26-12-1525

Author

Francesco Guicciardini

Place Of Sender

Faenza

Recipient

Niccolò Machiavelli

Place Of Destination

Florence

Relevance to the Project

medium-high

Type of Record

Standard (Letter text)

Type of Document

Letter

Main Subject

Guicciardini gives instructions to M. concerning the performance of Mandragola in Faenza and emphasizes the importance of comedy during times of hardship.

Guicciardini emphasizes that he prefers to dedicate his letter primarily to M.’s comedy, i.e. the Mandragola, instead of commenting on the desolate political situation of Italy, since “recreation is more than ever necessary amid so much tumult” (“la recreazione è piú necessaria che mai in tante turbulenzie”). He mentions several details regarding the preparations for a staging of the Mandragola in Faenza, including some changes to the play’s prologue; the original form of which might not have been comprehensible for non-Florentines. He then refers to some wine requested by M. which had turned sour (cf. note on the different manuscript versions of this letter). Guicciardini makes some critical comments on the political situation and alludes to Pope Clement’s VII attempts to form a league against Charles V. Guicciardini strongly suggests waging war against the Emperor immediately, instead of signing the peace treaty that almost every Italian governor had promoted at the time. By way of conclusion, he mentions having searched for an edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy, but without success as he could not find one with sufficient commentary as to Paradiso 6, 133–35, which M. had cited in his previous letter comparing his attempts to arrange the marriages of Guicciardini’s daughters to those of Romeo de Villeneuve. The latter had been the advisor of Raymond Berangar IV when marrying off his four daughters. However, as to the marriage contracts for his own daughters Guicciardini alleges that he rather relies on M.’s “authority” and asks him to take some time before making final commitments. Instead of quoting Dante, Guicciardini quotes M.’s fictional character Nicia in Mandragola II,2 (“sed ad rem nostram […]”). The letter ends with a plea to M.’s duty as friend (“officio di vero amico“) and encourages him to continue his efforts for the marriage of Guicciardini’s daughters.

 

 

Politics and Recreation

The letter starts with a satirical inversion of priorities. Although there would be eminent and grave political matters to discuss, Guicciardini points out that the planning of the performance of the Mandragola should take precedence (“io comincerò a rispondervi dalla commedia, perché non mi pare delle meno importanti cose che noi abbiamo alle mani”). He advocates the importance of recreation in turbulent times (“e la recreazione è piú necessaria che mai in tante turbulenzie”). In this and other letters, Guicciardini addresses an issue which is also intensively discussed in the letters between M. and Vettori: the vanity and futility of their habitual discussions on politics and other essential matters that do not have any real influence. This deplored lack of political power is contrasted with their self-determined practices concerning M.’s comedy (“e almanco è pratica che è in potestà nostra, in modo non si gitta via il tempo a pensarvi”). Hence, on the one hand otiose leisure seems to prevail over the ‘serious matters’ of Italian foreign policy or put them in another perspective; on the other, the seemingly apolitical world of ‘comic recreation’ becomes quite a ‘serious’ matter due to its links with politics and networking.

 

Preparing a Spectacle of Leisure: The staging of the Mandragola in Faenza

This letter again contains details as to the meticulous organization and the preparations for the play in Faenza and the context of the otiose spectacle, which differs from other more erudite venues such as the ambience of Florence or the papal court. Therefore, Guicciardini suggests making some adjustments: e.g. he advises M. to compose a new prologue and interludes for the play because, in contrast to the sophisticated public in Florence, the rather ignorant audience in the Romagna would not be able to catch the subtleties of the original texts, especially with regards to any allusions to M.’s biographical situation. The spectacle was obviously meant to be part of the carnival celebrations, for Guicciardini asks M. and his drama group to arrive at Faenza right before carnival and to stay there until Lent. It involves the gathering of a company of artists and friends. In an ironic way he confirms M.’s requests for the accommodation of Bàrbera and her ensemble (“la baronìa”, see also M.’s letter from 16–20 october 1525). Nevertheless Guicciardini’s main objective seems to be a friendly exchange with M. and it is his friend’s arrival, “la venuta vostra”, which has driven him to take up this comic enterprise (“questa novella”). This friendship, however, is not conceived as a purely ‘private’ affair, but even the common leisure activities are part of substantial political networking. Accordingly, early modern drama and theatre are essential elements of a complex “cultural net” (Küpper).

 

The Seriousness of Comedy

Bearing in mind the jocular style of communication between the two friends, and the fact that the subject of these parts of the correspondence is a comedy, it appears rather paradoxical that Guicciardini exhorts M. to be serious in writing him about the last arrangements and his arrival in Faenza, again pointing at the ‘gravity’ of their comical transactions (“ma, di grazia, avvisate la resoluzione vostra, e serio, perché queste non sono cose da negligere”). Nevertheless, given that venues such as the theatre also provided the occasion for informal ways of political exchange and networking, the different stagings of the Mandragola and the respective correspondence were a significant part of ‘serious’ political stratagems.

 

Authorship and Authority

When Guicciardini quotes Messer Nicia from the Mandragola in the context of arranging the marriage contracts for his daughters, the fictional otium of comedy offers a new perspective on the world of social affairs – and mundane Machiavellian authorship prevails over the authority of Dante.

