the decameron vol i

8/13/2019 The Decameron Vol I

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The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Decameron, Volume I, by Giovanni

Boccaccio, translated by !"! #igg, $% in our series by Giovanni

Boccaccio

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(ith illustrations by 4ouis &halon

@@&;TE;T/@@

I;T#DH&TI;

P#E"

@ -I#/T D3C @

;VE4 I! @ /er &ia''elletto cheats a holy friar by a false confession, and

dies and, having lived as a very bad man, is, on his death, re'uted a

saint, and called /an &ia''elletto!

;VE4 II! @ 3braham, a e(, at the instance of ehannot de &hevigny, goes to

the court of #ome, and having mar)ed the evil life of clergy, returns to

Paris, and becomes a &hristian!

;VE4 III! @ "elchisedech, a e(, by a story of three rings averts a danger

(ith (hich he (as menaced by /aladin!

;VE4 IV! @ 3 mon) la'ses into a sin meriting the most severe 'unishment,

justly censures the same fault in his abbot, and thus evades the 'enalty!


17/446

;VE4 V! @ The "archioness of "onferrato by a banOuet of hens seasoned (ith

(it chec)s the mad 'assion of the Ning of -rance!

;VE4 VI! @ 3 (orthy man by an a't saying 'uts to shame the (ic)ed hy'ocrisy

of the religious!

;VE4 VII! @ Bergamino, (ith a story of Primasso and the 3bbot of &luny,

finely censures a sudden access of avarice in "esser &ane della /cala!

;VE4 VIII! @ Guglielmo Borsiere by a neat retort shar'ly censures avaricein "esser Ermino deM Grimaldi!

;VE4 I%! @ The censure of a Gascon lady converts the Ning of &y'rus from a

churlish to an honourable tem'er!

;VE4 %! @ "aster 3lberto da Bologna honourably 'uts to shame a lady (ho

sought occasion to 'ut him to shame in that he (as in love (ith her!

@ /E&;D D3C @

;VE4 I! @ "artellino 'retends to be a 'aralytic, and ma)es it a''ear as if

he (ere cured by being 'laced u'on the body of /t! 3rrigo! .is tric) is

detected he is beaten and arrested, and is in 'eril of hanging, but finally

esca'es!

;VE4 II! @ #inaldo dM3sti is robbed, arrives at &astel Guglielmo, and is


18/446

entertained by a (ido( lady his 'ro'erty is restored to him, and he returns

home safe and sound!

;VE4 III! @ Three young men sOuander their substance and are reduced to

'overty! Their ne'he(, returning home a des'erate man, falls in (ith an

abbot, in (hom he discovers the daughter of the Ning of England! /he marries

him, and he retrieves the losses and re@establishes the fortune of his

uncles!

;VE4 IV! @ 4andolfo #uffolo is reduced to 'overty, turns corsair, isca'tured by Genoese, is shi'(rec)ed, esca'es on a chest full of je(els, and,

being cast ashore at &orfu, is hos'itably entertained by a (oman, and

returns home (ealthy!

;VE4 V! @ 3ndreuccio da Perugia comes to ;a'les to buy horses, meets (ith

three serious adventures in one night, comes safe out of them all, and

returns home (ith a ruby!

;VE4 VI! @ "adam Beritola loses t(o sons, is found (ith t(o )ids on an

island, goes thence to 4unigiana, (here one of her sons ta)es service (ith

her master, and lies (ith his daughter, for (hich he is 'ut in 'rison!

/icily rebels against Ning &harles, the son is recogni:ed by the mother,

marries the masterMs daughter, and, his brother being discovered, is

reinstated in great honour!

;VE4 VII! @ The /oldan of Babylon sends one of his daughters overseas,


19/446

designing to marry her to the Ning of 3lgarve! By divers adventures she

comes in the s'ace of four years into the hands of nine men in divers 'lace!

3t last she is restored to her father, (hom she Ouits again in the guise of

a virgin, and, as (as at first intended, is married to the Ning of 3lgarve!

;VE4 VIII! @ The &ount of 3nt(er', labouring under a false accusation, goes

into exile! .e leaves his t(o children in different 'laces in England, and

ta)es service in Ireland! #eturning to England an un)no(n man, he finds his

sons 'ros'erous! .e serves as a groom in the army of the Ning of -rance his

innocence is established, and he is restored to his former honours!

;VE4 I%! @ Bernabo of Genoa, deceived by 3mbrogiuolo, loses his money and

commands his innocent (ife to be 'ut to death! /he esca'es, habits herself

as a man, and serves the /oldan! /he discovers the deceiver, and brings

Bernabo to 3lexandria, (here the deceiver is 'unished! /he then resumes the

garb of a (oman, and (ith her husband returns (ealthy to Genoa!

;VE4 %! @ Paganino da "onaco carries off the (ife of "esser #icciardo di

&hin:ica, (ho, having learned (here she is, goes to Paganino and in a

friendly manner as)s him to restore her! .e consents, 'rovided she be

(illing! /he refuses to go bac) (ith her husband! "esser #icciardo dies, and

she marries Paganino!

@ T.I#D D3C @

;VE4 I! @ "asetto da 4am'orecchio feigns to be dumb, and obtains a


20/446

gardenerMs 'lace at a convent of (omen, (ho (ith one accord ma)e haste to

lie (ith him!

;VE4 II! @ 3 groom lies (ith the (ife of Ning 3gilulf, (ho learns the fact,

)ee's his o(n counsel, finds out the groom and shears him! The shorn shears

all his fello(s, and so comes safe out of the scra'e!

;VE4 III! @ Hnder cloa) of confession and a most s'otless conscience, a

lady, enamoured of a young man, induces a booby friar un(ittingly to 'rovide

a means to the entire gratification of her 'assion!

;VE4 IV! @ Dom -elice instructs -ra Puccio ho( to attain blessedness by

doing a 'enance! -ra Puccio does the 'enance, and mean(hile Dom -elice has a

good time (ith -ra PuccioMs (ife!

;VE4 V! @ Xima gives a 'alfrey to "esser -rancesco Vergellesi, (ho in

return suffers him to s'ea) (ith his (ife! /he )ee'ing silence, he ans(ers

in her stead, and the seOuel is in accordance (ith his ans(er!

;VE4 VI! @ #icciardo "inutolo loves the (ife of -ili''ello -ighinolfi, and

)no(ing her to be jealous, ma)es her believe that his o(n (ife is to meet

-ili''ello at a bagnio on the ensuing day (hereby she is induced to go

thither, (here, thin)ing to have been (ith her husband, she discovers that

she has tarried (ith #icciardo!

;VE4 VII! @ Tedaldo, being in disfavour (ith his lady, de'arts from


21/446

-lorence! .e returns thither after a (hile in the guise of a 'ilgrim, has

s'eech of his lady, and ma)es her sensible of her fault! .er husband,

convicted of slaying him, he delivers from 'eril of death, reconciles him

(ith his brothers, and thereafter discreetly enjoys his lady!

;VE4 VIII! Y -erondo, having ta)en a certain 'o(der, is interred for dead

is disinterred by the abbot, (ho enjoys his (ife is 'ut in 'rison and

taught to believe that he is in 'urgatory is then resuscitated, and rears

as his o(n a boy begotten by the abbot u'on his (ife!

;VE4 I%! @ Gillette of ;arbonne cures the Ning of -rance of a fistula,

craves for s'ouse Bertrand de #oussillon, (ho marries her against his (ill,

and hies him in des'ite to -lorence, (here, as he courts a young (oman,

Gillette lies (ith him in her stead, and has t(o sons by him for (hich

cause he after(ards ta)es her into favour and entreats her as his (ife!

;VE4 %! @ 3libech turns hermit, and is taught by #ustico, a mon), ho( the

Devil is 'ut in hell! /he is after(ards conveyed thence, and becomes the

(ife of ;eerbale!

@ -H#T. D3C @

;VE4 I! @ Tancred, Prince of /alerno, slays his daughterMs lover, and sends

her his heart in a golden cu' she 'ours u'on it a 'oisonous distillation,

(hich she drin)s and dies!


22/446

;VE4 II! @ -ra 3lberto gives a lady to understand that she is beloved of

the 3ngel Gabriel, in (hose sha'e he lies (ith her sundry times after(ard,

for fear of her )insmen, he flings himself forth of her house, and finds

shelter in the house of a 'oor man, (ho on the morro( leads him in the guise

of a (ild man into the 'ia::a, (here, being recogni:ed, he is a''rehended by

his brethren and im'risoned!

;VE4 III! @ Three young men love three sisters, and flee (ith them to

&rete! The eldest of the sisters slays her lover for jealousy! The second

saves the life of the first by yielding herself to the Du)e of &rete! .erlover slays her, and ma)es off (ith the first the third sister and her

lover are charged (ith the murder, are arrested and confess the crime! They

esca'e death by bribing the guards, flee destitute to #hodes, and there in

destitution die!

