LE PARFAIT COURTISAN; du Comte Baltassar Castillonois et deux languages respondant par deux colunmnes l'une a l'autre pur ceux qui veulent assoir l'interrigence de l'un d'icelles De La Instruction de Gabriel Chapuis Tourangeau [The Courtier] by CASTIGLIONE, Baldassare - 1585

Paris: Par Nicolas Bonfons, 1585. 8vo, pp. [xxx], 678, [xxx]. Title vingette, bound in contemporary full vellum, spine title in ink, cover bit wrinkled, lacks the front blank, expert repair to the blank portion of the title page (not affecting any letter press), a very good copy. STC French p. 94;. An edition of the best C16th French translation of Castiglione's Cortigione by Gabriel Chapuis, published simultaneously in Lyon, Rouen and Paris, a near exact reprint of the first of 1580, of tremendous influence in France. This translation was also published in Britain in 1588 in Wolfe's trilingual edition along with the equally influential English translation by Thomas Hoby. Chapuis states that his reason for attempting a new translation is, in the same way that the Perfect Courtier described in the book cannot actually exist, neither can the perfect translation, and he felt that previous attempts had fallen short of the high standards demanded by Castiglione's masterpiece. Wikipedia: "Baldassare Castiglione (December 6, 1478 - February 2, 1529), count of Casatico, was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissance author, who is probably most famous for his authorship of The Book of the Courtier. The work was an example of a courtesy book, dealing with questions of the etiquette and morality of the courtier, and was very influential in 16th century European court circles. Castiglione was born into an illustrious family at Casatico, near Mantua. In 1528, the year before his death, the book for which Castiglione is most famous, The Book of the Courtier (Il Libro del Cortegiano), was published in Venice by the Aldine Press run by the heirs of Aldus Manutius. The book, in dialog form, is an elegiac portrait of the exemplary court of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro of Urbino during Castiglione's youthful stay there at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It depicts an elegant philosophical conversation, presided over by Elisabetta Gonzaga, (whose husband, Guidobaldo, an invalid, was confined to bed) and her sister-in-law Emilia Pia. Castiglione himself does not contribute to the discussion, which is imagined as having occurred while he was away. The book is Castiglione's memorial tribute to life at Urbino and to his friendships with the other members of the court, all of whom went on to have important positions and many of whom had died by the time the book was published, giving poignancy to their portrayals of the Ducal Palace at Urbino, setting of the Book of the Courtier. The conversation takes place over a span of four days in the year 1507. It addresses the topic, proposed by Federigo Fregoso, of what constitutes an ideal Renaissance gentleman. In the Middle Ages, the perfect gentleman had been a chivalrous knight who distinguished himself by his prowess on the battlefield. Castiglione's book changed that. Now the perfect gentleman had to have a classical education in Greek and Latin letters, as well. The Ciceronian humanist model of the ideal orator (whom Cicero called "the honest man"), on which The Courtier is based, prescribes for the orator an active political life of service to country, whether in war or peace. Scholars agree that Castiglione drew heavily from Cicero's celebrated treatise De Officiis ("The Duties of a Gentleman"), well known throughout the Middle Ages and even more so from his De Oratore, which had been re-discovered in 1421 and which discusses the formation of an ideal orator-citizen.