Part 8

I pray thee tell mee where about the hole doth stand.

And one of the Spirits said.

Then come behinde and where the hole is, it may be scand.

And you must knowe, that albeit two, or moe wordes, otherwhile chaunce to tell one selfe thinge, yet the one is more cleanly then the other. As for example, to say: Con lui giacque, & Della sua persona gli sodisfece. For this self same speach, if it were in other termes, would be to broad before & to filthie to heare it. And speaking of Endymion, you may more aptly say: Il Vago della Luna: then you can say Il Drudo, althoughe both these wordes doe import and signifie A lover, and a Friend. And a much honester speache is it, if you talke of Aurora, to call, her. Tritons prety gerle and lover, then Concubine. And it better becomes a mans and womans mouth, to call Harlots, women of the worlde (as Belcolore did, who was more ashamed to speake it then to doe it) then to use their common name: Thaide è la Puttana. And as Boccace declared y^e power of Meretrici and Ragazzi. For, se cosi hauesse nominato dall'arte loro i maschi, come nominò le femine; his talke would have byn foule & shamefull. And withall, A man must not alone beware of unhonest and filthie talke: but also of that whiche is base and vile, and especially where a man talketh & discourseth of greate and highe matters. And for this Cause, perchaunce, woorthely some blame our Beatrice, sayeing:

To passe throughe Lethes floud, the highest Fates would blott, If man mighte taste the Viandes suche, as there dooe fall by Lott, And not pay firste a due repentaunce for his scott.

For, in my conceite, these base wordes that come out of the Tavernes, bee verie uncomely for suche a worthy discourse. And when a man hathe like occasion to speake of y^e Sunne, it shall not be good to call it The Candell or the Lampe of the world: bycause such woordes do put us in minde of y^e Oyle, & the stuffe of the kitchin. Neither should a man that is well advised, say that Saincte Dominicke was Il Drudo della Theologia: Nor yet talke, that the glorious Sainctes have spoken suche base and vile woordes: As for Example to say.

And leave to scratche whereas the scabs of sinne breake out.

For they savour of y^e dregges, & y^e filth of y^e common people, as every man may easily see.

Againe, in your long and large discourses, you must have y^e like considerations & cares, & some more: y^e which you may more commodiously learne of your Maisters y^t teache you y^t arte, that is commonly called Rhetorike.

And amongest other things, You must accustome your selfe, to use suche gentle and courtious speache to men, and so sweete, that it may have no maner of bitter taste. And you shall rather say, I cannot tell how to say it: Then say: you ar deceived: Or, it is not true: Or, you know it not. For, it is a courteous and friendly parte to excuse a mans faulte, even in that very thing, wherein you know how to blame him. And withall, it doth well, to make the proper and peculiar fault of your friend, indifferent and common to you both: and first, to take one piece to your selfe, and then after, to blame and reprove him for it. Wee were deceived and failed muche: we forgot our selves yesterday to doe so. Althoughe suche negligence & errour, or what soever it be: be altogether his fault and not yours. And Restagnone forgat him selfe muche, when he saide to his companions: If your wordes doe not lie. For, A man should not bring another mannes faithe and honestie in question and doubte. But, if a man promise you any thing, and doe not performe it: it shall not doe well, for you to say unto him, You have lost your credite with mee: without some necessarie cause doe drive you to say so, as to save your owne credite and honestie. But, you shall rather say: You could not do it: Or, you did not remember to doe it: Then, you have cleane forgotten mee. For, these kinde of speaches, have some prickles & stinges of Complaint, Anger and Choler. So that, suche as use them selves to speake suche churlishe and fumishe woordes, are taken for sharpe and sower fellowes: & men doe asmuche shunne their acquaintance: as to thrust them selves uppon thornes and thistles.

And bycause I knowe som, of this naughtie condition & qualitie: I meane some y^t be so hastie and greedy to speake, y^t they take not the sense with them, but over passe it and runne before it, as the grehound, that doth not pinche by overshooting his game: ther fore I will not spare to tell you that, which may be thought needeles to touche, as a thing to well knowen: and that is, that You shall never speake, before you have first considered & laide the plot in your minde what it is you have to saie. For in so doing, your talke shalbe well delivered and not borne before the time. I trust, straungers will easily beare with this worde: if at least they vouchsafe to read these trifles of mine. And if you doe not skorne my preceptes: it shall never chaunce you to say: "welcome Maister Agostino," to such a one, whose name is Agnolo, or Bernardo. And you shal never need to say, "Tell me your name:" Nor say againe, "I saide not well:" Nor, "Lorde what doe I call him:" Nor to hack and to stutter long together, to finde out a worde, "Maister Arrigo:" no "Master Arabico:" Tushe, what doe I call him I should say, "Maister Agabito." These fonde & foolish behaviours & fashions, paine a man as much to heare them, as to be drawne and haled with cordes.

The voice would be neither hoarse nor shrill. And, when you laugh and sporte in any sorte: you must not crye out and criche like the Pullye of a well: nor yet speake in your yawning. I knowe well it is not in us, to geve our selves a ready tongue or perfect voice at our owne will and pleasure. Hee y^t doth stutter, or is hoarse: let him not alwayes bable and gabbe, and keepe a courte alone: let him rather amend the defect of his tounge with silence, and hearinge: and withall (if hee can) with studie diminishe the fault of Nature. It is an ill noise to heare a man raise his voice highe, like to a common Crier. And yet I would not have him speake so lowe and softly, that he that harkens, shall not heare him. And if he be not heard at y^e first time he speaketh, he must speake, the next time, somewhat plainer: but yet, not yoape out aloude, that he make not men thinke he is woode and angry with them: for hee shall doe but well, to rehearse that againe he hath spoken, y^t men may understand what he said.

