledge; had I only seen you put the soul 2 into your mould, I
could have taught you with one word how to cast the figure without
fault. This would have brought me great honour and you much
profit. I shall be able to make good my reputation; but you will now
lose both your honour and your profit. Let then this lesson teach
you another time to work, and not to poke fun at your masters."

They prayed me to have pity on them, confessing I was right, but
pleading that, unless I helped them, the costs they had to bear and
the loss they had sustained would turn them and their families upon
the streets a-begging. I answered that if the King's treasurers obliged
them to pay according to their contract, I would defray the cost out
of my own purse, because I saw that they had honestly and heartily

2 1 have here translated the Italian anima literally by the English word souL It is
a technical expression, signifying the block, somewhat smaller than the mould, which
bronze-founders insert in order to obtain a hollow, and not a solid cast from the
mould which gives form to their liquid metal.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 29!

performed their task according to their knowledge. This way o
mine in dealing with them raised the good-will of the King's
treasurers and other officers toward me to a pitch which cannot be
described. The whole affair was written to his Majesty, who being
without a paragon for generosity, gave directions that all I ordered
in this matter should be done.

XIX

About this time the illustrious soldier Piero Strozzi arrived in
France, and reminded the King that he had promised him letters of
naturalisation. These were accordingly made out; and at the same
time the King said: "Let them be also given to Benvenuto, mon ami,
and take them immediately to his house, and let him have them
without the payment of any fees." Those of the great Strozzi 1 cost
him several hundred ducats: mine were brought me by one of the
King's chief secretaries, Messer Antonio Massone. 2 This gentleman
presented them with many expressions of kindness from his Majesty,
saying : "The King makes you a gift of these, in order that you may
be encouraged to serve him; they are letters of naturalisation." Then
he told me how they had been given to Piero Strozzi at his particular
request, and only after a long time of waiting, as a special mark of
favour; the King had sent mine of his own accord, and such an act
of grace had never been heard of in that realm before. When I
heard these words, I thanked his Majesty with heartiness; but I
begged the secretary to have the kindness to tell me what letters of
naturalisation meant. He was a man accomplished and polite, who
spoke Italian excellently. At first my question made him laugh; then
he recovered his gravity, and told me in my own language what the
papers signified, adding that they conferred one of the highest dig-
nities a foreigner could obtain: "indeed, it is a far greater honour
than to be made a nobleman of Venice."

When he left me, he returned and told his Majesty, who laughed
awhile, and then said: "Now I wish him to know my object in
sending those letters of naturalisation. Go and install him lord of

1 Piero was the son of Filippo Strozzi, and the general who lost the battle of Monte-
murlo, so disastrous to the Florentine exiles, in 1537.

2 Antoine le Macon, secretary to Margaret of Navarre. He translated the Decameron
at her instance into French.

292 BENVENUTO CELLINI

the castle of the Little Nello, where he lives, and which is a part of
my demesne. He will know what that means better than he under-
stood about the letters of naturalisation." A messenger brought me
the patent, upon which I wanted to give him a gratuity. He refused
to accept it, saying that his Majesty had so ordered. These letters of
naturalisation, together with the patent for the castle, I brought with
me when I returned to Italy; wherever I go and wherever I may end
my days, I shall endeavour to preserve them. 3

I shall now proceed with the narration of my life. I had on hand
the following works already mentioned, namely, the silver Jupiter,
the golden salt-cellar, the great silver vase, and the two bronze heads.
I also began to cast the pedestal for Jupiter, which I wrought very
richly in bronze, covered with ornaments, among which was a bas-
relief, representing the rape of Ganymede, and on the other side Leda
and the Swan. On casting this piece it came out admirably. I also
made another pedestal of the same sort for the statue of Juno, intend-
ing to begin that too, if the King gave me silver for the purpose. By
working briskly I had put together the silver Jupiter and the golden
salt-cellar; the vase was far advanced; the two bronze heads were
finished. I had also made several little things for the Cardinal of
Ferrara, and a small silver vase of rich workmanship, which I meant
to present to Madame d'Etampes. Several Italian noblemen, to wit,
Signer Piero Strozzi, the Count of Anguillara, the Count of
Pitigliano, the Count of Mirandola, and many others, gave me
employment also. 1

For my great King, as I have said, I had been working strenu-
ously, and the third day after he returned to Paris, he came to my
house, attended by a crowd of his chief nobles. He marvelled to
find how many pieces I had advanced, and with what excellent
results. His mistress, Madame d'Etampes, being with him, they
began to talk of Fontainebleau. She told his Majesty he ought to

3 The letter of naturalisation exists. See Eianchi, p. 583. For the grant of the castle,
see ibid., p. 585.

1 Anguillara and Pitigliano were fiefs of two separate branches of the Orsini family.
The house of Pico lost their lordship of Mirandola in 1536, when Galeotto Pico
look refuge with his sons in France. His descendants renewed their hold upon the
fief, which was erected into a duchy in 1619.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 293

commission me to execute something beautiful for the decoration of
his favourite residence. He answered on the instant: "You say well,
and here upon the spot I will make up my mind what I mean him
to do." Then he turned to me, and asked me what I thought would
be appropriate for that beautiful fountain. 2 I suggested several ideas,
and his Majesty expressed his own opinion. Afterwards he said that
he was going to spend fifteen or twenty days at San Germano del
Aia, 3 a place twelve leagues distant from Paris; during his absence he
wished me to make a model for that fair fountain of his in the
richest style I could invent, seeing he delighted in that residence
more than in anything else in his whole realm. Accordingly he
commanded and besought me to do my utmost to produce something
really beautiful; and I promised that I would do so.

When the King saw so many finished things before him, he
exclaimed to Madame d'Etampes : "I never had an artist who pleased
me more, nor one who deserved better to be well rewarded; we must
contrive to keep him with us. He spends freely, is a boon com-
panion, and works hard; we must therefore take good thought for
him. Only think, madam, all the times that he has come to me or
that I have come to him, he has never once asked for anything; one
can see that his heart is entirely devoted to his work. We ought to
make a point of doing something for him quickly, else we run a
risk of losing him." Madame d'Etampes answered: "I will be sure
to remind you." Then they departed, and in addition to the things
I had begun, I now took the model of the fountain in hand, at which
I worked assiduously.

XXI

At the end of a month and a half the King returned to Paris;
and I, who had been working day and night, went to present myself
before him, taking my model, so well blocked out that my intention
could be clearly understood. Just about that time, the devilries of
war between the Emperor and King had been stirred up again, so
that I found him much harassed by anxieties. 1 I spoke, however,

2 Per quella bella jonte. Here, and below, Cellini mixes up Fontainebleau and the
spring which gave its name to the place.

3 S. Germain-en-Laye is not so far from Paris as Cellini thought.
1 Cellini refers to the renewal of hostilities in May 1542.

294 BENVENUTO CELLINI

with the Cardinal of Ferrara, saying I had brought some models
which his Majesty had ordered, and begging him, if he found an
opportunity, to put in a word whereby I might be able to exhibit
them; the King, I thought, would take much pleasure in their sight.
This the Cardinal did; and no sooner had he spoken of the models,
than the King came to the place where I had set them up. The first
cf these was intended for the door of the palace at Fontainebleau.
I had been obliged to make some alterations in the architecture of
this door, which was wide and low, in their vicious French style.
The opening was very nearly square, and above it was a hemicycle,
flattened like the handle of a basket; here the King wanted a figure
placed to represent the genius of Fontainebleau. I corrected the pro-
portions of the doorway, and placed above it an exact half circle; at
the sides I introduced projections, with socles and cornices properly
corresponding: then, instead of the columns demanded by this dis-
position of parts, I fashioned two satyrs, one upon each side. The
first of these was in somewhat more than half -relief, lifting one hand
to support the cornice, and holding a thick club in the other; his
face was fiery and menacing, instilling fear into the beholders. The
other had the same posture of support; but I varied his features and
some other details; in his hand, for instance, he held a lash with
three balls attached to chains. Though I call them satyrs, they
showed nothing of the satyr except little horns and a goatish head;
all the rest of their form was human. In the lunette above I placed
a female figure lying in an attitude of noble grace; she rested her
left arm on a stag's neck, this animal being one of the King's
emblems. On one side I worked little fawns in half relief, with
some wild boars and other game in lower relief; on the other side
were hounds and divers dogs of the chase of several species, such as
may be seen in that fair forest where the fountain springs. The
whole of this composition was enclosed in an oblong, each angle
of which contained a Victory in bas-relief, holding torches after the
manner of the ancients. Above the oblong was a salamander, the
King's particular device, with many other ornaments appropriate to
the Ionic architecture of the whole design.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 295

XXII

When the King had seen this model, it restored him to cheerful-
ness, and distracted his mind from the fatiguing debates he had
been holding during the past two hours. Seeing him cheerful as I
wished, I uncovered the other model, which he was far from expect-
ing, since he not unreasonably judged that the first had work in it
enough. This one was a little higher than two cubits; it figured a
fountain shaped in a perfect square, with handsome steps all round,
intersecting each other in a way which was unknown in France, and
is indeed very uncommon in Italy. In the middle of the fountain I
set a pedestal, projecting somewhat above the margin of the basin,
and upon this a nude male figure, of the right proportion to the
whole design, and of a very graceful form. In his right hand he
raised a broken lance on high; his left hand rested on a scimitar;
he was poised upon the left foot, the right being supported by a
helmet of the richest imaginable workmanship. At each of the four
angles of the fountain a figure was sitting, raised above the level
of the base, and accompanied by many beautiful and appropriate
emblems.

The King began by asking me what I meant to represent by the
fine fancy I had embodied in this design, saying that he had under-
stood the door without explanation, but that he could not take the
conception of my fountain, although it seemed to him most beauti-
ful; at the same time, he knew well that I was not like those foolish
folk who turn out something with a kind of grace, but put no
intention into their performances. I then addressed myself to the
task of exposition; for having succeeded in pleasing him with my
work, I wanted him to be no less pleased with my discourse. "Let
me inform your sacred Majesty," I thus began, "that the whole of
this model is so exactly made to scale, that if it should come to
being executed in the large, none of its grace and lightness will be
sacrificed. The figure in the middle is meant to stand fifty-four feet
above the level of the ground." At this announcement the King
made a sign of surprise. "It is, moreover, intended to represent the
god Mars. The other figures embody those arts and sciences in which
your Majesty takes pleasure, and which you so generously patronise.

296 BENVENUTO CELLINI

This one, upon the right hand, is designed for Learning; you will
observe that the accompanying emblems indicate Philosophy, and
her attendant branches of knowledge. By the next I wished to
personify the whole Art of Design, including Sculpture, Painting,
and Architecture. The third is Music, which cannot be omitted from
the sphere of intellectual culture. That other, with so gracious and
benign a mien, stands for Generosity, lacking which the mental
gifts bestowed on us by God will not be brought to view. I have
attempted to portray your Majesty, your very self, in the great
central statue; for you are truly a god Mars, the only brave upon this
globe, and all your bravery you use with justice and with piety in
the defence of your own glory." Scarcely had he allowed me to
finish this oration, when he broke forth with a strong voice: "Verily
I have found a man here after my own heart." Then he called the
treasurers who were appointed for my supplies, and told them to
disburse whatever I required, let the cost be what it might. Next,
he laid his hand upon my shoulder, saying: "Mon ami (which is the
same as my friend) , I know not whether the pleasure be greater for
the prince who finds a man after his own heart, or for the artist
who finds a prince willing to furnish him with means for carry-
ing out his great ideas." I answered that, if I was really the man
his Majesty described, my good fortune was by far the greater.
He answered laughingly: "Let us agree, then, that our luck is
equal!" Then I departed in the highest spirits, and went back to
my work.

XXIII

My ill-luck willed that I was not wide-awake enough to play the
like comedy with Madame d'Etampes. That evening, when she
heard the whole course of events from the King's own lips, it bred
such poisonous fury in her breast that she exclaimed with anger:
"If Benvenuto had shown me those fine things of his, he would have
given me some reason to be mindful of him at the proper moment."
The King sought to excuse me, but he made no impression on her
temper. Being informed of what had passed, I waited fifteen days,
during which they made a tour through Normandy, visiting Rouen
and Dieppe; then, when they returned to S. Germain-en-Laye, I took

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 297

the handsome little vase which I had made at the request of Madame
d'Etampes, hoping, if I gave it her, to recover the favour I had lost.
With this in my hand, then, I announced my presence to her nurse,
and showed the gift which I had brought her mistress; the woman
received me with demonstrations of good-will, and said that she
would speak a word to Madame, who was still engaged upon her
toilette; I should be admitted on the instant, when she had dis-
charged her embassy. The nurse made her report in full to Madame,
who retorted scornfully: "Tell him to wait." On hearing this, I
clothed myself with patience, which of all things I find the most
difficult. Nevertheless, I kept myself under control until the hour
for dinner was past. Then, seeing that time dragged on, and being
maddened by hunger, I could no longer hold out, but flung off,
sending her most devoutly to the devil.

I next betook myself to the Cardinal of Lorraine, and made him
a present of the vase, only petitioning his Eminence to maintain me
in the King's good graces. He said there was no need for this; and
if there were need he would gladly speak for me. Then he called
his treasurer, and whispered a few words in his ear. The treasurer
waited till I took my leave of the Cardinal; after which he said to
me: "Benvenuto, come with me, and I will give you a glass of good
wine to drink." I answered, not understanding what he meant:
"For Heaven's sake, Mr. Treasurer, let me have but one glass of
wine and a mouthful of bread; for I am really fainting for want of
food. I have fasted since early this morning up to the present
moment, at the door of Madame d'Etampes; I went to give her that
fine piece of silver-gilt plate, and took pains that she would be
informed of my intention; but she, with the mere petty will to vex
me, bade me wait; now I am famished, and feel my forces failing;
and, as God willed it, I have bestowed my gift and labour upon one
who is far more worthy of them. I only crave of you something to
drink; for being rather too bilious by nature, fast upsets me so that
I run the risk now of falling from exhaustion to the earth." While
I was pumping out these words with difficulty, they brought some
admirable wine and other delicacies for a hearty meal. I refreshed
myself, and having recovered my vital spirits, found that my exas-
peration had departed from me.

290 BENVENUTO CELLINI

The good treasurer handed me a hundred crowns in gold. I
sturdily refused to accept them. He reported this to the Cardinal,
who swore at him, and told him to make me take the money by
force, and not to show himself again till he had done so. The treas-
urer returned, much irritated, saying he had never been so scolded
before by the Cardinal; but when he pressed the crowns upon me, I
still offered some resistance. Then, quite angry, he said he would
use force to make me take them. So I accepted the money. When
I wanted to thank the Cardinal in person, he sent word by one of
his secretaries that he would gladly do me a service whenever the
occasion offered. I returned the same evening to Paris. The King
heard the whole history, and Madame d'Etampes was well laughed
at in their company. This increased her animosity against me, and
led to an attack upon my life, of which I shall speak in the proper
time and place.

XXIV

Far back in my autobiography I ought to have recorded the friend-
ship which I won with the most cultivated, the most affectionate,
and the most companionable man of worth I ever knew in this
world. He was Messer Guido Guidi, an able physician and doctor
of medicine, and a nobleman of Florence. 1 The infinite troubles
brought upon me by my evil fortune caused me to omit the mention
of him at an earlier date; and though my remembrance may be but
a trifle, I deemed it sufficient to keep him always in my heart. Yet,
finding that the drama of my life requires his presence, I shall intro-
duce him here at the moment of my greatest trials, in order that,
as he was then my comfort and support, I may now recall to mem-
ory the good he did me. 2

Well, then, Messer Guido came to Paris; and not long after mak-
ing his acquaintance, I took him to my castle, and there assigned him
his own suite of apartments. We enjoyed our lives together in that
place for several years. The Bishop of Pavia, that is to say, Mon-

1 Son of Giuliano Guidi and Costanza, a daughter of Domenico Ghirlandajo.
Francois I. sent for him some time before 1542, appointed him his own physician,
and professor of medicine in the Royal College. He returned to Florence in 1548.

2 Qui mi faccia memoria di quel bene. This is obscure. Quel bene may mean the
happiness of his friendship.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 299

signore de' Rossi, brother of the Count of San Secondo, also arrived. 3
This gentleman I removed from his hotel, and took him to my
castle, assigning him in like manner his own suite of apartments,
where he sojourned many months with serving-men and horses.
On another occasion I lodged Messer Luigi Alamanni and his sons
for some months. It was indeed God's grace to me that I should thus,
in my poor station, be able to render services to men of great position
and acquirements.

But to return to Messer Guido. We enjoyed our mutual friend-
ship during all the years I stayed in Paris, and often did we exult
together on being able to advance in art and knowledge at the cost
of that so great and admirable prince, our patron, each in his own
branch of industry. I can indeed, and with good conscience, affirm
that all I am, whatever of good and beautiful I have produced, all
this must be ascribed to that extraordinary monarch. So, then, I
will resume the thread of my discourse concerning him and the
great things I wrought for him.

xxv

I had a tennis-court in my castle, from which I drew considerable
profit. The building also contained some little dwellings inhabited
by different sorts of men, among whom was a printer of books of
much excellence in his own trade. Nearly the whole of his premises
lay inside the castle, and he was the man who printed Messer Guide's
first fine book on medicine. 1 Wanting to make use of his lodging,
I turned him out, but not without some trouble. There was also a
manufacturer of saltpetre; and when I wished to assign his apart-
ments to some of my German workmen, the fellow refused to leave
the place. I asked him over and over again in gentle terms to give
me up my rooms, because I wanted to employ them for my work-
people in the service of the King. The more moderately I spoke, the
more arrogantly did the brute reply; till at last I gave him three days'
notice to quit. He laughed me in the face, and said that he would

3 We have already met with him in the Castle of S. Angelo. His brother, the Count,
was general in the French army. This brought the Bishop to Paris, whence he
returned to Italy in 1545.

1 Chirurgia e Gr&co in Latinum Conversa, Vido Vidio Florentine inferprete, &c.
Excudebat Petrus Galterius Lutecice Parisiorum, prid. Cal. Mai. 1544. So this printer
was Pierre Sauthier.

3OO BENVENUTO CELLINI

begin to think of it at the end of three years. I had not then learned
that he was under the protection of Madame d'Etampes; but had it
not been that the terms on which I stood toward that lady made me
a little more circumspect than I was wont to be, I should have
ousted him at once; now, however, I thought it best to keep my
temper for three days. When the term was over, I said nothing, but
took Germans, Italians, and Frenchmen, bearing arms, and many
hand-labourers whom I had in my employ, and in a short while
gutted all his house and flung his property outside my castle. I
resorted to these somewhat rigorous measures because he had told
me that no Italian whom he knew of had the power or spirit to
remove one ring of iron from its place in his house. Well, after the
deed was done, he came to find me, and I said to him: "I am the
least of all Italians in Italy, and yet I have done nothing to you in
comparison with what I have the heart to do, and will do if you
utter a single further word," adding other terms of menace and
abuse. The man, dumbfounded and affrighted, got his furniture
together, as well as he was able; then he ran of? to Madame
d'Etampes, and painted a picture of me like the very fiend. She
being my great enemy, painted my portrait still blacker to the King,
with all her greater eloquence and all her greater weight of influence.
As I was afterwards informed, his Majesty twice showed signs of
irritation and was minded to use me roughly: but Henry the Dau-
phin, his son, now King of France, who had received some affronts
from that imperious woman, together with the Queen of Navarre,
sister to King Francis, espoused my cause so cleverly that he passed
the matter over with a laugh. So with God's assistance I escaped
from a great danger.

XXVI

I had to deal in like manner with another fellow, but I did not
ruin his house; I only threw all his furniture out of doors. This time
Madame d'Etampes had the insolence to tell the King: "I believe
that devil will sack Paris one of these days." The King answered
with some anger that I was only quite right to defend myself from
the low rabble who put obstacles in the way of my serving him.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 3OI

The rage of this vindictive woman kept continually on the
increase. She sent for a painter who was established at Fontaine-
bleau, where the King resided nearly all his time. The painter was
an Italian and a Bolognese, known then as II Bologna; his right
name, however, was Francesco Primaticcio. 1 Madame d'Etampes
advised him to beg that commission for the fountain which his
Majesty had given me, adding that she would support him with all
her ability; and upon this they agreed. Bologna was in an ecstasy
of happiness, and thought himself sure of the affair, although such
things were not in his line of art. He was, however, an excellent
master of design, and had collected round him a troop of work-
people formed in the school of Rosso, our Florentine painter, who
was undoubtedly an artist of extraordinary merit; his own best
qualities indeed were derived from the admirable manner of Rosso,
who by this time had died.

These ingenious arguments, and the weighty influence of Madame
d'Etampes, prevailed with the King; for they kept hammering at
him night and day, Madame at one time, and Bologna at another.
What worked most upon his mind was that both of them combined
to speak as follows: "How is it possible, sacred Majesty, that Ben-
venuto should accomplish the twelve silver statues which you want ?
He has not finished one of them yet. If you employ him on so great
an undertaking, you will, of necessity, deprive yourself of those other
things on which your heart is set. A hundred of the ablest crafts-
men could not complete so many great works as this one able man
has taken in hand to do. One can see clearly that he has a passion
for labour; but this ardent temper will be the cause of your Majesty's
losing both him and his masterpieces at the same moment." By
insinuating these and other suggestions of the same sort at a favour-
able opportunity, the King consented to their petition; and yet
Bologna had at this time produced neither designs nor models for
the fountain.

1 Primaticcio, together with Rosso, introduced Italian painting into France. Vasari
says he came to Paris in 1541. He died in 1570. He was, like many other of the
Lombard artists, an excellent master of stucco.

302 BENVENUTO CELLINI

XXVII

It happened that just at this period an action was brought against
me in Paris by the second lodger I had ousted from my castle, who
pretended that on that occasion I had stolen a large quantity o his
effects. This lawsuit tormented me beyond measure, and took up so
much of my time that I often thought of decamping in despair
from the country. Now the French are in the habit of making much
capital out of any action they commence against a foreigner, or
against such persons as they notice to be indolent in litigation. No
sooner do they observe that they are getting some advantage in the
suit, than they find the means to sell it; some have even been known
to give a lawsuit in dowry with their daughters to men who make
a business out of such transactions. They have another ugly custom,
which is that the Normans, nearly all of them, traffic in false evi-
dence; so that the men who buy up lawsuits, engage at once the
services of four or six of these false witnesses, according to their need;
their adversary, if he neglect to produce as many on the other side,
being perhaps unacquainted with the custom, is certain to have the
verdict given against him.

All this happened in my case, and thinking it a most disgraceful
breach of justice, I made my appearance in the great hall of Paris,
to defend my right. There I saw a judge, lieutenant for the King
in civil causes, enthroned upon a high tribunal. He was tall, stout,
and fat, and of an extremely severe countenance. All round him on
each side stood a crowd of solicitors and advocates, ranged upon the
right hand and the left. Others were coming, one by one, to explain
their several causes to the judge. From time to time, too, I noticed
that the attorneys at the side of the tribunal talked all at once: and
much admiration was roused in me by that extraordinary man, the
very image of Pluto, who listened with marked attention first to
one and then to the other, answering each with learning and sagac-
ity. I have always delighted in watching and experiencing every
kind of skill; so I would not have lost this spectacle for much. It
happened that the hall being very large, and filled with a multitude
of folk, they were strict in excluding every one who had no business
there, and kept the door shut with a guard to hold it. Sometimes

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 303

the guardian, in his effort to prevent the entrance of some improper
person, interrupted the judge by the great noise he made, and the
judge in anger turned to chide him. This happened frequently, so
that my attention was directed to the fact. On one occasion, when
two gentlemen were pushing their way in as spectators, and the
porter was opposing them with violence, the judge raised his voice,
and spoke the following words precisely as I heard them: "Keep
peace, Satan, begone, and hold your tongue." These words in the
French tongue sound as follows: Phe phe, Satan, Phe, Phe, ale, phe! 1
Now I had learned the French tongue well; and on hearing this
sentence, the meaning of that phrase used by Dante came into my
memory, when he and his master Virgil entered the doors of Hell.
Dante and the painter Giotto were together in France, and par-
ticularly in the city of Paris, where, owing to the circumstances I
have just described, the hall of justice may be truly called a hell.
Dante then, who also understood French well, made use of the
phrase in question, and it has struck me as singular that this inter-
pretation has never yet been put upon the passage; indeed, it con-
firms my opinion that the commentators make him say things
which never came into his head.

XXVIII

Well, then, to return to my affairs. When certain decisions of the
court were sent me by those lawyers, and I perceived that my cause
had been unjustly lost, I had recourse for my defence to a great
dagger which I carried; for I have always taken pleasure in keeping
fine weapons. The first man I attacked was the plaintiff who had
sued me; and one evening I wounded him in the legs and arms so
severely, taking care, however, not to kill him, that I deprived him
of the use of both his legs. Then I sought out the other fellow who
had brought the suit, and used him also in such wise that he
dropped it.

1 Paix, paix, Satan, allez, paix. The line in Dante to which Cellini alludes is the
first of the seventh canto of the Inferno. His suggestion is both curious and ingenious;
but we have no reason to think that French judges used the same imprecations, when
interrupted, in the thirteenth as they did in the sixteenth century, or that what Cellini
heard on this occasion was more than an accidental similarity of sounds, striking his
quick ear and awakening his lively memory.

304 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Returning thanks to God for this and every other dispensation,
and hoping to be left awhile without worries, I bade the young men
of my household, especially the Italians, for God's sake to attend each
diligently to the work I set him, and to help me till such time as I
could finish the things I had in hand. I thought they might soon
be completed, and then I meant to return to Italy, being no longer
able to put up with the rogueries of those Frenchmen; the good
King too, if he once grew angry, might bring me into mischief for
many of my acts in self-defence. I will describe who these Italians
were; the first, and the one I liked best, was Ascanio, from Taglia-
cozzo in the kingdom of Naples; the second was Pagolo, a Roman
of such humble origin that he did not know his own father. These
were the two men who had been with me in Rome, and whom I
had taken with me on the journey. Another Roman had also come
on purpose to enter my service; he too bore the name of Pagolo, and
was the son of a poor nobleman of the family of the Macaroni; he
had small acquirements in our art, but was an excellent and cou-
rageous swordsman. I had another from Ferrara called Bartolommeo
Chioccia. There was also another from Florence named Pagolo
Micceri; his brother, nicknamed "II Gatta," was a clever clerk, but
had spent too much money in managing the property of Tommaso
Guadagni, a very wealthy merchant. This Gatta put in order for
me the books in which I wrote the accounts of his most Christian
Majesty and my other employers. Now Pagolo Micceri, having
learned how to keep them from his brother, went on doing this
work for me in return for a liberal salary. He appeared, so far as
I could judge, to be a very honest lad, for I noticed him to be devout,
and when I heard him sometimes muttering psalms, and sometimes
telling his beads, I reckoned much upon his feigned virtue.

Accordingly I called the fellow apart and said to him, "Pagolo,
my dearest brother, you know what a good place you have with me,
and how you had formerly nothing to depend on; besides, you are
a Florentine. I have also the greater confidence in you because I
observe that you are pious and religious, which is a thing that
pleases me. I beg you therefore to assist me, for I cannot put the
same trust in any of your companions: so then I shall ask you to
keep watch over two matters of the highest importance, which might

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 305

prove a source of much annoyance to me. In the first place, I want
you to guard my property from being stolen, and not touch it your-
self. In the next place, you know that poor young girl, Caterina; I
keep her principally for my art's sake, since I cannot do without a
model; but being a man also, I have used her for my pleasures, and
it is possible that she may bear me a child. Now I do not want to
maintain another man's bastards, nor will I sit down under such an
insult. If any one in this house had the audacity to attempt anything
of the sort, and I were to become aware of it, I verily believe that
I should kill both her and him. Accordingly, dear brother, I entreat
you to be my helper; should you notice anything, tell it me at once;
for I am sure to send her and her mother and her fellow to the
gallows. Be you the first upon your watch against falling into this
snare." The rascal made a sign of the cross from his head to his
feet and cried out: "O blessed Jesus! God preserve me from ever
thinking of such a thing! In the first place, I am not given to those
evil ways; in the next place, do you imagine I am ignorant of your
great benefits toward me?" When I heard these words, which he
uttered with all appearance of simplicity and affection for me, I
believed that matters stood precisely as he asserted.

XXIX

Two days after this conversation, M. Mattio del Nazaro took the
occasion of some feast-day to invite me and my workpeople to an
entertainment in a garden. 1 He was an Italian in the King's
service, and practised the same art as we did with remarkable ability.
I got myself in readiness, and told Pagolo that he might go abroad
too and amuse himself with us; the annoyances arising from that
lawsuit being, as I judged, now settled down. The young man
replied in these words : "Upon my word, it would be a great mistake
to leave the house so unprotected. Only look how much of gold,
silver, and jewels you have here. Living as we do in a city of
thieves, we ought to be upon our guard by day and night. I will
spend the time in religious exercises, while I keep watch over the

^atteo del Nassaro, a native of Verona, was employed in France as engraver,
die-caster, and musician.

306 BENVENUTO CELLINI

premises. Go then with mind at rest to take your pleasure and
divert your spirits. Some other day another man will take my place
as guardian here."

Thinking that I could go ofi with a quiet mind, I took Pagolo,
Ascanio, and Chioccia to the garden, where we spent a large portion
of the day agreeably. Toward the middle of the afternoon, how-
ever, when it began to draw toward sundown, a suspicion came into
my head, and I recollected the words which that traitor had spoken
with his feigned simplicity. So I mounted my horse, and with two
servants to attend me, returned to the castle, where I all but caught
Pagolo and that little wretch Caterina in flagrante. No sooner had
I reached the place, than that French bawd, her mother, screamed
out: "Pagolo! Caterina! here is the master!" When I saw the pair
advancing, overcome with fright, their clothes in disorder, not
knowing what they said, nor, like people in a trance, where they
were going, it was only too easy to guess what they had been about.
The sight drowned reason in rage, and I drew my sword, resolved
to kill them both. The man took to his heels; the girl flung herself
upon her knees, and shrieked to Heaven for mercy. In my first fury
I wanted to strike at the male; but before I had the time to catch
him up, second thoughts arose which made me think it would be
best for me to drive them both away together. I had so many acts
of violence upon my hands, that if I killed him I could hardly hope
to save my life. I said then to Pagolo: "Had I seen with my own
eyes, scoundrel, what your behaviour and appearance force me to
believe, I should have run you with this sword here ten times through
the guts. Get out of my sight; and if you say a Paternoster, let it be
San Giuliano's." 2 Then I drove the whole lot forth, mother and
daughter, lamming into them with fist and foot. They made their
minds up to have the law of me, and consulted a Norman advocate,
who advised them to declare that I had used the girl after the Italian
fashion; what this meant I need hardly explain. 3 The man argued:
"At the very least, when this Italian hears what you are after, he
will pay down several hundred ducats, knowing how great the
danger is, and how heavily that offence is punished in France."

2 See Boccaccio, Decam., Gior. ii. Nov. ii.

3 Qual rnodo s'intendeva contro natura, doe in soddnmia.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 307

Upon this they were agreed. The accusation was brought against
me, and I received a summons from the court.

XXX

The more I sought for rest, the more I was annoyed with all
sorts of embarrassments. Being thus daily exposed to divers perse-
cutions, I pondered which of two courses I ought to take; whether to
decamp and leave France to the devil, or else to fight this battle
through as I had done the rest, and see to what end God had made
me. For a long while I kept anxiously revolving the matter. At
last I resolved to make off, dreading to tempt my evil fortune, lest
this should bring me to the gallows. My dispositions were all fixed;
I had made arrangements for putting away the property I could not
carry, and for charging the lighter articles, to the best of my ability,
upon myself and servants; yet it was with great and heavy reluctance
that I looked forward to such a departure.

I had shut myself up alone in a little study. My young men were
advising me to fly; but I told them that it would be well for me to
meditate this step in solitude, although I very much inclined to their
opinion. Indeed, I reasoned that if I could escape imprisonment and
let the storm pass over, I should be able to explain matters to the
King by letter, setting forth the trap which had been laid to ruin
me by the malice of my enemies. And as I have said above, my mind
was made up to this point; when, just as I rose to act on the decision,
some power took me by the shoulder and turned me round, and I
heard a voice which cried with vehemence: "Benvenuto, do as thou
art wont, and fear not!" Then, on the instant, I changed the whole
course of my plans, and said to my Italians: "Take your good arms
and come with me; obey me to the letter; have no other thought,
for I am now determined to put in my appearance. If I were to
leave Paris, you would vanish the next day in smoke; so do as I
command, and follow me." They all began together with one heart
and voice to say : "Since we are here, and draw our livelihood from
him, it is our duty to go with him and bear him out so long as we
have life to execute what he proposes. He has hit the mark better
than we did in this matter; for on the instant when he leaves the
place, his enemies will send us to the devil. Let us keep well in

308 BENVENUTO CELLINI

mind what great works we have begun here, and what vast impor-
tance they possess; we should not know how to finish them without
him, and his enemies would say that he had taken flight because he
shrank before such undertakings." Many other things bearing
weightily upon the subject were said among them. But it was the
young Roman, Macaroni, who first put heart into the company; and
he also raised recruits from the Germans and the Frenchmen, who
felt well disposed toward me.

We were ten men, all counted. I set out, firmly resolved not to
let myself be taken and imprisoned alive. When we appeared before
the judges for criminal affairs, I found Caterina and her mother
waiting; and on the moment of my arrival, the two women were
laughing with their advocate. I pushed my way in, and called boldly
for the judge, who was seated, blown out big and fat, upon a tribunal
high above the rest. On catching sight of me, he threatened with his
head, and spoke in a subdued voice: "Although your name is Ben-
venuto, this time you are an ill-comer." I understood his speech, and
called out the second time : "Despatch my business quickly. Tell me
what I have come to do here." Then the judge turned to Caterina,
and said: "Caterina, relate all that happened between you and Ben-
venuto." She answered that I had used her after the Italian fashion.
The judge turned to me and said: "You hear what Caterina deposes,
Benvenuto." I replied : "If I have consorted with her after the Italian
fashion, I have only done the same as you folk of other nations do."
He demurred: "She means that you improperly abused her." I
retorted that, so far from being the Italian fashion, it must be some
French habit, seeing she knew all about it, while I was ignorant; and
I commanded her to explain precisely how I had consorted with her.
Then the impudent baggage entered into plain and circumstantial
details regarding all the filth she lyingly accused me of. I made her
repeat her deposition three times in succession. When she had
finished, I cried out with a loud voice: "Lord judge, lieutenant of the
Most Christian King, I call on you for justice. Well I know that by
the laws of his Most Christian Majesty both agent and patient in
this kind of crime are punished with the stake. The woman con-
fesses her guilt; I admit nothing whatsoever of the sort with regard

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 309

to her; her go-between of a mother is here, who deserves to be
burned for either one or the other offence. Therefore I appeal to
you for justice." These words I repeated over and over again at the
top of my voice, continually calling out: "To the stake with her
and her mother!" I also threatened the judge that, if he did not send
her to prison there before me, I would go to the King at once, and
tell him how his lieutenant in criminal affairs of justice had wronged
me. When they heard what a tumult I was making, my adversaries
lowered their voices, but I lifted mine the more. The little hussy and
her mother fell to weeping, while I shouted to the judge: "Fire, fire!
to the stake with them!" The coward on the bench, finding that the
matter was not going as he intended, began to use soft words and
excuse the weakness of the female sex. Thereupon I felt that I had
won the victory in a nasty encounter; and, muttering threats between
my teeth, I took myself off, not without great inward satisfaction.
Indeed, I would gladly have paid five hundred crowns down to
have avoided that appearance in court. However, after escaping
from the tempest, I thanked God with all my heart, and returned in
gladness with my young men to the castle.

