THE TENTH NOVELL

 

  Alibech turns hermit, and a monk, Rustico, teaches her to put the

Devil in Hell. Afterwards she is brought home, and married to

Neerbale.

 

  Dioneus listened attentively to the Queen's discourse, and when

she had done and he knew that only he remained to complete the day's

entertainment, without trifling away the time or awaiting a command

from the Queen, thus he began.

  Gracious ladies, it may be you have not heard how the Devil is put

in Hell. Therefore, and since it will not be far off the subject of

this day's discourse, I will tell it you. Perhaps, hearing it, you may

the better understand that albeit Love more affects gay palaces and

luxurious bowers than the cabins of the poor, yet he by no means

disdains to manifest his power even in the depths of the forest, on

stark mountains and in the caves of the desert; and thus we must

acknowledge that all things wheresoever they be are subject to him.

  Coming, then, to my story, I must tell you that in Capsa, a city

of Barbary, there dwelt aforetime a very rich man, who had among

several children a little daughter, fair and of a docile temper, whose

name was Alibech.

  This girl, a heathen in a place where many were Christian, used

often to hear her neighbours extol the Christian faith and devotion to

the service of God; wherefore she asked one of them how God could best

be served and with the least hindrance. She was told that they best

served Him who removed themselves farthest from the things of the

world, as in particular the hermits who had withdrawn from the city to

the wilds of Thebais.

  The simple maiden, aged perhaps some fourteen years, moved rather by

a childish whim than any real vocation, set out on the morrow alone

and telling nobody to walk into the desert. So firmly was she resolved

that after several days of hardship she reached the wilderness of

Thebais. From afar she descried a little hut, and coming up to it,

found there a holy man. Amazed to see such a one there, he asked

what she came to seek. Her answer was that, aspiring towards God,

she came thither to serve Him, and in the hope of finding a teacher to

that end.

  The pious hermit, seeing her so young and fair, was afraid lest

the Devil might ensnare him; so he praised her intent, and giving

her roots, wild apples and dates to eat and a draught of water,

said: "Daughter, not far from here there dwells a holy man such as

thou seekest: a fitter man than I. Go thou to him." And he put her

on the way.

  The second hermit advised her as the first; and faring farther she

came to the cell of a young hermit, a very pious and righteous man,

whose name was Rustico. To him she repeated her mission. Willing to

put his resolution to so great a test, he forebore to send her away,

and took her into his cell. At nightfall he made her a bed of

palm-leaves, and bade her lie down to rest.

  Temptations did not long delay an assault on his constancy; and

finding it much beyond his strength to withstand them, he soon gave up

the battle, and confessed himself worsted. So putting away all saintly

thoughts, prayers and mortifications, he let his mind dwell on the

freshness and beauty of his companion. From this he passed to thinking

of the best means of bringing her to his desires without giving her

cause to suspect him of lewdness.

 Therefore, satisfying himself by a few questions that she had never

had carnal knowledge of a man, and was indeed as innocent as she

seemed, he thought of a plan to enjoy her under colour of serving God.

He began expounding to her the Devil's enmity to the Almighty, and

went on to impress upon her that the most acceptable service she could

render to God would be to put the Devil in Hell, whereto the Lord

had condemned him.

  The little maid asked him how this might be done. "Thou shalt soon

learn," replied Rustico, "only do as thou seest me do." Thereupon he

took off what few clothes he wore, and stood stark naked; and as

soon as the girl had done likewise he fell on his knees as though to

pray, and made her kneel face to face with him.

  This done, Rustico's desire was more than ever inflamed at the sight

of her beauty, and the resurrection of the flesh came to pass.

Seeing this, and not knowing what it meant, Alibech asked: "Rustico,

what is it thou hast that thrusts itself out in front, and that I have

not?" "My daughter," quoth Rustico, "it is that same Devil of whom I

have been telling thee. Dost thou mark him? Behold, he gives me such

sore trouble that I can hardly bear it."