Your wordes would be disposed, even as the common use of speache doth require and not unsorted, disordered and scattered confusedly: as many be woont to doe uppon a bravery, whose maner of talke is more like a Scrivener (me thinke) that readeth in his mother tounge, the Indenture he hath written before in latine: then a man that reasoneth or talketh in his Naturall language: as this for example.

They drawe by sent of false and fained steps of truth.

Or if a man should preposterously place his wordes thus.

Those times did blossomes geve before their time of soothe.

Which maner of speache, may be otherwhile allowed in versifiers: but it is utterly forbidden in common talke.

And, it behoves a man, not onely to shunne this versifying maner of speache, in his familiar and common discourse, or talke: but likewise eschewe y^e pomp, bravery, & affectation, that may be suffered and allowed to inriche an Oration, spoken in a publike place. Otherwise, men that doe heare it, will but spite it, and laughe him to scorne for it.

Albeit perchaunce, a Sermon may shewe a greater cunning and arte, then common talke. But, Everie thing must have his time and place. For, he that walkes by the way must not daunce, but goe. For, every man hath not the skill to daunce, yet every man can skill to goe. But, Dauncing is meete for feastes & weddings: it is not to use in the stretes. You must then take good heede you speake not with a majestie.

It is thought by many Philosophers.

And suche is all Filocolo, and the other treatises of Maister John Boccace, except his greater woorke, and litle more perchaunce Corbaccio.

I would not for al this, that you should use so base a speache, as y^e scum, as it were, and the froth of the meanest and vilest sorte of people, Launderers & Hucksters: but suche as gentlemen should speake & talke, which I have partly told you before, in what sort it may be done: that is, if you talke of matters that be neither vile, vaine, fowle, nor lothesome. And if you have skill to choose amongest the woords of your owne countrie speache, the purest and most proper, suche as have the best sounde, and best sense, touching nor remembring, in no case, no matter that is foule, vile and base: & if you can place your woords in good order, and not shoofle them together at random, nor yet, with over muche Curious studie, file them (as it were) one your beades. Moreover, if you do dispose such things as you have to say with discretion. And take good hede that you couple not unfit & unlikely matters together: as for Example.

As sure as God is in Heaven: So stands the staffe in the chimny corner.

And if you speake not so slowe, as if you were unlustie: nor so hasty, as if you wer hungrie: but as a wise and a temperate man should doe. Likewise, if you pronounce youre woords and your sillables with a certaine grace & sweetnes: not as a Scholemaister y^t teacheth young Children to read & to spell. Neither must you mumble them nor supp them up, as if they were glued & pasted together one to another. If you remember these and such other rules and precepts: youre talke will be liked, and heard with pleasure enoughe: and you shall well maintaine the state and countenaunce, that well besemeth a gentleman well taught and honest.

Besids these, there be some, that never hould their tounge. And as the shippe that sailes, doth not presently stand still, by taking downe the sailes: So doe they runne forward, as caried away with a certaine braide: and loosing the matter of their talke, yet leave not to babble, but either repeate that againe that is said, or els speake still they cannot tell what.

And there be other so full of babble, that they will not suffer another to speake. And as wee doe see otherwhile, uppon the flowers in the countrie where they thresh corne, one Pullet pull the corne out of the others beake: so doe they catche the tale out of his mouth y^t beganne it, and tell it them selves. And sure, suche maner of people, induce men to quarell and fight with them for it. For, if you doe marke it wel: Nothing moves a man sooner to anger: then when he is soudainely cut short of his will and his pleasure, be it of never so little and small importaunce. As when you gape wide with yawning: another should thrust his hand in your mouth: or when you doe lift your arme redy to hurle a stone: it is soudainly staide by one that stands behinde you. Even then, as these doings, and many moe like unto these, which tend to hinder the will and desire of another (albeit but in way of sporte & of play) are unseemely, and would be eschewed: So in talke and communication with men, wee should rather pull one, and further their desiers, by what meanes we can, then stop them and hinder them in it.

And therefore, If any man be in a redines to tell his tale: it is no good maner to interrupte him: nor to say that you doe knowe it well. Or, if hee besprinckle his tale here and there, with some prety lie: you must not reprove him for it, neither in wordes nor in gesture, as shaking your hed, or scowling uppon him, as many be wont: gloriously vaunting them selves, that they can, by no meanes, abide the taste of a Lie.... But, this is not the reason of this, it is the sharpenes and sowernes of their owne rusticall & eager Natures, which makes them so venemous & bitter in all companies they come: that no man cares for their acquaintance.

Likewise, It is an illfavoured condition to stop another mans tale in his mouth: and it spites him asmuche, as if a man should take him by the sleeve & hould him backe, even when he is redie to runne his course. And when another man is in a tale, it is no good maner for you, by telling the company some newes, & drawing their mindes to other matters, to make them forsake him cleane, and leave him alone. For, it is an uncourtious parte for you to leade and carry away the company: which the other (not you) hath brought together.