XXXI

When adverse fortune, or, if we prefer to call it, our malignant
planet, undertakes to persecute a man, it never lacks new ways of
injuring him. So now, when I thought I had emerged from this
tempestuous sea of troubles, and hoped my evil star would leave me
quiet for a moment, it began to set two schemes in motion against
me before I had recovered my breath from that great struggle.
Within three days two things happened, each of which brought my
life into extreme hazard. One of these occurred in this way : I went
to Fontainebleau to consult with the King; for he had written me a
letter saying he wanted me to stamp the coins of his whole realm,
and enclosing some little drawings to explain his wishes in the
matter; at the same time he left me free to execute them as I liked;
upon which I made new designs according to my own conception,
and according to the ideal of art. When I reached Fontainebleau,
one of the treasurers commissioned by the King to defray my

310 BENVENUTO CELLINI

expenses (he was called Monsignor della Fa 1 ) addressed me in these
words: "Benvenuto, the painter Bologna has obtained commission
from the King to execute your great Colossus, and all the orders
previously given as on your behalf have been transferred to him. 2
We are all indignant; and it seems to us that that countryman of
yours has acted towards you in a most unwarrantable manner. The
work was assigned you on the strength of your models and studies.
He is robbing you of it, only through the favour of Madame
d'Etampes; and though several months have passed since he received
the order, he has not yet made any sign of commencing it." I
answered in surprise: "How is it possible that I should have heard
nothing at all about this?" He then informed me that the man
had kept it very dark, and had obtained the King's commission with
great difficulty, since his Majesty at first would not concede it; only
the importunity of Madame d'Etampes secured this favour for him.
When I felt how greatly and how wrongfully I had been betrayed,
and saw a work which I had gained with my great toil thus stolen
from me, I made my mind up for a serious stroke of business, and
marched off with my good sword at my side to find Bologna. 3 He
was in his room, engaged in studies; after telling the servant to
introduce me, he greeted me with some of his Lombard compli-
ments, and asked what good business had brought me hither. I
replied: "A most excellent business, and one of great importance."
He then sent for wine, and said: "Before we begin to talk, we must
drink together, for such is the French custom." I answered : "Messer
Francesco, you must know that the conversation we have to engage
in does not call for drinking at the commencement; after it is over,
perhaps we shall be glad to take a glass." Then I opened the matter
in this way: "All men who wish to pass for persons of worth allow
it to be seen that they are so by their actions; if they do the con-
trary, they lose the name of honest men. I am aware that you knew
the King had commissioned me with that great Colossus; it had been
talked of these eighteen months past; yet neither you nor anybody else
came forward to speak a word about it. By my great labours I made

1 His name in full was Jacques de la Fa. He and his son Pierre after him held the
office of tresorier de I'epargne. See Plon, p. 63.

2 By Colossus, Cellini means the fountain with the great statue of Mars.

3 /. e., Primaticcio.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 311

myself known to his Majesty, who approved o my models and gave
the work into my hands. During many months I have heard nothing
to the contrary; only this morning I was informed that you have
got hold of it, and have filched it from me. I earned it by the talents
I displayed, and you are robbing me of it merely by your idle talking."

XXXII

To this speech Bologna answered: "O Benvenuto! all men try to
push their affairs in every way they can. If this is the King's will,
what have you to say against it ? You would only throw away your
time, because I have it now, and it is mine. Now tell me what you
choose, and I will listen to you." I replied: "I should like you to
know, Messer Francesco, that I could say much which would prove
irrefragably, and make you admit, that such ways of acting as you
have described and used are not in vogue among rational animals.
I will, however, come quickly to the point at issue; give close atten-
tion to my meaning, because the affair is serious." He made as
though he would rise from the chair on which he was sitting, since
he saw my colour heightened and my features greatly discomposed.
I told him that the time had not yet come for moving; he had
better sit and listen to me. Then I recommenced: "Messer Fran-
cesco, you know that I first received the work, and that the time has
long gone by during which my right could be reasonably disputed
by any one. Now I tell you that I shall be satisfied if you will make
a model, while I make another in addition to the one I have already
shown. Then we will take them without any clamour to our great
King; and whosoever in this way shall have gained the credit of the
best design will justly have deserved the commission. If it falls to
you, I will dismiss from my mind the memory of the great injury
you have done me, and will bless your hands, as being worthier
than mine of so glorious a performance. Let us abide by this agree-
ment, and we shall be friends; otherwise we must be enemies; and
God, who always helps the right, and I, who know how to assert it,
will show you to what extent you have done wrong." Messer
Francesco answered: "The work is mine, and since it has been given
me, I do not choose to put what is my own to hazard." To this I
retorted: "Messer Francesco, if you will not take the right course

312 BENVENUTO CELLINI

which is just and reasonable, I will show you another which shall be
like your own, that is to say, ugly and disagreeable. I tell you plainly
that if I ever hear that you have spoken one single word about this
work of mine, I will kill you like a dog. We are neither in Rome, nor
in Bologna, nor in Florence; here one lives in quite a different fash-
ion; if then it comes to my ears that you talk about this to the King
or anybody else, I vow that I will kill you. Reflect upon the way
you mean to take, whether that for good which I formerly described,
or this latter bad one I have just now set before you."

The man did not know what to say or do, and I was inclined to
cut the matter short upon the spot rather than to postpone action.
Bologna found no other words than these to utter: "If I act like a
man of honesty, I shall stand in no fear." I replied: "You have
spoken well, but if you act otherwise, you will have to fear, because
the affair is serious." Upon this I left him, and betook myself to
the King. With his Majesty I disputed some time about the fashion
of his coinage, a point upon which we were not of the same opinion;
his council, who were present, kept persuading him that the monies
ought to be struck in the French style, as they had hitherto always
been done. I urged in reply that his Majesty had sent for me from
Italy in order that I might execute good work; if he now wanted
me to do the contrary, I could not bring myself to submit. So the
matter was postponed till another occasion, and I set off again at
once for Paris.

XXXIII

I had but just dismounted from my horse, when one of those
excellent people who rejoice in mischief -making came to tell me that
Pagolo Micceri had taken a house for the little hussy Caterina and
her mother, and that he was always going there, and whenever he
mentioned me, used words of scorn to this effect: "Benvenuto set the
fox to watch the grapes, 1 and thought I would not eat them! Now
he is satisfied with going about and talking big, and thinks I am
afraid of him. But I have girt this sword and dagger to my side in
order to show him that my steel can cut as well as his, and that I
too am a Florentine, of the Micceri, a far better family than his

1 Aveva dato a guardia la latttiga at paperi.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 313

Cellini." The scoundrel who reported this poisonous gossip spoke it
with such good effect that I felt a fever in the instant swoop upon
me; and when I say fever, I mean fever, and no mere metaphor.
The insane passion which took possession of me might have been my
death, had I not resolved to give it vent as the occasion offered. I
ordered the Ferrarese workman, Chioccia, to come with me, and
made a servant follow with my horse. When we reached the house
where that worthless villain was, I found the door ajar, and entered.
I noticed that he carried sword and dagger, and was sitting on a
big chest with his arm round Caterina's neck; at the moment of my
arrival, I could hear that he and her mother were talking about me.
Pushing the door open, I drew my sword, and set the point of it at
his throat, not giving him the time to think whether he too carried
steel. At the same instant I cried out: "Vile coward! recommend
your soul to God, for you are a dead man." Without budging from
his seat, he called three times: "Mother, mother, help me!" Though
I had come there fully determined to take his life, half my fury
ebbed away when I heard this idiotic exclamation. I ought to add
that I had told Chioccia not to let the girl or her mother leave the
house, since I meant to deal with those trollops after I had disposed
of their bully. So I went on holding my sword at his throat, and
now and then just pricked him with the point, pouring out a
torrent of terrific threats at the same time. But when I found he
did not stir a finger in his own defence, I began to wonder what I
should do next; my menacing attitude could not be kept up for ever;
so at last it came into my head to make them marry, and complete
my vengeance at a later period. Accordingly, I formed my resolution,
and began: "Take that ring, coward, from your finger, and marry
her, that I may get satisfaction from you afterwards according to
your deserts." He replied at once : "If only you do not kill me, I will
do whatever you command." "Then," said I, "put that ring upon
her hand." When the sword's point was withdrawn a few inches
from his throat, he wedded her with the ring. But I added : "This is
not enough. I shall send for two notaries, in order that the marriage
may be ratified by contract." Bidding Chioccia go for the lawyers,
I turned to the girl and her mother, and, using the French language,
spoke as follows: "Notaries and witnesses are coming; the first of

314 BENVENUTO CELLINI

you who blabs about this affair will be killed upon the spot; nay, I
will murder you all three. So beware, and keep a quiet tongue in
your heads." To him I said in Italian: "If you offer any resistance to
what I shall propose, upon the slightest word you utter I will stab
you till your guts run out upon this floor." He answered: "Only
promise not to kill me, and I will do whatever you command." The
notaries and witnesses arrived; a contract, valid and in due form,
was drawn up; then my heat and fever left me. I paid the lawyers
and took my departure.

On the following day Bologna came to Paris on purpose, and sent
for me through Mattio del Nasaro. I went to see him; and he met
me with a glad face, entreating me to regard him as a brother, and
saying that he would never speak about that work again, since he
recognised quite well that I was right.

xxxiv

If I did not confess that in some of these episodes I acted wrongly,
the world might think I was not telling the truth about those in
which I say I acted rightly. Therefore I admit that it was a mistake
to inflict so singular a vengeance upon Pagolo Micceri. In truth,
had I believed him to be so utterly feeble, I should not have con-
ceived the notion of branding him with such infamy as I am going
to relate.

Not satisfied with having made him take a vicious drab to wife,
I completed my revenge by inviting her to sit to me as a model, and
dealing with her thus. I gave her thirty sous a day, paid in advance,
and a good meal, and obliged her to pose before me naked. Then I
made her serve my pleasure, out of spite against her husband, jeering
at them both the while. Furthermore, I kept her for hours together
in position, greatly to her discomfort. This gave her as much annoy-
ance as it gave me pleasure; for she was beautifully made, and
brought me much credit as a model. At last, noticing that I did not
treat her with the same consideration as before her marriage, she
began to grumble and talk big in her French way about her husband,
who was now serving the Prior of Capua, a brother of Piero Strozzi. 1

1 Leone, son of Filippo Strozzi, Knight of Jerusalem and Prior of Capua, was, like
his brother Piero, a distinguished French general.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 315

On the first occasion when she did this, the mere mention of the
fellow aroused me to intolerable fury; still I bore it, greatly against
the grain, as well as I was able, reflecting that I could hardly find
so suitable a subject for my art as she was. So I reasoned thus in my
own mind: "I am now taking two different kinds of revenge. In
the first place, she is married; and what I am doing to her husband
is something far more serious than what he did to me, when she
was only a girl of loose life. If then I wreak my spite so fully upon
him, while upon her I inflict the discomfort of posing in such strange
attitudes for such a length of time which, beside the pleasure I
derive, brings me both profit and credit through my art what more
can I desire?" While I was turning over these calculations, the
wretch redoubled her insulting speeches, always prating big about
her husband, till she goaded me beyond the bounds of reason.
Yielding myself up to blind rage, I seized her by the hair, and
dragged her up and down my room, beating and kicking her till I
was tired. There was no one who could come to her assistance.
When I had well pounded her she swore that she would never
visit me again. Then for the first time I perceived that I had acted
very wrongly; for I was losing a grand model, who brought me
honour through my art. Moreover, when I saw her body all torn
and bruised and swollen, I reflected that, even if I persuaded her to
return, I should have to put her under medical treatment for at
least a fortnight before I could make use of her.

xxxv

Well, to return to Caterina. I sent my old serving-woman, named
Ruberta, who had a most kindly disposition, to help her dress. She
brought food and drink to the miserable baggage; and after rubbing
a little bacon fat into her worst wounds, they ate what was left of
the meat together. When she had finished dressing, she went of!
blaspheming and cursing all Italians in the King's service, and so
returned with tears and murmurs to her home.

Assuredly, upon that first occasion, I felt I had done very wrong,
and Ruberta rebuked me after this fashion: "You are a cruel
monster to maltreat such a handsome girl so brutally." When I
excused my conduct by narrating all the tricks which she and her

316 BENVENUTO CELLINI

mother had played off upon me under my own roof, Ruberta scold-
ingly replied that that was nothing that was only French manners,
and she was sure there was not a husband in France without his
horns. When I heard this argument, I laughed aloud, and then told
Ruberta to go and see how Caterina was, since I should like to
employ her again while finishing the work I had on hand. The old
woman took me sharply up, saying that I had no s avoir vivre: "Only
wait till daybreak, and she will come of herself; whereas, if you
send to ask after her or visit her, she will give herself airs and keep
away."

On the following morning Caterina came to our door, and knocked
so violently, that, being below, I ran to see whether it was a madman
or some member of the household. When I opened, the creature
laughed and fell upon my neck, embracing and kissing me, and
asked me if I was still angry with her. I said, "No!" Then she
added: "Let me have something good to break my fast on." So I
supplied her well with food, and partook of it at the same table in
sign of reconciliation. Afterwards I began to model from her, during
which occurred some amorous diversions; and at last, just at the
same hour as on the previous day, she irritated me to such a pitch
that I gave her the same drubbing. So we went on several days,
repeating the old round like clockwork. There was little or no
variation in the incidents.

Meanwhile, I completed my work in a style which did me the
greatest credit. Next I set about to cast it in bronze. This entailed
some difficulties, to relate which would be interesting from the point
of view of art; but since the whole history would occupy too much
space, I must omit it. Suffice it to say, that the figure came out
splendidly, and was as fine a specimen of foundry as had ever been

seen. 1

xxxvi

While this work was going forward, I set aside certain hours of the
day for the salt-cellar, and certain others for the Jupiter. There were
more men engaged upon the former than I had at my disposal for
the latter, so the salt-cellar was by this time completely finished. The

1 This figure was undoubtedly the Nymph of Fontainebleau.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 317

King had now returned to Paris; and when I paid him my respects,
I took the piece with me. As I have already related, it was oval in
form, standing about two-thirds of a cubit, wrought of solid gold,
and worked entirely with the chisel. While speaking of the model,
I said before how I had represented Sea and Earth, seated, with their
legs interlaced, as we observe in the case of firths and promontories;
this attitude was therefore metaphorically appropriate. The Sea
carried a trident in his right hand, and in his left I put a ship of
delicate workmanship to hold the salt. Below him were his four
sea-horses, fashioned like our horses from the head to the front
hoofs; all the rest of their body, from the middle backwards, resem-
bled a fish, and the tails of these creatures were agreeably inter-
woven. Above this group the Sea sat throned in an attitude of pride
and dignity; around him were many kinds of fishes and other crea-
tures of the ocean. The water was represented with its waves, and
enamelled in the appropriate colour. I had portrayed Earth under the
form of a very handsome woman, holding her horn of plenty, entirely
nude like the male figure; in her left hand I placed a little temple
of Ionic architecture, most delicately wrought, which was meant to
contain the pepper. Beneath her were the handsomest living crea-
tures which the earth produces; and the rocks were partly enamelled,
partly left in gold. The whole piece reposed upon a base of ebony,
properly proportioned, but with a projecting cornice, upon which I
introduced four golden figures in rather more than half-relief. They
represented Night, Day, Twilight, and Dawn. I put, moreover, into
the same frieze four other figures, similar in size, and intended for
the four chief winds; these were executed, and in part enamelled,
with the most exquisite refinement. 1

When I exhibited this piece to his Majesty, he uttered a loud
outcry of astonishment, and could not satiate his eyes with gazing
at it. Then he bade me take it back to my house, saying he would
tell me at the proper time what I should have to do with it. So I
carried it home, and sent at once to invite several of my best friends;
we dined gaily together, placing the salt-cellar in the middle of the
table, and thus we were the first to use it. After this, I went on

1 This salt-cellar is now at Vienna. It is beautifully represented by two photo-
gravures in Plon's great book on Cellini.

318 BENVENUTO CELLINI

working at my Jupiter in silver, and also at the great vase I have
already described, which was richly decorated with a variety of
ornaments and figures.

XXXVII

At that time Bologna, the painter, suggested to the King that it
would be well if his Majesty sent him to Rome, with letters of rec-
ommendation, to the end that he might cast the foremost master-
pieces of antiquity, namely, the Laocoon, the Cleopatra, the Venus,
the Commodus, the Zingara, and the Apollo. 1 These, of a truth, are
by far the finest things in Rome. He told the King that when his
Majesty had once set eyes upon those marvellous works, he would
then, and not till then, be able to criticise the arts of design, since
everything which he had seen by us moderns was far removed from
the perfection of the ancients. The King accepted his proposal, and
gave him the introductions he required. Accordingly that beast
went off, and took his bad luck with him. Not having the force and
courage to contend with his own hands against me, he adopted the
truly Lombard device of depreciating my performances by becoming
a copyist of antiques. In its own proper place I shall relate how,
though he had these statues excellently cast, he obtained a result
quite contrary to his imagination.

I had now done for ever with that disreputable Caterina, and the
unfortunate young man, her husband, had decamped from Paris.
Wanting then to finish off my Fontainebleau, which was already
cast in bronze, as well as to execute the two Victories which were
going to fill the angles above the lunette of the door, I engaged a
poor girl of the age of about fifteen. She was beautifully made and
of a brunette complexion. Being somewhat savage in her ways and
spare of speech, quick in movement, with a look of sullenness about
her eyes, I nicknamed her Scorzone; 2 her real name was Jeanne.

1 The Cleopatra is that recumbent statue of a sleeping Ariadne or Bacchante now
in the Vatican. The Venus (neither the Medicean nor the Capitoline) represents the
goddess issuing from the bath; it is now in the Museo Pio Clementino of the
Vatican. The Commodus is a statue of Hercules, with the lion's skin and an infant
in his arms, also in the Vatican. The Zingara may be a statue of Diana forming part
of the Borghese collection. The Apollo is the famous Belvedere Apollo of the Vatican.

2 That is, in Italian, "the rough rind," a name given to rustics. Scorzone is also the
name for a little black venomous serpent.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 319

With her for model, I gave perfect finish to the bronze Fontaine-
bleau, and also to the two Victories.

Now this girl was a clean maid, and I got her with child. She
gave birth to a daughter on the yth of June, at thirteen hours of the
day, in 1544, when I had exactly reached the age of forty-four. I
named the infant Costanza; and M. Guido Guidi, the King's phy-
sician, and my most intimate friend, as I have previously related,
held her at the font. He was the only godfather; for it is customary
in France to have but one godfather and two godmothers. One of
the latter was Madame Maddalena, wife to M. Luigi Alamanni, a
gentleman of Florence and an accomplished poet. The other was
the wife of M. Ricciardo del Bene, our Florentine burgher, and a
great merchant in Paris; she was herself a French lady of distin-
guished family. This was the first child I ever had, so far as I re-
member. I settled money enough upon the girl for dowry to satisfy
an aunt of hers, under whose tutelage I placed her, and from that
time forwards I had nothing more to do with her.

XXXVIII

By labouring incessantly I had now got my various works well
forward; the Jupiter was nearly finished, and the vase also; the door
began to reveal its beauties. At that time the King came to Paris;
and though I gave the right date of the year 1544 for my daughter's
birth, we were still in 1543; but an opportunity of mentioning my
daughter having arisen, I availed myself of it, so as not to interrupt
the narrative of more important things. Well, the King, as I have
said, came to Paris, and paid me a visit soon after his arrival. The
magnificent show of works brought well-nigh to completion was
enough to satisfy anybody's eye; and indeed it gave that glorious
monarch no less contentment than the artist who had worked so
hard upon them desired. While inspecting these things, it came
into his head that the Cardinal of Ferrara had fulfilled none of his
promises to me, either as regarded a pension or anything else. Whis-
pering with his Admiral, he said that the Cardinal of Ferrara had
behaved very badly in the matter; and that he intended to make it up
to me himself, because he saw I was a man of few words, who in

320 BENVENUTO CELLINI

the twinkling of an eye might decamp without complaining or ask-
ing leave.

On returning home, his Majesty, after dinner, told the Cardinal to
give orders to his treasurer of the Exchequer that he should pay me
at an early date seven thousand crowns of gold, in three or four
instalments, according to his own convenience, provided only that
he executed the commission faithfully. At the same time he repeated
words to this effect: "I gave Benvenuto into your charge, and you
have forgotten all about him." The Cardinal said that he would
punctually perform his Majesty's commands; but his own bad nature
made him wait till the King's fit of generosity was over. Meanwhile
wars and rumours of wars were on the increase; it was the moment
when the Emperor with a huge army was marching upon Paris. 1
Seeing the realm of France to be in great need of money, the Car-
dinal one day began to talk of me, and said: "Sacred Majesty, acting
for the best, I have not had that money given to Benvenuto. First,
it is sorely wanted now for public uses. Secondly, so great a dona-
tion would have exposed you to the risk of losing Benvenuto alto-
gether; for if he found himself a rich man, he might have invested
his money in Italy, and the moment some caprice took hold of him,
he would have decamped without hesitation. I therefore consider
that your Majesty's best course will be to present him with something
in your kingdom, if you want to keep him in your service for any
length of time." The King, being really in want of money, approved
of these arguments; nevertheless, like the noble soul he was, and
truly worthy of his royal station, he judged rightly that the Cardinal
had acted thus in order to curry favour rather than from any clear
prevision of distressed finances in so vast a realm.

XXXIX

As I have just said, his Majesty affected to concur with the Car-
dinal, but his own private mind was otherwise made up. Accord-
ingly, upon the day after his arrival, without solicitation upon my
part, he came of his own accord to my house. I went to meet him,
and conducted him through several rooms where divers works of

l ln 1544 Charles V. advanced toward Champagne and threatened Paris, while
the English were besieging Boulogne.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 321

art were on view. Beginning with the less important, I pointed out
a quantity of things in bronze; and it was long since he had seen
so many at once. Then I took him to see the Jupiter in silver, now
nearly completed, with all its splendid decorations. It so happened
that a grievous disappointment which he had suffered a few years
earlier, made him think this piece more admirable than it might
perhaps have appeared to any other man. The occasion to which I
refer was this: After the capture of Tunis, the Emperor passed
through Paris with the consent of his brother-in-law, King Francis, 1
who wanted to present him with something worthy of so great a
potentate. Having this in view, he ordered a Hercules to be executed
in silver, exactly of the same size as my Jupiter. The King declared
this Hercules to be the ugliest work of art that he had ever seen,
and spoke his opinion plainly to the craftsmen of Paris. They
vaunted themselves to be the ablest craftsmen in the world for works
of this kind, and informed the King that nothing more perfect could
possibly have been produced in silver, insisting at the same time
upon being paid two thousand ducats for their filthy piece of work.
This made the King, when he beheld mine, affirm that the finish of
its workmanship exceeded his highest expectations. Accordingly he
made an equitable judgment, and had my statue valued also at two
thousand ducats, saying: "I gave those other men no salary; Cellini,
who gets about a thousand crowns a year from me, can surely let
me have this masterpiece for two thousand crowns of gold, since
he has his salary into the bargain." Then I exhibited other things in
gold and silver, and a variety of models for new undertakings. At
the last, just when he was taking leave, I pointed out upon the lawn
of the castle that great giant, which roused him to higher astonish-
ment than any of the other things he had inspected. Turning to
his Admiral, who was called Monsignor Aniballe, 2 he said: "Since
the Cardinal has made him no provision, we must do so, and all the
more because the man himself is so slow at asking favours to cut it
short, I mean to have him well provided for; yes, these men who ask
for nothing feel that their masterpieces call aloud for recompense;

*In the year 1539 Charles V. obtained leave to traverse France with his army on
the way to Flanders.

2 Claude d'Annebault; captured at Pavia with Francois; Marshal in 1538; Admiral
of France in 1543.

322 BENVENUTO CELLINI

therefore see that he gets the first abbey that falls vacant worth two
thousand crowns a year. If this cannot be had in one benefice, let
him have two or three to that amount, for in his case it will come to
the same thing." As I was standing by, I could hear what the King
said, and thanked his Majesty at once for the donation, as though I
were already in possession. I told him that as soon as his orders
were carried into effect, I would work for his Majesty without other
salary or recompense of any kind until old age deprived me of the
power to labour, when I hoped to rest my tired body in peace, main-
taining myself with honour on that income, and always bearing in
mind that I had served so great a monarch as his Majesty. At the
end of this speech the King turned toward me with a lively gesture
and a joyous countenance, saying, "So let it then be done." After
that he departed, highly satisfied with what he had seen there.

Madame d'Etampes, when she heard how well my affairs were go-
ing, redoubled her spite against me, saying in her own heart: "It is I
who rule the world to-day, and a little fellow like that snaps his
fingers at me!" She put every iron into the fire which she could
think of, in order to stir up mischief against me. Now a certain
man fell in her way, who enjoyed great fame as a distiller; he sup-
plied her with perfumed waters, which were excellent for the
complexion, and hitherto unknown in France. This fellow she intro-
duced to the King, who was much delighted by the processes for
distilling which he exhibited. While engaged in these experiments,
the man begged his Majesty to give him a tennis-court I had in my
castle, together with some little apartments which he said I did not
use. The good King, guessing who was at the bottom of the busi-
ness, made no answer; but Madame d'Etampes used those wiles with
which women know so well to work on men, and very easily suc-
ceeded in her enterprise; for having taken the King at a moment of
amorous weakness, to which he was much subject, she wheedled
him into conceding what she wanted.

The distiller came, accompanied by Treasurer Grolier, a very
great nobleman of France, who spoke Italian excellently, and when

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 323

he entered my castle, began to jest with me in that language. 1
Watching his opportunity, 2 he said: "In the King's name I put this
man here into possession of that tennis-court, together with the
lodgings that pertain to it." To this I answered: "The sacred King
is lord of all things here : so then you might have effected an entrance
with more freedom: coming thus with notaries and people of the
court looks more like a fraud than the mandate of a powerful mon-
arch. I assure you that, before I carry my complaints before the
King, I shall defend my right in the way his Majesty gave me orders
two days since to do. I shall fling the man whom you have put upon
me out of windows if I do not see a warrant under the King's own
hand and seal." After this speech the treasurer went off threatening
and grumbling, and I remained doing the same, without, however,
beginning the attack at once. Then I went to the notaries who had
put the fellow in possession. I was well acquainted with them; and
they gave me to understand that this was a formal proceeding, done
indeed at the King's orders, but which had not any great signifi-
cance; if I had offered some trifling opposition the fellow would
not have installed himself as he had done. The formalities were acts
and customs of the court, which did not concern obedience to the
King; consequently, if I succeeded in ousting him, I should have
acted righdy, and should not incur any risk.

This hint was enough for me, and next morning I had recourse to
arms; and though the job cost me some trouble, I enjoyed it. Each
day that followed, I made an attack with stones, pikes and arque-
buses, firing, however, without ball; nevertheless, I inspired such
terror that no one dared to help my antagonist. Accordingly, when
I noticed one day that his defence was feeble, I entered the house by
force, and expelled the fellow, turning all his goods and chattels into
the street. Then I betook me to the King, and told him that I had
done precisely as his Majesty had ordered, by defending myself
against every one who sought to hinder me in his service. The King
laughed at the matter, and made me out new letters-patent to secure
me from further molestation. 3

1 Jean Grolier, the famous French Maecenas, collector of books, antiquities, &c.

2 Vedendo il hello.

3 This document exists, and is dated July 15, 1544. See Bianchi, p. 585.

324 BENVENUTO CELLINI

XLI

In the meantime I brought my silver Jupiter to completion, to-
gether with its gilded pedestal, which I placed upon a wooden
plinth that only showed a very little; upon the plinth I introduced
four little round balls of hard wood, more than half hidden in their
sockets, like the nut of a crossbow. They were so nicely arranged
that a child could push the statue forward and backwards, or turn it
round with ease. Having arranged it thus to my mind, I went with
it to Fontainebleau, where the King was then residing.

At that time, Bologna, of whom I have already said so much, had
brought from Rome his statues, and had cast them very carefully
in bronze. I knew nothing about this, partly because he kept his
doings very dark, and also because Fontainebleau is forty miles dis-
tant from Paris. On asking the King where he wanted me to set
up my Jupiter, Madame d'Etampes, who happened to be present,
told him there was no place more appropriate than his own hand-
some gallery. This was, as we should say in Tuscany, a loggia, or,
more exactly, a large lobby; it ought indeed to be called a lobby,
because what we mean by loggia is open at one side. The hall was
considerably longer than 100 paces, decorated, and very rich with
pictures from the hand of that admirable Rosso, our Florentine
master. Among the pictures were arranged a great variety of sculp-
tured works, partly in the round, and partly in bas-relief. The
breadth was about twelve paces. Now Bologna had brought all his
antiques into this gallery, wrought with great beauty in bronze, and
had placed them in a handsome row upon their pedestals; and they
were, as I have said, the choicest of the Roman antiquities. Into this
same gallery I took my Jupiter; and when I saw that grand parade,
so artfully planned, I said to myself: "This is like running the gaunt-
let; 1 now may God assist me." I placed the statue, and having ar-
ranged it as well as I was able, waited for the coming of the King.
The Jupiter was raising his thunderbolt with the right hand in the
act to hurl it; his left hand held the globe of the world. Among the
flames of the thunderbolt I had very cleverly introduced a torch of
white wax. Now Madame d'Etampes detained the King till night-

1 Questo si e come passare in fra le picche.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 325

fall, wishing to do one of two mischiefs, either to prevent his com-
ing, or else to spoil the effect of my work by its being shown ofiE
after dark; but as God has promised to those who trust in Him,
it turned out exactly opposite to her calculations; for when night
came, I set fire to the torch, which standing higher than the head
of Jupiter, shed light from above and showed the statue far better
than by daytime.

At length the King arrived; he was attended by his Madame
d'Etampes, his son the Dauphin and the Dauphiness, together with
the King of Navarre his brother-in-law, Madame Marguerite his
daughter, 2 and several other great lords, who had been instructed
by Madame d'Etampes to speak against me. When the King ap-
peared, I made my prentice Ascanio push the Jupiter toward his
Majesty. As it moved smoothly forwards, my cunning in its turn
was amply rewarded, for this gentle motion made the figure seem
alive; the antiques were left in the background, and my work was
the first to take the eye with pleasure. The King exclaimed at once :
"This is by far the finest thing that has ever been seen; and I,
although I am an amateur and judge of art, could never have con-
ceived the hundredth part of its beauty." The lords whose cue it was
to speak against me, now seemed as though they could not praise
my masterpiece enough. Madame d'Etampes said boldly: "One
would think you had no eyes! Don't you see all those fine bronzes
from the antique behind there? In those consists the real distinction
of this art, and not in that modern trumpery." Then the King ad-
vanced, and the others with him. After casting a glance at the
bronzes, which were not shown to advantage from the light being
below them, he exclaimed: "Whoever wanted to injure this man
has done him a great service; for the comparison of these admirable
statues demonstrates the immeasurable superiority of his work in
beauty and in art. Benvenuto deserves to be made much of, for his
performances do not merely rival, but surpass the antique." In
reply to this, Madame d'Etampes observed that my Jupiter would
not make anything like so fine a show by daylight; besides, one had
to consider that I had put a veil upon my statue to conceal its faults.
I had indeed flung a gauze veil with elegance and delicacy over a

2 Born 1523. Married Emmanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy, in 1559. Died 1574.

326 BENVENUTO CELLINI

portion of my statue, with the view of augmenting its majesty. This,
when she had finished speaking, I lifted from beneath, uncovering
the handsome genital members of the god; then tore the veil to pieces
with vexation. She imagined I had disclosed those parts of the statue
to insult her. The King noticed how angry she was, while I was
trying to force some words out in my fury; so he wisely spoke, in
his own language, precisely as follows: "Benvenuto, I forbid you to
speak; hold your tongue, and you shall have a thousand times more
wealth than you desire." Not being allowed to speak, I writhed my
body in a rage; this made her grumble with redoubled spite; and the
King departed sooner than he would otherwise have done, calling
aloud, however, to encourage me: "I have brought from Italy the
greatest man who ever lived, endowed with all the talents."

XLII

I left the Jupiter there, meaning to depart the next morning. Be-
fore I took horse, one thousand crowns were paid me, partly for
my salary, and partly on account of monies I had disbursed. Having
received this sum, I returned with a light heart and satisfied to Paris.
No sooner had I reached home and dined with merry cheer, than
I called for all my wardrobe, which included a great many suits
of silk, choice furs, and also very fine cloth stuffs. From these I
selected presents for my workpeople, giving each something accord-
ing to his own desert, down to the servant-girls and stable-boys, in
order to encourage them to aid me heartily.

Being then refreshed in strength and spirits, I attacked the great
statue of Mars, which I had set up solidly upon a frame of well-
connected woodwork. 1 Over this there lay a crust of plaster, about
the eighth of a cubit in thickness, carefully modelled for the flesh
of the Colossus. Lastly, I prepared a great number of moulds in
separate pieces to compose the figure, intending to dovetail them
together in accordance with the rules of art; and this task involved
no difficulty.

I will not here omit to relate something which may serve to give a
notion of the size of this great work, and is at the same time highly

1 This was what he called the Colossus above, p. 310. He meant it for the fountain
of Fontainebleau. See p. 295.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 327

comic. It must first be mentioned that I had forbidden all the men
who lived at my cost to bring light women into my house or any-
where within the castle precincts. Upon this point of discipline 1
was extremely strict. Now my lad Ascanio loved a very handsome
girl, who returned his passion. One day she gave her mother the slip,
and came to see Ascanio at night. Finding that she would not take
her leave, and being driven to his wits' ends to conceal her, like u
person of resources, he hit at last upon the plan of installing her
inside the statue. There, in the head itself, he made her up a place
to sleep in; this lodging she occupied some time, and he used to
bring her forth at whiles with secrecy at night. I meanwhile having
brought this part of the Colossus almost to completion, left it alone,
and indulged my vanity a bit by exposing it to sight; it could, indeed'
be seen by more than half Paris. The neighbours, therefore, took
to climbing their house-roofs, and crowds came on purpose to enjoy
the spectacle. Now there was a legend in the city that my castle had
from olden times been haunted by a spirit, though I never noticed
anything to confirm this belief; and folk in Paris called it popularly
by the name of Lemmonio Boreo. 2 The girl, while she sojourned in
the statue's head, could not prevent some of her movements to and
fro from being perceptible through its eye-holes; this made stupid
people say that the ghost had got into the body of the figure, and
was setting its eyes in motion, and its mouth, as though it were about
to talk. Many of them went away in terror; others, more incredu-
lous, came to observe the phenomenon, and when they were unable
to deny the flashing of the statue's eyes, they too declared their
credence in a spirit not guessing that there was a spirit there, and
sound young flesh to boot.

