,,sketches ,,and ,,studies ,,in ,,italy ,,and ,,greece ,,by ,,john ,,addington ,,symonds ,,author ,,of ,,renaissance ,,in ,,italy ,,studies ,,of ,,the ,,greek ,,poets1 ,,etc ,,second ,,series ,,london ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1 ,w4 #aiad ,all rights reserved ,,first ,,edition 7,smith1 ,elder ,co47 ,october1 #ahih ,reprinted ,may1 #aijj ,reprinted ,june1 #aijb ,reprinted ,november1 #aije ,reprinted ,december1 #aijg ,reprinted ,february1 #aiad ,taken over by ,john ,murray ,january1 #aiag ,printed in ,great ,britain at ,,the ,,ballantyne ,,press by ,,spottiswoode1 ,,ballantyne ,co4 ,,ltd4 ,colchester1 ,london ,eton ,,contents ,,page ,,ravenna #a ,,rimini #ad ,,may ,,in ,,umbria #cb ,,the ,,palace ,,of ,,urbino #ej ,,vittoria ,,accoramboni #hh ,,autumn ,,wanderings #abg ,,parma #adg ,,canossa #afc ,,fornovo #ahj ,,florence ,,and ,,the ,,medici #bja ,,the ,,debt ,,of ,,english ,,to ,,italian ,,literature #beh ,,popular ,,songs ,,of ,,tuscany #bgf ,,popular ,,italian ,,poetry ,,of ,,the ,,renaissance #cje ,,the ',,orfeo' ,,of ,,poliziano #cde ,,eight ,,sonnets ,,of ,,petrarch #cfe ,,sketches ,,and ,,studies ,,in ,,italy ,,and ,,greece ,,ravenna ,the ,emperor ,augustus chose ,ravenna for one of his two naval stations1 and in course of time a new city arose by the sea-shore1 which received the name of ,portus ,classis4 ,between this harbour and the mother city a third town sprang up1 and was called ,csarea4 ,time and neglect1 the ravages of war1 and the encroaching powers of ,nature have destroyed these settlements1 and nothing now remains of the three cities but ,ravenna4 ,it would seem that in classical times ,ravenna stood1 like modern ,venice1 in the centre of a huge lagune1 the fresh waters of the ,ronco and the ,po mixing with the salt waves of the ,adriatic round its very walls4 ,the houses of the city were built on piles2 canals instead of streets formed the means of communication1 and these were always filled with water artificially conducted from the southern estuary of the ,po4 ,round ,ravenna extended a vast morass1 for the most part under shallow water1 but rising at intervals into low islands like the ,lido or ,murano or ,torcello which surround ,venice4 ,these islands were celebrated for their fertility3 the vines and fig-trees and pomegranates1 springing from a fat and fruitful soil1 watered with constant moisture1 and fostered by a mild sea-wind and liberal sunshine1 yielded crops that for luxuriance and quality surpassed the harvests of any orchards on the mainland4 ,all the conditions of life in old ,ravenna seem to have resembled those of modern ,venice2 the people went about in gondolas1 and in the early morning barges laden with fresh fruit or meat and vegetables flocked from all quarters to the city of the sea4#a ,water also had to be procured from the neighbouring shore1 for1 as ,martial says1 a well at ,ravenna was more valuable than a vineyard4 ,again1 between the city and the mainland ran a long low causeway all across the lagune like that on which the trains now glide into ,venice4 ,strange to say1 the air of ,ravenna was remarkably salubrious3 this fact1 and the ease of life that prevailed there1 and the security afforded by the situation of the town1 rendered it a most desirable retreat for the monarchs of ,italy during those troublous times in which the empire nodded to its fall4 ,honorius retired to its lagunes for safety2 ,odoacer1 who dethroned the last ,csar of the ,west1 succeeded him2 and was in turn1 supplanted by ,theodoric the ,ostrogoth4 ,ravenna1 as we see it now1 recalls the peaceful and half-,roman rule of the great ,gothic king4 ,his palace1 his churches1 and the mausoleums in which his daughter ,amalasuntha laid the hero's bones1 have survived the sieges of ,belisarius and ,astolphus1 the conquest of ,pepin1 the bloody quarrels of ,iconoclasts with the children of the ,roman ,church1 the medival wars of ,italy1 the victory of ,gaston de ,foix1 and still stand gorgeous with marbles and mosaics in spite of time and the decay of all around them4 ,as early as the sixth century1 the sea had already retreated to such a distance from ,ravenna that orchards and gardens were cultivated on the spot where once the galleys of the ,csars rode at anchor4 ,groves of pines sprang up along the shore1 and in their lofty tops the music of the wind moved like the ghost of waves and breakers plunging upon distant sands4 ,this ,pinetum stretches along the shore of the ,adriatic for about forty miles1 forming a belt of variable width between the great marsh and the tumbling sea4 ,from a distance the bare stems and velvet crowns of the pine-trees stand up like palms that cover an oasis on ,arabian sands2 but at a nearer view the trunks detach themselves from an inferior forest-growth of juniper and thorn and ash and oak1 the tall roofs of the stately firs shooting their breadth of sheltering greenery above the lower and less sturdy brushwood4 ,it is hardly possible to imagine a more beautiful and impressive scene than that presented by these long alleys of imperial pines4 ,they grow so thickly one behind another1 that we might compare them to the pipes of a great organ1 or the pillars of a ,gothic church1 or the basaltic columns of the ,giant's ,causeway4 ,their tops are evergreen and laden with the heavy cones1 from which ,ravenna draws considerable wealth4 ,scores of peasants are quartered on the outskirts of the forest1 whose business it is to scale the pines and rob them of their fruit at certain seasons of the year4 ,afterwards they dry the fir-cones in the sun1 until the nuts which they contain fall out4 ,the empty husks are sold for firewood1 and the kernels in their stony shells reserved for exportation4 ,you may see the peasants1 men1 women1 and boys1 sorting them by millions1 drying and sifting them upon the open spaces of the wood1 and packing them in sacks to send abroad through ,italy4 ,the pinocchi or kernels of the stone-pine are largely used in cookery1 and those of ,ravenna are prized for their good quality and aromatic flavour4 ,when roasted or pounded1 they taste like a softer and more mealy kind of almonds4 ,the task of gathering this harvest is not a little dangerous4 ,men have to cut notches in the straight shafts1 and having climbed1 often to the height of eighty feet1 to lean upon the branches1 and detach the fir-cones with a pole--and this for every tree4 ,some lives1 they say1 are yearly lost in the business4 ,as may be imagined1 the spaces of this great forest form the haunt of innumerable living creatures4 ,lizards run about by myriads in the grass4 ,doves coo among the branches of the pines1 and nightingales pour their full-throated music all day and night from thickets of white-thorn and acacia4 ,the air is sweet with aromatic scents3 the resin of the pine and juniper1 the mayflowers and acacia-blossoms1 the violets that spring by thousands in the moss1 the wild roses and faint honeysuckles which throw fragrant arms from bough to bough of ash or maple1 join to make one most delicious perfume4 ,and though the air upon the neighbouring marsh is poisonous1 here it is dry1 and spreads a genial health4 ,the sea-wind murmuring through these thickets at nightfall or misty sunrise1 conveys no fever to the peasants stretched among their flowers4 ,they watch the red rays of sunset flaming through the columns of the leafy hall1 and flaring on its fretted rafters of entangled boughs2 they see the stars come out1 and ,hesper gleam1 an eye of brightness1 among dewy branches2 the moon walks silver-footed on the velvet tree-tops1 while they sleep beside the camp-fires2 fresh morning wakes them to the sound of birds and scent of thyme and twinkling of dewdrops on the grass around4 ,meanwhile ague1 fever1 and death have been stalking all night long about the plain1 within a few yards of their couch1 and not one pestilential breath has reached the charmed precincts of the forest4 ,you may ride or drive for miles along green aisles between the pines in perfect solitude2 and yet the creatures of the wood1 the sunlight and the birds1 the flowers and tall majestic columns at your side1 prevent all sense of loneliness or fear4 ,huge oxen haunt the wilderness--grey creatures1 with mild eyes and spreading horns and stealthy tread4 ,some are patriarchs of the forest1 the fathers and the mothers of many generations who have been carried from their sides to serve in ploughs or waggons on the ,lombard plain4 ,others are yearling calves1 intractable and ignorant of labour4 ,in order to subdue them to the yoke1 it is requisite to take them very early from their native glades1 or else they chafe and pine away with weariness4 ,then there is a sullen canal1 which flows through the forest from the marshes to the sea2 it is alive with frogs and newts and snakes4 ,you may see these serpents basking on the surface among thickets of the flowering rush1 or coiled about the lily leaves and flowers--lithe monsters1 slippery and speckled1 the tyrants of the fen4 ,it is said that when ,dante was living at ,ravenna he would spend whole days alone among the forest glades1 thinking of ,florence and her civil wars1 and meditating cantos of his poem4 ,nor have the influences of the pine-wood failed to leave their trace upon his verse4 ,the charm of its summer solitude seems to have sunk into his soul2 for when he describes the whispering of winds and singing birds among the boughs of his terrestrial paradise1 he says3-- ,non per dal lor esser dritto sparte ,tanto1 che gli augelletti per le cime ,lasciasser d' operare ogni lor arte3 ,ma con piena letizia l' aure prime1 ,cantando1 ricevano intra le foglie1 ,che tenevan bordone alle sue rime ,tal1 qual di ramo in ramo si raccoglie ,per la pineta in sul lito di ,chiassi ,quand' ,eolo ,scirocco fuor discioglie4 ,with these verses in our minds1 while wandering down the grassy aisles1 beside the waters of the solitary place1 we seem to meet that lady singing as she went1 and plucking flower by flower1 'like ,proserpine when ,ceres lost a daughter1 and she lost her spring4' ,there1 too1 the vision of the griffin and the car1 of singing maidens1 and of ,beatrice descending to the sound of ,benedictus and of falling flowers1 her flaming robe and mantle green as grass1 and veil of white1 and olive crown1 all flashed upon the poet's inner eye1 and he remembered how he bowed before her when a boy4 ,there is yet another passage in which it is difficult to believe that ,dante had not the pine-forest in his mind4 ,when ,virgil and the poet were waiting in anxiety before the gates of ,dis1 when the ,furies on the wall were tearing their breasts and crying1 ',venga ,medusa1 e si 'l farem di smalto1' suddenly across the hideous river came a sound like that which whirlwinds make among the shattered branches and bruised stems of forest-trees2 and ,dante1 looking out with fear upon the foam and spray and vapour of the flood1 saw thousands of the damned flying before the face of one who forded ,styx with feet unwet4 ',like frogs1' he says1 'they fled1 who scurry through the water at the sight of their foe1 the serpent1 till each squats and hides himself close to the ground4' ,the picture of the storm among the trees might well have occurred to ,dante's mind beneath the roof of pine-boughs4 ,nor is there any place in which the simile of the frogs and water-snake attains such dignity and grandeur4 ,i must confess that till ,i saw the ponds and marshes of ,ravenna1 ,i used to fancy that the comparison was somewhat below the greatness of the subject2 but there so grave a note of solemnity and desolation is struck1 the scale of ,nature is so large1 and the serpents coiling in and out among the lily leaves and flowers are so much in their right place1 that they suggest a scene by no means unworthy of ,dante's conception4 ,nor is ,dante the only singer who has invested this wood with poetical associations4 ,it is well known that ,boccaccio laid his story of ',honoria' in the pine-forest1 and every student of ,english literature must be familiar with the noble tale in verse which ,dryden has founded on this part of the ',decameron4' ,we all of us have followed ,theodore1 and watched with him the tempest swelling in the grove1 and seen the hapless ghost pursued by demon hounds and hunter down the glades4 ,this story should be read while storms are gathering upon the distant sea1 or thunderclouds descending from the ,apennines1 and when the pines begin to rock and surge beneath the stress of labouring winds4 ,then runs the sudden flash of lightning like a rapier through the boughs1 the rain streams hissing down1 and the thunder 'breaks like a whole sea overhead4' ,with the ,pinetum the name of ,byron will be for ever associated4 ,during his two years' residence in ,ravenna he used to haunt its wilderness1 riding alone or in the company of friends4 ,the inscription placed above the entrance to the house he occupied alludes to it as one of the objects which principally attracted the poet to the neighbourhood of ,ravenna3 ',impaziente di visitare l' antica selva1 che inspir gi il ,divino e ,giovanni ,boccaccio4' ,we know1 however1 that a more powerful attraction1 in the person of the ,countess ,guiccioli1 maintained his fidelity to 'that place of old renown1 once in the ,adrian ,sea1 ,ravenna4' ,between the ,bosco1 as the people of ,ravenna call this pine-wood1 and the city1 the marsh stretches for a distance of about three miles4 ,it is a plain intersected by dykes and ditches1 and mapped out into innumerable rice-fields4 ,for more than half a year it lies under water1 and during the other months exhales a pestilential vapour1 which renders it as uninhabitable as the ,roman ,campagna2 yet in springtime this dreary flat is even beautiful4 ,the young blades of the rice shoot up above the water1 delicately green and tender4 ,the ditches are lined with flowering rush and golden flags1 while white and yellow lilies sleep in myriads upon the silent pools4 ,tamarisks wave their pink and silver tresses by the road1 and wherever a plot of mossy earth emerges from the marsh1 it gleams with purple orchises and flaming marigolds2 but the soil beneath is so treacherous and spongy1 that these splendid blossoms grow like flowers in dreams or fairy stories4 ,you try in vain to pick them2 they elude your grasp1 and flourish in security beyond the reach of arm or stick4 ,such is the sight of the old town of ,classis4 ,not a vestige of the ,roman city remains1 not a dwelling or a ruined tower1 nothing but the ancient church of ,s4 ,apollinare in ,classe4 ,of all desolate buildings this is the most desolate4 ,not even the deserted grandeur of ,s4 ,paolo beyond the walls of ,rome can equal it4 ,its bare round campanile gazes at the sky1 which here vaults only sea and plain--a perfect dome1 star-spangled like the roof of ,galla ,placidia's tomb4 ,ravenna lies low to west1 the pine-wood stretches away in long monotony to east4 ,there is nothing else to be seen except the spreading marsh1 bounded by dim snowy ,alps and purple ,apennines1 so very far away that the level rack of summer clouds seem more attainable and real4 ,what sunsets and sunrises that tower must see2 what glaring lurid afterglows in ,august1 when the red light scowls upon the pestilential fen2 what sheets of sullen vapour rolling over it in autumn2 what breathless heats1 and rainclouds big with thunder2 what silences2 what unimpeded blasts of winter winds6 ,one old monk tends this deserted spot4 ,he has the huge church1 with its echoing aisles and marble columns and giddy bell-tower and cloistered corridors1 all to himself4 ,at rare intervals1 priests from ,ravenna come to sing some special mass at these cold altars2 pious folk make vows to pray upon their mouldy steps and kiss the relics which are shown on great occasions4 ,but no one stays2 they hurry1 after muttering their prayers1 from the fever-stricken spot1 reserving their domestic pieties and customary devotions for the brighter and newer chapels of the fashionable churches in ,ravenna4 ,so the old monk is left alone to sweep the marsh water from his church floor1 and to keep the green moss from growing too thickly on its monuments4 ,a clammy conferva covers everything except the mosaics upon tribune1 roof1 and clerestory1 which defy the course of age4 ,christ on ,his throne sedet aternumque sedebit3 the saints around him glitter with their pitiless uncompromising eyes and wooden gestures1 as if twelve centuries had not passed over them1 and they were nightmares only dreamed last night1 and rooted in a sick man's memory4 ,for those gaunt and solemn forms there is no change of life or end of days4 ,no fever touches them2 no dampness of the wind and rain loosens their firm cement4 ,they stare with senseless faces in bitter mockery of men who live and die and moulder away beneath4 ,their poor old guardian told us it was a weary life4 ,he has had the fever three times1 and does not hope to survive many more ,septembers4 ,the very water that he drinks is brought him from ,ravenna2 for the vast fen1 though it pours its overflow upon the church floor1 and spreads like a lake around1 is death to drink4 ,the monk had a gentle woman's voice and mild brown eyes4 ,what terrible crime had consigned him to this living tomb8 ,for what past sorrow is he weary of his life8 ,what anguish of remorse has driven him to such a solitude8 ,yet he looked simple and placid2 his melancholy was subdued and calm1 as if life were over for him1 and he were waiting for death to come with a friend's greeting upon noiseless wings some summer night across the fen-lands in a cloud of soft destructive fever-mist4 ,another monument upon the plain is worthy of a visit4 ,it is the so-called ,colonna dei ,francesi1 a cinquecento pillar of ,ionic design1 erected on the spot where ,gaston de ,foix expired victorious after one of the bloodiest battles ever fought4 ,the ,ronco1 a straight sluggish stream1 flows by the lonely spot2 mason bees have covered with laborious stucco-work the scrolls and leafage of its ornaments1 confounding epitaphs and trophies under their mud houses4 ,a few cypress-trees stand round it1 and the dogs and chickens of a neighbouring farmyard make it their rendezvous4 ,those mason bees are like posterity1 which settles down upon the ruins of a ,baalbec or a ,luxor1 setting up its tents1 and filling the fair spaces of ,hellenic or ,egyptian temples with clay hovels4 ,nothing differs but the scale2 and while the bees content themselves with filling up and covering1 man destroys the silent places of the past which he appropriates4 ,in ,ravenna itself1 perhaps what strikes us most is the abrupt transition everywhere discernible from monuments of vast antiquity to buildings of quite modern date4 ,there seems to be no interval between the marbles and mosaics of ,justinian or ,theodoric and the insignificant frippery of the last century4 ,the churches of ,ravenna--,s4 ,vitale1 ,s4 ,apollinare1 and the rest--are too well known1 and have been too often described by enthusiastic antiquaries1 to need a detailed notice in this place4 ,every one is aware that the ecclesiastical customs and architecture of the early ,church can be studied in greater perfection here than elsewhere4 ,not even the basilicas and mosaics of ,rome1 nor those of ,palermo and ,monreale1 are equal for historical interest to those of ,ravenna4 ,yet there is not one single church which remains entirely unaltered and unspoiled4 ,the imagination has to supply the atrium or outer portico from one building1 the vaulted baptistery with its marble font from another1 the pulpits and ambones from a third the tribune from a fourth1 the round brick bell-tower from a fifth1 and then to cover all the concave roofs and chapel walls with grave and glittering mosaics4 ,there is nothing more beautiful in decorative art than the mosaics of such tiny buildings as the tomb of ,galla ,placidia or the chapel of the ,bishop's ,palace4 ,they are like jewelled and enamelled cases2 not an inch of wall can be seen which is not covered with elaborate patterns of the brightest colours4 ,tall date-palms spring from the floor with fruit and birds among their branches1 and between them stand the pillars and apostles of the ,church4 ,in the spandrels and lunettes above the arches and the windows angels fly with white extended wings4 ,on every vacant place are scrolls and arabesques of foliage1--birds and beasts1 doves drinking from the vase1 and peacocks spreading gorgeous plumes--a maze of green and gold and blue4 ,overhead1 the vault is powdered with stars gleaming upon the deepest azure1 and in the midst is set an aureole embracing the majestic head of ,christ1 or else the symbol of the sacred fish1 or the hand of the ,creator pointing from a cloud4 ,in ,galla ,placidia's tomb these storied vaults spring above the sarcophagi of empresses and emperors1 each lying in the place where he was laid more than twelve centuries ago4 ,the light which struggles through the narrow windows serves to harmonise the brilliant hues and make a gorgeous gloom4 ,besides these more general and decorative subjects1 many of the churches are adorned with historical mosaics1 setting forth the ,bible narrative or incidents from the life of ,christian emperors and kings4 ,in ,s4 ,apollinare ,nuovo there is a most interesting treble series of such mosaics extending over both walls of the nave4 ,on the left hand1 as we enter1 we see the town of ,classis2 on the right the palace of ,theodoric1 its doors and loggie rich with curtains1 and its friezes blazing with coloured ornaments4 ,from the city gate of ,classis virgins issue1 and proceed in a long line until they reach ,madonna seated on a throne1 with ,christ upon her knees1 and the three kings in adoration at her feet4 ,from ,theodoric's palace door a similar procession of saints and martyrs carry us to ,christ surrounded by archangels4 ,above this double row of saints and virgins stand the fathers and prophets of the ,church1 and highest underneath the roof are pictures from the life of our ,lord4 ,it will be remembered in connection with these subjects that the women sat upon the left and the men upon the right side of the church4 ,above the tribune1 at the east end of the church1 it was customary to represent the ,creative ,hand1 or the monogram of the ,saviour1 or the head of ,christ with the letters ,a and ,greek 4 ,moses and ,elijah frequently stand on either side to symbolise the transfiguration1 while the saints and bishops specially connected with the church appeared upon a lower row4 ,then on the side walls were depicted such subjects as ,justinian and ,theodora among their courtiers1 or the grant of the privileges of the church to its first founder from imperial patrons1 with symbols of the old ,hebraic ritual--,abel's lamb1 the sacrifice of ,isaac1 ,melchisedec's offering of bread and wine1--which were regarded as the types of ,christian ceremonies4 ,the baptistery was adorned with appropriate mosaics representing ,christ's baptism in ,jordan4 ,generally speaking1 one is struck with the dignity of these designs1 and especially with the combined majesty and sweetness of the face of ,christ4 ,the sense for harmony of hue displayed in their composition is marvellous4 ,it would be curious to trace in detail the remnants of classical treatment which may be discerned--,jordan1 for instance1 pours his water from an urn like a river-god crowned with sedge--or to show what points of ecclesiastical tradition are established these ancient monuments4 ,we find ,mariolatry already imminent1 the names of the three kings1 ,kaspar1 ,melchior1 and ,balthazar1 the four evangelists as we now recognise them1 and many of the rites and vestments which ,ritualists of all denominations regard with superstitious reverence4 ,there are two sepulchral monuments in ,ravenna which cannot be passed over unnoticed4 ,the one is that of ,theodoric the ,goth1 crowned by its semisphere of solid stone1 a mighty tomb1 well worthy of the conqueror and king4 ,it stands in a green field1 surrounded by acacias1 where the nightingales sing ceaselessly in ,may4 ,the mason bees have covered it1 and the water has invaded its sepulchral vaults4 ,in spite of many trials1 it seems that human art is unable to pump out the pond and clear the frogs and efts from the chamber where the great ,goth was laid by ,amalasuntha4 ,the other is ,dante's temple1 with its basrelief and withered garlands4 ,the story of his burial1 and of the discovery of his real tomb1 is fresh in the memory of every one4 ,but the 'little cupola1 more neat than solemn1' of which ,lord ,byron speaks1 will continue to be the goal of many a pilgrimage4 ,for myself--though ,i remember ,chateaubriand's bareheaded genuflection on its threshold1 ,alfieri's passionate prostration at the altar-tomb1 and ,byron's offering of poems on the poet's shrine--,i confess that a single canto of the ',inferno1' a single passage of the ',vita ,nuova1' seems more full of soul-stirring associations than the place where1 centuries ago1 the mighty dust was laid4 ,it is the spirit that lives and makes alive4 ,and ,dante's spirit seems more present with us under the pine-branches of the ,bosco than beside his real or fancied tomb4 ',he is risen1'--',lo1 ,i am with you alway'--these are the words that ought to haunt us in a burying-ground4 ,there is something affected and self-conscious in overpowering grief or enthusiasm or humiliation at a tomb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,rimini ,,sigismondo ,,pandolfo ,,malatesta ,,and ,,leo ,,battista ,,alberti ,rimini is a city of about #ah1jjj souls1 famous for its ,stabilmento de' ,bagni and its antiquities1 seated upon the coast of the ,adriatic1 a little to the south-east of the world-historical ,rubicon4 ,it is our duty to mention the baths first among its claims to distinction1 since the prosperity and cheerfulness of the little town depend on them in a great measure4 ,but visitors from the north will fly from these1 to marvel at the bridge which ,augustus built and ,tiberius completed1 and which still spans the ,marecchia with five gigantic arches of white ,istrian limestone1 as solidly as if it had not borne the tramplings of at least three conquests4 ,the triumphal arch1 too1 erected in honour of ,augustus1 is a notable monument of ,roman architecture4 ,broad1 ponderous1 substantial1 tufted here and there with flowering weeds1 and surmounted with mediaeval machicolations1 proving it to have sometimes stood for city gate or fortress1 it contrasts most favourably with the slight and somewhat gimcrack arch of ,trajan in the sister city of ,ancona4 ,yet these remains of the imperial pontifices1 mighty and interesting as they are1 sink into comparative insignificance beside the one great wonder of ,rimini1 the cathedral remodelled for ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta by ,leo ,battista ,alberti in #adej4 ,this strange church1 one of the earliest extant buildings in which the ,neopaganism of the ,renaissance showed itself in full force1 brings together before our memory two men who might be chosen as typical in their contrasted characters of the transitional age which gave them birth4 ,no one with any tincture of literary knowledge is ignorant of the fame at least of the great ,malatesta family--the house of the ,wrongheads1 as they were rightly called by some prevision of their future part in ,lombard history4 ,the readers of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth cantos of the ',inferno' have all heard of ,e il mastin vecchio e il nuovo da ,verucchio ,che fecer di ,montagna il mal governo1 while the story of ,francesca da ,polenta1 who was wedded to the hunchback ,giovanni ,malatesta and murdered by him with her lover ,paolo1 is known not merely to students of ,dante1 but to readers of ,byron and ,leigh ,hunt1 to admirers of ,flaxman1 ,ary ,scheffer1 ,dor--to all1 in fact1 who have of art and letters any love4 ,the history of these ,malatesti1 from their first establishment under ,otho ,,iii4 as lieutenants for the ,empire in the ,marches of ,ancona1 down to their final subjugation by the ,papacy in the age of the ,renaissance1 is made up of all the vicissitudes which could befall a mediaeval ,italian despotism4 ,acquiring an unlawful right over the towns of ,rimini1 ,cesena1 ,sogliano1 ,ghiacciuolo1 they ruled their petty principalities like tyrants by the help of the ,guelf and ,ghibelline factions1 inclining to the one or the other as it suited their humour or their interest1 wrangling among themselves1 transmitting the succession of their dynasty through bastards and by deeds of force1 quarrelling with their neighbours the ,counts of ,urbino1 alternately defying and submitting to the ,papal legates in ,romagna1 serving as condottieri in the wars of the ,visconti and the state of ,venice1 and by their restlessness and genius for military intrigues contributing in no slight measure to the general disturbance of ,italy4 ,the ,malatesti were a race of strongly marked character3 more1 perhaps1 than any other house of ,italian tyrants1 they combined for generations those qualities of the fox and the lion1 which ,machiavelli thought indispensable to a successful despot4 ,son after son1 brother with brother1 they continued to be fierce and valiant soldiers1 cruel in peace1 hardy in war1 but treasonable and suspicious in all transactions that could not be settled by the sword4 ,want of union1 with them as with the ,baglioni and many other of the minor noble families in ,italy1 prevented their founding a substantial dynasty4 ,their power1 based on force1 was maintained by craft and crime1 and transmitted through tortuous channels by intrigue4 ,while false in their dealings with the world at large1 they were diabolical in the perfidy with which they treated one another4 ,no feudal custom1 no standard of hereditary right1 ruled the succession in their family4 ,therefore the ablest ,malatesta for the moment clutched what he could of the domains that owned his house for masters4 ,partitions among sons or brothers1 mutually hostile and suspicious1 weakened the whole stock4 ,yet they were great enough to hold their own for centuries among the many tyrants who infested ,lombardy4 ,that the other princely families of ,romagna1 ,emilia1 and the ,march were in the same state of internal discord and dismemberment1 was probably one reason why the ,malatesti stood their ground so firmly as they did4 ,so far as ,rimini is concerned1 the house of ,malatesta culminated in ,sigismondo ,pandolfo1 son of ,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti's general1 the perfidious ,pandolfo4 ,it was he who built the ,rocca1 or castle of the despots1 which stands a little way outside the town1 commanding a fair view of ,apennine tossed hill-tops and broad ,lombard plain1 and who remodelled the ,cathedral of ,s4 ,francis on a plan suggested by the greatest genius of the age4 ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta was one of the strangest products of the earlier ,renaissance4 ,to enumerate the crimes which he committed within the sphere of his own family1 mysterious and inhuman outrages which render the tale of the ,cenci credible1 would violate the decencies of literature4 ,a thoroughly bestial nature gains thus much with posterity that its worst qualities must be passed by in silence4 ,it is enough to mention that he murdered three wives in succession1#b ,bussoni di ,carmagnuola1 ,guinipera d',este1 and ,polissena ,sforza1 on various pretexts of infidelity1 and carved horns upon his own tomb with this fantastic legend underneath3-- ,porto le corna ch' ognuno le vede1 ,e tal le porta che non se lo crede4 ,he died in wedlock with the beautiful and learned ,isotta degli ,atti1 who had for some time been his mistress4 ,but1 like most of the ,malatesti1 he left no legitimate offspring4 ,throughout his life he was distinguished for bravery and cunning1 for endurance of fatigue and rapidity of action1 for an almost fretful rashness in the execution of his schemes1 and for a character terrible in its violence4 ,he was acknowledged as a great general2 yet nothing succeeded with him4 ,the long warfare which he carried on against the ,duke of ,montefeltro ended in his discomfiture4 ,having begun by defying the ,holy ,see1 he was impeached at ,rome for heresy1 parricide1 incest1 adultery1 rape1 and sacrilege1 burned in effigy by ,pope ,pius ,,ii41 and finally restored to the bosom of the ,church1 after suffering the despoliation of almost all his territories1 in #adfc4 ,the occasion on which this fierce and turbulent despiser of laws human and divine was forced to kneel as a penitent before the ,papal legate in the gorgeous temple dedicated to his own pride1 in order that the ban of excommunication might be removed from ,rimini1 was one of those petty triumphs1 interesting chiefly for their picturesqueness1 by which the ,popes confirmed their questionable rights over the cities of ,romagna4 ,sigismondo1 shorn of his sovereignty1 took the command of the ,venetian troops against the ,turks in the ,morea1 and returned in #adfe1 crowned with laurels1 to die at ,rimini in the scene of his old splendour4 ,a very characteristic incident belongs to this last act of his life4 ,dissolute1 treacherous1 and inhuman as he was1 the tyrant of ,rimini had always encouraged literature1 and delighted in the society of artists4 ,he who could brook no contradiction from a prince or soldier1 allowed the pedantic scholars of the sixteenth century to dictate to him in matters of taste1 and sat with exemplary humility at the feet of ,latinists like ,porcellio1 ,basinio1 and ,trebanio4 ,valturio1 the engineer1 and ,alberti1 the architect1 were his familiar friends2 and the best hours of his life were spent in conversation with these men4 ,now that he found himself upon the sacred soil of ,greece1 he was determined not to return to ,italy empty-handed4 ,should he bring manuscripts or marbles1 precious vases or inscriptions in half-legible ,greek character8 ,these relics were greedily sought for by the potentates of ,italian cities2 and no doubt ,sigismondo enriched his library with some such treasures4 ,but he obtained a nobler prize--nothing less than the body of a saint of scholarship1 the authentic bones of the great ,platonist1 ,gemisthus ,pletho4#c ,these he exhumed from their ,greek grave and caused them to be deposited in a stone sarcophagus outside the cathedral of his building in ,rimini4 ,the ,venetians1 when they stole the body of ,s4 ,mark from ,alexandria1 were scarcely more pleased than was ,sigismondo with the acquisition of this ,father of the ,neopagan faith4 ,upon the tomb we still may read this legend3 ',jemisthii ,bizantii philosopher sua temp principis reliquum ,sig4 ,pan4 ,mal4 ,pan4 ,f4 belli ,pelop adversus ,turcor regem ,imp ob ingentem eruditorum quo flagrat amorem huc afferendum introque mittendum curavit ,,mcccclxvi4' ,of the ,latinity of the inscription much cannot be said2 but it means that ',sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta1 having served as general against the ,turks in the ,morea1 induced by the great love with which he burns for all learned men1 brought and placed here the remains of ,gemisthus of ,byzantium1 the prince of the philosophers of his day4' ,sigismondo's portrait1 engraved on medals1 and sculptured upon every frieze and point of vantage in the ,cathedral of ,rimini1 well denotes the man4 ,his face is seen in profile4 ,the head1 which is low and flat above the forehead1 rising swiftly backward from the crown1 carries a thick bushy shock of hair curling at the ends1 such as the ,italians call a zazzera4 ,the eye is deeply sunk1 with long venomous flat eyelids1 like those which ,leonardo gives to his most wicked faces4 ,the nose is long and crooked1 curved like a vulture's over a petulant mouth1 with lips deliberately pressed together1 as though it were necessary to control some nervous twitching4 ,the cheek is broad1 and its bone is strongly marked4 ,looking at these features in repose1 we cannot but picture to our fancy what expression they might assume under a sudden fit of fury1 when the sinews of the face were contracted with quivering spasms1 and the lips writhed in sympathy with knit forehead and wrinkled eyelids4 ,allusion has been made to the ,cathedral of ,s4 ,francis at ,rimini1 as the great ornament of the town1 and the chief monument of ,sigismondo's fame4 ,it is here that all the ,malatesti lie4 ,here too is the chapel consecrated to ,isotta1 ',div ,isott ,sacrum2' and the tombs of the ,malatesta ladies1 ',malatestorum doms heroidum sepulchrum2' and ,sigismondo's own grave with the cuckold's horns and scornful epitaph4 ,nothing but the fact that the church is duly dedicated to ,s4 ,francis1 and that its outer shell of classic marble encases an old ,gothic edifice1 remains to remind us that it is a ,christian place of worship4#d ,it has no sanctity1 no spirit of piety4 ,the pride of the tyrant whose legend--',sigismundus ,pandulphus ,malatesta ,pan4 ,f4 ,fecit ,anno ,grati ,,mccccl'--occupies every arch and stringcourse of the architecture1 and whose coat-of-arms and portrait in medallion1 with his cipher and his emblems of an elephant and a rose1 are wrought in every piece of sculptured work throughout the building1 seems so to fill this house of prayer that there is no room left for ,god4 ,yet the ,cathedral of ,rimini remains a monument of first-rate importance for all students who seek to penetrate the revived ,paganism of the fifteenth century4 ,it serves also to bring a far more interesting ,italian of that period than the tyrant of ,rimini himself1 before our notice4 ,in the execution of his design1 ,sigismondo received the assistance of one of the most remarkable men of this or any other age4 ,leo ,battista ,alberti1 a scion of the noble ,florentine house of that name1 born during the exile of his parents1 and educated in the ,venetian territory1 was endowed by nature with aptitudes1 faculties1 and sensibilities so varied1 as to deserve the name of universal genius4 ,italy in the ,renaissance period was rich in natures of this sort1 to whom nothing that is strange or beautiful seemed unfamiliar1 and who1 gifted with a kind of divination1 penetrated the secrets of the world by sympathy4 ,to ,pico della ,mirandola1 ,lionardo da ,vinci1 and ,michel ,agnolo ,buonarroti may be added ,leo ,battista ,alberti4 ,that he achieved less than his great compeers1 and that he now exists as the shadow of a mighty name1 was the effect of circumstances4 ,he came half a century too early into the world1 and worked as a pioneer rather than a settler of the realm which ,lionardo ruled as his demesne4 ,very early in his boyhood ,alberti showed the versatility of his talents4 ,the use of arms1 the management of horses1 music1 painting1 modelling for sculpture1 mathematics1 classical and modern literature1 physical science as then comprehended1 and all the bodily exercises proper to the estate of a young nobleman1 were at his command4 ,his biographer asserts that he was never idle1 never subject to ennui or fatigue4 ,he used to say that books at times gave him the same pleasure as brilliant jewels or perfumed flowers3 hunger and sleep could not keep him from them then4 ,at other times the letters on the page appeared to him like twining and contorted scorpions1 so that he preferred to gaze on anything but written scrolls4 ,he would then turn to music or painting1 or to the physical sports in which he excelled4 ,the language in which this alternation of passion and disgust for study is expressed1 bears on it the stamp of ,alberti's peculiar temperament1 his fervid and imaginative genius1 instinct with subtle sympathies and strange repugnances4 ,flying from his study1 he would then betake himself to the open air4 ,no one surpassed him in running1 in wrestling1 in the force with which he cast his javelin or discharged his arrows4 ,so sure was his aim and so skilful his cast1 that he could fling a farthing from the pavement of the square1 and make it ring against a church roof far above4 ,when he chose to jump1 he put his feet together and bounded over the shoulders of men standing erect upon the ground4 ,on horseback he maintained perfect equilibrium1 and seemed incapable of fatigue4 ,the most restive and vicious animals trembled under him and became like lambs4 ,there was a kind of magnetism in the man4 ,we read1 besides these feats of strength and skill1 that he took pleasure in climbing mountains1 for no other purpose apparently than for the joy of being close to nature4 ,in this1 as in many other of his instincts1 ,alberti was before his age4 ,to care for the beauties of landscape unadorned by art1 and to sympathise with sublime or rugged scenery1 was not in the spirit of the ,renaissance4 ,humanity occupied the attention of poets and painters2 and the age was yet far distant when the pantheistic feeling for the world should produce the art of ,wordsworth and of ,turner4 ,yet a few great natures even then began to comprehend the charm and mystery which the ,greeks had imaged in their ,pan1 the sense of an all-pervasive spirit in wild places1 the feeling of a hidden want1 the invisible tie which makes man a part of rocks and woods and streams around him4 ,petrarch had already ascended the summit of ,mont ,ventoux1 to meditate1 with an exaltation of the soul he scarcely understood1 upon the scene spread at his feet and above his head4 neas ,sylvius ,piccolomini delighted in wild places for no mere pleasure of the chase1 but for the joy he took in communing with nature4 ,how ,s4 ,francis found ,god in the sun and the air1 the water and the stars1 we know by his celebrated hymn2 and of ,dante's acute observation1 every canto of the ',divine ,comedy' is witness4 ,leo ,alberti was touched in spirit by even a deeper and a stranger pathos than any of these men3 ',in the early spring1 when he beheld the meadows and hills covered with flowers1 and saw the trees and plants of all kinds bearing promise of fruit1 his heart became exceeding sorrowful2 and when in autumn he looked on fields heavy with harvest and orchards apple-laden1 he felt such grief that many even saw him weep for the sadness of his soul4' ,it would seem that he scarcely understood the source of this sweet trouble3 for at such times he compared the sloth and inutility of men with the industry and fertility of nature2 as though this were the secret of his melancholy4 ,a poet of our century has noted the same stirring of the spirit1 and has striven to account for it3-- ,tears from the depth of some divine despair ,rise in the heart1 and gather to the eyes1 ,in looking on the happy autumn fields1 ,and thinking of the days that are no more4 ,both ,alberti and ,tennyson have connected the mal du pays of the human soul for that ancient country of its birth1 the mild ,saturnian earth from which we sprang1 with a sense of loss4 ,it is the waste of human energy that affects ,alberti2 the waste of human life touches the modern poet4 ,yet both perhaps have scarcely interpreted their own spirit2 for is not the true source of tears deeper and more secret8 ,man is a child of nature in the simplest sense2 and the stirrings of the secular breasts that gave him suck1 and on which he even now must hang1 have potent influences over his emotions4 ,of ,alberti's extraordinary sensitiveness to all such impressions many curious tales are told4 ,the sight of refulgent jewels1 of flowers1 and of fair landscapes1 had the same effect upon his nerves as the sound of the ,dorian mood upon the youths whom ,pythagoras cured of passion by music4 ,he found in them an anodyne for pain1 a restoration from sickness4 ,like ,walt ,whitman1 who adheres to nature by closer and more vital sympathy than any other poet of the modern world1 ,alberti felt the charm of excellent old age no less than that of florid youth4 ',on old men gifted with a noble presence and hale and vigorous1 he gazed again and again1 and said that he revered in them the delights of nature 7natur delitias74' ,beasts and birds and all living creatures moved him to admiration for the grace with which they had been gifted1 each in his own kind4 ,it is even said that he composed a funeral oration for a dog which he had loved and which died4 ,to this sensibility for all fair things in nature1 ,alberti added the charm of a singularly sweet temper and graceful conversation4 ,the activity of his mind1 which was always being exercised on subjects of grave speculation1 removed him from the noise and bustle of commonplace society4 ,he was somewhat silent1 inclined to solitude1 and of a pensive countenance2 yet no man found him difficult of access3 his courtesy was exquisite1 and among familiar friends he was noted for the flashes of a delicate and subtle wit4 ,collections were made of his apophthegms by friends1 and some are recorded by his anonymous biographer4#e ,their finer perfume1 as almost always happens with good sayings which do not certain the full pith of a proverb1 but owe their force1 in part at least1 to the personality of their author1 and to the happy moment of their production1 has evanesced4 ,here1 however1 is one which seems still to bear the impress of ,alberti's genius3 ',gold is the soul of labour1 and labour the slave of pleasure4' ,of women he used to say that their inconstancy was an antidote to their falseness2 for if a woman could but persevere in what she undertook1 all the fair works of men would be ruined4 ,one of his strongest moral sentences is aimed at envy1 from which he suffered much in his own life1 and against which he guarded with a curious amount of caution4 ,his own family grudged the distinction which his talents gained for him1 and a dark story is told of a secret attempt made by them to assassinate him through his servants4 ,alberti met these ignoble jealousies with a stately calm and a sweet dignity of demeanour1 never condescending to accuse his relatives1 never seeking to retaliate1 but acting always for the honour of his illustrious house4 ,in the same spirit of generosity he refused to enter into wordy warfare with detractors and calumniators1 sparing the reputation even of his worst enemy when chance had placed him in his power4 ,this moderation both of speech and conduct was especially distinguished in an age which tolerated the fierce invectives of ,filelfo1 and applauded the vindictive courage of ,cellini4 ,to money ,alberti showed a calm indifference4 ,he committed his property to his friends and shared with them in common4 ,nor was he less careless about vulgar fame1 spending far more pains in the invention of machinery and the discovery of laws1 than in their publication to the world4 ,his service was to knowledge1 not to glory4 ,self-control was another of his eminent qualities4 ,with the natural impetuosity of a large heart1 and the vivacity of a trained athlete1 he yet never allowed himself to be subdued by anger or by sensual impulses1 but took pains to preserve his character unstained and dignified before the eyes of men4 ,a story is told of him which may remind us of ,goethe's determination to overcome his giddiness4 ,in his youth his head was singularly sensitive to changes of temperature2 but by gradual habituation he brought himself at last to endure the extremes of heat and cold bareheaded4 ,in like manner he had a constitutional disgust for onions and honey2 so powerful1 that the very sight of these things made him sick4 ,yet by constantly viewing and touching what was disagreeable1 he conquered these dislikes2 and proved that men have a complete mastery over what is merely instinctive in their nature4 ,his courage corresponded to his splendid physical development4 ,when a boy of fifteen1 he severely wounded himself in the foot4 ,the gash had to be probed and then sewn up4 ,alberti not only bore the pain of this operation without a groan1 but helped the surgeon with his own hands2 and effected a cure of the fever which succeeded by the solace of singing to his cithern4 ,for music he had a genius of the rarest order2 and in painting he is said to have achieved success4 ,nothing1 however1 remains of his work and from what ,vasari says of it1 we may fairly conclude that he gave less care to the execution of finished pictures1 than to drawings subsidiary to architectural and mechanical designs4 ,his biographer relates that when he had completed a painting1 he called children and asked them what it meant4 ,if they did not know1 he reckoned it a failure4 ,he was also in the habit of painting from memory4 ,while at ,venice1 he put on canvas the faces of friends at ,florence whom he had not seen for months4 ,that the art of painting was subservient in his estimation to mechanics1 is indicated by what we hear about the camera1 in which he showed landscapes by day and the revolutions of the stars by night1 so lively drawn that the spectators were affected with amazement4 ,the semi-scientific impulse to extend man's mastery over nature1 the magician's desire to penetrate secrets1 which so powerfully influenced the development of ,lionardo's genius1 seems to have overcome the purely sthetic instincts of ,alberti1 so that he became in the end neither a great artist like ,raphael1 nor a great discoverer like ,galileo1 but rather a clairvoyant to whom the miracles of nature and of art lie open4 ,after the first period of youth was over1 ,leo ,battista ,alberti devoted his great faculties and all his wealth of genius to the study of the law--then1 as now1 the quicksand of the noblest natures4 ,the industry with which he applied himself to the civil and ecclesiastical codes broke his health4 ,for recreation he composed a ,latin comedy called ',philodoxeos1' which imposed upon the judgment of scholars1 and was ascribed as a genuine antique to ,lepidus1 the comic poet4 ,feeling stronger1 ,alberti returned at the age of twenty to his law studies1 and pursued them in the teeth of disadvantages4 ,his health was still uncertain1 and the fortune of an exile reduced him to the utmost want4 ,it was no wonder that under these untoward circumstances even his ,herculean strength gave way4 ,emaciated and exhausted1 he lost the clearness of his eyesight1 and became subject to arterial disturbances1 which filled his ears with painful sounds4 ,this nervous illness is not dissimilar to that which ,rousseau describes in the confessions of his youth4 ,in vain1 however1 his physicians warned ,alberti of impending peril4 ,a man of so much stanchness1 accustomed to control his nature with an iron will1 is not ready to accept advice4 ,alberti persevered in his studies1 until at last the very seat of intellect was invaded4 ,his memory began to fail him for names1 while he still retained with wonderful accuracy whatever he had seen with his eyes4 ,it was now impossible to think of law as a profession4 ,yet since he could not live without severe mental exercise1 he had recourse to studies which tax the verbal memory less than the intuitive faculties of the reason4 ,physics and mathematics became his chief resource2 and he devoted his energies to literature4 ,his ',treatise on the ,family' may be numbered among the best of those compositions on social and speculative subjects in which the ,italians of the ,renaissance sought to rival ,cicero4 ,his essays on the arts are mentioned by ,vasari with sincere approbation4 ,comedies1 interludes1 orations1 dialogues1 and poems flowed with abundance from his facile pen4 ,some were written in ,latin1 which he commanded more than fairly2 some in the ,tuscan tongue1 of which owing to the long exile of his family in ,lombardy1 he is said to have been less a master4 ,it was owing to this youthful illness1 from which apparently his constitution never wholly recovered1 that ,alberti's genius was directed to architecture4 ,through his friendship with ,flavio ,biondo1 the famous ,roman antiquary1 ,alberti received an introduction to ,nicholas ,v4 at the time when this1 the first great ,pope of the ,renaissance1 was engaged in rebuilding the palaces and fortifications of ,rome4 ,nicholas discerned the genius of the man1 and employed him as his chief counsellor in all matters of architecture4 ,when the ,pope died1 he was able1 while reciting his long ,latin will upon his deathbed1 to boast that he had restored the ,holy ,see to its due dignity1 and the ,eternal ,city to the splendour worthy of the seat of ,christendom4 ,the accomplishment of the second part of his work he owed to the genius of ,alberti4 ,after doing thus much for ,rome under ,thomas of ,sarzana1 and before beginning to beautify ,florence at the instance of the ,rucellai family1 ,alberti entered the service of the ,malatesta1 and undertook to remodel the ,cathedral of ,s4 ,francis at ,rimini4 ,he found it a plain ,gothic structure with apse and side chapels4 ,such churches are common enough in ,italy1 where pointed architecture never developed its true character of complexity and richness1 but was doomed to the vast vacuity exemplified in ,s4 ,petronio of ,bologna4 ,he left it a strange medley of medival and ,renaissance work1 a symbol of that dissolving scene in the world's pantomime1 when the spirit of classic art1 as yet but little comprehended1 was encroaching on the early ,christian taste4 ,perhaps the mixture of styles so startling in ,s4 ,francesco ought not to be laid to the charge of ,alberti1 who had to execute the task of turning a ,gothic into a classic building4 ,all that he could do was to alter the whole exterior of the church1 by affixing a screen-work of ,roman arches and ,corinthian pilasters1 so as to hide the old design and yet to leave the main features of the fabric1 the windows and doors especially1 in statu quo4 ,with the interior he dealt upon the same general principle1 by not disturbing its structure1 while he covered every available square inch of surface with decorations alien to the ,gothic manner4 ,externally1 ,s4 ,francesco is perhaps the most original and graceful of the many attempts made by ,italian builders to fuse the medival and the classic styles4 ,for ,alberti attempted nothing less4 ,a century elapsed before ,palladio1 approaching the problem from a different point of view1 restored the antique in its purity1 and erected in the ,palazzo della ,ragione of ,vicenza an almost unique specimen of resuscitated ,roman art4 ,internally1 the beauty of the church is wholly due to its exquisite wall-ornaments4 ,these consist for the most part of low reliefs in a soft white stone1 many of them thrown out upon a blue ground in the style of ,della ,robbia4 ,allegorical figures designed with the purity of outline we admire in ,botticelli1 draperies that ,burne-,jones might copy1 troops of singing boys in the manner of ,donatello1 great angels traced upon the stone so delicately that they seem to be rather drawn than sculptured1 statuettes in niches1 personifications of all arts and sciences alternating with half-bestial shapes of satyrs and sea-children3--such are the forms which fill the spaces of the chapel walls1 and climb the pilasters1 and fret the arches1 in such abundance that had the whole church been finished as it was designed1 it would have presented one splendid though bizarre effect of incrustation4 ,heavy screens of ,verona marble1 emblazoned in open arabesques with the ciphers of ,sigismondo and ,isotta1 with coats-of-arms1 emblems1 and medallion portraits1 shut the chapels from the nave4 ,who produced all this sculpture it is difficult to say4 ,some of it is very good3 much is indifferent4 ,we may hazard the opinion that1 besides ,bernardo ,ciuffagni1 of whom ,vasari speaks1 some pupils of ,donatello and ,benedetto da ,majano worked at it4 ,the influence of the sculptors of ,florence is everywhere perceptible4 ,whatever be the merit of these reliefs1 there is no doubt that they fairly represent one of the most interesting moments in the history of modern art4 ,gothic inspiration had failed2 the early ,tuscan style of the ,pisani had been worked out2 ,michelangelo was yet far distant1 and the abundance of classic models had not overwhelmed originality4 ,the sculptors of the school of ,ghiberti and ,donatello1 who are represented in this church1 were