UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES 
 
 ] 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 L. B. FORD 
 
 ••'*v
 
 Benvenuto Cellini 
 Memoirs 
 
 Hantimarfes of Civilisation
 
 BF.XVEXLTO CELLINI 
 From a painting by Giorgio Vasari
 
 Memoirs 
 
 of 
 Benvenuto Cellini 
 
 Translated by John Addington Symonds 
 
 With a Critical and Biographical Introduction 
 by John C. Van Dyke 
 
 Illustrated 
 
 \ ■> - r 
 
 New York 
 
 D. Appleton and Company 
 
 1904 
 
 \ 
 
 134065
 
 COHVRIGHT, 1898, 
 
 By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY. 
 
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 MB 
 
 BENVENUTO CELLINI 
 
 > ♦ ♦ * 
 
 THE word " Renaissance " as used in history has always 
 gone begging for a definition. No one has as yet been 
 able to pin it down with an aphoristic sentence. Ety- 
 mologically, we translate it and read " new birth," but our 
 comprehension is little increased thereby. For, to come at 
 once to the cause, the Renaissance in Italy was not any one 
 thing, but many things in one. The revival of learning and 
 the development of science and art were only parts, integral 
 factors, in the awakening. Moreover, they came into Italian 
 life beset by many complex impulses, that rose and fell like 
 waves upon the sea. No movement of the time was regular 
 or rhythmical. Cross-waves of contradiction broke in along 
 the line, and frequently threw everything into confusion. In- 
 deed, the discords were as strongly marked as the harmonies, 
 and the longer we study the epoch the more paradoxical 
 become its different elements. Certainly the times were very 
 good, and yet just as certainly the times were very bad. Study 
 and learning were the passions of the age, yet ignorance and 
 superstition stalked in the highest circles. The period was 
 remarkable for its intellectual and artistic strength, and yet 
 it was hatched and cross-hatched by social and moral weak- 
 nesses. Every virtue seemed to have a vice for a foil, and 
 every good had its leaven of evil. 
 
 /The versatile but somewhat irresponsible Italian mind was 
 at the bottom of all this. To be sure, there were men who 
 were distinctly good, as there were others distinctly bad; but 
 the middle man in whom were blended the saint and the sin- 
 ner was frequent enough to form a type. One side of his 
 nature was often aspiring, inventive, artistic, philosophical; 
 the other side was quite as often skeptical, treacherous, im- 
 
 iii
 
 iv BENVENUTO CELLINI 
 
 moral, polluted. He could doubt and he could believe with 
 equal freedom; he could be cultured and yet debased; he 
 could saturate himself with crime and corruption, yet rhapso- 
 dize over things aesthetic and kneel at the altar of Christianity. 
 Our nineteenth-century wonder at this strange marriage of 
 Beauty and the Beast is perhaps pardonable. How a man 
 could be enlightened, refined, devout, brave, and yet break 
 almost every one of the ten commandments we fail to under- 
 stand. For it is not an instance of conscious falling from 
 grace, not a matter of corrupting influence wherein the toe 
 of the rascal galls the kibe of the honest man; it is the honest 
 man himself given to fits of rascality. Princes, dukes, cardi- 
 nals, citizens, all had their little spells of throat-cutting, poi- 
 soning, lying, stealing, cheating; after which they confessed, 
 received absolution, and then went gaily on with the game 
 of life. :Did they consider their deeds rascally? Perhaps; 
 and yet intellectual perception does not necessarily argue 
 moral development, t From the jaunty way the Renaissance 
 people carried their vices we might think there was some 
 confusion of mind as to whether these vices were not vir- 
 tues. Surely the moral sense of the age was not that of our 
 time, and surely in Italian civilization the intellectual came 
 to maturity before the ethical.! Acts that we look back upon 
 with something of a sjiudder, they probably never regarded 
 as incompatible with received social usage,' Indeed, the 
 true way to get their peculiar point of view is to allow one 
 of their number to tell about the men and manners of his 
 time as he knew them. Fortunately, such a tale exists for 
 us in the " Memoirs " of Benvenuto Cellini. ' Benvenuto 
 himself was one of the most enlightened rascals of the ad- 
 vanced Renaissance. He was an accomplished goldsmith and 
 sculptor, moving in court and ecclesiastical circles, a devout 
 son of the Church, an impulsive bravo, a cool murderer, an 
 '; individual of indifferent honesty, unbounded conceit, and un- 
 
 / varying fickleness, and yet to hear him tell it he is not a bad 
 
 man at all. He recites his autobiography without a suspicion 
 
 , of apology. It is a record of which he is proud, not a defence 
 
 ^ made by a culprit.\ iknd after reading his story if we do not 
 take sides with him we at least understand better the view 
 of life and conduct held in the sixteenth century.! --The value 
 
 of the book lies just here. It is an original document^from 
 
 -5[h e \ 
 ment"!
 
 BENVENUTO CELLINI v 
 
 which history derives and its aathor has not only drawn for 
 j us his own profile clear cut against the dark background of 
 the Renaissance, but has illustrated the social and artistic life 
 of his tiiije.' 
 
 *^^envenuto came at a ;tirring period in Italian affairs. 
 Politically, matters were <t the fever point. Wars and ru- 
 mours of wars were to be heard in every Italian city. As a 
 boy he saw the pallc of the restored Medici placed over the 
 red cross of Florence; and as a man he knew the clash of 
 popes, kings, and emperors, the sack of Rome, the siege of 
 Florence, the plague and all its attendant horrors. But these_j 
 were piping times of peace, too, for some persons, r^ The 
 scholar in his library, the monk in his cell, the artist in his 
 bottcga, studied, prayed, and wrought unmindful of passing 
 powers. Sadoleto, Bembo, Michelangelo, and Titian were 
 still alive, and it might be thought that Benvenuto the gold- 
 smith would pursue the quiet life of the craftsman and leave 
 wars to great folk. But no; that was not the temperament of 
 the man. He was an artist by inclination and ambition, but 
 at heart he was also a brawler, a swashbuckler, a man 
 action. He tells us that before he was fifteen he had had 
 adventures enough to stock a long narrative, and before hey 
 died he had heaped up quarrels and encounters innumerable.* 
 His spirit was more fiery than Hotspur's, and he was always 
 dropping tools and taking to horse to escape the consequences 
 of some fatal fight. ^ As he tells the story, the other party ^ 
 was always in the wrong, and he (Benvenuto) was only de- 
 fending himself like a gentleman; but it is remarkable how 
 many times he was called upon to defend himself, and how 
 often he left his antagonist stretched upon the field. His re- 
 gard for human life was small, and he rather enjoyed being in 
 a scrimmage. He clairned the credit of having killed Charles 
 of Bourbon, as thougl/it were some sort of virtuous action, 
 and at the siege of Rome, with the Pope beside him on the 
 battlements of St. Angelo, he had right royal sport shooting 
 at the people in the city below. " There never passed a day ^' 
 that I did not kill some of the enemy outside." Both his Holi- 
 ness and Benvenuto were nearly convulsed on one occasion 
 at the manner in which a cannon-shot cut a man clean in two. 
 It was a very interesting business, and any fear of future 
 consequences that Benvenuto may have felt was done away 
 
 of , 
 
 ofll
 
 vi BENVENUTO CELLINI 
 
 I ^ with because he was "defending the Church," and, besides, 
 11 the Pope was there and absolved him on the spot. 
 
 Benvenuto's private brawls were more serious matter, and 
 after using his knife on Pompco, a rival goldsmith, and again 
 on the musketeer who killed his brother, he had to fly or seek 
 asylum with some powerful cardi lal until the trouble blew 
 v^^ over and the Pope gave him a safe conduct. And yet Benve- 
 jhf nuto never for an instant considered himself a murderer. 
 li He was a man of spirit resenting an insult with his dagger or 
 * ' sword, as was the custom of the day. To be sure, he vapor- 
 ized about it with unnecessary energy. He swaggered and 
 boasted and repeated his own praises in a way that was almost 
 boyish. He talked the same way about his meeting with 
 princes and kings, his controversies and arguments with 
 patrons, his contests in art with master goldsmiths and sculp- 
 tors. It is a wonder his conceit did not choke him to death. 
 But for all his magnificent threats and boasts, for all his 
 egotism and his vanity, Benvenuto was certainly not a coward. 
 His hot head drove him forward into any and every sort of 
 danger, but when the test came he did not flinch. Indeed, 
 the man's career might be repulsive to read about were it not 
 for his daring spirit, his unconquerable bravery. For robbers 
 and assassins he did not so much as turn aside; at the siege 
 of Rome he took charge of the guns on the walls of St. Angelo 
 because no one else dared do it; and under Paul III what 
 tortures he endured as a prisoner in that same castle of St. 
 Angelo! Then came that final dare-devil piece of bravery — 
 the escape down the wall of the castle at night, clear from 
 the foot of the angel to the ground below, by knotted 
 strips torn from his bed linen. In getting over the second 
 rampart he fell, tore his hands, broke his leg, became sense- 
 less from striking on his head. When he came to himself, 
 he took his dagger in his hand and, trailing his broken leg, 
 crawled on his hands and knees to the city gate, gnawed his 
 y^ay in like a rat, and got to the house of friends. Was there 
 / ever a more tragic picture than that man in the gray light 
 ' of morning dragging himself along the deserted streets, his 
 head and hands covered with blood, and yet with the spirit 
 I of a wounded animal turning to fight off the street dogs with 
 his dagger? No, there was no cowardice in Benvenuto! 
 Nor was he a bearer of false witness, as some have chosen 
 
 /
 
 BENVENUTO CELLINI vii 
 
 -to call him. Much of his narrative is substantiated by con- 
 [/ temporary historians. Of course, he exaggerated, for his im- 
 agination was perfervid. The boy who saw salamanders in 
 ] the fire, the man who beheld legions of devils in the Coliseum 
 at night and angels in his cell in the castle of St. Angelo, was 
 likely to see a plain matter of cutting and slashing in distorted 
 proportions, especially if he happened to be one of the inter- 
 ested parties. 'Besides, a tale grows with the telling, and Ben- 
 venuto was an old man when he began the " Memoirs." He 
 had become a celebrated man, too, and naturally took him- 
 self more seriously than perhaps was warranted. But he did 
 not mean to prevaricate. He told the truth as he knew it, / 
 and if the record was a little warped by supe rstition or the 
 eye of a visionary, it is not matter for wonderment. In the 
 main he spoke plainly and honestly. Plain speaking was one 
 of his most characteristic traits, and to some persons of his 
 time he mvist have shown it with uncomfortable frankness. 
 His audacity was something superb. It was not that he 
 abused rival artists and citizens as blockheads, but sometimes 
 he talked to popes and kings as though they w^ere little better 
 than 'prentice boys. Vasari said he " knew how to speak his 
 mind to princes." Yes, he did. He told Duke Cosimo that 
 he knew nothing about metal-casting, and should not criticise; 
 he accused Clement VII of breaking faith with him; he was 
 impudent to Francis I; and he flouted more than on^ cardi- 
 nal. It is remarkable that he died a natural death. There ' 
 were plots to assassinate him, and he had to wear a steel 
 shirt; twice he was poisoned; Clement ordered him to be 
 hanged; Paul had him in prison, and intended to have him 
 flayed alive or starved to death. It was his too truthful tongue 
 that mide trouble for him at every turn, and we can readily 
 believe t'l^t in setting down these memories he adhered to I 
 the facts as he conceived them. .— — ' 
 
 Of his smaV vices Benvenuto said little. Once he stole the 
 Pope's gold, but he owned up and made restitution. He evi- 
 dently obje cted to jinrsp-mttmg if not to throat-cuttingTand 
 had no notion of npruring as a common rascal or a sneak. As 
 a lover he was fickle, and once he dragged a woman about 
 by the hair 'a a way that w^as brutal. That was, however, 
 the only tine he admits having played the barbarian. As 
 a rule, he vas refined in manner and fair in his treatment of
 
 viii BENVENUTO CELLINI 
 
 others, being " naturally of a charitable disposition," as he 
 puts it. His contemporaries all speak of him as a man of 
 spirit and veracity, but too hot-headed and impolitic in his 
 talk. His treatment of his father and sisters was excellent; 
 and he appears to have had some sentiment about him, too, if 
 we can believe in his grief at the death of an illegitimate son. 
 ' He was greatly overcome, praying and giving thanks to God 
 for having given him and for taking him away. Then he 
 coolly comments on his prayer as " making a virtue of 
 necessity." 
 
 His religious faith was on a par with that of others of his 
 kind. In periods of trouble he used it as a life-preserver; in 
 periods of health and peace he laid it quietly on the shelf. He 
 sang psalms and saw visions like a saint when he was in the 
 dungeon of St. Angelo and thought his end was near; but he 
 no sooner got out than he killed the postmaster at Siena and 
 rode ofi to Ferrara, where he and his friends had a merry 
 time over the incident. As for the Vicegerent of God in the 
 Vatican, he thought Clement " a savage beast," and Paul 
 " believed neither in God nor in any other article of religion "; 
 but Benvenuto nevertheless clung devotedly to the Church, 
 and believed in its power on earth and in heaven. He kissed 
 with tears the feet of the dead Clement, he was always ready 
 to receive absolution, and when he finally passed out of this 
 world he did so as a son of the most holy Church and with all 
 the ecclesiastical comforts. 
 ^ The absorbing passion of his life was his art. He wrote 
 I the " Memoirs " to tell us about his career as an artist, no/ 
 , [.to describe popes and kings; and he is continually dismissj/fig 
 \ historical characters and scenes that he may return to the/nar- 
 ' rative of his own life. > Of course, he believed thor^oughly 
 in himself. He had " done something creditable," ^he tells 
 us on the first page, and before we have finished tihe book he 
 has repeated for us all the fine things said aVjout him and 
 to him by kings, popes, and dukes, includinpc'Tiis own modest 
 rejoinder to Duke Cosimo's steward, " Theie is but one such 
 as I in the world, whereas there are dozens i^uch as you to be 
 found in every corner." Without doubt he wa.R the first gold- 
 smith of his age. His professional standing sa\ved his neck 
 more than once. The Pope pardoned him twictV for killing, 
 because " men like Benvenuto, unique in their \profession,
 
 BENVENUTO CELLINI ix 
 
 stand above the laws "; and Francis I got him out of St. An- 
 gelo because he needed his services in Paris. He was a skilful 
 workman, a man of education, imagination, and native fancy,l 
 an artist livings in the sixteenth century and inheriting some 
 of the bizarre features of the Renaissance. \ Most of his gold- 
 smith's work has perished, owing to the preciousness of the 
 materials, but such things as remain show that he pushed * 
 ornamentation and detail to an extreme, Midway in his 
 career he turned sculptor, and produced a number of large 
 figures in silver and bronze for Francis I; but, excepting the 
 " Nymph of Fontainebleau," they, too, have perished. His 
 most important bronze was the " Perseus," now in Florence, 
 though he also executed several busts, a great crucifix, and 
 a number of medals. His bronze work has been greatly ad- 
 mired, and the "Nymph of Fontainebleau" exercised a marked 
 influence upon such sculptors of the French school as Jean 
 Goujon; and yet Benvenuto never became a true monu- 
 mental sculptor. Vasari said it was astonishing that, " having 
 been accustomed to make little figures so many years, he 
 should succeed so happily in bringing so large a statue [the 
 Perseus] to perfection." But was he happy in the " Per- 
 seus"? It is a remarkable bronze, certainly, but the mind of 
 the goldsmith and the hand of the jew-eller are revealed in it 
 everywhere. It is not broad enough in its masses, not simple 
 enough in its modelling. The scale is that of a statuette, 
 though the figure is more than life-sized. Reproduced in 
 miniature, it takes its proper place as a mantel ornament. 
 The bronze busts are better as simpler, and possibly best of 
 all his work is the salt-cellar at Vienna, wherein the skill of the 
 goldsmith and the taste of the artist appear to advantage. He 
 was really a great goldsmith, although his name and fame 
 are attached to the " Perseus," possibly because of its size 
 and the conspicuous place it occupies in the city of Florence. 
 But fine artist as Benvenuto was, it may be doubted if we 
 should have heard much about him in these days were it not 
 for the book he left behind him. It has kept his name alive 
 longer than his art. because it is a vivid and, in the main, a 
 truthful picture of the times in which he lived. They were 
 troublous times, as has been already suggested, and Benve- 
 nuto at fifty-eight, looking back over his life, had reason to 
 believe that he had cut quite a figure in his age and genera,-
 
 X BENVENUTO CELLINI 
 
 tion. His adventures ana escapes were public talk, he had 
 'travelled extensively, had met the contemporary celebrities, 
 and had known the society of courts, camps, and capitals. 
 In addition to this, as a goldsmith and a sculptor he had 
 made his mark, and royalty had deigned to visit him in his 
 workshop. So he began his " Memoirs," believing that men 
 who have done something in the world ought " to write their 
 lives with their own hands." He soon abandoned writing for 
 a less laborious method, and while he worked at his craft he 
 ^ dictated the greater part of the book to a boy. The narrative 
 
 * closes abruptly in 1562. Possibly Benvenuto had told all that 
 
 he thought worth telling, or was weary with the task, or had 
 I i other things to take his attention. He had been admitted to 
 \ I the rank of the Florentine nobility, had received ecclesiastical 
 I I ' orders, and in 1560 he was married to the woman who had 
 (jij ■ . nursed him through his last poisoning. In 1564 he was de- 
 ill^ 1 i puted to attend the funeral of Michelangelo, and seven years 
 I later he himself was buried with great pomp in the Church 
 , of the Annunziata. A funeral oration was delivered over him 
 " in praise both of his life and works, and also of his excellent 
 disposition of mind and body." 
 ; When the " Memoirs " were copied, Benvenuto submitted 
 
 them to Varchi, the scholar and historian. He had an idea 
 that they were not elegant enough as literature, and needed 
 / polishing at the hands of a trained writer; but Varchi per- 
 suaded him that the simple colloquial style was worth more 
 than academic periods. So the narrative was published as 
 originally dictated. It was fortunate that no pedantic member 
 of the Literati got at it. One of the most readable books in 
 all literature would have been smothered in rhetoric, and the 
 individuality of the unique Benvenuto would have been 
 Xjf snufTed out. As it now stands, the book reads precisely as 
 the man talked, and is graphic to the last degree. It is a book 
 of movement, incident, life. Benvenuto wasjip great thinker 
 or philosopher ; he was an artist and an observer. Hence it 
 is that there is little of Introspection or of pondering or medi- 
 tation in these " Memoirs." Conscience and the moral prob- 
 lem do not obtrude themselves. Rousseau could confess and 
 cry " Mea culpa," but Benvenuto confesses nothing. On 
 the contrary, he always insists that he is right. He tells the 
 J straightforward narrative of his life, and is not the least bit
 
 BENVENUTO CELLINI xi 
 
 ashamed of it. Judging him by the lives led by his contem- 
 poraries, there was no reason why he should be. He was not 
 better nor worse than the motley throng of popes, dukes, 
 cardinals, artists, courtiers, cut-throats, and courtesans with 
 whom he was associated. The contrast of splendid marble 
 churches standing in filthy streets where the plague was bred 
 and assassins lay in wait is not more striking than the con- \\ 
 tradictions in character during this Renaissance time.j Ben- 
 venuto's tale reads like fiction as he tells of his turbulent life 
 and describes the stage upon which he has played his part. I It 
 does not seem possible that such things could be, and yet all 
 the while he is reciting facts — the facts of social, political, and 
 artistic life in the sixteenth century. In that respect the book 
 is one for all time. | Edition after edition of it has been issued, 
 and it has been translated into many tongues. Everybody 
 praises it or blames it, but no one ignores it. It is not a book 
 to be pushed aside; it is a book to be read. 
 
 John C. Van Dyke. 
 
 i
 
 i
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 rACINS 
 PAGB 
 
 Benvenuto Cellini Frontispiece 
 
 From a painting by Giorgio Vasari. 
 
 Dragon and Turtle Salt-cellar 98 
 
 From a lithograph. 
 
 Francis I. Visiting the Studio of Cellini 270 
 
 From a painting by Pierre Charles Compte. 
 
 Salt-cellar Made for Francis I 302 
 
 From a lithograph. 
 
 Ewer Designed and Made by Cellini 402 
 
 From a Uthograph. 
 
 k 
 
 I
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 ♦ » « 
 
 BOOK FIRST 
 
 ALL MEN of whatsoever quality they be, who ha\ 
 anything of excellence, or which may properly re 
 ^ excellence, ought, if they are persons of truth an. 
 esty, to describe their life with their own hand; but they 
 not to attempt so fine an enterprise till they have passe 
 age of forty. This duty occurs to my own mind, now t. 
 am travelling beyond the term of fifty-eight years, and a 
 Florence, the city of my birth. Many untoward things c 
 remember, such as happens to all who live upon our ti 
 and from those adversities I am now more free than at 
 previous period of my career— nay, it seems to me that I ei 
 greater content of soul and health of body than ever I die 
 bygone years. I can also bring to mind some pleasant go 
 and some inestimable evils, which, when I turn my thougi 
 backward, strike terror in me, and astonishment that I shoi 
 have reached this age of fifty-eight, wherein, thanks be , 
 God, I am still travelling prosperously forward. 
 
 11 
 
 It is true that men w^ho have laboured w^ith some show of 
 excellence, have already given knowledge of themselves to 
 the world; and this alone ought to suffice them; I mean the 
 fact that they have proved their manhood and achieved re- 
 nown. Yet one must needs live like others; and so in a work 
 like this there will always be found occasion for natural brag- 
 ging, w'hich is of divers kinds, and the first is that a man should 
 
 I 
 
 I
 
 CELLINI 
 
 \v he draws his lineage from persons of worth 
 lent origin. 
 
 ;d Benvenuto CelHni, son of Maestro Giovanni, 
 a, son of Cristofano Cellini; my mother was Ma- 
 jetta, daughter to Stefano Granacci; both parents 
 £^lorence. It is found written in chronicles made 
 estors of Florence, men of old time and of credi- 
 i as Giovanni Villani writes, that the city of Plor- 
 .'vidently built in imitation of the fair city of Rome; 
 n remnants of the Colosseum and the Baths can yet 
 .. These things are near Santa Croce. The Capitol 
 re is now the Old Market. The Rotonda is entire, 
 as made for the temple of Mars, and is now dedicated 
 Saint John. That thus it was, can very well be seen, 
 mot be denied; but the said buildings are much smaller 
 lose of Rome. He who caused them to be built, they 
 as Julius Caesar, in concert with some noble Romans, 
 vvhen Fiesole had been stormed and taken, raised a citv 
 s place, and each of them took in hand to erect one of 
 notable edifices, 
 ulius Caesar had among his captains a man of highest rank 
 valour, who was called Fiorino of Cellino, which is a vil- 
 about two miles distant from Monte Fiascone. Now this 
 ■ino took up his quarters under the hill of Fiesole, on the 
 und where Florence now stands, in order to be near the 
 •r Arno, and for the convenience of the troops. All those 
 Jiers and others who had to do with the said captain, used 
 •n to say: "Let us go to Fiorenze;" as well because the 
 id captain was called Fiorino, as also because the place he 
 id chosen for his quarters was by nature very rich in flowers. 
 Ipon the fotmdation of the city, therefore, since this name 
 .truck Julius Caesar as being fair and apt, and given by cir- 
 cumstance, and seeing furthermore that flowers themselves 
 bring good augury, he appointed the name of Florence for 
 the town. He wished besides to i)ay his valiant captain this 
 compliment; and he loved him all the more for having drawn 
 him from a very humble place, and for the reason that so 
 excellent a man was a creature of his own. The name that 
 learned inventors and investigators of such etymologies ad- 
 duce, as that Florence is flowing at the Arno, cannot hold; 
 seeing that Rome is flowing at the Tiber, Ferrara is flowing
 
 MEMOIRS 3 
 
 at the To, Lyons is flowing at the Saone, Paris is flowing at 
 the Seine, and yet the names of all these towns are dilTercnt, 
 and have come to them by other ways. 
 
 Thus then we find; and thus we believe that we are de- 
 scended from a man of worth, h'urthcrmore, we find that 
 there are Cellinis of our stock in Ravenna, that most ancient 
 town of Italy, where too are plenty of gentle folk. In Pisa 
 also there are some, and I have discovered them in many parts 
 of Christendom; and in this state also tlic breed exists, men 
 devoted to the profession of arms; for not many years ago a 
 young man, called Luca Cellini, a beardless youth, fought 
 with a soldier of experience and a most valorous man, named 
 Francesco da V'icorati, who had frecjuently fought before in 
 single combat. This Luca, by his own valour, with sword in 
 hand, overcame and slew him, with such bravery and stout- 
 ness that he moved the folk to wonder, who were expecting 
 quite the contrary issue; so that I glory in tracing my descent 
 from men of valour. 
 
 As for the trifling honours which I have gained for my 
 house, under the well-known conditions of our present ways 
 of living, and by means of my art, albeit the same are matters 
 of no great moment. I will relate these in their ])roper time 
 and place, taking much more pride in having been born hum- 
 ble and having laid some honourable foundation for my family, 
 than if I had been born of great lineage and had stained or 
 overclouded that by my base cjualities. So then I will make 
 a beginning by saying how it pleased God I should be born. 
 
 Ill 
 
 My ancestors dwTlt in \'al d' Ambra, where they owned 
 large estates, and lived like little lords, in retirement, however, 
 on account of the then contending factions. They were all 
 men devoted to arms and of notable bravery. In that time 
 one of their sons, the younger, who was called Cristofano, 
 roused a great feud with certain of their friends and neigh- 
 bours. Now the heads of the families on both sides took part 
 in it, and the fire kindled seemed to them so threatening that 
 their houses w^ere like to perish utterly; the elders upon this 
 consideration, in concert with my own ancestors, removed 
 Cristofano; and the other youth with whom the quarrel began 
 was also sent away. They sent their young man to Siena.
 
 4 CELLINI 
 
 Our folk sent Cristofano to Florence; and there they bought 
 for him a little house in Via Chiara, close to the convent of 
 S. Orsola, and they also purchased for him some very good 
 property near the Ponte a Rifredi. The said Cristofano took' 
 wife in Florence, and had sons and daughters; and when all 
 the daughters had been portioned ofif, the sons, after their 
 father's death, divided what remained. The house in Via 
 Chiara with some other trifles fell to the share of one of the 
 said sons, who had the name of Andrea. He also took wife, 
 and had four male children. The first was called Girolamo, 
 the second Bartolommeo, the third Giovanni, who was after- 
 ward my father, and the fourth Francesco. This Andrea 
 Cellini was very well versed in architecture, as it was then 
 practised, and lived by it as his trade. Giovanni, who was 
 my father, paid more attention to it than any of the other 
 brothers. And since Vitruvius says, amongst other things, 
 that one who wishes to practise that art well must have some- 
 thing of music and good drawing, Giovanni, when he had 
 mastered drawing, began to turn his mind to music, and 
 together with the theory learned to play most excellently on 
 the viol and the flute; and being a person of studious habits, 
 he left his home but seldom. 
 
 They had for neighbour in the next house a man called 
 Stefano Granacci, who had several daughters, all of them of 
 remarkable beauty. As it pleased God, Giovanni noticed one 
 of these girls who was named Elisabetta; and she found such 
 favour with him that he asked her in marriage. The fathers 
 of both of them being well acquainted through their close 
 neighl)ourhood, it was easy to make this match up; and each 
 thought that he had very well arranged his afifairs. First of 
 all the two good old men agreed upon the marriage; then 
 they began to discuss the dowry, which led to a certain amount 
 of friendly difference; for Andrea said to Stefano: " My son 
 Giovanni is the stoutest youth of Florence, and of all Italy to 
 boot, and if I had w^anted earlier to have him married, I could 
 have procured one of the largest dowries which folk of our 
 rank get in Florence ; " whereupon Stefano answered : " You 
 have a thousand reasons on your side; but here am I with five 
 daughters and as many sons, and when my reckoning is made, 
 this is as much as I can possibly afiford." Giovanni, who had 
 been listening awhile unseen by them, suddenly broke in and
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 5 
 
 said: " O my father, I have sought and loved tliat girl and not 
 their money. Ill luck to those who seek to till their pockets 
 by the dowry of their wife! As you have boasted that I am a 
 . fellow of such parts, do you not think that I shall be able to 
 provide for my wife and satisfy her needs, even if I receive 
 something short of the portion you would like to get? Now 
 I must make you understand that the woman is mine, and you 
 may take the dowry for yourself." At this Andrea Cellini, 
 who was a man of rather awkward temper, grew a trifle angry ; 
 but after a few days Giovanni took his wife, and never asked 
 for other portion with her. 
 
 They enjoyed their youth and wedded love through eight- 
 een years, always greatly desiring to be blessed with children. 
 At the end of this time Giovanni's wife miscarried of two boys 
 through the unskilfulness of the doctors. Later she was again 
 with child, and gave birth to a girl, whom they called Cosa, 
 after the mother of my father. At the end of two years she 
 was once more with child; and inasmuch as those longings 
 to which pregnant women are subject, and to which they pay 
 much attention, were now exactly the same as those of her 
 former pregnancy, they made their minds up that she would 
 give birth to a female as before, and agreed to call the child 
 Reparata, after the mother of my mother. It happened that 
 she was delivered on a night of All Saints, following the feast- 
 day, at half-past four precisely, in the year 1500.^ The mid- 
 wife, who knew that they were expecting a girl, after she had 
 washed the baby and wrapped it in the fairest white linen, 
 came softly to my father Giovanni and said: " I am bringing 
 you a fine present, such as you did not anticipate." My father, 
 who was a true philosopher, was walking up and down, and 
 answered : " What God gives me is always dear to me ; " and 
 when he opened the swaddling clothes, he saw with his own 
 eyes the vmexpected male child. Joining together the palms 
 of his old hands, he raised them w-ith his eyes to God. and 
 said: " Lord, I thank Thee with my whole heart; this gift is 
 very dear to me; let him be Welcome." All the persons who 
 were there asked him joyfully what name the child should 
 bear. Giovanni would make no other answer than " Let him 
 be Welcome — Benvenuto;" and so they resolved, and this 
 
 ' The hour is reckoned, according to the old Italian fashion, from sun- 
 set of one day to sunset of the next — twenty-four hours.
 
 6 CELLINI 
 
 name was given me at Holy iiaplisni, and by it I still am 
 living with the grace of God. 
 
 IV 
 
 Andrea Cellini was yet alive when I was about three years 
 old, and he had passed his hundredth. One day they had 
 been altering a certain conduit pertaining to a cistern, and 
 there issued from it a great scorpion unperceived by them, 
 which crept down from the cistern to the ground, and slank 
 away beneath a bench. I saw it, and ran up to it, and laid my 
 hands upon it. It was so big that when I had it in my little 
 hands, it put out its tail on one side, and on the other thrust 
 forth both its mouths. They relate that I ran in high joy to 
 my grandfather, crying out: " Look, grandpapa, at my pretty 
 little crab." When he recognised that the creature was a 
 scorpion, he was on the point of falling dead for the great fear 
 he had and anxiety about me. He coaxed and entreated me 
 to give it him; but the more he begged, the tighter I clasped 
 it, crying and saying I would not give it to any one. My 
 father, who was also in the house, ran up when he heard 
 my screams, and in his stupefaction could not think how to 
 prevent the venomous animal from killing me. Just then his 
 eyes chanced to fall upon a pair of scissors; and so, while 
 soothing and caressing me, he cut its tail and mouths ofif. 
 Afterward, when the great peril had been thus averted, he 
 took the occurrence for a s[oo(\ aucfurv. 
 
 When I was a1:)out five years old my father happened to be 
 in a basement-chamber of our house, where they had been 
 washing, and where a good fire of oak-logs was still burning; 
 he had a viol in his hand, and was playing and singing alone 
 beside the fire. Tlie weather was very cold. Happening to 
 look into the fire, he spied in the middle of those most l)urning 
 flames a little creature like a lizard, which w^as sporting in the 
 core of the intensest coals, becoming instantly aware of what 
 the thing was, lie liad my sister and me called, and pointing it 
 out to us children, gave me a great box on the ears, which 
 caused me to howl and weep with all my might. Then he 
 pacified me good-humouredly, and spoke as follows: " My 
 dear little boy, I am not striking you for any wrong that you 
 have done, but only to make you remember that that lizard 
 which you see in the fire is a salamander, a creature which
 
 MEMOIRS 7 
 
 has never been seen before by any one of whom \vc have credi- 
 ble information." So saying, he kissed me and gave me some 
 pieces of money. 
 
 V 
 
 My father began teaching me to play upon the flute and 
 sing by note; but notwithstanding I was of that tender age 
 when httle children are w^ont to take pastime in whistles and 
 such toys, I had an inexpressible dislike for it, and played and 
 sang only to obey him. My father in those times fashioned 
 wonderful organs with pipes of wood, spinets the fairest and 
 most excellent which then could be seen, viols and lutes and 
 harps of the most beautiful and perfect construction. He 
 was an engineer, and had marvellous skill in making instru- 
 ments for lowering bridges and for working mills, and other 
 machines of that sort. In ivory he was the first who wrought 
 really well. But after he had fallen in love with the w'oman 
 who was destined to become my mother — perhaps what 
 brought them together was that little flute, to which indeed 
 he paid more attention than was proper — he was entreated 
 by the fifers of the Signory to play in their company. Ac- 
 cordingly he did so for some time to amuse himself, until by 
 constant importunity they induced him to become a member 
 of their band. Lorenzo de' Medici and Piero his son, who had 
 a great liking for him, perceived later that he was devoting 
 himself wholly to the fife, and was neglecting his fine engineer- 
 ing talent and his beautiful art.^ So they had him removed 
 from that post. My father took this very ill, and it seemed 
 to him that they had done him a great despite. Yet he im- 
 mediately resumed his art, and fashioned a mirror, about a 
 cubit in diameter, out of bone and ivory, with figures and 
 foliage of great finish and grand design. The mirror was in 
 the form of a wheel. In the middle was the looking-glass; 
 around it were seven circular pieces, on which were the Seven 
 Virtues, carved and joined of ivory and black bone. The 
 whole mirror, together with the Virtues, was placed in equi- 
 librium, so that when the wheel turned, all the Virtues moved, 
 and they had weights at their feet which kept them upright. 
 Possessing some acquaintance with the Latin tongue, he put 
 a legend in Latin round his looking-glass, to this eiTect — 
 
 ' The Medici here mentioned were Lorenzo the Magnificent, and his 
 son Pictro, who was expelled from Florence in the year 1494.
 
 8 CELLINI 
 
 " Whithersoever the wheel of Fortune turns, Virtue stands 
 firm upon her feet: 
 
 Rota sum : semper, quoquo me verto, stat Virtus." 
 
 A Httle while after this he obtained his place again among the 
 fifers. Although some of these things happened before I was 
 born, my familiarity with them has moved me to set them 
 down here. In those days the musicians of the Signory were 
 all of them members of the most honourable trades, and some 
 of them belonged to the greater guilds of silk and wool; ^ and 
 that was the reason why my father did not disdain to follow 
 this profession, and his chief desire with regard to me was 
 always that I should become a great performer on the flute. 
 I for my part felt never more discontented than when he chose 
 to talk to me about this scheme, and to tell mc that, if I liked, 
 he discerned in me such aptitudes that I might become the 
 best man in the world. 
 
 VI 
 
 As I have said, my father was the devoted servant and at- 
 tached friend of the house of Medici; and when Piero was 
 banished, he entrusted him with many affairs of the greatest 
 possible importance. Afterward, when the magnificent Piero 
 Soderini was elected, and my father continued in his office 
 of musician, Soderini, perceiving his wonderful talent, began 
 to employ him in many matters of great importance as an 
 engineer.* So long as Soderini remained in Florence, he 
 showed the utmost good-will to my father; and in those days, 
 I being still of tender age, my father had me carried, and made 
 me perform upon the flute; I used to play treble in concert 
 with the musicians of the palace before the Signory, following 
 my notes: and a beadle used to carry me upon his shoulders. 
 The Gonfalonier, that is, Soderini, whom I have already men- 
 tioned, took much pleasure in making me chatter, and gave 
 me comfits, and was wont to say to my father: " Maestro 
 Giovanni, beside music, teach the boy those other arts which 
 do you so much honour." To which my father answered: 
 
 ' In the Middle Ages the burghers of Florence were divided into in- 
 dustrial guilds called the Greater and the Lesser Arts. The former took 
 precedence of the latter, both in political importance and in social esteem. 
 
 * Piero Soderini was elected Gonfalonier of the Florentine Republic for 
 life in the year 1502. After nine years of government, he was banished.
 
 MEMOIRS g 
 
 " I do not wish him to practise any art hut playing and com- 
 posing; for in this profession I hope to make Ihm the greatest 
 man of the world, if God prolongs his life." To these words 
 one of the old counsellors made answer: " Ah! Maestro Gio- 
 vanni, do what the Gonfalonier tells you! for why should he 
 never become anything more than a good musician?" 
 
 Thus some time passed, until the Medici returned.^ When 
 they arrived, the Cardinal, who afterward became Pope Leo, 
 received my father very kindly. During their exile the scutch- 
 eons which were on the palace of the Medici had had their 
 balls erased, and a great red cross painted over them, which 
 was the bearing of the Commune. Accordingly, as soon as 
 they returned, the red cross was scratched out, and on the 
 scutcheon the red balls and the golden field were painted in 
 again, and finished with great beauty. My father, who pos- 
 sessed a simple vein of poetry, instilled in him by nature, 
 together with a certain touch of prophecy, wdiich was doubt- 
 less a divine gift in him, wrote these four verses under the said 
 arms of the Medici, when they were uncovered to the view: — 
 
 "These arms, which have so long from sight been laid 
 Beneath the holy cross, that symbol meek. 
 Now lift their glorious glad face, and seek 
 With Peter's sacred cloak to be arrayed." 
 
 This epigram w^as read by all Florence. A few days after- 
 ward Pope Julius II died. The Cardinal de' Medici went to 
 Rome, and w^as elected Pope against the expectation of every- 
 body. He reigned as Leo X, that generous and great soul. 
 My father sent him his four prophetic verses. The Pope sent 
 to tell him to come to Rome; for this would be to his advan- 
 tage. But he had no will to go; and so, in lieu of reward, his 
 place in the palace was taken from him by Jacopo Salviati, 
 upon that man's election as Gonfalonier.^ This was the reason 
 why I commenced goldsmith; after which I spent part of my 
 time in learning that art, and part in playing, much against 
 my will. 
 
 ' This was in 1512, when Lorenzo's two sons, Giuliano and Giovanni 
 (afterward Pope Leo X), came back through the aid of a Spanish army 
 after the great battle at Ravenna. 
 
 * Cellini makes a mistake here. Salviati married a daughter of Lorenzo 
 de' Medici, and obtained great influence in Florence ; but we have no rec- 
 prd of his appointment to the office of Gonfalonier.
 
 lO CELLINI 
 
 VII 
 
 When my father spoke to me in the way I have above de- 
 scribed, I entreated him to let me draw a certain fixed number 
 of hours in the day; all the rest of my time I would give to 
 music, only with the view of satisfying his desire. Upon this 
 he said to me: "So then, you take no pleasure in playing?" 
 To which I answered, "No;" because that art seemed too 
 base in comparison with what I had in my own mind. My 
 good father, driven to despair by this fixed idea of mine, placed 
 me in the workshop of Cavaliere Bandinello's father, who was 
 called Michel Agnolo, a goldsmith from Pinzi di Monte, and 
 a master excellent in that craft.' He had no distinction of 
 birth whatever, but was the son of a charcoal-seller. This is 
 no blame to Bandinello, who has founded the honour of the 
 family — if only he had done so honestly! However that may 
 be, I have no cause now to talk about him. After I had stayed 
 there some days, my father took me away from Michel Ag- 
 nolo, finding himself unable to live without having mc always 
 under his eyes. Accordingly, much to my discontent, I re- 
 mained at music till I reached the age of fifteen. If I were 
 to describe all the wonderful things that happened to me up 
 to that time, and all the great dangers to my own life which 
 I ran, I should astound my readers; but, in order to avoid 
 prolixity, and having very much to relate, I will omit these 
 incidents. 
 
 When I reached the age of fifteen, I put myself, against my 
 father's will, to the goldsmith's trade with a man called An- 
 tonio, son of Sandro, known commonly as Marcone the gold- 
 smith. He was a most excellent craftsman and a very good 
 fellow to boot, high-spirited and frank in all his ways. My 
 father would not let him give me wages like- the other appren- 
 tices; for since I had taken up the study of this art to please 
 myself, he wished me to indulge my whim for drawing to the 
 full. I did so willingly enough; and that lionest master of 
 mine took marvellous delight in my performances. He had 
 an only son, to whom he often gave his orders, in order to 
 spare me. My liking for the art was so great, or, I may truly 
 say, my natural bias, both one and the other, that in a few 
 
 ' Baccio Bandinello, the sculptor, was born in 1487, and received the 
 honour of knighthood from Clement VII and Charles V.
 
 MEMOIRS II 
 
 months I caug-ht up the good, nay, the best young craftsmen 
 in our business, and began to reap the fruits of my labours. I 
 did not, however, neglect to gratify my good fatlier from time 
 to time by playing on the flute or cornet. Each time he heard 
 mc, 1 used to make his tears fall, accompanied with deep- 
 drawn sighs of satisfaction. My filial piety often made me 
 give him that contentment, and induced me to pretend that I 
 enjoyed the music too. 
 
 VIII 
 
 At that time I had a brother, younger by two years, a vouth 
 of extreme boldness and fierce temper. He afterward be- 
 came one of the great soldiers in the school of that marvellous 
 general Giovannino de' Medici, father of Duke Cosimo.^ The 
 boy was about fourteen, and I two years older. One Sunday 
 evening, just before nightfall, he happened to find himself 
 between the gate San Gallo and the Porta a Pinti; in this 
 quarter he came to duel with a young fellow of twenty or 
 thereabouts. They both had swords; and my brother dealt 
 so valiantly that, after having badly wounded him, he was upon 
 the point of following up his advantage. There was a great 
 crowd of people present, among whom were many of the 
 adversary's kinsfolk. Seeing that the thing was going ill for 
 their own man, they put hand to their slings, a stone from one 
 of which hit my poor brother in the head. He fell to the 
 ground at once in a dead faint. It so chanced that I had been 
 upon the spot alone, and without arms; and I had done my 
 best to get my brother out of the -fray by calling to him: 
 " Make ofif; you have done enough." Meanwhile, as luck 
 would have it, he fell, as I have said, half dead to earth. I 
 ran up at once, seized his sword, and stood in front of him, 
 bearing the brunt of several rapiers and a shower of stones. 
 I never left his side until some brave soldiers came from the 
 gate San Gallo and rescued me from the raging crowd; they 
 marvelled much, the while, to find such valour in so young 
 a boy. 
 
 Then T carried my brother home for dead, and it was only 
 with great difificulty that he came to himself again. When he 
 
 ' The famous Giovanni delle Bande Nere, who was killed in an en- 
 gagement in Lombardy in November, 1526, by the Imperialist troops 
 marching to the sack of Rome. His son Cosimo, after the murder of 
 Duke Alessandro, established the second Medicean dynasty in Florence.
 
 12 CELLINI 
 
 was cured, the Eight, who had already condemned our ad- 
 versaries and banished them for a term of years, sent us also 
 into exile for six months at a distance of ten miles from Flor- 
 ence. I said to my brother: " Come along with me;" and 
 so we took leave of our poor father; and instead of giving 
 us money, for he had none, he bestowed on us his blessing. I 
 went to Siena, wishing to look up a certain worthy man called 
 Maestro Francesco Castoro. On another occasion, when I 
 'had run away from my father, I went to this good man, and 
 stayed some time with him, working at the goldsmith's trade 
 until my father sent for me back. Francesco, when I reached 
 him, recognised me at once, and gave me work to do. While 
 thus occupied, he placed a house at my disposal for the whole 
 time of my sojourn in Siena. Into this I moved, together with 
 my brother, and applied myself to labour for the space of sev- 
 eral months. My brother had acquired the rudiments of Latin, 
 but was still so young that he could not yet relish the taste of 
 virtuous employment, but passed his time in dissipation. 
 
 IX 
 
 The Cardinal de' Medici, who afterward became Pope 
 Clement VII, had us recalled to Florence at the entreaty of 
 my father.^ A certain pupil of my father's, moved by his own 
 bad nature, suggested to the Cardinal that he ought to send 
 me to Bologna, in order to learn to play well from a great 
 master there. The name of this master was Antonio, and he 
 was in truth a worthy man in the musician's art. The Car- 
 dinal said to my father that, if he sent me there, he would give 
 me letters of recommendation and support. My father, dying 
 with joy at such an opportunity, sent me off; and I being 
 eager to see the world, went with good grace. 
 
 When I reached Bologna, I put myself under a certain 
 Maestro Ercole del PifTero, and began to earn something by 
 my trade. In the meantime I used to go every day to take my 
 music-lesson, and in a few weeks made considerable progress 
 in that accursed art. However, I made still greater in my 
 
 ' This Cardinal and Pope was Giulio, a natural son of Giuliano, 
 Lorenzo de' Medici's brother, who had been killed in the Pazzi con- 
 spiracy, year 1478. Giulio lived to become Pope Clement VII, to suffer 
 the sack of Rome in 1527, and to make the concordat with Charles V at 
 Bologna in 1529-30, which settled for three centuries the destiny of Italy.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 13 
 
 trade of goldsmith; for the Cardinal having given me no 
 assistance, 1 went to live with a Bolognese illuminator who was 
 called Scipione Cavalletti (his house was in the street of our 
 Lady del Baraccan); and while there I devoted myself to 
 drawing and working for one Graziadio, a Jew, with whom I 
 earned considerable. 
 
 At the end of six months I returned to Florence, where 
 that fellow Pierino, who had been my father's pupil, was 
 greatly mortified by my return. To please my father, I went 
 to his house and played the cornet and the flute with one of 
 his brothers, who was named Girolamo, several years younger 
 than the said Piero, a very worthy young man, and quite the 
 contrary of his brother. On one of those days my father came 
 to Piero's house to hear us play, and in ecstasy at my per- 
 formance exclaimed: " I shall yet make you a marvellous 
 musician against the will of all or any one who may desire to 
 prevent me." To this Piero answered, and spoke the truth: 
 " Your Benvenuto will get much more honour and profit if he 
 devotes himself to the goldsmith's trade than to this piping." 
 These words made my father so angry, seeing that I too had 
 the same opinion as Piero, that he flew into a rage and cried 
 out at him: " Well did I know that it was you, you who put 
 obstacles in the way of my cherished wish; you are the man 
 who had me ousted from my place at the palace, paying me 
 back with that black ingratitude which is the usual recom- 
 pense of great benefits. I got you promoted, and you have 
 got me cashiered; I taught you to play with all the little art 
 you have, and you are preventing my son from obeying me; 
 but bear in mind these words of prophecy: not years or 
 months, I say, but only a few weeks will pass before this dirty 
 ingratitude of yours shall plunge you into ruin." To these 
 words answered Pierino and said: "Maestro Giovanni, the 
 majority of men, when they grow old, go mad at the same 
 time; and this has happened to you. I am not astonished at 
 it, because most liberally have you squandered all your prop- 
 erty, without reflecting that your childreii had need of it. I 
 mind to do just the opposite, and to leave my children so much 
 that they shall be able to succour vours." To this my father 
 answered : " No bad tree ever bore good fruit ; quite the con- 
 trary; and I tell you further that you are bad, and that your 
 children will be mad and paupers, and will cringe for alms to
 
 14 CELLINI 
 
 my virtuous and wcaltliy sons." Thereupon we left the house, 
 niuttcrint^- words of anger on both sides. I had taken my 
 father's part; and when we stepped into the street together, 
 I told him 1 was quite ready to take vengeance for the insults 
 heaped on him by that scoundrel, provided he would permit 
 me to give myself up to the art of design. He answered: " My 
 dear son, I too in my time was a good draughtsman; but for 
 recreation, after such stupendous labours, and for the love 
 of me who am your father, wjio begat you and brought you 
 up and implanted so many honourable talents in you, for the 
 sake of recreation, I say, will not you promise sometimes to 
 take in hand your flute and that seductive cornet, and to play 
 upon them to your heart's content, inviting the delight of 
 music?" I promised I would do so, and very willingly for 
 his love's sake. Then my good father said that such excellent 
 parts as I possessed would be the greatest vengeance I could 
 take for the insults of his enemies. 
 
 Not a whole month had been completed after this scene 
 before the man Pierino happened to be building a vault in a 
 house of his, which he had in the Via dello Studio ; and being 
 one day in a ground-floor room above the vault which he was 
 making, together with much company around him, he fell to 
 talking about his old master, my father. While repeating the 
 words which he had said to him concerning his ruin, no sooner 
 had they escaped his lips than the floor where he was stand- 
 ing (either because the vault had been badly built, or rather 
 through the sheer mightiness of God, who does not always pay 
 on Saturday) suddenly gave way. Some of the stones and 
 bricks of the vault, which fell with him. broke both his legs. 
 The friends who were with him, remaining on the border of 
 the broken vault, took no harm, but were astounded and full 
 of wonder, especially because of the prophecy which he had 
 just contemptuously repeated to them. When my father heard 
 of this, he took his sword, and went to see the man. There, 
 in the presence of his father, who was called Niccolaio da 
 Volterra, a trumpeter of the Signory, he said: " O Piero, my 
 dear pupil, I am sorely grieved at your mischance; but if you 
 remember it was only a short time ago that I warned you of 
 it; and as much as I then said will come to happen between 
 your children and mine." Shortly afterward, the ungrateful 
 Piero died of tjjaf ijjness. He left a wife of jbad character and
 
 MEMOIRS 15 
 
 one son, who after the lapse of sonic years came to me to beg 
 for alms in Rome. I gave him something, as well because it 
 is my nature to be charitable, as also because I recalled with 
 tears the happy state which Pierino held when my father spake 
 those words of prophecy, namely, that Pierino's children 
 should live to crave succour from his own virtuous sons. Of 
 this perhaps enough is now said; but let none ever laugh at 
 the prognostications of any worthy man whom he has wrong- 
 fully insulted; because it is not he who speaks, nay, but the 
 very voice of God through him. 
 
 X 
 
 All this while I worked as a goldsmith, and was able to 
 assist my good father. His other son, my brother Cecchino, 
 had, as I said before, been instructed in the rudiments of Latin 
 letters. It was our father's wish to make me, the elder, a great 
 musician and composer, and him, the younger, a great and 
 learned jurist. He could not, however, put force upon the 
 inclinations of our nature, which directed me to the arts of 
 design, and my brother, who had a fine and graceful person, 
 to the profession of arms. Cecchino, being still quite a lad, 
 was returning from his first lesson in the school of the stu- 
 pendous Giovannino de' Medici. On the day when he reached 
 home, I happened to be absent; and he, being in want of 
 proper clothes, sought out our sisters, who, unknown to my 
 father, gave him a cloak and doublet of mine, both new and of 
 good quality. I ought to say that, beside the aid I gave my 
 father and my excellent and honest sisters, I had bought those 
 handsome clothes out of my own savings. When I found I 
 had been cheated, and my clothes taken from me, and my 
 brother from whom I should have recovered them w'as gone, 
 I asked my father why he suffered so great a wrong to be done 
 me, seeing that I was always ready to assist him. He replied 
 that I was his good son. but that the other, whom he thought 
 to have lost, had been found again; also that it was a duty, 
 nay, a precept from God Himself, that he who hath should 
 give to him who hath not; and that for his sake I ought to 
 bear this injustice, for God would increase me in all good 
 things. I. like a youth without experience, retorted on my 
 poor afflicted parent; and taking the miserable remnants of my 
 clothes and money, went toward a gate of the city. As I did
 
 l6 CELLINI 
 
 not know which gate would start me on the road to Rome, I 
 arrived at Lucca, and from Lucca reached Pisa. 
 
 When I came to Pisa (I was about sixteen years of age at 
 the time), I stopped near the middle bridge, by what is called 
 the Fish-stone, at the shop of a goldsmith, and began atten- 
 tively to watch what the master was about. He asked me who 
 I was, and what was my profession. I told him that I worked 
 a little in the same trade as his own. This worthy man bade 
 me come into his shop, and at once gave me work to do, and 
 spoke as follows: " Your good appearance makes me believe 
 you are a decent honest youth." Then he told me out gold, 
 silver, and gems; and when the first day's work was finished, 
 he took me in the evening to his house, where he dwelt re- 
 spectably with his handsome wife and children. Thinking of 
 the grief which my good father might be feeling for me, I 
 wrote him that I was sojourning with a very excellent and 
 honest man, called Maestro Ulivieri della Chiostra, and was 
 working with him at many things of beauty and importance. 
 I bade him be of good cheer, for that I was bent on learning, 
 and hoped by my acquirements to bring him back both profit 
 and honour before long. My good father answered the letter 
 at once in words like these: " My son, the love I bear you is 
 so great, that if it were not for the honour of our family, which 
 above all things I regard, I should immediately have set off 
 for you ; for indeed it seems like being without the light of my 
 eyes, when I do not see you daily, as I used to do. I will 
 make it my business to complete the training of my household 
 up to virtuous honesty; do you make it yours to acquire ex- 
 cellence in your art; and I only wish you to remember these 
 four simple words, obey them, and never let them escape your 
 memory : 
 
 In whatever house you be, 
 
 Steal not, and live honestly." 
 
 XI 
 
 This letter fell into the hands of my master Ulivieri, and 
 he read it unknown to me. Afterward he avowed that he had 
 read it, and added: " So then, my Benvenuto, your good looks 
 did not deceive me, as a letter from your father which has 
 come into my hands gives me assurance, which proves him 
 to be a man of notable honesty and worth. Consider yourself
 
 MEMOIRS 17 
 
 then to be at home here, and as though in your own father's 
 house." 
 
 While I stayed at Pisa, I went to see the Campo Santo, 
 and there I found many beautiful fragments of antiquity, that 
 is to say, marble sarcophagi. In other parts of Pisa also I saw 
 many antique objects, which I diligently studied whenever I 
 had days or hours free from the labour of the workshop. My 
 master, who took pleasure in coming to visit me in the little 
 room which he had allotted me, observing that I spent all 
 my time in studious occupations, began to love me like a 
 father. I made great progress in the one year that I stayed 
 there, and completed several fine and valuable things in gold 
 and silver, which inspired me with a resolute ambition to ad- 
 vance in my art. 
 
 My father, in the meanwhile, kept writing piteous en- 
 treaties that I should return to him; and in every letter bade 
 me not to lose the music he had taught me with such trouble. 
 On this, I suddenly gave up all wish to go back to him; so 
 much did I hate that accursed music; and I felt as though of 
 a truth I were in paradise the whole year I stayed at Pisa, 
 where I never played the flute. 
 
 At the end of the year my master Ulivieri had occasion to 
 go to Florence, in order to sell certain gold and silver sweep- 
 ings which he had; and inasmuch as the bad air of Pisa had 
 given me a touch of fever, I went with the fever hanging still 
 about me, in my master's company, back to Florence. There 
 my father received him most affectionately, and lovingly 
 prayed him, unknown by me, not to insist on taking me again 
 to Pisa. I was ill about two months, during which time my 
 father had me most kindly treated and cured, always repeat- 
 ing that it seemed to him a thousand years till I got well 
 again, in order that he might hear me play a little. But when 
 he talked to me of music, with his fingers on my pulse, seeing 
 he had some acquaintance with medicine and Latin learning, 
 he felt it change so much if he approached that topic, that 
 he was often dismayed and left my side in tears. When I 
 perceived how greatly he was disappointed, I bade one of my 
 sisters bring me a flute; for though the fever never left me, 
 thpt instrument is so easy that it did not hurt me to play upon 
 it; and I used it with such dexterity of hand and tongue that 
 my father, coming suddenly upon me, blessed me a thousand
 
 iS CELLINI 
 
 times, exclaiming that while I was away from him I had made 
 great progress, as he thought; and he begged me to go for- 
 ward, and not to sacrifice so fine an accomplishment. 
 
 XII 
 
 When I had recovered my health, I returned to my old 
 friend Marcone, the worthy goldsmith, who put me in the way 
 of earning money, with which I helped my father and our 
 household. About that time there came to Florence a sculptor 
 named Piero Torrigiani ; ^ he arrived from England, where he 
 had resided many years; and being intimate with my master, 
 he daily visited his house; and when he saw my drawings and 
 the things which I was making, he said: " I have come to 
 Florence to enlist as many young men as I can; for I have 
 undertaken to execute a great work for my king, and want 
 some of my own Florentines to help me. Now your method 
 of working and your designs are worthy rather of a sculptor 
 than a goldsmith; and since I have to turn out a great piece 
 of bronze, I will at the same time turn you into a rich and able 
 artist." This man had a splendid person and a most arrogant 
 spirit, with the air of a great soldier more than of a sculptor, 
 especially in regard to his vehement gestures and his resonant 
 voice, together with a habit he had of knitting his brows, 
 enough to frighten any man of courage. He kept talking 
 every day about hi§ gallant feats among those beasts of Eng- 
 lishmen. 
 
 In course of conversation he happened to mention Michel 
 Agnolo Buonarroti, led thereto by a drawing I had made from 
 a cartoon of that divinest painter. This cartoon was the first 
 masterpiece which Michel Agnolo exhibited, in proof of his 
 stupendous talents. He produced it in competition with 
 another painter, Lionardo da Vinci, who also made a cartoon; 
 and both were intended for the council-hall in the palace of the 
 Signory. They represented the taking of Pisa by the Floren- 
 tines; and our admirable Lionardo had chosen to depict a 
 battle of horses, with the capture of some standards, in as 
 divine a style as could possibly be imagined. Michel Agnolo 
 in his cartoon portrayed a number of foot-soldiers, who, the 
 season being summer, had gone to bathe in Arno. He drew 
 
 ' Torrijjiani worked in fact for Henry VIII, and his monument to 
 Henry VII still exists in the Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey.
 
 MEMOIRS 19 
 
 them at the very moment the alarm is sounded, and the men 
 all naked run to arms; so splendid in their action that nothing 
 survives of ancient or of modern art which touches the same 
 lofty point of excellence; and as I have already said, the design 
 of the great Lionardo was itself most admirably beautiful. 
 These two cartoons stood, one in the palace of the Medici, the 
 other in the hall of the Pope. So long as they remained 
 intact, they were the school of the world. Though the divine 
 Michel Agnolo in later life finished that great chapel of I'ope 
 Julius,^ he never rose half-way to the same pitch of power; his 
 genius never afterward attained to the force of those first 
 
 studies. 
 
 XIII 
 
 Now let us return to Piero Torrigiani, who, with my draw- 
 ing in his hand, spoke as follows: "This Buonarroti and I 
 used, when we were boys, to go into the Church of the Car- 
 mine, to learn drawing from the chapel of Masaccio. It was 
 Buonarroti's habit to banter all who were drawing there; and 
 one day, among others, when he was annoying me, I got more 
 angry than usual, and clenching my fist, gave him such a blow 
 on the nose, that I felt bone and cartilage go down like biscuit 
 beneath my knuckles; and this mark of mine he will carry 
 with him to the grave." " These words begat in me such 
 hatred of the man, since I was always gazing at the master- 
 pieces of the divine Michel Agnolo, that although I felt a 
 wish to go with him to England, I now could never bear the 
 sight of him. 
 
 All the while I was at Florence, I studied the noble manner 
 of Michel Agnolo, and from this I have never deviated. About 
 that time I contracted a close and familiar friendship with 
 an amiable lad of my own age, who was also in the gold- 
 smith's trade. He was called Francesco, son of Filippo, and 
 grandson of Fra Lippo Lippi, that most excellent painter.* 
 
 • The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. 
 
 " The profile portraits of Michel Anpelo Buonarroti show the bridge of 
 his nose bent in an angle, as though it had been broken. 
 
 ^ Fra Filippo Lippi was a Carmelite monk, whose frescoes at Prato 
 and Spoleto and oil-paintings in Florence and elsewhere are among the 
 most genial works of the pre-Raphaelite Renaissance. His son, Filippo 
 or Filippino, was also an able painter, some of whose best work survives 
 in the Strozzi Chapel of S. Maria Novella at Florence, and in the Church 
 of S. Maria Sopra Minerva at Rome.
 
 20 CELLINI 
 
 Through intercourse together, such love grew up between us 
 that, day or night, we never stayed apart. The house where 
 he hved was still full of the fine studies which his father had 
 made, bound up in several books of drawings by his hand, and 
 taken from the best antiquities of Rome. The sight of these 
 things filled me with passionate enthusiasm; and for two 
 years or thereabouts we lived in intimacy. At that time I 
 fashioned a silver bas-relief of the size of a little child's hand. 
 It was intended for the clasp to a man's belt; for they were 
 then worn as large as that. I carved on it a knot of leaves in 
 the antique style, with figures of children and other masks of 
 great beauty. This piece I made in the workshop of one 
 Francesco Salimbene; and on its being exhibited to the trade, 
 the goldsmiths praised me as the best young craftsman of 
 their art. 
 
 There was one Giovan Battista, surnamed II Tasso, a wood- 
 carver, precisely of my own age, who one day said to me that 
 if I was willing to go to Rome, he should be glad to join me. 
 Now we had this conversation together immediately after 
 dinner; and I being angry with my father for the same old 
 reason of the music, said to Tasso: " You are a fellow of 
 words, not deeds." He answered: "I too have come to 
 anger with my mother; and if I had cash enough to take me 
 to Rome, I would not turn back to lock the door of that 
 wretched little workshop I call mine." To these words I 
 replied that if that was all that kept him in Florence I had 
 money enough in my pockets to bring us both to Rome. 
 Talking thus and walking onward, we found ourselves at the 
 gate San Picro Gattolini without noticing that we had got 
 there; whereupon I said: " Friend Tasso, this is God's doing 
 that we have reached this gate without either you or me 
 noticing that we were there; and now that I am here, it 
 seems to me that I have finished half the journey." And so, 
 being of one accord, we pursued our way together, saying, 
 " Oh, what will our old folks say this evening? " We then 
 made an agreement not to think more about them till we 
 reached Rome. So we tied our aprons behind our backs, and 
 trudged almost in silence to Siena. When we arrived at 
 Siena, Tasso said (for he had hurt his feet) that he would not 
 go farther, and asked me to lend him money to get back. I 
 made answer: " I should not have enough left to go forward;
 
 MEMOIRS 2 1 
 
 you ought indeed to have thought of this on leaving Florence; 
 and if it is because of your feet that you shirk the journey, 
 we will find a return horse for Rome, which will deprive you 
 of the excuse." Accordingly I hired a horse; and seeing 
 that he did not answer, I took my way toward the gate of 
 Rome. When he knew that I was firmly resolved to go, 
 muttering between his teeth, and limping as well as he could, 
 he came on behind me very slowly and at a great distance. 
 On reaching the gate, I felt pity for my comrade, and waited 
 for him, and took him on the crupper, saying: " What would 
 our friends speak of us to-morrow, if, having left for Rome, we 
 had not pluck to get beyond Siena? " Then the good Tasso 
 said I spoke the truth; and as he was a pleasant fellow, he 
 began to laugh and sing; and in this way, always singing and 
 laughing, we travelled the whole way to Rome. I wa^just 
 nineteen years old then, and so was the century. 
 
 When we reached Rome, I put myself under a master 
 who was known as II Firenzuola. His name was Giovanni, 
 and he came from Firenzuola in Lombardy, a most able 
 craftsman in large vases and big plate of that kind. I showed 
 him part of the model for the clasp which I had made in 
 Florence at Salimbene's. It pleased him exceedingly; and 
 turning to one of his journeymen, a Florentine called Gian- 
 notto Giannotti, who had been several years with him, he spoke 
 as follows: " This fellow is one of the Florentines who know 
 something, and you are one of those who know nothing." 
 Then I recognised the man, and turned to speak with him; for 
 before he went to Rome, we often went to draw together, and 
 had been very intimate comrades. He was so put out by the 
 words his master flung at him, that he said he did not recog- 
 nise me or know who I was ; whereupon I got angry, and cried 
 out: " O Giannotto, you who were once my friend — for have 
 we not been together in such and such places, and drawn, and 
 ate, and drunk, and slept in company at your house in the 
 country? I don't want you to bear witness on my behalf 
 to this worthy man, your master, because I hope my hands 
 are such that without aid from you they will declare what sort 
 
 of a fellow I am." 
 
 XIV 
 
 When I had thus spoken, Firenzuola, who was a man of 
 hot spirit and brave, turned to Giannotto, and said to him:
 
 22 CELLINI 
 
 " You vile rascal, aren't yon ashanioil to treat a man who has 
 been so intimate a coniraile with yon in this way? " And with 
 the same movement of cjuiek feeling^, he faced round and said 
 to me; "Welcome to my workshop; and do as you have 
 promised; let your hands declare what man you are." 
 
 He gave me a very fine piece of silver plate to work on 
 for a cardinal, it was a little oblong box, copied from the 
 porphyry sarcophagus before the door of the Rotontla. Be- 
 side what I copied, I enriched it with so many elegatU masks 
 of my invention, that my master went about showing it through 
 the art, and boasting that so good a piece of work had been 
 turned out from his shop. It was about half a cubit in size, 
 and was so constructed as to serve for a salt-cellar at table. 
 This was the first earning that I touched at Rome, and part of 
 it I sent to assist my good father; the rest I kept for my own 
 use, living upon it while I went about studying the antiijuities 
 of Rome, until my money failed, and I had to return to the 
 shop for work. Battista del Tasso, my comrade, did not stay 
 long in Rome, but went back to Florence. 
 
 After undertaking some new commissions, I took it into 
 my head, as soon as I had finished them, to change my master; 
 I had indeed been worried into doing so by a certain Milanese, 
 called Pagolo Arsago. My first master, Firenzuola, had a 
 great quarrel about this with Arsago, and abused him in my 
 presence; whereupon I took up speech in defence of my new 
 master. I said that I was born free, and free I meant to live, 
 and that there was no reason to complain of him, far less of 
 me, since some few crowns of wages were still due to me; also 
 that I chose to go, like a free journeyman, where it pleased me, 
 knowing I did wrong to no man. My new master then put in 
 with his excuses, saying that he had not asked me to come, 
 and that I should gratify him by returning with h^irenzuola. 
 To this I replied that I was not aware of wronging the latter 
 in any way, and as I had completed his conmiissions, I chose 
 to be my ow^n master and not the man of others, and that he 
 who wanted me must beg me of myself. Firenzuola cried: 
 " I don't intend to beg you of yourself; T have (U)ne with you; 
 don't show yourself again upon my premises." I reminded 
 him of the money he owed me. He laughed me in the face; 
 on which I said that if T knew how to use my tools in handi- 
 craft as well as he had seen, I could be quite as clever with my
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 23 
 
 sword in claiming the just payment of my labour. While we 
 were exchanging these words, an old man happened to come 
 up, called Maestro Antonio, of San Marino. He was the chief 
 among the Roman goldsmiths, and had been Firenzuola's 
 master. Hearing what I had to say, which I took good care 
 that he should understand, he immediately espoused my cause, 
 and bade Firenzuola pay me. The dispute waxed warm, be- 
 cause Firenzuola was an admirable swordsman, far better than 
 he was a goldsmith. Yet reason made itself heard; and I 
 backed my cause with the same spirit, till I got myself paid. 
 In course of time I'irenzuola and I became friends, and at 
 his request I stood godfather to one of his children. 
 
 XV 
 
 I went on working with Pagolo Arsago, and earned a good 
 deal of money, the greater part of which I always sent to my 
 good father. At the end of two years, upon my father's en- 
 treaty, I returned to Florence, and put myself once more 
 under PVancesco Salimbene, with whom I earned a great 
 deal, and took continual pains to improve in my art. I re- 
 newed my intimacy with Francesco di Filippo; and though I 
 was too much given to pleasure, owing to that accursed music, 
 I never neglected to devote some hours of the day or night to 
 study. At that time I fashioned a silver heart's-key, as it was 
 then called. This was a girdle three inches broad, which used 
 to be made for brides, and was executed in half relief with 
 some small figures in the round. It was a commission from 
 a man called Raffaello Lapaccini. I was very badly paid; but 
 the honour which it brought me was worth far more than 
 the gain I might have justly made by it. Having at this time 
 worked with many different persons in Florence, I had come 
 to know some worthy men among the goldsmiths, as, for in- 
 stance, Marcone, my first master; but I also met with others 
 reputed honest, who did all they could to ruin me, and robbed 
 me grossly. When I perceived this, I left their company, and 
 held them for thieves and blackguards. One of the gold- 
 smiths, called Giovanbattista Sogliani, kindly accommodated 
 me with part of his shop, which stood at the side of the New 
 Market near the Landi's bank. There I finished several pretty 
 pieces, and made good gains, and was able to give my family 
 much help. This roused the jealousy of the bad men among
 
 24 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 my former masters, who were called Salvadore and Michele 
 Guasconti. In the guild of the goldsmiths they had three big 
 shops, and drove a thriving trade. On becoming aware of 
 their evil will against me, I complained to certain worthy 
 fellows, and remarked that they ought to have been satisfied 
 with the thieveries they practised on me under the cloak of 
 hypocritical kindness. This coming to their ears, they threat- 
 ened to make me sorely repent of such words; but I, who 
 knew not what the colour of fear was, paid them little or 
 
 no heed. 
 
 XVI 
 
 It chanced one day that I was leaning against a shop of one 
 of these men, who called out to me, and began partly re- 
 proaching, partly bullying. I answered that had they done 
 their duty by me, I should have spoken of them what one 
 speaks of good and worthy men; but as they had done the 
 contrary, they ought to complain of themselves and not of me. 
 While I was standing there and talking, one of them, named 
 Gherardo Guasconti, their cousin, having perhaps been put up 
 to it by them, lay in wait till a beast of burden went by. It 
 was a load of bricks. When the load reached me, Gherardo 
 pushed it so violently on my body that I was very much hurt. 
 Turning suddenly round and seeing him laughing, I struck 
 him such a blow on the temple that he fell down, stunned, like 
 one dead. Then I faced round to his cousins, and said: 
 " That's the way to treat cowardly thieves of your sort; " and 
 when they wanted to make a move upon me, trusting to their 
 numbers, I, whose blood was now well up, laid hands to a 
 little knife I had, and cried: " If one of you comes out of the 
 shop, let the other run for the confessor, because the doctor 
 will have nothing to do here." These words so frightened 
 them that not one stirred to help their cousin. As soon as I 
 had gone, the fathers and sons ran to the Eight, and declared 
 that I had assaulted them in their shops with sword in hand, a 
 thing which had never yet been seen in Florence. The mag- 
 istrates had me summoned. I appeared before them; and 
 they began to upbraid and cry out upon me — partly, I think, 
 because they saw me in my cloak, while the others were 
 dressed like citizens in mantle and hood;^ but also because 
 
 ' Varchi says that a man who went about with only his cloak or cape 
 by daytime, if he were not a soldier, was reputed an ill-liver.
 
 MEMOIRS 25 
 
 my adversaries had been to the houses of those magistrates, 
 and had talked with all of them in private, while I, inex- 
 perienced in such matters, had not spoken to any of them, 
 trusting in the goodness of my cause. 1 said that, having re- 
 ceived such outrage and insult from Gherardo, and in my fury 
 having only given him a box on the ear, I did not think I de- 
 served such a vehement reprimand. I had hardly time to 
 finish the word box, before Prinzivalle della Stufa, who was 
 one of the Eight, interrupted me by saying: " You gave him a 
 blow, and not a box, on the ear." The bell was rung and we 
 were all ordered out, when Prinzivalle spoke thus in my de- 
 fence to his brother judges: " Mark, sirs, the simplicity of this 
 poor young man, who has accused himself of having given a 
 box on the ear, under the impression that this is of less impor- 
 tance than a blow; whereas a box on the ear in the New 
 Alarket carries a fine of twenty-five crowns, while a blow costs 
 little or nothing. He is a young man of admirable talents, 
 and supports his poor family by his labour in great abundance; 
 I would to God that our city had plenty of this sort, instead 
 of the present dearth of them." 
 
 XVII 
 
 Among the magistrates were some Radical fellows with 
 turned-up hoods, who had been influenced by the entreaties 
 and the calumnies of my opponents, because they all belonged 
 to the party of Fra Girolamo; and these men would have had 
 me sent to prison and punished without too close a reckoning. 
 But the good Prinzivalle put a stop to that. So they sen- 
 tenced me to pay four measures of flour, which were to be 
 .given as alms to the nunnery of the Murate. I was called in 
 again; and he ordered me not to speak a word under pain 
 of their displeasure, and to perform the sentence they had 
 passed. Then, after giving me another sharp rebuke, they 
 sent us to the chancellor; I muttering all the while, " It was a 
 slap and not a blow," with which we left the Eight bursting 
 with laughter. The chancellor bound us over upon bail on 
 both sides; but only I w^as punished by having to pay the four 
 measures of meal. Albeit just then I felt as though I had 
 been massacred, I sent for one of my cousins, called Maestro 
 Annibale, the surgeon, father of Messer Librodoro Librodori, 
 desiring that he should go bail for me. He refused to come.
 