XLIII

All this while I was engaged in putting my door together, with
its several appurtenances. As it is no part of my purpose to include
in this autobiography such things as annalists record, I have omitted
the coming of the Emperor with his great host, and the King's mus-

2 Properly, Le Moine Bourru, the ghost of a monk dressed in drugget (bure).
Le Petit Nesle had a bad reputation on account of the murders said to have been
committed there in the fourteenth century by Queen Jeanne, wife of Philip V.

328 BENVENUTO CELLINI

tering of his whole army. 1 At the time when these events took place,
his Majesty sought my advice with regard to the instantaneous forti-
fication of Paris. He came on purpose to my house, and took me all
round the city; and when he found that I was prepared to fortify
the town with expedition on a sound plan, he gave express orders
that all my suggestions should be carried out. His Admiral was
directed to command the citizens to obey me under pain of his dis-
pleasure.

Now the Admiral had been appointed through Madame
d'Etampes' influence rather than from any proof of his ability, for he
was a man of little talent. He bore the name of M. d'Annebault,
which in our tongue is Monsignor d'Aniballe; but the French pro-
nounce it so that they usually made it sound like Monsignore Asino
Bue. 2 This animal then referred to Madame d'Etampes for advice
upon the matter, and she ordered him to summon Girolamo Bel-
larmato without loss of time. 3 He was an engineer from Siena, at
that time in Dieppe, which is rather more than a day's journey dis-
tant from the capital. He came at once, and set the work of fortifica-
tion going on a very tedious method, which made me throw the job
up. If the Emperor had pushed forward at this time, he might
easily have taken Paris. People indeed said that, when a treaty of
peace was afterwards concluded, Madame d'Etampes, who took
more part in it than anybody else, betrayed the King. 4 I shall pass
this matter over without further words, since it has nothing to do
with the plan of my Memoirs. Meanwhile, I worked diligently at
the door, and finished the vase, together with two others of mid-
dling size, which I made of my own silver. At the end of those
great troubles, the King came to take his ease awhile in Paris.

That accursed woman seemed born to be the ruin of the world.
I ought therefore to think myself of some account, seeing she held
me for her mortal enemy. Happening to speak one day with the

1 Toward the end of August 1544, the Imperial army advanced as far as Epernay,
within twenty leagues of Paris.
2 t. e., ass-ox, Ane-et-bo.

3 Girolamo Bellarmati, a learned mathematician and military architect, banished
from Siena for political reasons. He designed the harbour of Havre.

4 There is indeed good reason to believe that the King's mistress, in her jealousy
of the Dauphin and Diane de Poitiers, played false, and enabled the Imperialists to
advance beyond Epernay.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 329

good King about my matters, she abused me to such an extent that
he swore, in order to appease her, he would take no more heed of
me thenceforward than if he had never set eyes upon my face. These
words were immediately brought me by a page of Cardinal Ferrara,
called II Villa, who said he had heard the King utter them. I was
infuriated to such a pitch that I dashed my tools across the room
and all the things I was at work on, made my arrangements to quit
France, and went upon the spot to find the King. When he had
dined, I was shown into a room where I found his Majesty in the
company of a very few persons. After I had paid him the respects
due to kings, he bowed his head with a gracious smile. This revived
hope in me; so I drew nearer to his Majesty, for they were showing
him some things in my own line of art; and after we had talked
awhile about such matters, he asked if I had anything worth seeing
at my house, and next inquired when I should like him to come. I
replied that I had some pieces ready to show his Majesty, if he
pleased, at once. He told me to go home and he would come
immediately.

XLIV

I went accordingly, and waited for the good King's visit, who, it
seems, had gone meanwhile to take leave of Madame d'Etampes.
She asked whither he was bound, adding that she would accompany
him; but when he informed her, she told him that she would not go,
and begged him as a special favour not to go himself that day. She
had to return to the charge more than twice before she shook the
King's determination; however, he did not come to visit me that
day. Next morning I went to his Majesty at the same hour; and no
sooner had he caught sight of me, than he swore it was his intention
to come to me upon the spot. Going then, according to his wont,
to take leave of his dear Madame d'Etampes, this lady saw that all
her influence had not been able to divert him from his purpose; so
she began with that biting tongue of hers to say the worst of me
that could be insinuated against a deadly enemy of this most worthy
crown of France. The good King appeased her by replying that the
sole object of his visit was to administer such a scolding as should
make me tremble in my shoes. This he swore to do upon his honour.

33 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Then he came to my house, and I conducted him through certain
rooms upon the basement, where I had put the whole of my great
door together. Upon beholding it, the King was struck with stupe-
faction, and quite lost his cue for reprimanding me, as he had prom-
ised Madame d'Etampes. Still he did not choose to go away without
finding some opportunity for scolding; so he began in this wise:
"There is one most important matter, Benvenuto, which men of
your sort, though full of talent, ought always to bear in mind; it is
that you cannot bring your great gifts to light by your own strength
alone; you show your greatness only through the opportunities we
give you. Now you ought to be a little more submissive, not so arro-
gant and headstrong. I remember that I gave you express orders to
make me twelve silver statues; and this was all I wanted. You have
chosen to execute a salt-cellar, and vases and busts and doors, and a
heap of other things, which quite confound me, when I consider how
you have neglected my wishes and worked for the fulfilment of your
own. If you mean to go on in this way, I shall presently let you
understand what is my own method of procedure when I choose to
have things done in my own way. I tell you, therefore, plainly: do
your utmost to obey my commands; for if you stick to your own
fancies, you will run your head against a wall." While he was utter-
ing these words, his lords in waiting hung upon the King's lips, see-
ing him shake his head, frown, and gesticulate, now with one hand
and now with the other. The whole company of attendants, there-
fore, quaked with fear for me; but I stood firm, and let no breath of
fear pass over me.

XLV

When he had wound up this sermon, agreed upon beforehand with
his darling Madame d'Etampes, I bent one leg upon the ground, and
kissed his coat above the knee. Then I began my speech as follows :
"Sacred Majesty, I admit that all that you have said is true. Only,
in reply, I protest that my heart has ever been, by day and night,
with all my vital forces, bent on serving you and executing your
commands. If it appears to your Majesty that my actions contradict
these words, let your Majesty be sure that Benvenuto was not at
fault, but rather possibly my evil fate or adverse fortune, which has

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 331

made me unworthy to serve the most admirable prince who ever
blessed this earth. Therefore I crave your pardon. I was under the
impression, however, that your Majesty had given me silver for one
statue only; having no more at my disposal, I could not execute
others; so, with the surplus which remained for use, I made this
vase, to show your Majesty the grand style of the ancients. Perhaps
you never had seen anything of the sort before. As for the salt-cellar,
I thought, if my memory does not betray me, that your Majesty on
one occasion ordered me to make it of your own accord. The con-
versation falling upon something of the kind which had been
brought for your inspection, I showed you a model made by me in
Italy; you, following the impulse of your own mind only, had a thou-
sand golden ducats told out for me to execute the piece withal, thank-
ing me in addition for my hint; and what is more, I seem to remem-
ber that you commended me highly when it was completed. As re-
gards the door, it was my impression that, after we had chanced to
speak about it at some time or other, your Majesty gave orders to
your chief secretary, M. Villerois, from whom the order passed to
M. de Marmagne and M. de la Fa, to this effect, that all these gen-
tlemen should keep me going at the work, and see that I obtained
the necessary funds. Without such commission I should certainly
not have been able to advance so great an undertaking on my own
resources. As for the bronze heads, the pedestal of Jupiter and other
such-like things, I will begin by saying that I cast those heads upon
my own account, in order to become acquainted with French clays,
of which, as a foreigner, I had no previous knowledge whatsoever.
Unless I had made the experiment, I could not have set about casting
those large works. Now, touching the pedestals, I have to say that I
made them because I judged them necessary to the statues. Conse-
quently, in all that I have done, I meant to act for the best, and at
no point to swerve from your Majesty's expressed wishes. It is indeed
true that I set that huge Colossus up to satisfy my own desire, paying
for it from my own purse, even to the point which it has reached,
because I thought that, you being the great King you are, and I the
trifling artist that I am, it was my duty to erect for your glory and
my own a statue, the like of which the ancients never saw. Now,
at the last, having been taught that God is not inclined to make me

33 2 BENVENUTO CELLINI

worthy of so glorious a service, I beseech your Majesty, instead of the
noble recompense you had in mind to give me for my labours, be-
stow upon me only one small trifle of your favour, and therewith the
leave to quit your kingdom. At this instant, if you condescend to
my request, I shall return to Italy, always thanking God and your
Majesty for the happy hours which I have passed in serving you."

XLVI

The King stretched forth his own hands and raised me very gra-
ciously. Then he told me that I ought to continue in his service, and
that all that I had done was right and pleasing to him. Turning to
the lords in his company, he spoke these words precisely: "I verily
believe that a finer door could not be made for Paradise itself." When
he had ceased speaking, although his speech had been entirely in
my favour, I again thanked him respectfully, repeating, however,
my request for leave to travel; for the heat of my indignation had
not yet cooled down. His Majesty, feeling that I set too little store
upon his unwonted and extraordinary condescension, commanded
me with a great and terrible voice to hold my tongue, unless I wanted
to incur his wrath; afterwards he added that he would drown me in
gold, and that he gave me the leave I asked; and over and above
the works he had commissioned, 1 he was very well satisfied with
what I had done on my own account in the interval; I should never
henceforth have any quarrels with him, because he knew my char-
acter; and for my part, I too ought to study the temper of his Maj-
esty, as my duty required. I answered that I thanked God and
his Majesty for everything; then I asked him to come and see how
far I had advanced the Great Colossus. So he came to my house,
and I had the statue uncovered; he admired it extremely, and gave
orders to his secretary to pay me all the money I had spent upon it,
be the sum what it might, provided I wrote the bill out in my own
hand. Then he departed, saying: "Adieu, mon ami," which is a
phrase not often used by kings.

1 The MSS. in this phrase vary, and the meaning is not quite clear. According
to one reading, the sense would be: "Though the works he had commissioned were
not yet begun." But this involves an awkward use of the word dipoi.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 333

XLVII

After returning to his palace, he called to mind the words I had
spoken in our previous interview, some of which were so excessively
humble, and others so proud and haughty, that they caused him no
small irritation. He repeated a few of them in the presence of
Madame d'Etampes and Monsignor di San Polo, a great baron of
France. 1 This man had always professed much friendship for me
in the past, and certainly, on that occasion, he showed his good-will,
after the French fashion, with great cleverness. It happened thus:
the King in the course of a long conversation complained that the
Cardinal of Ferrara, to whose care he had entrusted me, never gave
a thought to my affairs; so far as he was concerned, I might have
decamped from the realm; therefore he must certainly arrange for
committing me to some one who would appreciate me better, be-
cause he did not want to run a farther risk of losing me. At these
words Monsieur de Saint Paul expressed his willingness to under-
take the charge, saying that if the King appointed him my guardian,
he would act so that I should never have the chance to leave the
kingdom. The King replied that he was very well satisfied, if only
Saint Paul would explain the way in which he meant to manage me.
Madame sat by with an air of sullen irritation and Saint Paul stood
on his dignity, declining to answer the King's question. When the
King repeated it, he said, to curry favour with Madame d'Etampes:
"I would hang that Benvenuto of yours by the neck, and thus you
would keep him for ever in your kingdom." She broke into a fit
of laughter, protesting that I richly deserved it. The King, to keep
them company, began to laugh, and said he had no objection to Saint
Paul hanging me, if he could first produce my equal in the arts; and
although I had not earned such a fate, he gave him full liberty and
license. In this way that day ended, and I came off safe and sound,
for which may God be praised and thanked.

1 Francois de Bourbon, Comte de Saint Paul, one of the chief companions in arms
and captains of Francois I.

334 BENVENUTO CELLINI

XLVIII

The King had now made peace with the Emperor, but not with
the English, and these devils were keeping us in constant agitation. 1
His Majesty had therefore other things than pleasure to attend to.
He ordered Piero Strozzi to go with ships of war into the English
waters; but this was a very difficult undertaking, even for that great
commander, without a paragon in his times in the art of war, and
also without a paragon in his misfortunes. Several months passed
without my receiving money or commissions; accordingly, I dis-
missed my workpeople with the exception of the two Italians, whom
I set to making two big vases out of my own silver; for these men
could not work in bronze. After they had finished these, I took them
to a city which belonged to the Queen of Navarre; it is called Ar-
gentana, and is distant several days' journey from Paris. 2 On arriving
at this place, I found that the King was indisposed; and the Cardinal
of Ferrara told his Majesty that I was come. He made no answer,
which obliged me to stay several days kicking my heels. Of a truth,
I never was more uncomfortable in my life; but at last I presented
myself one evening and offered the two vases for the King's inspec-
tion. He was excessively delighted, and when I saw him in good
humour, I begged his Majesty to grant me the favour of permitting
me to travel into Italy; I would leave the seven months of my salary
which were due, and his Majesty might condescend to pay me when
I required money for my return journey. I entreated him to grant
this petition, seeing that the times were more for fighting than for
making statues; moreover, his Majesty had allowed a similar license
to Bologna the painter, wherefore I humbly begged him to concede
the same to me. While I was uttering these words the King kept
gazing intently on the vases, and from time to time shot a terrible
glance at me; nevertheless, I went on praying to the best of my
ability that he would favour my petition. All of a sudden he rose
angrily from his seat, and said to me in Italian : "Benvenuto, you are

1 The peace of Crepy was concluded September 18, 1544. The English had taken
Boulogne four days earlier. Peace between France and England was not concluded
till June 7, 1546.

2 Argentan, the city of the Duchy of Alenfon. Margaret, it will be remembered, had
been first married to the Due d'Alenc.on, and after his death retained his fiefs.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 335

a great fool. Take these vases back to Paris, for I want to have them
gilt." Without making any other answer he then departed.

I went up to the Cardinal of Ferrara, who was present, and be-
sought him, since he had already conferred upon me the great ben-
efit of freeing me from prison in Rome, with many others besides,
to do me this one favour more of procuring for me leave to travel
into Italy. He answered that he should be very glad to do his best to
gratify me in this matter; I might leave it without farther thought
to him, and even if I chose, might set of! at once, because he would
act for the best in my interest with the King. I told the Cardinal that
since I was aware his Majesty had put me under the protection of
his most reverend lordship, if he gave me leave, I felt ready to depart,
and promised to return upon the smallest hint from his reverence.
The Cardinal then bade me go back to Paris and wait there eight
days, during which time he would procure the King's license for
me; if his Majesty refused to let me go, he would without fail inform
me; but if I received no letters, that would be a sign that I might
set off with an easy mind.

XLIX

I obeyed the Cardinal, and returned to Paris, where I made excel-
lent cases for my three silver vases. After the lapse of twenty days,
I began my preparations, and packed the three vases upon a mule.
This animal had been lent me for the journey to Lyons by the
Bishop of Pavia, who was now once more installed in my castle.

Then I departed in my evil hour, together with Signer Ippolito
Gonzaga, at that time in the pay of the King, and also in the service
of Count Galeotto della Mirandola. Some other gentlemen of the
said count went with us, as well as Lionardo Tedaldi, our fellow-
citizen of Florence.

I made Ascanio and Pagolo guardians of my castle and all my
property, including two little vases which were only just begun;
those I left behind in order that the two young men might not be
idle. I had lived very handsomely in Paris, and therefore there was
a large amount of costly household furniture: the whole value of
these effects exceeded 1500 crowns. I bade Ascanio remember what
great benefits I had bestowed upon him, and that up to the present

336 BENVENUTO CELLINI

he had been a mere thoughtless lad; the time was now come for him
to show the prudence of a man; therefore I thought fit to leave him
in the custody of all my goods, as also of my honour. If he had the
least thing to complain of from those brutes of Frenchmen, he was
to let me hear at once, because I would take post and fly from any
place in which I found myself, not only to discharge the great obli-
gations under which I lay to that good King, but also to defend my
honour. Ascanio replied with the tears of a thief and hypocrite: "I
have never known a father better than you are, and all things which
a good son is bound to perform for a good father will I ever do for
you." So then I took my departure, attended by a servant and a little
French lad.

It was just past noon, when some of the King's treasurers, by no
means friends of mine, made a visit to my castle. The rascally fel-
lows began by saying that I had gone of! with the King's silver, and
told Messer Guido and the Bishop of Pavia to send at once of! after
his Majesty's vases; if not, they would themselves despatch a mes-
senger to get them back, and do me some great mischief. The Bishop
and Messer Guido were much more frightened than was necessary;
so they sent that traitor Ascanio by the post off on the spot. He made
his appearance before me about midnight. I had not been able to
sleep, and kept revolving sad thoughts to the following effect: "In
whose hands have I left my property, my castle ? Oh, what a fate is
this of mine, which forces me to take this journey! May God grant
only that the Cardinal is not of one mind with Madame d'Etampes,
who has nothing else so much at heart as to make me lose the grace
of that good King."

While I was thus dismally debating with myself, I heard Ascanio
calling me. On the instant I jumped out of bed, and asked if he
brought good or evil tidings. The knave answered : "They are good
news I bring; but you must only send back those three vases, for
the rascally treasurers keep shouting, 'Stop, thief!* So the Bishop
and Messer Guido say that you must absolutely send them back. For
the rest you need have no anxiety, but may pursue your journey
with a light heart." I handed over the vases immediately, two of

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 337

them being my own property, together with the silver and much
else besides. 1 I had meant to take them to the Cardinal of Ferrara's
abbey at Lyons; for though people accused me of wanting to carry
them into Italy, everybody knows quite well that it is impossible to
export money, gold, or silver from France without special license.
Consider, therefore, whether I could have crossed the frontier with
those three great vases, which, together with their cases, were a whole
mule's burden! It is certainly true that, since these articles were of
great value and the highest beauty, I felt uneasiness in case the King
should die, and I had lately left him in a very bad state of health;
therefore I said to myself: "If such an accident should happen, hav-
ing these things in the keeping of the Cardinal, I shall not lose them."

Well, to cut the story short, I sent back the mule with the vases,
and other things of importance; then, upon the following morning,
I travelled forward with the company I have already mentioned, nor
could I, through the whole journey, refrain from sighing and weep-
ing. Sometimes, however, I consoled myself with God by saying:
"Lord God, before whose eyes the truth lies open! Thou knowest
that my object in this journey is only to carry alms to six poor
miserable virgins and their mother, my own sister. They have indeed
their father, but he is very old, and gains nothing by his trade; I
fear, therefore, lest they might too easily take to a bad course of life.
Since, then, I am performing a true act of piety, I look to Thy
Majesty for aid and counsel." This was all the recreation I enjoyed
upon my forward journey.

We were one day distant from Lyons, and it was close upon the
hour of twenty-two, when the heavens began to thunder with sharp
rattling claps, although the sky was quite clear at the time. 2 I was
riding a cross-bow shot before my comrades. After the thunder the
heavens made a noise so great and horrible that I thought the last
day had come; so I reined in for a moment, while a shower of hail
began to fall without a drop of water. At first the hail was some-
what larger than pellets from a popgun, and when these struck me,
they hurt considerably. Little by little it increased in size, until the

1 Con I'argento e ogni cosa. These words refer perhaps to the vases: the silver and
everything pertaining to them.

2 E I' aria era bianchissima. Perhaps this ought to be: and the air blazed with light-
nings. Goethe takes it as I do above.

338 BENVENUTO CELLINI

stones might be compared to balls from a crossbow. My horse
became restive with fright; so I wheeled round, and returned at a
gallop to where I found my comrades taking refuge in a fir-wood.
The hail now grew to the size of big lemons. I began to sing a
Miserere; and while I was devoutly uttering this psalm to God, there
fell a stone so huge that it smashed the thick branches of the pine
under which I had retired for safety. Another of the hailstones hit
my horse upon the head, and almost stunned him; one struck me
also, but not directly, else it would have killed me. In like manner,
poor old Lionardo Tedaldi, who like me was kneeling on the ground,
received so shrewd a blow that he fell grovelling upon all fours.
When I saw that the fir bough offered no protection, and that I
ought to act as well as to intone my Misereres, I began at once to
wrap my mantle round my head. At the same time I cried to
Lionardo, who was shrieking for succour, "J esus - Jesus!" that Jesus
would help him if he helped himself. I had more trouble in looking
after this man's safety than my own. The storm raged for some
while, but at last it stopped; and we, who were pounded black and
blue, scrambled as well as we could upon our horses. Pursuing the
way to our lodging for the night, we showed our scratches and
bruises to each other; but about a mile farther on we came upon a
scene of devastation which surpassed what we had suffered, and
defies description. All the trees were stripped of their leaves and
shattered; the beasts in the field lay dead; many of the herdsmen
had also been killed; we observed large quantities of hailstones
which could not have been grasped with two hands. Feeling then
that we had come well out of a great peril, we acknowledged that
our prayers to God and Misereres had helped us more than we could
have helped ourselves. Returning thanks to God, therefore, we
entered Lyons in the course of the next day, and tarried there eight
days. At the end of this time, being refreshed in strength and spirits,
we resumed our journey, and passed the mountains without mishap.
On the other side I bought a little pony, because the baggage which
I carried had somewhat overtired my horses.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 339

After we had been one day in Italy, the Count Galeotto della
Mirandola joined us. He was travelling by post; and stopping where
we were, he told me that I had done wrong to leave France; I ought
not to journey forwards, for, if I returned at once, my affairs would
be more prosperous than ever. On the other hand, if I persisted in
my course, I was giving the game up to my enemies, and furnishing
them with opportunities to do me mischief. By returning I might
put a stop to their intrigues; and those in whom I placed the most
confidence were just the men who played most traitorously. He
would not say more than that he knew very well all about it; and,
indeed, the Cardinal of Ferrara had now conspired with the two
rogues I left in charge of all my business. Having repeated over and
over again that I ought absolutely to turn back, he went onward
with the post, while I, being influenced by my companions, could
not make my mind up to return. My heart was sorely torn asunder,
at one moment by the desire to reach Florence as quickly as I could,
and at another by the conviction that I ought to regain France. At
last, in order to end the fever of this irresolution, I determined to
take the post for Florence. I could not make arrangements with
the first postmaster, but persisted in my purpose to press forward and
endure an anxious life at Florence. 1

1 parted company with Signor Ippolito Gonzaga, who took the
route for Mirandola, while I diverged upon the road to Parma and
Piacenza. In the latter city I met Duke Pier Luigi upon the street,
who stared me in the face, and recognised me. 2 Since I knew him to
have been the sole cause of my imprisonment in the castle of St.
Angelo, the sight of him made my blood boil. Yet being unable to
escape from the man, I decided to pay him my respects, and arrived

1 The text here is obscure. The words venire a tribulare might mean "to get, by
any means, however inconvenient, to Florence." I have chosen another interpretation
in the text, as more consonant with the Italian idiom. For Cellini's use of tribulare or
tribolare, see lib. i. 112, andando a tribolare la vita tua.

2 Pier Luigi Farnese was not formally invested with the Duchy of Parma and
Piacenza until September 1545. Cellini, therefore, gives him this title as Duke of
Castro. He was assassinated on September 10, 1547. The Landi, among other noble-
men of the duchy, took part in a conspiracy which had its ground in Pier Luigi's
political errors no less than in his intolerable misgovernment and infamous private
life.

340 BENVENUTO CELLINI

j ust after he had risen from table in the company of the Landi, who
afterwards murdered him. On my appearance he received me with
unbounded marks of esteem and affection, among which he took
occasion to remark to the gentlemen present that I was the first
artist of the world in my own line, and that I had been for a long
while in prison at Rome. Then he turned to me and said: "My
Benvenuto, I was deeply grieved for your misfortune, and knew well
that you were innocent, but could not do anything to help you. In
short, it was my father, who chose to gratify some enemies of yours,
from whom, moreover, he heard that you had spoken ill of him.
I am convinced this was not true, and indeed I was heartily sorry
for your troubles." These words he kept piling up and repeating
until he seemed to be begging my pardon. Afterwards he inquired
about the work I had been doing for his Most Christian Majesty;
and on my furnishing him with details, he listened as attentively
and graciously as possible. Then he asked if I had a mind to serve
him. To this I replied that my honour would not allow me to do so;
but that if I had completed those extensive works begun for the
King, I should be disposed to quit any great prince merely to enter
his Excellency's service.

Hereby it may be seen how the power and goodness of God never
leave unpunished any sort or quality of men who act unjustly toward
the innocent. This man did what was equivalent to begging my
pardon in the presence of those very persons who subsequently took
revenge on him for me and many others whom he had massacred.
Let then no prince, however great he be, laugh at God's justice, in
the way that many whom I know are doing, and who have cruelly
maltreated me, as I shall relate at the proper time. I do not write
these things in any worldly spirit of boasting, but only to return
thanks to God, my deliverer in so many trials. In those too which
daily assail me, I always carry my complaint to Him, and call on
Him to be my defender. On all occasions, after I have done my
best to aid myself, if I lose courage and my feeble forces fail, then is
the great might of God manifested, which descends unexpectedly
on those who wrongfully injure their neighbours, or neglect the
grave and honourable charge they have received from Him.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 341

L1I

When I returned to my inn, I found that the Duke had sent me
abundance to eat and drink of very excellent quality. I made a
hearty meal, then mounted and rode toward Florence. There I
found my sister with six daughters, the eldest of whom was
marriageable and the youngest still at nurse. Her husband, by
reason of divers circumstances in the city, had lost employment from
his trade. I had sent gems and French jewellery, more than a year
earlier, to the amount of about two thousand ducats, and now
brought with me the same wares to the value of about one thousand
crowns. I discovered that, whereas I made them an allowance of
four golden crowns a month, they always drew considerable sums
from the current sale of these articles. My brother-in-law was such
an honest fellow, that, fearing to give me cause for anger, he had
pawned nearly everything he possessed, and was devoured by
interest, in his anxiety to leave my monies untouched. It seems
that my allowance, made by way of charity, did not suffice for the
needs of the family. When then I found him so honest in his
dealings, I felt inclined to raise his pension; and it was my intention,
before leaving Florence, to make some arrangement for all of his
daughters. 1

LIII

The Duke of Florence at this time, which was the month of
August 1545, had retired to Poggio a Cajano, ten miles distant from
Florence. Thither then I went to pay him my respects, with the
sole object of acting as duty required, first because I was a Florentine,
and next because my forefathers had always been adherents of the
Medicean party, and I yielded to none of them in affection for this
Duke Cosimo. As I have said, then, I rode to Poggio with the sole
object of paying my respects, and with no intention of accepting
service under him, as God, who does all things well, did then appoint
for me.

When I was introduced, the Duke received me very kindly; then

1 Though this paragraph is confused, the meaning seems to be that Cellini's brother-
in-law did not use the money which accrued from the sale of jewellery, and got into
debt, because his allowance was inadequate, and he was out of work.

342 BENVENUTO CELLINI

he and the Duchess put questions concerning the works which I had
executed for the King. 1 I answered willingly and in detail. After
listening to my story, he answered that he had heard as much, and
that I spoke the truth. Then he assumed a tone of sympathy, and
added: "How small a recompense for such great and noble master-
pieces! Friend Benvenuto, if you feel inclined to execute something
for me too, I am ready to pay you far better than that King of yours
has done, for whom your excellent nature prompts you to speak so
gratefully." When I understood his drift, I described the deep obli-
gations under which I lay to his Majesty, who first obtained my
liberation from that iniquitous prison, and afterwards supplied me
with the means of carrying out more admirable works than any
artist of my quality had ever had the chance to do. While I was
thus speaking, my lord the Duke writhed on his chair, and seemed
as though he could not bear to hear me to the end. Then, when I
had concluded, he rejoined: "If you are disposed to work for me,
I will treat you in a way that will astonish you, provided the fruits
of your labours give me satisfaction, of which I have no doubt."
I, poor unhappy mortal, burning with desire to show the noble
school 2 of Florence that, after leaving her in youth, I had practised
other branches of the art than she imagined, gave answer to the
Duke that I would willingly erect for him in marble or in bronze a
mighty statue on his fine piazza. He replied that, for a first essay,
he should like me to produce a Perseus; he had long set his heart on
having such a monument, and he begged me to begin a model for
the same. 3 I very gladly set myself to the task, and in a few weeks
I finished my model, which was about a cubit high, in yellow wax
and very delicately finished in all its details. I had made it with the
most thorough study and art. 4

1 This Duchess was Eleonora di Toledo, well known to us through Bronzino's
portrait.

2 This school was the Collegio dei Maestri di Belle Arti in Florence, who had
hitherto known of Cellini mainly as a goldsmith.

3 Cosimo chose the subject of Perseus because it symbolised his own victory over
the Gorgon of tyrannicide and Republican partisanship. Donatello's Judith, symbol-
ising justifiable regicide, and Michel Angelo's David, symbolising the might of innocent
right against an overbearing usurper, already decorated the Florentine piazza. Until
lately, both of these masterpieces stood together there with the Perseus of Cellini.

4 This is probably the precious model now existing in the Bargello Palace at
Florence, in many points more interesting than the completed bronze statue under
the Loggia de' Lanzi.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 343

The Duke returned to Florence, but several days passed before
I had an opportunity of showing my model. It seemed indeed as
though he had never set eyes on me or spoken with me, and this
caused me to augur ill of my future dealings with his Excellency.
Later on, however, one day after dinner, I took it to his wardrobe,
where he came to inspect it with the Duchess and a few gentlemen
of the court. No sooner had he seen it than he expressed much
pleasure, and extolled it to the skies; wherefrom I gathered some
hope that he might really be a connoisseur of art. After having well
considered it for some time, always with greater satisfaction, he
began as follows: "If you could only execute this little model, Ben-
venuto, with the same perfection on a large scale, it would be the
finest piece in the piazza." I replied : "Most excellent my lord, upon
the piazza are now standing works by the great Donatello and the
incomparable Michel Angelo, the two greatest men who have ever
lived since the days of the ancients. 5 But since your Excellence
encourages my model with such praise, I feel the heart to execute it
at least thrice as well in bronze." 6 No slight dispute arose upon this
declaration; the Duke protesting that he understood these matters
perfectly, and was quite aware what could be done. I rejoined that
my achievements would resolve his dubitations and debates; I was
absolutely sure of being able to perform far more than I had prom-
ised for his Excellency, but that he must give me means for carry-
ing my work out, else I could not fulfil my undertaking. In return
for this his Excellency bade me formulate my demands in a peti-
tion, detailing all my requirements; he would see them liberally
attended to.

It is certain that if I had been cunning enough to secure by con-
tract all I wanted for my work, I should not have incurred the great
troubles which came upon me through my own fault. But he showed
the strongest desire to have the work done, and the most perfect
willingness to arrange preliminaries. I therefore, not discerning that
he was more a merchant than a duke, dealt very frankly with his
Excellency, just as if I had to do with a prince, and not with a com-
mercial man. I sent in my petition, to which he replied in large

5 Donatello's Judith and Holofernes; Michel Angelo's David.

6 It is difficult to give the exact sense of pertanto and perche in the text, but I
think the drift of the sentence is rendered above.

344 BENVENUTO CELLINI

and ample terms. The memorandum ran as follows: "Most rare
and excellent my patron, petitions of any validity and compacts
between us of any value do not rest upon words or writings; the
whole point is that I should succeed in my work according to my
promise; and if I so succeed, I feel convinced that your most illus-
trious Excellency will very well remember what you have engaged
to do for me." This language so charmed the Duke both with my
ways of acting and of speaking that he and the Duchess began to
treat me with extraordinary marks of favour.

LIV

Being now inflamed with a great desire to begin working, I told
his Excellency that I had need of a house where I could install myself
and erect furnaces, in order to commence operations in clay and
bronze, and also, according to their separate requirements, in gold
and silver. I knew that he was well aware how thoroughly I could
serve him in those several branches, and I required some dwelling
fitted for my business. In order that his Excellency might perceive
how earnestly I wished to work for him, I had already chosen a con-
venient house, in a quarter much to my liking. 1 As I did not want
to trench upon his Excellency for money or anything of that sort,
I had brought with me from France two jewels, with which I
begged him to purchase me the house, and to keep them until I
earned it with my labour. These jewels were excellently executed by
my workmen, after my own designs. When he had inspected them
with minute attention, he uttered these spirited words, which clothed
my soul with a false hope: "Take back your jewels, Benvenuto! I
want you, and not them; you shall have your house free of charges."
After this, he signed a rescript underneath the petition I had drawn
up, and which I have always preserved among my papers. The
rescript ran as follows: "Let the house be seen to, and who is the
vendor, and at what price; for we wish to comply with Benvenuto 's
request" z I naturally thought that this would secure me in posses-
sion of the house; being over and above convinced that my per-
formances must far exceed what I promised.

1 This house is in the Via del Rosaio, entered from Via della Pergola, No. 6527.

2 The petition and the rescript are in existence, and confirm Cellini's veracity in
this transaction. See Bianchi, p. 587.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 345

His Excellency committed the execution of these orders to his
majordomo, who was named Ser Pier Francesco Riccio. 3 The man
came from Prato, and had been the Duke's pedagogue. I talked,
then, to this donkey, and described my requirements, for there was
a garden adjoining the house, on which I wanted to erect a work-
shop. He handed the matter over to a paymaster, dry and meagre,
who bore the name of Lattanzio Gorini. This flimsy little fellow,
with his tiny spider's hands and small gnat's voice, moved about the
business at a snail's pace; yet in an evil hour he sent me stones, sand,
and lime enough to build perhaps a pigeon-house with careful
management. When I saw how coldly things were going forward,
I began to feel dismayed; however, I said to myself: "Little begin-
nings sometimes have great endings;" and I fostered hope in my
heart by noticing how many thousand ducats had recently been
squandered upon ugly pieces of bad sculpture turned out by that
beast of a Buaccio Bandinelli. 4 So I rallied my spirits and kept
prodding at Lattanzio Gorini, to make him go a little faster. It was
like shouting to a pack of lame donkeys with a blind dwarf for
their driver. Under these difficulties, and by the use of my own
money, I had soon marked out the foundations of the workshop and
cleared the ground of trees and vines, labouring on, according to my
wont, with fire, and perhaps a trifle of impatience.

On the other side, I was in the hands of Tasso the carpenter, a great
friend of mine, who had received my instructions for making a
wooden framework to set up the Perseus. This Tasso was a most
excellent craftsman, the best, I believe, who ever lived in his own
branch of art. 5 Personally, he was gay and merry by temperament;
and whenever I went to see him, he met me laughing, with some
little song in falsetto on his lips. Half in despair as I then was, news
coming that my aflfairs in France were going wrong, and these in
Florence promising but ill through the luke-warmness of my patron,
I could never stop listening till half the song was finished; and so in
the end I used to cheer up a little with my friend, and drove away,

3 Varchi, St. Fior., lib. xv. 44, gives to this man the character of a presumptuous
conceited simpleton.

4 Cellini calls this man, his bitter foe and rival, Buaccio or the great ox, blockhead,
instead of Baccio, which is shortened for Bartolommeo.

