Page:The Book of the Courtier.djvu/434

THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE COURTIER because God, as the saying runs, is the treasurer of generous princes; that he ought to give magnificent banquets, festivals, games, public shows; to have a great number of excellent horses (for use in war and for pleasure in time of peace), falcons, bounds, and all things else that pertain to the pleasures of great lords and of the people: as in our days we have seen done by my lord Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, who in these matters seems rather King of Italy than lord of a city."^ " I should seek also to induce him to erect great buildings, both to win honour in his lifetime and to give a memorial of himself to posterity: as Duke Federico did in the case of this noble pal- ace,"' and as Pope Julius is now doing in the case of St. Peter's Church"" and of that street which leads from the Palace to his pleasure pavilion the Belvedere,"' and many other buildings: as also the ancient Romans did, whereof we see so many remains at Rome and at Naples, at Pozzuoli, at Baja, at Civita Vecchia, at Porto,™ and out of Italy too, and many other places, — which are great proof of the worth of those divine minds."' So did Alexander the Great also, for not content with the fame that he had justly won by having conquered the world with arms, he built Alexandria in Egypt, Bucephalia in India,*"' and other cities in other countries; and he thought of reducing Mount Athos to the form of a man, and of building a very spacious city in its left hand, and in its right a great basin in which were to be gathered all the rivers that take their rise there, and from it they were to flow over into the sea:"' a truly great thought and one worthy of Alexander the Great. " These, my lord Ottaviano, are things which I think befit a noble and true prince, and make him very glorious in peace and war; and not setting his mind to so many trifles, and taking care to fight solely in order to rule or conquer those who deserve to be ruled, or for his subjects' profit, or to deprive those of power who wield it ill. For if the Romans, Alexander, Hannibal and the others had had these aims, they w^ould not have reached that height of glory to which they did attain." 37-— Then my lord Ottaviano replied, laughing: " Those who had not these aims, would have done better if they had ; although if you think, you will find many that did, and 274