 26 CELLINI 
 
 which made me so angry, that, fuming with fury and swelling 
 like an asp, I took a desperate resolve. At this point one may 
 observe how the stars do not so much sway as force our con- 
 duct. When I reflected on the great obligations which this 
 Annibale owed my family, my rage grew to such a pitch that, 
 turning wholly to evil, and being also by nature somewhat 
 choleric, I waited till the magistrates had gone to dinner; and 
 when I was alone, and observed that none of their officers were 
 watching me, in the fire of my anger, I left the palace, ran 
 to my shop, seized a dagger, and rushed to the house of my 
 enemies, who were at home and shop together. I found them 
 at table; and Gherardo, who had been the cause of the quar- 
 rel, flung himself upon me. I stabbed him in the breast, pierc- 
 ing doublet and jerkin through and through to the shirt, 
 without however grazing his flesh or doing him the least harm 
 in the world. When I felt my hand go in, and heard the 
 clothes tear, I thought that I had killed him; and seeing him 
 fall terror-struck to earth, I cried: "Traitors, this day is the 
 day on which I mean to murder you all." Father, mother, 
 and sisters, thinking the last day had come, threw themselves 
 upon their knees, screaming out for mercy with all their 
 might; but I perceiving that they offered no resistance, and 
 that he was stretched for dead upon the ground, thought it 
 too base a thing to touch them. I ran storming down the 
 staircase; and when I reached the street, I found all the rest 
 of the household, more than twelve persons; one of them had 
 seized an iron shovel, another a thick iron pipe, one had an 
 anvil, some of them hammers, and some cudgels. When I 
 got among them, raging like a mad bull, 1 flimg four or five to 
 the earth, and fell down with them myself, continually aiming 
 my dagger now at one and now at another. Those who re- 
 mained upright plied both hands with all their force, giving 
 it me with hammers, cudgels, and anvil; but inasmuch as 
 God does sometimes mercifully intervene. He so ordered that 
 neither they nor I did any harm to one another. I lost -only 
 my cap, on which my adversaries seized, though they had run 
 away from it before, and struck at it with all their weapons. 
 Afterward, they searched among their dead and wounded, 
 and saw that not a single man was injured.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 XVIII 
 
 27 
 
 I went off in the direction of Santa Maria Novella, and 
 stumbling up against Fra Alessio Strozzi, whom by the way 
 I did not know, I entreated this good friar for the love of God 
 to save my life, since I had committed a great fault. He told 
 me to have no fear; for had I done every sin in the world, I 
 was yet in perfect safety in his little cell. 
 
 After about an hour, the Eight, in an extraordinary meet- 
 ing, caused one of the most dreadful bans which ever were 
 heard of to be published against me, announcing heavy penal- 
 ties against who should harbour me or know where I was, 
 without regard to place or to the quality of my protector. My 
 poor aflhcted father went to the Eight, threw himself upon 
 his knees, and prayed for mercy for his unfortunate young 
 son. Thereupon one of those Radical fellows, shaking the 
 crest of his twisted hood, stood up and addressed my father 
 with these insulting words: " Get up from there, and begone 
 at once, for to-morrow we shall send your son into the country 
 with the lances." My poor father had still the spirit to an- 
 swer: " What God shall have ordained, that will you do, and 
 not a jot or tittle more." Whereto the same man replied that 
 for certain God had ordained as he had spoken. My father 
 said: "The thought consoles me that you do not know for 
 certain ; " and quitting their presence, he came to visit me, 
 together with a young man of my own age, called Piero di 
 Giovanni Landi — we loved one another as though we had 
 been brothers. 
 
 Under his mantle the lad carried a first-rate sword and a 
 'splendid coat of mail; and when they found me, my brave 
 father told me what had happened, and what the magistrates 
 had said to him. Then he kissed me on the forehead and 
 both eyes, and gave mc his hearty blessing, saying: " May 
 the power and goodness of God be your protection;" and 
 reaching me the sword and armour, he helped me with his 
 own hands to put them on. Afterward he added: " Oh, my 
 good son, with these arms in thy hand thou shalt either live 
 or die." Pier Landi, who was present, kept shedding tears; 
 and when he had given me ten golden crowns. I bade him 
 remove a few hairs from my chin, which were the first down 
 of my manhood. Prate Alessio disguised me like a friar and
 
 28 CELLINI 
 
 gave me a lay brother to go with me. Quitting the convent, 
 and issuing from the city by the gate of Prato, I v^ent along 
 the walls as far as the Piazza di San Gallo. Then I ascended 
 the slope of Montui, and in one of the first houses there I found 
 a man called II Grassuccio, own brother to Messer Benedetto 
 da Monte Varchi.^ I flung off my monk's clothes, and be- 
 came once more a man. Then we mounted two horses, which 
 were waiting there for us, and went by night to Siena. Gras- 
 succio returned to Florence, sought out my father, and gave 
 him the news of my safe escape. In the excess of his joy, it 
 seemed a thousand years to my father till he should meet 
 that member of the Eight who had insulted him; and when 
 he came across the man, he said: "See you, Antonio, that 
 it was God who knew what had to happen to my son, and 
 not yourself?" To which the fellow answered: "Only let 
 him get another time into our clutches!" And my father: 
 " I shall spend my time in thanking God that He has rescued 
 him from that fate." 
 
 XIX 
 
 At Siena I waited for the mail to Rome, which I afterward 
 joined; and when we passed the Paglia, we met a courier 
 carrying news of the new Pope, Clement VII. Upon my 
 arrival in Rome, I went to work in the shop of the master- 
 goldsmith Santi. He was dead; but a son of his carried on the 
 business. He did not work himself, but entrusted all his 
 commissions to a young man named Lucagnolo from lesi, a 
 country fellow, who while yet a child had come into Santi's 
 service. This man was short but well proportioned, and was 
 a more skilful craftsman than any one whom I had met with 
 up to that time; remarkable for facility and excellent in de- 
 sign. He executed large plate only; that is to say, vases of 
 the utmost beauty, basins, and such pieces. Having put my- 
 self to work there, I began to make some candelabra for the 
 Bishop of Salamanca, a Spaniard." They were richly chased, 
 so far as that sort of work admits. A pupil of Raffaello da 
 
 ' Benedetto da Monte Varchi was the celebrated poet, scholar, and his- 
 torian of Florence, better known as Varchi. Another of his brothers was 
 a physician of high repute at Florence. 
 
 * Don Francesco de Bobadilla. He came to Rome in 1517, was shut 
 up with Clement in the Castle of S. Angelo in 1527, and died in 1529, 
 after his return to Spain.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 29 
 
 Urbino called Gian Francesco, and commonly known as II 
 Fattorc, was a painter of great ability; and being on terms 
 of friendship with the Bishop, he introduced me to his favour, 
 so that I obtained many commissions from that prelate, and 
 earned considerable sums of money.* 
 
 During that time I went to draw, sometimes in Michel 
 Agnolo's chapel, and sometimes in the house of Agostino 
 Chigi of Siena, which contained many incomparable paintings 
 by the hand of that great master Raffaello.'' This I did on 
 feast-days, because the house was then inhabited byMesser Gis- 
 mondo, Agostino's brother. They plumed themselves exceed- 
 ingly when they saw young men of my sort coming to study in 
 their palaces. Gismondo's wife, noticing my frequent pres- 
 ence in that house — she was a lady as courteous as could be, 
 and of surpassing beauty — came up to me one day, looked at 
 my drawings, and asked me if I was a sculptor or a painter; 
 I told her that I was a goldsmith. She remarked that I drew 
 too well for a goldsmith; and having made one of her waiting- 
 maids bring a lily of the finest diamonds set in gold, she 
 showed it to me, and bade me value it. I valued it at 800 
 crowns. Then she said that I had very nearly hit the mark, 
 and asked me whether I felt capable of setting the stones really 
 well. I said that I should much like to do so, and began 
 before her eyes to make a little sketch for it, working all the 
 better because of the pleasure I took in conversing with so 
 lovely and agreeable a gentlewoman. When the sketch was 
 finished, another Roman lady of great beauty joined us; she 
 had been above, and now descending to the ground-floor, 
 asked Madonna Porzia what she was doing there. She an- 
 swered with a smile: " I am amusing myself by watching this 
 worthy young man at his drawing; he is as good as he is 
 handsome." I had by this time acquired a trifle of assurance, 
 mixed, however, with some honest bashfulness; so I blushed 
 and said: " Such as I am, lady, I shall ever be most ready to 
 serve you." The gentlewoman, also slightly blushing, said: 
 
 ' This painter, Gio. Francesco Penni, aided Raphael in his Roman 
 frescoes and was much beloved by him. Together with Giulio Romano 
 he completed the imperfect Stanze of the Vatican. 
 
 * Cellini here alludes to the Sistine Chapel and to the Villa Farnesina 
 in Trastevere, built by the Sienese banker, Agostino Chigi. It was here 
 that Raphael painted his Galatea and the whole fable of Cupid and 
 Psyche.
 
 30 CELLINI 
 
 " You know well that I walit you to serve me; " and reaching 
 me the lily, told me to take it away; and gave me besides 
 twenty golden crowns which she had in her bag, and added: 
 " Set me the jewel after the fashion you have sketched, and 
 keep for me the old gold in which it is now set." On this 
 the Roman lady observed: " If I were in that young man's 
 body, I should go away without asking leave." Madonna 
 Porzia replied that virtues rarely are at home with vices, and 
 that if I did such a thing, I should strongly belie my good 
 looks of an honest man. Then turning round, she took the 
 Roman lady's hand, and with a pleasant smile said: " Fare- 
 well, Benvenuto." I stayed on a short while at the drawing 
 I was making, which was a copy of a Jove by Rafifaello. When 
 I had finished it and left the house, I set myself to making a 
 little model of wax, in order to show how the jewel would look 
 when it was completed. This I took to Madonna Porzia, 
 whom I found with the same Roman lady. Both of them 
 were highly satisfied with my work, and treated me so kindly 
 that, being somewhat emboldened, I promised the jewel should 
 be twice as good as the model. Accordingly I set hand to it, 
 and in twelve days I finished it in the form of a fleur-de-lys, 
 as I have said above, ornamenting it with little masks, chil- 
 dren, and animals, exquisitely enamelled, whereby the dia- 
 monds which formed the lily were more than doubled in effect. 
 
 XX 
 
 While I was working at this piece, Lucagnolo, of whose 
 ability I have before spoken, showed considerable discontent, 
 telling me over and over again that I might acquire far more 
 profit and honour by helping him to execute large plate, as I 
 had done at first. I made him answer that, whenever I chose, 
 I should always be capable of working at great silver pieces; 
 but that things like that on which I was now engaged were 
 not commissioned every day; and beside their bringing no less 
 honour than large silver plate, there was also more profit to be 
 made by them. He laughed me in the face, and said: " Wait 
 and see, Benvenuto; for by the time that you have finished 
 that work of yours, I will make haste to have finished this 
 vase, which I took in hand when you did the jewel; and then 
 experience shall teach you what profit I shall get from my 
 vase, and what you will get from your ornament." I answered
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 31 
 
 that I was very glad indeed to enter into such a competition 
 with so good a craftsman as he was, because the end would 
 show which of us was mistaken. Accordingly both the one 
 and the other of us, with a scornful smile uj^on our lips, bent 
 our heads in grim earnest to the work, which both were 
 now desirous of accomplishing; so that after about ten days, 
 each had finished his undertaking with great delicacy and 
 artistic skill. 
 
 Lucagnolo's was a huge silver piece, used at the table of 
 Pope Clement, into which he flung away bits of bone and the 
 rind of divers fruits, while eating; an object of ostentation 
 rather than necessity. The vase was adorned with two fine 
 handles, together with many masks, both small and great, and 
 masses of lovely foliage, in as exquisite a style of elegance as 
 could be imagined; on seeing which I said it was the most 
 beautiful vase that ever I set eyes on. Thinking he had con- 
 vinced me, Lucagnolo replied: " Your work seems to me 
 no less beautiful, but we shall soon perceive the difference 
 between the two." So he took his vase and carried it to the 
 Pope, who was very well pleased with it, and ordered at once 
 that he should be paid at the ordinary rate of such large plate. 
 Meanwhile I carried mine to Madonna Porzia, who looked at 
 it with astonishment, and told me I had far surpassed my 
 promise. Then she bade me ask for my reward whatever I 
 litvcd; for it seemed to her my desert was so great that if I 
 craved a castle she could hardly recompense me; but since 
 that was not in her hands to bestow, she added laughing that 
 I must beg what lay within her power. I answered that the 
 greatest reward I could desire for my labour was to have satis- 
 fied her ladyship. Then, smiling in my turn, and bowing to 
 her, I took my leave, saying I wanted no reward but that. 
 She turned to the Roman lady and said : " You see that the 
 qualities we discerned in him are companied by virtues, and 
 not vices." They both expressed their admiration, and then 
 Madonna Porzia continued: " Friend Benvenuto, have you 
 never heard it said that when the poor give to the rich, the 
 devil laughs? " I replied: " Quite true! and yet, in the midst 
 of all his troubles, I should like this time to see him laugh; " 
 and as I took my leave, she said that this time she had no will 
 to bestow on him that favour. 
 
 When I came back to the shop, Lucagnolo had the money
 
 32 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 for his vase in a paper packet; and on my arrival he cried 
 out: " Come and compare the price of your jewel with the 
 price of my plate." I said that he must leave things as they 
 were till the next day, because I hoped that even as my work 
 in its kind was not less excellent than his, so I should be able 
 to show him quite an equal price for it. 
 
 XXI 
 
 On the day following. Madonna Porzia sent a majo-domo 
 of hers to my shop, who called me out, and putting into my 
 hands a paper packet full of money from his lady, told me 
 that she did not choose the devil should have his whole laugh 
 out: by which she hinted that the money sent me was not 
 the entire payment merited by my industry, and other mes- 
 sages were added worthy of so courteous a lady. Lucagnolo, 
 who was burning to compare his packet with mine, burst into 
 the shop; then in the presence of twelve journeymen and some 
 neighbours, eager to behold the result of this competition, 
 he seized his packet, scornfully exclaiming " Ou! ou! " three 
 or four times, while he poured his money on the counter with 
 a great noise. They were twenty-five crowns in giulios; and 
 he fancied that mine would be four or five crowns di moneta.^ 
 I for my part, stunned and stifled by his cries, and by the looks 
 and smiles of the bystanders, first peeped into my packet; 
 then, after seeing that it contained nothing but gold, I retired 
 to one end of the counter, and, keeping my eyes lowered and 
 making no noise at all, I lifted it with both hands suddenly 
 above my head, and emptied it like a mill hopper. My coin 
 was twice as much as his; which caused the onlookers, who 
 had fixed their eyes on me with some derision, to turn round 
 suddenly to him and say: " Lucagnolo, Benvenuto's pieces, 
 being all of gold and twice as many as yours, make a far finer 
 effect." I thought for certain that, what with jealousy and 
 what with shame, Lucagnolo would have fallen dead upon 
 the spot; and though he took the third part of my gain, since 
 I was a journeyman (for such is the custom of the trade, two- 
 thirds fall to the workman and one-third to the masters of the 
 shop), yet inconsiderate envy had more power in him than 
 
 ' The giulio was a silver coin worth 56 Italian centimes. The scudi di 
 tnoneta was worth 10 giulios. Cellini was paid in golden crowns, which 
 had a much higher value.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 33 
 
 avarice: it ought indeed to have worked quite the other way, 
 he being a peasant's son from lesi. He cursed his art and 
 those who taught it him, vowing that thenceforth he would 
 never work at large plate, but give his whole attention to those 
 gewgaws, since they were so well paid. Equally enraged on 
 my side, I answered that every bird sang its own note; that 
 he talked after the fashion of the hovels he came from; but 
 that I dared swear that I should succeed with ease in making 
 his lubberly lumber, while he would never be successful in 
 my gewgaws. Thus I flung off in a passion, telling him that I 
 would soon show him that I spoke truth. The bystanders 
 openly declared against him, holding him for a lout, as indeed 
 he was, and me for a man, as I had proved myself. 
 
 XXII 
 
 Next day, I went to thank Madonna Porzia, and told her 
 that her ladyship had done the opposite of what she said she 
 would; for that while I wanted to make the devil laugh, she 
 had made him once more deny God. We both laughed pleas- 
 antly at this, and she gave me other commissions for fine and 
 substantial work. 
 
 - Meanwhile, I contrived, by means of a pupil of Rafifaello da 
 Urbino, to get an order from the Bishop of Salamanca for one 
 of those great water-vessels called acquereccia, which are used 
 for ornaments to place on sideboards. He wanted a pair made 
 of equal size; and one of them he intrusted to Lucagnolo, the 
 other to me. Giovan Francesco, the painter I have mentioned, 
 gave us the design. Accordingly I set hand with marvellous 
 good-will to this piece of plate, and was accommodated with 
 a part of his workshop by a Milanese named Maestro Giovan 
 Piero della Tacca. Having made my preparations, I calcu- 
 lated how much money I should need for certain affairs of 
 my own, and sent all the rest to assist my poor father. 
 
 It so happened that just when this was being paid to him in 
 Florence, he stumbled upon one of those Radicals who were 
 in the Eight at the time when I got into that little trouble 
 there. It was the very man who had abused him so rudely, 
 and who swore that I should certainly be sent into the country 
 with the lances. Now this fellow had some sons of very bad 
 morals and repute; wherefore my father said to him: " Mis- 
 fortunes can happen to anybody, especially to men of choleric 
 3
 
 34 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 humour when they are in the right, even as it happened to my 
 
 son; but let the rest of his hfe bear witness how virtuously I 
 
 have brought him up. Would God, for your well-being, that 
 
 your sons may act neither worse nor better toward you than 
 
 mine do to me. God rendered me able to bring them up as I 
 
 have done; and where my own power could not reach, 'twas 
 
 He who rescued them, against your expectation, out of your 
 
 violent hands." On leaving the man, he wrote me all this 
 
 story, begging me for God's sake to practise music at times, 
 
 in order that I might not lose the fine accomplishment which 
 
 he had taught me with such trouble. The letter so overflowed 
 
 with expressions of the tenderest fatherly affection, that I was 
 
 moved to tears of filial piety, resolving, before he died, to 
 
 gratify him amply with regard to music. Thus God grants 
 
 us those lawful blessings which we ask in prayer, nothing 
 
 doubting. 
 
 XXIII 
 
 While I was pushing forward Salamanca's vase, I had only 
 one little boy as help, whom I had taken at the .entreaty of 
 friends, and half against my own will, to be my workman. 
 He was about fourteen years of age, bore the name of Paulino, 
 and was son to a Roman burgess, who lived upon the income 
 of his property. Paulino was the best-mannered, the most 
 honest, and the most beautiful boy I ever saw in my whole 
 life. His modest ways and actions, together with his superla- 
 tive beauty and his devotion to myself, bred in me as great 
 an afifection for him as a man's breast can hold. This passion- 
 ate love led mc oftentimes to delight the lad with music; for 
 I observed that his marvellous features, which by complexion 
 wore a tone of modest melancholy, brightened up, and when 
 I took my cornet, broke into a smile so lovely and so sweet, 
 that I do not marvel at the silly stories which the Greeks liave 
 written about the deities of heaven. Indeed, if my boy had 
 lived in those times, he would probably have turned their 
 heads still more. He had a sister, named Faustina, more 
 beautiful, I verily believe, than that Faustina about whom the 
 old books gossip so. Sometimes he took me to their vine- 
 yard, and. so far as I could judge, it struck me that Paulino's 
 good father would have welcomed me as a son-in-law. This 
 affair led me to play more than I was used to do. 
 
 It happened at thsit time that one Giangiacomo of Cesena,
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 35 
 
 a musician in the Pope's band, and a very excellent performer, 
 sent word through Lorenzo, the trumpeter of Lucca, who is 
 now in our Uuke's service, to inquire whether 1 was inclined 
 to help thenr at the Pope's Ferragosto, playing sojjrano with 
 my cornet in some motets of great beauty selected by them 
 for that occasion.^ Although 1 had the greatest desire to 
 finish the vase I had begun, yet, since music has a wondrous 
 charm of its own, and also because 1 wished to please my old 
 father, I consented to join them. During eight days before 
 the festival we practised two hours a day together; then on 
 the first of August we went to th^ Belvedere, and while Pope 
 Clement was at table, vve played those carefully studied motets 
 so well that his Holiness protested he had never heard music 
 more sweetly executed or with better harmony of parts. He 
 sent for Giangiacomo, and asked him where and how he had 
 procured so excellent a cornet for soprano, and inc[uired par- 
 ticularly who I was. Giangiacomo told him my name in full. 
 Whereupon the Pope said: " So, then, he is the son of Maestro 
 Giovanni?" On being assured I was, the Pope expressed 
 his wish to have me in his service with the other bandsmen. 
 Giangiacomo replied: " Most blessed Father, I can not pre- 
 tend for certain that you will get him, for his profession, to 
 which he devotes himself assiduously, is that of a goldsmith, 
 and he works in it miraculously well, and earns by it far more 
 than he could do by playing." To this the Pope added: " I 
 am the better inclined to him now that I find him possessor 
 of a talent more than I expected. See that he obtains the 
 same salary as the rest of you; and tell him from me to join 
 my service, and that I will find work enough by the day for 
 him to do in his other trade." Then stretching out his hand, 
 he gave him a hundred golden crowns of the Camera in a 
 handkerchief, and said:- "Divide these so that he may take 
 his share." 
 
 When Giangiacomo left the Pope, he came to us, and 
 related in detail all that the Pope had said ; and after dividing 
 the money between the eight of us, and giving me my share, 
 he said to me: "Now I am going to have you inscribed 
 among our company." I replied: "Let the day pass; to- 
 morrow I will give my answer." When I left them, I went 
 
 ' The Ferragosto or Feriae Augusti was a festival upon the first of 
 August. * The Camera Apostolica was the Roman Exchequer.
 
 36 CELLINI 
 
 meditating whether I ought to accept the invitation, inasmuch 
 as I could not but suffer if I abandoned the noble studies of 
 my art. The following night my father appeared to me in a 
 dream, and begged me with tears of tenderest affection, for 
 God's love and his, to enter upon this engagement. Me- 
 thought I answered that nothing would induce me to do so. 
 In an instant he assumed so horrible an aspect as to frighten 
 me out of my wits, and cried: " If you do not, you will have 
 a father's curse; but if you do, may you be- ever blessed by 
 me!" When I woke, T ran, for very fright, to have myself 
 inscribed. Then I wrote to my old father, telling him the 
 news, which so affected him with extreme joy that a sudden 
 fit of illness took him, and well-nigh brought him to death's 
 door. In his answer to my letter, he told me that he too had 
 dreamed nearly the same as I had. 
 
 XXIV 
 
 Knowing now that I had gratified my father's honest wish, 
 I began to think that everything would prosper with me to a 
 glorious and honourable end. Accordingly, I set myself with 
 indefatigable industry to the completion of the vase I had 
 begun for Salamanca. That prelate was a very extraordinary 
 man, extremely rich, but difficult to please. He sent daily to 
 learn what I was doing; and when his messenger did not find 
 me at home, he broke into fury, saying that he would take the 
 work out of my hands and give it to others to finish. This 
 came of my slavery to that accursed music. Still I laboured 
 diligently night and day, until, when I had brought my work 
 to a point when it could be exhibited, I submitted it to the in- 
 spection of the Bishop. This so increased his desire to see it 
 finished, that I was sorry I had shown it. At the end of three 
 months I had it ready, with little animals and foliage and 
 masks, as beautiful as one could hope to see. No sooner was 
 it done than I sent it by the hand of my workman, Paulino, 
 to show that able artist Lucagnolo, of whom I have spoken 
 above. Paulino, with the grace and beauty which belonged 
 to him, spoke as follows: " Messer Lucagnolo, Bcnvenuto 
 bids me say that he has sent to show you his promises and 
 your lumber, expecting in return to see from you his gew- 
 gaws." This message given, Lucagnolo took up the vase, and 
 carefully examined it; then he said to Paulino: "Fair boy,
 
 MEMOIRS 37 
 
 tell your master that he is a great and able artist, and that I 
 beg him to be willing to have me for a friend, and not to 
 engage in aught else." The mission of that virtuous and 
 marvellous lad caused me the greatest joy ; and then the vase 
 was carried to Salamanca, who ordered it to be valued. 
 Lucagnolo took part in the valuation, estimating and praising 
 it far above my own opinion. Salamanca, lifting up the vase, 
 cried like a true Spaniard: " I swear by God that 1 will take 
 as long in paying him as he has lagged in making it." When 
 I heard this, I was exceedingly put out, and fell to cursing all 
 Spain and every one who wished well to it. 
 
 Amongst other beautiful ornaments, this vase had a handle, 
 made all of one piece, with most delicate mechanism, which, 
 when a spring was touched, stood upright above the mouth 
 of it. 'while the prelate was one day ostentatiously exhibiting 
 my vase to certain Spanish gentlemen of his suite, it chanced 
 that one of them, upon Monsignor's quitting the room, began 
 roughly to work the handle, and as the gentle spring which 
 moved it could not bear his loutish violence, it broke in his 
 hand. Aware what mischief he had done, he begged the 
 butler who had charge of the Bishop's plate to take it to the 
 master who had made it, for him to mend, and promised to 
 pay what price he asked, provided it was set to rights at once. 
 So the vase cam.e once more into my hands, and I promised 
 to put it forthwith in order, which indeed I did. It was 
 brought to me before dinner; and at tw-enty-two o'clock the 
 man who brought it returned, all in a sweat, for he had run 
 the whole way, Monsignor having again asked for it to show 
 to certain other gentlemen.^ The butler, then, without giving 
 me time to utter a word, cried: " Quick, quick, bring the 
 vase." I, who wanted to act at leisure and not to give it up 
 to him. said that I did not mean to be so quick. The serving- 
 man got into such a rage that he made as though he would 
 put one hand to his sword, while with the other he threatened 
 to break the shop open. To this I put a stop at once with 
 
 ' The Italians reckoned time from sundown till sundown, counting 
 twenty-four hours. Twenty-two o'clock was therefore two hours before 
 nightfall. One hour of the night was one hour after nightfall, and so 
 forth. By this system of reckoning, it is clear that the hours varied with 
 the season of the year ; and unless we know the exact month in which 
 an event took place, we can not translate any hour into terms of our own 
 system. 
 
 134065
 
 38 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 my own weapon, using therewith spirited language, and say- 
 ing: " I am not going to give it to you! Go and tell Mon- 
 signor, your master, that I want the money for my work before 
 I let it leave this shop." When the fellow saw he could not 
 obtain it by swaggering, he fell to praying me, as one prays 
 to the Cross, declaring that if I would only give it up, he would 
 take care I should be paid. These words did not make me 
 swerve from my purpose; but I kept on saying the same 
 thing. At last, despairing of success, he swore to come with 
 Spaniards enough to cut me in pieces. Then he took to his 
 heels; while I, who inclined to believe partly in their murder- 
 ous attack, resolved that I would defend myself with courage. 
 So I got an admirable little gun ready, which I used for shoot- 
 ing game, and muttered to myself: " He who robs me of my 
 property and labour may take my life too, and welcome," 
 While I was carrying on this debate in my own mind, a crowd 
 of Spaniards arrived, led by their major-domo, who, with the 
 headstrong rashness of his race, bade them go in and take the 
 vase and give me a good beating. Hearing these words, I 
 showed them the muzzle of my gun, and prepared to fire, and 
 cried in a loud voice: " Renegade Jews, traitors, is it thus that 
 one breaks into houses and shops in our city of Rome? Come 
 as many of you thieves as like, an inch nearer to this wicket, 
 and I'll blow all their brains out with my gun." Then I turned 
 the muzzle toward their major-domo, and making as though 
 I would discharge it, called out: " And you big thief, who are 
 egging them on, I mean to kill you first." He clapped spurs 
 to the jennet he was riding, and took flight headlong. The 
 conmiotion we were making stirred up all the neighbours, 
 who came crowding round, together with some Roman gentle- 
 men who chanced to pass, and cried: " Do but kill the rene- 
 gades, and we will stand by you." These words had the effect 
 of frightening the Spaniards in good earnest. They with- 
 drew, and were compelled by the circumstances to relate the 
 whole affair to Monsignor. Being a man of inordinate 
 haughtiness, he rated the members of his household, both 
 because they had engaged in such an act of violence, and also 
 because, having begun, they had not gone through with it. 
 At this juncture the painter, who had been concerned in the 
 whole matter, came in, and the Bishop bade him go and tell me 
 that if I did not bring the vase at once, he would make mince- 
 
 II
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 39 
 
 meat of me; but if 1 brought it, lie would pay its price down. 
 These threats were so far from terrifying me, that 1 sent him 
 word I was going immediately to lay my case before the Pope. 
 In the meantime, his anger and my fear subsided; where- 
 upon, being guaranteed by some Roman noblemen of high 
 degree that the prelate would not harm me, and having assur- 
 ance that I should be paid, I armed myself with a large poniard 
 and my good coat of nuiil, and l)ctocjk myself to his palace, 
 where he had drawn up all his household. I entered, and 
 Paulino followed with the silver vase. It was just like passing 
 through the Zodiac, neither more nor less; for one of them 
 had the'face of the lion, another of the scorpion, a third of 
 the crab. However, we passed onward to the presence of the 
 rascally priest, who spouted out a torrent of such language 
 as only priests and Spaniards have at their command. In re- 
 turn I never raised my eyes to look at him, nor answered word 
 for word. That seemed to augment the fury of his anger; and 
 causing paper to be put before me, he commanded me to 
 write an acknowledgment to the effect that I had been amply 
 satisfied and paid in full. Then I raised my head, and said I 
 should be very glad to do so when I had received the money. 
 The Bishop's rage continued to rise; threats and recrimina- 
 tions were flung about; but at last the money was paid, and 
 I wrote the receipt. Then I departed, glad at heart and in 
 high spirits. 
 
 XXV 
 
 When Pope Clement heard the story — he had seen the vase 
 before, but it was not shown him as my w'ork — he expressed 
 much pleasure and spoke warmly in my praise, publicly saying 
 that he felt very favourably toward me. This caused Mon- 
 signor Salamanca to repent that he had hectored over me; 
 and in order to make up our quarrel, he sent the same painter 
 to inform me that he meant to give me large commissions. I 
 replied that I was willing to undertake them, but that I should 
 require to be paid in advance. This speech too came to Pope 
 Clement's ears, and made him laugh heartily. Cardinal Cibo 
 was in the presence, and the Pope narrated to him the whole 
 history of my dispute with the Bishop.^ Then he turned to 
 
 ' Innocenzio Cibo Malaspina, Archbishop of Genoa, and nephew of 
 Lorenzo de' Medici. He was a prelate of vast wealth and a great patron 
 of arts and letters.
 
 40 CELLINI 
 
 one of liis people, and ordered him to go on supplying me 
 with work for the palace. Cardinal Cibo sent for me, and 
 after some time spent in agreeable conversation, gave me the 
 order for a large vase, bigger than Salamanca's. I likewise 
 obtained commissions from Cardinal Cornaro, and many 
 others of the Holy College, especially Ridolfi and Salviati; 
 they all kept me well employed, so that I earned plenty of 
 money. ^ 
 
 Madonna Porzia now advised me to open a shop of my 
 own. This I did; and I never stopped working for that ex- 
 cellent and gentle lady, who paid me exceedingly well, and 
 by whose means perhaps it was that I came to make a figure 
 in the world. 
 
 I contracted close friendship w'ith Signor Gabbriello Ce- 
 serino, at that time Gonfalonier of Rome, and executed many 
 pieces for him. One, among the rest, is worthy of mention. 
 It was a large golden medal to wear in the hat. I engraved 
 upon it Leda with her swan ; and being very well pleased with 
 the workmanship, he said he should like to have it valued, in 
 order that I might be properly paid. Now, since the medal 
 was executed with consummate skill, the valuers of the trade 
 set a far higher price on it than he had thought of. I there- 
 fore kept the medal, and got nothing for my pains. The same 
 sort of adventures happened in this case as in that of Sala- 
 manca's vase. But I shall pass such matters briefly by, lest 
 they hinder me from telling things of greater importance. 
 
 XXVI 
 
 Since I am writing my life, I must from time to time di- 
 verge from my profession in order to describe with brevity, 
 if not in detail, some incidents which have no bearing on my 
 career as artist. On the morning of Saint John's Day I hap- 
 pened to be dining with several men of our nation, painters, 
 sculptors, goldsmiths, amongst the most notable of whom 
 was Rosso and Gianfrancesco, the pupil of RafTaello.^ I had 
 invited them without restraint or ceremony to the place of our 
 
 ' Marco Cornaro was a brother of Caterina, the Queen of Cyprus. He 
 obtained the hat in 1492. Niccolo Ridolfi was a nephew of Leo X. Gio- 
 vanni Salviati was also a nephew of Leo X, who gave him the hat in 
 
 1517. 
 
 ' St. John's Day was the great Florentine Festival, on which all the 
 Guilds went in procession with pageants through the city.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 4T 
 
 meeting; and they were all laughing and joking, as is natural 
 when a crowd of men come together to make merry on so 
 great a festival. It chanced that a light-brained swaggering 
 young fellow passed by; he was a soldier of Rienzo da Ceri, 
 who, when he heard the noise that we were making, gave vent 
 to a string of opprobrious sarcasms upon the folk of Plor- 
 ence.^ I, who was the host of those great artists and men of 
 worth, taking the insult to myself, slipped out quietly without 
 being observed, and went up to him. I ought to say that he 
 had a woman of his there, and was going on with his stupid 
 ribaldries to amuse her. When I met him, I asked if he was 
 the rash fellow who was speaking evil of the Florentines. He 
 answered at once: " I am that man." On this I raised my 
 hand, struck him in the face, and said: " And I am this man." 
 Then we each of us drew our swords with spirit; but the fray 
 had hardly begun when a crowd of persons intervened, who 
 rather took my part than not, hearing and seeing that I was 
 in the right. 
 
 On the following day a challenge to fight with him was 
 brought me, which I accepted very gladly, saying that I ex- 
 pected to complete this job far quicker than those of the 
 other art I practised. So I went at once to confer with a fine 
 old man called Bevilacqua, who was reputed to have been 
 the first sword of Italy, because he had fought more than 
 twenty serious duels and had always come ofif with honour. 
 This excellent man was a great friend of mine; he knew me 
 as an artist, and had also been concerned as intermediary in 
 certain ugly quarrels between me and others. Accordingly, 
 when he had learned my business, he answered with a smile: 
 " My Benvenuto, if you had an aflfair with Mars, I am sure 
 you would come out with honour, because through all the 
 years that I have known you, I have never seen you wrong- 
 fully take up a quarrel." So he consented to be my second, 
 and we repaired with sword in hand to the appointed place; 
 but no blood was shed, for my opponent made the matter up, 
 and I came with much credit out of the affair. I will not add 
 further particulars ; for though they would be very interesting 
 
 ' This Rienzo, Renzo, or Lorenzo da Ceri, was a captain of adventurers 
 or Condottiere, who hired his mercenary forces to paymasters. He de- 
 fended Crema for the Venetians in 1514, and conquered Urbino for the 
 Pope in 1515. Afterward he fought for the French in the Italian wars.
 
 42 CELLINI 
 
 in their own way, I wisli to keep both space and words for 
 my art, which has been my chief inducement to write as I am 
 doing, and about which I shall have only too much to say. 
 
 The spirit of honourable rivalry impelled me to attempt 
 some other masterpiece, which should equal, or even surpass, 
 the productions of that able craftsman, Lucagnolo, whom I 
 have mentioned. Still I did not on this account neglect my 
 own fine art of jewellery; and so both the one and the other 
 wrought me much profit and more credit, and in both of them 
 I continued to produce things of marked originality. There 
 was at that time in Rome a very able artist of Perugia named 
 Lautizio, who worked only in one department, where he was 
 sole and unrivalled throughout the world. You must know 
 that at Rome every cardinal has a seal, upon which his title is 
 engraved, and these seals are made just as large as a child's 
 hand of about twelve years of age; and, as I have already 
 said, the cardinal's title is engraved upon the seal together 
 with a great many ornamental figures. A well-made article of 
 the kind fetches a hundred, or more than a hundred crowns. 
 This excellent workman, like Lucagnolo, roused in me some 
 honest rivalry, although the art he practised is far remote 
 from the other branches of gold-smithery, and consequently 
 Lautizio was not skilled in making anything but seals. I gave 
 my mind to acquiring his craft also, although I found it very 
 difficult; and, unrepelled by the trouble which it gave me, I 
 went on zealously upon the path of profit and improvement. 
 
 There was in Rome another most excellent craftsman of 
 ability, who was a Milanese named Messcr Caradosso. He 
 dealt in nothing but little chiselled medals, made of plates of 
 metal, and such-like things. I have seen of his some paxes 
 in half relief, and some Christs a palm in length wrought of 
 the thinnest golden plates, so exquisitely done that I esteemed 
 him the greatest master in that kind I had ever seen, and 
 envied him more than all the rest together. There were also 
 other masters who worked at medals carved in steel, which 
 may be called the models and true guides for those who aim 
 at striking coins in the most perfect style. All these divers 
 arts I set myself with unflagging industry to learn. 
 
 T must not omit the exquisite art of enamelling, in which 
 I have never known any one excel save a Florentine, our 
 countryman, called Amerigo. I did not know him, but was
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 43 
 
 well acquainted with his incomparable masterpieces. Noth- 
 ing in any part of the world or by any craftsman that 1 have 
 seen, approached the divine beauty of their workmanship. 
 To this branch too I devoted myself with all my strength, 
 although it is extremely difficult, chiefly because of the fire, 
 which, after long time and trouble spent in other processes, 
 has to be applied at last, and not unfrequently brings the whole 
 to ruin. Jn spite of its great difficulties, it gave me so much 
 pleasure that I looked upon them as recreation; and this 
 came from the special gift which the God of nature bestowed 
 on me, that is to say, a temperament so happy and of such 
 excellent parts that I was freely able to accomplish whatever 
 it pleased me to take in hand. The various departments of 
 art which I have described are very different one from the 
 other, so that a man who excels in one of them, if he under- 
 takes the others, hardly ever achieves the same success; 
 whereas I strove with all my power to become equally versed 
 in all of them: and in the proper place I shall demonstrate 
 that I attained my object. 
 
 XXVII 
 
 At that time, w'hile I was still a young man of about 
 twenty-three, there raged a plague of such extraordinary vio- 
 lence that many thousands died of it every day in Rome. 
 Somewhat terrified at this calamity, I began to take certain 
 amusements, as my mind suggested, and for a reason which 
 I will presently relate. I had formed a habit of going on 
 feast-days to the ancient buildings, and copying parts of them 
 in wax or with the pencil; and since these buildings are all 
 ruins, and the ruins house innumerable pigeons, it came into 
 my head to use my gun against these birds. So then, avoiding 
 all commerce with people, in my terror of the plague, I used 
 to put a fowling-piece on my boy Pagolino's shoulder, and 
 he and I went out alone into the ruins; and oftentimes we 
 came home laden with a cargo of the fattest pigeons. I did 
 not care to charge my gun with more than a single ball; and 
 thus it was by pure skill in the art that I filled such heavy bags. 
 I had a fowling-piece which I had made myself; inside and 
 out it was as bright as any mirror. T also used to make a very 
 fine sort of powder, in doing which I discovered secret pro- 
 cesses, beyond any which have yet been found; and on this
 
 44 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 point, in order to be brief, I will give but one particular, which 
 will astonish good shots of every degree. This is, that when 
 I charged my gun with powder weighing one-fifth of the ball, 
 it carried two hundred paces point-blank. It is true that the 
 great delight I took in this exercise bid fair to withdraw me 
 from my art and studies; yet in another way it gave me more 
 than it deprived me of, seeing that each time I went out shoot- 
 ing I returned with greatly better health, because the open air 
 was a benefit to my constitution. My natural temperament 
 was melancholy, and while I was taking these amusements, 
 my heart leapt up with joy, and I found that I could work 
 better and with far greater mastery than when I spent my 
 whole time in study and manual labour. In this way my 
 gun, at the end of the game, stood me more in profit than 
 in loss. 
 
 It was also the cause of my making acquaintance with 
 certain hunters after curiosities, who followed in the track 
 of those Lombard peasants who used to come to Rome to 
 till the vineyards at the proper season. While digging the 
 ground, they frequently turned up antique medals, agates, 
 chrysoprases, cornelians, and cameos; also sometimes jewels, 
 as, for instance, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and rubies. 
 The peasants used to sell things of this sort to the traders 
 for a mere trifle; and I very often, when I met them, paid 
 the latter several times as many golden crowns as they had 
 given giulios for some object. Independently of the profit 
 I made by this trafftc, which was at least tenfold, it brought 
 me also into agreeable relations with nearly all the cardinals 
 of Rome. I will only touch upon a few of the most notable 
 and rarest of these curiosities. There came into my hands, 
 among many other fragments, the head of a dolphin about as 
 big as a good-sized ballot-bean. Not only was the style of this 
 head extremely beautiful, but nature had here far surpassed 
 art; for the stone was an emerald of such good colour, that 
 the man who bought it from me for tens of crowns sold it 
 again for hundreds after setting it as a finger-ring. I will 
 mention another kind of gem; this was a magnificent topaz; 
 and here art equalled nature; it was as large as a big hazel- 
 nut, with the head of Minerva in a style of inconceivable 
 beauty. I remember yet another precious stone, different from 
 these; it was a cameo, engraved with Hercules binding Cer-
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 45 
 
 berus of the triple throat; such was its beauty and the skill of 
 its workmanship, that our great Michel Agnolo protested he 
 had never seen anything so wonderful. Among many bronze 
 medals, I obtained one upon which was a head of Jupiter. 
 It was the largest that had ever been seen; the head of 
 the most perfect execution; and it had on the reverse side 
 a very fine design of some little figures in the same style. 
 I might ^nlarge at great length on this curiosity; but I 
 will refrain for fear of being prolix. 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 As I have said above, the plague had broken out in Rome; 
 but though I must return a little way upon my steps, I shall 
 not therefore abandon the main path of my history. There 
 arrived in Rome a surgeon of the highest renown, who was 
 called Maestro Giacomo da Carpi. This able man, in the 
 course of his other practice, undertook the most desperate 
 cases of the so-called French disease. In Rome this kind of 
 illness is very partial to the priests, and especially to the rich- 
 est of them. When, therefore, Maestro Giacomo had made 
 his talents known, he professed to work miracles in the treat- 
 ment of such cases by means of certain fumigations; but he 
 only undertook a cure after stipulating for his fees, which 
 he reckoned not by tens, but by hundreds of crowns. He was 
 a great connoisseur in the arts of design. Chancing to pass 
 one day before my shop, he saw a lot of drawings which I had 
 laid upon the counter, and among these were several designs 
 for little vases in a capricious style, which I had sketched for 
 my amusement. These vases were in quite a different fashion 
 from any which had been seen up to that date. He was 
 anxious that I should finish one or two of them for him in 
 silver; and this I did with the fullest satisfaction, seeing they 
 exactly suited my own fancy. The clever surgeon paid me 
 very well, and yet the honour which the vases brought me was 
 worth a hundred times as much; for the best craftsmen in the 
 goldsmith's trade declared they had never seen anything more 
 beautiful or better executed. 
 
 No sooner had I finished them than he showed them to the 
 Pope; and the next day following he betook himself away 
 from Rome. He was a man of much learning, who used to 
 discourse wonderfully about medicine. The Pope would fain
 
 46 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 have had him in his service, but he replied that he would not 
 take service with anybody in the world, and that whoso had 
 need of him might come to seek him out. He was a person 
 of great sagacity, and did wisely to get out of Rome; for not 
 many months afterward, all the patients he had treated grew 
 so ill that they were a hundred times worse off than before 
 he came. He would certainly have been murdered if he had 
 stopped. He showed my little vases to several persons of 
 quality; amongst others, to the most excellent Duke of Fer- 
 rara, and pretended that he had got them from a great lord in 
 Rome, by telling this nobleman that if he wanted to be cured, 
 he must give him those two vases; and that the lord had 
 answered that they were antique, and besought him to ask for 
 anything else which it might be convenient for him to give, 
 provided only he would leave him those; but, according to 
 his own account. Maestro Giacomo made as though he would 
 not undertake the cure, and so he got them. 
 
 I was told this by Messer Alberto Bendedio in Ferrara, 
 who with great ostentation showed me some earthenware 
 copies he possessed of them. Thereupon I laughed, and as I 
 said nothing, Messer Alberto Bendedio, who was a haughty 
 man, flew into a rage and said: " You are laughing at them, 
 are you? And I tell you that during the last thousand years 
 there has not been born a man capable of so much as copying 
 them," I then, not caring to deprive them of so eminent a 
 reputation, kept silence, and admired them with mute stupe- 
 faction. It was said to me in Rome by many great lords, 
 some of whom were my friends, that the work of which I 
 have been speaking was, in their opinion, of marvellous ex- 
 cellence and genuine antiquity; whereupon, emboldened by 
 their praises, I revealed that I had made them. As they would 
 not believe it, and as I wished to prove that I had spoken 
 truth, I was obliged to bring evidence and to make new draw- 
 ings of the vases; for my word alone was not enough, inas- 
 much as Maestro Giacomo had cunningly insisted upon car- 
 rying off the old drawings with him. By this little job I 
 earned a fair amount of money. 
 
 XXIX 
 
 The plague went dragging on for many months, but I had 
 as yet managed to keep it at bay; for though several of my
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 47 
 
 comrades were dead, I survived in health and freedom. Now 
 it chanced one morning that, as I rose upon the hour of break- 
 ing fast, I felt tired, for I had travelled many miles that night, 
 and was wanting to take food, when a crushing headache 
 seized me; several boils appeared on my left arm, together 
 with a carbuncle which showed itself just beyond the palm 
 of the left hand where it joins the wrist. Everybody in the 
 house was* in a panic; my friend, the cow and the calf, all 
 fled. Left alone there with my poor little prentice, who re- 
 fused to abandon me, I felt stifled at the heart, and made up 
 my mind for certain I was a dead man. 
 
 Just then the father of the lad went by, who was physician 
 to the Cardinal lacoacci, and lived as member of that prel- 
 ate's household. The boy called out: " Come, father, and 
 see Benvenuto; he is in bed with some trifling indisposition." 
 Without thinking what my complaint might be, the doctor 
 came up at once, and when he had felt my pulse, he saw and 
 felt what was very contrary to his own wishes. Turning 
 round to his son, he said: " O traitor of a child, you've ruined 
 me; how can I venture now into the Cardinal's presence?" 
 His son made answer: " Why, father, this man my master is 
 worth far more than all the cardinals in Rome." Then the 
 doctor turned to me and said: " Since I am here, I will con- 
 sent to treat you. Considering the sores are so new. and have 
 not yet begun to stink, and that the remedies will be taken in 
 time, you need not be too much afraid, for I have good hopes 
 of curing you." When he had prescribed for me and gone 
 away, a very dear friend of mine, called Giovanni Rigogli, 
 came in, and fell to commiserating my great suffering and 
 also my desertion by my comrade, and said: "Be of good 
 cheer, my Benvenuto, for T will never leave your side until 
 I see you restored to health." I told him not to come too 
 close, since it was all over with me. Only I besought him 
 to be so kind as to take a considerable quantity of crowns, 
 which were lying in a little box near my bed, and when God 
 had thought fit to remove me from this world, to send them 
 to my poor father, writing pleasantly to him, in the way I 
 too had done, so far as that appalling season of the plague 
 permitted. My beloved friend declared that he had no inten- 
 tion whatsoever of leaving me, and that come what might, 
 in life or death, he knew very well what was his duty toward
 
 48 CELLINI 
 
 a friend. And so we went on by the help of God: and the 
 admirable remedies which I had used began to work a great 
 improvement, and I soon came well out of that dreadful 
 sickness. 
 
 The sore was still open, with a plug of lint inside it and a 
 plaster above, when I went out riding on a little wild pony. 
 He was covered with hair four fingers long, and was exactly as 
 big as a well-grown bear; indeed he looked just like a bear. 
 I rode out on him to visit the painter Rosso, who was then liv- 
 ing in the country, toward Civita Vecchia, at a place of Count 
 Anguillara's, called Cervetera. I found my friend, and he was 
 very glad to see me; whereupon I said: " I am come to do to 
 you that which you did to me so many months ago." He 
 burst out laughing, embraced and kissed me, and begged me 
 for the Count's sake to keep quiet. I stayed in that place 
 about a month, with much content and gladness, enjoying 
 good wines and excellent food, and treated with the greatest 
 kindness by the Count; every day I used to ride out alone 
 along the seashore, where I dismounted, and filled my pockets 
 with all sorts of pebbles, snail shells, and sea shells of great 
 rarity and beauty. 
 
 On the last day (for after this I went there no more) I was 
 attacked by a band of men, who had disguised themselves, and 
 disembarked from a Moorish privateer. When they thought 
 that they had run me into a certain passage, where it seemed 
 impossible that I should escape from their hands, I suddenly 
 mounted my pony, resolved to be roasted or boiled alive at 
 that pass perilous, seeing I had little hope to evade one or the 
 other of these fates; but, as God willed, my pony, who was 
 the same I have described above, took an incredibly wide 
 jump, and brought me ofT in safety, for which I heartily 
 thanked God. I told the story to the Count; he ran to arms; 
 but we saw the galleys setting out to sea. The next day fol- 
 lowing I went back sound and with good cheer to Rome. 
 
 XXX 
 
 The plague had by this time almost died out, so that the 
 survivors, when they met together alive, rejoiced with much 
 delight in one another's company. This led to the formation 
 of a club of painters, sculptors, and goldsmiths, the best that 
 were in Rome; and the founder of it was a sculptor with the
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 49 
 
 name of Michel Agnolo.^ He was a Sienese and a man of 
 great ability, who could hold his own against any other work- 
 man in that art; but, above all, he was the most amusing com- 
 rade and the heartiest good fellow in the universe. Of all the 
 members of the club, he was the eldest, and yet the youngest 
 from the strength and vigour of his body. We often came 
 together; ^t the very least twice a week. I must not omit 
 to mention that our society counted Giulio Romano, the 
 painter, and Gian Francesco, both of them celebrated pupils 
 of the mighty Rafifaello da Urbino. 
 
 After many and many merry meetings, it seemed good to 
 our worthy president that for the following Sunday we should 
 repair to supper in his house, and that each one of us should 
 be obliged to bring with him his crow (such was the nickname 
 Michel Agnolo gave to women in the club), and that whoso 
 did not bring one should be sconced by paying a supper to the 
 whole company. Those of us who had no familiarity with 
 women, were forced to purvey themselves at no small trouble 
 and expense, in order to appear without disgrace at that dis- 
 tinguished feast of artists. I had reckoned upon being well 
 provided with a young woman of considerable beauty, called 
 Pantasilea, who was very much in love with me; but I was 
 obliged to give her up to one of my dearest friends, called 
 II Bachiacca, who on his side had been, and still was, over 
 head and ears in love with her. This exchange excited a cer- 
 tain amount of lover's anger, because the lady, seeing I had 
 abandoned her at Bachiacca's first entreaty, imagined that 
 I held in slight esteem the great affection which she bore me. 
 In course of time a very serious incident grew out of this 
 misunderstanding, through her desire to take revenge for the 
 aflfront I had put upon her; whereof I shall speak hereafter in 
 the proper place. 
 
 Well, then, the hour was drawing nigh when we had to pre- 
 sent ourselves before that company of men of genius, each 
 with his own crow; and I was still unprovided; and yet I 
 thought it would be stupid to fail of such a madcap bagatelle; 
 but what particularly weighed upon my mind was that I did 
 not choose to lend the light of my countenance in that illus- 
 
 ' This sculptor came to Rome with his compatriot Baldassare Peruzzi, 
 and was employed upon the monument of Pope Adrian VI, which he 
 executed with some help from Tribolo. 
 4
 
 so 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 trious sphere to some miserable plume-plucked scarecrow. 
 All these considerations made me devise a pleasant trick, for 
 the increase of merriment and the diffusion of mirth in our 
 society. 
 
 Havinf^ taken this resolve, I sent for a stripling of sixteen 
 years, who lived in the next house to mine; he was the son of 
 a Spanish coppersmith. This young man gave his time to 
 Latin studies, and was very diligent in their pursuit. He 
 bore the name of Diego, had a handsome figure, and a com- 
 plexion of marvellous brilliancy; the outlines of his head and 
 face were far more beautiful than those of the antique An- 
 tinous: I had often copied them, gaining thereby much hon- 
 our from the works in which I used them. The youth had no 
 acquaintances, and was therefore quite unknown; dressed 
 very ill and negligently; all his affections being set upon those 
 wonderful studies of his. After bringing him to my house, I 
 begged him to let me array him in the woman's clothes which 
 I had caused to be laid out. He readily complied, and put 
 them on at once, while I added new beauties to the beauty of 
 his face by the elaborate and studied way in which I dressed 
 his hair. In his ears I placed two little rings, set with two 
 large and fair pearls; the rings were broken; they only clipped 
 his ears, which looked as though they had been pierced. 
 Afterward I wreathed his throat with chains of gold and rich 
 jewels, and ornamented his fair hands with rings. Then I 
 took him in a pleasant manner by one ear, and drew him be- 
 fore a great looking-glass. The lad, when he beheld himself, 
 cried out with a burst of enthusiasm: "Heavens! is that 
 Diego?" Tsaid: "That is Diego, from whom until this day 
 I never asked for any kind of favour; but now I only beseech 
 Diego to do me pleasure in one harmless thing; and it is this 
 — I want him to come in those very clothes to su]ipcr with 
 the company of artists whereof he has often heard me speak." 
 The young man. who was honest, virtuous, and wise, checked 
 his enthusiasm, bent his eyes to the grotmd, and stood for a 
 short while in silence. Then with a sudden move he lifted 
 up his face and said: " With Benvenuto I will go; now let us 
 start." 
 
 I wrapped his head in a large kind of napkin, which is 
 called in Rome a summer-cloth; and when we reached the 
 place of meeting, the company had already assembled, and
 
 MEMOIRS 51 
 
 everybody came forward to j^rcct inc. Michel Agnolo had 
 placed himself between Giulio and Giovan Francesco. I lifted 
 the veil from the head of my beauty ; and then Michel Agnolo, 
 who, as I have already said, was the most humorous and 
 amusing fellow in the world, laid his two hands, the one on 
 Giulio's and the other on Gian h>ancesco's shoulders, and 
 pulling them with all his force, made them bow down, while 
 he, on his knees upon the floor, cried out for mercy, and called 
 to all the folk in words like these: " Behold ye of what sort 
 are the angels of paradise! for though they are called angels, 
 here shall ye see that they are not all of the male gender." 
 Then with a loud voice he added: 
 
 "Angel beauteous, angel best, 
 Save me thou, make thou me blest." 
 
 Upon this my charming creature laughed, and lifted the right 
 hand and gave him a papal benediction, with many pleasant 
 words to boot. So Michel Agnolo stood up, and said it was 
 the custom to kiss the feet of the Pope and the cheeks of 
 angels; and having done the latter to Diego, the boy blushed 
 deeply, which immensely enhanced his beauty. 
 
 When this reception was over, we found the whole room 
 full of sonnets, which every man of us had made and sent to 
 Michel Agnolo. My lad began to read them, and read them 
 all aloud so gracefully, that his infinite charms were height- 
 ened beyond the powers of language to describe. Then fol- 
 lowed conversation and witty sayings, on which I will not 
 enlarge, for that is not my business ; only one clever word must 
 be mentioned, for it was spoken by that admirable painter 
 Giulio, who, looking round with meaning in his eyes on the 
 bystanders, and fixing them particularly upon the women,, 
 turned to Michel Agnolo and said : " My dear Michel Agnolo,. 
 your nickname of crow very well suits those ladies to-day,, 
 though I vow they are somewhat less fair than crows by the 
 side of one of the most lovely peacocks which fancy could 
 have painted." 
 
 When the banquet was served and ready, and we were 
 going to sit down to table, Giulio asked leave to be allowed to 
 place us. This being granted, he took the women by the 
 hand, and arranged them all upon the inner side, with my fair 
 in the centre; then he placed all the mea Qn the outside and
 
 52 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 nie in the middle, saying there was no honour too great for 
 my deserts. As a background to the women, there was spread 
 an espalier of natural jasmines in full beauty, which set off 
 their charms, and especially Diego's, to such great advantage, 
 that words would fail to describe the effect. Then we all of 
 us fell to enjoying the abundance of our host's well-furnished 
 table. The supper was followed by a short concert of delight- 
 ful music, voices joining in harmony with instruments; and 
 forasmuch as they were singing and playing from the book, 
 my beauty begged to be allowed to sing his part. He per- 
 formed the music better than almost all the rest, which so as- 
 tonished the company that Giulio and Michel Agnolo dropped 
 their earlier tone of banter, exchanging it for well-weighed 
 terms of sober heartfelt admiration. 
 
 After the music was over, a certain Aurelio Ascolano, 
 remarkable for his gift as an improvisatory poet, began to 
 extol the women in choice phrases of exquisite compliment. 
 While he was chanting, the two girls who had my beauty 
 between them never left off chattering. They asked mine 
 who were her friends, and how long she had been settled in 
 Rome, and many other questions of the kind. It is true that, 
 if I chose to describe such laughable episodes, I could relate 
 several odd things which then occurred through Pantasilea's 
 jealousy on my account; but since they form no part of my 
 design, I pass them briefly over. At last the conversation 
 of those women vexed my beauty, wdiom we had christened 
 Pomona for the nonce; and Pomona, wanting to escape from 
 their silly talk, turned restlessly upon her chair, first to one 
 side and then to the other. Finally their sharp eyes discov- 
 ered the real sex of the supposed woman. Thereupon they 
 quickly rose from the table, uttering such gibing words as are 
 commonly addressed to young men of eminent beauty. The 
 whole room rang with laughter and astonishment, in the midst 
 of which Michel Agnolo, assuming a fierce aspect, called out 
 for leave to inflict on me the penance he thought fit. When 
 this was granted, he lifted me aloft amid the clamour of the 
 company, crying: "Long live the gentleman! long live the 
 gentleman!" and added that this was the punishment I de- 
 served for having played so fine a trick. Thus ended that 
 most agreeable supper-party, and each of us returned to his 
 own dwelling at the close of day.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 XXXI 
 
 53 
 
 It would take too long to describe in detail all the many 
 and divers pieces of work which I executed for a great variety 
 of men. At present I need only say that I devoted myself 
 with sustained diligence and industry to acquiring inastery in 
 the several branches of art which I enumerated a short while 
 back. And so I went on labouring incessantly at all of them; 
 but since no opportunity has presented itself as yet for de- 
 scribing my most notable performances, I shall wait to report 
 them in their proper place before very long. The Sienese 
 sculptor, Michel Agnolo, of whom I have recently been speak- 
 ing, was at that time making the monument of the late Pope 
 Adrian. Giulio Romano went to paint for the Marquis of 
 Mantua. The other members of the club betook themselves 
 in different directions, each to his own business; so that our 
 company of artists was well-nigh altogether broken up. 
 
 About this time there fell into my hands some little Turk- 
 ish poniards; the handle as well as the blade of these daggers 
 was made of iron, and so too was the sheath. They were 
 engraved by means of iron implements with foliage in the 
 most exquisite Turkish style, very neatly filled in with gold. 
 The sight of them stirred in me a great desire to try my 
 own skill, in that branch, so different from the others which 
 I practised; and finding that I succeeded to my satisfaction, 
 I executed several pieces. Mine were far more beautiful and 
 more durable than the Turkish, and this for divers reasons. 
 One was that I cut my grooves much deeper and with wider 
 trenches in the steel; for this is not usual in Turkish work. 
 Another was that the Turkish arabesques are only composed 
 of arum leaves with a few small sunflowers; and though these 
 have a certain grace, they do not yield so lasting a pleasure 
 as the patterns which we use. It is true that in Italy we have 
 several different ways of designing foliage; the Lombards, 
 for example, construct very beautiful patterns by copving the 
 leaves of brionv and ivy in exquisite curves, which are ex- 
 tremely agreeable to the eye; the Tuscans and the Romans 
 make a better choice, because they imitate the leaves of the 
 acanthus, commonly called bear's-foot. with its stalks and 
 flowers, curline: in divers wavy lines; and into these arabesques 
 one may excellently well insert the figures of little birds and
 
 54 CELLINI 
 
 diflferent animals, by which the good taste of the artist is dis- 
 played. Some hints for creatures of this sort can be observed 
 in nature among the wild flowers, as, for instance, in snap- 
 dragons and some few other plants, which must be combined 
 and developed with the help of fanciful imaginings by clever 
 draughtsmen. Such arabesques are called grotesques by the 
 ignorant. They have obtained this name of grotesques among 
 the moderns through being found in certain subterranean 
 caverns in Rome by students of antiquity; which caverns were 
 formerly chambers, hot-baths, cabinets for study, halls, and 
 apartments of like nature. The curious discovering them in 
 such places (since the level of the ground has gradually been 
 raised while they have remained below, and since in Rome 
 these vaulted rooms are commonly called grottoes), it has 
 followed that the word grotesque is applied to the patterns I 
 have mentioned. But this is not the right term for them, in- 
 asmuch as the ancients, who delighted in composing mon- 
 sters out of goats, cows, and horses, called these chimerical 
 hybrids by the name of monsters; and the modern artificers 
 of whom I spoke, fashioned from the foliage which they copied 
 monsters of like nature; for these the proper name is there- 
 fore monsters, and not grotesques. Well, then, I designed 
 patterns of this kind, and filled them in with gold, as I have 
 mentioned; and they were far more pleasing to the eye than 
 the Turkish. 
 
 It chanced at that time that I lighted upon some jars or 
 little antique urns filled with ashes, and among the ashes were 
 some iron rings inlaid with gold (for the ancients also used 
 that art), and in each of the rings was set a tiny cameo of shell. 
 On applying to men of learning, they told me that these rings 
 were worn as amulets by folk desirous of abiding with mind 
 •unshaken in any extraordinary circumstance, whether of 
 ■good or evil fortune. Hereupon, at the request of certain 
 •noblemen who were my friends, I undertook to fabricate some 
 trifling rings of this kind; but I made them of refined steel; 
 •and after they had been well engraved and inlaid with gold, 
 they produced a very beautiful efifect; and sometimes a single 
 ring brought me more than forty crowns, merely in payment 
 ifor my labour. 
 
 It was the custom at that epoch to wear little golden 
 medals, upon which every nobleman or man of quality had
 
 MEMOIRS 55 
 
 some device or fancy of his own engraved; and these were 
 worn in the cap. Of such pieces 1 made very many, and found 
 them extremely (Hfficult to work. 1 have already mentioned 
 the admirable craftsman Caradosso, who vised to make such 
 ornaments; and as there were more than one figure on each 
 piece, he asked at least a hundred gold crowns for his fee. 
 This being so — not, however, because his prices were so high, 
 but because he worked so slowly — I began to be employed by 
 certain noblemen, for whom, among other things, I made a 
 medal in competition with that great artist, and it had four 
 figures, upon which 1 had expended an infinity of labour. 
 These men of quality, when they compared my piece with that 
 of the famous Caradosso, declared that mine was by far the 
 better executed and more beautiful, and bade me ask what I 
 liked as the reward of my trouble; for since I had given them 
 such perfect satisfaction, they wished to do the like by me. 
 I replied that my greatest reward and what I most desired 
 was to have rivalled the masterpieces of so eminent an artist; 
 and that if their lordships thought I had, I acknowledged 
 myself to be most amply rewarded. With this I took my 
 leave, and they inmiediately sent me such a very liberal pres- 
 ent, that I was well content; indeed there grew in me so great 
 a spirit to do well, that to this event I attribute what will after- 
 ward be related of my progress. 
 
 XXXII 
 
 I shall be obliged to digress a little from the history of my 
 art, unless I were to omit some annoying incidents which have 
 happened in the course of my troubled career. One of these, 
 which I am about to describe, brought me into the greatest 
 risk of my life. I have already told the story of the artists' 
 club, and of the farcical adventures which happened owing 
 to the woman whom I mentioned, Pantasilea, the one who felt 
 for me that false and fulsome love. She was furiously enraged 
 because of the pleasant trick by which I brought Diego to our 
 banquet, and she swore to be revenged on me. How she did 
 so is mixed up with the history of a young man called Luigi 
 Pulci, who had recently come to Rome. He possessed ex- 
 traordinary gifts for poetry together with sound Latin scholar- 
 ship; he wrote well, was graceful in manners, and of surpris- 
 ing personal beauty; he had just left the service of some
 
 56 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 bishop, whose name I do not remember, and was thoroughly 
 tainted with vice. While he was yet a lad and living in Flor- 
 ence, they used in certain places of the city to meet together 
 during the nights of summer on the public streets; and he, 
 ranking among the best of the improvisatori, sang there. His 
 recitations were so admirable, that the divine Michel Agnolo 
 Buonarroti, that prince of sculptors and of painters, went, 
 wherever he heard that he would be, with the greatest eager- 
 ness and delight to listen to him. There was a man called 
 Piloto, a goldsmith, very able in his art, who, together with 
 myself, joined Buonarroti upon these occasions. Thus ac- 
 quaintance sprang up between me and Luigi Pulci; and so, 
 after the lapse of many years, he came, in the miserable plight 
 which I have mentioned, to make himself known to me again 
 in Rome, beseeching me for God's sake to help him. Moved 
 to compassion by his great talents, by the love of my father- 
 land, and by my own natural tenderness of heart, I took him 
 into my house, and had him treated in such wise that, being 
 but a youth, he soon regained his health. While he was still 
 pursuing his cure, he never omitted his studies, and I pro- 
 vided him with books according to the means at my disposal. 
 The result was that Luigi, recognising the great benefits 
 he had received from me, oftentimes with words and tears 
 returned me thanks, protesting that if God should ever put 
 good fortune in his way, he would recompense me for my 
 kindness. To this I replied that I had not done for him as 
 much as I desired, but only what I could, and that it was the 
 duty of human beings to be mutually serviceable. Only I 
 suggested that he should repay the service I had rendered 
 him by doing likewise to some one who might have the same 
 need of him as he had had of me. 
 
 The young man in question began to frequent the Court 
 of Rome, where he soon found a situation, and enrolled him- 
 self in the suite of a bishop, a man of eighty years, who bore 
 the title of Gurgensis.^ This bishop had a nephew called 
 Messer Giovanni: he was a nobleman of Venice; and the said 
 Messer Giovanni made show of marvellous attachment to 
 Luigi Pulci's talents; and under the pretence of these talents, 
 he brought him as familiar to himself as his own flesh and 
 
 ' Girolamo Balbo, of the noble Venetian family, Bishop of Gurck, in 
 Carinthia.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 57 
 
 blood. Luigi having talked of me, and of his great obliga- 
 tions to me, with Messer Giovanni, the latter expressed a 
 wish to make my acquaintance. Thvis then it came to pass, 
 that when I had upon a certain evening invited that woman 
 Pantasilea to supper, and had assembled a company of men 
 of parts who were my friends, just at the moment of our sitting 
 down to table, Messer Giovanni and Luigi Pulci arrived, and 
 after some complimentary speeches, they both remained to 
 sup with us. She, casting her eyes upon the young man's 
 beauty, began at once to lay her nets for him; perceiving 
 which, when the supper had come to an agreeable end, I took 
 Luigi aside, and conjured him, by the benefits he said he 
 owed me, to have nothing whatever to do with her. To this 
 he answered: " Good heavens, Benvenuto! do you then take 
 me for a madman?" I rejoined: "Not for a madman, but 
 for a young fellow; " and I swore to him by God: " I do not 
 give that woman the least thought; but for your sake I should 
 be sorry if through her you came to break your neck." Upon 
 these words he vowed and prayed to God, that, if ever he but 
 spoke with her, he might upon the moment break his neck. 
 I think the poor lad swore this oath to God with all his heart, 
 for he did break his neck, as I shall presently relate. He 
 neglected his fine talents, and pretended not to see or recog- 
 nise me, because I had once rebuked him, and told him he was 
 giving his soul to foul vices, which would make him break 
 his neck, as he had vowed. 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 Now Messer Giovanni bought his favourite a very fine 
 black horse, for which he paid 150 crowns. The beast was 
 admirably trained to hand, so that Luigi could go daily to 
 caracole around the lodgings of Pantasilea. Though I took 
 notice of this, I paid it no attention, only remarking that all 
 things acted as their nature prompted; and meanwhile I gave 
 my whole mind to my studies. It came to pass one Sunday 
 evening that we were invited to sup together with the Sienese 
 sculptor, Michel Agnolo, and the time of the year was sum- 
 mer. Bachiacca, of whom I have already spoken, was present 
 at the party; and he had brought with him his old fiame, 
 Pantasilea. When we were at table, she sat between me and 
 Bachiacca; but in the very middle of the banquet she rose,
 
 58 CELLINI 
 
 saying she would speedily return. We, meanwhile, continued 
 talking very agreeably and supping; but she remained an 
 unaccountably long time absent. It chanced that, keeping 
 my ears open, I thought I heard a sort of subdued tittering in 
 the street below. I had a knife in hand, which I was using 
 for my service at the table. The window was so close to where 
 I sat, that, by merely rising, I could see Luigi in the street, 
 together with Pantasilea; and I heard Luigi saying: " Oh, if 
 that devil Benvenuto only saw us, shouldn't we just catch it! " 
 She answered: " Have no fear; only listen to the noise they're 
 making; we are the last thing they're thinking of." At these 
 words, having made them both well out, I leaped from the 
 window, and took Luigi by the cape; and certainly I should 
 then have killed him with the knife I held, but that he was 
 riding a white horse, to which he clapped spurs, leaving his 
 cape in my grasp, in order to preserve his life. Pantasilea 
 took to her heels in the direction of a neighbouring church. 
 The company at supper rose immediately, and came down, 
 entreating me in a body to refrain from putting myself and 
 them to inconvenience. I told them that I should not have 
 let myself be moved on Pantasilea's account, but that I was 
 bent on punishing the infamous young man, who showed 
 how little he regarded me. Accordingly I would not yield 
 to the remonstrances of those ingenious and worthy men, 
 but took my sword, and went alone toward Prati : — the house 
 where we were supping, I should say, stood close to the Cas- 
 tello gate, which led to Prati.^ Walking thus upon the road 
 to Prati, I had not gone far before the sun sank, and I re- 
 entered Rome itself at a slow pace. Night had fallen; dark- 
 ness had come on ; but the gates of Rome were not yet shut. 
 
 Toward two hours after sunset, I walked along Pantasilea's 
 lodging, with the intention, if Luigi Pulci were there, of doing 
 something to the discontent of both. When I heard and saw 
 that no one but a poor servant-girl called Canida was in the 
 house, I went to put away my cloak and the scabbard of my 
 sword, and then returned to the house, which stood behind the 
 
 ' The Porta Castello was the gate called after the Castle of S. Angelo. 
 Prati, so far as I can make out, was an open space between the Borgo 
 and the Bridge of S. Angelo. In order to get inside Rome itself, Cellini 
 had to pass a second gate. His own lodging and Pantasilea's house were 
 in the quarter of the Bianchi, where are now the Via Giulia and Via de' 
 Panchi Vecchi,
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 59 
 
 Banchi on the river Tiber. Just opposite stretched a garden 
 belonging to an innkeeper called Roniolo. It was enclosed 
 by a thick hedge of thorns, in which 1 hid myself, standing 
 upright, and waiting till the woman came back with Luigi. 
 After I had kept watch awhile there, my friend Bachiacca 
 crept up to me; whether led by his own suspicions or by the 
 advice of others, I can not say. In a low voice he called out 
 to me: " Gossip " (for so we used to name ourselves for fun); 
 and then he prayed me for God's love, using the words which 
 follow, with tears in the tone of his voice: " Dear gossip, I 
 entreat you not to injure that poor girl; she at least has erred 
 in no wise in this matter — no, not at all." When I heard what 
 he was saying, I replied: " If you don't take yourself ofif now, 
 at this first word I utter, I will bring my sword here down 
 upon your head." Overwhelmed with fright, my poor gossip 
 was suddenly taken ill with the colic, and withdrew. There 
 was a glorious heaven of stars, which shed good light to 
 see by. All of a sudden I was aware of the noise of many 
 horses; they were coming toward me from the one side and 
 the other. It turned out to be Luigi and Pantasilea, attended 
 by a certain Messer Benvegnato of Perugia, who was cham- 
 berlain to Pope Clement, and followed by four doughty cap- 
 tains of Perugia, with some other valiant soldiers in the flower 
 of youth; altogether reckoned, there were more than twelve 
 swords. When I understood the matter, and saw not how 
 to fly, I did my best to crouch into the hedge. But the thorns 
 pricked and hurt me, goading me to madness like a bull ; and 
 I had half resolved to take a leap and hazard my escape. 
 Just then Luigi, with his arm round Pantasilea's neck, was 
 heard crying: " I must kiss you once again, if only to insult 
 that traitor Benvenuto." At that moment, annoyed as I was 
 by the prickles, and irritated by the young man's words, I 
 sprang forth, lifted my sword on high, and shouted at the top 
 of my voice: " You are all dead folk! " My blow descended 
 on the shoulder of Luigi; but the satyrs who doted on him, 
 had steeled his person round with coats of mail and such-like 
 villainous defences; still the stroke fell with crushing force. 
 Swerving aside, the sword hit Pantasilea full in nose and 
 mouth. Both she and Luigi grovelled on the ground, while 
 Bachiacca screamed out and ran away. Then I turned upon 
 the others boldly with my sword; and those valiant fellows.
 