;VE4 IV! @ Gerbino, in breach of the 'lighted faith of his grandfather,

Ning Guglielmo, attac)s a shi' of the Ning of Tunis to rescue thence his

daughter! /he being slain by those aboard the shi', he slays them, and

after(ards he is beheaded!

;VE4 V! @ 4isabettaMs brothers slay her lover he a''ears to her in a

dream, and she(s her (here he is buried she 'rivily disinters the head, and

sets it in a 'ot of basil, (hereon she daily (ee's a great (hile! The 'ot

being ta)en from her by her brothers, she dies not long after!

;VE4 VI! @ 3ndreuola loves Gabriotto she tells him a dream that she has


23/446

had he tells her a dream of his o(n, and dies suddenly in her arms! +hile

she and her maid are carrying his cor'se to his house, they are ta)en by the

/ignory! /he tells ho( the matter stands, is threatened (ith violence by the

Podesta, but (ill not broo) it! .er father hears ho( she is bested, and, her

innocence being established, causes her to be set at large but she, being

minded to tarry no longer in the (orld, becomes a nun!

;VE4 VII! @ /imona loves PasOuino they are together in a garden, PasOuino

rubs a leaf of sage against his teeth, and dies /imona is arrested, and,

(ith intent to she( the judge ho( PasOuino died, rubs one of the leaves ofthe same 'lant against her teeth, and li)e(ise dies!

;VE4 VIII! @ Girolamo loves /alvestra yielding to his motherMs 'rayers he

goes to Paris he returns to find /alvestra married he enters her house by

stealth, lays himself by her side, and dies he is borne to the church,

(here /alvestra lays herself by his side, and dies!

;ova I%! @ /ieur Guillaume de #oussillon slays his (ifeMs 'aramour, /ieur

Guillaume de &abestaing, and gives her his heart to eat! /he, coming to (it

thereof, thro(s herself from a high (indo( to the ground, and dies, and is

buried (ith her lover!

;VE4 %! @ The (ife of a leech, deeming her lover, (ho has ta)en an o'iate,

to be dead, 'uts him in a chest, (hich, (ith him therein, t(o usurers carry

off to their house! .e comes to himself, and is ta)en for a thief but, the

ladyMs maid giving the /ignory to understand that she had 'ut him in the


24/446

chest (hich the usurers stole, he esca'es the gallo(s, and the usurers are

mulcted in moneys for the theft of the chest!

I44H/T#3TI;/ T T.E DE&3"E#;

V4H"E I!

The lady and the friar 7third day, third story8 @ -rontis'iece

The three rings 7first day, third story8

The dinner of hens 7first day, fifth story8

#inaldo DM3sti and the (ido( lady 7second day, second story8

3latiel dancing 7second day, seventh story8

The (edding 'arty 7fourth day, introduction8

The daughter of the Ning of Tunis 7fourth day, fourth story8

/imona and PasOuino 7fourth day, seventh story8

I;T#DH&TI;


25/446

/on of a merchant, Boccaccio di &hellino di Buonaiuto, of &ertaldo in Val

dMElsa, a little to(n about mid(ay bet(een Em'oli and /iena, but (ithin the

-lorentine contado, Giovanni Boccaccio (as born, most 'robably at Paris,

in the year 0909! .is mother, at any rate, (as a -rench(oman, (hom his

father seduced during a sojourn at Paris, and after(ards deserted! /o much

as this Boccaccio has himself told us, under a trans'arent veil of allegory,

in his 3meto! f his mother (e (ould fain )no( more, for his (it has in it

a Ouality, es'ecially noticeable in the Tenth ;ovel of the /ixth Day of the

Decameron, (hich mar)s him out as the forerunner of #abelais, and 'rom'ts usto as) ho( much more his genius may have o(ed to his -rench ancestry! .is

father (as of sufficient standing in -lorence to be chosen Prior in 09A0

but this brief term of office@@but t(o months@@(as his last, as (ell as his

first ex'erience of 'ublic life! f BoccaccioMs early years (e )no( nothing

more than that his first 'rece'tor (as the -lorentine grammarian, Giovanni

da /trada, father of the 'oet Xanobi da /trada, and that, (hen he (as about

ten years old, he (as bound a''rentice to a merchant, (ith (hom he s'ent

the next six years at Paris, (hence he returned to -lorence (ith an

inveterate re'ugnance to commerce! .is father then 'ro'osed to ma)e a

canonist of him but the study of Gratian 'roved hardly more congenial than

the routine of the counting@house to the lad, (ho had already evinced a

taste for letters and a sojourn at ;a'les, (here under the regime of the

enlightened Ning #obert there (ere coteries of learned men, and even Gree)

(as not altogether un)no(n, decided his future career! 3ccording to -ili''o

Villani his choice (as finally fixed by a visit to the tomb of Vergil on the

Via Puteolana, and, though the modern critical s'irit is a't to discount such


26/446

stories, there can be no doubt that such a 'ilgrimage (ould be a't to ma)e a

dee', and 'erha's enduring, im'ression u'on a nature ardent and sensitive,

and already conscious of extraordinary 'o(ers! .is stay at ;a'les (as also in

another res'ect a turning 'oint in his life for it (as there that, as (e

gather from the -iloco'o, he first sa( the blonde beauty, "aria, natural

daughter of Ning #obert, (hom he has immortali:ed as -iammetta! The 'lace (as

the church of /an 4oren:o, the day the A>th of "arch, 099?! BoccaccioMs

admiring ga:e (as observed by the lady, (ho, though married, 'roved no 4aura,

and forth(ith returned his love in eOual measure! Their liaison lasted several

years, during (hich Boccaccio recorded the various 'hases of their 'assion(ith exem'lary assiduity in verse and 'rose! Besides 'aying her due and

discreet homage in sonnet and can:one, he associated her in one (ay or another,

not only (ith the -iloco'o 7his 'rose romance of -lorio and Biancofiore, (hich

he 'rofesses to have (ritten to 'leasure her8, but (ith the 3meto, the 3morosa

Visione, the Teseide, and the -ilostrato and in 4M3morosa -iammetta he (ove

out of their relations a romance in (hich her lover, (ho is there called

Pamfilo, 'lays 3eneas to her Dido, though (ith some(hat less tragic

conseOuences! The Proem to the Decameron she(s us the after@glo( of his

'assion the lady herself a''ears as one of the honourable com'any, and

her 'ortrait, as in the act of receiving the laurel (reath at the close of

the -ourth Day, is a master'iece of tender and delicate delineation!

Boccaccio a''ears to have been recalled to -lorence by his father in 09?0

and it (as 'robably in that year that he (rote 4M3morosa -iammetta and the

allegorical 'rose 'astoral 7(ith songs inters'ersed8 (hich he entitled

3meto, and in (hich -iammetta masOuerades in green as one of the nym'hs!


27/446

The 3morosa Visione, (ritten about the same time, is not only an allegory but

an acrostic, the initial letters of its fifteen hundred tri'lets com'osing t(o

sonnets and a ballade in honour of -iammetta, (hom he here for once ventures

to call by her true name! 4ater came the Teseide, or romance of Palamon and

3rcite, the first extant rendering of the story, in t(elve boo)s, and the

-ilostrato, nine boo)s of the loves and (oes of Troilus and &ressida! Both

these 'oems are in ottava rima, a metre (hich, if Boccaccio did not invent

it, he (as the first to a''ly to such a 'ur'ose! Both (or)s (ere dedicated

to -iammetta! 3 graceful idyll in the same metre, ;infale -iesolano, (as

(ritten later, 'robably at ;a'les in 09?5! Ning #obert (as then dead, butBoccaccio enjoyed the favour of Uueen oan, of some(hat doubtful memory, at

(hose instance he hints in one of his later letters that he (rote the

Decameron! +ithout im'ugning BoccaccioMs veracity (e can hardly but thin)

that the Decameron (ould have seen the light, though Uueen oan had (ithheld

her encouragement! .e had 'robably been long meditating it, and gathering

materials for it, and (e may (ell su''ose that the outbrea) of the 'lague in

09?, by furnishing him (ith a sombre bac)ground to heighten the effect of

his motley 'ageant, had far more to do (ith accelerating the com'osition

than aught that Uueen oan may have said!

