proof of this is given in his many and diverse calamities, which he
ever bore with such strength of mind that his spirit was never
vanquished by fortune; nay, scorning her assaults with unbroken
courage, he lived in weakness as though strong, and in adversity as
though fortunate, with perfect dignity and universal esteem, so that
although he was thus infirm of body, he fought with most honorable
rank in the service of their Serene Highnesses the Kings of Naples,
Alfonso and Fernando the Younger; later with Pope Alexander VI., and
with the Venetian and Florentine nobles.

After the accession of Julius II. to the Pontificate, he was made
Captain of the Church; at which time, following his accustomed style,
above all else he took care to fill his household with very noble and
valiant gentlemen, with whom he lived most familiarly, delighting in
their conversation; wherein the pleasure he gave to others was not
less than that he received from others, he being well versed in both
the learned languages, and uniting affability and agreeableness to a
knowledge of things without number; and besides this, the greatness of
his spirit so animated him that although he could not practice in
person the exercises of horsemanship, as he once had done, yet he took
the utmost pleasure in seeing them in others; and by his words, now
correcting, now praising each according to desert, he clearly showed
how much judgment he had in those matters; wherefore in jousts and
tournaments, in riding, in the handling of every sort of weapon, as
well as in pastimes, games, and music,--in short, in all the exercises
proper to noble gentlemen,--every one strove so to carry himself as to
merit being deemed worthy of such noble fellowship.

All the hours of the day were assigned to honorable and pleasant
exercises, as well for the body as for the mind; but since my lord
Duke was always wont by reason of his infirmity to retire to sleep
very early after supper, every one usually betook himself at that hour
to the presence of my lady Duchess, Elisabetta Gonzaga; where also was
ever to be found my lady Emilia Pia, who was endowed with such lively
wit and sound judgment that, as you know, she seemed the mistress of
us all, and that every one gained wisdom and worth from her. Here,
then, gentle discussions and innocent pleasantries were heard, and on
the face of every one a jocund gayety was seen depicted, so that the
house could truly be called the very abod