  "The Lord be praised!" said she; "for now I see that I am more

blessed than thou in that I have not this Devil."

  Rustico retorted: "Thou sayest truly; but thou hast another thing

that I have not, and hast it in place of this."

  "What is that?" says Alibech.

  To this Rustico replied: "Thou hast Hell; and will tell thee my

belief that God gave it thee for the health of my soul. For, if thou

wilt take pity on me for the troubling of this Devil, and suffer me to

put him in Hell, thou wilt comfort me extremely, and at the same

time please and serve God in the highest measure; to which end, as

thou sayest, thou art come hither."

  All unsuspecting, the girl answered. him: "My father, since I have

this Hell, let the thing be done when thou desirest it."

  Then Rustico said: "Bless thee, my dear daughter; let us go at

once and put him in his place, that I may be at peace."

  So saying, he laid her on one of their rough beds, and set about

showing her how to shut the accursed one in his prison. The girl,

who until then had no experience of putting devils in Hell, felt

some pain at this first trial of it; which made her say to Rustico:

"Father, this Devil must indeed be wicked, and in very sooth an

enemy of God, for he hurts Hell itself, let alone other things, when

he is put back in it."

  "My daughter," said Rustico, "it will not always be so." And to make

sure of it, before either of them moved from the bed they put him in

six times, after which the Devil hung his head and was glad to let

them be.

  But in the succeeding days he rose up many times; and the girl,

always disposing herself to subdue him, began to take pleasure in

the exercise, and to say such things as: "I see now the truth of

what the good folk in Capsa told me, that serving God is a delight;

for I never remember doing anything that gave me as much joy and

pleasure as this putting the Devil in Hell. So I think the people

who spend their time otherwise than in serving God must be very

foolish."

  Often she would come to Rustico and say: "Father, I came hither to

serve God, not to stand idle. Let us go put the Devil in Hell." And

once, when it had been done, she asked: "Rustico, why does he want

to get out of Hell? If only he would stay there as willingly as Hell

takes him in and holds him, he would never want to come out at all."

By thus constantly egging him on and exhorting him to God's service

the girl so preyed upon Rustico that he shivered with cold when

another man would have sweated. He had perforce to tell her that it

was not just to punish the Devil by putting him in Hell save when he

had lifted his head in pride; and that by God's mercy they had so

chastened him that he only implored Heaven to be left in peace. Thus

for a time he silenced her.

  But she, finding that Rustico did not call on her to put the Devil

in Hell, said one day: "Even though your Devil is punished and no

longer troubles you, my Hell gives me no peace. You will do a

charity if with your Devil you will quiet the raging of my Hell, as

with my Hell I tamed the pride of your Devil To these demands

Rustico on a diet of herbs and water could ill respond; and he told

her that to appease Hell would need too many devils, none the less

he would do all that in him lay. At times he could satisfy her, but so

seldom that it was like feeding an elephant with peas. Therefore the

girl thought she was not serving God as well as she would like, and

she grumbled most of the time.

  Whilst things stood thus amiss between Rustico's Devil and Alibech's

Hell, for overmuch eagerness of the one part and too little

performance of the other, a fire broke out in Capsa and burned the

father of Alibech with his children and every one of his kin, so

that Alibech became the sole heiress to his goods. Whereupon a certain

Neerbale, a young man who had wasted his patrimony in high living,

sought for Alibech in the belief that she was alive, and succeeded

in finding her before the Court had declared her father's goods

forfeit as being without an owner. Much to the relief of Rustico and

against the girl's will, Neerbale brought her back to Capsa and

married her, so becoming entitled in her right to a large fortune.