That Boccaccio (as not at -lorence during the 'estilence is certain but (e

need not therefore doubt the substantial accuracy of his marvellous

descri'tion of the state of the stric)en city, for the course and

conseOuences of the terrible visitation must have been much the same in all

'arts of Italy, and as to -lorence in 'articular, Boccaccio could have no

difficulty in obtaining detailed and abundant information from credible


28/446

eye@(itnesses! The introduction of -iammetta, (ho (as in all 'robability at

;a'les at the time, and in any case (as not a -lorentine, she(s, ho(ever,

that he is by no means to be ta)en literally, and renders it extremely

'robable that the facetious, irre'ressible, and 'rivileged Dioneo is no

other than himself! 3t the same time (e cannot deem it either im'ossible,

or very unli)ely, that in the general relaxation of morale, (hich the 'lague

brought in its train, refuge from care and fear (as sought in the diversions

(hich he describes by some of those (ho had country@seats to (hich to

(ithdra(, and (hether the contado (as that of -lorence or that of ;a'les

is a matter of no considerable im'ortance! 708 It is 'robable thatBoccaccioMs father (as one of the victims of the 'estilence for he (as dead

in 0956, (hen his son returned to -lorence to live thenceforth on the modest

'atrimony (hich he inherited! It must have been about this time that he

formed an intimacy (ith Petrarch, (hich, not(ithstanding mar)ed diversity

of tem'erament, character and 'ursuits, (as destined to be bro)en only by

death! Des'ite his com'laints of the malevolence of his critics in the Proem

to the -ourth Day of the Decameron, he had no lac) of a''reciation on the

'art of his fello(@citi:ens, and (as em'loyed by the #e'ublic on several

missions to Bologna, 'robably (ith the vie( of averting the submission of

that city to the Visconti in 0956 to Petrarch at Padua in "arch 0950, (ith

a letter from the Priors announcing his restitution to citi:enshi', and

inviting him to return to -lorence, and assume the rectorshi' of the ne(ly

founded university to 4ud(ig of Brandenburg (ith overtures for an alliance

against the Visconti in December of the same year and in the s'ring of 095?

to Po'e Innocent VI! at 3vignon in reference to the a''roaching visit of the

Em'eror &harles IV! to Italy! 3bout this time, 095?@5, he thre( off, in


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stri)ing contrast to his earlier (or)s, an invective against (omen, entitled

4aberinto dM3more, other(ise &orbaccio, a coarse 'erformance occasioned by

resentment at (hat he deemed ca'ricious treatment by a lady to (hom he had

made advances! To the same 'eriod, though the date cannot be 'recisely fixed,

belongs his 4ife of Dante, a (or) of but mediocre merit! /ome(hat later, it

(ould seem, he began the study of Gree) under one 4eontius Pilatus, a

&alabrian, (ho 'ossessed some )no(ledge of that language, and sought to 'ass

himself off as a Gree) by birth!

4eontius (as of coarse manners and uncertain tem'er, but Boccaccio (as hishost and 'u'il for some years, and eventually 'rocured him the chair of

Gree) in the university of -lorence! .o( much Gree) Boccaccio learned from

him, and ho( far he may have been beholden to him in the com'ilation of

his elaborate 4atin treatise De Genealogia Deorum, in (hich he essayed (ith

very curious results to ex'ound the inner meaning of mythology, it is

im'ossible to say! In 09>0 he seems to have had serious thoughts of

devoting himself to religion, being 'rodigiously im'ressed by the menaces,

monitions and revelations of a dying &arthusian of /iena! ne of the

revelations concerned a matter (hich Boccaccio had su''osed to be )no(n only

to Petrarch and himself! .e accordingly confided his anxiety to Petrarch,

(ho 'ersuaded him to amend his life (ithout renouncing the (orld! In 09>A

he revisited ;a'les, and in the follo(ing year s'ent three months (ith

Petrarch at Venice! In 09>5 he (as sent by the #e'ublic of -lorence on a

mission of conciliation to Po'e Hrban V! at 3vignon! .e (as em'loyed on a

li)e errand on the Po'eMs return to #ome in 09>2! In 09> he revisited

Venice, and in 0920 ;a'les but in "ay 092A he returned to -lorence, (here


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on A5th 3ugust 0929 he (as a''ointed lecturer on the Divina &ommedia, (ith

a yearly sti'end of 066 fiorini dMoro! .is lectures, of (hich the first

(as delivered in the church of /an /tefano near the Ponte Vecchio, (ere

discontinued o(ing to ill health, doubtless aggravated by the distress (hich

the death of Petrarch 7A6th uly 092?8 could not but cause him, (hen he had

got no farther than the seventeenth &anto of the Inferno! .is commentary is

still occasionally Ouoted! .e died, 'erha's in the odour of sanctity, for

in later life he (as a diligent collector of relics, at &ertaldo on A0st

December 0925, and (as buried in the 'arish church! .is tomb (as desecrated,

and his remains (ere dis'ersed, o(ing, it is said, to a misunderstanding,to(ards the close of the eighteenth century! .is library, (hich by his

direction (as 'laced in the &onvent of /anto /'irito at -lorence, (as

destroyed by fire about a century after his death!

Besides the De Genealogia Deorum Boccaccio (rote other treatises in 4atin,

(hich need not here be s'ecified, and sixteen Eclogues in the same language,

of (hich he (as by no means a master! 3s for his minor (or)s in the

vernacular, the earlier of them she( that he had not as yet (rought himself

free from the conventionalism (hich the 'olite literature of Italy inherited

from the /icilians! It is therefore inevitable that the t(entieth century

should find the -iloco'o, 3meto, and 3morosa Visione tedious reading! The

Teseide determined the form in (hich Pulci, Boiardo, Bello, 3riosto, Tasso,

and, (ith a slight modification, our o(n /'enser (ere to (rite, but its

readers are no( fe(, and are not li)ely ever again to be numerous! &haucer

dre( u'on it for the NnightMs Tale, but it is at any rate arguable that his

retrenchment of its 'erha's inordinate length (as judicious, and that (hat


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he gave (as better than (hat he borro(ed! /till, that it had such a redactor

as &haucer is no small testimony to its merit nor (as it only in the

NnightMs Tale that he (as indebted to it the descri'tion of the Tem'le of

4ove in the Parlement of -oules is ta)en almost (ord for (ord from it! Even

more considerable and cons'icuous is &haucerMs obligation to Boccaccio in

the Troilus and &riseyde, about a third of (hich is borro(ed from the

-ilostrato! ;or is it a little remar)able that the same man, that in the

Teseide and -ilostrato founded the chivalrous e'ic, should also and in the

same 'eriod of his literary activity, have (ritten the first and not the

least 'o(erful and artistic of 'sychologic romances, for even such is4M3morosa -iammetta!

But (hatever may be the final verdict of criticism u'on these minor (or)s of

Boccaccio, it is im'ossible to imagine an age in (hich the Decameron (ill

fail of general recognition as, in 'oint ali)e of invention as of style, one

of the most notable creations of human genius! f fe( boo)s are the sources

so recondite, insomuch that it seems to be certain that in the main they

must have be merely oral tradition, and fe( have exercised so (ide and

mighty an influence! The 'rofound, many@sided and intimate )no(ledge of

human nature (hich it evinces, its vast variety of incident, its (ealth

of tears and laughter, its co'ious and felicitous diction, inevitably a't

for every occasion, and, not(ithstanding the freOuent harshness, and

occasional obscurity of its at times tangled, at times laboured 'eriods,

its sustained energy and animation of style must ever ensure for this human

comedy unchallenged ran) among the literary master'ieces that are truly

immortal!


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The Decameron (as among the earliest of 'rinted boo)s, Venice leading the

(ay (ith a folio edition in 0?20, "antua follo(ing suit in 0?2A, and

Vicen:a in 0?2! 3 folio edition, adorned, (ith most graceful (ood@

engravings, (as 'ublished at Venice in 0?1A! ;ot(ithstanding the freedom

(ith (hich in divers 'assages Boccaccio reflected on the morals of the

clergy, the #oman &uria s'ared the boo), (hich the austere /avonarola

condemned to the flames! The tradition that the Decameron (as among the

'ile of vanities burned by /avonarola in the Pia::a della /ignoria on

the last day of the &arnival of 0?12, little more than a year before he(as himself burned there, is so intrinsically 'robable@@and accords so

(ell (ith the extreme 'aucity of early co'ies of the (or)@@that it (ould

be the very 'erversity of sce'ticism to doubt it! It is by no means to

the credit of our country that, exce't to scholars, it long remained in

England, an almost entirely closed boo)! 7A8 Indeed the first nominally

com'lete English translation, a sadly mutilated and garbled rendering of

the -rench version by 3ntoine 4e "acon, did not a''ear till 0>A6, and

though successive redactions brought it nearer to the original, it

remained at the best but a sorry faute de mieux! /uch as it (as,

ho(ever, our forefathers (ere 'erforce fain to be content (ith it!

The first Englishman to render the (hole Decameron direct from the Italian

(as "r! ohn Payne but his (or), 'rinted for the Villon /ociety in 0>,

(as only for 'rivate circulation, and those least inclined to dis'arage

its merits may deem its style some(hat too archaic and stilted adeOuately

to render the vigour and vivacity of the original! 3ccordingly in the


33/446

'resent version an attem't has been made to hit the mean bet(een archaism

and modernism, and to secure as much freedom and s'irit as is com'atible

(ith substantial accuracy!

