Jeremy Padilla Dr. Christopher Snyder HON 1163: The Quest Begins! 16 March 2024 The Book of the Courtier and its Proposed Virtues The pursuit of outlining and presenting what the perfect idea of an individual or concept looks like is a near-fruitless endeavor, as more than likely, this state of perfection is unachievable. Castiglione acknowledges this fact, so with The Book of the Courtier, he cares not for the achievability of the perfect courtier outlined in the text but rather cares to point out the individual traits and virtues this perfect courtier must possess. By design, the book attempts to guide others who want to pursue perfection in their courtly duties, revealing the integral courtly traits in a symposium-adjacent manner. Thus, …show more content…
Book two does much to describe how and why a courtier should act honorably and with humility in all that they do. The perfect courtier must act in a way that honors his position and his prince, to act humbly and virtuously, which can only be described as acting honorably. Book two reestablishes the need for physical prowess, intellectual ability, and proficiency in speaking, but adds more to the overall makeup of a courtier. The second day of discussion adds that a courtier needs to be able to recognize when they are acting in bad faith and know when they are serving a bad prince, and with this, they need to act with good judgment and good character to best serve in their position, even if that means acting against a bad prince. This book highlights the need for a courtier to act in ways that serve their prince, but also do what is right for the masses. To demonstrate, book four expands on these duties but also establishes the need for loyalty. Both books and days of discussion suggest that a courtier needs to serve and act with honor and loyalty. Both traits, even though they are argued against, stand firmly as unalienable virtues necessary for a courtier. Book four states the need for a courtier to push their prince to act honorably, and this is done through being honest and prudent in their interactions, all of which show a summation of honorable acts with …show more content…
From the need to be born of nobility, having a beautiful face, and the need to be proficient in wrestling, each of these capabilities conjoins to make the perfect courtier. The reasons behind these, sometimes obscure, requirements all serve specific purposes that stem from norms prominent during the time. Nevertheless, two virtues stand out with higher levels of importance than the rest, honor and loyalty sit atop the list of virtues needed by a courtier. These two virtues add the most to a courtier and influence the position more than any other virtues mentioned throughout the four books. Discussion on these virtues is present in all four books and of all other virtues, received the least amount of dissent. The absence of these characteristics in a courtier would greatly alter their ability to serve their prince and ultimately create trouble in how well this ability can be performed. This is evident by the impact these virtues had in the general discussion by the various characters in the book, as well as the general understating that in reality these virtues are necessary for any individual to properly serve in an assisting