essentially pictorial1 preferring low to high relief1 and relief in general to detached figures4 ,their style1 like the style of ,boiardo in poetry1 of ,botticelli in painting1 is specific to ,italy in the middle of the fifteenth century4 ,medival standards of taste were giving way to classical1 ,christian sentiment to ,pagan2 yet the imitation of the antique had not been carried so far as to efface the spontaneity of the artist1 and enough remained of ,christian feeling to tinge the fancy with a grave and sweet romance4 ,the sculptor had the skill and mastery to express his slightest shade of thought with freedom1 spirit1 and precision4 ,yet his work showed no sign of conventionality1 no adherence to prescribed rules4 ,every outline1 every fold of drapery1 every attitude was pregnant1 to the artist's own mind at any rate1 with meaning4 ,in spite of its symbolism1 what he wrought was never mechanically figurative1 but gifted with the independence of its own beauty1 vital with an inbreathed spirit of life4 ,it was a happy moment1 when art had reached consciousness1 and the artist had not yet become self-conscious4 ,the hand and the brain then really worked together for the procreation of new forms of grace1 not for the repetition of old models1 or for the invention of the strange and startling4 ',delicate1 sweet1 and captivating1' are good adjectives to express the effect produced upon the mind by the contemplation even of the average work of this period4 ,to study the flowing lines of the great angels traced upon the walls of the ,chapel of ,s4 ,sigismund in the ,cathedral of ,rimini1 to follow the undulations of their drapery that seems to float1 to feel the dignified urbanity of all their gestures1 is like listening to one of those clear early ,italian compositions for the voice1 which surpasses in suavity of tone and grace of movement all that ,music in her full-grown vigour has produced4 ,there is indeed something infinitely charming in the crepuscular moments of the human mind4 ,whether it be the rathe loveliness of an art still immature1 or the beauty of art upon the wane--whether1 in fact1 the twilight be of morning or of evening1 we find in the masterpieces of such periods a placid calm and chastened pathos1 as of a spirit self-withdrawn from vulgar cares1 which in the full light of meridian splendour is lacking4 ,in the ,church of ,s4 ,francesco at ,rimini the tempered clearness of the dawn is just about to broaden into day4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,may ,,in ,,umbria ,,from ,,rome ,,to ,,terni ,we left ,rome in clear sunset light4 ,the ,alban ,hills defined themselves like a cameo of amethyst upon a pale blue distance2 and over the ,sabine ,mountains soared immeasurable moulded domes of alabaster thunderclouds1 casting deep shadows1 purple and violet1 across the slopes of ,tivoli4 ,to westward the whole sky was lucid1 like some half-transparent topaz1 flooded with slowly yellowing sunbeams4 ,the ,campagna has often been called a garden of wild-flowers4 ,just now poppy and aster1 gladiolus and thistle1 embroider it with patterns infinite and intricate beyond the power of art4 ,they have already mown the hay in part2 and the billowy tracts of greyish green1 where no flowers are now in bloom1 supply a restful groundwork to those brilliant patches of diapered fioriture4 ,these are like praying-carpets spread for devotees upon the pavement of a mosque whose roof is heaven4 ,in the level light the scythes of the mowers flash as we move past4 ,from their bronzed foreheads the men toss masses of dark curls4 ,their muscular flanks and shoulders sway sideways from firm yet pliant reins4 ,on one hill1 fronting the sunset1 there stands a herd of some thirty huge grey oxen1 feeding and raising their heads to look at us1 with just a flush of crimson on their horns and dewlaps4 ,this is the scale of ,mason's and of ,costa's colouring4 ,this is the breadth and magnitude of ,rome4 ,thus1 through dells of ilex and oak1 yielding now a glimpse of ,tiber and ,s4 ,peter's1 now opening on a purple section of the distant ,sabine ,hills1 we came to ,monte ,rotondo4 ,the sun sank2 and from the flames where he had perished1 ,hesper and the thin moon1 very white and keen1 grew slowly into sight4 ,now we follow the ,tiber1 a swollen1 hurrying1 turbid river1 in which the mellowing ,western sky reflects itself4 ,this changeful mirror of swift waters spreads a dazzling foreground to valley1 hill1 and lustrous heaven4 ,there is orange on the far horizon1 and a green ocean above1 in which sea-monsters fashioned from the clouds are floating4 ,yonder swims an elf with luminous hair astride upon a sea-horse1 and followed by a dolphin plunging through the fiery waves4 ,the orange deepens into dying red4 ,the green divides into daffodil and beryl4 ,the blue above grows fainter1 and the moon and stars shine stronger4 ,through these celestial changes we glide into a landscape fit for ,francia and the early ,umbrian painters4 ,low hills to right and left2 suavely modelled heights in the far distance2 a very quiet width of plain1 with slender trees ascending into the pellucid air2 and down in the mystery of the middle distance a glimpse of heaven-reflecting water4 ,the magic of the moon and stars lends enchantment to this scene4 ,no painting could convey their influences4 ,sometimes both luminaries tremble1 all dispersed and broken1 on the swirling river4 ,sometimes they sleep above the calm cool reaches of a rush-grown mere4 ,and here and there a ruined turret1 with a broken window and a tuft of shrubs upon the rifted battlement1 gives value to the fading pallor of the ,west4 ,the last phase in the sunset is a change to blue-grey monochrome1 faintly silvered with starlight2 hills1 ,tiber1 fields and woods1 all floating in arial twilight4 ,there is no definition of outline now4 ,the daffodil of the horizon has faded into scarcely perceptible pale greenish yellow4 ,we have passed ,stimigliano4 ,through the mystery of darkness we hurry past the bridges of ,augustus and the lights of ,narni4 ,,the ,,cascades ,,of ,,terni ,the ,velino is a river of considerable volume which rises in the highest region of the ,abruzzi1 threads the upland valley of ,rieti1 and precipitates itself by an artificial channel over cliffs about seven hundred feet in height into the ,nera4 ,the water is densely charged with particles of lime4 ,this calcareous matter not only tends continually to choke its bed1 but clothes the precipices over which the torrent thunders with fantastic drapery of stalactite2 and1 carried on the wind in foam1 incrusts the forests that surround the falls with fine white dust4 ,these famous cascades are undoubtedly the most sublime and beautiful which ,europe boasts2 and their situation is worthy of so great a natural wonder4 ,we reach them through a noble mid-,italian landscape1 where the mountain forms are austere and boldly modelled1 but the vegetation1 both wild and cultivated1 has something of the ,south-,italian richness4 ,the hillsides are a labyrinth of box and arbutus1 with coronilla in golden bloom4 ,the turf is starred with cyclamens and orchises4 ,climbing the staircase paths beside the falls in morning sunlight1 or stationed on the points of vantage that command their successive cataracts1 we enjoyed a spectacle which might be compared in its effect upon the mind to the impression left by a symphony or a tumultuous lyric4 ,the turbulence and splendour1 the swiftness and resonance1 the veiling of the scene in smoke of shattered water-masses1 the withdrawal of these veils according as the volume of the river slightly shifted in its fall1 the rainbows shimmering on the silver spray1 the shivering of poplars hung above impendent precipices1 the stationary grandeur of the mountains keeping watch around1 the hurry and the incoherence of the cataracts1 the immobility of force and changeful changelessness in nature1 were all for me the elements of one stupendous poem4 ,it was like an ode of ,shelley translated into symbolism1 more vivid through inarticulate appeal to primitive emotion than any words could be4 ,,montefalco ,the rich land of the ,clitumnus is divided into meadows by transparent watercourses1 gliding with a glassy current over swaying reeds4 ,through this we pass1 and leave ,bevagna to the right1 and ascend one of those long gradual roads which climb the hills where all the cities of the ,umbrians perch4 ,the view expands1 revealing ,spello1 ,assisi1 ,perugia on its mountain buttress1 and the far reaches northward of the ,tiber valley4 ,then ,trevi and ,spoleto came into sight1 and the severe hill-country above ,gubbio in part disclosed itself4 ,over ,spoleto the fierce witch-haunted heights of ,norcia rose forbidding4 ,this is the kind of panorama that dilates the soul4 ,it is so large1 so dignified1 so beautiful in tranquil form4 ,the opulent abundance of the plain contrasts with the severity of mountain ranges desolately grand2 and the name of each of all those cities thrills the heart with memories4 ,the main object of a visit to ,montefalco is to inspect its many excellent frescoes2 painted histories of ,s4 ,francis and ,s4 ,jerome1 by ,benozzo ,gozzoli2 saints1 angels1 and ,scripture episodes by the gentle ,tiberio d',assisi4 ,full justice had been done to these1 when a little boy1 seeing us lingering outside the church of ,s4 ,chiara1 asked whether we should not like to view the body of the saint4 ,this privilege could be purchased at the price of a small fee4 ,it was only necessary to call the guardian of her shrine at the high altar4 ,indolent1 and in compliant mood1 with languid curiosity and half an hour to spare1 we assented4 ,a handsome young man appeared1 who conducted us with decent gravity into a little darkened chamber behind the altar4 ,there he lighted wax tapers1 opened sliding doors in what looked like a long coffin1 and drew curtains4 ,before us in the dim light there lay a woman covered with a black nun's dress4 ,only her hands1 and the exquisitely beautiful pale contour of her face 7forehead1 nose1 mouth1 and chin1 modelled in purest outline1 as though the injury of death had never touched her7 were visible4 ,her closed eyes seemed to sleep4 ,she had the perfect peace of ,luini's ,s4 ,catherine borne by the angels to her grave on ,sinai4 ,i have rarely seen anything which surprised and touched me more4 ,the religious earnestness of the young custode1 the hushed adoration of the country-folk who had silently assembled round us1 intensified the sympathy-inspiring beauty of the slumbering girl4 ,could ,julia1 daughter of ,claudius1 have been fairer than this maiden1 when the ,lombard workmen found her in her ,latin tomb1 and brought her to be worshipped on the ,capitol8 ,s4 ,chiara's shrine was hung round with her relics2 and among these the heart extracted from her body was suspended4 ,upon it1 apparently wrought into the very substance of the mummied flesh1 were impressed a figure of the crucified ,christ1 the scourge1 and the five stigmata4 ,the guardian's faith in this miraculous witness to her sainthood1 the gentle piety of the men and women who knelt before it1 checked all expressions of incredulity4 ,we abandoned ourselves to the genius of the place2 forgot even to ask what ,santa ,chiara was sleeping here2 and withdrew1 toned to a not unpleasing melancholy4 ,the world-famous ,s4 ,clair1 the spiritual sister of ,s4 ,francis1 lies in ,assisi4 ,i have often asked myself1 ,who1 then1 was this nun8 ,what history had she8 ,and ,i think now of this girl as of a damsel of romance1 a ,sleeping ,beauty in the wood of time1 secluded from intrusive elements of fact1 and folded in the love and faith of her own simple worshippers4 ,among the hollows of ,arcadia1 how many rustic shrines in ancient days held saints of ,hellas1 apocryphal1 perhaps1 like this1 but hallowed by tradition and enduring homage6#f ,,foligno ,in the landscape of ,raphael's votive picture1 known as the ,madonna di ,foligno1 there is a town with a few towers1 placed upon a broad plain at the edge of some blue hills4 ,allowing for that license as to details which imaginative masters permitted themselves in matters of subordinate importance1 ,raphael's sketch is still true to ,foligno4 ,the place has not materially changed since the beginning of the sixteenth century4 ,indeed1 relatively to the state of ,italy at large1 it is still the same as in the days of ancient ,rome4 ,foligno forms a station of commanding interest between ,rome and the ,adriatic upon the great ,flaminian ,way4 ,at ,foligno the passes of the ,apennines debouch into the ,umbrian plain1 which slopes gradually toward the valley of the ,tiber1 and from it the valley of the ,nera is reached by an easy ascent beneath the walls of ,spoleto4 ,an army advancing from the north by the ,metaurus and the ,furlo ,pass must find itself at ,foligno2 and the level champaign round the city is well adapted to the maintenance and exercises of a garrison4 ,in the days of the ,republic and the ,empire1 the value of this position was well understood2 but ,foligno's importance1 as the key to the ,flaminian ,way1 was eclipsed by two flourishing cities in its immediate vicinity1 ,hispellum and ,mevania1 the modern ,spello and ,bevagna4 ,we might hazard a conjecture that the ,lombards1 when they ruled the ,duchy of ,spoleto1 following their usual policy of opposing new military centres to the ancient ,roman municipia1 encouraged ,fulginium at the expense of her two neighbours4 ,but of this there is no certainty to build upon4 ,all that can be affirmed with accuracy is that in the ,middle ,ages1 while ,spello and ,bevagna declined into the inferiority of dependent burghs1 ,foligno grew in power and became the chief commune of this part of ,umbria4 ,it was famous during the last centuries of struggle between the ,italian burghers and their native despots1 for peculiar ferocity in civil strife4 ,some of the bloodiest pages in medival ,italian history are those which relate the vicissitudes of the ,trinci family1 the exhaustion of ,foligno by internal discord1 and its final submission to the ,papal power4 ,since railways have been carried from ,rome through ,narni and ,spoleto to ,ancona and ,perugia1 ,foligno has gained considerably in commercial and military status4 ,it is the point of intersection for three lines2 the ,italian government has made it a great cavalry dept1 and there are signs of reviving traffic in its decayed streets4 ,whether the presence of a large garrison has already modified the population1 or whether we may ascribe something to the absence of ,roman municipal institutions in the far past1 and to the savagery of the medival period1 it is difficult to say4 ,yet the impression left by ,foligno upon the mind is different from that of ,assisi1 ,spello1 and ,montefalco1 which are distinguished for a certain grace and gentleness in their inhabitants4 ,my window in the city wall looks southward across the plain to ,spoleto1 with ,montefalco perched aloft upon the right1 and ,trevi on its mountain-bracket to the left4 ,from the topmost peaks of the ,sabine ,apennines1 gradual tender sloping lines descend to find their quiet in the valley of ,clitumnus4 ,the space between me and that distance is infinitely rich with every sort of greenery1 dotted here and there with towers and relics of baronial houses4 ,the little town is in commotion2 for the working men of ,foligno and its neighbourhood have resolved to spend their earnings on a splendid festa--horse-races1 and two nights of fireworks4 ,the acacias and paulownias on the ramparts are in full bloom of creamy white and lilac4 ,in the glare of ,bengal lights these trees1 with all their pendulous blossoms1 surpassed the most fantastic of artificial decorations4 ,the rockets sent aloft into the sky amid that solemn ,umbrian landscape were nowise out of harmony with nature4 ,i never sympathised with critics who resent the intrusion of fireworks upon scenes of natural beauty4 ,the ,giessbach1 lighted up at so much per head on stated evenings1 with a band playing and a crowd of cockneys staring1 presents perhaps an incongruous spectacle4 ,but where1 as here at ,foligno1 a whole city has made itself a festival1 where there are multitudes of citizens and soldiers and country-people slowly moving and gravely admiring1 with the decency and order characteristic of an ,italian crowd1 ,i have nothing but a sense of satisfaction4 ,it is sometimes the traveller's good fortune in some remote place to meet with an inhabitant who incarnates and interprets for him the genius loci as he has conceived it4 ,though his own subjectivity will assuredly play a considerable part in such an encounter1 transferring to his chance acquaintance qualities he may not possess1 and connecting this personality in some purely imaginative manner with thoughts derived from study1 or impressions made by nature2 yet the stranger will henceforth become the meeting-point of many memories1 the central figure in a composition which derives from him its vividness4 ,unconsciously and innocently he has lent himself to the creation of a picture1 and round him1 as around the hero of a myth1 have gathered thoughts and sentiments of which he had himself no knowledge4 ,on one of these nights ,i had been threading the aisles of acacia-trees1 now glaring red1 now azure1 as the ,bengal lights kept changing4 ,my mind instinctively went back to scenes of treachery and bloodshed in the olden time1 when ,gorrado ,trinci paraded the mangled remnants of three hundred of his victims1 heaped on mule-back1 through ,foligno1 for a warning to the citizens4 ,as the procession moved along the ramparts1 ,i found myself in contest with a young man1 who readily fell into conversation4 ,he was very tall1 with enormous breadth of shoulders1 and long sinewy arms1 like ,michelangelo's favourite models4 ,his head was small1 curled over with crisp black hair4 ,low forehead1 and thick level eyebrows absolutely meeting over intensely bright fierce eyes4 ,the nose descending straight from the brows1 as in a statue of ,hadrian's age4 ,the mouth full-lipped1 petulant1 and passionate above a firm round chin4 ,he was dressed in the shirt1 white trousers1 and loose white jacket of a contadino2 but he did not move with a peasant's slouch1 rather with the elasticity and alertness of an untamed panther4 ,he told me that he was just about to join a cavalry regiment2 and ,i could well imagine1 when military dignity was added to that gait1 how grandly he would go4 ,this young man1 of whom ,i heard nothing more after our half-hour's conversation among the crackling fireworks and roaring cannon1 left upon my mind an indescribable impression of dangerousness--of 'something fierce and terrible1 eligible to burst forth4' ,of men like this1 then1 were formed the ,companies of ,adventure who flooded ,italy with villany1 ambition1 and lawlessness in the fifteenth century4 ,gattamelata1 who began life as a baker's boy at ,narni and ended it with a bronze statue by ,donatello on the public square in ,padua1 was of this breed4 ,like this were the ,trinci and their bands of murderers4 ,like this were the bravi who hunted ,lorenzaccio to death at ,venice4 ,like this was ,pietro ,paolo ,baglioni1 whose fault1 in the eyes of ,machiavelli1 was that he could not succeed in being 'perfettamente tristo4' ,beautiful1 but inhuman2 passionate1 but cold2 powerful1 but rendered impotent for firm and lofty deeds by immorality and treason2 how many centuries of men like this once wasted ,italy and plunged her into servitude6 ,yet what material is here1 under sterner discipline1 and with a nobler national ideal1 for the formation of heroic armies4 ,of such stuff1 doubtless1 were the ,roman legionaries4 ,when will the ,italians learn to use these men as ,fabius or as ,csar1 not as the ,vitelli and the ,trinci used them8 ,in such meditations1 deeply stirred by the meeting of my own reflections with one who seemed to represent for me in life and blood the spirit of the place which had provoked them1 ,i said farewell to ,cavallucci1 and returned to my bedroom on the city wall4 ,the last rockets had whizzed and the last cannons had thundered ere ,i fell asleep4 ,,spello ,spello contains some not inconsiderable antiquities--the remains of a ,roman theatre1 a ,roman gate with the heads of two men and a woman leaning over it1 and some fragments of ,roman sculpture scattered through its buildings4 ,the churches1 especially those of ,s4,m4 ,maggiore and ,s4 ,francesco1 are worth a visit for the sake of ,pinturicchio4 ,nowhere1 except in the ,piccolomini ,library at ,siena1 can that master's work in fresco be better studied than here4 ,the satisfaction with which he executed the wall paintings in ,s4 ,maria ,maggiore is testified by his own portrait introduced upon a panel in the decoration of the ,virgin's chamber4 ,the scrupulously rendered details of books1 chairs1 window seats1 c41 which he here has copied1 remind one of ,carpaccio's study of ,s4 ,benedict at ,venice4 ,it is all sweet1 tender1 delicate1 and carefully finished2 but without depth1 not even the depth of ,perugino's feeling4 ,in ,s4 ,francesco1 ,pinturicchio1 with the same meticulous refinement1 painted a letter addressed to him by ,gentile ,baglioni4 ,it lies on a stool before ,madonna and her court of saints4 ,nicety of execution1 technical mastery of fresco as a medium for ,dutch detail-painting1 prettiness of composition1 and cheerfulness of colouring1 are noticeable throughout his work here rather than either thought or sentiment4 ,s4 ,maria ,maggiore can boast a fresco of ,madonna between a young episcopal saint and ,catherine of ,alexandria from the hand of ,perugino4 ,the rich yellow harmony of its tones1 and the graceful dignity of its emotion1 conveyed no less by a certain ,raphaelesque pose and outline than by suavity of facial expression1 enable us to measure the distance between this painter and his quasi-pupil ,pinturicchio4 ,we did not1 however1 drive to ,spello to inspect either ,roman antiquities or frescoes1 but to see an inscription on the city walls about ,orlando4 ,it is a rude ,latin elegiac couplet1 saying that1 'from the sign below1 men may conjecture the mighty members of ,roland1 nephew of ,charles2 his deeds are written in history4' ,three agreeable old gentlemen of ,spello1 who attended us with much politeness1 and were greatly interested in my researches1 pointed out a mark waist-high upon the wall1 where ,orlando's knee is reported to have reached4 ,but ,i could not learn anything about a phallic monolith1 which is said by ,guerin or ,panizzi to have been identified with the ,roland myth at ,spello4 ,such a column either never existed here1 or had been removed before the memory of the present generation4 ,,easter ,,morning ,,at ,,assisi ,we are in the lower church of ,s4 ,francesco4 ,high mass is being sung1 with orchestra and organ and a choir of many voices4 ,candles are lighted on the altar1 over-canopied with ,giotto's allegories4 ,from the low southern windows slants the sun1 in narrow bands1 upon the many-coloured gloom and embrowned glory of these painted aisles4 ,women in bright kerchiefs kneel upon the stones1 and shaggy men from the mountains stand or lean against the wooden benches4 ,there is no moving from point to point4 ,where we have taken our station1 at the north-western angle of the transept1 there we stay till mass be over4 ,the whole low-vaulted building glows duskily2 the frescoed roof1 the stained windows1 the figure-crowded pavements blending their rich but subdued colours1 like hues upon some marvellous moth's wings1 or like a deep-toned rainbow mist discerned in twilight dreams1 or like such tapestry as ,eastern queens1 in ancient days1 wrought for the pavilion of an empress4 ,forth from this maze of mingling tints1 indefinite in shade and sunbeams1 lean earnest1 saintly faces--ineffably pure--adoring1 pitying1 pleading2 raising their eyes in ecstasy to heaven1 or turning them in ruth toward earth4 ,men and women of whom the world was not worthy--at the hands of those old painters they have received the divine grace1 the dovelike simplicity1 whereof ,italians in the fourteenth century possessed the irrecoverable secret4 ,each face is a poem2 the counterpart in painting to a chapter from the ,fioretti di ,san ,francesco4 ,over the whole scene--in the architecture1 in the frescoes1 in the coloured windows1 in the gloom1 on the people1 in the incense1 from the chiming bells1 through the music--broods one spirit3 the spirit of him who was 'the co-espoused1 co-transforate with ,christ2' the ardent1 the radiant1 the beautiful in soul2 the suffering1 the strong1 the simple1 the victorious over self and sin2 the celestial who trampled upon earth and rose on wings of ecstasy to heaven2 the ,christ-inebriated saint of visions supersensual and life beyond the grave4 ,far down below the feet of those who worship ,god through him1 ,s4 ,francis sleeps2 but his soul1 the incorruptible part of him1 the message he gave the world1 is in the spaces round us4 ,this is his temple4 ,he fills it like an unseen god4 ,not as ,phoebus or ,athene1 from their marble pedestals2 but as an abiding spirit1 felt everywhere1 nowhere seized1 absorbing in itself all mysteries1 all myths1 all burning exaltations1 all abasements1 all love1 self-sacrifice1 pain1 yearning1 which the thought of ,christ1 sweeping the centuries1 hath wrought for men4 ,let1 therefore1 choir and congregation raise their voices on the tide of prayers and praises2 for this is ,easter morning--,christ is risen6 ,our sister1 ,death of the ,body1 for whom ,s4 ,francis thanked ,god in his hymn1 is reconciled to us this day1 and takes us by the hand1 and leads us to the gate whence floods of heavenly glory issue from the faces of a multitude of saints4 ,pray1 ye poor people2 chant and pray4 ,if all be but a dream1 to wake from this were loss for you indeed6 ,,perusia ,,augusta ,the piazza in front of the ,prefettura is my favourite resort on these nights of full moon4 ,the evening twilight is made up partly of sunset fading over ,thrasymene and ,tuscany2 partly of moonrise from the mountains of ,gubbio and the passes toward ,ancona4 ,the hills are capped with snow1 although the season is so forward4 ,below our parapets the bulk of ,s4 ,domenico1 with its gaunt perforated tower1 and the finer group of ,s4 ,pietro1 flaunting the arrowy ',pennacchio di ,perugia1' jut out upon the spine of hill which dominates the valley of the ,tiber4 ,as the night gloom deepens1 and the moon ascends the sky1 these buildings seem to form the sombre foreground to some ,french etching4 ,beyond them spreads the misty moon-irradiated plain of ,umbria4 ,over all rise shadowy ,apennines1 with dim suggestions of ,assisi1 ,spello1 ,foligno1 ,montefalco1 and ,spoleto on their basements4 ,little thin whiffs of breezes1 very slight and searching1 flit across1 and shiver as they pass from ,apennine to plain4 ,the slowly moving population--women in veils1 men winter-mantled--pass to and fro between the buildings and the grey immensity of sky4 ,bells ring4 ,the bugles of the soldiers blow retreat in convents turned to barracks4 ,young men roam the streets beneath1 singing ,may songs4 ,far1 far away upon the plain1 red through the vitreous moonlight ringed with thundery gauze1 fires of unnamed castelli smoulder4 ,as we lean from ledges eighty feet in height1 gas vies with moon in chequering illuminations on the ancient walls2 ,etruscan mouldings1 ,roman letters1 high-piled hovels1 suburban world-old dwellings plastered like martins' nests against the masonry4 ,sunlight adds more of detail to this scene4 ,to the right of ,subasio1 where the passes go from ,foligno towards ,urbino and ,ancona1 heavy masses of thundercloud hang every day2 but the plain and hill-buttresses are clear in transparent blueness4 ,first comes ,assisi1 with ,s4,m4 degli ,angeli below2 then ,spello2 then ,foligno2 then ,trevi2 and1 far away1 ,spoleto2 with1 reared against those misty battlements1 the village height of ,montefalco--the 'ringhiera dell' ,umbria1' as they call it in this country4 ,by daylight1 the snow on yonder peaks is clearly visible1 where the ,monti della ,sibilla tower up above the sources of the ,nera and ,velino from frigid wastes of ,norcia4 ,the lower ranges seem as though painted1 in films of airiest and palest azure1 upon china2 and then comes the broad green champaign1 flecked with villages and farms4 ,just at the basement of ,perugia winds ,tiber1 through sallows and grey poplar-trees1 spanned by ancient arches of red brick1 and guarded here and there by castellated towers4 ,the mills beneath their dams and weirs are just as ,raphael drew them2 and the feeling of air and space reminds one1 on each coign of vantage1 of some ,umbrian picture4 ,every hedgerow is hoary with ,may-bloom and honeysuckle4 ,the oaks hang out their golden-dusted tassels4 ,wayside shrines are decked with laburnum boughs and iris blossoms plucked from the copse-woods1 where spires of purple and pink orchis variegate the thin1 fine grass4 ,the land waves far and wide with young corn1 emerald green beneath the olive-trees1 which take upon their under-foliage tints reflected from this verdure or red tones from the naked earth4 ,a fine race of contadini1 with large1 heroically graceful forms1 and beautiful dark eyes and noble faces1 move about this garden1 intent on ancient1 easy tillage of the kind ,saturnian soil4 ,,la ,,magione ,on the road from ,perugia to ,cortona1 the first stage ends at ,la ,magione1 a high hill-village commanding the passage from the ,umbrian champaign to the lake of ,thrasymene4 ,it has a grim square fortalice above it1 now in ruins1 and a stately castle to the south-east1 built about the time of ,braccio4 ,here took place that famous diet of ,cesare ,borgia's enemies1 when the son of ,alexander ,,vi4 was threatening ,bologna with his arms1 and bidding fair to make himself supreme tyrant of ,italy in #aejb4 ,it was the policy of ,cesare to fortify himself by reducing the fiefs of the ,church to submission1 and by rooting out the dynasties which had acquired a sort of tyranny in ,papal cities4 ,the ,varani of ,camerino and the ,manfredi of ,faenza had been already extirpated4 ,there was only too good reason to believe that the turn of the ,vitelli at ,citt di ,castello1 of the ,baglioni at ,perugia1 and of the ,bentivogli at ,bologna would come next4 ,pandolfo ,petrucci at ,siena1 surrounded on all sides by ,cesare's conquests1 and specially menaced by the fortification of ,piombino1 felt himself in danger4 ,the great house of the ,orsini1 who swayed a large part of the ,patrimony of ,s4 ,peter's1 and were closely allied to the ,vitelli1 had even graver cause for anxiety4 ,but such was the system of ,italian warfare1 that nearly all these noble families lived by the profession of arms1 and most of them were in the pay of ,cesare4 ,when1 therefore1 the conspirators met at ,la ,magione1 they were plotting against a man whose money they had taken1 and whom they had hitherto aided in his career of fraud and spoliation4 ,the diet consisted of the ,cardinal ,orsini1 an avowed antagonist of ,alexander ,,vi42 his brother ,paolo1 the chieftain of the clan2 ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 lord of ,citt di ,castello2 ,gian-,paolo ,baglioni1 made undisputed master of ,perugia by the recent failure of his cousin ,grifonetto's treason2 ,oliverotto1 who had just acquired the ,march of ,fermo by the murder of his uncle ,giovanni da ,fogliani2 ,ermes ,bentivoglio1 the heir of ,bologna2 and ,antonio da ,venafro1 the secretary of ,pandolfo ,petrueci4 ,these men vowed hostility on the basis of common injuries and common fear against the ,borgia4 ,but they were for the most part stained themselves with crime1 and dared not trust each other1 and could not gain the confidence of any respectable power in ,italy except the exiled ,duke of ,urbino4 ,procrastination was the first weapon used by the wily ,cesare1 who trusted that time would sow among his rebel captains suspicion and dissension4 ,he next made overtures to the leaders separately1 and so far succeeded in his perfidious policy as to draw ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 ,oliverotto da ,fermo1 ,paolo ,orsini1 and ,francesco ,orsini1 ,duke of ,gravina1 into his nets at ,sinigaglia4 ,under pretext of fair conference and equitable settlement of disputed claims1 he possessed himself of their persons1 and had them strangled--two upon ,december #ca1 and two upon ,january #ah1 #aejc4 ,of all ,cesare's actions1 this was the most splendid for its successful combination of sagacity and policy in the hour of peril1 of persuasive diplomacy1 and of ruthless decision when the time to strike his blow arrived4 ,,cortona ,after leaving ,la ,magione1 the road descends upon the lake of ,thrasymene through oak-woods full of nightingales4 ,the lake lay basking1 leaden-coloured1 smooth and waveless1 under a misty1 rain-charged1 sun-irradiated sky4 ,at ,passignano1 close beside its shore1 we stopped for mid-day4 ,this is a little fishing village of very poor people1 who live entirely by labour on the waters4 ,they showed us huge eels coiled in tanks1 and some fine specimens of the silver carp--,reina del ,lago4 ,it was off one of the eels that we made our lunch2 and taken1 as he was1 alive from his cool lodging1 he furnished a series of dishes fit for a king4 ,climbing the hill of ,cortona seemed a quite interminable business4 ,it poured a deluge4 ,our horses were tired1 and one lean donkey1 who1 after much trouble1 was produced from a farmhouse and yoked in front of them1 rendered but little assistance4 ,next day we duly saw the ,muse and ,lamp in the ,museo1 the ,fra ,angelicos1 and all the ,signorellis4 ,one cannot help thinking that too much fuss is made nowadays about works of art--running after them for their own sakes1 exaggerating their importance1 and detaching them as objects of study1 instead of taking them with sympathy and carelessness as pleasant or instructive adjuncts to our actual life4 ,artists1 historians of art1 and critics are forced to isolate pictures2 and it is of profit to their souls to do so4 ,but simple folk1 who have no aesthetic vocation1 whether creative or critical1 suffer more than is good for them by compliance with mere fashion4 ,sooner or later we shall return to the spirit of the ages which produced these pictures1 and which regarded them with less of an industrious bewilderment than they evoke at present4 ,i am far indeed from wishing to decry art1 the study of art1 or the benefits to be derived from its intelligent enjoyment4 ,i only mean to suggest that we go the wrong way to work at present in this matter4 ,picture and sculpture galleries accustom us to the separation of art from life4 ,our methods of studying art1 making a beginning of art-study while traveling1 tend to perpetuate this separation4 ,it is only on reflection1 after long experience1 that we come to perceive that the most fruitful moments in our art education have been casual and unsought1 in quaint nooks and unexpected places1 where nature1 art1 and life are happily blent4 ,the ,palace of the ,commune at ,cortona is interesting because of the shields of ,florentine governors1 sculptured on blocks of grey stone1 and inserted in its outer walls--,peruzzi1 ,albizzi1 ,strozzi1 ,salviati1 among the more ancient--de' ,medici at a later epoch4 ,the revolutions in the ,republic of ,florence may be read by a herald from these coats-of-arms and the dates beneath them4 ,the landscape of this ,tuscan highland satisfies me more and more with sense of breadth and beauty4 ,from ,s4 ,margherita above the town the prospect is immense and wonderful and wild--up into those brown1 forbidding mountains2 down to the vast plain2 and over to the cities of ,chiusi1 ,montepulciano1 and ,foiano4 ,the jewel of the view is ,trasimeno1 a silvery shield encased with serried hills1 and set upon one corner of the scene1 like a precious thing apart and meant for separate contemplation4 ,there is something in the singularity and circumscribed completeness of the mountain-girded lake1 diminished by distance1 which would have attracted ,lionardo da ,vinci's pencil1 had he seen it4 ,cortona seems desperately poor1 and the beggars are intolerable4 ,one little blind boy1 led by his brother1 both frightfully ugly and ragged urchins1 pursued us all over the city1 incessantly whining ',signore ,padrone6' ,it was only on the threshold of the inn that ,i ventured to give them a few coppers1 for ,i knew well that any public beneficence would raise the whole swarm of the begging population round us4 ,sitting later in the day upon the piazza of ,s4 ,domenico1 ,i saw the same blind boy taken by his brother to play4 ,the game consists1 in the little creature throwing his arms about the trunk of a big tree1 and running round and round it1 clasping it4 ,this seemed to make him quite inexpressibly happy4 ,his face lit up and beamed with that inner beatitude blind people show--a kind of rapture shining over it1 as though nothing could be more altogether delightful4 ,this little boy had the smallpox at eight months1 and has never been able to see since4 ,he looks sturdy1 and may live to be of any age--doomed always1 is that possible1 to beg8 ,,chiusi ,what more enjoyable dinner can be imagined than a flask of excellent ,montepulciano1 a well-cooked steak1 and a little goat's cheese in the inn of the ,leone d',oro at ,chiusi8 ,the windows are open1 and the sun is setting4 ,monte ,cetona bounds the view to the right1 and the wooded hills of ,citt della ,pieve to the left4 ,the deep green dimpled valley goes stretching away toward ,orvieto2 and at its end a purple mountain mass1 distinct and solitary1 which may peradventure be ,soracte6 ,the near country is broken into undulating hills1 forested with fine olives and oaks2 and the composition of the landscape1 with its crowning villages1 is worthy of a background to an ,umbrian picture4 ,the breadth and depth and quiet which those painters loved1 the space of lucid sky1 the suggestion of winding waters in verdant fields1 all are here4 ,the evening is beautiful--golden light streaming softly from behind us on this prospect1 and gradually mellowing to violet and blue with stars above4 ,at ,chiusi we visited several ,etruscan tombs1 and saw their red and black scrawled pictures4 ,one of the sepulchres was a well-jointed vault of stone with no wall-paintings4 ,the rest had been scooped out of the living tufa4 ,this was the excuse for some pleasant hours spent in walking and driving through the country4 ,chiusi means for me the mingling of grey olives and green oaks in limpid sunlight2 deep leafy lanes2 warm sandstone banks2 copses with nightingales and cyclamens and cuckoos2 glimpses of a silvery lake2 blue shadowy distances2 the bristling ridge of ,monte ,cetona2 the conical towers1 ,becca di ,questo and ,becca di ,quello1 over against each other on the borders2 ways winding among hedgerows like some bit of ,england in ,june1 but not so full of flowers4 ,it means all this1 ,i fear1 for me far more than theories about ,lars ,porsenna and ,etruscan ethnology4 ,,gubbio ,gubbio ranks among the most ancient of ,italian hill-towns4 ,with its back set firm against the spine of central ,apennines1 and piled1 house over house1 upon the rising slope1 it commands a rich tract of upland champaign1 bounded southward toward ,perugia and ,foligno by peaked and rolling ridges4 ,this amphitheatre1 which forms its source of wealth and independence1 is admirably protected by a chain of natural defences2 and ,gubbio wears a singularly old-world aspect of antiquity and isolation4 ,houses climb right to the crests of gaunt bare peaks2 and the brown medival walls with square towers which protected them upon the mountain side1 following the inequalities of the ground1 are still a marked feature in the landscape4 ,it is a town of steep streets and staircases1 with quaintly framed prospects1 and solemn vistas opening at every turn across the lowland4 ,one of these views might be selected for especial notice4 ,in front1 irregular buildings losing themselves in country as they straggle by the roadside2 then the open post-road with a cypress to the right2 afterwards1 the rich green fields1 and on a bit of rising ground an ancient farmhouse with its brown dependencies2 lastly1 the blue hills above ,fossato1 and far away a wrack of tumbling clouds4 ,all this enclosed by the heavy archway of the ,porta ,romana1 where sunlight and shadow chequer the mellow tones of a dim fresco1 indistinct with age1 but beautiful4 ,gubbio has not greatly altered since the middle ages4 ,but poor people are now living in the palaces of noblemen and merchants4 ,these new inhabitants have walled up the fair arched windows and slender portals of the ancient dwellers1 spoiling the beauty of the streets without materially changing the architectural masses4 ,in that witching hour when the ,italian sunset has faded1 and a solemn grey replaces the glowing tones of daffodil and rose1 it is not difficult1 here dreaming by oneself alone1 to picture the old noble life--the ladies moving along those open loggias1 the young men in plumed caps and curling hair with one foot on those doorsteps1 the knights in armour and the sumpter mules and red-robed ,cardinals defiling through those gates into the courts within4 ,the modern bricks and mortar with which that picturesque scene has been overlaid1 the ugly oblong windows and bright green shutters which now interrupt the flowing lines of arch and gallery2 these disappear beneath the fine remembered touch of a sonnet sung by ,folgore1 when still the ,parties had their day1 and this deserted city was the centre of great aims and throbbing aspirations4 ,the names of the chief buildings in ,gubbio are strongly suggestive of the middle ages4 ,they abut upon a ,piazza de' ,signori4 ,one of them1 the ,palazzo del ,municipio1 is a shapeless unfinished block of masonry4 ,it is here that the ,eugubine tables1 plates of brass with ,umbrian and ,roman incised characters1 are shown4 ,the ,palazzo de' ,consoli has higher architectural qualities1 and is indeed unique among ,italian palaces for the combination of massiveness with lightness in a situation of unprecedented boldness4 ,rising from enormous substructures mortised into the solid hillside1 it rears its vast rectangular bulk to a giddy height above the town2 airy loggias imposed on great forbidding masses of brown stone1 shooting aloft into a light arial tower4 ,the empty halls inside are of fair proportions and a noble size1 and the views from the open colonnades in all directions fascinate4 ,but the final impression made by the building is one of square1 tranquil1 massive strength--perpetuity embodied in masonry--force suggesting facility by daring and successful addition of elegance to hugeness4 ,vast as it is1 this pile is not forbidding1 as a similarly weighty structure in the ,north would be4 ,the fine quality of the stone and the delicate though simple mouldings of the windows give it an ,italian grace4 ,these public palaces belong to the age of the ,communes1 when ,gubbio was a free town1 with a policy of its own1 and an important part to play in the internecine struggles of ,pope and ,empire1 ,guelf and ,ghibelline4 ,the ruined1 deserted1 degraded ,palazzo ,ducale reminds us of the advent of the despots4 ,it has been stripped of all its tarsia-work and sculpture4 ,only here and there a ,fe4,d41 with the cupping-glass of ,federigo di ,montefeltro1 remains to show that ,gubbio once became the fairest fief of the ,urbino duchy4 ,s4 ,ubaldo1 who gave his name to this duke's son1 was the patron of ,gubbio1 and to him the cathedral is dedicated--one low enormous vault1 like a cellar or feudal banqueting hall1 roofed with a succession of solid ,gothic arches4 ,this strange old church1 and the ,house of ,canons1 buttressed on the hill beside it1 have suffered less from modernisation than most buildings in ,gubbio4 ,the latter1 in particular1 helps one to understand what this city of grave palazzi must have been1 and how the mere opening of old doors and windows would restore it to its primitive appearance4 ,the ,house of the ,canons has1 in fact1 not yet been given over to the use of middle-class and proletariate4 ,at the end of a day in ,gubbio1 it is pleasant to take our ease in the primitive hostelry1 at the back of which foams a mountain-torrent1 rushing downward from the ,apennines4 ,the ,gubbio wine is very fragrant1 and of a rich ruby colour4 ,those to whom the tints of wine and jewels give a pleasure not entirely childish1 will take delight in its specific blending of tawny hues with rose4 ,they serve the table still1 at ,gubbio1 after the antique ,italian fashion1 covering it with a cream-coloured linen cloth bordered with coarse lace--the creases of the press1 the scent of old herbs from the wardrobe1 are still upon it--and the board is set with shallow dishes of warm1 white earthenware1 basket-worked in open lattice at the edge1 which contain little separate messes of meat1 vegetables1 cheese1 and comfits4 ,the wine stands in strange1 slender phials of smooth glass1 with stoppers2 and the amber-coloured bread lies in fair round loaves upon the cloth4 ,dining thus is like sitting down to the supper at ,emmaus1 in some picture of ,gian ,bellini or of ,masolino4 ,the very bareness of the room--its open rafters1 plastered walls1 primitive settees1 and red-brick floor1 on which a dog sits waiting for a bone--enhances the impression of artistic delicacy in the table4 ,,from ,,gubbio ,,to ,,fano ,the road from ,gubbio1 immediately after leaving the city1 enters a narrow ,alpine ravine1 where a thin stream dashes over dark1 red rocks1 and pendent saxifrages wave to the winds4 ,the carriage in which we travelled at the end of ,may1 one morning1 had two horses1 which our driver soon supplemented with a couple of white oxen4 ,slowly and toilsomely we ascended between the flanks of barren hills--gaunt masses of crimson and grey crag1 clothed at their summits with short turf and scanty pasture4 ,the pass leads first to the little town of ,scheggia1 and is called the ,monte ,calvo1 or bald mountain4 ,at ,scheggia1 it joins the great ,flaminian ,way1 or ,north road of the ,roman armies4 ,at the top there is a fine view over the conical hills that dominate ,gubbio1 and1 far away1 to noble mountains above the ,furlo and the ,foligno line of railway to ,ancona4 ,range rises over range1 crossing at unexpected angles1 breaking into sudden precipices1 and stretching out long1 exquisitely modelled outlines1 as only ,apennines can do1 in silvery sobriety of colours toned by clearest air4 ,every square piece of this austere1 wild landscape forms a varied picture1 whereof the composition is due to subtle arrangements of lines always delicate2 and these lines seem somehow to have been determined in their beauty by the vast antiquity of the mountain system1 as though they all had taken time to choose their place and wear down into harmony4 ,the effect of tempered sadness was heightened for us by stormy lights and dun clouds1 high in air1 rolling vapours and flying shadows1 over all the prospect1 tinted in ethereal grisaille4 ,after ,scheggia1 one enters a land of meadow and oak-trees4 ,this is the sacred central tract of ,jupiter ,apenninus1 whose fane-- ,delubra ,jovis saxoque minantes ,apenninigenis cultae pastoribus arae --once rose behind us on the bald ,iguvian summits4 ,a second little pass leads from this region to the ,adriatic side of the ,italian watershed1 and the road now follows the ,barano downward toward the sea4 ,the valley is fairly green with woods1 where mistletoe may here and there be seen on boughs of oak1 and rich with cornfields4 ,cagli is the chief town of the district1 and here they show one of the best pictures left to us by ,raphael's father1 ,giovanni ,santi4 ,it is a ,madonna1 attended by ,s4 ,peter1 ,s4 ,francis1 ,s4 ,dominic1 ,s4 ,john1 and two angels4 ,one of the angels is traditionally supposed to have been painted from the boy ,raphael1 and the face has something which reminds us of his portraits4 ,the whole composition1 excellent in modelling1 harmonious in grouping1 soberly but strongly coloured1 with a peculiar blending of dignity and sweetness1 grace and vigour1 makes one wonder why ,santi thought it necessary to send his son from his own workshop to study under ,perugino4 ,he was himself a master of his art1 and this1 perhaps the most agreeable of his paintings1 has a masculine sincerity which is absent from at least the later works of ,perugino4 ,some miles beyond ,cagli1 the real pass of the ,furlo begins4 ,it owes its name to a narrow tunnel bored by ,vespasian in the solid rock1 where limestone crags descend on the ,barano4 ,the ,romans called this gallery ,petra ,pertusa1 or ,intercisa1 or more familiarly ,forulus1 whence comes the modern name4 ,indeed1 the stations on the old ,flaminian ,way are still well marked by ,latin designations2 for ,cagli is the ancient ,calles1 and ,fossombrone is ,forum ,sempronii1 and ,fano the ,fanum ,fortun4 ,vespasian commemorated this early achievement in engineering by an inscription carved on the living stone1 which still remains2 and ,claudian1 when he sang the journey of his ,emperor ,honorius from ,rimini to ,rome1 speaks thus of what was even then an object of astonishment to travellers3-- ,laetior hinc fano recipit fortuna vetusto1 ,despiciturque vagus praerupta valle ,metaurus1 ,qua mons arte patens vivo se perforat arcu ,admittitque viam sectae per viscera rupis4 ,the ,forulus itself may now be matched1 on any ,alpine pass1 by several tunnels of far mightier dimensions2 for it is narrow1 and does not extend more than #abf feet in length4 ,but it occupies a fine position at the end of a really imposing ravine4 ,the whole ,furlo ,pass might1 without too much exaggeration1 be described as a kind of ,cheddar on the scale of the ,via ,mala4 ,the limestone rocks1 which rise on either hand above the gorge to an enormous height1 are noble in form and solemn1 like a succession of gigantic portals1 with stupendous flanking obelisks and pyramids4 ,some of these crag-masses rival the fantastic cliffs of ,capri1 and all consist of that southern mountain limestone which changes from pale yellow to blue grey and dusky orange4 ,a river roars precipitately through the pass1 and the roadsides wave with many sorts of campanulas--a profusion of azure and purple bells upon the hard white stone4 ,of ,roman remains there is still enough 7in the way of ,roman bridges and bits of broken masonry7 to please an antiquary's eye4 ,but the lover of nature will dwell chiefly on the picturesque qualities of this historic gorge1 so alien to the general character of ,italian scenery1 and yet so remote from anything to which ,swiss travelling accustoms one4 ,the ,furlo breaks out into a richer land of mighty oaks and waving cornfields1 a fat pastoral country1 not unlike ,devonshire in detail1 with green uplands1 and wild-rose tangled hedgerows1 and much running water1 and abundance of summer flowers4 ,at a point above ,fossombrone1 the ,barano joins the ,metauro1 and here one has a glimpse of faraway ,urbino1 high upon its mountain eyrie4 ,it is so rare1 in spite of immemorial belief1 to find in ,italy a wilderness of wild flowers1 that ,i feel inclined to make a list of those ,i saw from our carriage windows as we rolled down lazily along the road to ,fossombrone4 ,broom1 and cytisus1 and hawthorn mingled with roses1 gladiolus1 and sainfoin4 ,there were orchises1 and clematis1 and privet1 and wild-vine1 vetches of all hues1 red poppies1 sky-blue cornflowers1 and lilac pimpernel4 ,in the rougher hedges1 dogwood1 honeysuckle1 pyracanth1 and acacia made a network of white bloom and blushes4 ,milk-worts of all bright and tender tints combined with borage1 iris1 hawkweeds1 harebells1 crimson clover1 thyme1 red snap-dragon1 golden asters1 and dreamy love-in-a-mist1 to weave a marvellous carpet such as the looms of ,shiraz or of ,cashmere never spread4 ,rarely have ,i gazed on ,flora in such riot1 such luxuriance1 such self-abandonment to joy4 ,the air was filled with fragrances4 ,songs of cuckoos and nightingales echoed from the copses on the hillsides4 ,the sun was out1 and dancing over all the landscape4 ,after all this1 ,fano was very restful in the quiet sunset4 ,it has a sandy stretch of shore1 on which the long1 green-yellow rollers of the ,adriatic broke into creamy foam1 beneath the waning saffron light over ,pesaro and the rosy rising of a full moon4 ,this ,adriatic sea carries an ,english mind home to many a little watering-place upon our coast4 ,in colour and the shape of waves it resembles our ,channel4 ,the sea-shore is ,fano's great attraction2 but the town has many churches1 and some creditable pictures1 as well as ,roman antiquities4 ,giovanni ,santi may here be seen almost as well as at ,cagli2 and of ,perugino there is one truly magnificent altar-piece--lunette1 great centre panel1 and predella--dusty in its present condition1 but splendidly painted1 and happily not yet restored or cleaned4 ,it is worth journeying to ,fano to see this4 ,still better would the journey be worth the traveller's while if he could be sure to witness such a game of ,pallone as we chanced upon in the ,via dell' ,arco di ,augusto--lads and grown-men1 tightly girt1 in shirt sleeves1 driving the great ball aloft into the air with cunning bias and calculation of projecting house-eaves4 ,i do not understand the game2 but it was clearly played something after the manner of our football1 that is to say2 with sides1 and front and back players so arranged as to cover the greatest number of angles of incidence on either wall4 ,fano still remembers that it is the ,fane of ,fortune4 ,on the fountain in the market-place stands a bronze ,fortuna1 slim and airy1 offering her veil to catch the wind4 ,may she long shower health and prosperity upon the modern watering-place of which she is the patron saint6 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,palace ,,of ,,urbino ,i ,at ,rimini1 one spring1 the impulse came upon my wife and me to make our way across ,san ,marino to ,urbino4 ,in the ,piazza1 called apocryphally after ,julius ,csar1 ,i found a proper vetturino1 with a good carriage and two indefatigable horses4 ,he was a splendid fellow1 and bore a great historic name1 as ,i discovered when our bargain was completed4 ',what are you called8' ,i asked him4 ',filippo ,visconti1 per servirla6' was the prompt reply4 ,brimming over with the darkest memories of the ,italian ,renaissance1 ,i hesitated when ,i heard this answer4 ,the associations seemed too ominous4 ,and yet the man himself was so attractive--tall1 stalwart1 and well looking--no feature of his face or limb of his athletic form recalling the gross tyrant who concealed worse than ,caligula's ugliness from sight in secret chambers--that ,i shook this preconception from my mind4 ,as it turned out1 ,filippo ,visconti had nothing in common with his infamous namesake but the name4 ,on a long and trying journey1 he showed neither sullen nor yet ferocious tempers2 nor1 at the end of it1 did he attempt by any master-stroke of craft to wheedle from me more than his fair pay2 but took the meerschaum pipe ,i gave him for a keepsake1 with the frank goodwill of an accomplished gentleman4 ,the only exhibition of his hot ,italian blood which ,i remember did his humanity credit4 ,while we were ascending a steep hillside1 he jumped from his box to thrash a ruffian by the roadside for brutal treatment to a little boy4 ,he broke his whip1 it is true1 in this encounter2 risked a dangerous quarrel2 and left his carriage1 with myself and wife inside it1 to the mercy of his horses in a somewhat perilous position4 ,but when he came back1 hot and glowing1 from this deed of justice1 ,i could only applaud his zeal4 ,an ,italian of this type1 handsome as an antique statue1 with the refinement of a modern gentleman and that intelligence which is innate in a race of immemorial culture1 is a fascinating being4 ,he may be absolutely ignorant in all book-learning4 ,he may be as ignorant as a ,bersagliere from ,montalcino with whom ,i once conversed at ,rimini1 who gravely said that he could walk in three months to ,north ,america1 and thought of doing it when his term of service was accomplished4 ,but he will display1 as this young soldier did1 a grace and ease of address which are rare in ,london drawing-rooms2 and by his shrewd remarks upon the cities he has visited1 will show that he possesses a fine natural taste for things of beauty4 ,the speech of such men1 drawn from the common stock of the ,italian people1 is seasoned with proverbial sayings1 the wisdom of centuries condensed in a few nervous words4 ,when emotion fires their brain1 they break into spontaneous eloquence1 or suggest the motive of a poem by phrases pregnant with imagery4 ,for the first stage of the journey out of ,rimini1 ,filippo's two horses sufficed4 ,the road led almost straight across the level between quickset hedges in white bloom4 ,but when we reached the long steep hill which ascends to ,san ,marino1 the inevitable oxen were called out1 and we toiled upwards leisurely through cornfields bright with red anemones and sweet narcissus4 ,at this point pomegranate hedges replaced the ,may-thorns of the plain4 ,in course of time our bovi brought us to the ,borgo1 or lower town1 whence there is a further ascent of seven hundred feet to the topmost hawk's-nest or acropolis of the republic4 ,these we climbed on foot1 watching the view expand around us and beneath4 ,crags of limestone here break down abruptly to the rolling hills1 which go to lose themselves in field and shore4 ,misty reaches of the ,adriatic close the world to eastward4 ,cesena1 ,rimini1 ,verucchio1 and countless hill-set villages1 each isolated on its tract of verdure conquered from the stern grey soil1 define the points where ,montefeltri wrestled with ,malatestas in long bygone years4 ,around are marly mountain-flanks in wrinkles and gnarled convolutions like some giant's brain1 furrowed by rivers crawling through dry wasteful beds of shingle4 ,interminable ranges of gaunt ,apennines stretch1 tier by tier1 beyond2 and over all this landscape1 a grey-green mist of rising crops and new-fledged oak-trees lies like a veil upon the nakedness of ,nature's ruins4 ,nothing in ,europe conveys a more striking sense of geological antiquity than such a prospect4 ,the denudation and abrasion of innumerable ages1 wrought by slow persistent action of weather and water on an upheaved mountain mass1 are here made visible4 ,every wave in that vast sea of hills1 every furrow in their worn flanks1 tells its tale of a continuous corrosion still in progress4 ,the dominant impression is one of melancholy4 ,we forget how ,romans1 countermarching ,carthaginians1 trod the land beneath us4 ,the marvel of ,san ,marino1 retaining independence through the drums and tramplings of the last seven centuries1 is swallowed in a deeper sense of wonder4 ,we turn instinctively in thought to ,leopardi's musings on man's destiny at war with unknown nature-forces and malignant rulers of the universe4 ,omai disprezza ,te1 la natura1 il brutto ,poter che1 ascoso1 a comun danno impera1 ,e l' infinita vanit del tutto4 ,and then1 straining our eyes southward1 we sweep the dim blue distance for ,recanati1 and remember that the poet of modern despair and discouragement was reared in even such a scene as this4 ,the town of ,san ,marino is grey1 narrow-streeted1 simple2 with a great1 new1 decent1 ,greek-porticoed cathedral1 dedicated to the eponymous saint4 ,a certain austerity defines it from more picturesque hill-cities with a less uniform history4 ,there is a marble statue of ,s4 ,marino in the choir of his church2 and in his cell is shown the stone bed and pillow on which he took austere repose4 ,one narrow window near the saint's abode commands a proud but melancholy landscape of distant hills and seaboard4 ,to this1 the great absorbing charm of ,san ,marino1 our eyes instinctively1 recurrently1 take flight4 ,it is a landscape which by variety and beauty thralls attention1 but which by its interminable sameness might grow almost overpowering4 ,there is no relief4 ,the gladness shed upon far humbler ,northern lands in ,may is ever absent here4 ,the ,german word ,gemthlichkeit1 the ,english phrase 'a home of ancient peace1' are here alike by art and nature untranslated into visibilities4 ,and yet 7as we who gaze upon it thus are fain to think7 if peradventure the intolerable ennui of this panorama should drive a citizen of ,san ,marino into out-lands1 the same view would haunt him whithersoever he went--the swallows of his native eyrie would shrill through his sleep--he would yearn to breathe its fine keen air in winter1 and to watch its iris-hedges deck themselves with blue in spring2--like ,virgil's hero1 dying1 he would think of ,san ,marino3 ,aspicit1 et dulces moriens reminiscitur ,argos4 ,even a passing stranger may feel the mingled fascination and oppression of this prospect--the monotony which maddens1 the charm which at a distance grows upon the mind1 environing it with memories4 ,descending to the ,borgo1 we found that ,filippo ,visconti had ordered a luncheon of excellent white bread1 pigeons1 and omelette1 with the best red muscat wine ,i ever drank1 unless the sharp air of the hills deceived my appetite4 ,an ,italian history of ,san ,marino1 including its statutes1 in three volumes1 furnished intellectual food4 ,but ,i confess to having learned from these pages little else than this3 first1 that the survival of the ,commonwealth through all phases of ,european politics had been semi-miraculous2 secondly1 that the most eminent ,san ,marinesi had been lawyers4 ,it is possible on a hasty deduction from these two propositions 7to which1 however1 ,i am far from wishing to commit myself71 that the latter is a sufficient explanation of the former4 ,from ,san ,marino the road plunges at a break-neck pace4 ,we are now in the true ,feltrian highlands1 whence the ,counts of ,montefeltro issued in the twelfth century4 ,yonder eyrie is ,san ,leo1 which formed the key of entrance to the duchy of ,urbino in campaigns fought many hundred years ago4 ,perched on the crest of a precipitous rock1 this fortress looks as though it might defy all enemies but famine4 ,and yet ,san ,leo was taken and re-taken by strategy and fraud1 when ,montefeltro1 ,borgia1 ,malatesta1 ,rovere1 contended for dominion in these valleys4 ,yonder is ,sta4 ,agata1 the village to which ,guidobaldo fled by night when ,valentino drove him from his dukedom4 ,a little farther towers ,carpegna1 where one branch of the ,montefeltro house maintained a countship through seven centuries1 and only sold their fief to ,rome in #ahae4 ,monte ,coppiolo lies behind1 ,pietra ,rubia in front3 two other eagles' nests of the same brood4 ,what a road it is6 ,it beats the tracks on ,exmoor4 ,the uphill and downhill of ,devonshire scorns compromise or mitigation by dtour and zigzag4 ,but here geography is on a scale so far more vast1 and the roadway is so far worse metalled than with us in ,england--knotty masses of talc and nodes of sandstone cropping up at dangerous turnings--that only ,dante's words describe the journey3-- ,vassi in ,sanleo1 e discendesi in ,noli1 ,montasi su ,bismantova in cacume ,con esso i pi2 ma qui convien ch' uom voli4 ,of a truth1 our horses seemed rather to fly than scramble up and down these rugged precipices2 ,visconti cheerily animating them with the brave spirit that was in him1 and lending them his wary driver's help of hand and voice at need4 ,we were soon upon a cornice-road between the mountains and the ,adriatic3 following the curves of gulch and cleft ravine2 winding round ruined castles set on points of vantage2 the sea-line high above their grass-grown battlements1 the shadow-dappled champaign girdling their bastions mortised on the naked rock4 ,except for the blue lights across the distance1 and the ever-present sea1 these earthy ,apennines would be too grim4 ,infinite air and this spare veil of spring-tide greenery on field and forest soothe their sternness4 ,two rivers1 swollen by late rains1 had to be forded4 ,through one of these1 the ,foglia1 bare-legged peasants led the way4 ,the horses waded to their bellies in the tawny water4 ,then more hills and vales2 green nooks with rippling corn-crops2 secular oaks attired in golden leafage4 ,the clear afternoon air rang with the voices of a thousand larks overhead4 ,the whole world seemed quivering with light and delicate ethereal sound4 ,and yet my mind turned irresistibly to thoughts of war1 violence1 and pillage4 ,how often has this intermediate land been fought over by ,montefeltro and ,brancaleoni1 by ,borgia and ,malatesta1 by ,medici and ,della ,rovere6 ,its contadini are robust men1 almost statuesque in build1 and beautiful of feature4 ,no wonder that the ,princes of ,urbino1 with such materials to draw from1 sold their service and their troops to ,florence1 ,rome1 ,s4 ,mark1 and ,milan4 ,the bearing of these peasants is still soldierly and proud4 ,yet they are not sullen or forbidding like the ,sicilians1 whose habits of life1 for the rest1 much resemble theirs4 ,the villages1 there as here1 are few and far between1 perched high on rocks1 from which the folk descend to till the ground and reap the harvest4 ,but the southern brusquerie and brutality are absent from this district4 ,the men have something of the dignity and slow-eyed mildness of their own huge oxen4 ,as evening fell1 more solemn ,apennines upreared themselves to southward4 ,the ,monte d',asdrubale1 ,monte ,nerone1 and ,monte ,catria hove into sight4 ,at last1 when light was dim1 a tower rose above the neighbouring ridge1 a broken outline of some city barred the sky-line4 ,urbino stood before us4 ,our long day's march was at an end4 ,the sunset was almost spent1 and a four days' moon hung above the western ,apennines1 when we took our first view of the palace4 ,it is a fancy-thralling work of wonder seen in that dim twilight2 like some castle reared by ,atlante's magic for imprisonment of ,ruggiero1 or palace sought in fairyland by ,astolf winding his enchanted horn4 ,where shall we find its like1 combining1 as it does1 the buttressed battlemented bulk of medival strongholds with the airy balconies1 suspended gardens1 and fantastic turrets of ,italian pleasure-houses8 ,this unique blending of the feudal past with the ,renaissance spirit of the time when it was built1 connects it with the art of ,ariosto--or more exactly with ,boiardo's epic4 ,duke ,federigo planned his palace at ,urbino just at the moment when the ,count of ,scandiano had began to chaunt his lays of ,roland in the ,castle of ,ferrara4 ,chivalry1 transmuted by the ,italian genius into something fanciful and quaint1 survived as a frail work of art4 ,the men-at-arms of the ,condottieri still glittered in gilded hauberks4 ,their helmets waved with plumes and bizarre crests4 ,their surcoats blazed with heraldries2 their velvet caps with medals bearing legendary emblems4 ,the pomp and circumstance of feudal war had not yet yielded to the cannon of the ,gascon or the ,switzer's pike4 ,the fatal age of foreign invasions had not begun for ,italy4 ,within a few years ,charles ,,viii4's holiday excursion would reveal the internal rottenness and weakness of her rival states1 and the peninsula for half a century to come would be drenched in the blood of ,frenchmen1 ,germans1 ,spaniards1 fighting for her cities as their prey4 ,but now ,lorenzo de' ,medici was still alive4 ,the famous policy which bears his name held ,italy suspended for a golden time in false tranquillity and independence4 ,the princes who shared his culture and his love of art were gradually passing into modern noblemen1 abandoning the savage feuds and passions of more virile centuries1 yielding to luxury and scholarly enjoyments4 ,the castles were becoming courts1 and despotisms won by force were settling into dynasties4 ,it was just at this epoch that ,duke ,federigo built his castle at ,urbino4 ,one of the ablest and wealthiest ,condottieri of his time1 one of the best instructed and humanest of ,italian princes1 he combined in himself the qualities which mark that period of transition4 ,and these he impressed upon his dwelling-house1 which looks backward to the medival fortalice and forward to the modern palace4 ,this makes it the just embodiment in architecture of ,italian romance1 the perfect analogue of the ',orlando ,innamorato4' ,by comparing it with the castle of the ,estes at ,ferrara and the ,palazzo del ,te of the ,gonzagas at ,mantua1 we place it in its right position between medival and ,renaissance ,italy1 between the age when principalities arose upon the ruins of commercial independence and the age when they became dynastic under ,spain4 ,the exigencies of the ground at his disposal forced ,federigo to give the building an irregular outline4 ,the fine faade1 with its embayed loggie and flanking turrets1 is placed too close upon the city ramparts for its due effect4 ,we are obliged to cross the deep ravine which separates it from a lower quarter of the town1 and take our station near the ,oratory of ,s4 ,giovanni ,battista1 before we can appreciate the beauty of its design1 or the boldness of the group it forms with the cathedral dome and tower and the square masses of numerous out-buildings4 ,yet this peculiar position of the palace1 though baffling to a close observer of its details1 is one of singular advantage to the inhabitants4 ,set on the verge of ,urbino's towering eminence1 it fronts a wave-tossed sea of vales and mountain summits toward the rising and the setting sun4 ,there is nothing but illimitable air between the terraces and loggias of the ,duchess's apartments and the spreading pyramid of ,monte ,catria4 ,a nobler scene is nowhere swept from palace windows than this1 which ,castiglione touched in a memorable passage at the end of his ',cortegiano4' ,to one who in our day visits ,urbino1 it is singular how the slight indications of this sketch1 as in some silhouette1 bring back the antique life1 and link the present with the past--a hint1 perhaps1 for reticence in our descriptions4 ,the gentlemen and ladies of the court had spent a summer night in long debate on love1 rising to the height of mystical ,platonic rapture on the lips of ,bembo1 when one of them exclaimed1 ',the day has broken6' ',he pointed to the light which was beginning to enter by the fissures of the windows4 ,whereupon we flung the casements wide upon that side of the palace which looks toward the high peak of ,monte ,catria1 and saw that a fair dawn of rosy hue was born already in the eastern skies1 and all the stars had vanished except the sweet regent of the heaven of ,venus1 who holds the borderlands of day and night2 and from her sphere it seemed as though a gentle wind were breathing1 filling the air with eager freshness1 and waking among the numerous woods upon the neighbouring hills the sweet-toned symphonies of joyous birds4' ,,ii ,the ,house of ,montefeltro rose into importance early in the twelfth century4 ,frederick ,barbarossa erected their fief into a county in #aafj4 ,supported by imperial favour1 they began to exercise an undefined authority over the district1 which they afterwards converted into a duchy4 ,but1 though ,ghibelline for several generations1 the ,montefeltri were too near neighbours of the ,papal power to free themselves from ecclesiastical vassalage4 ,therefore in #abaf they sought and obtained the title of ,vicars of the ,church4 ,urbino acknowledged them as semi-despots in their double capacity of ,imperial and ,papal deputies4 ,cagli and ,gubbio followed in the fourteenth century4 ,in the fifteenth1 ,castel ,durante was acquired from the ,brancaleoni by warfare1 and ,fossombrone from the ,malatestas by purchase4 ,numerous fiefs and villages fell into their hands upon the borders of ,rimini in the course of a continued struggle with the ,house of ,malatesta3 and when ,fano and ,pesaro were added at the opening of the sixteenth century1 the domain over which they ruled was a compact territory1 some forty miles square1 between the ,adriatic and the ,apennines4 ,from the close of the thirteenth century they bore the title of ,counts of ,urbino4 ,the famous ,conte ,guido1 whom ,dante placed among the fraudulent in hell1 supported the honours of the house and increased its power by his political action1 at this epoch4 ,but it was not until the year #addc that the ,montefeltri acquired their ducal title4 ,this was conferred by ,eugenius ,,iv4 upon ,oddantonio1 over whose alleged crimes and indubitable assassination a veil of mystery still hangs4 ,he was the son of ,count ,guidantonio1 and at his death the ,montefeltri of ,urbino were extinct in the legitimate line4 ,a natural son of ,guidantonio had been1 however1 recognised in his father's lifetime1 and married to ,gentile1 heiress of ,mercatello4 ,this was ,federigo1 a youth of great promise1 who succeeded his half-brother in #addd as ,count of ,urbino4 ,it was not until #adgd that the ducal title was revived for him4 ,duke ,frederick was a prince remarkable among ,italian despots for private virtues and sober use of his hereditary power4 ,he spent his youth at ,mantua1 in that famous school of ,vittorino da ,feltre1 where the sons and daughters of the first ,italian nobility received a model education in humanities1 good manners1 and gentle physical accomplishments4 ,more than any of his fellow-students ,frederick profited by this rare scholar's discipline4 ,on leaving school he adopted the profession of arms1 as it was then practised1 and joined the troop of the ,condottiere ,niccol ,piccinino4 ,young men of his own rank1 especially the younger sons and bastards of ruling families1 sought military service under captains of adventure4 ,if they succeeded they were sure to make money4 ,the coffers of the ,church and the republics lay open to their not too scrupulous hands2 the wealth of ,milan and ,naples was squandered on them in retaining-fees and salaries for active service4 ,there was always the further possibility of placing a coronet upon their brows before they died1 if haply they should wrest a town from their employers1 or obtain the cession of a province from a needy ,pope4 ,the neighbours of the ,montefeltri in ,umbria1 ,romagna1 and the ,marches of ,ancona were all of them ,condottieri4 ,malatestas of ,rimini and ,pesaro1 ,vitelli of ,citt di ,castello1 ,varani of ,camerino1 ,baglioni of ,perugia1 to mention only a few of the most eminent nobles1 enrolled themselves under the banners of plebeian adventurers like ,piccinino and ,sforza ,attendolo4 ,though their family connections gave them a certain advantage1 the system was essentially democratic4 ,gattamelata and ,carmagnola sprang from obscurity by personal address and courage to the command of armies4 ,colleoni fought his way up from the grooms to princely station and the bton of ,s4 ,mark4 ,francesco ,sforza1 whose father had begun life as a tiller of the soil1 seized the ducal crown of ,milan1 and founded a house which ranked among the first in ,europe4 ,it is not needful to follow ,duke ,frederick in his military career4 ,we may briefly remark that when he succeeded to ,urbino by his brother's death in #addd1 he undertook generalship on a grand scale4 ,his own dominions supplied him with some of the best troops in ,italy4 ,he was careful to secure the goodwill of his subjects by attending personally to their interests1 relieving them of imposts1 and executing equal justice4 ,he gained the then unique reputation of an honest prince1 paternally disposed toward his dependents4 ,men flocked to his standards willingly1 and he was able to bring an important contingent into any army4 ,these advantages secured for him alliances with ,francesco ,sforza1 and brought him successively into connection with ,milan1 ,venice1 ,florence1 the ,church of ,naples4 ,as a tactician in the field he held high rank among the generals of the age1 and so considerable were his engagements that he acquired great wealth in the exercise of his profession4 ,we find him at one time receiving #hjjj ducats a month as war-pay from ,naples1 with a peace pension of #fjjj4 ,while ,captain-,general of the ,league1 he drew for his own use in war #de1jjj ducats of annual pay4 ,retaining-fees and pensions in the name of past services swelled his income1 the exact extent of which has not1 so far as ,i am aware1 been estimated1 but which must have made him one of the richest of ,italian princes4 ,all this wealth he spent upon his duchy1 fortifying and beautifying its cities1 drawing youths of promise to his court1 maintaining a great train of life1 and keeping his vassals in good-humour by the lightness of a rule which contrasted favourably with the exactions of needier despots4 ,while fighting for the masters who offered him condotta in the complicated wars of ,italy1 ,duke ,frederick used his arms1 when occasion served1 in his own quarrels4 ,many years of his life were spent in a prolonged struggle with his neighbour ,sigismondo ,pandolfo ,malatesta1 the bizarre and brilliant tyrant of ,rimini1 who committed the fatal error of embroiling himself beyond all hope of pardon with the ,church1 and who died discomfited in the duel with his warier antagonist4 ,urbino profited by each mistake of ,sigismondo1 and the history of this long desultory strife with ,rimini is a history of gradual aggrandisement and consolidation for the ,montefeltrian duchy4 ,in #adei ,duke ,frederick married his second wife1 ,battista1 daughter of ,alessandro ,sforza1 ,lord of ,pesaro4 ,their portraits1 painted by ,piero della ,francesca1 are to be seen in the ,uffizzi at ,florence4 ,some years earlier1 ,frederick lost his right eye and had the bridge of his nose broken in a jousting match outside the town-gate of ,urbino4 ,after this accident1 he preferred to be represented in profile--the profile so well known to students of ,italian art on medals and basreliefs4 ,it was not without medical aid and vows fulfilled by a mother's self-sacrifice to death1 if we may trust the diarists of ,urbino1 that the ducal couple got an heir4 ,in #adgb1 however1 a son was born to them1 whom they christened ,guido ,paolo ,ubaldo4 ,he proved a youth of excellent parts and noble nature--apt at study1 perfect in all chivalrous accomplishments4 ,but he inherited some fatal physical debility1 and his life was marred with a constitutional disease1 which then received the name of gout1 and which deprived him of the free use of his limbs4 ,after his father's death in #adhb1 ,naples1 ,florence1 and ,milan continued ,frederick's war engagements to ,guidobaldo4 ,the prince was but a boy of ten4 ,therefore these important condotte must be regarded as compliments and pledges for the future4 ,they prove to what a pitch ,duke ,frederick had raised the credit of his state and war establishment4 ,seven years later1 ,guidobaldo married ,elisabetta1 daughter of ,francesco ,gonzaga1 ,marquis of ,mantua4 ,this union1 though a happy one1 was never blessed with children2 and in the certainty of barrenness1 the young ,duke thought it prudent to adopt a nephew as heir to his dominions4 ,he had several sisters1 one of whom1 ,giovanna1 had been married to a nephew of ,sixtus ,,iv41 ,giovanni della ,rovere1 ,lord of ,sinigaglia and ,prefect of ,rome4 ,they had a son1 ,francesco ,maria1 who1 after his adoption by ,guidobaldo1 spent his boyhood at ,urbino4 ,the last years of the fifteenth century were marked by the sudden rise of ,cesare ,borgia to a power which threatened the liberties of ,italy4 ,acting as ,general for the ,church1 he carried his arms against the petty tyrants of ,romagna1 whom he dispossessed and extirpated4 ,his next move was upon ,camerino and ,urbino4 ,he first acquired ,camerino1 having lulled ,guidobaldo into false security by treacherous professions of goodwill4 ,suddenly the ,duke received intelligence that the ,borgia was marching on him over ,cagli4 ,this was in the middle of ,june #aejb4 ,it is difficult to comprehend the state of weakness in which ,guidobaldo was surprised1 or the panic which then seized him4 ,he made no efforts to rouse his subjects to resistance1 but fled by night with his nephew through rough mountain roads1 leaving his capital and palace to the marauder4 ,cesare ,borgia took possession without striking a blow1 and removed the treasures of ,urbino to the ,vatican4 ,his occupation of the duchy was not undisturbed1 however2 for the people rose in several places against him1 proving that ,guidobaldo had yielded too hastily to alarm4 ,by this time the fugitive was safe in ,mantua1 whence he returned1 and for a short time succeeded in establishing himself again at ,urbino4 ,but he could not hold his own against the ,borgias1 and in ,december1 by a treaty1 he resigned his claims and retired to ,venice1 where he lived upon the bounty of ,s4 ,mark4 ,it must be said1 in justice to the ,duke1 that his constitutional debility rendered him unfit for active operations in the field4 ,perhaps he could not have done better than thus to bend beneath the storm4 ,the sudden death of ,alexander ,,vi4 and the election of a ,della ,rovere to the ,papacy in #aejc changed ,guidobaldo's prospects4 ,julius ,,ii4 was the sworn foe of the ,borgias and the close kinsman of ,urbino's heir4 ,it was therefore easy for the ,duke to walk into his empty palace on the hill1 and to reinstate himself in the domains from which he had so recently been ousted4 ,the rest of his life was spent in the retirement of his court1 surrounded with the finest scholars and the noblest gentlemen of ,italy4 ,the ill-health which debarred him from the active pleasures and employments of his station1 was borne with uniform sweetness of temper and philosophy4 ,when he died1 in #aejh1 his nephew1 ,francesco ,maria della ,rovere1 succeeded to the duchy1 and once more made the palace of ,urbino the resort of men-at-arms and captains4 ,he was a prince of very violent temper3 of its extravagance history has recorded three remarkable examples4 ,he murdered the ,cardinal of ,pavia with his own hand in the streets of ,ravenna2 stabbed a lover of his sister to death at ,urbino2 and in a council of war knocked ,francesco ,guicciardini down with a blow of his fist4 ,when the history of ,italy came to be written1 ,guicciardini was probably mindful of that insult1 for he painted ,francesco ,maria's character and conduct in dark colours4 ,at the same time this ,duke of ,urbino passed for one of the first generals of the age4 ,the greatest stain upon his memory is his behaviour in the year #aebg1 when1 by dilatory conduct of the campaign in ,lombardy1 he suffered the passage of ,frundsberg's army unopposed1 and afterwards hesitated to relieve ,rome from the horrors of the sack4 ,he was the last ,italian ,condottiere of the antique type2 and the vices which ,machiavelli exposed in that bad system of mercenary warfare were illustrated on these occasions4 ,during his lifetime1 the conditions of ,italy were so changed by ,charles ,v4's imperial settlement in #aecj1 that the occupation of ,condottiere ceased to have any meaning4 ,strozzi and ,farnesi1 who afterwards followed this profession1 enlisted in the ranks of ,france or ,spain1 and won their laurels in ,northern ,europe4 ,while ,leo ,x4 held the ,papal chair1 the duchy of ,urbino was for a while wrested from the house of ,della ,rovere1 and conferred upon ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,francesco ,maria made a better fight for his heritage than ,guidobaldo had done4 ,yet he could not successfully resist the power of ,rome4 ,the ,pope was ready to spend enormous sums of money on this petty war2 the ,duke's purse was shorter1 and the mercenary troops he was obliged to use1 proved worthless in the field4 ,spaniards1 for the most part1 pitted against ,spaniards1 they suffered the campaigns to degenerate into a guerilla warfare of pillage and reprisals4 ,in #aeag the duchy was formally ceded to ,lorenzo4 ,but this ,medici did not live long to enjoy it1 and his only child ,catherine1 the future ,queen of ,france1 never exercised the rights which had devolved upon her by inheritance4 ,the shifting scene of ,italy beheld ,francesco ,maria reinstated in ,urbino after ,leo's death in #aebb4 ,this ,duke married ,leonora ,gonzaga1 a princess of the ,house of ,mantua4 ,their portraits1 painted by ,titian1 adorn the ,venetian room of the ,uffizzi4 ,of their son1 ,guidobaldo ,,ii41 little need be said4 ,he was twice married1 first to ,giulia ,varano1 ,duchess by inheritance of ,camerino2 secondly1 to ,vittoria ,farnese1 daughter of the ,duke of ,parma4 ,guidobaldo spent a lifetime in petty quarrels with his subjects1 whom he treated badly1 attempting to draw from their pockets the wealth which his father and the ,montefeltri had won in military service4 ,he intervened at an awkward period of ,italian politics4 ,the old ,italy of despots1 commonwealths1 and ,condottieri1 in which his predecessors played substantial parts1 was at an end4 ,the new ,italy of ,popes and ,austro-,spanish dynasties had hardly settled into shape4 ,between these epochs1 ,guidobaldo ,,ii41 of whom we have a dim and hazy presentation on the page of history1 seems somehow to have fallen flat4 ,as a sign of altered circumstances1 he removed his court to ,pesaro1 and built the great palace of the ,della ,roveres upon the public square4 ,guidobaldaccio1 as he was called1 died in #aegd1 leaving an only son1 ,francesco ,maria ,,ii41 whose life and character illustrate the new age which had begun for ,italy4 ,he was educated in ,spain at the court of ,philip ,,ii41 where he spent more than two years4 ,when he returned1 his ,spanish haughtiness1 punctilious attention to etiquette1 and superstitious piety attracted observation4 ,the violent temper of the ,della ,roveres1 which ,francesco ,maria ,i4 displayed in acts of homicide1 and which had helped to win his bad name for ,guidobaldaccio1 took the form of sullenness in the last ,duke4 ,the finest episode in his life was the part he played in the battle of ,lepanto1 under his old comrade1 ,don ,john of ,austria4 ,his father forced him to an uncongenial marriage with ,lucrezia d',este1 ,princess of ,ferrara4 ,she left him1 and took refuge in her native city1 then honoured by the presence of ,tasso and ,guarini4 ,he bore her departure with philosophical composure1 recording the event in his diary as something to be dryly grateful for4 ,left alone1 the ,duke abandoned himself to solitude1 religious exercises1 hunting1 and the economy of his impoverished dominions4 ,he became that curious creature1 a man of narrow nature and mediocre capacity1 who1 dedicated to the cult of self1 is fain to pass for saint and sage in easy circumstances4 ,he married1 for the second time1 a lady1 ,livia della ,rovere1 who belonged to his own family1 but had been born in private station4 ,she brought him one son1 the ,prince ,federigo-,ubaldo4 ,this youth might have sustained the ducal honours of ,urbino1 but for his sage-saint father's want of wisdom4 ,the boy was a spoiled child in infancy4 ,inflated with ,spanish vanity from the cradle1 taught to regard his subjects as dependents on a despot's will1 abandoned to the caprices of his own ungovernable temper1 without substantial aid from the paternal piety or stoicism1 he rapidly became a most intolerable princeling4 ,his father married him1 while yet a boy1 to ,claudia de' ,medici1 and virtually abdicated in his favour4 ,left to his own devices1 ,federigo chose companions from the troupes of players whom he drew from ,venice4 ,he filled his palaces with harlots1 and degraded himself upon the stage in parts of mean buffoonery4 ,the resources of the duchy were racked to support these parasites4 ,spanish rules of etiquette and ceremony were outraged by their orgies4 ,his bride brought him one daughter1 ,vittoria1 who afterwards became the wife of ,ferdinand1 ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany4 ,then in the midst of his low dissipation and offences against ducal dignity1 he died of apoplexy at the early age of eighteen--the victim1 in the severe judgment of history1 of his father's selfishness and want of practical ability4 ,this happened in #afbc4 ,francesco ,maria was stunned by the blow4 ,his withdrawal from the duties of the sovereignty in favour of such a son had proved a constitutional unfitness for the duties of his station4 ,the life he loved was one of seclusion in a round of pious exercises1 petty studies1 peddling economies1 and mechanical amusements4 ,a powerful and grasping ,pope was on the throne of ,rome4 ,urban at this juncture pressed ,francesco ,maria hard2 and in #afbd the last ,duke of ,urbino devolved his lordships to the ,holy ,see4 ,he survived the formal act of abdication seven years2 when he died1 the ,pontiff added his duchy to the ,papal ,states1 which thenceforth stretched from ,naples to the bounds of ,venice on the ,po4 ,,iii ,duke ,frederick began the palace at ,urbino in #aded1 when he was still only ,count4 ,the architect was ,luziano of ,lauranna1 a ,dalmatian2 and the beautiful white limestone1 hard as marble1 used in the construction1 was brought from the ,dalmatian coast4 ,this stone1 like the ,istrian stone of ,venetian buildings1 takes and retains the chisel mark with wonderful precision4 ,it looks as though1 when fresh1 it must have had the pliancy of clay1 so delicately are the finest curves in scroll or foliage scooped from its substance4 ,and yet it preserves each cusp and angle of the most elaborate pattern with the crispness and the sharpness of a crystal4 ,when wrought by a clever craftsman1 its surface has neither the waxiness of ,parian1 nor the brittle edge of ,carrara marble2 and it resists weather better than marble of the choicest quality4 ,this may be observed in many monuments of ,venice1 where the stone has been long exposed to sea-air4 ,these qualities of the ,dalmatian limestone1 no less than its agreeable creamy hue and smooth dull polish1 adapt it to decoration in low relief4 ,the most attractive details in the palace at ,urbino are friezes carved of this material in choice designs of early ,renaissance dignity and grace4 ,one chimney-piece in the ,sala degli ,angeli deserves especial comment4 ,a frieze of dancing ,cupids1 with gilt hair and wings1 their naked bodies left white on a ground of ultramarine1 is supported by broad flat pilasters4 ,these are engraved with children holding pots of flowers2 roses on one side1 carnations on the other4 ,above the frieze another pair of angels1 one at each end1 hold lighted torches2 and the pyramidal cap of the chimney is carved with two more1 flying1 and supporting the eagle of the ,montefeltri on a raised medallion4 ,throughout the palace we notice emblems appropriate to the ,houses of ,montefeltro and ,della ,rovere3 their arms1 three golden bends upon a field of azure3 the ,imperial eagle1 granted when ,montefeltro was made a fief of the ,empire3 the ,garter of ,england1 worn by the ,dukes ,federigo and ,guidobaldo3 the ermine of ,naples3 the ventosa1 or cupping-glass1 adopted for a private badge by ,frederick3 the golden oak-tree on an azure field of ,della ,rovere3 the palm-tree1 bent beneath a block of stone1 with its accompanying motto1 ,inclinata ,resurgam3 the cipher1 ,,fe ,,dx4 ,profile medallions of ,federigo and ,guidobaldo1 wrought in the lowest possible relief1 adorn the staircases4 ,round the great courtyard runs a frieze of military engines and ensigns1 trophies1 machines1 and implements of war1 alluding to ,duke ,frederick's profession of ,condottiere4 ,the doorways are enriched with scrolls of heavy-headed flowers1 acanthus foliage1 honeysuckles1 ivy-berries1 birds and boys and sphinxes1 in all the riot of ,renaissance fancy4 ,this profusion of sculptured rilievo is nearly all that remains to show how rich the palace was in things of beauty4 ,castiglione1 writing in the reign of ,guidobaldo1 says that 'in the opinion of many it is the fairest to be found in ,italy2 and the ,duke filled it so well with all things fitting its magnificence1 that it seemed less like a palace than a city4 ,not only did he collect articles of common use1 vessels of silver1 and trappings for chambers of rare cloths of gold and silk1 and suchlike furniture1 but he added multitudes of bronze and marble statues1 exquisite pictures1 and instruments of music of all sorts4 ,there was nothing but was of the finest and most excellent quality to be seen there4 ,moreover1 he gathered together at a vast cost a large number of the best and rarest books in ,greek1 ,latin1 and ,hebrew1 all of which he adorned with gold and silver1 esteeming them the chiefest treasure of his spacious palace4' ,when ,cesare ,borgia entered ,urbino as conqueror in #aejb1 he is said to have carried off loot to the value of #aej1jjj ducats1 or perhaps about a quarter of a million sterling4 ,vespasiano1 the ,florentine bookseller1 has left us a minute account of the formation of the famous library of manuscripts1 which he valued at considerably over #cj1jjj ducats4 ,yet wandering now through these deserted halls1 we seek in vain for furniture or tapestry or works of art4 ,the books have been removed to ,rome4 ,the pictures are gone1 no man knows whither4 ,the plate has long been melted down4 ,the instruments of music are broken4 ,if frescoes adorned the corridors1 they have been whitewashed2 the ladies' chambers have been stripped of their rich arras4 ,only here and there we find a raftered ceiling1 painted in fading colours1 which1 taken with the stonework of the chimney1 and some fragments of inlaid panel-work on door or window1 enables us to reconstruct the former richness of these princely rooms4 ,exception must be made in favour of two apartments between the towers upon the southern facade4 ,these were apparently the private rooms of the ,duke and ,duchess1 and they are still approached by a great winding staircase in one of the torricini4 ,adorned in indestructible or irremovable materials1 they retain some traces of their ancient splendour4 ,on the first floor1 opening on the vaulted loggia1 we find a little chapel encrusted with lovely work in stucco and marble2 friezes of bulls1 sphinxes1 sea-horses1 and foliage2 with a low relief of ,madonna and ,child in the manner of ,mino da ,fiesole4 ,close by is a small study with inscriptions to the ,muses and ,apollo4 ,the cabinet connecting these two cells has a ,latin legend1 to say that ,religion here dwells near the temple of the liberal arts3 ,bina vides parvo discrimine juncta sacella1 ,altera pars ,musis altera sacra ,deo est4 ,on the floor above1 corresponding in position to this apartment1 is a second1 of even greater interest1 since it was arranged by the ,duke ,frederick for his own retreat4 ,the study is panelled in tarsia of beautiful design and execution4 ,three of the larger compartments show ,faith1 ,hope1 and ,charity2 figures not unworthy of a ,botticelli or a ,filippino ,lippi4 ,the occupations of the ,duke are represented on a smaller scale by armour1 btons of command1 scientific instruments1 lutes1 viols1 and books1 some open and some shut4 ,the ,bible1 ,homer1 ,virgil1 ,seneca1 ,tacitus1 and ,cicero1 are lettered2 apparently to indicate his favourite authors4 ,the ,duke himself1 arrayed in his state robes1 occupies a fourth great panel2 and the whole of this elaborate composition is harmonised by emblems1 badges1 and occasional devices of birds1 articles of furniture1 and so forth4 ,the tarsia1 or inlaid wood of different kinds and colours1 is among the best in this kind of art to be found in ,italy1 though perhaps it hardly deserves to rank with the celebrated choir-stalls of ,bergamo and ,monte ,oliveto4 ,hard by is a chapel1 adorned1 like the lower one1 with excellent reliefs4 ,the loggia to which these rooms have access looks across the ,apennines1 and down on what was once a private garden4 ,it is now enclosed and paved for the exercise of prisoners who are confined in one part of the desecrated palace6 ,a portion of the pile is devoted to more worthy purposes2 for the ,academy of ,raphael here holds its sittings1 and preserves a collection of curiosities and books illustrative of the great painter's life and works4 ,they have recently placed in a tiny oratory1 scooped by ,guidobaldo ,,ii4 from the thickness of the wall1 a cast of ,raphael's skull1 which will be studied with interest and veneration4 ,it has the fineness of modelling combined with shapeliness of form and smallness of scale which is said to have characterised ,mozart and ,shelley4 ,the impression left upon the mind after traversing this palace in its length and breadth is one of weariness and disappointment4 ,how shall we reconstruct the long-past life which filled its rooms with sound1 the splendour of its pageants1 the thrill of tragedies enacted here8 ,it is not difficult to crowd its doors and vacant spaces with liveried servants1 slim pages in tight hose1 whose well-combed hair escapes from tiny caps upon their silken shoulders4 ,we may even replace the tapestries of ,troy which hung one hall1 and build again the sideboards with their embossed gilded plate4 ,but are these chambers really those where ,emilia ,pia held debate on love with ,bembo and ,castiglione2 where ,bibbiena's witticisms and ,fra ,serafino's pranks raised smiles on courtly lips2 where ,bernardo ,accolti1 'the ,unique1' declaimed his verses to applauding crowds8 ,is it possible that into yonder hall1 where now the lion of ,s4 ,mark looks down alone on staring desolation1 strode the ,borgia in all his panoply of war1 a gilded glittering dragon1 and from the dais tore the ,montefeltri's throne1 and from the arras stripped their ensigns1 replacing these with his own ,bull and ,valentinus ,dux8 ,here ,tasso tuned his lyre for ,francesco ,maria's wedding-feast1 and read ',aminta' to ,lucrezia d',este4 ,here ,guidobaldo listened to the jests and whispered scandals of the ,aretine4 ,here ,titian set his easel up to paint2 here the boy ,raphael1 cap in hand1 took signed and sealed credentials from his ,duchess to the ,gonfalonier of ,florence4 ,somewhere in these huge chambers1 the courtiers sat before a torch-lit stage1 when ,bibbiena's ',calandria' and ,caetiglione's ',tirsi1' with their miracles of masques and mummers1 whiled the night away4 ,somewhere1 we know not where1 ,giuliano de' ,medici made love in these bare rooms to that mysterious mother of ill-fated ,cardinal ,ippolito2 somewhere1 in some darker nook1 the bastard ,alessandro sprang to his strange-fortuned life of tyranny and license1 which ,brutus-,lorenzino cut short with a traitor's poignard-thrust in ,via ,larga4 ,how many men1 illustrious for arts and letters1 memorable by their virtues or their crimes1 have trod these silent corridors1 from the great ,pope ,julius down to ,james ,,iii41 self-titled ,king of ,england1 who tarried here with ,clementina ,sobieski through some twelve months of his ex-royal exile6 ,the memories of all this folk1 flown guests and masters of the still-abiding palace-chambers1 haunt us as we hurry through4 ,they are but filmy shadows4 ,we cannot grasp them1 localise them1 people surrounding emptiness with more than withering cobweb forms4 ,death takes a stronger hold on us than bygone life4 ,therefore1 returning to the vast ,throne-room1 we animate it with one scene it witnessed on an ,april night in #aejh4 ,duke ,guidobaldo had died at ,fossombrone1 repeating to his friends around his bed these lines of ,virgil3 ,me circum limus niger et deformis arundo ,cocyti tardaque palus inamabilis unda ,alligat1 et novies ,styx interfusa coercet4 ,his body had been carried on the shoulders of servants through those mountain ways at night1 amid the lamentations of gathering multitudes and the baying of dogs from hill-set farms alarmed by flaring flambeaux4 ,now it is laid in state in the great hall4 ,the dais and the throne are draped in black4 ,the arms and btons of his father hang about the doorways4 ,his own ensigns are displayed in groups and trophies1 with the banners of ,s4 ,mark1 the ,montefeltrian eagle1 and the cross keys of ,s4 ,peter4 ,the hall itself is vacant1 save for the high-reared catafalque of sable velvet and gold damask1 surrounded with wax candles burning steadily4 ,round it passes a ceaseless stream of people1 coming and going1 gazing at their ,duke4 ,he is attired in crimson hose and doublet of black damask4 ,black velvet slippers are on his feet1 and his ducal cap is of black velvet4 ,the mantle of the ,garter1 made of dark-blue ,alexandrine velvet1 hooded with crimson1 lined with white silk damask1 and embroidered with the badge1 drapes the stiff sleeping form4 ,it is easier to conjure up the past of this great palace1 strolling round it in free air and twilight2 perhaps because the landscape and the life still moving on the city streets bring its exterior into harmony with real existence4 ,the southern faade1 with its vaulted balconies and flanking towers1 takes the fancy1 fascinates the eye1 and lends itself as a fit stage for puppets of the musing mind4 ,once more imagination plants trim orange-trees in giant jars of ,gubbio ware upon the pavement where the garden of the ,duchess lay--the pavement paced in these bad days by convicts in grey canvas jackets--that pavement where ,monsignor ,bombo courted 'dear dead women' with ,platonic phrase1 smothering the ,menta of his natural man in lettuce culled from ,academe and thyme of ,mount ,hymettus4 ,in yonder loggia1 lifted above the garden and the court1 two lovers are in earnest converse4 ,they lean beneath the coffered arch1 against the marble of the balustrade1 he fingering his dagger under the dark velvet doublet1 she playing with a clove carnation1 deep as her own shame4 ,the man is ,giannandrea1 broad-shouldered bravo of ,verona1 ,duke ,guidobaldo's favourite and carpet-count4 ,the lady is ,madonna ,maria1 daughter of ,rome's ,prefect1 widow of ,venanzio ,varano1 whom the ,borgia strangled4 ,on their discourse a tale will hang of woman's frailty and man's boldness--,camerino's ,duchess yielding to a low-born suitor's stalwart charms4 ,and more will follow1 when that lady's brother1 furious ,francesco ,maria della ,rovere1 shall stab the bravo in torch-litten palace rooms with twenty poignard strokes 'twixt waist and throat1 and their ,pandarus shall be sent down to his account by a varlet's coltellata through the midriff4 ,imagination shifts the scene1 and shows in that same loggia ,rome's warlike ,pope1 attended by his cardinals and all ,urbino's chivalry4 ,the snowy beard of ,julius flows down upon his breast1 where jewels clasp the crimson mantle1 as in ,raphael's picture4 ,his eyes are bright with wine2 for he has come to gaze on sunset from the banquet-chamber1 and to watch the line of lamps which soon will leap along that palace cornice in his honour4 ,behind him lies ,bologna humbled4 ,the ,pope returns1 a conqueror1 to ,rome4 ,yet once again imagination is at work4 ,a gaunt1 bald man1 close-habited in ,spanish black1 his spare1 fine features carved in purest ivory1 leans from that balcony4 ,gazing with hollow eyes1 he tracks the swallows in their flight1 and notes that winter is at hand4 ,this is the last ,duke of ,urbino1 ,francesco ,maria ,,ii41 he whose young wife deserted him1 who made for himself alone a hermit-pedant's round of petty cares and niggard avarice and mean-brained superstition4 ,he drew a second consort from the convent1 and raised up seed unto his line by forethought1 but beheld his princeling fade untimely in the bloom of boyhood4 ,nothing is left but solitude4 ,to the mortmain of the ,church reverts ,urbino's lordship1 and even now he meditates the terms of devolution4 ,jesuits cluster in the rooms behind1 with comfort for the ducal soul and calculations for the interests of ,holy ,see4 ,a farewell to these memories of ,urbino's dukedom should be taken in the crypt of the cathedral1 where ,francesco ,maria ,,ii41 the last ,duke1 buried his only son and all his temporal hopes4 ,the place is scarcely solemn4 ,its dreary barocco emblems mar the dignity of death4 ,a bulky ,piet by ,gian ,bologna1 with ,madonna's face unfinished1 towers up and crowds the narrow cell4 ,religion has evanished from this late ,renaissance art1 nor has the afterglow of ,guido ,reni's hectic piety yet overflushed it4 ,chilled by the stifling humid sense of an extinct race here entombed in its last representative1 we gladly emerge from the sepulchral vault into the air of day4 ,filippo ,visconti1 with a smile on his handsome face1 is waiting for us at the inn4 ,his horses1 sleek1 well fed1 and rested1 toss their heads impatiently4 ,we take our seats in the carriage1 open wide beneath a sparkling sky1 whirl past the palace and its ghost-like recollections1 and are halfway on the road to ,fossombrone in a cloud of dust and whirr of wheels before we think of looking back to greet ,urbino4 ,there is just time4 ,the last decisive turning lies in front4 ,we stand bareheaded to salute the grey mass of buildings ridged along the sky4 ,then the open road invites us with its varied scenery and movement4 ,from the shadowy past we drive into the world of human things1 for ever changefully unchanged1 unrestfully the same4 ,this interchange between dead memories and present life is the delight of travel4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,vittoria ,,accoramboni ,,and ,,the ,,tragedy ,,of ,,webster ,i ,during the pontificate of ,gregory ,,xiii4 7#aegb-he71 ,papal authority in ,rome reached its lowest point of weakness1 and the ancient splendour of the ,papal court was well-nigh eclipsed4 ,art and learning had died out4 ,the traditions of the days of ,leo1 ,julius1 and ,paul ,,iii4 were forgotten4 ,it seemed as though the genius of the ,renaissance had migrated across the ,alps4 ,all the powers of the ,papacy were directed to the suppression of heresies and to the re-establishment of spiritual supremacy over the intellect of ,europe4 ,meanwhile society in ,rome returned to medival barbarism4 ,the veneer of classical refinement and humanistic urbanity1 which for a time had hidden the natural savagery of the ,roman nobles1 wore away4 ,the ,holy ,city became a den of bandits2 the territory of the ,church supplied a battle-ground for senseless party strife1 which the weak old man who wore the triple crown was quite unable to control4 ,it is related how a robber chieftain1 ,marianazzo1 refused the offer of a general pardon from the ,pope1 alleging that the profession of brigand was far more lucrative1 and offered greater security of life1 than any trade within the walls of ,rome4 ,the ,campagna1 the ruined citadels about the basements of the ,sabine and ,ciminian hills1 the quarters of the aristocracy within the city1 swarmed with bravos1 who were protected by great nobles and fed by decent citizens for the advantages to be derived from the assistance of abandoned and courageous ruffians4 ,life1 indeed1 had become impossible without fixed compact with the powers of lawlessness4 ,there was hardly a family in ,rome which did not number some notorious criminal among the outlaws4 ,murder1 sacrilege1 the love of adventure1 thirst for plunder1 poverty1 hostility to the ascendant faction of the moment1 were common causes of voluntary or involuntary outlawry2 nor did public opinion regard a bandit's calling as other than honourable4 ,it may readily be imagined that in such a state of society the grisliest tragedies were common enough in ,rome4 ,the history of some of these has been preserved to us in documents digested from public trials and personal observation by contemporary writers4 ,that of the ,cenci1 in which a notorious act of parricide furnished the plot of a popular novella1 is well known4 ,and such a tragedy1 even more rife in characteristic incidents1 and more distinguished by the quality of its dramatis person1 is that of ,vittoria ,accoramboni4 ,vittoria was born in #aeeg1 of a noble but impoverished family1 at ,gubbio1 among the hills of ,umbria4 ,her biographers are rapturous in their praises of her beauty1 grace1 and exceeding charm of manner4 ,not only was her person most lovely1 but her mind shone at first with all the amiable lustre of a modest1 innocent1 and winning youth4 ,her father1 ,claudio ,accoramboni1 removed to ,rome1 where his numerous children were brought up under the care of their mother1 ,tarquinia1 an ambitious and unscrupulous woman1 bent on rehabilitating the decayed honours of their house4 ,here ,vittoria in early girlhood soon became the fashion4 ,she exercised an irresistible influence over all who saw her1 and many were the offers of marriage she refused4 ,at length a suitor appeared whose condition and connection with the ,roman ecclesiastical nobility rendered him acceptable in the eyes of the ,accoramboni4 ,francesco ,peretti was welcomed as the successful candidate for ,vittoria's hand4 ,his mother1 ,camilla1 was sister to ,felice1 ,cardinal of ,montalto2 and her son1 ,francesco ,mignucci1 had changed his surname in compliment to this illustrious relative4 ,the ,peretti were of humble origin4 ,the cardinal himself had tended swine in his native village2 but1 supported by an invincible belief in his own destinies1 and gifted with a powerful intellect and determined character1 he passed through all grades of the ,franciscan ,order to its generalship1 received the bishoprics of ,fermo and ,s4 ,agata1 and lastly1 in the year #aegj1 assumed the scarlet with the title of ,cardinal ,montalto4 ,he was now upon the high way to the ,papacy1 amassing money by incessant care1 studying the humours of surrounding factions1 effacing his own personality1 and by mixing but little in the intrigues of the court1 winning the reputation of a prudent1 inoffensive old man4 ,these were his tactics for securing the ,papal throne2 nor were his expectations frustrated2 for in #aehe he was chosen ,pope1 the parties of the ,medici and the ,farnesi agreeing to accept him as a compromise4 ,when ,sixtus ,v4 was once firmly seated on ,s4 ,peter's chair1 he showed himself in his true colours4 ,an implacable administrator of severest justice1 a rigorous economist1 an iconoclastic foe to paganism1 the first act of his reign was to declare a war of extirpation against the bandits who had reduced ,rome in his predecessor's rule to anarchy4 ,it was the nephew1 then1 of this man1 whom historians have judged the greatest personage of his own times1 that ,vittoria ,accoramboni married on the #bhth of ,june #aegc4 ,for a short while the young couple lived happily together4 ,according to some accounts of their married life1 the bride secured the favour of her powerful uncle-in-law1 who indulged her costly fancies to the full4 ,it is1 however1 more probable that the ,cardinal ,montalto treated her follies with a grudging parsimony2 for we soon find the ,peretti household hopelessly involved in debt4 ,discord1 too1 arose between ,vittoria and her husband on the score of a certain levity in her behaviour2 and it was rumoured that even during the brief space of their union she had proved a faithless wife4 ,yet she contrived to keep ,francesco's confidence1 and it is certain that her family profited by their connection with the ,peretti4 ,of her six brothers1 ,mario1 the eldest1 was a favourite courtier of the great ,cardinal d',este4 ,ottavio was in orders1 and through ,montalto's influence obtained the ,see of ,fossombrone4 ,the same eminent protector placed ,scipione in the service of the ,cardinal ,sforza4 ,camillo1 famous for his beauty and his courage1 followed the fortunes of ,filibert of ,savoy1 and died in ,france4 ,flaminio was still a boy1 dependent1 as the sequel of this story shows1 upon his sister's destiny4 ,of ,marcello1 the second in age and most important in the action of this tragedy1 it is needful to speak with more particularity4 ,he was young1 and1 like the rest of his breed1 singularly handsome--so handsome1 indeed1 that he is said to have gained an infamous ascendency over the great ,duke of ,bracciano1 whose privy chamberlain he had become4 ,marcello was an outlaw for the murder of ,matteo ,pallavicino1 the brother of the ,cardinal of that name4 ,this did not1 however1 prevent the chief of the ,orsini house