EARLY REFINEMENT IN ITALY.

In connection with the many samples of English and some French and Latin Courtesy-Books which the pains of other Editors have set before the members of the Early English Text Society, I have been asked to do something to exhibit what Italian literature has to show for itself in the same line. The request is one which I gladly close with; only cautioning the reader at starting that he must not expect to find in my brief essay any deep or exhaustive knowledge of the subject, or anything beyond specimens of the works under consideration, picked out one here and one there. Italy, it is tolerably well known, was, together with Provence, in the forefront of civilization—or ‘civility,’ as it might here be more aptly phrased—in the middle ages; and I should not be surprised to learn that, in the refinements of life and niceties of method, the Italy of the thirteenth century, as traceable in her Courtesy-Books, was quite on a par with the France or Germany[1] of the fourteenth, or the England of the fifteenth, and so progressively on. This, however, is a matter which I must leave to be determined by more diligent and more learned researches than my own. The materials for the comparison are now, to some extent, fairly before the editing and reading members of our Society.

As regards date, at all events, Italy is greatly in advance. What is the date of the earliest French Courtesy-Book included in our series? Not far, I presume, from the close of the fourteenth century. What of the earliest English one? About 1450. Against these we can set an Italian Courtesy-Book—or rather a Courtesy section of an Italian book—dating about 1265. Of a date prior to this (the birth-year of Dante), there is little of either prose or poetry in Italian.

BRUNETTO LATINI.

The author of our specimen is a man illustrious in the literature of Italy, though comparatively little read for some centuries past—Brunetto Latini; remembered chiefly among miscellaneous readers as the preceptor of Dante, and as consigned by that affectionate but unaccommodating pupil to a very ugly circle of his Hell. There, if we may believe the ‘Poet of Rectitude,’ Ser Brunetto, with a ‘baked aspect,’ is at this moment unremittingly walking under an unremitting rain of fire: were he to pause, he would remain moveless for a century, and the torture of the flames would persecute him in aggravated proportion. On the same authority (which it is futile to fence with), I am compelled to say that Brunetto is the last person from whom one need wish to learn the practice, or as a consequence the theory, of modern or European morals.

However, Brunetto seems to have considered that he had a gift that way. Both his leading works may be termed moral-scientific treatises. The longer of the two, the Tesoro, was written in French prose, and is much of a compilation from classic authors in some sections. It had hitherto only been preserved to the public in an old Italian translation, but quite recently the French text has been printed. Sacred, profane, and natural history, geography, oratory, politics, and morals, are the main subject-matter of this encyclopædic labour; than which probably no contemporary produced anything more widely learned, according to the standard of that age. The Tesoretto is a shorter performance, written in Italian verse; shorter, yet still of substantial length, numbering, even in its extant incomplete state, 22 sections or ‘capitoli.’ This is the work upon which I shall draw for our first specimen of an Italian Courtesy-Book. Something bearing upon the like questions might also be gleaned from the Tesoro, but, as that is properly a French book, I leave it aside.

The Tesoretto sets forth that its author, being at Roncesvalles on his return from an embassy in Spain, received the bad news of the battle of Montaperti. Getting astray in a forest,[2] he finds himself in the presence of no less a personage than Dame Nature, who proceeds to give him practical and theoretic demonstrations on all sorts of lofty subjects. She then tells him to explore the forest, where he would find Philosophy, the four Moral Virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice), Love, Fortune, and Over-reaching (Baratteria). He follows her instructions, searching out these personages from Philosophy on to Love: the four Virtues are attended by many ladies, among whom Brunetto specifies particularly Liberality, Courtesy, Good-faith, and Valour. After his interview with Love, he resolves to reconcile himself with God, and makes a full confession at Montpélier. Having received absolution, he does not return after Fortune and Over-reaching, but goes back to the forest, and thence reaches the summit of Mount Olympus. Here he sees Ptolemy, who is about to harangue him, when suddenly the Tesoretto comes to an end. Its best editor, the Abate Zannoni, supposes that the concluding portion of the poem was written, but has been lost to posterity.