708 3s to the 'alaces in (hich the scene is laid, "anni 7Istoria del

Decamerone, Par! ii! ca'! ii!8 identifies the first (ith a villa near

-iesole, (hich can be no other than the Villa Palmieri, and the second 7ib!

ca'! lxxvi!8 (ith the Podere della -onte, or so@called Villa del Boccaccio,

near &amerata! BaldelliMs theory, ado'ted by "rs! anet 3nn #oss 7-lorentine

Villas, 01608, that the Villa di Poggio Gherardi (as the first, and theVilla Palmieri the second, retreat is not to be reconciled (ith BoccaccioMs

descri'tions! The Villa Palmieri is not remote enough for the second and

more seOuestered retreat, nor is it, as that is said to have been, situate

on a lo( hill amid a 'lain, but on the lo(er -iesolean slo'e! The most

rational su''osition (ould seem to be that Boccaccio, (ho had seen many a

luxurious villa, freely combined his ex'eriences in the descri'tion of his

'alaces and 'leasaunces, and never ex'ected to be ta)en au 'ied de la

lettre!

7A8 ;evertheless /ha)es'eare derived indirectly the 'lot of 3llMs +ell that

Ends +ell from the ;inth ;ovel of the Third Day, and an element in the 'lot

of &ymbeline from the ;inth ;ovel of the /econd Day!

@@

Beginneth here the boo) called Decameron, other(ise Prince Galeotto, (herein


34/446

are contained one hundred novels told in ten days by seven ladies and three

young men!

@@

P#E"

MTis humane to have com'assion on the afflicted and as it she(s (ell in all,

so it is es'ecially demanded of those (ho have had need of comfort and have

found it in others among (hom, if any had ever need thereof or found it

'recious or delectable, I may be numbered seeing that from my early youtheven to the 'resent I (as beyond measure aflame (ith a most as'iring and

noble love 708 more 'erha's than, (ere I to enlarge u'on it, (ould seem to

accord (ith my lo(ly condition! +hereby, among 'eo'le of discernment to

(hose )no(ledge it had come, I had much 'raise and high esteem, but

nevertheless extreme discomfort and suffering not indeed by reason of

cruelty on the 'art of the beloved lady, but through su'erabundant ardour

engendered in the soul by ill@bridled desire the (hich, as it allo(ed me no

reasonable 'eriod of Ouiescence, freOuently occasioned me an inordinate

distress! In (hich distress so much relief (as afforded me by the delectable

discourse of a friend and his commendable consolations, that I entertain a

very solid conviction that to them I o(e it that I am not dead! But, as it

'leased .im, (ho, being infinite, has assigned by immutable la( an end to

all things mundane, my love, beyond all other fervent, and neither to be

bro)en nor bent by any force of determination, or counsel of 'rudence, or

fear of manifest shame or ensuing danger, did nevertheless in course of time

me abate of its o(n accord, in such (ise that it has no( left nought of


35/446

itself in my mind but that 'leasure (hich it is (ont to afford to him (ho

does not adventure too far out in navigating its dee' seas so that, (hereas

it (as used to be grievous, no(, all discomfort being done a(ay, I find that

(hich remains to be delightful! But the cessation of the 'ain has not

banished the memory of the )ind offices done me by those (ho shared by

sym'athy the burden of my griefs nor (ill it ever, I believe, 'ass from me

exce't by death! 3nd as among the virtues, gratitude is in my judgment most

es'ecially to be commended, and ingratitude in eOual measure to be censured,

therefore, that I sho( myself not ungrateful, I have resolved, no( that I

may call myself to endeavour, in return for (hat I have received, to afford,so far as in me lies, some solace, if not to those (ho succoured and (ho,

'erchance, by reason of their good sense or good fortune, need it not, at

least to such as may be a't to receive it!

3nd though my su''ort or comfort, so to say, may be of little avail to the

needy, nevertheless it seems to me meet to offer it most readily (here the

need is most a''arent, because it (ill there be most serviceable and also

most )indly received! +ho (ill deny, that it should be given, for all that

it may be (orth, to gentle ladies much rather than to menS +ithin their soft

bosoms, bet(ixt fear and shame, they harbour secret fires of love, and ho(

much of strength concealment adds to those fires, they )no( (ho have 'roved

it! "oreover, restrained by the (ill, the ca'rice, the commandment of

fathers, mothers, brothers, and husbands, confined most 'art of their time

(ithin the narro( com'ass of their chambers, they live, so to say, a life of

vacant ease, and, yearning and renouncing in the same moment, meditate

divers matters (hich cannot all be cheerful! If thereby a melancholy bred of


36/446

amorous desire ma)e entrance into their minds, it is li)e to tarry there to

their sore distress, unless it be dis'elled by a change of ideas! Besides

(hich they have much less 'o(er to su''ort such a (eight than men! -or, (hen

men are enamoured, their case is very different, as (e may readily 'erceive!

They, if they are afflicted by a melancholy and heaviness of mood, have many

(ays of relief and diversion they may go (here they (ill, may hear and see

many things, may ha(), hunt, fish, ride, 'lay or traffic! By (hich means all

are able to com'ose their minds, either in (hole or in 'art, and re'air the

ravage (rought by the dum'ish mood, at least for some s'ace of time and

shortly after, by one (ay or another, either solace ensues, or the dum'sbecome less grievous! +herefore, in some measure to com'ensate the injustice

of -ortune, (hich to those (hose strength is least, as (e see it to be in

the delicate frames of ladies, has been most niggard of su''ort, I, for the

succour and diversion of such of them as love 7for others may find

sufficient solace in the needle and the s'indle and the reel8, do intend to

recount one hundred ;ovels or -ables or Parables or /tories, as (e may

'lease to call them, (hich (ere recounted in ten days by an honourable

com'any of seven ladies and three young men in the time of the late mortal

'estilence, as also some can:onets sung by the said ladies for their

delectation! In (hich 'leasant novels (ill be found some 'assages of love

rudely crossed, (ith other courses of events of (hich the issues are

felicitous, in times as (ell modern as ancient from (hich stories the said

ladies, (ho shall read them, may derive both 'leasure from the entertaining

matters set forth therein, and also good counsel, in that they may learn

(hat to shun, and li)e(ise (hat to 'ursue! +hich cannot, I believe, come to

'ass unless the dum's be banished by diversion of mind! 3nd if it so ha''en


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7as God grant it may8 let them give than)s to 4ove, (ho, liberating me from

his fetters, has given me the 'o(er to devote myself to their gratification!

708 -or -iammetta, i! e! "aria, natural daughter of #obert, Ning of ;a'les!

@@

Beginneth here the first day of the Decameron, in (hich, (hen the author has

set forth, ho( it came to 'ass that the 'ersons, (ho a''ear hereafter met

together for interchange of discourse, they, under the rule of Pam'inea,discourse of such matters as most commend themselves to each in turn!

@@

3s often, most gracious ladies, as I bethin) me, ho( com'assionate you are

by nature one and all, I do not disguise from myself that the 'resent (or)

must seem to you to have but a heavy and distressful 'relude, in that it

bears u'on its very front (hat must needs revive the sorro(ful memory of the

late mortal 'estilence, the course (hereof (as grievous not merely to eye@

(itnesses but to all (ho in any other (ise had cognisance of it! But I (ould

have you )no(, that you need not therefore be fearful to read further, as if

your reading (ere ever to be accom'anied by sighs and tears! This horrid

beginning (ill be to you even such as to (ayfarers is a stee' and rugged

mountain, beyond (hich stretches a 'lain most fair and delectable, (hich the

toil of the ascent and descent does but serve to render more agreeable to

them for, as the last degree of joy brings (ith it sorro(, so misery has

ever its seOuel of ha''iness! To this brief exordium of (oe@@brief, I say,


38/446

inasmuch as it can be 'ut (ithin the com'ass of a fe( letters@@succeed

forth(ith the s(eets and delights (hich I have 'romised you, and (hich,

'erha's, had I not done so, (ere not to have been ex'ected from it! In

truth, had it been honestly 'ossible to guide you (hither I (ould bring you

by a road less rough than this (ill be, I (ould gladly have so done! But,

because (ithout this revie( of the 'ast, it (ould not be in my 'o(er to she(

ho( the matters, of (hich you (ill hereafter read, came to 'ass, I am almost

bound of necessity to enter u'on it, if I (ould (rite of them at all!

I say, then, that the years of the beatific incarnation of the /on of Godhad reached the tale of one thousand three hundred and forty@eight (hen in

the illustrious city of -lorence, the fairest of all the cities of Italy,

there made its a''earance that deadly 'estilence, (hich, (hether

disseminated by the influence of the celestial bodies, or sent u'on us

mortals by God in .is just (rath by (ay of retribution for our iniOuities,

had had its origin some years before in the East, (hence, after destroying

an innumerable multitude of living beings, it had 'ro'agated itself (ithout

res'ite from 'lace to 'lace, and so, calamitously, had s'read into the +est!