from making him his favourite and confidential friend4 ,marcello1 who seems to have realised in actual life the worst vices of those ,roman courtiers described for us by ,aretino1 very soon conceived the plan of exalting his own fortunes by trading on his sister's beauty4 ,he worked upon the ,duke of ,bracciano's mind so cleverly1 that he brought this haughty prince to the point of an insane passion for ,peretti's young wife2 and meanwhile so contrived to inflame the ambition of ,vittoria and her mother1 ,tarquinia1 that both were prepared to dare the worst of crimes in expectation of a dukedom4 ,the game was a difficult one to play4 ,not only had ,francesco ,peretti first to be murdered1 but the inequality of birth and wealth and station between ,vittoria and the ,duke of ,bracciano rendered a marriage almost impossible4 ,it was also an affair of delicacy to stimulate without satisfying the ,duke's passion4 ,yet ,marcello did not despair4 ,the stakes were high enough to justify great risks2 and all he put in peril was his sister's honour1 the fame of the ,accoramboni1 and the favour of ,montalto4 ,vittoria1 for her part1 trusted in her power to ensnare and secure the noble prey both had in view4 ,paolo ,giordano ,orsini1 born about the year #aecg1 was reigning ,duke of ,bracciano4 ,among ,italian princes he ranked at least upon a par with the ,dukes of ,urbino1 and his family1 by its alliances1 was more illustrious than any of that time in ,italy4 ,he was a man of gigantic stature1 prodigious corpulence1 and marked personal daring2 agreeable in manners1 but subject to uncontrollable fits of passion1 and incapable of self-restraint when crossed in any whim or fancy4 ,upon the habit of his body it is needful to insist1 in order that the part he played in this tragedy of intrigue1 crime1 and passion may be well defined4 ,he found it difficult to procure a charger equal to his weight1 and he was so fat that a special dispensation relieved him from the duty of genuflexion in the ,papal presence4 ,though lord of a large territory1 yielding princely revenues1 he laboured under heavy debts2 for no great noble of the period lived more splendidly1 with less regard for his finances4 ,in the politics of that age and country1 ,paolo ,giordano leaned toward ,france4 ,yet he was a grandee of ,spain1 and had played a distinguished part in the battle of ,lepanto4 ,now the ,duke of ,bracciano was a widower4 ,he had been married in #aeec to ,isabella de' ,medici1 daughter of the ,grand ,duke ,cosimo1 sister of ,francesco1 ,bianca ,capello's lover1 and of the ,cardinal ,ferdinando4 ,suspicion of adultery with ,troilo ,orsini had fallen on ,isabella1 and her husband1 with the full concurrence of her brothers1 removed her in #aegf from this world4#g ,no one thought the worse of ,bracciano for this murder of his wife4 ,in those days of abandoned vice and intricate villany1 certain points of honour were maintained with scrupulous fidelity4 ,a wife's adultery was enough to justify the most savage and licentious husband in an act of semi-judicial vengeance2 and the shame she brought upon his head was shared by the members of her own house1 so that they stood by1 consenting to her death4 ,isabella1 it may be said1 left one son1 ,virginio1 who became in due time ,duke of ,bracciano4 ,it appears that in the year #aeha1 four years after ,vittoria's marriage1 the ,duke of ,bracciano had satisfied ,marcello of his intention to make her his wife1 and of his willingness to countenance ,francesco ,peretti's murder4 ,marcello1 feeling sure of his game1 introduced the ,duke in private to his sister1 and induced her to overcome any natural repugnance she may have felt for the unwieldy and gross lover4 ,having reached this point1 it was imperative to push matters quickly on toward matrimony4 ,but how should the unfortunate ,francesco be entrapped8 ,they caught him in a snare of peculiar atrocity1 by working on the kindly feelings which his love for ,vittoria had caused him to extend to all the ,acooramboni4 ,marcello1 the outlaw1 was her favourite brother1 and ,marcello at that time lay in hiding1 under the suspicion of more than ordinary crime1 beyond the walls of ,rome4 ,late in the evening of the #ahth of ,april1 while the ,peretti family were retiring to bed1 a messenger from ,marcello arrived1 entreating ,francesco to repair at once to ,monte ,cavallo4 ,marcello had affairs of the utmost importance to communicate1 and begged his brother-in-law not to fail him at a grievous pinch4 ,the letter containing this request was borne by one ,dominico d',aquaviva1 alias ,il ,mancino1 a confederate of ,vittoria's waiting-maid4 ,this fellow1 like ,marcello1 was an outlaw2 but when he ventured into ,rome he frequented ,peretti's house1 and had made himself familiar with its master as a trusty bravo4 ,neither in the message1 therefore1 nor in the messenger was there much to rouse suspicion4 ,the time1 indeed1 was oddly chosen1 and ,marcello had never made a similar appeal on any previous occasion4 ,yet his necessities might surely have obliged him to demand some more than ordinary favour from a brother4 ,francesco immediately made himself ready to set out1 armed only with his sword and attended by a single servant4 ,it was in vain that his wife and his mother reminded him of the dangers of the night1 the loneliness of ,monte ,cavallo1 its ruinous palaces and robber-haunted caves4 ,he was resolved to undertake the adventure1 and went forth1 never to return4 ,as he ascended the hill1 he fell to earth1 shot with three harquebuses4 ,his body was afterwards found on ,monte ,cavallo1 stabbed through and through1 without a trace that could identify the murderers4 ,only1 in the course of subsequent investigations1 ,il ,mancino 7on the #bdth of ,february #aehb7 made the following statements3--,that ,vittoria's mother1 assisted by the waiting woman1 had planned the trap2 that ,marchionne of ,gubbio and ,paolo ,barca of ,bracciano1 two of the ,duke's men1 had despatched the victim4 ,marcello himself1 it seems1 had come from ,bracciano to conduct the whole affair4 ,suspicion fell immediately upon ,vittoria and her kindred1 together with the ,duke of ,bracciano2 nor was this diminished when the ,accoramboni1 fearing the pursuit of justice1 took refuge in a villa of the ,duke's at ,magnanapoli a few days after the murder4 ,a cardinal's nephew1 even in those troublous times1 was not killed without some noise being made about the matter4 ,accordingly ,pope ,gregory ,,xiii4 began to take measures for discovering the authors of the crime4 ,strange to say1 however1 the ,cardinal ,montalto1 notwithstanding the great love he was known to bear his nephew1 begged that the investigation might be dropped4 ,the coolness with which he first received the news of ,francesco ,peretti's death1 the dissimulation with which he met the ,pope's expression of sympathy in a full consistory1 his reserve in greeting friends on ceremonial visits of condolence1 and1 more than all1 the self-restraint he showed in the presence of the ,duke of ,bracciano1 impressed the society of ,rome with the belief that he was of a singularly moderate and patient temper4 ,it was thought that the man who could so tamely submit to his nephew's murder1 and suspend the arm of justice when already raised for vengeance1 must prove a mild and indulgent ruler4 ,when1 therefore1 in the fifth year after this event1 ,montalto was elected ,pope1 men ascribed his elevation in no small measure to his conduct at the present crisis4 ,some1 indeed1 attributed his extraordinary moderation and self-control to the right cause4 ',veramente costui un gran frate6' was ,gregory's remark at the close of the consistory when ,montalto begged him to let the matter of ,peretti's murder rest4 ',of a truth1 that fellow is a consummate hypocrite6' ,how accurate this judgment was1 appeared when ,sixtus ,v4 assumed the reins of power4 ,the same man who1 as monk and cardinal1 had smiled on ,bracciano1 though he knew him to be his nephew's assassin1 now1 as ,pontiff and sovereign1 bade the chief of the ,orsini purge his palace and dominions of the scoundrels he was wont to harbour1 adding significantly1 that if ,felice ,peretti forgave what had been done against him in a private station1 he would exact uttermost vengeance for disobedience to the will of ,sixtus4 ,the ,duke of ,bracciano judged it best1 after that warning1 to withdraw from ,rome4 ,francesco ,peretti had been murdered on the #afth of ,april #aeha4 ,sixtus ,v4 was proclaimed on the #bdth of ,april #aehe4 ,in this interval ,vittoria underwent a series of extraordinary perils and adventures4 ,first of all1 she had been secretly married to the ,duke in his gardens of ,magnanapoli at the end of ,april #aeha4 ,that is to say1 ,marcello and she secured their prize1 as well as they were able1 the moment after ,francesco had been removed by murder4 ,but no sooner had the marriage become known1 than the ,pope1 moved by the scandal it created1 no less than by the urgent instance of the ,orsini and ,medici1 declared it void4 ,after some while spent in vain resistance1 ,bracciano submitted1 and sent ,vittoria back to her father's house4 ,by an order issued under ,gregory's own hand1 she was next removed to the prison of ,corte ,savella1 thence to the monastery of ,s4 ,cecilia in ,trastevere1 and finally to the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,here1 at the end of ,december #aeha1 she was put on trial for the murder of her first husband4 ,in prison she seems to have borne herself bravely1 arraying her beautiful person in delicate attire1 entertaining visitors1 exacting from her friends the honours due to a duchess1 and sustaining the frequent examinations to which she was submitted with a bold1 proud front4 ,in the middle of the month of ,july her constancy was sorely tried by the receipt of a letter in the ,duke's own handwriting1 formally renouncing his marriage4 ,it was only by a lucky accident that she was prevented on this occasion from committing suicide4 ,the ,papal court meanwhile kept urging her either to retire to a monastery or to accept another husband4 ,she firmly refused to embrace the religious life1 and declared that she was already lawfully united to a living husband1 the ,duke of ,bracciano4 ,it seemed impossible to deal with her2 and at last1 on the #hth of ,november1 she was released from prison under the condition of retirement to ,gubbio4 ,the ,duke had lulled his enemies to rest by the pretence of yielding to their wishes4 ,but ,marcello was continually beside him at ,bracciano1 where we read of a mysterious ,greek enchantress whom he hired to brew love-philters for the furtherance of his ambitious plots4 ,whether ,bracciano was stimulated by the brother's arguments or by the witch's potions need not be too curiously questioned4 ,but it seems in any case certain that absence inflamed his passion instead of cooling it4 ,accordingly1 in ,september #aehc1 under the excuse of a pilgrimage to ,loreto1 he contrived to meet ,vittoria at ,trevi1 whence he carried her in triumph to ,bracciano4 ,here he openly acknowledged her as his wife1 installing her with all the splendour due to a sovereign duchess4 ,on the #ajth of ,october following1 he once more performed the marriage ceremony in the principal church of his fief2 and in the ,january of #aehd he brought her openly to ,rome4 ,this act of contumacy to the ,pope1 both as feudal superior and as supreme ,pontiff1 roused all the former opposition to his marriage4 ,once more it was declared invalid4 ,once more the ,duke pretended to give way4 ,but at this juncture ,gregory died2 and while the conclave was sitting for the election of the new ,pope1 he resolved to take the law into his own hands1 and to ratify his union with ,vittoria by a third and public marriage in ,rome4 ,on the morning of the #bdth of ,april #aehe1 their nuptials were accordingly once more solemnised in the ,orsini palace4 ,just one hour after the ceremony1 as appears from the marriage register1 the news arrived of ,cardinal ,montalto's election to the ,papacy1 ,vittoria lost no time in paying her respects to ,camilla1 sister of the new ,pope1 her former mother-in-law4 ,the ,duke visited ,sixtus ,v4 in state to compliment him on his elevation4 ,but the reception which both received proved that ,rome was no safe place for them to live in4 ,they consequently made up their minds for flight4 ,a chronic illness from which ,bracciano had lately suffered furnished a sufficient pretext4 ,this seems to have been something of the nature of a cancerous ulcer1 which had to be treated by the application of raw meat to open sores4 ,such details are only excusable in the present narrative on the ground that ,bracciano's disease considerably affects our moral judgment of the woman who could marry a man thus physically tainted1 and with her husband's blood upon his hands4 ,at any rate1 the ,duke's lupa justified his trying what change of air1 together with the sulphur waters of ,abano1 would do for him4 ,the ,duke and ,duchess arrived in safety at ,venice1 where they had engaged the ,dandolo palace on the ,zuecca4 ,there they only stayed a few days1 removing to ,padua1 where they had hired palaces of the ,foscari in the ,arena and a house called ,de' ,cavalli4 ,at ,sal1 also1 on the ,lake of ,garda1 they provided themselves with fit dwellings for their princely state and their large retinues1 intending to divide their time between the pleasures which the capital of luxury afforded and the simpler enjoyments of the most beautiful of the ,italian lakes4 ,but la gioia dei profani un fumo passaggier4 ,paolo ,giordano ,orsini1 ,duke of ,bracciano1 died suddenly at ,sal on the #ajth of ,november #aehe1 leaving the young and beautiful ,vittoria helpless among enemies4 ,what was the cause of his death8 ,it is not possible to give a clear and certain answer4 ,we have seen that he suffered from a horrible and voracious disease1 which after his removal from ,rome seems to have made progress4 ,yet though this malady may well have cut his life short1 suspicion of poison was not1 in the circumstances1 quite unreasonable4 ,the ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany1 the ,pope1 and the ,orsini family were all interested in his death4 ,anyhow1 he had time to make a will in ,vittoria's favour1 leaving her large sums of money1 jewels1 goods1 and houses--enough1 in fact1 to support her ducal dignity with splendour4 ,his hereditary fiefs and honours passed by right to his only son1 ,virginio4 ,vittoria1 accompanied by her brother1 ,marcello1 and the whole court of ,bracciano1 repaired at once to ,padua1 where she was soon after joined by ,flaminio1 and by the ,prince ,lodovico ,orsini4 ,lodovico ,orsini assumed the duty of settling ,vittoria's affairs under her dead husband's will4 ,in life he had been the ,duke's ally as well as relative4 ,his family pride was deeply wounded by what seemed to him an ignoble1 as it was certainly an unequal1 marriage4 ,he now showed himself the relentless enemy of the ,duchess4 ,disputes arose between them as to certain details1 which seem to have been legally decided in the widow's favour4 ,on the night of the #bbnd of ,december1 however1 forty men disguised in black and fantastically tricked out to elude detection1 surrounded her palace4 ,through the long galleries and chambers hung with arras1 eight of them went1 bearing torches1 in search of ,vittoria and her brothers4 ,marcello escaped1 having fled the house under suspicion of the murder of one of his own followers4 ,flaminio1 the innocent and young1 was playing on his lute and singing ,miserere in the great hall of the palace4 ,the murderers surprised him with a shot from one of their harquebuses4 ,he ran1 wounded in the shoulder1 to his sister's room4 ,she1 it is said1 was telling her beads before retiring for the night4 ,when three of the assassins entered1 she knelt before the crucifix1 and there they stabbed her in the left breast1 turning the poignard in the wound1 and asking her with savage insults if her heart was pierced4 ,her last words were1 ',jesus1 ,i pardon you4' ,then they turned to ,flaminio1 and left him pierced with seventy-four stiletto wounds4 ,the authorities of ,padua identified the bodies of ,vittoria and ,flaminio1 and sent at once for further instructions to ,venice4 ,meanwhile it appears that both corpses were laid out in one open coffin for the people to contemplate4 ,the palace and the church of the ,eremitani1 to which they had been removed1 were crowded all through the following day with a vast concourse of the ,paduans4 ,vittoria's wonderful dead body1 pale yet sweet to look upon1 the golden hair flowing around her marble shoulders1 the red wound in her breast uncovered1 the stately limbs arrayed in satin as she died1 maddened the populace with its surpassing loveliness4 ',dentibus fremebant1' says the chronicler1 when they beheld that gracious lady stiff in death4 ,and of a truth1 if her corpse was actually exposed in the chapel of the ,eremitani1 as we have some right to assume1 the spectacle must have been impressive4 ,those grim gaunt frescoes of ,mantegna looked down on her as she lay stretched upon her bier1 solemn and calm1 and1 but for pallor1 beautiful as though in life4 ,no wonder that the folk forgot her first husband's murder1 her less than comely marriage to the second4 ,it was enough for them that this flower of surpassing loveliness had been cropped by villains in its bloom4 ,gathering in knots around the torches placed beside the corpse1 they vowed vengeance against the ,orsini2 for suspicion1 not unnaturally1 fell on ,prince ,lodovico4 ,the ,prince was arrested and interrogated before the court of ,padua4 ,he entered their hall attended by forty armed men1 responded haughtily to their questions1 and demanded free passage for his courier to ,virginio ,orsini1 then at ,florence4 ,to this demand the court acceded2 but the precaution of way-laying the courier and searching his person was very wisely taken4 ,besides some formal dispatches which announced ,vittoria's assassination1 they found in this man's boot a compromising letter1 declaring ,virginio a party to the crime1 and asserting that ,lodovico had with his own poignard killed their victim4 ,padua placed itself in a state of defence1 and prepared to besiege the palace of ,prince ,lodovico1 who also got himself in readiness for battle4 ,engines1 culverins1 and firebrands were directed against the barricades which he had raised4 ,the militia was called out and the ,brenta was strongly guarded4 ,meanwhile the ,senate of ,s4 ,mark had dispatched the ,avogadore1 ,aloisio ,bragadin1 with full power to the scene of action4 ,lodovico ,orsini1 it may be mentioned1 was in their service2 and had not this affair intervened1 he would in a few weeks have entered on his duties as ,governor for ,venice of ,corfu4 ,the bombardment of ,orsini's palace began on ,christmas ,day4 ,three of the ,prince's men were killed in the first assault2 and since the artillery brought to bear upon him threatened speedy ruin to the house and its inhabitants1 he made up his mind to surrender4 ',the ,prince ,luigi1' writes one-chronicler of these events1 'walked attired in brown1 his poignard at his side1 and his cloak slung elegantly under his arm4 ,the weapon being taken from him1 he leaned upon a balustrade1 and began to trim his nails with a little pair of scissors he happened to find there4' ,on the #bgth he was strangled in prison by order of the ,venetian ,republic4 ,his body was carried to be buried1 according to his own will1 in the church of ,s4 ,maria dell' ,orto at ,venice4 ,two of his followers were hung next day4 ,fifteen were executed on the following ,monday2 two of these were quartered alive2 one of them1 the ,conte ,paganello1 who confessed to having slain ,vittoria1 had his left side probed with his own cruel dagger4 ,eight were condemned to the galleys1 six to prison1 and eleven were acquitted4 ,thus ended this terrible affair1 which brought1 it is said1 good credit and renown to the lords of ,venice through all nations of the civilised world4 ,it only remains to be added that ,marcello ,accoramboni was surrendered to the ,pope's vengeance and beheaded at ,ancona1 where also his mysterious accomplice1 the ,greek sorceress1 perished4 ,,ii ,this story of ,vittoria ,accoramboni's life and tragic ending is drawn1 in its main details1 from a narrative published by ,henri ,beyle in his ',chroniques et ,novelles4'#h ,he professes to have translated it literally from a manuscript communicated to him by a nobleman of ,mantua2 and there are strong internal evidences of the truth of this assertion4 ,such compositions are frequent in ,italian libraries1 nor is it rare for one of them to pass into the common market--as ,mr4 ,browning's famous purchase of the tale on which he based his ',ring and the ,book' sufficiently proves4 ,these pamphlets were produced1 in the first instance1 to gratify the curiosity of the educated public in an age which had no newspapers1 and also to preserve the memory of famous trials4 ,how far the strict truth was represented1 or whether1 as in the case of ,beatrice ,cenci1 the pathetic aspect of the tragedy was unduly dwelt on1 depended1 of course1 upon the mental bias of the scribe1 upon his opportunities of obtaining exact information1 and upon the taste of the audience for whom he wrote4 ,therefore1 in treating such documents as historical data1 we must be upon our guard4 ,professor ,gnoli1 who has recently investigated the whole of ,vittoria's eventful story by the light of contemporary documents1 informs us that several narratives exist in manuscript1 all dealing more or less accurately with the details of the tragedy4 ,one of these was published in ,italian at ,brescia in #aehf4 ,a ,frenchman1 ,de ,rosset1 printed the same story in its main outlines at ,lyons in #afba4 ,our own dramatist1 ,john ,webster1 made it the subject of a tragedy1 which he gave to the press in #afab4 ,what were his sources of information we do not know for certain4 ,but it is clear that he was well acquainted with the history4 ,he has changed some of the names and redistributed some of the chief parts4 ,vittoria's first husband1 for example1 becomes ,camillo2 her mother1 named ,cornelia instead of ,tarquinia1 is so far from abetting ,peretti's murder and countenancing her daughter's shame1 that she acts the rle of a domestic ,cassandra4 ,flaminio and not ,marcello is made the main instrument of ,vittoria's crime and elevation4 ,the ,cardinal ,montalto is called ,monticelso1 and his papal title is ,paul ,,iv4 instead of ,sixtus ,v4 ,these are details of comparative indifference1 in which a playwright may fairly use his liberty of art4 ,on the other hand1 ,webster shows a curious knowledge of the picturesque circumstances of the tale4 ,the garden in which ,vittoria meets ,bracciano is the villa of ,magnanapoli2 ,zanche1 the ,moorish slave1 combines ,vittoria's waiting-woman1 ,caterina1 and the ,greek sorceress who so mysteriously dogged ,marcello's footsteps to the death4 ,the suspicion of ,bracciano's murder is used to introduce a quaint episode of ,italian poisoning4 ,webster exercised the dramatist's privilege of connecting various threads of action in one plot1 disregarding chronology1 and hazarding an ethical solution of motives which mere fidelity to fact hardly warrants4 ,he shows us ,vittoria married to ,camillo1 a low-born and witless fool1 whose only merit consists in being nephew to the ,cardinal ,monticelso1 afterwards ,pope ,paul ,,iv4#i ,paulo ,giordano ,ursini1 ,duke of ,brachiano1 loves ,vittoria1 and she suggests to him that1 for the furtherance of their amours1 his wife1 the ,duchess ,isabella1 sister to ,francesco de' ,medici1 ,grand ,duke of ,florence1 should be murdered at the same time as her own husband1 ,camillo4 ,brachiano is struck by this plan1 and with the help of ,vittoria's brother1 ,flamineo1 he puts it at once into execution4 ,flamineo hires a doctor who poisons ,brachiano's portrait1 so that ,isabella dies after kissing it4 ,he also with his own hands twists ,camillo's neck during a vaulting-match1 making it appear that he came by his death accidentally4 ,suspicion of the murder attaches1 however1 to ,vittoria4 ,she is tried for her life before ,monticelso and ,de' ,medici2 acquitted1 and relegated to a house of ,convertites or female reformatory4 ,brachiano1 on the accession of ,monticelso to the ,papal throne1 resolves to leave ,rome with ,vittoria4 ,they escape1 together with her mother ,cornelia1 and her brothers ,flamineo and ,marcello1 to ,padua2 and it is here that the last scenes of the tragedy are laid4 ,the use ,webster made of ,lodovico ,orsini deserves particular attention4 ,he introduces this personage in the very first scene as a spendthrift1 who1 having run through his fortune1 has been outlawed4 ,count ,lodovico1 as he is always called1 has no relationship with the ,orsini1 but is attached to the service of ,francesco de' ,medici1 and is an old lover of the ,duchess ,isabella4 ,when1 therefore1 the ,grand ,duke meditates vengeance on ,brachiano1 he finds a fitting instrument in the desperate ,lodovico4 ,together1 in disguise1 they repair to ,padua4 ,lodovico poisons the ,duke of ,brachiano's helmet1 and has the satisfaction of ending his last struggles by the halter4 ,afterwards1 with companions1 habited as a masquer1 he enters ,vittoria's palace and puts her to death together with her brother ,flamineo4 ,just when the deed of vengeance has been completed1 young ,giovanni ,orsini1 heir of ,brachiano1 enters and orders the summary execution of ,lodovico for this deed of violence4 ,webster's invention in this plot is confined to the fantastic incidents attending on the deaths of ,isabella1 ,camillo1 and ,brachiano1 and to the murder of ,marcello by his brother ,flamineo1 with the further consequence of ,cornelia's madness and death4 ,he has heightened our interest in ,isabella1 at the expense of ,brachiano's character1 by making her an innocent and loving wife instead of an adulteress4 ,he has ascribed different motives from the real ones to ,lodovico in order to bring this personage into rank with the chief actors1 though this has been achieved with only moderate success4 ,vittoria is abandoned to the darkest interpretation4 ,she is a woman who rises to eminence by crime1 as an unfaithful wife1 the murderess of her husband1 and an impudent defier of justice4 ,her brother1 ,flamineo1 becomes under ,webster's treatment one of those worst human infamies--a court dependent2 ruffian1 buffoon1 pimp1 murderer by turns4 ,furthermore1 and without any adequate object beyond that of completing this study of a type he loved1 ,webster makes him murder his own brother ,marcello by treason4 ,the part assigned to ,marcello1 it should be said1 is a genial and happy one2 and ,cornelia1 the mother of the ,accoramboni1 is a dignified character1 pathetic in her suffering4 ,webster1 it may be added1 treats the ,cardinal ,monticelso as allied in some special way to the ,medici4 ,yet certain traits in his character1 especially his avoidance of bloodshed and the tameness of his temper after ,camillo has been murdered1 seem to have been studied from the historical ,sixtus4 ,,iii ,the character of the ',white ,devil1 or ,vittoria ,corombona1' is perhaps the most masterly creation of ,webster's genius4 ,though her history is a true one in its leading incidents1 the poet1 while portraying a real personage1 has conceived an original individuality4 ,it is impossible to know for certain how far the actual ,vittoria was guilty of her first husband's murder4 ,her personality fails to detach itself from the romance of her biography by any salient qualities4 ,but ,webster1 with true playwright's instinct1 casts aside historical doubts1 and delineates in his heroine a woman of a very marked and terrible nature4 ,hard as adamant1 uncompromising1 ruthless1 ,vittoria follows ambition as the loadstar of her life4 ,it is the ambition to reign as ,duchess1 far more than any passion for a paramour1 which makes her plot ,camillo's and ,isabella's murders1 and throws her before marriage into ,brachiano's arms4 ,added to this ambition1 she is possessed with the cold demon of her own imperial and victorious beauty4 ,she has the courage of her criminality in the fullest sense2 and much of the fascination with which ,webster has invested her1 depends upon her dreadful daring4 ,her portrait is drawn with full and firm touches4 ,although she appears but five times on the scene1 she fills it from the first line of the drama to the last4 ,each appearance adds effectively to the total impression4 ,we see her first during a criminal interview with ,brachiano1 contrived by her brother ,flamineo4 ,the plot of the tragedy is developed in this scene2 ,vittoria suggesting1 under the metaphor of a dream1 that her lover should compass the deaths of his duchess and her husband4 ,the dream is told with deadly energy and ghastly picturesqueness4 ,the cruel sneer at its conclusion1 murmured by a voluptuous woman in the ears of an impassioned paramour1 chills us with the sense of concentrated vice4 ,her next appearance is before the court1 on trial for her husband's murder4 ,the scene is celebrated1 and has been much disputed by critics4 ,relying on her own dauntlessness1 on her beauty1 and on the protection of ,brachiano1 ,vittoria hardly takes the trouble to plead innocence or to rebut charges4 ,she stands defiant1 arrogant1 vigilant1 on guard2 flinging the lie in the teeth of her arraigners2 quick to seize the slightest sign of feebleness in their attack2 protesting her guiltlessness so loudly that she shouts truth down by brazen strength of lung2 retiring at the close with taunts2 blazing throughout with the intolerable lustre of some baleful planet4 ,when she enters for the third time1 it is to quarrel with her paramour4 ,he has been stung to jealousy by a feigned love-letter4 ,she knows that she has given him no cause2 it is her game to lure him by fidelity to marriage4 ,therefore she resolves to make his mistake the instrument of her exaltation4 ,beginning with torrents of abuse1 hurling reproaches at him for her own dishonour and the murder of his wife1 working herself by studied degrees into a tempest of ungovernable rage1 she flings herself upon the bed1 refuses his caresses1 spurns and tramples on him1 till she has brought ,brachiano1 terrified1 humbled1 fascinated1 to her feet4 ,then she gradually relents beneath his passionate protestations and repeated promises of marriage4 ,at this point she speaks but little4 ,we only feel her melting humour in the air1 and long to see the scene played by such an actress as ,madame ,bernhardt4 ,when ,vittoria next appears1 it is as ,duchess by the deathbed of the ,duke1 her husband4 ,her attendance here is necessary1 but it contributes little to the development of her character4 ,we have learned to know her1 and expect neither womanish tears nor signs of affection at a crisis which touches her heart less than her self-love4 ,webster1 among his other excellent qualities1 knew how to support character by reticence4 ,vittoria's silence in this act is significant2 and when she retires exclaiming1 ',o me6 this place is hell6' we know that it is the outcry1 not of a woman who has lost what made life dear1 but of one who sees the fruits of crime imperilled by a fatal accident4 ,the last scene of the play is devoted to ,vittoria4 ,it begins with a notable altercation between her and ,flamineo4 ,she calls him 'ruffian' and 'villain1' refusing him the reward of his vile service4 ,this quarrel emerges in one of ,webster's grotesque contrivances to prolong a poignant situation4 ,flamineo quits the stage and reappears with pistols4 ,he affects a kind of madness2 and after threatening ,vittoria1 who never flinches1 he proposes they should end their lives by suicide4 ,she humours him1 but manages to get the first shot4 ,flamineo falls1 wounded apparently to death4 ,then ,vittoria turns and tramples on him with her feet and tongue1 taunting him in his death agony with the enumeration of his crimes4 ,her malice and her energy are equally infernal4 ,soon1 however1 it appears that the whole device was but a trick of ,flamineo's to test his sister4 ,the pistol was not loaded4 ,he now produces a pair which are properly charged1 and proceeds in good earnest to the assassination of ,vittoria4 ,but at this critical moment ,lodovico and his masquers appear2 brother and sister both die unrepentant1 defiant to the end4 ,vittoria's customary pride and her familiar sneers impress her speech in these last moments with a trenchant truth to nature3 ,you my death's-man6 ,methinks thou dost not look horrid enough1 ,thou hast too good a face to be a hangman3 ,if thou be1 do thy office in right form2 ,fall down upon thy knees1 and ask forgiveness6 99 99 99 99 99 ,i will be waited on in death2 my servant ,shall never go before me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,yes1 ,i shall welcome death ,as princes do some great ambassadors3 ,i'll meet thy weapon half-way4 99 99 99 99 99 ',twas a manly blow6 ,the next thou giv'st1 murder some sucking infant2 ,and then thou wilt be famous4 ,so firmly has ,webster wrought the character of this white devil1 that we seem to see her before us as in a picture4 ',beautiful as the leprosy1 dazzling as the lightning1' to use a phrase of her enthusiastic admirer ,hazlitt1 she takes her station like a lady in some portrait by ,paris ,bordone1 with gleaming golden hair twisted into snakelike braids about her temples1 with skin white as cream1 bright cheeks1 dark dauntless eyes1 and on her bosom1 where it has been chafed by jewelled chains1 a flush of rose4 ,she is luxurious1 but not so abandoned to the pleasures of the sense as to forget the purpose of her will and brain4 ,crime and peril add zest to her enjoyment4 ,when arraigned in open court before the judgment-seat of deadly and unscrupulous foes1 she conceals the consciousness of guilt1 and stands erect1 with fierce front1 unabashed1 relying on the splendour of her irresistible beauty and the subtlety of her piercing wit4 ,chafing with rage1 the blood mounts and adds a lustre to her cheek4 ,it is no flush of modesty1 but of rebellious indignation4 ,the ,cardinal1 who hates her1 brands her emotion with the name of shame4 ,she rebukes him1 hurling a jibe at his own mother4 ,and when they point with spiteful eagerness to the jewels blazing on her breast1 to the silks and satins that she rustles in1 her husband lying murdered1 she retorts3 ,had ,i foreknown his death1 as you suggest1 ,i would have bespoke my mourning4 ,she is condemned1 but not vanquished1 and leaves the court with a stinging sarcasm4 ,they send her to a house of ,convertites3 ,v4,c4 ,a house of ,convertites6 what's that8 ,m4 ,a house of penitent whores4 ,v4,c4 ,do the noblemen of ,rome ,erect it for their wives1 that ,i am sent ,to lodge there8 ,charles ,lamb was certainly in error8 when he described ,vittoria's attitude as one of 'innocence-resembling boldness4' ,in the trial scene1 no less than in the scenes of altercation with ,brachiano and ,flamineo1 ,webster clearly intended her to pass for a magnificent vixen1 a beautiful and queenly termagant4 ,her boldness is the audacity of impudence1 which does not condescend to entertain the thought of guilt4 ,her egotism is so hard and so profound that the very victims whom she sacrifices to ambition seem in her sight justly punished4 ,of ,camillo and ,isabella1 her husband and his wife1 she says to ,brachiano3 ,and both were struck dead by that sacred yew1 ,in that base shallow grave that was their due4 ,,iv ,it is tempting to pass from this analysis of ,vittoria's life to a consideration of ,webster's drama as a whole1 especially in a book dedicated to ,italian byways4 ,for that mysterious man of genius had explored the dark and devious paths of ,renaissance vice1 and had penetrated the secrets of ,italian wickedness with truly appalling lucidity4 ,his tragedies1 though worthless as historical documents1 have singular value as commentaries upon history1 as revelations to us of the spirit of the sixteenth century in its deepest gloom4 ,webster's plays1 owing to the condensation of their thought and the compression of their style1 are not easy to read for the first time4 ,he crowds so many fantastic incidents into one action1 and burdens his discourse with so much profoundly studied matter1 that we rise from the perusal of his works with a blurred impression of the fables1 a deep sense of the poet's power and personality1 and an ineffaceable recollection of one or two resplendent scenes4 ,his ,roman history-play of ',appius and ,virginia' proves that he understood the value of a simple plot1 and that he was able1 when he chose1 to work one out with conscientious calmness4 ,but the two ,italian dramas upon which his fame is justly founded1 by right of which he stands alone among the playwrights of all literatures1 are marked by a peculiar and wayward mannerism4 ,each part is etched with equal effort after luminous effect upon a back-ground of lurid darkness2 and the whole play is made up of these parts1 without due concentration on a master-motive4 ,the characters are definite in outline1 but1 taken together in the conduct of a single plot1 they seem to stand apart1 like figures in a tableau vivant2 nor do they act and react each upon the other in the play of interpenetrative passions4 ,that this mannerism was deliberately chosen1 we have a right to believe4 ',willingly1 and not ignorantly1 in this kind have ,i faulted1' is the answer ,webster gives to such as may object that he has not constructed his plays upon the classic model4 ,he seems to have had a certain sombre richness of tone and intricacy of design in view1 combining sensational effect and sententious pregnancy of diction in works of laboured art1 which1 when adequately represented to the ear and eye upon the stage1 might at a touch obtain the animation they now lack for chamber-students4 ,when familiarity has brought us acquainted with his style1 when we have disentangled the main characters and circumstances from their adjuncts1 we perceive that he treats poignant and tremendous situations with a concentrated vigour special to his genius2 that he has studied each word and trait of character1 and that he has prepared by gradual approaches and degrees of horror for the culmination of his tragedies4 ,the sentences which seem at first sight copied from a commonplace book1 are found to be appropriate4 ,brief lightning flashes of acute perception illuminate the midnight darkness of his all but unimaginably depraved characters4 ,sharp unexpected touches evoke humanity in the fantoccini of his wayward art4 ,no dramatist has shown more consummate ability in heightening terrific effects1 in laying bare the innermost mysteries of crime1 remorse1 and pain1 combined to make men miserable4 ,it has been said of ,webster that1 feeling himself deficient in the first poetic qualities1 he concentrated his powers upon one point1 and achieved success by sheer force of self-cultivation4 ,there is perhaps some truth in this4 ,at any rate1 his genius was of a narrow and peculiar order1 and he knew well how to make the most of its limitations4 ,yet we must not forget that he felt a natural bias toward the dreadful stuff with which he deals4 ,the mystery of iniquity had an irresistible attraction for his mind4 ,he was drawn to comprehend and reproduce abnormal elements of spiritual anguish4 ,the materials with which he builds his tragedies are sought for in the ruined places of lost souls1 in the agonies of madness and despair1 in the sarcasms of criminal and reckless atheism1 in slow tortures1 griefs beyond endurance1 the tempests of remorseful death1 the spasms of fratricidal bloodshed4 ,he is often melodramatic in the means employed to bring these psychological conditions home to us4 ,he makes too free use of poisoned engines1 daggers1 pistols1 disguised murderers1 and so forth4 ,yet his firm grasp upon the essential qualities of diseased and guilty human nature saves him1 even at his wildest1 from the unrealities and extravagances into which less potent artists of the drame sanglant--,marston1 for example--blundered4 ,with ,webster1 the tendency to brood on horrors was no result of calculation4 ,it belonged to his idiosyncrasy4 ,he seems to have been suckled from birth at the breast of that ,mater ,tenebrarum1 our ,lady of ,darkness1 whom ,de ,quincey in one of his ',suspiria de ,profundis' describes among the ,semnai ,theai1 the august goddesses1 the mysterious foster-nurses of suffering humanity4 ,he cannot say the simplest thing without giving it a ghastly or sinister turn4 ,if one of his characters draws a metaphor from pie-crust1 he must needs use language of the churchyard3 ,you speak as if a man ,should know what fowl is coffined in a baked meat ,afore you cut it open4 ,hideous similes are heaped together in illustration of the commonest circumstances3 ,places at court are but like beds in the hospital1 where this man's head lies at that man's foot1 and so lower and lower4 ,when knaves come to preferment1 they rise as gallowses are raised in the ,low ,countries1 one upon another's shoulders4 ,i would sooner eat a dead pigeon taken from the soles of the feet of one sick of the plague than kiss one of you fasting4 ,a soldier is twitted with serving his master3 ,as witches do their serviceable spirits1 ,even with thy prodigal blood4 ,an adulterous couple get this curse3 ,like mistletoe on sear elms spent by weather1 ,let him cleave to her1 and both rot together4 ,a bravo is asked3 ,dost thou imagine thou canst slide on blood1 ,and not be tainted with a shameful fall8 ,or1 like the black and melancholic yew-tree1 ,dost think to root thyself in dead men's graves1 ,and yet to prosper8 ,it is dangerous to extract philosophy of life from any dramatist4 ,yet ,webster so often returns to dark and doleful meditations1 that we may fairly class him among constitutional pessimists4 ,men1 according to the grimness of his melancholy1 are3 ,only like dead walls or vaulted graves1 ,that1 ruined1 yield no echo4 ,o this gloomy world6 ,in what a shadow or deep pit of darkness ,doth womanish and fearful mankind live6 99 99 99 99 99 ,we are merely the stars' tennis-balls1 struck and banded ,which way please them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,pleasure of life6 what is't8 only the good hours of an ague4 ,a ,duchess is 'brought to mortification1' before her strangling by the executioner1 in this high fantastical oration3 ,thou art a box of worm-seed1 at best but a salvatory of green mummy4 ,what's this flesh8 ,a little crudded milk1 fantastical puff-paste1 c4 c4 ,man's life in its totality is summed up with monastic cynicism in these lyric verses3 ,of what is't fools make such vain keeping8 ,sin their conception1 their birth weeping1 ,their life a general mist of error1 ,their death a hideous storm of terror4 ,the greatness of the world passes by with all its glory3 ,vain the ambition of kings1 ,who seek by trophies and dead things ,to leave a living name behind1 ,and weave but nets to catch the wind4 ,it would be easy to surfeit criticism with similar examples2 where ,webster is writing in sarcastic1 meditative1 or deliberately terror-stirring moods4 ,the same dark dye of his imagination shows itself even more significantly in circumstances where1 in the work of any other artist1 it would inevitably mar the harmony of the picture4 ,a lady1 to select one instance1 encourages her lover to embrace her at the moment of his happiness4 ,she cries3 ,sir1 be confident6 ,what is't distracts you8 ,this is flesh and blood1 sir2 ',tis not the figure cut in alabaster1 ,kneels at my husband's tomb4 ,yet so sustained is ,webster's symphony of sombre tints1 that we do not feel this sepulchral language1 this 'talk fit for a charnel' 7to use one of his own phrases71 to be out of keeping4 ,it sounds like a presentiment of coming woes1 which1 as the drama grows to its conclusion1 gather and darken on the wretched victims of his bloody plot4 ,it was with profound sagacity1 or led by some deep-rooted instinct1 that ,webster sought the fables of his two great tragedies1 ',the ,white ,devil' and ',the ,duchess of ,malfi1' in ,italian annals4 ,whether he had visited ,italy in his youth1 we cannot say2 for next to nothing is known about ,webster's life4 ,but that he had gazed long and earnestly into the mirror held up by that enchantress of the nations in his age1 is certain4 ,aghast and fascinated by the sins he saw there flaunting in the light of day--sins on whose pernicious glamour ,ascham1 ,greene1 and ,howell have insisted with impressive vehemence--,webster discerned in them the stuff he needed for philosophy and art4 ,withdrawing from that contemplation1 he was like a spirit 'loosed out of hell to speak of horrors4' ,deeper than any poet of the time1 deeper than any even of the ,italians1 he read the riddle of the sphinx of crime4 ,he found there something akin to his own imaginative mood1 something which he alone could fully comprehend and interpret4 ,from the superficial narratives of writers like ,bandello he extracted a spiritual essence which was1 if not the literal1 at least the ideal1 truth involved in them4 ,the enormous and unnatural vices1 the domestic crimes of cruelty1 adultery1 and bloodshed1 the political scheming and the subtle arts of vengeance1 the ecclesiastical tyranny and craft1 the cynical scepticism and lustre of luxurious godlessness1 which made ,italy in the midst of her refinement blaze like 'a bright and ominous star' before the nations2 these were the very elements in which the genius of ,webster--salamander-like in flame--could live and flourish4 ,only the incidents of ,italian history1 or of ,french history in its ,italianated epoch1 were capable of supplying him with the proper type of plot4 ,it was in ,italy alone1 or in an ,italianated country1 such as ,england for a brief space in the reign of the first ,stuart threatened to become1 that the well-nigh diabolical wickedness of his characters might have been realised4 ,an audience familiar with ,italian novels through ,belleforest and ,painter1 inflamed by the long struggle of the ,reformation against the scarlet abominations of the ,papal ,see1 outraged in their moral sense by the political paradoxes of ,machiavelli1 horror-stricken at the still recent misdoings of ,borgias and ,medici and ,farnesi1 alarmed by that ,italian policy which had conceived the massacre of ,s4 ,bartholomew in ,france1 and infuriated by that ecclesiastical hypocrisy which triumphed in the same2 such an audience were at the right point of sympathy with a poet who undertook to lay the springs of ,southern villany before them bare in a dramatic action4 ,but1 as the old proverb puts it1 ',inglese ,italianato un diavolo incarnato4' ',an ,englishman assuming the ,italian habit is a devil in the flesh4' ,the ,italians were depraved1 but spiritually feeble4 ,the ,english playwright1 when he brought them on the stage1 arrayed with intellectual power and gleaming with the lurid splendour of a ,northern fancy1 made them tenfold darker and more terrible4 ,to the subtlety and vices of the ,south he added the melancholy1 meditation1 and sinister insanity of his own climate4 ,he deepened the complexion of crime and intensified lawlessness by robbing the ,italian character of levity4 ,sin1 in his conception of that character1 was complicated with the sense of sin1 as it never had been in a ,florentine or a ,neapolitan4 ,he had not grasped the meaning of the ,machiavellian conscience1 in its cold serenity and disengagement from the dread of moral consequence4 ,not only are his villains stealthy1 frigid1 quick to evil1 merciless1 and void of honour2 but they brood upon their crimes and analyse their motives4 ,in the midst of their audacity they are dogged by dread of coming retribution4 ,at the crisis of their destiny they look back upon their better days with intellectual remorse4 ,in the execution of their bloodiest schemes they groan beneath the chains of guilt they wear1 and quake before the phantoms of their haunted brains4 ,thus passion and reflection1 superstition and profanity1 deliberate atrocity and fear of judgment1 are united in the same nature2 and to make the complex still more strange1 the play-wright has gifted these tremendous personalities with his own wild humour and imaginative irony4 ,the result is almost monstrous1 such an ideal of character as makes earth hell4 ,and yet it is not without justification4 ,to the ,italian text has been added the ,teutonic commentary1 and both are fused by a dramatic genius into one living whole4 ,one of these men is ,flamineo1 the brother of ,vittoria ,corombona1 upon whose part the action of the ',white ,devil' depends4 ,he has been bred in arts and letters at the university of ,padua2 but being poor and of luxurious appetites1 he chooses the path of crime in courts for his advancement4 ,a duke adopts him for his minion1 and ,flamineo acts the pander to this great man's lust4 ,he contrives the death of his brother-in-law1 suborns a doctor to poison the ,duke's wife1 and arranges secret meetings between his sister and the paramour who is to make her fortune and his own4 ,his mother appears like a warning ,at to prevent her daughter's crime4 ,in his rage he cries3 ,what fury raised thee up8 ,away1 away6 ,and when she pleads the honour of their house he answers3 ,shall ,i1 ,having a path so open and so free ,to my preferment1 still retain your milk ,in my pale forehead8 ,later on1 when it is necessary to remove another victim1 he runs his own brother through the body and drives his mother to madness4 ,yet1 in the midst of these crimes1 we are unable to regard him as a simple cut-throat4 ,his irony and reckless courting of damnation open-eyed to get his gust of life in this world1 make him no common villain4 ,he can be brave as well as fierce4 ,when the ,duke insults him he bandies taunt for taunt3 ,brach4 ,no1 you pander8 ,flam4 ,what1 me1 my lord8 ,am ,i your dog8 ,b4 ,a bloodhound2 do you brave1 do you stand me8 ,f4 ,stand you6 let those that have diseases run2 ,i need no plasters4 ,b4 ,would you be kicked8 ,f4 ,would you have your neck broke8 ,i tell you1 duke1 ,i am not in ,russia2 ,my shins must be kept whole4 ,b4 ,do you know me8 ,f4 ,oh1 my lord1 methodically3 ,as in this world there are degrees of evils1 ,so in this world there are degrees of devils4 ,you're a great duke1 ,i your poor secretary4 ,when the ,duke dies and his prey escapes him1 the rage of disappointment breaks into this fierce apostrophe3 ,i cannot conjure2 but if prayers or oaths4 ,will get the speech of him1 though forty devils ,wait on him in his livery of flames1 ,i'll speak to him and shake him by the hand1 ,though ,i be blasted4 ,as crimes thicken round him1 and he still despairs of the reward for which he sold himself1 conscience awakes3 ,i have lived ,riotously ill1 like some that live in court1 ,and sometimes when my face was full of smiles ,have felt the maze of conscience in my breast4 ,the scholar's scepticism1 which lies at the root of his perversity1 finds utterance in this meditation upon death3 ,whither shall ,i go now8 ,o ,lucian1 thy ridiculous purgatory6 to find ,alexander the ,great cobbling shoes1 ,pompey tagging points1 and ,julius ,csar making hair-buttons6 ,whether ,i resolve to fire1 earth1 water1 air1 or all the elements by scruples1 ,i know not1 nor greatly care4 ,at the last moment he yet can say3 ,we cease to grieve1 cease to be ,fortune's slaves1 ,nay1 cease to die1 by dying4 ,and again1 with the very yielding of his spirit3 ,my life was a black charnel4 ,it will be seen that in no sense does ,flamineo resemble ,iago4 ,he is not a traitor working by craft and calculating ability to well-considered ends4 ,he is the desperado frantically clutching at an uncertain and impossible satisfaction4 ,webster conceives him as a self-abandoned atheist1 who1 maddened by poverty and tainted by vicious living1 takes a fury to his heart1 and1 because the goodness of the world has been for ever lost to him1 recklessly seeks the bad4 ,bosola1 in the ',duchess of ,malfi1' is of the same stamp4 ,he too has been a scholar4 ,he is sent to the galleys 'for a notorious murder1' and on his release he enters the service of two brothers1 the ,duke of ,calabria and the ,cardinal of ,aragon1 who place him as their intelligencer at the court of their sister4 ,bos4 ,it seems you would create me ,one of your familiars4 ,ferd4 ,familiar6 what's that8 ,bos4 ,why1 a very quaint invisible devil in flesh1 ,an intelligencer4 ,ferd4 ,such a kind of thriving thing ,i would wish thee2 and ere long thou may'st arrive ,at a higher place by it4 ,lured by hope of preferment1 ,bosola undertakes the office of spy1 tormentor1 and at last of executioner4 ,for3 ,discontent and want ,is the best clay to mould a villain of4 ,but his true self1 though subdued to be what he quaintly styles 'the devil's quilted anvil1' on which 'all sins are fashioned and the blows never heard1' continually rebels against this destiny4 ,compared with ,flamineo1 he is less unnaturally criminal4 ,his melancholy is more fantastic1 his despair more noble4 ,throughout the course of craft and cruelty on which he is goaded by a relentless taskmaster1 his nature1 hardened as it is1 revolts4 ,at the end1 when ,bosola presents the body of the murdered ,duchess to her brother1 ,webster has wrought a scene of tragic savagery that surpasses almost any other that the ,english stage can show4 ,the sight1 of his dead sister maddens ,ferdinand1 who1 feeling the eclipse of reason gradually absorb his faculties1 turns round with frenzied hatred on the accomplice of his fratricide4 ,bosola demands the price of guilt4 ,ferdinand spurns him with the concentrated eloquence of despair and the extravagance of approaching insanity4 ,the murderer taunts his master coldly and laconically1 like a man whose life is wrecked1 who has waded through blood to his reward1 and who at the last moment discovers the sacrifice of his conscience and masculine freedom to be fruitless4 ,remorse1 frustrated hopes1 and thirst for vengeance convert ,bosola from this hour forward into an instrument of retribution4 ,the ,duke and his brother the ,cardinal are both brought to bloody deaths by the hand which they had used to assassinate their sister4 ,it is fitting that something should be said about ,webster's conception of the ,italian despot4 ,brachiano and ,ferdinand1 the employers of ,flamineo and ,bosola1 are tyrants such as ,savonarola described1 and as we read of in the chronicles of petty ,southern cities4 ,nothing is suffered to stand between their lust and its accomplishment4 ,they override the law by violence1 or pervert its action to their own advantage3 ,the law to him ,is like a foul black cobweb to a spider2 ,he makes it his dwelling and a prison ,to entangle those shall feed him4 ,they are eaten up with parasites1 accomplices1 and all the creatures of their crimes3 ,he and his brother are like plum-trees that grow crooked over standing pools2 they are rich and over-laden with fruit1 but none but crows1 pies1 and caterpillars feed on them4 ,in their lives they are without a friend2 for society in guilt brings nought of comfort1 and honours are but emptiness3 ,glories1 like glow-worms1 afar off shine bright2 ,but looked to near1 have neither heat nor light4 ,their plots and counterplots drive repose far from them3 ,there's but three furies found in spacious hell2 ,but in a great man's breast three thousand dwell4 ,fearful shapes afflict their fancy2 shadows of ancestral crime or ghosts of their own raising3 ,for these many years ,none of our family dies1 but there is seen ,the shape of an old woman2 which is given ,by tradition to us to have been murdered ,by her nephews for her riches4 ,apparitions haunt them3 ,how tedious is a guilty conscience6 ,when ,i look into the fish-ponds in my garden1 ,methinks ,i see a thing armed with a rake ,that seems to strike at me4 ,continually scheming against the objects of their avarice and hatred1 preparing poisons or suborning