A few words must be added as to the incidents of the author’s life. He was born (probably) not much later than 1220 in the Florentine state, and died in 1294. After the great defeat of the Guelphs by the Ghibellines at Montaperti in 1260, Brunetto, with others of the Guelph party, which was almost uninterruptedly uppermost in Florence, found it expedient to emigrate from that capital. He went to Paris, and there wrote both the Tesoro and Tesoretto. Towards 1265 he was again re-established in his native country, exercising with great credit his profession of a notary, and also (by or before the year 1273) holding the post of secretary to the Commune of Florence. He became, as already mentioned, the preceptor of Dante. As the pupil has damned him to all time at any rate, if not in effect to all eternity, for one offence, let us at least preserve some memory of his countervailing merits, as set forth by Giovanni and Filippo Villani. The former affirms that Brunetto ‘was the initiator and master in refining the Florentines, and cultivating their use of language; and in regulating the justice and rule of our Republic according to policy.’ And, according to Filippo, ‘Brunetto Latini was by profession a philosopher, by occupation a notary, and of great name and celebrity. He showed forth how much of rhetoric he could add to the gifts of nature: a man, if it be permitted to say so, worthy of being reckoned along with those skilled and ancient orators. He was facetious, learned, and acute, and abounded in certain pleasantries of speech; yet not without gravity, and the reserve of modesty, which bespoke a most cordial acceptance for his humour: of agreeable discourse, which often moved to laughter. He was obliging and decorous, and by nature serviceable, reserved, and grave; and most happy in the habit of all virtues, had he been wisely able to endure with a more steadfast mind the outrages of his infuriated country.’

EXTRACT FROM B. LATINI'S TESORETTO.

The Tesoretto is of course a mine of curiosities of various kinds, tempting to the literary explorer. To call it distinctly a fine poem, or even the performance of a strictly poetic mind, might be the exaggeration of an enthusiast; but at all events it contains much sound matter well put, and by no means destitute of entertainment. The section that falls in best with our present purpose is the speech assigned to Lady Courtesy: I present it in its entirety.

‘Be sure that Liberality is the head and greatness[3]
Of my mystery; so that I am little worth,
And, if she aids me not, I should find scant acceptance.
She is my foundation; and I am her gilding,
And colour, and varnish. But, to say the very truth,
If we have two names, we are well-nigh one thing.
But to thee, gentle friend, I say first
That in thy speech thou be circumspect.
Be not too great a talker, and think aforehand
What thou wouldst be saying; for never
Doth the word that is spoken return,—like the arrow
Which goes and returns not. He who has a goodly tongue,
Little sense suffices him, if by folly he spoils it not.
Be thy speech gentle; and see it be not harsh
In any position of command, for thou canst not
Give people any graver annoy. I advise that he should die
Who displeases by harshness, for he never conquers the habit:
And he who has no moderation, if he acts well, he filches that.
Be not exasperating; neither be a tell-tale
Of what another person has spoken in thy presence;
Nor yet use contumely; nor tell any one a lie,
Nor slander of any,—for in sooth there is no one
Of whom one might not say something offensive offhand.
Neither be so self-sufficient as that even one hard word
Affecting another person should issue from thy mouth;
For too much self-sufficiency is contrary to good usage.
And let him who is on the highway beware of speaking folly.
But thou knowest that I command thee, and put it as a strict precept,
That thou honour to the utmost thy good friend
On foot and on horseback: and be sure that for a small fault
Thou bear no grudge—let not love fail on thy part.
And have it always in mind to associate with people of honour,
And from others hold aloof; so that (as with the crafts[4])
Thou mayst not acquire any vice, whereof, before thou couldst amend it,
Thou shalt have scathe and shame. Therefore at all hours
Hold fast to good usage; for that advances thee
In credit and honour, and makes thee better,
And gives fair seeming,—for a good nature
Becomes the clearer and more polished if it follows good habits.
But see none the less that, if thou shouldst appear tedious
To such or such a company, thou venture to frequent it no more,
But procure thyself some other to which thy ways are pleasing.
Friend, heed this well: with one richer than thyself
Seek not to associate,—for thou shalt be as their merry-maker,
Or else thou wilt spend as much as they; for, if thou didst not this,
Thou wouldst be mean,—and reflect always
That a costly beginning demands perseverance.
Therefore thou must provide, if thy means allow it,
That thou do this openly. If not, then mind
Not to make such expenditure as shall afterwards be reproved;
But adopt such a system as to be consistent with thyself.
And, if thou art a little better off [than thy comrades], do not get away,
But spend on the same scale; take no advantage:—
And at all times take heed, if there is in thy company
A man, in thine opinion, of inferior means,
That, for God’s sake, thou force him not into more than he can meet;
For, if, for thy convenience, he spends his money amiss,
And comes to poverty, thou wilt be blamed therefor.
And in sooth there are persons of high condition
Who call themselves “noble”: all others they hold cheap
Because of this nobility. And, in that conceit,
They will call a man “tradesman”[5] who would sooner spend a bushel
Of florins than they of halfpence,[6]—
Although the means of both might be of like amount.
And he who holds himself noble, without doing any other good
Save of the name, fancies he is making the cross to himself,
But he does make the fig to himself.[7] He who endures not toil
For honour’s sake, let him not imagine that he comes
Among men of worth, because he is of lofty race;
For I hold him noble who shows that he follows the path
Of great valour and of gentle nurture,—
So that, besides his lineage, he does deeds of worth,
And lives honourably so as to make himself beloved.
I admit indeed that, if the one and other are equal in good deeds,
He who is the better born is esteemed the higher:
Not through any teaching of mine, but it seems to be the usage,
Which conquers and overthrows many of my ways,
So that I can no otherwise; for this world is so dense
That the right is even judged of according to a little talking,
For the great and the lesser live therein by rumour.
Therefore be heedful to keep among them so silent
That they may have nothing to laugh at. Adopt their modes,
For I rather advise thee to follow their wrongfulness.[8]
For, though thou shouldst be in the right, yet, as soon as it pleases not them,
It avails thee nothing to speak well, nor yet ill.
Therefore recount no tale, unless it appears good and fair
To all who hear it; for somebody will censure thee for it,
And add lies thereto when thou art gone,
Which must assuredly grieve thee. So thou must know,
In such company, to play the prudent part,
And be heedful to say what will please.
And as for the good, if thou knowest it, thou wilt tell it to others
Where thou art known and held dear;
For thou wilt find among people many fools
Who take greater pleasure in hearing something scurrilous
Than what is profitable. Pass on, and heed not,
And be circumspect.
If a man of great repute
Should at any time do something that is out of bounds
In street or church, follow not the example:
For he has no excuse who conforms to the wrong-doing of others.
And see that thou err not if thou art staying or going
With a lady or lord, or other superior,—
Also that, although he be but thine equal, thou observe to honour him,
Each according to his condition. Be so heedful of this,
Both of less and more, that thou lose not self-restraint.
To thine inferior, however, render not more honour
Than beseems him, nor such that he should hold thee cheap for it:
And so, if he is the inferior, always walk a step in advance.
And, if thou art on horseback, avoid every fault;
And, if thou goest through the city, I counsel thee to go
Very courteously. Ride decorously,
With head a little bowed, for to go in that loose-reined way
Looks most boorish; and stare not up at the height
Of every house thou comest to. Mind that thou move not about
Like a man from the country—wriggle not like an eel:
But go steadily along the road and among the people.
When thou art asked for a loan, delay not.
If thou art willing to lend, make not the man linger so long
That the favour shall be lost before it is rendered.
And, when thou art in company, always follow
Their modes and their liking; for thou must not want
To be just suiting thine own taste, nor to be at odds with them.
And always be heedful that thou give not any gross glances
At any woman living, in house or street;
For he who does thus, and calls himself a lover,
Is esteemed a blackguard.[9] And I have seen before now
A man lose position by a single act of levity;[10]
For in this country such goings-on are not admired.
And take heed in every case that Love, with his arts,
Inflame not thy heart. With severest pain
Wouldst thou consume thy life; nor couldst thou be numbered
In my following, wert thou in his power.[11]
Now return in-doors, for it is the time;
And be liberal and courteous, so that in every country
All thy belongings be deemed pleasurable.’
BONVICINO DA RIVA.

