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Book FirstPart XCII
Part XCII
When I returned to my shop, I set my hand with diligence to finishing the
diamond ring, concerning which the four first jewellers of Rome were sent to
consult with me. This was because the Pope had been informed that the diamond
had been set by the first jeweller of the world in Venice; he was called
Maestro Miliano Targhetta; and the diamond being somewhat thin, the job of
setting it was too difficult to be attempted without great deliberation. I was
well pleased to receive these four jewellers, among whom was a man of Milan
called Gaio. He was the most presumptuous donkey in the world, the one who
knew least and who thought he knew most; the others were very modest and able
craftsmen. In the presence of us all this Gaio began to talk, and said:
"Miliano`s foil should be preserved, and to do that, Benvenuto, you shall doff
your cap; ^1 for just as giving diamonds a tint is the most delicate and
difficult thing in the jeweller`s art, so is Miliano the greatest jeweller
that ever lived, and this is the most difficult diamond to tint." I replied
that it was all the greater glory for me to compete with so able a master in
such an excellent profession. Afterwards I turned to the other jewellers and
said: "Look here! I am keeping Miliano`s foil, and I will see whether I can
improve on it with some of my own manufacture; if not, we will tint it with
the same you see here." That ass Gaio exclaimed that if I made a foil like
that he would gladly doff his cap to it. To which I replied: "Supposing then I
make it better, it will deserve two bows." "Certainly so," said he; and I
began to compose my foils.
[Footnote 1: In the Oreficeria Cellini gives an account of how these foils
were made and applied. They were composed of paste, and coloured so as to
enhance the effect of precious stones, particularly diamonds.]
I took the very greatest pains in mixing the tints, the method of doing
which I will explain in the proper place. ^2 It is certain that the diamond in
question offered more difficulties than any others which before or afterwards
have come into my hands, and Miliano`s foil was made with true artistic skill.
However, that did not dismay me; but having sharpened my wits up, I succeeded
not only in making something quite as good, but in exceeding it by far. Then,
when I saw that I had surpassed him, I went about to surpass myself, and
produced a foil by new processes which was a long way better than what I had
previously made. Thereupon I sent for the jewellers; and first I tinted the
diamond with Miliano`s foil: then I cleaned it well and tinted it afresh with
my own. When I showed it to the jewellers, one of the best among them, who was
called Raffael del Moro, took the diamond in his hand and said to Gaio:
"Benvenuto has outdone the foil of Miliano." Gaio, unwilling to believe it,
took the diamond and said: "Benvenuto, this diamond is worth two thousand
ducats more than with the foil of Miliano." I rejoined: "Now that I have
surpassed Miliano, let us see if I can surpass myself." Then I begged them to
wait for me a while, went up into a little cabinet, and having tinted the
diamond anew unseen by them, returned and showed it to the jewellers. Gaio
broke out at once: "This is the most marvellous thing that I have ever seen in
the course of my whole lifetime. The stone is worth upwards of eighteen
thousand crowns, whereas we valued it at barely twelve thousand." The others
jewellers turned to him and said: "Benvenuto is the glory of our art, and it
is only due that we should doff our caps to him and to his foils." Then Gaio
said: "I shall go and tell the Pope, and I mean to procure for him one
thousand golden crowns for the setting of this diamond." Accordingly he
hurried to the Pope and told him the whole story; whereupon his Holiness sent
three times on tsat day to see if the ring was finished.
[Footnote 2: Oreficeria, cap. i.]
At twenty-three o`clock I took the ring to the palace; and since the
doors were always open to me, I lifted the curtain gently, and saw the Pope in
private audience with the Marchese del Guasto. ^3 The Marquis must have been
pressing something on the Pope which he was unwilling to perform; for I heard
him say: "I tell you, no; it is my business to remain neutral, and nothing
else." I was retiring as quickly as I could, when the Pope himself called me
back; so I entered the room, and presented the diamond ring, upon which he
drew me aside, and the Marquis retired to a distance. While looking at the
diamond, the Pope whispered to me: "Benvenuto, begin some conversation with me
on a subject which shall seem important, and do not stop talking so long as
the Marquis remains in this room." Then he took to walking up and down, and
the occasion making for my advantage, I was very glad to discourse with him
upon the methods I had used to tint the stone. The Marquis remained standing
apart, leaning against a piece of tapestry; and now he balanced himself about
on one foot, now on the other. The subject I had chosen to discourse upon was
of such importance, if fully treated, that I could have talked about it at
least three hours. The Pope was entertained to such a degree that he forgot
the annoyance of the Marquis standing there. I seasoned what I had to say with
that part of natural philosophy which belongs to our profession; and so having
spoken for near upon an hour, the Marquis grew tired of waiting, and went off
fuming. Then the Pope bestowed on me the most familiar caresses which can be
imagined, and exclaimed: "Have patience, my dear Benvenuto, for I will give
you a better reward for your virtues than the thousand crowns which Gaio tells
me your work is worth."
[Footnote 3: Alfonson d`Avalos, successor and heir to the famous Ferdinando
d`Avalos, Marquis of Pescara. He acted for many years as Spanish Viceroy of
Milan.]
On this I took my leave; and the Pope praised me in the presence of his
household, among whom was the fellow Latino Juvenale, whom I have previously
mentioned. This man, having become my enemy, assiduously strove to do me hurt;
and noticing that the Pope talked of me with so much affection and warmth, he
put in his word: "There is no doubt at all that Benvenuto is a person of very
remarkable genius; but while every one is naturally bound to feel more
goodwill for his own countrymen than for others, still one ought to consider
maturely what language it is right and proper to use when speaking of a Pope.
He has had the audacity to say that Pope Clement indeed was the handsomest
sovereign that ever reigned, and no less gifted; only that luck was always
against him: and he says that your Holiness is quite the opposite; that the
tiara seems to weep for rage upon your head; that you look like a truss of
straw with clothes on, and that there is nothing in you except good luck."
These words, reported by a man who knew most excellently how to say them, had
such force that they gained credit with the Pope. Far from having uttered
them, such things had never come into my head. If the Pope could have done so
without losing credit, he would certainly have taken fierce revenge upon me;
but being a man of great tact and talent, he made a show of turning it off
with a laugh. Nevertheless he harboured in his heart a deep vindictive feeling
against me, of which I was not slow to be aware, since I had no longer the
same easy access to his apartments as formerly, but found the greatest
difficulty in procuring audience. As I had now for many years been familiar
with the manners of the Roman court, I conceived that some one had done me a
bad turn; and on making dexterous inquiries, I was told the whole, but not the
name of my calumniator. I could not imagine who the man was; had I but found
him out, my vengeance would not have been measured by troy weight. ^4
[Footnote 4: Io ne arei fatte vendette a misura di carbone.]
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