bravoes1 they know that these same arts will be employed against them4 ,the wine-cup hides arsenic2 the headpiece is smeared with antimony2 there is a dagger behind every arras1 and each shadow is a murderer's4 ,when death comes1 they meet it trembling4 ,what irony ,webster has condensed in ,brachiano's outcry3 ,on pain of death1 let no man name death to me2 ,it is a word infinitely horrible4 ,and how solemn are the following reflections on the death of princes3 ,o thou soft natural death1 that art joint-twin ,to sweetest slumber6 no rough-bearded comet ,stares on thy mild departure2 the dull owl ,beats not against thy casement1 the hoarse wolf ,scents not thy carrion3 pity winds thy corse1 ,whilst horror waits on princes4 ,after their death1 this is their epitaph3 ,these wretched eminent things ,leave no more fame behind'em than should one ,fall in a frost and leave his print in snow4 ,of ,webster's despots1 the finest in conception and the firmest in execution is ,ferdinand of ,aragon4 ,jealousy of his sister and avarice take possession of him and torment him like furies4 ,the flash of repentance over her strangled body is also the first flash of insanity4 ,he survives to present the spectacle of a crazed lunatic1 and to be run through the body by his paid assassin4 ,in the ,cardinal of ,aragon1 ,webster paints a profligate ,churchman1 no less voluptuous1 blood-guilty1 and the rest of it1 than his brother the ,duke of ,calabria4 ,it seems to have been the poet's purpose in each of his ,italian tragedies to unmask ,rome as the ,papal city really was4 ,in the lawless desperado1 the intemperate tyrant1 and the godless ecclesiastic1 he portrayed the three curses from which ,italian society was actually suffering4 ,it has been needful to dwell upon the gloomy and fantastic side of ,webster's genius4 ,but it must not be thought that he could touch no finer chord4 ,indeed1 it might be said that in the domain of pathos he is even more powerful than in that of horror4 ,his mastery in this region is displayed in the creation of that dignified and beautiful woman1 the ,duchess of ,malfi1 who1 with nothing in her nature1 had she but lived prosperously1 to divide her from the sisterhood of gentle ladies1 walks1 shrined in love and purity and conscious rectitude1 amid the snares and pitfalls of her persecutors1 to die at last the victim of a brother's fevered avarice and a desperado's egotistical ambition4 ,the apparatus of infernal cruelty1 the dead man's hand1 the semblances of murdered sons and husband1 the masque of madmen1 the dirge and doleful emblems of the tomb with which she is environed in her prison by the torturers who seek to goad her into lunacy1 are insufficient to disturb the tranquillity and tenderness of her nature4 ,when the rope is being fastened to her throat1 she does not spend her breath in recriminations1 but turns to the waiting-woman and says3 ,farewell1 ,cariola6 ,i pray thee look thou givest my little boy ,some syrup for his cold1 and let the girl ,say her prayers ere she sleep4 ,in the preceding scenes we have had enough1 nay1 over-much1 of madness1 despair1 and wrestling with doom4 ,this is the calm that comes when death is present1 when the tortured soul lays down its burden of the flesh with gladness4 ,but ,webster has not spared another touch of thrilling pathos4 ,the death-struggle is over2 the fratricide has rushed away1 a maddened man2 the murderer is gazing with remorse upon the beautiful dead body of his lady1 wishing he had the world wherewith to buy her back to life again2 when suddenly she murmurs ',mercy6' ,our interest1 already overstrained1 revives with momentary hope4 ,but the guardians of the grave will not be exorcised2 and ',mercy6' is the last groan of the injured ,duchess4 ,webster showed great skill in his delineation of the ,duchess4 ,he had to paint a woman in a hazardous situation3 a sovereign stooping in her widowhood to wed a servant2 a lady living with the mystery of this unequal marriage round her like a veil4 ,he dowered her with no salient qualities of intellect or heart or will2 but he sustained our sympathy with her1 and made us comprehend her4 ,to the last she is a ,duchess2 and when she has divested state and bowed her head to enter the low gate of heaven--too low for coronets--her poet shows us1 in the lines already quoted1 that the woman still survives4 ,the same pathos surrounds the melancholy portrait of ,isabella in ',vittoria ,corombona4' ,but ,isabella1 in that play1 serves chiefly to enhance the tyranny of her triumphant rival4 ,the main difficulty under which these scenes of rarest pathos would labour1 were they brought upon the stage1 is their simplicity in contrast with the ghastly and contorted horrors that envelop them4 ,a dialogue abounding in the passages ,i have already quoted--a dialogue which bandies ',o you screech-owl6' and ',thou foul black cloud6'--in which a sister's admonition to her brother to think twice of suicide assumes a form so weird as this3 ,i prithee1 yet remember1 ,millions are now in graves1 which at last day ,like mandrakes shall rise shrieking4-- such a dialogue could not be rendered save by actors strung up to a pitch of almost frenzied tension4 ,to do full justice to what in ,webster's style would be spasmodic were it not so weighty1 and at the same time to maintain the purity of outline and melodious rhythm of such characters as ,isabella1 demands no common histrionic power4 ,in attempting to define ,webster's touch upon ,italian tragic story1 ,i have been led perforce to concentrate attention on what is painful and shocking to our sense of harmony in art4 ,he was a vigorous and profoundly imaginative playwright4 ,but his most enthusiastic admirers will hardly contend that good taste or moderation determined the movement of his genius4 ,nor1 though his insight into the essential dreadfulness of ,italian tragedy was so deep1 is it possible to maintain that his portraiture of ,italian life was true to its more superficial aspects4 ,what place would there be for a ,correggio or a ,raphael in such a world as ,webster's8 ,yet we know that the art of ,raphael and ,correggio is in exact harmony with the ,italian temperament of the same epoch which gave birth to ,cesare ,borgia and ,bianca ,gapello4 ,the comparatively slighter sketch of ,iachimo in ',cymbeline' represents the ,italian as he felt and lived1 better than the laboured portrait of ,flamineo4 ,webster's ,italian tragedies are consequently true1 not so much to the actual conditions of ,italy1 as to the moral impression made by those conditions on a ,northern imagination4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,autumn ,,wanderings ,i4--,,italiam ,,petimus ,italiam ,petimus6 ,we left our upland home before daybreak on a clear ,october morning4 ,there had been a hard frost1 spangling the meadows with rime-crystals1 which twinkled where the sun's rays touched them4 ,men and women were mowing the frozen grass with thin short ,alpine scythes2 and as the swathes fell1 they gave a crisp1 an almost tinkling sound4 ,down into the gorge1 surnamed of ,avalanche1 our horses plunged2 and there we lost the sunshine till we reached the ,bear's ,walk1 opening upon the vales of ,albula1 and ,julier1 and ,schyn4 ,but up above1 shone morning light upon fresh snow1 and steep torrent-cloven slopes reddening with a hundred fading plants2 now and then it caught the grey-green icicles that hung from cliffs where summer streams had dripped4 ,there is no colour lovelier than the blue of an autumn sky in the high ,alps1 defining ridges powdered with light snow1 and melting imperceptibly downward into the warm yellow of the larches and the crimson of the bilberry4 ,wiesen was radiantly beautiful3 those arial ranges of the hills that separate ,albula from ,julier soared crystal-clear above their forests2 and for a foreground1 on the green fields starred with lilac crocuses1 careered a group of children on their sledges4 ,then came the row of giant peaks--,pitz d',aela1 ,tinzenhorn1 and ,michelhorn1 above the deep ravine of ,albula--all seen across wide undulating golden swards1 close-shaven and awaiting winter4 ,carnations hung from cottage windows in full bloom1 casting sharp angular black shadows on white walls4 ,italiam petimus6 ,we have climbed the valley of the ,julier1 following its green1 transparent torrent4 ,a night has come and gone at ,mhlen4 ,the stream still leads us up1 diminishing in volume as we rise1 up through the fleecy mists that roll asunder for the sun1 disclosing far-off snowy ridges and blocks of granite mountains4 ,the lifeless1 soundless waste of rock1 where only thin winds whistle out of silence and fade suddenly into still air1 is passed4 ,then comes the descent1 with its forests of larch and cembra1 golden and dark green upon a ground of grey1 and in front the serried shafts of the ,bernina1 and here and there a glimpse of emerald lake at turnings of the road4 ,autumn is the season for this landscape4 ,through the fading of innumerable leaflets1 the yellowing of larches1 and something vaporous in the low sun1 it gains a colour not unlike that of the lands we seek4 ,by the side of the lake at ,silvaplana the light was strong and warm1 but mellow4 ,pearly clouds hung over the ,maloja1 and floating overhead cast shadows on the opaque water1 which may literally be compared to chrysoprase4 ,the breadth of golden1 brown1 and russet tints upon the valley at this moment adds softness to its lines of level strength4 ,devotees of the ,engadine contend that it possesses an austere charm beyond the common beauty of ,swiss landscape2 but this charm is only perfected in autumn4 ,the fresh snow on the heights that guard it helps4 ,and then there are the forests of dark pines upon those many knolls and undulating mountain-flanks beside the lakes4 ,sitting and dreaming there in noonday sun1 ,i kept repeating to myself ,italiam petimus6 ,a hurricane blew upward from the pass as we left ,silvaplana1 ruffling the lake with gusts of the ,italian wind4 ,by ,silz ,maria we came in sight of a dozen ,italian workmen1 arm linked in arm in two rows1 tramping in rhythmic stride1 and singing as they went4 ,two of them were such nobly built young men1 that for a moment the beauty of the landscape faded from my sight1 and ,i was saddened4 ,they moved to their singing1 like some of ,mason's or ,frederick ,walker's figures1 with the free grace of living statues1 and laughed as we drove by4 ,and yet1 with all their beauty1 industry1 sobriety1 intelligence1 these ,italians of the northern valleys serve the sterner people of the ,grisons like negroes1 doing their roughest work at scanty wages4 ,so we came to the vast ,alpine wall1 and stood on a bare granite slab1 and looked over into ,italy1 as men might lean from the battlements of a fortress4 ,behind lies the ,alpine valley1 grim1 declining slowly northward1 with wind-lashed lakes and glaciers sprawling from storm-broken pyramids of gneiss4 ,below spread the unfathomable depths that lead to ,lombardy1 flooded with sunlight1 filled with swirling vapour1 but never wholly hidden from our sight4 ,for the blast kept shifting the cloud-masses1 and the sun streamed through in spears and bands of sheeny rays4 ,over the parapet our horses dropped1 down through sable spruce and amber larch1 down between tangles of rowan and autumnal underwood4 ,ever as we sank1 the mountains rose--those sharp embattled precipices1 toppling spires1 impendent chasms blurred with mist1 that make the entrance into ,italy sublime4 ,nowhere do the ,alps exhibit their full stature1 their commanding puissance1 with such majesty as in the gates of ,italy2 and of all those gates ,i think there is none to compare with ,maloja1 none certainly to rival it in abruptness of initiation into the ,italian secret4 ,below ,vico ,soprano we pass already into the violets and blues of ,titian's landscape4 ,then come the purple boulders among chestnut trees2 then the double dolomite-like peak of ,pitz ,badin and ,promontogno4 ,it is sad that words can do even less than painting could to bring this window-scene at ,promontogno before another eye4 ,the casement just frames it4 ,in the foreground are meadow slopes1 thinly1 capriciously planted with chestnut trees and walnuts1 each standing with its shadow cast upon the sward4 ,a little farther falls the torrent1 foaming down between black jaws of rain-stained granite1 with the wooden buildings of a rustic mill set on a ledge of rock4 ,suddenly above this landscape soars the valley1 clothing its steep sides on either hand with pines2 and there are emerald isles of pasture on the wooded flanks2 and then cliffs1 where the red-stemmed larches glow2 and at the summit1 shooting into ether with a swathe of mist around their basement1 soar the double peaks1 the one a pyramid1 the other a bold broken crystal not unlike the ,finsteraarhorn seen from ,furka4 ,these are connected by a snowy saddle1 and snow is lying on their inaccessible crags in powdery drifts4 ,sunlight pours between them into the ravine4 ,the green and golden forests now join from either side1 and now recede1 according as the sinuous valley brings their lines together or disparts them4 ,there is a sound of cow-bells on the meadows2 and the roar of the stream is dulled or quickened as the gusts of this ,october wind sweep by or slacken4 ,italiam petimus6 ,tangimus ,italiam6 ,chiavenna is a worthy key to this great gate ,italian4 ,we walked at night in the open galleries of the cathedral cloister--white1 smoothly curving1 well-proportioned loggie1 enclosing a green space1 whence soars the campanile to the stars4 ,the moon had sunk1 but her light still silvered the mountains that stand at watch round ,chiavenna2 and the castle rock was flat and black against that dreamy background4 ,jupiter1 who walked so lately for us on the long ridge of the ,jacobshorn above our pines1 had now an ample space of sky over ,lombardy to light his lamp in4 ,why is it1 we asked each other1 as we smoked our pipes and strolled1 my friend and ,i2--why is it that ,italian beauty does not leave the spirit so untroubled as an ,alpine scene8 ,why do we here desire the flower of some emergent feeling to grow from the air1 or from the soil1 or from humanity to greet us8 ,this sense of want evoked by ,southern beauty is perhaps the antique mythopic yearning4 ,but in our perplexed life it takes another form1 and seems the longing for emotion1 ever fleeting1 ever new1 unrealised1 unreal1 insatiable4 ,,ii4--,,over ,,the ,,apennines ,at ,parma we slept in the ,albergo della ,croce ,bianca1 which is more a bric--brac shop than an inn2 and slept but badly1 for the good folk of ,parma twanged guitars and exercised their hoarse male voices all night in the street below4 ,we were glad when ,christian called us1 at #e ,a4,m41 for an early start across the ,apennines4 ,this was the day of a right ,roman journey4 ,in thirteen and a half hours1 leaving ,parma at #f1 and arriving in ,sarzana at #g4cj1 we flung ourselves across the spine of ,italy1 from the plains of ,eridanus to the seashore of ,etruscan ,luna4 ,i had secured a carriage and extra post-horses the night before2 therefore we found no obstacles upon the road1 but eager drivers1 quick relays1 obsequious postmasters1 change1 speed1 perpetual movement4 ,the road itself is a noble one1 and nobly entertained in all things but accommodation for travellers4 ,at ,berceto1 near the summit of the pass1 we stopped just half an hour1 to lunch off a mouldy hen and six eggs2 but that was all the halt we made4 ,as we drove out of ,parma1 striking across the plain to the ghiara of the ,taro1 the sun rose over the austere autumnal landscape1 with its withered vines and crimson haws4 ,christian1 the mountaineer1 who at home had never seen the sun rise from a flat horizon1 stooped from the box to call attention to this daily recurring miracle1 which on the plain of ,lombardy is no less wonderful than on a rolling sea4 ,from the village of ,fornovo1 where the ,italian ,league was camped awaiting ,charles ,,viii4 upon that memorable ,july morn in #adie1 the road strikes suddenly aside1 gains a spur of the descending ,apennines1 and keeps this vantage till the pass of ,la ,cisa is reached4 ,many windings are occasioned by thus adhering to artes1 but the total result is a gradual ascent with free prospect over plain and mountain4 ,the ,apennines1 built up upon a smaller scale than the ,alps1 perplexed in detail and entangled with cross sections and convergent systems1 lend themselves to this plan of carrying highroads along their ridges instead of following the valley4 ,what is beautiful in the landscape of that northern watershed is the subtlety1 delicacy1 variety1 and intricacy of the mountain outlines4 ,there is drawing wherever the eye falls4 ,each section of the vast expanse is a picture of tossed crests and complicated undulations4 ,and over the whole sea of stationary billows1 light is shed like an ethereal raiment1 with spare colour--blue and grey1 and parsimonious green--in the near foreground4 ,the detail is somewhat dry and monotonous2 for these so finely moulded hills are made up of washed earth1 the immemorial wrecks of earlier mountain ranges4 ,brown villages1 not unlike those of ,midland ,england1 low houses built of stone and tiled with stone1 and square-towered churches1 occur at rare intervals in cultivated hollows1 where there are fields and fruit trees4 ,water is nowhere visible except in the wasteful river-beds4 ,as we rise1 we break into a wilder country1 forested with oak1 where oxen and goats are browsing4 ,the turf is starred with lilac gentian and crocus bells1 but sparely4 ,then comes the highest village1 ,berceto1 with keen ,alpine air4 ,after that1 broad rolling downs of yellowing grass and russet beech-scrub lead onward to the pass ,la ,cisa4 ,the sense of breadth in composition is continually satisfied through this ascent by the fine-drawn lines1 faint tints1 and immense air-spaces of ,italian landscape4 ,each little piece reminds one of ,england2 but the geographical scale is enormously more grandiose1 and the effect of majesty proportionately greater4 ,from ,la ,cisa the road descends suddenly2 for the southern escarpment of the ,apennine1 as of the ,alpine1 barrier is pitched at a far steeper angle than the northern4 ,yet there is no view of the sea4 ,that is excluded by the lower hills which hem the ,magra4 ,the upper valley is beautiful1 with verdant lawns and purple hillsides breaking down into thick chestnut woods1 through which we wound at a rapid pace for nearly an hour4 ,the leaves were still green1 mellowing to golden2 but the fruit was ripe and heavy1 ready at all points to fall4 ,in the still ,october air the husks above our heads would loosen1 and the brown nuts rustle through the foliage1 and with a dull short thud1 like drops of thunder-rain1 break down upon the sod4 ,at the foot of this rich forest1 wedged in between huge buttresses1 we found ,pontremoli1 and changed our horses here for the last time4 ,it was ,sunday1 and the little town was alive with country-folk2 tall stalwart fellows wearing peacock's feathers in their black slouched hats1 and nut-brown maids4 ,from this point the valley of the ,magra is exceeding rich with fruit trees1 vines1 and olives4 ,the tendrils of the vine are yellow now1 and in some places hued like generous wine2 through their thick leaves the sun shot crimson4 ,in one cool garden1 as the day grew dusk1 ,i noticed quince trees laden with pale fruit entangled with pomegranates--green spheres and ruddy amid burnished leaves4 ,by the roadside too were many berries of bright hues2 the glowing red of haws and hips1 the amber of the pyracanthus1 the rose tints of the spindle-wood4 ,these make autumn even lovelier than spring4 ,and then there was a wood of chestnuts carpeted with pale pinkling1 a place to dream of in the twilight4 ,but the main motive of this landscape was the indescribable ,carrara range1 an island of pure form and shooting peaks1 solid marble1 crystalline in shape and texture1 faintly blue against the blue sky1 from which they were but scarce divided4 ,these mountains close the valley to south-east1 and seem as though they belonged to another and more celestial region4 ,soon the sunlight was gone1 and moonrise came to close the day1 as we rolled onward to ,sarzana1 through arundo donax and vine-girdled olive trees and villages1 where contadini lounged upon the bridges4 ,there was a stream of sound in our ears1 and in my brain a rhythmic dance of beauties caught through the long-drawn glorious golden autumn-day4 ,,iii4--,,fosdinovo ,the hamlet and the castle of ,fosdinovo stand upon a mountain-spur above ,sarzana1 commanding the valley of the ,magra and the plains of ,luni4 ,this is an ancient fief of the ,malaspina ,house1 and is still in the possession of the ,marquis of that name4 ,the road to ,fosdinovo strikes across the level through an avenue of plane trees1 shedding their discoloured leaves4 ,it then takes to the open fields1 bordered with tall reeds waving from the foss on either hand1 where grapes are hanging to the vines4 ,the country-folk allow their vines to climb into the olives1 and these golden festoons are a great ornament to the grey branches4 ,the berries on the trees are still quite green1 and it is a good olive season4 ,leaving the main road1 we pass a villa of the ,malaspini1 shrouded in immense thickets of sweet bay and ilex1 forming a grove for the ,nymphs or ,pan4 ,here may you see just such clean stems and lucid foliage as ,gian ,bellini painted1 inch by inch1 in his ,peter ,martyr picture4 ,the place is neglected now2 the semicircular seats of white ,carrara marble are stained with green mosses1 the altars chipped1 the fountains choked with bay leaves2 and the rose trees1 escaped from what were once trim garden alleys1 have gone wandering a-riot into country hedges4 ,there is no demarcation between the great man's villa and the neighbouring farms4 ,from this point the path rises1 and the barren hillside is a-bloom with late-flowering myrtles4 ,why did the ,greeks consecrate these myrtle-rods to ,death as well as ,love8 ,electra complained that her father's tomb had not received the honour of the myrtle branch2 and the ,athenians wreathed their swords with myrtle in memory of ,harmodius4 ,thinking of these matters1 ,i cannot but remember lines of ,greek1 which have themselves the rectitude and elasticity of myrtle wands3 7,greek37 kai prospesn eklaus' ermias tuchn spondas te lusas askon hon pher xenois espeisa tumb d'amphethka mursinas4 ,as we approach ,fosdinovo1 the hills above us gain sublimity2 the prospect over plain and sea--the fields where ,luna was1 the widening bay of ,spezzia--grows ever grander4 ,the castle is a ruin1 still capable of partial habitation1 and now undergoing repair--the state in which a ruin looks most sordid and forlorn4 ,how strange it is1 too1 that1 to enforce this sense of desolation1 sad dishevelled weeds cling ever to such antique masonry6 ,here are the henbane1 the sow-thistle1 the wild cucumber4 ,at ,avignon1 at ,orvieto1 at ,dolce ,acqua1 at ,les ,baux1 we never missed them4 ,and they have the dusty courtyards1 the massive portals1 where portcullises still threaten1 of ,fosdinovo to themselves4 ,over the gate1 and here and there on corbels1 are carved the arms of ,malaspina--a barren thorn-tree1 gnarled with the geometrical precision of heraldic irony4 ,leaning from the narrow windows of this castle1 with the spacious view to westward1 ,i thought of ,dante4 ,for ,dante in this castle was the guest of ,moroello ,malaspina1 what time he was yet finishing the ',inferno4' ,there is a little old neglected garden1 full to south1 enclosed upon a rampart which commands the ,borgo1 where we found frail canker-roses and yellow amaryllis4 ,here1 perhaps1 he may have sat with ladies--for this was the ,marchesa's pleasaunce2 or may have watched through a short summer's night1 until he saw that tremolar della marina1 portending dawn1 which afterwards he painted in the ',purgatory4' ,from ,fosdinovo one can trace the ,magra work its way out seaward1 not into the plain where once the candentia moenia ,lunae flashed sunrise from their battlements1 but close beside the little hills which back the southern arm of the ,spezzian gulf4 ,at the extreme end of that promontory1 called ,del ,corvo1 stood the ,benedictine convent of ,s4 ,croce2 and it was here in #acji1 if we may trust to tradition1 that ,dante1 before his projected journey into ,france1 appeared and left the first part of his poem with the ,prior4 ,fra ,ilario1 such was the good father's name1 received commission to transmit the ',inferno' to ,uguccione della ,faggiuola2 and he subsequently recorded the fact of ,dante's visit in a letter which1 though its genuineness has been called in question1 is far too interesting to be left without allusion4 ,the writer says that on occasion of a journey into lands beyond the ,riviera1 ,dante visited this convent1 appearing silent and unknown among the monks4 ,to the ,prior's question what he wanted1 he gazed upon the brotherhood1 and only answered1 ',peace6' ,afterwards1 in private conversation1 he communicated his name and spoke about his poem4 ,a portion of the ',divine ,comedy' composed in the ,italian tongue aroused ,ilario's wonder1 and led him to inquire why his guest had not followed the usual course of learned poets by committing his thoughts to ,latin4 ,dante replied that he had first intended to write in that language1 and that he had gone so far as to begin the poem in ,virgilian hexameters4 ,reflection upon the altered conditions of society in that age led him1 however1 to reconsider the matter2 and he was resolved to tune another lyre1 'suited to the sense of modern men4' ',for1' said he1 'it is idle to set solid food before the lips of sucklings4' ,if we can trust ,fra ,ilario's letter as a genuine record1 which is unhappily a matter of some doubt1 we have in this narration not only a picturesque1 almost a melodramatically picturesque glimpse of the poet's apparition to those quiet monks in their seagirt house of peace1 but also an interesting record of the destiny which presided over the first great work of literary art in a distinctly modern language4 ,,iv4--,,la ,,spezzia ,while we were at ,fosdinovo the sky filmed over1 and there came a halo round the sun4 ,this portended change2 and by evening1 after we had reached ,la ,spezzia1 earth1 sea1 and air were conscious of a coming tempest4 ,at night ,i went down to the shore1 and paced the sea-wall they have lately built along the ,rada4 ,the moon was up1 but overdriven with dry smoky clouds1 now thickening to blackness over the whole bay1 now leaving intervals through which the light poured fitfully and fretfully upon the wrinkled waves2 and ever and anon they shuddered with electric gleams which were not actual lightning4 ,heaven seemed to be descending on the sea2 one might have fancied that some powerful charms were drawing down the moon with influence malign upon those still resisting billows4 ,for not as yet the gulf was troubled to its depth1 and not as yet the breakers dashed in foam against the moonlight-smitten promontories4 ,there was but an uneasy murmuring of wave to wave2 a whispering of wind1 that stooped its wing and hissed along the surface1 and withdrew into the mystery of clouds again2 a momentary chafing of churned water round the harbour piers1 subsiding into silence petulant and sullen4 ,i leaned against an iron stanchion and longed for the sea's message4 ,but nothing came to me1 and the drowned secret of ,shelley's death those waves which were his grave revealed not4 ,howler and scooper of storms6 capricious and dainty sea6 ,meanwhile the incantation swelled in shrillness1 the electric shudders deepened4 ,alone in this elemental overture to tempest ,i took no note of time1 but felt1 through self-abandonment to the symphonic influence1 how sea and air1 and clouds akin to both1 were dealing with each other complainingly1 and in compliance to some maker of unrest within them4 ,a touch upon my shoulder broke this trance2 ,i turned and saw a boy beside me in a coastguard's uniform4 ,francesco was on patrol that night2 but my ,english accent soon assured him that ,i was no contrabbandiere1 and he too leaned against the stanchion and told me his short story4 ,he was in his nineteenth year1 and came from ,florence1 where his people live in the ,borgo ,ognissanti4 ,he had all the brightness of the ,tuscan folk1 a sort of innocent malice mixed with espieglerie4 ,it was diverting to see the airs he gave himself on the strength of his new military dignity1 his gun1 and uniform1 and night duty on the shore4 ,i could not help humming to myself ,non pi andrai2 for ,francesco was a sort of ,tuscan ,cherubino4 ,we talked about picture galleries and libraries in ,florence1 and ,i had to hear his favourite passages from the ,italian poets4 ,and then there came the plots of ,jules ,verne's stories and marvellous narrations about l' uomo cavallo1 l' uomo volante1 l' uomo pesce4 ,the last of these personages turned out to be ,paolo ,bonton 7so pronounced71 who had swam the ,arno in his diving dress1 passing the several bridges1 and when he came to the great weir 'allora tutti stare con bocca aperta4' ,meanwhile the storm grew serious1 and our conversation changed4 ,francesco told me about the terrible sun-stricken sand shores of the ,riviera1 burning in summer noon1 over which the coast-guard has to tramp1 their perils from falling stones in storm1 and the trains that come rushing from those narrow tunnels on the midnight line of march4 ,it is a hard life2 and the thirst for adventure which drove this boy--'il pi matto di tutta la famiglia'--to adopt it1 seems well-nigh quenched4 ,and still1 with a return to ,giulio ,verne1 he talked enthusiastically of deserting1 of getting on board a merchant ship1 and working his way to southern islands where wonders are4 ,a furious blast swept the whole sky for a moment almost clear4 ,the moonlight fell1 with racing cloud-shadows1 upon sea and hills1 the lights of ,lerici1 the great fanali at the entrance of the gulf1 and ,francesco's upturned handsome face4 ,then all again was whirled in mist and foam2 one breaker smote the sea wall in a surge of froth1 another plunged upon its heels2 with inconceivable swiftness came rain2 lightning deluged the expanse of surf1 and showed the windy trees bent landward by the squall4 ,it was long past midnight now1 and the storm was on us for the space of three days4 ,v4--,,porto ,,venere ,for the next three days the wind went worrying on1 and a line of surf leapt on the sea-wall always to the same height4 ,the hills all around were inky black and weary4 ,at night the wild libeccio still rose1 with floods of rain and lightning poured upon the waste4 ,i thought of the ,florentine patrol4 ,is he out in it1 and where8 ,at last there came a lull4 ,when we rose on the fourth morning1 the sky was sulky1 spent and sleepy after storm--the air as soft and tepid as boiled milk or steaming flannel4 ,we drove along the shore to ,porto ,venere1 passing the arsenals and dockyards1 which have changed the face of ,spezzia since ,shelley knew it4 ,this side of the gulf is not so rich in vegetation as the other1 probably because it lies open to the winds from the ,carrara mountains4 ,the chestnuts come down to the shore in many places1 bringing with them the wild mountain-side4 ,to make up for this lack of luxuriance1 the coast is furrowed with a succession of tiny harbours1 where the fishing-boats rest at anchor4 ,there are many villages upon the spurs of hills1 and on the headlands naval stations1 hospitals1 lazzaretti1 and prisons4 ,a prickly bindweed 7the ,smilax ,sarsaparilla7 forms a feature in the near landscape1 with its creamy odoriferous blossoms1 coral berries1 and glossy thorned leaves4 ,a turn of the road brought ,porto ,venere in sight1 and on its grey walls flashed a gleam of watery sunlight4 ,the village consists of one long narrow street1 the houses on the left side hanging sheer above the sea4 ,their doors at the back open on to cliffs which drop about fifty feet upon the water4 ,a line of ancient walls1 with mediaeval battlements and shells of chambers suspended midway between earth and sky1 runs up the rock behind the town2 and this wall is pierced with a deep gateway above which the inn is piled4 ,we had our lunch in a room opening upon the town-gate1 adorned with a deep-cut ,pisan arch enclosing images and frescoes--a curious episode in a place devoted to the jollity of smugglers and seafaring folk4 ,the whole house was such as ,tintoretto loved to paint--huge wooden rafters2 open chimneys with pent-house canopies of stone1 where the cauldrons hung above logs of chestnut2 rude low tables spread with coarse linen embroidered at the edges1 and laden with plates of fishes1 fruit1 quaint glass1 big-bellied jugs of earthenware1 and flasks of yellow wine4 ,the people of the place were lounging round in lazy attitudes4 ,there were odd nooks and corners everywhere2 unexpected staircases with windows slanting through the thickness of the town-wall2 pictures of saints2 high-zoned serving women1 on whose broad shoulders lay big coral beads2 smoke-blackened roofs1 and balconies that opened on the sea4 ,the house was inexhaustible in motives for pictures4 ,we walked up the street1 attended by a rabble rout of boys--diavoli scatenati--clean1 grinning1 white-teethed1 who kept incessantly shouting1 ',soldo1 soldo6' ,i do not know why these sea-urchins are so far more irrepressible than their land brethren4 ,but it is always thus in ,italy4 ,they take an imperturbable delight in noise and mere annoyance4 ,i shall never forget the sea-roar of ,porto ,venere1 with that shrill obligate1 ',soldo1 soldo1 soldo6' rattling like a dropping fire from lungs of brass4 ,at the end of ,porto ,venere is a withered and abandoned city1 climbing the cliffs of ,s4 ,pietro2 and on the headland stands the ruined church1 built by ,pisans with alternate rows of white and black marble1 upon the site of an old temple of ,venus4 ,this is a modest and pure piece of ,gothic architecture1 fair in desolation1 refined and dignified1 and not unworthy in its grace of the dead ,cyprian goddess4 ,through its broken lancets the sea-wind whistles and the vast reaches of the ,tyrrhene gulf are seen4 ,samphire sprouts between the blocks of marble1 and in sheltered nooks the caper hangs her beautiful purpureal snowy bloom4 ,the headland is a bold block of white limestone stained with red4 ,it has the pitch of ,exmoor stooping to the sea near ,lynton4 ,to north1 as one looks along the coast1 the line is broken by ,porto ,fino's amethystine promontory2 and in the vaporous distance we could trace the ,riviera mountains1 shadowy and blue4 ,the sea came roaring1 rolling in with tawny breakers2 but1 far out1 it sparkled in pure azure1 and the cloud-shadows over it were violet4 ,where ,corsica should have been seen1 soared banks of fleecy1 broad-domed alabaster clouds4 ,this point1 once dedicated to ,venus1 now to ,peter--both1 be it remembered1 fishers of men--is one of the most singular in ,europe4 ,the island of ,palmaria1 rich in veined marbles1 shelters the port2 so that outside the sea rages1 while underneath the town1 reached by a narrow strait1 there is a windless calm4 ,it was not without reason that our ,lady of ,beauty took this fair gulf to herself2 and now that she has long been dispossessed1 her memory lingers yet in names4 ,for ,porto ,venere remembers her1 and ,lerici is only ,eryx4 ,there is a grotto here1 where an inscription tells us that ,byron once 'tempted the ,ligurian waves4' ,it is just such a natural sea-cave as might have inspired ,euripides when he described the refuge of ,orestes in ',iphigenia4' ,,vi4--,,lerici ,libeccio at last had swept the sky clear4 ,the gulf was ridged with foam-fleeced breakers1 and the water churned into green1 tawny wastes4 ,but overhead there flew the softest clouds1 all silvery1 dispersed in flocks4 ,it is the day for pilgrimage to what was ,shelley's home4 ,after following the shore a little way1 the road to ,lerici breaks into the low hills which part ,la ,spezzia from ,sarzana4 ,the soil is red1 and overgrown with arbutus and pinaster1 like the country around ,cannes4 ,through the scattered trees it winds gently upwards1 with frequent views across the gulf1 and then descends into a land rich with olives--a genuine ,riviera landscape1 where the mountain-slopes are hoary1 and spikelets of innumerable light-flashing leaves twinkle against a blue sea1 misty-deep4 ,the walls here are not unfrequently adorned with basreliefs of ,carrara marble--saints and madonnas very delicately wrought1 as though they were love-labours of sculptors who had passed a summer on this shore4 ,san ,terenzio is soon discovered low upon the sands to the right1 nestling under little cliffs2 and then the high-built castle of ,lerici comes in sight1 looking across1 the bay to ,porto ,venere--one ,aphrodite calling to the other1 with the foam between4 ,the village is piled around its cove with tall and picturesquely coloured houses2 the molo and the fishing-boats lie just beneath the castle4 ,there is one point of the descending carriage road where all this gracefulness is seen1 framed by the boughs of olive branches1 swaying1 wind-ruffled1 laughing the many-twinkling smiles of ocean back from their grey leaves4 ,here ,erycina ridens is at home4 ,and1 as we stayed to dwell upon the beauty of the scene1 came women from the bay below--barefooted1 straight as willow wands1 with burnished copper bowls upon their heads4 ,these women have the port of goddesses1 deep-bosomed1 with the length of thigh and springing ankles that betoken strength no less than elasticity and grace4 ,the hair of some of them was golden1 rippling in little curls around brown brows and glowing eyes4 ,pale lilac blent with orange on their dress1 and coral beads hung from their ears4 ,at ,lerici we took a boat and pushed into the rolling breakers4 ,christian now felt the movement of the sea for the first time4 ,this was rather a rude trial1 for the grey-maned monsters played1 as it seemed1 at will with our cockle-shell1 tumbling in dolphin curves to reach the shore4 ,our boatmen knew all about ,shelley and the ,casa ,magni4 ,it is not at ,lerici1 but close to ,san ,terenzio1 upon the south side of the village4 ,looking across the bay from the molo1 one could clearly see its square white mass1 tiled roof1 and terrace built on rude arcades with a broad orange awning4 ,trelawny's description hardly prepares one for so considerable a place4 ,i think the ,english exiles of that period must have been exacting if the ,casa ,magni seemed to them no better than a bathing-house4 ,we left our boat at the jetty1 and walked through some gardens to the villa4 ,there we were kindly entertained by the present occupiers1 who1 when ,i asked them whether such visits as ours were not a great annoyance1 gently but feelingly replied3 ',it is not so bad now as it used to be4' ,the ,english gentleman who rents the ,casa ,magni has known it uninterruptedly since ,shelley's death1 and has used it for villeggiatura during the last thirty years4 ,we found him in the central sitting-room1 which readers of ,trelawny's ',recollections' have so often pictured to themselves4 ,the large oval table1 the settees round the walls1 and some of the pictures are still unchanged4 ,as we sat talking1 ,i laughed to think of that luncheon party1 when ,shelley lost his clothes1 and came naked1 dripping with sea-water1 into the room1 protected by the skirts of the sympathising waiting-maid4 ,and then ,i wondered where they found him on the night when he stood screaming in his sleep1 after the vision of his veiled self1 with its question1 ',siete soddisfatto8' ,there were great ilexes behind the house in ,shelley's time1 which have been cut down1 and near these he is said to have sat and written the ',triumph of ,life4' ,some new houses1 too1 have been built between the villa and the town2 otherwise the place is unaltered4 ,only an awning has been added to protect the terrace from the sun4 ,i walked out on this terrace1 where ,shelley used to listen to ,jane's singing4 ,the sea was fretting at its base1 just as ,mrs4 ,shelley says it did when the ,don ,juan disappeared4 ,from ,san ,terenzio we walked back to ,lerici through olive woods1 attended by a memory which toned the almost overpowering beauty of the place to sadness4 ,,vii4--,,viareggio ,the same memory drew us1 a few days later1 to the spot where ,shelley's body was burned4 ,viareggio is fast becoming a fashionable watering-place for the people of ,florence and ,lucca1 who seek fresher air and simpler living than ,livorno offers4 ,it has the usual new inns and improvised lodging-houses of such places1 built on the outskirts of a little fishing village1 with a boundless stretch of noble sands4 ,there is a wooden pier on which we walked1 watching the long roll of waves1 foam-flaked1 and quivering with moonlight4 ,the ,apennines faded into the grey sky beyond1 and the sea-wind was good to breathe4 ,there is a feeling of 'immensity1 liberty1 action' here1 which is not common in ,italy4 ,it reminds us of ,england2 and to-night the ,mediterranean had the rough force of a tidal sea4 ,morning revealed beauty enough in ,viareggio to surprise even one who expects from ,italy all forms of loveliness4 ,the sand-dunes stretch for miles between the sea and a low wood of stone pines1 with the ,carrara hills descending from their glittering pinnacles by long lines to the headlands of the ,spezzian ,gulf4 ,the immeasurable distance was all painted in sky-blue and amethyst2 then came the golden green of the dwarf firs2 and then dry yellow in the grasses of the dunes2 and then the many-tinted sea1 with surf tossed up against the furthest cliffs4 ,it is a wonderful and tragic view1 to which no painter but the ,roman ,costa has done justice2 and he1 it may be said1 has made this landscape of the ,carrarese his own4 ,the space between sand and pine-wood was covered with faint1 yellow1 evening primroses4 ,they flickered like little harmless flames in sun and shadow1 and the spires of the ,carrara range were giant flames transformed to marble4 ,the memory of that day described by ,trelawny in a passage of immortal ,english prose1 when he and ,byron and ,leigh ,hunt stood beside the funeral pyre1 and libations were poured1 and the ',cor ,cordium' was found inviolate among the ashes1 turned all my thoughts to flame beneath the gentle autumn sky4 ,still haunted by these memories1 we took the carriage road to ,pisa1 over which ,shelley's friends had hurried to and fro through those last days4 ,it passes an immense forest of stone-pines--aisles and avenues2 undergrowth of ilex1 laurustinus1 gorse1 and myrtle2 the crowded cyclamens1 the solemn silence of the trees2 the winds hushed in their velvet roof and stationary domes of verdure4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,parma ,parma is perhaps the brightest ,residenzstadt of the second class in ,italy4 ,built on a sunny and fertile tract of the ,lombard plain1 within view of the ,alps1 and close beneath the shelter of the ,apennines1 it shines like a well-set gem with stately towers and cheerful squares in the midst of verdure4 ,the cities of ,lombardy are all like large country houses3 walking out of their gates1 you seem to be stepping from a door or window that opens on a trim and beautiful garden1 where mulberry-tree is married to mulberry by festoons of vines1 and where the maize and sunflower stand together in rows between patches of flax and hemp4 ,but it is not in order to survey the union of well-ordered husbandry with the civilities of ancient city-life that we break the journey at ,parma between ,milan and ,bologna4 ,we are attracted rather by the fame of one great painter1 whose work1 though it may be studied piecemeal in many galleries of ,europe1 in ,parma has a fulness1 largeness1 and mastery that can nowhere else be found4 ,in ,parma alone ,correggio challenges comparison with ,raphael1 with ,tintoret1 with all the supreme decorative painters who have deigned to make their art the handmaid of architecture4 ,yet even in the cathedral and the church of ,s4 ,giovanni1 where ,correggio's frescoes cover cupola and chapel wall1 we could scarcely comprehend his greatness now--so cruelly have time and neglect dealt with those delicate dream-shadows of celestial fairyland--were it not for an interpreter1 who consecrated a lifetime to the task of translating his master's poetry of fresco into the prose of engraving4 ,that man was ,paolo ,toschi--a name to be ever venerated by all lovers of the arts2 since without his guidance we should hardly know what to seek for in the ruined splendours of the domes of ,parma1 or even seeking1 how to find the object of our search4 ,toschi's labour was more effectual than that of a restorer however skilful1 more loving than that of a follower however faithful4 ,he respected ,correggio's handiwork with religious scrupulousness1 adding not a line or tone or touch of colour to the fading frescoes2 but he lived among them1 aloft on scaffoldings1 and face to face with the originals which he designed to reproduce4 ,by long and close familiarity1 by obstinate and patient interrogation1 he divined ,correggio's secret1 and was able at last to see clearly through the mist of cobweb and mildew and altar smoke1 and through the still more cruel travesty of so-called restoration4 ,what he discovered1 he faithfully committed first to paper in water colours1 and then to copperplate with the burin1 so that we enjoy the privilege of seeing ,correggio's masterpieces as ,toschi saw them1 with the eyes of genius and of love and of long scientific study4 ,it is not too much to say that some of ,correggio's most charming compositions--for example1 the dispute of ,s4 ,augustine and ,s4 ,john--have been resuscitated from the grave by ,toschi's skill4 ,the original offers nothing but a mouldering surface from which the painter's work has dropped in scales4 ,the engraving presents a design which we doubt not was ,correggio's1 for it corresponds in all particulars to the style and spirit of the master4 ,to be critical in dealing with so successful an achievement of restoration and translation is difficult4 ,yet it may be admitted once and for all that ,toschi has not unfrequently enfeebled his original4 ,under his touch ,correggio loses somewhat of his sensuous audacity1 his dithyrambic ecstasy1 and approaches the ordinary standard of prettiness and graceful beauty4 ,the ,diana of the ,camera di ,s4 ,paolo1 for instance1 has the strong calm splendour of a goddess3 the same ,diana in ,toschi's engraving seems about to smile with girlish joy4 ,in a word1 the engraver was a man of a more common stamp--more timid and more conventional than the painter4 ,but this is after all a trifling deduction from the value of his work4 ,our debt to ,paolo ,toschi is such that it would be ungrateful not to seek some details of his life4 ,the few that can be gathered even at ,parma are brief and bald enough4 ,the newspaper articles and funeral panegyrics which refer to him are as barren as all such occasional notices in ,italy have always been2 the panegyrist seeming more anxious about his own style than eager to communicate information4 ,yet a bare outline of ,toschi's biography may be supplied4 ,he was born at ,parma in #aghh4 ,his father was cashier of the post-office1 and his mother's name was ,anna ,maria ,brest4 ,early in his youth he studied painting at ,parma under ,biagio ,martini2 and in #ahji he went to ,paris1 where he learned the art of engraving from ,bervic and of etching from ,oortman4 ,in ,paris he contracted an intimate friendship with the painter ,grard4 ,but after ten years he returned to ,parma1 where he established a company and school of engravers in concert with his friend ,antonio ,isac4 ,maria ,louisa1 the then ,duchess1 under whose patronage the arts flourished at ,parma 7witness ,bodoni's exquisite typography71 soon recognised his merit1 and appointed him ,director of the ,ducal ,academy4 ,he then formed the project of engraving a series of the whole of ,correggio's frescoes4 ,the undertaking was a vast one4 ,both the cupolas of ,s4 ,john and the cathedral1 together with the vault of the apse of ,s4 ,giovanni#aj and various portions of the side aisles1 and the so-called ,camera di ,s4 ,paolo1 are covered by frescoes of ,correggio and his pupil ,parmegiano4 ,these frescoes have suffered so much from neglect and time1 and from unintelligent restoration1 that it is difficult in many cases to determine their true character4 ,yet ,toschi did not content himself with selections1 or shrink from the task of deciphering and engraving the whole4 ,he formed a school of disciples1 among whom were ,carlo ,raimondi of ,milan1 ,antonio ,costa of ,venice1 ,edward ,eichens of ,berlin1 ,aloisio ,juvara of ,naples1 ,antonio ,dalc1 ,giuseppe ,magnani1 and ,lodovico ,bisola of ,parma1 and employed them as assistants in his work4 ,death overtook him in #ahed1 before it was finished1 and now the water-colour drawings which are exhibited in the ,gallery of ,parma prove to what extent the achievement fell short of his design4 ,enough1 however1 was accomplished to place the chief masterpieces of ,correggio beyond the possibility of utter oblivion4 ,to the piety of his pupil ,carlo ,raimondi1 the bearer of a name illustrious in the annals of engraving1 we owe a striking portrait of ,toschi4 ,the master is represented on his seat upon the scaffold in the dizzy half-light of the dome4 ,the shadowy forms of saints and angels are around him4 ,he has raised his eyes from his cartoon to study one of these4 ,in his right hand is the opera-glass with which he scrutinises the details of distant groups4 ,the upturned face1 with its expression of contemplative intelligence1 is like that of an astronomer accustomed to commerce with things above the sphere of common life1 and ready to give account of all that he has gathered from his observation of a world not ours4 ,in truth the world created by ,correggio and interpreted by ,toschi is very far removed from that of actual existence4 ,no painter has infused a more distinct individuality into his work1 realising by imaginative force and powerful projection an order of beauty peculiar to himself1 before which it is impossible to remain quite indifferent4 ,we must either admire the manner of ,correggio1 or else shrink from it with the distaste which sensual art is apt to stir in natures of a severe or simple type4 ,what1 then1 is the ,correggiosity of ,correggio8 ,in other words1 what is the characteristic which1 proceeding from the personality of the artist1 is impressed on all his work8 ,the answer to this question1 though by no means simple1 may perhaps be won by a process of gradual analysis4 ,the first thing that strikes us in the art of ,correggio is1 that he has aimed at the realistic representation of pure unrealities4 ,his saints and angels are beings the like of whom we have hardly seen upon the earth4 ,yet they are displayed before us with all the movement and the vivid truth of nature4 ,next we feel that what constitutes the superhuman1 visionary quality of these creatures1 is their uniform beauty of a merely sensuous type4 ,they are all created for pleasure1 not for thought or passion or activity or heroism4 ,the uses of their brains1 their limbs1 their every feature1 end in enjoyment2 innocent and radiant wantonness is the condition of their whole existence4 ,correggio conceived the universe under the one mood of sensuous joy3 his world was bathed in luxurious light2 its inhabitants were capable of little beyond a soft voluptuousness4 ,over the domain of tragedy he had no sway1 and very rarely did he attempt to enter on it3 nothing1 for example1 can be feebler than his endeavour to express anguish in the distorted features of ,madonna1 ,s4 ,john1 and the ,magdalen1 who are bending over the dead body of a ,christ extended in the attitude of languid repose4 ,in like manner he could not deal with subjects which demand a pregnancy of intellectual meaning4 ,he paints the three ,fates like young and joyous ,bacchantes1 places rose-garlands and thyrsi in their hands instead of the distaff and the thread of human destinies1 and they might figure appropriately upon the panels of a banquet-chamber in ,pompeii4 ,in this respect ,correggio might be termed the ,rossini of painting4 ,the melodies of the ',stabat ,mater'--,fac ut portem or ,quis est homo--are the exact analogues in music of ,correggio's voluptuous renderings of grave or mysterious motives4 ,nor1 again1 did he possess that severe and lofty art of composition which subordinates the fancy to the reason1 and which seeks for the highest intellectual beauty in a kind of architectural harmony supreme above the melodies of gracefulness in detail4 ,the ,florentines and those who shared their spirit--,michelangelo and ,lionardo and ,raphael--deriving this principle of design from the geometrical art of the ,middle ,ages1 converted it to the noblest uses in their vast well-ordered compositions4 ,but ,correggio ignored the laws of scientific construction4 ,it was enough for him to produce a splendid and brilliant effect by the life and movement of his figures1 and by the intoxicating beauty of his forms4 ,his type of beauty1 too1 is by no means elevated4 ,lionardo painted souls whereof the features and the limbs are but an index4 ,the charm of ,michelangelo's ideal is like a flower upon a tree of rugged strength4 ,raphael aims at the loveliness which cannot be disjoined from goodness4 ,but ,correggio is contented with bodies 'delicate and desirable4' ,his angels are genii disimprisoned from the perfumed chalices of flowers1 houris of an erotic paradise1 elemental spirits of nature wantoning in ,eden in her prime4 ,to accuse the painter of conscious immorality or of what is stigmatised as sensuality1 would be as ridiculous as to class his seraphic beings among the products of the ,christian imagination4 ,they belong to the generation of the fauns2 like fauns1 they combine a certain savage wildness1 a dithyrambic ecstasy of inspiration1 a delight in rapid movement as they revel amid clouds or flowers1 with the permanent and all-pervading sweetness of the master's style4 ,when infantine or childlike1 these celestial sylphs are scarcely to be distinguished for any noble quality of beauty from ,murillo's cherubs1 and are far less divine than the choir of children who attend ,madonna in ,titian's ',assumption4' ,but in their boyhood and their prime of youth1 they acquire a fulness of sensuous vitality and a radiance that are peculiar to ,correggio4 ,the lily-bearer who helps to support ,s4 ,thomas beneath the dome of the cathedral at ,parma1 the groups of seraphs who crowd behind the ,incoronata of ,s4 ,giovanni1 and the two wild-eyed open-mouthed ,s4 ,johns stationed at each side of the celestial throne1 are among the most splendid instances of the adolescent loveliness conceived by ,correggio4 ,where the painter found their models may be questioned but not answered2 for he has made them of a different fashion from the race of mortals3 no court of ,roman emperor or ,turkish sultan1 though stocked with the flowers of ,bithynian and ,circassian youth1 have seen their like4 ,mozart's ,cherubino seems to have sat for all of them4 ,at any rate they incarnate the very spirit of the songs he sings4 ,as a consequence of this predilection for sensuous and voluptuous forms1 ,correggio had no power of imagining grandly or severely4 ,satisfied with material realism in his treatment even of sublime mysteries1 he converts the hosts of heaven into a 'fricassee of frogs1' according to the old epigram4 ,his apostles1 gazing after the ,virgin who has left the earth1 are thrown into attitudes so violent and so dramatically foreshortened1 that seen from below upon the pavement of the cathedral1 little of their form is distinguishable except legs and arms in vehement commotion4 ,very different is ,titian's conception of this scene4 ,to express the spiritual meaning1 