 6o CELLINI 
 
 hearing a sudden commotion in the tavern, thought there 
 was an army coming of a hundred men; and though they 
 drew their swords with spirit, yet two horses which had taken 
 fright in the tumuh cast them into such disorder that two of 
 the best riders were thrown, and the remainder took to flight. 
 I, seeing that the affair was turning out well for me, ran as 
 quickly as I could, and came ofi with honour from the en- 
 gagement, not wishing to tempt fortune more than was my 
 duty. During this hurly-burly, some of the soldiers and cap- 
 tains wounded themselves with their own arms; and Messer 
 Benvegnato, the Pope's chamberlain, was kicked and trampled 
 by his mule. One of the servants also, who had drawn his 
 sword, fell down together with his master, and wounded him 
 badly in the hand. Maddened by the pain, he swore louder 
 than all the rest in his Perugian jargon, crying out: " By the 
 body of God, I will take care that Benvegnato teaches Ben- 
 venuto how to live." He afterward commissioned one of the 
 captains who were with him (braver perhaps than the others, 
 but with less aplomb, as being but a youth) to seek me out. 
 The fellow came to visit me in the place of my retirement; 
 that was the palace of a great Neapolitan nobleman, who had 
 become acquainted with me in my art, and had besides taken 
 a fancy to me because of my physical and mental aptitude for 
 fighting, to which my lord himself was personally well in- 
 clined. So, then, finding myself made much of, and being 
 precisely in my element, I gave such answer to the captain 
 as I think must have made him earnestly repent of having 
 come to look me up. After a few days, when the wounds of 
 Luigi, and the strumpet, and the rest were healing, this great 
 Neapolitan nobleman received overtures from Messer Ben- 
 vegnato; for the prelate's anger had cooled, and he proposed 
 to ratify a peace between me and Luigi and the soldiers, who 
 had personally no quarrel with me, and only wished to make 
 my acquaintance. Accordingly my friend the nobleman re- 
 plied that he would bring me where they chose to appoint, 
 and that he was very willing to effect a reconciliation. He 
 stipulated that no words should be bandied about on either 
 side, seeing that would be little to their credit; it was enough 
 to go through the form of drinking together and exchanging 
 kisses; he for his part undertook to do the talking, and prom- 
 ised to settle the matter to their honour. This arrangement
 
 MEMOIRS 6l 
 
 was carried out. On Thursday evening my protector took me 
 to the liouse of Messer Benvegnato, where all the soldiers who 
 had been present at that discomfiture were assembled, and 
 already seated at table. My nobleman was attended by thirty 
 brave fellows, all well armed; a circumstance which Messer 
 Benvegnato had not anticipated. When we came into the 
 hall, he walking first, I following, he spake to this effect: 
 " God save you, gentlemen ; we have come to see you, I and 
 Benvenuto, whom I love like my own brother; and we are 
 ready to do whatever you propose." Messer Benvegnato, 
 seeing the hall fill with such a crowd of men, called out: " It 
 is only peace, and nothing else, we ask of you." Accordingly 
 he promised that the governor of Rome and his catchpoles 
 should give me no trouble. Then we made peace, and I 
 returned to my shop, where I could not stay an hour without 
 that Neapolitan nobleman either coming to see me or sending 
 for me. 
 
 Meanwhile Luigi Pulci, having recovered from his wound, 
 rode every day upon the black horse which was so well trained 
 to heel and bridle. One day, among others, after it liad rained 
 a little, and he was making his horse curvet just before Pan- 
 tasilea's door, he slipped and fell, with the horse upon him. 
 His right leg was broken short off in the thigh; and after a 
 few days he died there in Pantasilea's lodgings, discharging 
 thus the vow he registered so heartily to Heaven. Even so 
 may it be seen that God keeps account of the good and the 
 bad, and gives to each one what he merits. 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 The whole world was now in warfare.^ Pope Clement had 
 sent to get some troops from Giovanni de' Medici, and when 
 they came, they made such disturbances in Rome, that it was 
 ill Hving in open shops.^ On this account I retired to a good 
 snug house behind the Banchi. where I worked for all the 
 friends I had acquired. Since I produced few things of much 
 importance at that period, I need not w^aste time in talking 
 
 ■ War had broken out in 1521 between Charles V and Francis I, 
 which disturbed all Europe and involved the States of Italy in serious 
 complications. At the moment when this chapter opens, the Imperialist 
 army under ihe Constable of Bourbon was marching upon Rome in 1527. 
 
 ' These troops entered Rome in October, 1526. They were disbanded 
 in March, 1527,
 
 62 CELLINI 
 
 about them. I took much pleasure in music and amusements 
 of the kind. On the death of Giovanni de' Medici in Lom- 
 bardy, the Pope, at the advice of Messer Jacopo Salviati, dis- 
 missed the five bands he had engaged; and when the Con- 
 stable of Bourbon knew there were no troops in Rome, he 
 pushed his army with the utmost energy up to the city. The 
 whole of Rome upon this flew to arms. I happened to be in- 
 timate with Alessandro, the son of Piero del Bene, who, at the 
 time when the Colonnesi entered Rome, had requested me 
 to guard his palace.^ On this more serious occasion, there- 
 fore, he prayed me to enlist fifty comrades for the protection 
 of the said house, appointing me their captain, as I had been 
 when the Colonnesi came. So I collected fifty young men of 
 the highest courage, and we took up our quarters in his palace, 
 with good pay and excellent appointments. 
 
 Bourbon's army had now arrived before the walls of Rome, 
 and Alessandro begged me to go with him to reconnoitre. 
 So we went with one of the stoutest fellows in our company; 
 and on the way a youth called Cecchino dclla Casa joined 
 himself to us. On reaching the walls by the Campo Santo, 
 we could see that famous army, which was making every 
 effort to enter the town. Upon the ramparts where we took 
 our station, several young men were lying killed by the be- 
 siegers; the battle raged there desperately, and there was the 
 densest fog imaginable. I turned to Alessandro and said: 
 " Let us go home as soon as we can, for there is nothing 
 to be done here; you see the enemies are mounting, and our 
 men are in flight." Alessandro, in a panic, cried: "Would 
 God that we had never come here!" and turned in maddest 
 haste to fly. I took him up somewhat sharply with these 
 words : " Since you have brought me here, I must perform 
 some action worthy of a man;" and directing my arquebuse 
 where I saw the thickest and most serried troop of fighting 
 men, I aimed exactly at one whom I remarked to be higher 
 than the rest: the fog prevented me from being certain 
 
 ' Cellini here refers to the attack made upon Rome by the great 
 Ghibelline house of Colonna, led by their chief captain, Pompeo, in Sep- 
 tember, 1526. They took possession of the city and drove Clement into 
 the Castle of S. Angelo, where they forced him to agree to terms favour- 
 ing the Imperial cause. It was customary for Roman gentlemen to hire 
 bravi for the defence of their palaces when any extraordinary disturbance 
 was expected, as, for example, upon the vacation of the Papal Chair.
 
 MEMOIRS 63 
 
 whether he was on horseback or on foot. Then I turned to 
 Alessandro and Cecchino, and bade them discharge their 
 arquebuses, showing them how to avoid being hit by the 
 besiegers. When we had fired two rounds apiece, I crept 
 cautiously up to the wall, and observing among the enemy a 
 most extraordinary confusion, I discovered afterward that one 
 of our shots had killed the Constable of Bourbon; and from 
 what I subsequently learned, he was the man whom I had 
 first noticed above the heads of the rcst.^ 
 
 Quitting our position on the ramparts, we crossed the 
 Campo Santo, and entered the city by St. Peter's; then com- 
 ing out exactly at the church of Santo Agnolo, we got with 
 the greatest difficulty to the great gate of the castle; for the 
 generals Renzo di Ceri and Orazio Baglioni were wounding 
 and slaughtering everybody who abandoned the defence of 
 the walls.* By the time we had reached the great gate, part 
 of the foemen had already entered Rome, and we had them in 
 our rear. The castellan had ordered the portcullis to be low- 
 ered, in order to do which they cleared a little space, and this 
 enabled us four to get inside. On the instant that I entered, 
 the captain Pallone de' Medici claimed me as being of the 
 Papal household, and forced me to abandon Alessandro, which 
 I had to do, much against my will. I ascended to the keep, 
 and at the same instant Pope Clement came in through the 
 corridors into the castle; he had refused to leave the palace of 
 St. Peter earlier, being unable to believe that his enemies 
 would effect their entrance into Rome. Having got into the 
 castle in this way, I attached myself to certain pieces of artil- 
 lery, which were under the command of a bombardier called 
 Giuliano Fiorentino. Leaning there against the battlements, 
 the unhappy man could see his poor house being sacked, and 
 his wife and children outraged; fearing to strike his own folk, 
 he dared not discharge the cannon, and flinging the burning 
 
 ' All historians of the sack of Rome agree in saying that Bourbon was 
 shot dead while placing ladders against the outworks near the shop Cel- 
 lini mentions. But the honour of firing the arquebuse which brought 
 him down can not be assigned to any one in particular. Very different 
 stories were current on the subject. 
 
 ' Orazio Baglioni, of the semi-princely Perugian family, was a distin- 
 guished Condottiere. He subsequently obtained the captaincy of the 
 Bande Nere, and died fighting near Naples in 1528. Orazio murdered 
 several of his cousins in order to acquire the lordship of Perugia.
 
 64 CELLINI 
 
 fuse upon the ground, he wept as though his heart would 
 break, and tore his cheeks with both his hands. Some of 
 the other bombardiers were behaving in hke manner; seeing 
 which, I took one of the matches, and got the assistance of 
 a few men who were not overcome by their emotions. I 
 aimed some swivels and falconets at points where I saw it 
 would be useful, and killed with them a good number of the 
 enemy. Had it not been for this, the troops who poured into 
 Rome that morning, and were marching straight upon the 
 castle, might possibly have entered it with ease, because the 
 artillery was doing them no damage. I went on firing under 
 the eyes of several cardinals and lords, who kept blessing me 
 and giving me the heartiest encouragement. In my enthusi- 
 asm I strove to achieve the impossible; let it suffice that it was 
 I who saved the castle that morning, and brought the other 
 bombardiers back to their duty. I worked hard the whole 
 of that day; and when the evening came, while the army was 
 marching into Rome through the Trastevere, Pope Clement 
 appointed a great Roman nobleman named Antonio Santa- 
 croce to be captain of all the gunners. The first thing this 
 man did was to come to me, and having greeted me with 
 the utmost kindness, he stationed me with five fine pieces 
 of artillery on the highest point of the castle, to which the 
 name of the Angel specially belongs. This circular eminence 
 goes round the castle, and surveys both Prati and the town of 
 Rome. The captain put under my orders enough men to help 
 in managing my guns, and having seen me paid in advance, 
 he gave me rations of bread and a little wine, and begged me 
 to go forward as I had begun. I was perhaps more inclined 
 by nature to the profession of arms than to the one 1 had 
 adopted, and I took such pleasure in its duties that I dis- 
 charged them better than those of my own art. Night came, 
 the enemy had entered Rome, and we who were in the castle 
 (especially myself, who had always taken pleasure in extraor- 
 dinary sights) stayed gazing on the indescribable scene of 
 tumult and conflagration in the streets below. People who 
 were anywhere else but where we were, could not have formed 
 the least imagination of what it was. I will not, however, set 
 myself to describe that tragedy, but will content myself with 
 continuing the history of my own life and the circumstances 
 which properly belong to it.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 65 
 
 XXXV 
 
 During the course of my artillery practice, which I never 
 intermitted through the whole month passed by us beleaguered 
 in the castle, I met with a great many very striking accidents, 
 all of them worthy to be related. But since I do not care to 
 be too prolix, or to exhibit myself outside the sphere of my 
 profession, I will omit the larger part of them, only touching 
 upon those I can not well neglect, which shall be the fewest in 
 number and the most remarkable. The first which comes to 
 hand is this: Messer Antonio Santacroce had made me come 
 down from the Angel, in order to fire on some houses in the 
 neighbourhood, where certain of our besiegers had been seen 
 to enter. While I was firing, a cannot shot reached me, which 
 hit the angle of a battlement, and carried ofif enough of it to 
 be the cause why I sustained no injury. The whole mass 
 struck me in the chest and took my breath away. I lay 
 stretched upon the ground like a dead man, and could hear 
 what the bystanders were saying. Among them all, Messer 
 Antonio Santacroce lamented greatly, exclaiming: "Alas, 
 alas! we have lost the best defender that we had." Attracted 
 by the uproar, one of my comrades ran up; he was called 
 Gianfrancesco, and was a bandsman, but was far more natu- 
 rally given to medicine than to music. On the spot he flew 
 off, crying for a stoop of the very best Greek wine. Then he 
 made a tile red-hot, and cast upon it a good handful of worm- 
 wood; after which he sprinkled the Greek wine; and when 
 the wormwood was well soaked, he laid it on my breast, just 
 where the bruise was visible to all. Such was the virtue of 
 the wormwood that I immediately regained my scattered 
 faculties. I wanted to begin to speak, but could not; for 
 some stupid soldiers had filled my mouth with earth, imagin- 
 ing that by so doing they were giving me the sacrament; and 
 indeed they were more like to have excommunicated me, 
 since I could with difificulty come to myself again, the earth 
 doing me more mischief than the blow. However, I escaped 
 that danger, and returned to the rage and fury of the guns, 
 pursuing my work there with all the ability and eagerness 
 that I could summon. 
 
 Pope Clement, by this, had sent to demand assistance from 
 the Duke of Urbino, who was with the troops of Venice; he 
 5
 
 66 CELLINI 
 
 commissioned the envoy to tell his Excellency that the Castle 
 of S. Angelo would send up every evening three beacons from 
 its summit, accompanied by three discharges of the cannon 
 thrice repeated, and that so long as this signal was continued, 
 he might take for granted that the castle had not yielded. I 
 was charged with lighting the beacons and firing the guns 
 for this purpose; and all this while I pointed my artillery 
 by day upon the places where mischief could be done. The 
 Pope, in consequence, began to regard me with still greater 
 favour, because he saw that I discharged my functions as 
 intelligently as the task demanded. Aid from the Duke of 
 Urbino never came; on which, as it is not my business, I 
 will make no further comment.^ 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 While I was at work upon that diabolical task of mine, 
 there came from time to time to watch me some of the cardi- 
 nals who were invested in the castle; and most frequently the 
 Cardinal of Ravenna and the Cardinal de' Gaddi.^ I often 
 told them not to show themselves, since their nasty red caps 
 gave a fair mark to our enemies. From neighbouring build- 
 ings, such as the Torre de' Bini, we ran great peril when they 
 were there; and at last I had them locked off, and gained 
 thereby their deep ill-will. I frequently received visits also 
 from the general, Orazio Baglioni, who was very well affected 
 toward me. One day while he was talking with me, he no- 
 ticed something going forward in a drinking-place outside 
 the Porta di Castello, which bore the name of Baccanello. 
 This tavern had for sign a sun painted between two windows, 
 of a bright red colour. The windows being closed, Signor 
 Orazio concluded that a band of soldiers were carousing at 
 table just between them and behind the sun. So he said to 
 
 ' Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, commanded a con- 
 siderable army as general of the Church, and was now acting for Venice. 
 Why he effected no diversion while the Imperial troops were marching 
 upon Rome, and why he delayed to relieve the city, was never properly 
 explained. Folk attributed his impotent conduct partly to a natural slug- 
 gishness in warfare, and partly to his hatred for the house of Medici. Leo 
 X had deprived him of his dukedom, and given it to a Medicean prince. 
 
 ' Benedetto Accolti of Arezzo, Archbishop of Ravenna in 1524, ob- 
 tained the hat in 1527, three days before the sack of Rome. He was a 
 distinguished man of letters. Niccolb Gaddi was created Cardinal on the 
 same day as Accolti.
 
 MEMOIRS 67 
 
 me: " Bcnvenuto, if you think that you could hit that wall 
 an ell's breadth from the sun with your demi-cannon here, I 
 believe you would be doing a good stroke of business, for 
 there is a great commotion there, and men of much impor- 
 tance must probably be inside the house." I answered that 
 I felt quite capable of hitting the sun in its centre, but that 
 a barrel full of stones, which was standing close to the muzzle 
 of the gun, might be knocked down by the shock of the dis- 
 charge and the blast of the artillery. He rejoined: " Don't 
 waste time, Benvenuto. In the first place, it is not possible, 
 where it is standing, that the cannon's blast should bring it 
 down; and even if it were to fall, and the Pope himself was 
 underneath, the mischief would not be so great as you im- 
 agine. Fire, then, only fire! " Taking no more thought about 
 it, I struck the sun in the centre, exactly as I said I should. 
 The cask was dislodged, as I predicted, and fell precisely be- 
 tween Cardinal Farnese and Messer Jacopo Salviati.^ It 
 might very well have dashed out the brains of both of them, 
 except that just at that very moment Farnese was reproach- 
 ing Salviati with having caused the sack of Rome, and while 
 they stood apart from one another to exchange opprobrious 
 remarks, my gabion fell without destroying them. When he 
 heard the uproar in the court below, good Signor Orazio 
 dashed off in a hurry; and I, thrusting my neck forward 
 where the cask had fallen, heard some people saying: " It 
 would not be a bad job to kill that gunner! " Upon this I 
 turned two falconets toward the staircase, with mind resolved 
 to let blaze on the first man who attempted to come up. The 
 household of Cardinal Farnese must have received orders to 
 go and do me some injury; accordingly I prepared to receive 
 them, with a lighted match in hand. Recognising some who 
 were approaching, I called out: "You lazy lubbers, if you 
 don't pack off from there, and if but a man's child among you 
 dares to touch the staircase, I have got two cannon loaded, 
 w^hich will blow you into powder. Go and tell the Cardinal 
 that I was acting at the order of superior officers, and that 
 what we have done and are doing is in defence of those priests, 
 and not to hurt them." They made away; and then came 
 Signor Orazio Baglioni, running. I bade him stand back, 
 
 ' Alessandro Farnese, Dean of the Sacred College, and afterward Pope 
 Paul III.
 
 68 CELLINI 
 
 else I'd murder him; for I knew very well who he was. He 
 drew back a little, not without a certain show of fear, and 
 called out: " Benvenuto, I am your friend!" To this I an- 
 swered: " Sir, come up, but come alone, and then come as you 
 like." The general, who was a man of mighty pride, stood 
 still a moment, and then said angrily: " I have a good mind 
 not to come up again, and to do quite the opposite of that 
 which I intended toward you." I replied that just as I was 
 put there to defend my neighbours, I was equally well able 
 to defend myself too. He said that he was coming alone; 
 and when he arrived at the top of the stairs, his features were 
 more discomposed than I thought reasonable. So I kept my 
 hand upon my sword, and stood eyeing him askance. Upon 
 this he began to laugh, and the colour coming back into his 
 face, he said to me with the most pleasant manner: " Friend 
 Benvenuto, I bear you as great love as I have it in my heart 
 to give; and in God's good time I will render you proof of 
 this. Would to God that you had killed those two rascals; for 
 one of them is the cause of all this trouble, and the day per- 
 chance will come when the other will be found the cause of 
 something even worse." He then begged me, if I should be 
 asked, not to say that he was with me when I fired the gun; 
 and for the rest bade me be of good cheer. The commotion 
 which the afifair made was enormous, and lasted a long while. 
 However, I will not enlarge upon it further, only adding that 
 I was within an inch of revenging my father on Messer Jacopo 
 Salviati, who had grievously injured him, according to my 
 father's frequent complaints. As it was, unwittingly I gave 
 the fellow a great fright. Of Farnese I shall say nothing 
 here, because it will appear in its proper place how well it 
 would have been if I had killed him. 
 
 XXXVII 
 I pursued my business of artilleryman, and every day per- 
 formed some extraordinary feat, whereby the credit and the 
 favour I acquired with the Pope was something indescribable. 
 There never passed a day but what I killed one or another 
 of our enemies in the besieging army. On one occasion the 
 Pope was walking round the circular keep,' when he observed 
 
 ' • The Mastio or main body of Hadrian's Mausoleum, which was con- 
 verted into a fortress during the Middle Ages.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 69 
 
 a Spanish Colonel in the Prati; he recognised the man by 
 certain indications, seeing that this officer had formerly been 
 in his service; and while he fixed his eyes on him, he kept 
 talking about him. I, above by the Angel, knew nothing of 
 all this, but spied a fellow down there, busying himself about 
 the trenches with a javelin in his hand; he was dressed en- 
 tirely in rose-colour; and so, studying the worst that I could 
 do against him, I selected a gerfalcon which I had at hand; 
 it is a piece of ordnance larger and longer than a swivel, and 
 about the size of a demi-culverin. This I emptied, and loaded 
 it again with a good charge of fine powder mixed with the 
 coarser sort; then I aimed it exactly at the man in red, ele- 
 vating prodigiously, because a piece of that calibre could 
 hardly be expected to carry true at such a distance. I fired, 
 and hit my man exactly in the middle. He had trussed his 
 sword in front, for swagger, after a way those Spaniards 
 have; and my ball, wdien it struck him, broke upon the blade, 
 and one could see the fellow cut in two fair halves. The 
 Pope, who was expecting nothing of this kind, derived great 
 pleasure and amazement from the sight, both because it 
 seemed to him impossible that one should aim and hit the 
 mark at such a distance, and also because the man was cut in 
 two, and he could not comprehend how this should happen. 
 He sent for me, and asked about it. I explained all the de- 
 vices I had used in firing; but told him that why the man 
 was cut in halves, neither he nor I could know. Upon my 
 bended knees I then besought him to give me the pardon of 
 his blessing for that homicide; and for all the others I had 
 committed in the castle in the service of the Church. Thereat 
 the Pope, raising his hand, and making a large open sign of 
 the cross upon my face, told me that he blessed me, and that 
 he gave me pardon for all murders I had ever perpetrated, or 
 should ever perpetrate, in the service of the Apostolic Church. 
 When I left him, I went aloft, and never stayed from firing to 
 the utmost of my power; and few were the shots of mine 
 that missed their mark. My drawing, and my line studies in 
 my craft, and my charming art of music, all were swallowed 
 up in the din of that artillery; and if I were to relate in detail 
 all the splendid things I did in that infernal work of cruelty, I 
 should make the world stand by and wonder. But, not to 
 be too prolix, I will pass them over. Only I must tell a few
 
 70 CELLINI 
 
 of the most remarkable, which are, as it were, forced in 
 upon me. 
 
 To begin then: pondering day and night what I could 
 render for my own part in defence of Holy Church, and 
 having noticed that the enemy changed guard and marched 
 past through the great gate of Santo Spirito, which was within 
 a reasonable range, I thereupon directed my attention to that 
 spot; but, having to shoot sideways, I could not do the dam- 
 age that I wished, although I killed a fair percentage every 
 day. This induced our adversaries, when they saw their pas- 
 sage covered by my guns, to load the roof of a certain house 
 one night with thirty gabions, which obstructed the view I 
 formerly enjoyed. Taking better thought than I had done 
 of the whole situation, I now turned all my five pieces of artil- 
 lery directly on the gabions, and waited till the evening hour, 
 when they changed guard. Our enemies, thinking they were 
 safe, came on at greater ease and in a closer body than usual ; 
 whereupon I set fire to my blow-pipes. Not merely did I 
 dash to pieces the gabions which stood in my way; but, what 
 was better, by that one blast I slaughtered more than thirty 
 men. In consequence of this manceuvre, which I repeated 
 twice, the soldiers were thrown into such disorder, that being, 
 moreover, encumbered with the spoils of that great sack, and 
 some of them desirous of enjoying the fruits of their labour, 
 they oftentimes showed a mind to mutiny and take themselves 
 away from Rome. However, after coming to terms with their 
 valiant captain, Gian di Urbino,^ they were ultimately com- 
 pelled, at their excessive inconvenience, to take another road 
 when they changed guard. It cost them three miles of march, 
 whereas before they had but half a mile. Having achieved 
 this feat, I was entreated with prodigious favours by all the 
 men of quality who were invested in the castle. This incident 
 was so important that I thought it well to relate it, before fin- 
 ishing the history of things outside my art, the which is the 
 real object of my writing: forsooth, if I wanted to ornament 
 my biography with such matters. I should have far too much 
 
 ' This captain was a Spaniard, who played a very considerable figure 
 in the war, distinguishing himself at the capture of Genoa and the battle 
 of Lodi in 1522, and afterward acting as Lieutenant-General to the Prince 
 of Orange. He held Naples against Orazio Baglioni in 1528, and died 
 before Spello in 1529.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 71 
 
 to tell. There is only one more circumstance which, now 
 that the occasion offers, I propose to record. 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 I shall skip over some intervening circumstances, and tell 
 how Pope Clement, wishing to save the tiaras and the whole 
 collection of the great jewels of the Apostolic Camera, had 
 me called, and shut himself up together with me and the Cava- 
 lierino in a room alone. This Cavalierino had been a groom 
 in the stable of Filippo Strozzi; he was French, and a person 
 of the lowest birth; but as he was a most faithful servant, the 
 Pope had made him very rich, and confided in him like him- 
 self. So the Pope, the Cavaliere, and I, being shut up to- 
 gether, they laid before me the tiaras and jewels of the regalia; 
 and his Holiness ordered me to take all the gems out of their 
 gold settings. This I accordingly did; afterward I wrapt 
 them separately up in bits of paper, and we sewed them into 
 the linings of the Pope's and the Cavaliere's clothes. Then 
 they gave me all the gold, which weighed about two hundred 
 pounds, and bade me melt it down as secretly as I was able. 
 I went up to the Angel, where I had my lodging, and could 
 lock the door so as to be free from interruption. There I built 
 a little draught-furnace of bricks, with a largish pot, shaped 
 like an open dish, at the bottom of it; and threw the gold 
 upon the coals. It gradually sank through and dropped into 
 the pan. While the furnace was working, I never left off 
 watching how to annoy our enemies; and as their trenches 
 were less than a stone's-throw right below us, I was able to 
 inflict considerable damage on them with some useless mis- 
 siles, of which there were several piles, forming the old muni- 
 tion of the castle. I chose a swivel and a falconet, which 
 were both a little damaged in the muzzle, and filled them 
 with the projectiles I have mentioned. When I fired my 
 guns, they hurtled down like mad, occasioning all sorts of 
 unexpected mischief in the trenches. Accordingly I kept 
 these pieces always going at the same time that the gold was 
 being melted down; and a little before vespers I noticed 
 some one coming along the margin of the trench on mule- 
 back. The mule was trotting very quickly, and the man was 
 talkiny to the soldiers in the trenches. I took the precaution 
 of discharging my artillery just before he came immediately
 
 72 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 opposite; and so, making a good calculation, I hit my mark. 
 One of the fragments struck him in the face; the rest were 
 scattered on the mule, which fell dead. A tremendous uproar 
 rose up from the trench; I opened fire with my other piece, 
 doing them great hurt. The man turned out to be the Prince 
 of Orange, who was carried through the trenches to a certain 
 tavern in the neighbourhood, whither in a short while all the 
 chief folk of the army came together. 
 
 When Pope Clement heard what I had done, he sent at 
 once to call for me, and inquired into the circumstance. I 
 related the whole, and added that the man must have been 
 of the greatest consequence, because the inn to which they 
 carried him had been immediately filled by all the chiefs 
 of the army, so far at least as I could judge. The Pope, with 
 a shrewd instinct, sent for Messer Antonio Santacroce, the 
 nobleman who, as I have said, was chief and commander of 
 the gunners. He bade him order all us bombardiers to point 
 our pieces, which were very numerous, in one mass upon the 
 house, and to discharge them all together upon the signal 
 of an arquebuse being fired. He judged that if we killed the 
 generals, the army, which was already almost on the point 
 of breaking up, would take to flight. God perhaps had heard 
 the prayers they kept continually making, and meant to rid 
 them in this manner of those impious scoundrels. 
 
 We put our cannon in order at the command of Santacroce, 
 and waited for the signal. But when Cardinal Orsini ^ became 
 aware of what was going forward, he began to expostulate 
 with the Pope, protesting that the thing by no means ought 
 to happen, seeing they were on the point of concluding an 
 accommodation, and that if the generals were killed, the rabble 
 of the troops without a leader would storm the castle and 
 complete their utter ruin. Consequently they could by no 
 means allow the Pope's plan to be carried out. The poor 
 Pope, in despair, seeing himself assassinated both inside the 
 castle and without, said that he left them to arrange it. On 
 this, our orders were countermanded; but I, who chafed 
 against the leash, when I knew that they were coming round 
 to bid me stop from firing, let blaze one of my demi-cannons, 
 
 * Frahciotto Orsini was educated in the household of his kinsman 
 Lorenzo de' Medici. He followed the profession of arms, and mrirried ; 
 but after losing his wife took orders, and received the hat in 1517.
 
 MEMOIRS 73 
 
 and struck a pillar in the courtyard of the house, around 
 which I saw a crowd of people clustering. This shot did 
 such damage to the enemy that it was like to have made them 
 evacuate the house. Cardinal Orsini was absolutely for hav- 
 ing me hanged or put to death; but the Pope took up my 
 cause with spirit. The high words that passed between them, 
 though I well know what they were, I will not here relate, 
 because I make no profession of writing history. It is enough 
 for me to occupy myself with my own affairs. 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 After I had melted down the gold, I took it to the Pope, 
 who thanked me cordially for what I had done, and ordered 
 the Cavalierino to give me twenty-five crowns, apologizing 
 to me for his inability to give me more. A few days after- 
 ward the articles of peace were signed. I went with three 
 hundred comrades in the train of Signor Orazio Baglioni 
 toward Perugia; and there he wished to make me captain 
 of the company, but I was unwilling at the moment, saying 
 that I wanted first to go and see my father, and to redeem 
 the ban which was still in force against me at Florence. 
 Signor Orazio told me that he had been appointed general 
 of the Florentines; and Sir Pier Maria del Lotto, the envoy 
 from Florence, was with him, to whom he specially recom- 
 mended me as his man.* 
 
 In course of time 1 came to Florence in the company of 
 several comrades. The plague was raging with indescribable 
 fury. When I reached home, I found my good father, who 
 thought either that I must have been killed in the sack of 
 Rome, or else that I should come back to him a beggar. 
 However, I entirely defeated both these expectations; for 
 I was alive, with plenty of money, a fellow to wait on me, 
 and a good horse. My joy on greeting the old man was so 
 intense, that, while he embraced and kissed me, I thought 
 that I must die upon the spot. After I had narrated all the 
 devilries of that dreadful sack, and had given him a good 
 quantity of crowns which I had gained by my soldiering, and 
 
 ' Pier Maria di Lotto of S. Miniato was notary to the Florentine Sig- 
 noria. He collected the remnants of the Bande Nere, and pave them over 
 to Orazio Baglioni, who contrived to escape from S. Angelo in safety to 
 Perugia.
 
 74 CELLINI 
 
 when we had exchanged our tokens of aflfection, he went off 
 to the Eight to redeem my ban. It so happened that one of 
 those magistrates who sentenced me, was now again a mem- 
 ber of the board. It was the very man who had so inconsid- 
 erately told my father he meant to march me out into the 
 country with the lances. My father took this opportunity of 
 addressing him with some meaning words, in order to mark 
 his revenge, relying on the favour which Orazio Baglioni 
 showed me. 
 
 Matters standing thus, I told my father how Signor Orazio 
 had appointed me captain, and that I ought to begin to think 
 of enlisting my company. At these words the poor old man 
 was greatly disturbed, and begged me for God's sake not to 
 turn my thoughts to such an enterprise, although he knew 
 I should be fit for this or yet a greater business, adding that his 
 other son, my brother, was already a most valiant soldier, and 
 that I ought to pursue the noble art in which I had laboured 
 so many years and with such diligence of study. Although I 
 promised to obey him, he reflected, Hke a man of sense, that 
 if Signor Orazio came to Florence, I could not withdraw 
 myself from military service, partly because I had passed my 
 word, as well as for other reasons. He therefore thought 
 of a good expedient for sending me away, and spoke to me 
 as follows: "Oh, my dear son, the plague in this town is 
 raging with immitigable violence, and I am always fancying 
 you will come home infected with it. I remember, when I 
 was a young man, that I went to Mantua, where I was very 
 kindly received, and stayed there several years. I pray and 
 command you, for the love of me, to pack ofif and go thither; 
 and I would have you do this to-day rather than to-morrow." 
 
 XL 
 
 I had always taken pleasure in seeing the world; and hav- 
 ing never been in Mantua, I went there very willingly. Of 
 the money I had brought to Florence, I left the greater part 
 with my good father, promising to help him wherever I might 
 be, and confiding him to the care of my elder sister. Her 
 name was Cosa; and since she never cared to marry, she was 
 admitted as a nun in Santa Orsola; but she put oflf taking the 
 veil, in order to keep house for our old father, and to look 
 after my younger sister, who was married to one Bartolom-
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 75 
 
 meo, a surgeon. So then, leaving home with my father's 
 blessing, I mounted my good horse, and rode off on it 
 to Mantua. 
 
 It would take too long to describe that little journey in de- 
 tail. The whole world being darkened over with plague and 
 war, I had the greatest difficulty in reaching Mantua. How- 
 ever, in the end, I got there, and looked about for work to do, 
 which I obtained from a Maestro Niccolo of Milan, goldsmith 
 to the Duke of Mantua. Having thus settled down to work, I 
 went after two days to visit Messer Giulio Romano, that most 
 excellent painter, of whom I have already spoken, and my 
 very good friend. He received me with the tenderest caresses, 
 and took it very ill that I had not dismounted at his house. 
 He was living like a lord, and executing a great work for the 
 Duke outside the city gates, in a place called Del Te. It was 
 a vast and prodigious undertaking, as may still, I suppose, be 
 seen by those who go there. ^ 
 
 Messer Giulio lost no time in speaking of me to the Duke 
 in terms of the warmest praise.^ That Prince commissioned 
 me to make a model for a reliquary, to hold the blood of 
 Christ, which they have there, and say was brought them by 
 Longinus. Then he turned to Giulio, bidding him supply me 
 with a design for it. To this Giulio replied: " My lord, Ben- 
 venuto is a man who does not need other people's sketches, 
 as your Excellency will be very well able to judge when you 
 shall see his model." I set hand to the work, and made a 
 drawing for the reliquary, well adapted to contain the sacred 
 phial. Then I made a little waxen model of the cover. This 
 was a seated Christ, supporting his great cross aloft with the 
 left hand, while he seemed to lean against it, and with the 
 fingers of his right hand he appeared to be opening the wound 
 in his side. When it was finished, it pleased the Duke so much 
 that he heaped favours on me, and gave me to understand 
 that he would keep me in his service with such appointments 
 as should enable me to live in affluence. 
 
 Meanwhile. I had paid my duty to the Cardinal his brother, 
 who begged the Duke to allow me to make the pontifical seal 
 
 ' This is the famous Palazzo del Te, outside the walls of Mantua. It 
 still remains the chief monument of Giulio Romano's versatile genius. 
 
 * Federigo Gonzago was at this time Marquis of Mantua. Charles V 
 erected his fief into a duchy in 1530.
 
 76 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 of his most reverend lordship.^ This I began; but while I 
 was working at it I caught a quartan fever. During each 
 access of this fever I was thrown into dehrium, when I cursed 
 Mantua and its master and whoever stayed there at his own 
 hking. These words were reported to the Duke by the Milan- 
 ese goldsmith, who had not omitted to notice that the Duke 
 wanted to employ me. When the Prince heard the ravings 
 of my sickness, he flew into a passion against me; and I being 
 out of temper with Mantua, our bad feeling was reciprocal. 
 The seal was finished after four months, together with sev- 
 eral other little pieces I made for the Duke under the name 
 of the Cardinal. His Reverence paid me well, and bade me 
 return to Rome, to that marvellous city where we had made 
 acquaintance. 
 
 I quitted Mantua with a good sum of crowns, and reached 
 Governo, where the most valiant general Giovanni had been 
 killed.^ Here I had a slight relapse of fever, which did not 
 interrupt my journey, and coming now to an end, it never 
 returned on me again. When I arrived at Florence, hoping 
 to find my dear father, and knocked at the door, a hump- 
 backed woman in a fury showed her face at the window; she 
 drove me off with a torrent of abuse, screaming that the sight 
 of me was a consumption to her. To this misshapen hag I 
 shouted: " Ho! tell me, cross-grained hunchback, is there no 
 other face to see here but your ugly* visage? " " No, and bad 
 luck to you." Whereto I answered in a loud voice: " In less 
 than two hours may it never vex us more! " Attracted by 
 this dispute, a neighbour put her head out, from whom I 
 learned that my father and all the people in the house had died 
 of the plague. As I had partly guessed it might be so, my 
 grief was not so great as it would otherwise have been. The 
 woman afterward told me that only my sister Liperata had 
 escaped, and that she had taken refuge with a pious lady 
 named Mona Andrea de' Bellacci. 
 
 I took my way from thence to the inn, and met by accident 
 a very dear friend of mine, Giovanni Rigogli. Dismounting 
 
 ' Ercole Gonzaga, created Cardinal in 1527. After the death of his 
 brother, Duke Federigo, he governed Mantua for sixteen years as regent 
 for his nephews, and became famous as a patron of arts and letters. He 
 died at Trento in 1563 while presiding over the Council there, in the 
 pontificate of Pius IV. 
 
 ' Giovanni de' Medici, surnamed Delle Bande Nere.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 77 
 
 at his house, we proceeded to the i)iazza, where I received 
 intelHgence that my brother was ahve, and went to find him 
 at the house of a friend of his called Bertino Aldobrandini. 
 On meeting, we made demonstrations of the most passionate 
 affection; for he had heard that I was dead, and I had heard 
 that he was dead; and so our joy at embracing one another 
 was extravagant. Then he broke out into a loud fit of laugh- 
 ter, and said: " Come, brother, I will take you where I'm sure 
 you'd never guess! You must know that I have given our 
 sister Lipcrata away again in marriage, and she holds it for 
 absolutely certain that you are dead." On our way we told 
 each other all the wonderful adventures we had met with; 
 and when we reached the house where our sister dwelt, the 
 surprise of seeing me alive threw her into a fainting fit, and 
 she fell senseless in my arms. Had not my brother been 
 present, her speechlessness and sudden seizure nuist have 
 made her husband imagine I was some one different from a 
 brother — as indeed at first it did. Cecchino, however, ex- 
 plained matters, and busied himself in helping the swooning 
 woman, who soon came to. Then, after shedding some tears 
 for father, sister, husband, and a little son whom she had lost, 
 she began to get the supper ready; and during our merry 
 meeting all that evening we talked no more about dead folk, 
 but rather discoursed gaily about weddings. Thus, then, with 
 gladness and great enjoyment we brought our supper-party 
 
 to an end. 
 
 XLI 
 
 On the entreaty of my brother and sister, I remained at 
 Florence, though my own inclination led me to return to 
 Rome. The dear friend, also, who had helped me in some of 
 my earlier troubles, as I have narrated (I mean Piero, son of 
 Giovanni Landi) — he too advised me to make some stay in 
 Florence; for the Medici were in exile, that is to say, Signor 
 Ippolito and Signor Alessandro, who were afterward respect- 
 ively Cardinal and Duke of Florence; and he judged it would 
 be well for me to wait and see what happened. 
 
 At that time there arrived in Florence a Sienese, called 
 Girolamo Marretti, who had lived long in Turkey and was 
 a man of lively intellect. He came to my shop, and com- 
 missioned me to make a golden medal to be worn in the hat. 
 The subject was to be Hercules wrenching the Uoa's mouth.
 
 78 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 While I was working at this piece, Michel Agnolo Buonarroti 
 came oftentimes to see it. I had spent infinite pains upon 
 the design, so that the attitude of the figure and the fierce 
 passion of the beast were executed in quite a different style 
 from that of any craftsman who had hitherto attempted such 
 groups. This, together with the fact that the special branch 
 of art was totally unknown to Michel Agnolo, made the divine 
 master give such praises to my work that I felt incredibly in- 
 spired for further effort. However, I found little else to do 
 but jewel-setting; and though I gained more thus than in 
 any other way, yet I was dissatisfied, for I would fain have 
 been employed upon some higher task than that of setting 
 precious stones. 
 
 Just then I met with Federigo Ginori, a young man of a 
 very lofty spirit. He had lived some years in Naples, and 
 being endowed with great charms of person and presence, 
 had been the lover of a Neapolitan princess. He wanted to 
 have a medal made, with Atlas bearing the world upon his 
 shoulders, and applied to Michel Agnolo for a design. Michel 
 Agnolo made this answer: " Go and find out a young gold- 
 smith named Benvenuto; he will serve you admirably, and 
 certainly he does not stand in need of sketches by me. How- 
 ever, to prevent your thinking that I want to save myself the 
 trouble of so slight a matter, I will gladly sketch you some- 
 thing; but meanwhile speak to Benvenuto, and let him also 
 make a model; he can then execute the better of the two 
 designs." Federigo Ginori came to me, and told me what 
 he wanted, adding thereto how Michel Agnolo had praised 
 me, and how he had suggested I should make a waxen model 
 while he undertook to supply a sketch. The words of that 
 great man so heartened me, that I set myself to work at once 
 with eagerness upon the model; and when I had finished it, a 
 painter who was intimate with Michel Agnolo, called Giuliano 
 Bugiardini, brought me the drawing of Atlas.^ On the same 
 occasion I showed Giuliano my little model in wax, which 
 was very different from Michel Agnolo's drawing; and 
 Federigo, in concert with Bugiardini, agreed that I should 
 work upon my model. So I took it in hand, and when Michel 
 
 ' This painter was the pupil of Bertoldo, a man of simple manners and 
 of some excellence in his art. The gallery at Bologna has a fine specimen 
 of his painting. Michel Agnolo delighted in his society.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 79 
 
 Agnolo saw it, he praised me to the skies. This was a figure, 
 as I have said, chiselled on a plate of gold; Atlas had the 
 heaven upon his back, made out of a crystal ball, engraved 
 with the zodiac upon a field of lapis-lazuli. The whole com- 
 position produced an indescribably fine effect; and under it 
 ran the legend " Summa tulisse juvat." Federigo was so thor- 
 oughly well pleased that he paid me very liberally. Aluigi 
 Alamanni was at that time in Florence. Federigo Ginori, 
 who enjoyed his friendship, brought him often to my work- 
 shop, and through this introduction we became very intimate 
 together.^ 
 
 XLII 
 
 Pope Clement had now declared war upon the city of 
 Florence, which thereupon was put in a state of defence; 
 and the militia being organized in each quarter of the town, 
 I too received orders to serve in my turn. I provided my- 
 self with a rich outfit, and went about with the highest nobility 
 of Florence, who showed a unanimous desire to fight for the 
 defence of our liberties. Meanwhile the speeches which are 
 usual upon such occasions were made in every quarter; the 
 young men met together more than was their wont, and every- 
 where we had but one topic of conversation. 
 
 It happened one day, about noon, that a crowd of tall men 
 and lusty young fellows, the first in the city, were assembled 
 in my workshop, when a letter from Rome was put into my 
 hands. It came from a man called Maestro Giacopino della 
 Barca. His real name was Giacopo della Sciorina, but they 
 called him della Barca in Rome, because he kept a ferry 
 boat upon the Tiber between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Santo 
 Agnolo. He was a person of considerable talent, distin- 
 guished by his pleasantries and striking conversation, and he 
 had formerly been a designer of patterns for the cloth-weavers 
 in Florence. This man was intimate with the Pope, who took 
 great pleasure in hearing him talk. Being one day engaged 
 in conversation, they touched upon the sack and the defence 
 of the castle. This brought me to the Pope's mind, and he 
 
 ' This was the agreeable didactic poet Luigi Alamanni, who had to fly 
 from Florence after a conspiracy against Cardinal Giulio de' Medici in 
 1522. He could never reconcile himself to the Medicean tyranny, and 
 finally took refuge in France, where he was honoured by Francis I. He 
 died at Amboise in 1556.
 
 8o CELLINI 
 
 spoke of me in the very highest terms, adding that if he knew 
 where I was, he should be glad to get me back. Maestro 
 Giacopo said I was in Florence; whereupon the Pope bade 
 the man write and tell me to return to him. The letter I have 
 mentioned was to the effect that I should do well if I resumed 
 the service of Clement, and that this was sure to turn out to 
 my advantage. 
 
 The young men who were present were curious to know 
 what the letter contained; wherefore I concealed it as well 
 as I could. Afterward I wrote to Maestro Giacopo, begging 
 him by no means, whether for good or evil, to write to me 
 again. He however grew more obstinate in his ofBciousness, 
 and wrote me another letter, so extravagantly worded, that 
 if it had been seen, I should have got into serious trouble. 
 The substance of it was that the Pope required me to come 
 at once, wanting to employ me on work of the greatest con- 
 sequence; also that if I wished to act aright, I ought to throw 
 up everything, and not to stand against a Pope in the party 
 of those hare-brained Radicals. This letter, when I read it, 
 put me in such a fright, that I went to seek my dear friend 
 Piero Landi. Directly he set eyes on me, he asked what 
 accident had happened to upset me so. I told my friend that 
 it was quite impossible for me to explain what lay upon my 
 mind, and what was causing me this trouble; only I entreated 
 him to take the keys I gave him, and to return the gems and 
 gold in my drawers to such and such persons, whose names 
 he would find inscribed upon my memorandum-book; next, 
 I begged him to pack up the furniture of my house, and keep 
 account of it with his usual loving kindness; and in a few 
 days he should hear where I was. The prudent young man, 
 guessing perhaps pretty nearly how the matter stood, replied: 
 " My brother, go your ways quickly; then write to me, and 
 have no further care about your things." I did as he advised. 
 He was the most loyal friend, the wisest, the most worthy, the 
 most discreet, the most affectionate that I have ever known. 
 I left Florence and went to Rome, and from there I wrote 
 
 to him. 
 
 XLin 
 
 Upon my arrival in Rome, I found several of my former 
 friends, by whom I was very well received and kindly enter- 
 tained. No time was lost before I set myself to work at
 
 MEMOIRS 8l 
 
 things which brought me profit, but were not notable enough 
 to be described. There was a fine old man, a goldsmith, 
 called Raffaello del Moro, who had considerable reputation 
 in the trade, and was to boot a very worthy fellow. He begged 
 me to consent to enter his workshop, saying he had some 
 commissions of importance to execute, on which high profits 
 might be looked for; so I accepted his proposal with good- 
 will. 
 
 More than ten days had elapsed, and I had not presented 
 myself to Maestro Giacopino della Barca. Meeting me one 
 day by accident, he gave me a hearty welcome, and asked 
 me how long I had been in Rome. When I told him I had 
 been there about a fortnight, he took it very ill, and said that 
 I showed little esteem for a Pope who had urgently compelled 
 him to write three times for me. I, who had taken his persist- 
 ence in the matter still more ill, made no reply, but swallowed 
 down my irritation. The man, who suffered from a flux of 
 words, began one of his long yarns, and went on talking, till 
 at the last, when I saw him tired out, I merely said that he 
 might bring me to the Pope when he saw fit. He answered 
 that any time would do for him; and I, that I was always 
 ready. So we took our way toward the palace. It was a 
 Maundy Thursday; and when we reached the apartments of 
 the Pope, he being known there and I expected, we were at 
 once admitted. 
 
 The Pope was in bed, suffering from a slight indisposition, 
 and he had with him Messer Jacopo Salviati and the Arch- 
 bishop of Capua.^ When the Pope set eyes on me, he was 
 exceedingly glad. I kissed his feet, and then, as humbly 
 as I could, drew near to him, and let him understand that 
 I had things of consequence to utter. On this he waved 
 his hand, and the two prelates retired to a distance from us. 
 I began at once to speak : " Most blessed Father, from the 
 time of the sack up to this hour, I have never been able to 
 confess or to communicate, because they refuse me absolu- 
 tion. The case is this. When I melted down the gold and 
 worked at the unsetting of those jewels, your Holiness ordered 
 the Cavalierino to give me a modest reward for my labours, 
 
 ' Nicolas Schomberg, a learned Dominican and disciple of Savonarola, 
 made Archbishop of Capua in 1520. He was a faithful and able minister 
 of Clement. Paul III gave him the hat in 1535, and he died in 1537. 
 6
 
 82 CELLINI 
 
 of which I received nothing, but on the contrary he rather 
 paid me with abuse. When then I ascended to the cham- 
 ber where I had melted down the gold, and washed the ashes, 
 I found about a pound and a half of gold in tiny grains like 
 millet-seeds; and inasmuch as I had not money enough to 
 take me home respectably, I thought I would avail myself of 
 this, and give it back again when opportunity should offer. 
 Now I am here at the feet of your Holiness, who is the only 
 true confessor. I entreat you to do me the favour of granting 
 me indulgence, so that I may be able to confess and communi- 
 cate, and by the grace of your Holiness regain the grace of 
 my Lord God." Upon this the Pope, with a scarcely per- 
 ceptible sigh, remembering perhaps his former trials, spoke 
 as follows: " Benvenuto, I thoroughly believe what you tell 
 me; it is in my power to absolve you of any unbecoming 
 deed you may have done, and, what is more, I have the will. 
 So, then, speak out with frankness and perfect confidence; for 
 if you had taken the value of a whole tiara, I am quite ready 
 to pardon you." Thereupon I answered: " I took nothing, 
 most blessed Father, but what I have confessed; and this did 
 not amount to the value of 140 ducats, for that was the sum 
 I received from the Mint in Perugia, and with it I went home 
 to comfort my poor old father." The Pope said: " Your 
 father has been as virtuous, good, and worthy a man as was 
 ever born, and you have not degenerated from him. I am 
 very sorry that the money was so little; but such as you say 
 it was, I make you a present of it, and give you my full pardon. 
 Assure your confessor of this, if there is nothing else upon 
 your conscience which concerns me. Afterward, when you 
 have confessed and communicated, you shall present your- 
 self to me again, and it will be to your advantage." 
 
 When I parted from the Pope, Messer Giacopo and the 
 Archbishop approached, and the Pope spoke to them in the 
 highest terms imaginable about me; he said that he had 
 confessed and absolved me; then he commissioned the Arch- 
 bishop of Capua to send for me and ask if I had any other 
 need beyond this matter, giving him full leave to absolve me 
 amply, and bidding him, moreover, treat me with the utmost 
 kindness. 
 
 While I was walking away with Maestro Giacopino, he 
 asked me very inquisitively what was the close and lengthy
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 83 
 
 conversation I had had with his HoHness. After he had re- 
 peated the question more than twice, I said that I did not 
 mean to tell him, because they were matters with which he 
 had nothing to do, and therefore he need not go on asking 
 me. Then I went to do what had been agreed on with the 
 Pope; and after the two festivals were over, I again presented 
 myself before his Holiness. He received me even better 
 than before, and said: " If you had come a little earlier to 
 Rome, I should have commissioned you to restore my two 
 tiaras, which were pulled to pieces in the castle. These, how- 
 ever, with the exception of the gems, are objects of little artis- 
 tic interest; so I will employ you on a piece of the very great- 
 est consequence, where you will be able to exhibit all your 
 talents. It is a button for my priest's cope, which has to be 
 made round like a trencher, and as big as a little trencher, 
 one-third of a cubit wide. Upon this I want you to represent 
 a God the Father in half-relief, and in the middle to set that 
 magnificent big diamond, which you remember, together with 
 several other gems of the greatest value. Caradosso began 
 to make me one, but did not finish it; I want yours to be 
 finished quickly, so that I may enjoy the use of it a little 
 while. Go, then, and make me a fine model." He had all the 
 jewels shown me, and then I went off like a shot to set myself 
 
 to work. 
 
 XLIV 
 
 During the time when Florence was besieged, Federigo 
 Ginori, for whom I made that medal of Atlas, died of con- 
 sumption, and the medal came into the hands of Messer 
 Luigi Alamanni, who, after a little while, took it to present 
 in person to Francis, King of France, accompanied by some 
 of his own finest compositions. The King was exceedingly 
 delighted with the gift; w^hereupon Messer Luigi told his 
 Majesty so much about my personal qualities, as well as my 
 art, and spoke so favourably, that the King expressed a wish 
 to know me. 
 
 Meanwhile I pushed my model for the button forward 
 with all the diligence I could, constructing it exactly of the 
 size which the jewel itself was meant to have. In the trade 
 of the goldsmiths it roused considerable jealousy among those 
 who thought that they were capable of matching it. A certain 
 Micheletto had just come to Rome; he was very clever at
 
 84 CELLINI 
 
 engraving cornelians, and was, moreover, a most intelligent 
 jeweller, an old man and of great celebrity. He had been em- 
 ployed upon the Pope's tiaras; and while I was working at 
 my model, he wondered much that I had not applied to him, 
 being as he was a man of intelligence and of large credit with 
 the Pope. At last, when lie saw that I was not coming to 
 him, he came to me, and asked me what I was about. " What 
 the Pope has ordered me," I answered. Then he said: " The 
 Pope has commissioned me to superintend everything which 
 is being made for his Holiness." I only replied that I would 
 ask the Pope, and then should know what answer I ought to 
 give him. He told me that I should repent, and departing in 
 anger, had an interview wdth all the masters of the art; they 
 deliberated on the matter, and charged Michele with the con- 
 duct of the whole afifair. As was to be expected from a person 
 of his talents, he ordered more than thirty drawings to be 
 made, all differing in their details, for the piece the Pope had 
 commissioned. 
 
 Having already access to his Holiness's ear, he took into 
 his counsel another jeweller, named Pompeo, a Milanese, who 
 was in favour with the Pope, and related to Messer Traiano, 
 the first chamberlain of the court; these two together, then, 
 began to insinuate that they had seen my model, and did not 
 think me up to a work of such extraordinary import. The 
 Pope replied that he would also have to see it, and that if he 
 then found me unfit for the purpose, he should look around 
 for one who was fit. Both of them put in that they had sev- 
 eral excellent designs ready; to which the Pope made an- 
 swer, that he was very pleased to hear it, but that he did not 
 care to look at them till I had completed my model; after- 
 ward, he would take them all into consideration at the same 
 time. 
 
 After a few days I finished my model, and took it to the 
 Pope one morning, when Messer Traiano made me wait till 
 he had sent for Micheletto and Pompeo, bidding them make 
 haste and bring their drawings. On their arrival we were 
 introduced, and Micheletto and Pompeo immediately unrolled 
 their papers, which the Pope inspected. The draughtsmen 
 who had been employed were not in the jeweller's trade, and 
 therefore knew nothing about giving their right places to 
 precious stones; and the jewellers, on their side, had not
 
 MEMOIRS 85 
 
 shown them how; for I oiiglit to say that a jeweller, wiien 
 he has to work witii figures, must of necessity understand 
 design, else he can not produce anything worth looking at: 
 and so it turned out that all of them had stuck that famous 
 diamond in the middle of the breast of God the Father. The 
 Pope, who was an excellent connoisseur, observing this mis- 
 take, approved of none of them; and when he had looked at 
 about ten, he flung the rest down, and said to me, who was 
 standing at a distance: " Now show me your model, Ben- 
 venuto, so that I may see if you have made the same mistake 
 as those fellows." I came forward, and opened a little round 
 box; whereupon one would have thought that a light from 
 heaven had struck the Pope's eyes. He cried aloud: " If you 
 had been in my own body, you could not have done it better, 
 as this proves. Those men there have found the right way 
 to bring shame upon themselves!" A crowd of great lords 
 pressing round, the Pope pointed out the difiference between 
 my model and the drawings. When he had suf^ciently com- 
 mended it, the others standing terrified and stupid before him, 
 he turned to me and said: " I am only afraid of one thing, and 
 that is of the utmost consequence. Friend Benvenuto, wax 
 is easy to work in; the real difficulty is to execute this in 
 gold." To those words I answered without a moment's hesi- 
 tation : " Most blessed Father, if I do not work it ten times 
 better than the model, let it be agreed beforehand that you 
 pay me nothing." When they heard this, the noblemen made 
 a great stir, crying out that I was promising too much. 
 Among them was an eminent philosopher, who spoke out in 
 my favour: " From the fine physiognomy and bodily symme- 
 try which I observe in this young man, I predict that he will 
 accomplish what he says, and think that he will even go be- 
 yond it." The Pope put in: "And this is my opinion also." 
 Then he called his chamberlain, Mcsser Traiano, and bade 
 him bring five hundred golden ducats of the Camera. 
 
 While we were waiting for the money, the Pope turned 
 once more to gaze at leisure on the dexterous device I had 
 employed for combining the diamond with the figure of God 
 the Father. I had put the diamond exactly in the centre of 
 the piece; and above it God the Father was shown seated, 
 leaning nobly in a sideways attitude, which made a perfect 
 composition, and did not interfere with the stone's effect.
 
 86 CELLINI 
 
 Lifting his right hand, he was in the act of giving the bene- 
 diction. Below the diamond I had placed three children, 
 who, with their arms upraised, were supporting the jewel. 
 One of them, in the middle, was in full relief, the other two 
 in half-relief. All round I set a crowd of cherubs, in divers 
 attitudes, adapted to the other gems. A mantle undulated 
 to the wind around the figure of the Father, from the folds 
 of which cherubs peeped out; and there were other ornaments 
 besides which made a very beautiful effect. The work was 
 executed in white stucco on a black stone. When the money 
 came, the Pope gave it me with his own hand, and begged me 
 in the most winning terms to let him have it finished in his 
 own days, adding that this should be to my advantage. 
 
 XLV 
 
 I took the money and the model home, and was in the 
 utmost impatience to begin my work. After I had laboured 
 diligently for eight days, the Pope sent word by one of his 
 chamberlains, a very great gentleman of Bologna, that I was 
 to come to him and bring what I had got in hand. On the 
 way, the chamberlain, who was the most gentle-mannered 
 person in the Roman court, told me that the Pope not only 
 wanted to see what I was doing, but also intended to intrust 
 me with another task of the highest consequence, which was, 
 in fact, to furnish dies for the money of the Mint; and bade 
 me arm myself beforehand with the answer I should give; 
 in short, he wished me to be prepared, and therefore he had 
 spoken. When we came into the presence, I lost no time in 
 exhibiting the golden plate, upon which I had as yet carved 
 nothing but my figure of God the Father; but this, though 
 only in the rough, displayed a grander style than that of the 
 waxen model. The Pope regarded it with stupefaction, and 
 exclaimed: " From this moment forward I will believe every- 
 thing you say." Then loading me with marks of favour, he 
 added: "It is my intention to give you another commission, 
 which, if you feel competent to execute it, I shall have no less 
 at heart than this, or more." He proceeded to tell me that he 
 wished to make dies for the coinage of his realm, and asked 
 me if I had ever tried my hand at such things, and if I had 
 the courage to attempt them. I answered that of courage for 
 the task I had no lack, and that I had seen how dies were
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 87 
 
 made, but that I had not ever made any. There was in the 
 presence a certain Messer Tommaso, of Prato, his HoUness's 
 Datary;^ and this man, being a friend of my enemies, put 
 in: " Most blessed Father, the favours you are showering 
 upon this young man (and he by nature so extremely over- 
 bold) are enough to make him promise you a new world. You 
 have already given him one great task, and now, by adding 
 a greater, you are like to make them clash together." The 
 Pope, in a rage, turned round on him, and told him to mind 
 his own business. Then he commanded me to make the model 
 for a broad doubloon of gold, upon which he wanted a naked 
 Christ with his hands tied, and the inscription " Ecce Homo; " 
 the reverse was to have a Pope and Emperor in the act to- 
 gether of propping up a cross which seemed to fall, and this 
 legend: " Unus spiritus et una fides erat in eis." 
 
 After the Pope had ordered this handsome coin, Bandinello 
 the sculptor came up; he had not yet been made a knight; 
 and, with his wonted presumption muffled up in ignorance, 
 said: "For these goldsmiths one must make drawings for 
 such fine things as that." I turned round upon him in a 
 moment, and cried out that I did not want his drawings for 
 my art, but that I hoped before very long to give his art some 
 trouble by my drawings. The Pope expressed high satis- 
 faction at these words, and turning to me said : " Go then, my 
 Benvenuto, and devote yourself with spirit to my service, and 
 do not lend an ear to the chattering of these silly fellows." 
 
 So I went off, and very quickly made two dies of steel; then 
 I stamped a coin in gold, and one Sunday after dinner took the 
 coin and the dies to the Pope, who, when he saw the piece, 
 was astonished and greatly gra'tified, not only because my 
 work pleased him excessively, but also because of the rapidity 
 with which I had performed it. For the further satisfaction 
 and amazement of his Holiness, I had brought with me all 
 the old coins which in former times had been made by those 
 able men who served Popes Giulio and Leo; and when I no- 
 ticed that mine pleased him far better, I drew forth from my 
 
 ' His full name was Tommaso Cortese. The Papal Datario was the 
 chief secretary of the office for requests, petitions, and patents. His title 
 was derived from its being: his duty to affix the Datum Romae to docu- 
 ments. The fees of this office, which was also called Datario, brought in 
 a large revenue to the Papacy.
 
 88 CELLINI 
 
 bosom a patent, in which I prayed for the post of stamp- 
 master in the Mint. This place was worth six golden crowns 
 a month, in addition to the dies, which were paid at the rate 
 of a ducat for three by the Master of the Mint. The Pope 
 took my patent and handed it to the Datary, telling him to lose 
 no time in despatching the business. The Datary began to 
 put it in his pocket, saying: " Most blessed Father, your Holi- 
 ness ought not to go so fast ; these are matters which deserve 
 some reflection." To this the Pope replied: "I have heard 
 what you have got to say; give me here that patent." He 
 took it, and signed it at once with his own hand; then, giving 
 it back, added: " Now, you have no answer left; see that you 
 despatch it at once, for this is my pleasure; and Benvenuto's 
 shoes are worth more than the eyes of all those other block- 
 heads." So, having thanked his Holiness, I went back, re- 
 joicing above measure, to my work. 
 
 XLVI 
 
 I was still working in the shop of Raflfaello del Moro. 
 This worthy man had a very beautiful young daughter, with 
 regard to whom he had designs on me; and I, becoming 
 partly aware of his intentions, was very willing; but, while 
 indulging such desires, I made no show of them: on the 
 contrary, I was so discreet in my behaviour that I made him 
 wonder. It so happened that the poor girl was attacked by a 
 disorder in her right hand, which ate into the two bones be- 
 longing to the little linger and the next. Owing to her father's 
 carelessness, she had been treated by an ignorant quack- 
 doctor, who predicted that the poor child would be crippled 
 in the whole of her right arm, if even nothing worse should 
 happen. When I noticed the dismay of her father, I begged 
 him not to believe all that this ignorant doctor had said. He 
 replied that he had no acquaintance with physicians or with 
 surgeons, and entreated me, if I knew of one, to bring him 
 to the house. I sent at once for a certain Maestro Giacomo 
 of Perugia, a man of great skill in surgery, who examined the 
 poor girl.^ She was dreadfully frightened, through having 
 
 ' Giacomo Rastelli was a native of Rimini, but was popularly known 
 as of Perugia, since he had resided long in that city. He was a famous 
 surgeon under several Popes until the year 1566, when he died at Rome, 
 aged seventy-five.
 
 MEMOIRS 89 
 
 gained some inkling of the (juack's predictions; whereas, my 
 intelligent doctor declared that she would suffer nothing of 
 conseciuence, and would be very well able to use her right 
 hand; also that though the two last fingers must remain some- 
 what weaker than the others, this would be of no inconven- 
 ience at all to her. So he began his treatment; and after a 
 few days, when he was going to extract a portion of the dis- 
 eased bones, her father called for me, and begged me to be 
 present at the operation. Maestro Giacomo was using some 
 coarse steel instruments; and when I observed tliat he was 
 making little way and at the same time was inflicting severe 
 pain on the patient, I begged him to stop and wait half a 
 quarter of an hour for me. I ran into the shop, and made a 
 little scalping-iron of steel, extremely thin and curved; it cut 
 like a razor. On my return, the surgeon used it, and began 
 to work with so gentle a hand that she felt no pain, and in a 
 short while the operation was over. In consequence of this 
 service, and for other reasons, the worthy man conceived for 
 me as much love, or more, as he had for two male children; 
 and in the meanwhile he attended to the cure of his beautiful 
 young daughter. 
 
 I was on terms of the closest intimacy with one Messer 
 Giovanni Gaddi, who was a clerk of the Camera, and a great 
 connoisseur of the arts, although he had no practical acquaint- 
 ance with any. In his household were a certain Messer Gio- 
 vanni, a Greek of eminent learning, Messer Lodovico of Fano, 
 no less distinguished as a man of letters, Messer Antonio 
 Allegrctti, and Messer Annibalc Caro,^ at that time in his 
 early manhood. Messer Bastiano of Venice, a most excel- 
 lent painter, and I were admitted to their society; and almost 
 every day we met together in Messer Giovanni's company.^ 
 
 Being aware of this intimacy, the worthy goldsmith Raf- 
 faello said to Messer Giovanni: "Good sir, you know me; 
 
 ' Some poems of Allegretti's survive. He was a man of mark in the 
 literary society of the age. Giovanni Greco may have been a Giovanni 
 Vergezio, v?ho presented Duke Cosimo writh some Greek characters of 
 exquisite finish. Lodovico da Fano is mentioned as an excellent Latin 
 scholar. Annibale Caro was one of the most distinguished writers of 
 Italian prose and verse in the later Renaissance. He spent the latter 
 portion of his life in the service of the Farnesi. 
 
 * Messer Bastiano is the celebrated painter Sebastian del Piombo, born 
 14S5, died 1547.
 
 90 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 now I want to marry my daughter to Benvenuto, and can 
 think of no better intermediary than your worship. So 1 am 
 come to crave your assistance, and to beg you to name for 
 her such dowry from my estate as you may think suitable." 
 The hght-headed man hardly let my good friend finish what 
 he had to say, before he put in quite at random: "Talk no 
 more about it, RafTaello; you are farther from your object 
 than January from mulberries." The poor man, utterly dis- 
 couraged, looked about at once for another husband for his 
 girl; while she and the mother and all the family lived on 
 in a bad humour with me. Since I did not know the real 
 cause of this — I imagined they were paying me with bastard 
 coin for the many kindnesses I had shown them — I conceived 
 the thought of opening a workshop of my own in their neigh- 
 bourhood. Messer Giovanni told me nothing till the girl 
 was married, which happened in a few months. 
 
 Meanwhile, I laboured assiduously at the work I was 
 doing for the Pope, and also in the service of the Mint; for 
 his Holiness had ordered another coin, of the value of two 
 carlins, on which his own portrait was stamped, while the 
 reverse bore a figure of Christ upon the waters, holding out 
 his hand to S. Peter, with this inscription: " Quare dubitasti? " 
 My design won such applause that a certain secretary of the 
 Pope, a man of the greatest talent, called II Sanga,^ was 
 moved to this remark : " Your Holiness can boast of having 
 a currency superior to any of the ancients in all their glory." 
 The Pope replied: "Benvenuto, for his part, can boast of 
 serving an emperor like me, who is able to discern his merit." 
 I went on at my great piece in gold, showing it frequently to 
 the Pope, who was very eager to see it, and each time ex- 
 pressed greater admiration. 
 
 XLVII 
 
 My brother, at this period, was also in Rome, serving Duke 
 Alessandro, on whom the Pope had recently conferred the 
 Duchy of Penna. This prince kept in his service a multitude 
 of soldiers, worthy fellows, brought up to valour in the school 
 
 ' Battista Sanga, a Roman, secretary to Gianmatteo Giberti, the good 
 Archbishop of Verona, and afterward to Clement VII. He was a great 
 Latinist, and one of those ecclesiastics who earnestly desired a reform of 
 the Church. He died, poisoned, at an early age.
 
 MEMOIRS 91 
 
 of that famous general Giovanni de* Medici ; and among these 
 was my brother, whom the Duke esteemed as highly as the 
 bravest of them. One day my brother went after dinner to 
 the shop of a man called Baccino della Croce in the Banchi, 
 which all those men-at-arms frequented. He had flung him- 
 self upon a settee, and was sleeping. Just then the guard of 
 the Bargello passed by; ^ they were taking to prison a certain 
 Captain Cisti, a Lombard, who had also been a member of 
 Giovanni's troop, but was not in the service of the Duke. The 
 captain, Cattivanza degli Strozzi, chanced to be in the same 
 shop; and when Cisti caught sight of him, he whispered: 
 " I was bringing you those crowns I owed; if you want them, 
 come for them before they go with me to prison." Now Catti- 
 vanza had a way of putting his neighbours to the push, not 
 caring to hazard his own person. So, finding there around 
 him several young fellow^s of the highest daring, more eager 
 than apt for so serious an enterprise, he bade them catch up 
 Captain Cisti and get the money from him, and if the guard 
 resisted, overpower the men, provided they had pluck enough 
 to do so. 
 
 The young men were but four, and all four of them without 
 a beard. The first was called Bertino Aldobrandi. another 
 Anguillotto of Lucca; I can not recall the names of the rest. 
 Bertino had been trained like a pupil by my brother; and 
 my brother felt the most unbounded love for him. So then, 
 of? dashed the four brave lads, and came up with the guard 
 of the Bargello — upward of fifty constables, counting pikes, 
 arquebuses, and two-handed swords. After a few words they 
 drew their weapons, and the four boys so harried the guard, 
 that if Captain Cattivanza had but shown his face, without so 
 much as drawing, they would certainly have put the whole 
 pack to flight. But delay spoiled all; for Bertino received 
 some ugly wounds and fell; at the same time, Anguillotto 
 was also hit in the right arm, and being unable to use his 
 sword, got out of the fray as well as he was able. The others 
 did the same. Bertino Aldobrandi was lifted from the ground 
 seriously injured. 
 
 ' The Bargello was the chief constable or sheriff in Italian towns. He 
 did the rough work of policing the city, and was consequently a mark for 
 all the men of spirit who disliked being kept in order.
 
 92 CELLIJSII 
 
 XLVIII 
 
 While these thinj^s were happening-, we were all at table; 
 for that morning we had dined more than an hour later than 
 usual. On hearing the commotion, one of the old man's sons, 
 the elder, rose from table to go and look at the scuffle. He 
 was called Giovanni; and I said to him: " For Heaven's sake, 
 don't go! In such matters one is always certain to lose, while 
 there is nothing to be gained." His father spoke to like pur- 
 pose: " Pray, my son, don't go! " But the lad, without heed- 
 ing any one, ran down the stairs. Reaching the Banchi, where 
 the great scrimmage was, and seeing Bertino lifted from the 
 ground, he ran toward home, and met my brother Cecchino 
 on the way, who asked what was the matter. Though some 
 of the bystanders signed to Giovanni not to tell Cecchino, he 
 cried out like a madman how it was that Bertino Aldobrandi 
 had been killed by the guard. My poor brother gave vent 
 to a bellow which might have been heard ten miles away. 
 Then he turned to Giovanni: "Ah me! but could you tell 
 me which of those men killed him for me?" Giovanni said, 
 yes, that it was a man who had a big two-handed sword, with 
 a blue feather in his bonnet. My poor brother rushed ahead, 
 and having recognised the homicide by those signs, he threw 
 himself with all his dash and spirit into the middle of the 
 band, and before his man could turn on guard, ran him right 
 through the guts, and with the sword's hilt thrust him to the 
 ground. Then he turned upon the rest with such energy and 
 daring, that his one arm was on the point of putting the whole 
 band to flight, had it not been that, while he wheeled round to 
 strike an arquebusier, this man fired in self-defence, and hit 
 the brave unfortunate young fellow above the knee of his right 
 leg. While he lay stretched upon the ground, the constables 
 scrambled oflf in disorder as fast as they were able, lest a pair 
 to my brother should arrive upon the scene. 
 