In -lorence, des'ite all that human (isdom and forethought could devise to

avert it, as the cleansing of the city from many im'urities by officials

a''ointed for the 'ur'ose, the refusal of entrance to all sic) fol), and the

ado'tion of many 'recautions for the 'reservation of health des'ite also

humble su''lications addressed to God, and often re'eated both in 'ublic

'rocession and other(ise, by the devout to(ards the beginning of the s'ring

of the said year the doleful effects of the 'estilence began to be horribly


39/446

a''arent by sym'toms that she(ed as if miraculous!

;ot such (ere they as in the East, (here an issue of blood from the nose (as

a manifest sign of inevitable death but in men and (omen ali)e it first

betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumours in the groin or the

arm'its, some of (hich gre( as large as a common a''le, others as an egg,

some more, some less, (hich the common fol) called gavoccioli! -rom the t(o

said 'arts of the body this deadly gavocciolo soon began to 'ro'agate and

s'read itself in all directions indifferently after (hich the form of the

malady began to change, blac) s'ots or livid ma)ing their a''earance in manycases on the arm or the thigh or else(here, no( fe( and large, no( minute

and numerous! 3nd as the gavocciolo had been and still (as an infallible

to)en of a''roaching death, such also (ere these s'ots on (homsoever they

she(ed themselves! +hich maladies seemed to set entirely at naught both the

art of the 'hysician and the virtues of 'hysic indeed, (hether it (as that

the disorder (as of a nature to defy such treatment, or that the 'hysicians

(ere at fault@@besides the Oualified there (as no( a multitude both of men

and of (omen (ho 'ractised (ithout having received the slightest tincture of

medical science@@and, being in ignorance of its source, failed to a''ly the

'ro'er remedies in either case, not merely (ere those that recovered fe(,

but almost all (ithin three days from the a''earance of the said sym'toms,

sooner or later, died, and in most cases (ithout any fever or other

attendant malady!

"oreover, the virulence of the 'est (as the greater by reason that

intercourse (as a't to convey it from the sic) to the (hole, just as fire


40/446

devours things dry or greasy (hen they are brought close to it! ;ay, the

evil (ent yet further, for not merely by s'eech or association (ith the sic)

(as the malady communicated to the healthy (ith conseOuent 'eril of common

death but any that touched the cloth of the sic) or aught else that had

been touched or used by them, seemed thereby to contract the disease!

/o marvellous sounds that (hich I have no( to relate, that, had not many,

and I among them, observed it (ith their o(n eyes, I had hardly dared to

credit it, much less to set it do(n in (riting, though I had had it from the

li's of a credible (itness!

I say, then, that such (as the energy of the contagion of the said

'estilence, that it (as not merely 'ro'agated from man to man but, (hat is

much more startling, it (as freOuently observed, that things (hich had

belonged to one sic) or dead of the disease, if touched by some other living

creature, not of the human s'ecies, (ere the occasion, not merely of

sic)ening, but of an almost instantaneous death! +hereof my o(n eyes 7as I

said a little before8 had cognisance, one day among others, by the follo(ing

ex'erience! The rags of a 'oor man (ho had died of the disease being stre(n

about the o'en street, t(o hogs came thither, and after, as is their (ont,

no little trifling (ith their snouts, too) the rags bet(een their teeth and

tossed them to and fro about their cha's (hereu'on, almost immediately,

they gave a fe( turns, and fell do(n dead, as if by 'oison, u'on the rags

(hich in an evil hour they had disturbed!

In (hich circumstances, not to s'ea) of many others of a similar or even


41/446

graver com'lexion, divers a''rehensions and imaginations (ere engendered in

the minds of such as (ere left alive, inclining almost all of them to the

same harsh resolution, to (it, to shun and abhor all contact (ith the sic)

and all that belonged to them, thin)ing thereby to ma)e each his o(n health

secure! 3mong (hom there (ere those (ho thought that to live tem'erately and

avoid all excess (ould count for much as a 'reservative against sei:ures of

this )ind! +herefore they banded together, and, dissociating themselves from

all others, formed communities in houses (here there (ere no sic), and lived

a se'arate and secluded life, (hich they regulated (ith the utmost care,

avoiding every )ind of luxury, but eating and drin)ing very moderately ofthe most delicate viands and the finest (ines, holding converse (ith none

but one another, lest tidings of sic)ness or death should reach them, and

diverting their minds (ith music and such other delights as they could

devise! thers, the bias of (hose minds (as in the o''osite direction,

maintained, that to drin) freely, freOuent 'laces of 'ublic resort, and ta)e

their 'leasure (ith song and revel, s'aring to satisfy no a''etite, and to

laugh and moc) at no event, (as the sovereign remedy for so great an evil

and that (hich they affirmed they also 'ut in 'ractice, so far as they (ere

able, resorting day and night, no( to this tavern, no( to that, drin)ing

(ith an entire disregard of rule or measure, and by 'reference ma)ing the

houses of others, as it (ere, their inns, if they but sa( in them aught that

(as 'articularly to their taste or li)ing (hich they (ere readily able to

do, because the o(ners, seeing death imminent, had become as rec)less of

their 'ro'erty as of their lives so that most of the houses (ere o'en to

all comers, and no distinction (as observed bet(een the stranger (ho

'resented himself and the rightful lord! Thus, adhering ever to their


42/446

inhuman determination to shun the sic), as far as 'ossible, they ordered

their life! In this extremity of our cityMs suffering and tribulation the

venerable authority of la(s, human and divine, (as abased and all but

totally dissolved, for lac) of those (ho should have administered and

enforced them, most of (hom, li)e the rest of the citi:ens, (ere either dead

or sic), or so hard bested for servants that they (ere unable to execute any

office (hereby every man (as free to do (hat (as right in his o(n eyes!

;ot a fe( there (ere (ho belonged to neither of the t(o said 'arties, but

)e't a middle course bet(een them, neither laying the same restraint u'ontheir diet as the former, nor allo(ing themselves the same license in

drin)ing and other dissi'ations as the latter, but living (ith a degree of

freedom sufficient to satisfy their a''etites, and not as recluses! They

therefore (al)ed abroad, carrying in their hands flo(ers or fragrant herbs

or divers sorts of s'ices, (hich they freOuently raised to their noses,

deeming it an excellent thing thus to comfort the brain (ith such 'erfumes,

because the air seemed to be every(here laden and ree)ing (ith the stench

emitted by the dead and the dying and the odours of drugs!

/ome again, the most sound, 'erha's, in judgment, as they (e also the most

harsh in tem'er, of all, affirmed that there (as no medicine for the disease

su'erior or eOual in efficacy to flight follo(ing (hich 'rescri'tion a

multitude of men and (omen, negligent of all but themselves, deserted their

city, their houses, their estate, their )insfol), their goods, and (ent into

voluntary exile, or migrated to the country 'arts, as if God in visiting men

(ith this 'estilence in reOuital of their iniOuities (ould not 'ursue them


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(ith .is (rath, (herever they might be, but intended the destruction of such

alone as remained (ithin the circuit of the (alls of the city or deeming,

'erchance, that it (as no( time for all to flee from it, and that its last

hour (as come!

f the adherents of these divers o'inions not all died, neither did all

esca'e but rather there (ere, of each sort and in every 'lace, many that

sic)ened, and by those (ho retained their health (ere treated after the

exam'le (hich they themselves, (hile (hole, had set, being every(here left

to languish in almost total neglect! Tedious (ere it to recount, ho( citi:enavoided citi:en, ho( among neighbours (as scarce found any that she(ed

fello(@feeling for another, ho( )insfol) held aloof, and never met, or but

rarely enough that this sore affliction entered so dee' into the minds of

men and (omen, that in the horror thereof brother (as forsa)en by brother,

ne'he( by uncle, brother by sister, and oftentimes husband by (ife nay,

(hat is more, and scarcely to be believed, fathers and mothers (ere found to

abandon their o(n children, untended, unvisited, to their fate, as if they

had been strangers! +herefore the sic) of both sexes, (hose number could not

be estimated, (ere left (ithout resource but in the charity of friends 7and

fe( such there (ere8, or the interest of servants, (ho (ere hardly to be had

at high rates and on unseemly terms, and being, moreover, one and all men

and (omen of gross understanding, and for the most 'art unused to such

offices, concerned themselves no farther than to su''ly the immediate and

ex'ressed (ants of the sic), and to (atch them die in (hich service they

themselves not seldom 'erished (ith their gains! In conseOuence of (hich

dearth of servants and dereliction of the sic) by neighbours, )insfol) and


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friends, it came to 'ass@@a thing, 'erha's, never before heard of that no

(oman, ho(ever dainty, fair or (ell@born she might be, shran), (hen stric)en

(ith the disease, from the ministrations of a man, no matter (hether he (ere

young or no, or scru'led to ex'ose to him every 'art of her body, (ith no

more shame than if he had been a (oman, submitting of necessity to that

(hich her malady reOuired (herefrom, 'erchance, there resulted in after

time some loss of modesty in such as recovered! Besides (hich many

succumbed, (ho (ith 'ro'er attendance, (ould, 'erha's, have esca'ed death

so that, (hat (ith the virulence of the 'lague and the lac) of due tendance

of the sic), the multitude of the deaths, that daily and nightly too) 'lacein the city, (as such that those (ho heard the tale@@not to say (itnessed

the fact@@(ere struc) dumb (ith ama:ement! +hereby, 'ractices contrary to

the former habits of the citi:ens could hardly fail to gro( u' among the

survivors!