We now pass from Florence to Lombardy—from Ser Brunetto Latini to Fra Bonvicino da Riva—from the lawyer and official to the friar and professor. The poem of Fra Bonvicino, The Fifty Courtesies for the Table, will be our principal pièce de résistance, and presented accordingly in its own garnishing of old Italian as well as in English. Not that it is by any means the best or most important piece of work that we have to bring forward; but its rarity, its dialectic interest for students of old Italian, and its precision and detail with regard to one of the essentials of courtesy—the art of dining—give it exceptional value for our direct purpose. The poem is supposed to have been written about 1290.

Unpolished as he is in poetic development, Fra Bonvicino is not to be altogether slighted from a literary point of view. Tiraboschi (Storia della Letteratura Italiana) believes that Bonvicino and one other were the two sole verse-writers of the Lombard or Milanese State in this opening period of Italian poesy; and Signor Biondelli, whom we have to thank for the publication of Bonvicino’s production after so many centuries of its hybernation in MS, can point to the choiceness of the old Friar’s vocabulary. In one couplet that well-qualified editor is able to find five expressions ‘which, for propriety and purity, would even at the present day beseem the most careful of writers;’ and hence he pronounces Bonvicino ‘the elegant writer of his time.’ It should be understood, however, that the MS reproduced by Signor Biondelli, and now again in the present volume, gives but an inadequate idea of the primitiveness of Bonvicino’s own actual idiom. Tiraboschi cites a harsher version of the first stanza from an earlier MS then existing in the Library of Santa Maria Incoronata in Milan, but which is now undiscoverable: the MS used by Signor Biondelli is of a much later date, the fifteenth century. It pertains to the Ambrosian Library in Milan.