 Noticing that the tumult was not subsiding, I too rose 
 from table, and girding on my sword — for everybody wore one 
 then — I went to the bridge of Sant' Agnolo, where I saw a 
 group of several men assembled. On my coming up and 
 being recognised by some of them, they gave way before 
 me, and showed me what I least of all things wished to see, 
 albeit I made mighty haste to view the sight. On the instant
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 93 
 
 I did not know Cecchino, since he was wearing a diflerent 
 suit of clothes from that in whicli I had lately seen him. Ac- 
 cordingly, he recognised me first, and said: " Dearest brother, 
 do not be upset by my grave accident; it is only what might 
 be expected in my profession: get me removed from here at 
 once, for I have but few hours to live." They had accjuainted 
 me with the whole event while he was speaking, in brief 
 words befitting such occasion. So I answered: " Brother, 
 this is the greatest sorrow and the greatest trial that could 
 happen to me in the whole course of my life. But be of good 
 cheer; for before you lose sight of him who did the mischief, 
 you shall see yourself revenged by my hand." Our words on 
 both sides were to the purport, but of the shortest. 
 
 XLIX 
 
 The guard was now about fifty paces from us; for Maflfto, 
 their officer, had made some of them turn back to take up the 
 corporal my brother killed. Accordingly, I quickly traversed 
 that short space, wrapped in my cape, which I had tightened 
 round me, and came up with Mafifio, whom I should most 
 certainly have murdered, for there were plenty of people 
 round, and I had wound my way among them. With the 
 rapidity of lightning, I had half drawn my sword from the 
 sheath, when Berlinghier Berlinghieri, a young man of the 
 greatest daring and my good friend, threw himself from be- 
 hind upon my arms; he had four other fellows of like kidney 
 with him, who cried out to Mafifio: "Away with you, for 
 this man here alone was killing you!" He asked: "Who 
 is he?" and they answered: "Own brother to the man you 
 see there." Without waiting to hear more, he made haste 
 for Torre di Nona;^ and they said: " Benvenuto, we pre- 
 vented you against your will, but did it for your good; now 
 let us go to succour him who must die shortly." Accordingly, 
 we turned and went back to my brother, whom I had at once 
 conveyed into a house. The doctors who were called in con- 
 sultation, treated him with medicaments, but could not de- 
 cide to amputate the leg, which might perhaps have saved 
 him. 
 
 As soon as his wound had been dressed, Duke Alessandro 
 
 ' The Torre di Nona was one of the principal prisons in Rome, used 
 especially for criminals condemned to death.
 
 94 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 appeared and most affectionately greeted him. My brother 
 had not as yet lost consciousness; so he said to the Duke: 
 " My lord, this only grieves me, that your Excellency is losing 
 a servant than whom you may perchance find men more 
 valiant in the profession of arms, but none more lovingly and 
 loyally devoted to your service than I have been." The Duke 
 bade him do all he could to keep alive; for the rest, he well 
 knew him to be a man of worth and courage. He then turned 
 to his attendants, ordering them to see that the brave young 
 fellow wanted for nothing. 
 
 When he was gone, my brother lost blood so copiously, 
 for nothing could be done to stop it, that he went off his head, 
 and kept raving all the following night, with the exception 
 that once, when they wanted to give him the communion, 
 he said: "You would have done well to confess me before; 
 now it is impossible that I should receive the divine sacra- 
 ment in this already ruined frame; it will be enough if I par- 
 take of it by the divine virtue of the eyesight, whereby it shall 
 be transmitted into my immortal soul, which only prays to 
 Him for mercy and forgiveness." Having spoken thus, the 
 host was elevated; but he straightway relapsed into the same 
 delirious ravings as before, pouring forth a torrent of the 
 most terrible frenzies and horrible imprecations that the mind 
 of man could imagine; nor did he cease once all that night 
 until the day broke. 
 
 When the sun appeared above our horizon, he turned to 
 me and said: "Brother, I do not wish to stay here longer, 
 for these fellows will end by making me do something tre- 
 mendous, which may cause them to repent of the annoyance 
 they have given me." Then he kicked out both his legs — 
 the injured limb we had inclosed in a very heavy box — and 
 made as though he would fling it across a horse's back. Turn- 
 ing his face round to me, he called out thrice — " Farewell, 
 farewell ! " and with the last word that most valiant spirit 
 passed away. 
 
 At the proper hour, toward nightfall, I had him buried 
 with due ceremony in the church of the Florentines; and 
 afterward I erected to his memory a very handsome monu- 
 ment of marble, upon which I caused trophies and banners 
 to be carved. I must not omit to mention that one of his 
 friends had asked him who the man was that had killed him,
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 95 
 
 and if he could recognise him; to which he answered that 
 he could, and gave his description. My brother, indeed, at- 
 tempted to prevent this coming to my ears; but 1 got it very 
 well impressed upon my mind, as will appear in the sequel. 
 
 L 
 
 Returning to the monument, I should relate that certain 
 famous men of letters, who knew my brother, composed for 
 me an epitaph, telling me that the noble young man deserved 
 it. The inscription ran thus: 
 
 " Francisco Cellino Florentino, qui quod in teneris annis ad loannem 
 Medicem ducem plures victorias retulit et signifer fuit, facile documentum 
 dedit quantae fortitudinis et consilii vir futurus erat, ni crudelis fati archi- 
 buso transfossus, quinto aetatis lustre jaceret, Benvenutus frater posuit. 
 Obiit die xxvii Mail MD.XXIX." 
 
 He was twenty-five years of age; and since the soldiers 
 called him Cecchino del Piffero,^ his real name being Giovan- 
 francesco Cellini, I wanted to engrave the former, by which 
 he was commonly known, under the armorial bearings of our 
 family. This name then I had cut in fine antique characters, 
 all of which were broken save the first and last. I was asked 
 by the learned men who had composed that beautiful epitaph, 
 wherefore I used these broken letters; and my answer was, 
 because the marvellous framework of his body was spoiled 
 and dead; and the reason why the first and last remained 
 entire was, that the first should symbolize the great gift God 
 had given him, namely, of a human soul, inflamed with his 
 divinity, the which hath never broken, while the second repre- 
 sented the glorious renown of his brave actions. The thought 
 gave satisfaction, and several persons have since availed them- 
 selves of my device. Close to the name I had the coat of us 
 Cellini carved upon the stone, altering it in some particulars. 
 In Ravenna, which is a most ancient city, there exist Cellini 
 of our name in the quality of very honourable gentry, who 
 bear a Hon rampant or upon a field of azure, holding a lily 
 gules in his dexter paw, with a label in chief and three little 
 lilies or. These are the true arms of the Cellini. My father 
 showed me a shield as ours which had the paw only, together 
 with the other bearings; but I should prefer to follow those 
 of the Cellini of Ravenna, which I have described above. 
 
 ' That is, Frank, the Fifer's son.
 
 96 'CELLINI 
 
 Now to return to what I caused to be engraved upon my 
 brother's tomb: it was the hon's paw, but instead of a Uly, 
 I made the Hon hold an axe, with the field of the scutcheon 
 quartered; and I put the axe in solely that I might not be 
 Unmindful to revenge him. 
 
 LI 
 
 I went on applying myself with the utmost diligence upon 
 the gold-work for Pope Clement's button. He was very 
 eager to have it, and used to send for me two or three times 
 a week, in order to inspect it; and his delight in the work 
 always increased. Often would he rebuke and scold me, as 
 it were, for the great grief in which my brother's loss had 
 plunged me; and one day, observing me more downcast and 
 out of trim than was proper, he cried aloud: " Benvenuto, 
 oh! I did not know that you were mad. Have you only just 
 learned that there is no remedy against death? One would 
 think that you were trying to run after him." When I left 
 the presence, I continued working at the jewel and the dies 
 for the Mint; but I also took to watching the arquebusier 
 who shot my brother, as though he had been a girl I was in 
 love with. The man had formerly been in the light cavalry, 
 but afterward had joined the arquebusiers as one of the Bar- 
 gello's corporals; and what increased my rage was that he 
 had used these boastful words: " If it had not been for me, 
 who killed that brave young man, the least trifle of delay 
 would have resulted in his putting us all to flight with great 
 disaster." When I saw that the fever caused by always seeing 
 him about was depriving me of sleep and appetite, and was 
 bringing me by degrees to sorry plight, I overcame my re- 
 pugnance to so low and not quite praiseworthy an enterprise, 
 and made my mind up one evening to rid myself of the tor- 
 ment. The fellow lived in a house near a place called Torre 
 Sanguigua, next door to the lodging of one of the most fash- 
 ionable women in Rome, named Signora Antea. It had just 
 struck twenty-four, and he was standing at the house-door, 
 with his sword in hand, having risen from supper. With great 
 address I stole up to him. holding a large Pistojan dagger, 
 and dealt him a back-handed stroke, with which I meant to 
 cut his head clean off; but as he turned round very suddenly, 
 the blow fell 'jpon the point of his left shoulder and broke
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 97 
 
 the bone. He sprang up, dropped his sword, half-stunned 
 with the great pain, and took to flight. I followed after, and 
 in four steps caught him up, when I lifted my dagger above 
 his head, which he was holding very low, and hit him in the 
 back exactly at the juncture of the nape-bone and the neck. 
 The poniard entered this point so deep into the bone, that, 
 though I used all my strength to pull it out, I was not able. 
 For just at that moment four soldiers with drawn swords 
 sprang out from Antea's lodging, and obliged me to set hand 
 to my own sword to defend my life. Leaving the poniard 
 then, I made off, and fearing I might be recognised, took 
 refuge in the palace of Duke Alcssandro, which was between 
 Piazzo Navona and the Rotunda.^ On my arrival, I asked to 
 see the Duke; who told me that, if I w^as alone, I need only 
 keep quiet and have no further anxiety, but go on working 
 at the jewel which the Pope had set his heart on, and stay 
 eight days indoors. He gave this advice the more securely, 
 because the soldiers had now arrived who interrupted the 
 completion of my deed; they held the dagger in their hand, 
 and were relating how the matter happened, and the great 
 trouble they had to pull the weapon from the neck and head- 
 bone of the man, w^hose name they did not know. Just then 
 Giovan Bandini came up, and said to them: ^ " That poniard 
 is mine, and I lent it to Benvenuto, who was bent on reveng- 
 ing his brother." The soldiers were profuse in their expres- 
 sions of regret at having interrupted me, although my venge- 
 ance had been amply satisfied. 
 
 More than eight days elapsed, and the Pope did not send 
 for me according to his custom. Afterward he summoned 
 me through his chamberlain, the Bolognese nobleman I have 
 already mentioned, who let me, in his own modest manner, 
 understand that his Holiness knew all, but was very well in- 
 clined toward me, and that I had only to mind my work and 
 keep quiet. When we reached the presence, the Pope cast so 
 menacing a glance toward me, that the mere look of his eyes 
 made me tremble. Afterward, upon examining my work, 
 
 ' That is, the Pantheon. 
 
 ' Bandini bears a distinguished name in Florentine annals. He served 
 Duke Alessandro in affairs of much importance ; but afterward he be- 
 trayed the interests of his master, Duke Cosimo, in an embassy to Charles 
 V in 1543. It seems that he had then been playing into the hands of 
 Filippo Strozzi, for which offence he passed fifteen years in a dungeon. 
 7
 
 98 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 his countenance cleared, and he began to praise me beyond 
 measure, saying that I had done a vast amount in a short time. 
 Then, looking me straight in the face, he added: " Now that 
 you are cured, Benvenuto, take heed how you live." I, who 
 understood his meaning, promised that I would. Immedi- 
 ately upon this, I opened a very fine shop in the Banchi, oppo- 
 site Raffaello, and there I finished the jewel after the lapse 
 
 of a few months. 
 
 LII 
 
 The Pope had sent me all those precious stones, except 
 the diamond, which was pawned to certain Genoese bankers 
 for some pressing need he had of money. The rest were 
 in my custody, together with a model of the diamond. I had 
 five excellent journeymen, and in addition to the great piece, 
 I was engaged on several jobs; so that my shop contained 
 property of much value in jewels, gems, and gold and silver. 
 I kept a shaggy dog, very big and handsome, which Duke 
 Alessandro gave me; the beast was capital as a retriever, since 
 he brought me every sort of birds and game I shot, but he 
 also served most admirably for a watchdog. I occupied an 
 apartment far away from my workmen's room, as well as from 
 the shop; and this communicated by a little dark passage 
 with my bedroom, and my slumber was sometimes very deep 
 and heavy. 
 
 So it chanced one night: for I must say that a thief, under 
 the pretejjt of being a goldsmith, had spied on me, and cast his 
 eyes upon the precious stones, and made a plan to steal them. 
 Well, then, this fellow broke into the shop, where he found a 
 quantity of little things in gold and silver. He was engaged 
 in bursting open certain 4)Oxes to get at the jewels he had 
 noticed, when my dog jumped upon him, and put him to 
 much trouble to defend himself with his sword. The dog, 
 unable to grapple with an armed man, ran several times 
 through the house, and rushed into the rooms of the journey- 
 men, which had been left open because of the great heat. 
 When he found they paid no heed to his loud barking, he 
 dragged their bed-clothes off; and when they still heard noth- 
 ing, he pulled first one and then another by the arm till he 
 roused them, and, barking furiously, ran before to show them 
 where he wanted them to go. At last it became clear that 
 they refused to follow; for the traitors, cross at being dis-
 
 1^ 
 
 f- 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 <
 
 MEMOIRS gg 
 
 turbed, threw stones and sticks at him; and this they could 
 well do, for I had ordered them to keep all night a lamp 
 alight there; and in the end they shut their rooms tight; so 
 the dog, abandoning all hope of aid from such rascals, set 
 out alone again on his adventure. He ran down, and not 
 finding the thief in the shop, flew after him. When he got 
 at him, he tore the cape ofT his back. It would have gone 
 hard with the fellow had he not called for help to certain 
 tailors, praying them for God's sake to save him from a mad 
 dog; and they, believing what he said, jumped out and drove 
 the dog off with much trouble. 
 
 After sunrise my workmen went into the shop, and saw 
 that it had been broken open and all the boxes smashed. 
 They began to scream at the top of their voices: "Ah, woe 
 is me! Ah, woe is me!" The clamour woke me, and I rushed 
 out in a panic. Appearing thus before them, they cried out: 
 " Alas to us! for we have been robbed by some one, who has 
 broken and borne everything away! " These words wrought 
 so forcibly upon my mind that I dared not go to my big chest 
 and look if it still held the jewels of the Pope. So intense was 
 the anxiety, that I seemed to lose my eyesight, and told them 
 they themselves must unlock the chest, and siee how many 
 of the Pope's gems were missing. The fellows were all of 
 them in their shirts; and when, on opening the chest, they 
 saw the precious stones and my work with them, they took 
 heart of joy and shouted: "There is no harm done; your 
 piece and all the stones are here; but the thief has left us 
 naked to the shirt, because last night, by reason of the burn- 
 ing heat, we took our clothes ofif in the shop and left them 
 here." Recovering my senses, I thanked God, and said: 
 " Go and get yourselves new suits of clothes; I will pay when 
 I hear at leisure how the whole thing happened." What 
 caused me the most pain, and made me lose my senses, and 
 take fright — so contrary to my real nature — was the dread 
 lest peradventure folk should fancy I had trumped a story 
 of the robber up to steal the jewels. It had already been said 
 to Pope Clement by one of his most trusted servants, and by 
 others, that is, by Francesco del Nero, Zana de' Biliotti his 
 accountant, the Bishop of Vasona, and several such men: 
 " Why, most blessed Father, do you confide gems of that vast 
 value to a young fellow, who is all fire, more passionate for
 
 lOO CELLINI 
 
 arms than for his art, and not yet thirty years of age? " The 
 Pope asked in answer if any one of them knew that I had 
 done aught to justify such suspicions. Whereto Francesco del 
 Nero, his treasurer, rephed:^ " No, most blessed Father, be- 
 cause he has not as yet had an opportunity." Whereto the 
 Pope rejoined: " I regard him as a thoroughly honest man; 
 and if I saw with my own eyes some crime he had committed, 
 I should not believe it." This was the man who caused me 
 the greatest torment, and who suddenly came up before my 
 mind. 
 
 After telling the young men to provide themselves with 
 fresh clothes, I took my piece, together with the gems, setting 
 them as well as I could in their proper places, and went off 
 at once with them to the Pope. Francesco del Nero had 
 already told him something of the trouble in my shop, and 
 had put suspicions in his head. So then, taking the thing 
 rather ill than otherwise, he shot a furious glance upon me, 
 and cried haughtily: "What have you come to do here? 
 What is up?" " Here are all your precious stones, and not 
 one of them is missing." At this the Pope's face cleared, 
 and he said: " So then, you're welcome." I showed him the 
 piece, and while he was inspecting it, I related to him the 
 whole story of the thief and of my agony, and what had been 
 my greatest trouble in the matter. During this speech, he 
 oftentimes turned round to look me sharply in the eyes; and 
 Francesco del Nero being also in the presence, this seemed 
 to make him half sorry that he had not guessed the truth. 
 At last, breaking into laughter at the long tale I was telling, 
 he sent me oflf with these words: " Go, and take heed to be 
 an honest man, as indeed I know that you are." 
 
 LIII 
 
 I went on working assiduously at the button, and at the 
 same time laboured for the Mint, when certain pieces of false 
 money got abroad in Rome, stamped with my own dies. They 
 were brought at once to the Pope, who, hearing things against 
 me, said to Giacopo Balducci, the Master of the Mint, " Take 
 
 • Varchi gives a very ugly account of this man, Francesco del Nero, 
 who was nicknamed the Cra del Piccadiglio. " In the whole city of 
 Florence there never was born, in my belief, a man of such irreligion or 
 of such sordid avarice."
 
 MEMOIRS lOI 
 
 every means in your power to find the criminal; for we are 
 sure that Benvenuto is an honest fellow." That traitor of a 
 master, being in fact my enemy, replied: " Would God, most 
 blessed l-'athcr, that it may turn out as you say; for we have 
 some proofs against him." Upon this the Pope turned to the 
 Governor of Rome, and bade him see he found the malefactor. 
 During those days the Pope sent for me, and leading cau- 
 tiously in conversation to the topic of the coins, asked me 
 at the fitting moment: " Benvenuto, should you have the heart 
 to coin false money?" To this I replied that I thought I 
 could do so better than all the rascals who gave their minds 
 to such vile work; for fellows who practise lewd trades of 
 that sort are not capable of earning money, nor are they men 
 of much ability. I, on the contrary, with my poor wits could 
 gain enough to keep me comfortably; for when I set dies for 
 the Mint, each morning before dinner I put at least three 
 crowns into my pockets; this was the customary payment for 
 the dies, and the Master of the Mint bore me a grudge, be- 
 cause he would have liked to have them cheaper; so then, 
 what I earned with God's grace and the world's, sufficed me, 
 and by coining false money I should not have made so much. 
 The Pope very well perceived my drift; and whereas he had 
 formerly given orders that they should see I did not fly from 
 Rome, he now told them to look well about and have no heed 
 of me, seeing he was ill-disposed to anger me, and in this way 
 run the risk of losing me. The officials who received these 
 orders were certain clerks of the Camera, who made the 
 proper search, as was their duty, and soon found the rogue. 
 He was a stamper in the service of the Mint, named Cesare 
 Macherone, and a Roman citizen. Together with this man 
 they detected a metal-founder of the Mint. 
 
 LIV 
 
 On that very day, as I was passing through the Piazza 
 Navona, and had my fine retriever with me, just when we 
 came opposite the gate of the Bargello, my dog flew barking 
 loudly inside the door upon a youth, who had been arrested 
 at the suit of a man called Donnino (a goldsmith from Parma, 
 and a former pupil of Caradosso), on the charge of having 
 robbed him. The dog strove so violently to tear the fellow 
 to pieces, that the constables were moved to pity. It so hap-
 
 I02 CELLINI 
 
 pened that he was pleading his own cause with boldness, 
 and Donnino had not evidence enough to support the accusa- 
 tion; and what was more, one of the corporals of the guard, 
 a Genoese, was a friend of the young man's father. The 
 upshot was that, what with the dog and with those other cir- 
 cumstances, they were on the point of releasing their prisoner. 
 When I came up, the dog had lost all fear of sword or staves, 
 and was flying once more at the young man; so they told me 
 if I did not call the brute off they would kill him. I held him 
 back as well as I was able; but just then the fellow, in the 
 act of readjusting his cape, let fall some paper packets from 
 the hood, which Donnino recognised as his property. I too 
 recognised a little ring; whereupon I called out: "This is 
 the thief who broke into my shop and robbed it; and there- 
 fore my dog knows him ; " then I loosed the dog, who flew 
 again upon the robber. On this the fellow craved for mercy, 
 promising to give back whatever he possessed of mine. When 
 I had secured the dog, he proceeded to restore the gold and 
 silver and the rings which he had stolen from me, and twenty- 
 five crowns in addition. Then he cried once more to me for 
 pity. I told him to make his peace with God, for I should 
 do him neither good nor evil. So I returned to my business; 
 and a few days afterward, Cesare Macherone, the false coiner, 
 was hanged in the Banchi opposite the Mint; his accomplice 
 was sent to the galleys; the Genoese thief was hanged in the 
 Campo di Fiore, while I remained in better repute as an honest 
 man than I had enjoyed before. 
 
 LV 
 
 When I had nearly finished my piece, there happened that 
 terrible inundation which flooded the whole of Rome.^ I 
 waited to see what would happen; the day was well-nigh 
 spent, for the clocks struck twenty-two, and the water went 
 on rising formidably. Now the front of my house and shop 
 faced the Banchi, but the back was several yards higher, be- 
 cause it turned toward Monte Giordano; accordingly, be- 
 thinking me first of my own safety and in the next place of 
 my honour, I filled my pockets with the jewels, and gave 
 the gold-piece into the custody of my workmen, and then 
 descended barefoot from the back-windows, and waded as 
 
 • This took place on the 8th and gth October, 1530.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 103 
 
 well as I could until I reached Monte Cavallo. There I 
 sought out Messer Giovanni Gaddi, clerk of the Camera, and 
 Bastiano Veneziano, the painter. To the former 1 confided 
 the precious stones, to keep in safety : he had the same regard 
 for me as though I had been his brother. A few days later, 
 when the rage of the river was spent, I returned to my work- 
 shop, and finished the piece with such good fortune, through 
 God's grace and my own great industry, that it was held to 
 be the finest masterpiece which had been ever seen in Rome.^ 
 When then I took it to the Pope, he was insatiable in prais- 
 ing me, and said: " Were I but a wealthy emperor, I would 
 give my Benvenuto as much land as his eyes could survey; 
 yet being nowadays but needy bankrupt potentates, we will 
 at any rate give him bread enough to satisfy his modest 
 wishes." I let the Pope run on to the end of his rhodomon- 
 tade, and then asked him for a mace-bearer's place which hap- 
 pened to be vacant. He replied that he would grant me some- 
 thing of far greater consequence. I begged his Holiness to 
 bestow this little thing on me meanwhile by way of earnest. 
 He began to laugh, and said he was willing, but that he did 
 not wish me to serve, and that I must make some arrange- 
 ment wath the other mace-bcarers to be exempted. He would 
 allow them through me a certain favour, for which they had 
 already petitioned, namely, the right of recovering their fees 
 at law. This was accordingly done; and that mace-bearer's 
 office brought me in little less than 200 crowns a year.^ 
 
 LVI 
 
 I continued to work for the Pope, executing now one trifle 
 and now another, w^hen he commissioned me to design a 
 chalice of exceeding richness. So I made both drawing and 
 model for the piece. The latter was constructed of wood and 
 w^ax. Instead of the usual top, I fashioned three figures of 
 a fair size in the round; they represented Faith, Hope, and 
 Charity. Corresponding to these, at the base of the cup, were 
 three circular histories in bas-relief. One was the Nativity of 
 
 ' This famous masterpiece was preserved in the Castle of S. Angelo 
 during the Papal Government of Rome. It was brought out on Christ- 
 mas, Easter, and S. Peter's days. 
 
 * Cellini received this post among the Mazzieri (who walked like 
 beadles before the Pope) on April 14, 1531. He resigned it in favour of 
 Pietro Cornaro of Venice in 1535.
 
 I04 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 Christ, the second the Resurrection, and the third S. Peter 
 crucified head downward; for thus 1 had received commis- 
 sion. While I had this work in hand, the Pope was often 
 pleased to look at it; wherefore, observing that his Holiness 
 had never thought again of giving me anything, and knowing 
 that a post in the Piombo was vacant, I asked for this one 
 evening. The good Pope, quite oblivious of his extravagances 
 at the termination of the last piece, said to me: " That post in 
 the Piombo is worth more than 800 crowns a year, so that if I 
 gave it you, you would spend your time in scratching your 
 paunch, and your magnificent handicraft would be lost, and I 
 should bear the blame." I replied at once as thus: " Cats of a 
 good breed mouse better when they are fat than starving; and 
 likewise honest men who possess some talent, exercise it to 
 far nobler purport when they have the wherewithal to live 
 abundantly; wherefore princes who provide such folk with 
 competences, let your Holiness take notice, are watering the 
 roots of genius; for genius and talent, at their birth, come into 
 this world lean and scabby; and your Holiness should also 
 know that I never asked for the place with the hope of getting 
 it. Only too happy I to have that miserable post of mace- 
 bearer. On the other I built but castles in the air. Your 
 Holiness will do well, since you do not care to give it me, to 
 bestow it on a man of talent who deserves it, and not upon 
 some fat ignoramus who will spend his time scratching his 
 paunch, if I may quote your Holiness's own words. Follow 
 the example of Pope Giulio's illustrious memory, who con- 
 ferred an office of the same kind upon Bramante, that most 
 admirable architect." 
 
 Immediately on finishing this speech, I made my bow, and 
 went off in a fury. Then Bastiano Veneziano the painter 
 approached, and said: " Most blessed Father, may your Holi- 
 ness be willing to grant it to one who works assiduously in 
 the exercise of some talent; and as your Holiness knows that 
 I am diligent in my art. I beg that I may be thought worthy 
 of it." The Pope replied: "That devil Benvenuto will not 
 brook rebuke. I was inclined to give it him, but it is not right 
 to be so haughty with a Pope. Therefore I do not well know 
 what I am to do." The Bishop of Vasona then came up, and 
 put in a word for Bastiano, saying: " Most blessed Father, 
 Benvenuto is but young; and a sword becomes him better
 
 MEMOIRS 105 
 
 than a friar's frock. Let your Holiness give the place to this 
 ingenious person Bastiano. Some time or other you will be 
 able to bestow on Benvenuto a good thing, perhaps more 
 suitable to him than this would be." Then the Pope, turning 
 to Messer Bartolommeo Valori, told him: "When next you 
 meet Benvenuto, let him know from me that it was he who 
 got that office in the Piombo for Bastiano the painter, and 
 add that he may reckon on obtaining the next considerable 
 place that falls; meanwhile let him look to his behaviour, and 
 finish my commissions." ^ 
 
 The following evening, two hours after sundown, I met 
 Messer Bartolommeo Valori ^ at the corner of the Mint; he 
 was preceded by two torches, and was going in haste to the 
 Pope, who had sent for him. On my taking off my hat, he 
 stopped and called me, and reported in the most friendly 
 manner all the messages the Pope had sent me. I replied 
 that I should complete my work with greater diligence and 
 application than any I had yet attempted, but without the 
 least hope of having any reward whatever from the Pope. 
 Messer Bartolommeo reproved me, saying that this was not 
 the way in which one ought to reply to the advances of a 
 Pope. I answered that I should be mad to reply otherwise 
 — mad if I based my hopes on such promises, being certain 
 to get nothing. So I departed, and went oflf to my business. 
 
 Messer Bartolommeo must have reported my audacious 
 speeches to the Pope, and more perhaps than I had really 
 said; for his Holiness waited above two months before he 
 sent to me, and during that while nothing would have in- 
 duced me to go uncalled for to the palace. Yet he was dying 
 with impatience to see the chalice, and commissioned Messer 
 
 ' The office of the Piombo in Rome was a bureau in which leaden seals 
 were appended to Bulls and instruments of state. It remained for a long 
 time in the hands of the Cistercians ; but it used also to be conferred on 
 laymen, among whom were Bremante and Sebastiano del Piombo. When 
 the latter obtained it, he neglected his art and gave himself up to "scratch- 
 ing his paunch, ' as Cellini predicted. 
 
 ' Bartolommea or Baccio Valori, a devoted adherent of the Medici, 
 played an important part in Florentine history. He was Clement's com- 
 missary to the Prince of Orange during the siege. Afterward, feeling 
 himself ill repaid for his services, he joined Filippo Strozzi in his opposi- 
 tion to the Medicean rule, and was beheaded in 1537, together with his 
 son and a nephew.
 
 -106 CELLINI 
 
 Ruberto Pucci to give heed to what I was about.^ That right 
 worthy fellow came daily to visit me, and always gave me 
 some kindly word, which I returned. The time was drawing 
 nigh now for the Pope to travel toward Bologna; ^ so at last, 
 perceiving that I did not mean to come to him, he made 
 Messer Ruberto bid me bring my work, that he might see 
 how I was getting on. Accordingly, I took it; and having 
 shown, as the piece itself proved, that the most important part 
 w^as finished, I begged him to advance me five hundred 
 crowns, partly on account, and partly because I wanted gold 
 to complete the chalice. The Pope said: " Go on, go on at 
 work till it is finished." I answered, as I took my leave, that 
 I would finish it if he paid me the money. And so I went 
 away. 
 
 LVII 
 
 When the Pope took his journey to Bologna, he left Car- 
 dinal Salviati as Legate of Rome, and gave him commission 
 to push the work that I was doing forward, adding: " Ben- 
 venuto is a fellow who esteems his own great talents but 
 slightly, and us less; look to it then that you keep him always 
 going, so that I may find the chalice finished on my return." 
 
 That beast of a Cardinal sent for me after eight days, 
 bidding me bring the piece up. On this I went to him with- 
 out the piece. No sooner had I shown my face, than he called 
 out: "Where is that onion-stew of yours? Have you got it 
 ready?" I answered: "O most reverend Monsignor, I have 
 not got my onion-stew ready, nor shall I make it ready, unless 
 you give me onions to concoct it with." At these words, the 
 Cardinal, who looked more like a donkey than a man, turned 
 uglier by half than he was naturally ; and wanting at once to 
 cut the matter short, cried out: " FU send you to a galley, 
 and then perhaps you'll have the grace to go on with your 
 labour." The bestial manners of the man made me a beast 
 too; and I retorted: "Monsignor, send me to the galleys 
 when I've done deeds worthy of them; but for my present 
 laches, I snap my fingers at your galleys: and what is more, 
 
 ' Roberto Pucci was another of the devoted Medicean partisans who 
 remained true to his colours. He sat among the forty-eight senators of 
 Alessandro, and was made a Cardinal by Paul III in 1534. 
 
 ' On November 18, 1532, Clement went to meet Charles Vat Bologna, 
 where, in 1529, he had already given him the Imperial crown.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 107 
 
 I tell you that, just because of you, I will not set hand further 
 to my piece. Don't send for me again, for I won't appear, 
 no, not if you summon me by the police." 
 
 After this, the good Cardinal tried several times to let me 
 know that I ought to go on working, and to bring him what I 
 was doing to look at. I only told his messengers: " Say to 
 Monsignor that he must send me onions, if he wants me to 
 get my stew ready." Nor gave I ever any other answer; so 
 that he threw up the commission in despair. 
 
 LVIII 
 
 The Pope came back from Bologna, and sent at once for 
 me, because the Cardinal had written the worst he could of 
 my affairs in his despatches. He was in the hottest rage 
 imaginable, and bade me come upon the instant with my 
 piece. I obeyed. Now, while the Pope was staying at 
 Bologna, I had suffered from an attack of inflammation in the 
 eyes, so painful that I scarce could go on living for the tor- 
 ment; and this was the chief reason why I had not carried 
 out my work. The trouble was so serious that I expected 
 for certain to be left without my eyesight ; and I had reckoned 
 up the sum on which I could subsist, if I were blind for life. 
 Upon the way to the Pope, I turned over in my mind what 
 I should put forward to excuse myself for not having been 
 able to advance his work. I thought that while he was in- 
 specting the chalice, I might tell him of my personal embar- 
 rassments. However, I was unable to do so; for when I 
 arrived in the presence, he broke out coarsely at me: " Come 
 here with your work; is it finished?" I displayed it; and 
 his temper rising, he exclaimed: " In God's truth I tell thee, 
 thou that makest it thy business to hold no man in regard, 
 that, were it not for decency and order, I w^ould have thee 
 chucked together with thy work there out of windows." Ac- 
 cordingly, when I perceived that the Pope had become no 
 better than a vicious beast, my chief anxiety was how I could 
 manage to withdraw from his presence. So, while he went 
 on bullying, I tucked the piece beneath my cape, and mut- 
 tered under my breath: "The whole world could not compel 
 a blind man to execute such things as these." Raising his 
 voice still higher, the Pope shouted : " Come here ; what say'st 
 thou? " I stayed in two minds, whether or not to dash at full
 
 Io8 CELLINI 
 
 speed down the staircase; then I took my decision and threw 
 myself upon my knees, shouting as loudly as I could, for he 
 too had not ceased from shouting: " If an infirmity has 
 blinded me, am I bound to go on working?" He retorted: 
 " You saw well enough to make your way hither, and I don't 
 believe one word of what you say." I answered, for I noticed 
 he had dropped his voice a little: " Let your Holiness inquire 
 of your physician, and you will find the truth out." He said: 
 " So ho! softly; at leisure we shall hear if what you say is so." 
 Then, perceiving that he was willing to give me hearing, I 
 added: "I am convinced that the only cause of this great 
 trouble which has happened to me is Cardinal Salviati; for 
 he sent to me immediately after your Holiness's departure, 
 and when I presented myself, he called my work a stew of 
 onions, and told me he would send me to complete it in a 
 galley; and such was the effect upon me of his knavish words, 
 that in my passion I felt my face in fiame, and so intolerable 
 a heat attacked my eyes that I could not find my own way 
 home. Two days afterward, cataracts fell on both my eyes; 
 I quite lost my sight, and after your Holiness's departure I 
 have been unable to work at all." 
 
 Rising from my knees, I left the presence without further 
 license. It was afterward reported to me that the Pope had 
 said: "One can give commissions, but not the prudence to 
 perform them. I did not tell the Cardinal to go so brutally 
 about this business. If it is true that he is suffering from 
 his eyes, of which I shall get information through my doctor, 
 one ought to make allowance for him." A great gentleman, 
 intimate with the Pope, and a man of very distinguished parts, 
 happened to be present. He asked who I was, using terms 
 like these: " Most blessed Father, pardon if I put a question. 
 I have seen you yield at one and the same time to the hottest 
 anger I ever observed, and then to the warmest compassion; 
 so I beg your Holiness to tell me who the man is; for if he 
 is a person worthy to be helped, I can teach him a secret which 
 may cure him of that infirmity." The Pope replied: "He is 
 the greatest artist who was ever born in his own craft; one 
 day, when we are together, I will show you some of his mar- 
 vellous works, and the man himself to boot; and I shall be 
 pleased if we can see our way toward doing something to 
 assist him." Three days after this, the Pope sent for me after
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 109 
 
 dinner-time, and I found that great noble in the presence. 
 On my arrival, the Pope had my cope-button brought, and I 
 in the meantime drew forth my chalice. The nobleman said, 
 on looking at it, that he had never seen a more stupendous 
 piece of work. When the button came, he was still more 
 struck with wonder: and looking me straight in the face, he 
 added: " The man is young, I trow, to be so able in his art, 
 and still apt enough to learn much." He then asked me what 
 my name was. I answered: " My name is Benvenuto." He 
 replied: "And Benvenuto shall I be this day to you. Take 
 flower-de-luces, stalk, blossom, root, together; then decoct 
 them over a slack fire; and with the liquid bathe your eyes 
 several times a day; you will most certainly be cured of that 
 weakness; but see that you purge first, and then go forward 
 with the lotion." The Pope gave me some kind words, and 
 so I w'ent away half satisfied. 
 
 LIX 
 
 It w^as true indeed that I had got the sickness. The doc- 
 tors did not know what it was, and I went on treating myself 
 according to their methods, but derived no benefit. At last, 
 then, I resolved on taking another treatment, against the 
 advice of the first physicians in Rome; and I took it with the 
 most scrupulous discipline and rules of abstinence that could 
 be thought of; and after a few days, I perceived in me a great 
 amendment. The result was that at the end of fifty days I 
 was cured and as sound as a fish in the water. 
 
 Some time afterward I sought to mend my shattered 
 health, and with this view I betook myself to shooting when 
 the winter came in. That amusement, however, led me to 
 expose myself to wind and water, and to staying out in marsh- 
 lands; so that, after a few days, I fell a hundred times more 
 ill than I had been before. I put myself once more under 
 doctors' orders, and attended to their directions, but grew 
 always worse. When the fever fell upon me, I resolved on 
 having recourse again to my treatment; but the doctors for- 
 bade it, saying that if I did it with the fever on me, I should 
 not have a week to live. However, I made my mind up to 
 disobey their orders, observed the same diet as I had for- 
 merly adopted, and after drinking the decoction four days, 
 was wholly rid of fever. My health improved enormously;
 
 I'lO CELLINI 
 
 and while I was following this cure, I went on always work- 
 ing at the models of the chalice. I may add that, during the 
 time of that strict abstinence, I produced finer things and 
 of more exquisite invention than at any other period of my 
 life. After fifty days my health was re-established, and I con- 
 tinued with the utmost care to keep it and confirm it. When 
 at last I ventured to relax my rigid diet, I found myself as 
 wholly free from those infirmities as though I had been born 
 again. Although I took pleasure in fortifying the health I so 
 much longed for, yet I never left ofif working; both the chalice 
 and the Mint had certainly as much of my attention as was 
 due to them and to myself. 
 
 LX 
 
 It happened that Cardinal Salviati, who, as I have related, 
 entertained an old hostility against me, had been appointed 
 Legate to Parma. In that city a certain Milanese goldsmith, 
 named Tobbia, was taken up for false coining, and con- 
 demned to the gallows and the stake. Representations in 
 his favour, as being a man of great ability, were made to the 
 Cardinal, who suspended the execution of the sentence, and 
 wrote to the Pope, saying the best goldsmith in the world 
 had come into his hands, sentenced to death for coining false 
 money, but that he was a good simple fellow, who could 
 plead in his excuse that he had taken counsel with his con- 
 fessor, and had received, as he said, from him permission to 
 do this. Thereto he added: " If you send for this great artist 
 to Rome, your Holiness will bring down the overweening 
 arrogance of your favourite Benvenuto, and I am quite cer- 
 tain that Tobbia's work will please you far more than his." 
 The Pope accordingly sent for him at once; and when the 
 man arrived, he made us both appear before him, and com- 
 missioned each of us to furnish a design for mounting an 
 unicorn's horn, the finest which had ever been seen, and 
 which had been sold for 17,000 ducats of the Camera. The 
 Pope meant to give it to King Francis; but first he wished it 
 richly set in gold, and ordered us to make sketches for this 
 purpose. When they were finished, we took them to the Pope. 
 That of Tobbia was in the form of a candlestick, the horn 
 being stuck in it like a candle, and at the base of the piece he 
 had introduced four little unicorns' heads of a very poor de-
 
 MEMOIRS III 
 
 sign. When I saw the thing, I could not refrain from laugh- 
 ing gently in my sleeve. The Pope noticed this, and cried: 
 "Here, show me your sketch!" It was a single unicorn's head, 
 proportioned in size to the horn. I had designed the finest 
 head imaginable; for I took it partly from the horse and 
 partly from the stag, enriching it with fantastic mane and 
 other ornaments. Accordingly, no sooner was it seen, than 
 every one decided in my favour. There were, however, pres- 
 ent at the competition certain Milanese gentlemen of the first 
 consequence, who said: " Most blessed Father, your Holi- 
 ness is sending this magnificent present into France; please 
 to reflect that the French are people of no culture, and will 
 not understand the excellence of Benvenuto's work; pyxes 
 like this one of Tobbia's will suit their taste well, and these 
 too can be finished quicker. Benvenuto will devote himself 
 to completing your chalice, and you will get two pieces done 
 in the same time; moreover, this poor man, whom you have 
 brought to Rome, will have the chance to be employed." 
 The Pope, who was anxious to obtain his chalice, very will- 
 ingly adopted the advice of the Milanese gentlefolk. 
 
 Next day, therefore, he commissioned Tobbia to mount 
 the unicorn's horn, and sent his Master of the Wardrobe to 
 bid me finish the chalice. I replied that I desired nothing 
 in the world more than to complete the beautiful work I had 
 begun: and if the material had been anything but gold, I 
 could very easily have done so by myself; but it being gold, 
 his Holiness must give me some of the metal if he w^anted 
 me to get through with my work. To this the vulgar courtier 
 answered: " Zounds! don't ask the Pope for gold, unless you 
 mean to drive him into such a fury as will ruin you." I said: 
 " Oh, my good lord, will your lordship please to tell me how 
 one can make bread without flour? Even so without gold 
 this piece of mine can not be finished." The Master of the 
 Wardrobe, having an inkling that I had made a fool of him, 
 told me he should report all I had spoken to his Holiness; and 
 this he did. The Pope flew into a bestial passion, and swore 
 he would wait to see if I was so mad as not to finish it. More 
 than two months passed thus; and though I had declared I 
 would not give a stroke to the chalice, I did not do so, but 
 always went on working with the greatest interest. When he 
 perceived I was not going to bring it, he began to display
 
 112 CELLINI 
 
 real displeasure, and protested he would punish me in one 
 way or another. 
 
 A jeweller from Milan in the Papal service happened to 
 be present when these words were spoken. He was called 
 Pompeo, and was closely related to Messer Trajano, the most 
 favoured servant of Pope Clement, The two men came, upon 
 a common understanding, to him and said: " If your Holiness 
 were to deprive Benvenuto of the Mint, perhaps he would 
 take it into his head to complete the chalice." To this the 
 Pope answered: "No; two evil things would happen: first, 
 I should be ill served in the Mint, which concerns me greatly; 
 and secondly, I should certainly not get the chalice." The 
 two Milanese, observing the Pope indisposed toward me, at 
 last so far prevailed that he deprived me of the Mint, and 
 gave it to a young Perugian, commonly known as Fagiuolo. 
 Pompeo came to inform me that his Holiness had taken my 
 place in the Mint away, and that if I did not finish the chalice, 
 he would deprive me of other things besides. I retorted: 
 " Tell his Holiness that he has deprived himself and not me 
 of the Mint, and that he will be doing the same with regard 
 to those other things of which he speaks; and that if he wants 
 to confer the post on me again, nothing will induce me to 
 accept it." The graceless and unlucky fellow went off like 
 an arrow to find the Pope and report this conversation; he 
 added also something of his own invention. Eight days later, 
 the Pope sent the same man to tell me that he did not mean 
 me to finish the chalice, and wanted to have it back precisely 
 at the point to which I had already brought it. I told Pompeo: 
 " This thing is not like the Mint, which it was in his power 
 to take away; but five hundred crowns which I received be- 
 long to his Holiness, and I am ready to return them; the piece 
 itself is mine, and with it I shall do what I think best." Pom- 
 peo ran oflf to report my speech, together with some biting 
 words which in my righteous anger I had let fly at himself. 
 
 LXI 
 
 After the lapse of three days, on a Thursday, there came 
 to me two favourite Chamberlains of his Ploliness; one of 
 them is alive now, and a bishop; he was called Messer Pier 
 Giovanni, and was an officer of the wardrobe; the other could 
 claim nobler birth, but his name has escaped me. On arriv-
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 "3 
 
 ing they spoke as follows: "The Pope hath sent us, Ben- 
 venuto; and since you have not chosen to comply with his 
 request on easy terms, his commands now are that either you 
 should give us up his piece, or that we should take you to 
 prison." Thereupon I looked them very cheerfully in the 
 face, replying: " My lords, if I were to give the work to his 
 Holiness, I should be giving what is mine and not his, and at 
 present I have no intention to make him this gift. I have 
 brought it far forward with great labour, and do not want 
 it to go into the hands of some ignorant beast who will de- 
 stroy it with no trouble." While I spoke thus, the goldsmith 
 Tobbia was standing by, who even presumptviously asked me 
 for the models also of my work. What I retorted, in words 
 worthy of such a rascal, need not here be repeated. Then, 
 when those gentlemen, the Chamberlains, kept urging me to do 
 quickly what I meant to do, I told them I was ready. So I 
 took my cape up, and before I left the shop, I turned to an 
 image of Christ, with solemn reverence and cap in hand, pray- 
 ing as thus: " O gracious and undying, just and holy our 
 Lord, all the things thou doest are according to thy justice, 
 which hath no peer on earth. Thou knowest that I have ex- 
 actly reached the age of thirty, and that up to this hour I was 
 never threatened with a prison for any of my actions. Now 
 that it is thy will that I should go to prison, WMth all my heart 
 I thank thee for this dispensation." Thereat I turned round 
 to the two Chamberlains, and addressed them with a certain 
 lowering look I have: "A man of my quality deserved no 
 meaner catchpoles than your lordships: place me between 
 you, and take me as your prisoner where you like." Those 
 two gentlemen, with the most perfect manners, burst out 
 laughing, and put me between them; and so we went off, 
 talking pleasantly, until they brought me to the Governor 
 of Rome, who was called II Magalotto.^ WHien I reached 
 him (and the Procurator-Fiscal was with him, both waiting 
 for me), the Pope's Chamberlains, still laughing, said to the 
 Governor: "We give up to you this prisoner; now see you 
 take good care of him. We are very glad to have acted in 
 the place of your agents; for Benvenuto has told us that this 
 
 ' Gregorio Magalotti was a Roman. The Procurator-Fiscal was then 
 Benedetto Valenti. Matjalotti is said to have discharged his office with 
 extreme severity, and to have run great risks of his life in consequence. 
 8
 
 114 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 being his first arrest, he deserved no catchpoles of inferior 
 station than we are." Immediately on leaving us, they sought 
 the Pope; and when they had minutely related the whole 
 matter, he made at first as though he would give way to pas- 
 sion, but afterward he put control upon himself and laughed, 
 because there were then in the presence certain lords and 
 cardinals, my friends, who had warmly espoused my cause. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Governor and the Fiscal were at me, partly 
 bullying, partly expostulating, partly giving advice, and say- 
 ing it was only reason that a man who ordered work from 
 another should be able to withdraw it at his choice, and in 
 any way which he thought best. To this I replied that such 
 proceedings were not warranted by justice, neither could a 
 Pope act thus; for that a Pope is not of the same kind as cer- 
 tain petty tyrant princes, who treat their folk as badly as they 
 can, without regard to law or justice; and so a Vicar of Christ 
 may not commit any of these acts of violence. Thereat the 
 Governor, assuming his police-court style of threatening and 
 bullying, began to say: " Benvenuto, Benvenuto, you are 
 going about to make me treat you as you deserve." " You 
 will treat me with honour and courtesy, if you wish to act as 
 I deserve." Taking me up again, he cried: "Send for the 
 work at once, and don't wait for a second order." I re- 
 sponded : " My lords, grant me the favour of being allowed 
 to say four more words in my defence." The Fiscal, who was 
 a far more reasonable agent of police than the Governor, 
 turned to him and said: " Monsignor, suppose we let him say 
 a hundred words, if he likes: so long as he gives up the work, 
 that is enough for us." I spoke: " If any man you like to 
 name had ordered a palace or a house to be built, he could 
 with justice tell the master-mason: ' I do not want you to go 
 on working at my house or palace; ' and after paying him his 
 labour, he would have the right to dismiss him. Likewise, 
 if a nobleman gave commission for a jewel of a thousand 
 crowns' value to be set, when he saw that the jeweller was 
 not serving him according to his desire, he could say: ' Give 
 me back my stone, for I do not want your work.' But in a 
 case of this kind none of those considerations apply; there 
 is neither house nor jewel here; nobody can command me 
 further than that I should return the five hundred crowns 
 which I have had. Therefore, monsignori, do everything you
 
 MEMOIRS 115 
 
 can do; for you will get nothing from me beyond the five 
 
 hundred crowns. Go and say this to the Pope. Your threats 
 
 do not frighten me at all; for I am an honest man, and stand 
 
 in no fear of my sins." The Governor and Fiscal rose, and 
 
 said they were going to the Pope, and should return with 
 
 orders which I should soon learn to my cost. So I remained 
 
 there under guard. I walked up and down a large hall, and 
 
 they were about three hours away before they came back from 
 
 the Pope. In that while the flower of our nation among the 
 
 merchants came to visit me, imploring me not to persist in 
 
 contending with a Pope, for this might be the ruin of me. I 
 
 answered them that I had made my mind up quite well what 
 
 I wished to do. 
 
 LXII 
 
 No sooner had the Governor returned, together with the 
 Procurator, from the palace, than he sent for me, and spoke 
 to this effect: " Benvenuto, I am certainly sorry to come back 
 from the Pope with such commands as I have received; you 
 must either produce the chalice on the instant, or look to your 
 affairs." Then I replied that " inasmuch as I had never to 
 that hour believed a holy Vicar of Christ could commit an 
 unjust act, so I should like to see it before I did believe it; 
 therefore do the utmost that you can." The Governor re- 
 joined: " I have to report a couple of words more from the 
 Pope to you, and then I will execute the orders given me. 
 He says that you must bring your work to me here, and that 
 after I have seen it put into a box and sealed, I must take 
 it to him. He engages his word not to break the seal, and to 
 return the piece to you untouched. But this much he wants 
 to have done, in order to preserve his own honour in the 
 affair." In return to this speech, I answered, laughing, that I 
 would very willingly give up my work in the w^ay he men- 
 tioned, because I should be glad to know for certain what a 
 Pope's word was really worth. 
 
 Accordingly, I sent for my piece, and having had it sealed 
 as described, gave it up to him. The Governor repaired again 
 to the Pope, who took the box, according to w^hat the Gov- 
 ernor himself told me, and turned it several times about. Then 
 he asked the Governor if he had seen the work ; and he replied 
 that he had, and that it had been sealed up in his pres- 
 ence, and added that it had struck him as a very admirable
 
 Il6 CELLINI 
 
 piece. Thereupon the Pope said: " You shall tell Benvenuto 
 tiiat Popes have authority to bind and loose things of far 
 greater consequence than this;" and while thus speaking he 
 opened the box with some show of anger, taking off the string 
 and seals with which it was done up. Afterward he paid it 
 prolonged attention; and, as I subsequently heard, showed it 
 to Tobbia the goldsmith, who bestowed much praise upon it. 
 Then the Pope asked him if he felt equal to producing a piece 
 in that style. On his saying yes, the Pope told him to follow 
 it out exactly; then turned to the Governor and said: "See 
 whether Benvenuto will give it up; for if he does, he shall 
 receive the value fixed on it by men of knowledge in this art; 
 but if he is really bent on finishing it himself, let him name a 
 certain time; and if vou are convinced that he means to do 
 it, let him have all the reasonable accommodations he may 
 ask for." The Governor replied: " Most blessed Father, I 
 know the violent temper of this young man; so let me have 
 authority to give him a sound rating after my own fashion." 
 The Pope told him to do what he liked with words, though 
 he was sure he would make matters worse; and if at last he 
 could do nothing else, he must order me to take the five hun- 
 dred crowns to his jeweller, Pompeo. 
 
 The Governor returned, sent for me into his cabinet, and 
 casting one of his catchpole's glances, began to speak as 
 follows: " Popes have authority to loose and bind the whole 
 world, and what they do is immediately ratified in heaven. 
 Behold your box, then, which has been opened and inspected 
 by his Holiness." I lifted up my voice at once, and said: 
 *' I thank God that now I have learned and can report what 
 the faith of Popes is made of." Then the Governor launched 
 out into brutal bullying words and gestures; but perceiving 
 that they came to nothing, he gave up his attempt as des- 
 perate, and spoke in somewhat milder tones after this wise: 
 " Benvenuto, I am very sorry that you are so blind to your 
 own interest; but since it is so, go and take the five hundred 
 crowns, when you think fit, to Pompeo." I took my piece up, 
 went away, and carried the crowns to Pompeo on the instant. 
 It is most likely that the Pope had counted on some want of 
 money or other opportunity preventing me from bringing so 
 considerable a sum at once, and was anxious in this way to 
 repiece the broken thread of my obedience. When then he
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 ii; 
 
 saw Pompeo coming to him with a smile upon his hps and 
 the money in his hand, he soundly rated him, and lamented 
 that the affair had turned out so. Then he said: " Go find 
 Benvenuto in his shop, and treat him with all the courtesies 
 of which your ignorant and brutal nature is capable, and tell 
 him that if he is willing to finish that piece for a reliquary to 
 hold the Corpus Domini when I walk in procession, I will 
 allow him the conveniences he wants in order to complete it; 
 provided only that he goes on working." Pompeo came to 
 me, called me outside the shop, and heaped on me the most 
 mawkish caresses of a donkey, reporting everything the Pope 
 had ordered. I lost no time in answering that " the greatest 
 treasure I could wish for in the world was to regain the favour 
 of so great a Pope, which had been lost to me, not indeed 
 by my fault, but by the fault of my overwhelming illness and 
 the wickedness of those envious men who take pleasure in 
 making mischief; and since the Pope has plenty of servants, 
 do not let him send you round again, if you value your life 
 . . . nay, look well to your safety. I shall not fail, by night 
 or day, to think and do everything I can in the Pope's service; 
 and bear this well in mind, that when you have reported these 
 words to his Holiness, you never in any way whatever meddle 
 with the least of my affairs, for I will make you recognise 
 your errors by the punishment they merit." The fellow re- 
 lated everything to the Pope, but in far more brutal terms 
 than I had used; and thus the matter rested for a time while 
 I again attended to my shop and business. 
 
 LXIII 
 
 Tobbia the goldsmith meanwhile worked at the setting and 
 the decoration of the unicorn's horn. The Pope, moreover, 
 commissioned him to begin the chalice upon the model he 
 had seen in mine. But when Tobbia came to show him what 
 he had done, he was very discontented, and greatly regretted 
 that he had broken with me, blaming all the other man's 
 works and the people who had introduced them to him; and 
 several times Baccino della Croce came from him to tell me 
 that I must not neglect the reliquary. I answered that I 
 begged his Holiness to let me breathe a little after the great 
 illness which I had suffered, and from which I was not as yet 
 wholly free, adding that I would make it clear to him that all
 
 jl8 CELLINI 
 
 the hours in which I could work should be spent in his service. 
 I had indeed begun to make his portrait, and was executing 
 a medal in secret. I fashioned the steel dies for stamping this 
 medal in my own house; while I kept a partner in my work- 
 shop, who had been my prentice and was called Felice. 
 
 At that time, as is the wont of young men, I had fallen 
 in love with a Sicilian girl, who was exceedingly beautiful. 
 On it becoming clear that she returned my affection, her 
 mother perceived how the matter stood, and grew suspicious 
 of what might happen. The truth is that I had arranged 
 to elope with the girl for a year to Florence, unknown to her 
 mother; but she, getting wind of this, left Rome secretly one 
 night, and went off in the direction of Naples. She gave 
 out that she was gone by Civita Vecchia, but she really went 
 by Ostia. I followed them to Civita Vecchia, and did a mul- 
 titude of mad things to discover her. It would be too long 
 to narrate them all in detail; enough that I was on the point 
 of losing my wits or dying. After two months she wrote 
 to me that she was in Sicily, extremely unhappy. I mean- 
 while was indulging myself in all the pleasures man can think 
 of, and had engaged in another love affair, merely to drown 
 the memory of my real passion. 
 
 LXIV 
 
 It happened through a variety of singular accidents that I 
 became intimate with a Sicilian priest, who was a man of very 
 elevated genius and well instructed in both Latin and Greek 
 letters. In the course of conversation one day we were led 
 to talk about the art of necromancy; apropos of which I said: 
 " Throughout my whole life I have had the most intense de- 
 sire to see or learn something of this art." Thereto the priest 
 replied: "A stout soul and a steadfast must the man have who 
 sets himself to such an enterprise." I answered that of strength 
 and steadfastness of soul I should have enough and to spare, 
 provided I found the opportunity. Then the priest said: "If 
 you have the heart to dare it, I will amply satisfy your curi- 
 osity." Accordingly we agreed upon attempting the adventure. 
 
 The priest one evening made his preparations, and bade 
 me find a comrade, or not more than two. I invited Vincenzio 
 Romoli, a very dear friend of mine, and the priest took with 
 him a native of Pistoja, who also cultivated the black art.
 
 MEMOIRS Iig 
 
 We went together to the Coliseum ; and there the priest, hav- 
 ing arrayed himself in necromancer's robes, began to describe 
 circles on the earth with the finest ceremonies that can be 
 imagined. I must say that he had made us bring precious 
 perfumes and fire, and also drugs of fetid odour. W hen the 
 preliminaries were completed, he made the entrance into the 
 circle; and taking us by the hand, introduced us one by one 
 inside it. Then he assigned our several functions; to the 
 necromancer, his comrade, he gave the pentacle to hold; the 
 other two of us had to look after the fire and the perfumes; 
 and then he began his incantations. This lasted more than 
 an hour and a half; when several legions appeared, and the 
 Coliseum was all full of devils. I was occupied with the pre- 
 cious perfumes, and when the priest perceived in what num- 
 bers they were present, he turned to me and said: " Benve- 
 nuto, ask them something." I called on them to reunite me 
 with my Sicilian Angelica. That night we obtained no an- 
 swer; but I enjoyed the greatest satisfaction of my curiosity 
 in such matters. The necromancer said that we should have 
 to go a second time, and that I should obtain the full accom- 
 plishment of my request; but he w^ished me to bring with me 
 a little boy. 
 
 I chose one of my shop-lads, who was about twelve years 
 old, and invited Vincenzio Romoli again; and we also took 
 a certain Agnolino Gaddi, who was a very intimate friend 
 of both. When we came once more to the place appointed, 
 the necromancer made just the same preparations, attended 
 by the same and even more impressive details. Then he 
 introduced us into the circle, which he had reconstructed 
 with art more admirable and yet more wondrous ceremonies. 
 Afterward he appointed my friend Vincenzio to the ordering 
 of the perfumes and the fire, and with him Agnolino Gaddi. 
 He next placed in my hand the pentacle, which he bid me 
 turn toward the points he indicated, and under the pentacle 
 I held the little boy, my workman. Now the necromancer 
 began to utter those awful invocations, calling by name on 
 multitudes of demons who are captains of their legions, and 
 these he summoned by the virtue and potency of God, the 
 Uncreated, Living, and Eternal, in phrases of the Hebrew, 
 and also of the Greek and Latin tongues; insomuch that in 
 a short space of time the whole Coliseum was full of a hun- 
 
 ,1*
 
 I20 CELLINI 
 
 drcdfold as many as had appeared upon the first occasion. 
 Vincenzio RomoH, together with Agnohno, tended the fire 
 and heaped on quantities of precious perfumes. At the ad- 
 vice of the necromancer, I again demanded to be reunited 
 with AngeHca. The sorcerer turned to me and said: " Hear 
 you what they have rephed; that in the space of one month 
 you will be where she is? " Then once more he prayed me 
 to stand firm by him, because the legions were a thousandfold 
 more than he had summoned, and were the most dangerous 
 of all the denizens of hell; and now that they had settled 
 what I asked, it behoved us to be civil to them and dismiss 
 them gently. On the other side, the boy, who was beneath 
 the pentacle, shrieked out in terror that a million of the fiercest 
 men were swarming round and threatening us. He said, 
 moreover, that four huge giants had appeared, who were striv- 
 ing to force their way inside the circle. Meanwhile the necro- 
 mancer, trembling with fear, kept doing his best with mild 
 and soft persuasions to dismiss them. Vincenzio Romoli, 
 who quaked like an aspen leaf, looked after the perfumes. 
 Though I was quite as frightened as the rest of them, I tried 
 to show it less, and inspired them all with marvellous cour- 
 age ; but the truth is that I had given myself up for dead when 
 I saw the terror of the necromancer. The boy had stuck 
 his head between his knees, exclaiming: "This is how I will 
 meet death, for we are certainly dead men." Again I said 
 to him : " These creatures are all inferior to us, and what you 
 see is only smoke and shadow; so then raise your eyes." 
 When he had raised them he cried out: " The whole Coliseum 
 is in flames, and the fire is advancing on us;" then covering 
 his face with his hands, he groaned again that he was dead, 
 and that he could not endure the sight longer. The necro- 
 mancer appealed for my support, entreating me to stand firm 
 by him, and to have assafetida flung upon the coals; so I 
 turned to Vincenzio Romoli, and told him to make the fumi- 
 gation at once. While uttering these words I looked at Ag- 
 nolino Gaddi, whose eyes were starting from their sockets in 
 his terror, and who was more than half dead, and said to 
 him: " Agnolo, in time and place like this we must not yield 
 to fright, but do the utmost to bestir ourselves; therefore, up 
 at once, and fling a handful of that assafetida upon the fire." 
 The boy, roused by that great stench and noise, lifted his face
 
 MEMOIRS 121 
 
 a little, and hearing me laugh, he plucked up courage, and 
 said the devils were taking to flight tempestuously. So we 
 abode thus until the matin-bells began to sound. Then the 
 boy told us again that but few remained, and those were at 
 a distance. When the necromancer had concluded his cere- 
 monies, he put off his wizard's robe, and packed up a great 
 bundle of books which he had brought with him; then, all 
 together, we issued with him from the circle, huddling as 
 close as we could to one another, especially the boy, who 
 had got into the middle, and taken the necromancer by his 
 gown and me by the cloak. All the while that we were going 
 toward our houses in the Banchi, he kept saying that two of 
 the devils he had seen in the Coliseum were gambolling in 
 front of us, skipping now along the roofs and now upon the 
 ground. The necromancer assured me that, often as he had 
 entered magic circles, he had never met with such a serious 
 affair as this. He also tried to persuade me to assist him in 
 consecrating a book, by means of which we should extract 
 immeasurable wealth, since we could call up fiends to show 
 us where treasures were, whereof the earth is full; and after 
 this wise we should become the richest of mankind: love 
 affairs like mine were nothing but vanities and follies with- 
 out consequence. I replied that if I were a Latin scholar 
 I should be very willing to do what he suggested. He con- 
 tinued to persuade me by arguing that Latin scholarship was 
 of no importance, and that, if he wanted, he could have found 
 plenty of good Latinists; but that he had never met with a 
 man of soul so firm as mine, and that I ought to follow his 
 counsel. Engaged in this conversation, we reached our 
 homes, and each one of us dreamed all that night of devils. 
 
 LXV 
 
 As we were in the habit of meeting daily, the necromancer 
 kept urging me to join in his adventure. Accordingly, I asked 
 him how long it would take, and where we should have to 
 go. To this he answered that we might get through with it 
 in less than a month, and that the most suitable locality for 
 the purpose was the hill country of Norcia;^ a master of his 
 
 ' This district of the Central Apennines was always famous for 
 witches, poisoners, and so forth. The Farfa mentioned below is a village 
 of the Sabine hills.
 
 122 CELLINI 
 
 in the art had indeed consecrated such a book quite close to 
 Rome, at a place called the Badia di Farfa; but he had met 
 with some difficulties there, which would not occur in the 
 mountains of Norcia; the peasants also of that district are 
 people to be trusted, and have some practice in these mat- 
 ters, so that at a pinch they are able to render valuable assist- 
 ance. 
 
 This priestly sorcerer moved me so by his persuasions that 
 I was well disposed to comply with his request; but I said 
 I wanted first to finish the medals I was making for the Pope. 
 I had confided what I was doing about them to him alone, 
 begging him to keep my secret. At the same time I never 
 stopped asking him if he believed that I should be reunited 
 to my Sicilian Angelica at the time appointed; for the date 
 was drawing near, and I thought it singular that I heard noth- 
 ing about her. The necromancer told me that it was quite 
 certain I should find myself where she was, since the devils 
 never break their word when they promise, as they did on 
 that occasion; but he bade me keep my eyes open, and be 
 on the lookout against some accident which might happen 
 to me in that connection, and put restraint upon myself to 
 endure somewhat against my inclination, for he could discern 
 a great and imminent danger in it: well would it be for me if 
 I went with him to consecrate the book, since this would 
 avert the peril that menaced me, and would make us both 
 most fortunate. 
 
 I was beginning to hanker after the adventure more than 
 he did; but I said that a certain Maestro Giovanni of Castel 
 Bolognese had just come to Rome, very ingenious in the art 
 of making medals of the sort I made in steel, and that I 
 thirsted for nothing more than to compete with him and take 
 the world by storm with some great masterpiece, which I 
 hoped would annihilate all those enemies of mine by the force 
 of genius and not the sword. ^ The sorcerer on his side went 
 on urging: " Nay, prithee, Benvenuto, come with me and 
 shun a great disaster which I see impending over you." 
 However, I had made my mind up, come what would, to 
 
 ' Gio. Bernard! had been in the Duke of Ferrara's service. Giovio 
 brought him to Rome, where he was patronized by the Cardinals Salviati 
 and De' Medici. He made a famous medal of Clement VII, and was a 
 Pontifical mace-bearer, He died at Faenza in 1555.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 123 
 
 finish my medal, and we were now approaching the end of 
 the month. I was so absorbed and enamoured by my work 
 that I thought no more about Angelica or anything of that 
 kind, but gave my whole self up to it. 
 
 LXVI 
 
 It happened one day, close on the hours of vespers, that 
 I had to go at an unusual time for me from my house to my 
 workshop; for I ought to say that the latter was in the Banchi, 
 while I lived behind the Banchi, and went rarely to the shop; 
 all my business there I left in the hands of my partner, Felice. 
 Having stayed a short while in the workshop, I remembered 
 that I had to say something to Alessandro del Bene. So I 
 arose, and when I reached the Banchi, I met a man called 
 Ser Benedetto, who was a great friend of mine. He was a 
 notary, born in Florence, son of a blind man who said prayers 
 about the streets for alms, and a Sienese by race. This Ser 
 Benedetto had been very many years at Naples; afterward 
 he had settled in Rome, where he transacted business for 
 some Sienese merchants of the Chigi. My partner had over 
 and over again asked him for some moneys which were due 
 for certain little rings confided to Ser Benedetto. That very 
 day, meeting him in the Banchi, he demanded his money 
 rather roughly, as his wont was. Benedetto was walking with 
 his masters, and they, annoyed by the interruption, scolded 
 him sharply, saying they would be served by somebody else, 
 in order not to have to listen to such barking. Ser Benedetto 
 did the best he could to excuse himself, swore that he had paid 
 the goldsmith, and said he had no power to curb the rage 
 of madmen. The Sienese took his words ill, and dismissed 
 him on the spot. Leaving them, he ran like an arrow to my 
 shop, probably to take revenge upon Felice. It chanced 
 that just in the middle of the street we met. I, who had 
 heard nothing of the matter, greeted him most kindly, accord- 
 ing to my custom, to which courtesy he replied with insults. 
 Then what the sorcerer had said flashed all at once upon my 
 mind; and bridling myself as well as I was able, in the way 
 he bade me, I answered: "Good brother Benedetto, don't 
 fly into a rage with me, for I have done you no harm, nor 
 do I know anything about these affairs of yours. Please go 
 and finish what you have to do with Felice. He is quite 
 
 i«h.'
 
 124 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 capable of giving you a proper answer; but inasmuch as I 
 know nothing about it, you are wrong to abuse me in this 
 way, especially as you are well aware that I am not the man 
 to put up with insults." He retorted that I knew everything, 
 and that he was the man to make me bear a heavier load 
 than that, and that Felice and I were two great rascals. By 
 this time a crowd had gathered round to hear the quarrel. 
 Provoked by his ugly words, I stooped and took up a lump 
 of mud — for it had rained — and hurled it with a quick and 
 unpremeditated movement at his face. He ducked his head, 
 so that the mud hit him in the middle of the skull. There was 
 a stone in it with several sharp angles, one of which striking 
 him, he fell stunned like a dead man: whereupon all the by- 
 standers, seeing the great quantity of blood, judged that he 
 
 was really dead. 
 
 LXVII 
 
 While he was still lying on the ground, and people were 
 preparing to carry him away, Pompeo the jeweller passed by. 
 The Pope had sent for him to give orders about some jewels. 
 Seeing the fellow in such a miserable plight, he asked who 
 had struck him; on which they told him: " Benvenuto did it, 
 but the stupid creature brought it down upon himself." No 
 sooner had Pompeo reached the Pope than he began to speak : 
 " Most blessed Father, Benvenuto has this very moment mur- 
 dered Tobbia ; I saw it with my own eyes." On this the Pope 
 in a fury ordered the Governor, who was in the presence, to 
 take and hang me at once in the place where the homicide 
 had been committed, adding that he must do all he could to 
 catch me, and not appear again before him until he had 
 hanged me. 
 
 When I saw the unfortunate Benedetto stretched upon 
 the ground, I thought at once of the peril I was in, consider- 
 ing the power of my enemies, and what might ensue from 
 this disaster. Making ofi, I took refuge in the house of Messer 
 Giovanni Gaddi, clerk of the Camera, with the intention of 
 preparing as soon as possible to escape from Rome. He, 
 however, advised me not to be in such a hurry, for it might 
 turn out perhaps that the evil was not so great as I imagined; 
 and calling Messer Annibal Caro, who lived with him, bade 
 him go for information. 
 
 While these arrangements were being made, a Roman 
 
 / 
 / 
 /
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 125 
 
 gentleman appeared, who belonged to the household of Car- 
 dinal dc' Medici, and had been sent by him.* Taking Messer 
 Giovanni and me apart, he told us that the Cardinal had re- 
 ported to him what the Pope said, and that there was no way 
 of helping me out of the scrape; it would be best for me 
 to shun the first fury of the storm by flight, and not to risk 
 myself in any house in Rome. Upon this gentleman's de- 
 parture, Messer Giovanni looked me in the face as though 
 he were about to cry, and said: "Ah me! Ah woe is me! 
 There is nothing I can do to aid you!" I replied: "By 
 God's means, I shall aid myself alone; only I request you to 
 put one of your horses at my disposition." They had already 
 saddled a black Turkish horse, the finest and the best in 
 Rome. I mounted with an arquebuse upon the saddle-bow, 
 wound up in readiness to fire, if need were.^ When I reached 
 Ponte Sisto, I found the whole of the Bargello's guard there, 
 both horse and foot. So, making a virtue of necessity, I put 
 my horse boldly to a sharp trot, and with God's grace, being 
 somehow unperceived by them, passed freely through. Then, 
 with all the speed I could, I took the road to Palombara, a 
 fief of my lord Giovanbatista Savello, whence I sent the horse 
 back to Messer Giovanni, without, however, thinking it well 
 to inform him where I was.^ Lord Giovanbatista. after very 
 kindly entertaining me two days, advised me to remove and 
 go toward Naples till the storm blew over. So, providing me 
 with company, he set me on the way to Naples. 
 
 While travelling. I met a sculptor of my acquaintance, 
 who w^as going to San Germano to finish the tomb of Piero de' 
 Medici at Monte Cassino. His name was Solosmeo, and he 
 gave me the news that on the very evening of the fray, Pope 
 Clement sent one of his chamberlains to inquire how Tobbia 
 was getting on. Finding him at work, unharmed, and with- 
 out even knowing anything about the matter, the messenger 
 went back and told the Pope, who turned round to Pompeo 
 
 ' Ippolito de' Medici was a Cardinal, much against his natural inclina- 
 tion. When he went as Papal Legate to Hungary in 1532, he assumed 
 the airs and style of a Condottiere. His jealousy of his cousin Alessandro 
 led to his untimely death by poison in 1535. 
 
 ' The gun was an arquebuso a ruota, which had a wheel to cock it. 
 
 ' A village in the Sabina, north of Tivoli. Giov. Battista Savelli, of a 
 great Roman house, was a captain of cavalry irf the Papal service after 
 1530. In 1540 he entered the service of Duke Cosimo, and died in 1553.
 
 126 CELLINI 
 
 and said: " You are a good-for-nothing rascal; but I promise 
 you well that you have stirred a snake up which will sting 
 you, and serve you right ! " Then he addressed himself to 
 Cardinal de' Medici, and commissioned him to look after me, 
 adding that he should be very sorry to let me slip through his 
 fingers. And so Solosmeo and I went on our way singing 
 toward Monte Cassino, intending to pursue our journey 
 thence in company toward Naples. 
 
 LXVIII 
 
 When Solosmeo had inspected his affairs at Monte Cas- 
 sino, we resumed our journey; and having come within a 
 mile of Naples, we were met by an innkeeper, who invited 
 us to his house, and said he had been at Florence many years 
 with Carlo Ginori; ^ adding, that if we put up at his inn, he 
 would treat us most kindly, for the reason that we both were 
 Florentines. We told him frequently that we did not want 
 to go to him. However, he kept passing, sometimes in front 
 and sometimes behind, perpetually repeating that he would 
 have us stop at his hostelry. When this began to bore me, 
 I asked if he could tell me anything about a certain Sicilian 
 woman called Beatrice, who had a beautiful daughter named 
 Angelica. Taking it into his head that I was jeering him, 
 he cried out: " God send mischief to all women and such as 
 favour them!" Then he set spurs to his horse, and made 
 off as though he was resolved to leave us. I felt some pleas- 
 ure at having rid myself in so fair a manner of that ass of an 
 innkeeper; and yet I was rather the loser than the gainer; 
 for the great love I bore Angelica had come back to my mind, 
 and while I was conversing, not without some lover's sighs, 
 upon this subject with Solosmeo, we saw the man returning 
 to us at a gallop. When he drew up, he said: " Two or per- 
 haps three days ago a woman and a girl came back to a house 
 in my neighbourhood; they had the names you mentioned, 
 but whether they are Sicilians I can not say." I answered: 
 " Such power over me has that name of Angelica, that I am 
 now determined to put up at your inn." 
 
