Author: DELLA CASA (Giovanni):
Title: Il Galatheo di M. Giovanni Della Casa. Nel quale sotto la persona d'un Vecchio Idiota ammaestrante un suo giovanetto, si ragiona. De Mode, che si Debbono o tener, o schifare, nella commune conversatione.
Description: In Roma per Valerio Dorico. 1560, Small 8vo, 155 x 98 mms., foliated, [1], 66, woodcut device on title-page 17th century limp vellum, morocco label; binding a little soiled. The Florentine poet and diplomat Giovanni Della Casa (1503 - 1556) did not live to see his most famous work published first in 1558. "In a style that is colloquial and lively, Della Casa (in the voice of an old uncle) instructs his nephew on what to do, and what to avoid doing, in order to be considered appealing, sophisticated, and polite. He deals with a wide range of topics from fashion to conversation. The successful man must combine an exterior grace with a necessary social conformity. Anything that could give offense or reveal vulgar or crude thoughts should be avoided. For this reason, Della Casa advises caution, tact, and discretion at all times. Never should one sniff someone else's wine, for instance, as something might fall out of one's nose; even though this is unlikely, Della Casa notes, one should not take such risks. Instead, one must constantly attend to appearance, speech, and conduct so as to give no offense but also to convey a graceful reserve and intelligence" (Wikipedia). Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (1719 - 1781), citing this edition, asserted in The Italian Library (1774), that "This little treatise is looked upon by many Italians as the most elegant thing, as to stile, that we have in our language; at least it is the most elaborated" (page 40). Copies of this edition appear to be uncommon; I found the 1561 edition in three libraries, but not this one.

Keywords: courtesy manners prose


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