5 See p. 25. Vasari introduced him, together with Cosimo's other favoured artists,
in a fresco of the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence. See Plon, p. 124.

346 BENVENUTO CELLINI

as well as I was able, some few o the gloomy thoughts which
weighed upon me.

I had got all the above-mentioned things in order, and was making
vigorous preparations for my great undertaking indeed a portion
of the lime had been already used when I received sudden notice to
appear before the majordomo. I found him, after his Excellency's
dinner, in the hall of the clock. 1 On entering, I paid him marked
respect, and he received me with the greatest stiffness. Then he
asked who had installed me in the house, and by whose authority
I had begun to build there, saying he marvelled much that I had
been so headstrong and foolhardy. I answered that I had been
installed in the house by his Excellency, and that his lordship him-
self, in the name of his Excellency, had given the orders to Lattanzio
Gorini. "Lattanzio brought stone, sand, and lime, and provided
what I wanted, saying he did so at your lordship's orders." When I
had thus spoken, the brute turned upon me with still greater tart-
ness, vowing that neither I nor any of those whom I had mentioned
spoke the truth. This stung me to the quick, and I exclaimed: "O
majordomo, so long as your lordship 2 chooses to use language
befitting the high office which you hold, I shall revere you, and
speak to you as respectfully as I do to the Duke; if you take another
line with me, I shall address you as but one Ser Pier Francesco
Riccio." He flew into such a rage that I thought he meant to go
mad upon the spot, anticipating the time ordained by Heaven for
him to do so. 3 Pouring forth a torrent of abuse, he roared out that
he was surprised at himself for having let me speak at all to a man
of his quality. Thereupon my blood was up, and I cried: "Mark
my words, then, Ser Pier Francesco Riccio! I will tell you what
sort of men are my equals, and who are yours mere teachers of the

1 One of the rooms in the Palazzo Vecchio, so called because the famous cosmo-
graphical timepiece, made about 1484 for Lorenzo de' Medici by Lorenzo della
Volpaia, stood there.

2 It was the custom at that epoch to address princes by the title of Signore or
Vostra Signoria; gentlemen (armigeri) had the title of Messer; simple Ser was given
to plebeians with some civil or ecclesiastical dignity.

3 Vasari, in his Life of Montorsoli, says in effect that this Riccio died about 1.559*
after having been insane several years.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 347

alphabet to children!" His face contracted with a spasm, while he
raised his voice and repeated the same words in a still more insulting
tone. I, too, assumed an air of menace, and matching his own
arrogance with something of the same sort, told him plainly that
men of my kind were worthy to converse with popes and emperors,
and great kings, and that perhaps there were not two such men alive
upon this earth, while ten of his sort might be met at every doorway.
On hearing these words he jumped upon a window-seat in the hall
there, and defied me to repeat what I had said. I did so with still
greater heat and spirit, adding I had no farther mind to serve the
Duke, and that I should return to France, where I was always
welcome. The brute remained there stupefied and pale as clay; I
went off furious, resolved on leaving Florence; and would to God
that I had done so!

The Duke cannot, I think, have been informed at once of this
diabolical scene, for I waited several days without hearing from him.
Giving up all thoughts of Florence, except what concerned the
settlement of my sister's and nieces' affairs, I made preparations to
provide for them as well as I could with the small amount of money
I had brought, and then to return to France and never set my foot
in Italy again. This being my firm purpose, I had no intention to
ask leave of the Duke or anybody, but to decamp as quickly as I
could; when one morning the majordomo, of his own accord, sent
very humbly to entreat my presence, and opened a long pedantic
oration, in which I could discover neither method, nor elegance, nor
meaning, nor head, nor tail. I only gathered from it that he pro-
fessed himself a good Christian, wished to bear no man malice, and
asked me in the Duke's name what salary I should be willing to
accept. Hearing this, I stood a while on guard, and made no answer,
being firmly resolved not to engage myself. When he saw that I
refused to reply, he had at least the cleverness to put in : "Benvenuto,
dukes expect to be answered; and what I am saying to you, I am
saying from his Excellency's lips." Then I rejoined that if the
message came from his Excellency, I would gladly reply, and told
him to report to the Duke that I could not accept a position inferior
to that of any one employed by him as artist. The majordomo
answered: "Bandinello receives two hundred crowns a year; if then

348 BENVENUTO CELLINI

you are contented with that, your salary is settled." I agreed upon
these terms, adding that what I might earn in addition by the merit
of my performances, could be given after they were seen; that point
I left entirely to the good judgment of his Excellency. Thus, then,
against my will, I pieced the broken thread again, and set to work;
the Duke continually treating me with the highest imaginable
marks of favour.

LVI

I received frequent letters from France, written by my most faith-
ful friend Messer Guido Guidi. As yet they told nothing but good
news; and Ascanio also bade me enjoy myself without uneasiness,
since, if anything happened, he would let me know at once.

Now the King was informed that I had commenced working for
the Duke of Florence, and being the best man in the world, he
often asked: "Why does not Benvenuto come back to us?" He put
searching questions on the subject to my two workmen, both of
whom replied that I kept writing I was well off where I was, adding
they thought I did not want to re-enter the service of his Majesty.
Incensed by these presumptuous words, which were none of my
saying, the King exclaimed: "Since he left us without any cause, I
shall not recall him; let him e'en stay where he is." Thus the thievish
brigands brought matters exactly to the pass they desired; for if I
had returned to France, they would have become mere workmen
under me once more, whereas, while I remained away, they were
their own masters and in my place; consequently, they did every-
thing in their power to prevent my coming back.

LVII

While the workshop for executing my Perseus was in building, I
used to work in a ground-floor room. Here I modelled the statue in
plaster, giving it the same dimensions as the bronze was meant to
have, and intending to cast it from this mould. But finding that it
would take rather long to carry it out in this way, I resolved upon
another expedient, especially as now a wretched little studio had been
erected, brick on brick, so miserably built that the mere recollection
of it gives me pain. So then I began the figure of Medusa, and con-

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 349

structed the skeleton in iron. Afterwards I put on the clay, and
when that was modelled, baked it.

I had no assistants except some little shopboys, among whom was
one of great beauty; he was the son of a prostitute called La Gam-
betta. I made use of the lad as a model, for the only books which
teach this art are the natural human body. Meanwhile, as I could
not do everything alone, I looked about for workmen in order to
put the business quickly through; but I was unable to find any.
There were indeed some in Florence who would willingly have
come, but Bandinello prevented them, and after keeping me in want
of aid awhile, told the Duke that I was trying to entice his work-
people because I was quite incapable of setting up so great a statue
by myself. I complained to the Duke of the annoyance which the
brute gave me, and begged him to allow me some of the labourers
from the Opera. 1 My request inclined him to lend ear to Bandi-
nello's calumnies; and when I noticed that, I set about to do my
utmost by myself alone. The labour was enormous: I had to strain
every muscle night and day; and just then the husband of my sister
sickened, and died after a few days' illness. He left my sister, still
young, with six girls of all ages, on my hands. This was the first
great trial I endured in Florence, to be made the father and guardian
of such a distressed family.

LVIII

In my anxiety that nothing should go wrong, I sent for two hand-
labourers to clear my garden of rubbish. They came from Ponte
Vecchio, the one an old man of sixty years, the other a young fellow
of eighteen. After employing them about three days, the lad told
me that the old man would not work, and that I had better send
him away, since, beside being idle, he prevented his comrade from
working. The little I had to do there could be done by himself,
without throwing money away on other people. The youth was
called Bernardino Mannellini, of Mugello. When I saw that he was
so inclined to labour, I asked whether he would enter my service,
and we agreed upon the spot. He groomed my horse, gardened, and

1 That is, the Opera del Duomo, or permanent establishment for attending to the
fabric of the Florentine Cathedral.

35 BENVENUTO CELLINI

soon essayed to help me in the workshop, with such success that by
degrees he learned the art quite nicely. I never had a better assistant
than he proved. Having made up my mind to accomplish the whole
affair with this man's aid, I now let the Duke know that Bandinello
was lying, and that I could get on famously without his workpeople.
Just at this time I suffered slightly in the loins, and being unable
to work hard, I was glad to pass my time in the Duke's wardrobe
with a couple of young goldsmiths called Gianpagolo and Domenico
Poggini, 1 who made a little golden cup under my direction. It was
chased in bas-relief with figures and other pretty ornaments, and his
Excellency meant it for the Duchess to drink water out of. He
furthermore commissioned me to execute a golden belt, which I
enriched with gems and delicate masks and other fancies. The Duke
came frequently into the wardrobe, and took great pleasure in
watching me at work and talking to me. When my health improved,
I had clay brought, and took a portrait of hi 3 Excellency, considerably
larger than life-size, which I modelled while he stayed with me for
pastime. He was highly delighted with this piece, and conceived
such a liking for me that he earnestly begged me to take up my
working quarters in the palace, selecting rooms large enough for
my purpose, and fitting them up with furnaces and all I wanted, for
he greatly enjoyed watching the processes of art. I replied that this
was impossible; I should not have finished my undertakings in a
hundred years.

LIX

The Duchess also treated me with extraordinary graciousness, and
would have been pleased if I had worked for her alone, forgetting
Perseus and everything besides. I for my part, while these vain
favours were being showered upon me knew only too well that my
perverse and biting fortune could not long delay to send me some
fresh calamity, because I kept ever before my eyes the great mistake
I had committed while seeking to do a good action. I refer to my
affairs in France. The King could not swallow the displeasure he
felt at my departure; and yet he wanted me to return, if only this

1 These two brothers were specially eminent as die-casters. Gianpagolo went to
Spain, and served Philip II.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 351

could be brought about without concessions on his part. I thought
that I was entirely in the right, and would not bend submissively,
because I judged that if I wrote in humble terms, those enemies of
mine would say in their French fashion that I had confessed myself
to blame, and that certain misdoings with which they wrongfully
taxed me were proved true. Therefore I stood upon my honour, and
wrote in terms of haughty coldness, which was precisely what those
two traitors, my apprentices, most heartily desired. In my letters to
them I boasted of the distinguished kindness shown me in my own
birthplace by a prince and princess the absolute masters of Florence.
Whenever they received one of these despatches, they went to the
King, and besieged his Majesty with entreaties for the castle upon
the same terms as he had granted it to me. The King, who was a
man of great goodness and perspicacity, would never consent to the
presumptuous demands of those scoundrels, since he scented the
malignity of their aims. Yet, wishing to keep them in expectation,
and to give me the opportunity of coming back, he caused an angry
letter to be written to me by his treasurer, Messer Giuliano Buonac-
corsi, a burgher of Florence. The substance was as follows: If I
wanted to preserve the reputation for honesty which I had hitherto
enjoyed, it was my plain duty, after leaving France with no cause
whatsoever, to render an account of all that I had done and dealt
with for his Majesty.

The receipt of this letter gave me such pleasure that, if I had con-
sulted my own palate, I could not have wished for either more or
less. I sat down to write an answer, and filled nine pages of ordinary-
paper. In this document I described in detail all the works which I
had executed, and all the adventures I had gone through while per-
forming them, and all the sums which had been spent upon them.
The payments had always been made through two notaries and one
of his Majesty's treasurers; and I could show receipts from all the
men into whose hands they passed, whether for goods supplied or
labour rendered. I had not pocketed one penny of the money, nor
had I received any reward for my completed works. I brought back
with me into Italy nothing but some marks of favour and most royal
promises, truly worthy of his Majesty. "Now, though I cannot vaunt
myself of any recompense beyond the salaries appointed for my

352 BENVENUTO CELLINI

maintenance in France, seven hundred golden crowns of which are
still due, inasmuch as I abstained from drawing them until I could
employ them on my return-journey; yet knowing that malicious foes
out of their envious hearts have played some knavish trick against
me, I feel confident that truth will prevail. I take pride in his Most
Christian Majesty and am not moved by avarice. I am indeed aware
of having performed for him far more than I undertook; and albeit
the promised reward has not been given me, my one anxiety is to
remain in his Majesty's opinion that man of probity and honour
which I have always been. If your Majesty entertains the least doubt
upon this point, I will fly to render an account of my conduct, at the
risk even of my life. But noticing in what slight esteem I am held
I have had no mind to come back and make an offer of myself,
knowing that I shall never lack for bread whithersoever I may go.
If, however, I am called for, I will always answer." The letter con-
tained many further particulars worthy of the King's attention, and
proper to the preservation of my honour. Before despatching it, I
took it to the Duke, who read it with interest; then I sent it into
France, addressed to the Cardinal of Ferrara.

About this time Bernardone Baldini, 1 broker in jewels to the Duke,
brought a big diamond from Venice, which weighed more than
thirty-five carats. Antonio, son of Vittorio Landi, was also interested
in getting the Duke to purchase it. 2 The stone had been cut with a
point; but since it did not yield the purity of lustre which one expects
in such a diamond, its owners had cropped the point, and, in truth,
it was not exactly fit for either point or table cutting. 3 Our Duke,
who greatly delighted in gems, though he was not a sound judge of
them, held out good hopes to the rogue Bernardaccio that he would
buy this stone; and the fellow, wanting to secure for himself alone
the honour of palming it off upon the Duke of Florence, abstained
from taking his partner Antonio Landi into the secret. Now Landi

1 Varchi and Ammirato both mention him as an excellent jeweller.

2 Antonio Landi was a Florentine gentleman, merchant, and author. A comedy of
his called Commodo is extant.

3 Italians distinguished cut diamonds of three sorts: in tavola, a jaccette, and in
punta. The word I have translated cropped is ischericato, which was properly applied
to an unfrocked or degraded ecclesiastic.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 353

had been my intimate friend from childhood, and when he saw that
I enjoyed the Duke's confidence, he called me aside (it was just
before noon at a corner of the Mercato Nuovo), and spoke as follows:
"Benvenuto, I am convinced that the Duke will show you a diamond,
which he seems disposed to buy; you will find it a big stone. Pray
assist the purchase; I can give it for seventeen thousand crowns. I
feel sure he will ask your advice; and if you see that he has a mind
for it, we will contrive that he secures it." Antonio professed great
confidence in being able to complete the bargain for the jewel at
that price. In reply, I told him that if my advice was taken, I would
speak according to my judgment, without prejudice to the diamond.
As I have above related, the Duke came daily into our goldsmith's
workshop for several hours; and about a week after this conversation
with Antonio Landi he showed me one day after dinner the diamond
in question, which I immediately recognised by its description, both
as to form and weight. I have already said that its water was not
quite transparent, for which reason it had been cropped; so, when
I found it of that kind and quality, I felt certainly disinclined to
recommend its acquisition. However, I asked his Excellency what
he wanted me to say; because it was one thing for jewellers to value
a stone after a prince had bought it, and another thing to estimate it
with a view to purchase. He replied that he had bought it, and that
he only wanted my opinion. I did not choose to abstain from hinting
what I really thought about the stone. Then he told me to observe
the beauty of its great facets. 4 I answered that this feature of the
diamond was not so great a beauty as his Excellency supposed, but
came from the point having been cropped. At these words my
prince, who perceived that I was speaking the truth, made a wry
face, and bade me give good heed to valuing the stone, and saying
what I thought it worth. I reckoned that, since Landi had offered
it to me for 17,000 crowns, the Duke might have got it for 15,000
at the highest; so, noticing that he would take it ill if I spoke the
truth, I made my mind up to uphold him in his false opinion, and
handing back the diamond, said: "You will probably have paid
18,000 crowns." On hearing this the Duke uttered a loud "Oh!"
opening his mouth as wide as a well, and cried out: "Now am I con-

*Filetti, the sharp lines which divide one facet from another.

354 BENVENUTO CELLINI

vinced that you understand nothing about the matter." I retorted:
"You are certainly in the wrong there, my lord. Do you attend to
maintaining the credit of your diamond, while I attend to under-
standing my trade. But pray tell me at least how much you paid,
in order that I may learn to understand it according to the way o
your Excellency." The Duke rose, and, with a little sort of angry
grin, replied: "Twenty-five thousand crowns and more, Benvenuto,
did that stone cost me!"

Having thus spoken he departed. Giovanpagolo and Domenico
Poggini, the goldsmiths, were present; and Bachiacca, the embroid-
erer, who was working in an adjacent room, ran up at the noise. 5
I told them that I should never have advised the Duke to purchase
it; but if his heart was set on having it, Antonio Landi had offered
me the stone eight days ago for 17,000 crowns. I think I could have
got it for 15,000 or less. But the Duke apparently wishes to maintain
his gem in credit; for when Antonio Landi was willing to let it go
at that price, how the devil can Bernardone have played of! such a
shameful trick upon his Excellency? Never imagining that the
matter stood precisely as the Duke averred, we laughingly made
light of his supposed credulity.

LXI

Meanwhile I was advancing with my great statue of Medusa. I
had covered the iron skeleton with clay, which I modelled like an
anatomical subject, and about half an inch thinner than the bronze
would be. This I baked well, and then began to spread on the wax
surface, in order to complete the figure to my liking. 1 The Duke,
who often came to inspect it, was so anxious lest I should not succeed
with the bronze, that he wanted me to call in some master to casx
it for me.

5 Antonio Ubertini, called II Bachiacca, a brother of Cellini's friend in Rome. See
p. 56. He enjoyed a great reputation, and was praised by Varchi in a sonnet for his
mastery of embroidery.

1 This is an important passage, which has not, I think, been properly understood
by Cellini's translators. It describes the process he now employed in preparing a mould
for bronze-casting. First, it seems, he made a solid clay model, somewhat smaller than
the bronze was meant to be. This he overlaid with wax, and then took a hollow
mould of the figure thus formed. Farther on we shall see how he withdrew the wax
from the hollow mould, leaving the solid model inside, with space enough between
them for the metal to flow in.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 355

He was continually talking in the highest terms of my acquire-
ments and accomplishments. This made his majordomo no less con-
tinually eager to devise some trap for making me break my neck.
Now his post at court gave him authority with the chief -constables
and all the officers in the poor unhappy town of Florence. Only to
think that a fellow from Prato, our hereditary foeman, the son of a
cooper, and the most ignorant creature in existence, should have
risen to such a station of influence, merely because he had been the
rotten tutor of Cosimo de' Medici before he became Duke! Well, as
I have said, he kept ever on the watch to serve me some ill turn; and
finding that he could not catch me out on any side, he fell at last
upon this plan, which meant mischief. He betook himself to Gam-
betta, the mother of my apprentice Cencio; and this precious pair
together that knave of a pedant and that rogue of a strumpet in-
vented a scheme for giving me such a fright as would make me leave
Florence in hot haste. Gambetta, yielding to the instinct of her trade,
went out, acting under the orders of that mad, knavish pedant, the
majordomo I must add that they had also gained over the Bargello,
a Bolognese, whom the Duke afterwards dismissed for similar con-
spiracies. Well, one Saturday evening, after sunset, Gambetta came
to my house with her son, and told me she had kept him several
days indoors for my welfare. I answered that there was no reason to
keep him shut up on my account; and laughing her whorish arts
to scorn, I turned to the boy in her presence, and said these words:
"You know, Cencio, whether I have sinned with you!" He began to
shed tears, and answered, "No!" Upon this the mother, shaking her
head, cried out at him: "Ah! you little scoundrel! Do you think I
do not know how these things happen?" Then she turned to me,
and begged me to keep the lad hidden in my house, because the
Bargello was after him, and would seize him anywhere outside my
house, but there they would not dare to touch him. I made answer
that in my house lived my widowed sister and six girls of holy life,
and that I wanted nobody else there. Upon that she related that the
majordomo had given orders to the Bargello, and that I should cer-
tainly be taken up: only, if I would not harbour her son, I might
square accounts by paying her a hundred crowns; the majordomo
was her crony, and I might rest assured that she could work him to

356 BENVENUTO CELLINI

her liking, provided I paid down the hundred crowns. This cozen-
age goaded me into such a fury that I cried : "Out with you, shame-
ful strumpet! Were it not for my good reputation, and for the
innocence of this uphappy boy of yours here, I should long ago have
cut your throat with the dagger at my side; and twice or thrice I
have already clasped my fingers on the handle." With words to this
effect, and many ugly blows to boot, I drove the woman and her
son into the street.

LXII

When I reflected on the roguery and power of that evil-minded
pedant, I judged it best to give a wide berth to his infernal machi-
nations; so early next morning I mounted my horse and took the
road for Venice, leaving in my sister's hands jewels and articles to
the value of nearly two thousand crowns. I took with me my servant
Bernardino of Mugello; and when I reached Ferrara, I wrote word
to his Excellency the Duke, that though I had gone off without
being sent, I should come back again without being called for.

On arriving at Venice, and pondering upon the divers ways my
cruel fortune took to torment me, yet at the same time feeling myself
none the less sound in health and hearty, I made up my mind to
fence with her according to my wont. While thus engrossed in
thoughts about my own affairs, I went abroad for pastime through
that beautiful and sumptuous city, and paid visits to the admirable
painter Titian, and to Jacopo del Sansovino, our able sculptor and
architect from Florence. The latter enjoyed an excellent appoint-
ment under the Signoria of Venice; and we had been acquainted
during our youth in Rome and Florence. These two men of genius
received me with marked kindness. The day afterwards I met
Messer Lorenzo de' Medici, 1 who took me by the hand at once,
giving me the warmest welcome which could be imagined, because
we had known each other in Florence when I was coining for Duke
Alessandro, and afterwards in Paris while I was in the King's
service. At that time he sojourned in the house of Messer Giuliano
Buonaccorsi, and having nowhere else to go for pastime without the

1 This is Lorenzino de' Medici, the murderer of Alessandro, who was himself assas-
sinated by two Tuscan bravi in 1548. See Renaissance in Italy, vol. vi. chap. 6.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 357

greatest peril of his life, he used to spend a large part of the day in
my house, watching me working at the great pieces I produced there.
As I was saying, our former acquaintance led him to take me by the
hand and bring me to his dwelling, where I found the Prior degli
Strozzi, brother of my lord Piero. While making good cheer
together, they asked me how long I intended to remain in Venice,
thinking that I was on my return journey into France. To these
gentlemen I replied that I had left Florence on account of the events
I have described above, and that I meant to go back after two or
three days, in order to resume my service with the Duke. On hear-
ing this, the Prior and Messer Lorenzo turned round on me with
such sternness that I felt extremely uneasy; then they said to me:
"You would do far better to return to France, where you are rich and
well known; for if you go back to Florence, you will lose all that
you have gained in France, and will earn nothing there but annoy-
ances."

I made no answer to these words, and departed the next day as
secretly as I was able, turning my face again towards Florence. In
the meanwhile that infernal plot had come to a head and broken,
for I had written to my great master, the Duke, giving him a full
account of the causes of my escapade to Venice. I went to visit him
without any ceremony, and was received with his usual reserve and
austerity. Having maintained this attitude awhile, he turned toward
me pleasantly, and asked where I had been. I answered that my
heart had never moved one inch from his most illustrious Excellency,
although some weighty reasons had forced me to go a roaming for a
little while. Then softening still more in manner, he began to ques-
tion me concerning Venice, and after this wise we conversed some
space of time. At last he bade me apply myself to business, and
complete his Perseus. So I returned home glad and light-hearted,
and comforted my family, that is to say, my sister and her six
daughters. Then I resumed my work, and pushed it forward as
briskly as I could.

LXIII

The first piece I cast in bronze was that great bust, the portrait of
his Excellency, which I had modelled in the goldsmith's workroom

358 BENVENUTO CELLINI

while suffering from those pains in my back. 1 It gave much pleasure
when it was completed, though my sole object in making it was to
obtain experience of clays suitable for bronze-casting. I was of
course aware that the admirable sculptor Donatello had cast his
bronzes with the clay of Florence; yet it seemed to me that he had
met with enormous difficulties in their execution. As I thought
that this was due to some fault in the earth, I wanted to make these
first experiments before I undertook my Perseus. From them I
learned that the clay was good enough, but had not been well under-
stood by Donatello, inasmuch as I could see that his pieces had been
cast with the very greatest trouble. Accordingly, as I have described
above, I prepared the earth by artificial methods, and found it serve
me well, and with it I cast the bust; but since I had not yet con-
structed my own furnace, I employed that of Maestro Zanobi di
Pagno, a bell-founder.

When I saw that this bust came out sharp and clean, I set at once
to construct a little furnace in the workshop erected for me by the
Duke, after my own plans and design, in the house which the Duke
had given me. No sooner was the furnace ready than I went to
work with all diligence upon the casting of Medusa, that is, the
woman twisted in a heap beneath the feet of Perseus. It was an
extremely difficult task, and I was anxious to observe all the niceties
of art which I had learned, so as not to lapse into some error. The
first cast I took in my furnace succeeded in the superlative degree,
and was so clean that my friends thought I should not need to
retouch it. It is true that certain Germans and Frenchmen, who
vaunt the possession of marvellous secrets, pretend that they can
cast bronzes without retouching them; but this is really nonsense,
because the bronze, when it has first been cast, ought to be worked
over and beaten in with hammers and chisels, according to the
manner of the ancients and also to that of the moderns I mean such
moderns as have known how to work in bronze.

The result of this casting greatly pleased his Excellency, who often
came to my house to inspect it, encouraging me by the interest he
showed to do my best. The furious envy of Bandinello, however,
who kept always whispering in the Duke's ears, had such effect that

1 Now in the Museum of the Bargello Palace at Florence

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 359

he made him believe my first successes with a single figure or two
proved nothing; I should never be able to put the whole large piece
together, since I was new to the craft, and his Excellency ought to
take good heed he did not throw his money away. These insinua-
tions operated so efficiently upon the Duke's illustrious ears, that
part of my allowance for workpeople was withdrawn. I felt com-
pelled to complain pretty sharply to his Excellency; and having gone
to wait on him one morning in the Via de' Servi, I spoke as follows :
"My lord, I do not now receive the monies necessary for my task,
which makes me fear that your Excellency has lost confidence in me.
Once more then I tell you that I feel quite able to execute this statue
three times better than the model, as I have before engaged my
word."

LXIV

I could see that this speech made no impression on the Duke, for
he kept silence; then, seized with sudden anger and a vehement
emotion, I began again to address him : "My lord, this city of a truth
has ever been the school of the most noble talents. Yet when a man
has come to know what he is worth, after gaining some acquire-
ments, and wishing to augment the glory of his town and of his
glorious prince, it is quite right that he should go and labour else-
where. To prove the truth of these words, I need only remind your
Excellency of Donatello and the great Lionardo da Vinci in the past,
and of our incomparable Michel Angelo Buonarroti in the present;
they augment the glory of your Excellency by their genius. I in my
turn feel the same desire and hope to play my part like them; there-
fore, my lord, give me the leave to go. But beware of letting Bandi-
nello quit you; rather bestow upon him always more than he
demands; for if he goes into foreign parts, his ignorance is so pre-
sumptuous that he is just the man to disgrace our most illustrious
school. Now grant me my permission, prince! I ask no further
reward for my labours up to this time than the gracious favour of
your most illustrious Excellency." When he saw the firmness of my
resolution, he turned with some irritation and exclaimed: "Ben-
venuto, if you want to finish the statue, you shall lack for nothing."
Then I thanked him and said I had no greater desire than to show

360 BENVENUTO CELLINI

those envious folk that I had it in me to execute the promised work.
When I left his Excellency, I received some slight assistance; but this
not being sufficient, I had to put my hand into my own purse, in
order to push the work forward at something better than a snail's
pace.

It was my custom to pass the evening in the Duke's wardrobe,
where Domenico Poggini and his brother Gianpagolo were at work
upon that golden cup for the Duchess and the girdle I have already
described. His Excellency had also commissioned me to make a
little model for a pendent to set the great diamond which Bernardone
and Antonio Landi made him buy. I tried to get out of doing it, but
the Duke compelled me by all sorts of kindly pressure to work until
four hours after nightfall. He kept indeed enticing me to push this
job forward by daytime also; but I would not consent, although I
felt sure I should incur his anger. Now one evening I happened to
arrive rather later than usual, whereupon he said: "111 come may
you be!" 1 I answered: "My lord, that is not my name; my name is
Welcome! But, as I suppose your Excellency is joking, I will add no
more." He replied that, far from joking, he meant solemn earnest.
I had better look to my conduct, for it had come to his ears that I
relied upon his favour to take in first one man and then another.
I begged his most illustrious Excellency to name a single person
whom I had ever taken in. At this he flew into a rage, and said:
"Go, and give back to Bernardone what you have of his. There!
I have mentioned one." I said: "My lord, I thank you, and beg you
to condescend so far as to listen to four words. It is true that he lent
me a pair of old scales, two anvils, and three little hammers, which
articles I begged his workman, Giorgio da Cortona, fifteen days ago,
to fetch back. Giorgio came for them himself. If your Excellency
can prove, on referring to those who have spoken these calumnies,
or to others, that I have ever, from the day of my birth till now, got
any single thing by fraud from anybody, be it in Rome or be it in
France, then let your Excellency punish me as immoderately as you
choose." When the Duke saw me in this mighty passion, he assumed
the air of a prudent and benevolent lord, saying: "Those words are
not meant for well-doers; therefore, if it is as you say, I shall always

1 A play on Benvenuto and Malvenuto.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 361

receive you with the same kindness as heretofore." To this I
answered : "I should like your Excellency to know that the rascalities
o Bernardone compel me to ask as a favor how much that big
diamond with the cropped point cost you. I hope to prove on what
account that scoundrel tries to bring me into disgrace." Then his
Excellency replied: "I paid 25,000 ducats for it; why do you ask me?"
"Because, my lord, on such a day, at such an hour, in a corner of
Mercato Nuovo, Antonio Landi, the son of Vittorio, begged me to
induce your Excellency to buy it, and at my first question he asked
16,000 ducats for the diamond; 2 now your Excellency knows what it
has cost you. Domenico Poggini and Gianpagolo his brother, who
are present, will confirm my words; for I spoke to them at once
about it, and since that time have never once alluded to the matter,
because your Excellency told me I did not understand these things,
which made me think you wanted to keep up the credit of your
stone. I should like you to know, my lord, that I do understand,
and that, as regards my character, I consider myself no less honest
than any man who ever lived upon this earth. I shall not try to rob
you of eight or ten thousand ducats at one go, but shall rather seek
to earn them by my industry. I entered the service of your Excel-
lency as sculptor, goldsmith, and stamper of coin; but to blab about
my neighbour's private matters, never! What I am now telling you
I say in self-defence; I do not want my fee for information. 3 If I
speak out in the presence of so many worthy fellows as are here, it
is because I do not wish your Excellency to believe what Bernardone
tells you."

When he had heard this speech, the Duke rose up in anger, and
sent for Bernardone, who was forced to take flight as far as Venice,
he and Antonio Landi with him. The latter told me that he had not
meant that diamond, but was talking of another stone. So then they
went and came again from Venice; whereupon I presented myself
to the Duke and spoke as follows: "My lord, what I told you is the
truth; and what Bernardone said about the tools he lent me is a lie.
You had better put this to the proof, and I will go at once to the

2 He forgets that he has said above that it was offered him by Landi for 17,000
ducats.

3 This fee was il quarto, or the fourth part of the criminal's fine, which came to
the delator.

362 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Bargello." The Duke made answer : "Benvenuto, do your best to be
an honest man, as you have done until now; you have no cause for
apprehension." So the whole matter passed off in smoke, and I
heard not one more word about it. I applied myself to finishing his
jewel; and when I took it to the Duchess, her Grace said that she
esteemed my setting quite as highly as the diamond which Bernard-
accio had made them buy. She then desired me to fasten it upon her
breast, and handed me a large pin, with which I fixed it, and took
my leave in her good favour. 4 Afterwards I was informed that they
had the stone reset by a German or some other foreigner whether
truly or not I cannot vouch upon Bernardone's suggestion that the
diamond would show better in a less elaborate setting.

LXV

I believe I have already narrated how Domenico and Giovan-
pagolo Poggini, goldsmiths and brothers, were at work in the Duke's
wardrobe upon some little golden vases, after my design, chased with
.figures in bas-relief, and other ornaments of great distinction. I often-
times kept saying to his Excellency: "My lord, if you will undertake
to pay some workpeople, I am ready to strike coins for your mint and
medals with your portrait. I am willing to enter into competition
with the ancients, and feel able to surpass them; for since those early
days in which I made the medals of Pope Clement, I have learned
so much that I can now produce far better pieces of the kind. I think
I can also outdo the coins I struck for Duke Alessandro, which are
still held in high esteem; in like manner I could make for you large
pieces of gold and silver plate, as I did so often for that noble mon-
arch, King Francis of France, thanks to the great conveniences he
allowed me, without ever losing time for the execution of colossal
statues or other works of the sculptor's craft." To this suggestion the
Duke replied: "Go forward; I will see;" but he never supplied me
with conveniences or aid of any kind.

One day his most illustrious Excellency handed me several pounds
weight of silver, and said: "This is some of the silver from my

4 It is worthy of notice that from this point onward the MS. is written by Cellini
in his own hand.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 363

mines; 1 take it, and make a fine vase." Now I did not choose to
neglect my Perseus, and at the same time I wished to serve the Duke,
so I entrusted the metal, together with my designs and models in
wax, to a rascal called Piero di Martino, a goldsmith by trade. He
set the work up badly, and moreover ceased to labour at it, so that I
lost more time than if I had taken it in hand myself. After several
months were wasted, and Piero would neither work nor put men to
work upon the piece, I made him give it back. I moved heaven and
earth to get back the body of the vase, which he had begun badly, as
I have already said, together with the remainder of the silver. The
Duke, hearing something of these disputes, sent for the vase and the
models, and never told me why or wherefore. Suffice it to say, that
he placed some of my designs in the hands of divers persons at
Venice and elsewhere, and was very ill served by them.

The Duchess kept urging me to do goldsmith's work for her. I
frequently replied that everybody, nay, all Italy, knew well I was an
excellent goldsmith; but Italy had not yet seen what I could do in
sculpture. Among artists, certain enraged sculptors laughed at me,
and called me the new sculptor. "Now I hope to show them that I
am an old sculptor, if God shall grant me the boon of finishing my
Perseus for that noble piazza of his most illustrious Excellency."
After this I shut myself up at home, working day and night, not
even showing my face in the palace. I wished, however, to keep
myself in favour with the Duchess; so I got some little cups made
for her in silver, no larger than twopenny milk-pots, chased with
exquisite masks in the rarest antique style. When I took them to her
Excellency, she received me most graciously, and repaid the gold
and silver I had spent upon them. Then I made my suit to her and
prayed her tell the Duke that I was getting small assistance for so
great a work; I begged her also to warn him not to lend so ready
an ear to Bandinello's evil tongue, which hindered me from finishing
my Perseus. In reply to these lamentable complaints the Duchess
shrugged her shoulders and exclaimed: "Of a surety the Duke
ought only too well to know that this Bandinello of his is worth
nothing."