 We rode on all together with mine host into the town of 
 Naples, and descended at his house. Minutes seemed years 
 to me till I had put my things in order, which I did in the 
 
 ' A Gonfalonier of the Republic in 1527.
 
 MEMOIRS 127 
 
 twinkling of an eye; then I went to the house, which was not 
 far from our inn, and found there my Angehca, who greeted 
 me with infinite demonstrations of the most unbounded pas- 
 sion. But while drinking deep of this delight, it occurred to 
 my mind how exactly on that day the month expired, which 
 had been prophesied within the necromantic circle by the 
 devils. So then let every man who enters into relation with 
 those spirits weigh well the inestimable perils I have passed 
 
 through ! 
 
 LXIX 
 
 I happened to have in my purse a diamond, which I 
 showed about among the goldsmiths; and though I was but 
 young, my reputation as an able artist was so well known 
 even at Naples that they welcomed me most warmly. Among 
 others, I made acquaintance with a most excellent companion, 
 a jeweller, Messer Domenico Fontana by name. This worthy 
 man left his shop for the three days that I spent in Naples, 
 nor ever quitted my company, but showed me many admirable 
 monuments of antiquity in the city and its neighbourhood. 
 Moreover, he took me to pay my respects to the Viceroy of 
 Naples, who had let him know that he should like to see me. 
 When I presented myself to his Excellency, he received me 
 with much honour; ^ and while we were exchanging com- 
 pliments, the diamond which I have mentioned caught his 
 eye. He made me show it him, and prayed me, if I parted 
 with it, to give him the refusal. Having taken back the stone, 
 I offered it again to his Excellency, adding that the diamond 
 and I were at his service. Then he said that the diamond 
 pleased him well, but that he should be much better pleased 
 if I were to stay with him; he would make such terms with 
 me as would cause me to feel satisfied. We spoke many words 
 of courtesy on both sides; and then coming to the merits of 
 the diamond, his Excellency bade me without hesitation name 
 the price at which I valued it. Accordingly I said that it was 
 worth exactly two hundred crowns. He rejoined that in his 
 opinion I had not overvalued it; but that since I had set it. 
 and he knew me for the first artist in the world, it would 
 not make the same effect when mounted by another hand. 
 
 The Spanish Viceroy was at this time Pietro Alvarez de Toledo. 
 Marquis of Villafranca, and uncle of the famous Duke of Alva. He 
 governed Naples for twenty years, from 1532 onward.
 
 128 CELLINI 
 
 To this I said that I had not set the stone, and that it was not 
 well set; its brilliancy was due to its own excellence; and that 
 if I were to mount it afresh, I could make it show far better 
 than it did. Then I put my thumb-nail to the angles of its 
 facets, took it from the ring, cleaned it up a little, and handed 
 it to the Viceroy. Delighted and astonished, he wrote me out 
 a cheque for the two hundred crowns I had demanded. 
 
 When I returned to my lodging, I found letters from the 
 Cardinal de' Medici, in which he told me to come back post- 
 haste to Rome, and to dismount without delay at the palace 
 of his most reverend lordship. I read the letter to my An- 
 gelica, who begged me with tears of affection either to remain 
 in Naples or to take her with me. I replied that if she was 
 disposed to come with me, I would give up to her keeping 
 the two hundred ducats I had received from the Viceroy. Her 
 mother perceiving us in this close conversation, drew nigh 
 and said: " Benvenuto, if you want to take my daughter to 
 Rome, leave me a sum of fifteen ducats, and then I will travel 
 after you." I told the old harridan that I would very gladly 
 leave her thirty if she would give me my Angelica. Angelica 
 entreated me to buy her a gown of black velvet, because the 
 stufT was cheap at Naples. I consented to everything, sent 
 for the velvet, settled its price and paid for it; then the old 
 woman, who thought me over head and ears in love, begged 
 for a gown of fine cloth for herself, as well as other outlays 
 for her sons, and a good bit more money than I had offered. 
 I turned to her with a pleasant air and said: " My dear Bea- 
 trice, are you satisfied with what I offered?" She answered 
 that she was not; thereupon I said that what was not enough 
 for her would be quite enough for me; and having kissed An- 
 gelica, we parted, she with tears, and I with laughter, and 
 off at once I set for Rome. 
 
 LXX 
 
 I left Naples by night with my money in my pocket, and 
 this I did to prevent being set upon or murdered, as is the 
 way there; but when I came to Selciata,^ I had to defend 
 myself with great address and bodily prowess from several 
 horsemen who came out to assassinate me. During the fol- 
 lowing days, after leaving Solosmeo at his work in Monte 
 
 ' Ponte a Selice, between Capua and Aversa.
 
 MEMOIRS 129 
 
 Cassino, I came one morning to breakfast at the inn of 
 Adanagni;^ and when I was near the house, I shot some 
 birds with my arquebuse. An iron spike, which was in the 
 lock of my musket, tore my right hand. Though the wound 
 was not of any consequence, it seemed to be so, because it 
 bled abundantly. Going into the inn, I put my horse up, and 
 ascended to a large gallery, where I found a party of Nea- 
 politan gentlemen just upon the point of sitting down to table; 
 they had with them a young woman of quality, the loveliest 
 I ever saw. At the moment when I entered the room, I was 
 followed by a very brave young serving-man of mine holding 
 a big partisan in his hand. The sight of us, our arms, and 
 the blood, inspired those poor gentlemen with such terror, 
 particularly as the place was known to be a nest of murderers, 
 that they rose from table and called on God in a panic to pro- 
 tect them. I began to laugh, and said that God had protected 
 them already, for that I was a man to defend them against 
 whoever tried to do them harm. Then I asked them for some- 
 thing to bind up my wounded hand; and the charming lady 
 took out a handkerchief richly embroidered with gold, wish- 
 ing to make a bandage with it. I refused; but she tore the 
 piece in half, and in the gentlest manner wrapt my hand up 
 with her fingers. The company thus having regained confi- 
 dence, we dined together very gaily; and when the meal was 
 over, we all mounted and went off together. The gentlemen, 
 however, were not as yet quite at their ease; so they left me 
 in their cunning to entertain the lady, while they kept at a 
 short distance behind. I rode at her side upon a pretty little 
 horse of mine, making signs to my sei-vant that he should 
 keep somewhat apart, which gave us the opportunity of dis- 
 cussing things that are not sold by the apothecary. In this 
 way I journeyed to Rome with the greatest enjoyment I have 
 ever had. 
 
 When I got to Rome, I dismounted at the palace of Car- 
 dinal de' Medici, and having obtained an audience of his most 
 reverend lordship, paid my respects, and thanked him warmly 
 for my recall. I then entreated him to secure me from im- 
 prisonment, and even from a fine if that were possible. The 
 Cardinal was very glad to see me; told me to stand in no 
 
 ' Anagni, where Boniface VIII was outraged to the death by the 
 French partisans of Philip le Bel. 
 9
 
 1^0 CELLINI 
 
 fear; then turned to one of his gentlemen, called Messer Pier 
 Antonio Pecci of Siena, ordering him to tell the Bargello not 
 to touch me.^ He then asked him how the man was going 
 on whose head I had broken with the stone. Messer Pier 
 Antonio replied that he was very ill, and that he would prob- 
 ably be even worse; for when he heard that I was coming 
 back to Rome, he swore he would die to serve me an ill turn. 
 When the Cardinal heard that, he burst into a fit of laughter, 
 and cried: " The fellow could not have taken a better way 
 than this to make us know that he was born a Sienese." After 
 that he turned to me and said: " For our reputation and your 
 own, refrain these four or five days from going about in the 
 Banchi; after that go where you like, and let fools die at 
 their own pleasure." 
 
 I went home and set myself to finishing the medal which 
 I had begun, with the head of Pope Clement and a figure 
 of Peace on the reverse. The figure was a slender woman, 
 dressed in very thin drapery, gathered at the waist, with a 
 little torch in her hand, which was burning a heap of arms 
 bound together like a trophy. In the background I had shown 
 part of a temple, where was Discord chained with a load of 
 fetters. Round about it ran a legend in these words: " Clau- 
 duntur belli portae." ^ 
 
 During the time that I was finishing this medal, the man 
 whom I had wounded recovered, and the Pope kept inces- 
 santly asking for me. I, however, avoided visiting Cardinal 
 de' Medici; for whenever I showed my face before him, 
 his lordship gave me some commission of importance, which 
 hindered me from working at my medal to the end. Conse- 
 quently Messer Pier Carnesecchi, who was a great favourite 
 of the Pope's, undertook to keep me in sight, and let me 
 adroitly understand how much the Pope desired my services."' 
 I told him that in a few days I would prove to his Holiness 
 that his service had never been neglected by me. 
 
 ' This Pecci passed into the service of Caterina de' Medici. In 1551 
 he schemed to withdraw Siena from the Spanish to the French cause, and 
 was declared a rebel. 
 
 ' The medal was struck to celebrate the peace in Christendom between 
 1530 and 1536. 
 
 * Piero Carnesecchi was one of the martyrs of free-thought in Italy. 
 He adopted Protestant opinions, and was beheaded and burned in Rome, 
 August, 1567.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 LXXI 
 
 131 
 
 Not many days had passed before, my medal being fni- 
 ished, I stamped it in gold, silver, and copper. After I had 
 shown it to Messer Pietro, he immediately introduced me to 
 the Pope. It was on a day in April after dinner, and the 
 weather very fine; the Pope was in the Belvedere. After 
 entering the presence, I put my medals together with the dies 
 of steel into his hand. He took them, and recognising at once 
 their mastery of art, looked Messer Piero in the face and said: 
 **The ancients never had such medals made for them as these." 
 
 While he and the others were inspecting them, taking up 
 now the dies and now the medals in their hands, I began to 
 speak as submissively as I was able: " If a greater power had 
 not controlled the working of my inauspicious stars, and 
 hindered that with which they violently menaced me, your 
 Holiness, without your fault or mine, would have lost a faith- 
 ful and loving servant. It must, most blessed Father, be al- 
 lowed that in those cases where men are risking all upon one 
 throw, it is not wrong to do as certain poor and simple men 
 are wont to say, who tell us we must mark seven times and 
 cut once. Your Holiness will remember how the malicious 
 and lying tongue of my bitter enemy so easily aroused your 
 anger, that you ordered the Governor to have me taken on 
 the spot and hanged; but I have no doubt that when you 
 had become aware of the irreparable act by which you would 
 have wronged yourself, in cutting ofif from you a servant such 
 as even now your Holiness hath said he is, I am sure, I repeat, 
 that, before God and the world, you would have felt no trifling 
 twinges of remorse. Excellent and virtuous fathers, and mas- 
 ters of like quality, ought not to let their arm in wrath descend 
 upon their sons and servants with such inconsiderate haste, 
 seeing that subsequent repentance will avail them nothing. 
 But now that God has overruled the malign influences of the 
 stars and saved me for your Holiness, I humbly beg you an- 
 other time not to let yourself so easily be stirred to rage 
 ag^ainst me." 
 
 The Pope had stopped from looking at the medals and 
 was now listening attentively to what I said. There were 
 many noblemen of the greatest consequence present, which 
 made him blush a little, as it were for shame ; and not know-
 
 132 CELLINI 
 
 ing how else to extricate himself from this entanglement, 
 he said that he could not remember having given such an 
 order. I changed the conversation in order to cover his em- 
 barrassment. His Holiness then began to speak again about 
 the medals, and asked what method I had used to stamp them 
 so marvellously, large as they were; for he had never met with 
 ancient pieces of that size. We talked a little on this subject; 
 but being not quite easy that I might not begin another lec- 
 ture sharper than the last, he praised my medals, and said 
 they gave him the greatest satisfaction, but that he should 
 like another reverse made according to a fancy of his own, 
 if it were possible to stamp them with two difTerent patterns. 
 I said that it was possible to do so. Then his Holiness com- 
 missioned me to design the history of Moses when he strikes 
 the rock and water issues from it, with this motto: " Ut bibat 
 populus." ^ At last he added: " Go, Benvenuto; you will not 
 have finished it before I have provided for your fortune." 
 After I had taken leave, the Pope proclaimed before the whole 
 company that he would give me enough to live on wealthily 
 without the need of labouring for any one but him. So I de- 
 voted myself entirely to working out this reverse with the 
 
 Moses on it. 
 
 LXXII 
 
 In the meantime the Pope was taken ill, and his physicians 
 thought the case was dangerous. Accordingly my enemy 
 began to be afraid of me, and engaged some Neapolitan sol- 
 diers to do to me what he was dreading I might do to him. 
 I had therefore much trouble to defend my poor life. In 
 course of time, however, I completed the reverse; and when 
 I took it to the Pope, I found him in bed in a most deplorable 
 condition. Nevertheless, he received me with the greatest 
 kindness, and wished to inspect the medals and the dies. He 
 sent for spectacles and lights, but was unable to see anything 
 clearly. Then he began to fumble with his fingers at them, 
 and having felt them a short while, he fetched a deep sigh, 
 and said to his attendants that he was much concerned about 
 me, but that if God gave him back his health he would make 
 it all right. 
 
 Three days afterward the Pope died, and I was left with 
 all my labour lost; yet I plucked up courage, and told myself 
 
 ' The medal commemorated a deep well sunk by Clement at Orvieto.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 133 
 
 that these medals had won me so much celebrity, that any 
 Pope who was elected would give me work to do, and per- 
 adventure bring me better fortune. Thus I encouraged and 
 put heart into myself, and buried in oblivion all the injuries 
 which Pompeo had done me. Then putting on my arms 
 and girding my sword, I went to San Piero, and kissed the 
 feet of the dead Pope, not without shedding tears. After- 
 ward I returned to the Banchi to look on at the great com- 
 motion which always happens on such occasions. 
 
 While I was sitting in the street with several of my friends, 
 Pompeo went by, attended by ten men very well armed; and 
 when he came just opposite, he stopped, as though about to 
 pick a quarrel with myself. My companions, brave and ad- 
 venturous young men, made signs to me to draw my s'word; 
 but it flashed through my mind that if I drew, some terrible 
 mischief might result for persons who were wholly innocent. 
 Therefore I considered that it would be better if I put my life 
 to risk alone. When Pompeo had stood there time enough 
 to say two Ave Maries, he laughed derisively in my direction; 
 and going oflf, his fellows also laughed and wagged their 
 heads, with many other insolent gestures. My companions 
 wanted to begin the fray at once; but I told them hotly that I 
 was quite able to conduct my quarrels to an end by myself, 
 and that I had no need of stouter fighters than I was; so 
 that each of them might mind his business. My friends were 
 angry and went olT muttering. Now there was among them 
 my dearest comrade, named Albertaccio del Bene, own 
 brother to Alessandro and Albizzo, who is now a very rich 
 man in Lyons. He was the most redoubtable young man I 
 ever knew, and the most high-spirited, and loved me like 
 himself; and insomuch as he was well aware that my for- 
 bearance had not been inspired by want of courage, Init by 
 the most daring bravery, for he knew me down to the bottom 
 of my nature, he took my words up and begged me to favour 
 him so far as to associate him with myself in all I meant to 
 do. I replied : " Dear Albertaccio, dearest to me above all 
 men that live, the time will very likely come when you shall 
 give me aid; but in this case, if you love me, do not attend 
 to me, but look to your own business, and go at once like 
 our other friends, for now there is no time to lose." These 
 words were spoken in one breath.
 
 134 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 LXXIII 
 
 In the meanwhile my enemies had proceeded slowly to- 
 ward Chiavica, as the place was called, and had arrived at 
 the crossing of several roads, going- in different directions; 
 but the street in which Pompeo's house stood was the one 
 which leads straight to the Campo di Fiore. Some business 
 or other made him enter the apothecary's shop which stood 
 at the corner of Chiavica, and there he stayed a while trans- 
 acting it. I had just been told that he had boasted of the 
 insult which he fancied he had put upon me; but be that as it 
 may, it was to his misfortune; for precisely when I came up 
 to the corner, he was leaving the shop, and his bravi had 
 opened their ranks and received him in their midst. I drew 
 a little dagger with a sharpened edge, and breaking the line 
 of his defenders, laid my hands upon his breast so quickly 
 and coolly, that none of them were able to prevent me. Then 
 I aimed to strike him in the face; but fright made him turn 
 his head round; and I stabbed him just beneath the ear. I 
 only gave two blows, for he fell stone dead at the second. I 
 had not meant to kill him; but as the saying goes, knocks 
 are not dealt by measure. With my left hand I plucked back 
 the dagger, and with my right hand drew my sword to defend 
 my life. However, all those bravi ran up to the corpse and 
 took no action against me; so I went back alone through 
 Strada Giulia, considering how best to put myself in safety. 
 
 I had walked about three hundred paces, when Piloto the 
 goldsmith, my very good friend, came up and said : " Brother, 
 now that the mischief's done, we must see to saving you." 
 I replied: " Let us go to Albertaccio del Bene's house; it is 
 only a few minutes since I told him I should soon have need 
 of him." When we arrived there, Albertaccio and I embraced 
 with measureless affection; and soon the whole flower of 
 the young men of the Banchi, of all nations except the Milan- 
 ese, came crowding in; and each and all made proffer of their 
 own life to save mine. Messer Luigi Rucellai also sent w'ith 
 marvellous promptitude and courtesy to put his services at 
 my disposal, as did many other great folk of his station ; for 
 they all agreed in blessing my hands, judging that Pompeo 
 had done me too great and unforgivable an injury, and mar- 
 velling that I had put up with him so long.
 
 MEMOIRS 135 
 
 LXXIV 
 
 Cardinal Cornaro, on hearing of the affair, despatched 
 thirty soldiers, with as many partisans, pikes, and arquebuses, 
 to bring me with all due respect to his quarters.^ This he did 
 unasked; whereupon I accepted the invitation, and went off 
 with them, while more than as many of the young men bore 
 me company. Meanwhile, Messer Traiano, Pompeo's rela- 
 tive and first chamberlain to the Pope, sent a Milanese of 
 high rank to Cardinal de' Medici, giving him news of the 
 great crime I had committed, and calling on his most reverend 
 lordship to chastise me. The Cardinal retorted on the spot: 
 " His crime would indeed have been great if he had not com- 
 mitted this lesser one; thank Messer Traiano from me for 
 giving me this information of a fact of which I had not heard 
 before." Then he turned and in presence of the nobleman 
 said to the Bishop of FrulH,^ his gentleman and intimate ac- 
 quaintance: "Search diligently after my friend Benvenuto; 
 I want to help and defend him; and whoso acts against him 
 acts against myself." The Milanese nobleman went back, 
 much disconcerted, while the Bishop of Frulli came to visit 
 me at Cardinal Cornaro's palace. Presenting himself to the 
 Cardinal, he related how Cardinal de' Medici had sent for 
 Benvenuto, and wanted to be his protector. Now Cardinal 
 Cornaro, who had the touchy temper of a bear, flew into a 
 rage, and told the Bishop he was quite as well able to defend 
 me as Cardinal de' Medici. The Bishop, in reply, entreated to 
 be allowed to speak with me on some matters of his patron 
 which had nothing to do with the affair. Cornaro bade him 
 for that day make as though he had already talked with me. 
 
 Cardinal de' Medici was very angry. However, I went 
 the following night, w'ithout Cornaro's knowledge, and under 
 good escort, to pay him my respects. Then I begged him 
 to grant me the favour of leaving me where I was, and told 
 him of the great courtesy which Cornaro had shown me; 
 adding that if his most reverend lordship suffered me to stay, 
 I should gain one friend the more in my hour of need; other- 
 
 ' This was Francesco, brother to Cardinal Marco Cornaro. He re- 
 ceived the hat in 152S, while yet a layman, and the Bishopric of Brescia 
 
 in I53T- 
 
 ' Forli. The Bishop was Bernardo de' Medici.
 
 136 CELLINI 
 
 wise his lordship might dispose of mc exactly as he thought 
 best. He told me to do as I liked; so I returned to Cornaro's. 
 palace, and a few days afterward the Cardinal Farnese was. 
 elected Pope.* 
 
 After he had put affairs of greater consequence in order, 
 the new Pope sent for me, saying that he did not wish any 
 one else to strike his coins. To these words of his Holiness 
 a gentleman very privately acquainted with him, named 
 Messer Latino Juvinale, made answer that I was in hiding 
 for a murder conmiitted on the person of one Pompeo of 
 Milan, and set forth what could be argued for my justifica- 
 tion in the most favourable terms.^ The Pope replied: " I 
 knew nothing of Pompeo's death, but plenty of Benvenuto's 
 provocation; so let a safe-conduct be at once made out for 
 him, in order that he may be placed in perfect security." A 
 great friend of Pompeo's, who was also intimate with the 
 Pope, happened to be there; he was a Milanese, called Messer 
 Ambrogio.^ This man said: " In the first days of your papacy 
 it were not well to grant pardons of this kind." The Pope 
 turned to him and answered: "You know less about such 
 matters than I do. Know then that men like Benvenuto, 
 unique in their profession, stand above the law; and how 
 far more he, then, who received the provocation I have 
 heard of?" When my safe-conduct had been drawn out, I 
 began at once to serve him, and was treated with the utmost 
 
 favour. 
 
 LXXV 
 
 Messer Latino Juvinale came to call on me, and gave me 
 orders to strike the coins of the Pope. This roused up all 
 my enemies, who began to look about how they should hinder 
 me; but the Pope, perceiving their drift, scolded them, and 
 insisted that I should go on working. I took the dies in hand, 
 designing a S. Paul, surrounded with this inscription: " Vas 
 electionis." This piece of money gave far more satisfaction 
 than the models of my competitors; so that the Pope forbade 
 any one else to speak to him of coins, since he wished me 
 only to have to do with them. This encouraged me to apply 
 
 ' Paul III, elected October 13, 1534. 
 
 " Latino Giovenale de' Manetti was a Latin poet and a man of humane 
 learning, much esteemed by his contemporaries. 
 
 * Ambrogio Recalcati. He was for many years the trusted secretary 
 and diplomatic agent of Paul III,
 
 MEMOIRS 137 
 
 myself with untroubled spirit to the task; and Messer Latino 
 Juvinale, who had received such orders from the Pope, used 
 to introduce me to his Holiness. 1 had it much at heart to 
 recover the post of stamper to the Mint; but on this point the 
 Pope took advice, and then told me I must first obtain pardon 
 for the homicide, and this I should get at the holy Maries' 
 day in August through the Caporioni of Rome.^ I may say 
 that it is usual every year on this solemn festival to grant the 
 freedom of twelve outlaws to these officers. Meanwhile he 
 promised to give me another safe-conduct, which should keep 
 me in security until that time. 
 
 When my enemies perceived that they were quite unable 
 to devise the means of keeping me out of the Mint, they re- 
 sorted to another expedient. The deceased Pompeo had left 
 three thousand ducats as dowry to an illegitimate daughter 
 of his; and they contrived that a certain favourite of Signor 
 Pier Luigi, the Pope's son, should ask her hand in marriage 
 through the medium of his master.^ Accordingly the match 
 came ofT; but this fellow was an insignificant country lad, 
 who had been brought up by his lordship; and, as folk said, 
 he got but little of the money, since his lordship laid his hands 
 on it and had the mind to use it. Now the husband of the 
 girl, to please his wife, begged the prince to have me taken 
 up; and he promised to do so when the first flush of my 
 favour with the Pope had passed away. Things stood so about 
 two months, the servant always suing for his wife's dower, 
 the master putting him of? with pretexts, but assuring the 
 woman that he would certainly revenge her father's murder. 
 I obtained an inkling of these designs; yet I did not omit 
 to present myself pretty frequently to his lordship, who made 
 show of treating me with great distinction. He had, how- 
 ever, decided to do one or other of two things — either to have 
 me assassinated, or to have me taken up by the Bargello. 
 Accordingly he commissioned a certain little devil of a Corsi- 
 can soldier in his service to do the trick as cleverly as he could ; 
 
 ' The Feast of the Assumption. The Caporioni of Rome were, like 
 aldermen, wardens of the districts into which the city was divided. 
 
 ' Pier Luipi Farnese was successively created Gonfaloniere of the 
 Church, Duke of Castro, Marquis of Novara, and finally Duke of Parma 
 and Piacenza in 1545. He was murdered at Parma by his own courtiers 
 in 1547. He was of infamous habits, quite unfit for the high dignities 
 conferred on him.
 
 138 CELLINI 
 
 and my other enemies, with Messer Traiano at the head of 
 them, promised the fellow a reward of one hundred crowns. 
 He assured them that the job would be as easy as sucking a 
 fresh egg. Seeing into their plot, I went about with my eyes 
 open and with good attendance, wearing an under-coat and 
 armlets of mail, for which I had obtained permission. 
 
 The Corsican, influenced by avarice, hoped to gain the 
 whole sum of money without risk, and imagined himself 
 capable of carrying the matter through alone. Consequently, 
 one day after dinner, he had me sent for in the name of Signor 
 Pier Luigi. I went ofif at once, because his lordship had 
 spoken of wanting to order several big silver vases. Leaving 
 my home in a hurry, armed however as usual, I walked rapidly 
 through Strada Giulia toward the Palazzo Farnese, not ex- 
 pecting to meet anybody at that hour of day. I had reached 
 the end of the street and was making toward the palace, when, 
 my habit being always to turn the corners wide, I observed 
 the Corsican get up and take his station in the middle of the 
 road. Being prepared, I was not in the least disconcerted; 
 but kept upon my guard, and slackening pace a little, drew 
 nearer toward the wall, in order to give the fellow a wide berth. 
 He on his side came closer to the wall, and when we were 
 now within a short distance of each other, I perceived by his 
 gestures that he had it in his mind to do me a mischief, and 
 seeing me alone thus, thought he should succeed. Accord- 
 ingly, I began to speak and said: " Brave soldier, if it had 
 been night, you might have said you had mistaken me, but 
 since it is full day, you know well enough who I am. I never 
 had anything to do with you, and never injured you, but 
 should be well disposed to do you service." He replied in a 
 high-spirited way, without, however, making room for me to 
 pass, that he did not know what I was saying. Then I an- 
 swered: " I know very well indeed what you want, and what 
 you are saying; but the job which you have taken in hand 
 is more dangerous and diflficult than you imagine, and may 
 peradventure turn out the wrong way for you. Remember 
 that you have to do with a man who would defend himself 
 against a hundred; and the adventure you are on is not 
 esteemed by men of courage like yourself." Meanwhile I also 
 was looking black as thunder, and each of us had changed 
 colour. Folk, too, gathered round us, for it had become clear
 
 MEMOIRS 139 
 
 that our words meant swords and daggers. He then, not 
 having the spirit to lay hands on me, cried out: "We shall 
 meet another time." I answered: " I am always glad to meet 
 honest men and those who show themselves as such." 
 
 When we parted, I went to his lordship's palace, and found 
 he had not sent for me. When I returned to my shop, the 
 Corsican informed me, through an intimate friend of his and 
 mine, that I need not be on my guard against him, since he 
 wished to be my good brother; but that I ought to be much 
 upon my guard against others, seeing I was in the greatest 
 peril, for folk of much consequence had sworn to have my 
 life. I sent to thank him, and kept the best lookout I could. 
 Not many days after, a friend of mine informed me that Signor 
 Pier Luigi had given strict orders that I should be taken that 
 very evening. They told me this at twenty; whereupon I 
 spoke with some of my friends, who advised me to be ofif at 
 once. The order had been given for one hour after sunset; 
 accordingly at twenty-three I left in the post for Florence. 
 It seems that when the Corsican showed that he had not pluck 
 enough to do the business as he promised, Signor Pier Luigi 
 on his own authority gave orders to have me taken, merely 
 to stop the mouth of Pompeo's daughter, who was always 
 clamouring to know where her dower had gone to. When 
 he was unable to gratify her in this matter of revenge on 
 either of the two plans he had formed, he bethought him of 
 another, which shall be related in its proper place. 
 
 LXXVI 
 
 I reached Florence in due course, and paid my respects 
 to the Duke Alessandro, who greeted me with extraordinary 
 kindness and pressed me to remain in his service. There 
 was then at Florence a sculptor called II Tribolino. and we 
 were gossips, for I had stood godfather to his son.^ In course 
 
 ' Niccolo de' Pericoli, a Florentine, who got the nickname of Tribolo 
 in his boyhood, was a sculptor of some distinction. He worked on the 
 bas-reliefs of San Petronio at Bologna, and helped Michel Agnolo da 
 Siena to execute the tomb of Adrian VI at Rome. Afterward he was 
 employed upon the sculpture of the Santa Casa at Loreto. He also made 
 some excellent bronze-work for the Medicean villas at Cestello and Petraja. 
 All through his life Tribolo served the Medici, and during the siege of 
 Florence in 1530 he constructed a cork model of the town for Clement 
 VII. Born 1485, died 1550.
 
 140 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 of conversation he told me that a certain Giacopo del Sanso- 
 vino, his first master, had sent for him; and whereas he had 
 never seen Venice, and because of the gains he expected, he 
 was very glad to go there. ^ On his asking me if I had ever 
 been at Venice, I said no; this made him invite me to accom- 
 pany him, and I agreed. So then I told Duke Alessandro 
 that I wanted first to go to Venice, and that afterw^ard I would 
 return to serve him. He exacted a formal promise to this 
 effect, and bade me present myself before I left the city. Next 
 day, having made my preparations, I went to take leave of 
 the Duke, whom I found in the palace of the Pazzi, at that 
 time inhabited by the wife and daughters of Signor Lorenzo 
 Cibo.- I having sent word to his Excellency that I wished to 
 set off for Venice with his good leave, Signor Cosimino de' 
 Medici, now Duke of P^lorence, returned with the answer that 
 I must go to Niccolo da Monte Aguto, who would give me 
 fifty golden crowns, which his Excellency bestowed on me 
 in sign of his good-will, and afterward I must return to serve 
 him. 
 
 I got the money from Niccolo, and then went to fetch 
 Tribolo, whom I found ready to start; and he asked me 
 whether I had bound my sword. I answered that a man 
 on horseback about to take a journey ought not to bind his 
 sword. He said that the custom was so in Florence, since 
 a certain Ser Maurizio then held office, who was capable of 
 putting S. John the Baptist to the rack for any trifling pecca- 
 dillo.^ Accordingly one had to carry one's sword bound till 
 the gates were passed. I laughed at this, and so we set off, 
 joining the courier to Venice, who was nicknamed II Lamen- 
 tone. In his company we travelled through Bologna, and 
 arrived one evening at Ferrara. There we halted at the iim 
 of the Piazza, while Lamentone went in search of some Flor- 
 entine exiles, to take them letters and messages from their 
 wives. The Duke had given orders that only the courier 
 might talk to them, and no one else, under penalty of incur- 
 
 ' This is the famous Giacopo Tatti, who took his artist's surname from 
 his master, Andrea da Monte a Sansovino. His works at Florence, Rome, 
 and Venice are justly famous. He died in 1570. 
 
 ' A brother of the Cardinal, and himself Marquis of Massa. 
 
 * Ser Maurizio was entitled Chancellor, but really superintended the 
 criminal magistracy of Florence. Varchi and Segni both speak of him as 
 harsh and cruel in the discharge of his oflSce.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 141 
 
 ring the same banishment as they had. Meanwhile, since it 
 was a Httle past tlie hour of twenty-two, Tribolo and I went 
 to see the Duke of Ferrara come back from Belfiore, where 
 he had been at a jousting match. There we met a number 
 of exiles, who stared at us as though they wished to make us 
 speak with them. Tribolo, who was the most timorous man 
 that I have ever known, kept on saying: " Do not look at 
 them or talk to them, if you care to go back to Florence." 
 So we stayed, and saw the Duke return; afterward, when we 
 regained our inn, we found Lamentone there. After night- 
 fall there appeared Niccolo Benintendi, and his brother Piero, 
 and another old man, whom I believe to have been Jacopo 
 Nardi,* together with some young fellows, who began im- 
 mediately to ask the courier news, each man of his own family 
 in Florence. Tribolo and I kept at a distance, in order to 
 avoid speaking with them. After they had talked a while with 
 Lamentone, Niccolo Benintendi * said : " I know those two 
 men there very well; what's the reason they give themselves 
 such beastly airs, and will not talk to us? " Tribolo kept 
 begging me to hold my tongue, while Lamentone told them 
 that we had not the same permission as he had. Benintendi 
 retorted it was idiotic nonsense, adding " Devil take them," 
 and other pretty fiowers of speech. Then I raised my head 
 as gently as I could, and said: " Dear gentlemen, you are 
 able to do us serious injury, while we can not render you any 
 assistance; and though you have flung words at us which we 
 are far from deserving, we do not mean on that account to 
 get into a rage with you." Thereupon old Nardi said that I 
 had spoken like a worthy young man as I was. But Niccolo 
 Benintendi shouted: "I snap my fingers at them and the 
 Duke." I replied that he was in the wrong toward us, since 
 we had nothing to do with him or his affairs. Old Nardi took 
 our part, telling Benintendi plainly that he was in the wrong, 
 which made him go on muttering insults. On this I bade 
 him know that I could say and do things to him which he 
 would not like, and therefore he had better mind his business, 
 and let us alone. Once more he cried out that he snapped 
 
 ' Jacopo Nardi was the excellent historian of Florence, a strong anti- 
 Medicean partisan, who was exiled in 1530. 
 
 * Niccol6 Benintendi, who had been a member of the Eight in 1529, 
 was exiled by the Medici in 1530.
 
 142 CELLINI 
 
 his fingers at the Duke and us, and that we were all of us a 
 heap of donkeys. I replied by giving him the lie direct and 
 drawing my sword. The old man wanting to be first upon 
 the staircase, tumbled down some steps, and all the rest of 
 them came huddling after him. I rushed onward, brandish- 
 ing my sword along the walls with fury, and shouting: " I 
 will kill you all! " but I took good care not to do them any 
 harm, as I might too easily have done. In the midst of this 
 tumult the innkeeper screamed out; Lamentone cried, " For 
 God's sake, hold! " some of them exclaimed, " Oh me, my 
 head! " others, " Let me get out from here." In short, it was 
 an indescribable confusion; they looked like a herd of swine. 
 Then the host came with a light, while I withdrew upstairs 
 and put my sword back in its scabbard. Lamentone told 
 Niccolo Benintendi that he had behaved very ill. The host 
 said to him: " It is as much as one's life is worth to draw 
 swords here; and if the Duke were to know of your brawling, 
 he would have you hanged. I will not do to you what you 
 deserve; but take care you never show yourself again in my 
 inn, or it will be the worse for you." Our host then came up 
 to me, and when I began to make him my excuses, he would 
 not suffer me to say a word, but told me that he knew I was 
 entirely in the right, and bade me be upon my guard against 
 those men upon my journey. 
 
 LXXVII 
 
 After we had supped, a barge-man appeared, and oflfered 
 to take us to Venice. I asked if he would let us have the 
 boat to ourselves; he was willing, and so we made our bar- 
 gain. In the morning we rose early, and mounted our horses 
 for the port, which is a few miles distant from Ferrara. On 
 arriving there, we found Niccolo Benintendi's brother, with 
 three comrades, waiting for me. They had among them two 
 lances, and I had bought a stout pike in Ferrara. Being very 
 well armed to boot, I was not at all frightened, as Tribolo 
 was, who cried: " God help us! those fellows are waiting here 
 to murder us." Lamentone turned to me and said: " The best 
 that you can do is to go back to Ferrara, for I see that the 
 affair is likely to be ugly; for Heaven's sake, Benvenuto, do 
 not risk the fury of these mad beasts." To which I replied: 
 " Let us go forward, for God helps those who have the right
 
 MEMOIRS 143 
 
 on their side; and you shall see how I will help myself. Is 
 not this boat engaged for us?" "Yes," said Lamentone. 
 " Then we will stay in it without them, unless my manhood 
 has deserted me." I put spurs to my horse, and when I was 
 within fifty paces, dismounted and marched boldly forward 
 with my pike. Tribolo stopped behind, all huddled up upon 
 his horse, looking the very image of frost. Lamentone, the 
 courier, meanwhile, was swelling and snorting like the wind. 
 That was his usual habit; but now he did so more than he 
 was wont, being in doubt how this devilish aflfair would 
 terminate. When I reached the boat, the master presented 
 himself and said that those Florentine gentlemen wanted to 
 embark in it with us, if I was willing. I answered: "The 
 boat is engaged for us and no one else, and it grieves me to 
 the heart that I am not able to have their company." At 
 these words a brave young man of the Magalotti family spoke 
 out: " Benvenuto, we will make you able to have it." To 
 which I answered: " If God and my good cause, together 
 with my own strength of body and mind, possess the will and 
 the power, you shall not make me able to have what you say," 
 So saying, I leapt into the boat, and turning my pike's point 
 against them, added: "I'll show you with this weapon that 
 I am not able." Wishing to prove he was in earnest, Maga- 
 lotti then seized his own and came toward me. I sprang upon 
 the gunwale and hit him such a blow, that, if he had not tum- 
 bled backward, I must have pierced his body. His comrades, 
 in lieu of helping him, turned to fly; and when I saw that I 
 could kill him, instead of striking, I said: "Get up, brother; 
 take your arms and go away. I have shown you that I can 
 not do what I do not want, and what I had the power to do 
 I have not chosen to do." Then I called for Tribolo, the 
 boatman, and Lamentone to embark; and so we got under 
 way for Venice. When we had gone ten miles on the Po, 
 we sighted those young men, who had got into a skiff and 
 caught us up; and when they were alongside, that idiot Piero 
 Benintendi sang out to me: "Go thy ways this time. Ben- 
 venuto; we shall meet in Venice." " Set out betimes then," I 
 shouted, " for I am coming, and any man can meet me where 
 he lists." In due course we arrived at Venice, when I applied 
 to a brother of Cardinal Cornaro, begging him to procure for 
 me the favour of being allowed to carry arms. He advised
 
 144 CELLINI 
 
 me to do so without hesitation, saying that the worst risk I 
 ran was that I might lose my sword. 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 Accordingly I girded on my sword, and went to visit 
 Jacopo del Sansovino, the sculptor, who had sent for Tribolo. 
 He received me most kindly, and invited us to dinner, and 
 we stayed with him. In course of conversation with Tribolo, 
 he told him that he had no work to give him at the moment, 
 but that he might call again. Hearing this, I burst out laugh- 
 ing, and said pleasantly to Sansovino: " Your house is too 
 far off from his, if he must call again." Poor Tribolo, all in 
 dismay, exclaimed: " I have got your letter here, which you 
 wrote to bid me come." Sansovino rejoined that men of his 
 sort, men of worth and genius, were free to do that and greater 
 things besides. Tribolo shrugged up his shoulders and mut- 
 tered: " Patience, patience," several times. Thereupon, with- 
 out regarding the copious dinner which Sansovino had given 
 me, I took the part of my comrade Tribolo, for he was in the 
 right. All the while at table Sansovino had never stopped 
 chattering about his great achievements, abusing Michel Ag- 
 nolo and the rest of his fellow-sculptors, while he bragged and 
 vaunted himself to the skies. This had so annoyed me that 
 not a single mouthful which I ate had tasted well; but I re- 
 frained from saying more than these two words: " Messer 
 Jacopo, men of worth act like men of worth, and men of 
 genius, who produce things beautiful and excellent, shine forth 
 far better when other people praise them than when they 
 boast so confidently of their own achievements." Upon this 
 he and I rose from table blowing off the steam of our choler. 
 The same day, happening to pass near the Rialto, I met Piero 
 Benintendi in the company of some men ; and perceiving that 
 they were going to pick a quarrel with me, I turned into an 
 apothecary's shop till the storm blew over. Afterward I 
 learned that the young Magalotti, to whom I showed that 
 courtesy, had scolded them roundly; and thus the affair ended. 
 
 LXXIX 
 
 A few days afterward we set out on our return to Flor- 
 ence. We lay one night at a place on this side Chioggia, on
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 145 
 
 the left hand as you go toward Ferrara. Here the host insisted 
 upon being paid before we went to bed, and in his own way; 
 and when I observed that it was the custom everywhere else 
 to pay in the morning, he answered: " I insist on being paid 
 overnight, and in my own way." I retorted that men who 
 wanted everything their own way ought to make a world 
 after their own fashion, since things were differently man- 
 aged here. Our host told me not to go on bothering his 
 brains, because he was determined to do as he had said. Tri- 
 bolo stood trembling with fear, and nudged me to keep quiet, 
 lest they should do something worse to us; so we paid them 
 in the way they wanted, and afterward we retired to rest. We 
 had, I must admit, the most capital beds, new in every particu- 
 lar, and as clean as they could be. Nevertheless I did not get 
 one wink of sleep, because I kept on thinking how I could 
 revenge myself. At one time it came into my head to set fire 
 to his house; at another to cut the throats of four fine horses 
 which he had in the stable; I saw well enough that it was 
 easy for me to do all this; but I could not see how it was 
 easy to secure myself and my companion. At last I resolved 
 to put my things and my comrade's on board the boat; and 
 so I did. When the towing-horses had been harnessed to 
 the cable, I ordered the people not to stir before I returned, 
 for I had left a pair of slippers in my bedroom. Accordingly 
 I went back to the inn and called our host, who told me he 
 had nothing to do with us, and that we might go to Jericho. 
 There was a ragged stable-boy about, half asleep, who cried 
 out to me: " The master would not move to please the Pope." 
 Then he asked me for a tip, and I gave him a few Venetian 
 coppers, and told him to make the barge-man wait till I had 
 found my slippers and returned. I went upstairs, took out 
 a little knife as sharp as a razor, and cut the four beds that 
 I found there into ribbons. I had the satisfaction of know- 
 ing I had done a damage of more than fifty crowns. Then 
 I ran down to the boat with some pieces of the bed-covers 
 in my pouch, and bade the bargee start at once without delay. 
 We had not gone far before my gossip Tribolo said that he 
 had left behind some little straps belonging to his carpet-bag. 
 and that he must be allowed to go back for them. I answered 
 that he need not take thought for a pair of little straps, since 
 
 I could make him as many big ones as he liked. He told me 
 xo
 
 146 CELLINI 
 
 I was always joking, but that he must really go back for his 
 straps. Then he began ordering the bargee to stop, while I 
 kept ordering him to go on. Meanwhile I informed my friend 
 what kind of trick I had played our host, and showed him 
 specimens of the bed-covers and other things, which threw 
 him into such a quaking fright that he roared out to the 
 bargee: " On with you, on with you, as quick as you can!" 
 and never thought himself quite safe until we reached the 
 gates of Florence. 
 
 When we arrived there, Tribolo said: " Let us bind our 
 swords up, for the love of God; and play me no more of your 
 games, I beg; for all this while I've felt as though my guts 
 were in the saucepan." I made answer: " Gossip Tribolo, 
 you need not tie your sword up, for you have never loosed it; " 
 and this I said at random, because I never once had seen him 
 act the man upon that journey. When he heard the remark, 
 he looked at his sword and cried out: " In God's name, you 
 speak true! Here it is tied, just as I arranged it before I left 
 my house." My gossip deemed that I had been a bad travel- 
 ling companion to him, because I resented affronts and de- 
 fended myself against folk who would have done us injury. 
 But I deemed that he had acted a far worse part with regard 
 to me by never coming to my assistance at such pinches. Let 
 him judge between us who stands by and has no personal 
 interest in our adventures. 
 
 LXXX 
 
 No sooner had I dismounted than I went to visit Duke 
 Alessandro, and thanked him greatly for his present of the 
 fifty crowns, telling his Excellency that I was always ready 
 to serve him according to my abilities. He gave me orders at 
 once to strike dies for his coinage; and the first I made was a 
 piece of forty soldi, with the Duke's head on one side and San 
 Cosimo and San Damiano on the other.^ This was in silver, 
 and it gave so much satisfaction that the Duke did not hesitate 
 to say they were the best pieces of money in Christendom. 
 The same said all Florence and every one who saw them. 
 Consequently I asked his Excellency to make me appoint- 
 ments, and to grant me the lodgings of the Mint. He bade 
 
 ' These were the special patrons of the Medicean family, being physi- 
 cian-saints.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 147 
 
 me remain in his service, and promised he would give me 
 more than I demanded. Meanwhile he said he had com- 
 missioned the Master of the Mint, a certain Carlo Acciaiuoli, 
 and that I might go to him for all the money that I wanted. 
 This I found to be true; but I drew my monies so discreetly, 
 that I had always something to my credit, according to my 
 account. 
 
 I then made dies for a giulio, it had San Giovanni in pro- 
 file, seated with a book in his hand, finer in my judgment than 
 anything which I had done; and on the other side were the 
 armorial bearings of Duke Alessandro. Next I made dies 
 for half-giulios, on which I struck the full face of San Giovanni 
 in small. This was the first coin with a head in full face on so 
 thin a piece of silver that had yet been seen. The difficulty 
 of executing it is apparent only to the eyes of such as are 
 past-masters in these crafts. Afterward I made dies for the 
 golden crowns; this crown had a cross upon one side 
 with some little cherubim, and on the other side his Excel- 
 lency's arms. 
 
 When I had struck these four sorts. I begged the Duke to 
 make out my appointments and to assign me the lodgings I 
 have mentioned, if he was contented with my service. He 
 told me very graciously that he was quite satisfied, and that 
 he would grant me my request. While we were thus talking, 
 his Excellency was in his wardrobe, looking at a remarkable 
 little gun that had been sent him out of Germany. When he 
 noticed that I too paid particular attention to this pretty 
 instrument, he put it in my hands, saying that he knew how 
 much pleasure I took in such things, and adding that I might 
 choose for earnest of his promises an arquebuse to my own 
 liking from the armoury, excepting only this one piece; he 
 was well aware that I should find things of greater beauty, 
 and not less excellent, there. Upon this invitation, I accepted 
 with thanks; and when he saw^ me looking round, he ordered 
 his Master of the Wardrobe, a certain Pretino of Lucca, to 
 let me take whatever I liked. Then he went away with the 
 most pleasant words at parting, while I remained, and chose 
 the finest and best arquebuse I ever saw, or ever had, and 
 took it back with me to home. 
 
 Two days afterward I brought some drawings which his 
 Excellency had commissioned for gold-work he wanted to
 
 148 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 give his wife, who was at that time still in Naples.^ I again 
 asked him to settle my affairs. Then his Excellency told me 
 that he should like me first to execute the die of his portrait 
 in fine style, as I had done for Pope Clement. I began it in 
 wax; and the Duke gave orders, while I was at work upon it, 
 that whenever I went to take his portrait, I should be ad- 
 mitted. Perceiving that I had a lengthy piece of business 
 on my hands, I sent for a certain Pietro Pagolo from Monte 
 Ritondo, in the Roman district, who had been with me from 
 his boyhood in Rome.- I found him with one Bernardonaccio, 
 a goldsmith, who did not treat him well; so I brought him 
 away from there, and taught him minutely how to strike coins 
 from those dies. Meanwhile, I went on making the Duke's 
 portrait; and oftentimes I found him napping after dinner 
 with that Lorenzino of his, who afterward murdered him, 
 and no other company; and much I marvelled that a Duke 
 of that sort showed such confidence about his safety.^ 
 
 LXXXI 
 
 It happened at this time that Ottaviano de' Medici,* who 
 to all appearances had got the government of everything in 
 his own hands, favoured the old Master of the Mint against 
 the Duke's will. This man was called Bastiano Cennini, an 
 artist of the antiquated school, and of little skill in his craft. 
 Ottaviano mixed his stupid dies with mine in the coinage of 
 crown-pieces. I complained of this to the Duke, who, when 
 he saw how the matter stood, took it very ill, and said to me: 
 " Go, tell this to Ottaviano de' Medici, and show him how it 
 is." I lost no time; and when I had pointed out the injury 
 that had been done to my fine coins, he answered, like the 
 donkey that he was: "We choose to have it so." I replied 
 that it ought not to be so, and that I did not choose to have 
 
 ' Margaret of Austria, natural daughter to Charles V, was eventually 
 married in 1536 to Alessandro de' Medici. 
 
 ' Pietro Pagolo Galleotti, much praised by Vasari for his artistic skill. 
 
 ' This is the famous Tuscan Brutus who murdered Alessandro. He 
 was descended from Lorenzo de' Medici, the brother of Cosimo, Pater 
 Patriae, and the uncle of Lorenzo the Magnificent. 
 
 * This Ottaviano was not descended from either Cosimo or Lorenzo 
 de' Medici, but from an elder, though less illustrious, branch of the great 
 family. He married Francesca Salviati, the aunt of Duke Cosimo. Though 
 a great patron of the arts and an intimate friend of M. A. Buonarroti, he 
 was not popular, owing to his pride of place.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 149 
 
 it so. He said: "And if the Duke likes to have it so?" I 
 answered: " It would not suit me, for the thing is neither 
 just nor reasonable." He told me to take myself off, and 
 that I should have to swallow it in this way, even if I burst. 
 Then I returned to the Duke, and related the whole unpleas- 
 ant conversation between Ottaviano de' Medici and me, en- 
 treating his Excellency not to allow the fine coins which I 
 had made for him to be spoiled, and begging for permission 
 to leave Florence. He replied: " Ottaviano is too presum- 
 ing: you shall have what you want; for this is an injury 
 offered to myself." 
 
 That very day, which was a Thursday, I received from 
 Rome a full safe-conduct from the Pope, with advice to go 
 there at once and get the pardon of Our Lady's feast in mid- 
 August, in order that I might clear myself from the penalties 
 attaching to my homicide. I went to the Duke, whom I found 
 in bed, for they told me he was suffering the consequence of 
 a debauch. In little more than two hours I finished what was 
 wanted for his waxen medal; and when I showed it him, it 
 pleased him extremely. Then I exhibited the safe-conduct 
 sent me at the order of the Pope, and told him how his Ploli- 
 ness had recalled me to execute certain pieces of work; on 
 this account I should like to regain my footing in the fair city 
 of Rome, which would not prevent my attending to his medal. 
 The Duke made answer half in anger: " Benvenuto, do as I 
 desire: stay here; I will provide for your appointments, and 
 will give you the lodgings in the Mint, with much more than 
 you could ask for, because your requests are only just and 
 reasonable. And who do you think will be able to strike the 
 beautiful dies which you have made for me?" Then I said: 
 " My lord, I have thought of everything, for I have here a 
 pupil of mine, a young Roman whom I have taught the art; 
 he will serve your Excellency very well till I return with your 
 medal finished, to remain for ever in your service. I have in 
 Rome a shop open, with journeymen and a pretty business; 
 as soon as I have got my pardon, T will leave all the devotion 
 of Rome to a pupil of mine there, and will come back, with 
 your Excellency's good permission, to you." During this 
 conversation, the Lorenzino de' Medici whom I have above 
 mentioned was present, and no one else. The Duke fre- 
 quently signed to him that he should join in pressing me to
 
 I50 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 stay; but Lorenzino never said anything except: " Ben- 
 venuto, you would do better to remain where you are." I 
 answered that I wanted by all means to regain my hold on 
 Rome. He made no reply, but continued eyeing the Duke 
 with very evil glances. When I had finished the medal to 
 my liking, and shut it in its little box, I said to the Duke: 
 " My lord, pray let me have your good-will, for I will make 
 you a much finer medal than the one I made for Pope Clement. 
 It is only reasonable that I should, since that was the first I 
 ever made. Messer Lorenzo here will give me some exquisite 
 reverse, as he is a person learned and of the greatest genius." 
 To these words Lorenzo suddenly made answer: " I have 
 been thinking of nothing else but how to give you a reverse 
 worthy of his Excellency." The Duke laughed a little, and 
 looking at Lorenzo, said: " Lorenzo, you shall give him the 
 reverse, and he shall do it here and shall not go away." 
 Lorenzo took him up at once, saying: " I will do it as quickly 
 as I can, and I hope to do something that shall make the whole 
 world wonder." The Duke, who held him sometimes for a 
 fool and sometimes for a coward, turned about in bed, and 
 laughed at his bragging words. I took my leave without 
 further ceremony, and left them alone together. The Duke, 
 who did not believe that I was really going, said nothing 
 further. Afterward, when he knew that I was gone, he sent 
 one of his servants, who caught me up at Siena, and gave me 
 fifty golden ducats with a message from the Duke that I 
 should take and use them for his sake, and should return as 
 soon as possible; "and from Messer Lorenzo I have to tell 
 you that he is preparing an admirable reverse for that medal 
 which you want to make." I had left full directions to Petro 
 Pagolo, the Roman above mentioned, how he had to use the 
 dies; but as it was a very delicate afTair, he never quite suc- 
 ceeded in employing them. I remained creditor to the Mint 
 in a matter of more than seventy crowns on account of dies 
 
 supplied by me. 
 
 LXXXir 
 
 On the journey to Rome I carried with me that hand- 
 some arquebuse which the Duke gave me; and very much to 
 my own pleasure, I used it several times by the way, per- 
 forming incredible feats by means of it. The little house I 
 had in Strada Giulia was not ready; so I dismounted at the
 
 MEMOIRS 151 
 
 house of Messer Giovanni Gaddi, clerk of the Camera, to 
 whose keeping 1 had committed, on leaving Rome, many of 
 my arms and other things I cared for. So I did not choose 
 to alight at my shop, but sent for Felice, my partner, and 
 got him to put my little dwelling forthwith into excellent 
 order. The day following, I went to sleep there, after well 
 providing myself with clothes and all things requisite, since 
 I intended to go and thank the Pope next morning. 
 
 I had two young serving-lads, and beneath my lodgings 
 lived a laundress who cooked extremely nicely for me. That 
 evening I entertained several friends at supper, and having 
 passed the time with great enjoyment, betook myself to bed. 
 The night had hardly ended, indeed it was more than an hour 
 before daybreak, when I heard a furious knocking at the 
 house-door, stroke succeeding stroke without a moment's 
 pause. Accordingly I called my elder servant, Cencio (he 
 was the man I took into the necromantic circle), and bade 
 him go and see who the madman was that knocked so brutally 
 at that hour of the night. While Cencio was on this errand, 
 I lighted another lamp, for I always keep one by me at night; 
 then I made haste to pass an excellent coat of mail over my 
 shirt, and above that some clothes w^hich I caught up at ran- 
 dom. Cencio returned, exclaiming: " Heavens, master! it is 
 the Bargello and all his guard; and he says that if you do 
 not open at once, he will knock the door down. They have 
 torches, and a thousand things besides with them!" I an- 
 swered: "Tell them that I am huddling my clothes on, and 
 will come out to them in my shirt." Supposing it was a trap 
 laid to murder me, as had before been done by Signor Pier 
 Luigi, I seized an excellent dagger with my right hand, and 
 with the left I took the safe-conduct; then I ran to the back- 
 window, which looked out on gardens, and there I saw more 
 than thirty constables; wherefore I knew that I could not 
 escape upon that side. I made the two lads go in front, and 
 told them to open the door exactly when I gave the word to 
 do so. Then taking up an attitude of defence, with the dagger 
 in my right hand and the safe-conduct in my left, I cried to 
 the lads: " Have no fear, but open! " The Bargello, Vittorio, 
 and the officers sprang inside at once, thinking they could 
 easily lay hands upon me; but when they saw me prepared 
 in that way to receive them, they fell back, exclaiming: "We
 
 152 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 have a serious job on hand here ! " Then I threw the safe- 
 conduct to them, and said: " Read that! and since you can 
 not seize me, I do not mean that you shall touch me." The 
 Bargello upon this ordered some of his men to arrest me, 
 saying he would look to the safe-conduct later. Thereat I 
 presented my arms boldly, calling aloud: "Let God defend 
 the right! Either I shall escape your hands alive, or be taken 
 a dead corpse ! " The room was crammed with men ; they 
 made as though they would resort to violence; I stood upon 
 my guard against them; so that the Bargello saw he would 
 not be able to have me except in the way I said. Accord- 
 ingly he called his clerk, and while the safe-conduct was being 
 read, he showed by signs two or three times that he meant 
 to have me secured by his officers; but this had no effect of 
 shaking my determination. At last they gave up the attempt, 
 threw my safe-conduct on the ground, and went away with- 
 out their prize. 
 
 LXXXIII 
 
 When I returned to bed, I felt so agitated that I could 
 not get to sleep again. My mind was made up to let blood 
 as soon as day broke. However, I asked advice of Messer 
 Gaddi, and he referred to a wretched doctor-fellow he em- 
 ployed, who asked me if I had been frightened. Now, just 
 consider what a judicious doctor this was, after I had nar- 
 rated an occurrence of that gravity, to ask me such a ques- 
 tion! He was an empty fribbler, who kept perpetually laugh- 
 ing about nothing at all. Simpering and sniggering, then, 
 he bade me drink a good cup of Greek wine, keep my spirits 
 up, and not be frightened. Messer Giovanni, however, said: 
 " Master, a man of bronze or marble might be frightened in 
 such circumstances. How much more one of flesh and 
 blood! " The quack responded: " Monsignor, we are not all 
 made after the same pattern; this fellow is no man of bronze 
 or marble, but of pure iron." Then he gave one of his mean- 
 ingless laughs, and putting his fingers on my wrist, said: 
 " Feel here; this is not a man's pulse, but a lion's or a drag- 
 on's." At this, I, whose blood was thumping in my veins, 
 probably far beyond anything which that fool of a doctor had 
 learned from his Hippocrates or Galen, knew at once how 
 serious was my situation; yet, wishing not to add to my un- 
 easiness and to the harm I had already taken, I made show
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 153 
 
 of being in good spirits. While this was happening, Messer 
 Giovanni had ordered dinner, and we all of us sat down to eat 
 in company. I remembered that Messer Lodovico da Fano, 
 Messer Antonio Allegretti, Messer Giovanni Greco, all of 
 them men of the finest scholarship, and Messer Annibal Caro, 
 who was then quite young, were present. At table the con- 
 versation turned entirely upon my act of daring. They in- 
 sisted on hearing the whole story over and over again from 
 my apprentice Cencio, who was a youth of superlative talent, 
 bravery, and extreme personal beauty. Each time that he 
 described my truculent behaviour, throwing himself into the 
 attitudes I had assumed, and repeating the words which I 
 had used, he called up some fresh detail to my memory. They 
 kept asking him if he had been afraid; to which he answered 
 that they ought to ask me if I had been afraid, because he felt 
 precisely the same as I had. 
 
 All this chattering grew irksome to me; and since I still 
 felt strongly agitated, I rose at last from table, saying that 
 I wanted to go and get new clothes of blue silk and stuff for 
 him and me; adding that I meant to walk in procession after 
 four days at the feast of Our Lady, and meant Cencio to 
 carry a white lighted torch on the occasion. Accordingly 
 I took my leave, and had the blue cloth cut, together with a 
 handsome jacket of blue sarcenet and a little doublet of the 
 same; and I had a similar jacket and waistcoat made for 
 Cencio. 
 
 When these things had been cut out, I went to see the 
 Pope, who told me to speak with Messer Ambruogio; for 
 he had given orders that I should execute a large piece of 
 golden plate. So I went to find Messer Ambruogio, who 
 had heard the whole of the affair of the Bargello, and had 
 been in concert with my enemies to bring me back to Rome, 
 and had scolded the Bargello for not laying hands on me. 
 The man excused himself by saying that he could not do 
 so in the face of the safe-conduct which I held. Messer Am- 
 bruogio now began to talk about the Pope's commission, 
 and bade me make draw^ings for it, saying that the business 
 should be put at once in train. Meanwhile the feast of Our 
 Lady came round. Now it is the custom for those who get 
 a pardon upon this occasion to give themselves up to prison; 
 in order to avoid doing which I returned to the Pope, and
 
 154 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 told his Holiness that I was very unwilling to go to prison, 
 and that I begged him to grant me the favour of a dispensa- 
 tion. The Pope answered that such was the custom, and that 
 I must follow it. Thereupon I fell again upon my knees, and 
 thanked him for the safe-conduct he had given me, saying at 
 the same time that I should go back with it to serve my Duke 
 in Florence, who was waiting for me so impatiently. On 
 hearing this, the Pope turned to one of his confidential serv- 
 ants and said: " Let Benvenuto get his grace without the 
 prison, and see that his moto proprio is made out in due 
 form." As soon as the document had been drawn up, his 
 Holiness signed it; it was then registered at the Capitol; 
 afterward, upon the day appointed, I walked in procession 
 very honourably between two gentlemen, and so got clear 
 
 at last. 
 
 LXXXIV 
 
 Four days had passed when I was attacked with violent 
 fever attended by extreme cold; and taking to my bed, I 
 made my mind up that I was sure to die. I had the first 
 doctors of Rome called in, among whom was Francesco da 
 Norcia, a physician of great age, and of the best repute in 
 Rome.^ I told them what I believed to be the cause of my 
 illness, and said that I had wished to let blood, but that I had 
 been advised against it; and if it was not too late, I begged 
 them to bleed me now. Maestro Francesco answered that 
 it would not be well for me to let blood then, but that if I had 
 done so before, I should have escaped without mischief; at 
 present they would have to treat the case with other remedies. 
 So they began to doctor me as energetically as they were able, 
 while I grew daily worse and worse so rapidly, that after eight 
 days the physicians despaired of my life, and said that I might 
 be indulged in any whim I had to make me comfortable. 
 Maestro Francesco added: "As long as there is breath in 
 him, call me at all hours; for no one can divine what Nature 
 is able to work in a young man of this kind; moreover, if he 
 should lose consciousness, administer these five remedies one 
 after the other, and send for me, for I will come at any hour 
 of the night; I would rather save him than any of the cardi- 
 nals in Rome." 
 
 ' Francesco Fusconi, physician to Popes Adrian VI, Clement VII, and 
 Paul III.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 155 
 
 Every day Messcr Giovanni Gaddi came to see me two or 
 three times, and each time he tooiv up one or other of my 
 handsome fowling-pieces, coats of mail, or swords, using 
 words like these: "That is a handsome thing, that other is 
 still handsomer; " and likewise with my models and other 
 trifles, so that at last he drove me wild with annoyance. In 
 his company came a certain Mattio Franzesi; ^ and this man 
 also appeared to be waiting impatiently for my death, not in- 
 deed because he would inherit anything from me, but because 
 he wished for what his master seemed to have so much at 
 heart. 
 
 Felice, my partner, was always at my side, rendering the 
 greatest services which it is possible for one man to give 
 another. Nature in me was utterly debilitated and undone; 
 I had not strength enough to fetch my breath back if it left 
 me; and yet my brain remained as clear and strong as it 
 had been before my illness. Nevertheless, although I kept 
 my consciousness, a terrible old man used to come to my bed- 
 side, and make as though he would drag me by force into a 
 huge boat he had with him. This made me call out to my 
 Felice to draw near and chase that malignant old man aw-ay. 
 Felice, who loved me most affectionately, ran weeping and 
 crying: "Away with you, old traitor; you are robbing me 
 of all the good I have in this world." Messer Giovanni Gaddi, 
 who was present, then began to say: " The poor fellow is de- 
 lirious, and has only a few hours to live." His fellow, Mattio 
 Franzesi, remarked: " He has read Dante, and in the prostra- 
 tion of his sickness this apparition has appeared to him;" 
 then he added laughingly: "Away with you, old rascal, and 
 don't bother our friend Benvenuto." When I saw that they 
 were making fun of me, I turned to Messer Gaddi and said: 
 " My dear master, know that I am not raving, and that it is 
 true that this old man is really giving me annoyance; but the 
 best that you can do for me would be to drive that miser- 
 able Mattio from my side, who is laughing at my affliction; 
 afterw'ard if your lordship deigns to visit me again, let me 
 beg you to come with Messer Antonio Allegretti, or with 
 Messer Annibal Caro, or with some other of your accom- 
 plished friends, who are persons of quite different intelligence 
 
 ' Franzesi was a clever Italian poet. His burlesque Capitoli are printed 
 with those of Berni and others.
 
 156 CELLINI 
 
 and discretion from that beast." Thereupon Messer Gio- 
 vanni told Mattio in jest to take himself out of his sight for 
 ever; but because Mattio went on laughing, the joke turned 
 to earnest, for Messer Giovanni would not look upon him 
 again, but sent for Messer Antonio Allegretti, Messer Ludo- 
 vico, and Messer Annibal Caro. On the arrival of these 
 worthy men, I was greatly comforted, and talked reasonably 
 with them awhile, not however without frequently urging 
 Felice to drive the old man away. Messer Ludovico asked 
 me what it was I seemed to see, and how the man was shaped. 
 While I portrayed him accurately in words, the old man took 
 me by the arm and dragged me violently toward him. This 
 made me cry out for aid, because he was going to fling me 
 under hatches in his hideous boat. On saying that last word, 
 I fell into a terrible swoon, and seemed to be sinking down 
 into the boat. They say that during that fainting-fit I flung 
 myself about and cast bad words at Messer Giovanni Gaddi, 
 to wit, that he came to rob me, and not from any motive of 
 charity, and other insults of the kind, which caused him to 
 be much ashamed. Later on, they say I lay still like one dead; 
 and after waiting by me more than an hour, thinking I was 
 growing cold, they left me for dead. When they returned 
 home, Mattio Franzesi was informed, who wrote to Florence 
 to Messer Benedetto Varchi, my very dear friend, that they 
 had seen me die at such and such an hour of the night. When 
 he heard the news, that most accomplished man and my dear 
 friend composed an admirable sonnet upon my supposed but 
 not real death, which shall be reported in its proper place. 
 
 More than three long hours passed, and yet I did not 
 regain consciousness. Felice having used all the remedies 
 prescribed by Maestro Francesco, and seeing that I did not 
 come to, ran post-haste to the physician's door, and knocked 
 so loudly that he woke him up, and made him rise, and begged 
 him with tears to come to the house, for he thought that I 
 was dead. Whereto Maestro Francesco, who was a very 
 choleric man, replied: " My son, of what use do you think 
 I should be if I came? If he is dead, I am more sorry than 
 you are. Do you imagine that if I were to come with my 
 medicine I could blow breath through his guts and bring him 
 back to life for you?" But when he saw that the poor young 
 fellow was going away weeping, he called him back and
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 157 
 
 gave him an oil with which to anoint my pulses and my heart, 
 telling him to pinch my little fingers and toes very tightly, -4 
 and to send at once to call him if I should revive. Felice took 
 his way, and did as Maestro Francesco had ordered. It was 
 almost bright day when, thinking they would have to aban- 
 don hope, they gave orders to have my shroud made and to 
 wash me. Suddenly I regained consciousness, and called 
 out to Felice to drive away the old man on the moment, who 
 kept tormenting me. He wanted to send for Maestro Fran- 
 cesco, but I told him not to do so, but to come close up to 
 me, because that old man was afraid of him and went away at 
 once. So Felice drew near to the bed; I touched him, and 
 it seemed to me that the infuriated old man withdrew; so I 
 prayed him not to leave me for a second. 
 
 When Maestro Francesco appeared, he said it w^as his 
 dearest wish to save my life, and that he had never in all his 
 days seen greater force in a young man than I had. Then 
 he sat down to write, and prescribed for me perfumes, lotions,/ 
 unctions, plasters, and a heap of other precious things. Mean- 
 while I came to life again by the means of more than twenty 
 leeches, but with my body bored through, bound, and ground 
 to powder. Many of my friends crow'ded in to behold the 
 miracle of the resuscitated dead man, and among them people 
 of the first importance. 
 
 In their presence I declared that the small amount of gold 
 and money I possessed, perhaps some eight hundred crowns, 
 what with gold, silver, jewels, and cash, should be given by 
 my will to my poor sister in Florence, called Mona Liperata; 
 all the remainder of my property, armour and everything 
 besides, I left to my dearest Felice, together with fifty golden 
 ducats, in order that he might buy mourning. At those words 
 Felice flung his arms around my neck, protesting that he 
 wanted nothing but to have me as he wished alive with him. 
 Then I said: "If you want me alive, touch me as you did 
 before, and threaten the old man, for he is afraid of you." At 
 these words some of the folk were terrified, knowing that I 
 was not raving, but talking to the purpose and with all my 
 wits. Thus my wretched malady went dragging on, and I 
 got but little better. Maestro Francesco, that most excellent 
 man, came four or five times a day; Messer Giovanni Gaddi, 
 who felt ashamed, did not visit me again. My brother-in-law.
 
 158 CELLINI 
 
 the husband of my sister, arrived; he came from Florence 
 for the inlicritance; but as he was a very worthy man, he 
 rejoiced exceedingly to have found me alive. The sight of 
 him did me a world of good, and he began to caress me at 
 once, saying he had only come to take care of me in person; 
 and this he did for several days. Afterward I sent him away, 
 having almost certain hope of my recovery. On this occasion 
 he left the sonnet of Messer Benedetto Varchi, which runs 
 as follows: 
 
 "Who shall, Mattio, yield our pain relief? 
 Who shall forbid the sad expense of tears ? 
 Alas ! 'tis true that in his youthful years 
 Our friend hath flown, and left us here to grief. 
 
 " He hath gone up to heaven, who was the chief 
 Of men renowned in art's immortal spheres ; 
 Among the mighty dead he had no peers, 
 Nor shall earth see his like, in my belief. 
 
 "O gentle sprite ! if love still sway the blest. 
 
 Look down on him thou here didst love, and view 
 These tears that mourn my loss, not thy great good. 
 
 " There dost thou gaze on His beatitude 
 
 Who made our universe, and findest true 
 
 The form of Him thy skill for men expressed." 
 
 LXXXV 
 
 My sickness had been of such a very serious nature that 
 it seemed impossible for me to fling it off. That worthy man 
 Maestro Francesco da Norcia redoubled his efforts, and 
 brought me every day fresh remedies, trying to restore 
 strength to my miserable unstrung frame. Yet all these en- 
 deavours were apparently insufficient to overcome the ob- 
 stinacy of my malady, so that the physicians were in despair 
 and at their wits' ends what to do. I was tormented by thirst, 
 but had abstained from drinking for many days according to 
 the doctors' orders. Felice, who thought he had done won- 
 ders in restoring me, never left my side. That old man ceased 
 to give so much annoyance, yet sometimes he appeared to 
 me in dreams. 
 
 One day Felice had gone out of doors, leaving me under 
 the care of a young apprentice and a servant-maid called 
 Beatrice. T asked the apprentice what had become of my 
 lad Cencio, and what was the reason why I had never seen
 
 MEMOIRS 159 
 
 him in attendance on me. The hoy repHed that Cencio had 
 been far more ill than I was, and that he was even at death's 
 door. Felice had given them orders not to speak to me of 
 this. On hearing the news, I was exceedingly distressed; 
 then I called the maid Beatrice, a Pistojan girl, and asked 
 her to bring me a great crystal water-cooler which stood near, 
 full of clear and fresh water. She ran at once, and brought 
 it to me full; I told her to put it to my lips, adding that if 
 she let me take a draught according to my heart's content, 
 I would give her a new gown. This maid had stolen from 
 me certain little things of some importance, and in her fear 
 of being detected, she would have been very glad if I had 
 died. Accordingly she allowed me twice to take as much 
 as I could of the water, so that in good earnest I swallowed 
 more than a flask full. I then covered myself, and began to 
 sweat, and fell into a deep sleep. After I had slept about an 
 hour, Felice came home and asked the boy how I was get- 
 ting on. He answered: " I do not know. Beatrice brought 
 him that cooler full of water, and he has drunk almost the 
 whole of it. I don't know now whether he is alive or dead." 
 They say that my poor friend was on the point of falling 
 to the ground, so grieved was he to hear this. Afterward 
 he took an ugly stick and began to beat the serving-girl with 
 all his might, shouting out: "Ah! traitress, you have killed 
 him for me then?" While Felice was cudgelling and she 
 screaming, I was in a dream; I thought the old man held 
 ropes in his hand, and while he was preparing to bind me, 
 Felice had arrived and struck him with an axe, so that the 
 old man fled exclaiming: " Let me go, and I promise not to 
 return for a long while." Beatrice in the meantime had run 
 into my bedroom shrieking loudly. This woke me up, and 
 I called out: " Leave her alone; perhaps, when she meant 
 to do me harm, she did me more good than you were able 
 to do with all your efforts. She may indeed have saved my 
 life; so lend me a helping hand, for I have sweated; and be 
 quick about it." Felice recovered his spirits, dried and made 
 me comfortable; and I, being conscious of a great improve- 
 ment in my state, began to reckon on recovery. 
 
