OF PAOLO GIOVIO

and woods smile upon those looking at them with perennial greenness. Hence those fleeces of wool, preferred to others, which are sought even by the Asiatic nations; for countless flocks of small cattle wander by day and night on the pasture-rich hills in the highest security. For they do not fear wolves, which they have never seen, since the magistrate has proscribed them all by a severe edict, with rewards set for the slayer, with such care that kings have sometimes demanded nothing else from the mountain-dwelling Welsh than thirty wolf heads every year. Britain’s sky is condemned, however, for the reason that, often covered by a thick fog, it snatches away that light of serenity which is so grateful to the eyes and healthy for the vitals. From this it happens that many believe, not without reason, that that notable disease of our age, peculiar to Britain alone and repeated at certain intervals of years, is undoubtedly generated; it is similar to the plague and kills many mortals in a few hours by provoking a deadly sweat, unless those sweating, wrapped in bedding and many blankets, are most accurately defended against the encroaching air. But the English naturally enjoy the firmest health, to such an extent that they do not even need doctors; for only the nobility or the urban multitude of merchants summon them, when, addicted to luxury and the perpetual pleasures of the gluttonous, they are very often vexed by indigestion. For it is wonderful to tell how much food a single house consumes every day; tables are spread for almost every hour, always laden with hot dishes. Wine is also sought not only from Gaul, but also from Vesuvius in Italy and from Crete, so that it is no wonder that diseases arise from this, and that Fate is anticipated, when nature is never refreshed by intervals of rest, nor is it sufficient when assaulted by such great insults of gluttony. But they easily excused this fault of intemperance by the name that they claim there is an occult power in the thickened air, by which they think hunger is stimulated earlier than in other places, and food is demanded by languishing arteries. They say the English handed down the whole discipline of the kitchen and the preparation of feasts to the French and the Belgians when they ruled widely in Gaul; this did not result in shame for them, since with notable praise they left behind in Gaul the laws of war and peace, most wisely established, by which the senate of Paris happily governs so many cities. Almost all the nobility disdains cities and delights in castles and a freer sky, and they maintain the dignity of their lineage most especially through hunting and the hawking of falcons. For everywhere herds of deer, especially those distinguished by palmated antlers and white spots, occur to the hunters in the fields and woods, and many such wild animals are kept in walled reserves for pleasure and sudden hunting. It is also the custom to keep herons, with which gyrfalcons contend in flight and with their talons, and a great number of colorful ducks are found everywhere in ponds and small streams. When these are flushed by the approach and barking of swimming dogs, they provide rich and pleasant prey for the falcons. Nor is there any pleasure fuller in these exercises unless women have joined as companions of the labor and the prey; for they cherish them with wonderful obsequies, nor do they consider it enviable or shameful to love them, kiss them in the French manner, and touch them more freely, since among the generous, nothing appears more honest and noble than to earn the favor of an illustrious woman through the most pleasant services. Nor can their husbands be easily led to suspect anything ungenerously or malignantly concerning the chastity of their wives from that liberty of a joyful life; rather, the place for forgiveness is snatched away from those caught, because they immediately undergo the punishment of either quick death or heavy ignominy, and sometimes, enclosed in wooden cages, they are exposed to be watched and mocked by boys in the entryways of houses. Women in general are beautiful in complexion and appearance and charming...