Leon Battista Alberti - The Books on the Family

Page 16

Literature of Italy - Einaudi

...spoiled and corrupted by conversations and habits; and by a thousand other ways sufficient to make any good man wicked, as we have seen elsewhere and in our own land children of very worthy citizens who from a young age showed excellent character, possessed a very refined air and appearance, full of gentleness Original: mansuetudine. This implies a mildness of spirit or docility, highly valued in Renaissance social conduct. and good manners, then turned out infamous—I believe through the negligence of those who did not guide them well. Therefore, I am reminded here of our father Messer A title of respect, often used for knights, judges, or men of high social standing. Benedetto Alberti, a man of prudence, authority, and no common fame; and as he was diligent in other things, so he was most affectionate and most dutiful toward the well-being and honor of our family. He often, while encouraging the other elder Alberti to be as alert and diligent as they certainly were in their affairs, used to say these words:

"It is not only the duty Original: officio. In the Ciceronian sense, this refers to the moral and social obligations inherent to one’s position in society or the family. of the father of the family, as they say, to fill the granary in the house and the cradle, but much more must the heads of a family keep watch and look over everything, review and recognize every company, and examine all habits both inside and outside the house. They must correct and mend every bad habit of any family member with words that are reasonable rather than angry; they should use authority rather than command; show themselves to be advising where it helps more than ordering; and be further severe, rigid, and harsh where it is greatly needed. In every thought, he must have before him the well-being, the peace, and the tranquility of his entire universal family, as if it were a target where he directs every bit of his intellect Original: ingegno. Refers to natural talent, wit, or strategic thinking. and counsel to guide the whole family with virtue and praise. He must know how to conduct himself into the port of honor, esteem, and authority by means of the breeze, favor, and that popular wave and grace of his fellow citizens. There he must know how to maintain his position, drawing in or extending the sails according to the times; and in tempests—in such fortunes and miserable shipwrecks as our house has unjustly suffered for twenty-two years now The Alberti family was famously exiled from Florence in 1387; this dialogue is set during that long period of displacement.—he must dedicate himself to governing the spirits of the young, neither leaving them to abandon themselves to the impulses of fortune, nor allowing them to lie fallen, nor ever permitting..."