 When Maestro Francesco appeared and saw my great im- 
 provement, and the servant-girl in tears, and the prentice run- 
 ning to and fro, and Felice laughing, all this disturbance
 
 i6o CELLINI 
 
 made him think that something extraordinary must have 
 happened, which had been the cause of my amendment. Just 
 then the other doctor, Bernardino, put in his appearance, 
 who at the beginning of my illness had refused to bleed me. 
 Maestro Francesco, that most able man, exclaimed: "Oh, 
 power of Nature! She knows what she requires, and the 
 physicians know nothing." That simpleton. Maestro Ber- 
 nardino, made answer, saying: " If he had drunk another 
 bottle he would have been cured upon the spot." Maestro 
 Francesco da Norcia, a man of age and great authority, said: 
 " That would have been a terrible misfortune, and would to 
 God that it may fall on you ! " Afterward he turned to me 
 and asked if I could have drunk more water. I answered: 
 " No, because I had entirely quenched my thirst." Then 
 he turned to Maestro Bernardino, and said: " Look you how 
 Nature has taken precisely what she wanted, neither more 
 nor less. In like manner she was asking for what she wanted 
 when the poor young man begged you to bleed him. If you 
 knew that his recovery depended upon his drinking two flasks 
 of water, why did you not say so before? You might then 
 have boasted of his cure." At these words the wretched 
 quack sulkily departed, and never showed his face again. 
 
 Maestro Francesco then gave orders that I should be 
 removed from my room and carried to one of the hills there 
 are in Rome. Cardinal Cornaro, when he heard of my im- 
 provement, had me transported to a place of his on Monte 
 Cavallo. That very evening I was taken with great precau- 
 tions in a chair, well wrapped up and protected from the 
 cold. No sooner had I reached the place than I began to 
 vomit, during which there came from my stomach a hairy 
 worm about a quarter of a cubit in length: the hairs were 
 long, and the worm was very ugly, speckled of divers colours, 
 green, black, and red. They kept and showed it to the doctor, 
 who said he had never seen anything of the sort before, and 
 afterward remarked to Felice: " Now take care of your Ben- 
 venuto, for he is cured. Do not permit him any irregularities; 
 for though he has escaped this time, another disorder now 
 would be the death of him. You see his malady has been 
 so grave, that if we had brought him the extreme unction, 
 we might not have been in time. Now I know that with a 
 little patience and time he will live to execute more of his fine
 
 MEMOIRS l6i 
 
 works," Then he turned to me and said: " My Benvenuto, 
 be prudent, commit no excesses, and when you are quite 
 recovered, I beg you to make me a Madonna with your own 
 hand, and I will always pay my devotions to it for your sake." 
 This I promised to do, and then asked him whether it would 
 be safe for me to travel so far as to Florence. He advised 
 me to wait till I was stronger, and till we could observe how 
 Nature worked in me. 
 
 LXXXVI 
 
 When eight days had come and gone, my amendment 
 was so slight that life itself became almost a burden to me; 
 indeed I had been more than fifty days in that great suffering. 
 So I made my mind up, and prepared to travel. My dear 
 Felice and I went toward Florence in a pair of baskets; and 
 as I had not written, when I reached my sister's house, she 
 wept and laughed over me all in one breath. That day many 
 of my friends came to see me; among others Pier Landi, 
 who was the best and dearest friend I ever had. Next day 
 there came a certain Niccolo da Monte Aguto, who was also 
 a very great friend of mine. Now he had heard the Duke 
 say: " Benvenuto would have done much better to die, be- 
 cause he is come to put his head into a noose, and I will never 
 pardon him." Accordingly when Niccolo arrived, he said 
 to me in desperation: " Alas! my dear Benvenuto, what have 
 you come to do here? Did you not know what you have done 
 to displease the Duke? I have heard him swear that you 
 were thrusting your head into a halter." Then I replied: 
 " Niccolo, remind his Excellency that Pope Clement wanted 
 to do as much to me before, and quite as unjustly; tell him 
 to keep his eye on me, and give me time to recover; then T 
 will show his Excellency that I have been the most faithful 
 servant he will ever have in all his life; and forasmuch as 
 some enemy must have served me this bad turn through 
 envy, let him wait till I get well; for I shall then be able to 
 give such an account of myself as will make him marvel." 
 
 This bad turn had been done me by Giorgetto Vassellario 
 of Arezzo,^ the painter; perchance in recompense for many 
 benefits conferred on him. I had harboured him in Rome 
 
 ' This is the famous Giorgio Vasari, a bad painter and worse archi- 
 tect, but dear to all lovers of the arts for his anecdotic work upon Italian 
 artists. 
 
 II
 
 l62 CELLINI 
 
 and provided for his costs, while he had turned my whole 
 house upside down; for the man was subject to a species 
 of dry scab, which he was always in the habit of scratching 
 with his hands. It happened, then, that sleeping in the same 
 bed as an excellent workman, named Manno, who was in my 
 service, when he meant to scratch himself, he tore the skin 
 from one of Manno's legs with his filthy claws, the nails of 
 which he never used to cut. The said Manno left my service, 
 and was resolutely bent on killing him. I made the quarrel 
 up, and afterward got Giorgio into Cardinal de' Medici's 
 household, and continually helped him. For these deserts, 
 then, he told Duke Alessandro that I had abused his Excel- 
 lency, and had bragged I meant to be the first to leap upon 
 the walls of Florence with his foes the exiles. These words, 
 as I afterward learned, had been put into Vasari's lips by that 
 excellent fellow Ottaviano de' Medici, who wanted to revenge 
 himself for the Duke's irritation against him, on account of 
 the coinage and my departure from Florence. I, being inno- 
 cent of the crime falsely ascribed to me, felt no fear whatever. 
 Meanwhile that able physician Francesco da Monte Varchi 
 attended to my cure with great skill. He had been brought 
 by my very dear friend Luca Martini, who passed the larger 
 portion of the day with me.^ 
 
 LXXXVII 
 
 During this while I had sent my devoted comrade Felice 
 back to Rome, to look after our business there. When I 
 could raise my head a little from the bolster, which was at 
 the end of fifteen days, although I was unable to walk upon 
 my feet, I had myself carried to the palace of the Medici, and 
 placed upon the little upper terrace. There they seated me 
 to wait until the Duke went by. Many of my friends at court 
 came up to greet mc, and expressed surprise that I had under- 
 gone the inconvenience of being carried in that way, while so 
 shattered by illness; they said that I ought to have waited 
 till I was well, and then to have visited the Duke. A crowd 
 of them collected, all looking at me as a sort of miracle; not 
 merely because they had heard that I was dead, but far more 
 because I had the look of a dead man. Then publicly, before 
 
 ' Luca Martini was a member of the best literary society in his days, 
 and the author of some famous burlesque pieces.
 
 MEMOIRS 163 
 
 them all, I said how some wicked scoundrel had told my lord 
 the Duke that I had bragged I meant to be the first to scale 
 his Excellency's walls, and also that I had abused him per- 
 sonally; wherefore I had not the heart to live or die till I 
 had purged myself of that infamy, and found out who the 
 audacious rascal was who had uttered such calumnies against 
 me. At these words a large number of those gentlemen came 
 round, expressing great compassion for me; one said one 
 thing, one another, and I told them I would never go thence 
 before I knew who had accused me. At these words Maestro 
 Agostino, the Duke's tailor, made his way through all those 
 gentlemen, and said: " If that is all you want to know, you 
 shall know it at this very moment." 
 
 Giorgio the painter, whom I have mentioned, happened 
 just then to pass, and Maestro Agostino exclaimed: "There 
 is the man who accused you; now you know yourself if it 
 be true or not." As fiercely as I could, not being able to 
 leave my seat, I asked Giorgio if it was true that he had ac- 
 cused me. He denied that it was so, and that he had ever 
 said anything of the sort. Maestro Agostino retorted: " You 
 gallows-bird! don't you know that I know it for most cer- 
 tain?" Giorgio made off as quickly as he could, repeating 
 that he had not accused me. Then, after a short while, the 
 Duke came by; whereupon I had myself raised up before his 
 Excellency, and he halted. I told him that I had come there 
 in that way solely in order to clear my character. The Duke 
 gazed at me, and marvelled I was still alive; afterward he 
 bade me take heed to be an honest man and regain my health. 
 
 When I reached home, Niccolo da Monte Aguto came to 
 visit me. and told me that I had escaped one of the most 
 dreadful perils in the world, quite contrary to all his expecta- 
 tions, for he had seen my ruin written with indelible ink; now 
 I must make haste to get well, and afterward take French 
 leave, because my jeopardy came from a quarter and a man 
 who was able to destroy me. He then said, " Beware," and 
 added: "What displeasure have you given to that rascal 
 Ottaviano de' Medici?" I answered that I had done nothing 
 to displease him, but that he had injured me; and told him 
 all the affair about the Mint. He repeated: " Get hence as 
 quickly as you can, and be of good courage, for you will see 
 your vengeance executed sooner than you expect." I paid
 
 164 CELLINI 
 
 the best attention to my health, gave Pietro Pagolo advice 
 about stamping the coins, and then went off upon my way to 
 Rome without saying a word to the Duke or anybody else. 
 
 LXXXVIII 
 
 When I reached Rome, and had enjoyed the company 
 of my friends awhile, I began the Duke's medal. In a few 
 days I finished the head in steel, and it was the finest work 
 of the kind which I had ever produced. At least once every 
 day there came to visit me a sort of blockhead named Messer 
 Francesco Soderini.^ When he saw what I was doing, he 
 used frequently to exclaim: " Barbarous wretch! you want 
 then to immortalize that ferocious tyrant! You have never 
 made anything so exquisite, which proves you our inveterate 
 foe and their devoted friend; and yet the Pope and he have 
 had it twice in mind to hang you without any fault of yours. 
 That was the Father and the Son; now beware of the Holy 
 Ghost." It was firmly believed that Duke Alessandro was the 
 son of Pope Clement. Messer Francesco used also to say 
 and swear by all his saints that, if he could, he would have 
 robbed me of the dies for that medal. I responded that he 
 had done well to tell me so, and that I would take such care 
 of them that he should never see them more. 
 
 I now sent to Florence to request Lorenzino that he would 
 send me the reverse of the medal. Niccolo da Monte Aguto, 
 to whom I had written, wrote back, saying that he had spoken 
 to that mad melancholy philosopher Lorenzino for it; he had 
 replied that he was thinking night and day of nothing else, 
 and that he would finish it as soon as he was able. Never- 
 theless, I was not to set my hopes upon his reverse, but I 
 had better invent one out of my own head, and when I had 
 finished it, I might bring it without hesitation to the Duke, 
 for this would be to my advantage. 
 
 I composed the design of a reverse which seemed to me 
 appropriate, and pressed the work forward to my best ability. 
 Not being, however, yet recovered from that terrible illness, 
 I gave myself frequent relaxation by going out on fowling 
 expeditions with my friend Felice. This man had no skill 
 in my art; but since we were perpetually day and night 
 together, everybody thought he was a first-rate craftsman. 
 ' He had been banished in 1530 as a foe to the Medicean house.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 165 
 
 This being so, as he was a fellow of much humour, we used 
 often to laugh together about the great credit he had gained. 
 His name was Felice Guadagni (Gain), which made him say 
 in jest: " I should be called Felice Gain-little if you had not 
 enabled me to acquire such credit that I can call myself Gain- 
 much." I replied that there are two ways of gaining: the first 
 is that by which one gains for one's self, the second that by 
 which one gains for others; so I praised him much more for 
 the second than the first, since he had gained for me my life. 
 
 We often held such conversations; but I remember one in 
 particular on the day of Epiphany, when we were together 
 near La Magliana. It was close upon nightfall, and during 
 the day I had shot a good number of ducks and geese; then, 
 as I had almost made my mind up to shoot no more that 
 time, we were returning briskly toward Rome. Calling to 
 my dog by his name, Barucco, and not seeing him in front 
 of me, I turned round and noticed that the well-trained ani- 
 mal was pointing at some geese which had settled in a ditch. 
 I therefore dismounted at once, got my fowling-piece ready, 
 and at a very long range brought two of them down with a 
 single ball. I never used to shoot with more than one ball, 
 and was usually able to hit my mark at two hundred cubits, 
 which can not be done by other ways of loading. Of the two 
 geese, one was almost dead, and the other, though badly 
 wounded, was flying lamely. My dog retrieved the one and 
 brought it to me; but noticing that the other was diving 
 down into the ditch, I sprang forward to catch it. Trusting 
 to my boots, which came high up the leg, I put one foot for- 
 ward; it sank in the oozy ground; and so, although I got the 
 goose, the boot of my right leg was full of water. I lifted 
 my foot and let the water run out; then, when I had mounted, 
 we made haste for Rome. The cold, however, was very great, 
 and I felt my leg freeze, so that I said to FeHce: "We must 
 do something to help this leg, for I don't know how to bear 
 it longer." The good Felice, without a word, leapt from his 
 horse, and gathering some thistles and bits of stick, began to 
 build a fire. I meanwhile was waiting, and put my hands 
 among the breast-feathers of the geese, and felt them very 
 warm. So I told him not to make the fire, but filled my boot 
 with the feathers of the goose, and was immediately so much 
 comforted that I regained vitality.
 
 l66 CELLINI 
 
 LXXXIX 
 
 We mounted, and rode rapidly toward Rome; and when 
 we had reached a certain gently rising ground — night had 
 already fallen — looking in the direction of Florence, both 
 with one breath exclaimed in the utmost astonishment: " O 
 God of heaven! what is that great thing one sees there over 
 Florence? " It resembled a huge beam of fire, which sparkled 
 and gave out extraordinary lustre. 
 
 I said to Felice: " Assuredly we shall hear to-morrow that 
 something of vast importance has happened in Florence." 
 As we rode into Rome, the darkness was extreme; and when 
 we came near the Banchi and our own house, my little horse 
 was going in an amble at a furious speed. Now that day they 
 had thrown a heap of plaster and broken tiles in the middle 
 of the road, which neither my horse nor myself perceived. 
 In his fiery pace the beast ran up it; but on coming down 
 upon the other side he turned a complete somersault. He 
 had his head between his legs, and it was only through the 
 power of God himself that I escaped unhurt. The noise we 
 made brought the neighbours out with lights; but I had 
 already jumped to my feet; and so, without remounting, I 
 ran home, laughing to have come unhurt out of an accident 
 enough to break my neck. 
 
 On entering the house, I found some friends of mine there, 
 to whom, while we were supping together, I related the ad- 
 ventures of the day's chase and the diabolical apparition 
 of the fiery beam which we had seen. They exclaimed: 
 " What shall we hear to-morrow which this portent has an- 
 nounced?" I answered: "Some revolution must certainly 
 have occurred in Florence." So we supped agreeably; and 
 late the next day there came the news to Rome of Duke 
 Alessandro's death. ^ Upon this many of my acquaintances 
 came to me and said: " You were right in conjecturing that 
 something of great importance had happened at Florence." 
 Just then Francesco Sodcrini appeared jogging along upon 
 a wretched mule he had, and laughing all the way like a mad- 
 man. He said to me: " This is the reverse of that vile tyrant's 
 medal which your Lorenzino de' Medici promised you." 
 
 ' Alessandro was murdered by his cousin Lorenzino at Florence on 
 the 5th of January, 1537.
 
 MEMOIRS 167 
 
 Then he added : " You wanted to immortaHze the dukes for 
 us; but we mean to have no more dukes:" and thereupon 
 he jeered me, as though I had been the captain of the fac- 
 tions which make dukes. Meanwhile a certain Baccio Bet- 
 tini/ who had an ugly big head like a bushel, came up and 
 began to banter me in the same way about dukes, calling 
 out: "We have dis-duked them, and won't have any more 
 of them; and you were for making them immortal for us!" 
 with many other tiresome quips of the same kind. I lost my 
 patience at this nonsense, and said to them: " You block- 
 heads! I am a poor goldsmith, who serve whoever pays me; 
 and you are jeering me as though I were a party-leader. 
 However, this shall not make me cast in your teeth the in- 
 satiable greediness, idiocy, and good-for-nothingness of your 
 predecessors. But this one answer I will make to all your 
 silly railleries; that before two or three days at the longest 
 have passed by, you will have another duke, much worse 
 perhaps than he who now has left you." 
 
 The following day Bettini came to my shop and said: 
 " There is no need to spend money in couriers, for you know 
 things before they happen. What spirit tells them to you?" 
 Then he informed me that Cosimo de' Medici, the son of 
 Signor Giovanni, was made Duke; but that certain condi- 
 tions had been imposed at his election, which would hold 
 him back from kicking up his heels at his own pleasure. I 
 now had my opportunity for laughing at them, and saying: 
 " Those men of Florence have set a young man upon a mettle- 
 some horse; next they have buckled spurs upon his heels, 
 and put the bridle freely in his hands, and turned him out 
 upon a magnificent field, full of flowers and fruits and all 
 delightful things; next they have bidden him not to cross 
 certain indicated limits: now tell me, you, who there is that 
 can hold him back, whenever he has but the mind to cross 
 them? Laws can not be imposed on him who is the master 
 of the law." So they left me alone, and gave me no further 
 annoyance.^ 
 
 ' Bettini was an intimate friend of Buonarroti and a considerable patron 
 of the arts. 
 
 ' Cellini only spoke the truth on this occasion ; for Cosimo soon kicked 
 down the ladder which had lifted him to sovereignty, and showed himself 
 the absolute master of Florence. Cosimo was elected Duke upon the gth 
 of January, 1537.
 
 l68 CELLINI 
 
 XC 
 
 I now began to attend to my shop, and did some busi- 
 ness, not however of much moment, because I had still to 
 think about my health, which was not yet established after 
 that grave illness I had undergone. About this time the 
 Emperor returned victorious from his expedition against 
 Tunis, and the Pope sent for me to take my advice concern- 
 ing the present of honour it was fit to give him.^ I answered 
 that it seemed to me most appropriate to present his Im- 
 perial Majesty with a golden crucifix, for which I had almost 
 finished an ornament quite to the purpose, and which would 
 confer the highest honour upon his Holiness and me. I 
 had already made three little figures of gold in the round, 
 about a palm high; they were those which I had begun for 
 the chalice of Pope Clement, representing Faith, Hope, and 
 Charity. To these I added in wax what was wanting for the 
 basement of the cross. I carried the whole to the Pope, with 
 the Christ in wax, and many other exquisite decorations which 
 gave him complete satisfaction. Before I took leave of his 
 Holiness, we had agreed on every detail, and calculated the 
 price of the work. 
 
 This was one evening four hours after nightfall, and the 
 Pope had ordered Messer Latino Juvenale to see that I had 
 money paid to me next morning. This Messer Latino, who 
 had a pretty big dash of the fool in his composition, be- 
 thought him of furnishing the Pope with a new idea, which 
 was, however, wholly of his own invention. So he altered 
 everything which had been arranged; and next morning, 
 when I went for the money, he said with his usual brutal 
 arrogance: " It is our part to invent, and yours to execute; 
 before I left the Pope last night we thought of something 
 far superior." To these first words I answered, without allow- 
 ing him to proceed farther: " Neither you nor the Pope can 
 think of anything" better than a piece in which Christ plays 
 a part; so you may go on with your courtier's nonsense till 
 you have no more to say." 
 
 Without uttering one word, he left me in a rage, and tried 
 to get the work given to another goldsmith. The Pope, how- 
 
 • Cellini returns to the year 1535, when Charles V arrived in Novem- 
 ber from Tunis.
 
 MEMOIRS 169 
 
 ever, refused, and sent for nic at once, and told me I had 
 spoken well, but that they wanted to make use of a Book of 
 Hours of Our Lady, which was marvellously illuminated, and 
 had cost the Cardinal de' Medici more than two thousand 
 crowns. They thought that this would be an appropriate 
 present to the Empress, and that for the Emperor they would 
 afterward make what 1 had suggested, which was indeed a 
 preset worthy of him; but now there was no time to lose, 
 since the Emperor was expected in Rome in about a month 
 and a half. He w-anted the book to be inclosed in a case of 
 massive gold, richly worked, and adorned with jewels valued 
 at about six thousand crowns. Accordingly, when the jewels 
 and the gold were given me, I began the work, and driving 
 it briskly forward, in a few days brought it to such beauty 
 that the Pope was astonished, and showed me the most dis- 
 tinguished signs of favour, conceding at the same time that 
 that beast Juvenale should have nothing more to do with me. 
 I had nearly brought my work to its completion when 
 the Emperor arrived, and numerous triumphal arches of great 
 magnificence were erected in his honour. He entered Rome 
 with extraordinary pomp, the description* of which I leave 
 to others, since I mean to treat of those things only which 
 concern myself.^ Immediately after his arrival, he gave the 
 Pope a diamond which he had bought for twelve thousand 
 crowns. This diamond the Pope committed to my care, order- 
 ing me to make a ring to the measure of his Holiness's finger; 
 but first he wished me to bring the book in the state to which 
 I had advanced it. I took it accordingly, and he was highly 
 pleased with it; then he asked my advice concerning the 
 apology which could be reasonably made to the Emperor for 
 the unfinished condition of my work. I said that mv indis- 
 position would furnish a sound excuse, since his Majesty, 
 seeing how thin and pale I was, would very readily believe 
 and accept it. To this the Pope replied that he approved of 
 the suggestion, but that I should add on the part of his Holi- 
 ness, when I presented the book to the Emperor, that I made 
 him the present of mvself. Then he told me in detail how I 
 had to behave, and the words I had to say. These words I 
 repeated to the Pope, asking him if he wished me to deliver 
 them in that way. He replied : " You would acquit yourself 
 
 • The entry into Rome took place April 6, 1536.
 
 170 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 to admiration if you had the courage to address the Emperor 
 as you are addressing me." Then I said that I had the cour- 
 age to speak with far greater ease and freedom to the Em- 
 peror, seeing that the Emperor was clothed as I was, and 
 that I should seem to be speaking to a man formed like my- 
 self; this was not the case when I addressed his Holiness, 
 in whom I beheld a far superior deity, both by reason of his 
 ecclesiastical adornments, which shed a certain aureole about 
 him, and at the same time because of his Holiness's dignity 
 of venerable age; all these things inspired in me more awe 
 than the Imperial Majesty. To these words the Pope re- 
 sponded: " Go, my Benvenuto; you are a man of ability; do 
 us honour, and it will be well for you." 
 
 XCI 
 
 The Pope ordered out two Turkish horses, which had 
 belonged to Pope Clement, and were the most beautiful that 
 ever came to Christendom. Messer Durante,^ his chamber- 
 lain, was bidden to bring them through the lower galleries 
 of the palace, and there to give them to the Emperor, repeat- 
 ing certain words which his Holiness dictated to him. We 
 both went down together, and when we reached the presence 
 of the Emperor, the horses made their entrance through those 
 halls with so much spirit and such a noble carriage that the 
 Emperor and every one were struck with wonder. There- 
 upon Messer Durante advanced in so graceless a manner, 
 and delivered his speech with so much of Brescian lingo, 
 mumbling his words over in his mouth, that one never saw 
 or heard anything worse; indeed the Emperor could not re- 
 frain from smiling at him. I meanwhile had already uncov- 
 ered my piece; and observing that the Emperor had turned 
 his eyes toward me with a very gracious look, I advanced 
 at once and said: "Sacred Majesty, our most holy Father, 
 Pope Paolo, sends this book of the Virgin as a present to 
 your Majesty, the which is written in a fair clerk's hand, and 
 illuminated by the greatest master who ever professed that 
 art; and this rich cover of gold and jewels is unfinished, as 
 you here behold it, by reason of my illness: wherefore his 
 Holiness, together with the book, presents me also, and at- 
 
 ' Messer Durante Duranti, Prefect of the Camera under Paul III, who 
 gave him the hat in 1544, and the Bishopric of Brescia afterward.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 i;i 
 
 taches me to your Majesty in order that I may complete the 
 work; nor this alone, but everything which you may have 
 it in your mind to execute so long as life is left me, will I 
 perform at your service." Thereto the Emperor responded: 
 " The book is acceptable to me, and so are you; but I desire 
 you to complete it for me in Rome; when it is finished, and 
 you are restored to health, bring it me and come to see me." 
 Afterward, in course of conversation, he called me by my 
 name, which made me wonder, because no words had been 
 dropped in which my name occurred; and he said that he 
 had seen that fastening of Pope Clement's cope, on which 
 I had wrought so many wonderful figures. We continued 
 talking in this way a whole half hour, touching on divers 
 topics artistic and agreeable; then, since it seemed to me that 
 I had acquitted myself with more honour than I had expected, 
 I took the occasion of a slight lull in the conversation to make 
 my bow and to retire. The Emperor was heard to say: " Let 
 five hundred golden crowns be given at once to Benvenuto." 
 The person who brought them up asked who the Pope's man 
 was who had spoken to the Emperor. Messer Durante came 
 forward and robbed me of my five hundred crowns. I com- 
 plained to the Pope, who told me not to be uneasy, for he 
 knew how everything had happened, and how well I had con- 
 ducted myself in addressing the Emperor, and of the money 
 I should certainly obtain my share. 
 
 XCII 
 
 When I returned to my shop, I set my hand with dili- 
 gence to finishing the diamond ring, concerning which the 
 four first jewellers of Rome were sent to consult with me. 
 This was because the Pope had been informed that the dia- 
 mond had been set by the first jeweller of the world in Venice; 
 he was called Maestro Miliano Targhetta; and the diamond 
 being somewhat thin, the job of setting it was too difficult to 
 be attempted without great deliberation. I was well pleased 
 to receive these four jewellers, among whom was a man of 
 Milan called Gaio. He was the most presumptuous donkey 
 in the world, the one who knew least and who thought he 
 knew most; the others were very modest and able crafts- 
 men. In the presence of us all this Gaio began to talk, and 
 said: " Miliano's foil should be preserved, and to do that.
 
 172 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 Benvenuto, you shall doff your cap;^ for just as giving dia- 
 monds a tint is the most delicate and difficult thing in the 
 jeweller's art, so is Miliano the greatest jeweller that ever 
 lived, and this is the most difficult diamond to tint." I replied 
 that it was all the greater glory for me to compete with so 
 able a master in such an excellent profession. Afterward I 
 turned to the other jewellers and said: " Look here! I am 
 keeping Miliano's foil, and I will see whether I can improve 
 on it with some of my own manufacture; if not, we will tint 
 it with the same you see here." That ass Gaio exclaimed 
 that if I made a foil like that he would gladly doff his cap 
 to it. To which I replied: " Supposing then I make it better, 
 it will deserve two bows." " Certainly so," said he; and I 
 began to compose my foils. 
 
 I took the very greatest pains in mixing the tints, the 
 method of doing which I will explain in the proper place. 
 It is certain that the diamond in question offered more diffi- 
 culties than any others which before or afterward have come 
 into my hands, and Miliano's foil was made with true artistic 
 skill. However, that did not dismay me; but having sharp- 
 ened my wits up, I succeeded not only in making something 
 quite as good, but in exceeding it by far. Then, when I saw 
 that I had surpassed him, I went about to surpass myself, and 
 produced a foil by new processes which was a long way better 
 than what I had previously made. Thereupon I sent for 
 the jewellers; and first I tinted the diamond with Miliano's 
 foil; then I cleaned it well and tinted it afresh with my own. 
 When I showed it to the jewellers, one of the best among 
 them, who was called Raffael del Moro, took the diamond 
 in his hand and said to Gaio: " Benvenuto has outdone the 
 foil of Miliano." Gaio, unwilling to believe it, took the 
 diamond and said: " Benvenuto, this diamond is worth two 
 thousand ducats more than with the foil of Miliano." I re- 
 joined: " Now that I have surpassed Miliano, let us see if I 
 can surpass myself." Then I begged them to wait for me 
 a while, went up into a little cabinet, and having tinted the 
 diamond anew unseen by them, returned and showed it to 
 the jewellers. Gaio broke out at once: "This is the mos"t 
 marvellous thing that I have ever seen in the course of my 
 
 ' These foils were composed of paste, and coloured so as to enhance 
 the effect of precious stones, particularly diamonds.
 
 MEMOIRS 173 
 
 whole lifetime. The stone is worth upward of eighteen thou- 
 sand crowns, whereas we valued it at barely twelve thou- 
 sand." The other jewellers turned to him and said: " Ben- 
 venuto is the glory of our art, and it is only due that we should 
 dof¥ our caps to him and to his foils." Then Gaio said: " I 
 shall go and tell the Pope, and I mean to procure for him 
 one thousand golden crowns for the setting of this diamond." 
 Accordingly he hurried to the Pope and told him the whole 
 story; whereupon his Holiness sent three times on that day 
 to see if the ring was finished. 
 
 At twenty-three o'clock I took the ring to the palace; 
 and since the doors were always open to me, I lifted the cur- 
 tain gently, and saw the Pope in private audience with the 
 Marchese del Guasto.^ The Marquis must have been press- 
 ing something on the Pope which he was unwilling to per- 
 form; for I heard him say: " I tell you, no; it is my business 
 to remain neutral, and nothing else." I was retiring as quickly 
 as I could, when the Pope himself called me back; so I en- 
 tered the room, and presented the diamond ring, upon which 
 he drew me aside, and the Marquis retired to a distance. 
 While looking at the diamond, the Pope whispered to me: 
 " Benvenuto, begin some conversation with me on a subject 
 which shall seem important, and do not stop talking so long 
 as the Marquis remains in this room." Then he took to walk- 
 ing up and down; and the occasion making for my advan- 
 tage, I was very glad to discourse with him upon the methods 
 I had used to tint the stone. The Marquis remained stand- 
 ing apart, leaning against a piece of tapestry; and now he bal- 
 anced himself about on one foot, now on the other. The 
 subject I had chosen to discourse upon was of such impor- 
 tance, if fully treated, that I could have talked about it at 
 least three hours. The Pope was entertained to such a degree 
 that he forgot the annoyance of the Marquis standing there. 
 I seasoned what I had to say with that part of natural phi- 
 losophy which belongs to our profession; and when I had 
 spoken for near upon an hour, the Marquis grew tired of 
 waiting, and went off fuming. Then the Pope bestowed on 
 me the most familiar caresses which can be imagined, and 
 
 ' Alfonson d'Avalos, successor and heir to the famous Ferdinando 
 d'Avalos, Marquis of Pescara. He acted for many years as Spanish 
 Viceroy of Milan.
 
 174 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 exclaimed: "Have patience, my dear Benvenuto, for I will 
 give you a better reward for your virtues than the thousand 
 crowns which Gaio tells me your work is worth." 
 
 On this I took my leave; and the Pope praised me in the 
 presence of his household, among whom was the fellow Latino 
 Juvenale, whom I have previously mentioned. This man, 
 having become my enemy, assiduously strove to do me hurt; 
 and noticing that the Pope talked of me with so much aflfec- 
 tion and warmth, he put in his word: "There is no doubt 
 at all that Benvenuto is a person of very remarkable genius; 
 but while every one is naturally bound to feel more good-will 
 for his own countrymen than for others, still one ought to 
 consider maturely what language it is right and proper to 
 use when speaking of a Pope. He has had the audacity to 
 say that Pope Clement indeed was the handsomest sovereign 
 that ever reigned, and no less gifted; only that luck was 
 always against him: and he says that your Holiness is quite 
 the opposite; that the tiara seems to weep for rage upon your 
 head; that you look like a truss of straw with clothes on, 
 and that there is nothing in you except good luck." These 
 words, reported by a man who knew most excellently how 
 to say them, had such force that they gained credit with the 
 Pope. Far from having uttered them, such things had never 
 come into my head. If the Pope could have done so with- 
 out losing credit, he would certainly have taken fierce re- 
 venge upon me; but being a man of great tact and talent, 
 he made a show of turning it off with a laugh. Nevertheless 
 he harboured in his heart a deep vindictive feeling against 
 me, of which I was not slow to be aware, since I had no 
 longer the same easy access to his apartments as formerly, 
 but found the greatest diflficulty in procuring audience. As 
 I had now for many years been familiar with the manners of 
 the Roman court, I conceived that some one had done me 
 a bad turn; and on making dexterous inquiries, I was told 
 the whole, but not the name of my calumniator. I could 
 not imagine who the man was; had I but found him out, my 
 vengeance would not have been measured by troy weight. 
 
 XCIII 
 
 I went on working at my book, and when I had finished 
 it I took it to the Pope, who was in good truth unable to re-
 
 MEMOIRS t 175 
 
 frain from commending it greatly. I begged him to send 
 me with it to the Emperor, as he had promised. He repHed 
 that he would do what he thought fit, and that I had per- 
 formed my part of the business. So he gave orders that I 
 should be well paid. These two pieces of work, on which I 
 had spent upward of two months, brought me in five hun- 
 dred crowns: for the diamond I received one hundred and 
 fifty crowns and no more; the rest was given me for the 
 cover of the book, which, however, was worth more than a 
 thousand, being enriched with multitudes of figures, ara- 
 besques, enamellings, and jewels. I took what I could get, 
 and made my mind up to leave Rome without permission. 
 The Pope meanwhile sent my book to the Emperor by the 
 hand of his grandson, Signor Sforza. Upon accepting it, the 
 Emperor expressed great satisfaction, and immediately asked 
 for me. Young Signor Sforza, who had received his instruc- 
 tions, said that I had been prevented by illness from coming. 
 All this was reported to me. 
 
 My preparations for the journey into France were made; 
 and I wished to go alone, but was unable on account of a 
 lad in my service called Ascanio. He was of very tender 
 age, and the most admirable servant in the world. When 
 I took him he had left a former master, named Francesco, 
 a Spaniard and a goldsmith. I did not much like to take 
 him, lest I should get into a quarrel with the Spaniard, and 
 said to Ascanio: " I do not want to have you, for fear of 
 offending your master." He contrived that his master should 
 write me a note informing me that I was free to take him. 
 So he had been with me some months; and since he came 
 to us both thin and pale of face, we called him " the little 
 old man;" indeed I almost thought he was one. partly be- 
 cause he was so good a servant, and partly because he was 
 so clever that it seemed unlikely he should have such talent 
 at thirteen years, w'hich he affirmed his age to be. Now to 
 go back to the point from which I started, he improved in 
 person during those few months, and gaining in flesh, became 
 the handsomest youth in Rome. As he was the excellent 
 servant I have described, and showine marvellous aptitude for 
 our art, I felt a warm and fatherly affection for him, and kept 
 him clothed as if he had been my own son. When the boy 
 perceived the improvement he had made, he esteemed it a
 
 176 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 good piece of luck that he had come into my hands; and 
 he used frequently to go and thank his former master, who 
 had been the cause of his prosperity. Now this man had a 
 handsome young woman to wife, who said to him: " Sur- 
 getto " (that was what they called him when he lived with 
 them), " what have you been doing to become so handsome? " 
 Ascanio answered: " Madonna Francesco, it is my master 
 who has made me so handsome, and far more good to boot." 
 In her petty spiteful way she took it very ill that Ascanio 
 should speak so; and she contrived to caress the lad more per- 
 haps than was quite seemly, which made me notice that he 
 began to visit her more frequently than his wont had been. 
 
 One day Ascanio took to beating one of our little shop- 
 boya, who, when I came home from out of doors, complained 
 to me with tears that Ascanio had knocked him about with- 
 out any cause. Hearing this, I said to Ascanio: "With 
 cause or without cause, see you never strike any one of my 
 family, or else I'll make you feel how I can strike myself." 
 He bandied words with me, which made me jump on him 
 and give him the severest drubbing with both fists and feet 
 that he had ever felt. As soon as he escaped my clutches, he 
 ran away without cape or cap, and for two days I did not 
 know where he was, and took no care to find him. After 
 that time a Spanish gentleman, called Don Diego, came to 
 speak to me. He was the most generous man in the world. 
 I had made, and w^as making, some things for him, which 
 had brought us well acquainted. He told me that Ascanio 
 had gone back to his old master, and asked me, if I thought 
 it proper, to send him the cape and cap which I had given 
 him. Thereupon I said that Francesco had behaved badly, 
 and like a low-bred fellow; for if he had told me, when As- 
 canio first came back to him, that he was in his house, I 
 should very willingly have given him leave; but now that 
 he had kept him two days without informing me, I was re- 
 solved he should not have him; and let him take care that I 
 do not set eyes upon the lad in his house. This message 
 was reported by Don Diego, but it only made Francesco 
 laugh. The next morning I saw Ascanio working at some 
 trifles in wire at his master's side. As I was passing he bowed 
 to me, and his master almost laughed me in the face. He 
 sent again to ask through Don Diego whether I would not
 
 MEMOIRS 177 
 
 give Ascanio back the clothes he had received from me; but 
 if not, he did not mind, and Ascanio should not want for 
 clothes. When I heard this, I turned to Don Diego and said: 
 " Don Diego, sir, in all your dealings you are the most liberal 
 and worthy man I ever knew; but that Francesco is quite 
 the opposite of you; he is nothing better than a worthless 
 and dishonoured renegade. Tell him from me that if he 
 does not bring Ascanio here himself to my shop before the 
 bell for vespers, I will assuredly kill him; and tell Ascanio 
 that if he does not quit that house at the hour appointed 
 for his master, I will treat him much in the same way." Don 
 Diego made no answer, but went and inspired such terror 
 in Francesco that he knew not what to do with himself. 
 Ascanio meanwhile had gone to find his father, who had 
 come to Rome from Tagliacozzo, his birthplace; and this 
 man also, when he heard about the row, advised Francesco 
 to bring Ascanio back to me. Francesco said to Ascanio: 
 " Go on your own account, and your father shall go with 
 you." Don Diego put in: " Francesco, I foresee that some- 
 thing very serious will happen; you know better than I do 
 what a man Benvenuto is; take the lad back courageously, 
 and I will come with you." I had prepared myself, and was 
 pacing up and down the shop waiting for the bell to vespers; 
 my mind was made up to do one of the bloodiest deeds which 
 I had ever attempted in my life. Just then arrived Don 
 Diego, Francesco, Ascanio, and his father, whom I did not 
 know. When Ascanio entered, I gazed at the whole com- 
 pany with eyes of rage, and Francesco, pale as death, began 
 as follows : " See here, I have brought back Ascanio, whom 
 I kept with me, not thinking that I should ofTend you." 
 Ascanio added humbly : " Master, pardon me ; I am at your 
 disposal here, to do whatever you shall order." Then I said : 
 " Have you come to work out the time you promised me?" 
 He answered yes, and that he meant never to leave me. 
 Then I turned and told the shopboy he had beaten to hand 
 him the bundle of clothes, and said to him: " Here are all the 
 clothes I gave you; take with them your discharge, and go 
 where you like." Don Diego stood astonished at this, which 
 was quite the contrary of what he had expected; while Ascanio 
 with his father besought me to pardon and take him back. 
 
 On my asking who it was who spoke for him, he said it was 
 12
 
 1/8 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 his father; to whom, after many entreaties, I replied: " Be- 
 cause you are his father, for your sake I will take him back." 
 
 XCIV 
 
 I had formed the resolution, as I said a short while back, 
 to go toward France; partly because I saw that the Pope 
 did not hold me in the same esteem as formerly, my faithful 
 service having been besmirched by lying tongues; and also 
 because I feared lest those who had the power might play 
 me some worse trick. So I was determined to seek better 
 fortune in a foreign land, and wished to leave Rome without 
 company or license. On the eve of my projected departure, 
 I told my faithful friend Felice to make free use of all my 
 effects during my absence; and in the case of my not re- 
 turning, left him everything I possessed. Now there was a 
 Perugian workman in my employ, who had helped me on 
 those commissions from the Pope; and after paying his wages, 
 I told him he must leave my service. Pie begged me in reply 
 to let him go with me, and said he would come at his own 
 charges; if I stopped to work for the King of France, it would 
 certainly be better for me to have Italians by me, and in par- 
 ticular such persons as I knew to be capable of giving me 
 assistance. His entreaties and arguments persuaded me to 
 take him on the journey in the manner he proposed. Ascanio, 
 who was present at this debate, said, half in tears: "When 
 you took me back, I said I wished to remain with you my 
 lifetime, and so I have it in my mind to do." I told him that 
 nothing in the world would make me consent; but when I 
 saw that the poor lad was preparing to follow on foot, I en- 
 gaged a horse for him too, put a small valise upon the crup- 
 per, and loaded myself with far more useless baggage than I 
 should otherwise have taken. ^ 
 
 From home I travelled to Florence, from Florence to 
 Bologna, from Bologna to Venice, and from Venice to Padua. 
 There my dear friend Albertaccio del Bene made me leave 
 the inn for his house; and next day I went to kiss the hand 
 of Messer Pietro Bembo, who was not yet a Cardinal.^ He 
 received me with marks of the warmest affection which could 
 
 ' April I, 1537. 
 
 ' Rembo ruled over Italian literature like a dictator from the reisfn of 
 Leo X onward. He was of a noble Venetian house ; Paul III made him 
 Cardinal in 1539. He died in 1547.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 179 
 
 be bestowed on any man; then turning to Albertaccio, he 
 said: " I want Benvenuto to stay here, with all his follow- 
 ers, even though they be a hundred men; make then your 
 mind up, if you want Benvenuto also, to stay here with me, 
 for I do not mean elsewise to let you have him." Accord- 
 ingly I spent a very pleasant visit at the house of that most 
 accomplished gentleman. He had a room prepared for me 
 which would have been too grand for a cardinal, and always 
 insisted on my taking my meals beside him. Later, he began 
 to hint in very modest terms that he should greatly like me 
 to take his portrait. I, who desired nothing in the world 
 more, prepared some snow-white plaster in a little box, and 
 set to work at once. The first day I spent two hours on 
 end at my modelling, and blocked out the fine head of that 
 eminent man with so much grace of manner that his lordship 
 Avas fairly astounded. Now, though he was a man of pro- 
 found erudition and without a rival in poetry, he understood 
 nothing at all about my art; this made him think that I had 
 finished when I had hardly begun, so that I could not make 
 him comprehend what a long time it took to execute a thing 
 of that sort thoroughly. At last I resolved to do it as well 
 as I was able, and to spend the requisite time upon it; but 
 since he wore his beard short after the Venetian fashion, I 
 had great trouble in modelling a head to my own satisfac- 
 tion. However, I finished it, and judged it about the finest 
 specimen I had produced in all the points pertaining to my 
 art. Great was the astonishment of Messer Pietro, who con- 
 ceived that I should have completed the waxen model in 
 two hours and the steel in ten, when he found that I em- 
 ployed two hundred on the wax, and then was begging for 
 leave to pursue my journey toward France. This threw him 
 into much concern, and he implored me at least to design 
 the reverse for his medal, which was to be a Pegasus encir- 
 cled with a wreath of myrtle. I performed my task in the 
 space of some three hours, and gave it a fine air of elegance. 
 He was exceedingly delighted, and said: "This horse seems 
 to me ten times more difficult to do than the little portrait on 
 which you have bestowed so much pains. I can not under- 
 stand what made it such a labour." All the same, he kept 
 entreating me to execute the piece in steel, exclaiming: " For 
 Heaven's sake, do it; I know that, if you choose, you will
 
 l8o CELLINI 
 
 get it quickly finished." I told him that I was not willing 
 to make it there, but promised without fail to take it in hand 
 wherever I might stop to work. 
 
 While this debate was being carried on I went to bargain 
 for three horses which I wanted on my travels; and he took 
 care that a secret watch should be kept over my proceedings, 
 for he had vast authority in Padua; wherefore, when I pro- 
 posed to pay for the horses, which were to cost five hundred 
 ducats, their owner answered: " Illustrious artist, I make you 
 a present of the three horses." I replied: " It is not you 
 who give them me; and from the generous donor I can not 
 accept them, seeing I have been unable to present him with 
 any specimen of my craft." The good fellow said that, if I 
 did not take them, I should get no other horses in Padua, and 
 should have to make my journey on foot. Upon that I re- 
 turned to the magnificent Messer Pietro, who affected to be 
 ignorant of the affair, and only begged me with marks of 
 kindness to remain in Padua. This was contrary to my inten- 
 tion, for I had quite resolved to set out; therefore I had to 
 accept the three horses, and with them we began our journey. 
 
 xcv 
 
 I chose the route through the Grisons, all other passes 
 being unsafe on account of war. We crossed the mountains 
 of the Alba and Berlina; it was the 8th of May, and the snow 
 upon them lay in masses. At the utmost hazard of our lives 
 we succeeded in surmounting those two Alpine ridges; and 
 when they had been traversed, we stopped at a place which, 
 if I remember rightly, is called Valdista. There we took up 
 quarters, and at nightfall there arrived a Florentine courier 
 named Busbacca. I had heard him mentioned as a man of 
 character and able in his profession, but I did not know that 
 he had forfeited that reputation by his rogueries. When 
 he saw me in the hostelry, he addressed me by my name, 
 said he was going on business of importance to Lyons, and 
 entreated me to lend him money for the journey. I said I 
 had no money to lend, but that if he liked to join me, I would 
 pay his expenses as far as Lyons. The rascal wept, and 
 wheedled mc with a long story, saying: " If a poor courier 
 employed on affairs of national consequence has fallen short 
 of money, it is> the duty of a man like you to assist him."
 
 MEMOIRS l8l 
 
 Then he added that he was carrying things of the utmost 
 importance from Messer FiHppo Strozzi ; * and showing me 
 a leather case for a cup he had with him, wliispered in my 
 ear that it held a goblet of silver which contained jewels 
 to the value of many thousands of ducats, together with let- 
 ters of vast consequence, sent by Messer Filippo Strozzi. I 
 told him that he ought to let me conceal the jewels about 
 his own person, which would be much less dangerous than 
 carrying them in the goblet; he might give that up to me, 
 and, its value being probably about ten crowns, I would 
 supply him with twenty-five on the security. To these words 
 the courier replied that he would go with me, since he could 
 not do otherwise, for to give up the goblet would not be to 
 his honour. 
 
 Accordingly we struck the bargain so; and taking horse 
 next morning, came to a lake between Valdistate and Vessa; 
 it is fifteen miles long when one reaches Vessa. On behold- 
 ing the boats upon that lake I took fright; because they are 
 of pine, of no great size and no great thickness, loosely put 
 together, and not even pitched. If I had not seen four Ger- 
 man gentlemen, with their four horses, embarking in one 
 of the same sort as ours, I should never have set my foot 
 in it; indeed I should far more likely have turned tail; but 
 when I saw their hare-brained recklessness, I took it into my 
 head that those German waters would not drown folk, as ours 
 do in Italy. However, my two young men kept saying to 
 me: " Benvenuto, it is surely dangerous to embark in this 
 craft with four horses." I replied: "You cowards, do you 
 not observe how those four gentlemen have taken boat before 
 us, and are going on their way with laughter? If this were 
 wine, as indeed 'tis water, I should say that they were going 
 gladly to drown themselves in it; but as it is but water, I 
 know well that they have no more pleasure than we have 
 in drowning there." The lake was fifteen miles long and 
 about three broad; on one side rose a mountain very tall 
 and cavernous, on the other some flat land and grassy. When 
 we had gone about four miles, it began to storm upon the 
 lake, and our oarsmen asked us to help in rowing; this w^ 
 
 did awhile. I made gestures and directed them to lar '. 
 
 s ^ agmg 
 
 ' Filippo Strozzi was leader of the anti-Medicean party, now in^g^^ q^^- 
 
 fell into the hands of Duke Cosimo on the ist of August in thv rlried
 
 l82 CELLINI 
 
 on the farther shore; they said it was not possible, because 
 there was not depth of water for the boat, and there were 
 shoals there, which would make it go to pieces and drown 
 us all; and still they kept on urging us to help them. The 
 boatmen shouted one to the other, calling for assistance. 
 When I saw them thus dismayed, my horse being an intelli- 
 gent animal, I arranged the bridle on his neck and took the 
 end of the halter with my left hand. The horse, like most 
 of his kind, being not devoid of reason, seemed to have an 
 instinct of my intention; for having turned his face toward 
 the fresh grass, I meant that he should swim and draw me 
 after him. Just at that moment a great wave broke over the 
 boat. Ascanio shrieked out: " Mercy, my father; save me," 
 and wanted to throw himself upon my neck. Accordingly, I 
 laid hand to my little dagger, and told them to do as I had 
 shown them, seeing that the horses would save their lives 
 as well as I too hoped to escape with mine by the same means; 
 but that if he tried to jump on me, I should kill him. So we 
 went forward several miles in this great peril of our lives. 
 
 XCVI 
 
 When we had reached the middle of the lake, we found 
 a little bit of level ground where we could land, and I saw 
 that those four German gentlemen had already come to shore 
 there; but on our wishing to disembark, the boatmen would 
 hear nothing of it. Then I said to my young men: " Now 
 is the time to show what stufT we are made of; so draw your 
 sworcls, and force these fellows to put us on shore." This 
 we did, not however without difficulty, for they offered a 
 stubborn resistance. When at last we got to land, we had to 
 climb that mountain for two miles, and it was more trouble- 
 some than getting up a ladder. I was completely clothed 
 in mail, with big boots, and a gun in my hand; and it was 
 raining as though the fountains of the heavens were opened. 
 Those devils, the German gentlemen, leading their little horses 
 by the bridle, accomplished miracles of agility; but our ani- 
 mals were not up to the business, and we burst with the 
 fatigue of making them ascend that hill of difficulty. We 
 had climbed a little way, when Ascanio's horse, an excellent 
 beast of Hungarian race, marie a false step. He was going 
 a few paces before the courier Busbacca, to whom Ascanio
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 183 
 
 had given his lance to carry for him. Well, the path was so 
 bad that the horse stumbled, and went on scrambling back- 
 ward, without being able to regain his footing, till he stuck 
 upon the point of the lance, which that rogue of a courier 
 had not the wit to keep out of his way. The weapon passed 
 right through his throat; and when my other workman went 
 to help him, his horse also, a black-coloured animal, slipped 
 toward the lake, and held on by some shrub which offered but 
 a slight support. This horse was carrying a pair of saddle- 
 bags, which contained all my money and other valuables. I 
 cried out to the young man to save his own life, and let the 
 horse go to the devil. The fall was more than a mile of pre- 
 cipitous descent above the waters of the lake. Just below 
 the place our boatmen had taken up their station; so that 
 if the horse fell, he would have come precisely on them. I 
 was ahead of the whole company, and we waited to see the 
 horse plunge headlong; it seemed certain that he must go 
 to perdition. During this I said to my young men: " Be 
 under no concern; let us save our lives, and give thanks 
 to God for all that happens. I am only distressed, for that 
 poor fellow Busbacca, who tied his goblet and his jewels to 
 the value of several thousands of ducats on the horse's saddle- 
 bow, thinking that the safest place. My things are but a 
 few hundred crowns, and I am in no fear whatever, if only 
 I get God's protection." Then Busbacca cried out: " I am 
 not sorry for my own loss, but for yours." " Why," said I 
 to him, " are you sorry for my trifles, and not for all that 
 property of yours?" He answered: " I will tell you in God's 
 name; in these circumstances and at the point of peril we 
 have reached, truth must be spoken. I know that yours are 
 crowns, and are so in good sooth; but that case in which I 
 said I had so many jewels and other lies, is all full of caviare." 
 On hearing this I could not hold from laughing; my young 
 men laughed too; and he began to cry. The horse extri- 
 cated itself by a great effort when we had given it up for 
 lost. So then, still laughing, we summoned our forces, and 
 bent ourselves to making the ascent. The four German 
 gentlemen, having gained the top before us, sent down some 
 folk who gave us aid. Thus at length we reached our lodging 
 in the wilderness. Here, being wet to the skin, tired out, 
 and famished, we were most agreeably entertained; we dried
 
 i84 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 ourselves, took rest, and satisfied our hunger, while certain 
 wild herbs were applied to the wounded horse. They pointed 
 out to us the plant in question, of which the hedges were full; 
 and we were told that if the wound was kept continually 
 plugged with its leaves, the beast would not only recover, but 
 would serve us just as if it had sustained no injury. We pro- 
 ceeded to do as they advised. Then having thanked those 
 gentlemen, and feeling ourselves entirely refreshed, we quitted 
 the place, and travelled onward, thanking God for saving us 
 
 from such great perils. 
 
 ^ XCVII 
 
 We reached a town beyond Vessa, where we passed the 
 night, and heard a watchman through all the hours singing 
 very agreeably; for all the houses of that city being built 
 of pine wood, it was the watchman's only business to warn 
 folk against fire. Busbacca's nerves had been quite shaken 
 by the day's adventures; accordingly, each hour when the 
 watchman sang, he called out in his sleep: "Ah God, I am 
 drowning!" That was because of the fright he had had; 
 and besides, he had got drunk in the evening, because he 
 would sit boozing with all the Germans who were there; and 
 sometimes he cried: " I am burning," and sometimes: " I am 
 drowning;" and at other times he thought he was in hell, 
 and tortured with that caviare suspended round his throat. 
 
 This night was so amusing, that it turned all our troubles 
 into laughter. In the morning we rose with very fine weather, 
 and went to dine in a smiling little place called Lacca. Here 
 we obtained excellent entertainment, and then engaged guides, 
 who were returning to a town called Surich. The guide who 
 attended us went along the dyked bank of a lake; there was 
 no other road; and the dyke itself was covered with water, 
 so that the reckless fellow slipped, and fell together with his 
 horse beneath the water. I, who was but a few steps behind 
 him, stopped my horse, and waited to see the donkey get out 
 of the water. Just as if nothing had happened, he began to 
 sing again, and made signs to me to follow. I broke away 
 upon the right hand, and got through some hedges, making 
 my young men and Busbacca take that way. The guide 
 shouted in German that if the folk of those parts saw me they 
 would put mc to death. However, we passed forward, and 
 escaped that other storm.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 185 
 
 So we arrived at Surich, a marvellous city, bright and 
 polished like a little gem. There we rested a whole day, 
 then left betimes one morning, and reached another fair city 
 called Solutorno. Thence we came to Usanna, from Usanna 
 to Ginevra, from Ginevra to Lione, always singing and laugh- 
 ing. At Lione I rested four days, and had much pleasant 
 intercourse with some of my friends there; I was also repaid 
 what I had spent upon Busbacca; afterward I set out upon 
 the road to Paris. This was a delightful journey, except that 
 when we reached Palissa a band of venturers tried to murder 
 us, and it was only by great courage and address that we got 
 free from them. From that point onward we travelled to 
 Paris without the least trouble in the world. Always singing 
 and laughing, we arrived safely at our destination. 
 
 XCVIII 
 
 After taking some repose in Paris, I went to visit the 
 painter Rosso, who was in the King's service. I thought to 
 find in him one of the sincerest friends I had in the world, 
 seeing that in Rome I had done him the greatest benefits 
 which one man can confer upon another. As these may be 
 described briefly, I will not here omit their mention, in order 
 to expose the shamelessness of such ingratitude. While he 
 was in Rome, then, being a man given to backbiting, he 
 spoke so ill of RafTaello da Urbino's works, that the pupils 
 of the latter were quite resolved to murder him. From this 
 peril I saved him by keeping a close watch upon him day 
 and night. Again, the evil things said by Rosso against San 
 Gallo,^ that excellent architect, caused the latter to get work 
 taken from him which he had previously procured for him 
 from Messer Agnolo da Cesi; and after this San Gallo used 
 his influence so strenuously against him that he must have 
 been brought to the verge of starvation, had not I pitied his 
 condition and lent him some scores of crowns to live upon. 
 So then, not having been repaid, and knowing that he held 
 employment under the King, I went, as I have said, to look 
 him up. I did not merely expect him to discharge his debt, 
 but also to show me favour and assist in placing me in that 
 great monarch's service. 
 
 ' Antonio da San Gallo, one of the best architects of the later Re- 
 naissance.
 
 l86 CELLINI 
 
 When Rosso set eyes on me, his countenance changed 
 suddenly, and he exclaimed: " Benvenuto, you have taken 
 this long journey at great charges to your loss; especially 
 at this present time, when all men's thoughts are occupied 
 with war, and not with the bagatelles of our profession." I 
 replied that I had brought money enough to take me back 
 to Rome as I had come to Paris, and that this was not the 
 proper return for the pains I had endured for him, and that 
 now I began to believe what Maestro Antonio da San Gallo 
 said of him. When he tried to turn the matter into jest on 
 this exposure of his baseness, I showed him a letter of ex- 
 change for five hundred crowns upon Ricciardo del Bene. 
 Then the rascal was ashamed, and wanted to detain me almost 
 by force; but I laughed at him, and took my leave in the 
 company of a painter whom I found there. This man was 
 called Sguazzella:^ he too was a Florentine; and I went to 
 lodge in his house, with three horses and three servants, at 
 so much per week. He treated me very well, and was even 
 better paid by me in return. 
 
 Afterward I sought audience of the King, through the 
 introduction of his treasurer, Messer Giuliano Buonaccorti. 
 I met, however, with considerable delays, owing, as I did 
 not then know, to the strenuous exertions Rosso made against 
 my admission to his Majesty. When Messer Giuliano became 
 aware of this, he took me down at once to Fontana Bilio,^ 
 and brought me into the presence of the King, who granted 
 me a whole hour of very gracious audience. Since he was 
 then on the point of setting out for Lyons, he told Messer 
 Giuliano to take me with him, adding that on the journey 
 we could discuss some works of art his Majesty had it in his 
 head to execute. Accordingly, I followed the court; and on 
 the way I entered into close relations with the Cardinal of 
 Ferrara, who had not at that period obtained the hat.^ Every 
 evening I used to hold long conversations with the Cardinal, 
 in the course of which his lordship advised me to remain 
 
 ' A pupil of Andrea del Sarto. who went with him to France and 
 settled there. 
 
 ' Fontainebleau. 
 
 ' Ippolito d'Este, son of Alfonso, nuke of Ferrara; Archbishop of 
 Milan at the age of fifteen ; Cardinal in 1539; spent a large part of his 
 life in France,
 
 MEMOIRS 187 
 
 at an abbey of his in Lyons, and there to abide at ease until 
 the King returned from this campaign, adding that he was 
 going on to Grenoble, and that 1 should enjoy every con- 
 venience in the abbey. 
 
 When we reached Lyons I was already ill, and my lad 
 Ascanio had taken a quartan fever. The French and their 
 court were both grown irksome to me, and I counted the 
 hours till I could find myself again in Rome. On seeing 
 my anxiety to return home, the Cardinal gave me money 
 sufficient for making him a silver basin and jug. So we 
 took good horses, and set our faces in the direction of Rome, 
 passing the Simplon, and travelling for some while in the 
 company of certain Frenchmen; Ascanio troubled by his 
 quartan, and I by a slow fever which I found it quite impos- 
 sible to throw off. I had, moreover, got my stomach out of 
 order to such an extent, that for the space of four months, 
 as I verily believe, I hardly ate one whole loaf of bread in 
 the week; and great was my longing to reach Italy, being 
 desirous to die there rather than in France. 
 
 XCIX 
 
 When we had crossed the mountains of the Simplon, we 
 came to a river near a place called Indevedro. It was broad 
 and very deep, spanned by a long narrow bridge without ram- 
 parts. That morning a thick white frost had fallen; and 
 when I reached the bridge, riding before the rest, I recognised 
 how dangerous it was, and bade my servants and young men 
 dismount and lead their horses. So I got across without acci- 
 dent, and rode on talking with one of the Frenchmen, whose 
 condition was that of a gentleman. The other, who was a 
 scrivener, lagged a little way behind, jeering the French 
 gentleman and me because we had been so frightened by 
 nothing at all as to give ourselves the trouble of walking. 
 I turned round, and seeing him upon the middle of the bridge, 
 begged him to come gently, since the place was very danger- 
 ous. The fellow, true to his French nature, cried out in 
 French that I was a man of poor spirit, and that there was 
 no danger whatsoever. While he spoke these words and 
 urged his horse forward, the animal suddenly slipped over 
 the bridge, and fell with legs in air close to a huge rock there 
 was there. Now God is very often merciful to madmen; so
 
 l88 CELLINI 
 
 the two beasts, human and equine, plunged together into a 
 deep wide pool, where both of them went down below the 
 water. On seeing what had happened, I set off running at 
 full speed, scrambled with much difficulty on to the rock, 
 and angling over from it, seized the skirt of the scrivener's 
 gown and pulled him up, for he was still submerged beneath 
 the surface. He had drunk his bellyful of water, and was 
 within an ace of being drowned. I then, beholding him out 
 of danger, congratulated the man upon my having been the 
 means of rescuing his life. The fellow to this answered me 
 in French, that 1 had done nothing; the important things to 
 save were his writings, worth many scores of crowns; and 
 these words he seemed to say in anger, dripping wet and 
 sputtering the while. Thereupon, I turned round to our 
 guides, and ordered them to help the brute, adding that I 
 would see them paid. One of them with great address and 
 trouble set himself to the business, and picked up all the 
 fellow's writings, so that he lost not one of them; the other 
 guide refused to trouble himself by rendering any assistance. 
 I ought here to say that we had made a purse up, and 
 that I performed the part of paymaster. So, when we reached 
 the place I mentioned, and had dined, I drew some coins 
 from the common purse and gave them to the guide who 
 helped to draw him from the water. Thereupon the fellow 
 called out that I might pay them out of my own pocket; he 
 had no intention of giving the man more than what had been 
 agreed on for his services as guide. Upon this I retorted 
 with insulting language. Then the other guide, who had 
 done nothing, came up and demanded to be rewarded also. 
 I told him that the one who had borne the cross deserved 
 the recompense. He cried out that he would presently show 
 me a cross which should make me repent. I replied that I 
 would light a candle at that cross, which should, I hoped, 
 make him to be the first to weep his folly. The village we 
 were in lay on the frontier between Venice and the Germans. 
 So the guide ran off to bring the folk together, and came, 
 followed by a crowd, with a boar-spear in his hand. Mounted 
 on my good steed, I lowered the barrel of my arquebuse, 
 and turning to my comrades, cried: " At the first shot I shall 
 bring that fellow down; do you likewise your duty, for these 
 are highway robbers, who have used this little incident to
 
 MEMOIRS 189 
 
 contrive our murder," The innkeeper at whose house we had 
 dined called one of the leaders, an imposing old man, and 
 begged him to put a stop to the disorder, saying: "This is 
 a most courageous young man; you may cut him to pieces, 
 but he will certainly kill a lot of you, and perhaps will escape 
 your hands after doing all the mischief he is able." So mat- 
 ters calmed down: and the old man, their leader, said to 
 me: " Go in peace; you would not have much to boast of 
 against us, even if you had a hundred men to back you." 
 I recognised the truth of his words, and had indeed made 
 up my mind to die among them; therefore, when no further 
 insults were cast at me, I shook my head and exclaimed: " I 
 should certainly have done my utmost to prove I am no 
 statue, but a man of flesh and spirit." Then we resumed our 
 journey; and that evening, at the first lodging we came to, 
 settled our accounts together. There I parted for ever from 
 that beast of a Frenchman, remaining on very friendly terms 
 with the other, who was a gentleman. Afterward I reached 
 Ferrara, with my three horses and no other company. 
 
 Having dismounted, I went to court in order to pay my 
 reverence to the Duke, and gain permission to depart next 
 morning for Loreto. When I had waited until two hours 
 after nightfall, his Excellency appeared. I kissed his hands; 
 he received me with much courtesy, and ordered that water 
 should be brought for me to wash my hands before eating. 
 To this compliment I made a pleasant answer: " Most ex- 
 cellent lord, it is now more than four months that I have 
 eaten only just enough to keep life together; knowing there- 
 fore that I could not enjoy the delicacies of your royal table, 
 I will stay and talk with you while your Excellency is sup- 
 ping; in this way we shall both have more pleasure than if 
 I were to sup with you." Accordingly, we entered into con- 
 versation, and prolonged it for the next three hours. At 
 that time I took my leave, and when I got back to the inn, 
 found a most excellent meal ready ; for the Duke had sent me 
 the plates from his own banquet, together with some famous 
 wine. Having now fasted two full hours beyond my usual 
 hour for supping, I fell to with hearty appetite; and this was 
 the first time since four months that I felt the power or will 
 to eat.
 
 190 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 C 
 
 Leaving Ferrara in the morning, I went to Santa Maria 
 at Loreto; and thence, having performed my devotions, pur- 
 sued the journey to Rome. There I found my most faithful 
 FeHce, to whom I abandoned my old shop with all its furni- 
 ture and appurtenances, and opened another, much larger and 
 roomier, next to Sughcrello, the perfumer. I thought for cer- 
 tain that the great King Francis would not have remembered 
 me. Therefore I accepted commissions from several noble- 
 men; and in the meanwhile began the basin and jug ordered 
 by the Cardinal of Ferrara. I had a crowd of workmen, and 
 many large afifairs on hand in gold and silver. 
 
 Now the arrangement I had made with that Perugian 
 workman was that he should write down all the monies which 
 had been disbursed on his account, chiefly for clothes and 
 divers other sundries; and these, together with the costs of 
 travelling, amounted to about seventy crowns. We agreed 
 that he should discharge the debt by monthly payments of 
 three crowns; and this he was well able to do, since he gained 
 more than eight through me. At the end of two months 
 the rascal decamped from my shop, leaving me in the lurch 
 with a mass of business on my hands, and saying that he did 
 not mean to pay me a farthing more. I was resolved to seek 
 redress, but allowed myself to be persuaded to do so by the 
 way of justice. At first I thought of lopping ofT an arm of 
 his; and assuredly I should have done so, if my friends had 
 not told me that it was a mistake, seeing I should lose my 
 money and perhaps Rome too a second time, forasmuch as 
 blows can not be measured, and that with the agreement I 
 held of his I could at any moment have him taken up. I 
 listened to their advice, though I should have liked to conduct 
 the afifair more freely. As a matter of fact, I sued him before 
 the auditor of the Camera, and gained my suit; in conse- 
 quence of that decree, for which I waited several months, I 
 had him thrown into prison. At the same time I was over- 
 whelmed with large commissions; among others, I had to 
 supply all the ornaments of gold and jewels for the wife of 
 Signor Girolamo Orsino, father of Signor Paolo, who is now 
 the son-in-law of our Duke Cosimo.^ These things I had 
 
 ' He was Duke of Bracciano, father of Duke Paolo, who married Isa- 
 bella de' Medici, and murdered her before his second marriage with Vit- 
 toria Accoramboni.
 
 MEMOIRS 191 
 
 nearly finished; yet others of the greatest consequence were 
 
 always coming in. I employed eight work-people, and worked 
 
 day and night together with them, for the sake alike of honour 
 
 and of gain. 
 
 CI 
 
 While I was engaged in prosecuting my affairs with so 
 much vigour, there arrived a letter sent post-haste to me by 
 the Cardinal of Ferrara, which ran as follows: 
 
 " Benvenuto, our Dear Friend: During these last days 
 the most Christian King here made mention of you, and said 
 that he should like to have you in his service. Whereto I 
 answered that you had promised me, whenever I sent for you 
 to serve his Majesty, that you would come at once. His 
 Majesty then answered: ' It is my will that provision for his 
 journey, according to his merits, should be sent him;' and 
 immediately ordered his Admiral to make me out an order for 
 one thousand golden crowns upon the treasurer of the Ex- 
 chequer. The Cardinal de' Gaddi, who was present at this 
 conversation, advanced immediately, and told his Majesty that 
 it was not necessary to make these dispositions, seeing that 
 he had sent you money enough, and that you were already 
 on the journey. If then, as I think probable, the facts are 
 quite contrary to those assertions of Cardinal Gaddi, reply 
 to me without delay upon the receipt of this letter; for I will 
 undertake to gather up the fallen thread, and have the prom- 
 ised money given you by this magnanimous King." 
 
 Now let the world take notice, and all the folk that dwell 
 on it, what power malignant stars with adverse fortune exer- 
 cise upon us human beings! I had not spoken twice in my 
 lifetime to that little simpleton of a Cardinal de' Gaddi; nor 
 do I think that he meant by this bumptiousness of his to do 
 me any harm, but only, through light-headedness and sense- 
 less folly, to make it seem as though he also held the affairs 
 of artists, whom the King was wanting, under his own per- 
 sonal supervision, just as the Cardinal of Ferrara did. But 
 afterward he was so stupid as not to tell me anything at all 
 about the matter; elsewise, it is certain that my wish to shield 
 a sillv mannikin from reproach, if only for our country's sake, 
 would have made me find out some excuse to mend the bung- 
 ling of his foolish self-conceit.
 
 192 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 Immediately upon the receipt of Cardinal Ferrara's letter, 
 I answered that about Cardinal de' Gaddi 1 knew absolutely 
 nothing, and that even if he had made overtures of that kind 
 to me, I should not have left Italy without informing his most 
 reverend lordship. I also said that I had more to do in Rome 
 than at any previous time; but that if his most Christian 
 Majesty made sign of wanting me, one word of his, com- 
 municated by so great a prince as his most reverend lordship, 
 would suffice to make me set off upon the spot, leaving all 
 other concerns to take their chance. 
 
 After I had sent my letter, that traitor, the Perugian work- 
 man, devised a piece of malice against me, which succeeded 
 at once, owing to the avarice of Pope Paolo da Farnese, but 
 also far more to that of his son, who was then called Duke 
 of Castro. The fellow in question informed one of Signor 
 Pier Luigi's secretaries that, having been with me as work- 
 man several years, he was acquainted with all my affairs, on 
 the strength of which he gave his word to Signor Pier Luigi 
 that I was worth more than eighty thousand ducats, and 
 that the greater part of this property consisted in jewels, 
 which jewels belonged to the Church, and that I had stolen 
 them in Castel Sant' Agnolo during the sack of Rome, 
 and that all they had to do was to catch me on the spot with 
 secrecy. 
 
 It so happened that I had been at work one morning, 
 more than three hours before daybreak, upon the trousseau 
 of the bride I mentioned; then, while my shop was being 
 opened and swept out, I put my cape on to go abroad and 
 take the air. Directing my steps along the Strada Giulia, I 
 turned into Chiavica, and at this corner Crespino, the Bargello, 
 with all his constables, made up to me, and said: "You are 
 the Pope's prisoner." I answered: " Crespino, you have mis- 
 taken your man." " No," said Crespino, " you are the artist 
 Benvenuto, and I know you well, and I have to take you 
 to the Castle of Sant' Angelo, where lords go, and men of 
 accomplishments, your peers." Upon that four of his under- 
 officers rushed on me, and would have seized by force a dagger 
 which I wore, and some rings I carried on my finger; but 
 Crespino rebuked them : " Not a man of you shall touch 
 him: it is quite enough if you perform your duty, and see 
 that* he does not escape me." Then he came up, and begged
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 193 
 
 me with words of courtesy to surrender my arms. While 
 I was engaged in doing this, it crossed my mind that exactly 
 on that very spot I had assassinated Pompeo. They took 
 me straightway to the castle, and locked me in an upper 
 chamber in the keep. This was the first time that I ever smelt 
 a prison up to the age I then had of thirty-seven years. 
 
