Iain Pears - The Dream of Scipio

It was also a remarkable performance by a boy of sixteen, and Ceccani’s greatest talent as prelate and politician was to spot ability and harness it to his own purposes. Olivier was too shy to present his gift in public, at dinner in the hall or on some other occasion when others might see and perhaps also witness his master’s scorn should his effort not be well received. Indeed, he carried the roll of paper in his tunic—neatly tied with a piece of red ribbon he had stolen from the seamstress, and sealed with wax bearing an imprint from a seal he had fashioned himself from a small piece of wood—for several days, always hesitating whenever an opportune moment presented itself.

Nor could he draw strength and encouragement from any of his fellows, for although Ceccani had some twelve boys in his household, the rivalry between them was too great. All knew that patronage and advancement would come to only a few lucky ones, and the eldest, furthest up the pecking order, were more concerned to portray their juniors in a bad light to prevent them becoming rivals. Olivier knew instinctively that no one must know of his gift before it was delivered; it would be either stolen or ruined if anyone so much as suspected its existence. Few secret letters of state, fewer treaties of alliance between popes or emperors or kings were of such importance in Christendom as his few sheets of paper in the world of the boys’ dormitory, for they had the power to turn all upside down, to break alliances, shift the balance of power, exile some, and shower others with gold.

Did Olivier realize this? Was his the innocent gift of a young boy consumed by the love of learning and intoxicated by the half-sensed awareness of his abilities? Or was this his first offering to the god Renown, a move in the great game of power and advancement? Perhaps both; perhaps he knew that both are necessary, that his desires could only be satisfied if he won the support of men like Ceccani, and that his gift was a route to that support.

Either way, he carried his roll of paper with him for many days before courage and circumstance combined. He saw Ceccani walking along a hallway of his newly completed palace, so great that only the pope’s excelled it in size and magnificence. Merely possessing it gave Ceccani power, no one could enter it, even glimpse its high walls or fortified tower from the street, without being overcome by awe. He had only a secretary with him, and Olivier, knowing that no better chance would ever come his way, stepped forward, then bowed and did not take a step backward to allow the cardinal to pass.

Ceccani paused, a look of surprise on his face, one of those ambivalent expressions that could turn into anger or amusement in an instant.

Olivier bowed again and reached into his tunic, utterly oblivious of the look of momentary alarm that passed over the stocky man’s heavy and powerful face. For it was not unheard of for men like him to be struck down by an assassin, nor for youths as young as Olivier to carry daggers in their clothes. This was the papal court.

“My lord, ah . . .” Olivier began, then paused, overcome with doubts and worries and the overwhelming self-consciousness of youth. Ceccani’s expression began to turn wrathful; he considered such grotesque inelegance of expression to be insulting to his person and position. Olivier saw this all too well, and knew that he had but a fraction of a moment before his fate, his entire life, perhaps, was decided.

“My lord, I have been most graciously permitted to live in your household, and in your presence, for many months, and yet I have never given proper expression to my gratitude. I have prepared this gift. It is a poor thing, inadequate, and I hope only that you do not find it an insult. But if you will read words of the author, rather than those of the giver, I believe you cannot be too displeased with my presumption.”

And he handed over the roll of paper—to Ceccani, not to the secretary, which was itself presumptuous—bowed sagely, then came close to ruining everything by turning tail and fleeing down the corridor.

The last sounds he heard before he turned the corner was a gale of laughter from the two men, as their sudden tension and alarm dissolved. His ears burned for days. And that night, after the other boys heard of his démarche, he received the most savage beating of his life. They knew that, if his petition was well received, they would never get another chance.

EVERSINCE MEN began to study themselves, the gift has attracted the fascinated attention of those who see the practice as one of the strangest and most complex forms of communication—particularly, but not solely, human. When to give, how to give, what to give; these are complex matters, and getting the practice right requires subtlety and care if it is not to miss the mark. In many ways Olivier, though still so young, had the easiest task, as he lived in an age when the language of gift giving was understood, with a straightforward grammar and simple syntax. His position in relation to Ceccani was perfectly clear to both, and there was no possibility of confusion. He did not need to ask for anything in return as it was taken for granted that this was what he wanted, and the request (and its fulfillment, should he succeed) would be to the honor of the donor, rather than placing a burden on him. The boy did not mind the prospect of being under an obligation, perhaps for the rest of his life, since every man was obliged to someone (if he was lucky), and all were obliged to God.

The only doubt was the response: kind words that would be translated by all to mean “I appreciate your request, but do not feel it is worthwhile to do anything for you; your family is not important, and you have little prospect of repaying me by bringing credit on my patronage.” Or alternatively: “Your request is granted. I take you under my protection; in return you will bring credit on me, for I intend that what you do and how you behave will be a small—very small—aid in my perpetual ascent in men’s esteem. And perhaps in God’s as well.”

No such words would ever be exchanged, of course; there was no need. The joy in Olivier’s heart when he received back a letter from Ceccani himself, in his own hand, asking him his opinion about the form of gerundive used in the seventh sentence knew no bounds. His petition was accepted, his way was assured; within a matter of hours everyone in the household knew it.

By the time Olivier’s father saw him again—and it was nearly a year before he passed through Avignon once more—it was instantly clear there would be no more burnings of books, and no more instructions about becoming a lawyer. The boy had passed forever beyond the older man’s control. It says much either for Olivier’s character or for the formal reverence in which fathers were held, that this new situation was never alluded to directly, and there was no glorification in the triumph. It also says much about the father that, while he grieved that the desires he had nursed in his heart for near seventeen years were now extinguished, he allowed himself to be consoled by the prospect of the favors that might descend upon him from a son in papal service. Children exist to safeguard their parents in old age; it is their entire purpose. Instead of a bleak, mean old age (should God allow him to live so long) living solely on the small rents of his little estate, de Noyen’s father could now bask in the prospect of security, perhaps even a pension, which would descend to him from the court and through his son. This expectation (which in a later, crueler age would excite only resentment in the younger generation) was fully shared by Olivier, and while he rarely thought about it, when he did consider the prospect of being a good and dutiful child, the idea brought him great pleasure.