'But because it seems that Fortune, in this as in so many
other things, has great influence on men's opinion, we
sometimes see that a gentleman, however finely endowed
and gifted he may be, proves disagreeable to his lord and
always, as we say, raises his gall; and this is for no dis- | 5 |
cernible reason. Thus when he comes into his lord's pre-
sence, and before he has been recognized by the others,
though his conversation may be fluent and ready
and though his behaviour, gestures and words and everything
else may be all that can be desired, his lord will show that | 10 |
he has no high regard for him and, indeed, will display
contempt. And as an immediate result of this, the others
will at once fall in line with the wishes of the prince and
to each one of them it will seem that the man is worhtless;
nor will there be found any to value or respect him, or | 15 |
laugh at his witticisms or regard him as being of any ac-
count; on the contrary, they will all immediately start to
mock him and hound him down. Nor will it do the wretch
any good to answer agreably and well or take
what is being said in good part, since they will all, down |
20 |
to the page-boys themselves, set about him so that even if
he were the worthiest man in the world he would still be
hounded down and frustrated. In contrast to thit, if the
prince should show that he favours some ignorant fellow,
who knows neither how to speak or behave, often his |
25 |
manners and ways, however foolish and uncouth they
may be, will be praised to the skies by everyone and the
whole Court will seem to admire and respect him, and ev-
eryone will laugh at his jokes and at certain flat and boor-
ish sayings calculated to make people feel sick rather than | 30 |
entertained. This is the extent to which men obstinately
adhere to opinions engendered by the favour or disfavour
of princes. Therefore I should wish our courtier to bolster
up his inherent worth with skill and cunning, and ensure
that whenever he has to go where he is a stranger and un- |
35 |
known he is preceded by a good reputation and that it be-
comes known that elsewhere, among other lords, ladies
and knights, he is very highly regarded. For the fame
which appears to rest on the opinion of many fosters a
certain unshakeable belief in a man's worth which is then |
40 |
easily maintained and strengthened in minds already thus
disposed and prepared. Moreover, by taking these steps
the courtier avoids the annoyance I always feel when I am
asked who I am and what my name is.'...
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