 CII 
 
 Signor Pier Luigi, the Pope's son, had well considered 
 the large sum for which I stood accused; so he begged the 
 reversion of it from his most holy father, and asked that he 
 might have the money made out to himself. The Pope 
 granted this willingly, adding that he would assist in its re- 
 covery. Consequently, after having kept me eight whole 
 days in prison, they sent me up for examination, in order to 
 put an end if possible to the aflfair. I was summoned into 
 one of the great halls of the papal castle, a place of much 
 dignity. My examiners were, first, the Governor of Rome, 
 called Messer Benedetto Conversini of Pistoja, who after- 
 ward became Bishop of Jesi; secondly, the Procurator-Fiscal, 
 whose name I have forgotten; and, thirdly, the judge in crim- 
 inal cases, Messer Benedetto da Cagli. These three men 
 began at first to question me in gentle terms, which afterward 
 they changed to words of considerable harshness and menace, 
 apparently because I said to them: " My lords, it is more 
 than half-an-hour now since you have been pestering me 
 with questions about fables and such things, so that one may 
 truly say you are chattering or prattling; by chattering I 
 mean talking without reason, by prattling I mean talking non- 
 sense: therefore I beg you to tell me what it really is you 
 want of me, and to let me hear from your lips reasonable 
 speech, and not jabberings or nonsense." In reply to these 
 words of mine, the Governor, who was a Pistojan, could no 
 longer disguise his furious temper, and began: "You talk 
 very confidently, or rather far too arrogantly; but let me tell 
 you that I will bring your pride down lower than a spaniel 
 by the words of reason you shall hear from me; these will be 
 neither jabberings nor nonsense, as you have it, but shall 
 form a chain of arguments to answer which you will be forced 
 to tax the utmost of your wits." Then he began to speak ^s 
 follows : " We know for certain that you were in Rome at 
 13
 
 194 CELLINI 
 
 the time when this unhappy city was subject to the calamity 
 of the sack; at that time you were in this Castle of Sant' 
 Angelo, and were employed as bombardier. Now since you 
 are a jeweller and goldsmith by trade, Pope Clement, being 
 previously acquainted with you, and having by him no one 
 else of your profession, called you into his secret counsels, 
 and made you unset all the jewels of his tiaras, mitres, and 
 rings; afterward, having confidence in you, he ordered you 
 to sew them into his clothes. While thus engaged, you se- 
 questered, unknown to his Holiness, a portion of them, to 
 the value of eighty thousand crowns. This has been told 
 us by one of your workmen, to whom you disclosed the matter 
 in your braggadocio way. Now, we tell you frankly that you 
 must find the jewels, or their value in money: after that we 
 will release you." 
 
 cm 
 
 When I heard these words, I could not hold from burst- 
 ing into a great roar of laughter; then, having laughed a 
 while, I said: "Thanks be to God that on this first occa- 
 sion, when it has pleased His Divine Majesty to imprison 
 me, I should not be imprisoned for some folly, as the wont 
 is usually wnth young men. If what you say were the truth, 
 I run no risk of having to submit to corporal punishment, 
 since the authority of the law was suspended during that 
 season. Indeed, I could excuse myself by saying that, like 
 a faithful servant, I had kept back treasure to that amount 
 for the sacred and holy Apostolic Church, waiting till I could 
 restore it to a good Pope, or else to those who might require 
 it of me; as, for instance, you might, if this were verily the 
 case." When I had spoken so far, the furious Governor 
 would not let me conclude my argument, but exclaimed in 
 a burst of rage: " Interpret the aflfair as you like best, Ben- 
 vcnuto; it is enough for us to have found the property which 
 we had lost; be quick about it, if you do not want us to use 
 other measures than words." Then they began to rise and 
 leave the chamber; but I stopped them, crying out: " My 
 lords, my examination is not over; bring that to an end, 
 and go then where you choose." They resumed their seats 
 in a very angry temper, making as though they did not mean 
 to listen to a word I said, and at the same time half relieved, 
 as though they had discovered all they wanted to know. I
 
 MEMOIRS 195 
 
 then began my speech, to this effect: " You are to know, my 
 lords, that it is now some twenty years since I first came to 
 Rome, and I have never been sent to prison here or else- 
 where." On this that catchpoll of a Governor called out: 
 "And yet you have killed men enough here!" I replied: 
 "It is you that say it, and not 1; but if some one came to 
 kill you, priest as you are, you would defend yourself, and 
 if you killed him, the sanctity of law would hold you justi- 
 fied. Therefore let me continue my defence, if you wish to 
 report the case to the Pope, and to judge me fairly. Once 
 more I tell you that I have been a sojourner in this marvel- 
 lous city Rome for nigh on twenty years, and here I have 
 exercised my art in matters of vast importance. Knowing 
 that this is the seat of Christ, I entertained the reasonable 
 belief that when some temporal prince sought to inflict on 
 me a mortal injury, I might have recourse to this holy chair 
 and to this Vicar of Christ, in confidence that he would surely 
 uphold my cause. Ah me! whither am I now to go? What 
 prince is there who will protect me from this infamous assas- 
 sination? Was it not your business, before you took me up, 
 to find out what I had done with those eighty thousand ducats? 
 Was it not your duty to inspect the record of the jewels, 
 which have been carefully inscribed by this Apostolic Camera 
 through the last five hundred years? If you had discovered 
 anything missing on that record, then you ought to have seized 
 all my books together with myself. I tell you for a certainty 
 that the registers, on which are written all the jewels of the 
 Pope and the regalia, must be perfectly in order; you will 
 not find there missing a single article of value w^hich belonged 
 to Pope Clement that has not been minutely noted. The one 
 thing of the kind which occurs to me is this: When that 
 poor man Pope Clement wanted to make terms with those 
 thieves of the Imperial army, who had robbed Rome and in- 
 sulted the Church, a certain Cesare Iscatinaro, if I rightly 
 remember his name, came to negotiate with him; and having 
 nearly concluded the agreement, the Pope in his extremity, 
 to show the man some mark of favour, let fall a diamond 
 from his finger, which was worth about four thousand crowns, 
 and when Iscatinaro stooped to pick it up, the Pope told 
 him to keep it for his sake. I was present at these trans- 
 actions: and if the diamond of which I speak be missing,
 
 196 CELLINI 
 
 I have told you where it went; but I have the firmest con- 
 viction that you will find even this noted upon the register. 
 After this you may blush at your leisure for having done such 
 cruel injustice to a man like me, who has performed so many 
 honourable services for the apostolic chair. I would have 
 you to know that, but for me, the morning when the Imperial 
 troops entered the Borgo, they would without let or hindrance 
 have forced their way into the castle. It was I who, unre- 
 warded for this act, betook myself with vigour to the guns 
 which had been abandoned by the cannoneers and soldiers 
 of the ordnance. I put spirit into my comrade Raffaello da 
 Montelupo, the sculptor, who had also left his post and hid 
 himself all frightened in a corner, without stirring foot or 
 finger; I woke his courage up, and he and I alone together 
 slew so many of the enemies that the soldiers took another 
 road. I it was who shot Iscatinaro when I saw him talking 
 to Pope Clement without the slightest mark of reverence, 
 nay, with the most revolting insolence, like the Lutheran and 
 infidel he was. Pope Clement upon this had the castle 
 searched to find and hang the man who did it. I it was who 
 wounded the Prince of Orange in the head down there below 
 the trenches of the castle. Then, too, how many ornaments 
 of silver, gold, and jewels, how many models and coins, so 
 beautiful and so esteemed, have I not made for Holy Church! 
 Is this then the presumptuous priestly recompense you give 
 a man who has served and loved you with such loyalty, with 
 such mastery of art? Oh, go and report the whole that I 
 have spoken to the Pope; go and tell him that his jewels are 
 all in his possession; that I never received from the Church 
 anything but wounds and stonings at that epoch of the sack; 
 that I never reckoned upon any gain beyond some small 
 remuneration from Pope Paolo, which he had promised me. 
 Now at last I know what to think of his Holiness and you 
 his Ministers." 
 
 While I was delivering this speech, they sat and listened 
 in astonishment. Then exchanging glances one with the 
 other, and making signs of much surprise, they left me. All 
 three went together to report what I had spoken to the Pope. 
 The Pope felt some shame, and gave orders that all the records 
 of the jewels should be diligently searched. When they had 
 ascertained that none were missing, they left me in the castle
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 197 
 
 without saying a word more about it. Signor Pier Luigi felt 
 
 also that he had acted ill; and to end the affair, they set about 
 
 to contrive my death. 
 
 CIV 
 
 During the agitations of this time which I have just re- 
 lated, King Francis received news of how the Pope was keep- 
 ing me in prison, and with what injustice. He had sent a 
 certain gentleman of his, named Monsignor di Morluc, as his 
 ambassador to Rome; ^ to him therefore he now wrote, claim- 
 ing me from the Pope as the man of his Majesty. The Pope 
 was a person of extraordinary sense and ability, but in this 
 aflfair of mine he behaved weakly and unintelligently ; for he 
 made answer to the King's envoy that his Majesty need pay 
 me no attention, since I was a fellow who gave much trouble 
 by fighting; therefore he advised his Majesty to leave me 
 alone, adding that he kept me in prison for homicides and 
 other devilries which I had played. To this the King sent 
 answer that justice in his realm was excellently maintained; 
 for even as his Majesty was wont to shower rewards and 
 favours upon men of parts and virtue, so did he ever chastise 
 the troublesome. His Holiness had let me go, not caring 
 for the service of the said Benvenuto, and the King, when he 
 saw him in his realm, most willingly adopted him; therefore 
 he now asked for him in the quality of his own man. Such 
 a demand was certainly one of the most honourable marks 
 of favour which a man of my sort could desire; yet it proved 
 the source of infinite annoyance and hurt to me. The Pope 
 was roused to such fury by the jealous fear he had lest I 
 should go and tell the whole world how infamously I had 
 been treated, that he kept revolving ways in which I might 
 be put to death without injury to his own credit. 
 
 The castellan of Sant' Angelo was one of our Florentines, 
 called Messer Giorgio, a knight of the Ugolini family. This 
 worthy man showed me the greatest courtesy, and let me go 
 free about the castle on parole. He was well aware how 
 greatly I had been wronged; and when T wanted to give secu- 
 rity for leave to walk about the castle, he replied that though 
 
 ' Jean de Montluc, brother of the celebrated Marshal, Bishop of Va- 
 lence, a friend of Margaret of Navarre, and, like her, a protector of the 
 Huguenots. He negotiated the election of the Duke of Anjou to the 
 throne of Poland.
 
 198 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 he could not take that, seeing the Pope set too much impor- 
 tance upon my affair, yet he would frankly trust my word, 
 because he was informed by every one what a worthy man 
 I was. So I passed my parole, and he granted me conven- 
 iences for working at my trade. I then, reflecting that the 
 Pope's anger against me must subside, as well because of my 
 innocence as because of the favour shown me by the King, 
 kept my shop in Rome open, while Ascanio, my prentice, 
 came to the castle and brought me things to work at. I could 
 not indeed do much, feeling myself imprisoned so unjustly; 
 yet I made a virtue of necessity, and bore my adverse fortune 
 with as light a heart as I was able. 
 
 I had secured the attachment of all the guards and many 
 soldiers of the castle. Now the Pope used to come at times 
 to sup there, and on those occasions no watch was kept, but 
 the place stood open like an ordinary palace. Consequently, 
 while the Pope was there, the prisoners used to be shut up 
 with great precautions; none such, however, were taken with 
 me, who had the license to go where I liked, even at those 
 times, about its precincts. Often then those soldiers told me 
 that I ought to escape, and that they would aid and abet me, 
 knowing as they did how greatly I had been wronged. I 
 answered that I had given my parole to the castellan, who 
 was such a worthy man, and had done me such kind offices. 
 One very brave and clever soldier used to say to me: " My 
 Benvenuto, you must know that a prisoner is not obliged, 
 and can not be obliged, to keep faith, any more than aught 
 else which befits a free man. Do what I tell you; escape from 
 that rascal of a Pope and his son, for both are bent on having 
 your life by villainy." I had, however, made my mind up 
 rather to lose my life than to break the promise I had given 
 that good man the castellan. So I bore the extreme discom- 
 forts of my situation, and had for companion of misery a friar 
 of the Palavisina house, who was a very famous preacher. 
 
 CV 
 
 This man had been arrested as a Lutheran. He was an 
 excellent companion; but, from the point of view of his reli- 
 gion, T found him the biggest scoundrel in the world, to whom 
 all kinds of vices were acceptable. His fine intellectual quali- 
 ties won my admiration; but I hated his dirty vices, and
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 199 
 
 frankly taxed him with them. This friar kept perpetually 
 reminding me that I was in no wise bound to observe faith 
 with the castellan, since I had become a prisoner. I replied 
 to these arguments that he might be speaking the truth as a 
 friar, but that as a man he spoke the contrary; for every 
 one who called himself a man, and not a monk, was bound 
 to keep his word under all circumstances in which he chanced 
 to be. I therefore, being a man, and not a monk, was not 
 going to break the simple and loyal word which I had given. 
 Seeing then that he could not sap my honour by the subtle 
 and ingenious sophistries he so eloquently developed, the 
 friar hit upon another way of tempting me. He allowed some 
 days to pass, during which he read me the sermons of Fra 
 Girolamo Savonarola; and these he expounded with such lu- 
 cidity and learning that his comment was even finer than the 
 text. I remained in ecstasies of admiration; and there was 
 nothing in the world I would not have done for him, except, 
 as I have said, to break my promised word. When he saw 
 the effect his talents had produced upon my mind, he thought 
 of yet another method. Cautiously he began to ask what 
 means I should have taken, supposing my jailors had locked 
 me up, in order to set the dungeon doors open and efifect 
 my flight. I then, who wanted to display the sharpness of 
 my own wits to so ingenious a man, replied that I was quite 
 sure of being able to open the most baffling locks and bars, 
 far more those of our prison, to do which would be the same 
 to me as eating a bit of new cheese. In order then to gain 
 my secret, the friar now made light of these assertions, aver- 
 ring that persons who have gained some credit by their abili- 
 ties, are wont to talk big of things which, if they had to put 
 their boasts in action, would speedily discredit them, and 
 much to their dishonour. Himself had heard me speak so 
 far from the truth, that he was inclined to think I should, when 
 pushed to proof, end in a dishonourable failure. Upon this, 
 feeling myself stung to the quick by that devil of a friar, I 
 responded that I always made a practice of promising in words 
 less than I could perform in deeds; what I had said about 
 the keys was the merest trifle; in a few words I could make 
 him understand that the matter was as I had told it; then, 
 all too heedlessly, I demonstrated the facility with which my 
 assertions could be carried into act. He affected to pay little
 
 20O CELLINI 
 
 attention; but all the same he learned my lesson well by heart 
 with keen intelligence. 
 
 As I have said above, the worthy castellan let me roam 
 at pleasure over the whole fortress. Not even at night did 
 he lock me in, as was the custom with the other prisoners. 
 Moreover, he allowed me to employ myself as I liked best, 
 with gold or silver or with wax according to my whim. So 
 then I laboured several weeks at the basin ordered by Cardinal 
 Ferrara, but the irksomeness of my imprisonment bred in me 
 a disgust for such employment, and I took to modelling in 
 wax some little figures of my fancy, for mere recreation. Of 
 the wax which I used, the friar stole a piece; and with this 
 he proceeded to get false keys made, upon the method I 
 had heedlessly revealed to him. He had chosen for his ac- 
 complice a registrar named Luigi, a Paduan, who was in 
 the castellan's service. When the keys were ordered, the 
 locksmith revealed their plot; and the castellan, who came at 
 times to see me in my chamber, noticing the wax which I 
 was using, recognised it at once and exclaimed: "It is true 
 that this poor fellow Benvenuto has suffered a most grievous 
 wrong; yet he ought not to have dealt thus with me, for I 
 have ever strained my sense of right to show him kindness. 
 Now I shall keep him straitly under lock and key, and shall 
 take good care to do him no more service." Accordingly, 
 he had me shut up with disagreeable circumstances, among 
 the worst of which were the words flung at me by some of 
 his devoted servants, who were indeed extremely fond of 
 me, but now, on this occasion, cast in my teeth all the kind 
 oflfices the castellan had done me; they came, in fact, to call- 
 ing me ungrateful, light, and disloyal. One of them in par- 
 ticular used those injurious terms more insolently than was 
 decent; whereupon I, being convinced of my innocence, re- 
 torted hotly that I had never broken faith, and would main- 
 tain these words at the peril of my life, and that if he or any 
 of his fellows abused me so unjustly, I would fling the lie 
 back in his throat. The man, intolerant of my rebuke, rushed 
 to the castellan's room, and brought me the wax with the 
 model of the keys. No sooner had I seen the wax than I 
 told him that both he and I were in the right; but I begged 
 him to procure for me an audience with the castellan, for I 
 meant to explain frankly how the matter stood, which was
 
 MEMOIRS 20I 
 
 of far more consequence than they imagined. The castellan 
 sent for me at once, and I told him the whole course of 
 events. This made him arrest the friar, who betrayed the 
 registrar, and the latter ran a risk of being hanged. How- 
 ever, the castellan hushed the affair up, although it had 
 reached the Pope's ears; he saved his registrar from the gal- 
 lows, and gave me the same freedom as I had before. 
 
 CVI 
 
 When I saw how rigorously this aflfair was prosecuted, I 
 began to think of my own concerns, and said: "Supposing 
 another of these storms should rise, and the man should lose 
 confidence in me, I should then be under no obligation to him, 
 and might wish to use my wits a little, which would certainly 
 work their end better than those of that rascally friar." So 
 I began to have new sheets of a coarse fabric brought me, 
 and did not send the dirty ones away. When my servants 
 asked for them, I bade them hold their tongues, saying I 
 had given the sheets to some of those poor soldiers; and if 
 the matter came to knowledge, the wretched fellows ran risk 
 of the galleys. This made my young men and attendants, 
 especially Felice, keep the secret of the sheets in all loyalty. 
 I meanwhile set myself to emptying a straw mattress, the 
 stuffing of which I burned, having a chimney in my prison. 
 Out of the sheets I cut strips, the third of a cubit in breadth; 
 and when I had made enough in my opinion to clear the 
 great height of the central keep of Sant' Agnolo, I told my 
 servants that I had given away what I wanted; they must 
 now bring me others of a finer fabric, and I would always send 
 back the dirty ones. This affair was presently forgotten. 
 
 Now my workpeople and serving-men were obliged to 
 close my shop at the order of the Cardinals Santi Quattro ^ 
 and Cornaro. who told me openly that the Pope would not 
 hear of setting me at large, and that the great favours shown 
 me by King Francis had done far more harm than good. It 
 seems that the last words spoken from the King by Monsignor 
 di Morluc had been to this effect, namely, that the Pope 
 ought to hand me over to the ordinary judges of the court; 
 if I had done wrong, he could chastise me; but otherwise, it 
 was but reason that he should set me at liberty. This mes- 
 
 ' Antonio Pucci, a Florentine, Cardinal de' Quattro Santi Coronati.
 
 202 CELLINI 
 
 sage so irritated the Pope that he made his mind up to keep 
 me a prisoner for hfe. At the same time, the castellan most 
 certainly did his utmost to assist me. 
 
 When my enemies perceived that my shop was closed, they 
 lost no opportunity of taunting and reviling those servants 
 and friends of mine who came to visit me in prison. It hap- 
 pened on one occasion that Ascanio, who came twice a day 
 to visit me, asked to have a jacket cut out for him from a 
 blue silk vest of mine I never used. I had only worn it once, 
 on the occasion when I walked in procession. I replied that 
 these were not the times nor was I in the place to wear such 
 clothes. The young man took my refusal of this miserable 
 vest so ill that he told me he wanted to go home to Taglia- 
 cozzo. All in a rage, I answered that he could not please 
 me better than by taking himself ofif; and he swore with 
 passion that he would never show his face to me again. When 
 these words passed between us, we were walking round the 
 keep of the castle. It happened that the castellan was also 
 taking the air there; so just when we met his lordship Ascanio 
 said: " I am going away; farewell for ever! " I added: " For 
 ever, is my wish too; and thus in sooth shall it be. I shall 
 tell the sentinels not to let you pass again! " Then, turning 
 to the castellan, I begged him with all my heart to order the 
 guards to keep Ascanio out, adding: "This little peasant 
 comes here to add to my great trouble; I entreat you, there- 
 fore, my lord, not to let him enter any more." The castellan 
 was much grieved, because he knew him to be a lad of mar- 
 vellous talents; he was, moreover, so fair of person that every 
 one who once set eyes on him seemed bound to love him 
 beyond measure. 
 
 The boy went away weeping. That day he had with him 
 a small scimitar, which it was at times his wont to carry hidden 
 beneath his clothes. Leaving the castle then, and having his 
 face wet with tears, he chanced to meet two of my chief 
 enemies, Jeronimo the Perugian, and a certain Michele, gold- 
 smiths both of them. Michele, being Jeronimo's friend and 
 Ascanio's enemy, called out: "What is Ascanio crying for? 
 Perhaps his father is dead; I mean that father in the castle! " 
 Ascanio answered on the instant: " He is alive, but you shall 
 die this minute." Then, raising his hand, he struck two blows 
 with the scimitar, both at the fellow's head; the first felled
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 203 
 
 him to earth, the second lopped three fingers oflF his right 
 hand, though it was aimed at his head. He lay there like a 
 dead man. The matter was at once reported to the Pope, 
 who cried in a great fury: " Since the King wants him to be 
 tried, go and give him three days to prepare his defence!" 
 So they came, and executed the commission which the Pope 
 had given them. 
 
 The excellent castellan went ofif upon the spot to his Holi- 
 ness, and informed him that I was no accomplice in the mat- 
 ter, and that I had sent Ascanio about his business. So ably 
 did he plead my cause that he saved my life from this impend- 
 ing tempest. Ascanio meanwhile escaped to Tagliacozzo, 
 to his home there, whence he wrote begging a thousand times 
 my pardon, and acknowledging his wrong in adding troubles 
 to my grave disaster; but protesting that if through God's 
 grace I came out from the prison, he meant never to aban- 
 don me. I let him understand that he must mind his art, 
 and that if God set me at large again I would certainly re- 
 call him. 
 
 CVII 
 
 The castellan w^as subject to a certain sickness, which 
 came upon him every year and deprived him of his wits. 
 The sign of its approach was that he kept continually talk- 
 ing, or rather jabbering, to no purpose. These humours took 
 a different shape each year; one time he thought he was an 
 oil-jar; another time he thought he was a frog, and hopped 
 about as frogs do; another time he thought he was dead, and 
 then they had to bury him; not a year passed but he got 
 some such hypochondriac notions into his head. At this 
 season he imagined that he was a bat, and when he went 
 abroad to take the air, he used to scream like bats in a high 
 thin tone; and then he would flap his hands and body as 
 though he were about to fly. The doctors, when they saw 
 the fit was coming on him, and his old servants, gave him 
 all the distractions they could think of; and since they had 
 noticed that he derived much pleasure from my conversation, 
 they were always fetching me to keep him company. At 
 times the poor man detained me for four or five stricken 
 hours without ever letting me cease talking. He used to 
 keep me at his table, eating opposite to him. and never stopped 
 chatting and making me chat; but during those discourses I
 
 204 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 contrived to make a good meal. He, poor man, could neither 
 eat nor sleep; so that at last he wore me out. I was at the 
 end of my strength; and sometimes when I looked at him, 
 I noticed that his eyeballs were rolling in a frightful manner, 
 one looking one way and the other in another. 
 
 He took it into his head to ask me whether I had ever 
 had a fancy to fly. I answered that it had always been my 
 ambition to do those things which ofifer the greatest difh- 
 culties to men, and that I had done them; as to flying, the 
 God of Nature had gifted me with a body well suited for run- 
 ning and leaping far beyond the common average, and that 
 with the talents I possessed for manual art I felt sure I had 
 the courage to try flying. He then inquired what methods 
 I should use; to which I answered that, taking into considera- 
 tion all flying creatures, and wishing to imitate by art what 
 they derived from nature, none was so apt a model as the 
 bat. No sooner had the poor man heard the name bat, which 
 recalled the humour he was suffering under, than he cried out 
 at the top of his voice: " He says true — he says true; the 
 bat's the thing — the bat's the thing! " Then he turned to me 
 and said: " Benvenuto, if one gave you the opportunity, 
 should you have the heart to fly?" I said that if he would 
 set me at liberty, I felt quite up to flying down to Prati. after 
 making myself a pair of wings out of waxed linen. There- 
 upon he replied: " I too should be prepared to take flight; 
 but since the Pope has bidden me guard you as though you 
 were his own eyes, and I know you a clever devil who would 
 certainly escape, I shall now have you locked up with a hun- 
 dred keys in order to prevent you slipping through my fin- 
 gers." I then began to implore him, and remind him that 
 I might have fled, but that on account of the word which I 
 had given him I would never have betrayed his trust: there- 
 fore I begged him for the love of God, and by the kindness 
 he had always shown me, not to add greater evils to the misery 
 of my present situation. While I was pouring out these en- 
 treaties, he gave strict orders to have me bound and taken 
 and locked up in prison. On seeing that it could not be 
 helped, I told him before all his servants: "Lock me well 
 up, and keep good watch on me ; for I shall certainly contrive 
 to escape," So they took and confined me with the utmost 
 care.
 
 MEMOIRS 205 
 
 CVIII 
 
 I then began to deliberate upon the best way of making 
 my escape. No sooner had I been locked in, than I went 
 about exploring my prison; and when I thought 1 had dis- 
 covered how to get out of it, I pondered the means of de- 
 scending from the lofty keep, for so the great round central 
 tower is called. I took those new sheets of mine, which, as 
 I have said already, 1 had cut in strips and sewn together; 
 then I reckoned up the quantity which would be sufficient for 
 my purpose. Having made this estimate and put all things 
 in order, I looked out a pair of pincers which I had abstracted 
 from a Savoyard belonging to the guard of the castle. This 
 man superintended the casks and cisterns; he also amused 
 himself with carpentering. Now he possessed several pairs 
 of pincers, among which was one both big and heavy. 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.^ 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, how- 
 ever, I succeeded. When I had drawn the first nail, I be- 
 thought me how to prevent its being noticed. For this pur- 
 pose 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 nick- 
 
 ' The door seems to have been hung upon binges with plates nailed 
 into the posts.
 
 2o6 CELLINI 
 
 named Pedignone; the latter was a soldier, and Bozza a 
 serving-man. Giovanni never entered my prison without 
 saying something offensive to me. He came from the dis- 
 trict 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 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 w'ith 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 Pedignone 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! Pll 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 lit 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 re- 
 ported to the castellan, who gave them express orders never 
 to go near my bed, and when they came to me, to come with- 
 out 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 cer- j 
 tain feast-day that the castellan was seriously indisposed;
 
 MEMOIRS 207 
 
 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, where- 
 of I received full information through divers channels, but 
 specially from the Savoyard, who was my friend at heart. 
 
 On the evening of that feast-day, then, I made my mind 
 up to escape, come what might; and first I prayed most de- 
 voutly to God, imploring His Divine Majesty to protect 
 and succour me in that so perilous a venture. Afterward 
 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 toward 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
 
 208 CELLINI 
 
 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 1 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 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 com- 
 pelled me to rest awhile. 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 senti- 
 nel, 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 im- 
 mediately recover my senses, for I thought my head had 
 been cut off 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 remembered all my 
 adventures. I was aware of the wound in my head before
 
 MEMOIRS 209 
 
 I knew my leg was broken; for I put my hands up, and with- 
 drew them covered with blood. Then I searched the spot 
 well, and judged and ascertained that I had sustained no 
 injury of consequence 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 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 no- 
 ticed 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. 
 
 CX 
 
 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 wor- 
 ried 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 off in the direction of San Piero; 
 and now the dawn had risen over me, and I felt myself in 
 danger. When therefore 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 discovered. I run risk of being cut to pieces; so for heav- 
 en's sake lift me quickly, and I will give you a crown of 
 gold." Saying this, I clapped my hand to my purse, where 
 14
 
 2IO CELLINI 
 
 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, crawhng always on all fours, and 
 making for the palace of the Duchess, wife of Duke Ottavio 
 and daughter of the Emperor.^ She was his 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 here; 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 good-will of my late husband, Duke Alessandro, 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 situ- 
 ated 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 encourage 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: 
 
 ' Margaret of Austria, who married Ottaviano Farnese in November, 
 1538, after Alessandro's murder.
 
 MEMOIRS 211 
 
 " Most reverend Monsignor, your friend Benvenuto is down 
 there; he has escaped from the castle, and is crawUng 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, 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 oflf 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 oflf into one 
 of his worst fits of frenzy; in spite of all his servants, he in- 
 sisted 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 Pan- 
 dolfo, having heard of the great event, went in person to 
 inspect the place; afterward 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 vou for 
 Heaven's grace to give us up that unfortunate man; surely
 
 212 CELLINI 
 
 his great talents entitle him to exceptional treatment; more- 
 over, he has displayed such audacity, blent with so much in- 
 genuity, that his exploit might seem superhuman. We know 
 not for what crimes your Holiness has kept him so long in 
 prison; however, if those crimes are too exorbitant, your 
 Holiness is wise and holy, and may your will be done unques- 
 tioned; 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 Holi- 
 ness, 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 Governor 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 de- 
 scended 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.^ Pope Alexander kept him confined for 
 
 ' The Collegium Abbreviatorum di Parco Majori consisted of seventy- 
 two members. It was established by Pius II. Onofrio Panvinio tells 
 this story of Paul Ill's imprisonment and escape, but places it in the 
 Papacy of Innocent VIII.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 213 
 
 I 
 
 some length of time; and afterward, his ofifence being of too 
 ugly a nature, had resolved on cutting off his head. He post- 
 poned 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 of Corpus Domini, while the Pope was going in pro- 
 cession, 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 imprisoned 
 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 atten- 
 tion to his own huge rogueries. He said then: " Go and tell 
 him to reveal his accomplice without apprehension to you, 
 be the man who he may be, since I have pardoned him; and 
 this you may assure him without reservation." 
 
 CXII 
 
 So the Governor came to see me. Two days before he 
 had been made Bishop of Jesi; and when he entered he said: 
 " Friend Benvenuto, 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 accom- 
 plish 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. Henceforward you will tread down pov- 
 erty, and will not 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; after- 
 ward take comfort, repose, and recover." I began at the be- 
 ginning, and related the whole story exactly as it had hap- 
 pened, giving him the most minute countersigns, down to
 
 214 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 the water-carrier who bore me on his back. When the Gov- 
 ernor 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 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 wait- 
 ing, 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, Signor 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, be- 
 fore he was imprisoned, came to words with a gentleman of 
 Cardinal Santa Fiore,^ 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 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 ex- 
 actly in the head — a feat one would have thought incredible. 
 Now let your Holiness do what you think best about him; 
 
 ' Ascanio Sforza, son of Rosio, Count of Santa Fiore, and grandson of 
 Paul III. He got the hat in 1534, at the age of sixteen.
 
 MEMOIRS 215 
 
 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 HoHness. Indeed he is too 
 truculent, by far too confident in his own powers. When he 
 killed Pompeo, he 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 incon- 
 siderable 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 hon- 
 estly. 
 
 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, and 
 that he had better go to another goldsmith. Without fur- 
 ther provocation 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 afterward 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 acquaint- 
 ance, 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."
 
 2i6 CELLINI 
 
 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 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 Broc- 
 cardo (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, ele- 
 vating my arms, and using no other rest, and did what I had 
 promised, without thinking of the Cardinal or any other per- 
 son; 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 afterward 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 Holiness has pardoned him and set him free at my dis- 
 posal, 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 Holi- 
 ness 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
 
 MEMOIRS 217 
 
 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 im- 
 plored this Messer Andrea to ask the 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 be- 
 lieved 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 pri- 
 vate 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 ofTers 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 w^hat people told him. He had heard it said 
 that the Pope made known his intention of compensating 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 extraordinary favours on me, that I am not aw^are 
 they are done to betray me?" The worthy young man an- 
 swered: " My Benvenuto, they say in Rome that the Pope 
 has bestowed on you an office with an income of five hun- 
 dred crowns; I beseech you therefore not to let those sus- 
 picions 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 de-
 
 2i8 CELLINI 
 
 stroy me; therefore we must be quick and try to save me 
 from his ckitches. If my friend would get me out of that 
 place by the means I meant to tell him, 1 should always re- 
 gard him as the saviour of my life, and when occasion came 
 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 can not but 
 fulfil your wishes; so explain your plan, and I will do what- 
 ever you may order, albeit much against my will." Accord- 
 ingly 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 exe- 
 cute 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 fright- 
 ened, and thought he must be mad, because he went on howl- 
 ing. 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,
 
 MEMOIRS 219 
 
 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 to the place you wot of." It was, as I have said, the night 
 after Corpus Domini, and about four o'clock. 
 
 The oflficers 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. 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 com- 
 pose myself alone in quiet. He promised to do as I asked; 
 and then I turned my whole heart to God, devoutly entreat- 
 ing 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 dis- 
 pensation 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 subordinated. At 
 the same time I know that T am possessed of free-will, and
 
 220 CELLINI 
 
 if I could exert the faith of a saint, I am sure that the angels 
 of heaven will bear me from this dungeon and relieve me 
 of all my afflictions; yet inasmuch as God has not deemed me 
 worthy of such miracles, I conclude that those celestial influ- 
 ences 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, 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 de- 
 served 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 
 Signer Pier Luigi's wife, who happened to be in company 
 with the Duchess of whom I spoke above.^ Presenting him- 
 
 ' The wife of Pier Luigi Farnese was Jeronima, daughter of Luigi 
 Orsini, Count of Pitigliano.
 
 MEMOIRS 221 
 
 self before them both, he spoke as follows: " My most illus- 
 trious mistress, I entreat you for the love of God to tell the 
 Pope that he must send some one else to pronounce sentence 
 upon Benvcnuto 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 
 listened 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 discom- 
 fort 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 afterward remained without seeing or hearing any one 
 until an hour after nightfall. At that time the Bargello ar- 
 rived 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
 
 222 CELLINI 
 
 mounted to the keep, they left me shut up in a dungeon open- 
 ing upon a Httle court there is there. 
 
 CXVII 
 
 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 mat- 
 tress of coarse hemp, gave me no supper, and locked four 
 doors upon me. In that condition I abode until the nine- 
 teenth hour of the following day. Then I received food, and 
 I requested my jailors 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 concern- 
 ing what I said. Next morning they brought me an Italian 
 Bible which belonged to me, and a copy of the Chronicles of 
 Giovanni Villani. 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 
 mattress, 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, I crawled on all fours with extreme 
 distress. For one hour and a half each day I got a little glim- 
 mering of light, which penetrated that unhappy cavern through 
 a very narrow aperture. Only for so short a space of time
 
 MEMOIRS 223 
 
 could I read; the rest of the day and night I abode in dark- 
 ness, 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 to 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 hang- 
 man'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 acclimatized, 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 treas- 
 ures 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 sui- 
 cide. 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 jailors 
 must have visited my cell several times without my taking 
 notice of them; for when at last I heard them, Captain San- 
 drino Monaldi ^ 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 mv eyes, and 
 caught sight of priests with long gowns on their backs, who 
 
 ' A Florentine, banished in 1530 for having been in arms against the 
 Medici.
 
 224 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 were saying: "Oh, you told us he was dead!" Bozza re- 
 pHed: " Dead I found him, and therefore I told you so." Then 
 they lifted me from where I lay, and after shaking 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 recognised 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 ef^cacy, the thou- 
 sandth part of which I can not 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 ar- 
 rived, 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, T wrote as follows: 
 
 " Ben7ienuto in the body. 
 " Afflicted repents of my soul ! 
 
 Ah, cruel ye ! have ye such hate of life?
 
 MEMOIRS 225 
 
 ' ' 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! 
 
 ''I'kc 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 reflec- 
 tions 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 compositions on the theme of His 
 divinity. 
 
 I was greatly troubled, however, by one particular annoy- 
 ance: 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. More- 
 over, 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 
 a weapon from a scabbard, without any pain or loss of blood. 
 Very many of them did I lose in this way. Nevertheless, I 
 15
 
 226 CELLINI 
 
 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. 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 1st 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.^ 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, sur- 
 rounded with angels, and a Christ arising victorious from the 
 grave, which I had sketched upon the 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 
 
 ' Fra Benedetto da Foiano had incurred the wrath of Pope Clement 
 VII by preaching 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 dally till he died.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 227 
 
 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 afterward 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 
 foundations of the castle. This did not, however, happen 
 to me; wherefore I thought that I had made a very good bar- 
 gain 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 profundis 
 clamavi," a " Miserere," and " In te Domine speravi." Dur- 
 ing 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 repre- 
 sentations of God. On arriving there, the sight of them filled 
 me with such sweetness and such gladness that I wept abun-
 
 228 CELLINI 
 
 dantly. 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: " Be- 
 fore 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 unrevenged." On hearing 
 these words from the mouth of Duke Pier Luigi, the castellan 
 replied: "So, then, the Pope has given me Benvenuto, 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 juncture 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 Benvenuto, 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 com- 
 muned 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 counter- 
 manded 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 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 229 
 
 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. Nevertheless, 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 
 deep emotion of the spirit toward Christ, I used always to 
 say: "Ah, very Son of God! I pray Thee by Thy birth, by 
 Thy death upon the cross, 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 myself to come and 
 visit Thee at Thy holy sepulchre." This vow and these my 
 greatest prayers to God I made upon the 2d of October in 
 the year 1539. Upon the following morning, which was the 
 3d of 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 prayed 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 pun- 
 ishment.
 
 230 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 CXXII 
 
 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 indescribable 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 afterward 
 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 himself? " He pointed out some huge stairs which were 
 on my right hand, and said to me: " Go up thither by thy- 
 self." Quitting his side, I ascended the stairs backward, and 
 gradually began to come within the region of the sunlight. 
 Then I hastened my steps, and went on, always walking back- 
 ward as I have described, until I discovered the whole sphere 
 of the sun. The strength of his rays, as is their wont, first 
 made me close my eyes; but becoming aware of my misdoing, 
 I opened them wide, and gazing steadfastly at the sun. ex- 
 claimed: "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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 231 
 
 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 con- 
 template it with vast deligiit. 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 ex- 
 pected!" 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 ex- 
 panded, and suddenly transformed itself into the shape of a 
 most beautiful Madonna, who appeared to be sitting en- 
 throned on high, holding her child in her arms with an atti- 
 tude 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 Ma- 
 donna 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 be- 
 fore me little more than half a 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 miscreants still, accursed, and in the
 
 232 CELLINI 
 
 wrath of God. Mark this, for I am certain of it, that on the 
 clay of All Saints, the day upon which I was born in 1500, 
 on the first of November, at four hours after nightfall, 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, 
 because 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 informa- 
 tion from him of the extraordinary 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 castel- 
 lan received this message, he sent to cheer me up, and fur- 
 nished me with writing materials and wax, and certain little 
 wooden instruments employed in working wax, adding many 
 words of courtesy, w'hich were reported by one of his serv- 
 ants who bore me good-will. This man was totally the oppo- 
 site 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 Liqht to me by Heaven 
 In this low life revealed, you sure had given 
 More heed to mine than to a monarch's sooth. 
 
 1
 
 MEMOIRS 233 
 
 " 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 madman, 
 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, to- 
 gether 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. 
 
 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 un- 
 willingness 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
 
 234 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 quahty of precious stones. But, as 
 regards my dehverance 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 de- 
 parted, and had me locked in; but after he had remained 
 away two hours by the clock, he returned without armed men, 
 bringing only a couple of lads to assist my movements; so 
 after this fashion he conducted me to the spacious rooms 
 which I had previously occupied (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 be- 
 lieved 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 gov- 
 ernor 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 men- 
 tioned, engaged the soldier (formerly druggist of Prato) to 
 administer some deadly liquor in my food; the poison was to 
 work slowly, producing 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 peri- 
 staltic motion needful to digestion 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 inward, after 
 some time perforates the organs. This eventually causes 
 death. Any other sort of stone or glass mingled with the food 
 has not the power to attach itself, but passes onward with
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 235 
 
 the victuals. Now Messer Durante entrusted a diamond of 
 trifling value to one of the guards; and it is said that a cer- 
 tain Lione, a goldsmith of Arezzo, my great enemy, was com- 
 missioned to pound it.^ 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 strictly 
 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 re- 
 course with pious heart to holy prayers. I had 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, 
 whicTi 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. Accord- 
 ingly, 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 name of Leone Leoni is otherwise known as a goldsmith and 
 bronze-caster. He made the tomb for Giangiacomo de' Medici, II Me- 
 dighino, in the Cathedral of Milan.
 
 236 CELLINI 
 
 the knife's point with a slow strong grinding pressure to bear 
 upon the stone, and felt it crumble. Examining the sub- 
 stance 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 can not do me any harm whatever! " Pre- 
 viously 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 cavise of my salvation. I mean in this way: 
 Messer Durante, my enemy, or whoever it was, gave a dia- 
 mond 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, thinking 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 Palma, happened to be imprisoned in the castle for some 
 troublesome affairs at Pavia.^ Knowing him to iSe my friend, 
 I thrust my head out of the 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 killing 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 T 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 
 
 ' Gio. Girolamo de' Rossi, a poet and historian of secondary im- 
 portance.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 237 
 
 at the bottom of the affair, he passed it over lightly after 
 giving his attention to the incident. 
 
 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 Antonio 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 previously mentioned. 
 He was a deadly foe of mine, and was the man who had ad- 
 ministered the powdered diamond. So I told him that I 
 would partake of nothing he brought me unless he tasted it 
 before my eyes. 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 be- 
 haviour; he had it also in his mind to make me pay the costs 
 which the late castellan, 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 w-as being 
 pestered every day by Monsignor di Morluc, who kept 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 de- 
 clared that I ought not to reckon on issuing from that prison 
 for some length of time.' 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, remaining 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 iniquitv. 
 
 CXXVII 
 
 A few days had passed when the Cardinal of Ferrara 
 
 arrived in Rome. He went to pay his respects to the Pope, 
 
 ' This was the Cardinal Alessandro, son of Pier Luigi Farnese.
 
 238 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 and the Pope detained 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 lib- 
 eral 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 Cardinal immediately sent for me, before 
 Signor Pier Luigi could get wind of the affair; for it was 
 certain that he would not have allowed me to be loosed from 
 prison. 
 
 The Pope's mandatary came together with two great gen- 
 tlemen 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 suc- 
 cessor 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 239 
 
 CXXVIII 
 
 I am now obliged to take a step backward, 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 afterward in the Pope's 
 private garden, there came among my other friends to visit 
 me a cashier of Messer Bindo Altoviti, who was called Ber- 
 nardo 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 Bernardo 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 I have related many incidents 
 of this sort. Among others, it was told me (I not knowing 
 what I then prophesied) how everything which afterward 
 happened to Signor 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 observed 
 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 simset. I be- 
 
 /
 
 240 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 came 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 MARTINI, 
 ADDRESSING HIM IN IT AS WILL APPEAR. 
 
 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. 
 
 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 241 
 
 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. 
 
 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 fioor. 
 
 Crumble a part thereof to powder small. 
 And form a paste by sprinkling water o'er. 
 
 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 
 16
 
 242 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 fiit 
 
 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, 
 
 Foison 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. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 !
 
 MEMOIRS 243 
 
 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 evermore?' 
 
 If to the hospital I come, and fair 
 
 Find the Annunziata limned, I'll fly : 
 Else shall I show myself a brute beast there.' 
 
 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.* 
 
 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. 
 
 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.* 
 
 Next I beheld a bier of sombre hue 
 
 Adorned with broken lilies ; crosses, tears ; 
 And on their beds a lost woe-stricken crew.* 
 
 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.* 
 
 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.' 
 
 ' The lilies 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 ! 
 
 * That is, he finds everywhere in Italy the arms of the Farnesi. 
 
 * Allusion to his prevision of the castellan's death. 
 
 * Allusion to his prevision of Pier Luigi Farnese's murder. 
 
 * Allusion to the angel who visited him in prison. 
 ' Allusion to his vision of the sun' in the dungeon.
 
 244 CELLINI 
 
 Then did a solitary sparrow cry 
 
 Loud from the keep ; hearirifjf 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.' 
 
 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 Christ, Madonnas, with their staves? 
 
 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 ! " 
 
 ' An invective against Pier Luigi Farnese. 
 
 ' 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 
 palace, very well regarded in general by everybody, and 
 much more visited even than I had previously been. Every- 
 body was astonished that I should have come out of prison 
 and have been able to live through such indescribable afflic- 
 tions; and while I was recovering my breath and endeavour- 
 ing to resume the habit of my art, I had great pleasure in re- 
 writing the Capitolo. Afterward, with a view to re-estab- 
 lishing 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 step- 
 mother. I was entertained by them two days with indescrib- 
 able kindness; then I turned my face toward 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 men- 
 tioned, to work upon the basin. At the same time I recom- 
 menced 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 
 
 245
 
 246 CELLINI 
 
 richness and good keeping, that every one who beheld it 
 expressed astonishment at the force of the design and beauty 
 of invention, and also at the deHcacy 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; 
 and here we used to pass an hour or two pleasantly together. 
 Notwithstanding I had very much to do, he kept giving me 
 fresh commissions. Among others, I had to make his pon- 
 tifical seal, of the size of the hand of a boy of twelve. On it 
 I engraved in intaglio two little histories, the one of San 
 Giovanni preaching in the wilderness, the other of Sant' Am- 
 brogio expelling the Arians 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 sur- 
 passed the great Lautizio, who ranked alone in this branch 
 of the profession. 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. 
 
 II 
 
 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 ex- 
 treme 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; nevertheless, 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 own sons best. Now I too have a great affection 
 for the children which I bring forth from my art; consequently
 
 MEMOIRS 247 
 
 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 
 manner, 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 dis- 
 pleasing 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 keeping with the subject. Messer Gabriello pro- 
 posed that I should model an Amphitrite, the wife of Nep- 
 tune, 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, sug- 
 gesting 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 in- 
 tended to receive the pepper. In her other hand I put a cornu- 
 copia, 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 ornamentation.
 
 248 CELLINI 
 
 Then I waited for the Cardinal; and when he came, at- 
 tended 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 dis- 
 play his children in a vision, but not to give them to the 
 touch, as we did when we spoke of things that could be car- 
 ried out, while he has shown a thing beyond the bounds of 
 possibility." Messer Alamanni took my side; but the Car- 
 dinal said he did not care to undertake so important an aflfair. 
 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; and each one of you shall live to see it exe- 
 cuted 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 preparations. 
 
 Ill 
 
 When the time came to travel, he gave me a fine and ex- 
 cellent horse. The animal was called Tornon, because it was 
 a gift from the Cardinal Tornon.^ 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 dis- 
 tinguished, he took with him, following the route of Romagna, 
 with the object of visiting Madonna del Loreto, and then 
 making for Ferrara, his own home. The other section he 
 sent upon the road to Florence. This was the larger train; 
 
 ' This was the famous Francis de Tournon, made Cardinal in 1530, 
 and employed as minister by Francis I.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 249 
 
 it counted a great multitude, including the flower of his 
 horse. He told me that if I wished to make the journey 
 without peril, I had better go with him, otherwise I ran some 
 risk of my life. I expressed my inclination to his most rever- 
 end 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,^ 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 accident, we performed 
 the journey with much enjoyment on both sides. 
 
 I had left Rome on Monday in Passion Week, together 
 with Pagolo and Ascanio.^ At Monte Ruosi we joined the 
 company which I have mentioned. Since I had expressed 
 my intention of follow-ing 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 ar- 
 rived, 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. I arrived by God's grace safe and sound at 
 Viterbo, where my cousins and all the convent received me 
 with the greatest kindness. 
 
 ' This officer in a convent was the same as cellarer. 
 * March 22, 1540.
 
 250 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 IV 
 
 After leaving Viterbo with the comrades I have men- 
 tioned, we pursued our journey on horseback, sometimes in 
 front and sometimes 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 wait- 
 ing 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. 
 
 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. Although 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 persons, 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 overridden 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 dis- 
 graced 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, and well armed with shirt and sleeves of mail, 
 and carried an excellent arquebuse upon my saddle-bow, I 
 was not afraid of the brutality and violence which that mad
 
 MEMOIRS 251 
 
 beast was said to be possessed of. I had also accustomed 
 my young men to carry shirts of mail, and had great con- 
 fidence in the Roman, who, while we were in Rome together, 
 had never left it off, so far as I could see; Ascanio too, al- 
 though 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 CamoUia gate, I at once recognised 
 the postmaster by the indication given mc; 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 ad- 
 dressed 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 pre- 
 cisely as mad and brutal as had been foretold me. This 
 roused me to exclaim: " 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 gentle- 
 man 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 offence 
 to God and a disgrace to the city of Siena. The two young 
 fellows wagged their heads without saying a word, and with- 
 drew 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 arque- 
 buse, with the object only of keeping 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
 
 252 CELLINI 
 
 door and glancing backward, 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 company, 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 par- 
 ried 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 try- 
 ing to escape, as the Milanese had done; so these two came 
 ofif 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 mean- 
 ing 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 an- 
 swered 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 sending 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 Milanese. 
 The former cried out that no one was badly wounded; the 
 blow given to Pagolo had only grazed the skin; 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
 
 MEMOIRS 253 
 
 things may not go so favourably a second time." To this I 
 rephed: " 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; 
 there we shall be in safety." The wounded Milanese groaned 
 out: "A curse 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 laugh- 
 ing a little at the donkey and his silly speeches. Tiicn we set 
 spurs to our horses, and left Messer Cherubino and the Milan- 
 ese 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.^ 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 that he w^ould escape 
 without mischief. Then we ordered dinner; and at this junc- 
 ture there arrived Messer Cherubino and that Milanese sim- 
 pleton, who kept always muttering: "A plague upon your 
 quarrels," and complaining that he was excommunicated be- 
 cause 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 at least three 
 inches by his wound; so that what with his ludicrous Milan- 
 ese 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 
 
 ' 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.
 
 254 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 in, in order that he might return aUve 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 journey 
 mirthfully to Florence. 
 
 We dismounted at the house of my poor sister, who, to- 
 gether with her husband, overwhelmed us with kind atten- 
 tions. Messer Cherubino and the Milanese went about their 
 business. In Florence we remained four days, in which 
 Pagolo got well. It was lucky for us that whenever we'talked 
 about that Milanese donkey, we laughed as much as our mis- 
 fortunes 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 Car- 
 dinal 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 
 arranged 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. Meanwhile, 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 freedom from Pope Paolo; for the 
 rest, I was ill-contented and put to considerable losses. How- 
 ever, I clothed my mind with the gratitude 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. Dur- 
 ing our indisposition we went about inspecting the domain; 
 it was very large, and left in a wild state for about a mile of
 
 MEMOIRS 255 
 
 Open ground, haunted too by multitudes of peacocks, which 
 bred and nested there hke wildfowl. 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 od. For sev- 
 eral months following we went on working merrily, and got 
 the jug and basin forward; but it was a task that required 
 much time. 
 
 VI 
 
 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 pur- 
 chase peace by paying down an enormous sum of money; I 
 think that it exceeded three hundred thousand 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 en- 
 dure 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 dis- 
 burse it; at last, however, the Duke compelled 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 posed through four or five hours at a stretch 
 for his own portrait, and sometimes invited mc to supper. It 
 took me eight days to complete 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 attitude 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 attention to this work, and it won me 
 the greatest honour. The Duke was never tired of express- 
 ing his satisfaction, and gave me inscriptions for both sides
 
 256 CELLINI 
 
 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 Cardinal sent me letters bidding me prepare for my jour- 
 ney, since the King had asked after me. His next communi- 
 cation 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 insupport- 
 able. 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 serv- 
 ant 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 noth- 
 ing about the customs of such folk; if he treated me to lan- 
 guage 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 257 
 
 I next went to the Duke with my medal, which was fin- 
 ished. He received me with the highest marks of honour 
 and esteem. It seems that he had given orders to Messer 
 Girolamo Giholo to reward me for my labour with a diamond 
 ring worth two hundred crowns, which was to be presented 
 by Fiaschino, his chamberlain. Accordingly, 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 appear- 
 ance, 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 hand- 
 somely. Being then convinced that the trick proceeded 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 exe- 
 cuted his commission admirably. Fiaschino came at once 
 to see me, and declared, 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 way- 
 wardness. 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 rings for the cramp, which come from England and 
 are worth tenpence. I would treasure that so long as I lived 
 in remembrance of his Excellency, together with the honour- 
 able message he had sent me; for I considered that the splen- 
 did 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 before. At 
 the same time he gave me orders, under pain of his displeas- 
 ure, not to leave Ferrara without duly informing him; and 
 commanded the treasurer to present me with a diamond up 
 to three hundred crowns in value. The miserly officer found 
 17
 
 258 CELLINI 
 
 a stone rising a trifle above sixty crowns, and let it be heard 
 that it was worth upward of two hundred. 
 
 VIII 
 
 Meanwhile Messer Alberto returned to reason, and pro- 
 vided 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.^ 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 ex- 
 pect 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 an- 
 swered that it did not signify to him; and beckoning to his 
 servant, sent him home to fetch a jug in white Faenzo clay, 
 the workmanship 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 I once beheld a piece of 
 silver, antique, of such beauty and such finish that the human 
 imagination can not 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 accomplish- 
 ments, 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 
 
 ' This man was a member of a very noble Ferrarese family, and much 
 esteemed for his official talents.
 
 MEMOIRS 259 
 
 acquainted. 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! " Messer Alfonso, quite affronted, let 
 some contemptuous words escape him, and exclaimed: " Who 
 are you, then, you who do not know what you are saying? " 
 I replied: " Listen for a moment, and afterward judge which 
 of us knows best what he is saying." Then turning to Messer 
 Alberto, who was 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 unfortunate gentlefolk with his dirty 
 salves, extracting many thousands of ducats from their pock- 
 ets. At that time I made for him this vase and one of a dif- 
 ferent 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. 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 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 afterward 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
 
 26o CELLINI 
 
 the friendsliip of some ingenious musicians;* no one else 
 had been to me of any good; for the Ferrarese are a very 
 avaricious people, greedy of their neighbours' money, how- 
 ever 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 diamond 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 pres- 
 ence, I set off upon my travels without further leave-taking. 
 The man noted down my acts and words, and reported them 
 to the Duke, who was highly incensed, and showed a strong 
 inclination to make me retrace my steps. 
 
 IX 
 
 That evening I rode more than ten miles, always at a trot; 
 and when, upon the next day, I found myself outside the 
 Ferrarese domain, 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 account of the apprehension 
 I have spoken of; 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 sev- 
 eral 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 off 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 ; there 
 we presented ourselves to the Cardinal, who provided us at 
 once with lodgings, and that evening we were comfortable. 
 On the following day the cart turned up; so we unpacked 
 our things, and when the Cardinal 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 
 
 'Cardinal Giovanni Salviati was Archbishop of Ferrara ; Cardinal 
 Benedetto Accolti, Archibishop of Ravenna, was then staying at Ferrara ; 
 the court was famous for its excellent orchestra and theatrical display of 
 all kinds.
 
 MEMOIRS 261 
 
 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 ex- 
 claimed: " 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." 
 
 X 
 
 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 low- 
 est; 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
 
 262 CELLINI 
 
 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 com- 
 munications 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 afterward 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 com- 
 mission, 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 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 lordship 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 send- 
 ing 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. Never- 
 theless, 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 imprison- 
 ment. 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,
 
 MEMOIRS 263 
 
 SO long as I have life, I will pray God for you." The Car- 
 dinal 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 efTcct, as I was afterward informed. 
 All this happened on the last day of October, in Dauphine, 
 at a castle the name of which I do not remember. 
 
 XI 
 
 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 my- 
 self, 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 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 suffi- 
 cient 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 improbable that he 
 wrote to the Cardinal, and informed him of my purpose. How- 
 ever, 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 onlv 
 kept two shirts and some well-worn riding-clothes which I 
 had upon my back. I found it almost impossible to get free 
 of the two young men, who insisted upon going with me,
 
 264 CELLINI 
 
 whatever happened. At last I was obHged 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 with- 
 out 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 aban- 
 don 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 thor- 
 oughly resolved, I turned my face toward the Holy Sepul- 
 chre. 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 chat-
 
 MEMOIRS 265 
 
 taring in French through all our journey, up to the very pre- 
 cincts 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 offers 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! " 
 
 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 commission, he turned to his 
 treasurer, and asked whether he had paid me the five hun- 
 dred crowns. The official said that he had received no orders 
 to that effect. The King took this very ill, for he had re- 
 quested 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 works; he would see that I ob- 
 tained 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 w^ork, 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 
 18
 
 266 CELLINI 
 
 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.^ 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 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 eflfect 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 annoyances, for the Pro- 
 vost was a great nobleman of Paris, and all the other gentle- 
 folk 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 
 
 ' 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'Es- 
 touteville, lord of Villebon.
 
 MEMOIRS 267 
 
 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 re- 
 course 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.^ 
 
 This Villerois was an intimate friend of the Provost, to 
 whom the 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 some- 
 thing 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, excep- 
 tionally 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.^ 
 The first thing which this man did was to look out the best 
 apartments in the castle, and to have them fitted up for him- 
 
 ' M. Nicholas de Neufville, lord of Villeroy. 
 • Francis I'Allemand, Seigneur de Marmagne.
 
 268 CELLINI 
 
 self. 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 afTair 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; 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 bodyguard who was named Mon- 
 signor lo Iscontro d'Orbech.^ 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 work- 
 shop with all conveniences for carrying on my business, and 
 putting my household upon a most respectable footing, I 
 began at once to construct three models exactly of the size 
 which the silver statues were to be. These were Jupiter, 
 Vulcan, and Mars. I moulded them in clav, and set them 
 well up on irons; then I went to the King, who disbursed three 
 
 ' Le Vicomte d'Orbec.
 
 MEMOIRS 269 
 
 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. 
 
 Afterward 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 re- 
 warding me too. The Cardinal, however, 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 would be tedious to relate all the knavish 
 tricks of this prelate. I prefer to dwell on matters of greater 
 
 moment. 
 
 XV 
 
 When I returned to Paris, the great favour shown me by 
 the King made me a mark for all men's admiration. I re- 
 ceived 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 cheerfully, and asked if T 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;
 
 2/0 CELLINI 
 
 the Dauphin and Dauphiness also attended him; so that 
 upon that day the very flower of the French court came to 
 visit me.^ 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 the mo- 
 ment 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 serv- 
 ices 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 rea- 
 sons 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 
 
 ' These personages were Madame d'Etampes, John of Lorraine, son of 
 Duke Renee IT, who was made Cardinal in 1518 ; Henri d'Albret II and 
 Marguerite de Valois, his wife; the Dauphin, afterward Henri II, and 
 his wife, the celebrated Caterina de' Medici, daughter of Lorenzo, Duke 
 of Urbino.
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 z 
 
 H 
 
 I— t 
 
 V3 

 
 i
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 271 
 
 sent for mc 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 move- 
 ment 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 wath me the wax 
 model which I had made in Rome at the Cardinal of Ferrara's 
 request. When I appeared again before the King and un- 
 covered 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 work- 
 ing," 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 tak- 
 ing on him, remarked to the King: " Sire, this is an enormous 
 undertaking; I am only afraid that we shall never see it fin- 
 ished. These able artists who have great conceptions in their 
 brain are ready enough to put the same in execution without 
 duly considering when they are to be accomplished. I there- 
 fore, 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 ter-
 
 2/2 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 mination 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 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. 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 or- 
 dered. It seemed to me, however, that that thief of a treas- 
 urer 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
 
 MEMOIRS 273 
 
 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 ofif along the 
 street as quick as my two legs would carry me. 
 
 XVII 
 
 Just as I left the house, I observed some servants whis- 
 pering among themselves, who also went oflf at a round pace 
 in another direction from the one I took. Walking with all 
 haste, I passed the bridge of the Exchange,^ 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. My resolu- 
 tion was 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 cross- 
 ing 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 them- 
 selves in their own language: "This is a brave Italian, and 
 certainly not the man we are after; or if he be the man, he 
 can not 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 T might be falling into an ambuscade, 
 
 " The Pont du Change, replaced by the Pont Neuf.
 
 274 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 which would have cut me off in front as well as rear. Ac- 
 cordingly, 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 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. 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, Italians, 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 275 
 
 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 conferred 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 respon- 
 sibility, 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 from 
 a reduced copy of a splendid antique portrait I had brought 
 with me from Rome. I also undertook another head of the 
 same size, studied from a very handsome girl. 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, 
 for the fine heads I meant to cast in my Italian fashion would 
 never succeed. 
 
 At this dispute between us there were present the treas- 
 urers and other gentlefolk commissioned by the King to 
 superintend my proceedings. 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
 
 2/6 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 the experiment, saying they would Hke 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, show- 
 ing 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 spirits. I was very willing, and ordered a hand- 
 some collation for their entertainment. When this was over, 
 they requested me to pay the money due to them and the sur- 
 plus 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 excel- 
 lent 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 277 
 
 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 ^ into your mould, I could 
 have taught you with one word how to cast the figure with- 
 out fault. This would have brought me great honour and 
 you much profit. I shall be able to make good my reputa- 
 tion ; 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 per- 
 formed their task according to their knowledge. This way 
 of mine in dealing with them raised the good-will of the King's 
 treasurers and other officers toward me to a pitch which can 
 not be described. The whole afifair 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 ar- 
 rived in France, and reminded the King that he had promised 
 him letters of naturalization.^ 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 cost him several hun- 
 dred ducats: mine were brought me by one of the King's 
 chief secretaries, Messer Antonio Massone.^ 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 
 
 ' The soul is a 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. 
 
 ' Piero was the son of Filippo Strozzi, and the general who lost the 
 battle of Montemurlo, so disastrous to the Florentine exiles, in 1537. 
 
 ' Antoine le Ma9on, secretary to Margaret of Navarre.
 
 2/8 CELLINI 
 
 letters of naturalization." 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 naturalization meant. He was a man accom- 
 plished 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 dignities a for- 
 eigner 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 naturalization. Go and 
 install him lord of 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 understood about the letters 
 of naturalization." 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 naturalization, 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 pre- 
 serve them. 
 
 XX 
 
 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, in- 
 tending 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 279 
 
 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, Signor Piero 
 Strozzi, the Count of Anguillara, the Count of Pitigliano, 
 the Count of Mirandola, and many others, gave me employ- 
 ment also.* 
 
 For my great King, as I have said, I had been working 
 strenuously, 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 commission me to execute some- 
 thing 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. I suggested sev- 
 eral ideas, and his Majesty expressed his own opinion. After- 
 ward he said that he was going to spend fifteen or twenty 
 days at San Germano del Aia, a place twelve leagues distant 
 from Paris; in 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 companion, 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 
 
 • 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 took refuge with his sons in France. His de- 
 scendants renewed their hold upon the fief, which was erected into a 
 duchy in 1619.
 
 28o CELLINI 
 
 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 de- 
 parted, 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 Em- 
 peror and King had been stirred up again, so that I found 
 him much harassed by anxieties.^ I spoke, however, 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 pleas- 
 ure 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 of 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 hemi- 
 cycle, flattened like the handle of a basket; here the King 
 wanted a figure placed to represent the genius of Fontaine- 
 bleau. I corrected the proportions of the doorway, and placed 
 above it an exact half circle; at the sides I introduced pro- 
 jections, with socles and cornices properly corresponding: 
 then, instead of the columns demanded by this disposition 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 
 ' Hostilities were renewed in May, 1542.
 
 MEMOIRS 281 
 
 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 sev- 
 eral species, such as may be seen in that fair forest where 
 the fountain springs. The whole of this composition was in- 
 closed 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. 
 
 XXII 
 
 When the King had seen this model, it restored him to 
 cheerfulness, and distracted his mind from the fatiguing de- 
 bates 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 expecting, 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 per- 
 fect 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 pro- 
 portion 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 imagin- 
 able 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 understood the door without explanation, but that 
 he could not take the conception of my fountain, although 
 it seemed to him most beautiful; at the same time, he knew 
 well that I was not like those foolish folk who turn out some- 
 thing with a kind of grace, but put no intention into their
 
 282 CELLINI 
 
 performances. I then addressed myself to the task of exposi- 
 tion; 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 patronize. 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 Sculp- 
 ture, Painting, and Architecture. The third is Music, which 
 can not 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 ap- 
 pointed 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 carrying out his great ideas." I answered that, 
 if I was really the man his Majesty described, my good for- 
 tune 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 283 
 
 XXIII 
 
 My ill-luck willed that I was not wide-awake enough to 
 play the like comedy with Madame d'Etampes. That even- 
 ing, 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 tem- 
 per. 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 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 discharged 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 oflf, 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 Emi- 
 nence to maintain me in the King's good graces. He said 
 there was no need for this; and if there w^ere need he would 
 gladly speak for me. Then he called his treasurer, and whis- 
 pered 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 morn- 
 ing up to the present moment, at the door of Madame
 
 284 CELLINI 
 
 d'Etampes; I went to give her that fine piece of silver-gilt 
 plate, and took pains that she would be informed of my in- 
 tention; 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 some- 
 thing to drink; for being rather too bilious by nature, fast 
 upsets me so that I run the risk now of falling from exhaus- 
 tion 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 exasperation had 
 departed from me. 
 
 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 treasurer 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 resist- 
 ance. 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 friendship 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.^ The infinite troubles brought upon me by my 
 
 ' Son of Giuliano Guidi and Costanza, a daughter of Domenico Ghir- 
 landajo. Francis 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 285 
 
 evil fortune caused me to omit the mention of him at an earHer 
 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 
 introduce 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 memory the good he did me. 
 
 Well, then, Messer Guido came to Paris; and not long 
 after making 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, Monsignore de' Rossi, brother of the 
 Count of San Secondo, also arrived. This gentleman I re- 
 moved 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 
 friendship 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 in- 
 deed, and with good conscience, affirm that all I am, what- 
 ever 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 con- 
 siderable 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 w^ho printed Messer Guido's first fine book 
 on medicine.^ Wanting to make use of his lodging, I turned 
 him out, but not without some trouble. There was also a 
 ' This printer was Pierre Sauthier.
 
 286 CELLINI 
 
 manufacturer of saltpetre; and when I wished to assign his 
 apartments to some of my German workmen, the fellow re- 
 fused 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 workpeople 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 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 re- 
 sorted 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, dum- 
 founded and aflfrighted, got his furniture together as well as 
 he was able; then he ran oflf 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 afterward informed, his Majesty twice 
 showed signs of irritation and was minded to use me roughly: 
 but Henry the Dauphin, his son, now King of France, who 
 had received some aflfronte from that imperious woman, to- 
 gether 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 287 
 
 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 wall 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. 
 
 The rage of this vindictive woman kept continually on the 
 increase. She sent for a painter who was established at Fon- 
 tainebleau, 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 Prima- 
 ticcio.^ Madame d'Etampes advised him to beg that com- 
 mission 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 happi- 
 ness, and thought himself sure of the affair, although such 
 things were not in his line of art. He was, however, an ex- 
 cellent master of design, and had collected round him a troop 
 of workpeople 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 w'orked most upon his mind w^as 
 that both of them combined to speak as follows : " How is it 
 possible, sacred Majesty, that Benvenuto 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 under- 
 taking, you will, of necessity, deprive yourself of those other 
 things on which your heart is set. A hundred of the ablest 
 craftsmen 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 master- 
 
 ' Primaticcio, together with Rosso, introduced Italian painting into 
 France. Vasari says he came to Paris in 1541. He died in 1570.
 
 288 CELLINI 
 
 pieces at the same moment." By insinuating these and other 
 suggestions of the same sort at a favourable opportunity, the 
 King consented to their petition; and yet Bologna had at this 
 time produced neither designs nor models for the fountain. 
 
 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 of 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 litiga- 
 tion. 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 trans- 
 actions. They have another ugly custom, which is that the 
 Normans, nearly all of them, traffic in false evidence; 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 dis- 
 graceful breach of justice, I made my appearance in the great 
 hall of Paris, to defend my right. There I saw a judge, lieu- 
 tenant for the King in civil causes, enthroned upon a high 
 tribunal. He was tall, stout, and fat, and of an extremely se- 
 vere 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 at- 
 tention first to one and then to the other, answering each with 
 learning and sagacity. I have always delighted in watching 
 and experiencing every kind of skill ; so I would not have lost
 
 MEMOIRS 289 
 
 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 the guard- 
 ian, in his eflFort 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 vio- 
 lence, the judge raised his voice, and spoke the following 
 words precisely as I heard them: " Keep peace, Satan, be- 
 gone, and hold your tongue." These words in the French 
 tongue sound as follows: Phe phe, Satan, phe phe, ale, phe! 
 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 particularly in the city of Paris, where, owing 
 to the circumstances I have just described, the hall of jus- 
 tice may be truly called a hell. Dante then, who also under- 
 stood French w'ell, made use of the phrase in question, and 
 it has struck me as singular that this interpretation has never 
 yet been put upon the passage; indeed, it confirms my opin- 
 ion that the commentators make him say things which never 
 
 came into his head. 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 Well, then, to return to my afifairs. When certain de- 
 cisions 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 plaintifif who had sued me; and one 
 evening I wounded him in the legs and arms so severely, tak- 
 ing 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 bought the suit, and used him also in such wise that 
 he dropped it. 
 
 Returning thanks to God for this and every other dispen- 
 sation, and hoping to be left awhile without worries. I bade 
 the young men of my household, especially the Italians, for 
 19
 
 290 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 Tagliacozzo 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 Maca- 
 roni; he had small acquirements in our art, but was an ex- 
 cellent and courageous swordsman. I had another from Fer- 
 rara called Bartolommeo Chioccia. There was also another 
 from Florence named Pagolo Micceri; his brother, nick- 
 named " 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, hav- 
 ing 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 mut- 
 tering 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 can not 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 prove a source of much annoyance to me. In the first 
 place, I want you to guard my property from being stolen.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 291 
 
 and not touch it yourself. In the next place, you know that 
 poor young girl, Caterina; I keep her for my art's sake, since 
 I can not do without a model; now I do not want her cor- 
 rupted. 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 no- 
 tice anything, tell it me at once; for I am sure to send her 
 and her mother 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 imagitie 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.^ 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 re- 
 plied 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 exer- 
 cises, while I keep watch over the 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 oflf 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 
 
 ' Matteo del Nassaro, a native of Verona, was employed in France as 
 engraver, die-caster, and musician.
 
 292 CELLINI 
 
 of the afternoon, however, 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 her mother screamed out: " Pa- 
 golo! Caterina! here is the master! " When I saw the pair 
 advancing, overcome with fright, not knowing what they said, 
 nor, like people in a trance, where they were going, 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 him; 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, scoun- 
 drel, what your behaviour and appearance force me to be- 
 lieve, 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." 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. 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." 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 persecutions, I pondered which of two courses I oup'ht 
 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 293 
 
 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 de- 
 parture. 
 
 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 wdth 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 mind w^hat great works 
 we have begun here, and what vast importance they possess; 
 we should not know how to finish them w^ithout him, and 
 his enemies would say that he had taken flight because he 
 shrank before such undertakings." Many other things bear- 
 ing 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
 
 294 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 Catcrina 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 Benvenuto, 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, re- 
 late all that happened between you and Benvenuto." She 
 answered that I had attempted to kill her. The judge turned 
 to me and said : " You hear what Caterina deposes, Benve- 
 nuto." I commanded her to explain precisely how I had 
 injured her. Then the impudent baggage entered into plain 
 and circumstantial details regarding all the abuse 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. The woman is guilty of per- 
 jury; I admit nothing whatsoever with regard to her; her 
 mother is here, who deserves to be burned. Therefore I ap- 
 peal 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 vic- 
 tory; 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 XXXI 
 
 295 
 
 When adverse fortune, or, if we prefer to call it, our malig- 
 nant 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 re- 
 covered 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 inclosing 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 expenses 
 (he was called Monsignor della Fa) addressed me in these 
 words: " Benvenuto, the painter Bologna has obtained com- 
 mission from the King to execute your great Colossus, and 
 all the orders previously given as on your behalf have been 
 transferred to him. We are all indignant; and it seems to us 
 that that countryman of yours has acted toward 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 oflf with my good sword at 
 my side to find Bologna. He was in his room, engaged in
 
 296 CELLINI 
 
 studies; after telling the servant to introduce me, he greeted 
 me with some of his Lombard compliments, 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 commence- 
 ment; 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 contrary, 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 myself known to his Majesty, 
 who approved of 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 irre- 
 fragably, and make you admit, that such ways of acting as 
 you have described and used are not in vogue among ra- 
 tional animals. I will, however, come quickly to the point 
 at issue; give close attention to my meanmg, because the 
 afifair 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 297 
 
 time has long gone by during which my right could be rea- 
 sonably 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 who- 
 soever 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 agreement, 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 
 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 fashion; 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 for- 
 merly 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 in- 
 clined 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 other- 
 wise, you will have to fear, because the afifair 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 
 20
 
 298 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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, 
 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 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 pos- 
 session of me might have been my death, had I not resolved 
 to give it vent as the occasion offered. I ordered the Fer- 
 rarese workman, Chioccia, to come with me, and made a serv- 
 ant 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 exclama- 
 tion. 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 
 them after I had disposed of their bully. So I went on hold- 
 ing my sword at his throat, and now and then just pricked 
 him with the point, pouring out a torrent of terrific threats
 
 MEMOIRS 299 
 
 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 
 afterward according to your deserts." He replied at once: 
 " If only you do not kill me, I will do whatever you com- 
 mand." " 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 you who blabs about this 
 aflfair 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 ofTer 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 conceived the notion of branding 
 him with such infamy as I am going to relate. 
 
 Not satisfied with having made him take the woman to
 
 30O CELLINI 
 
 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. Furthermore, I kept her for hours together 
 in position, greatly to her discomfort. This gave her as much 
 annoyance 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.^ On the 
 first occasion when she did this, the mere mention of the 
 fellow roused 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. 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 in- 
 sulting 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 sav/ 
 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 bag- 
 
 ' Leone, son of Filippo Strozzi, Knight of Jerusalem and Prior of 
 Capua, was, like his brother Piero, a distinguished French general.
 
 MEMOIRS 301 
 
 gage; 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 off 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 mother had played off upon me under my own 
 roof, Ruberta scoldingly replied that that was nothing — that 
 was only French manners. 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 savoir 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, em- 
 bracing 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. Afterward I began to model from her; and 
 at last, just at the same hour as on the previous day, she irri- 
 tated 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 inter- 
 esting from the point of view of art; but since the whole his- 
 tory 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.^ 
 
 * This figure was undoubtedly the Nymph of Fontainebleau.
 
 302 CELLINI 
 
 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 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 there- 
 fore metaphorically appropriate. The Sea carried a trident 
 in his right hand, and in his left I put a ship of delicate work- 
 manship 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 backward, resem- 
 bled a fish, and the tails of these creatures were agreeably 
 interwoven. Above this group the Sea sat throned in an 
 attitude of pride and dignity; around him were many kinds 
 of fishes aijd other creatures 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 hand- 
 some 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 creatures which the earth produces ; and the rocks were 
 partly enamelled, partly left in gold. The whole piece re- 
 posed 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. 
 
