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Chapter 10MenosprAldea.1.10

Capítulo IX: QUE EN LAS CORTES DE LOS PRINCIPES SON MUY POCOS LOS QUE MEDRAN Y MUY MUCHOS LOS QUE SE PIERDEN

The Perils of the Court

The court is a place where virtue is endangered, contentment is absent, and personal correspondence brings only grief.

At court it does men little good to be wise if they're otherwise unlucky; because there services are forgotten, friends fall away, rivals multiply, nobility isn't admitted, learning goes unrecognized, good sense does no good, humility doesn't shine, truth isn't allowed, ability isn't put to use, counsel isn't received, and not even the fool is known for what he is.1 The richest mine and the most profitable alchemy at court is for the courtier to be lucky, or to be the favorite of the favorite.2 At court, not only do temperaments change, but characters do as well.3 We don’t need Plato or Cicero to prove this; we see it ourselves when wise men turn into fools, the gentle into the presumptuous, the temperate into gluttons, the patient into the ill-tempered, the noble into the malicious, the peaceful into troublemakers, the quiet into buffoons, the chaste into fornicators, the industrious into idlers, and even the devout into lukewarm Christians.✦ At court virtue is very hard to attain and very dangerous to keep; because there humility is endangered among honors; patience, among injuries; abstinence, among rich dishes; chastity, among the ladies; quiet, among affairs of business; charity, among the estranged; peace, among rivals; diligence, among the idle; silence, among buffoons; and even good sense, among fools. At court no one lives content, and there's no one who doesn't say he's been wronged; because he complains of the king for granting him no favors, of the favorite for not being his friend, of the rival who blocks him, of the kinsman who won't help him, of the friend who won't speak for him, of the president who won't dispatch his business, of the lodging-master who won't house him, of the porter who won't open to him, of the accountant who won't clear his payment, of the treasurer who won't pay him, of the bailiff for disarming him, of the draper for not waiting on his credit, of the banker for executing against him, and even of the jester if he said some spiteful thing about him.4 At court, if they read one letter that gives pleasure, they receive another twenty that give grief. And so it won't seem I'm speaking lightly, each man will find it true that if the letter is about his wife, it's that she's delayed a long time; if about his daughters, they want him to marry them off; if about his sons, that they're wild; if about his friends, that he forgets them; if about his relatives, that he should help them; if about his vassals, that they're suing him; if about his tenants, that they won't pay him; if about his houses, that they're falling down; if about the steward, that he hasn't collected; if about the attorney, that he should send money; if about his friend, that he's an ingrate; and if about the draper, that the deadline has come.5 I truly believe there are many at court who, if they paid the courier a real for postage, would give him four not to have received those letters.6

The Mask of the Courtier

Courtiers are forced into lives of hypocrisy, isolation, and deceit, where truth is the rarest commodity.

At court a courtier does many things out of necessity that he would never do of his own free will back in his own land. That this is true seems clear in that he eats with people who don't love him, talks to people he doesn't know, serves people who don't thank him for it, follows people who don't honor him, defends people who don't help him, lends to people who don't pay him back, keeps company with people who aren't gracious to him, puts up a front with people who wrong him, honors people who slander him, and even trusts people who deceive him. At court it suits no one to live hoping that others will help him. Oh, how wretched the courtier is!7 —the one who,8 if he falls into poverty, no one helps him; if he falls ill, no one visits him; if he dies there, everyone forgets him; if he goes about brooding, no one comforts him; if he is virtuous, few praise him; if he is a troublemaker, everyone accuses him; if he is careless, no one warns him; if he is rich, everyone begs from him; if he is in debt, no one lends to him; if he is in prison, no one trusts him; and even if he is not somewhat of a favorite, he has no friend at all.9 At court, there is nothing rarer to find, or more expensive to buy, than the truth.10 In the courts of princes and the houses of great lords, there is an abundance of three kinds of people: those bold enough to gossip, those who know how to flatter, and those who dare to lie.

The Waste of Life

Life at court is characterized by spiritual dissipation, wasted time, and the inevitable ruin of those who seek advancement there.