Niccolò onorando, io comincerò a rispondervi dalla commedia, perché non mi pare delle meno importanti cose che noi abbiamo alle mani, e almanco è pratica che è in potestà nostra, in modo si gitta via il tempo a pensarvi, e la recreazione è piú necessaria che mai in tante turbulenzie. Io intendo che chi ha a recitare è a ordine, pure gli vedrò fra pochi dí. E perché non si accordano allo Argumento, quale non intenderebbono, ne hanno fatto un altro, quale non ho visto, ma lo vedrò presto: e perché dubito non sia con l’acqua fredda, non credo possiate errare a ordinare uno altro conforme al poco ingegno delli auditori, e nel quale siano piú presto dipinti loro che voi. Disegno si faccia pochi dí avanti il carnovale, e la ragione vorrebbe che la venuta vostra fosse innanzi alla fine di gennaio, con animo di stare qui insino a quaresima, e gli alloggiamenti per la baronía saranno in ordine; ma, di grazia, avvisate la resoluzione vostra, e serio, perché queste non sono cose da negligere; e io in verità non sarei entrato in questa novella, se non avessi presupposto al certo la venuta vostra.

[…]

De rebus pubblicis non so che dire, perché ho perduto la bussola; e anco sentendo che ognuno grida contro quella oppinione che non mi piace, ma mi pare necessaria, non audeo loqui. Se non mi inganno, conosceremo tutti meglio e’ mali della pace quando sarà passata la opportunità del fare la guerra: non veddi mai nessuno che, quando vede venire un mal tempo, non cercasse in qualche modo di fare pruova di coprirsi, eccetto che noi, che vogliamo aspettarlo in mezzo la strada scoperti. Però, si quid adversi acciderit, non potreno dire che ci sia stata tolta la signoria, ma che turpiter elapsa sit de manibus.

Voi mi avete fatto cercare di un Dante per tutta Romagna, per trovare la favola o vero novella del Romeo, e infine ho trovato il testo, ma non vi era la chiosa; penso che sia una cosa di quelle che voi solete avere piene le maniche. Sed ad rem nostram: i consigli vostri sono apud me tanti ponderis, che non hanno bisogno di autorità di altri.

 

Source: Edizione nazionale delle Opere di Niccolò Machiavelli

Honored Niccolò. I shall begin my answer to you with the comedy, because it does not seem among the less important things that we have on our hands, and at least it is a discussion that is within our power, so that the time spent thinking of it is not wasted, and recreation is more than ever necessary amid so much tumult. I hear that those who are to perform are ready; but I shall see them in a few days, and since they are not in agreement about the argument, which would not be understood, they have made another one, which I have not seen; but I shall see it soon. Because I desire that it not be watered down, I do not think you can go wrong if you put together another one suited to the low intelligence of the audience, and in which they would be depicted rather than you. I am planning to have it performed a few days before Carnival, and it would make sense for you to arrive before the end of January with the intention of staying here until Lent. The lodgings for the distinguished company will be ready; but if you please, let me know of your decision and seriously, because these are not matters to be neglected. I would not have gotten into this business, to tell the truth, if I had not definitely taken your coming for granted.

Concerning public affairs, I do not know what to say because I have lost my bearings. Even hearing that everyone is crying out against that opinion, which I do not like but seems necessary to me, I hear nothing said. If I am not mistaken, we shall all know better the evils of peace when the opportune time for making war is past. I have never seen anyone who, when he sees bad times coming, did not seek in some way to try and protect himself, except for us, who want to await them unprotected in the middle of the road. Therefore if anything bad were to happen, we say not that our sovereignty was taken away from us but that it fell shamefully from our hands.

You have made me look for a Dante throughout Romagna to find the tale or rather the story of Romeo, and I finally found the text, but there was no gloss. I think it is one of those things that you are accustomed to having up your sleeve; but let us get back to our business: your advice carries so much weight with me that it has no need of others’ authority.

 

Source: Atkinson/Sices: Machiavelli and his friends. Their Personal Correspondence.

R. Ridolfi, Vita di Niccolò Machiavelli (Florence: Sansoni, 1978), 346-47; P. Jodogne, “Una copia integra di due lettere del Guicciardini al Machiavelli,” in Da Dante a Montale. Studi di filologia e critica letteraria in onore di Emilio Pasquini, ed. G. M. Anselmi et alii (Bologna: GEDIT, 2005), 385-91; C. Vivanti, Niccolò Machiavelli. I tempi della politica (Rome: Donzelli, 2008), 178.

For early modern drama as part of a larger cultural net, see T. Bernhart et al., Poetics and Politics: Net Structures and Agencies in Early Modern Drama (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018); J. Küpper, The Cultural Net: Early Modern Drama as Paradigm (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018).

 

 

Bernhart, Poetics and Politics:

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110536690

Küpper, The Cultural Net:

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110536638

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Wine Spoilage

The somewhat enigmatic section on perished wine had been discarded by Giuliano de’ Ricci’s transcription of the letter and has only recently been restored after Jodogne’s discovery of a second manuscript copy in 2005 (see the commentary to this letter in the Edizione Nazionale, III, 1445).

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Cite as: Judith Frömmer, Andrea Guidi

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