The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini

by Benvenuto Cellini

  It happened that Ottaviano de’ Medici,146 who seemed to be in command of everything, wanted, against the Duke’s will, to advance the old Master of the Mint who was called Bastiano Cennini.147 He was an outmoded craftsman who had very little skill, and in the dies for the crown pieces he had mixed up some of his clumsy tools with mine. I complained of this to the Duke, and when he realized that I was in the right he became very annoyed and said: ‘Go and tell this to Ottaviano de’ Medici and show him what has been done.’

  I went off at once and pointed out to him the damage that had been done to my beautiful coins. He answered like the ass he was: ‘That’s the way we want it.’

  I replied that that was not the way it ought to be, and that it was not how I wanted it.

  He said: ‘And if the Duke wants it so?’

  I answered: ‘It would still not please me – such a thing is unfair and unreasonable.’

  He told me to get out and said that I should have to swallow it, even if I choked. I went back to the Duke, reported the unpleasant argument between Ottaviano and myself, and begged his Excellency not to allow the fine coins I had made for him to be injured. Then I asked his permission to leave.

  The Duke said: ‘Ottaviano is going too far. You shall have what you want, as the harm done affects me as well.’

  That very same day – a Thursday – an unrestricted safe-conduct arrived from the Pope in Rome, together with the order that I was to go at once to receive the pardon of Our Lady’s mid-August feast day, in order to free myself from the charge of murder. I went to find the Duke and discovered him in bed; they told me he had been enjoying a debauch. In just over two hours I put the finishing touches to the wax medal, and when I showed him the completed work he was delighted. Then I showed his Excellency the safe-conduct that the Pope had ordered to be sent to me, and added that his Holiness had recalled me to do some work for him. By this, I continued, I would regain my place in the fine city of Rome, but I would also carry on with his medal.

  Half in anger the Duke replied: ‘Benvenuto, do what pleases me and stay here. I shall arrange your allowance, give you the rooms in the Mint, and do much more for you than you would ever ask for, since you only ask what is right and reasonable. And who do you imagine would be able to look after the beautiful dies you’ve made for me?’

  Then I said: ‘My lord, everything has been thought of. I have one of my pupils here, a young Roman whom I’ve instructed and who will serve your Excellency admirably till I come back with the finished medal, ready to serve you for ever. I have a shop open in Rome, with workmen and a flourishing business; and as soon as I have received my pardon I shall leave all my affairs in Rome to an apprentice of mine who is there, and then, with your Excellency’s kind permission, come back to you.’

  The only other person present at this interview was the Lorenzo de’ Medici I mentioned above; several times the Duke made signs that he too should encourage me to stay, but all that he would say was: ‘Benvenuto, you would do better to remain here.’

  When I said that I was determined to regain my place in Rome no matter what happened, he kept quiet, and stood there staring all the time malignantly at the Duke.

  After I had finished the medal the way I wanted it, I closed it up in its little box and said to the Duke:

  ‘My lord, you have no need to worry. I’ll make you a much finer medal than the one I made Pope Clement. It stands to reason that I should make it better, as his was the first I ever attempted. Messer Lorenzo here, as a very learned and intelligent man, will provide me with some beautiful design for the reverse.’

  Lorenzo immediately replied: ‘All that I have been thinking about was how to provide you with a reverse worthy of his Excellency.’

  The Duke smiled ironically, looked at Lorenzo, and said: ‘Lorenzo, you will provide the reverse, and he will execute it here, and not leave Florence.’

  Lorenzo at once replied: ‘I shall do it as quickly as I can, and I have hopes of accomplishing something that will astonish the whole world.’

  The Duke, who sometimes regarded him as a silly idiot, and sometimes as a coward, turned over in bed and burst out laughing at what he had said. I went out without any more ceremony and left them alone together. The Duke, who did not believe that I would go, said nothing more to me. Later when he heard that I had left he sent after me one of his servants who caught me up at Siena and gave me fifty gold ducats with a message from the Duke that I was to take them with his love and come back as soon as I could, and ‘from Messer Lorenzo I have to tell you that he is getting ready to provide you with a wonderful reverse for the medal you want to make’.148

  I had left Pietro Pagolo, the Roman mentioned above, with full instructions how to use the dies; but as it was a tricky business he was never very successful. I remained in credit with the Mint, for having made the dies, to the extent of more than seventy crowns.

  When I set out for Rome I took with me that handsome flint arquebus that the Duke had given me, and a number of times on the journey I was able to make very enjoyable use of it. In fact I worked wonders with it. On my arrival at Rome,149 as my little place in the Strada Julia was not ready for me, I dismounted at Giovanni Gaddi’s house. Before I left Rome I had asked Gaddi, who worked as a clerk at the Camera, to look after a large number of beautiful weapons and other possessions that I valued very highly. I decided not to go to the shop myself, but instead sent for my partner, Felice, and got him to put everything in my little house in good order straight away.

  The next day, in order to prepare the clothes and other things that I needed, I went to sleep there, because the following morning I intended to call on the Pope and give him my thanks for what he had done. At that time I had two young servant boys and, living below the shop, a laundress who used to cook deliciously for me.

