Monarch: Filostrato
- We have a lengthy narratorial intrusion in the opening of the fourth day.
- Boccaccio claims that he's done absolutely everything to avoid envious, malicious comments from those around him.
- He's tried to keep his head down and even kept his goals attainable. For heaven's sake, he writes in the vernacular (i.e. not in Latin) and only dabbles in prose (not poetry, which is considered more serious and lofty).
- But still, THEY find him (his detractors).
- He addresses the ladies to whom he has dedicated this work and appeals to them for mercy.
- People say, he claims, that he's too fond of the ladies and it's quite shameful for a man of his age.
- Some say he should be thinking about lining his purse (pleasing women with little stories isn't very lucrative); others that he's not telling the stories right.
- Generally speaking, he's pretty cool with all the criticism. But he's going to take this opportunity to respond more fully to the allegations.
- So he's going to tell a little half-story of his own—he doesn't want to compete with his own storytellers—in order to illustrate a point.
- It's about a Florentine called Filippo Balducci who was of low social status but was otherwise an upright guy. He's married to a lovely lady and they're happy together.
- But Filippo loses his good lady and decides to retreat from the world with his young son.
- He goes to live in a cave with the boy and spends all his time praying and fasting and shunning all worldly things.
- When the boy grows to be a young man of 18, he asks his father to take him to Florence when he goes to pick up supplies. He'd never really left the cave before.
- Filippo is pretty certain that his son could never be attracted to worldly things because he'd been raised otherwise, so he decides to take the boy along.
- Of course, the boy's dazzled by all the buzz of the city. But it's not until he sees a group of beautiful young women that he's totally captivated.
- He asks Dad what those lovely creatures could be. Filippo tells him that they're called goslings and to look away because they're evil.
- The boy doesn't believe him and immediately asks his father to get one of the goslings for him.
- He urges Filippo to bring one home for him so that he can "pop things into its bill." Filippo explains to him that he knows nothing of where their "bill" really is and what it likes to eat.
- But Filippo knows he's defeated. Nature will win out.
- So Boccaccio leaves his tale at that, expecting that you'll understand what you're meant to understand.
- How is it possible, he asks, to blame him for loving the ladies, when he was born to do so? And unlike the young boy in the story, he's experienced their love, so he has more motivation to seek it out.
- Boccaccio continues by saying that he cares nothing about the accusations pertaining to his age. What does his white hair mean? Beauty can be admired at any age. He has classical authorities to back him up on this.
- As for being a snobby poet and living with the Muses on Parnassus, Boccaccio points out that the muses are women. Therefore as a writer, it's natural for him to be fond of women.
- Finally, as to his financial situation, he tells his detractors to mind their own business. He makes ends meet just fine, thanks.
- Oh, and one more thing: if anyone thinks his stories don't properly follow the sources, let him produce the earlier versions so that the stories can be corrected.
- He rests his case. He won't do anything against his nature because he says that's how you hurt yourself. The critics can leave him to enjoy his own short life.
- Now he turns back to the stories and the storytellers. Filostrato wakes up the crew and they hit the breakfast table, do their siesta and then head out to the fountain for some story time.
- Filostrato chooses Fiammetta to begin.