It had been, as to@day it still is, the custom for the (omen that (ere

neighbours and of )in to the deceased to gather in his house (ith the (omen

that (ere most closely connected (ith him, to (ail (ith them in common,

(hile on the other hand his male )insfol) and neighbours, (ith not a fe( of

the other citi:ens, and a due 'ro'ortion of the clergy according to his

Ouality, assembled (ithout, in front of the house, to receive the cor'se

and so the dead man (as borne on the shoulders of his 'eers, (ith funeral

'om' of ta'er and dirge, to the church selected by him before his death!

+hich rites, as the 'estilence (axed in fury, (ere either in (hole or in

great 'art disused, and gave (ay to others of a novel order! -or not only

did no cro(d of (omen surround the bed of the dying, but many 'assed from


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this life unregarded, and fe( indeed (ere they to (hom (ere accorded the

lamentations and bitter tears of sorro(ing relations nay, for the most

'art, their 'lace (as ta)en by the laugh, the jest, the festal gathering

observances (hich the (omen, domestic 'iety in large measure set aside, had

ado'ted (ith very great advantage to their health! -e( also there (ere (hose

bodies (ere attended to the church by more than ten or t(elve of their

neighbours, and those not the honourable and res'ected citi:ens but a sort

of cor'se@carriers dra(n from the baser ran)s (ho called themselves becchini

708 and 'erformed such offices for hire, (ould shoulder the bier, and (ith

hurried ste's carry it, not to the church of the dead manMs choice, but tothat (hich (as nearest at hand, (ith four or six 'riests in front and a

candle or t(o, or, 'erha's, none nor did the 'riests distress themselves

(ith too long and solemn an office, but (ith the aid of the becchini hastily

consigned the cor'se to the first tomb (hich they found untenanted! The

condition of lo(er, and, 'erha's, in great measure of the middle ran)s, of

the 'eo'le she(ed even (orse and more de'lorable for, deluded by ho'e or

constrained by 'overty, they stayed in their Ouarters, in their houses,

(here they sic)ened by thousands a day, and, being (ithout service or hel'

of any )ind, (ere, so to s'ea), irredeemably devoted to the death (hich

overtoo) them! "any died daily or nightly in the 'ublic streets of many

others, (ho died at home, the de'arture (as hardly observed by their

neighbours, until the stench of their 'utrefying bodies carried the tidings

and (hat (ith their cor'ses and the cor'ses of others (ho died on every hand

the (hole 'lace (as a se'ulchre!

It (as the common 'ractice of most of the neighbours, moved no less by fear


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of contamination by the 'utrefying bodies than by charity to(ards the

deceased, to drag the cor'ses out of the houses (ith their o(n hands, aided,

'erha's, by a 'orter, if a 'orter (as to be had, and to lay them in front of

the doors, (here any one (ho made the round might have seen, es'ecially in

the morning, more of them than he could count after(ards they (ould have

biers brought u', or, in default, 'lan)s, (hereon they laid them! ;or (as it

once or t(ice only that one and the same bier carried t(o or three cor'ses

at once but Ouite a considerable number of such cases occurred, one bier

sufficing for husband and (ife, t(o or three brothers, father and son, and

so forth! 3nd times (ithout number it ha''ened, that, as t(o 'riests,bearing the cross, (ere on their (ay to 'erform the last office for some

one, three or four biers (ere brought u' by the 'orters in rear of them, so

that, (hereas the 'riests su''osed that they had but one cor'se to bury,

they discovered that there (ere six or eight, or sometimes more! ;or, for

all their number, (ere their obseOuies honoured by either tears or lights or

cro(ds of mourners rather, it (as come to this, that a dead man (as then of

no more account than a dead goat (ould be to@day! -rom all (hich it is

abundantly manifest, that that lesson of 'atient resignation, (hich the

sages (ere never able to learn from the slight and infreOuent misha's (hich

occur in the natural course of events, (as no( brought home even to the

minds of the sim'le by the magnitude of their disasters, so that they became

indifferent to them!

3s consecrated ground there (as not in extent sufficient to 'rovide tombs

for the vast multitude of cor'ses (hich day and night, and almost every

hour, (ere brought in eager haste to the churches for interment, least of


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all, if ancient custom (ere to be observed and a se'arate resting@'lace

assigned to each, they dug, for each graveyard, as soon as it (as full, a

huge trench, in (hich they laid the cor'ses as they arrived by hundreds at a

time, 'iling them u' as merchandise is sto(ed in the hold of a shi', tier

u'on tier, each covered (ith a little earth, until the trench (ould hold no

more! But I s'are to rehearse (ith minute 'articularity each of the (oes

that came u'on our city, and say in brief, that, harsh as (as the tenor of

her fortunes, the surrounding country )ne( no mitigation, for there@@not to

s'ea) of the castles, each, as it (ere, a little city in itself@@in

seOuestered village, or on the o'en cham'aign, by the (ayside, on the farm,in the homestead, the 'oor ha'less husbandmen and their families, forlorn of

'hysiciansM care or servantsM tendance, 'erished day and night ali)e, not as

men, but rather as beasts! +herefore, they too, li)e the citi:ens, abandoned

all rule of life, all habit of industry, all counsel of 'rudence nay, one

and all, as if ex'ecting each day to be their last, not merely ceased to aid

;ature to yield her fruit in due season of their beasts and their lands and

their 'ast labours, but left no means unused, (hich ingenuity could devise,

to (aste their accumulated store denying shelter to their oxen, asses,

shee', goats, 'igs, fo(ls, nay, even to their dogs, manMs most faithful

com'anions, and driving them out into the fields to roam at large amid the

unsheaved, nay, unrea'ed corn! "any of (hich, as if endo(ed (ith reason,

too) their fill during the day, and returned home at night (ithout any

guidance of herdsman! But enough of the country* +hat need (e add, but

7reverting to the city8 that such and so grievous (as the harshness of

heaven, and 'erha's in some degree of man, that, (hat (ith the fury of the

'estilence, the 'anic of those (hom it s'ared, and their conseOuent neglect


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or desertion of not a fe( of the stric)en in their need, it is believed

(ithout any manner of doubt, that bet(een "arch and the ensuing uly u'(ards

of a hundred thousand human beings lost their lives (ithin the (alls of the

city of -lorence, (hich before the deadly visitation (ould not have been

su''osed to contain so many 'eo'le* .o( many grand 'alaces, ho( many stately

homes, ho( many s'lendid residences, once full of retainers, of lords, of

ladies, (ere no( left desolate of all, even to the meanest servant* .o( many

families of historic fame, of vast ancestral domains, and (ealth 'roverbial,

found no( no scion to continue the succession* .o( many brave men, ho( many

fair ladies, ho( many gallant youths, (hom any 'hysician, (ere he Galen,.i''ocrates, or 3escula'ius himself, (ould have 'ronounced in the soundest

of health, bro)e fast (ith their )insfol), comrades and friends in the

morning, and (hen evening came, su''ed (ith their forefathers in the other

(orld!

Ir)some it is to myself to rehearse in detail so sorro(ful a history!

+herefore, being minded to 'ass over so much thereof as I fairly can, I say,

that our city, being thus (ell@nigh de'o'ulated, it so ha''ened, as I

after(ards learned from one (orthy of credit, that on a Tuesday morning

after Divine /ervice the venerable church of /anta "aria ;ovella (as almost

deserted save for the 'resence of seven young ladies habited sadly in

)ee'ing (ith the season! 3ll (ere connected either by blood or at least as

friends or neighbours and fair and of good understanding (ere they all, as

also of noble birth, gentle manners, and a modest s'rightliness! In age none

exceeded t(enty@eight, or fell short of eighteen years! Their names I (ould

set do(n in due form, had I not good reason to (ith hold them, being


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solicitous lest the matters (hich here ensue, as told and heard by them,

should in after time be occasion of re'roach to any of them, in vie( of the

am'le indulgence (hich (as then, for the reasons heretofore set forth,

accorded to the lighter hours of 'ersons of much ri'er years than they, but

(hich the manners of to@day have some(hat restricted nor (ould I furnish

material to detractors, ever ready to besto( their bite (here 'raise is due,

to cast by invidious s'eech the least slur u'on the honour of these noble

ladies! +herefore, that (hat each says may be a''rehended (ithout confusion,

I intend to give them names more or less a''ro'riate to the character of

each! The first, then, being the eldest of the seven, (e (ill call Pam'inea,the second -iammetta, the third -ilomena, the fourth Emilia, the fifth (e

(ill distinguish as 4auretta, the sixth as ;eifile, and the last, not

(ithout reason, shall be named Elisa!

