The use of perfumes, too, went beyond all
reasonable limits. They were applied to everything with which human
beings came into contact. At festivals even the mules were treated with
scents and ointments, and Pietro Aretino thanks Cosimo I for a perfumed
roll of money.
The Italians of that day lived in the belief that they were more
cleanly than other nations. There are in fact general reasons which
speak rather for than against this claim. Cleanliness is indispensable
to our modern notion of social perfection, which was developed in Italy
earlier than elsewhere. That the Italians were one of the richest of
existing peoples, is another presumption in their favour. Proof, either
for or against these pretensions, can of course never be forthcoming,
and if the question were one of priority in establishing rules of
cleanliness, the chivalrous poetry of the Middle Ages is perhaps in
advance of anything that Italy can produce. It is nevertheless certain
that the singular neatness and cleanliness of some distinguished
representatives of the Renaissance, especially in their behavior at
meals, was noticed expressly,83 and that 'German' was the synonym in
Italy for all that is filthy. The dirty habits which Massimiliano
Sforza picked up in the course of his German education, and the notice
they attracted on his return to Italy, are recorded by Giovio.
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