How to Achieve True Greatness
In his witty and perceptive discourses on the ideal virtues of a Renaissance
courtiers, Castiglione set out values that continue to offer illumination in questions of
leadership and government - espousing such qualities as prudence, courage, loyalty,
affability and style and even the playing of sport as the best ways to gain influence and
power.
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we
see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution.
They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and
destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals
and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
Baldesar Castiglione was born in 1478, a member of an ancient Italian
aristocratic family. He received a thorough humanistic education, acquiring a refined
appreciation of art. He was essentially a courtier, and his literary activities were
spare-time occupations.
In 1504, after an unhappy period in Mantuan employ, he entered the service of
Guidobaldo of Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. The ensuing years were the most satisfying of
his life. He enjoyed the confidence of the Duke, who frequently entrusted him with
important missions, and in his leisure moments he participated in the literary and
intellectual activities of the court, then one of the most brilliant in Italy.
After Guidobaldo's death in 1508, he remained in the service of the new Duke, Francesco
Maria della Rovere, becoming, in 1513, resident ambassador in Rome. In 1515 the expulsion
of Francesco Maria from Urbino deprived him of a job, and in the years 1516-19 he lived
quietly on his estates near Mantua.
His major work is The Book of the Courtier. He also wrote a small number of excellent
poems both in Latin and Italian. In 1519 he returned to Rome, as Mantuan ambassador, and
after further activities on behalf of his Mantuan masters entered Papal service in 1524.
From that date until his death in 1592 he was Papal Nuncio in Spain.
94 pages, Paperback