Bonvicino belonged to the third order of the Friars named Umiliati, and lived (as he himself informs us) in Legnano, a town of the Milanese district. Hence he went to Milan, and became a distinguished professor of grammar in the Palatine schools. The only other poem of his published in Signor Biondelli’s volume[12] is On the dignity of the Glorious Virgin Mary: but Tiraboschi specifies other productions in verse—Dialogues in praise of Almsgiving, between the Virgin and Satan, between the Virgin and the Sinner, between the Creator and the Soul, between the Soul and the Body, between the Violet and the Rose, between the Fly and the Ant; also the Legends of Job and of St Alexius; and various works in Latin, of which some have been published.

DE LE
ZINQUANTA CORTEXIE DA TAVOLA
DE FRA BONVEXINO DA RIVA

Fra bon Vexino da Riva, che stete in borgo Legniano
De le cortexie da descho ne dixe primano;
De le cortexie cinquanta che se den servare a descho
Fra bon Vexino da Riva ne parla mo’ de frescho.4
La primiera è questa: che quando tu è a mensa,
Del povero bexognoxo imprimamente inpensa;
Che quando tu pasci lo povero, tu pasci lo tó Segnore,
Che te passerà, poxe la toa morte, in lo eternal dolzore.8
La cortexia segonda: se tu sporze aqua alle man,
Adornamente la sporze; guarda no sia vilan;
Asay ghe ne sporze, no tropo, quando el è tempo d’estae;
D’inverno per lo fregio in pizina quantitae.12
La terza cortexia si è: no sì tropo presto
De corre senza parola per asetare al descho;
Se alchun te invida a noxe, anze che tu sie asetato,
Per ti no prende quello axio, d’onde tu fuzi deschazato.16
L’ oltra è: Anze che tu prendi lo cibo aparegiao
Per ti, over per tò mayore, fa sì ch’ el sie segniao.
Tropo è gordo e vilan, e incontra Cristo malegna
Lo quale alli oltri guarda, ni lo sò condugio no segna.20
La cortexia zinquena: sta aconzamente al descho,
Cortexe, adorno, alegro, e confortoxo e frescho;
No di’ sta convitoroxo, ni gramo, ni travachao;
Ni con le gambe in croxe, ni torto, ni apodiao.24
La cortexia sexena: da poy che l’ omo se fiada,
Sia cortexe no apodiasse sovra la mensa bandia;
Chi fa dra mensa podio, quello homo non è cortexe,
Quando el gh’apodia le gambe, over ghe ten le braze destexe.28
La cortexia setena si è: in tuta zente
No tropo mangiare, ni pocho; ma temperadamente;
Quello homo en ch’ el se sia, che mangia tropo, ni pocho,
No vego quentro pro ghe sia al’anima, ni al corpo.32
La cortexia ogena si è: che Deo n’ acrescha,
No tropo imple la bocha, ni tropo mangia inpressa;
Lo gordo che mangia inpressa, e che mangia a bocha piena,
Quando el fisse apellavo, no ve responde apena.36
La cortexia novena si è: a pocho parlare,
Et a tenire pox quello che l’ à tolegio a fare;
Che l’ omo tan fin ch’ el mangia, s’ el usa tropo a dire,
Le ferguie fora dra bocha sovenzo pon insire.40
La cortexia dexena si è: quando tu è sede,
Travonde inanze lo cibo, e furbe la bocha, e beve.
Lo gordo che beve inpressa, inanze ch’ el voja la chana;
Al’ oltro fa fastidio che beve sego in compagnia.44
E la undexena è questa: no sporze la copa al’ oltro,
Quando el ghe pò atenze, s’ el no te fesse acorto;
Zaschuno homo prenda la copa quando ghe plaxe;
E quando el l’ à beudo, l’ à de mete zoxo in paxe.48
La dodexena è questa: quando tu di’ prende la copa,
Con dove mane la rezeve, e ben te furbe la bocha;
Con l’una conzamente no se pò la ben receve;
Azò ch’ el vino no se spanda, con doe mane di’ beve.52
La tredexena è questa: se ben tu no voy beve,
S’ alchun te sporze la copa, sempre la di’ rezeve;
Quando tu l’à receuda, ben tosto la pò mete via;
Over sporze a un’ altro ch’ è tego in compagnia.56
L’ oltra che segue è questa: quando tu è alli convivi,