 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,
 
 C 
 
 
 
 u 
 H 
 
 < 
 
 1/3
 
 I
 
 MEMOIRS 303 
 
 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 working at my 
 Jupiter in silver, and also at the great vase I have already 
 described, which was richly decorated with a variety of orna- 
 ments 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 recommendation, to the end that he might cast the 
 foremost masterpieces of antiquity, namely, the Laocoon, 
 the Cleopatra, the Venus, the Commodus, the Zingara, and 
 the Apollo.^ 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 every- 
 thing which he had seen by us moderns was far removed from 
 the perfection of the ancients. The King accepted his pro- 
 posal, and gave him the introductions he required. Accord- 
 ingly 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 depre- 
 ciating 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 con- 
 trary 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 w^ell 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 
 
 ' 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.
 
 304 CELLINI 
 
 fifteen. She was beautifully made and of a brunette complex- 
 ion. As she was somewhat savage in her ways and spare 
 of speech, quick in movement, with a look of sullenness about 
 her eyes, I nicknamed her Scorzone;^ her real name was 
 Jeanne. With her for model, I gave perfect finish to the 
 bronze Fontainebleau, and also to the two Victories. 
 
 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. Well, the King, as I have said, came to 
 Paris, and paid me a visit soon after his arrival. The mag- 
 nificent show of works brought well-nigh to completion was 
 enough to satisfy anybody's eyes; 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 Fer- 
 rara had fulfilled none of his promises to me, either as re- 
 garded a pension or anything else. Whispering 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 the twinkling of an eye might decamp without com- 
 plaining or asking 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 commis- 
 sion 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.^ Seeing the realm of 
 
 'That is, in Italian, "the rough rind," a name given to rustics. 
 Scorzone is also the name for a little black venomous serpent. 
 
 ' In 1544 Charles V advanced toward Champagne and threatened 
 Paris, while the English were besieging Boulogne.
 
 MEMOIRS 305 
 
 France to be in great need of money, the Cardinal one day 
 began to talk of nie, 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 donation would have exposed you to the risk of losing 
 Benvenuto altogether; 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 with- 
 out hesitation. I therefore consider that your Majesty's best 
 course will be to present him with something in your king- 
 dom, 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 Cardinal, but his own private mind was otherwise made 
 up. Accordingly, 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 art were on view. Be- 
 ginning 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 suf- 
 fered 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 w-as this: After the cap- 
 ture of Tunis, the Emperor passed through Paris with the 
 consent of his brother-in-law. King Francis,^ 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 crafts- 
 
 ' In the year 1539 Charles V obtained leave to traverse France with 
 his army on the way to Flanders.
 
 3o6 CELLINI 
 
 men 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 receiving 
 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. Ac- 
 cordingly 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 master- 
 piece 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 astonishment than any of the other things he had in- 
 spected. Turning to his Admiral, who was called Mon- 
 signor Aniballe,^ 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 recom- 
 pense; therefore see that he gets the first abbey that falls 
 vacant worth two thousand crowns a year. If this can not 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 car- 
 ried 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, maintaining myself with honour on that income, 
 and always bearing in mind that I had served so great a mon- 
 arch as his Majesty. At the end of this speech the King 
 turned toward me with a lively gesture and a joyous counte- 
 nance, saying, " So let it then he done." After that he de- 
 parted, highly satisfied with what he had seen there. 
 
 ' Claude d'Annebault ; captured at Pavia with Francis ; Marshal in 
 1538 ; Admiral of France in 1543.
 
 MEMOIRS 307 
 
 XL 
 
 Madame d'Etampes, when she heard how well my affairs 
 were going, 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 mis- 
 chief against me. Now a certain man fell in her way, who 
 enjoyed great fame as a distiller; he supplied her with per- 
 fumed waters, which were excellent for the complexion, and 
 hitherto unknown in France. This fellow she introduced to 
 the King, who was much delighted by the processes for dis- 
 tilling which he exhibited. While engaged in these experi- 
 ments, 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 business, made no answer; but Madame 
 d'Etampes used those wiles with which women know so well 
 to w'ork on men, and very easily succeeded in her enterprise; 
 for having taken the King at a moment of amorous weakness, 
 to which he was much subject, she wheedled him into con- 
 ceding what she wanted. 
 
 The distiller came, accompanied by Treasurer Grolier, a 
 very great nobleman of France, who spoke Italian excellently, 
 and when he entered my castle, began to jest with me in 
 that language.^ Watching his opportunity, 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 free- 
 dom: coming thus with notaries and people of the court looks 
 more like a fraud than the mandate of a powerful monarch. 
 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 war- 
 rant under the King's own hand and seal." After this speech 
 the treasurer went off threatening and grumbling, and I re- 
 mained doing the same, without, however, beginning the 
 attack at once. Then I went to the notaries who had put the 
 
 ' Jean Grolier, the famous French Maecenas, collector of books and 
 antiquities.
 
 3o8 CELLINI 
 
 fellow in possession. I was well acquainted with them; and 
 they gave me to understand that this was a formal proceed- 
 ing, done indeed at the King's orders, but that it had not any 
 great significance; 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 rightly, 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 arquebuses, 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 defend- 
 ing 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. 
 
 XLI 
 
 In the meantime I brought my silver Jupiter to comple- 
 tion, together 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 backward, or turn it round with ease. 
 Having arranged it thus to my mind, I went with it to Fon- 
 tainebleau, 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 Fon- 
 tainebleau is forty miles distant 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 handsome gallery.
 
 MEMOIRS 309 
 
 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 sculptured 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 gantlet; now may God assist me." I placed 
 the statue, and having arranged 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 
 nightfall, wishing to do one of two mischiefs, either to pre- 
 vent his coming, or else to spoil the effect of my work by its 
 being shown off after dark; but as God has promised to those 
 who trust in Him, it turned out exactly opposite to her cal- 
 culations; 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 Ma- 
 dame d'Etampes, his son the Dauphin and the Dauphiness, 
 together with the King of Navarre his brother-in-law, Madame 
 Marguerite his daughter, and several other great lords, who 
 had been instructed by Madame d'Etampes to speak against 
 me. When the King appeared, I made my prentice Ascanio 
 push the Jupiter toward his Majesty. As it moved smoothly 
 forward, 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
 
 3IO CELLINI 
 
 have conceived 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 advanced, 
 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 de- 
 serves 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 any- 
 thing like so fine a show by daylight; besides, one had to con- 
 sider 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 portion of my statue, with the view of augmenting its 
 majesty. This, when she had finished speaking, I lifted from 
 beneath, uncovering the handsome legs 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, pre- 
 cisely 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, en- 
 dowed with all the talents." 
 
 XLII 
 
 I left the Jupiter there, meaning to depart the next morn- 
 ing. Before 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 311 
 
 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 stuflfs. From these I selected 
 presents for my workpeople, giving each something accord- 
 ing to his 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. 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 com- 
 pose the figure, intending to dovetail them together in ac- 
 cordance 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 comic. It must first be mentioned that 
 I had forbidden all the men who lived at my cost to bring 
 women into my house or anywhere within the castle pre- 
 cincts. Upon this point of discipline I was extremely strict. 
 Now my lad Ascanio loved a very handsome girl, who re- 
 turned 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 con- 
 ceal her, like a 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. 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 pur- 
 pose 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 be- 
 lief; and folk in Paris called it popularly by the name of Lem- 
 monio Boreo.^ The girl, while she sojourned in the statue's 
 
 ' Properly, Le Moine Bourru, the ghost of a monk dressed in drugget. 
 Le Petit Nesle had a bad reputation on account of the murders said to
 
 312 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 incredulous, 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 guess- 
 ing 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 pur- 
 pose to include in this autobiography such things as annal- 
 ists record, I have omitted the coming of the Emperor with 
 his great host, and the King's mustering of his whole army.^ 
 At the time when these events took place, his Majesty sought 
 my advice with r&gard to the instantaneous fortification 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 displeasure. 
 
 Now the Admiral had been appointed through Madame 
 d'Etampes's influence rather than from any proof of his abil- 
 ity, for he was a man of little talent. He bore the name of 
 M. d'Annebault, which in our tongue is Monsignor d'Ani- 
 balle; but the French pronounce it so that they usually made 
 it sound like Monsignore Asino Bue. This animal then re- 
 ferred to Madame d'Etampes for advice upon the matter, and 
 she ordered him to summon Girolamo Bellarmato without 
 loss of time.^ He was an engineer from Siena, at that time 
 in Dieppe, which is rather more than a day's journey distant 
 from the capital. He came at once, and set the work of 
 
 have been committed there in the fourteenth century by Queen Jeanne, 
 wife of Philip V. 
 
 * Toward the end of August, 1544, the Imperial army advanced as far 
 as Epernay, within twenty leagues of Paris. 
 
 ' Girolamo Bellarmati, a learned mathematician and military archi- 
 tect, banished from Siena for political reasons. He designed the harbour 
 of Havre.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 313 
 
 fortification 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 in- 
 deed said that, when a treaty of peace was afterward con- 
 cluded, Madame d'Etampes, who took more part in it than 
 anybody else, betrayed the King.^ 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 middling 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 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 arrange- 
 ments to quit France, and went upon the spot to find the 
 King. When he had dined, I was show-n 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 wath 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 w^aited for the good King's visit, 
 
 who, it seems, had gone meanwhile to take leave of Madame 
 
 ' 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.
 
 314 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 deter- 
 mination; 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, ac- 
 cording 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. Then he came to my house, and I con- 
 ducted him through certain rooms upon the basement, where 
 I had put the whole of my great door together. Upon be- 
 holding it, the King w^as struck with stupefaction, and quite 
 lost his cue for reprimanding me, as he had promised Ma- 
 dame d'Etampes. Still he did not choose to go away with- 
 out 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 can not bring your great gifts 
 to light by your own strength alone; you show your great- 
 ness only through the opportunities we give you. Now you 
 ought to be a little more submissive, not so arrogant 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 315 
 
 was uttering these words, his lords in waiting hung upon 
 the King's Hps, seeing him shake his head, frown, and gesticu- 
 late, now with one hand and now with the other. The whole 
 company of attendants, therefore, 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 before- 
 hand 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 com- 
 mands. If it appears to your Majesty that my actions contra- 
 dict these words, let your Majesty be sure that Benvenuto was 
 not at fault, but rather possibly my evil fate or adverse for- 
 tune, which has made me unworthy to serve the most ad- 
 mirable 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. Per- 
 haps 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 conversation falling upon some- 
 thing of the kind which had been brought for your inspec- 
 tion, I showed you a model made by me in Italy; you, fol- 
 lowing the impulse of your own mind only, had a thousand 
 golden ducats told out for me to execute the piece withal, 
 thanking me in addition for my hint; and what is more, I 
 seem to remember that you commended me highly when it 
 was completed. As regards 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 gentlemen should 
 keep me going at the work, and see that I obtained the neces- 
 sary funds. Without such commission I should certainly not
 
 3i6 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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. 
 Consequently, 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 w'orthy of so glorious a service, I beseech your 
 Majesty, instead of the noble recompense you had in mind 
 to give me for my labours, bestow 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 graciously. Then he told me that I ought to continue 
 in his service, and that all that I had done was right and pleas- 
 ing 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 conde- 
 scension, commanded me with a great and terrible voice to 
 hold my tongue, unless I wanted to incur his wrath; after- 
 ward he added that he would drown me in gold, and that he
 
 MEMOIRS 317 
 
 gave me the leave I asked; and over and above the works 
 he had commissioned, 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 
 character; and for my part, I too ought to study the temper 
 of his Majesty, 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 Colos- 
 sus. 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. 
 
 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.^ 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 con- 
 cerned, I might have decamped from the realm; therefore 
 he must certainly arrange for committing me to some one 
 who would appreciate me better, because he did not want 
 to run a farther risk of losing me. At these words Monsieur de 
 Saint Paul expressed his w^illingness to undertake 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 king- 
 dom. 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 
 
 * Francis de Bourbon, Comte de Saint Paul, one of the chief compan- 
 ions in arms and captains of Francis I.
 
 3i8 CELLINI 
 
 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 w^ould 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 w^ay that 
 day ended, and I came off safe and sound, for which may 
 God be praised and thanked. 
 
 XLVIII 
 
 The King had now made peace with the Emperor, but 
 not with the English, and these devils were keeping us in 
 constant agitation.^ 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 at 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 
 dismissed my workpeople with the exception of the two Ital- 
 ians, 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 Argentana, and is dis- 
 tant several days' journey from Paris.^ On arriving at this 
 place, I found that the King was indisposed; and the Cardi- 
 nal of Ferrara told his Majesty that I w^as 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 inspection. 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 
 
 ' The peace of Crepy was concluded September i8, 1544. The English 
 had taken Boulogne four days earlier. Peace between France and Eng- 
 land was not concluded till June 7, 1546. 
 
 ' Argentan, the city of the Duchy of Alen^on. Margaret, it will be 
 remembered, had been first married to the Due d'Alenjon, and after his 
 death retained his fiefs.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 319 
 
 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 fight- 
 ing than for making statues; moreover, his Majesty had al- 
 lowed 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 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 besought him, since he had already conferred upon me 
 the great benefit of freeing me from prison in Rome, with 
 many others besides, to do me this one favour more of pro- 
 curing 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 ofT at once, because he w'ould 
 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 lie 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 oflF with an easy mind. 
 
 XLIX 
 
 I obeyed the Cardinal, and returned to Paris, where I made 
 excellent 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.
 
 320 CELLINI 
 
 Then I departed in my evil hour, together with Signer 
 IppoHto 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 v^ent 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 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 obligations 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 fellows began by saying that I had gone oflf with the 
 King's silver, and told Messer Guido and the Bishop of Pavia 
 to send at once ofT after his Majesty's vases; if not, they 
 would themselves despatch a messenger 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 prop- 
 erty, my castle? Oh, what a fate is this of mine, which forces 
 me to take this journey! Mav God grant only that the Car- 
 dinal is not of one mind with Madame d'Etampes, who has
 
 MEMOIRS 321 
 
 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: " It is 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 them being my own property, together with the silver 
 and much else besides. 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, having 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 weeping. Sometimes, how- 
 ever, 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 fonvard journey. 
 
 We were one day distant from Lyons, and it was close 
 21
 
 322 CELLINI 
 
 upon the hour of twenty-two, when the heavens began to 
 thunder with sharp ratthng claps, although the sky was quite 
 clear at the time, 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 somewhat 
 larger than pellets from a popgun, and when these struck me, 
 they hurt considerably. Little by little it increased in size, 
 until the stones might be compared to balls from a cross-bow. 
 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 de- 
 voutly uttering this psalm to God, there fell a stone so huge 
 that it smashed the thick branch 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, " Jesus! 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 323 
 
 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 jour- 
 ney, and passed the mountains without mishap. On the 
 other side I bought a httle pony, because the baggage which 
 I carried had somewhat overtired my horses. 
 
 LI 
 
 After we had been one day in Italy, the Count Galeotto 
 della Mirandola joined us. He was travelhng by post; and 
 stopping where we were, he told me that I had done wrong 
 to leave France; I ought not to journey forward, for, if I re- 
 turned 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 traitor- 
 ously. 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 busi- 
 ness. 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. 
 
 I 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 recog- 
 nised me.^ Since I knew him to have been the sole cause of 
 
 * 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 noblemen of the duchy, took part in a con-
 
 324 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 my imprisonment in the castle of S, 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 just after 
 he had risen from table in the company of the Landi, who 
 afterward 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. Afterward he inquired about the work I had been 
 doing for his Most Christian Majesty; and on my furnish- 
 ing 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 com- 
 plaint 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 
 
 spiracy which had its ground in Pier Luigi's political errors no less than 
 in his intolerable misgovernment and infamous private life.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 325 
 
 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. 
 
 LII 
 
 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 Flor- 
 ence. 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 sufifice 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. 
 
 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
 
 326 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 kindly; then he and the Duchess put questions concerning 
 the works which I had executed for the King.^ I answered 
 wiUingly and in detail. After listening to my story, he an- 
 sw-ered 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 masterpieces! 
 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 obligations under which I lay to his 
 Majesty, who first obtained my liberation from that iniquitous 
 prison, and afterward 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 ^ 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 hav- 
 ing such a monument, and he begged me to begin a model 
 for the same.^ 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 w'ith the most thorough study and art.* 
 
 ' This Duchess was Eleonora di Toledo, well known through Bronzino's 
 portrait. 
 
 ' This school was the Collegio dei Maestri di Belle Arti in Florence, 
 who had hitherto known of Cellini mainly as a goldsmith. 
 
 * Cosimo chose the subject of Perseus because it symbolized his own 
 victory over the Gorgon of tyrannicide and Republican partisanship. 
 Donatello's Judith, symbolizing justifiable regicide, and Michel Angelo's 
 David, symbolizing the might of innocent right against an overbearing 
 usurper, already decorated the Florentine piazza. Until lately, both < 
 these masterpieces stood together there with the Perseus of Cellini. 1 
 
 * This is probably the precious model now existing in the Bargel
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 327 
 
 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, 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; whereupon I gathered some hope 
 that he might really be a connoisseur of art. After having 
 wqW considered it for some time, always with greater satis- 
 faction, he began as follows: " If you could only execute this 
 little model, Benvenuto, 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. But since your Excellency encourages 
 my model with such praise, I feel the heart to execute it at 
 least thrice as well in bronze." 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 promised for his Excellency, 
 but that he must give me means for carrying my work out, 
 else I could not fulfil my undertaking. In return for this 
 his Excellency bade me formulate my demands in a petition, 
 detailing all my requirements; he would see them liberally 
 attended to. 
 
 It is certain that if I had been cunning enough to secure 
 by contract all I wanted for my work, I should not have in- 
 curred 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 pre- 
 liminaries. 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 commercial 
 man. I sent in my petition, to which he replied in large and 
 
 -'alace at Florence, in many points more interesting than the completed 
 ronre statue under the Loggia de' Lanzi.
 
 328 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 ample terms. The memorandum ran as follows : " Most rare 
 and excellent my patron, petitions of any validity and com- 
 pacts 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 con- 
 vinced that your most illustrious Excellency will very well 
 remember what you have engaged to do for me." This lan- 
 guage 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 work- 
 ing, I told his Excellency that I had need of a house where 
 I could install myself and erect furnaces, in order to com- 
 mence 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 per- 
 ceive how earnestly I wished to work for him, I had already 
 chosen a convenient house, in a quarter much to my liking.^ 
 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 zvhat price; for we wish 
 to comply with Benvemifo's request." I naturally thought that 
 this would secure me in possession of the house; being over 
 and above convinced that my performances must far exceed 
 what I promised. 
 
 ' This house is in the Via del Rosaio, entered from Via della Pergola, 
 
 No. 6527.
 
 MEMOIRS 329 
 
 His Excellency committed the execution of these orders 
 to his majordomo, who was named Ser Pier Francesco Riccio. 
 The man came from Prato, and had been the Duke's peda- 
 gogue. I talked, then, to this donkey, and described my 
 requirements, for t]jere was a garden adjoining the house, on 
 which I wanted to erect a workshop. 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 busi- 
 ness 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 beginnings sometimes have great endings;" 
 and I fostered hope in my heart by noticing how many thou- 
 sand ducats had recently been squandered upon ugly pieces 
 of bad sculpture turned out by that beast of a Buaccio Bandi- 
 nelli.^ 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, accord- 
 ing to my wont, with fire, and perhaps a trifle of impatience. 
 
 On the other side, I was in the hands of Tasso the car- 
 penter, a great friend of mine, who had received my instruc- 
 tions 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. 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 affairs in France were going wTong, and these in Flor- 
 ence promising but ill through the lukewarmness 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, as well as I was able, some few 
 of the gloomy thoughts which weighed upon me. 
 
 ' Cellini calls this man, his bitter foe and rival, Buaccio or the great ox, 
 blockhead, instead of Baccio, which is shortened for Bartolommeo. 
 
 22
 
 330 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 LV 
 
 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/ On entering, I paid him marked respect, and he re- 
 ceived 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 himself, 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 tartness, 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 ^ chooses to use lan- 
 guage 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.^ Pouring forth a 
 torrent of abuse, he roared out that he was surprised at him- 
 self 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 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 men- 
 
 ' One of the rooms in the Palazzo Vecchio, so called because the famous 
 cosmographical timepiece, made about 1484 for Lorenzo de' Medici by 
 Lorenzo della Volpaia, stood there. 
 
 ' It was the custom at that epoch to address princes by the title of 
 Signore or Vostra Signoria ; gentlemen had the title of Messer ; simple 
 Ser was given to plebeians with some civil or ecclesiastical dignity. 
 
 ' Riccio died about 1559, after having been insane several years.
 
 MEMOIRS 331 
 
 ace, 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 can not, I think, have been informed at onqe 
 of this diabolical scene, for I waited several days without 
 hearing from him. Giving up all thoughts of Florence, ex- 
 cept 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 pe- 
 dantic oration, in which I could discover neither method, nor 
 elegance, nor meaning, nor head, nor tail. I only gathered 
 from it that he professed 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: " BandinelH receives 
 two hundred crowns a year; if then you are contented with 
 that, your salary is settled." I Agreed upon these terms, add- 
 ing that what I might earn in addition by the merit of my per- 
 formances, could be given after they were seen; that point
 
 332 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 high- 
 est imaginable marks of favour. 
 
 LVI 
 
 I received frequent letters from France, written by my 
 most faithful 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 work- 
 ing 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 ofif 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 everything 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 constructed the skeleton in iron. Afterward 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. I made use of the lad as a
 
 MEMOIRS 333 
 
 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 
 workpeople 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.^ My request in- 
 clined him to lend ear to Bandinello'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 sick- 
 ened, 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 being employed 
 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 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. 
 
 • That is, the Opera del Duomo, or permanent establishment for at- 
 tending to the fabric of the Florentine Cathedral.
 
 334 CELLINI 
 
 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 
 w'ardrobe with a couple of young goldsmiths called Gian- 
 pagolo and Domenico Poggini,^ 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 his Ex- 
 cellency, considerably larger than life-size, which I modelled 
 while he stayed with me for pastime. He was highly de- 
 lighted 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 under- 
 takings in a hundred years. 
 
 LIX 
 
 The Duchess also treated me with extraordinary gracious- 
 ness, 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 could 
 be brought about without concessions on his part. I thought 
 that I was entirely in the right, and would not bend sub- 
 missively, 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. 
 
 ' These two brothers were specially eminent as die-casters. Gianpagolo 
 went to Spain, and served Philip II.
 
 MEMOIRS 335 
 
 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 en- 
 treaties 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 de- 
 mands 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 Buonaccorsi, 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 consulted 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 ad- 
 ventures I had gone through while performing 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 sup- 
 plied 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 can not vaunt myself of any 
 recompense beyond the salaries appointed for my mainte- 
 nance 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
 
 336 CELLINI 
 
 not moved by avarice. I am indeed aware of having per- 
 formed 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 enter- 
 tains 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 ofifer of myself, knowing that I 
 shall never lack for bread whithersoever I may go. If, how- 
 ever, I am called for, I will always answer." The letter con- 
 tained many further particulars worthy of the King's atten- 
 tion, and proper to the preservation of my honour. Before 
 despatching it, I took it to the Duke, who read it with inter- 
 est; then I sent it into France, addressed to the Cardinal of 
 
 Ferrara. 
 
 LX 
 
 About this time Bernardone Baldini, 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.^ The 
 Btone 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. 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 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: " Ben- 
 venuto, I am convinced that the Duke will show you a dia- 
 mond, 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 
 • Antonio Landi was a Florentine gentleman, merchant, and author.
 
 MEMOIRS 337 
 
 to complete the bargain for the jewel at that price. In reply, 
 I told him that if my advice was taken, I would speak accord- 
 ing 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 im- 
 mediately 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 Ex- 
 cellency 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. 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 high- 
 est; 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 convinced 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 understanding 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 of 
 your Excellency." The Duke rose, and, with a little sort of 
 ^"g^y gi'in, replied : " Twenty-five thousand crowns and more, 
 Benvenuto, did that stone cost me!" 
 
 Having thus spoken, he departed. Giovanpagolo and
 
 338 CELLINI 
 
 Domenico Poggini, the goldsmiths, were present; and Bachi- 
 acca, the embroiderer, who was working in an adjacent room, 
 ran up at the noise.^ 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 off such 
 a shameful trick upon his Excellency? Never imagining that 
 the matter stood precisely as the Duke averred, we laugh- 
 ingly 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. The Duke, who often came to in- 
 spect it, was so anxious lest I should not succeed with the 
 bronze, that he wanted me to call in some master to cast it 
 for me. 
 
 He was continually talking in the highest terms of my 
 acquirements and accomplishments. This made his major- 
 domo no less continually eager to devise some trap for mak- 
 ing me break my neck. Now his post at court gave him 
 authority with the chief-constables and all the offices 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 Gambetta, the mother of my apprentice 
 Cencio; and this precious pair together — that knave of a 
 pedant and that rogue of a strumpet — invented a scheme for 
 
 ' Antonio Ubertini, called II Bachiacca, a brother of Cellini's friend in 
 Kome. He enjoyed a great reputation for mastery of embroidery.
 
 MEMOIRS 339 
 
 giving me such a fright as would make me leave Florence in 
 hot haste. Gambetta 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 afterward dismissed for similar conspiracies. 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. Then she 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 Bar- 
 gello, and that I should certainly 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 her liking, 
 provided I paid down the hundred crowns. This cozenage 
 goaded me into such a fury that I cried: " Out with you, 
 shameful strumpet! Were it not for my good reputation, 
 and for the innocence of this unhappy 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 efifect, 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 machinations; 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.
 
 340 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 sump- 
 tuous 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 appointment 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 afterward I 
 met Messer Lorenzo de' Medici,^ who took me by the hand at 
 once, giving me the warmest welcome which could be im- 
 agined, because we had known each other in Florence when 
 I was coining for Duke Alessandro, and afterward in Paris 
 while I was in the King's service. At that time he sojourned 
 in the house of Messer Giuliano Buonaccorsi, and having no- 
 where else to go for pastime without the 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 hearing 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 annoyances." 
 
 I made no answer to these words, and departed the next 
 day as secretly as I was able, turning my face again toward 
 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 
 
 ' This is Lorenzino de' Medici, the murderer of Alessandro, who was 
 himself assassinated by two Tuscan bravi in 1548.
 
 MEMOIRS 341 
 
 was received with his usual reserve and austerity. Having 
 maintained this attitude awhile, he turned toward me pleas- 
 antly, 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 question 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 gold- 
 smith's workroom while suffering from those pains in my 
 back.^ . 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 understood 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 constructed 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 
 
 .'* Now in the Museum of the Bargello Palace at Florence.
 
 342 CELLINI 
 
 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 French- 
 men, 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 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 insinu- 
 ations operated so efficiently upon the Duke's illustrious ears, 
 that part of my allowance for workpeople was withdrawn. 
 I felt compelled 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 acquirements, and wishing to 
 augment the glory of his town and of his glorious prince, it 
 is quite right that he should go and labour elsewhere. To 
 prove the truth of these words, I need only remind your Ex-
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 343 
 
 cellency of Donatello and the great Lionardo da Vinci in 
 the past, and of our incomparable Michel Angclo 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; therefore, my lord, give me the leave 
 to go. But beware of letting Bandinello quit you; rather 
 bestow upon him always more than he demands; for if he 
 goes into foreign parts, his ignorance is so presumptuous that 
 he is just the man to disgrace our most illustrious school. 
 Now grant me my permission, prince! I ask no further re- 
 ward for my labours up to this time than the gracious favour 
 of your most illustrious Excellency." When he saw the firm- 
 ness of my resolution, he turned with some irritation and ex- 
 claimed: " Benvenuto, 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 those envious folk that I had 
 it in me to execute the promised work. When I left his Ex- 
 cellency, 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 ward- 
 robe, 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 con- 
 sent, although I felt sure I should incur his anger. Now one 
 evening I happened to arrive rather later than usual, where- 
 upon he said: "111 come may you be!" I answered: "My 
 lord, that is not my name; my name is Welcome! But, as 
 1 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 an- 
 other. I begged his most illustrious Excellency to name a 
 single person whom I had ever taken in. At this he flew
 
 344 CELLINI 
 
 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 receive you with the same kindness as heretofore." 
 To this I answered: " I should like your Excellency to know 
 that the rascalities of Bernardone compel me to ask as a 
 favour 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 re- 
 plied: "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 ques- 
 tion he asked 16,000 ducats for the diamond; now your Ex- 
 cellency 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 under- 
 stand, 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 Excellency as sculptor, gold- 
 smith, and stamper of coin; but to blab about my neighbour's 
 private matters, — never! What T am now telling you I say in 
 self-defence ; I do not want my fee for information. If I speak
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 345 
 
 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 
 
 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 Bernardaccio 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.^ Afterward I was informed that 
 
 they had the stone reset by a German or some other foreigner 
 
 — whether truly or not I can not 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 Gio- 
 vanpagolo 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 oftentimes kept saying to his Excel- 
 lency : " My lord, if you will undertake to pay some work- 
 people, 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 
 
 ' It is worthy of notice that from this point onward the MS. is written 
 by Cellini in his own hand.
 
 346 CELLINI 
 
 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 monarch, King 
 Francis of France, thanks to the great conveniences he al- 
 lowed me, without ever losing time for the execution of colos- 
 sal 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 sev- 
 eral pounds weight of silver, and said: " This is some of the 
 silver from my mines; 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 re- 
 paid the gold and silver I had spent upon them. Then I made
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 347 
 
 my suit to her and prayed her tell the Duke that I was get- 
 ting 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." 
 
 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 workmen 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 with- 
 drew this subsidy. I asked Lattanzio why he did not pay 
 me as usual. The man replied, gesticulating wath 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 pros- 
 perity I had abandoned 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 w'orkpeople. 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. Consider- 
 ing that he was only two years old or thereabouts, the child's 
 grief was something wonderful. Now I had resolved, in the 
 heat of my despair, if I met Bandinello, who went every even- 
 ing 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 Do- 
 menico, Bandinello was arriving from the other side. On
 
 348 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 would be, 
 I exclaimed: " Fear not, vile coward! I do not condescend 
 to smite you." He looked at me submissively and said noth- 
 ing. 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 per- 
 form 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 smoth- 
 ered 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 de- 
 priving 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 in- 
 quired 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 
 oflfe'r; 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 annoy-
 
 MEMOIRS 349 
 
 ance. 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." 
 
 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 Excellency 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; ^ 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 im- 
 portune 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 afterward 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 
 
 • Sforza Almeni, a Perugian gentleman, the Duke's chamberlain. 
 Cosimo killed this man with his own hand in the year 1566.
 
 350 CELLINI 
 
 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. 
 
 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.^ 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 per- 
 mits, I should like to restore it — head and arms and feet. I 
 will add an eagle, in order that we may christen the lad Gany- 
 mede. It is certainly not my business 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 admiration." I then attempted, as well as I was able, 
 to explain the beauty of workmanship, the consummate sci- 
 ence, and the rare manner displayed 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 contracted, and he asked him drily: "What 
 are you about here?" Bandinello, without answering, cast 
 a glance upon the box, where the statue lay uncovered. Then 
 breaking into one of his malignant laughs and wagging his 
 
 ' Stefano Colonna, of the princely house of Palestrina. He was a 
 general of considerable repute in the Spanish, French, and Florentine 
 services successively.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 351 
 
 head, he turned to the Duke and said: "My lord, this ex- 
 actly illustrates the truth of what I have so often told 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 de- 
 fence of the statue." In reply to this appeal, so kindly made 
 me by the Duke, I spoke as follows: "My lord, your most 
 illustrious Excellency must please to know that Baccio Bandi- 
 nello is made up of everything bad, and thus has he ever 
 been; therefore, whatever he looks at, be the thing super- 
 latively excellent, becomes in his ungracious 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 composed." 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 Bandi- 
 nello, 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 wer& 
 written on me. full of the worst abuse which could be invented 
 by the ignorant rabble." ^ I rejoined: " Prince, when Michel 
 
 ' 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.
 
 352 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 and goodness, 
 published more than a hundred sonnets, each vying with his 
 neighbour to extol these masterpieces to the skies.^ So then, 
 just as Bandinello's work deserved all the evil which, he tells 
 us, was then said about it, Buonarroti's deserved the enthusi- 
 astic praise which was bestowed upon it." These words of 
 mine made Bandinello 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 at- 
 tendants 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 pommels 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 
 
 ' 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 353 
 
 of a cubit, which alone is the greatest and most insupportable 
 fault committed by vulgar commonplace pretenders. Con- 
 cerning the arms, they say that these are both stretched out 
 without one touch of grace or one real spark of artistic 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 slan- 
 derous 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 re- 
 covered presence of mind enough to turn it off with a jest: 
 " You madman! you exceed the bounds of decency. I, how- 
 ever, am but a poor humble creature, who neither have the 
 power nor the intelligence to perplex my wits with anything 
 so admirable." When I had finished this speech, the Duke 
 and his attendants could control themselves 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 
 23
 
 354 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 
 
 prince to cast an 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 scoun- 
 drel observed that those gentlemen kept on laughing, 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 calumni- 
 ous 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." Then suddenly awaking to the fact that I 
 was standing in the presence of so great a duke, I turned 
 submissively to his Excellency 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 accord- 
 ing 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. 
 
 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 oftentimes repent commencing
 
 MEMOIRS 355 
 
 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 some- 
 thing 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 Gany- 
 mede, 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 inundation of the Arno, when the river rose to 
 the height of more than a cubit and a half in my workshop.^ 
 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 gar- 
 land of flowers round it which may still be seen upon the 
 bosom. 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 get- 
 ting 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, 
 
 ' Cellini alludes to a celebrated inundation of the year 1547.
 
 356 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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, 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 afterward 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 pro- 
 duced 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: " Ben- 
 venuto, this figure can not 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 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 un- 
 derstand 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;^ secondly, 
 the restoration of the Ganymede in marble, which offered so 
 many difficulties and cost me so much trouble, that I would 
 * At Portoferraio. It came afterward to Florence.
 
 MEiMOIRS 
 
 357 
 
 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 further- 
 more to be aware, my lord, for certain, that the sole reason 
 why I succeeded with all those great and 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 allowances 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 disheart- 
 ening 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." 
 
 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
 
 -c8 CELLINI 
 
 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 mock- 
 ery, 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, 
 w^hich may convince 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 there- 
 fore 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 downward six cubits by artificial means, I assure your 
 Excellency upon this most convincing ground of proof that 
 the foot can not 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 middle point upward, 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 convincing 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 with- 
 out 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 Flor- 
 ence, my sweet birthplace, in order that I might charitably
 
 MEMOIRS 359 
 
 succour my six nieces, this good action, as I well perceived, 
 had been the beginning of my great misfortune. Neverthe- 
 less, 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 w^ax 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.^ 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 
 performed 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 v/ith 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 w'as 
 accomplished, I began to bank it up with the earth I had ex- 
 cavated; and, ever as the earth grew higher, I introduced its 
 proper air-vents, which w^ere little tubes of earthenware, such 
 as folk use for drains and such-like purposes.^ At length, 
 
 * This furnace was like a grain-hopper, so that the mould could stand 
 upright in it as in a cup. 
 
 ' These air-vents 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, where-
 
 36o 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 considerably 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, of the utmost possible intensity, attacked 
 me. I felt absolutely obliged 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 Bernar- 
 dino Mannellini of Mugello, my apprentice through several 
 years. To him in particular I spoke : " Look, my dear Ber- 
 nardino, that you observe the rules which I have taught you; 
 do your best with all despatch, for the metal will soon be 
 fused. You can not 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 
 
 by 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 361 
 
 did in all my life, and verily believe that it will kill me before 
 a few hours are over." ^ 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 work- 
 shop; at the same time I cried: " I shall not be alive to- 
 morrow." They tried to encourage me, arguing that my ill- 
 ness 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 afifected her, that, in spite of that brave heart of 
 hers, she could not refrain from 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 lad, and every one who came around to 
 help me, got kicks or blows of the fist, v/hile I kept crying 
 
 ' Some technical terms require explanation in this sentence. The 
 channels were sluices for carrying the molten metal from the furnace 
 into the mould. The crooks were poles fitted at the end with curved 
 irons, by which the openings of the furnace, plugs could be partly or 
 wholly driven back, so as to let the molten metal flow through the chan- 
 nels into the mould. When the metal reached the mould, it entered in a 
 red-hot stream between the mould and the 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. The mould consisted of two 
 pieces : one hollow, which gave shape to the bronze ; one solid and 
 rounded, which stood at a short interval within the former, and regulated 
 the influx of the metal. 
 24
 
 362 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 out in lamentation: " Ah! traitors! enviers! This is an act of 
 treason, done by maHce 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 can not 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 ex- 
 press by " being caked." 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 previously offered me by Madame 
 Ginevra, wife of the said Capretta. So soon as the first arm- 
 fuls arrived, I began to fill the grate beneath the furnace. Now 
 oak-wood of that kind heats more powerfully 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 preferred. Ac- 
 cordingly, 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 gath- 
 ered force from the increased 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 363 
 
 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 mid- 
 dle of the cake inside the furnace. By this means, and by our 
 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 a41 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 discharged amongst us. Unwonted and ap- 
 palling terror astonished every one, and me more even than 
 the rest. When the din was over and the dazzling light ex- 
 tinguished, 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 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 probably 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 
 perceive 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.
 
 3^4 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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. Afterward 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 pre- 
 pared a fat capon for my repast. So that, when I rose, about 
 the hour for breaking fast, she presented herself with a smil- 
 ing 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 fright- 
 ened 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 joyfully; nay, I 
 can not 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 my- 
 self a man of talent, indulged a boastful humour. So I thrust 
 my hand into my purse, and paid them all to their full satis- 
 faction. 
 
 That evil fellow, my mortal foe, Messer Pier Francesco 
 Ricci, majordomo of the Duke, took great pains to find out 
 how the affair had gone. In answer to his questions, the two 
 men whom I suspected 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 ordinary fiend could work 
 such miracles as I in other ways had shown. They exag- 
 gerated 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 365 
 
 LXXVIII 
 
 After I had let my statue cool for two whole days, I began 
 to uncover 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 Per- 
 seus 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 
 remained in the orifice of the channel, and that nothing was 
 wanting to the statue. In my great astojiishment I seemed 
 to see in this the hand of God arranging and controlling all. 
 
 I went on uncovering the statue with success, and ascer- 
 tained 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 
 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 busi- 
 ness. 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 platters, which no one else, 
 I think, had ever done before. 
 
 Having now ascertained how successfully my work had 
 been accomplished, I lost no time in hurrying to Pisa, where 
 I found the Duke. He gave me a most gracious reception, 
 as did also the Duchess; and although the majordomo had 
 informed them of the whole proceedings, their Excellencies 
 deemed my performance far more stupendous and astonish-
 
 366 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 ing 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. Observ- 
 ing the princes to be so well disposed toward 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.^ 
 
 LXXIX 
 
 Before leaving home, I directed my workpeople to pro- 
 ceed according 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,^ 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 paintings, since 
 the windows were too low, so that the light coming from 
 beneath spoiled the effect they would have produced under 
 more 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 exclaimed: " 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 in- 
 stead of beneath, the whole collection would show to greater 
 advantage, and your portrait, placed among so many master- 
 pieces, 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, 
 
 ' Gio Maria del Monte Sansovino was elected Pope, with the title of 
 Julius III, in February, 1550. 
 
 * This man was a member of a very noble Florentine family. Born in 
 I4v-)i, he was at this epoch Tuscan Consul in Rome. Cellini's bust of him 
 still exists in the Palazzo Altoviti at Rome.
 
 MEMOIRS 367 
 
 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 ex- 
 pressions toward 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 per- 
 suade him to return to Florence, I will make him a member 
 of the Forty-eight." ^ 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 illustrious Excellency: "Prince, perhaps 
 I have made him too many promises." 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. 
 
 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. This led to my taking his portrait; 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 Paccalli. 
 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 satisfied if you keep that sum of mine for me at interest, 
 
 ' This was one of the three Councils created by Clement VII in 1532, 
 when he changed the Florentine constitution. It corresponded to a 
 Senate.
 
 368 CELLINI 
 
 so that I may gain a little on it." When we came to square 
 accounts on this occasion, I observed that he was ill disposed 
 toward me, since, instead of treating me affectionately, ac- 
 cording to his previous wont, he put on a stiff air; and al- 
 though I was staying in his house, he was never good- 
 humoured, but always surly. However, we settled our busi- 
 ness 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. 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 Flor- 
 ence. But I soon perceived that the ambassador had coun- 
 termined me. 
 
 Then I went to visit Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, and re- 
 peated 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 this would prevent him from leaving 
 Rome. I rejoined that, as he had decided on the model of 
 that building, he could leave its execution 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 sar- 
 castic smile: " And you! to what extent are you satisfied 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 employment, 
 rather as valet and housekeeper than anything else; this in- 
 deed was obvious, because he had acquired no skill in the
 
 MEMOIRS 369 
 
 arts. Consequently, 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 shoulders 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 astonishment: 
 " Oh, are you come back? " and with the same air of surprise, 
 clapping his hands together, he cried: " The Duke is at Cas- 
 tello! " 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 sur- 
 prise, and intimated that I might go about my business. I 
 had been reckoning that his Excellency would treat me with 
 the same kindness, or even greater, as before I left for Rome; 
 so now, when he received me with such rudeness, 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 afterward 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 abil- 
 ity I maintained the conversation, and told him the whole
 
 270 CELLINI 
 
 story about Bindo Altoviti's bust. It was evident that he 
 Hstened with attention; so I went on talking about Michel 
 Agnolo Buonarroti. 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 major- 
 domo, 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 for- 
 ward, therefore, with a good heart, sustained alone by His 
 divine power; nor let myself be terrified by any furious as- 
 sault of fortune or my adverse stars. May only God main- 
 tain me in His grace! 
 
 LXXXIII 
 
 I must beg your attention now, most gracious reader, for 
 a very terrible event which happened. 
 
 I used the utmost diligence and industry to complete my 
 statue, and went to spend my evenings in the Duke's ward- 
 robe, 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 pleas- 
 ure 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 be- 
 cause he heard of my arrival. His Excellency entered at 
 once into conversation, 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 be- 
 fore. All of a sudden, one of his secretaries appeared, and 
 whispered something of importance in his ear; whereupon 
 the Duke rose, and retired with the ofhcial 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 ex- 
 cellent good-humour." When the Duchess heard this, she 
 came immediately to the wardrobe, and not finding the Duke 
 there, took a seat beside us. After watching us at work a
 
 MEMOIRS 371 
 
 while, she turned to me with the utmost graciousness, 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 fol- 
 lows: " 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 Duch- 
 ess 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 saying, 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 re- 
 plied: "The merchant ofifers 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 necklace of quite flawless qual- 
 ity, I could not advise any one to bid up to 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 inclination, 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 necklace 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
 
 372 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 neck- 
 lace." 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 toward me with a kindly look, and 
 said: " O my dear Benvenuto, I know that you have an excel- 
 lent 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 Duch- 
 ess to help me at the time of 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 con- 
 summate 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 Ex- 
 cellency."
 
 MEMOIRS 373 
 
 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 recommenced: "Alas! my lord, 
 what can prevent this coming to the ears of the Duchess?" 
 The Duke lifted his hand in sign of troth-pledge and ex- 
 claimed: " 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 pur- 
 chase 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 
 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 thousand 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 palace, to drive me from its gates.
 
 374 CELLINI 
 
 Accordingly, no sooner did I present myself, than these fel- 
 lows 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 re- 
 plied: " My princess, leave the matter in my hands." Then 
 the rascal presented himself before the Duke with that neck- 
 lace 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 eflfect: "Ah! my dear lord, for 
 Heaven's sake buy this necklace for the poor Duchess, who 
 is dying to have it, and can not indeed live without it." The 
 fellow poured forth so much of this stupid nonsensical stuff 
 that the Duke's patience was exhausted, 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 blow- 
 ing out his cheeks or singing " La Bella Franceschina," he 
 could bring the Duke to make that purchase, then he 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 faithful 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 cuflfs which he had dealt 
 him, or for the Duchess's sake, whom he was ever most in- 
 clined to gratify, cried out: " Get away with you, with God's 
 curse on you! Go, make your bargain; I am willing to do 
 what my lady Duchess wishes." 
 
 From this incident we may learn to know how evil For- 
 tune exerts her rage aganist a poor right-minded man, and
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 375 
 
 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,^ and the Duke, 
 wishing 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 Gattolini; Giulian di Baccio 
 d'Agnolo, the wood-carver, had the gate of San Giorgio; 
 Particino, the wood-carver, had the gate of Santo Niccolo; 
 Francesco da San Gallo, the sculptor, called II MargoUa, 
 got the gate of Santa Croce; and Giovan Battista, surnamed 
 II Tasso, the gate Pinti. Other bastions and gates were 
 assigned to divers engineers, whose names I do not recollect, 
 nor indeed am I concerned with them. The Duke, who cer- 
 tainly was at all times a man of great ability, went round 
 the city himself upon a tour of inspection, 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 
 
 ' In the year 1552, when Piero Strozzi acted as general for the French 
 King, Henri II, against the Spaniards. The war ended in the capitula- 
 tion of Siena in 1555. In 1557 it was ceded by Philip II to Cosimo de' 
 Medici.
 
 2^6 CELLINI 
 
 even in my own fine art of statuary, inasmuch as we have al- 
 ways exchanged ideas upon that subject; I beg you then to 
 deign to Hsten 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 Excellency, 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 conceived on a right method, he said: "Go, then, and 
 make a design yourself, and I will see if it satisfies me." Ac- 
 cordingly, I made two designs according to the right princi- 
 ples 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 Lom- 
 bard captain; he was a truculent and stalwart fellow, of in- 
 credibly 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 in- 
 finite pains to make him understand my 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 mustachios; 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 under- 
 stand 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 a 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 377 
 
 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 off 
 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 pro- 
 fession. He had the air of a gentle young lady, but at need 
 he could prove himself one of the boldest and bloodiest fight- 
 ers 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 country-folk 
 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 w'as so enor- 
 mous, 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 the gates of 
 Turin; for if we had once cause to lower the portcullis, it 
 would not be able to perform its functious, but must inevitably 
 stick suspended upon one of the wagons. 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 vmcommonly 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 Chimgera, 
 that bronze lion which is to be seen in the rooms adjacent 
 to the great hall of the palace.^ Together wath the Chimsera 
 a number of little statuettes, likewise in bronze, had been 
 brought to light; they were covered with earth and rust, and 
 
 ' Now in the UfBzzi.
 
 378 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 each of them lacked either head or hands or feet. The Duke 
 amused his leisure hours by cleaning up these statuettes him- 
 self with certain little chisels used by goldsmiths. It happened 
 on one occasion that I had to speak on business to his Excel- 
 lency; 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 com- 
 missioned 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 w'ould 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 afterward 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. 
 
 I 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; ^ the Duke then wish- 
 ing 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 afterward through certain little dark galleries 
 and cabinets. The Duchess, however, after a few days, de- 
 prived 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, 
 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 
 
 ' Lions from a very early period had always been kept in part of the 
 Palazzo Vecchio,
 
 MEMOIRS 379 
 
 SO precise, that no sooner did I knock at those doors, than 
 they were immediately opened, and I was allowed to pass 
 freely where 1 chose. The consequence was that occasion- 
 ally, while walking noiselessly and unexpectedly through the 
 private rooms, I came upon the Duchess at a highly incon- 
 venient 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 wull 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 
 w'ork seems to me as though it would never be finished." 
 
 Whether the Duke heard something of this encounter, or 
 whatever 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 inconveniences, to put in an appearance 
 on several successive evenings. Upon one occasion among 
 others, as I arrived in my customary way, the Duke, who had 
 probably been talking with the Duchess about private mat- 
 ters, 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 mo- 
 ments." W^hile 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 al-
 
 38o CELLINI 
 
 ways hovering around me, teasing me whenever the Duke's 
 eyes were turned/ I begged them for mercy's sake to hold 
 their peace. They answered: "That we can not do." I 
 told them: "What one can not 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 re- 
 ceived me, lifting his right hand, in which he held as superb 
 a pear-graft as could possibly be seen. " Take it, my Ben- 
 venuto!" 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 w^asted 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 apart- 
 ments, 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 deter- 
 mined I should not place them on the pedestal where they 
 
 'The Prince was Don Francesco, then aged twelve; Don Giovanni 
 was ten, Don Garzia was six, and Don Ferdinando four.
 
 MEMOIRS 381 
 
 now stand, I waited till next day, and went to the palace about 
 twenty-two o'clock. Ascertaining that the Duke and Duch- 
 ess 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. Con- 
 sequently 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,^ 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. 
 
 However, I pursued my course as usual; and one morn- 
 ing, 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 I ran ofif 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. 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. ' 
 
 ' That is, the Loggia de' Lanzi, on the great piazza of Florence, where 
 Cellini's statue still stands.
 
 382 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 Both the incident and the verses went the round of the palace, 
 
 giving the Duke and Duchess much amusement. But, before 
 
 the man himself knew what I had been up to, crowds of people 
 
 stopped to read the lines and laughed immoderately at them. 
 
 Since they were looking toward 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.^ 
 
 XC 
 
 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 afterward he turned to some gen- 
 tlemen 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 Innocents 
 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 mur- 
 mur and complain indignantly, cursing the unhappy day 
 which brought me to Florence. Too well I knew already the 
 
 ' To bite the thumb at any one was a sign of challenge or provocation.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 383 
 
 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 disadvan- 
 tage. 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 com- 
 mendation of my 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. After- 
 ward, when I once more shut it off from view, every day 
 brought sonnets, with Latin and Greek verses; for the Uni- 
 versity 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 publishing his 
 verses, but sent them by his lad Sandrino's hand to my own 
 house.^ 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 
 mv 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 
 
 ' Jacopo Carrucci da Pontormo was then 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 1571, aged sixty-nine years.
 
 5^4 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 \^■ith more speed and diligence. Do not, however, let him 
 imagine that, when his Perseus shall be hnally exposed to \-iew 
 irom all sides, folk in general will be so lavish of their praises. 
 On the contrar}-, 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 whis- 
 pered in the Duke's ears, citing the works of Andrea del \'er- 
 rocchio, who made that fine bronze of Christ and S. Thomas 
 on the front of Orsammichele ; at the same time he referred 
 to many other statues, and dared even to attack the mcirvel- 
 lous DaNnd of di\'ine 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 in- 
 chned 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 hap- 
 pened that the gallows bird Bemardone, the broker, was pres- 
 ent at these conversations, 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 \%-ill soon 
 see that he can not 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 
 
 XCII 
 
 Now it pleased my glorious Lord and immortal God that 
 at last I brought the whole work to completion : and on a cer- 
 tain Thursday morning I exposed it to the public gaze.^ Im- 
 mediately, 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 contended 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 ever\-thing the folk were saying 
 
 > April 27, 1554- 
 
 
 j
 
 MEMOIRS 385 
 
 of my statue. After listening through several hours, he rose 
 so proud and happy in his heart that he turned to his attend- 
 ant, 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 em- 
 bassy, which consoled me greatly. I passed a happy day, 
 partly because of the Duke's message, and also because the 
 folk kept pointing me out as something mar\-ellous and 
 strange. Among the many who did so, were two gentlemen, 
 deputed by the \'iceroy of Sicily ^ to our Duke on public 
 business. Now these two agreeable persons met me upon 
 the piazza: I had been sho\\-n 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 ever}" pro- 
 testation of humility. They meanwhile 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 
 Gio\'an Agnolo de' Serv-i - had constructed a fountain for 
 them, complete in all its parts, and decorated with a multi- 
 tude of figures; but it was not in the same good st}le 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, seek- 
 ing 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 
 
 ' Don Juan de Vega. 
 
 * Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli entered the Order of the Servite? in 
 1530. This did not prevent him from plying his profession of sculptor. 
 The work above alluded to is the fountain at Messina. 
 
 25
 
 386 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 stimu- 
 lated 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 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 Ben- 
 venuto, you have satisfied 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 assurance, 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, con- 
 tinually 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, afterward 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. Then I shall retrace my steps by San Fran- 
 cesco della Vernia. and, still with thanks to God, return 
 light-hearted to your service." The Duke replied at once
 
 MEMOIRS 387 
 
 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, remark- 
 ing: " 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 reported these precise words to me on the same even- 
 ing, laughing too and expressing wonder at the great favour 
 shown me by the Duke. He pleasantly added: *' Go, Ben- 
 venuto, 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 sum- 
 mer, 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 advan- 
 tage pay attention. It is. that not far from Camaldoli there lies 
 a mountain pass so ill defended, that Piero Strozzi could not 
 onlv cross it without risk, but might also seize on Poppi ^ 
 unmolested." Not satisfied with this description, he also took 
 
 ' A village in the Castenino. Piero Strozzi was at this time in Valdi- 
 chiana.
 
 388 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 a sheet of paper from his pouch, upon which the good old 
 man had drawn the whole country, so that the seriousness 
 of the danger could be manifest upon inspection of the map. 
 I took the design and left Bagno at once, travelling home- 
 ward as fast as I could by Prato Magno and San Francesco 
 della Vernia. On reaching Florence, I only stopped to draw 
 oflf 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 days at least." I answered: " The service of your most 
 illustrious Excellency brings me back, else I should very will- 
 ingly 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 dis- 
 close." 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 measures 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 dismissed me with great demon- 
 trations of good-will, and I went home. 
 
 XCV 
 
 Next day I presented myself, and, after a few words of con- 
 versation, 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 impatience 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, secretary to his Excellency, called me 
 with his wry mouth and haughty voice; drawing himself up 
 as stiflf 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 dumfounded and astonished;
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 389 
 
 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 me put me in a fury, and I was especially en- 
 raged 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 hag- 
 gling, 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 thou- 
 sands of ducats." I rejoined: " Your Excellency can find mul- 
 titudes 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 with- 
 out saying or doing anything farther. A few days afterward 
 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 business to my satisfaction. On hearing these 
 kindly words I replied that I had never asked any other recom- 
 pense 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 mvself 
 contented, provided 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
 
 ^go CELLINI 
 
 was my best policy to speak with the humiUty I have above 
 
 described; yet it turned out that 1 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,^ commissary of the Duke's militia. One day this 
 friend said to me: "O Benvenuto, it would not be a bad 
 thing to put your little difference 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. I 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 con- 
 versation 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 far- 
 things 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 excel- 
 lent 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 Excellency." The 
 Duke replied : " I too am willing to refer myself to you, and 
 shall be satisfied with your decision." Thereupon Girolamo 
 composed 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. 
 
 ' A warm partisan of the Medici. He was a cousin of Maria Salviati, 
 Cosimo's mother. It was rumoured that he caused the historian Fran- 
 cesco Guicciardini's death by poison.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 391 
 
 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,^ and laughed at me a little, saying that I deserved 
 my bad luck. 
 
 The Duke gave orders that I should receive a hundred 
 golden crowns in gold per month, until the sum was dis- 
 charged; and thus it ran for some months. Afterward, 
 Messer Antonio de' Nobili, who had to transact the business, 
 began to give me fifty, and sometimes 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 ex- 
 plain 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 dis- 
 charge 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 con- 
 trary way, and saw that I was being pillaged, 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. How- 
 ever, he died; and five hundred crowns are still owing to 
 me at the present date, which is nigh upon the end of 1566.=^ 
 There was also a balance due upon my salary, which I thought 
 would be forgotten, since three years had elapsed without pay- 
 ment. But it so happened that the Duke fell ill of a serious 
 malady. Finding that the remedies of his physicians availed 
 nothing, it is probable that he betook himself to God, and 
 
 ' This Salviati and the De' Nobili mentioned afterward occupied a dis- 
 tinguished place in Florentine annals as partisans of the Medici. 
 
 'Cellini began to write his "Memoirs" in 1558. Eight years had 
 therefore now elapsed.
 
 392 CELLINI 
 
 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. 
 
 XCVII 
 
 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 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 
 resentment; for I ought to add that a few days before he 
 came to terms with Albizzi, the Duke had shown he was ex- 
 cessively displeased with me. The reason was as follows: 
 I complained of some abominable acts of injustice done to me 
 by Messer Alfonso Quistelli, Messer Jacopo Polverino of the 
 Exchequer, and more than all by Ser Giovanbattista Brandini 
 of Volterra. When, therefore, I set forth my cause with some 
 vehemence, the Duke flew into the greatest rage conceivable. 
 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. There- 
 fore 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 pos- 
 sible that my work should be valued at its proper worth when 
 there is not a man in Florence capable of performing 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, Cava- 
 liere of S. Jacopo.^ 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 re- 
 
 ' Bandinelli was a Knight of St. James of Composella,
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 393 
 
 ceived 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, but not with less fatigue and trouble than I endured. 
 But now that he is far advanced in years, he would most cer- 
 tainly 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 afBrm 
 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 terri- 
 fied, I then followed him to the palace. 
 
 On arriving there, his Excellency sent for the Archbishop
 
 394 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 of Pisa, named De' Bartolini, and Messer Pandolfo della 
 Stufa/ requesting them to order Baccio Bandinello, in his 
 name, to examine well my Perseus and value it, since he 
 wished to pay its exact price. These excellent men went forth- 
 with 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 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 en- 
 raged; 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,* his 
 Master of the Rolls, that he wanted me to execute some bas- 
 reliefs in bronze for the choir of S. Maria del Fiore. Now 
 the choir was by Bandinello, 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; 
 
 ' 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 Im- 
 perial army. Pandolfo della Stufa had been cup-bearer to Caterina de' 
 Medici while Dauphiness. 
 
 ' A native of Fano. Cosimo's Auditore, 1539; first Secretary or Grand 
 Chancellor, 1546. He was a great jurist.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 395 
 
 the design was given by Giuliano, the son of that Baccio 
 d'Agnolo, the wood-carver, who spoiled the cupola.^ Suffice 
 it to say that it shows no talent. For both reasons I was de- 
 termined not to undertake the task, although I told the Duke 
 politely that I would do whatever his most illustrious Excel- 
 lency ordered. Accordingly, he put the matter into the hands 
 of the Board of Works for S. Maria del Fiore, 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. 
 
 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 dem- 
 onstrating that so many histories in bronze would cost a vast 
 amount of money, which would be totally thrown away, giv- 
 ing 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. 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 produced 
 something better than the finest of the Baptistery doors. But 
 if I completed it according to my promise, then I was willing 
 to have it valued, and to receive 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 
 
 ' 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 unfinished.
 
 396 CELLINI 
 
 wanting to do the exact opposite of what he bade me; and so 
 Piero left him without coming to any conclusion. On hear- 
 ing this, I went ofif to the Duke at once, who displayed some 
 irritation when he saw me. However, I begged him to con- 
 descend 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 softened his temper by suggest- 
 ing that if his most illustrious Excellency did not care to have 
 the door begun, two pulpits had anyhow to be made for the 
 choir, and that these would both of them be considerable 
 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 be- 
 stowed immense pains on them. Among these there was 
 one with eight panels, carried out with far more science 
 than the rest, which seemed to me more fitted for the pur- 
 pose. After I had taken them several times to the palace, 
 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 conversa- 
 tion 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 every- 
 thing I could in the interest 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 ^ to the road at Poggio a Caiano, 
 
 ' Instead of the Grieve, which is not a navigable stream, it appears 
 that Cellini ought to have written the Ombrone.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 397 
 
 in ofder 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 to this marble when it came into the hands of 
 Bartolommeo Ammanato,^ 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 Flor- 
 ence, made several little models suited to its proportions. 
 Then I went to Poggio a Caiano, where the Duke and Duch- 
 ess were staying, with their son the Prince. I found them 
 all at table, the Duke and Duchess dining in a private apart- 
 ment; so I entered into conversation with the Prince. We 
 had been speaking 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 pleas- 
 ant tone; and having thus opened the conversation, I grad- 
 ually 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 won- 
 derful cupola and the lovely doors of San Giovanni had been 
 produced, together with those multitudes of handsome edi- 
 fices 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, ob- 
 served 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 lit to 
 
 ' This sculptor was born in 1511, and died in 1592. He worked under 
 Bandinelli and Sansovino.
 
 398 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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 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 en- 
 treat your most illustrious Excellency to lend a patient hear- 
 ing 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 Bandi- 
 nello 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 ex- 
 claims against the great wrong which was done to that mag- 
 nificent 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 sufifer this far more splendid 
 block, although it belongs to Bandinello, to remain in the 
 hands of that man who can not help mangling it, instead of 
 giving it to some artist of talent capable of doing it full jus- 
 tice? 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
 
 MEMOIRS 399 
 
 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 Ex- 
 cellency." 
 
 The Duke listened with the utmost graciousness; then he 
 rose from table, and turning to me, said: "Go, my Benve- 
 nuto, 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. 
 
 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 an-
 
 400 CELLINI 
 
 swered: "You must know, my lady, that I would not sell 
 it for two thousand golden ducats; it is of such difficult exe- 
 cution 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 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. Contend- 
 ing 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, especially the envoy from 
 Lucca, who was a person of accomplishments and learning. 
 I had retired to some distance in order that they might ex- 
 change opinions freely; but when I heard that I was being 
 complimented, I came up, turned to the Duke, and said: " My 
 lord, your most illustrious Excellency ought now to employ
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 401 
 
 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 de- 
 serves 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 appreciate 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 im- 
 agine, 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 aflfectionate 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. 
 
 CI 
 
 Bandinello had received information of the crucifix which, 
 as I have said above, I was now engaged upon. Accord- 
 ingly 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 per- 
 mission to construct a little sarcophagus upon the ground be- 
 neath the feet of Christ, into which I might creep when I was 
 dead. The friars told me that they could not grant this with- 
 out the consent of their building committee. I replied: " Good 
 brethren, why did not you consult your committee before 
 you allowed me to place my crucifix? Without their leave 
 26
 
 402 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 you suffered me to fix my clamps and other necessary fit- 
 tings." 
 
 On this account I refused to give those fruits of my enor- 
 mous labours to the church of S. Maria Novella, even though 
 the overseers of the fabric came and begged me for the cruci- 
 fix. 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 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 Lhe 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 altogether 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 broker 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 Perseus stands, and paid me one work- 
 man. I went about my business with all diligence, and con- 
 structed the wooden framework according to my excellent 
 system. Then I brought the model successfully to a conclu- 
 sion, 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 her- 
 self. Giovanni the Fleming also made a model in the cloister 
 of S. Croce; Vinzenzio Danti of Perugia another in the house 
 of Messer Ottaviano de' Medici; the son of Moschino began
 
 r.WER DESIGNED AND MADE HV CEELLNI
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 403 
 
 a third at Pisa, and Bartolommeo Ammanato a fourth in the 
 Loggia, which \vc divided between us.^ 
 
 When I had blocked tlie 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,^ 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 inspect- 
 ing 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, 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 dis- 
 charged this embassy with great tact, and in the most courte- 
 ous 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 ad- 
 vanced, 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 en- 
 tered 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. Afterward 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 
 
 ' 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 HI, 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. 
 
 ' Giorgio Vasari. 
 27
 
 404 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 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." 
 
 CII 
 
 It pleased God, who rules all things for our good — I mean, 
 for those w^ho acknowledge and believe in Him; such men 
 never fail to gain His protection — that about this time a cer- 
 tain rascal from Vecchio called Piermaria d'Anterigoli, and 
 surnamed Lo Sbietta, 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 ofifered 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 prop- 
 erty, because Sbietta only sold it to me for the income. This 
 he had noted down at so many bushels of grain, so much of 
 wine, oil, standing 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 eflfect 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 oflf 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 Bertoldi, 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 
 detailing twenty-two boundaries described by Sbietta, 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, T 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
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 405 
 
 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 fruit, until I began to be ahiiost 
 ashamed of so much kindness. In exchange for these courte- 
 sies, I always took him from the inn to lodge with me when 
 he came into Florence, often inviting a relative or two who 
 happened to attend him. On one of these occasions he told 
 me with a touch of pleasantry that it was really shameful 
 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 caressed 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. 
 
 cm 
 
 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 
 Wednesday, which happened to be a double holiday, for my 
 country-house at Trespiano. 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 wife, who also overwhelmed 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, 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,
 
 4o6 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 were equally well treated. On the morrow, when I rose, the 
 same attentions were paid me. I 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 scoun- 
 drel." The labourer in question 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 hap- 
 pened to me. So, when I returned from the farm, which is 
 two miles distant from Vicchio, toward the Alpi,^ 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. Afterward I took a walk 
 through Vicchio — the market had just opened — and noticed 
 how all the inhabitants fixed their eyes upon me, as on some- 
 thing strange. This struck me particularly in the case of a 
 worthy old man, who has been living for many years at Vic- 
 chio, 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 dis- 
 putes 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 
 
 ' The Alpi are high mountain pastures in the Apennines.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 407 
 
 more than once stared at me in that way?" He replied: " I 
 am quite willing to 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 proceeded: " 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 re- 
 turn to Trespiano. Accordingly they made all ready; the wife 
 of Sbietta went bustling about in the company of one Cec- 
 chino 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 can not 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 determination; 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 noticed 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 supper 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
 
 4o8 
 
 CELLINI 
 
 enough. I could not imagine why she urged me so persist- 
 ently to 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 recommence 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 tire, and suflfered 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. 
 When day broke, feeling an intense heat in my stomach, 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, w'ho 
 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 
 symptoms I was suffering from. Now it is my custom to 
 take but little sauce or seasoning with my meat, excepting 
 salt; and yet I had eaten two moderate mouthfuls of that 
 sauce because it was so tasteful. On further thinking, I recol- 
 lected how often that wife of Sbietta had teased me in a hun- 
 dred ways to partake more freely of the sauce. On these ac- 
 counts I felt absolutely certain that they had given me sub- 
 limate in that verv dish. 
 
 CV 
 
 Albeit I was suffering so severely, I forced myself to work 
 upon my Colossus in the Loggia; but after a few days I suc- 
 cumbed to the malady and took to my bed. No sooner did 
 the Duchess hear that I was ill, than she caused the execu- 
 tion of that unlucky marble to be assigned to Bartolommeo
 
 MEMOIRS 409 
 
 Ammanato.^ He sent word to me through Messer . . . Hving 
 in . . . Street, that I might now do what 1 hked with my 
 model since he had won the marble. This Messer . . . was 
 one of the lovers of Bartolommeo Ammanato's wife; and 
 as he was most favoured on account of his gentle manners and 
 discretion, 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 Am- 
 manato'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 undeservedly 
 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 Raf- 
 faello de' Pilli undertook the surgical part of my case, foras- 
 much as the sublimate had corroded the intestines. When 
 Maestro Francesco saw that the poison had exerted all its 
 strength, being indeed insufficient in quantity to overcome 
 my vigorous constitution, he said one day: " Benvenuto, re- 
 turn 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 Rafifaello then put in: 
 " This will be one of the finest and most difficult cures which 
 was ever heard of; for I can tell you, Benvenuto, that you 
 swallowed a good mouthful of sublimate." Thereupon Maes- 
 tro 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. 
 
 CVI 
 
 At this time ^ the Duke went to make his triumphal entry 
 into Siena, and Ammanato had gone there some months 
 earlier to construct the arches. A servant of his, who stayed 
 
 ' 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. * October 28, 1560,
 
 410 CELLINI 
 
 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 Fran- 
 cesco, 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, because these men are only working against them- 
 selves; 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 ac- 
 cepted both gifts, and that he would have all the conveniences 
 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. 
 
 CVII 
 
 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 prom- 
 ised. 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 re- 
 course to the Lords Counsellors. At that time Messer 
 Alfonso Quistello was still alive and Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer; he sat upon the Board, which included Averardo 
 Serristori and Federigo de' Ricci. I can not remember the 
 names of all of them, but I know that one of the Alessandri 
 was a member. Suffice it to say, the counsellors of that ses- 
 sion 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'
 
 MEMOIRS 411 
 
 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 Ser- 
 ristori 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 
 deir Annunziata, cried aloud, without 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 exceed- 
 ing graciousness. Now I stayed there several days, and went 
 out riding daily with his Excellency. Consequently 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 Excel- 
 lency a very singular incident, which will explain why I was 
 prevented from finishing that clay model of Neptune on 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 accept- 
 able servant in the sight of his most illustrious Excellency, he 
 ought not to punish Sbietta or those who administered the
 
 412 CELLINI 
 
 poison, but rather to confer upon them some great benefit, 
 inasmuch as the poison was not enough to kill me, but had 
 exactly sufficed 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 villains! " I said, in conclusion, that I felt obliged 
 to them, and opened other and more cheerful subjects of con- 
 versation. 
 
 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 oppor- 
 tune. 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 com- 
 munication ill. On the following day Messer Bartolommeo 
 Concino,^ one of the Duke's secretaries, and among the chief- 
 est, 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 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, em- 
 perors, 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 remarked: "If that is your mind, you and 
 
 • 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.
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 413 
 
 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 good-will toward you." Accordingly I made my 
 way again to Florence. 
 
 CIX 
 
 Immediately after my arrival, there came to visit me a 
 certain Rafifaellone 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 between 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, Raffaello 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 masterpiece 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, there- 
 fore, 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; there- 
 fore we had better draw the lease for five years, to be renewed 
 on the expiry of the term. He undertook to abide by his 
 promise to renew, without raising further litigation. That 
 rascal, the priest, his brother, entered into similar engage- 
 ments; and so the lease was drawn for five years. 
 
 CX 
 
 Though I want to enter upon other topics, and to leave 
 all this rascality alone awhile. T am forced to narrate what 
 happened at the termination of this five years' contract. In-
 
 414 CELLINI 
 
 stead 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 unnaturally 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 Scheg- 
 gia, 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 
 Rafifaello 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,! thought he would 
 be an excellent arbitrator, and therefore placed myself also 
 absolutely 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, Rafifaello 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 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 wa^ 
 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. It marches with my property of
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 415 
 
 La Fonte. Our terms were that the estate should revert at 
 the term of three years, 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 mischief. 
 
 CXI 
 
 Having quite completed my crucifix, I thought that if I 
 raised it to some feet above the ground, it would show better 
 than it did upon a lower level. After I had done so, it pro- 
 duced a far liner efifect 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 delighted, that each of these princes lav- 
 ished 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 undertaken 
 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 
 can not hope to find possessors of it worthier than you are; 
 therefore I gladly present it to you as a gift." ^ 
 
 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 
 
 ' Tfiie 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.
 
 4i6 CELLINI 
 
 that she raised a cry of indescribable astonishment, and turn- 
 ing 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. Afterward 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 exe- 
 cute 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 accommodations 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. 
 ^ ^ CXII 
 
 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 gra- 
 ciously 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 
 Excellency, 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 monument of her husband Henri II, 
 and how Daniello da Volterra ^ had undertaken a great eques- 
 trian statue in bronze, but the time had already elapsed in 
 which he promised to perform it, and that a multitude of the 
 richest ornaments were required for the tomb. If, then, I 
 liked to return to France and occupy my castle, she would 
 
 ' This painter is chiefly famous for his "Descent from the Cross" in 
 the Church of the Triniti de' Monti at Rome. He died in 1566.
 
 MEMOIRS .,- 
 
 supply me with all the conveniences I could ask for, pro- 
 vided 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 an- 
 swered cheerfully: " We will travel back together! " and con- 
 sidered the affair settled. Accordingly, next day, in course 
 of conversation with the Duke, he alluded to myself, declar- 
 ing that if his Excellency had no objection, the Queen would 
 take me into her employ. The Duke replied without a mo- 
 ment's hesitation: " Benvenuto'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 
 perfection one of the most difficult masterpieces ever exe- 
 cuted in this world; and it stands me in more than two hun- 
 dred crowns, which I have paid out of my poverty! Oh 
 what could I not have done if his Excellency had but set m 
 to work! I tell you in pure truth, that they have done r 
 a great wrong!" The good-natured gentleman repeater' 
 the Duke what I had answered. The Duke told him we - 
 joking, and that he wanted me for his own service. T 
 suit was that in my irritation I more than once made 
 mind to make off without asking leave. However, tb 
 preferred to drop negotiations, in fear of displeasing t 
 and so I remained here, much to my regret. 
 
 CXIII 
 About that time the Duke went on a journey, 
 all his court and all his sons, except the prince, 
 Spain. They travelled through the Sienese M; 
 by this route he reached Pisa. The poison froi 
 of those marshes first attacked the Cardinal, \\ 
 with a pestilential fever after a few davs, and c 
 of a brief illness. He was the Duke's right 
 and good, and his loss was most severelv felt, 
 eral days to elapse, until I thought their tears 
 then I betook myself to Pisa. 
 
 [Here Benvenuto Cellini abruptly ends his Mem 
 27
 
 Tl 
 that 
 to ou 
 cioush 
 and I 1 
 we renev 
 with muc 
 he related 
 Excellency 
 In reply, I 
 fountain, an> 
 responded by 
 eager to corri 
 and how Dani 
 trian statue in 
 which he prom 
 richest ornamei 
 liked to return 
 
 ' This painter is 
 the Church of the Tr.
 
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