How we cite our quotes: (Day.Story.Page)
Quote #7
'These country yokels, they move into town after serving as cut-throat to some petty rustic tyrant, and wander about the streets in rags and tatters, their trousers all askew, with a quill sticking out from their backsides, and no sooner do they get a few pence in their pockets than they want the daughters of noble gentlemen and fine ladies for their wives.' (VII.8.531, Neifile's story of Arriguccio and Sismonda)
Boccaccio creates the character of Sismonda's mother to give voice to a general feeling of discontent sweeping through the nobility concerning the nuova gente (the "new people," i.e., the merchant class), which has lots of ready cash but no dignified family name or ancient family connections. In the story in question, a merchant marries a noblewoman with disastrous results. In addition to the snob factor, there were practical problems. Merchants, by nature of their work, were out of their house all day and risked neglecting their wives. Aristocrats who didn't have to work could be more attentive. In her intro to this story, Neifile describes the protagonist as a merchant who "foolishly decided to marry into the aristocracy," to a wife "quite unsuited for him."
Quote #8
'[...] which of us is not aware that kings, if they be so inclined, can do all sorts of wondrous things, and that they above all others are called upon to display munificence? Those people do well, then, who possess ample means and do all that is expected of them; but we ought neither to marvel thereat, nor laud them to the skies, as we should the person who is equally munificent but of whom, his means being slender, less is expected.' (X.8.746, Filomena's story of Titus and Gisippus, introduction)
This sentiment is a kind of "right-sizing" of praise for the upper classes. Filomena wants us to focus on the noble behavior that can be found in everyday people because, after all, it's so much harder for them to behave well. Who's more generous: the king or nobleman who has every resource available, or the average man who struggles for everything he has? Accepting her argument, we wouldn't consider Bill Gates praiseworthy or particularly generous; he's just doing what's expected of a billionaire and can hand out zillions of dollars without it really affecting his own financial security.
Quote #9
'[...] I have always known that my lowly condition was totally at odds with your nobility, and that it is to God and to yourself that I owe whatever standing I possess. Nor have I ever regarded this as a gift that I might keep and cherish as my own, but rather something I have borrowed; and now that you want me to return it, I must give it back to you with good grace.' (X.10.790, Dioneo's story of Griselda)
Low- born Griselda's humility is pretty gut-wrenching at this point, as Gualtieri's doing his best to crush her spirit with his faithfulness test. This story is one of the strongest arguments for virtue being independent of social class. Griselda's faultless character puts her husband's to shame. Earlier in the story, as Griselda proves herself such a graceful, virtuous, and compliant wife, Gualtieri's praised by his friends for being able to see the "noble qualities that lay beneath her ragged and rustic attire." But she's a class act. He's not.