Onde si à bon vin in descho, guarda che tu no t’ invrie;
Che se invria matamente, in tre maynere offende;
El noxe al corpo e al’ anima, e perde lo vin ch’ el spende.60
La quindexena è questa: seben verun ariva,
No leva in pè dal descho, se grande cason no ghe sia;
Tan fin tu mangi al descho, non di’ moverse inlora,
Per amore de fare careze a quilli che te veraveno sovra.64
La sedexena apresso con veritae:
No sorbilar dra bocha quando tu mangi con cugial;
Quello fa sicom bestia, chi con cugial sorbilia;
Chi doncha à questa usanza, ben fa s’ el se dispolia.68
La desetena apresso si è: quando tu stranude,
Over ch’ el te prende la tosse, guarda con tu làvori
In oltra parte te volze, ed è cortexia inpensa,
Azò che dra sariva no zesse sor la mensa.72
La desogena è questa: quando l’ omo sente ben sano,
No faza onde el se sia del companadego pan;
Quello ch’ è lechardo de carne, over d’ove, over de formagio,
Anche n’ abielo d’avanzo, perzò no de ’l fa stragio.76
La dexnovena è questa: no blasma li condugi
Quando tu è alli convivi; ma dì, che l’in bon tugi.
In questa rea usanza multi homini ò za trovao,
Digando: questo è mal cogio, o questo è mal salao.80
E la XX.ª è questa: ale toe menestre atende;
Entre altru’ no guarda, se no forse per imprende
Lo menistrante, s’ el ghe manca ben de guardà per tuto;
Mal s’ el no menestresse clave e se lovo è bruto.84
La XXI.ª è questa: no mastrulare per tuto
Como avesse carne, over ove, over semiante condugio;
Chi volze, over chi mastrulia sur lo taliere zerchando,
È bruto, e fa fastidio al compagnon mangiando.88
La XXII.ª è questa: no te reze vilanamente;
Se tu mangi con verun d’uno pan comunamente,
Talia lo pan per ordine, no va taliando per tuto;
No va taliando da le parte, se tu no voy essere bruto.92
La XXIII.ª: no di’ metere pan in vino,
Se tego d’un napo medesmo bevesse Fra Bon Vexino;
Chi vole peschare entro vin, bevando d’un napo conmego,
Per meo grao, se eyo poesse, no bevereve consego.96
La XXIIII.ª è: no mete in parte per mezo lo compagnon
Ni grelin, ni squela, se no ghe fosse gran raxon;
Over grelin, over squela se tu voy mete inparte,
Per mezo ti lo di’ mete pur da la toa parte.100
La XXV.ª è: chi fosse con femene sovra un talier mangiando,
La carne a se e a lor ghe debia esser taliata;
Lo homo de’ plu esse intento, plu presto e honoreure,
Che no de’ per raxon la femena agonzente.104
La XXVI.ª è questa: de grande bontà inpensa,
Quando lo tò bon amigo mangia alla toa mensa;
Se tu talie carne, over pesso, over oltre bone pitanze,
De la plu bella parte ghe debie cerne inanze.108
La XXVII.ª è questa: no di’ tropo agrezare
L’amigo a caxa tova de beve, ni de mangiare;
Ben di’ tu receve l’amigo e farghe bella cera,
E darghe ben da spende e consolare voluntera.112
La XXVIII.ª è questa: apresso grande homo mangiando,
Astalete de mangiare tan fin che l’ è bevando;
Mangiando apresso d’un vescho, tan fin ch’ el beve dra copa,
Usanza drita prende; no mastegare dra bocha.116
La XXVIIII.ª è questa: se grande homo è da provo,
No di’ beve sego a una hora, anze ghe di’ dà logo;
Chi fosse a provo d’un vescho, tan fin ch’ el beverave,
No di’ levà lo sò napo, over ch’ el vargarave.120
E la trentena è questa: che serve, abia neteza;
No faza in lo prexente ni spuda, ni bruteza;
Al’ homo tan fin ch’ el mangia, plu tosto fa fastidio;
No pò tropo esse neto chi serve a uno convivio.124
Pox la XXX.ª è questa: zaschun cortese donzello
Che se vore mondà lo naxo, con li drapi se faza bello;
Chi mangia, over chi menestra, no de’ sofià con le die;
Con li drapi da pey se monda vostra cortexia.128
L’ oltra che ven è questa; le toe man siano nete;
Ni le die entro le oregie, ni le man sul cho di’ mete;
