DOLCE, LUDOVICO. — Born in Venice in 1508 and deceased there in 1569, he was a versatile writer with varied interests, although not a profound one; he wrote comedies, among which Il Ragazzo and La Fabrizia are noteworthy, as well as tragedies; he translated and commented on Greek and Latin works, and wrote works of a historical, linguistic, and pedagogical nature. He was particularly interested in pedagogy in the works: Dialogo della istituzione delle donne (Venice 1545), Quattro libri delle osservazioni (there 1562), and Dialogo del metodo di conservare la salute (there 1562).
Without outlining a genuine system, D., drawing extensively on the classics and the Fathers of the Church, sought an education for girls that would be above all Christian; this did not, however, prevent them from approaching the classics as well (especially Plato and Seneca), in addition to Christian authors (Prospero, Prudenzio, Paolino) and vernacular authors (Boccaccio, Bembo, Sannazzaro, Castiglione).
In his Christian conception, D. recognized only Christ as the merciful intercessor and only the Bible as the sole source of the soul’s salvation. He wished the rite and the ceremonies of worship to be brought back to the source of the spirit. This has rightly suggested an evangelical-Protestant outlook in D., although in reality he had no contact whatsoever with the Lutheran heresy. In his plan for the education of girls, D. was inspired by Aristotle and generally followed his maxims and counsels: above all, he wanted the family to be founded upon a sound moral constitution; that every precaution be taken when contracting marriages; and that the mother nurse her offspring or, if she had to resort to a wet nurse, that the latter be chosen with the utmost care.
Furthermore, since a woman’s destiny differs from that of a man, her education must also differ: educated for family life, a woman must be sober and modest, and prefer the company of women to that of men. Her instruction should be intellectual, religious, and moral on the one hand, and practical on the other: spinning, ironing, sewing, knowing how to cook—in other words, being a good housekeeper.
Dancing and singing are adornments of a woman, but they must be used with moderation, at the proper time and place. In the plan for the education of the girl, there is no adequate instruction in the sciences and mathematics, a deficiency that, one may say, was present, with some exceptions, in the tradition of the humanist school.