  One day, when as yet Neerbale had not lain with her, some of her

women asked how she had served God in the desert. She replied that she

had served Him by putting the Devil in Hell, and that Neerbale had

committed a grievous sin in taking her from such pious work. Then they

asked: "How is the Devil put in Hell?" To which the girl answered with

words and gestures showing how it had been done. The women laughed

so heartily that they have not done laughing yet, and said to her:

"Grieve not, my child; that is done as well here. Neerbale will

serve God right well with thee in this way."

  As one repeated the words to another throughout the town, it

became a familiar saying that the most acceptable of all services to

God is to put the Devil in Hell. The saying has crossed the sea and

become current among us, as it still is.

  Wherefore, young ladies, I beseech you if you would deserve Heaven's

grace, lend yourselves to the putting of the Devil in Hell; for it

is a thing beloved of God, pleasing to the participants, and one

from which much good comes and ensues.

  A thousand times and more were the chaste ladies moved to laughter

by Dioneus's novel, so much were his phrases to their liking. And

the Queen perceiving that as his tale was ended, her office had

expired, took the crown of laurel from her head and graciously

placed it on the head of Philostratus, saying: "Now we shall see

whether the wolf will rule the sheep better than the sheep ruled the

wolves." At this Philostratus laughed, and retorted: "If I had my way,

the wolves would have taught the sheep to put the Devil in Hell, no

less well than Rustico taught Alibech. Since we did not, call us not

wolves, for ye were no sheep. Howbeit, I will reign as best I may,

seeing ye have laid the trust on me."

  Neiphila cried out: "Mark this, Philostratus; in trying to teach

us you might have had such a lesson as Masetto di Lamporechio had of

the nuns, and recovered your speech just as your bare bones had

learned to whistle without a master." Finding himself thus evenly

matched, Philostratus ceased his pleasantries; and beginning to

consider on the charge committed to his care, called the Master of the

houshold, to know in what estate all matters were, because where any

defect appeared, every thing might be the sooner remedied, for the

better satisfaction of the company, during the time of his

authority. Then returning backe to the assembly, thus he began. Lovely

Ladies, I would have you to know, that since the time of ability in

me, to distinguish betweene good and evill, I have alwayes bene

subject (perhaps by the meanes of some beauty heere among us) to the

proud and imperious dominion of love, with expression of all duty,

humility, and most intimate desire to please yet all hath prooved to

no purpose, but still I have bin rejected for some other, whereby my

condition hath falne from ill to worse, and so still it is likely,

even to the houre: of my death. In which respect, it best pleaseth me,

that our conferences to morrow, shall extend to no other argument, bit

only such cases as are most conformable to my calamity, namely of

such, whose love hath had unhappy ending, because I await no other

issue of mine; nor willingly would I be called by any other name,

but only, the miserable and unfortunate Lover.

  Having thus spoken, he arose againe; granting leave to the rest,

to recreate themselves till supper time. The Garden was very faire and

spacious, affoording, large limits for their severall walkes; the

Sun being already so low descended, that it could not be offensive

to any one, the Connies, Kids, and young Hindes skipping every where

about them, to their no meane, pleasure and contentment, Dioneus and

Fiammetta, sate singing together, of Messire Guiglielmo, and the

Lady of Vertur. Philomena and Pamphilus playing at the Chesse, all

sporting themselves as best they pleased. But the houre of Supper

being come, and the Tables covered about the faire fountaine, they

sate downe and supt in most loving manner. Then Philostratus, not to

swerve from the course which had beene observed by the Queenes

before him, so soone as the Tables were taken away, gave commaund that

Madam Lauretta should beginne the dance, and likewise to sing a

Song. My gracious Lord (quoth she) I can skill of no other Songs,

but onely a peece of mine owne, which I have already learned by heart,

and may well beseeme this assembly: if you please to allow of that,

I am ready to performe it with all obedience. Lady, replyed the

King, you your selfe being so faire and lovely, so needs must be

whatsoever commeth from you, therefore let us heare such as you

have. Madam Lauretta, giving enstruction to the Chorus prepared, and

began in this manner.