Also, it would bring you
but little pleasure or renown if you should play badly; while to play
well you would be obliged to devote ten or twelve years to practice,
without being able to think of anything else. Consider a moment whether
this would become you. If your friends wish you to play in order to give
them pleasure, tell them you do not desire to make yourself ridiculous
in their eyes, and be content with your books and your domestic
occupations."
A different view was entertained in England during Queen Elizabeth's
reign, where claviers were in vogue styled virginals, because, as an
ancient chronicle explained, "virgins do most commonly play on them."
The virginal was usually of oblong shape, often resembling a lady's
workbox. With the Virgin Queen it was a prime favorite, although not
named expressly for her as the flattering fashion of the time led many
to assume. If she actually did justice to some of the airs with
variations in the "Queen Elizabeth Virginal Book," she must indeed have
been proficient on the instrument.
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