The prince is deceived by flatterers; favorites, by deal-makers; lords, by stewards; the rich, by knaves; young men, by women; the old, by greed; prelates, by their relatives; clerics, by avarice; friars, by license; the presumptuous, by ambition; the malicious, by passion; the sharp-witted, by attachment; the prudent, by overconfidence; fools, by suspicion; and even all of them together, by fortune.11 Court is where people waste the most time and put it to the least good use. From the moment a courtier gets up until he goes to bed, he spends his time on nothing but going to the palace, asking for news, strolling the streets, writing letters, talking about wars, reporting factional quarrels, visiting favorites, banqueting in gardens, flattering the doorkeepers, changing friendships, switching tables, talking with procuresses, courting ladies, and even asking after beautiful women. At court, more than anywhere else, everything is heavy and slow. How wretched the courtier is—he gets up late, finishes his business late, pays his visits late, is heard late, confesses late, prays late, withdraws late, amends himself late, is recognized late, and even advances late.12 At court, those who are ruined are countless, and those who get ahead are very few. We can't deny that favorites die there, estates change hands there, the favored fall there, widows get entangled there, married women are defamed there, maidens grow loose there, wits grow moldy there, the brave turn cowardly there, the religious scatter there, prelates refuse their duty there, the learned are forgotten there, the sensible lose their heads there, young men grow old there, and even old men turn into fools there.13 At court, madness has gone so far that they only call a man a good courtier if he's deep in debt.

The Burden of Debt

The courtier is ultimately defined by his crushing debt and the hollow vanity of his social obligations.

It’s a real pity to look at a courtier. who owes the draper for the cloth for his servants; the jeweler for the silk of his livery; the tailor for the making he never paid; the lady for the satin he ordered for her; his mistress for the Dutch linen he promised her; the judge for the costs of the lawsuit; the silversmith for the making of the medal; his servants for the month's wages; his guests1415

Read the original Latin

En la corte poco aprovecha que sean los hombres cuerdos si por otra parte son mal fortunados; porque allí los servicios se olvidan, los amigos faltan, los émulos crescen, la nobleza no se admite, la sciencia no se conosce, la cordura no aprovecha, la humildad no luze, la verdad no se consiente, la babilidad no se emplea, el consejo no se rescibe, ni aun el nescio no se conosce. El minero más rico y la alquimia que más aprovecha en la corte es ser el cortesano bien fortunado o ser privado del privado. En la corte, no sólo se mudan las complisiones, mas aún las condiciones. Para provar esta sentencia no hemos menester a Platón que lo diga ni a Cicerón que lo jure, pues vemos de cuerdos tornarse locos; de mansos, presumptuosos; de abstinentes, golosos; de pacientes, mal acondicionados; de nobles, maliciosos; de pacíficos, reboltosos; de callados, chocarreros; de honestos, amancebados; de ocupados, vagabundos, y aun de devotos, tibios cristianos. En la corte es la virtud muy trabajosa de alcançar y muy peligrosa de conservar; porque allí la humildad peligra entre las honras; la paciencia, entre las injurias; la abstinencia, entre los manjares; la castidad, entre las damas; la quietud, entre los negocios; la caridad, entre los enemistados; la paz, entre los émulos; la solicitud, entre los vagabundos; el silencio, entre los chocarreros, y aun el seso, entre los locos. En la corte ninguno bive contento y no ay quien no diga que está agraviado; porque se quexa del rey que no le haze mercedes, del privado que no le es amigo, del émulo que se lo estorba, del pariente que no le ayuda, del amigo que no le habla, del presidente que no le despacha, dei aposentador que no le aposenta, del portero que no le abre, de contador que no le libra , del tesorero que no le paga, del alguazil porque le desarms, del trapero porque no le espera, del banquero porque le executa, y aun del truhán si le dixo alguns malicia. En la corte, si leen una carta que da plazer, se resciben otras ve ynte que dan pesap, Y por que no parezca hablar de gracia, hallará cada uno por verdad que si la carta habla de la muger, es que se tarda mucho; si de las hijas, quieren que las ease; si de los hijos, que son traviessos; si de los amigos, que los olvida; si de los parientes, que los socorra; si de los vassallos, que le ponen pleyto; si te los renteros, que no le pagan; si de los caseros, que se caen las casas; si del mayordomo, que no ha cobrado; si del procurador, que le embíe dinero; si de su amigo, que es un desconoscido, y si es del trapero, que es Itegado el plazo. Bien creo yo que ay muchos en la corte que si dioron de porte un real al correo, le dieran quatro por no las aver rescibido.

En la corte muchas cosas haze un cortesano por necessidad que no las haría en su tierra de voluntad. Que sea esto verdad paresce claro en que come con quien no le ama, habla a quien no conosce, sirve a quien no se lo agradesce, sigue a quien no le honra, defiende a quien no le ayuda, empresta a quien no le paga, comunica con quien no le es grato, dissimula con quien le injuria, honra a quien le infama y aun fíase de quien le engaña. En la corte a ninguno le combiene bivir con esperança que otros le han de ayudar. ¡0 triste del cortesano! , el qual. si viene a pobreza ninguno le socorre; si cae enfermo, nadie le visita; si allí se muere, todos le olvidan; si anda pensativo, nadie le consuela; si es virtuoso, pocos le alaban; si es traviesso, todos le acussan; si es descuydado, nadie le avisa; si es rico, todos le piden; si está empeñado, nadie le empresta; si está preso, nadie le fía, y aun si no es algo privado, no tiene ningún amigo. En la corte no ay cosa más rara de haller y más cara de comprar que es la verdad. En las cortes de los principes y en las casas de los grandes señores, de tres géneros de gentes ay mucha abundancia, es a saber: quien se atreva a murmurar, quien sepa lisongear y quien osse mentir.