1 Cosimo's silver mines were at Campiglia and Pietrasantra. He worked them,
however, rather at a loss than profit.

364 BENVENUTO CELLINI

LXVI

I now stayed at home, and went rarely to the palace, labouring
with great diligence to complete my statue. I had to pay the work-
men out of my own pocket; for the Duke, after giving Lattanzio
Gorini orders to discharge their wages, at the end of about eighteen
months, grew tired, and withdrew this subsidy. I asked Lattanzio
why he did not pay me as usual. The man replied, gesticulating with
those spidery hands of his, in a shrill gnat's voice: "Why do not you
finish your work ? One thinks that you will never get it done." In a
rage I up and answered : "May the plague catch you and all who dare
to think I shall not finish it!"

So I went home with despair at heart to my unlucky Perseus, not
without weeping, when I remembered the prosperity I had aban-
doned in Paris under the patronage of that marvellous King Francis,
where I had abundance of all kinds, and here had everything to
want for. Many a time I had it in* my soul to cast myself away for
lost. One day on one of these occasions, I mounted a nice nag I
had, put a hundred crowns in my purse, and went to Fiesole to
visit a natural son of mine there, who was at nurse with my gossip,
the wife of one of my workpeople. When I reached the house, I
found the boy in good health, and kissed him, very sad at heart.
On taking leave, he would not let me go, but held me with his little
hands and a tempest of cries and tears. Considering that he was only
two years old or thereabouts, the child's grief was something wonder-
ful. Now I had resolved, in the heat of my despair, if I met Bandi-
nello, who went every evening to a farm of his above San Domenico,
that I would hurl him to destruction; so I disengaged myself from
my baby, and left the boy there sobbing his heart out. Taking the
road toward Florence, just when I entered the piazza of San
Domenico, Bandinello was arriving from the other side. On the
instant I decided upon bloodshed; but when I reached the man and
raised my eyes, I saw him unarmed, riding a sorry mule or rather
donkey, and he had with him a boy of ten years old. No sooner did
he catch sight of me than he turned the colour of a corpse, and
trembled from head to foot. Perceiving at once how base the business

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 365

would be, I exclaimed: "Fear not, vile coward! I do not condescend
to smite you." He looked at me submissively and said nothing.
Thereupon I recovered command of my faculties, and thanked God
that His goodness had withheld me from so great an act of violence.
Then, being delivered from that fiendish fury, my spirits rose, and
I said to myself: "If God but grant me to execute my work, I hope
by its means to annihilate all my scoundrelly enemies; and thus I
shall perform far greater and more glorious revenges than if I had
vented my rage upon one single foe." Having this excellent resolve
in heart, I reached my home. At the end of three days news was
brought me that my only son had been smothered by his nurse, my
gossip, which gave me greater grief than I have ever had in my whole
life. However, I knelt upon the ground, and, not without tears,
returned thanks to God, as I was wont, exclaiming, "Lord, Thou
gavest me the child, and Thou hast taken him; for all Thy dealings
I thank Thee with my whole heart." This great sorrow went nigh
to depriving me of reason; yet, according to my habit, I made a
virtue of necessity, and adapted myself to circumstances as well as
I was able.

LXVII

About this time a young fellow called Francesco, the son of a
smith, Matteo, left Bandinello's employment, and inquired whether
I would give him work. I agreed, and sent him to retouch my
Medusa, which had been new cast in bronze. After a fortnight he
mentioned that he had been speaking with his master, that is,
Bandinello, who told him, if I cared to make a marble statue, he
would give me a fine block of stone. I replied at once: "Tell him
I accept his offer; perhaps this marble will prove a stumbling block
to him, for he keeps on provoking me, and does not bear in mind
the great peril he ran upon the piazza of San Domenico. Tell him
I will have the marble by all means. I never speak about him, and
the beast is perpetually causing me annoyance. I verily believe you
came to work here at his orders for the mere purpose of spying upon
me. Go, then, and tell him I insist on having the marble, even
against his will : see that you do not come back without it."

366 BENVENUTO CELLINI

LXVIII

Many days had elapsed during which I had not shown my face in
the palace, when the fancy took me to go there one morning just as
the Duke was finishing his dinner. From what I heard, his Excel-
lency had been talking of me that morning, commending me highly,
and in particular praising my skill in setting jewels. Therefore,
when the Duchess saw me, she called for me by Messer Sforza; 1 and
on my presenting myself to her most illustrious Excellency, she
asked me to set a little point-diamond in a ring, saying she wished
always to wear it; at the same time she gave me the measure and the
stone, which was worth about a hundred crowns, begging me to be
quick about the work. Upon this the Duke began speaking to the
Duchess, and said: "There is no doubt that Benvenuto was formerly
without his peer in this art; but now that he has abandoned it, I
believe it will be too much trouble for him to make a little ring of
the sort you want. I pray you, therefore, not to importune him
about this trifle, which would be no trifle to him owing to his want
of practice." I thanked the Duke for his kind words, but begged him
to let me render this trifling service to the Duchess. Then I took the
ring in hand, and finished it within a few days. It was meant for
the little finger; accordingly I fashioned four tiny children in the
round and four masks, which figures composed the hoop. I also
found room for some enamelled fruits and connecting links, so that
the stone and setting went uncommonly well together. Then I took
it to the Duchess, who told me graciously that I had produced a
very fine piece, and that she would remember me. She afterwards
sent the ring as a present to King Philip, and from that time forward
kept charging me with commissions, so kindly, however, that I did
my best to serve her, although I saw but very little of her money.
God knows I had great need of that, for I was eager to finish my
Perseus, and had engaged some journeymen, whom I paid out of my
own purse. I now began to show myself more often than I had
recently been doing.

1 Sforza Almeni, a Perugian gentleman, the Duke's chamberlain. Cosimo killed this
man with his own hand in the year 1566.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 367

LXIX

It happened on one feast-day that I went to the palace after dinner,
and when I reached the clockroom, I saw the door of the wardrobe
standing open. As I drew nigh it, the Duke called me, and after
a friendly greeting said: "You are welcome! Look at that box
which has been sent me by my lord Stefano of Palestrina. 1 Open it,
and let us see what it contains." When I had opened the box, I
cried to the Duke: "My lord, this is a statue in Greek marble, and it
is a miracle of beauty. I must say that I have never seen a boy's
figure so excellently wrought and in so fine a style among all the
antiques I have inspected. If your Excellency permits, I should like
to restore it head and arms and feet. I will add an eagle, in order
that we may christen the lad Ganymede. It is certainly not my busi-
ness to patch up statues, that being the trade of botchers, who do it in
all conscience villainously ill; yet the art displayed by this great
master of antiquity cries out to me to help him." The Duke was
highly delighted to find the statue so beautiful, and put me a multi-
tude of questions, saying: "Tell me, Benvenuto, minutely, in what
consists the skill of this old master, which so excites your admira-
tion." I then attempted, as well as I was able, to explain the beauty
of workmanship, the consummate science, and the rare manner dis-
played by the fragment. I spoke long upon these topics, and with
the greater pleasure because I saw that his Excellency was deeply
interested.

LXX

While I was thus pleasantly engaged in entertaining the Duke, a
page happened to leave the wardrobe, and at the same moment
Bandinello entered. When the Duke saw him, his countenance con-
tracted, and he asked him drily: "What are you about here?" Bandi-
nello, without answering, cast a glance upon the box, where the
statue lay uncovered. Then breaking into one of his malignant
laughs and wagging his head, he turned to the Duke and said : "My
lord, this exactly illustrates the truth of what I have so often told

1 Stefano Colonna, of the princely house of Palestrina. He was a general of con-
siderable repute in the Spanish, French, and Florentine services successively.

368 BENVENUTO CELLINI

your Excellency. You must know that the ancients were wholly
ignorant of anatomy, and therefore their works abound in mistakes."
I kept silence, and paid no heed to what he was saying; nay, indeed,
I had turned my back on him. But when the brute had brought his
disagreeable babble to an end, the Duke exclaimed: "O Benvenuto,
this is the exact opposite of what you were just now demonstrating
with so many excellent arguments. Come and speak a word in
defence of the statue." In reply to this appeal, so kindly made me by
the Duke, I spoke as follows: "My lord, your most illustrious Excel-
lency must please to know that Baccio Bandinello is made up of
everything bad, and thus has he ever been; therefore, whatever he
looks at, be the thing superlatively excellent, becomes in his ungra-
cious eyes as bad as can be. I, who incline to the good only, discern
the truth with purer senses. Consequently, what I told your Excel-
lency about this lovely statue is mere simple truth; whereas what
Bandinello said is but a portion of the evil out of which he is com-
posed." The Duke listened with much amusement; but Bandinello
writhed and made the most ugly faces his face itself being by
nature hideous beyond measure which could be imagined by the
mind of man.

The Duke at this point moved away, and proceeded through some
ground-floor rooms, while Bandinello followed. The chamberlains
twitched me by the mantle, and sent me after; so we all attended the
Duke until he reached a certain chamber, where he seated himself,
with Bandinello and me standing at his right hand and his left. I
kept silence, and the gentlemen of his Excellency's suite looked hard
at Bandinello, tittering among themselves about the speech I had
made in the room above. So then Bandinello began again to chatter,
and cried out : "Prince, when I uncovered my Hercules and Cacus, I
verily believe a hundred sonnets were written on me, full of the
worst abuse which could be invented by the ignorant rabble." 1 I
rejoined: "Prince, when Michel Agnolo Buonarroti displayed his
Sacristy to view, with so many fine statues in it, the men of talent
in our admirable school of Florence, always appreciative of truth

1 Vasari confirms this statement. The statue, which may still be seen upon the great
piazza, is, in truth, a very poor performance. The Florentines were angry because
Bandinello had filched the commission away from Michel Angelo. It was uncovered
in 1534, and Duke Alessandro had to imprison its lampooners.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 369

and goodness, published more than a hundred sonnets, each vying
with his neighbour to extol these masterpieces to the skies. 2 So then,
just as Bandinello's work deserved all the evil which, he tells us,
was then said about it, Buonarroti's deserved the enthusiastic praise
which was bestowed upon it." These words o mine made Bandi-
nello burst with fury; he turned on me, and cried: "And you, what
have you got to say against my work?" "I will tell you if you have
the patience to hear me out." "Go along then," he replied. The
Duke and his attendants prepared themselves to listen. I began and
opened my oration thus : "You must know that it pains me to point
out the faults of your statue; I shall not, however, utter my own
sentiments, but shall recapitulate what our most virtuous school of
Florence says about it." The brutal fellow kept making disagreeable
remarks and gesticulating with his hands and feet, until he enraged
me so that I began again, and spoke far more rudely than I should
otherwise have done, if he had behaved with decency. "Well, then,
this virtuous school says that if one were to shave the hair of your
Hercules, there would not be skull enough left to hold his brain; it
says that it is impossible to distinguish whether his features are those
of a man or of something between a lion and an ox; the face too is
turned away from the action of the figure, and is so badly set upon
the neck, with such poverty of art and so ill a grace, that nothing
worse was ever seen; his sprawling shoulders are like the two pom-
mels of an ass's pack-saddle; his breasts and all the muscles of the
body are not portrayed from a man, but from a big sack full of
melons set upright against a wall. The loins seem to be modelled
from a bag of lanky pumpkins; nobody can tell how his two legs are
attached to that vile trunk; it is impossible to say on which leg he
stands, or which he uses to exert his strength; nor does he seem to be
resting upon both, as sculptors who know something of their art
have occasionally set the figure. It is obvious that the body is leaning
forward more than one-third of a cubit, which alone is the greatest
and most insupportable fault committed by vulgar commonplace
pretenders. Concerning the arms, they say that these are both
stretched out without one touch of grace or one real spark of artistic

2 Cellini alludes of course to the Sacristy of S. Lorenzo, designed by Michel Angelo,
with the portraits of the Medici and statues of Day, Night, Dawn, and Twilight.

37 BENVENUTO CELLINI

talents, just as if you had never seen a naked model. Again, the
right leg of Hercules and that of Cacus have got one mass of flesh
between them, so that if they were to be separated, not only one of
them, but both together, would be left without a calf at the point
where they are touching. They say, too, that Hercules has one of his
feet underground, while the other seems to be resting on hot coals."

LXXI

The fellow could not stand quiet to hear the damning errors of
his Cacus in their turn enumerated. For one thing, I was telling the
truth; for another, I was unmasking him to the Duke and all the
people present, who showed by face and gesture first their surprise,
and next their conviction that what I said was true. All at once he
burst out: "Ah, you slanderous tongue! why don't you speak about
my design?" I retorted: "A good draughtsman can never produce
bad works; therefore I am inclined to believe that your drawing is
no better than your statues." When he saw the amused expression
on the Duke's face and the cutting gestures of the bystanders, he let
his insolence get the better of him, and turned to me with that most
hideous face of his, screaming aloud: "Oh, hold your tongue, you
ugly . . . * * At these words the Duke frowned, and the others
pursed their lips up and looked with knitted brows toward him.
The horrible affront half maddened me with fury; but in a moment
I recovered presence of mind enough to turn it off with a jest: "You
madman! you exceed the bounds of decency. Yet would to God that
I understood so noble an art as you allude to; they say that Jove used
it with Ganymede in paradise, and here upon this earth it is practised
by some of the greatest emperors and kings. I, however, am but a
poor humble creature, who neither have the power nor the intelli-
gence to perplex my wits with anything so admirable." When I had
finished this speech, the Duke and his attendants could control them-
selves no longer, but broke into such shouts of laughter that one
never heard the like. You must know, gentle readers, that though I
put on this appearance of pleasantry, my heart was bursting in my
body to think that a fellow, the foulest villain who ever breathed,
should have dared in the presence of so great a prince to cast an

1 Oh sta cheto, soddomitaccio.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 371

insult of that atrocious nature in my teeth; but you must also know
that he insulted the Duke, and not me; for had I not stood in that
august presence, I should have felled him dead to earth. When the
dirty stupid scoundrel observed that those gentlemen kept on laugh-
ing, he tried to change the subject, and divert them from deriding
him; so he began as follows: "This fellow Benvenuto goes about
boasting that I have promised him a piece of marble." I took him up
at once. "What! did you not send to tell me by your journeyman,
Francesco, that if I wished to work in marble you would give me a
block ? I accepted it, and mean to have it." He retorted : "Be very
well assured that you will never get it." Still smarting as I was
under the calumnious insults he had flung at me, I lost my self-
control, forgot I was in the presence of the Duke, and called out in
a storm of fury: "I swear to you that if you do not send the marble
to my house, you had better look out for another world, for if you
stay upon this earth I will most certainly rip the wind out of your
carcass. 2 Then suddenly awaking to the fact that I was standing in
the presence of so great a duke, I turned submissively to his Excel-
lency and said: "My lord, one fool makes a hundred; the follies of
this man have blinded me for a moment to the glory of your most
illustrious Excellency and to myself. I humbly crave your pardon."
Then the Duke said to Bandinello : "Is it true that you promised him
the marble?" He replied that it was true. Upon this the Duke
addressed me: "Go to the Opera, and choose a piece according to
your taste." I demurred that the man had promised to send it home
to me. The words that passed between us were awful, and I refused
to take the stone in any other way. Next morning a piece of marble
was brought to my house. On asking who had sent it, they told me
it was Bandinello, and that this was the very block which he had
promised. 3

2 In questo (mondo) ti sgonfiero a ogni modo.

3 Vasari, in his Life of Bandinello, gives a curious confirmation of Cellini's veracity
by reporting this quarrel, with some of the speeches which passed between the two
rival artists. Yet he had not read Cellini's Memoirs, and was far from partial to the
man. Comparing Vasari's with Cellini's account, we only notice that the latter has
made Bandinello play a less witty part in the wordy strife than the former assigned
him.

372 BENVENUTO CELLINI

LXXII

I had it brought at once into my studio, and began to chisel it.
While I was rough-hewing the block, I made a model. But my
eagerness to work in marble was so strong, that I had not patience
to finish the model as correctly as this art demands. I soon noticed
that the stone rang false beneath my strokes, which made me often-
times repent commencing on it. Yet I got what I could out of the
piece that is, the Apollo and Hyacinth, which may still be seen
unfinished in my workshop. While I was thus engaged, the Duke
came to my house, and often said to me : "Leave your bronze awhile,
and let me watch you working on the marble." Then I took chisel
and mallet, and went at it blithely. He asked about the model I
had made for my statue; to which I answered: "Duke, this marble
is all cracked, but I shall carve something from it in spite of that;
therefore I have not been able to settle the model, but shall go on
doing the best I can."

His Excellency sent to Rome post-haste for a block of Greek
marble, in order that I might restore his antique Ganymede, which
was the cause of that dispute with Bandinello. When it arrived, I
thought it a sin to cut it up for the head and arms and other bits
wanting in the Ganymede; so I provided myself with another piece
of stone, and reserved the Greek marble for a Narcissus which I
modelled on a small scale in wax. I found that the block had two
holes, penetrating to the depth of a quarter of a cubit, and two good
inches wide. This led me to choose the attitude which may be
noticed in my statue, avoiding the holes and keeping my figure free
from them. But rain had fallen scores of years upon the stone,
filtering so deeply from the holes into its substance that the marble
was decayed. Of this I had full proof at the time of a great inunda-
tion of the Arno, when the river rose to the height of more than a
cubit and a half in my workshop. 1 Now the Narcissus stood upon a
square of wood, and the water overturned it, causing the statue to
break in two above the breasts. I had to join the pieces; and in order
that the line of breakage might not be observed, I wreathed that
garland of flowers round it which may still be seen upon the bosom.

1 Cellini alludes to a celebrated inundation of the year 1547.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 373

I went on working at the surface, employing some hours before
sunrise, or now and then on feast-days, so as not to lose the time I
needed for my Perseus.

It so happened on one of those mornings, while I was getting some
little chisels into trim to work on the Narcissus, that a very fine
splinter of steel flew into my right eye, and embedded itself so
deeply in the pupil that it could not be extracted. I thought for
certain I must lose the sight of that eye. After some days I sent for
Maestro Raflfaello de Pilli, the surgeon, who obtained a couple of
live pigeons, and placing me upon my back across a table, took the
birds and opened a large vein they have beneath the wing, so that
the blood gushed out into my eye. I felt immediately relieved, and
in the space of two days the splinter came away, and I remained with
eyesight greatly improved. Against the feast of S. Lucia, 2 which
came round in three days, I made a golden eye out of a French
crown, and had it presented at her shrine by one of my six nieces,
daughters of my sister Liperata; the girl was ten years of age, and
in her company I returned thanks to God and S. Lucia. For some
while afterwards I did not work at the Narcissus, but pushed my
Perseus forward under all the difficulties I have described. It was
my purpose to finish it, and then to bid farewell to Florence.

LXXIII

Having succeeded so well with the cast of the Medusa, I had
great hope of bringing my Perseus through; for I had laid the wax
on, and felt confident that it would come out in bronze as perfectly
as the Medusa. The waxen model produced so fine an effect, that
when the Duke saw it and was struck with its beauty whether
somebody had persuaded him it could not be carried out with the
same finish in metal, or whether he thought so for himself he came
to visit me more frequently than usual, and on one occasion said:
"Benvenuto, this figure cannot succeed in bronze; the laws of art do
not admit of it." These words of his Excellency stung me so sharply
that I answered: "My lord, I know how very little confidence you

2 S. Lucy, I need hardly remark, is the patroness of the eyes. In Italian art she is
generally represented holding her own eyes upon a plate.

374 BENVENUTO CELLINI

have in me; and I believe the reason of this is that your most
illustrious Excellency lends too ready an ear to my calumniators, or
else indeed that you do not understand my art." He hardly let me
close the sentence when he broke in : "I profess myself a connoisseur,
and understand it very well indeed." I replied: "Yes, like a prince,
not like an artist; for if your Excellency understood my trade as
well as you imagine, you would trust me on the proofs I have already
given. These are, first, the colossal bronze bust of your Excellency,
which is now in Elba; 1 secondly, the restoration of the Ganymede
in marble, which offered so many difficulties and cost me so much
trouble, that I would rather have made the whole statue new from
the beginning; thirdly, the Medusa, cast by me in bronze, here now
before your Excellency's eyes, the execution of which was a greater
triumph of strength and skill than any of my predecessors in this
fiendish art have yet achieved. Look you, my lord! I constructed
that furnace anew on principles quite different from those of other
founders; in addition to many technical improvements and ingenious
devices, I supplied it with two issues for the metal, because this
difficult and twisted figure could not otherwise have come out
perfect. It is only owing to my intelligent insight into means and
appliances that the statue turned out as it did; a triumph judged
impossible by all the practitioners of this art. I should like you
furthermore to be aware, my lord, for certain, that the sole reason
why I succeeded with all those great arduous works in France under
his most admirable Majesty King Francis, was the high courage
which that good monarch put into my heart by the liberal allow-
ances he made me, and the multitude of workpeople he left at my
disposal. I could have as many as I asked for, and employed at
times above forty, all chosen by myself. These were the causes of
my having there produced so many masterpieces in so short a space
of time. Now then, my lord, put trust in me; supply me with the
aid I need. I am confident of being able to complete a work which
will delight your soul. But if your Excellency goes on disheartening
me, and does not advance me the assistance which is absolutely
required, neither I nor any man alive upon this earth can hope to
achieve the slightest thing of value."

1 At Portoferraio. It came afterwards to Florence.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 375

LXXIV

It was as much as the Duke could do to stand by and listen to my
pleadings. He kept turning first this way and then that; while I, in
despair, poor wretched I, was calling up remembrance of the noble
state I held in France, to the great sorrow of my soul. All at once
he cried: "Come, tell me, Benvenuto, how is it possible that yonder
splendid head of Medusa, so high up there in the grasp of Perseus,
should ever come out perfect?" I replied upon the instant: "Look
you now, my lord! If your Excellency possessed that knowledge of
the craft which you affirm you have, you would not fear one moment
for the splendid head you speak of. There is good reason, on the
other hand, to feel uneasy about this right foot, so far below and at
a distance from the rest." When he heard these words, the Duke
turned, half in anger, to some gentlemen in waiting, and exclaimed :
"I verily believe that this Benvenuto prides himself on contradicting
everything one says." Then he faced round to me with a touch of
mockery, upon which his attendants did the like, and began to
speak as follows: "I will listen patiently to any argument you can
possibly produce in explanation of your statement, which may con-
vince me of its probability." I said in answer: "I will adduce so
sound an argument that your Excellency shall perceive the full
force of it." So I began : "You must know, my lord, that the nature
of fire is to ascend, and therefore I promise you that Medusa's head
will come out famously; but since it is not in the nature of fire to
descend, and I must force it downwards six cubits by artificial means,
I assure your Excellency upon this most convincing ground of proof
that the foot cannot possibly come out. It will, however, be quite
easy for me to restore it." "Why, then," said the Duke, "did you not
devise it so that the foot should come out as well as you affirm the
head will?" I answered: "I must have made a much larger furnace,
with a conduit as thick as my leg; and so I might have forced the
molten metal by its own weight to descend so far. Now, my pipe,
which runs six cubits to the statue's foot, as I have said, is not thicker
than two fingers. However, it was not worth the trouble and expense
to make a larger; for I shall easily be able to mend what is lacking.
But when my mould is more than half full, as I expect, from this

376 BENVENUTO CELLINI

middle point upwards, the fire ascending by its natural property,
then the heads of Perseus and Medusa will come out admirably;
you may be quite sure of it." After I had thus expounded these con-
vincing arguments, together with many more of the same kind,
which it would be tedious to set down here, the Duke shook his
head and departed without further ceremony.

LXXV

Abandoned thus to my own resources, I took new courage, and
banished the sad thoughts which kept recurring to my mind, making
me often weep bitter tears of repentance for having left France; for
though I did so only to revisit Florence, my sweet birthplace, in
order that I might charitably succour my six nieces, this good action,
as I well perceived, had been the beginning of my great misfortune.
Nevertheless, I felt convinced that when my Perseus was accom-
plished, all these trials would be turned to high felicity and glorious
well-being.

Accordingly I strengthened my heart, and with all the forces of
my body and my purse, employing what little money still remained
to me, I set to work. First I provided myself with several loads of
pinewood from the forests of Serristori, in the neighbourhood of
Montelupo. While these were on their way, I clothed my Perseus
with the clay which I had prepared many months beforehand, in
order that it might be duly seasoned. After making its clay tunic
(for that is the term used in this art) and properly arming it and
fencing it with iron girders, I began to draw the wax out by means
of a slow fire. This melted and issued through numerous air-
vents I had made; for the more there are of these, the better will the
mould fill. When I had finished drawing off the wax, I constructed
a funnel-shaped furnace all round the model of my Perseus. 1 It was
built of bricks, so interlaced, the one above the other, that numerous
apertures were left for the fire to exhale at. Then I began to lay on
wood by degrees, and kept it burning two whole days and nights. At
length, when all the wax was gone, and the mould was well baked,
I set to work at digging the pit in which to sink it. This I per-

1 This furnace, called manica, was like a grain-hopper, so that the mould could
stand upright in it as in a cup. The word manica is the same as our manuch, an
antique form of sleeve.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 377

formed with scrupulous regard to all the rules of art. When I had
finished that part of my work, I raised the mould by windlasses and
stout ropes to a perpendicular position, and suspending it with the
greatest care one cubit above the level of the furnace, so that it hung
exactly above the middle of the pit, I next lowered it gently down
into the very bottom of the furnace, and had it firmly placed with
every possible precaution for its safety. When this delicate operation
was accomplished, I began to bank it up with the earth I had
excavated; and, ever as the earth grew higher, I introduced its proper
air-vents, which were little tubes of earthenware, such as folk use
for drains and such-like purposes. 2 At length, I felt sure that it was
admirably fixed, and that the filling-in of the pit and the placing
of the air-vents had been properly performed. I also could see that
my workpeople understood my method, which differed very con-
siderably from that of all the other masters in the trade. Feeling
confident, then, that I could rely upon them, I next turned to my
furnace, which I had filled with numerous pigs of copper and other
bronze stuff. The pieces were piled according to the laws of art,
that is to say, so resting one upon the other that the flames could
play freely through them, in order that the metal might heat and
liquefy the sooner. At last I called out heartily to set the furnace
going. The logs of pine were heaped in, and, what with the unctuous
resin of the wood and the good draught I had given, my furnace
worked so well that I was obliged to rush from side to side to keep
it going. The labour was more than I could stand; yet I forced
myself to strain every nerve and muscle. To increase my anxieties,
the workshop took fire, and we were afraid lest the roof should fall
upon our heads; while, from the garden, such a storm of wind and
rain kept blowing in, that it perceptibly cooled the furnace.

Battling thus with all these untoward circumstances for several
hours, and exerting myself beyond even the measure of my powerful
constitution, I could at last bear up no longer, and a sudden fever, 3
of the utmost possible intensity, attacked me. I felt absolutely obliged

2 These air-vents, or sfiatatoi, were introduced into the outer mould, which Cellini
calls the tonaca, or clay tunic laid upon the original model of baked clay and wax.
They served the double purpose of drawing off the wax, whereby a space was left
for the molten bronze to enter, and also of facilitating the penetration of this molten
metal by allowing a free escape of air and gas from the outer mould.

3 Una febbre efitnera. Lit., a fever of one day's duration.

BENVENUTG CELLINI

to go and fling myself upon my bed. Sorely against my will having
to drag myself away from the spot, I turned to my assistants, about
ten or more in all, what with master-founders, hand-workers,
country-fellows, and my own special journeymen, among whom was
Bernardino Mannellini of Mugello, my apprentice through several
years. To him in particular I spoke: "Look, my dear Bernardino,
that you observe the rules which I have taught you; do your best
with all despatch, for the metal will soon be fused. You cannot go
wrong; these honest men will get the channels ready; you will easily
be able to drive back the two plugs with this pair of iron crooks;
and I am sure that my mould will fill miraculously. I feel more ill
than I ever did in all my life, and verily believe that it will kill me
before a few hours are over." 4 Thus, with despair at heart, I left
them, and betook myself to bed.

LXXVI

No sooner had I got to bed, than I ordered my serving-maids to
carry food and wine for all the men into the workshop; at the same
time I cried : "I shall not be alive tomorrow." They tried to encour-
age me, arguing that my illness would pass over, since it came from
excessive fatigue. In this way I spent two hours battling with the
fever, which steadily increased, and calling out continually: "I feel
that I am dying." My housekeeper, who was named Mona Fiore da
Castel del Rio, a very notable manager and no less warm-hearted,
kept chiding me for my discouragement; but, on the other hand, she
paid me every kind attention which was possible. However, the
sight of my physical pain and moral dejection so affected her, that,
in spite of that brave heart of hers, she could not refrain from

4 Some technical terms require explanation in this sentence. The canali or channels
were sluices for carrying the molten metal from the furnace into the mould. The
mandriani, which I have translated by iron crooks, were poles fitted at the end with
curved irons, by which the openings of the furnace, plugs, or in Italian spine, could
be partially or wholly driven back, so as to let the molten metal flow through the
channels into the mould. When the metal reached the mould, it entered in a red-hot
stream between the tonaca, or outside mould, and the anima, or inner block, filling up
exactly the space which had previously been occupied by the wax extracted by a
method of slow burning alluded to above. I believe that the process is known as
casting a cire perdue. The forma, or mould, consisted of two pieces; one hollow
(la tonaca), which gave shape to the bronze; one solid and rounded (la anima}, which
stood at a short interval within the former, and regulated the influx of the metal.
See above, p. 354, note.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 379

shedding tears; and yet, so far as she was able, she took good care
I should not see them. While I was thus terribly afflicted, I beheld
the figure of a man enter my chamber, twisted in his body into the
form of a capital S. He raised a lamentable, doleful voice, like one
who announces their last hour to men condemned to die upon the
scaffold, and spoke these words: "O Benvenuto! your statue is
spoiled, and there is no hope whatever of saving it." No sooner had
I heard the shriek of that wretch than I gave a howl which might
have been heard from the sphere of flame. Jumping from my bed, I
seized my clothes and began to dress. The maids, and my lads, and
every one who came around to help me, got kicks or blows of the
fist, while I kept crying out in lamentation: "Ah! traitors! enviers!
This is an act of treason, done by malice prepense! But I swear by
God that I will sift it to the bottom, and before I die will leave such
witness to the world of what I can do as shall make a score of
mortals marvel."

When I had got my clothes on, I strode with soul bent on mischief
toward the workshop; there I beheld the men, whom I had left
erewhile in such high spirits, standing stupefied and downcast. I
began at once and spoke: "Up with you! Attend to me! Since you
have not been able or willing to obey the directions I gave you,
obey me now that I am with you to conduct my work in person.
Let no one contradict me, for in cases like this we need the aid of
hand and hearing, not of advice." When I had uttered these words,
a certain Maestro Alessandro Lastricati broke silence and said : "Look
you, Benvenuto, you are going to attempt an enterprise which the
laws of art do not sanction, and which cannot succeed." I turned
upon him with such fury and so full of mischief, that he and all the
rest of them exclaimed with one voice: "On then! Give orders! We
will obey your least commands, so long as life is left in us." I believe
they spoke thus feelingly because they thought I must fall shortly
dead upon the ground. I went immediately to inspect the furnace,
and found that the metal was all curdled; an accident which we
express by "being caked." l I told two of the hands to cross the road,
and fetch from the house of the butcher Capretta a load of young
oak-wood, which had lain dry for above a year; this wood had been

1 Essersi fat to nn migliaccio.

386 BENVENUTO CELLINI

previously offered me by Madame Ginevra, wife of the said Cap-
retta. So soon as the first armfuls arrived, I began to fill the grate
beneath the furnace. 2 Now oak-wood of that kind heats more pow-
erfully than any other sort of tree; and for this reason, where a slow
fire is wanted, as in the case of gun-foundry, alder or pine is pre-
ferred. Accordingly, when the logs took fire, oh! how the cake began
to stir beneath that awful heat, to glow and sparkle in a blaze! At
the same time I kept stirring up the channels, and sent men upon the
roof to stop the conflagration, which had gathered force from the in-
creased combustion in the furnace; also I caused boards, carpets, and
other hangings to be set up against the garden, in order to protect
us from the violence of the rain.

LXXVII

When I had thus provided against these several disasters, I roared
out first to one man and then to another: "Bring this thing here!
Take that thing there!" At this crisis, when the whole gang saw
the cake was on the point of melting, they did my bidding, each
fellow working with the strength of three. I then ordered half a pig
of pewter to be brought, which weighed about sixty pounds, and
flung it into the middle of the cake inside the furnace. By this means,
and by piling on wood and stirring now with pokers and now with
iron rods, the curdled mass rapidly began to liquefy. Then, knowing
I had brought the dead to life again, against the firm opinion of
those ignoramuses, I felt such vigour fill my veins, that all those
pains of fever, all those fears of death, were quite forgotten.

All of a sudden an explosion took place, attended by a tremendous
flash of flame, as though a thunderbolt had formed and been dis-
charged amongst us. Unwonted and appalling terror astonied every
one, and me more even than the rest. When the din was over and
the dazzling light extinguished, we began to look each other in the
face. Then I discovered that the cap of the furnace had blown up,
and the bronze was bubbling over from its source beneath. So I had
the mouths of my mould immediately opened, and at the same time

2 The Italian is bracciaiuola, a pit below the grating, which receives the ashes from
the furnace.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 381

drove in the two plugs which kept back the molten metal. But I
noticed that it did not flow as rapidly as usual, the reason being prob-
ably that the fierce heat of the fire we kindled had consumed its
base alloy. Accordingly I sent for all my pewter platters, porringers,
and dishes, to the number of some two hundred pieces, and had a
portion of them cast, one by one, into the channels, the rest into the
furnace. This expedient succeeded, and every one could now per-
ceive that my bronze was in most perfect liquefaction, and my mould
was filling; whereupon they all with heartiness and happy cheer
assisted and obeyed my bidding, while I, now here, now there, gave
orders, helped with my own hands, and cried aloud: "O God! Thou
that by Thy immeasurable power didst rise from the dead, and in
Thy glory didst ascend to heaven!" .... even thus in a moment
my mould was filled; and seeing my work finished, I fell upon my
knees, and with all my heart gave thanks to God.

After all was over, I turned to a plate of salad on a bench there,
and ate with hearty appetite, and drank together with the whole
crew. Afterwards I retired to bed, healthy and happy, for it was now
two hours before morning, and slept as sweetly as though I had
never felt a touch of illness. My good housekeeper, without my
giving any orders, had prepared a fat capon for my repast. So that,
when I rose, about the hour for breaking fast, she presented herself
with a smiling countenance, and said: "Oh! is that the man who
felt that he was dying ? Upon my word, I think the blows and kicks
you dealt us last night, when you were so enraged, and had that
demon in your body as it seemed, must have frightened away your
mortal fever! The fever feared that it might catch it too, as we did!"
All my poor household, relieved in like measure from anxiety and
overwhelming labour, went at once to buy earthen vessels in order
to replace the pewter I had cast away. Then we dined together joy-
fully; nay, I cannot remember a day in my whole life when I dined
with greater gladness or a better appetite.