No de’ l’omo che mangia habere nudritura,
A berdugare con le die in parte, onde sia sozura.132
La terza poxe la XXX.ª: no brancorar con le man,
Tan fin tu mangi al descho, ni gate, ni can;
No è lecito allo cortexe a brancorare li bruti
Con le man, con le que al tocha li condugi.136
L’ oltra è: tan fin tu mangi con homini cognosenti,
No mete le die in bocha per descolzare li dingi.
Chi caza le die in bocha, anze che l’abia mangiao,
Sur lo talier conmego no mangia per mè grao.140
La quinta poxe la trenta: tu no di’ lenze le die;
Le die chi le caza in bocha brutamente furbe;
Quello homo che se caza in bocha le die inpastruliate,
Le die no én plu nete, anze son plu brute.144
La sesta cortexia poxe la trenta:
S’ el te fa mestere parlà, no parla a bocha plena;
Chi parla, e chi responde, se l’ à plena la bocha,
Apena ch’ el possa laniare negota.148
Poxe questa ven quest’ oltra: tan fin ch’ el compagno
Avrà lo napo alla bocha, no ghe fa domando,
Se ben tu lo vo’ apelare; de zò te fazo avezudo;
No l’impagià, daghe logo tan fin che l’avrà beudo.152
La XXXVIII.ª è questa: no recuntare ree novelle,
Azò che quilli ch’ în tego, no mangiano con recore;
Tan fin che li oltri mangiano, no dì nove angosoxe;
Ma taxe, over dì parole che siano confortoxe.156
L’ oltra che segue è questa: se tu mangi con persone,
No fa remore, ni tapie, se ben gh’ avise raxone;
S’ alchun de li toy vargasse, passa oltra fin a tempo,
Azò che quilli ch’ ìn tego, no abiano turbamento.160
L’ oltra è: se dolia te prende de qualche infirmitade,
Al più tu poy conprime la toa necesitade;
Se mal te senti al descho, no demostrà la pena;
Che tu no fazi recore a quilli che mangiano tego insema.164
Pox quella ven quest’ oltra: se entro mangial vegisse
Qualche sghivosa cossa, ai oltri no desisse;
Over moscha, over qual sozura entro mangial vezando,
Taxe, ch’eli no abiano sghivo al descho mangiando.168
L’ oltra è: se tu porte squelle al descho per servire,
Sur la riva dra squella le porexe di’ tenire:
Se tu apili le squelle cor porexe sur la riva,
Tu le poy mete zoxo in sò logo senza oltro che t’ ayda.172
La terza poxe la quaranta è: se tu sporzi la copa,
La sumità del napo col polexe may no tocha;
Apilia lo napo de soto, e sporze con una man;
Chi ten per altra via, pò fi digio, che sia vilan.176
La quarta poxe la quaranta si è: chi vol odire:
Ni grelin, ni squelle, ni ’l napo no di’ trop’ inplire;
Mesura e modo de’ esse in tute le cosse che sia;
Chi oltra zò vargasse, no ave fà cortexia.180
L’ oltra che segue è questa: reten a ti lo cugiale,
Se te fi tolegio la squella per azonzere de lo mangiale;
Se l’ è lo cugial entro la squella, lo ministrante inpilia;
In tute le cortexie ben fa chi s’ asetilia.184
L’ oltra è questa: se tu mangi con cugial,
No debie infolcire tropo pan entro mangiare;
Quello che fa impiastro entro mangià da fogo,
El fa fastidio a quilli che ghe mangiano da provo.188
L’ oltra che segue è questa: s’ el tò amigo è tego,
Tan fin ch’ el mangia al descho, sempre bochona sego;
Se forse t’ astalasse, ni fosse sazio anchora,
Forse anchora s’ astalarave per vergonza inlora.192
L’ oltra è: mangiando con oltri a qualche inviamento,
No mete entr’ a guayna lo tò cortelo anze tempo;
No guerna lo cortello anze ch’ alo compagno;
Forse oltro ven in descho d’onde tu no fè raxon.196
La cortexia seguente è: quando tu è mangiao,
Fa sì che Jesu Xristo ne sia glorificao.
Quel che rezeve servixio d’alchun obediente,
S’elo no lo regratia, tropo è deschognosente.200
La cinquantena per la darera:
Lavare le man, poy beve dro bon vino dra carera:
Le man poxe lo convivio per pocho pòn si lavae,
Da grassa e da sozura e l’in netezae.204