Al príncipe engañanle los lisongeros; a los privados, los negociantes; a los señores, los mayordomos; a los ricos, los trubanes; a loe moços, las mugeres; a los viejos, la codicia; a los perlados, los parientes; a los clérigos, la avaricia; a los frailes, la libertad; a los presumptuosos, la ambición; a los maliciosos, la passión; a los agudos, la afección; a los prudentes, la confiança; a los locos, la sospecha, y aun a todos juntos, la fortuna. En la corte es a do los hombres más tiempo pierden y que menos bien le emplean. Desde que un cortesano se levanta hasta que se acuesta, no ocupa en otra cosa el tiempo sino en ir a palacio, preguntar nuevas, ruar calles, escrevir cartas, hablar en guerras, relatar parcialidades, visitar a los privados, banquetsar en huertas, halagar a los porteros, mudar amistades, remudar mesas, hablar con alcahustas, requestar damas y aun preguntar por hermosas. En la corte, más que en otra parte, son todas las cosas pesadas y tardías. ¡O triste del cortesanol, el qual se levanta tarde, despacha tarde, visita tarde, le oyen tarde, se confiesa tarde, reza tarde, se retrae tarde, se enmienda tarde, le conoscen tarde y aun medra tarde. En la corte son infinitos los que se pierden y muy poquitos los que medran. No podemos negar sino que allí se mueren los privados, allí se mudan los estados, allí caen los favorescidos, allí se ençarçan las biudas, allí se infaman las casadas, allí se sueltan las doncellas, allí se mohecen los ingenios, allí se acobardan los esforçados, allí se derraman los religiosos, allí se niegan los perlados, allí se olvidan los doctos, allí desatinan los cuerdos, allí se envejecen los moços y aun allí se tornan locos los viejos. En la corte es llegada a tanto la locura, que no llaman buen cortesano sino al que está muy adeudado.

¡Qué léstima es de ver a un cortesano! , el qual debe al trapero el paño para los moços; al joyero, la seda de la librea; al sastre, la hechura que no le pagó; a la dama, el reso que le mandó; a la amiga, la holanda que le prometió; al juez, las costas del proceso; al platero, la hechura de la medalla; a los moços, la soldada del mes; a los huéspedes

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Rev.3.15-Rev.3.16 — I know your works—that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! Rev.3.16 — So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Reading 'babilidad' as 'habilidad' (ability/skill), the only sense that fits the parallel list of wasted court virtues.
  2. 2 ↩'Privado' is the court favorite or intimate of the prince; 'privado del privado' means the favorite's favorite—the man who thrives by that second-hand favor.
  3. 3 ↩'Complisiones' = complexions/constitutions (temperament); 'condiciones' = habits and moral character. The contrast is physical disposition vs. moral make-up.
  4. 4 ↩Normalized several corrupt forms in the witness: 'dei aposentador' → del aposentador; 'desarms' → desarma; 'alguns' → alguna; 'de contador' taken as del contador.
  5. 5 ↩Restored corrupt readings: 've ynte… pesap' → veinte… pesar; 'ease' → case; 'si te los renteros' → si de los renteros; 'Itegado el plazo' → llegado el plazo.
  6. 6 ↩Reading 'dioron' as 'dieron' (they gave/paid).
  7. 7 ↩Normalized reading has '¡0 triste del cortesano!'; treated as the exclamation '¡O triste del cortesano!' (O for zero), matching the parallel lament pattern later in the chapter.
  8. 8 ↩Source is a bare fragment ', el qual.' Continuative relative introducing the courtier's plight in the following sentence; rendered as a linking 'who' clause.
  9. 9 ↩'privado' here is the court favorite/confidant (privado del príncipe), not 'private' in the modern English sense.
  10. 10 ↩Source 'haller' read as 'hallar' (to find).
  11. 11 ↩Source reading "a loe moços" treated as "a los moços" ("young men").
  12. 12 ↩Source reading "cortesanol" treated as "cortesano" ("courtier").
  13. 13 ↩"se niegan los perlados" rendered as prelates refusing their duty; could also mean they deny access or renounce their charge.
  14. 14 ↩Source form 'reso' is obscure in this gift/debt list; rendered as 'satin' on the plausible reading raso (a luxury textile parallel to the neighboring paño, seda, and holanda). If another reading is preferred, the rest of the list still stands.
  15. 15 ↩amiga in court satire often means a kept mistress or paramour rather than a merely friendly acquaintance; 'mistress' is used for that force.

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