  In the evening I asked a few friends in to supper, and after we had enjoyed a few wonderfully pleasant hours I went off to bed. The night was hardly gone – in fact it was still an hour before dawn – when I heard a tremendous beating at the door, one knock following hard on the other. I called the elder servant, Cencio (the one I had introduced to necromancy) and told him to go and see who was the idiot knocking so rudely at that time of night. While he was doing this I lit another lamp in addition to the one I always have going at night, hurriedly put on a splendid coat of mail over my shirt and, on top of that, a few old clothes that I picked up at random.

  When Cencio came back he cried out: ‘Oh dear, sir, it’s the chief constable with the patrol, and he says that if you don’t open up at once he’ll have the door down. They’re carrying torches and heaven knows what else!’

  ‘Tell them,’ I said, ‘that I’m just putting a few clothes on and shall be out in a minute.’

  Imagining that this was a trap to murder me, like the one that Pier Luigi had set before, I grasped a splendid dagger in my right hand and the safe-conduct in my left. Then I ran to the back window, which looked out on some gardens, peered down, and saw below me more than thirty policemen. I realized that it would be no good trying to run away from that side of the house, so I made the two lads stand in front of me and told them to open the door when I gave the word. Then I stood ready, in a defensive attitude, with the dagger and safe-conduct in my hands, and said to the boys:

  ‘Now don’t be afraid – open the door!’

  Like a flash, Vittorio the chief constable rushed in, with two others at his heels. He must have thought it would be easy to hold me fast, but when they saw how I was prepared they fell back and cried out: ‘This is more than a joking matter!’

  At that, I tossed the safe-conduct to them and told them to read it.

  ‘And you shan’t even touch me,’ I shouted, ‘let alone arrest me.’

  Vittorio ordered some of them to catch hold of me and not worry about the safe-conduct till later. But in reply to this I thrust my dagger forward and cried:

  ‘God will see justice done! If I don’t get away, you’ll arrest a corpse.’
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  The room was crowded with them. They made signs as if to take me forcibly, and I showed I was ready to fight. So in the end the chief constable realized that I meant what I said. He sent for his clerk and had the safe-conduct read out, making a move as if to seize me two or three times – but I didn’t relax once. Eventually they abandoned the attempt, threw the safe-conduct on the floor, and went off without me.

  I went back to bed, but felt so upset that I couldn’t drop off to sleep again. As soon as morning came I meant to have myself bled, but before doing so I asked Giovanni Gaddi his advice, and he referred me to some doctor or other150 that he knew. The first thing that this man asked me was whether I had been frightened. Imagine what sort of doctor he must have been to ask such a question, after I told him what a terrifying night I had had! He was nothing but an absurd quack, continually giggling over trifles and then with a snigger, telling me to drink a good glass of Greek wine, keep my spirits up, and not be afraid.

  At this Gaddi exclaimed: ‘You yourself would have been alarmed, doctor, even if you were made of bronze and marble, let alone flesh and blood.’

  ‘My dear sir,’ said the quack, ‘we’re not all fashioned the same. This man is neither bronze nor marble – he’s made of iron!’

  Then he placed his fingers on my pulse, laughed in his usual stupid way, and added:

  ‘Just feel this – it’s not a man’s pulse, it’s a lion’s or a dragon’s!’

  My pulse was in fact beating furiously, probably in a way that doctor had never read of in his Hippocrates or Galen, and I realized how ill I must be. But in order not to add to my fears, and make myself even worse, I pretended to be in high spirits. Meanwhile Gaddi had ordered dinner to be brought in, and so we all sat down to eat.

  Beside Gaddi the company included Lodovico da Fano, Antonio Allegretti, Giovanni Greco (all very scholarly men), and a very young fellow called Annibal Caro. And all during dinner their conversation turned solely on the subject of my bravery. They had my servant repeat the story to them, and Cencio – who was incredibly high-spirited, intelligent, and handsome – all the time he was describing my daring behaviour, brilliantly imitating the way I had stood and the very words I had used, continually reminded me of incidents I had forgotten. They kept on asking him if he had been frightened, but, no, he said, they ought to ask his master if he had been frightened, because he had felt the same as me. All this chatter began to annoy me, and feeling very agitated I got up from the table saying that I wanted to go and buy some new clothes and blue silk, for Cencio and myself, so that we would be ready to walk in the procession that was being held in four days’ time, on the feast of Our Lady.151 I also told them that I wanted Cencio to carry a white lighted torch.

  So when I left them I had some blue material cut out to make the clothes; I also had made a fine blue jacket of sarsenet and a little doublet. For Cencio I got a doublet and a taffeta coat, also blue. After that had been attended to, I went to see the Pope, who told me to have a talk with his Messer Ambrogio, to whom he had given instructions that I was to make a large piece of gold plate. I found Ambrogio, and discovered that he knew all about my affair with the police, had plotted with my enemies to force me to return to Rome, and had reprimanded the chief constable for not arresting me. I learnt also that the chief constable had excused himself on the plea that he had been powerless against such a safe-conduct. Ambrogio began to discuss the directions given by the Pope, and then he told me to prepare the designs while he saw to everything else.