After our meal I received visits from the several men who had
assisted me. They exchanged congratulations, and thanked God for
our success, saying they had learned and seen things done which
other masters judged impossible. I too grew somewhat glorious; and
deeming I had shown myself a man of talent, indulged a boastful

382 BENVENUTO CELLINI

humour. So I thrust my hand into my purse, and paid them all to
their full satisfaction.

That evil fellow, my mortal foe, Messer Pier Francesco Ricci, ma-
jordomo of the Duke, took great pains to find out how the affair
had gone. In answer to his questions, the two men whom I sus-
pected of having caked my metal for me, said I was no man, but of
a certainty some powerful devil, since I had accomplished what no
craft of the art could do; indeed they did not believe a mere ordi-
nary fiend could work such miracles as I in other ways had shown.
They exaggerated the whole affair so much, possibly in order to
excuse their own part in it, that the majordomo wrote an account
to the Duke, who was then in Pisa, far more marvellous and full of
thrilling incidents than what they had narrated.

LXXVIII

After I had let my statue cool for two whole days, I began to un-
cover it by slow degrees. The first thing I found was that the head
of Medusa had come out most admirably, thanks to the air-vents; for,
as I had told the Duke, it is the nature of fire to ascend. Upon
advancing farther, I discovered that the other head, that, namely, of
Perseus, had succeeded no less admirably; and this astonished me
far more, because it is at a considerably lower level than that of
the Medusa. Now the mouths of the mould were placed above the
head of Perseus and behind his shoulders; and I found that all the
bronze my furnace contained had been exhausted in the head of
this figure. It was a miracle to observe that not one fragment re-
mained in the orifice of the channel, and that nothing was wanting
to the statue. In my great astonishment I seemed to see in this the
hand of God arranging and controlling all.

I went on uncovering the statue with success, and ascertained that
everything had come out in perfect order, until I reached the foot of
the right leg on which the statue rests. There the heel itself was
formed, and going farther, I found the foot apparently complete.
This gave me great joy on the one side, but was half unwelcome to
me on the other, merely because I had told the Duke that it could
not come out. However, when I reached the end, it appeared that
the toes and a little piece above them were unfinished, so that about

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 383

half the foot was wanting. Although I knew that this would add a
trifle to my labour, I was very well pleased, because I could now
prove to the Duke how well I understood my business. It is true
that far more of the foot than I expected had been perfectly formed ;
the reason of this was that, from causes I have recently described, the
bronze was hotter than our rules of art prescribe; also that I had
been obliged to supplement the alloy with my pewter cups and plat-
ters, which no one else, I think, had ever done before.

Having now ascertained how successfully my work had been ac-
complished, I lost no time in hurrying to Pisa, where I found the
Duke. He gave me a most gracious reception, as did also the Duch-
ess; and although the majordomo had informed them of the whole
proceedings, their Excellencies deemed my performance far more
stupendous and astonishing when they heard the tale from my own
mouth. When I arrived at the foot of Perseus, and said it had not
come out perfect, just as I previously warned his Excellency, I
saw an expression of wonder pass over his face, while he related to
the Duchess how I had predicted this beforehand. Observing the
princes to be so well disposed towards me, I begged leave from the
Duke to go to Rome. He granted it in most obliging terms, and bade
me return as soon as possible to complete his Perseus; giving me
letters of recommendation meanwhile to his ambassador, Averardo
Serristori. We were then in the first years of Pope Giulio de Monti. 1

LXXIX

Before leaving home, I directed my workpeople to proceed accord-
ing to the method I had taught them. The reason of my journey was
as follows. I had made a life-sized bust in bronze of Bindo Altoviti, 2
the son of Antonio, and had sent it to him at Rome. He set it up in
his study, which was very richly adorned with antiquities and other
works of art; but the room was not designed for statues or for paint-
ings, since the windows were too low, so that the light coming from
beneath spoiled the effect they would have produced under more

1 Gio Maria del Monte Sansovino was elected Pope, with the tide of Julius III., in
February 1550.

2 This man was a member of a very noble Florentine family. Born in 1491, he
was at this epoch Tuscan Consul in Rome. Cellini's bust of him still exists in the
Palazzo Altoviti at Rome.

384 BENVENUTO CELLINI

favourable conditions. It happened one day that Bindo was standing
at his door, when Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, the sculptor, passed
by; so he begged him to come in and see his study. Michel Agnolo
followed, and on entering the room and looking round, he ex-
claimed: "Who is the master who made that good portrait of you in
so fine a manner? You must know that that bust pleases me as
much, or even more, than those antiques; and yet there are many
fine things to be seen among the latter. If those windows were above
instead of beneath, the whole collection would show to greater ad-
vantage, and your portrait, placed among so many masterpieces,
would hold its own with credit." No sooner had Michel Agnolo left
the house of Bindo than he wrote me a very kind letter, which ran as
follows: "My dear Benvenuto, I have known you for many years as
the greatest goldsmith of whom we have any information; and
henceforward I shall know you for a sculptor of like quality. I must
tell you that Master Bindo Altoviti took me to see his bust in bronze,
and informed me that you had made it. I was greatly pleased with
the work; but it annoyed me to notice that it was placed in a bad
light; for if it were suitably illuminated, it would show itself to be the
fine performance that it is." This letter abounded with the most
affectionate and complimentary expressions towards myself; and
before I left for Rome, I showed it to the Duke, who read it with
much kindly interest, and said to me: "Benvenuto, if you write to
him, and can persuade him to return to Florence, I will make him
a member of the Forty-eight." 3 Accordingly I wrote a letter full of
warmth, and offered in the Duke's name a hundred times more than
my commission carried; but not wanting to make any mistake, I
showed this to the Duke before I sealed it, saying to his most illus-
trious Excellency : "Prince, perhaps I have made him too many prom-
ises." He replied: "Michel Agnolo deserves more than you have
promised, and I will bestow on him still greater favours." To this
letter he sent no answer, and I could see that the Duke was much
offended with him.

3 This was one of the three Councils created by Clement VII. in 1532, when he
changed the Florentine constitution. It corresponded to a Senate.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 385

LXXX

When I reached Rome, I went to lodge in Bindo Altoviti's house.
He told me at once how he had shown his bronze bust to Michel
Agnolo, and how the latter had praised it. So we spoke for some
length upon this topic. I ought to narrate the reasons why I had
taken this portrait. Bindo had in his hands 1200 golden crowns of
mine, which formed part of 5000 he had lent the Duke; 4000 were
his own, and mine stood in his name, while I received that portion
of the interest which accrued to me. 1 This led to my taking his por-
trait; and when he saw the wax model for the bust, he sent me fifty
golden scudi by a notary in his employ, named Ser Giuliano Pac-
calli. I did not want to take the money, so I sent it back to him by
the same hand, saying at a later time to Bindo: "I shall be satis-
fied if you keep that sum of mine for me at interest, so that I may
gain a little on it." When we came to square accounts on this occa-
sion, I observed that he was ill disposed towards me, since, instead
of treating me affectionately, according to his previous wont, he put
on a stiff air; and although I was staying in his house, he was never
good-humoured, but always surly. However, we settled our business
in a few words. I sacrificed my pay for his portrait, together with
the bronze, and we arranged that he should keep my money at 15
per cent, during my natural life.

LXXXI

One of the first things I did was to go and kiss the Pope's feet; and
while I was speaking with his Holiness, Messer Averardo Serristori,
our Duke's Envoy, arrived. 2 I had made some proposals to the Pope,
which I think he would have agreed upon, and I should have been
very glad to return to Rome on account of the great difficulties which
I had at Florence. But I soon perceived that the ambassador had
countermined me.

Then I went to visit Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, and repeated
what I had written from Florence to him in the Duke's name. He
replied that he was engaged upon the fabric of S. Peter's, and that

1 To make the sum correct, 5200 ought to have been lent the Duke.

2 His despatches form a valuable series of historical documents. Firenze, Le Monnier,
1853-

386 BENVENUTO CELLINI

this would prevent him from leaving Rome. I rejoined that, as he
had decided on the model of that building, he could leave its exe-
cution to his man Urbino, who would carry out his orders to the
letter. I added much about future favours, in the form of a message
from the Duke. Upon this he looked me hard in the face, and said
with a sarcastic smile: "And you! to what extent are you satis-
fied with him?" Although I replied that I was extremely contented
and was very well treated by his Excellency, he showed that he was
acquainted with the greater part of my annoyances, and gave as his
final answer that it would be difficult for him to leave Rome. To
this I added that he could not do better than to return to his own
land, which was governed by a prince renowned for justice, and the
greatest lover of the arts and sciences who ever saw the light of this
world. As I have remarked above, he had with him a servant of his
who came from Urbino, and had lived many years in his employ-
ment, rather as valet and housekeeper than anything else; this indeed
was obvious, because he had acquired no skill in the arts. 3 Conse-
quently, while I was pressing Michel Agnolo with arguments he
could not answer, he turned round sharply to Urbino, as though to
ask him his opinion. The fellow began to bawl out in his rustic
way: "I will never leave my master Michel Agnolo's side till I shall
have flayed him or he shall have flayed me." These stupid words
forced me to laugh, and without saying farewell, I lowered my shoul-
ders and retired.

LXXXII

The miserable bargain I had made with Bindo Altoviti, losing my
bust and leaving him my capital for life, taught me what the faith
of merchants is; so I returned in bad spirits to Florence. I went at
once to the palace to pay my respects to the Duke, whom I found
to be at Castello beyond Ponte a Rifredi. In the palace I met Messer
Pier Francesco Ricci, the majordomo, and when I drew nigh to pay
him the usual compliments, he exclaimed with measureless astonish-
ment: "Oh, are you come back?" and with the same air of surprise,
clapping his hands together, he cried: "The Duke is at Castello!"

3 Upon the death of this Urbino, Michel Angelo wrote a touching sonnet and a
very feeling letter to Vasari.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 387

then turned his back and left me. I could not form the least idea
why the beast behaved in such an extraordinary manner to me.

Proceeding at once to Castello, and entering the garden where
the Duke was, I caught sight of him at a distance; but no sooner
had he seen me than he showed signs of surprise, and intimated that
I might go about my business. I had been reckoning that his Excel-
lency would treat me with the same kindness, or even greater, as
before I left for Rome; so now, when he received me with such rude-
ness, I went back, much hurt, to Florence. While resuming my
work and pushing my statue forward, I racked my brains to think
what could have brought about this sudden change in the Duke's
manner. The curious way in which Messer Sforza and some other
gentlemen close to his Excellency's person eyed me, prompted me
to ask the former what the matter was. He only replied with a sort
of smile: "Benvenuto, do your best to be an honest man, and have
no concern for anything else." A few days afterwards I obtained
an audience of the Duke, who received me with a kind of grudging
grace, and asked me what I had been doing at Rome. To the best of
my ability I maintained the conversation, and told him the whole
story about Bindo Altoviti's bust. It was evident that he listened
with attention; so I went on talking about Michel Agnolo Buonar-
roti. At this he showed displeasure; but Urbino's stupid speech about
the flaying made him laugh aloud. Then he said : "Well, it is he who
suffers!" and I took my leave.

There can be no doubt that Ser Pier Francesco, the majordomo,
must have served me some ill turn with the Duke, which did not,
however, succeed; for God, who loves the truth, protected me, as He
hath ever saved me, from a sea of dreadful dangers, and I hope will
save me till the end of this my life, however full of trials it may be.
I march forward, therefore, with a good heart, sustained alone by
His divine power; nor let myself be terrified by any furious assault
of fortune or my adverse stars. May only God maintain me in His
grace!

LXXXIII

I must beg your attention now, most gracious reader, for a very
terrible event which happened.

388 BENVENUTO CELLINI

I used the utmost diligence and industry to complete my statue,
and went to spend my evenings in the Duke's wardrobe, assisting
there the goldsmiths who were working for his Excellency. Indeed,
they laboured mainly on designs which I had given them. Noticing
that the Duke took pleasure in seeing me at work and talking with
me, I took it into my head to go there sometimes also by day. It
happened upon one of those days that his Excellency came as usual
to the room where I was occupied, and more particularly because he
heard of my arrival. His Excellency entered at once into conversa-
tion, raising several interesting topics, upon which I gave my views
so much to his entertainment that he showed more cheerfulness than
I had ever seen in him before. All of a sudden, one of his secretaries
appeared, and whispered something of importance in his ear; where-
upon the Duke rose, and retired with the official into another cham-
ber. Now the Duchess had sent to see what his Excellency was
doing, and her page brought back this answer: "The Duke is talking
and laughing with Benvenuto, and is in excellent good-humour."
When the Duchess heard this, she came immediately to the ward-
robe, and not finding the Duke there, took a seat beside us. After
watching us at work a while, she turned to me with the utmost gra-
ciousness, and showed me a necklace of large and really very fine
pearls. On being asked by her what I thought of them, I said it was
in truth a very handsome ornament. Then she spoke as follows: "I
should like the Duke to buy them for me; so I beg you, my dear
Benvenuto, to praise them to him as highly as you can." At these
words I disclosed my mind to the Duchess with all the respect I
could, and answered: "My lady, I thought this necklace of pearls
belonged already to your most illustrious Excellency. Now that I
am aware you have not yet acquired them, it is right, nay, more, it
is my duty to utter what I might otherwise have refrained from say-
ing, namely, that my mature professional experience enables me to
detect very grave faults in the pearls, and for this reason I could
never advise your Excellency to purchase them." She replied: "The
merchant offers them for six thousand crowns; and were it not for
some of those trifling defects you speak of, the rope would be worth
over twelve thousand." To this I replied, that "even were the neck-
lace of quite flawless quality, I could not advise any one to bid up to

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 389

five thousand crowns for it; for pearls are not gems; pearls are but
fishes' bones, which in the course of time must lose their freshness.
Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, on the contrary, never
grow old; these four are precious stones, and these it is quite right
to purchase." When I had thus spoken, the Duchess showed some
signs of irritation, and exclaimed: "I have a mind to possess these
pearls; so, prithee, take them to the Duke, and praise them up to the
skies; even if you have to use some words beyond the bounds of
truth, speak them to do me service; it will be well for you!"

I have always been the greatest friend of truth and foe of lies: yet
compelled by necessity, unwilling to lose the favour of so great a
princess, I took those confounded pearls sorely against my inclina-
tion, and went with them over to the other room, whither the Duke
had withdrawn. No sooner did he set eyes upon me than he cried:
"O Benvenuto! what are you about here?" I uncovered the pearls
and said: "My lord, I am come to show you a most splendid neck-
lace of pearls, of the rarest quality, and truly worthy of your Excel-
lency; I do not believe it would be possible to put together eighty
pearls which could show better than these do in a necklace. My
counsel therefore is, that you should buy them, for they are in good
sooth miraculous." He responded on the instant: "I do not choose
to buy them; they are not pearls of the quality and goodness you
affirm; I have seen the necklace, and they do not please me." Then
I added: "Pardon me, prince! These pearls exceed in rarity and
beauty any which were ever brought together for a necklace." The
Duchess had risen, and was standing behind a door listening to all
I said. Well, when I had praised the pearls a thousandfold more
warmly than I have described above, the Duke turned towards me
with a kindly look, and said: "O my dear Benvenuto, I know that
you have an excellent judgment in these matters. If the pearls are
as rare as you certify, I should not hesitate about their purchase,
partly to gratify the Duchess, and partly to possess them, seeing I
have always need of such things, not so much for her Grace, as for
the various uses of my sons and daughters." When I heard him
speak thus, having once begun to tell fibs, I stuck to them with even
greater boldness; I gave all the colour of truth I could to my lies,
confiding in the promise of the Duchess to help me at the time of

39O BENVENUTO CELLINI

need. More than two hundred crowns were to be my commission
on the bargain, and the Duchess had intimated that I should receive
so much; but I was firmly resolved not to touch a farthing, in order
to secure my credit, and convince the Duke I was not prompted by
avarice. Once more his Excellency began to address me with the
greatest courtesy: "I know that you are a consummate judge of these
things; therefore, if you are the honest man I always thought you, tell
me now the truth." Thereat I flushed up to my eyes, which at the
same time filled with tears, and said to him: "My lord, if I tell your
most illustrious Excellency the truth, I shall make a mortal foe of
the Duchess; this will oblige me to depart from Florence, and my
enemies will begin at once to pour contempt upon my Perseus, which
I have announced as a masterpiece to the most noble school of your
illustrious Excellency. Such being the case, I recommend myself to
your most illustrious Excellency."

LXXXIV

The Duke was now aware that all my previous speeches had been,
as it were, forced out of me. So he rejoined: "If you have confidence
in me, you need not stand in fear of anything whatever." I recom-
menced: "Alas! my lord, what can prevent this coming to the ears
of the Duchess?" The Duke lifted his hand in sign of troth-pledge, 1
and exclaimed: "Be assured that what you say will be buried in a
diamond casket!" To this engagement upon honour I replied by
telling the truth according to my judgment, namely, that the pearls
were not worth above two thousand crowns. The Duchess, thinking
we had stopped talking, for we now were speaking in as low a voice
as possible, came forward, and began as follows: "My lord, do me
the favour to purchase this necklace, because I have set my heart on
them, and your Benvenuto here has said he never saw a finer row of
pearls." The Duke replied : "I do not choose to buy them." "Why,
my lord, will not your Excellency gratify me by buying them?"
"Because I do not care to throw my money out of the window." The
Duchess recommenced: "What do you mean by throwing your
money away, when Benvenuto, in whom you place such well-merited
confidence, has told me that they would be cheap at over three thou-

1 Alzb la fede.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 391

sand crowns?" Then the Duke said: "My lady! my Benvenuto here
has told me that, if I purchase this necklace, I shall be throwing my
money away, inasmuch as the pearls are neither round nor well-
matched, and some of them are quite faded. To prove that this is so,
look here! look there! consider this one and then that. The necklace
is not the sort of thing for me." At these words the Duchess cast
a glance of bitter spite at me, and retired with a threatening nod of
her head in my direction. I felt tempted to pack off at once and bid
farewell to Italy. Yet my Perseus being all but finished, I did not
like to leave without exposing it to public view. But I ask every one
to consider in what a grievous plight I found myself!

The Duke had given orders to his porters in my presence, that if
I appeared at the palace, they should always admit me through his
apartments to the place where he might happen to be. The Duchess
commanded the same men, whenever I showed my face at that pal-
ace, to drive me from its gates. Accordingly, no sooner did I present
myself, than these fellows left their doors and bade me begone; at
the same time they took good care lest the Duke should perceive
what they were after; for if he caught sight of me before those
wretches, he either called me, or beckoned to me to advance.

At this juncture the Duchess sent for Bernardone, the broker, of
whom she had so often complained to me, abusing his good-for-
nothingness and utter worthlessness. She now confided in him as
she had previously done in me. He replied: "My princess, leave the
matter in my hands." Then the rascal presented himself before the
Duke with that necklace in his hands. No sooner did the Duke set
eyes on him than he bade him begone. But the rogue lifted his big
ugly voice, which sounded like the braying of an ass through his
huge nose, and spoke to this effect: "Ah! my dear lord, for Heaven's
sake buy this necklace for the poor Duchess, who is dying to have it,
and cannot indeed live without it." The fellow poured forth so much
of this stupid nonsensical stuff that the Duke's patience was ex-
hausted, and he cried: "Oh, get away with you, or blow your chaps
out till I smack them!" The knave knew very well what he was
after; for if by blowing out his cheeks or singing La Bella Frances-
china? he could bring the Duke to make that purchase, then he

2 A popular ballad of the time.

BENVENUTO CELLINI

gained the good grace of the Duchess, and to boot his own commis-
sion, which rose to some hundreds of crowns. Consequently he did
blow out his chaps. The Duke smacked them with several hearty
boxes, and, in order to get rid of him, struck rather harder than his
wont was. The sound blows upon his cheeks not only reddened
them above their natural purple, but also brought tears into his eyes.
All the same, while smarting, he began to cry: "Lo! my lord, a faith-
ful servant of his prince, who tries to act rightly, and is willing to
put up with any sort of bad treatment, provided only that poor
lady have her heart's desire!" The Duke tired of the ribald fellow,
either to recompense the cufifs which he had dealt him, or for the
Duchess's sake, whom he was ever most inclined to gratify, cried
out: "Get away with you, with God's curse on you! Go, make the
bargain; I am willing to do what my lady Duchess wishes."

From this incident we may learn to know how evil Fortune exerts
her rage against a poor right-minded man, and how the strumpet
Luck can help a miserable rascal. I lost the good graces of the
Duchess once and for ever, and thereby went close to having the
Duke's protection taken from me. He acquired that thumping fee
for his commission, and to boot their favour. Thus it will not serve
us in this world to be merely men of honesty and talent.

LXXXV

About this time the war of Siena broke out, 1 and the Duke, wish-
ing to fortify Florence, distributed the gates among his architects
and sculptors. I received the Prato gate and the little one of Arno,
which is on the way to the mills. The Cavaliere Bandinello got the
gate of San Friano; Pasqualino d'Ancona, the gate at San Pier Gat-
tolini; Giulian di Baccio d'Agnolo, the wood-carver, had the gate of
San Giorgio; Particino, the wood-carver, had the gate of Santo Nic-
colo; Francesco da San Gallo, the sculptor, called II Margolla, got the
gate of Santa Croce; and Giovan Battista, surnamed II Tasso, the
gate Pinti. 2 Other bastions and gates were assigned to divers

1 In the year 1552, when Piero Strozzi acted as general for the French King, Henri
II., against the Spaniards. The war ended in the capitulation of Siena in 1555. In
1557 it was ceded by Philip II. to Cosimo de' Medici.

2 These artists, with the exception of Pasqualino, are all known to us in the con-
ditions described by Cellini. Francesco da San Gallo was the son of Giuliano, and
nephew of Antonio da San Gallo.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 393

engineers, whose names I do not recollect, nor indeed am I con-
cerned with them. The Duke, who certainly was at all times a man
of great ability, went round the city himself upon a tour of inspec-
tion, and when he had made his mind up, he sent for Lattanzio
Gorini, one of his paymasters. Now this man was to some extent
an amateur of military architecture; so his Excellency commissioned
him to make designs for the fortifications of the gates, and sent each
of us his own gate drawn according to the plan. After examining
the plan for mine, and perceiving that it was very incorrect in many
details, I took it and went immediately to the Duke. When I tried
to point out these defects, the Duke interrupted me and exclaimed
with fury: "Benvenuto, I will give way to you upon the point of
statuary, but in this art of fortification I choose that you should cede
to me. So carry out the design which I have given you." To these
brave words I answered as gently as I could, and said: "My lord,
your most illustrious Excellency has taught me something even in
my own fine art of statuary, inasmuch as we have always exchanged
ideas upon that subject; I beg you then to deign to listen to me upon
this matter of your fortifications, which is far more important than
making statues. If I am permitted to discuss it also with your Excel-
lency, you will be better able to teach me how I have to serve you."
This courteous speech of mine induced him to discuss the plans with
me; and when I had clearly demonstrated that they were not con-
ceived on a right method, he said: "Go, then, and make a design
yourself, and I will see if it satisfies me." Accordingly, I made two
designs according to the right principles for fortifying those two
gates, and took them to him; and when he distinguished the true
from the false system, he exclaimed good humouredly: "Go and do
it in your own way, for I am content to have it so." I set to work
then with the greatest diligence.

LXXXVI

There was on guard at the gate of Prato a certain Lombard cap-
tain; he was a truculent and stalwart fellow, of incredibly coarse
speech, whose presumption matched his utter ignorance. This man
began at once to ask me what I was about there. I politely exhibited
my drawings, and took infinite pains to make him understand my

394 BENVENUTO CELLINI

purpose. The rude brute kept rolling his head, and turning first to
one side and then to the other, shifting himself upon his legs, and
twirling his enormous moustachios; then he drew his cap down
over his eyes and roared out: "Zounds! deuce take it! I can make
nothing of this rigmarole." At last the animal became so tiresome
that I said : "Leave it then to me, who do understand it," and turned
my shoulders to go about my business. At this he began to threaten
me with his head, and, setting his left hand on the pommel of his
sword, tilted the point up, and exclaimed: "Hullo, my master! you
want perhaps to make me cross blades with you?" I faced round in
great fury, for the man had stirred my blood, and cried out: "It
would be less trouble to run you through the body than to build the
bastion of this gate." In an instant we both set hands to our swords,
without quite drawing; for a number of honest folk, citizens of
Florence, and others of them courtiers, came running up. The
greater part of them rated the captain, telling him that he was in
the wrong, that I was a man to give him back as good as I got, and
that if this came to the Duke's ears, it would be the worse for him.
Accordingly he went of! on his own business, and I began with my
bastion.

After setting things in order there, I proceeded to the other little
gate of Arno, where I found a captain from Cesena, the most polite,
well-mannered man I ever knew in that profession. He had the air
of a gentle young lady, but at need he could prove himself one of
the boldest and bloodiest fighters in the world. This agreeable
gentleman observed me so attentively that he made me bashful and
self-conscious; and seeing that he wanted to understand what I was
doing, I courteously explained my plans. Suffice it to say, that we
vied with each other in civilities, which made me do far better with
this bastion than with the other.

I had nearly finished the two bastions when an inroad of Piero
Strozzi's people struck such terror into the countryfolk of Prato that
they began to leave it in a body, and all their carts, laden with the
household goods of each family, came crowding into the city. The
number of them was so enormous, cart jostling with cart, and the
confusion was so great, that I told the guards to look out lest the
same misadventure should happen at this gate as had occurred at

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 395

the gates of Turin; for if we had once cause to lower the portcullis,
it would not be able to perform its functions, but must inevitably
stick suspended upon one of the waggons. When that big brute of
a captain heard these words, he replied with insults, and I retorted in
the same tone. We were on the point of coming to a far worse
quarrel than before. However, the folk kept us asunder; and when
I had finished my bastions, I touched some score of crowns, which
I had not expected, and which were uncommonly welcome. So I
returned with a blithe heart to finish my Perseus.

LXXXVII

During those days some antiquities had been discovered in the
country round Arezzo. Among them was the Chimsera, that bronze
lion which is to be seen in the rooms adjacent to the great hall of the
palace. 1 Together with the Chimaera a number of little statuettes,
likewise in bronze, had been brought to light; they were covered
with earth and rust, and each of them lacked either head or hands
or feet. The Duke amused his leisure hours by cleaning up these
statuettes himself with certain little chisels used by goldsmiths. It
happened on one occasion that I had to speak on business to his
Excellency; and while we were talking, he reached me a little
hammer, with which I struck the chisels the Duke held, and so the
figures were disengaged from their earth and rust. In this way we
passed several evenings, and then the Duke commissioned me to
restore the statuettes. He took so much pleasure in these trifles that
he made me work by day also, and if I delayed coming, he used to
send for me. I very often submitted to his Excellency that if I left
my Perseus in the daytime, several bad consequences would ensue.
The first of these, which caused me the greatest anxiety, was that,
seeing me spend so long a time upon my statue, the Duke himself
might get disgusted; which indeed did afterwards happen. The
other was that I had several journeymen who in my absence were up
to two kinds of mischief; first, they spoilt my piece, and then they
did as little work as possible. These arguments made his Excellency
consent that I should only go to the palace after twenty-four o'clock.

1 Now in the Uffizzi.

396 BENVENUTO CELLINI

1 had now conciliated the affection of his Excellency to such an
extent, that every evening when I came to him he treated me with
greater kindness. About this time the new apartments were built
toward the lions; 2 the Duke then wishing to be able to retire into a
less public part of the palace, fitted up for himself a little chamber
in these new lodgings, and ordered me approach to it by a private
passage. I had to pass through his wardrobe, then across the stage
of the great hall, and afterwards through certain little dark galleries
and cabinets. The Duchess, however, after a few days, deprived me
of this means of access by having all the doors upon the path I had
to traverse locked up. The consequence was that every evening
when I arrived at the palace, I had to wait a long while, because the
Duchess occupied the cabinets for her personal necessities. 3 Her habit
of body was unhealthy, and so I never came without incommoding
her. This and other causes made her hate the very sight of me.
However, notwithstanding great discomforts and daily annoyances,
I persevered in going. The Duke's orders, meanwhile, were so pre-
cise, that no sooner did I knock at those doors, than they were
immediately opened, and I was allowed to pass freely where I
chose. The consequence was that occasionally, while walking noise-
lessly and unexpectedly through the private rooms, I came upon the
Duchess at a highly inconvenient moment. Bursting then into such
a furious storm of rage that I was frightened, she cried out: "When
will you ever finish mending up those statuettes? Upon my word,
this perpetual going and coming of yours has grown to be too great
a nuisance." I replied as gently as I could: "My lady and sole mistress,
I have no other desire than to serve you loyally and with the strictest
obedience. This work to which the Duke has put me will last several
months; so tell me, most illustrious Excellency, whether you wish me
not to come here any more. In that case I will not come, whoever
calls me; nay, should the Duke himself send for me, I shall reply
that I am ill, and by no means will I intrude again." To this speech
she made answer : "I do not bid you not to come, nor do I bid you to
disobey the Duke; but I repeat that your work seems to me as though
it would never be finished."

Whether the Duke heard something of this encounter, or what*

2 Lions from a very early period had always been kept in part of the Palazzo
Vecchio. 3 Alle sue comoditd.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 397

ever the cause was, he began again as usual. Toward twenty-four
o'clock he sent for me; and his messenger always spoke to this effect:
"Take good care, and do not fail to come, for the Duke is waiting
for you." In this way I continued, always with the same incon-
veniences, to put in an appearance on several successive evenings.
Upon one occasion among others, arriving in my customary way,
the Duke, who had probably been talking with the Duchess about
private matters, turned upon me in a furious anger. I was terrified,
and wanted to retire. But he called out: "Come in, friend Ben-
venuto; go to your affairs; I will rejoin you in a few moments."
While I was passing onward, Don Garzia, then quite a little fellow,
plucked me by the cape, and played with me as prettily as such a
child could do. The Duke looked up delighted, and exclaimed:
"What pleasant and friendly terms my boys are on with you!"

LXXXVIII

While I was working at these bagatelles, the Prince, and Don
Giovanni, and Don Arnando, and Don Garzia kept always hovering
around me, teasing me whenever the Duke's eyes were turned. 1 I
begged them for mercy's sake to hold their peace. They answered:
"That we cannot do." I told them: "What one cannot is required of
no one! So have your will! Along with you!" At this both Duke
and Duchess burst out laughing.

Another evening, after I had finished the small bronze figures
which are wrought into the pedestal of Perseus, that is to say, the
Jupiter, Mercury, Minerva, and Danae, with the little Perseus seated
at his mother's feet, I had them carried into the room where I was
wont to work, and arranged them in a row, raised somewhat above
the line of vision, so that they produced a magnificent effect. The
Duke heard of this, and made his entrance sooner than usual. It
seems that the person who informed his Excellency praised them
above their merit, using terms like "far superior to the ancients,"
and so forth; wherefore the Duke came talking pleasantly with the
Duchess about my doings. I rose at once and went to meet them.
With his fine and truly princely manner he received me, lifting his
right hand, in which he held as superb a pear-graft as could possibly

1 The Prince was Don Francesco, then aged twelve; Don Giovanni was ten, Don
Garzia was six, and Don Ferdinando four.

BENVENUTO CELLINI

be seen. "Take it, my Benvenuto!" he exclaimed; "plant this pear
in your garden." To these words I replied with a delighted gesture:
"O my lord, does your most illustrious Excellency really mean that
I should plant it in the garden of my house ? "Yes," he said, "in the
garden of the house which belongs to you. Have you understood
me?" I thanked his Excellency, and the Duchess in like manner,
with the best politeness I could use.

After this they both took seats in front of the statues, and for more
than two hours went on talking about nothing but the beauties of
the work. The Duchess was wrought up to such an enthusiasm that
she cried out: "I do not like to let those exquisite figures be wasted
on the pedestal down there in the piazza, where they will run the
risk of being injured. I would much rather have you fix them in
one of my apartments, where they will be preserved with the respect
due to their singular artistic qualities." I opposed this plan with
many forcible arguments; but when I saw that she was determined
I should not place them on the pedestal where they now stand, I
waited till next day, and went to the palace about twenty-two
o'clock. Ascertaining that the Duke and Duchess were out riding,
and having already prepared the pedestal, I had the statues carried
down, and soldered them with lead into their proper niches. Oh,
when the Duchess knew of this, how angry she was! Had it not been
for the Duke, who manfully defended me, I should have paid dearly
for my daring. Her indignation about the pearls, and now again
about this matter of the statues, made her so contrive that the Duke
abandoned his amusements in our workshop. Consequently I went
there no more, and was met again with the same obstructions as
formerly whenever I wanted to gain access to the palace.

LXXXIX

I returned to the Loggia, 1 whither my Perseus had already been
brought, and went on putting the last touches to my work, under the
old difficulties always; that is to say, lack of money, and a hundred
untoward accidents, the half of which would have cowed a man
armed with adamant.

1 That is, the Loggia de' Lanzi, on the great piazza of Florence, where Cellini's
statue still stands.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 399

However, I pursued my course as usual; and one morning, after
I had heard mass at San Piero Scheraggio, that brute Bernardone,
broker, worthless goldsmith, and by the Duke's grace purveyor to the
mint, passed by me. No sooner had he got outside the church than
the dirty pig let fly four cracks which might have been heard from
San Miniato. I cried: "Yah! pig, poltroon, donkey! is that the noise
your filthy talents make?" and ran off for a cudgel. He took refuge
on the instant in the mint; while I stationed myself inside my house-
door, which I left ajar, setting a boy at watch upon the street to
warn me when the pig should leave the mint. After waiting some
time, I grew tired, and my heat cooled. Reflecting, then, that blows
are not dealt by contract, and that some disaster might ensue, I
resolved to wreak my vengeance by another method. The incident
took place about the feast of our San Giovanni, one or two days
before; so I composed four verses, and stuck them up in an angle of
the church where people go to ease themselves. The verses ran as
follows :

"Here lieth Bernardone, ass and pig,

Spy, broker, thief, in whom Pandora planted
All her worst evils, and from thence transplanted
Into that brute Buaccio's carcass big." 2

Both the incident and the verses went the round of the palace, giving
the Duke and Duchess much amusement. But, before the man him-
self knew what I had been up to, crowds of people stopped to read
the lines and laughed immoderately at them. Since they were look-
ing towards the mint and fixing their eyes on Bernardone, his son,
Maestro Baccio, taking notice of their gestures, tore the paper down
with fury. The elder bit his thumb, shrieking threats out with that
hideous voice of his, which comes forth through his nose; indeed he
made a brave defiance. 3

2 If I understand the obscure lines of the original, Cellini wanted to kill two birds
with one stone by this epigram both Bernardone and his son Baccio. But by Buaccio
he generally means Baccio Bandinelli.