MT(as not of set 'ur'ose but by mere chance that these ladies met in the

same 'art of the church but at length grou'ing themselves into a sort of

circle, after heaving a fe( sighs, they gave u' saying 'aternosters, and

began to converse 7among other to'ics8 on the times!

/o they continued for a(hile, and then Pam'inea, the rest listening in

silent attention, thus began@@Dear ladies mine, often have I heard it

said, and you doubtless as (ell as I, that (rong is done to none by (hoso

but honestly uses his reason! 3nd to fortify, 'reserve, and defend his life

to the utmost of his 'o(er is the dictate of natural reason in everyone that

is born! +hich right is accorded in such measure that in defence thereof men

have been held blameless in ta)ing life! 3nd if this be allo(ed by the la(s,


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albeit on their stringency de'ends the (ell@being of every mortal, ho( much

more exem't from censure should (e, and all other honest fol), be in ta)ing

such means as (e may for the 'reservation of our lifeS 3s often as I bethin)

me ho( (e have been occu'ied this morning, and not this morning only, and

(hat has been the tenor of our conversation, I 'erceive@@and you (ill

readily do the li)e@@that each of us is a''rehensive on her o(n account nor

thereat do I marvel, but at this I do marvel greatly, that, though none of

us lac)s a (omanMs (it, yet none of us has recourse to any means to avert

that (hich (e all justly fear! .ere (e tarry, as if, methin)s, for no other

'ur'ose than to bear (itness to the number of the cor'ses that are broughthither for interment, or to hear)en if the brothers there (ithin, (hose

number is no( almost reduced to nought, chant their offices at the canonical

hours, or, by our (eeds of (oe, to obtrude on the attention of every one

that enters, the nature and degree of our sufferings!

3nd if (e Ouit the church, (e see dead or sic) fol) carried about, or (e

see those, (ho for their crimes (ere of late condemned to exile by the

outraged majesty of the 'ublic la(s, but (ho no(, in contem't of those la(s,

(ell )no(ing that their ministers are a 'rey to death or disease, have

returned, and traverse the city in 'ac)s, ma)ing it hideous (ith their

riotous antics or else (e see the refuse of the 'eo'le, fostered on our

blood, becchini, as they call themselves, (ho for our torment go 'rancing

about here and there and every(here, ma)ing moc) of our miseries in

scurrilous songs! ;or hear (e aught but@@/uch and such are dead or, /uch

and such art dying and should hear dolorous (ailing on every hand, (ere

there but any to (ail! r go (e home, (hat see (e thereS I )no( not if you


51/446

are in li)e case (ith me but there, (here once (ere servants in 'lenty, I

find none left but my maid, and shudder (ith terror, and feel the very hairs

of my head to stand on end and turn or tarry (here I may, I encounter the

ghosts of the de'arted, not (ith their (onted mien, but (ith something

horrible in their as'ect that a''als me! -or (hich reasons church and street

and home are ali)e distressful to me, and the more so that none, methin)s,

having means and 'lace of retirement as (e have, abides here save only (e

or if any such there be, they are of those, as my senses too often have

borne (itness, (ho ma)e no distinction bet(een things honourable and their

o''osites, so they but ans(er the cravings of a''etite, and, alone or incom'any, do daily and nightly (hat things soever give 'romise of most

gratification! ;or are these secular 'ersons alone but such as live recluse

in monasteries brea) their rule, and give themselves u' to carnal 'leasures,

'ersuading themselves that they are 'ermissible to them, and only forbidden

to others, and, thereby thin)ing to esca'e, are become unchaste and

dissolute! If such be our circumstances@@and such most manifestly they

are@@(hat do (e hereS (hat (ait (e forS (hat dream (e ofS (hy are (e less

'rom't to 'rovide for our o(n safety than the rest of the citi:ensS Is life

less dear to us than to all other (omenS or thin) (e that the bond, (hich

unites soul and body is stronger in us than in others, so that there is no

blo( that may light u'on it, of (hich (e need be a''rehensiveS If so, (e

err, (e are deceived! +hat insensate folly (ere it in us so to believe* +e

have but to call to mind the number and condition of those, young as (e, and

of both sexes, (ho have succumbed to this cruel 'estilence, to find therein

conclusive evidence to the contrary! 3nd lest from lethargy or indolence (e

fall into the vain imagination that by some luc)y accident (e may in some


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(ay or another, (hen (e (ould, esca'e@@I )no( not if your o'inion accord

(ith mine@@I should deem it most (ise in us, our case being (hat it is, if,

as many others have done before us, and are still doing, (e (ere to Ouit

this 'lace, and, shunning li)e death the evil exam'le of others, beta)e

ourselves to the country, and there live as honourable (omen on one of the

estates, of (hich none of us has any lac), (ith all cheer of festal

gathering and other delights, so long as in no 'articular (e overste' the

bounds of reason! There (e shall hear the chant of birds, have sight of

verdant hills and 'lains, of cornfields undulating li)e the sea, of trees of

a thousand sorts there also (e shall have a larger vie( of the heavens,(hich, ho(ever harsh to us(ard yet deny not their eternal beauty things

fairer far for eye to rest on than the desolate (alls of our city! "oreover,

(e shall there breathe a fresher air, find am'ler store of things meet for

such as live in these times, have fe(er causes of annoy! -or, though the

husbandmen die there, even as here the citi:ens, they are dis'ersed in

scattered homesteads, and Mtis thus less 'ainful to (itness! ;or, so far as

I can see, is there a soul here (hom (e shall desert rather (e may truly

say, that (e are ourselves deserted for, our )insfol) being either dead or

fled in fear of death, no more regardful of us than if (e (ere strangers, (e

are left alone in our great affliction! ;o censure, then, can fall on us if

(e do as I 'ro'ose and other(ise grievous suffering, 'erha's death, may

ensue! +herefore, if you agree, Mtis my advice, that, attended by our maids

(ith all things needful, (e sojourn, no( on this, no( on the other estate,

and in such (ay of life continue, until (e see@@if death should not first

overta)e us@@the end (hich .eaven reserves for these events! 3nd I remind

you that it (ill be at least as seemly in us to leave (ith honour, as in


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others, of (hom there are not a fe(, to stay (ith dishonour!

The other ladies 'raised Pam'ineaMs 'lan, and indeed (ere so 'rom't to

follo( it, that they had already begun to discuss the manner in some detail,

as if they (ere forth(ith to rise from their seats and ta)e the road, (hen

-ilomena, (hose judgment (as excellent, inter'osed, saying@@4adies, though

Pam'inea has s'o)en to most excellent effect, yet it (ere not (ell to be so

'reci'itate as you seem dis'osed to be! Bethin) you that (e are all (omen

nor is there any here so young, but she is of years to understand ho( (omen

are minded to(ards one another, (hen they are alone together, and ho( illthey are able to rule themselves (ithout the guidance of some man! +e are

sensitive, 'erverse, sus'icious, 'usillanimous and timid (herefore I much

misdoubt, that, if (e find no other guidance than our o(n, this com'any is

li)e to brea) u' sooner, and (ith less credit to us, than it should! 3gainst

(hich it (ere (ell to 'rovide at the outset! /aid then Elisa@@+ithout

doubt man is (omanMs head, and, (ithout manMs governance, it is seldom that

aught that (e do is brought to a commendable conclusion! But ho( are (e to

come by the menS Every one of us here )no(s that her )insmen are for the

most 'art dead, and that the survivors are dis'ersed, one here, one there,

(e )no( not (here, bent each on esca'ing the same fate as ourselves nor

(ere it seemly to see) the aid of strangers for, as (e are in Ouest of

health, (e must find some means so to order matters that, (herever (e see)

diversion or re'ose, trouble and scandal do not follo( us!

