WOMAN'S LONG STRUGGLE 59 



zoni, of Verona, had such a mastery of these two languages 

 that she wrote and spoke them with ease, while Alessandra 

 Scala was so familiar with them that she employed them 

 in writing poetry. Lorenza Strozzi, who was educated in 

 a convent and eventually became a nun, was distinguished 

 for her great versatility, for her profound knowledge of 

 science and art, as well as for her proficiency in Latin and 

 Greek. Her Latin poems were so highly valued that they 

 were translated into foreign languages. Livia Chiavello, 

 of Fabriano, was celebrated as one of the most brilliant 

 representatives of the Petrarchan school. Her style was 

 so pure and noble that, had Petrarch not lived, she alone 

 would have upheld the honor of the vulgar tongue. So suc- 

 cessful was Isotta of Rimini in the cultivation of the 

 Muses that she was hailed as another Sappho. Cassandra 

 Fedele, of Venice, deserved, according to Polizian, the 

 noted Florentine humanist, to be ranked with that famous 

 universal genius, Pico de la Mirandola. So extensive were 

 her attainments that in addition to being a thorough mis- 

 tress of Latin and Greek, she was likewise distinguished 

 in music, eloquence, philosophy and even theology. Leo X, 

 Louis XII of France, and Isabella of Spain were eager to 

 have her as an ornament for their courts, but the Venetian 

 senate was so proud of its treasure that it was unwilling 

 to have her depart. Catarina Cibo, of Genoa, was another 



Verronese, likewise distinguished themselves at an early age by their 

 rare knowledge of Latin and Greek. In later years all three en- 

 joyed great celebrity for their learning, and were, like Battista di 

 Montefeltro, women of genuine humanist sympathies. Cecelia Gon- 

 zaga's scholarship was in no wise inferior to that of her learned 

 brothers, who were among the most noted students of the famous Casa 

 Zoyosa in Mantua, where Vittorino da Feltre achieved such distinc- 

 tion as an educator in the early part of the Italian Eenaissance. The 

 learned Italian writer, Sabbadini, beautifully expressed the relation 

 of women to Humanism, when he declares, in his Vida di Guarino, 

 "L'Humanismo si sposa alia gentilezza feminile," humanism weds 

 feminine gentility. 