3 To bite the thumb at any one was, as students of our old drama know, a sign
of challenge or provocation.

4OO BENVENUTO CELLINI

When the Duke was informed that the whole of my work for the
Perseus could be exhibited as finished, he came one day to look at it.
His manner showed clearly that it gave him great satisfaction; but
afterwards he turned to some gentlemen attending him and said:
"Although this statue seems in our eyes a very fine piece, still it has
yet to win the favour of the people. Therefore, my Benvenuto,
before you put the very last touches on, I should like you, for my
sake, to remove a part of the scaffolding on the side of the piazza,
some day toward noon, in order that we may learn what folk think
of it. There is no doubt that when it is thrown open to space and
light, it will look very differently from what it does in this enclosure."
I replied with all humility to his Excellency: "You must know, my
lord, that it will make more than twice as good a show. Oh, how is
it that your most illustrious Excellency has forgotten seeing it in the
garden of my house ? There, in that large extent of space, it showed
so bravely that Bandinello, coming through the garden of the Inno-
cents to look at it, was compelled, in spite of his evil and malignant
nature, to praise it, he who never praised aught or any one in all
his life! I perceive that your Excellency lends too ready an ear to
that fellow." When I had done speaking, he smiled ironically and a
little angrily; yet he replied with great kindness: "Do what I ask,
my Benvenuto, just to please me."

When the Duke had left, I gave orders to have the screen removed.
Yet some trifles of gold, varnish, and various other little finishings
were still wanting; wherefore I began to murmur and complain
indignantly, cursing the unhappy day which brought me to Florence.
Too well I knew already the great and irreparable sacrifice I made
when I left France; nor could I discover any reasonable ground for
hope that I might prosper in the future with my prince and patron.
From the commencement to the middle and the ending, everything
that I had done had been performed to my great disadvantage.
Therefore, it was with deep ill-humour that I disclosed my statue on
the following day.

Now it pleased God that, on the instant of its exposure to view,
a shout of boundless enthusiasm went up in commendation of my

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 401

work, which consoled me not a little. The folk kept on attaching
sonnets to the posts of the door, which was protected with a curtain
while I gave the last touches to the statue. I believe that on the same
day when I opened it a few hours to the public, more than twenty
were nailed up, all of them overflowing with the highest panegyrics.
Afterwards, when I once more shut it oflE from view, every day
brought sonnets, with Latin and Greek verses; for the University
of Pisa was then in vacation, and all the doctors and scholars kept
vying with each other who could praise it best. But what gratified
me most, and inspired me with most hope of the Duke's support,
was that the artists, sculptors and painters alike, entered into the
same generous competition. I set the highest value on the eulogies
of that excellent painter Jacopo Pontormo, and still more on those
of his able pupil Bronzino, who was not satisfied with merely pub-
lishing his verses, but sent them by his lad Sandrino's hand to my
own house. 1 They spoke so generously of my performance, in that
fine style of his which is most exquisite, that this alone repaid me
somewhat for the pain of my long troubles. So then I closed the
screen, and once more set myself to finishing my statue.

xci

The great compliments which this short inspection of my Perseus
had elicited from the noble school of Florence, though they were well
known to the Duke, did not prevent him from saying: "I am
delighted that Benvenuto has had this trifling satisfaction, which
will spur him on to the desired conclusion with more speed and
diligence. Do not, however, let him imagine that, when his Perseus
shall be finally exposed to view from all sides, folk in general will
be so lavish of their praises. On the contrary, I am afraid that all its
defects will then be brought home to him, and more will be detected
than the statue really has. So let him arm himself with patience."
These were precisely the words which Bandinello had whispered in
the Duke's ears, citing the works of Andrea del Verrocchio, who
made that fine bronze of Christ and S. Thomas on the front of

1 Jacopo Carrucci da Pontormo was now an old man. He died in 1558, aged
sixty-five years. Angelo Allori, called II Bronzino, one of the last fairly good Florentine
painters, won considerable distinction as a writer of burlesque poems. He died in
1 57 I > a S e d sixty-nine years. We possess his sonnets of the perseus.

402 BENVENUTO CELLINI

Orsammichele; at the same time he referred to many other statues,
and dared even to attack the marvellous David of divine Michel
Agnolo Buonarroti, accusing it of only looking well if seen in
front; finally, he touched upon the multitude of sarcastic sonnets
which were called forth by his own Hercules and Cacus, and wound
up with abusing the people of Florence. Now the Duke, who was
too much inclined to credit his assertions, encouraged the fellow to
speak thus, and thought in his own heart that things would go as he
had prophesied, because that envious creature Bandinello never
ceased insinuating malice. On one occasion it happened that the
gallows bird Bernardone, the broker, was present at these conversa-
tions, and in support of Bandinello's calumnies, he said to the Duke :
"You must remember, prince, that statues on a large scale are quite
a different dish of soup from little figures. I do not refuse him the
credit of being excellent at statuettes in miniature. But you will
soon see that he cannot succeed in that other sphere of art." To these
vile suggestions he added many others of all sorts, plying his spy's
office, and piling up a mountain of lies to boot.

xcn

Now it pleased my glorious Lord and immortal God that at last
I brought the whole work to completion: and on a certain Thursday
morning I exposed it to the public gaze. 1 Immediately, before the
sun was fully in the heavens, there assembled such a multitude of
people that no words could describe them. All with one voice con-
tended which should praise it most. The Duke was stationed at a
window low upon the first floor of the palace, just above the entrance;
there, half hidden, he heard everything the folk were saying of my
statue. After listening through several hours, he rose so proud and
happy in his heart that he turned to his attendant, Messer Sforza,
and exclaimed: "Sforza, go and seek out Benvenuto; tell him from
me that he has delighted me far more than I expected: say too that
I shall reward him in a way which will astonish him; so bid him be
of good courage."

In due course, Messer Sforza discharged this glorious embassy,
which consoled me greatly. I passed a happy day, partly because of

1 April 27, 1554.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 403

the Duke's message, and also because the folk kept pointing me out
as something marvellous and strange. Among the many who did so,
were two gentlemen, deputed by the Viceroy of Sicily 2 to our Duke
on public business. Now these two agreeable persons met me upon
the piazza : I had been shown them in passing, and now they made
monstrous haste to catch me up; then, with caps in hand, they uttered
an oration so ceremonious, that it would have been excessive for a
Pope. I bowed, with every protestation of humility. They mean-
while continued loading me with compliments, until at last I prayed
them, for kindness' sake, to leave the piazza in my company, because
the folk were stopping and staring at me more than at my Perseus.
In the midst of all these ceremonies, they went so far as to propose
that I should come to Sicily, and offered to make terms which should
content me. They told me how Fra Giovan Agnolo de' Servi 3 had
constructed a fountain for them, complete in all parts, and decorated
with a multitude of figures; but it was not in the same good style
they recognised in Perseus, and yet they had heaped riches on the
man. I would not suffer them to finish all their speeches, but
answered: "You give me much cause for wonder, seeking as you do
to make me quit the service of a prince who is the greatest patron of
the arts that ever lived; and I too here in my own birthplace, famous
as the school of every art and science! Oh, if my soul's desire had
been set on lucre, I could have stayed in France, with that great
monarch Francis, who gave me a thousand golden crowns a year
for board, and paid me in addition the price of all my labour. In
his service I gained more than four thousand golden crowns the
year."

With these and such like words I cut their ceremonies short,
thanking them for the high praises they had bestowed upon me,
which were indeed the best reward that artists could receive for their
labours. I told them they had greatly stimulated my zeal, so that I
hoped, after a few years were passed, to exhibit another masterpiece,
which I dared believe would yield far truer satisfaction to our noble
school of Florence. The two gentlemen were eager to resume the

2 Don Juan de Vega.

3 Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli entered the Order of the Servites in 1530. This did
not prevent him from plying his profession of sculptor. The work above alluded to
is the fountain at Messina.

404 BENVENUTO CELLINI

thread of their complimentary proposals, whereupon I, lifting my
cap and making a profound bow, bade them a polite farewell.

XCIII

When two more days had passed, and the chorus of praise was
ever on the increase, I resolved to go and present myself to the Duke,
who said with great good-humour: "My Benvenuto, you have satis-
fied and delighted me; but I promise that I will reward you in such
wise as will make you wonder; and I tell you that I do not mean
to delay beyond to-morrow." On hearing this most welcome assur-
ance, I turned all the forces of my soul and body to God, fervently
offering up thanks to Him. At the same moment I approached the
Duke, and almost weeping for gladness, kissed his robe. Then I
added: "O my glorious prince, true and most generous lover of the
arts, and of those who exercise them! I entreat your most illustrious
Excellency to allow me eight days first to go and return thanks to
God; for I alone know what travail I have endured, and that my
earnest faith has moved Him to assist me. In gratitude for this and
all other marvellous mercies, I should like to travel eight days on
pilgrimage, continually thanking my immortal God, who never fails
to help those who call upon Him with sincerity." The Duke then
asked me where I wished to go. I answered : "To-morrow I shall set
out for Vallombrosa, thence to Camaldoli and the Ermo, afterwards
I shall proceed to the Bagni di Santa Maria, and perhaps so far as
Sestile, because I hear of fine antiquities to be seen there. 1 Then I
shall retrace my steps by San Francesco della Vernia, and, still with
thanks to God, return light-hearted to your service." The Duke
replied at once with cheerful kindness: "Go and come back again,
for of a truth you please me; but do not forget to send a couple of
lines by way of memorandum, and leave the rest to me."

I wrote four lines that very day, in which I thanked his Excellency
for expected favours, and gave these to Messer Sforza, who placed
them in the Duke's hands. The latter took them, and then handed
them to Messer Sforza, remarking: "See that you put these lines each
day where I can see them; for if Benvenuto comes back and finds I
have not despatched his business, I think that he will murder me."
Thus laughing, his Excellency asked to be reminded. Messer Sforza

1 The Ermo is more correctly Eremo, and Vernia is Alvernia.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 405

reported these precise words to me on the same evening, laughing
too and expressing wonder at the great favour shown me by the
Duke. He pleasantly added: "Go, Benvenuto, and come again
quickly, for indeed I am jealous of you."

xciv

In God's name then I left Florence, continually singing psalms
and prayers in His honour upon all that journey. I enjoyed it
extremely; for the season was fine, in early summer, and the country
through which I travelled, and which I had never seen before, struck
me as marvellously beautiful. Now I had taken with me to serve as
guide a young workman in my employ, who came from Bagno, and
was called Cesare. Thanks to him, then, I received the kindest
hospitality from his father and all his family, among whom was an
old man of more than seventy, extremely pleasant in his conversation.
He was Cesare's uncle, a surgeon by profession, and a dabbler in
alchemy. This excellent person made me observe that the Bagni
contained mines of gold and silver, and showed me many interesting
objects in the neighbourhood; so that I enjoyed myself as much as
I have ever done.

One day, when we had become intimate and he could trust me,
he spoke as follows : "I must not omit to tell you a thought of mine,
to which his Excellency might with advantage pay attention. It is,
that not far from Camaldoli there lies a mountain pass so ill
defended, that Piero Strozzi could not only cross it without risk,
but might also seize on Poppi 1 unmolested." Not satisfied with this
description, he also took a sheet of paper from his pouch, upon which
the good old man had drawn the whole country, so that the serious-
ness of the danger could be manifest upon inspection of the map. I
took the design and left Bagno at once, travelling homeward as fast
as I could by Prato Magno and San Francesco della Vernia. On
reaching Florence, I only stopped to draw off my riding-boots, and
hurried to the palace. Just opposite the Badia I met the Duke, who
was coming by the palace of the Podesta. When he saw me he gave
me a very gracious reception, and showing some surprise, exclaimed :
"Why have you come back so quickly ; I did not expect you for eight

1 A village in the Castenino. Piero Strozzi was at this time in Valdichiana.

406 BENVENUTO CELLINI

days at least." I answered: "The service of your most illustrious
Excellency brings me back, else I should very willingly have stayed
some few days longer on my journey through that lovely country."
"Well, and what good news have you?" said he. I answered:
"Prince, I must talk to you about things of the greatest importance
which I have to disclose." So I followed him to the palace, and
when we were there, he took me privately into a chamber where we
stayed a while alone together. I then unfolded the whole matter and
showed him the little map, with which he seemed to be much
gratified. When I told his Excellency that one ought to take meas-
ures at once, he reflected for a little while and then said: "I may
inform you that we have agreed with the Duke of Urbino that he
should guard the pass; but do not speak about it." Then he dis-
missed me with great demonstrations of good-will, and I went home.

xcv

Next day I presented myself, and, after a few words of conversa-
tion, the Duke addressed me cheerfully: "To-morrow, without fail,
I mean to despatch your business; set your mind at rest, then." I,
who felt sure that he meant what he said, waited with great impa-
tience for the morrow. When the longed-for day arrived, I betook
me to the palace; and as it always happens that evil tidings travel
faster than good news, Messer Giacopo Guidi, 1 secretary to his
Excellency, called me with his wry mouth and haughty voice; draw-
ing himself up as stiff as a poker, he began to speak to this effect:
"The Duke says he wants you to tell him how much you ask for
your Perseus." I remained dumbfounded and astonished; yet I
quickly replied that it was not my custom to put prices on my work,
and that this was not what his Excellency had promised me two
days ago. The man raised his voice, and ordered me expressly in the
Duke's name, under the penalty of his severe displeasure, to say how
much I wanted. Now I had hoped not only to gain some handsome
reward, trusting to the mighty signs of kindness shown me by the
Duke, but I had still more expected to secure the entire good graces
of his Excellency, seeing I never asked for anything, but only for his
favour. Accordingly, this wholly unexpected way of dealing with

1 It appears from a letter written by Guidi to Bandinelli that he hated Cellini, whom
he called pessimo mostro di natura. Guidi was made Bishop of Penna in 1561, and
attended the Council of Trent.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 407

me put me in a fury, and I was especially enraged by the manner
which that venomous toad assumed in discharging his commission.
I exclaimed that if the Duke gave me ten thousand crowns I should
not be paid enough, and that if I had ever thought things would
come to this haggling, I should not have settled in his service.
Thereupon the surly fellow began to abuse me, and I gave it him
back again.

Upon the following day, when I paid my respects to the Duke, he
beckoned to me. I approached, and he exclaimed in anger: "Cities
and great palaces are built with ten thousands of ducats." I rejoined:
"Your Excellency can find multitudes of men who are able to build
you cities and palaces, but you will not, perhaps, find one man in the
world who could make a second Perseus." Then I took my leave
without saying or doing anything farther. A few days afterwards the
Duchess sent for me, and advised me to put my difference with the
Duke into her hands, since she thought she could conduct the busi-
ness to my satisfaction. On hearing these kindly words I replied
that I had never asked any other recompense for my labours than the
good graces of the Duke, and that his most illustrious Excellency had
assured me of this; it was not needful that I should place in their
Excellencies' hands what I had always frankly left to them from the
first days when I undertook their service. I farther added that if his
most illustrious Excellency gave me but a crazia? which is worth
five farthings, for my work, I should consider myself contented, pro-
vided only that his Excellency did not deprive me of his favour. At
these words the Duchess smiled a little and said: "Benvenuto, you
would do well to act as I advise you." Then she turned her back and
left me. I thought it was my best policy to speak with the humility
I have above described; yet it turned out that I had done the worst
for myself, because, albeit she had harboured some angry feelings
toward me, she had in her a certain way of dealing which was
generous.

xcvi

About that time I was very intimate with Girolamo degli Albizzi, 1
commissary of the Duke's militia. One day this friend said to me:

2 A small Tuscan coin.

1 A warm partisan of the Medici. He was a cousin of Maria Salviati, Cosimo's
mother. It was rumoured that he caused the historian Francesco Guicciardini's death
by poison. We find him godfather to one of Cellini's children.

408 BENVENUTO CELLINI

"O Benvenuto, it would not be a bad thing to put your little differ-
ence of opinion with the Duke to rights; and I assure you that if
you repose confidence in me, I feel myself the man to settle matters.
J know what I am saying. The Duke is getting really angry, and you
will come badly out of the affair. Let this suffice; I am not at liberty
to say all I know." Now, subsequently to that conversation with the
Duchess, I had been told by some one, possibly a rogue, that he had
heard how the Duke said upon some occasion which offered itself:
"For less than two farthings I will throw Perseus to the dogs, and
so our differences will be ended." This, then, made me anxious, and
induced me to entrust Girolamo degli Albizzi with the negotiations,
telling him anything would satisfy me provided I retained the good
graces of the Duke. That honest fellow was excellent in all his
dealings with soldiers, especially with the militia, who are for the
most part rustics; but he had no taste for statuary, and therefore
could not understand its conditions. Consequently, when he spoke
to the Duke, he began thus: "Prince, Benvenuto has placed himself
in my hands, and has begged me to recommend him to your Excel-
lency." The Duke replied: "I too am willing to refer myself to you,
and shall be satisfied with your decision." Thereupon Girolamo com-
posed a letter, with much skill and greatly to my honour, fixing the
sum which the Duke would have to pay me at 3500 golden crowns
in gold; and this should not be taken as my proper recompense for
such a masterpiece, but only as a kind of gratuity; enough to say that
I was satisfied; with many other phrases of like tenor, all of which
implied the price which I have mentioned.

The Duke signed this agreement as gladly as I took it sadly. When
the Duchess heard, she said: "It would have been better for that
poor man if he had placed himself in my hands; I could have got
him five thousand crowns in gold." One day, when I went to the
palace, she repeated these same words to me in the presence of
Messer Alamanno Salviati, 2 and laughed at me a little, saying that
I deserved my bad luck.

The Duke gave orders that I should be paid a hundred golden
crowns in gold per month, until the sum was discharged; and thus

2 This Salviati and the De' Nobili mentioned afterwards occupied a distinguished
place in Florentine annals as partisans of the Medici.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 409

it ran for some months. Afterwards, Messer Antonio de' Nobili,
who had to transact the business, began to give me fifty, and some-
times later on he gave me twenty-five, and sometimes nothing.
Accordingly, when I saw that the settlement was being thus deferred,
I spoke good-humouredly to Messer Antonio, and begged him to
explain why he did not complete my payments. He answered in a
like tone of politeness; yet it struck me that he exposed his own mind
too much. Let the reader judge. He began by saying that the sole
reason why he could not go forward regularly with these payments,
was the scarcity of money at the palace; but he promised, when cash
came in, to discharge arrears. Then he added: "Oh heavens! if I did
not pay you, I should be an utter rogue." I was somewhat surprised
to hear him speak in that way; yet I resolved to hope that he would
pay me when he had the power to do so. But when I observed that
things went quite the contrary way, and saw that I was being pil-
laged, I lost temper with the man, and recalled to his memory hotly
and in anger what he had declared he would be if he did not pay
me. However, he died; and five hundred crowns are still owing to
me at the present date, which is nigh upon the end of I566. 3 There
was also a balance due upon my salary which I thought would be
forgotten, since three years had elapsed without payment. But it so
happened that the Duke fell ill of a serious malady, remaining forty-
eight hours without passing water. Finding that the remedies of his
physicians availed nothing, it is probable that he betook himself to
God, and therefore decreed the discharge of all debts to his servants.
I too was paid on this occasion, yet I never obtained what still stood
out upon my Perseus.

xcvn

I had almost determined to say nothing more about that unlucky
Perseus; but a most remarkable incident, which I do not like to omit,
obliges me to do so; wherefore I must now turn back a bit, to gather
up the thread of my narration. I thought I was acting for the best
when I told the Duchess that I could not compromise affairs which
were no longer in my hands, seeing I had informed the Duke that I

3 Cellini began to write his Memoirs in 1558. Eight years had therefore now
elapsed.

410 BENVENUTO CELLINI

should gladly accept whatever he chose to give me. I said this in
the hope of gaining favour; and with this manifestation of sub-
missiveness I employed every likely means of pacifying his resent-
ment; for I ought to add that a few days before he came to terms
with Albizzi, the Duke had shown he was excessively displeased
with me. The reason was as follows : I complained of some abomin-
able acts of injustice done to me by Messer Alfonso Quistelli, Messer
Jacopo Polverino of the Exchequer, and more than all by Ser Giovan-
battista Brandini of Volterra. When, therefore, I set forth my cause
with some vehemence, the Duke flew into the greatest rage con-
ceivable. Being thus in anger, he exclaimed: "This is just the same
as with your Perseus, when you asked those ten thousand crowns.
You let yourself be blinded by mere cupidity. Therefore I shall
have the statue valued, and shall give you what the experts think it
worth." To these words I replied with too much daring and a touch
of indignation, which is always out of place in dealing with great
princes: "How is it possible that my work should be valued at its
proper worth when there is not a man in Florence capable of per-
forming it?" That increased his irritation; he uttered many furious
phrases, and among them said: "There is in Florence at this day a
man well able to make such a statue, and who is therefore highly
capable of judging it." He meant Bandinello, Cavaliere of S. Jacopo. 1
Then I rejoined: "My lord, your most illustrious Excellency gave me
the means of producing an important and very difficult masterpiece
in the midst of this the noblest school of the world; and my work
has been received with warmer praises than any other heretofore
exposed before the gaze of our incomparable masters. My chief pride
is the commendation of those able men who both understand and
practise the arts of design as in particular Bronzino, the painter;
this man set himself to work, and composed four sonnets couched in
the choicest style, and full of honour to myself. Perhaps it was his
example which moved the whole city to such a tumult of enthusiasm.
I freely admit that if sculpture were his business instead of painting,
then Bronzino might have been equal to a task like mine. Michel
Agnolo Buonarroti, again, whom I am proud to call my master; he,
I admit, could have achieved the same success when he was young,

1 Bandinelli was a Knight of S. James of Compostella.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 411

but not with less fatigue and trouble than I endured. But now that
he is far advanced in years, he would most certainly be found
unequal to the strain. Therefore I think I am justified in saying that
no man known upon this earth could have produced my Perseus.
For the rest, my work has received the greatest reward I could have
wished for in this world; chiefly and especially because your most
illustrious Excellency not only expressed yourself satisfied, but
praised it far more highly than any one beside. What greater and
more honourable prize could be desired by me? I affirm most
emphatically that your Excellency could not pay me with more
glorious coin, nor add from any treasury a wealth surpassing this.
Therefore I hold myself overpaid already, and return thanks to your
most illustrious Excellency with all my heart." The Duke made
answer : "Probably you think I have not the money to pay you. For
my part, I promise you that I shall pay you more for the statue than
it is worth." Then I retorted: "I did not picture to my fancy any
better recompense from your Excellency; yet I account myself amply
remunerated by that first reward which the school of Florence gave
me. With this to console me, I shall take my departure on the
instant, without returning to the house you gave me, and shall never
seek to set my foot in this town again." We were just at S. Felicita,
and his Excellency was proceeding to the palace. When he heard
these choleric words, he turned upon me in stern anger and
exclaimed: "You shall not go; take heed you do not go!" Half
terrified, I then followed him to the palace.

On arriving there, his Excellency sent for the Archbishop of Pisa,
named De' Bartolini, and Messer Pandolfo della Stufa, 2 requesting
them to order Baccio Bandinelli, in his name, to examine well my
Perseus and value it, since he wished to pay its exact price. These
excellent men went forthwith and performed their embassy. In
reply Bandinello said that he had examined the statue minutely, and
knew well enough what it was worth; but having been on bad terms
otherwise with me for some time past, he did not care to be entangled
anyhow in my affairs. Then they began to put a gentle pressure on

2 Onofrio de' Bartolini was made Archbishop of Pisa in 1518, at the age of about
seventeen. He was a devoted adherent of the Medici. He was shut up with Clement
in S. Angelo, and sent as hostage to the Imperial army. Pandolfo della Stufa had
been cup-bearer to Caterina de' Medici while Dauphiness.

412 BENVENUTO CELLINI

him, saying: "The Duke ordered us to tell you, under pain of his
displeasure, that you are to value the statue, and you may have two
or three days to consider your estimate. When you have done so,
tell us at what price it ought to be paid." He answered that his
judgment was already formed, that he could not disobey the Duke,
and that my work was rich and beautiful and excellent in execution;
therefore he thought sixteen thousand crowns or more would not be
an excessive price for it. Those good and courteous gentlemen
reported this to the Duke, who was mightily enraged; they also told
the same to me. I replied that nothing in the world would induce
me to take praise from Bandinello, "seeing that this bad man speaks
ill of everybody." My words were carried to the Duke; and that was
the reason why the Duchess wanted me to place the matter in her
hands. All that I have written is the pure truth. I will only add that
I ought to have trusted to her intervention, for then I should have
been quickly paid, and should have received so much more into the
bargain.

XCVIII

The Duke sent me word by Messer Lelio Torello, 1 his Master of
the Rolls, 2 that he wanted me to execute some bas-reliefs in bronze
for the choir of S. Maria del Fiore. Now the choir was by Bandi-
nello, and I did not choose to enrich his bad work with my labours.
He had not indeed designed it, for he understood nothing whatever
about architecture; the design was given by Giuliano, the son of that
Baccio d'Agnolo, the wood-carver, who spoiled the cupola. 3 Suffice
it to say that it shows no talent. For both reasons I was determined
not to undertake the task, although I told the Duke politely that I
would do whatever his most illustrious Excellency ordered. Accord-
ingly, he put the matter into the hands of the Board of Works for
S. Maria del Fiore, 4 telling them to come to an agreement with me;
he would continue my allowance of two hundred crowns a year,
while they were to supply the rest out of their funds.

1 A native of Fano. Cosimo's Auditore, 1539; first Secretary or Grand Chancellor,
1546. He was a great jurist. 2 Suo auditore.

. 3 It was Baccio d'Agnolo who altered Brunelleschi's plan for the cupola. Buonarroti
used to say that he made it look like a cage for crickets. His work remained un-
finished. 4 Operai di S. Maria del Fiore.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 413

In due course I came before the Board, and they told me what
the Duke had arranged. Feeling that I could explain my views more
frankly to these gentlemen, I began by demonstrating that so many
histories in bronze would cost a vast amount of money, which would
be totally thrown away, giving all my reasons, which they fully
appreciated. In the first place, I said that the construction of the choir
was altogether incorrect, without proportion, art, convenience, grace,
or good design. In the next place, the bas-reliefs would have to
stand too low, beneath the proper line of vision; they would become
a place for dogs to piss at, and be always full of ordure. Consequently,
I declined positively to execute them. However, since I did not wish
to throw away the best years of my life, and was eager to serve his
most illustrious Excellency, whom I had the sincerest desire to
gratify and obey, I made the following proposal. Let the Duke, if
he wants to employ my talents, give me the middle door of the
cathedral to perform in bronze. This would be well seen, and would
confer far more glory on his most illustrious Excellency. I would
bind myself by contract to receive no remuneration unless I pro-
duced something better than the finest of the Baptistery doors. 5 But
if I completed it according to my promise, then I was willing to have
it valued, and to be paid one thousand crowns less than the estimate
made by experts.

The members of the Board were well pleased with this suggestion,
and went at once to report the matter to the Duke, among them
being Piero Salviati. They expected him to be extremely gratified
with their communication, but it turned out just the contrary. He
replied that I was always wanting to do the exact opposite of what
he bade me; and so Piero left him without coming to any conclusion.
On hearing this, I went of! to the Duke at once, who displayed some
irritation when he saw me. However, I begged him to condescend
to hear me, and he replied that he was willing. I then began from
the beginning, and used such convincing arguments that he saw at
last how the matter really stood, since I made it evident that he
would only be throwing a large sum of money away. Then I soft-
ened his temper by suggesting that if his most illustrious Excellency
did not care to have the door begun, two pulpits had anyhow to be

5 He means Ghiberti's second door, in all probability.

414 BENVENUTO CELLINI

made for the choir, and that these would both of them be con-
siderable works, which would confer glory on his reign; for my part,
I was ready to execute a great number of bronze bas-reliefs with
appropriate decorations. In this way I brought him round, and he
gave me orders to construct the models.

Accordingly I set at work on several models, and bestowed
immense pains on them. Among these there was one with eight
panels, carried out with far more science than the rest, and which
seemed to me more fitted for the purpose. Having taken them
several times to the place, his Excellency sent word by Messer
Cesare, the keeper of his wardrobe, that I should leave them there.
After the Duke had inspected them, I perceived that he had selected
the least beautiful. One day he sent for me, and during our con-
versation about the models, I gave many reasons why the octagonal
pulpit would be far more convenient for its destined uses, and would
produce a much finer effect. He answered that he wished me to
make it square, because he liked that form better; and thus he went
on conversing for some time very pleasantly. I meanwhile lost no
opportunity of saying everything I could in the interests of art.
Now whether the Duke knew that I had spoken the truth, or
whether he wanted to have his own way, a long time passed before
I heard anything more about it.

xcix

About this time the great block of marble arrived which was
intended for the Neptune. It had been brought up the Arno, and
then by the Grieve 1 to the road at Poggio a Caiano, in order to be
carried to Florence by that level way; and there I went to see it.
Now I knew very well that the Duchess by her special influence had
managed to have it given to Bandinello. No envy prompted me to
dispute his claims, but rather pity for that poor unfortunate piece of
marble. Observe, by the way, that everything, whatever it may be,
which is subject to an evil destiny, although one tries to save it from
some manifest evil, falls at once into far worse plight; as happened

1 Instead of the Grieve, which is not a navigable stream, it appears that Cellini
ought to have written the Ombrone.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 415

to this marble when it came into the hands of Bartolommeo Amma-
nato, 2 of whom I shall speak the truth in its proper place. After
inspecting this most splendid block, I measured it in every direction,
and on returning to Florence, made several little models suited to
its proportions. Then I went to Poggio a Caiano, where the Duke
and Duchess were staying, with their son the Prince. I found them
all at table, the Duke and Duchess dining in a private apartment;
so I entered into conversation with the Prince. We had been speak-
ing for a long while, when the Duke, who was in a room adjacent,
heard my voice, and condescended very graciously to send for me.
When I presented myself before their Excellencies, the Duchess
addressed me in a very pleasant tone; and having thus opened the
conversation, I gradually introduced the subject of that noble block
of marble I had seen. I then proceeded to remark that their
ancestors had brought the magnificent school of Florence to such a
pitch of excellence only by stimulating competition among artists in
their several branches. It was thus that the wonderful cupola and
the lovely doors of San Giovanni had been produced, together with
those multitudes of handsome edifices and statues which made a
crown of artistic glory for their city above anything the world had
seen since the days of the ancients. Upon this the Duchess, with
some anger, observed that she very well knew what I meant, and
bade me never mention that block of marble in her presence, since
she did not like it. I replied : "So, then, you do not like me to act as
the attorney of your Excellencies, and to do my utmost to ensure
your being better served? Reflect upon it, my lady; if your most
illustrious Excellencies think fit to open the model for a Neptune to
competition, although you are resolved to give it to Bandinello, this
will urge Bandinello for his own credit to display greater art and
science than if he knew he had no rivals. In this way, my princes,
you will be far better served, and will not discourage our school of
artists; you will be able to perceive which of us is eager to excel in
the grand style of our noble calling, and will show yourselves princes
who enjoy and understand the fine arts." The Duchess, in a great
rage, told me that I tired her patience out; she wanted the marble

2 This sculptor was born in 1511, and died in 1592. He worked under Bandinelli
and Sansovino.

416 BENVENUTO CELLINI

for Bandinello, adding: "Ask the Duke; for his Excellency also
means Bandinello to have it." When the Duchess had spoken, the
Duke, who had kept silence up to this time, said: "Twenty years
ago I had that fine block quarried especially for Bandinello, and so I
mean that Bandinello shall have it to do what he likes with it." I
turned to the Duke and spoke as follows: "My lord, I entreat your
most illustrious Excellency to lend a patient hearing while I speak
four words in your service." He told me to say all I wanted, and
that he would listen. Then I began : "You will remember, my lord,
that the marble which Bandinello used for his Hercules and Cacus
was quarried for our incomparable Michel Agnolo Buonarroti. He
had made the model for a Samson with four figures, which would
have been the finest masterpiece in the whole world; but your Bandi-
nello got out of it only two figures, both ill-executed and bungled in
the worst manner; wherefore our school still exclaims against the
great wrong which was done to that magnificent block. I believe
that more than a thousand sonnets were put up in abuse of that
detestable performance; and I know that your most illustrious
Excellency remembers the fact very well. Therefore, my powerful
prince, seeing how the men to whose care that work was entrusted,
in their want of taste and wisdom, took Michel Agnolo's marble
away from him, and gave it to Bandinello, who spoilt it in the way
the whole world knows, oh! will you suffer this far more splendid
block, although it belongs to Bandinello, to remain in the hands of
that man who cannot help mangling it, instead of giving it to some
artist of talent capable of doing it full justice? Arrange, my lord,
that every one who likes shall make a model; have them all exhibited
to the school; you then will hear what the school thinks; your own
good judgment will enable you to select the best; in this way, finally,
you will not throw away your money, nor discourage a band of
artists the like of whom is not to be found at present in the world,
and who form the glory of your most illustrious Excellency."

The Duke listened with the utmost graciousness; then he rose
from table, and turning to me, said: "Go, my Benvenuto, make a
model, and earn that fine marble for yourself; for what you say is
the truth, and I acknowledge it." The Duchess tossed her head
defiantly, and muttered I know not what angry sentences.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 417

I made them a respectful bow and returned to Florence, burning
with eagerness to set hands upon my model.

When the Duke came to Florence, he sought me at my house
without giving me previous notice. I showed him two little models
of different design. Though he praised them both, he said that one
of them pleased him better than the other; I was to finish the one he
liked with care; and this would be to my advantage. Now his
Excellency had already seen Bandinello's designs, and those of other
sculptors; but, as I was informed by many of his courtiers who had
heard him, he commended mine far above the rest. Among other
matters worthy of record and of great weight upon this point, I will
mention the following. The Cardinal of Santa Fiore was on a visit
to Florence, and the Duke took him to Poggio a Caiano. Upon the
road, noticing the marble as he passed, the Cardinal praised it highly,
inquiring of his Excellency for what sculptor he intended it. The
Duke replied at once: "For my friend Benvenuto, who has made a
splendid model with a view to it." This was reported to me by
men whom I could trust.

Hearing what the Duke had said, I went to the Duchess, and
took her some small bits of goldsmith's work, which greatly pleased
her Excellency. Then she asked what I was doing, and I replied:
"My lady, I have taken in hand for my pleasure one of the most
laborious pieces which have ever been produced. It is a Christ of the
whitest marble set upon a cross of the blackest, exactly of the same
size as a tall man. She immediately inquired what I meant to do
with it. I answered: "You must know my lady, that I would not sell
it for two thousand golden ducats; it is of such difficult execution
that I think no man ever attempted the like before; nor would I
have undertaken it at the commission of any prince whatever, for
fear I might prove inadequate to the task. I bought the marbles with
my own money, and have kept a young man some two years as my
assistant in the work. What with the stone, the iron frame to hold
it up, and the wages, it has cost me above three hundred crowns.
Consequently, I would not sell it for two thousand. But if your
Excellency deigns to grant me a favour which is wholly blameless, I

41 8 BENVENUTO CELLINI

shall be delighted to make you a present of it. All I ask is that your
Excellency will not use your influence either against or for the
models which the Duke has ordered to be made of the Neptune for
that great block of marble." She replied with mighty indignation:
"So then you value neither my help nor my opposition?" "On the
contrary, I value them highly, princess; or why am I offering to
give you what I value at two thousand ducats? But I have such
confidence in my laborious and well-trained studies, that I hope to
win the palm, even against the great Michel Agnolo Buonarroti,
from whom and from no one else I have learned all that I know.
Indeed, I should be much better pleased to enter into competition
with him who knows so much than with those others who know but
little of their art. Contending with my sublime master, I could gain
laurels in plenty, whereas there are but few to be reaped in a contest
with these men." After I had spoken, she rose in a half-angry mood,
and I returned to work with all the strength I had upon my
model.