the emotion of ,madonna's transit1 with all the pomp which colour and splendid composition can convey1 is ,titian's sole care2 whereas ,correggio appears to have been satisfied with realising the tumult of heaven rushing to meet earth1 and earth straining upwards to ascend to heaven in violent commotion--a very orgasm of frenetic rapture4 ,the essence of the event is forgotten3 its external manifestation alone is presented to the eye2 and only the accessories of beardless angels and cloud-encumbered cherubs are really beautiful amid a surge of limbs in restless movement4 ,more dignified1 because designed with more repose1 is the ,apocalypse of ,s4 ,john painted upon the cupola of ,s4 ,giovanni4 ,the apostles throned on clouds1 with which the dome is filled1 gaze upward to one point4 ,their attitudes are noble2 their form is heroic2 in their eyes there is the strange ecstatic look by which ,correggio interpreted his sense of supernatural vision3 it is a gaze not of contemplation or deep thought1 but of wild half-savage joy1 as if these saints also had become the elemental genii of cloud and air1 spirits emergent from ether1 the salamanders of an empyrean intolerable to mortal sense4 ,the point on which their eyes converge1 the culmination of their vision1 is the figure of ,christ4 ,here all the weakness of ,correggio's method is revealed4 ,he had undertaken to realise by no ideal allegorical suggestion1 by no symbolism of architectural grouping1 but by actual prosaic measurement1 by corporeal form in subjection to the laws of perspective and foreshortening1 things which in their very essence admit of only a figurative revelation4 ,therefore his ,christ1 the centre of all those earnest eyes1 is contracted to a shape in which humanity itself is mean1 a sprawling figure which irresistibly reminds one of a frog4 ,the clouds on which the saints repose are opaque and solid2 cherubs in countless multitudes1 a swarm of merry children1 crawl about upon these feather-beds of vapour1 creep between the legs of the apostles1 and play at bopeep behind their shoulders4 ,there is no propriety in their appearance there4 ,they take no interest in the beatific vision4 ,they play no part in the celestial symphony2 nor are they capable of more than merely infantine enjoyment4 ,correggio has sprinkled them lavishly like living flowers about his cloudland1 because he could not sustain a grave and solemn strain of music1 but was forced by his temperament to overlay the melody with roulades4 ,gazing at these frescoes1 the thought came to me that ,correggio was like a man listening to sweetest flute-playing1 and translating phrase after phrase as they passed through his fancy into laughing faces1 breezy tresses1 and rolling mists4 ,sometimes a grander cadence reached his ear2 and then ,s4 ,peter with the keys1 or ,s4 ,augustine of the mighty brow1 or the inspired eyes of ,s4 ,john1 took form beneath his pencil4 ,but the light airs returned1 and rose and lily faces bloomed again for him among the clouds4 ,it is not therefore in dignity or sublimity that ,correggio excels1 but in artless grace and melodious tenderness4 ,the ,madonna della ,scala clasping her baby with a caress which the little child returns1 ,s4 ,catherine leaning in a rapture of ecstatic love to wed the infant ,christ1 ,s4 ,sebastian in the bloom of almost boyish beauty1 are the so-called sacred subjects to which the painter was adequate1 and which he has treated with the voluptuous tenderness we find in his pictures of ,leda and ,danae and ,io4 ,could these saints and martyrs descend from ,correggio's canvas1 and take flesh1 and breathe1 and begin to live2 of what high action1 of what grave passion1 of what exemplary conduct in any walk of life would they be capable8 ,that is the question which they irresistibly suggest2 and we are forced to answer1 ,none6 ,the moral and religious world did not exist for ,correggio4 ,his art was but a way of seeing carnal beauty in a dream that had no true relation to reality4 ,correggio's sensibility to light and colour was exactly on a par with his feeling for form4 ,he belongs to the poets of chiaroscuro and the poets of colouring2 but in both regions he maintains the individuality so strongly expressed in his choice of purely sensuous beauty4 ,tintoretto makes use of light and shade for investing his great compositions with dramatic intensity4 ,rembrandt interprets sombre and fantastic moods of the mind by golden gloom and silvery irradiation1 translating thought into the language of penumbral mystery4 ,lionardo studies the laws of light scientifically1 so that the proper roundness and effect of distance should be accurately rendered1 and all the subtleties of nature's smiles be mimicked4 ,correggio is content with fixing on his canvas the ,greek3 anrithmon gelasma1 the many-twinkling laughter of light in motion1 rained down through fleecy clouds or trembling foliage1 melting into half-shadows1 bathing and illuminating every object with a soft caress4 ,there are no tragic contrasts of splendour sharply defined on blackness1 no mysteries of half-felt and pervasive twilight1 no studied accuracies of noonday clearness in his work4 ,light and shadow are woven together on his figures like an impalpable ,coan gauze1 arial and transparent1 enhancing the palpitations of voluptuous movement which he loved4 ,his colouring1 in like manner1 has none of the superb and mundane pomp which the ,venetians affected2 it does not glow or burn or beat the fire of gems into our brain2 joyous and wanton1 it seems to be exactly such a beauty-bloom as sense requires for its satiety4 ,there is nothing in his hues to provoke deep passion or to stimulate the yearnings of the soul3 the pure blushes of the dawn and the crimson pyres of sunset are nowhere in the world that he has painted4 ,but that chord of jocund colour which may fitly be married to the smiles of light1 the blues which are found in laughing eyes1 the pinks that tinge the cheeks of early youth1 and the warm yet silvery tones of healthy flesh1 mingle as in a marvellous pearl-shell on his pictures4 ,both chiaroscuro and colouring have this supreme purpose in art1 to effect the sense like music1 and like music to create a mood in the soul of the spectator4 ,now the mood which ,correggio stimulates is one of natural and thoughtless pleasure4 ,to feel his influence1 and at the same moment to be the subject of strong passion1 or fierce lust1 or heroic resolve1 or profound contemplation1 or pensive melancholy1 is impossible4 ,wantonness1 innocent because unconscious of sin1 immoral because incapable of any serious purpose1 is the quality which prevails in all that he has painted4 ,the pantomimes of a ,mohammedan paradise might be put upon the stage after patterns supplied by this least spiritual of painters4 ,it follows from this analysis that the ,correggiosity of ,correggio1 that which sharply distinguished him from all previous artists1 was the faculty of painting a purely voluptuous dream of beautiful beings in perpetual movement1 beneath the laughter of morning light1 in a world of never-failing ,april hues4 ,when he attempts to depart from the fairyland of which he was the ,prospero1 and to match himself with the masters of sublime thought or earnest passion1 he proves his weakness4 ,but within his own magic circle he reigns supreme1 no other artist having blended the witcheries of colouring1 chiaroscuro1and faunlike loveliness of form into a harmony so perfect in its sensuous charm4 ,bewitched by the strains of the siren1 we pardon affectations of expression1 emptiness of meaning1 feebleness of composition1 exaggerated and melodramatic attitudes4 ,there is what ,goethe called a demonic influence in the art of ,correggio3 ',in poetry1' said ,goethe to ,eckermann1 'especially in that which is unconscious1 before which reason and understanding fall short1 and which therefore produces effects so far surpassing all conception1 there is always something demonic4' ,it is not to be wondered that ,correggio1 possessed of this demonic power in the highest degree1 and working to a purely sensuous end1 should have exercised a fatal influence over art4 ,his successors1 attracted by an intoxicating loveliness which they could not analyse1 which had nothing in common with the reason or the understanding1 but was like a glamour cast upon the soul in its most secret sensibilities1 threw themselves blindly into the imitation of ,correggio's faults4 ,his affectation1 his want of earnest thought1 his neglect of composition1 his sensuous realism1 his all-pervading sweetness1 his infantine prettiness1 his substitution of thaumaturgical effects for conscientious labour1 admitted only too easy imitation1 and were but too congenial with the spirit of the late ,renaissance4 ,cupolas through the length and breadth of ,italy began to be covered with clouds and simpering cherubs in the convulsions of artificial ecstasy4 ,the attenuated elegance of ,parmigiano1 the attitudinising of ,anselmi's saints and angels1 and a general sacrifice of what is solid and enduring to sentimental gewgaws on the part of all painters who had submitted to the magic of ,correggio1 proved how easy it was to go astray with the great master4 ,meanwhile no one could approach him in that which was truly his own--the delineation of a transient moment in the life of sensuous beauty1 the painting of a smile on ,nature's face1 when light and colour tremble in harmony with the movement of joyous living creatures4 ,another demonic nature of a far more powerful type contributed his share to the ruin of art in ,italy4 ,michelangelo's constrained attitudes and muscular anatomy were imitated by painters and sculptors1 who thought that the grand style lay in the presentation of theatrical athletes1 but who could not seize the secret whereby the great master made even the bodies of men and women--colossal trunks and writhen limbs--interpret the meanings of his deep and melancholy soul4 ,it is a sad law of progress in art1 that when the sthetic impulse is on the wane1 artists should perforce select to follow the weakness rather than the vigour1 of their predecessors4 ,while painting was in the ascendant1 ,raphael could take the best of ,perugino and discard the worst2 in its decadence ,parmigiano reproduces the affectations of ,correggio1 and ,bernini carries the exaggerations of ,michelangelo to absurdity4 ,all arts describe a parabola4 ,the force which produces them causes them to rise throughout their growth up to a certain point1 and then to descend more gradually in a long and slanting line of regular declension4 ,there is no real break of continuity4 ,the end is the result of simple exhaustion4 ,thus the last of our ,elizabethan dramatists1 ,shirley and ,crowne and ,killigrew1 pushed to its ultimate conclusion the principle inherent in ,marlowe1 not attempting to break new ground1 nor imitating the excellences so much as the defects of their forerunners4 ,thus too the ,pointed style of architecture in ,england gave birth first to what is called the ,decorated1 next to the ,perpendicular1 and finally expired in the ,tudor4 ,each step was a step of progress--at first for the better--at last for the worse--but logical1 continuous1 necessitated4#aa ,it is difficult to leave ,correggio without at least posing the question of the difference between moralised and merely sensual art4 ,is all art excellent in itself and good in its effect that is beautiful and earnest8 ,there is no doubt that ,correggio's work is in a way most beautiful2 and it bears unmistakable signs of the master having given himself with single-hearted devotion to the expression of that phase of loveliness which he could apprehend4 ,in so far we must admit that his art is both excellent and solid4 ,yet we are unable to conceive that any human being could be made better--stronger for endurance1 more fitted for the uses of the world1 more sensitive to what is noble in nature--by its contemplation4 ,at the best ,correggio does but please us in our lighter moments1 and we are apt to feel that the pleasure he has given is of an enervating kind4 ,to expect obvious morality of any artist is confessedly absurd4 ,it is not the artist's province to preach1 or even to teach1 except by remote suggestion4 ,yet the mind of the artist may be highly moralised1 and then he takes rank not merely with the ministers to refined pleasure1 but also with the educators of the world4 ,he may1 for example1 be penetrated with a just sense of humanity like ,shakspere1 or with a sublime temperance like ,sophocles1 instinct with prophetic intuition like ,michelangelo1 or with passionate experience like ,beethoven4 ,the mere sight of the work of ,pheidias is like breathing pure health-giving air4 ,milton and ,dante were steeped in religious patriotism2 ,goethe was pervaded with philosophy1 and ,balzac with scientific curiosity4 ,ariosto1 ,cervantes1 and even ,boccaccio are masters in the mysteries of common life4 ,in all these cases the tone of the artist's mind is felt throughout his work3 what he paints1 or sings1 or writes1 conveys a lesson while it pleases4 ,on the other hand1 depravity in an artist or a poet percolates through work which has in it nothing positive of evil1 and a very miasma of poisonous influence may rise from the apparently innocuous creations of a tainted soul4 ,now ,correggio is moralised in neither way--neither as a good nor as a bad man1 neither as an acute thinker nor as a deliberate voluptuary4 ,he is simply sensuous4 ,on his own ground he is even very fresh and healthy3 his delineation of youthful maternity1 for example1 is as true as it is beautiful2 and his sympathy with the gleefulness of children is devoid of affectation4 ,we have then only to ask ourselves whether the defect in him of all thought and feeling which is not at once capable of graceful fleshly incarnation1 be sufficient to lower him in the scale of artists4 ,this question must of course be answered according to our definition of the purposes of art4 ,there is no doubt that the most highly organised art--that which absorbs the most numerous human qualities and effects a harmony between the most complex elements--is the noblest4 ,therefore the artist who combines moral elevation and power of thought with a due appreciation of sensual beauty1 is more elevated and more beneficial than one whose domain is simply that of carnal loveliness4 ,correggio1 if this be so1 must take a comparatively low rank4 ,just as we welcome the beautiful athlete for the radiant life that is in him1 but bow before the personality of ,sophocles1 whose perfect form enshrined a noble and highly educated soul1 so we gratefully accept ,correggio for his grace1 while we approach the consummate art of ,michelangelo with reverent awe4 ,it is necessary in sthetics as elsewhere to recognise a hierarchy of excellence1 the grades of which are determined by the greater or less comprehensiveness of the artist's nature expressed in his work4 ,at the same time1 the calibre of the artist's genius must be estimated2 for eminent greatness even of a narrow kind will always command our admiration3 and the amount of his originality has also to be taken into account4 ,what is unique has1 for that reason alone1 a claim on our consideration4 ,judged in this way1 ,correggio deserves a place1 say1 in the sweet planet ,venus1 above the moon and above ,mercury1 among the artists who have not advanced beyond the contemplations which find their proper outcome in love4 ,yet1 even thus1 he aids the culture of humanity4 ',we should take care1' said ,goethe1 apropos of ,byron1 to ,eckermann1 'not to be always looking for culture in the decidedly pure and moral4 ,everything that is great promotes cultivation as soon as we are aware of it4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,,canossa ,italy is less the land of what is venerable in antiquity1 than of beauty1 by divine right young eternally in spite of age4 ,this is due partly to her history and art and literature1 partly to the temper of the races who have made her what she is1 and partly to her natural advantages4 ,her oldest architectural remains1 the temples of ,paestum and ,girgenti1 or the gates of ,perugia and ,volterra1 are so adapted to ,italian landscape and so graceful in their massive strength1 that we forget the centuries which have passed over them4 ,we leap as by a single bound from the times of ,roman greatness to the new birth of humanity in the fourteenth century1 forgetting the many years during which ,italy1 like the rest of ,europe1 was buried in what our ancestors called ,gothic barbarism4 ,the illumination cast upon the classic period by the literature of ,rome and by the memory of her great men is so vivid1 that we feel the days of the ,republic and the ,empire to be near us2 while the ,italian ,renaissance is so truly a revival of that former splendour1 a resumption of the music interrupted for a season1 that it is extremely difficult to form any conception of the five long centuries which elapsed between the ,lombard invasion in #efh and the accession of ,hildebrand to the ,pontificate in #ajgc4 ,so true is it that nothing lives and has reality for us but what is spiritual1 intellectual1 self-possessed in personality and consciousness4 ,when the ,egyptian priest said to ,solon1 ',you ,greeks are always children1' he intended a gentle sarcasm1 but he implied a compliment2 for the quality of imperishable youth belonged to the ,hellenic spirit1 and has become the heritage of every race which partook of it4 ,and this spirit in no common degree has been shared by the ,italians of the earlier and the later classic epoch4 ,the land is full of monuments pertaining to those two brilliant periods2 and whenever the voice of poet has spoken or the hand of artist has been at work1 that spirit1 as distinguished from the spirit of mediaevalism1 has found expression4 ,yet it must be remembered that during the five centuries above mentioned ,italy was given over to ,lombards1 ,franks1 and ,germans4 ,feudal institutions1 alien to the social and political ideals of the classic world1 took a tolerably firm hold on the country4 ,the ,latin element remained silent1 passive1 in abeyance1 undergoing an important transformation4 ,it was in the course of those five hundred years that the ,italians as a modern people1 separable from their ,roman ancestors1 were formed4 ,at the close of this obscure passage in ,italian history1 their communes1 the foundation of ,italy's future independence1 and the source of her peculiar national development1 appeared in all the vigour and audacity of youth4 ,at its close the ,italian genius presented ,europe with its greatest triumph of constructive ability1 the ,papacy4 ,at its close again the series of supreme artistic achievements1 starting with the architecture of churches and public palaces1 passing on to sculpture and painting1 and culminating in music1 which only ended with the temporary extinction of national vitality in the seventeenth century1 was simultaneously begun in all the provinces of the peninsula4 ,so important were these five centuries of incubation for ,italy1 and so little is there left of them to arrest the attention of the student1 dazzled as he is by the ever-living glories of ,greece1 ,rome1 and the ,renaissance1 that a visit to the ruins of ,canossa is almost a duty4 ,there1 in spite of himself1 by the very isolation and forlorn abandonment of what was once so formidable a seat of feudal despotism and ecclesiastical tyranny1 he is forced to confront the obscure but mighty spirit of the middle ages4 ,there1 if anywhere1 the men of those iron-hearted times anterior to the ,crusades will acquire distinctness for his imagination1 when he recalls the three main actors in the drama enacted on the summit of ,canossa's rock in the bitter winter of #ajgg4 ,canossa lies almost due south of ,reggio d',emilia1 upon the slopes of the ,apennines4 ,starting from ,reggio1 the carriage-road keeps to the plain for some while in a westerly direction1 and then bends away towards the mountains4 ,as we approach their spurs1 the ground begins to rise4 ,the rich ,lombard tilth of maize and vine gives place to ,english-looking hedgerows1 lined with oaks1 and studded with handsome dark tufts of green hellebore4 ,the hills descend in melancholy earth-heaps on the plain1 crowned here and there with ruined castles4 ,four of these mediaeval strongholds1 called ,bianello1 ,montevetro1 ,monteluzzo1 and ,montezano1 give the name of ,quattro ,castelli to the commune4 ,the most important of them1 ,bianello1 which1 next to ,canossa1 was the strongest fortress possessed by the ,countess ,matilda and her ancestors1 still presents a considerable mass of masonry1 roofed and habitable4 ,the group formed a kind of advance-guard for ,canossa against attack from ,lombardy4 ,after passing ,quattro ,castelli we enter the hills1 climbing gently upwards between barren slopes of ashy grey earth--the dbris of most ancient ,apennines--crested at favourable points with lonely towers4 ,in truth the whole country bristles with ruined forts1 making it clear that during the middle ages ,canossa was but the centre of a great military system1 the core and kernel of a fortified position which covered an area to be measured by scores of square miles1 reaching far into the mountains1 and buttressed on the plain4 ,as yet1 however1 after nearly two hours' driving1 ,canossa has not come in sight4 ,at last a turn in the road discloses an opening in the valley of the ,enza to the left3 up this lateral gorge we see first the ,castle of ,rossena on its knoll of solid red rock1 flaming in the sunlight2 and then1 further withdrawn1 detached from all surrounding objects1 and reared aloft as though to sweep the sea of waved and broken hills around it1 a sharp horn of hard white stone4 ,that is ,canossa--the alba ,canossa1 the candida petra of its rhyming chronicler4 ,there is no mistaking the commanding value of its situation4 ,at the same time the brilliant whiteness of ,canossa's rocky hill1 contrasted with the red gleam of ,rossena1 and outlined against the prevailing dulness of these earthy ,apennines1 secures a picturesque individuality concordant with its unique history and unrivalled strength4 ,there is still a journey of two hours before the castle can be reached3 and this may be performed on foot or horseback4 ,the path winds upward over broken ground2 following the arte of curiously jumbled and thwarted hill-slopes2 passing beneath the battlements of ,rossena1 whence the unfortunate ,everelina threw herself in order to escape the savage love of her lord and jailor2 and then skirting those horrid earthen balze which are so common and so unattractive a feature of ,apennine scenery4 ,the most hideous balze to be found in the length and breadth of ,italy are probably those of ,volterra1 from which the citizens themselves recoil with a kind of terror1 and which lure melancholy men by intolerable fascination on to suicide4 ,for ever crumbling1 altering with frost and rain1 discharging gloomy glaciers of slow-crawling mud1 and scarring the hillside with tracts of barrenness1 these earth-precipices are among the most ruinous and discomfortable failures of nature4 ,they have not even so much of wildness or grandeur as forms1 the saving merit of nearly all wasteful things in the world1 and can only be classed with the desolate ghiare of ,italian river-beds4 ,such as they are1 these balze form an appropriate preface to the gloomy and repellent isolation of ,canossa4 ,the rock towers from a narrow platform to the height of rather more than #afj feet from its base4 ,the top is fairly level1 forming an irregular triangle1 of which the greatest length is about #bfj feet1 and the width about #ajj feet4 ,scarcely a vestige of any building can be traced either upon the platform or the summit1 with the exception of a broken wall and windows supposed to belong to the end of the sixteenth century4 ,the ancient castle1 with its triple circuit of walls1 enclosing barracks for the garrison1 lodgings for the lord and his retainers1 a stately church1 a sumptuous monastery1 storehouses1 stables1 workshops1 and all the various buildings of a fortified stronghold1 have utterly disappeared4 ,the very passage of approach cannot be ascertained2 for it is doubtful whether the present irregular path that scales the western face of the rock be really the remains of some old staircase1 corresponding to that by which ,mont ,s4 ,michel in ,normandy is ascended4 ,one thing is tolerably certain--that the three walls of which we hear so much from the chroniclers1 and which played so picturesque a part in the drama of ,henry ,,iv4's penance1 surrounded the cliff at its base1 and embraced a large acreage of ground4 ,the citadel itself must have been but the acropolis or keep of an extensive fortress4 ,there has been plenty of time since the year #abee1 when the people of ,reggio sacked and destroyed ,canossa1 for ,nature to resume her undisputed sway by obliterating the handiwork of men2 and at present ,nature forms the chief charm of ,canossa4 ,lying one afternoon of ,may on the crisp short grass at the edge of a precipice purple with iris in full blossom1 ,i surveyed1 from what were once the battlements of ,matilda's castle1 a prospect than which there is none more spirit-stirring by reason of its beauty and its manifold associations in ,europe4 ,the lower castle-crowded hills have sunk4 ,reggio lies at our feet1 shut in between the crests of ,monte ,carboniano and ,monte delle ,celle4 ,beyond ,reggio stretches ,lombardy--the fairest and most memorable battlefield of nations1 the richest and most highly cultivated garden of civilised industry4 ,nearly all the ,lombard cities may be seen1 some of them faint like bluish films of vapour1 some clear with dome and spire4 ,there is ,modena and her ,ghirlandina4 ,carpi1 ,parma1 ,mirandola1 ,verona1 ,mantua1 lie well defined and russet on the flat green map2 and there flashes a bend of lordly ,po2 and there the ,euganeans rise like islands1 telling us where ,padua and ,ferrara nestle in the amethystine haze ,beyond and above all to the northward sweep the ,alps1 tossing their silvery crests up into the cloudless sky from the violet mist that girds their flanks and drowns their basements4 ,monte ,adamello and the ,ortler1 the cleft of the ,brenner1 and the sharp peaks of the ,venetian ,alps are all distinctly visible4 ,an eagle flying straight from our eyrie might traverse ,lombardy and light among the snow-fields of the ,valtelline between sunrise and sundown4 ,nor is the prospect tame to southward4 ,here the ,apennines roll1 billow above billow1 in majestic desolation1 soaring to snow summits in the ,pellegrino region4 ,as our eye attempts to thread that labyrinth of hill and vale1 we tell ourselves that those roads wind to ,tuscany1 and yonder stretches ,garfagnana1 where ,ariosto lived and mused in honourable exile from the world he loved4 ,it was by one of the mountain passes that lead from ,lucca northward that the first founder of ,canossa is said to have travelled early in the tenth century4 ,sigifredo1 if the tradition may be trusted1 was very wealthy2 and with his money he bought lands and signorial rights at ,reggio1 bequeathing to his children1 when he died about #ide1 a patrimony which they developed into a petty kingdom4 ,azzo1 his second son1 fortified ,canossa1 and made it his principal place of residence4 ,when ,lothair1 ,king of ,italy1 died in #iej1 leaving his beautiful widow to the ill-treatment of his successor1 ,berenger1 ,adelaide found a protector in this ,azzo4 ,she had been imprisoned on the ,lake of ,garda2 but managing to escape in man's clothes to ,mantua1 she thence sent news of her misfortunes to ,canossa4 ,azzo lost no time in riding with his knights to her relief1 and brought her back in safety to his mountain fastness4 ,it is related that ,azzo was afterwards instrumental in calling ,otho into ,italy and procuring his marriage with ,adelaide1 in consequence of which events ,italy became a fief of the ,empire4 ,owing to the part he played at this time1 the ,lord of ,canossa was recognised as one of the most powerful vassals of the ,german ,emperor in ,lombardy4 ,honours were heaped upon him2 and he grew so rich and formidable that ,berenger1 the titular ,king of ,italy1 laid siege to his fortress of ,canossa4 ,the memory of this siege1 which lasted for three years and a half1 is said still to linger in the popular traditions of the place4 ,when ,azzo died at the end of the tenth century1 he left to his son ,tedaldo the title of ,count of ,reggio and ,modena2 and this title was soon after raised to that of ,marquis4 ,the ,marches governed as ,vicar of the ,empire by ,tedaldo included ,reggio1 ,modena1 ,ferrara1 ,brescia1 and probably ,mantua4 ,they stretched1 in fact1 across the north of ,italy1 forming a quadrilateral between the ,alps and ,apennines4 ,like his father1 ,tedaldo adhered consistently to the ,imperial party2 and when he died and was buried at ,canossa1 he in his turn bequeathed to his son ,bonifazio a power and jurisdiction increased by his own abilities4 ,bonifazio held the state of a sovereign at ,canossa1 adding the duchy of ,tuscany to his father's fiefs1 and meeting the allied forces of the ,lombard barons in the field of ,coviolo like an independent potentate4 ,his power and splendour were great enough to rouse the jealousy of the ,emperor2 but ,henry ,,iii4 seems to have thought it more prudent to propitiate this proud vassal1 and to secure his kindness1 than to attempt his humiliation4 ,bonifazio married ,beatrice1 daughter of ,frederick1 ,duke of ,lorraine--her whose marble sarcophagus in the ,campo ,santo at ,pisa is said to have inspired ,niccola ,pisano with his new style of sculpture4 ,their only child1 ,matilda1 was born1 probably at ,lucca1 in #ajdf2 and six years after her birth1 ,bonifazio1 who had swayed his subjects like an iron-handed tyrant1 was murdered4 ,to the great ,house of ,canossa1 the rulers of one-third of ,italy1 there now remained only two women1 ,bonifazio's widow ,beatrice1 and his daughter ,matilda4 ,beatrice married ,godfrey1 ,duke of ,lorraine1 who was recognised by ,henry ,,iv4 as her husband and as feudatory of the ,empire in the full place of ,boniface4 ,he died about #ajgj2 and in this year ,matilda was married by proxy to his son1 ,godfrey the ,hunchback1 whom1 however1 she did not see till the year #ajgb4 ,the marriage was not a happy one2 and the question has even been disputed among ,matilda's biographers whether it was ever consummated4 ,at any rate it did not last long2 for ,godfrey was killed at ,antwerp in #ajgf4 ,in this year ,matilda also lost her mother1 ,beatrice1 who died at ,pisa1 and was buried in the cathedral4 ,by this rapid enumeration of events it will be seen how the power and honours of the ,house of ,canossa1 including ,tuscany1 ,spoleto1 and the fairest portions of ,lombardy1 had devolved upon a single woman of the age of thirty at the moment when the fierce quarrel between ,pope and ,emperor began in the year #ajgf4 ,matilda was destined to play a great1 a striking1 and a tragic part in the opening drama of ,italian history4 ,her decided character and uncompromising course of action have won for her the name of 'la gran donna d',italia1' and have caused her memory to be blessed or execrated1 according as the temporal pretensions and spiritual tyranny of the ,papacy may have found supporters or opponents in posterity4 ,she was reared from childhood in habits of austerity and unquestioning piety4 ,submission to the ,church became for her not merely a rule of conduct1 but a passionate enthusiasm4 ,she identified herself with the cause of four successive ,popes1 protected her idol1 the terrible and iron-hearted ,hildebrand1 in the time of his adversity2 remained faithful to his principles after his death2 and having served the ,holy ,see with all her force and all that she possessed through all her lifetime1 she bequeathed her vast dominions to it on her deathbed4 ,like some of the greatest mediaeval characters--like ,hildebrand himself--,matilda was so thoroughly of one piece1 that she towers above the mists of ages with the massive grandeur of an incarnated idea4 ,she is for us the living statue of a single thought1 an undivided impulse1 the more than woman born to represent her age4 ,nor was it without reason that ,dante symbolised in her the love of ,holy ,church2 though students of the ',purgatory' will hardly recognise the lovely maiden1 singing and plucking flowers beside the stream of ,lethe1 in the stern and warlike chatelaine of ,canossa4 ,unfortunately we know but little of ,matilda's personal appearance4 ,her health was not strong2 and it is said to have been weakened1 especially in her last illness1 by ascetic observances4 ,yet she headed her own troops1 armed with sword and cuirass1 avoiding neither peril nor fatigue in the quarrels of her master ,gregory4 ,up to the year #afbb two strong suits of mail were preserved at ,quattro ,castelli1 which were said to have been worn by her in battle1 and which were afterwards sold on the market-place at ,reggio4 ,this habit of donning armour does not1 however1 prove that ,matilda was exceptionally vigorous2 for in those savage times she could hardly have played the part of heroine without participating personally in the dangers of warfare4 ,no less monumental in the plastic unity of his character was the monk ,hildebrand1 who for twenty years before his elevation to the ,papacy had been the maker of ,popes and the creator of the policy of ,rome4 ,when he was himself elected in the year #ajgc1 and had assumed the name of ,gregory ,,vii41 he immediately began to put in practice the plans for ,church aggrandisement he had slowly matured during the previous quarter of a century4 ,to free the ,church from its subservience to the ,empire1 to assert the ,pope's right to ratify the election of the ,emperor and to exercise the right of jurisdiction over him1 to place ecclesiastical appointments in the sole power of the ,roman ,see1 and to render the celibacy of the clergy obligatory1 were the points he had resolved to carry4 ,taken singly and together1 these chief aims of ,hildebrand's policy had but one object--the magnification of the ,church at the expense both of the people and of secular authorities1 and the further separation of the ,church from the ties and sympathies of common life that bound it to humanity4 ,to accuse ,hildebrand of personal ambition would be but shallow criticism1 though it is clear that his inflexible and puissant nature found a savage selfish pleasure in trampling upon power and humbling pride at warfare with his own4 ,yet his was in no sense an egotistic purpose like that which moved the ,popes of the ,renaissance to dismember ,italy for their bastards4 ,hildebrand1 like ,matilda1 was himself the creature of a great idea4 ,these two potent personalities completely understood each other1 and worked towards a single end4 ,tho mythopoeic fancy might conceive of them as the male and female manifestations of one dominant faculty1 the spirit of ecclesiastical dominion incarnate in a man and woman of almost super-human mould4 ,opposed to them1 as the third actor in the drama of ,canossa1 was a man of feebler mould4 ,henry ,,iv41 ,king of ,italy1 but not yet crowned ,emperor1 had none of his opponents' unity of purpose or monumental dignity of character4 ,at war with his ,german feudatories1 browbeaten by rebellious sons1 unfaithful and cruel to his wife1 vacillating in the measures he adopted to meet his divers difficulties1 at one time tormented by his conscience into cowardly submission1 and at another treasonably neglectful of the most solemn obligations1 ,henry was no match for the stern wills against which he was destined to break in unavailing passion4 ,early disagreements with ,gregory had culminated in his excommunication4 ,the ,german nobles abandoned his cause2 and ,henry found it expedient to summon a council in ,augsburg for the settlement of matters in dispute between the ,empire and the ,papacy4 ,gregory expressed his willingness to attend this council1 and set forth from ,rome accompanied by the ,countess ,matilda in ,december #ajgf4 ,he did not1 however1 travel further than ,vercelli1 for news here reached him that ,henry was about to enter ,italy at the head of a powerful army4 ,matilda hereupon persuaded the ,holy ,father to place himself in safety among her strongholds of ,canossa4 ,thither accordingly ,gregory retired before the ending of that year2 and bitter were the sarcasms uttered by the imperial partisans in ,italy upon this protection offered by a fair countess to the monk who had been made a ,pope4 ,the foul calumnies of that bygone age would be unworthy of even so much as this notice1 if we did not trace in them the ineradicable ,italian tendency to cynical insinuation--a tendency which has involved the history of the ,renaissance ,popes in an almost impenetrable mist of lies and exaggerations4 ,henry was in truth upon his road to ,italy1 but with a very different attendance from that which ,gregory expected4 ,accompanied by ,bertha1 his wife1 and his boy son ,conrad1 the ,emperor elect left ,spires in the condition of a fugitive1 crossed ,burgundy1 spent ,christmas at ,besanon1 and journeyed to the foot of ,mont ,cenis4 ,it is said that he was followed by a single male servant of mean birth2 and if the tale of his adventures during the passage of the ,alps can be credited1 history presents fewer spectacles more picturesque than the straits to which this representative of the ,csars1 this supreme chief of feudal civility1 this ruler destined still to be the leader of mighty armies and the father of a line of monarchs1 was exposed4 ,concealing his real name and state1 he induced some shepherds to lead him and his escort through the thick snows to the summit of ,mont ,cenis2 and by the help of these men the imperial party were afterwards let down the snow-slopes on the further side by means of ropes4 ,bertha and her women were sewn up in hides and dragged across the frozen surface of the winter drifts4 ,it was a year memorable for its severity4 ,heavy snow had fallen in ,october1 which continued ice-bound and unyielding till the following ,april4 ,no sooner had ,henry reached ,turin1 than he set forward again in the direction of ,canossa4 ,the fame of his arrival had preceded him1 and he found that his party was far stronger in ,italy than he had ventured to expect4 ,proximity to the ,church of ,rome divests its fulminations of half their terrors4 ,the ,italian bishops and barons1 less superstitious than the ,germans1 and with greater reason to resent the domineering graspingness of ,gregory1 were ready to espouse the ,emperor's cause4 ,henry gathered a formidable force as he marched onward across ,lombardy2 and some of the most illustrious prelates and nobles of the ,south were in his suite4 ,a more determined leader than ,henry proved himself to be1 might possibly have forced ,gregory to some accommodation1 in spite of the strength of ,canossa and the ,pope's invincible obstinacy1 by proper use of these supporters4 ,meanwhile the adherents of the ,church were mustered in ,matilda's fortress2 among whom may be mentioned ,azzo1 the progenitor of ,este and ,brunswick2 ,hugh1 ,abbot of ,clugny2 and the princely family of ,piedmont4 ',i am become a second ,rome1' exclaims ,canossa1 in the language of ,matilda's rhyming chronicler2 'all honours are mine2 ,i hold at once both ,pope and ,king1 the princes of ,italy and those of ,gaul1 those of ,rome1 and those from far beyond the ,alps4' ,the stage was ready2 the audience had assembled2 and now the three great actors were about to meet4 ,immediately upon his arrival at ,canossa1 ,henry sent for his cousin1 the ,countess ,matilda1 and besought her to intercede for him with ,gregory4 ,he was prepared to make any concessions or to undergo any humiliations1 if only the ban of excommunication might be removed2 nor1 cowed as he was by his own superstitious conscience1 and by the memory of the opposition he had met with from his ,german vassals1 does he seem to have once thought of meeting force with force1 and of returning to his northern kingdom triumphant in the overthrow of ,gregory's pride4 ,matilda undertook to plead his cause before the ,pontiff4 ,but ,gregory was not to be moved so soon to mercy4 ',if ,henry has in truth repented1' he replied1 'let him lay down crown and sceptre1 and declare himself unworthy of the name of king4' ,the only point conceded to the suppliant was that he should be admitted in the garb of a penitent within the precincts of the castle4 ,leaving his retinue outside the walls1 ,henry entered the first series of outworks1 and was thence conducted to the second1 so that between him and the citadel itself there still remained the third of the surrounding bastions4 ,here he was bidden to wait the ,pope's pleasure2 and here1 in the midst of that bitter winter weather1 while the fierce winds of the ,apennines were sweeping sleet upon him in their passage from ,monte ,pellegrino to the plain1 he knelt barefoot1 clothed in sackcloth1 fasting from dawn till eve1 for three whole days4 ,on the morning of the fourth day1 judging that ,gregory was inexorable1 and that his suit would not be granted1 ,henry retired to the ,chapel of ,s4 ,nicholas1 which stood within this second precinct4 ,there he called to his aid the ,abbot of ,clugny and the ,countess1 both of whom were his relations1 and who1 much as they might sympathise with ,gregory1 could hardly be supposed to look with satisfaction on their royal kinsman's outrage4 ,the ,abbot told ,henry that nothing in the world could move the ,pope2 but ,matilda1 when in turn he fell before her knees and wept1 engaged to do for him the utmost4 ,she probably knew that the moment for unbending had arrived1 and that her imperious guest could not with either decency or prudence prolong the outrage offered to the civil chief of ,christendom4 ,it was the #beth of ,january when the ,emperor elect was brought1 half dead with cold and misery1 into the ,pope's presence4 ,there he prostrated himself in the dust1 crying aloud for pardon4 ,it is said that ,gregory first placed his foot upon ,henry's neck1 uttering these words of ,scripture3 ',super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis1 et conculcabis leonem et draconem1' and that then he raised him from the earth and formally pronounced his pardon4 ,the prelates and nobles who took part in this scene were compelled to guarantee with their own oaths the vows of obedience pronounced by ,henry2 so that in the very act of reconciliation a new insult was offered to him4 ,after this ,gregory said mass1 and permitted ,henry to communicate2 and at the close of the day a banquet was served1 at which the ,king sat down to meat with the ,pope and the ,countess4 ,it is probable that1 while ,henry's penance was performed in the castle courts beneath the rock1 his reception by the ,pope1 and all that subsequently happened1 took place in the citadel itself4 ,but of this we have no positive information4 ,indeed the silence of the chronicles as to the topography of ,canossa is peculiarly unfortunate for lovers of the picturesque in historic detail1 now that there is no possibility of tracing the outlines of the ancient building4 ,had the author of the ',vita ,mathildis' 7,muratori1 vol4 v47 foreseen that his beloved ,canossa would one day be nothing but a mass of native rock1 he would undoubtedly have been more explicit on these points2 and much that is vague about an event only paralleled by our ,henry ,,ii4's penance before ,becket's shrine at ,canterbury1 might now be clear4 ,very little remains to be told about ,canossa4 ,during the same year1 #ajgg1 ,matilda made the celebrated donation of her fiefs to ,holy ,church4 ,this was accepted by ,gregory in the name of ,s4 ,peter1 and it was confirmed by a second deed during the pontificate of ,urban ,,iv4 in #aajb4 ,though ,matilda subsequently married ,guelfo d',este1 son of the ,duke of ,bavaria1 she was speedily divorced from him2 nor was there any heir to a marriage ridiculous by reason of disparity of age1 the bridegroom being but eighteen1 while the bride was forty-three in the year of her second nuptials4 ,during one of ,henry's descents into ,italy1 he made an unsuccessful attack upon ,canossa1 assailing it at the head of a considerable force one ,october morning in #ajib4 ,matilda's biographer informs us that the mists of autumn veiled his beloved fortress from the eyes of the beleaguerers4 ,they had not even the satisfaction of beholding the unvanquished citadel2 and1 what was more1 the banner of the ,emperor was seized and dedicated as a trophy in the ,church of ,s4 ,apollonio4 ,in the following year the ,countess opened her gates of ,canossa to an illustrious fugitive1 ,adelaide1 the wife of her old foeman1 ,henry1 who had escaped with difficulty from the insults and the cruelty of her husband4 ,after ,henry's death1 his son1 the ,emperor ,henry ,v41 paid ,matilda a visit in her castle of ,bianello1 addressed her by the name of mother1 and conferred upon her the vice-regency of ,liguria4 ,at the age of sixty-nine she died1 in #aaae1 at ,bondeno de' ,roncori1 and was buried1 not among her kinsmen at ,canossa1 but in an abbey of ,s4 ,benedict near ,mantua4 ,with her expired the main line of the noble house she represented2 though ,canossa1 now made a fief of the ,empire in spite of ,matilda's donation1 was given to a family which claimed descent from ,bonifazio's brother ,conrad--a young man killed in the battle of ,coviolo4 ,this family1 in its turn1 was extinguished in the year #aegj2 but a junior branch still exists at ,verona4 ,it will be remembered that ,michelangelo ,buonarroti claimed kinship with the ,count of ,canossa2 and a letter from the ,count is extant acknowledging the validity of his pretension4 ,as far back as #abee the people of ,reggio destroyed the castle2 nor did the nobles of ,canossa distinguish themselves in subsequent history among those families who based their despotisms on the dbris of the ,imperial power in ,lombardy4 ,it seemed destined that ,canossa and all belonging to it should remain as a mere name and memory of the outgrown middle ages4 ,estensi1 ,carraresi1 ,visconti1 ,bentivogli1 and ,gonzaghi belong to a later period of ,lombard history1 and mark the dawn of the ,renaissance4 ,as ,i lay and mused that afternoon of ,may upon the short grass1 cropped by two grey goats1 whom a little boy was tending1 it occurred to me to ask the woman who had served me as guide1 whether any legend remained in the country concerning the ,countess ,matilda4 ,she had often1 probably1 been asked this question by other travellers4 ,therefore she was more than usually ready with an answer1 which1 as far as ,i could understand her dialect1 was this4 ,matilda was a great and potent witch1 whose summons the devil was bound to obey4 ,one day she aspired1 alone of all her sex1 to say mass2 but when the moment came for sacring the elements1 a thunderbolt fell from the clear sky1 and reduced her to ashes4#ab ,that the most single-hearted handmaid of the ,holy ,church1 whose life was one long devotion to its ordinances1 should survive in this grotesque myth1 might serve to point a satire upon the vanity of earthly fame4 ,the legend in its very extravagance is a fanciful distortion of the truth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,fornovo ,in the town of ,parma there is one surpassingly strange relic of the past4 ,the palace of the ,farnesi1 like many a haunt of upstart tyranny and beggared pride on these ,italian plains1 rises misshapen and disconsolate above the stream that bears the city's name4 ,the squalor of this grey-brown edifice of formless brick1 left naked like the palace of the same ,farnesi at ,piacenza1 has something even horrid in it now that only vague memory survives of its former uses4 ,the princely sprezzatura of its ancient occupants1 careless of these unfinished courts and unroofed galleries amid the splendour of their purfled silks and the glitter of their torchlight pageantry1 has yielded to sullen cynicism--the cynicism of arrested ruin and unreverend age4 ,all that was satisfying to the senses and distracting to the eyesight in their transitory pomp has passed away1 leaving a sinister and naked shell4 ,remembrance can but summon up the crimes1 the madness1 the trivialities of those dead palace-builders4 ,an atmosphere of evil clings to the dilapidated walls1 as though the tainted spirit of the infamous ,pier ,luigi still possessed the spot1 on which his toadstool brood of princelings sprouted in the mud of their misdeeds4 ,enclosed in this huge labyrinth of brickwork is the relic of which ,i spoke4 ,it is the once world-famous ,teatro ,farnese1 raised in the year #afah by ,ranunzio ,farnese for the marriage of ,odoardo ,farnese with ,margaret of ,austria4 ,giambattista ,aleotti1 a native of pageant-loving ,ferrara1 traced the stately curves and noble orders of the galleries1 designed the columns that support the raftered roof1 marked out the orchestra1 arranged the stage1 and breathed into the whole the spirit of ,palladio's most heroic neo-,latin style4 ,vast1 built of wood1 dishevelled1 with broken statues and blurred coats of arms1 with its empty scene1 its uncurling frescoes1 its hangings all in rags1 its cobwebs of two centuries1 its dust and mildew and discoloured gold--this theatre1 a sham in its best days1 and now that ugliest of things1 a sham unmasked and naked to the light of day1 is yet sublime1 because of its proportioned harmony1 because of its grand ,roman manner4 ,the sight and feeling of it fasten upon the mind and abide in the memory like a nightmare1--like one of ,piranesi's weirdest and most passion-haunted etchings for the ,carceri4 ,idling there at noon in the twilight of the dust-bedarkened windows1 we fill the tiers of those high galleries with ladies1 the space below with grooms and pages2 the stage is ablaze with torches1 and an ,italian ,masque1 such as our ,marlowe dreamed of1 fills the scene4 ,but it is impossible to dower these fancies with even such life as in healthier1 happier ruins phantasy may lend to imagination's figments4 ,this theatre is like a maniac's skull1 empty of all but unrealities and mockeries of things that are4 ,the ghosts we raise here could never have been living men and women3 questi sciaurati non fur mai vivi4 ,so clinging is the sense of instability that appertains to every fragment of that dry-rot tyranny which seized by evil fortune in the sunset of her golden day on ,italy4 ,in this theatre ,i mused one morning after visiting ,fornovo2 and the thoughts suggested by the battlefield found their proper atmosphere in the dilapidated place4 ,what1 indeed1 is the ,teatro ,farnese but a symbol of those hollow principalities which the despot and the stranger built in ,italy after the fatal date of #adid1 when national enthusiasm and political energy were expiring in a blaze of art1 and when the ,italians as a people had ceased to be2 but when the phantom of their former life1 surviving in high works of beauty1 was still superb by reason of imperishable style6 ,how much in ,italy of the ,renaissance was1 like this plank-built plastered theatre1 a glorious sham6 ,the sham was seen through then2 and now it stands unmasked3 and yet1 strange to say1 so perfect is its form that we respect the sham and yield our spirits to the incantation of its music4 ,the battle of ,fornovo1 as modern battles go1 was a paltry affair2 and even at the time it seemed sufficiently without result4 ,yet the trumpets which rang on ,july #f1 #adie1 for the onset1 sounded the rveil of the modern world2 and in the inconclusive termination of the struggle of that day1 the ,italians were already judged and sentenced as a nation4 ,the armies who met that morning represented ,italy and ,france1--,italy1 the ,sibyl of ,renaissance2 ,france1 the ,sibyl of ,revolution4 ,at the fall of evening ,europe was already looking northward2 and the last years of the fifteenth century were opening an act which closed in blood at ,paris on the ending of the eighteenth4 ,if it were not for thoughts like these1 no one1 ,i suppose1 would take the trouble to drive for two hours out of ,parma to the little village of ,fornovo--a score of bare grey hovels on the margin of a pebbly river-bed beneath the ,apennines4 ,the fields on either side1 as far as eye can see1 are beautiful indeed in ,may sunlight1 painted here with flax1 like shallow sheets of water reflecting a pale sky1 and there with clover red as blood4 ,scarce unfolded leaves sparkle like flamelets of bright green upon the knotted vines1 and the young corn is bending all one way beneath a western breeze4 ,but not less beautiful than this is the whole broad plain of ,lombardy2 nor are the nightingales louder here than in the acacia trees around ,pavia4 ,as we drive1 the fields become less fertile1 and the hills encroach upon the level1 sending down their spurs upon that waveless plain like blunt rocks jutting out into a tranquil sea4 ,when we reach the bed of the ,taro1 these hills begin to narrow on either hand1 and the road rises4 ,soon they open out again with gradual curving lines1 forming a kind of amphitheatre filled up from flank to flank with the ghiara or pebbly bottom of the ,taro4 ,the ,taro is not less wasteful than any other of the brotherhood of streams that pour from ,alp or ,apennine to swell the ,po4 ,it wanders1 an impatient rivulet1 through a wilderness of boulders1 uncertain of its aim1 shifting its course with the season of the year1 unless the jaws of some deep-cloven gully hold it tight and show how insignificant it is4 ,as we advance1 the hills approach again2 between their skirts there is nothing but the river-bed2 and now on rising ground above the stream1 at the point of juncture between the ,ceno and the ,taro1 we find ,fornovo4 ,beyond the village the valley broadens out once more1 disclosing ,apennines capped with winter snow4 ,to the right descends the ,ceno4 ,to the left foams the ,taro1 following whose rocky channel we should come at last to ,pontremoli and the ,tyrrhenian sea beside ,sarzana4 ,on a ,may-day of sunshine like the present1 the ,taro is a gentle stream4 ,a waggon drawn by two white oxen has just entered its channel1 guided by a contadino with goat-skin leggings1 wielding a long goad4 ,the patient creatures stem the water1 which rises to the peasant's thighs and ripples round the creaking wheels4 ,swaying to and fro1 as the shingles shift upon the river-bed1 they make their way across2 and now they have emerged upon the stones2 and now we lose them in a flood of sunlight4 ,it was by this pass that ,charles ,,viii4 in #adie returned from ,tuscany1 when the army of the ,league was drawn up waiting to intercept and crush him in the mousetrap of ,fornovo4 ,no road remained for ,charles and his troops but the rocky bed of the ,taro1 running1 as ,i have described it1 between the spurs of steep hills4 ,it is true that the valley of the ,baganza leads1 from a little higher up among the mountains1 into ,lombardy4 ,but this pass runs straight to ,parma2 and to follow it would have brought the ,french upon the walls of a strong city4 ,charles could not do otherwise than descend upon the village of ,fornovo1 and cut his way thence in the teeth of the ,italian army over stream and boulder between the gorges of throttling mountain4 ,the failure of the ,italians to achieve what here upon the ground appears so simple1 delivered ,italy hand-bound to strangers4 ,had they but succeeded in arresting ,charles and destroying his forces at ,fornovo1 it is just possible that then--even then1 at the eleventh hour--,italy might have gained the sense of national coherence1 or at least have proved herself capable of holding by her leagues the foreigner at bay4 ,as it was1 the battle of ,fornovo1 in spite of ,venetian bonfires and ,mantuan ,madonnas of ,victory1 made her conscious of incompetence and convicted her of cowardice4 ,after ,fornovo1 her sons scarcely dared to hold their heads up in the field