THE
FIFTY COURTESIES FOR THE TABLE,
OF FRA BONVESINO[13] DA RIVA.

Fra Bonvesino da Riva, who lived in the town of Legnano,
First treated of the Courtesies for the Table.
Of the Fifty Courtesies which should be observed at the board
Fra Bonvesino da Riva now speaks afresh.[14]4
The first is this: that, when thou art at table,
Thou think first of the poor and needy;
For, when thou feedest the poor, thou feedest thy Lord,
Who will feed thee, after thy death, in the eternal bliss.8
The second Courtesy. If thou offerest water for the hands,
Offer it neatly: see thou be not rude.
Offer enough water, not too much, when it is summer-time:
In winter, for the cold, in small quantity.12
The third Courtesy is—Be not too quick
To run without a word to sit down at the board.
If any one invites thee to a wedding,[15] before thou art seated,
Take not for thyself a place from which thou wouldst be turned out.16
The next is—Before thou takest the food prepared,
See that it be signed [with the cross] by thyself or thy better.
Too greedy and churlish is he, and he offends against Christ,
Who looks about at others, and signs not his dish.[16]20
The fifth Courtesy. Sit properly at the board,
Courteous, well-dressed, cheerful, and obliging and fresh.
Thou must not sit anxious, nor dismal, nor lolling,
Nor with thy legs crossed, nor awry, nor leaning forward.24
The sixth Courtesy. When people are at a pause,
Be careful not to lean forward on the laid-out table.
He who uses the table as a prop, that man is not courteous,
When he tilts his legs upon it, or stretches out his arms along it.28
The seventh Courtesy is—For all people
Not to eat too much nor little, but temperately.
That man, whoever he may be, who eats too much or little,
I see not what good it can be to his soul or his body.32
The eighth Courtesy is—So may God favour us,
Fill not thy mouth too much, nor eat in too great a hurry.
The glutton who eats in a hurry, and who eats with his mouth stuffed,
If he were addressed, he scarcely answers you.36
The ninth Courtesy is—To speak little,
And stick to that which one has set-to at doing;
For a man, as long as he is eating, if he has the habit of talking too much,
Scraps may often spurt out of his mouth.40
The tenth Courtesy is—When thou art thirsty,
First swallow down thy food, and wipe thy mouth, and drink.
The glutton who drinks in a hurry, before he has emptied his gullet,
Makes himself disagreeable to the other who is drinking in his company.44
And the eleventh is this: Do not offer the cup to another
When he can himself reach it, unless he asks thee for it.
Let every man take the cup when he pleases;
And, when he has drunk, he should set it down quietly.48
The twelfth is this: When thou hast to take the cup,
Hold it with both hands, and wipe thy mouth well.
With one [hand] it cannot well be held properly:
In order that the wine be not spilled, thou must drink using both hands.52
The thirteenth is this: If even thou dost not want to drink,
If anybody offers thee the cup, thou must always accept it.
When thou hast accepted it, thou mayst very soon set it down,
Or else offer it to another who is in company with thee.56
The next that follows is this: When thou art at entertainments
Where there is good wine on the board, see that thou get not drunk.
He who gets mad-drunk offends in three ways:
He harms his body and his soul, and loses the wine which he consumes.60
The fifteenth is this: If any one arrives,
Rise not up from the board unless there be great reason therefor.
As long as thou eatest at the board, thou shouldst not then move
For the sake of making much of those who may come in to thee.64
The sixteenth next in good sooth.
Suck not with the mouth when thou eatest with a spoon.[17]
He acts like a beast who sucks with a spoon:
Therefore whoever has this habit does well in ridding himself of it.68
The seventeenth afterwards is this: When thou dost sneeze,
Or if a cough seizes thee, mind thy lips:
Turn aside, and reflect that that is courtesy,
So that no saliva may get on the table.72
The eighteenth is this: When a man feels himself quite comfortable,
Let him not leave bread over after the victuals.[18]
He who has a taste for meat, or for eggs, or for cheese,
Even though he should have a residue, he should not on that account waste it.76
The nineteenth is this: Blame not the dishes
When thou art at entertainments, but say that they are all good.
I have detected many men erewhile in this vile habit,
Saying ‘This is ill cooked,’ or ‘this is ill salted.’80
And the twentieth is this: Attend to thine own sops;
Peer not into those of others, unless perchance to apprize
The attendant if anything is wanting. He must look well all round:
Things would go much amiss if he were not to attend.[19]84
The twenty-first is this: Do not poke about everywhere,
When thou hast meat, or eggs, or some such dish.
He who turns and pokes about on the platter, searching,[20]
Is unpleasant, and annoys his companion at dinner.88
The twenty-second is this: Do not behave rudely.
If thou art eating from one loaf in common with any one,
Cut the loaf as it comes, do not go cutting all about;
Do not go cutting one part and then another, if thou wouldst not be uncouth.92
The twenty-third. Thou must not dip bread into wine
If Fra Bonvesino has to drink out of the same bowl with thee.
He who will fish in the wine, drinking in one bowl with me,
I for my own liking, if so I could, would not drink with him.96
The twenty-fourth is—Set not down right before thy companion
Either pan or pot, unless there be great reason therefor.
If thou wantest to introduce either pan or pot,
Thou must set it down at thine own side, before thyself.100
The twenty-fifth is—One who may be eating from a platter with women,