  When Our Lady’s feast day arrived I visited the Pope again and, as it is the custom for those who receive pardons on this day to surrender themselves and be clapped in gaol, I told him I had no desire to be thrown in prison and begged him to let me off. However he answered that it was the usual rule and that I had to obey it. At this I knelt down again, thanked him for the safe-conduct he had given me, and said that I would return to the service of my Duke in Florence, who was very eager to have me back.

  The Pope turned aside when he heard this and said to one of his confidential servants: ‘Let Cellini have his pardon without going to prison, and make sure that his pass is properly drawn up.’

  When this was done the Pope signed it, and it was registered at the Capitol. Afterwards, on the feast day, I took part in the procession with great honour, walking between two noblemen; and I was completely pardoned.

  About four days later I was attacked by a raging fever and found myself shivering with extreme cold. I went to bed at once, firmly convinced that I was going to die. I had the best doctors in Rome called in, one of them being Francesco da Norcia,152 who was a very old man and had the finest reputation in the city. I told these doctors what I thought had caused my illness, and added that at the beginning of the trouble I had wished to let some blood, but had been advised not to. I begged them, if it were not too late, to bleed me on the spot, but Francesco replied that although I would have been completely cured if this had been done at first it was too late now, and they would have to apply different remedies.

  So they began to doctor me with everything they knew; and every day I grew worse. At the end of a week I was so far gone that they gave up in despair and said that in order to make me happy I might be given whatever I fancied.

  Francesco added: ‘As long as he is still breathing you may call me in at any time. Who knows what nature will work in a young man like him? If he loses consciousness, try these five cures on him, one after the other, and then send for me. I’m ready to come at any hour of the night. I’d rather save him than any cardinal in Rome.’

  While I was ill Giovanni Gaddi used to come and visit me, two or three times a day. But whenever he came he would begin fondling one or other of my beautiful fowling-pieces, or coats of mail, or swords, murmuring all the time: ‘This is a lovely piece of work! And this is even finer!’

  He did the same with my models and other little belongings, till he nearly drove me mad with annoyance. A certain Mattio Franzesi,153 who was in the habit of coming along with him, seemed to be upset because I was taking an eternity to die – not that he would come in for anything of mine, but he wanted Giovanni to get what he was after. Felice, the partner I’ve mentioned, stayed by me all the time, being as helpful as any man could be. I was utterly weak and exhausted, hardly able to draw in my breath, but my mind remained as clear and agile as it had been before I was ill. All the same, one day a terrifying old man appeared at my bedside and tried to drag me by force into his enormous boat. I cried out for Felice to come to me and drive the old wretch away, and Felice, who loved me deeply, ran up and shouted tearfully:

  ‘Get out, you old traitor, trying to steal all I have!’

  Gaddi, who happened to be present on this occasion, remarked:

  ‘The poor fellow’s raving – he’ll be dead in a few hours.’

  And Mattio added: ‘He must have been reading Dante,154 and now he’s so ill that his wits are wandering.’

  Then he laughed and shouted: ‘Run away, you old villain, and leave our Benvenuto alone.’

  Seeing that they were mocking me, I turned to Giovanni Gaddi and said:

  ‘My dear sir, I tell you I’m not raving and there really is an old man tormenting me. But the best service you could do me would be to get rid of that little rat who is laughing at my misfortune. And then, if your lordship does me the honour of coming again, bring Antonio Allegretti or Annibal Caro, who are discreet and intelligent and don’t act like beasts; or bring some of your other talented friends.’

  Then, for a joke, Giovanni ordered Mattio to clear off for good, but when Mattio laughed the jest became serious, and Gaddi never wanted to see him again after that. He sent for Allegretti and Lodovico and Annibal Caro instead, and when these admirable men arrived I was greatly consoled, even managing to carry on a reasonable conversation. But I still continued begging Felice to drive the old man away.

  Lodovico asked me to describe what it was I thought I saw, and what he was like. But while I was sketching
him in words, the old man seized me by the arm and tugged me forcibly towards him. At once I screamed that they must rush to my help, because he was going to throw me down into his loathsome boat; then, as soon as I uttered the last word I fell back senseless, imagining that I had in fact been hurled into the boat. They told me afterwards that I tossed about in a fit, swearing at Gaddi and saying that he only came to rob me, not because he loved me. At these and other terrible insults, he evidently blushed for shame. Then, they said, I grew so quiet that they thought I was dead. They stayed by me for more than an hour, till I began to stiffen, and then they left me as lost. On their return home they broke the news to Mattio Franzesi, who wrote to my dear friend, Benedetto Varchi, at Florence, and informed him that they had seen me die at such and such an hour of the night. So that great genius and close friend of mine composed a superb sonnet, inspired by his belief in my supposed death, which I shall insert later on.

  Three long hours dragged by and still I did not recover. Felice tried all the remedies that Francesco had told him, and then, when he saw that I wasn’t coming round, he ran as fast as he could to Francesco da Norcia’s house, and knocked so insistently that he woke the doctor up and got him out of bed. With tears streaming down his face Felice entreated him to come to the house, where I was lying dead.