against invaders2 and the battles fought upon her soil were duels among aliens for the prize of ,italy4 ,in order to comprehend the battle of ,fornovo in its bearings on ,italian history1 we must go back to the year #adib1 and understand the conditions of the various ,states of ,italy at that date4 ,on ,april #h in that year1 ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 who had succeeded in maintaining a political equilibrium in the peninsula1 expired1 and was succeeded by his son ,piero1 a vain and foolhardy young man1 from whom no guidance could be expected4 ,on ,july #be1 ,innocent ,,viii4 died1 and was succeeded by the very worst ,pope who has ever occupied ,s4 ,peter's chair1 ,roderigo ,borgia1 ,alexander ,,vi4 ,it was felt at once that the old order of things had somehow ended1 and that a new era1 the destinies of which as yet remained incalculable1 was opening for ,italy4 ,the chief ,italian powers1 hitherto kept in equipoise by the diplomacy of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 were these--the ,duchy of ,milan1 the ,republic of ,venice1 the ,republic of ,florence1 the ,papacy1 and the kingdom of ,naples4 ,minor ,states1 such as the ,republics of ,genoa and ,siena1 the ,duchies of ,urbino and ,ferrara1 the ,marquisate of ,mantua1 the petty tyrannies of ,romagna1 and the wealthy city of ,bologna1 were sufficiently important to affect the balance of power1 and to produce new combinations4 ,for the present purpose it is1 however1 enough to consider the five great ,powers4 ,after the peace of ,constance1 which freed the ,lombard ,communes from ,imperial interference in the year #aahc1 ,milan1 by her geographical position1 rose rapidly to be the first city of ,north ,italy4 ,without narrating the changes by which she lost her freedom as a ,commune1 it is enough to state that1 earliest of all ,italian cities1 ,milan passed into the hands of a single family4 ,the ,visconti managed to convert this flourishing commonwealth1 with all its dependencies1 into their private property1 ruling it exclusively for their own profit1 using its municipal institutions as the machinery of administration1 and employing the taxes which they raised upon its wealth for purely selfish ends4 ,when the line of the ,visconti ended in the year #addg1 their tyranny was continued by ,francesco ,sforza1 the son of a poor soldier of adventure1 who had raised himself by his military genius1 and had married ,bianca1 the illegitimate daughter of the last ,visconti4 ,on the death of ,francesco ,sforza in #adff1 he left two sons1 ,galeazzo ,maria and ,lodovico1 surnamed ,il ,moro1 both of whom were destined to play a prominent part in history4 ,galeazzo ,maria1 dissolute1 vicious1 and cruel to the core1 was murdered by his injured subjects in the year #adgf4 ,his son1 ,giovanni ,galeazzo1 aged eight1 would in course of time have succeeded to the ,duchy1 had it not been for the ambition of his uncle ,lodovico4 ,lodovico contrived to name himself as ,regent for his nephew1 whom he kept1 long after he had come of age1 in a kind of honourable prison4 ,virtual master in ,milan1 but without a legal title to the throne1 unrecognised in his authority by the ,italian powers1 and holding it from day to day by craft and fraud1 ,lodovico at last found his situation untenable2 and it was this difficulty of an usurper to maintain himself in his despotism which1 as we shall see1 brought the ,french into ,italy4 ,venice1 the neighbour and constant foe of ,milan1 had become a close oligarchy by a process of gradual constitutional development1 which threw her government into the hands of a few nobles4 ,she was practically ruled by the hereditary members of the ,grand ,council4 ,ever since the year #adec1 when ,constantinople fell beneath the ,turk1 the ,venetians had been more and more straitened in their ,oriental commerce1 and were thrown back upon the policy of territorial aggrandisement in ,italy1 from which they had hitherto refrained as alien to the temperament of the ,republic4 ,at the end of the fifteenth century ,venice therefore became an object of envy and terror to the ,italian ,states4 ,they envied her because she alone was tranquil1 wealthy1 powerful1 and free4 ,they feared her because they had good reason to suspect her of encroachment2 and it was foreseen that if she got the upper hand in ,italy1 all ,italy would be the property of the families inscribed upon the ,golden ,book4 ,it was thus alone that the ,italians comprehended government4 ,the principle of representation being utterly unknown1 and the privileged burghers in each city being regarded as absolute and lawful owners of the city and of everything belonging to it1 the conquest of a town by a republic implied the political extinction of that town and the disfranchisement of its inhabitants in favour of the conquerors4 ,florence at this epoch still called itself a ,republic2 and of all ,italian commonwealths it was by far the most democratic4 ,its history1 unlike that of ,venice1 had been the history of continual and brusque changes1 resulting in the destruction of the old nobility1 in the equalisation of the burghers1 and in the formation of a new aristocracy of wealth4 ,prom this class of bourgeois nobles sprang the ,medici1 who1 by careful manipulation of the ,state machinery1 by the creation of a powerful party devoted to their interests1 by flattery of the people1 by corruption1 by taxation1 and by constant scheming1 raised themselves to the first place in the commonwealth1 and became its virtual masters4 ,in the year #adib ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 the most remarkable chief of this despotic family1 died1 bequeathing his supremacy in the ,republic to a son of marked incompetence4 ,since the ,pontificate of ,nicholas ,v4 the ,see of ,rome had entered upon a new period of existence4 ,the ,popes no longer dreaded to reside in ,rome1 but were bent upon making the metropolis of ,christendom both splendid as a seat of art and learning1 and also potent as the capital of a secular kingdom4 ,though their fiefs in ,romagna and the ,march were still held but loosely1 though their provinces swarmed with petty despots who defied the ,papal authority1 and though the princely ,roman houses of ,colonna and ,orsini were still strong enough to terrorise the ,holy ,father in the ,vatican1 it was now clear that the ,papal ,see must in the end get the better of its adversaries1 and consolidate itself into a first-rate ,power4 ,the internal spirit of the ,papacy at this time corresponded to its external policy4 ,it was thoroughly secularised by a series of worldly and vicious pontiffs1 who had clean forgotten what their title1 ,vicar of ,christ1 implied4 ,they consistently used their religious prestige to enforce their secular authority1 while by their temporal power they caused their religious claims to be respected4 ,corrupt and shameless1 they indulged themselves in every vice1 openly acknowledged their children1 and turned ,italy upside down in order to establish favourites and bastards in the principalities they seized as spoils of war4 ,the kingdom of ,naples differed from any other state of ,italy4 ,subject continually to foreign rulers since the decay of the ,greek ,empire1 governed in succession by the ,normans1 the ,hohenstauffens1 and the ,house of ,anjou1 it had never enjoyed the real independence1 or the free institutions1 of the northern provinces2 nor had it been ,italianised in the same sense as the rest of the peninsula4 ,despotism1 which assumed so many forms in ,italy1 was here neither the tyranny of a noble house1 nor the masked autocracy of a burgher1 nor yet the forceful sway of a condottiere4 ,it had a dynastic character1 resembling the monarchy of one of the great ,european nations1 but modified by the peculiar conditions of ,italian statecraft4 ,owing to this dynastic and monarchical complexion of the ,neapolitan kingdom1 semi-feudal customs flourished in the south far more than in the north of ,italy4 ,the barons were more powerful2 and the destinies of the ,regno often turned upon their feuds and quarrels with the ,crown4 ,at the same time the ,neapolitan despots shared the uneasy circumstances of all ,italian potentates1 owing to the uncertainty of their tenure1 both as conquerors and aliens1 and also as the nominal vassals of the ,holy ,see4 ,the rights of suzerainty which the ,normans had yielded to the ,papacy over their southern conquests1 and which the ,popes had arbitrarily exercised in favour of the ,angevine princes1 proved a constant source of peril to the rest of ,italy by rendering the succession to the crown of ,naples doubtful4 ,on the extinction of the ,angevine line1 however1 the throne was occupied by a prince who had no valid title but that of the sword to its possession4 ,alfonso of ,aragon conquered ,naples in #addb1 and neglecting his hereditary dominion1 settled in his ,italian capital4 ,possessed with the enthusiasm for literature which was then the ruling passion of the ,italians1 and very liberal to men of learning1 ,alfonso won for himself the surname of ,magnanimous4 ,on his death1 in #adeh1 he bequeathed his ,spanish kingdom1 together with ,sicily and ,sardinia1 to his brother1 and left the fruits of his ,italian conquest to his bastard1 ,ferdinand4 ,this ,ferdinand1 whose birth was buried in profound obscurity1 was the reigning sovereign in the year #adib4 ,of a cruel and sombre temperament1 traitorous and tyrannical1 ,ferdinand was hated by his subjects as much as ,alfonso had been loved4 ,he possessed1 however1 to a remarkable degree1 the qualities which at that epoch constituted a consummate statesman2 and though the history of his reign is the history of plots and conspiracies1 of judicial murders and forcible assassinations1 of famines produced by iniquitous taxation1 and of every kind of diabolical tyranny1 ,ferdinand contrived to hold his own1 in the teeth of a rebellious baronage or a maddened population4 ,his political sagacity amounted almost to a prophetic instinct in the last years of his life1 when he became aware that the old order was breaking up in ,italy1 and had cause to dread that ,charles ,,viii4 of ,france would prove his title to the kingdom of ,naples by force of arms4#ac ,such were the component parts of the ,italian body politic1 with the addition of numerous petty principalities and powers1 adhering more or less consistently to one or other of the greater ,states4 ,the whole complex machine was bound together by no sense of common interest1 animated by no common purpose1 amenable to no central authority4 ,even such community of feeling as one spoken language gives1 was lacking4 ,and yet ,italy distinguished herself clearly from the rest of ,europe1 not merely as a geographical fact1 but also as a people intellectually and spiritually one4 ,the rapid rise of humanism had aided in producing this national self-consciousness4 ,every ,state and every city was absorbed in the recovery of culture and in the development of art and literature4 ,far in advance of the other ,european nations1 the ,italians regarded the rest of the world as barbarous1 priding themselves the while1 in spite of mutual jealousies and hatreds1 on their ,italic civilisation4 ,they were enormously wealthy4 ,the resources of the ,papal treasury1 the private fortunes of the ,florentine bankers1 the riches of the ,venetian merchants might have purchased all that ,france or ,germany possessed of value4 ,the single ,duchy of ,milan yielded to its masters #gjj1jjj golden florins of revenue1 according to the computation of ,de ,comines4 ,in default of a confederative system1 the several ,states were held in equilibrium by diplomacy4 ,by far the most important people1 next to the despots and the captains of adventure1 were ambassadors and orators4 ,war itself had become a matter of arrangement1 bargain1 and diplomacy4 ,the game of stratagem was played by generals who had been friends yesterday and might be friends again to-morrow1 with troops who felt no loyalty whatever for the standards under which they listed4 ,to avoid slaughter and to achieve the ends of warfare by parade and demonstration was the interest of every one concerned4 ,looking back upon ,italy of the fifteenth century1 taking account of her religious deadness and moral corruption1 estimating the absence of political vigour in the republics and the noxious tyranny of the despots1 analysing her lack of national spirit1 and comparing her splendid life of cultivated ease with the want of martial energy1 we can see but too plainly that contact with a simpler and stronger people could not but produce a terrible catastrophe4 ,the ,italians themselves1 however1 were far from comprehending this4 ,centuries of undisturbed internal intrigue had accustomed them to play the game of forfeits with each other1 and nothing warned them that the time was come at which diplomacy1 finesse1 and craft would stand them in ill stead against rapacious conquerors4 ,the storm which began to gather over ,italy in the year #adib had its first beginning in the ,north4 ,lodovico ,sforza's position in the ,duchy of ,milan was becoming every day more difficult1 when a slight and to all appearances insignificant incident converted his apprehension of danger into panic4 ,it was customary for the ,states of ,italy to congratulate a new ,pope on his election by their ambassadors2 and this ceremony had now to be performed for ,roderigo ,borgia4 ,lodovico proposed that his envoys should go to ,rome together with those of ,venice1 ,naples1 and ,florence2 but ,piero de' ,medici1 whose vanity made him wish to send an embassy in his own name1 contrived that ,lodovico's proposal should be rejected both by ,florence and the ,king of ,naples4 ,so strained was the situation of ,italian affairs that ,lodovico saw in this repulse a menace to his own usurped authority4 ,feeling himself isolated among the princes of his country1 rebuffed by the ,medici1 and coldly treated by the ,king of ,naples1 he turned in his anxiety to ,france1 and advised the young king1 ,charles ,,viii41 to make good his claim upon the ,regno4 ,it was a bold move to bring the foreigner thus into ,italy2 and even ,lodovico1 who prided himself upon his sagacity1 could not see how things would end4 ,he thought his situation so hazardous1 however1 that any change must be for the better4 ,moreover1 a ,french invasion of ,naples would tie the hands of his natural foe1 ,king ,ferdinand1 whose granddaughter1 ,isabella of ,aragon1 had married ,giovanni ,galeazzo ,sforza1 and was now the rightful ,duchess of ,milan4 ,when the ,florentine ambassador at ,milan asked him how he had the courage to expose ,italy to such peril1 his reply betrayed the egotism of his policy3 ',you talk to me of ,italy2 but when have ,i looked ,italy in the face8 ,no one ever gave a thought to my affairs4 ,i have1 therefore1 had to give them such security as ,i could4' ,charles ,,viii4 was young1 light-brained1 romantic1 and ruled by parvenus1 who had an interest in disturbing the old order of the monarchy4 ,he lent a willing ear to ,lodovico's invitation1 backed as this was by the eloquence and passion of numerous ,italian refugees and exiles4 ,against the advice of his more prudent counsellors1 he taxed all the resources of his kingdom1 and concluded treaties on disadvantageous terms with ,england1 ,germany1 and ,spain1 in order that he might be able to concentrate all his attention upon the ,italian expedition4 ,at the end of the year #adic1 it was known that the invasion was resolved upon4 ,gentile ,becchi1 the ,florentine envoy at the ,court of ,france1 wrote to ,piero de' ,medici3 ',if the ,king succeeds1 it is all over with ,italy--tutta a bordello4' ,the extraordinary selfishness of the several ,italian ,states at this critical moment deserves to be noticed4 ,the ,venetians1 as ,paolo ,antonio ,soderini described them to ,piero de' ,medici1 'are of opinion that to keep quiet1 and to see other potentates of ,italy spending and suffering1 cannot but be to their advantage4 ,they trust no one1 and feel sure they have enough money to be able at any moment to raise sufficient troops1 and so to guide events according to their inclinations4' ,as the invasion was directed against ,naples1 ,ferdinand of ,aragon displayed the acutest sense of the situation4 ',frenchmen1' he exclaimed1 in what appears like a prophetic passion when contrasted with the cold indifference of others no less really menaced1 'have never come into ,italy without inflicting ruin2 and this invasion1 if rightly considered1 cannot but bring universal ruin1 although it seems to menace us alone4' ,in his agony ,ferdinand applied to ,alexander ,,vi4 ,but the ,pope looked coldly upon him1 because the ,king of ,naples1 with rare perspicacity1 had predicted that his elevation to the ,papacy would prove disastrous to ,christendom4 ,alexander preferred to ally himself with ,venice and ,milan4 ,upon this ,ferdinand wrote as follows3 ',it seems fated that the ,popes should leave no peace in ,italy4 ,we are compelled to fight2 but the ,duke of ,bari 7i4e4 ,lodovico ,sforza7 should think what may ensue from the tumult he is stirring up4 ,he who raises this wind will not be able to lay the tempest when he likes4 ,let him look to the past1 and he will see how every time that our internal quarrels have brought ,powers from beyond the ,alps into ,italy1 these have oppressed and lorded over her4' ,terribly verified as these words were destined to be1--and they were no less prophetic in their political sagacity than ,savonarola's prediction of the ,sword and bloody ,scourge1--it was now too late to avert the coming ruin4 ,on ,march #a1 #adid1 ,charles was with his army at ,lyons4 ,early in ,september he had crossed the pass of ,mont ,genvre and taken up his quarters in the town of ,asti4 ,there is no need to describe in detail the holiday march of the ,french troops through ,lombardy1 ,tuscany1 and ,rome1 until1 without having struck a blow of consequence1 the gates of ,naples opened to receive the conqueror upon ,february #bb1 #adie4 ,philippe de ,comines1 who parted from the ,king at ,asti and passed the winter as his envoy at ,venice1 has more than once recorded his belief that nothing but the direct interposition of ,providence could have brought so mad an expedition to so successful a conclusion4 ',dieu monstroit conduire l'entreprise1' ,no sooner1 however1 was ,charles installed in ,naples than the ,states of ,italy began to combine against him4 ,lodovico ,sforza had availed himself of the general confusion consequent upon the first appearance of the ,french1 to poison his nephew4 ,he was1 therefore1 now the titular1 as well as virtual1 ,lord of ,milan4 ,so far1 he had achieved what he desired1 and had no further need of ,charles4 ,the overtures he now made to the ,venetians and the ,pope terminated in a ,league between these ,powers for the expulsion of the ,french from ,italy4 ,germany and ,spain entered into the same alliance2 and ,de ,comines1 finding himself treated with marked coldness by the ,signory of ,venice1 despatched a courier to warn ,charles in ,naples of the coming danger4 ,after a stay of only fifty days in his new capital1 the ,french ,king hurried northward4 ,moving quickly through the ,papal ,states and ,tuscany1 he engaged his troops in the passes of the ,apennines near ,pontremoli1 and on ,july #e1 #adie1 took up his quarters in the village of ,fornovo4 ,de ,comines reckons that his whole fighting force at this time did not exceed #i1jjj men1 with fourteen pieces of artillery4 ,against him at the opening of the valley was the army of the ,league1 numbering some #ce1jjj men1 of whom three-fourths were supplied by ,venice1 the rest by ,lodovico ,sforza and the ,german ,emperor4 ,francesco ,gonzaga1 ,marquis of ,mantua1 was the general of the ,venetian forces2 and on him1 therefore1 fell the real responsibility of the battle4 ,de ,comines remarks on the imprudence of the allies1 who allowed ,charles to advance as far as ,fornovo1 when it was their obvious policy to have established themselves in the village and so have caught the ,french troops in a trap4 ,it was a ,sunday when the ,french marched down upon ,fornovo4 ,before them spread the plain of ,lombardy1 and beyond it the white crests of the ,alps4 ',we were1' says ,de ,comines1 'in a valley between two little mountain flanks1 and in that valley ran a river which could easily be forded on foot1 except when it is swelled with sudden rains4 ,the whole valley was a bed of gravel and big stones1 very difficult for horses1 about a quarter of a league in breadth1 and on the right bank lodged our enemies4' ,any one who has visited ,fornovo can understand the situation of the two armies4 ,charles occupied the village on the right bank of the ,taro4 ,on the same bank1 extending downward toward the plain1 lay the host of the allies2 and in order that ,charles should escape them1 it was necessary that he should cross the ,taro1 just below its junction with the ,ceno1 and reach ,lombardy by marching in a parallel line with his foes4 ,all through the night of ,sunday it thundered and rained incessantly2 so that on the ,monday morning the ,taro was considerably swollen4 ,at seven o'clock the ,king sent for ,de ,comines1 who found him already armed and mounted on the finest horse he had ever seen4 ,the name of this charger was ,savoy4 ,he was black1 one-eyed1 and of middling height2 and to his great courage1 as we shall see1 ,charles owed life upon that day4 ,the ,french army1 ready for the march1 now took to the gravelly bed of the ,taro1 passing the river at a distance of about a quarter of a league from the allies4 ,as the ,french left ,fornovo1 the light cavalry of their enemies entered the village and began to attack the baggage4 ,at the same time the ,marquis of ,mantua1 with the flower of his men-at-arms1 crossed the ,taro and harassed the rear of the ,french host2 while raids from the right bank to the left were constantly being made by sharpshooters and flying squadrons4 ',at this moment1' says ,de ,comines1 'not a single man of us could have escaped if our ranks had once been broken4' ,the ,french army was divided into three main bodies4 ,the vanguard consisted of some #cej men-at-arms1 #cjjj ,switzers1 #cjj archers of the ,guard1 a few mounted crossbow-men1 and the artillery4 ,next came the ,battle1 and after this the rearguard4 ,at the time when the ,marquis of ,mantua made his attack1 the ,french rearguard had not yet crossed the river4 ,charles quitted the van1 put himself at the head of his chivalry1 and charged the ,italian horsemen1 driving them back1 some to the village and others to their camp4 ,de ,comines observes1 that had the ,italian knights been supported in this passage of arms by the light cavalry of the ,venetian force1 called ,stradiots1 the ,french must have been outnumbered1 thrown into confusion1 and defeated4 ,as it was1 these ,stradiots were engaged in plundering the baggage of the ,french2 and the ,italians1 accustomed to bloodless encounters1 did not venture1 in spite of their immense superiority of numbers1 to renew the charge4 ,in the pursuit of ,gonzaga's horsemen ,charles outstripped his staff1 and was left almost alone to grapple with a little band of mounted foemen4 ,it was here that his noble horse1 ,savoy1 saved his person by plunging and charging till assistance came up from the ,french1 and enabled the ,king to regain his van4 ,it is incredible1 considering the nature of the ground and the number of the troops engaged1 that the allies should not have returned to the attack and have made the passage of the ,french into the plain impossible4 ,de ,comines1 however1 assures us that the actual engagement only lasted a quarter of an hour1 and the pursuit of the ,italians three quarters of an hour4 ,after they had once resolved to fly1 they threw away their lances and betook themselves to ,reggio and ,parma4 ,so complete was their discomfiture1 that ,de ,comines gravely blames the want of military genius and adventure in the ,french host4 ,if1 instead of advancing along the left bank of the ,taro and there taking up his quarters for the night1 ,charles had recrossed the stream and pursued the army of the allies1 he would have had the whole of ,lombardy at his discretion4 ,as it was1 the ,french army encamped not far from the scene of the action in great discomfort and anxiety4 ,de ,comines had to bivouac in a vineyard1 without even a mantle to wrap round him1 having lent his cloak to the ,king in the morning2 and as it had been pouring all day1 the ground could not have afforded very luxurious quarters4 ,the same extraordinary luck which had attended the ,french in their whole expedition1 now favoured their retreat2 and the same pusillanimity which the allies had shown at ,fornovo1 prevented them from re-forming and engaging with the army of ,charles upon the plain4 ,one hour before daybreak on ,tuesday morning1 the ,french broke up their camp and succeeded in clearing the valley4 ,that night they lodged at ,fiorenzuola1 the next at ,piacenza1 and so on2 till on the eighth day they arrived at ,asti without having been so much as incommoded by the army of the allies in their rear4 ,although the field of ,fornovo was in reality so disgraceful to the ,italians1 they reckoned it a victory upon the technical pretence that the camp and baggage of the ,french had been seized4 ,illuminations and rejoicings made the piazza of ,s4 ,mark in ,venice gay1 and ,francesco da ,gonzaga had the glorious ,madonna della ,vittoria painted for him by ,mantegna1 in commemoration of what ought only to have been remembered with shame4 ,a fitting conclusion to this sketch1 connecting its close with the commencement1 may be found in some remarks upon the manner of warfare to which the ,italians of the ,renaissance had become accustomed1 and which proved so futile on the field of ,fornovo4 ,during the middle ages1 and in the days of the ,communes1 the whole male population of ,italy had fought light-armed on foot4 ,merchant and artisan left the counting-house and the workshop1 took shield and pike1 and sallied forth to attack the barons in their castles1 or to meet the ,emperor's troops upon the field4 ,it was with this national militia that the citizens of ,florence freed their ,contado of the nobles1 and the burghers of ,lombardy gained the battle of ,legnano4 ,in course of time1 by a process of change which it is not very easy to trace1 heavily armed cavalry began to take the place of infantry in medival warfare4 ,men-at-arms1 as they were called1 encased from head to foot in iron1 and mounted upon chargers no less solidly caparisoned1 drove the foot-soldiers before them at the points of their long lances4 ,nowhere in ,italy do they seem to have met with the fierce resistance which the bears of the ,swiss ,oberland and the bulls of ,uri offered to the knights of ,burgundy4 ,no ,tuscan ,arnold von ,winkelried clasped a dozen lances to his bosom that the foeman's ranks might thus be broken at the cost of his own life2 nor did it occur to the ,italian burghers to meet the charge of the horsemen with squares protected by bristling spears4 ,they seem1 on the contrary1 to have abandoned military service with the readiness of men whose energies were already absorbed in the affairs of peace4 ,to become a practised and efficient man-at-arms required long training and a life's devotion4 ,so much time the burghers of the free towns could not spare to military service1 while the petty nobles were only too glad to devote themselves to so honourable a calling4 ,thus it came to pass that a class of professional fighting-men was gradually formed in ,italy1 whose services the burghers and the princes bought1 and by whom the wars of the peninsula were regularly farmed by contract4 ,wealth and luxury in the great cities continued to increase2 and as the burghers grew more comfortable1 they were less inclined to take the field in their own persons1 and more disposed to vote large sums of money for the purchase of necessary aid4 ,at the same time this system suited the despots1 since it spared them the peril of arming their own subjects1 while they taxed them to pay the services of foreign captains4 ,war thus became a commerce4 ,romagna1 the ,marches of ,ancona1 and other parts of the ,papal dominions1 supplied a number of petty nobles whose whole business in life it was to form companies of trained horsemen1 and with these bands to hire themselves out to the republics and the despots4 ,gain was the sole purpose of these captains4 ,they sold their service to the highest bidder1 fighting irrespectively of principle or patriotism1 and passing with the coldest equanimity from the camp of one master to that of his worst foe4 ,it was impossible that true military spirit should survive this prostitution of the art of war4 ,a species of mock warfare prevailed in ,italy4 ,battles were fought with a view to booty more than victory2 prisoners were taken for the sake of ransom2 bloodshed was carefully avoided1 for the men who fought on either side in any pitched field had been comrades with their present foemen in the last encounter1 and who could tell how soon the general of the one host might not need his rival's troops to recruit his own ranks8 ,like every genuine institution of the ,italian ,renaissance1 warfare was thus a work of fine art1 a masterpiece of intellectual subtlety2 and like the ,renaissance itself1 this peculiar form of warfare was essentially transitional4 ,the cannon and the musket were already in use2 and it only required one blast of gunpowder to turn the sham-fight of courtly1 traitorous1 finessing captains of adventure into something terribly more real4 ,to men like the ,marquis of ,mantua war had been a highly profitable game of skill2 to men like the ,marchal de ,gi it was a murderous horseplay2 and this difference the ,italians were not slow to perceive4 ,when they cast away their lances at ,fornovo1 and fled--in spite of their superior numbers--never to return1 one fair-seeming sham of the fifteenth century became a vision of the past4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,florence ,,and ,,the ,,medici ,di ,firenze in prima si divisono intra loro i nobili1 dipoi i nobili e il popolo1 e in ultimo il popolo e la plebe2 e molte volte occorse che una di queste parti rimasa superiore1 si divise in due4--,,machiavelli4 ,i ,florence1 like all ,italian cities1 owed her independence to the duel of the ,papacy and ,empire4 ,the transference of the imperial authority beyond the ,alps had enabled the burghs of ,lombardy and ,tuscany to establish a form of self-government4 ,this government was based upon the old municipal organisation of duumvirs and decemvirs4 ,it was1 in fact1 nothing more or less than a survival from the ancient ,roman system4 ,the proof of this was1 that while vindicating their rights as towns1 the free cities never questioned the validity of the imperial title4 ,even after the peace of ,constance in #aahc1 when ,frederick ,barbarossa acknowledged their autonomy1 they received within their walls a supreme magistrate1 with power of life and death and ultimate appeal in all decisive questions1 whose title of ,potest indicated that he represented the imperial power--,potestas4 ,it was not by the assertion of any right1 so much as by the growth of custom1 and by the weakness of the ,emperors1 that in course of time each city became a sovereign ,state4 ,the theoretical supremacy of the ,empire prevented any other authority from taking the first place in ,italy4 ,on the other hand1 the practical inefficiency of the ,emperors to play their part encouraged the establishment of numerous minor powers amenable to no controlling discipline4 ,the free cities derived their strength from industry1 and had nothing in common with the nobles of the surrounding country4 ,broadly speaking1 the population of the towns included what remained in ,italy of the old ,roman people4 ,this ,roman stock was nowhere stronger than in ,florence and ,venice--,florence defended from barbarian incursions by her mountains and marshes1 ,venice by the isolation of her lagoons4 ,the nobles1 on the contrary1 were mostly of foreign origin--,germans1 ,franks1 and ,lombards1 who had established themselves as feudal lords in castles apart from the cities4 ,the force which the burghs acquired as industrial communities was soon turned against these nobles4 ,the larger cities1 like ,milan and ,florence1 began to make war upon the lords of castles1 and to absorb into their own territory the small towns and villages around them4 ,thus in the social economy of the ,italians there were two antagonistic elements ready to range themselves beneath any banners that should give the form of legitimate warfare to their mutual hostility4 ,it was the policy of the ,church in the twelfth century to support the cause of the cities1 using them as a weapon against the ,empire1 and stimulating the growing ambition of the burghers4 ,in this way ,italy came to be divided into the two world-famous factions known as ,guelf and ,ghibelline4 ,the struggle between ,guelf and ,ghibelline was the struggle of the ,papacy for the depression of the ,empire1 the struggle of the great burghs face to face with feudalism1 the struggle of the old ,italie stock enclosed in cities with the foreign nobles established in fortresses4 ,when the ,church had finally triumphed by the extirpation of the ,house of ,hohenstaufen1 this conflict of ,guelf and ,ghibelline was really ended4 ,until the reign of ,charles ,v4 no ,emperor interfered to any purpose in ,italian affairs4 ,at the same time the ,popes ceased to wield a formidable power4 ,having won the battle by calling in the ,french1 they suffered the consequences of this policy by losing their hold on ,italy during the long period of their exile at ,avignon4 ,the ,italians1 left without either ,pope or ,emperor1 were free to pursue their course of internal development1 and to prosecute their quarrels among themselves4 ,but though the names of ,guelf and ,ghibelline lost their old significance after the year #abff 7the date of ,king ,manfred's death71 these two factions had so divided ,italy that they continued to play a prominent part in her annals4 ,guelf still meant constitutional autonomy1 meant the burgher as against the noble1 meant industry as opposed to feudal lordship4 ,ghibelline meant the rule of the few over the many1 meant tyranny1 meant the interest of the noble as against the merchant and the citizen4 ,these broad distinctions must be borne in mind1 if we seek to understand how it was that a city like ,florence continued to be governed by parties1 the ,european force of which had passed away4 ,,ii ,florence first rose into importance during the papacy of ,innocent ,,iii4 ,up to this date she had been a town of second-rate distinction even in ,tuscany4 ,pisa was more powerful by arms and commerce4 ,lucca was the old seat of the dukes and marquises of ,tuscany4 ,but between the years #abjj and #abej ,florence assumed the place she was to hold thenceforward1 by heading the league of ,tuscan cities formed to support the ,guelf party against the ,ghibellines4 ,formally adopting the ,guelf cause1 the ,florentines made themselves the champions of municipal liberty in ,central ,italy2 and while they declared war against the ,ghibelline cities1 they endeavoured to stamp out the very name of noble in their ,state4 ,it is not needful to describe the varying fortunes of the ,guelfs and ,ghibellines1 the burghers and the nobles1 during the thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth centuries4 ,suffice it to say that through all the vicissitudes of that stormy period the name ,guelf became more and more associated with republican freedom in ,florence4 ,at last1 after the final triumph of that party in #abec1 the ,guelfs remained victors in the city4 ,associating the glory of their independence with ,guelf principles1 the citizens of ,florence perpetuated within their ,state a faction that1 in its turn1 was destined to prove perilous to liberty4 ,when it became clear that the republic was to rule itself henceforth untrammelled by imperial interference1 the people divided themselves into six districts1 and chose for each district two ,ancients1 who administered the government in concert with the ,potest and the ,captain of the ,people4 ,the ,ancients were a relic of the old ,roman municipal organisation4 ,the ,potest who was invariably a noble foreigner selected by the people1 represented the extinct imperial right1 and exercised the power of life and death within the city4 ,the ,captain of the ,people1 who was also a foreigner1 headed the burghers in their military capacity1 for at that period the troops were levied from the citizens themselves in twenty companies4 ,the body of the citizens1 or the popolo1 were ultimately sovereigns in the ,state4 ,assembled under the banners of their several companies1 they formed a parlamento for delegating their own power to each successive government4 ,their representatives1 again1 arranged in two councils1 called the ,council of the ,people and the ,council of the ,commune1 under the presidency of the ,captain of the ,people and the ,potest1 ratified the measures which had previously been proposed and carried by the executive authority or ,signoria4 ,under this simple ,state system the ,florentines placed themselves at the head of the ,tuscan ,league1 fought the battles of the ,church1 asserted their sovereignty by issuing the golden florin of the republic1 and flourished until #abff4 ,,iii ,in that year an important change was effected in the ,constitution4 ,the whole population of ,florence consisted1 on the one hand1 of nobles or ,grandi1 as they were called in ,tuscany1 and on the other hand of working people4 ,the latter1 divided into traders and handicraftsmen1 were distributed in guilds called ,arti2 and at that time there were seven ,greater and five ,lesser ,arti1 the most influential of all being the ,guild of the ,wool ,merchants4 ,these guilds had their halls for meeting1 their colleges of chief officers1 their heads1 called ,consoli or ,priors1 and their flags4 ,in #abff it was decided that the administration of the commonwealth should be placed simply and wholly in the hands of the ,arti1 and the ,priors of these industrial companies became the lords or ,signory of ,florence4 ,no inhabitant of the city who had not enrolled himself as a craftsman in one of the guilds could exercise any function of burghership4 ,to be scioperato1 or without industry1 was to be without power1 without rank or place of honour in the ,state4 ,the revolution which placed the ,arts at the head of the republic had the practical effect of excluding the ,grandi altogether from the government4 ,violent efforts were made by these noble families1 potent through their territorial possessions and foreign connections1 and trained from boyhood in the use of arms1 to recover the place from which the new laws thrust them3 but their menacing attitude1 instead of intimidating the burghers1 roused their anger and drove them to the passing of still more stringent laws4 ,in #abic1 after the ,ghibellines had been defeated in the great battle of ,campaldino1 a series of severe enactments1 called the ,ordinances of ,justice1 were decreed against the unruly ,grandi4 ,all civic rights were taken from them2 the severest penalties were attached to their slightest infringement of municipal law2 their titles to land were limited2 the privilege of living within the city walls was allowed them only under galling restrictions2 and1 last not least1 a supreme magistrate1 named the ,gonfalonier of ,justice1 was created for the special purpose of watching them and carrying out the penal code against them4 ,henceforward ,florence was governed exclusively by merchants and artisans4 ,the ,grandi hastened to enrol themselves in the guilds1 exchanging their former titles and dignities for the solid privilege of burghership4 ,the exact parallel to this industrial constitution for a commonwealth1 carrying on wars with emperors and princes1 holding haughty captains in its pay1 and dictating laws to subject cities1 cannot1 ,i think1 be elsewhere found in history4 ,it is as unique as the ,florence of ,dante and ,giotto is unique4 ,while the people was guarding itself thus stringently against the ,grandi1 a separate body was created for the special purpose of extirpating the ,ghibellines4 ,a permanent committee of vigilance1 called the ,college or the ,captains of the ,guelf ,party1 was established4 ,it was their function to administer the forfeited possessions of ,ghibelline rebels1 to hunt out suspected citizens1 to prosecute them for ,ghibellinism1 to judge them1 and to punish them as traitors to the commonwealth4 ,this body1 like a little ,state within the ,state1 proved formidable to the republic itself through the unlimited and undefined sway it exercised over burghers whom it chose to tax with treason4 ,in course of time it became the oligarchical element within the ,florentine democracy1 and threatened to change the free constitution of the city into a government conducted by a few powerful families4 ,there is no need to dwell in detail on the internal difficulties of ,florence during the first half of the fourteenth century4 ,two main circumstances1 however1 require to be briefly noticed4 ,these are 7i7 the contest of the ,blacks and ,whites1 so famous through the part played in it by ,dante2 and 7ii7 the tyranny of the ,duke#a of ,athens1 ,walter de ,brienne4 ,the feuds of the ,blacks and ,whites broke up the city into factions1 and produced such anarchy that at last it was found necessary to place the republic under the protection of foreign potentates4 ,charles of ,valois was first chosen1 and after him the ,duke of ,athens1 who took up his residence in the city4 ,entrusted with dictatorial authority1 he used his power to form a military despotism4 ,though his reign of violence lasted rather less than a year1 it bore important fruits2 for the tyrant1 seeking to support himself upon the favour of the common people1 gave political power to the ,lesser ,arts at the expense of the ,greater1 and confused the old ,state-system by enlarging the democracy4 ,the net result of these events for ,florence was1 first1 that the city became habituated to rancorous party-strife1 involving exiles and proscriptions2 and1 secondly1 that it lost its primitive social hierarchy of classes4 ,,iv ,after the ,guelfs had conquered the ,ghibellines1 and the people had absorbed the ,grandi in their guilds1 the next chapter in the troubled history of ,florence was the division of the ,popolo against itself4 ,civil strife now declared itself as a conflict between labour and capital4 ,the members of the ,lesser ,arts1 craftsmen who plied trades subordinate to those of the ,greater ,arts1 rose up against their social and political superiors1 demanding a larger share in the government1 a more equal distribution of profits1 higher wages1 and privileges that should place them on an absolute equality with the wealthy merchants4 ,it was in the year #acgh that the proletariate broke out into rebellion4 ,previous events had prepared the way for this revolt4 ,first of all1 the republic had been democratised through the destruction of the ,grandi and through the popular policy pursued to gain his own ends by the ,duke of ,athens4 ,secondly1 society had been shaken to its very foundation by the great plague of #acdh4 ,both ,boccaccio and ,matteo ,villani draw lively pictures of the relaxed morality and loss of order consequent upon this terrible disaster2 nor had thirty years sufficed to restore their relative position to grades and ranks confounded by an overwhelming calamity4 ,we may therefore reckon the great plague of #acdh among the causes which produced the anarchy of #acgh4 ,rising in a mass to claim their privileges1 the artisans ejected the ,signory from the ,public ,palace1 and for awhile ,florence was at the mercy of the mob4 ,it is worthy of notice that the ,medici1 whose name is scarcely known before this epoch1 now came for one moment to the front4 ,salvestro de' ,medici was ,gonfalonier of ,justice at the time when the tumult first broke out4 ,he followed the faction of the handicraftsmen1 and became the hero of the day4 ,i cannot discover that he did more than extend a sort of passive protection to their cause4 ,yet there is no doubt that the attachment of the working classes to the ,house of ,medici dates from this period4 ,the rebellion of #acgh is known in ,florentine history as the ,tumult of the ,ciompi4 ,the name ,ciompi strictly means the ,wool-,carders4 ,one set of operatives in the city1 and that the largest1 gave its title to the whole body of the labourers4 ,for some months these craftsmen governed the republic1 appointing their own ,signory and passing laws in their own interest2 but1 as is usual1 the proletariate found itself incapable of sustained government4 ,the ambition and discontent of the ,ciompi foamed themselves away1 and industrious working men began to see that trade was languishing and credit on the wane4 ,by their own act at last they restored the government to the ,priors of the ,greater ,arti4 ,still the movement had not been without grave consequences4 ,it completed the levelling of classes1 which had been steadily advancing from the first in ,florence4 ,after the ,ciompi riot there was no longer not only any distinction between noble and burgher1 but the distinction between greater and lesser guilds was practically swept away4 ,the classes1 parties1 and degrees in the republic were so broken up1 ground down1 and mingled1 that thenceforth the true source of power in the ,state was wealth combined with personal ability4 ,in other words1 the proper political conditions had been formed for unscrupulous adventurers4 ,florence had become a democracy without social organisation1 which might fall a prey to oligarchs or despots4 ,what remained of deeply rooted feuds or factions--animosities against the ,grandi1 hatred for the ,ghibellines1 jealousy of labour and capital--offered so many points of leverage for stirring the passions of the people and for covering personal ambition with a cloak of public zeal4 ,the time was come for the ,albizzi to attempt an oligarchy1 and for the ,medici to begin the enslavement of the ,state4 ,v ,the ,constitution of ,florence offered many points of weakness to the attacks of such intriguers4 ,in the first place it was in its origin not a political but an industrial organisation--a simple group of guilds invested with the sovereign authority4 ,its two most powerful engines1 the ,gonfalonier of ,justice and the ,guelf ,college1 had been formed1 not with a view to the preservation of the government1 but with the purpose of quelling the nobles and excluding a detested faction4 ,it had no permanent head1 like the ,doge of ,venice2 no fixed senate like the ,venetian ,grand ,council2 its chief magistrates1 the ,signory1 were elected for short periods of two months1 and their mode of election was open to the gravest criticism4 ,supposed to be chosen by lot1 they were really selected from lists drawn up by the factions in power from time to time4 ,these factions contrived to exclude the names of all but their adherents from the bags1 or borse1 in which the burghers eligible for election had to be inscribed4 ,furthermore1 it was not possible for this shifting ,signory to conduct affairs requiring sustained effort and secret deliberation2 therefore recourse was being continually had to dictatorial ,commissions4 ,the people1 summoned in parliament upon the ,great ,square1 were asked to confer plenipotentiary authority upon a committee called ,balia1 who proceeded to do what they chose in the ,state1 and who retained power after the emergency for which they were created passed away4 ,the same instability in the supreme magistracy led to the appointment of special commissioners for war1 and special councils1 or ,pratiche1 for the management of each department4 ,such supplementary commissions not only proved the weakness of the central authority1 but they were always liable to be made the instruments of party warfare4 ,the ,guelf ,college was another and a different source of danger to the ,state4 ,not acting under the control of the ,signory1 but using its own initiative1 this powerful body could proscribe and punish burghers on the mere suspicion of ,ghibellinism4 ,though the ,ghibelline faction had become an empty name1 the ,guelf ,college excluded from the franchise all and every whom they chose on any pretext to admonish4 ,under this mild phrase1 to admonish1 was concealed a cruel exercise of tyranny--it meant to warn a man that he was suspected of treason1 and that he had better relinquish the exercise of his burghership4 ,by free use of this engine of ,admonition1 the ,guelf ,college rendered their enemies voiceless in the ,state1 and were able to pack the ,signory and the councils with their own creatures4 ,another important defect in the ,florentine ,constitution was the method of imposing taxes4 ,this was done by no regular system4 ,the party in power made what estimate it chose of a man's capacity to bear taxation1 and called upon him for extraordinary loans4 ,in this way citizens were frequently driven into bankruptcy and exile2 and since to be a debtor to the ,state deprived a burgher of his civic rights1 severe taxation was one of the best ways of silencing and neutralising a dissentient4 ,i have enumerated these several causes of weakness in the ,florentine ,state-system1 partly because they show how irregularly the ,constitution had been formed by the patching and extension of a simple industrial machine to suit the needs of a great commonwealth2 partly because it was through these defects that the democracy merged gradually into a despotism4 ,the art of the ,medici consisted in a scientific comprehension of these very imperfections1 a methodic use of them for their own purposes1 and a steady opposition to any attempts made to substitute a stricter system4 ,the ,florentines had determined to be an industrial community1 governing themselves on the co-operative principle1 dividing profits1 sharing losses1 and exposing their magistrates to rigid scrutiny4 ,all this in theory was excellent4 ,had they remained an unambitious and peaceful commonwealth1 engaged in the wool and silk trade1 it might have answered4 ,modern ,europe might have admired the model of a communistic and commercial democracy4 ,but when they engaged in aggressive wars1 and sought to enslave sister-cities like ,pisa and ,lucca1 it was soon found that their simple trading constitution would not serve4 ,they had to piece it out with subordinate machinery1 cumbrous1 difficult to manage1 ill-adapted to the original structure4 ,each limb of this subordinate machinery1 moreover1 was a point d'appui for insidious and self-seeking party leaders4 ,florence1 in the middle of the fourteenth century1 was a vast beehive of industry4 ,distinctions of rank among burghers1 qualified to vote and hold office1 were theoretically unknown4 ,highly educated men1 of more than princely wealth1 spent their time in shops and counting-houses1 and trained their sons to follow trades4 ,military service at this period was abandoned by the citizens2 they preferred to pay mercenary troops for the conduct of their wars4 ,nor was there1 as in ,venice1 any outlet for their energies upon the seas4 ,florence had no navy1 no great port--she only kept a small fleet for the protection of her commerce4 ,thus the vigour of the commonwealth was concentrated on itself2 while the influence of the citizens1 through their affiliated trading-houses1 correspondents1 and agents1 extended like a network over ,europe4 ,in a community of this kind it was natural that wealth--rank and titles being absent--should alone confer distinction4 ,accordingly we find that out of the very bosom of the people a new plutocratic aristocracy begins to rise4 ,the ,grandi are no more2 but certain families achieve distinction by their riches1 their numbers1 their high spirit1 and their ancient place of honour in the ,state4 ,these nobles of the purse obtained the name of ,popolani ,nobili2 and it was they who now began to play at high stakes for the supreme power4 ,in all the subsequent vicissitudes of ,florence every change takes place by intrigue and by clever manipulation of the political machine4 ,recourse is rarely had to violence of any kind1 and the leaders of revolutions are men of the yard-measure1 never of the sword4 ,the despotism to which the republic eventually succumbed was no less commercial than the democracy had been4 ,florence in the days of her slavery remained a ,popolo4 ,,vi ,the opening of the second half of the fourteenth century had been signalised by the feuds of two great houses1 both risen from the people4 ,these were the ,albizzi and the ,ricci4 ,at this epoch there had been a formal closing of the lists of burghers2--henceforth no new families who might settle in the city could claim the franchise1 vote in the assemblies1 or hold magistracies4 ,the ,guelf ,college used their old engine of admonition to persecute novi homines1 whom they dreaded as opponents4 ,at the head of this formidable organisation the ,albizzi placed themselves1 and worked it with such skill that they succeeded in driving the ,ricci out of all participation in the government4 ,the tumult of the ,ciompi formed but an episode in their career toward oligarchy2 indeed1 that revolution only rendered the political material of the ,florentine republic more plastic in the hands of intriguers1 by removing the last vestiges of class distinctions and by confusing the old parties of the ,state4 ,when the ,florentines in #achg engaged in their long duel with ,gian ,galeazzo ,visconti1 the difficulty of conducting this war without some permanent central authority still further confirmed the power of the rising oligarchs4 ,the ,albizzi became daily more autocratic1 until in #acic their chief1 ,maso degli ,albizzi1 a man of strong will and prudent policy1 was chosen ,gonfalonier of ,justice4 ,assuming the sway of a dictator he revised the list of burghers capable of holding office1 struck out the private opponents of his house1 and excluded all names but those of powerful families who were well affected towards an aristocratic government4 ,the great house of the ,alberti were exiled in a body1 declared rebels1 and deprived of their possessions1 for no reason except that they seemed dangerous to the ,albizzi4 ,it was in vain that the people murmured against these arbitrary acts4 ,the new rulers were omnipotent in the ,signory1 which they packed with their own men1 in the great guilds1 and in the ,guelf ,college4 ,all the machinery invented by the industrial community for its self-management and self-defence was controlled and manipulated by a close body of aristocrats1 with the ,albizzi at their head4 ,it seemed as though ,florence1 without any visible alteration in her forms of government1 was rapidly becoming an oligarchy even less open than the ,venetian republic4 ,meanwhile the affairs of the ,state were most flourishing4 ,the strong-handed masters of the city not only held the ,duke of ,milan in check1 and prevented him from turning ,italy into a kingdom2 they furthermore acquired the cities of ,pisa1 ,livorno1 ,arezzo1 ,montepulciano1 and ,cortona1 for ,florence1 making her the mistress of all ,tuscany1 with the exception of ,siena1 ,lucca1 and ,volterra4 ,maso degli ,albizzi was the ruling spirit of the commonwealth1 spending the enormous sum of #aa1ejj1jjj golden florins on war1 raising sumptuous edifices1 protecting the arts1 and acting in general like a powerful and irresponsible prince4 ,in spite of public prosperity there were signs1 however1 that this rule of a few families could not last4 ,their government was only maintained by continual revision of the lists of burghers1 by elimination of the disaffected1 and by unremitting personal industry4 ,they introduced no new machinery into the ,constitution whereby the people might be deprived of its titular sovereignty1 or their own dictatorship might