The meat has to be carved for himself and for them.
The man must be more attentive, more prompt in honouring,
Than the woman, in reason, has to reciprocate.104
The twenty-sixth is this: Count it as a great kindness
When thy good friend eats at thy table.
If thou carvest meat, or fish, or other good viands,
Thou must choose of the best part for him.108
The twenty-seventh is this: Thou must not overmuch press
Thy friend in thy house to drink or to eat.
Thou must receive thy friend well, and make him welcome,
And heartily give him plenty to eat and enjoy himself with.112
The twenty-eighth is this: Dining with a great man,
Abstain from eating so long as he is drinking.
Dining with a Bishop, so long as he is drinking from the cup,
Right usage requires thou shouldst not be chewing with the mouth.116
The twenty-ninth is this: If a great man is beside thee,
Thou must not drink at the same time with him, but give him precedence.
Who may be beside a Bishop, so long as he is drinking
Or pouring out, must not raise his bowl.120
And the thirtieth is this: He who serves, let him be cleanly.
Let him not make in presence [of the guests] any spitting or nastiness:
To a man as long as he is eating, this is all the more offensive.
He who serves at an entertainment cannot be too nice.124
Next after the thirtieth is this: Every courteous donzel[21]
Who wants to wipe his nose, let him embellish himself with a cloth.
He who eats, or who is serving, must not blow through the fingers.
Be so obliging as to clean yourselves with the foot-cloths.[22]128
The next that comes is this: Let thy hands be clean.
Thou must not put either thy fingers into thine ears, or thy hands on thy head.
The man who is eating must not be cleaning
By scraping with his fingers at any foul part.132
The third after the thirtieth. Stroke not with hands,
As long as thou eatest at the board, cat or dog.
A courteous man is not warranted in stroking brutes
With the hands with which he touches the dishes.136
The next is—As long as thou art eating with men of breeding,
Put not thy fingers into thy mouth to pick thy teeth.
He who sticks his fingers in his mouth, before he has done eating,
Eats not, with my good-will, on the platter with me.140
The fifth after the thirtieth. Thou must not lick thy fingers.
He who thrusts his fingers into his mouth cleans them nastily.
That man who thrusts into his mouth his besmeared fingers,
His fingers are none the cleaner, but rather the nastier.144
The sixth Courtesy after the thirtieth.
If thou hast occasion to speak, speak not with thy mouth full.
He who speaks, and he who answers, if he has his mouth full,
Scarcely can he chop out a word.148
After this comes this other: As long as thy companion
Has the bowl to his mouth, ask him no questions
If thou wouldst address him: of this I give thee notice.
Disturb him not: pause until he has drunk.152
The thirty-eighth is this: Tell no bad news,
In order that those who are with thee may not eat out of spirits.
As long as the others are eating, give no painful news;
But keep silence, or else speak in cheerful terms.156
The next that follows is this: If thou art eating with others,
Make no uproar or disturbance, even though thou shouldst have reason therefor.
If any of thy companions should transgress, pass it by till the time comes,
So that those who are with thee may not be put out.160
The next is—If the pain of any ill-health seizes thee,
Keep down thy distress as much as thou canst.
If thou feelest ill at the board, show not the pain,
That thou mayst not cause discomfort to those who are eating along with thee.164
After that comes this other: Shouldst thou see in the viands
Any disagreeable thing, tell it not to the others.
Seeing in the viands either a fly or any uncleanliness,
Keep silence, that they may not feel disgust, eating at the board.168
The next is—If thou bringest dishes to the board in serving,
Thou must keep thy thumbs on the rim of the dish.
If thou takest hold with the thumb on the rim of the dishes,
Thou canst set them down in their place without any one else to help thee.172
The third after the fortieth is—If thou offerest the cup,
Never touch with the thumb the upper edge of the bowl.
Hold the bowl at the under end, and present it with one hand:
He who holds it otherwise may be called boorish.176
The fourth after the fortieth is—hear who will—
Neither frying-pan nor dishes nor bowl should be overfilled.
Measure and moderation should be in all things that are:
He who should transcend this will not have done courtesy.180
The next which follows is this: Keep thy spoon,
If thy plate is removed for the adding of some viands.
If the spoon is in the plate, it puts out the helper.
In all courtesies he does well who is heedful.[23]184
The next is this: If thou art eating with a spoon,
Thou must not stuff too much bread into the victuals.
He who lays it on thick upon the cooked meats,
Is distasteful to those who are eating beside him.188
The next that follows is this: If thy friend is with thee,
As long as he eats at the board, always keep up with him.
If thou perchance wert to leave off, and he were not yet satisfied,
Maybe he also would then leave off through bashfulness.192
The next is—Dining with others by some invitation,
Put not back thy knife into the sheath before the time:
Deposit not thy knife ere thy companion.
Perhaps something else is coming to table which thou dost not reckon for.196
The succeeding Courtesy is—When thou hast eaten,
So do as that Jesus Christ be glorified therein.
He who receives service from any that obeys,[24]
If he thanks him not, is too ungrateful.200
The fiftieth for the last.
Wash hands, then drink of the good and choice wine.[25]
After the meal, the hands may be a little washed,
And cleansed from grease and impurity.204