+hile the ladies (ere thus conversing, there came into the church three

young men, young, I say, but not so young that the age of the youngest (as


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less than t(enty@five years in (hom neither the sinister course of events,

nor the loss of friends or )insfol), nor fear for their o(n safety, had

availed to Ouench, or even tem'er, the ardour of their love! The first (as

called Pamfilo, the second -ilostrato, and the third Dioneo! Very debonair

and chivalrous (ere they all and in this troublous time they (ere see)ing

if ha'ly, to their exceeding great solace, they might have sight of their

fair friends, all three of (hom chanced to be among the said seven ladies,

besides some that (ere of )in to the young men! 3t one and the same moment

they recognised the ladies and (ere recognised by them (herefore, (ith a

gracious smile, Pam'inea thus began@@4o, fortune is 'ro'itious to ourenter'rise, having vouchsafed us the good offices of these young men, (ho

are as gallant as they are discreet, and (ill gladly give us their guidance

and escort, so (e but ta)e them into our service! +hereu'on ;eifile,

crimson from bro( to nec) (ith the blush of modesty, being one of those that

had a lover among the young men, said@@-or GodMs sa)e, Pam'inea, have a

care (hat you say! +ell assured am I that nought but good can be said of any

of them, and I deem them fit for office far more onerous than this (hich you

'ro'ose for them, and their good and honourable com'any (orthy of ladies

fairer by far and more tenderly to be cherished than such as (e! But Mtis no

secret that they love some of us here (herefore I misdoubt that, if (e ta)e

them (ith us, (e may thereby give occasion for scandal and censure merited

neither by us nor by them! That, said -ilomena, is of no conseOuence so

I but live honestly, my conscience gives me no disOuietude if others

as'erse me, God and the truth (ill ta)e arms in my defence! ;o(, should they

be dis'osed to attend us, of a truth (e might say (ith Pam'inea, that

fortune favours our enter'rise! The silence (hich follo(ed beto)ened


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consent on the 'art of the other ladies, (ho then (ith one accord resolved

to call the young men, and acOuaint them (ith their 'ur'ose, and 'ray them

to be of their com'any! /o (ithout further 'arley Pam'inea, (ho had a

)insman among the young men, rose and a''roached them (here they stood

intently regarding them and greeting them gaily, she o'ened to them their

'lan, and besought them on the 'art of herself and her friends to join their

com'any on terms of honourable and fraternal comradeshi'! 3t first the young

men thought she did but trifle (ith them but (hen they sa( that she (as in

earnest, they ans(ered (ith alacrity that they (ere ready, and 'rom'tly,

even before they left the church, set matters in train for their de'arture!/o all things meet being first sent for(ard in due order to their intended

'lace of sojourn, the ladies (ith some of their maids, and the three young

men, each attended by a man@servant, sallied forth of the city on the

morro(, being +ednesday, about daybrea), and too) the road nor had they

journeyed more than t(o short miles (hen they arrived at their destination!

The estate 7A8 lay u'on a little hill some distance from the nearest

high(ay, and, embo(ered in shrubberies of divers hues, and other greenery,

afforded the eye a 'leasant 'ros'ect! n the summit of the hill (as a 'alace

(ith galleries, halls and chambers, dis'osed around a fair and s'acious

court, each very fair in itself, and the goodlier to see for the gladsome

'ictures (ith (hich it (as adorned the (hole set amidst meads and gardens

laid out (ith marvellous art, (ells of the coolest (ater, and vaults of the

finest (ines, things more suited to dainty drin)ers than to sober and

honourable (omen! n their arrival the com'any, to their no small delight,

found their beds already made, the rooms (ell s(e't and garnished (ith

flo(ers of every sort that the season could afford, and the floors car'eted


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(ith rushes! +hen they (ere seated, Dioneo, a gallant (ho had not his match

for courtesy and (it, s'o)e thus@@"y ladies, Mtis not our forethought so

much as your o(n mother@(it that has guided us hither! .o( you mean to

dis'ose of your cares I )no( not mine I left behind me (ithin the city@gate

(hen I issued thence (ith you a brief (hile ago! +herefore, I 'ray you,

either address yourselves to ma)e merry, to laugh and sing (ith me 7so far,

I mean, as may consist (ith your dignity8, or give me leave to hie me bac)

to the stric)en city, there to abide (ith my cares! To (hom blithely

Pam'inea re'lied, as if she too had cast off all her cares@@+ell sayest

thou, Dioneo, excellent (ell gaily (e mean to live Mt(as a refuge fromsorro( that here (e sought, nor had (e other cause to come hither! But, as

no anarchy can long endure, I (ho initiated the deliberations of (hich this

fair com'any is the fruit, do no(, to the end that our joy may be lasting,

deem it ex'edient, that there be one among us in chief authority, honoured

and obeyed by us as our su'erior, (hose exclusive care it shall be to devise

ho( (e may 'ass our time blithely! 3nd that each in turn may 'rove the

(eight of the care, as (ell as enjoy the 'leasure, of sovereignty, and, no

distinction being made of sex, envy be felt by none by reason of exclusion

from the office I 'ro'ose, that the (eight and honour be borne by each one

for a day and let the first to bear s(ay be chosen by us all, those that

follo( to be a''ointed to(ards the ves'er hour by him or her (ho shall have

had the signory for that day and let each holder of the signory be, for the

time, sole arbiter of the 'lace and manner in (hich (e are to 'ass our

time!

Pam'ineaMs s'eech (as received (ith the utmost a''lause, and (ith one accord


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she (as chosen Oueen for the first day! +hereu'on -ilomena hied her lightly

to a bay@tree, having often heard of the great honour in (hich its leaves,

and such as (ere deservedly cro(ned there(ith, (ere (orthy to be holden and

having gathered a fe( s'rays, she made thereof a goodly (reath of honour,

and set it on Pam'ineaMs head (hich (reath (as thenceforth, (hile their

com'any endured, the visible sign of the (earerMs s(ay and sovereignty!

;o sooner (as Uueen Pam'inea cro(ned than she bade all be silent! /he then

caused summon to her 'resence their four maids, and the servants of the

three young men, and, all )ee'ing silence, said to them@@That I may she(you all at once, ho(, (ell still giving 'lace to better, our com'any may

flourish and endure, as long as it shall 'leasure us, (ith order meet and

assured delight and (ithout re'roach, I first of all constitute DioneoMs

man, Parmeno, my seneschal, and entrust him (ith the care and control of all

our household, and all that belongs to the service of the hall! PamfiloMs

man, /irisco, I a''oint treasurer and chancellor of our excheOuer and be he

ever ans(erable to Parmeno! +hile Parmeno and /irisco are too busy about

their duties to serve their masters, let -ilostratoMs man, Tindaro, have

charge of the chambers of all three! "y maid, "isia, and -ilomenaMs maid,

4icisca, (ill )ee' in the )itchen, and (ith all due diligence 're'are such

dishes as Parmeno shall bid them! 4aurettaMs maid, &himera, and -iammettaMs

maid, /tratilia (e ma)e ans(erable for the ladiesM chambers, and (herever (e

may ta)e u' our Ouarters, let them see that all is s'otless! 3nd no( (e

enjoin you, one and all ali)e, as you value our favour, that none of you, go

(here you may, return (hence you may, hear or see (hat you may, bring us any

tidings but such as be cheerful! These orders thus succinctly given (ere


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received (ith universal a''roval! +hereu'on Pam'inea rose, and said

gaily@@.ere are gardens, meads, and other 'laces delightsome enough, (here

you may (ander at (ill, and ta)e your 'leasure but on the stro)e of tierce,

798 let all be here to brea)fast in the shade!

Thus dismissed by their ne( Oueen the gay com'any sauntered gently through a

garden, the young men saying s(eet things to the fair ladies, (ho (ove fair

garlands of divers sorts of leaves and sang love@songs!

.aving thus s'ent the time allo(ed them by the Oueen, they returned to thehouse, (here they found that Parmeno had entered on his office (ith :eal

for in a hall on the ground@floor they sa( tables covered (ith the (hitest

of cloths, and bea)ers that shone li)e silver, and s'rays of broom scattered

every(here! /o, at the bidding of the Oueen, they (ashed their hands, and

all too) their 'laces as marshalled by Parmeno! Dishes, daintily 're'ared,

(ere served, and the finest (ines (ere at hand the three serving@men did

their office noiselessly in a (ord all (as fair and ordered in a seemly

manner (hereby the s'irits of the com'any rose, and they seasoned their

viands (ith 'leasant jests and s'rightly sallies! Brea)fast done, the tables

(ere removed, and the Oueen bade fetch instruments of music for all, ladies

and young men ali)e, )ne( ho( to tread a measure, and some of them 'layed

and sang (ith great s)ill so, at her command, Dioneo having ta)en a lute,

and -iammetta a viol, they struc) u' a dance in s(eet concert and, the

servants being dismissed to their re'ast, the Oueen, attended by the other

ladies and the t(o young men, led off a stately carol (hich ended they fell

to singing ditties dainty and gay! Thus they diverted themselves until the


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Oueen, deeming it time to retire to rest, dismissed them all for the night!

/o the three young men and the ladies (ithdre( to their several Ouarters,

(hich (ere in different 'arts of the 'alace! There they found the beds (ell

made, and abundance of flo(ers, as in the hall and so they undressed, and

(ent to bed!

/hortly after none 7?8 the Oueen rose, and roused the rest of the ladies, as

also the young men, averring that it (as injurious to health to slee' long

in the daytime! They therefore hied them to a meado(, (here the grass gre(

green and luxuriant, being no(here scorched by the sun, and a light bree:egently fanned them! /o at the OueenMs command they all ranged themselves in

a circle on

the decameron vol i

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