When it was finished, the Duke came to see it, bringing with him
two ambassadors, one from the Duke of Ferrara, the other from the
Signory of Lucca. They were delighted, and the Duke said to those
two gentlemen: "Upon my word, Benvenuto deserves to have the
marble." Then they both paid me the highest compliments, espe-
cially the envoy from Lucca, who was a person of accomplishments
and learning. 1 I had retired to some distance in order that they might
exchange opinions freely; but when I heard that I was being compli-
mented, I came up, turned to the Duke, and said: "My lord, your
most illustrious Excellency ought now to employ another admirable
device: decree that every one who likes shall make a model in clay,
exactly of the same size as the marble has to be. In this way you
will be able to judge far better who deserves the commission; and I
may observe that if your Excellency does not give it to the sculptor
who deserves it, this will not wrong the man so much, but will
reflect great discredit upon yourself, since the loss and shame will
fall on you. On the other hand, if you award it to the one who has
deserved it, you will acquire great glory in the first place, and will
employ your treasure well, while artists will believe that you appre-

l Probablv Girolamo Lucchesini.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 419

date and understand their business." No sooner had I finished
speaking than the Duke shrugged his shoulders, and began to move
away. While they were taking leave the ambassador of Lucca said
to the Duke: "Prince, this Benvenuto of yours is a terrible man!"
The Duke responded : "He is much more terrible than you imagine,
and well were it for him if he were a little less terrible; then he
would possess at the present moment many things which he has not
got." These precise words were reported to me by the envoy, by
way of chiding and advising me to change my conduct. I told him
that I had the greatest wish to oblige my lord as his affectionate and
faithful servant, but that I did not understand the arts of flattery.
Several months after this date, Bandinello died; and it was thought
that, in addition to his intemperate habits of life, the mortification of
having probably to lose the marble contributed to his decline.

Bandinello had received information of the crucifix which, as I
have said above, I was now engaged upon. Accordingly he laid his
hands at once upon a block of marble, and produced the Pieta which
may be seen in the church of the Annunziata. Now I had offered
my crucifix to S. Maria Novella, and had already fixed up the iron
clamps whereby I meant to fasten it against the wall. I only asked
for permission to construct a little sarcophagus upon the ground
beneath the feet of Christ, into which I might creep when I was
dead. The friars told me that they could not grant this without the
consent of their building committee. 1 I replied: "Good brethren,
why did not you consult your committee before you allowed me to
place my crucifix? Without their leave you suffered me to fix my
clamps and other necessary fittings."

On this account I refused to give those fruits of my enormous
labours to the church of S. Maria Novella, even though the over-
seers of the fabric came and begged me for the crucifix. I turned
at once to the church of the Annunziata, and when I explained the
terms on which I had sought to make a present of it to S. Maria
Novella, those virtuous friars of the Nunziata unanimously told me
to place it in their church, and let me make my grave according to

1 I loro Operai.

42O BENVENUTO CELLINI

my will and pleasure. When Bandinello became aware of this, he set
to work with great diligence at the completion of his Pieta, and
prayed the Duchess to get for him the chapel of the Pazzi for his
monument. This he obtained with some difficulty; and on receiving
the permission, he erected his Pieta with great haste. It was not alto-
gether completed when he died.

The Duchess then said that, even as she had protected him in life,
so would she protect him in the grave, and that albeit he was dead,
I need never try to get that block of marble. Apropos of which, the
broken Bernardone, meeting me one day in the country, said that
the Duchess had assigned the marble. I replied: "Unhappy piece of
stone! In the hands of Bandinello it would certainly have come to
grief; but in those of Ammanato its fate is a hundred times worse."
Now I had received orders from the Duke to make a clay model, of
the same size as the marble would allow; he also provided me with
wood and clay, set up a sort of screen in the Loggia where my Per-
seus stands, and paid me one workman. I went about my business
with all diligence, and constructed the wooden framework accord-
ing to my excellent system. Then I brought the model successfully
to a conclusion, without caring whether I should have to execute it
in marble, since I knew the Duchess was resolved I should not get
the commission. Consequently I paid no heed to that. Only I felt
very glad to undergo this labour, hoping to make the Duchess, who
was after all a person of intelligence, as indeed I had the means
of observing at a later period, repent of having done so great a wrong
both to the marble and herself. Giovanni the Fleming also made a
model in the cloister of S. Croce; Vinzenzio Danti of Perugia an-
other in the house of Messer Ottaviano de' Medici; the son of
Moschino began a third at Pisa, and Bartolommeo Ammanato a
fourth in the Loggia, which we divided between us. 2

2 Gian Bologna, or Jean Boullogne, was born at Douai about 1530. He went, while
a very young man, to Rome, and then settled at Florence. There he first gained
reputation by a Venus which the Prince Francesco bought. The Neptune on the
piazza at Bologna, which is his work, may probably have been executed from the
model he made in competition upon this occasion. Vincenzo Danti was born at
Perugia in 1530. He produced the bronze statue of Pope Julius III., which may
still be seen in his native city. Simone Cioli, called II Mosca, was a very fair sculptor
who died in 1554, leaving a son, Francesco, called II Moschino, who was also a
sculptor, and had reached the age of thirty at this epoch. It is therefore to this
Moschino probably that Cellini refers above.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 421

When I had blocked the whole of mine out well, and wanted to
begin upon the details of the head, which I had already just sketched
out in outline, the Duke came down from the palace, and Giorgetto,
the painter, 3 took him into Ammanato's workshed. This man had
been engaged there with his own hands several days, in company
with Ammanato and all his workpeople. While, then, the Duke
was inspecting Ammanato's model, I received intelligence that he
seemed but little pleased with it. In spite of Giorgetto's trying to
dose him with his fluent nonsense, the Duke shook his head, and
turning to Messer Gianstefano, 4 exclaimed : "Go and ask Benvenuto
if his colossal statue is far enough forward for him to gratify us
with a glance at it." Messer Gianstefano discharged this embassy
with great tact, and in the most courteous terms. He added that if
I did not think my work quite ready to be seen yet, I might say so
frankly, since the Duke knew well that I had enjoyed but little
assistance for so large an undertaking. I replied that I entreated him
to do me the favour of coming; for though my model was not far
advanced, yet the intelligence of his Excellency would enable him
to comprehend perfectly how it was likely to look when finished.
This kindly gentleman took back my message to the Duke, who
came with pleasure. No sooner had he entered the enclosure and
cast his eyes upon my work, than he gave signs of being greatly
satisfied. Then he walked all round it, stopping at each of the four
points of view, exactly as the ripest expert would have done. After-
wards he showed by nods and gestures of approval that it pleased
him; but he said no more than this: "Benvenuto, you have only to
give a little surface to your statue." Then he turned to his attend-
ants, praising my performance, and saying: "The small model which
I saw in his house pleased me greatly, but this has far exceeded it

in merit."

It pleased God, who rules all things for our good I mean, for
those who acknowledge and believe in Him; such men never fail
to gain His protection that about this time a certain rascal from
Vecchio called Piermaria d'Anterigoli, and surnamed Lo Sbietta,

3 Giorgio Vasari. 4 Probably Gianstefano Lalli.

422 BENVENUTO CELLINI

introduced himself to me. He is a sheep-grazier; and being closely
related to Messer Guido Guidi, the physician, who is now provost
of Pescia, I lent ear to his proposals. The man offered to sell me
a farm of his for the term of my natural life. I did not care to go
and see it, since I wanted to complete the model of my colossal Nep-
tune. There was also no reason why I should visit the property,
because Sbietta only sold it to me for thei income. 1 This he had
noted down at so many bushels of grain, so much of wine, oil, stand-
ing corn, chestnuts, and other produce. I reckoned that, as the
market then ran, these together were worth something considerably
over a hundred golden crowns in gold; and I paid him 650 crowns,
which included duties to the state. Consequently, when he left a
memorandum written in his own hand, to the effect that he would
always keep up these products of the farm in the same values during
my lifetime, I did not think it necessary to inspect it. Only I made
inquiries, to the best of my ability, as to whether Sbietta and his
brother Ser Filippo were well off enough to give me good security.
Many persons of divers sorts, who knew them, assured me that my
security was excellent. We agreed to call in Ser Pierfrancesco Ber-
toldi, notary at the Mercantanzia; and at the very first I handed him
Sbietta's memorandum, expecting that this would be recited in the
deed. But the notary who drew it up was so occupied with de-
tailing twenty-two boundaries described by Sbietta, 2 that, so far as
I can judge, he neglected to include in the contract what the vendor
had proposed to furnish. While he was writing, I went on working;
and since it took him several hours, I finished a good piece of my
Neptune's head.

After the contract was signed and sealed, Sbietta began to pay me
the most marked attentions, which I returned in like measure. He
made me presents of kids, cheese, capons, fresh curds, and many
sorts of fruits, until I began to be almost ashamed of so much kind-
ness. In exchange for these courtesies I always took him from the
inn to lodge with me when he came into Florence, often inviting a

1 What Cellini means is that Sbietta was to work the farm, paying Cellini its annual
value. It appears from some particulars which follow that the entrate were to be
paid in kind.

2 The word confini, which I have translated boundaries, may mean limiting
conditions.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 423

relative or two who happened to attend him. On one of these occa-
sions he told me with a touch of pleasantry that it was really shame-
ful for me to have bought a farm, and, after the lapse of so many
weeks, not yet to have left my business for three days in the hands
of my workpeople, so as to have come to look at it. His wheedling
words and ways induced me to set off, in a bad hour for my welfare,
on a visit to him. Sbietta received me in his own house with such
attentions and such honours as a duke might covet. His wife ca-
ressed me even more than he did; and these excellent relations
continued between us until the plans which he and his brother Ser
Filippo had in mind were fully matured.

Meanwhile I did not suspend my labours on the Neptune, which
was now quite blocked out upon an excellent system, undiscovered
and unknown before I used it. Consequently, although I knew I
should not get the marble for the reasons above narrated, I hoped
to have it soon completed, and to display it on the piazza simply
for my satisfaction.

It was a warm and pleasant season; and this, together with the
attentions of those two rascals, disposed me to set out one Wednes-
day, which happened to be a double holiday, for my country-house
at Trespiano. 1 Having spent some time over an excellent lunch, it
was past twenty o'clock when I reached Vicchio. There, at the town-
gate, I met Ser Filippo, who appeared to know already whither I was
bound. He loaded me with attentions, and took me to Sbietta' s
house, where I found that fellow's strumpet of a wife, who also over-
whelmed me with caresses. I gave the woman a straw hat of the
very finest texture, the like of which she told me she had never seen.
Still, up to this time, Sbietta had not put in his appearance.

Toward the end of the afternoon we all sat down to supper in
excellent spirits. Later on, they gave me a well appointed bedroom,
where I went to rest in a bed of the most perfect cleanliness. Both
of my servants, according to their rank, were equally well treated.
On the morrow, when I rose, the same attentions were paid me. I

1 From Cellini's Ricordt it appears that he bought a farm at this village, north-east
of Florence, on October 26, 1548. In 1556 he also purchased land there.

424 BENVENUTO CELLINI

went to see my farm, which pleased me much; and then I had
some quantities of grain and other produce handed over. But when
I returned to Vicchio, the priest Ser Filippo said to me : "Benvenuto
do not be uneasy; although you have not found here quite every-
thing you had the right to look for, yet put your mind to rest; it
will be amply made up in the future, for you have to deal with
honest folk. You ought, by the way, to know that we have sent that
labourer away, because he was a scoundrel." The labourer in ques-
tion bore the name of Mariano Rosegli; and this man now kept
frequently repeating in my ear: "Look well after yourself; in the
end you will discover which of us here is the greatest villain." The
country-fellow, when he spoke those words, smiled with an evil kind
of sneer, and jerked his head as though to say: "Only go up there,
and you will find out for yourself."

I was to some extent unfavourably influenced by these hints, yet
far from forming a conception of what actually happened to me.
So, when I returned from the farm, which is two miles distant from
Vicchio, toward the Alpi, 2 I met the priest, who was waiting for
me with his customary politeness. We then sat down together to
breakfast; it was not so much a dinner as" an excellent collation.
Afterwards I took a walk through Vicchio the market had just
opened and noticed how all the inhabitants fixed their eyes upon
me, as on something strange. This struck me particularly in the
case of a worthy old man, who has been living for many years at
Vicchio, and whose wife bakes bread for sale. He owns some good
property at the distance of about a mile; however, he prefers this
mode of life, and occupies a house which belongs to me in the town
of Vicchio. This had been consigned to me together with the farm
above mentioned, which bears the name of Delia Fonte. The worthy
old man spoke as follows: "I am living in your house, and when it
falls due I shall pay you your rent; but if you want it earlier, I will
act according to your wishes. You may reckon on never having any
disputes with me." While we were thus talking I noticed that he
looked me hard in the face, which compelled me to address him
thus: "Prithee, tell me, friend Giovanni, why you have more than
once stared at me in that way?" He replied: "I am quite willing to

2 The Alpi are high mountain pastures in the Apennines.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 425

tell you, if, being the man of worth I take you for, you will promise
not to say that I have told you." I gave the promise and he pro-
ceeded : "You must know then that that worthless priest, Ser Filippo,
not many days since, went about boasting of his brother Sbietta's
cleverness, and telling how he had sold his farm to an old man for
his lifetime, and that the purchaser could hardly live the year out.
You have got mixed up with a set of rogues; therefore take heed to
living as long as you are able, and keep your eyes open, for you have
need of it. I do not choose to say more."

civ

During my promenade through the market, I met Giovan Battista
Santini, and he and I were taken back to supper by the priest. As
I have related above, we supped at the early hour of twenty, because
I made it known that I meant to return to Trespiano. Accordingly
they made all ready; the wife of Sbietta went bustling about in
the company of one Cecchino Buti, their knave of all work. After
the salads had been mixed and we were preparing to sit down to
table, that evil priest, with a certain nasty sort of grin, exclaimed:
"I must beg you to excuse me, for I cannot sup with you; the reason
is that some business of importance has occurred which I must
transact for my brother Sbietta. In his absence I am obliged to act
for him." We all begged him to stay, but could not alter his deter-
mination; so he departed and we began our supper. After we had
eaten the salads on some common platters, and they were preparing
to serve the boiled meat, each guest received a porringer for himself.
Santini, who was seated opposite me at table exclaimed: "Do you
notice that the crockery they give you is different from the rest ? Did
you ever see anything handsomer?" I answered that I had not no-
ticed it. He also prayed me to invite Sbietta's wife to sit down with
us; for she and that Cecchino Buti kept running hither and thither
in the most extraordinary fuss and hurry. At last I induced the
woman to join us; when she began to remonstrate: "You do not like
my victuals, since you eat so little." I answered by praising the sup-
per over and over again, and saying that I had never eaten better
or with heartier appetite. Finally, I told her that I had eaten quite
enough. I could not imagine why she urged me so persistently to

426 BENVENUTO CELLINI

eat. After supper was over, and it was past the hour of twenty-one,
I became anxious to return to Trespiano, in order that I might re-
commence my work next morning in the Loggia. Accordingly I bade
farewell to all the company, and having thanked our hostess, took
my leave.

I had not gone three miles before I felt as though my stomach was
on fire, and suffered such pain that it seemed a thousand years till
I arrived at Trespiano. However, it pleased God that I reached it
after nightfall with great toil, and immediately proceeded to my
farm, where I went to bed. During the night I got no sleep, and
was constantly disturbed by motions of my bowels. When day broke,
feeling an intense heat in the rectum, I looked eagerly to see what
this might mean, and found the cloth covered with blood. Then in
a moment I conceived that I had eaten something poisonous, and
racked my brains to think what it could possibly have been. It came
back to my memory how Sbietta's wife had set before me plates, and
porringers, and saucers different from the others, and how that evil
priest, Sbietta's brother, after giving himself such pains to do me
honour, had yet refused to sup with us. Furthermore, I remembered
what the priest had said about Sbietta's doing such a fine stroke of
business by the sale of his farm to an old man for life, who could
not be expected to survive a year. Giovanni Sardella had reported
these words to me. All things considered, I made my mind up that
they must have administered a dose of sublimate in the sauce, which
was very well made and pleasant to the taste, inasmuch as sublimate
produces all the symptom, I was suffering from. Now it is my cus-
tom to take but little sauce or seasoning with my meat, excepting
salt; and yet I had eaten two moderate mouthfuls of that sauce be-
cause it was so tasteful. On further thinking, I recollected how often
that wife of Sbietta had teased me in a hundred ways to partake more
freely of the sauce. On these accounts I felt absolutely certain that
they had given me sublimate in that very dish.

Albeit I was suffering so severely, I forced myself to work upon
my Colossus in the Loggia; but after a few days I succumbed to the
malady and took to my bed. No sooner did the Duchess hear that

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 427

I was ill, than she caused the execution of that unlucky marble to
be assigned to Bartolommeo Ammanato. 1 He sent word to me
through Messer .... living .... Street, that I might now do what
I liked with my model since he had won the marble. This Messer
.... was one of the lovers of Bartolommeo Ammanato's wife; and
being the most favoured on account of his gentle manners and dis-
cretion, Ammanato made things easy for him. There would be much
to say upon this topic; however, I do not care to imitate his master,
Bandinello, who always wandered from the subject in his talk.
Suffice it to say that I told Ammanato's messenger I had always
imagined it would turn out thus; let the man strain himself to the
utmost in proof of gratitude to Fortune for so great a favour so unde-
servedly conferred on him by her.

All this while I stayed with sorry cheer in bed, and was attended
by that most excellent man and physician, Maestro Francesco da
Montevarchi. Together with him Maestro Raffaello de' Pilli under-
took the surgical part of my case, forasmuch as the sublimate had
so corroded the intestines that I was unable to retain my motions.
When Maestro Francesco saw that the poison had exerted all its
strength, being indeed insufficient in quantity to overcome my vig-
orous constitution, he said one day: "Benvenuto, return thanks to
God, for you have won the battle. Have no anxiety, since I mean
to cure you in spite of the rogues who sought to work your ruin."
Maestro RafTaello then put in: "This will be one of the finest and
most difficult cures which was ever heard of; for I can tell you, Ben-
venuto, that you swallowed a good mouthful of sublimate." There-
upon Maestro Francesco took him up and said : "It may possibly have
been some venomous caterpillar." I replied : "I know for certain what
sort of poison it was, and who gave it to me;" upon which we all
were silent. They attended me more than six full months, and I
remained more than a whole year before I could enjoy my life and
vigour.

1 What follows has been so carefully erased, possibly by Cellini's own hand, in
the autograph, that it is illegible. Laura Battiferra, Ammanato's wife, was a woman
of irreproachable character, whom Cellini himself praised in a sonnet.

428 BENVENUTO CELLINI

cvi

At this time 1 the Duke went to make his triumphal entry into
Siena, and Ammanato had gone there some months earlier to con-
struct the arches. A bastard of his, who stayed behind in the Loggia,
removed the cloths with which I kept my model of Neptune covered
until it should be finished. As soon as I knew this, I complained to
Signor Don Francesco, the Duke's son, who was kindly disposed
toward me, and told him how they had disclosed my still imperfect
statue; had it been finished, I should not have given the fact a
thought. The Prince replied with a threatening toss of his head:
"Benvenuto, do not mind your statue having been uncovered, be-
cause these men are only working against themselves; yet if you
want me to have it covered up, I will do so at once." He added
many other words in my honour before a crowd of gentlemen who
were there. I then begged his Excellency to give me the necessary
means for finishing it, saying that I meant to make a present of it
together with the little model to his Highness. He replied that he
gladly accepted both gifts, and that he would have all the con-
veniences I asked for put at my disposal. Thus, then, I fed upon
this trifling mark of favour, which, in fact, proved the salvation of
my life; for having been overwhelmed by so many evils and such
great annoyances all at one fell swoop, I felt my forces failing; but
this little gleam of encouragement inspired me with some hope of
living.

cvn

A year had now passed since I bought the farm of Delia Fonte
from Sbietta. In addition to their attempt upon my life by poisoning
and their numerous robberies, I noticed that the property yielded
less than half what had been promised. Now, in addition to the
deeds of contract, I had a declaration written by Sbietta's own hand,
in which he bound himself before witnesses to pay me over the
yearly income I have mentioned. Armed with these documents, I
had recourse to the Lords Counsellors. At that time Messer Alfonso
Quistello was still alive and Chancellor of the Exchequer; he sat

1 October 28, 1560.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 429

upon the Board, which included Averardo Serristori and Federigo
de' Ricci. I cannot remember the names of all o them, but I know
that one of the Alessandri was a member. Suffice it to say, the
counsellors of that session were men of weight and worth. When I
had explained my cause to the magistracy, they all with one voice
ruled that Sbietta should give me back my money, except Federigo
de' Ricci, who was then employing the fellow himself; the others
unanimously expressed sorrow to me that Federigo de' Ricci
prevented them from despatching the affair. Averardo Serristori
and Alessandri in particular made a tremendous stir about it, but
Federigo managed to protect matters until the magistracy went out
of office; whereupon Serristori, meeting me one morning after they
had come out upon the Piazza dell' Annunziata, cried aloud, with-
out the least regard to consequences : "Federigo de' Ricci has been
so much stronger than all of us put together that you have been
massacred against our will." I do not intend to say more upon this
topic, since it would be too offensive to the supreme authorities of
state; enough that I was cruelly wronged at the will of a rich citizen,
only because he made use of that shepherd-fellow.

CVIII

The Duke was staying at Livorno, where I went to visit him in
order merely to obtain release from his service. Now that I felt my
vigour returning, and saw that I was used for nothing, it pained me
to lose time which ought to have been spent upon my art. I made
my mind up, therefore, went to Livorno, and found my prince, who
received me with exceeding graciousness. Now I stayed there sev-
eral days, and went out riding daily with his Excellency. Conse-
quently I had excellent opportunities for saying all I wanted, since
it was the Duke's custom to ride four miles out of Livorno along the
sea-coast to the point where he was erecting a little fort. Not caring
to be troubled with a crowd of people, he liked me to converse with
him. So then, on one of these occasions, having observed him pay
me some remarkable attentions, I entered into the affair of Sbietta
and spoke as follows : "My lord, I should like to narrate to your most
illustrious Excellency a very singular incident, which will explain
why I was prevented from finishing that clay model of Neptune on

430 BENVENUTO CELLINI

which I was working in the Loggia. Your Excellency must know that
I bought a farm for my life from Sbietta " To cut the matter short,
I related the whole story in detail, without contaminating truth with
falsehood. Now when I came to the poison, I remarked that if I had
ever proved an acceptable servant in the sight of his most illustrious
Excellency, he ought not to punish Sbietta or those who administered
the poison, but rather to confer upon them some great benefit, inas-
much as the poison was not enough to kill me, but had exactly suf-
ficed to cleanse me of a mortal viscosity from which I suffered in
my stomach and intestines. "The poison," quoth I, "worked so well,
that whereas, before I took it, I had perhaps but three or four years
to live, I verily believe now that it has helped me to more than twenty
years by bettering my constitution. For this mercy I return thanks
to God with greater heartiness than ever; and this proves that a
proverb I have sometimes heard spoken is true, which runs as
follows :

'God send us evil, that may work us good.' "

The Duke listened to my story through more than two miles of
travel, keeping his attention fixed, and only uttering: "Oh, the vil-
lains!" I said, in conclusion, that I felt obliged to them, and opened
other and more cheerful subjects of conversation.

I kept upon the look-out for a convenient day; and when I found
him well disposed for what I wanted, I entreated his most illustrious
Excellency to dismiss me in a friendly spirit, so that I might not
have to waste the few years in which I should be fit to do anything.
As for the balance due upon my Perseus, he might give this to me
when he judged it opportune. Such was the pith of my discourse:
but I expanded it with lengthy compliments, expressing my gratitude
toward his most illustrious Excellency. To all this he made abso-
lutely no answer, but rather seemed to have taken my communica-
tion ill. On the following day Messer Bartolommeo Concino, 1 one
of the Duke's secretaries, and among the chiefest, came to me, and
said with somewhat of a bullying air: "The Duke bids me tell you
that if you want your dismissal, he will grant it; but if you choose

1 This man was the son of a peasant at Terranuova, in Valdarno. He acquired
great wealth and honour at the court of Duke Cosimo, and was grandfather of the
notorious Marechal d'Ancre.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 431

work, he will give you plenty: God grant you may have the power
to execute all he orders." I replied that I desired nothing more than
work to do, and would rather take it from the Duke than from any
man whatever in the world. Whether they were popes, emperors,
or kings, I should prefer to serve his most illustrious Excellency for
a halfpenny than any of the rest of them for a ducat. He then re-
marked: "If that is your mind, you and he have struck a bargain
without the need of further speech. So, then, go back to Florence,
and be unconcerned; rely on the Duke's goodwill towards you."
Accordingly I made my way again to Florence.

cix

Immediately after my arrival, there came to visit me a certain Raf-
faellone Scheggia, whose trade was that of a cloth-of-gold weaver.
He began thus: "My Benvenuto, I should like to reconcile you with
Piermaria Sbietta." I replied that nobody could settle the affairs be-
tween us except the Lords Counsellors; in the present court Sbietta
would not have a Federigo de' Ricci to support him, a man willing,
for the bribe of a couple of fatted kids, without respect of God or
of his honour, to back so infamous a cause and do so vile a wrong
to sacred justice. When I had uttered these words, and many others
to the like effect, RafTaello kept on blandly urging that it was far
better to eat a thrush in peace than to bring a fat capon to one's
table, even though one were quite sure to get it, after a hot fight.
He further reminded me that lawsuits had a certain way of dragging
on, and that I could employ the time far better upon some master-
piece of art, which would bring me not only greater honour, but
greater profit to boot. I knew that he was speaking the mere truth,
and began to lend ear to his arguments. Before long, therefore, we
arranged the matter in this way: Sbietta was to rent the farm from
me at seventy golden crowns in gold the year during the whole term
of my natural life. But when we came to the contract, which was
drawn up by Ser Giovanni, son of Ser Matteo da Falgano, Sbietta
objected that the terms we had agreed on would involve our paying
the largest duties to the revenue. He was not going to break his
word; therefore we had better draw the lease for five years, to be
renewed on the expiry of the term. He undertook to abide by his

432 BENVENUTO CELLINI

promise to renew, without raising further litigation. That rascal, the
priest, his brother, entered into similar engagements; and so the
lease was drawn for five years.

Though I want to enter upon other topics, and to leave all this
rascality alone awhile, I am forced to narrate what happened at the
termination of this five years' contract. Instead of abiding by their
promised word, those two rogues declared they meant to give me up
my farm, and would not keep it any longer upon lease. I not un-
naturally complained, but they retorted by ostentatiously unfolding
the deed; and I found myself without any defence against their
chicanery. When it came to this, I told them that the Duke and
Prince of Florence would not suffer folk to be so infamously mas-
sacred in their cities. That menace worked so forcibly upon their
minds that they once more despatched Raffaello Schegcia, the same
man who negotiated the former arrangement. I must add that they
professed their unwillingness to pay the same rent of seventy crowns
as during the five years past, while I replied that I would not take
a farthing less. So then Raffaello came to look me up, and spoke
to this effect: "My Benvenuto, you know that I am acting in your
interest. Now these men have placed themselves entirely in my
hands;" and he showed me a writing to this effect signed by them.
Not being aware that he was their close relative, I thought he would
be an excellent arbitrator, and therefore placed myself also abso-
lutely in his hands. This man of delicate honour then came one
evening about a half hour after sunset, in the month of August, and
induced me with the strongest pressure to draw up the contract then
and there. He did so because he knew that if he waited till the
morning, the deceit he wished to practise on me must have failed.
Accordingly the deed was executed, to the effect that they were to
pay me a rent of sixty-five crowns, in two half-yearly instalments,
during the term of my natural life. Notwithstanding I rebelled
against it, and refused to sit down quietly under the injustice, all
was to no purpose. Raffaello exhibited my signature, and every
one took part against me. At the same time he went on protesting
that he acted altogether in my interest and as my supporter. Neither

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 433

the notary nor any others who heard of the affair, knew that he was
a relative of those two rogues; so they told me I was in the wrong.
Accordingly, I was forced to yield with the best grace I could; and
what I have now to do is to live as long as I can manage.

Close after these events, that is to say, in the December of 1566
following, I made another blunder. I bought half of the farm Del
Poggio from them, or rather from Sbietta, for two hundred crowns. 1
It marches with my property of La Fonte. Our terms were that the
estate should revert at the term of three years, 2 and I gave them a
lease of it. I did this for the best; but I should have to dilate too long
upon the topic were I to enter into all the rascalities they practised
on me. Therefore, I refer my cause entirely to God, knowing that
He hath ever defended me from those who sought to do me mis-
chief.

CXI

Having quite completed my crucifix, I thought that if I raised it
some feet above the ground, it would show better than it did upon a
lower level. After I had done so, it produced a far finer effect than
even it had made before, and I was greatly satisfied. So then I began
to exhibit it to every one who had the mind to see it.

As God willed, the Duke and the Duchess heard about it. On
their arrival then from Pisa, both their Excellencies arrived one day
quite unexpectedly, attended by all the nobles of their court, with
the sole purpose of inspecting my crucifix. They were so much de-
lighted, that each of these princes lavished endless praises on it, and
all the lords and gentlefolk of their suites joined in chorus. Now,
when I saw how greatly they were taken with the piece, I began to
thank them with a touch of humour, saying that, if they had not
refused me the marble for the Neptune, I should never have under-
taken so arduous a task, the like whereof had not been attempted
by any sculptor before me." "It is true," I added, "that this crucifix
has cost me hours of unimaginable labour; yet they have been well
expended, especially now when your most illustrious Excellencies
have bestowed such praises on it. I cannot hope to find possessors of

1 Scudi di moneta, not d'oro.

2 This seems to be the meaning of comprare con riservo di tre anni. Cellini elsewhere
uses the equivalent term patto resolutivo. See Tassi, vol. ii. p. 583.

434 BENVENUTO CELLINI

it worthier than you are; therefore I gladly present it to you as a

gift.- 1

After speaking to this effect, I prayed them, before they took their
leave, to deign to follow me into the ground-floor of my dwelling.
They rose at once with genial assent, left the workshop, and on
entering the house, beheld my little model of the Neptune and the
fountain, which had not yet been seen by the Duchess. This struck
her with such force that she raised a cry of indescribable astonish-
ment, and turning to the Duke, exclaimed: "Upon my life, I never
dreamed it could be one-tenth part so beautiful!" The Duke replied
by repeating more than once: "Did I not tell you so?" Thus they
continued talking together for some while greatly in my honour.
Afterwards the Duchess called me to her side; and when she had
uttered many expressions of praise which sounded like excuses (they
might indeed have been construed into asking for forgiveness), she
told me that she should like me to quarry a block of marble to my
taste, and then to execute the work. In reply to these gracious
speeches I said that, if their most illustrious Excellencies would
provide me with the necessary accommodations, I should gladly for
their sakes put my hand to such an arduous undertaking. The Duke
responded on the moment : "Benvenuto, you shall have all the accom-
modations you can ask for; and I will myself give you more besides,
which shall surpass them far in value." With these agreeable words
they left me, and I remained highly satisfied.

cxn

Many weeks passed, but of me nothing more was spoken. This
neglect drove me half mad with despair. Now about that time the
Queen of France sent Messer Baccio del Bene to our Duke for a loan
of money, which the Duke very graciously supplied, as rumour went.
Messer Baccio del Bene and I had been intimate friends in former
times; so when we renewed our acquaintance in Florence, we came
together with much mutual satisfaction. In course of conversation
he related all the favours shown him by his most illustrious Excel-

1 The Duchess would not take the crucifix as a gift. The Duke bought it for
fifteen hundred golden crowns, and transferred it to the Pitti in 1565. It was given
by the Grand Duke Francesco in 1576 to Philip II., who placed it in the Escorial,
where it now is.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY 435

lency, and asked me what great works I had in hand. In reply, I
narrated the whole story of the Neptune and the fountain, and the
great wrong done me by the Duchess. He responded by telling me
how her Majesty of France was most eager to complete the monu-
ment of her husband Henri II., and how Daniello da Volterra 1 had
undertaken a great equestrian statue in bronze, but the time had
already elapsed in which he promised to perform it, and that a mul-
titude of the richest ornaments were required for the tomb. If, then,
I liked to return to France and occupy my castle, she would supply
me with all the conveniences I could ask for, provided only I cared
to enter her service. These proposals he made on the part of the
Queen. I told Messer Baccio to beg me from the Duke; if his most
illustrious Excellency was satisfied, I should very willingly return to
France. He answered cheerfully: "We will travel back together!"
and considered the affair settled. Accordingly, next day, in course
of conversation with the Duke, he alluded to myself, declaring that
if his Excellency had no objection, the Queen would take me into
her employ. The Duke replied without a moment's hesitation : "Ben-
venuto's ability in his profession is known to the whole world; but
at the present time he does not care to go on working." Then they
touched on other topics; and upon the day following I called on
Messer Baccio, who reported what had passed between them. Then
I lost all patience, and exclaimed: "Oh, me! His most illustrious
Excellency gave me nothing to do, while I was bringing to perfec-
tion one of the most difficult master-pieces ever executed in this
world; and it stands me in more than two hundred crowns, which
I have paid out of my poverty! Oh, what could I not have done if
his Excellency had but set me to work! I tell you in pure truth, that
they have done me a great wrong!" The good-natured gentleman
repeated to the Duke what I had answered. The Duke told him we
were joking, and that he wanted me for his own service. The result
was that in my irritation I more than once made up my mind to
make off without asking leave. However, the Queen preferred to
drop negotiations, in fear of displeasing the Duke; and so I re-
mained here, much to my regret.

1 This painter is chiefly famous for his "Descent from the Cross" in the Church of
the Trinita de' Monti at Rome. He died in 1566.

436 BENVENUTO CELLINI

CXIII

About that time the Duke went on a journey, attended by all his
court and all his sons, except the prince, who was in Spain. They
travelled through the Sienese Maremma, and by this route he reached
Pisa. The poison from the bad air of those marshes first attacked
the Cardinal, who was taken with a pestilential fever after a few
days, and died at the end of a brief illness. He was the Duke's right
eye, handsome and good, and his loss was most severely felt. I
allowed several days to elapse, until I thought their tears were dried,
and then I betook myself to Pisa.

H K

Vol 31: The Classics - Part 2