THE SCENE: There’s something deeply amusing about the following picture of a pirate captain trying to inspire his sailors into raiding another ship for the purpose of securing True Love, before finally mentioning that there was a bunch of treasure involved, too.
THE TEXT: Within a few days of his arrival in those waters, the lady’s ship came sailing up on a light breeze, not far distant from the place where he was waiting to intercept her. On catching sight of the ship, Gerbino turned to address his companions.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “if you are as gallant as I conceive you to be, I doubt whether there is a single one of you who has never been in love. It is my conviction that no mortal being who is without experience of love can ever lay claim to true excellence. And if you are in love, or have ever been in love, it will not be difficult for you to understand what it is that I desire. For I am in love, gentlemen, and it was love that impelled me to engage you for the task that lies before us. The object of my love dwells out there upon that ship, which not only holds that which I desire above all else, but is crammed to the gunwales with treasure. If you are brave, and fight manfully, it will not be too difficult for us to take possession of these riches. My only claim upon the spoils of our victory is the lady for whose love I have taken up arms. Everything else I freely concede to you here and now. Let us set forth, then, and assail the ship while Fortune smiles upon us. God favors our enterprise, for He has stilled all breezes, and the ship is lying out there at our mercy.”
The dashing youth need not have wasted so many words, for the Messinese who were with him, being avid for plunder, already had visions of themselves performing the deed to which Gerbino was inciting them with his oratory. So that when he reached the end of his speech, they filled the air with a thunderous roar of approval, trumpets were sounded, and they all took up their weapons. Then they steered for the ship, plying their oars with gusto.
– Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, 14th Century AD
