Tuesday 6 March 2012

Decalogue of the Italian Woman (1925)


1. Serve God by serving the Fatherland and the Family; serve the Fatherland and the Family by serving Humanity.

2. Do not use your strength vaguely or vainly; respect yourself as a well-mannered woman.

3. Honour the Mother within you, because you will give birth to the new children of the future and to the new workers of Italy.

4. Be a safe and gentle companion for the man who loves you, and who—with the same quiet fortitude—shares with you the bread of joy and the bread of sorrow.

5. Remember that true love—which purifies, renews and saves—is the spirit of sacrifice.

6. The center of your life is your home, make it richer with the inexhaustible richness of your heart.

7. If your Fatherland asks you for that home and heart, give it; it will provide stone for higher walls, and light for larger families.

8. Work in silence with a patient, persistent, serene example.

9. Recognize that Duty—obscurely and unswervingly fulfilled—is the only element of peace.

10. Consider life as a wonderful gift, which you'll have to render, and in which you shall count the hours and the days. Elevate it so that it elevates you, here and beyond.