In 1432 emperor Sigismund visited Siena with a large
entourage and stayed there for some time. This event must have had a great
impact for the citizens and talk of the town for years. At that time the Italian
Humanist Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (1405-1464) was secretary to the Bishop of
Fermo and though a native of Siena, not there at the time Sigismund stayed
there. In 1442 he was created Poet
Laureate and free from daily business, he could compose even more literary
works. One of these was the Historia
de duobus amantibus, a
remarkable piece of prose, as it uses letters written by the lovers to express
their longings and inner thoughts and so was the first novel to use this
literary device. The scene was set at Siena during the visit of Sigismund and
the two protagonists are Euryalus, a
German knight from the emperor’s staff and Lucretia, a beautiful high ranking
and young lady with a deeply unhappy marriage. After an exchange of letters,
there was finally an opportunity meet each other: Lucretia’s husband is away
and disguised as a baiulus (day-labourer) Euryalus enters her house. The
following scene describes their first meeting and is full of eroticism. Their
love was not destined to have an happy ending. When it becomes clear that thaey
will never see each other again, Lucretia dies from grief and the last sentence
– also the motto of this story – is: quem qui legerint, periculum ex aliis
faciant, quod sibi ex usu fiet, nec amatorium poculum bibere studeant, quod
longe plus aloës habet quam mellis. `And may all who read it take a lesson
from others that will be useful to themselves: let them beware to drink the cup
of love, that holds far more of bitter than of sweet. (Grierson)
The book became
an instant success, but when in 1458 Piccolomini was elected pope, he deeply
regretted having written such explicit passages…
Erat Lucretia
levi vestita palla quae membris absque ruga haerebant; nec vel pectus vel
clunes mentiebantur; ut erant arctus sic se ostentabant. Gulae candor nivalis,
oculorum lumen tamquam solis iubar. Intuitus laetus, facies alacris, genae
veluti lilia, purpureis immixta rosis. Risus in ore suavis atque modestus.
Pectus amplum, papillae quasi duo punica poma ex utroque latere tumescebant
pruritumque palpitantens movebant.
Non potuit
Euryalus ultra stimulum cohibere sed, oblitus timoris, modestiam quoque abs se
repulit aggressusque feminam:
«Iam», inquit,
«fructum sumamus amoris», remque verbis iungebat. Obstabat mulier curamque sibi
honestatis et famae fore dicebat; nec aliud eius amorem quam verba et oscula
poscere.
Ad quae
subridens Euryalus:
«Aut scitum
est», inquit, «me huc venisse aut nescitum. Si scitum, nemo est qui non cetera
suspicetur et stultum est infamiam sine re subire. Si vero nescitum et hoc
quoque sciet nullus. Hoc pignus amoris est, emoriar prius, quam hoc caream».
«Ah, scelus
est!» inquit Lucretia.
«Scelus est»,
refert Euryalus, «bonis non uti cum possis. At ego occasionem mihi
concessam, tam quaesitam, tam optatam, amitterem?». Acceptaque mulieris veste, pugnantem
feminam, quae vincere nolebat, abs negotio vicit.
Nec Venus haec satietatem, ut Amnoni cognita Tamar,
peperit sed maiorem sitim excitavit amoris. Memor tamen discriminis Euryalus, postquam vini cibique paulisper hausit,
repugnante Lucretia, recessit; nec sinistre quisquam suspicatus est, quia unus
ex baiulis putabatur.
levi palla: in
a light garment
absque ruga:
without a wrinkle
haero haesi (both
with dat. and abl.): to stick to
clunis (f. and
m.): buttock
mentior: (here) to conceal
arctus -us = artus –us (m.): limb
gula: throat
niveus: snow-white
iubar iubaris (n.): radiance
intuitus –us
(m.): look
gena: cheek
pectus amplum: a full bosom
punica poma:
pomegranates
pruritus -us (m.):
longing
palpito: to
tremble
cohibeo cohibui:
to contain
oblitus
(+gen.): forgetting
(dicebat) amorem poscere (posco poposci: to demand)
subrido subrisi
subrisum: to smile
aut scitum est:
either it is known
infamiam sine re
subire: to let a bad reputation come without any ground
pignus pignoris
(n.): token
careo carui
(+abl.): to be deprived of
accepta veste:
the cloth being grasped
abs negotio: without a problem
ut Amnoni cognita
Tamar: Tamar was the daughter of king David and was raped by her half brother
Ammon (2 Samuel 13, 1-14) The comparison is not that happy in my opinion.
satiatem peperit:
did not extinguish their lust
sitis sitis
(f.): thirst
memor tamen
discriminis: mindful of the risk
cibus: food
paulisper: a
little
haurio hausi
haustum: to drink, take
repugno: to
resist
sinistre: harm
Translation by Flora Grierson (London: Constable and Co.,
1929).
LUCRETIA was wearing a light robe which clung to her body
without a wrinkle, concealing neither her breasts nor her hips, and displayed
her limbs exactly as they were. Her throat was snowy white, her eyes shone with
the radiance of the sun; her glance was happy, her face animated, and her
cheeks like lilies mixed with crimson roses. Laughter that was sweet and modest
filled her mouth. She was deep-bosomed, and her breasts swelled out on either
side like two pomegranates, so that one longed to touch them.
Euryalus could contain himself no longer, but forgot his
fear and cast aside all modesty. Coming close to her, he said: ‘At last let us
enjoy our love,’ and he matched his actions to his words. But she resisted and
pleaded her honour and her reputation, saying their love demanded no more than
words and kisses.
At this, Euryalus smiled, 'Is it known that I have come
here, or is it not? If it is, there is no one will not suspect the worst, and
it is stupid to lose one’s reputation for nothing. If indeed no one knows, then
no one will know this either. This is the pledge of love, and I’ll die sooner
than go without it.’
‘Oh, but it’s wrong,’ cried she, and he replied:
‘It is wrong not to use the good things we have got, and
shall I let slip the opportunity accorded me, that I have sought so long,
desired so ardently?’
He seized her dress, and while she resisted with no
desire to win, he easily got the better of her.
Nor did their love bring satiety, as when Tamar gave
herself to Amon, but roused in them a greater thirst for more. Yet they
remembered their peril and, after they had eaten and drunk a little, Euryalus
departed, much against Lucretia’s will. And no one suspected anything, for they
thought he was one of the day-labourers.
