Book 2 — CHAPTER VIII
Reading edition
SOME GREAT WOMEN 290
Renaissance women. Isabella of Castile. Genius for peace and war. Power of administration. Education. Housewifely virtues. Care for Indians. Prescott's contrast of Isabella and Elizabeth. Vittoria Colonna. Letter to her husband on honesty. Poems. Influence on men of Renaissance. The Gonzagas. St. Catherine of Genoa. Battistina Vernazza. Lucretia Borgia. Historical traditions and facts. Gregorovius' vindication. Garnett on Borgia poisonings. Aldus' praise. Lucretia as a ruler. Her protection of the Jews. Her husband's love. Victor Hugo and the Lucretian myth. Marguerite of Navarre. Personal character. Care for the poor. Mary of Burgundy. St. Teresa. Mater Spiritualium. French, German and English tributes. Greatest of intellectual women. Some of her maxims.