. Men and manners of old Florence . testato had a right only to afourth of her childrens goods, and in reality only tomere nourishment. Everything conspired to preservethe integrity of capital and prevent it from leavingthe family, the firm, and the commune. It is a pointthat cannot be too much insisted on. Inside thatsociety of merchants a greed for gain was the supremelaw of every action. It would be useless to look forthe sentiment that inspires the modern family, wherefor woman is reserved so noble a role, such honour-able and tender offices. Those poor Florentinemothers had to be contente
. Men and manners of old Florence . testato had a right only to afourth of her childrens goods, and in reality only tomere nourishment. Everything conspired to preservethe integrity of capital and prevent it from leavingthe family, the firm, and the commune. It is a pointthat cannot be too much insisted on. Inside thatsociety of merchants a greed for gain was the supremelaw of every action. It would be useless to look forthe sentiment that inspires the modern family, wherefor woman is reserved so noble a role, such honour-able and tender offices. Those poor Florentinemothers had to be contented with such humbleactivity as the tyranny of their husbands permittedthem, and to live, or rather to drag out their livesin those gloomy, squalid houses, taking care of thechildren, visiting the churches, and confessing to thefriars their manifold sins of desire. The daughters—those girls with whom to-day we take such pains—were then never even taught to read. If it is a girl,put her to sew and not to read ; it is not good that. PRIVATE LIFE OF THE FLORENTINES 99 a woman should know how to read unless you wishto make her a nun, thus counsels Paolo di Ser Paceda Certaldo. The convents were then, and for cen-turies after, the sole refuge for these poor were also a providence for prolific families. Tohave twenty or more children seemed the most naturalthing in the world. If they lived it was said, Heavenbe praised ; and if they died, For everything beHeaven praised, Amen. In the memoranda, indomestic chronicles in the time of great mortality,were registered in such terms the deaths as well asthe births, with a serenity that would seem cynicismindeed to loving mothers of to-day. These documents also hand down to us indisputableproofs of a singular fact—that is, the intrusion in thefamily of a new element that obscures the vauntedpurity of the morals of those past days. Benevolentcritics find an excuse for this in the great mortalitycaused by the plague among bot
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