The Books on the Family

Leon Battista Alberti - The Books on the Family

Page 10

...to whom I could teach little and remind less of anything that you do not already know and understand better than I.

But I still believe that my efforts on your behalf will benefit me not a little. For even if this work of ours is not as useful to our Alberti family as I hope it will be, it will still be a great reward for me to be read by you once and again. Indeed, I will consider it the highest compensation, especially if you take from me what I desire above all: that all my will and every expectation of mine seeks nothing other than to render myself, wherever I can, much more pleasing and acceptable to you.

And so I have convinced myself that I, Battista, cannot but please you, since in what little is possible for me, I strive and exert myself in all of this to give myself to you day by day as a better man, more useful to you, and ever dearer. It will be a most powerful reason to incite me—with much more ardent study, with many longer vigils Original: vigilie. These refer to "burning the midnight oil," or late-night study sessions, a hallmark of the dedicated humanist scholar., and with even more assiduous care—to satisfy your judgments and expectations in some other more refined and polished work.

This is true, if I see that you prize (as I believe you will prize, as much as you ought) the advice of our Alberti ancestors, which you will see to be excellent and worthy of memory; and if you regard me here as I am: most desirous of the true praise and firm exaltation Original: essaltazione. In this context, it refers to the lifting up of the family's reputation and social standing. of our Alberti family, which has always deserved to be prized and honored. To this family, I have always dedicated and will always dedicate every study, every industry industry Original: industria. In the Renaissance, this meant diligent effort, ingenuity, and the skillful application of one's talents, rather than modern manufacturing., every thought, soul, and will in its name.

Never—with whatever art or strength I possess, never through fatigue, nor sweat—will I spare myself from doing whatever may result in the good and utility of the Alberti family. I will do so with all the greater will, with a more joyful spirit, and with more assiduous diligence when I see that my works are pleasing to you. And so I also pray that you, young Alberti, will do with me as you are already doing: strive for the good, increase the honor, and amplify the fame of our house—