be continued with a semblance of legality4 ,again1 they neglected to win over the new nobles 7nobili popolani7 in a body to their cause2 and thus they were surrounded by rivals ready to spring upon them when a false step should be made4 ,the ,albizzi oligarchy was a masterpiece of art1 without any force to sustain it but the craft and energy of its constructors4 ,it had not grown up1 like the ,venetian oligarchy1 by the gradual assimilation to itself of all the vigour in the ,state4 ,it was bound1 sooner or later1 to yield to the renascent impulse of democracy inherent in ,florentine institutions4 ,,vii ,maso degli ,albizzi died in #adag4 ,he was succeeded in the government by his old friend1 ,niccolo da ,uzzano1 a man of great eloquence and wisdom1 whose single word swayed the councils of the people as he listed4 ,together with him acted ,maso's son1 ,rinaldo1 a youth of even more brilliant talents than his father1 frank1 noble1 and high-spirited1 but far less cautious4 ,the oligarchy1 which these two men undertook to manage1 had accumulated against itself the discontent of overtaxed1 disfranchised1 jealous burghers4 ,the times1 too1 were bad4 ,pursuing the policy of ,maso1 the ,albizzi engaged the city in a tedious and unsuccessful war with ,filippo ,maria ,visconti1 which cost #cej1jjj golden florins1 and brought no credit4 ,in order to meet extraordinary expenses they raised new public loans1 thereby depreciating the value of the old ,florentine funds4 ,what was worse1 they imposed forced subsidies with grievous inequality upon the burghers1 passing over their friends and adherents1 and burdening their opponents with more than could be borne4 ,this imprudent financial policy began the ruin of the ,albizzi4 ,it caused a clamour in the city for a new system of more just taxation1 which was too powerful to be resisted4 ,the voice of the people made itself loudly heard2 and with the people on this occasion sided ,giovanni de' ,medici4 ,this was in #adbg4 ,it is here that the ,medici appear upon that memorable scene where in the future they are to play the first part4 ,giovanni de' ,medici did not belong to the same branch of his family as the ,salvestro who favoured the people at the time of the ,ciompi ,tumult4 ,but he adopted the same popular policy4 ,to his sons ,cosimo and ,lorenzo he bequeathed on his deathbed the rule that they should invariably adhere to the cause of the multitude1 found their influence on that1 and avoid the arts of factious and ambitious leaders4 ,in his own life he had pursued this course of conduct1 acquiring a reputation for civic moderation and impartiality that endeared him to the people and stood his children in good stead4 ,early in his youth ,giovanni found himself almost destitute by reason of the imposts charged upon him by the oligarchs4 ,he possessed1 however1 the genius for money-making to a rare degree1 and passed his manhood as a banker1 amassing the largest fortune of any private citizen in ,italy4 ,in his old age he devoted himself to the organisation of his colossal trading business1 and abstained1 as far as possible1 from political intrigues4 ,men observed that they rarely met him in the ,public ,palace or on the ,great ,square4 ,cosimo de' ,medici was thirty years old when his father ,giovanni died1 in #adbi4 ,during his youth he had devoted all his time and energy to business1 mastering the complicated affairs of ,giovanni's banking-house1 and travelling far and wide through ,europe to extend its connections4 ,this education made him a consummate financier2 and those who knew him best were convinced that his ambition was set on great things4 ,however quietly he might begin1 it was clear that he intended to match himself1 as a leader of the plebeians1 against the ,albizzi4 ,the foundations he prepared for future action were equally characteristic of the man1 of ,florence1 and of the age4 ,commanding the enormous capital of the ,medicean bank he contrived1 at any sacrifice of temporary convenience1 to lend money to the ,state for war expenses1 engrossing in his own hands a large portion of the public debt of ,florence4 ,at the same time his agencies in various ,european capitals enabled him to keep his own wealth floating far beyond the reach of foes within the city4 ,a few years of this system ended in so complete a confusion between ,cosimo's trade and the finances of ,florence that the bankruptcy of the ,medici1 however caused1 would have compromised the credit of the ,state and the fortunes of the fund-holders4 ,cosimo1 in a word1 made himself necessary to ,florence by the wise use of his riches4 ,furthermore1 he kept his eye upon the list of burghers1 lending money to needy citizens1 putting good things in the way of struggling traders1 building up the fortunes of men who were disposed to favour his party in the ,state1 ruining his opponents by the legitimate process of commercial competition1 and1 when occasion offered1 introducing new voters into the ,florentine ,council by paying off the debts of those who were disqualified by poverty from using the franchise4 ,while his capital was continually increasing he lived frugally1 and employed his wealth solely for the consolidation of his political influence4 ,by these arts ,cosimo became formidable to the oligarchs and beloved by the people4 ,his supporters were numerous1 and held together by the bonds of immediate necessity or personal cupidity4 ,the plebeians and the merchants were all on his side4 ,the ,grandi and the ,ammoniti1 excluded from the ,state by the practices of the ,albizzi1 had more to hope from the ,medicean party than from the few families who still contrived to hold the reins of government4 ,it was clear that a conflict to the death must soon commence between the oligarchy and this new faction4 ,,viii ,at last1 in #adcc1 war was declared4 ,the first blow was struck by ,rinaldo degli ,albizzi1 who put himself in the wrong by attacking a citizen indispensable to the people at large1 and guilty of no unconstitutional act4 ,on ,september #gth of that year1 a year decisive for the future destinies of ,florence1 he summoned ,cosimo to the ,public ,palace1 which he had previously occupied with troops at his command4 ,there he declared him a rebel to the ,state1 and had him imprisoned in a little square room in the central tower4 ,the tocsin was sounded2 the people were assembled in parliament upon the piazza4 ,the ,albizzi held the main streets with armed men1 and forced the ,florentines to place plenipotentiary power for the administration of the commonwealth at this crisis in the hands of a ,balia1 or committee selected by themselves4 ,it was always thus that acts of high tyranny were effected in ,florence4 ,a show of legality was secured by gaining the compulsory sanction of the people1 driven by soldiery into the public square1 and hastily ordered to recognise the authority of their oppressors4 ,the bill of indictment against the ,medici accused them of sedition in the year #acgh--that is1 in the year of the ,ciompi ,tumult--and of treasonable practice during the whole course of the ,albizzi administration4 ,it also strove to fix upon them the odium of the unsuccessful war against the town of ,lucca4 ,as soon as the ,albizzi had unmasked their batteries1 ,lorenzo de' ,medici managed to escape from the city1 and took with him his brother ,cosimo's children to ,venice4 ,cosimo remained shut up within the little room called ,barberia in ,arnolfo's tower4 ,from that high eagle's nest the sight can range ,valdarno far and wide4 ,florence with her towers and domes lies below2 and the blue peaks of ,carrara close a prospect westward than which1 with its villa-jewelled slopes and fertile gardens1 there is nought more beautiful upon the face of earth4 ,the prisoner can have paid but little heed to this fair landscape4 ,he heard the frequent ringing of the great bell that called the ,florentines to council1 the tramp of armed men on the piazza1 the coming and going of the burghers in the palace halls beneath4 ,on all sides lurked anxiety and fear of death4 ,each mouthful he tasted might be poisoned4 ,for many days he partook of only bread and water1 till his gaoler restored his confidence by sharing all his meals4 ,in this peril he abode twenty-four days4 ,the ,albizzi1 in concert with the ,balia they had formed1 were consulting what they might venture to do with him4 ,some voted for his execution4 ,others feared the popular favour1 and thought that if they killed ,cosimo this act would ruin their own power4 ,the nobler natures among them determined to proceed by constitutional measures4 ,at last1 upon ,september #bith1 it was settled that ,cosimo should be exiled to ,padua for ten years4 ,the ,medici were declared ,grandi1 by way of excluding them from political rights4 ,but their property remained untouched2 and on ,october #crd1 ,cosimo was released4 ,on the same day ,cosimo took his departure4 ,his journey northward resembled a triumphant progress4 ,he left ,florence a simple burgher2 he entered ,venice a powerful prince4 ,though the ,albizzi seemed to have gained the day1 they had really cut away the ground beneath their feet4 ,they committed the fatal mistake of doing both too much and too little--too much because they declared war against an innocent man1 and roused the sympathies of the whole people in his behalf2 too little1 because they had not the nerve to complete their act by killing him outright and extirpating his party4 ,machiavelli1 in one of his profoundest and most cynical critiques1 remarks that few men know how to be thoroughly bad with honour to themselves4 ,their will is evil2 but the grain of good in them--some fear of public opinion1 some repugnance to committing a signal crime--paralyses their arm at the moment when it ought to have been raised to strike4 ,he instances ,gian ,paolo ,baglioni's omission to murder ,julius ,,ii41 when that ,pope placed himself within his clutches at ,perugia4 ,he might also have instanced ,rinaldo degli ,albizzi's refusal to push things to extremities by murdering ,cosimo4 ,it was the combination of despotic violence in the exile of ,cosimo with constitutional moderation in the preservation of his life1 that betrayed the weakness of the oligarchs and restored confidence to the ,medicean party4 ,,ix ,in the course of the year #adcd this party began to hold up its head4 ,powerful as the ,albizzi were1 they only retained the government by artifice2 and now they had done a deed which put at nought their former arts and intrigues4 ,a ,signory favourable to the ,medici came into office1 and on ,september #bfth1 #adcd1 ,rinaldo in his turn was summoned to the palace and declared a rebel4 ,he strove to raise the forces of his party1 and entered the piazza at the head of eight hundred men4 ,the menacing attitude of the people1 however1 made resistance perilous4 ,rinaldo disbanded his troops1 and placed himself under the protection of ,pope ,eugenius ,,iv41 who was then resident in ,florence4 ,this act of submission proved that ,rinaldo had not the courage or the cruelty to try the chance of civil war4 ,whatever his motives may have been1 he lost his hold upon the ,state beyond recovery4 ,on ,september #bith1 a new parliament was summoned2 on ,october #bnd1 ,cosimo was recalled from exile and the ,albizzi were banished4 ,the intercession of the ,pope procured for them nothing but the liberty to leave ,florence unmolested4 ,einaldo turned his back upon the city he had governed1 never to set foot in it again4 ,on ,october #fth1 ,cosimo1 having passed through ,padua1 ,ferrara1 and ,modena like a conqueror1 reentered the town amid the plaudits of the people1 and took up his dwelling as an honoured guest in the ,palace of the ,republic4 ,the subsequent history of ,florence is the history of his family4 ,in after years the ,medici loved to remember this return of ,cosimo4 ,his triumphal reception was painted in fresco on the walls of their villa at ,cajano under the transparent allegory of ,cicero's entrance into ,rome4 ,x ,by their brief exile the ,medici had gained the credit of injured innocence1 the fame of martyrdom in the popular cause4 ,their foes had struck the first blow1 and in striking at them had seemed to aim against the liberties of the republic4 ,the mere failure of their adversaries to hold the power they had acquired1 handed over this power to the ,medici2 and the reprisals which the ,medici began to take had the show of justice1 not of personal hatred1 or petty vengeance4 ,cosimo was a true ,florentine4 ,he disliked violence1 because he knew that blood spilt cries for blood4 ,his passions1 too1 were cool and temperate4 ,no gust of anger1 no intoxication of success1 destroyed his balance4 ,his one object1 the consolidation of power for his family on the basis of popular favour1 was kept steadily in view2 and he would do nothing that might compromise that end4 ,yet he was neither generous nor merciful4 ,we therefore find that from the first moment of his return to ,florence he instituted a system of pitiless and unforgiving persecution against his old opponents4 ,the ,albizzi were banished1 root and branch1 with all their followers1 consigned to lonely and often to unwholesome stations through the length and breadth of ,italy4 ,if they broke the bonds assigned them1 they were forthwith declared traitors and their property was confiscated4 ,after a long series of years1 by merely keeping in force the first sentence pronounced upon them1 ,cosimo had the cruel satisfaction of seeing the whole of that proud oligarchy die out by slow degrees in the insufferable tedium of solitude and exile4 ,even the high-souled ,palla degli ,strozzi1 who had striven to remain neutral1 and whose wealth and talents were devoted to the revival of classical studies1 was proscribed because to ,cosimo he seemed too powerful4 ,separated from his children1 he died in banishment at ,padua4 ,in this way the return of the ,medici involved the loss to ,florence of some noble citizens1 who might perchance have checked the ,medicean tyranny if they had stayed to guide the ,state4 ,the plebeians1 raised to wealth and influence by ,cosimo before his exile1 now took the lead in the republic4 ,he used these men as catspaws1 rarely putting himself forward or allowing his own name to appear1 but pulling the wires of government in privacy by means of intermediate agents4 ,the ,medicean party was called at first ,puccini from a certain ,puccio1 whose name was better known in caucus or committee than that of his real master4 ,to rule through these creatures of his own making taxed all the ingenuity of ,cosimo2 but his profound and subtle intellect was suited to the task1 and he found unlimited pleasure in the exercise of his consummate craft4 ,we have already seen to what extent he used his riches for the acquisition of political influence4 ,now that he had come to power1 he continued the same method1 packing the ,signory and the ,councils with men whom he could hold by debt between his thumb and finger4 ,his command of the public moneys enabled him to wink at peculation in ,state offices2 it was part of his system to bind magistrates and secretaries to his interest by their consciousness of guilt condoned but not forgotten4 ,not a few1 moreover1 owed their living to the appointments he procured for them4 ,while he thus controlled the wheel-work of the commonwealth by means of organised corruption1 he borrowed the arts of his old enemies to oppress dissentient citizens4 ,if a man took an independent line in voting1 and refused allegiance to the ,medicean party1 he was marked out for persecution4 ,no violence was used2 but he found himself hampered in his commerce--money1 plentiful for others1 became scarce for him2 his competitors in trade were subsidised to undersell him4 ,and while the avenues of industry were closed1 his fortune was taxed above its value1 until he had to sell at a loss in order to discharge his public obligations4 ,in the first twenty years of the ,medicean rule1 seventy families had to pay #d1hge1jjj golden florins of extraordinary imposts1 fixed by arbitrary assessment4 ,the more patriotic members of his party looked with dread and loathing on this system of corruption and exclusion4 ,to their remonstrances ,cosimo replied in four memorable sayings3 ',better the ,state spoiled than the ,state not ours4' ',governments cannot be carried on with paternosters4' ',an ell of scarlet makes a burgher4' ',i aim at finite ends4' ,these maxims represent the whole man1--first1 in his egotism1 eager to gain ,florence for his family1 at any risk of her ruin2 secondly1 in his cynical acceptance of base means to selfish ends2 thirdly1 in his bourgeois belief that money makes a man1 and fine clothes suffice for a citizen2 fourthly1 in his worldly ambition bent on positive success4 ,it was1 in fact1 his policy to reduce ,florence to the condition of a rotten borough3 nor did this policy fail4 ,one notable sign of the influence he exercised was the change which now came over the foreign relations of the republic4 ,up to the date of his dictatorship ,florence had uniformly fought the battle of freedom in ,italy4 ,it was the chief merit of the ,albizzi oligarchy that they continued the traditions of the medival ,state1 and by their vigorous action checked the growth of the ,visconti4 ,though they engrossed the government they never forgot that they were first of all things ,florentines1 and only in the second place men who owed their power and influence to office4 ,in a word1 they acted like patriotic ,tories1 like republican patricians4 ,therefore they would not ally themselves with tyrants or countenance the enslavement of free cities by armed despots4 ,their subjugation of the ,tuscan burghs to ,florence was itself part of a grand republican policy4 ,cosimo changed all this4 ,when the ,visconti dynasty ended by the death of ,filippo ,maria in #addg1 there was a chance of restoring the independence of ,lombardy4 ,milan in effect declared herself a republic1 and by the aid of ,florence she might at this moment have maintained her liberty4 ,cosimo1 however1 entered into treaty with ,francesco ,sforza1 supplied him with money1 guaranteed him against ,florentine interference1 and saw with satisfaction how he reduced the duchy to his military tyranny4 ,the ,medici were conscious that they1 selfishly1 had most to gain by supporting despots who in time of need might help them to confirm their own authority4 ,with the same end in view1 when the legitimate line of the ,bentivogli was extinguished1 ,cosimo hunted out a bastard pretender of that family1 presented him to the chiefs of the ,bentivogli faction1 and had him placed upon the seat of his supposed ancestors at ,bologna4 ,this young man1 a certain ,santi da ,cascese1 presumed to be the son of ,ercole de' ,bentivogli1 was an artisan in a wool factory when ,cosimo set eyes upon him4 ,at first ,santi refused the dangerous honour of governing a proud republic2 but the intrigues of ,cosimo prevailed1 and the obscure craftsman ended his days a powerful prince4 ,by the arts ,i have attempted to describe1 ,cosimo in the course of his long life absorbed the forces of the republic into himself4 ,while he shunned the external signs of despotic power he made himself the master of the ,state4 ,his complexion was of a pale olive2 his stature short2 abstemious and simple in his habits1 affable in conversation1 sparing of speech1 he knew how to combine that burgher-like civility for which the ,romans praised ,augustus1 with the reality of a despotism all the more difficult to combat because it seemed nowhere and was everywhere4 ,when he died1 at the age of seventy-five1 in #adfd1 the people whom he had enslaved1 but whom he had neither injured nor insulted1 honoured him with the title of ,pater ,patri4 ,this was inscribed upon his tomb in ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,he left to posterity the fame of a great and generous patron1#ad the infamy of a cynical1 self-seeking1 bourgeois tyrant4 ,such combinations of contradictory qualities were common enough at the time of the ,renaissance4 ,did not ,machiavelli spend his days in tavern-brawls and low amours1 his nights among the mighty spirits of the dead1 with whom1 when he had changed his country suit of homespun for the habit of the ,court1 he found himself an honoured equal8 ,,xi ,cosimo had shown consummate skill by governing ,florence through a party created and raised to influence by himself4 ,the jealousy of these adherents formed the chief difficulty with which his son ,piero had to contend4 ,unless the ,medici could manage to kick down the ladder whereby they had risen1 they ran the risk of losing all4 ,as on a former occasion1 so now they profited by the mistakes of their antagonists4 ,three chief men of their own party1 ,diotisalvi ,neroni1 ,agnolo ,acciaiuoli1 and ,luca ,pitti1 determined to shake off the yoke of their masters1 and to repay the ,medici for what they owed by leading them to ruin4 ,niccolo ,soderini1 a patriot1 indignant at the slow enslavement of his country1 joined them4 ,at first they strove to undermine the credit of the ,medici with the ,florentines by inducing ,piero to call in the moneys placed at interest by his father in the hands of private citizens4 ,this act was unpopular2 but it did not suffice to move a revolution4 ,to proceed by constitutional measures against the ,medici was judged impolitic4 ,therefore the conspirators decided to take1 if possible1 ,piero's life4 ,the plot failed1 chiefly owing to the coolness and the cunning of the young ,lorenzo1 ,piero's eldest son4 ,public sympathy was strongly excited against the aggressors4 ,neroni1 ,acciaiuoli1 and ,soderini were exiled4 ,pitti was allowed to stay1 dishonoured1 powerless1 and penniless1 in ,florence4 ,meanwhile1 the failure of their foes had only served to strengthen the position of the ,medici4 ,the ladder had saved them the trouble of kicking it down4 ,the congratulations addressed on this occasion to ,piero and ,lorenzo by the ruling powers of ,italy show that the ,medici were already regarded as princes outside ,florence4 ,lorenzo and ,giuliano1 the two sons of ,piero1 travelled abroad to the ,courts of ,milan and ,ferrara with the style and state of more than simple citizens4 ,at home they occupied the first place on all occasions of public ceremony1 receiving royal visitors on terms of equality1 and performing the hospitalities of the republic like men who had been born to represent its dignities4 ,lorenzo's marriage to ,clarice ,orsini1 of the noble ,roman house1 was another sign that the ,medici were advancing on the way toward despotism4 ,cosimo had avoided foreign alliances for his children4 ,his descendants now judged themselves firmly planted enough to risk the odium of a princely match for the sake of the support outside the city they might win4 ,,xii ,piero de' ,medici died in ,december #adfi4 ,his son ,lorenzo was then barely twenty-two years of age4 ,the chiefs of the ,medicean party1 all-powerful in the ,state1 held a council1 in which they resolved to place him in the same position as his father and grandfather4 ,this resolve seems to have been formed after mature deliberation1 on the ground that the existing conditions of ,italian politics rendered it impossible to conduct the government without a presidential head4 ,florence1 though still a democracy1 required a permanent chief to treat on an equality with the princes of the leading cities4 ,here we may note the prudence of ,cosimo's foreign policy4 ,when he helped to establish despots in ,milan and ,bologna he was rendering the presidency of his own family in ,florence necessary4 ,lorenzo1 having received this invitation1 called attention to his youth and inexperience4 ,yet he did not refuse it2 and1 after a graceful display of diffidence1 he accepted the charge1 entering thus upon that famous political career1 in the course of which he not only established and maintained a balance of power in ,italy1 with ,florence for the central city1 but also contrived to remodel the government of the republic in the interest of his own family and to strengthen the ,medici by relations with the ,papal ,see4 ,the extraordinary versatility of this man's intellectual and social gifts1 his participation in all the literary and philosophical interests of his century1 his large and liberal patronage of art1 and the gaiety with which he joined the people of ,florence in their pastimes--,mayday games and ,carnival festivities--strengthened his hold upon the city in an age devoted to culture and refined pleasure4 ,whatever was most brilliant in the spirit of the ,italian ,benaissance seemed to be incarnate in ,lorenzo4 ,not merely as a patron and a dilettante1 but as a poet and a critic1 a philosopher and scholar1 he proved himself adequate to the varied intellectual ambitions of his country4 ,penetrated with the passion for erudition which distinguished ,florence in the fifteenth century1 familiar with her painters and her sculptors1 deeply read in the works of her great poets1 he conceived the ideal of infusing the spirit of antique civility into modern life1 and of effecting for society what the artists were performing in their own sphere4 ,to preserve the native character of the ,florentine genius1 while he added the grace of classic form1 was the aim to which his tastes and instincts led him4 ,at the same time1 while he made himself the master of ,florentine revels and the ,augustus of ,renaissance literature1 he took care that beneath his carnival masks and ball-dress should be concealed the chains which he was forging for the republic4 ,what he lacked1 with so much mental brilliancy1 was moral greatness4 ,the age he lived in was an age of selfish despots1 treacherous generals1 godless priests4 ,it was an age of intellectual vigour and artistic creativeness2 but it was also an age of mean ambition1 sordid policy1 and vitiated principles4 ,lorenzo remained true in all respects to the genius of this age3 true to its enthusiasm for antique culture1 true to its passion for art1 true to its refined love of pleasure2 but true also to its petty political intrigues1 to its cynical selfishness1 to its lack of heroism4 ,for ,florence he looked no higher and saw no further than ,cosimo had done4 ,if culture was his pastime1 the enslavement of the city by bribery and corruption was the hard work of his manhood4 ,as is the case with much ,renaissance art1 his life was worth more for its decorative detail than for its constructive design4 ,in richness1 versatility1 variety1 and exquisiteness of execution1 it left little to be desired2 yet1 viewed at a distance1 and as a whole1 it does not inspire us with a sense of architectonic majesty4 ,,xiii ,lorenzo's chief difficulties arose from the necessity under which1 like ,cosimo1 he laboured of governing the city through its old institutions by means of a party4 ,to keep the members of this party in good temper1 and to gain their approval for the alterations he effected in the ,state machinery of ,florence1 was the problem of his life4 ,the successful solution of this problem was easier now1 after two generations of the ,medicean ascendency1 than it had been at first4 ,meanwhile the people were maintained in good humour by public shows1 ease1 plenty1 and a general laxity of discipline4 ,the splendour of ,lorenzo's foreign alliances and the consideration he received from all the ,courts of ,italy contributed in no small measure to his popularity and security at home4 ,by using his authority over ,florence to inspire respect abroad1 and by using his foreign credit to impose upon the burghers1 ,lorenzo displayed the tact of a true ,italian diplomatist4 ,his genius for statecraft1 as then understood1 was indeed of a rare order1 equally adapted to the conduct of a complicated foreign policy and to the control of a suspicious and variable ,commonwealth4 ,in one point alone he was inferior to his grandfather4 ,he neglected commerce1 and allowed his banking business to fall into disorder so hopeless that in course of time he ceased to be solvent4 ,meanwhile his personal expenses1 both as a prince in his own palace1 and as the representative of majesty in ,florence1 continually increased4 ,the bankruptcy of the ,medici1 it had long been foreseen1 would involve the public finances in serious confusion4 ,and now1 in order to retrieve his fortunes1 ,lorenzo was not only obliged to repudiate his debts to the exchequer1 but had also to gain complete disposal of the ,state purse4 ,it was this necessity that drove him to effect the constitutional revolution of #adhj1 by which he substituted a ,privy ,council of seventy members for the old ,councils of the ,state1 absorbing the chief functions of the commonwealth into this single body1 whom he practically nominated at pleasure4 ,the same want of money led to the great scandal of his reign--the plundering of the ,monte delle ,doti1 or ,state ,insurance ,office ,fund for securing dowers to the children of its creditors4 ,,xiv ,while tracing the salient points of ,lorenzo de' ,medici's administration ,i have omitted to mention the important events which followed shortly after his accession to power in #adfi4 ,what happened between that date and #adhj was not only decisive for the future fortunes of the ,casa ,medici1 but it was also eminently characteristic of the perils and the difficulties which beset ,italian despots4 ,the year #adga was signalised by a visit by the ,duke ,galeazzo ,maria ,sforza of ,milan1 and his wife ,bona of ,savoy1 to the ,medici in ,florence4 ,they came attended by their whole ,court--body guards on horse and foot1 ushers1 pages1 falconers1 grooms1 kennel-varlets1 and huntsmen4 ,omitting the mere baggage service1 their train counted two thousand horses4 ,to mention this incident would be superfluous1 had not so acute an observer as ,machiavelli marked it out as a turning-point in ,florentine history4 ,now1 for the first time1 the democratic commonwealth saw its streets filled with a mob of courtiers4 ,masques1 balls1 and tournaments succeeded each other with magnificent variety2 and all the arts of ,florence were pressed into the service of these festivals4 ,machiavelli says that the burghers lost the last remnant of their old austerity of manners1 and became1 like the degenerate ,romans1 ready to obey the masters who provided them with brilliant spectacles4 ,they gazed with admiration on the pomp of ,italian princes1 their dissolute and godless living1 their luxury and prodigal expenditure2 and when the ,medici affected similar habits in the next generation1 the people had no courage to resist the invasion of their pleasant vices4 ,in the same year1 #adga1 ,volterra was reconquered for the ,florentines by ,frederick of ,urbino4 ,the honours of this victory1 disgraced by a brutal sack of the conquered city1 in violation of its articles of capitulation1 were reserved for ,lorenzo1 who returned in triumph to ,florence4 ,more than ever he assumed the prince1 and in his person undertook to represent the ,state4 ,in the same year1 #adga1 ,francesco della ,rovere was raised to the ,papacy with the memorable name of ,sixtus ,,iv4 ,sixtus was a man of violent temper and fierce passions1 restless and impatiently ambitious1 bent on the aggrandisement of the beautiful and wanton youths1 his nephews4 ,of these the most aspiring was ,girolamo ,riario1 for whom ,sixtus bought the town of ,imola from ,taddeo ,manfredi1 in order that he might possess the title of count and the nucleus of a tyranny in the ,romagna4 ,this purchase thwarted the plans of ,lorenzo1 who wished to secure the same advantages for ,florence4 ,smarting with the sense of disappointment1 he forbade the ,roman banker1 ,francesco ,pazzi1 to guarantee the purchase-money4 ,by this act ,lorenzo made two mortal foes--the ,pope and ,francesco ,pazzi4 ,francesco was a thin1 pale1 atrabilious fanatic1 all nerve and passion1 with a monomaniac intensity of purpose1 and a will inflamed and guided by imagination--a man formed by nature for conspiracy1 such a man1 in fact1 as ,shakspere drew in ,cassius4 ,maddened by ,lorenzo's prohibition1 he conceived the notion of overthrowing the ,medici in ,florence by a violent blow4 ,girolamo ,riario entered into his views4 ,so did ,francesco ,salviati1 ,archbishop of ,pisa1 who had private reasons for hostility4 ,these men found no difficulty in winning over ,sixtus to their plot2 nor is it possible to purge the ,pope of participation in what followed4 ,i need not describe by what means ,francesco drew the other members of his family into the scheme1 and how he secured the assistance of armed cut-throats4 ,suffice it to say that the chief conspirators1 with the exception of the ,count ,girolamo1 betook themselves to ,florence1 and there1 after the failure of other attempts1 decided to murder ,lorenzo and his brother ,giuliano in the cathedral on ,sunday1 ,april #bfth1 #adgh4 ,the moment when the priest at the high altar finished the mass1 was fixed for the assassination4 ,everything was ready4 ,the conspirators1 by ,judas kisses and embracements1 had discovered that the young men wore no protective armour under their silken doublets4 ,pacing the aisle behind the choir1 they feared no treason4 ,and now the lives of both might easily have been secured1 if at the last moment the courage of the hired assassins had not failed them4 ,murder1 they said1 was well enough2 but they could not bring themselves to stab men before the newly consecrated body of ,christ4 ,in this extremity a priest was found who1 'being accustomed to churches1' had no scruples4 ,he and another reprobate were told off to ,lorenzo4 ,francesco de' ,pazzi himself undertook ,giuliano4 ,the moment for attack arrived4 ,francesco plunged his dagger into the heart of ,giuliano4 ,then1 not satisfied with this death-blow1 he struck again1 and in his heat of passion wounded his own thigh4 ,lorenzo escaped with a flesh-wound from the poniard of the priest1 and rushed into the sacristy1 where his friend ,poliziano shut and held the brazen door4 ,the plot had failed2 for ,giuliano1 of the two brothers1 was the one whom the conspirators would the more willingly have spared4 ,the whole church was in an uproar4 ,the city rose in tumult4 ,rage and horror took possession of the people4 ,they flew to the ,palazzo ,pubblico and to the houses of the ,pazzi1 hunted the conspirators from place to place1 hung the archbishop by the neck from the palace windows1 and1 as they found fresh victims for their fury1 strung them one by one in a ghastly row at his side above the ,square4 ,about one hundred in all were killed4 ,none who had joined in the plot escaped2 for ,lorenzo had long arms1 and one man1 who fled to ,constantinople1 was delivered over to his agents by the ,sultan4 ,out of the whole ,pazzi family only ,guglielmo1 the husband of ,bianca de' ,medici1 was spared4 ,when the tumult was over1 ,andrea del ,castagno painted the portraits of the traitors head-downwards upon the walls of the ,bargello ,palace1 in order that all men might know what fate awaited the foes of the ,medici and of the ,state of ,florence4#ae ,meanwhile a bastard son of ,giuliano's was received into the ,medicean household1 to perpetuate his lineage4 ,this child1 named ,giulio1 was destined to be famous in the annals of ,italy and ,florence under the title of ,pope ,clement ,,vii4 ,,xv ,as is usual when such plots miss their mark1 the passions excited redounded to the profit of the injured party4 ,the commonwealth felt that the blow struck at ,lorenzo had been aimed at their majesty4 ,sixtus1 on the other hand1 could not contain his rage at the failure of so ably planned a coup de main4 ,ignoring that he had sanctioned the treason1 that a priest had put his hand to the dagger1 that the impious deed had been attempted in a church before the very ,sacrament of ,christ1 whose vicar on earth he was1 the ,pope now excommunicated the republic4 ,the reason he alleged was1 that the ,florentines had dared to hang an archbishop4 ,thus began a war to the death between ,sixtus and ,florence4 ,the ,pope inflamed the whole of ,italy1 and carried on a ruinous campaign in ,tuscany4 ,it seemed as though the republic might lose her subject cities1 always ready to revolt when danger threatened the sovereign ,state4 ,lorenzo's position became critical4 ,sixtus made no secret of the hatred he bore him personally1 declaring that he fought less with ,florence than with the ,medici4 ,to support the odium of this long war and this heavy interdict alone1 was more than he could do4 ,his allies forsook him4 ,naples was enlisted on the ,pope's side4 ,milan and the other ,states of ,lombardy were occupied with their own affairs1 and held aloof4 ,in this extremity he saw that nothing but a bold step could save him4 ,the league formed by ,sixtus must be broken up at any risk1 and1 if possible1 by his own ability4 ,on ,december #fth1 #adgi1 ,lorenzo left ,florence1 unarmed and unattended1 took ship at ,leghorn1 and proceeded to the court of the enemy1 ,king ,ferdinand1 at ,naples4 ,ferdinand was a cruel and treacherous sovereign1 who had murdered his guest1 ,jacopo ,piccinino1 at a banquet given in his honour4 ,but ,ferdinand was the son of ,alfonso1 who1 by address and eloquence1 had gained a kingdom from his foe and jailor1 ,filippo ,maria ,visconti4 ,lorenzo calculated that he too1 following ,alfonso's policy1 might prove to ,ferdinand how little there was to gain from an alliance with ,rome1 how much ,naples and ,florence1 firmly united together for offence and defence1 might effect in ,italy4 ,only a student of those perilous times can appreciate the courage and the genius1 the audacity combined with diplomatic penetration1 displayed by ,lorenzo at this crisis4 ,he calmly walked into the lion's den1 trusting he could tame the lion and teach it1 and all in a few days4 ,nor did his expectation fail4 ,though ,lorenzo was rather ugly than handsome1 with a dark skin1 heavy brows1 powerful jaws1 and nose sharp in the bridge and broad at the nostrils1 without grace of carriage or melody of voice1 he possessed what makes up for personal defects--the winning charm of eloquence in conversation1 a subtle wit1 profound knowledge of men1 and tact allied to sympathy1 which placed him always at the centre of the situation4 ,ferdinand received him kindly4 ,the ,neapolitan nobles admired his courage and were fascinated by his social talents4 ,on ,march #ast1 #adhj1 he left ,naples again1 having won over the ,king by his arguments4 ,when he reached ,florence he was able to declare that he brought home a treaty of peace and alliance signed by the most powerful foe of the republic4 ,the success of this bold enterprise endeared ,lorenzo more than ever to his countrymen4 ,in the same year they concluded a treaty with ,sixtus1 who was forced against his will to lay down arms by the capture of ,otranto and the extreme peril of ,turkish invasion4 ,after the year #adhj ,lorenzo remained sole master in ,florence1 the arbiter and peacemaker of the rest of ,italy4 ,,xvi ,the conjuration of the ,pazzi was only one in a long series of similar conspiracies4 ,italian despots gained their power by violence and wielded it with craft4 ,violence and craft were therefore used against them4 ,when the study of the classics had penetrated the nation with antique ideas of heroism1 tyrannicide became a virtue4 ,princes were murdered with frightful frequency4 ,thus ,gian ,maria ,visconti was put to death at ,milan in #adab2 ,galeazzo ,maria ,sforza in #adhd2 the ,chiarelli of ,fabriano were massacred in #adce2 the ,baglioni of ,perugia in #aejj2 ,girolamo ,gentile planned the assassination of ,galeazzo ,sforza at ,genoa in #adgf2 ,niccolo d',este conspired against his uncle ,ercole in #adgf2 ,stefano ,porcari attempted the life of ,nicholas ,v4 at ,rome in #adec2 ,lodovico ,sforza narrowly escaped a violent death in #adec4 ,i might multiply these instances beyond satiety4 ,as it is1 ,i have selected but a few examples falling1 all but one1 within the second half of the fifteenth century4 ,nearly all these attempts upon the lives of princes were made in church during the celebration of sacred offices4 ,there was no superfluity of naughtiness1 no wilful sacrilege1 in this choice of an occasion4 ,it only testified to the continual suspicion and guarded watchfulness maintained by tyrants4 ,to strike at them except in church was almost impossible4 ,meanwhile the fate of the tyrannicides was uniform4 ,successful or not1 they perished4 ,yet so grievous was the pressure of ,italian despotism1 so glorious was the ideal of ,greek and ,roman heroism1 so passionate the temper of the people1 that to kill a prince at any cost to self appeared the crown of manliness4 ,this bloodshed exercised a delirious fascination3 pure and base1 personal and patriotic motives combined to add intensity of fixed and fiery purpose to the murderous impulse4 ,those then who1 like the ,medici1 aspired to tyranny and sought to found a dynasty of princes1 entered the arena against a host of unknown and unseen gladiators4 ,,xvii ,on his deathbed1 in #adib1 ,lorenzo lay between two men--,angelo ,poliziano and ,girolamo ,savonarola4 ,poliziano incarnated the genial1 radiant1 godless spirit of fifteenth-century humanism4 ,savonarola represented the conscience of ,italy1 self-convicted1 amid all her greatness1 of crimes that called for punishment4 ,it is said that when ,lorenzo asked the monk for absolution1 ,savonarola bade him first restore freedom to ,florence4 ,lorenzo1 turned his face to the wall and was silent4 ,how indeed could he make this city in a moment free1 after sixty years of slow and systematic corruption8 ,savonarola left him1 and he died unshriven4 ,this legend is doubtful1 though it rests on excellent if somewhat partial authority4 ,it has1 at any rate1 the value of a mythus1 since it epitomises the attitude assumed by the great preacher to the prince4 ,florence enslaved1 the soul of ,lorenzo cannot lay its burden down1 but must go with all its sins upon it to the throne of ,god4 ,the year #adib was a memorable year for ,italy4 ,in this year ,lorenzo's death removed the keystone of the arch that had sustained the fabric of ,italian federation4 ,in this year ,roderigo ,borgia was elected ,pope4 ,in this year ,columbus discovered ,america2 ,vasco de ,gama soon after opened a new way to the ,indies1 and thus the commerce of the world passed from ,italy to other nations4 ,in this year the conquest of ,granada gave unity to the ,spanish nation4 ,in this year ,france1 through the lifelong craft of ,louis ,,xi41 was for the first time united under a young hot-headed sovereign4 ,on every side of the political horizon storms threatened4 ,it was clear that a new chapter of ,european history had been opened4 ,then ,savonarola raised his voice1 and cried that the crimes of ,italy1 the abominations of the ,church1 would speedily be punished4 ,events led rapidly to the fulfilment of this prophecy4 ,lorenzo's successor1 ,piero de' ,medici1 was a vain1 irresolute1 and hasty princeling1 fond of display1 proud of his skill in fencing and football-playing1 with too much of the ,orsini blood in his hot veins1 with too little of the ,medicean craft in his weak head4 ,the ,italian despots felt they could not trust ,piero1 and this want of confidence was probably the first motive that impelled ,lodovico ,sforza to call ,charles ,,viii4 into ,italy in #adid4 ,it will not be necessary to dwell upon this invasion of the ,french1 except in so far as it affected ,florence4 ,charles passed rapidly through ,lombardy1 engaged his army in the passes of the ,apennines1 and debouched upon the coast where the ,magra divided ,tuscany from ,liguria4 ,here the fortresses of ,sarzana and ,pietra ,santa1 between the marble bulwark of ,carrara and the ,tuscan sea1 stopped his further progress4 ,the keys were held by the ,florentines4 ,to force these strong positions and to pass beyond them seemed impossible4 ,it might have been impossible if ,piero de' ,medici had possessed a firmer will4 ,as it was1 he rode off to the ,french camp1 delivered up the forts to ,charles1 bound the ,king by no engagements1 and returned not otherwise than proud of his folly to ,florence4 ,a terrible reception awaited him4 ,the ,florentines1 in their fury1 had risen and sacked the ,medicean palace4 ,it was as much as ,piero1 with his brothers1 could do to escape beyond the hills to ,venice4 ,the despotism of the ,medici1 so carefully built up1 so artfully sustained and strengthened1 was overthrown in a single day4 ,,xviii ,before considering what happened in ,florence after the expulsion of the ,medici1 it will be well to pause a moment and review the state in which ,lorenzo had left his family4 ,piero1 his eldest son1 recognised as chief of the republic after his father's death1 was married to ,alfonsina ,orsini1 and was in his twenty-second year4 ,giovanni1 his second son1 a youth of seventeen1 had just been made cardinal4 ,this honour1 of vast importance for the ,casa ,medici in the future1 he owed to his sister ,maddalena's marriage to ,franceschetto ,cybo1 son of ,innocent ,,viii4 ,the third of ,lorenzo's sons1 named ,giuliano1 was a boy of thirteen4 ,giulio1 the bastard son of the elder ,giuliano1 was fourteen4 ,these four princes formed the efficient strength of the ,medici1 the hope of the house2 and for each of them1 with the exception of ,piero1 who died in exile1 and of whom no more notice need be taken1 a brilliant destiny was still in store4 ,in the year #adie1 however1 they now wandered1 homeless and helpless1 through the cities of ,italy1 each of which was shaken to its foundations by the ,french invasion4 ,,xix ,florence1 left without the ,medici1 deprived of ,pisa and other subject cities by the passage of the ,french army1 with no leader but the monk ,savonarola1 now sought to reconstitute her liberties4 ,during the domination of the ,albizzi and the ,medici the old order of the commonwealth had been completely broken up4 ,the ,arti had lost their primitive importance4 ,the distinctions between the ,grandi and the ,popolani had practically passed away4 ,in a democracy that has submitted to a lengthened course of tyranny1 such extinction of its old life is inevitable4 ,yet the passion for liberty was still powerful2 and the busy brains of the ,florentines were stored with experience gained from their previous vicissitudes1 from the study of antique history1 and from the observation of existing constitutions in the towns of ,italy4 ,they now determined to reorganise the ,state upon the model of the ,venetian republic4 ,the ,signory was to remain1 with its old institution of ,priors1 ,gonfalonier1 and ,college1 elected for brief periods4 ,these magistrates were to take the initiative in debate1 to propose measures1 and to consider plans of action4 ,the real power of the ,state1 for voting supplies and ratifying the measures of the ,signory1 was vested in a senate of one thousand members1 called the ,grand ,council1 from whom a smaller body of forty1 acting as intermediates between the ,council and the ,signory1 were elected4 ,it is said that the plan of this constitution originated with ,savonarola2 nor is there any doubt that he used all his influence in the pulpit of the ,duomo to render it acceptable to the people4 ,whoever may have been responsible for its formation1 the new government was carried in #adie1 and a large hall for the assembly of the ,grand ,council was opened in the ,public ,palace4 ,savonarola1 meanwhile1 had become the ruling spirit of ,florence4 ,he gained his great power as a preacher3 he used it like a monk4 ,the motive principle of his action was the passion for reform4 ,to bring the ,church back to its pristine state of purity1 without altering its doctrine or suggesting any new form of creed2 to purge ,italy of ungodly customs2 to overthrow the tyrants who encouraged evil living1 and to place the power of the ,state in the hands of sober citizens3 these were his objects4 ,though he set himself in bold opposition to the reigning ,pope1 he had no desire to destroy the spiritual supremacy of ,s4 ,peter's see4 ,though he burned with an enthusiastic zeal for liberty1 and displayed rare genius for administration1 he had no ambition to rule ,florence like a dictator4 ,savonarola was neither a reformer in the northern sense of the word1 nor yet a political demagogue4 ,his sole wish was to see purity of manners and freedom of self-government re-established4 ,with this end in view he bade the ,florentines elect ,christ as their supreme chief2 and they did so4 ,for the same end he abstained from appearing in the ,state ,councils1 and left the ,constitution to work by its own laws4 ,his personal influence he reserved for the pulpit2 and here he was omnipotent4 ,the people believed in him as a prophet4 ,they turned to him as the man who knew what he wanted--as the voice of liberty1 the soul of the new rgime1 the genius who could breathe into the commonwealth a breath of fresh vitality4 ,when1 therefore1 ,savonarola preached a reform of manners1 he was at once obeyed4 ,strict laws were passed enforcing sobriety1 condemning trades of pleasure1 reducing the gay customs of ,florence to puritanical austerity4 ,great stress has been laid upon this reaction of the monk-led populace against the vices of the past4 ,yet the historian is bound to pronounce that the reform effected by ,savonarola was rather picturesque than vital4 ,like all violent revivals of pietism1 it produced a no less violent reaction4 ,the parties within the city who resented the interference of a preaching friar1 joined with the ,pope in ,rome1 who hated a contumacious schismatic in ,savonarola4 ,assailed by these two forces at the same moment1 and driven upon perilous ground by his own febrile enthusiasm1 ,savonarola succumbed4 ,he was imprisoned1 tortured1 and burned upon the public square in #adih4 ,what ,savonarola really achieved for ,florence was not a permanent reform of morality1 but a resuscitation of the spirit of freedom4 ,his followers1 called in contempt ,i ,piagnoni1 or the ,weepers1 formed the path of the commonwealth in future2 and the memory of their martyr served as a common bond of sympathy to unite them in times of trial4 ,it was a necessary consequence of the peculiar part he played that the city was henceforth divided into factions representing mutually antagonistic principles4 ,these factions were not created by ,savonarola2 but his extraordinary influence accentuated1 as it were1 the humours that lay dormant in the ,state4 ,families favourable to the ,medici took the name of ,palleschi4 ,men who chafed against puritanical reform1 and who were eager for any government that should secure them their old licence1 were known as ,compagnacci4 ,meanwhile the oligarchs1 who disliked a democratic ,constitution1 and thought it possible to found an aristocracy without the intervention of the ,medici1 came to be known as ,gli ,ottimati4 ,florence held within itself1 from this epoch forward to the final extinction of liberty1 four great parties3 the ,piagnoni1 passionate for political freedom and austerity of life2 the ,palleschi1 favourable to the ,medicean cause1 and regretful of ,lorenzo's pleasant rule2 the ,compagnacci1 intolerant of the reformed republic1 neither hostile nor loyal to the ,medici1 but desirous of personal licence2 the ,ottimati1 astute and selfish1 watching their own advantage1 ever-mindful to form a narrow government of privileged families1 disinclined to the ,medici1 except when they thought the ,medici might be employed as instruments in their intrigues4 ,,xx ,during the short period of ,savonarola's ascendency1 ,florence was in form at least a ,theocracy1 without any titular head but ,christ2 and as long as the enthusiasm inspired by the monk lasted1 as long as his personal influence endured1 the ,constitution of the ,grand ,council worked well4 ,after his death it was found that the machinery was too cumbrous4 ,while adopting the ,venetian form of government1 the ,florentines had omitted one essential element--the ,doge4 ,by referring measures of immediate necessity to the ,grand ,council1 the republic lost precious time4 ,dangerous publicity1 moreover1 was incurred2 and so large a body often came to no firm resolution4 ,there was no permanent authority in the ,state2 no security that what had been deliberated would be carried out with energy2 no titular chief1 who could transact affairs with foreign potentates and their ambassadors4 ,accordingly1 in #aejb1 it was decreed that the ,gonfalonier should hold office for life--should be in fact a ,doge4 ,to this important post of permanent president ,piero ,soderini was appointed2 and in his hands were placed the chief affairs of the republic4 ,at this point ,florence1 after all her vicissitudes1 had won her way to something really similar to the ,venetian ,constitution4 ,yet the similarity existed more in form than in fact4 ,the government of burghers in a ,grand ,council1 with a ,senate of forty1 and a ,gonfalonier for life1 had not grown up gradually and absorbed into itself the vital forces of the commonwealth4 ,it was a creation of inventive intelligence1 not of national development1 in ,florence4 ,it had against it the jealousy of the ,ottimati1 who felt themselves overshadowed by the ,gonfalonier2 the hatred of the ,palleschi1 who yearned for the ,medici2 the discontent of the working classes1 who thought the presence of a ,court in ,florence would improve trade2 last1 but not least1 the disaffection of the ,compagnacci1 who felt they could not flourish to their heart's content in a free commonwealth4 ,moreover1 though the name of liberty was on every lip1 though the ,florentines talked1 wrote1 and speculated more about constitutional independence than they had ever done1 the true energy of free institutions had passed from the city4 ,the corrupt government of ,cosimo and ,lorenzo bore its natural fruit now4 ,egotistic ambition and avarice supplanted patriotism and industry4 ,it is necessary to comprehend these circumstances1 in order that the next revolution may be clearly understood4 ,,xxi ,during the ten years which elapsed between #aejb and #aeab1 ,piero ,soderini administered ,florence with an outward show of great prosperity4 ,he regained ,pisa1 and maintained an honourable foreign policy in the midst of the wars stirred up by the ,league of ,cambray4 ,meanwhile the young princes of the ,house of ,medici had grown to manhood in exile4 ,the ,cardinal ,giovanni was thirty-seven in #aeab4 ,his brother ,giuliano was thirty-three4 ,both of these men were better fitted than their brother ,piero to fight the battles of the family4 ,giovanni1 in particular1 had inherited no small portion of the ,medicean craft4 ,during the troubled reign of ,julius ,,ii4 he kept very quiet1 cementing his connections with powerful men in ,rome1 but making no effort to regain his hold on ,florence4 ,now the moment for striking a decisive blow had come4 ,after the battle of ,ravenna in #aeab1 the ,french were driven out of ,italy1 and the ,sforzas returned to ,milan2 the ,spanish troops1 under the ,viceroy ,cardona1 remained masters of the country4 ,following the camp of these ,spaniards1 ,giovanni de' ,medici entered ,tuscany in ,august1 and caused the restoration of the ,medici to be announced in ,florence4 ,the people1 assembled by ,soderini1 resolved to resist to the uttermost4 ,no foreign army should force them to receive the masters whom they had expelled4 ,yet their courage failed on ,august #bith1 when news reached them of the capture and the sack of ,prato4 ,prato is a sunny little city a few miles distant from the walls of ,florence1 famous for the beauty of its women1 the richness of its gardens1 and the grace of its buildings4 ,into this gem of cities the savage soldiery of ,spain marched in the bright autumnal weather1 and turned the paradise into a hell4 ,it is even now impossible to read of what they did in ,prato without shuddering4#af ,cruelty and lust1 sordid greed for gold1 and cold delight in bloodshed1 could go no further4 ,giovanni de' ,medici1 by nature mild and voluptuous1 averse to violence of all kinds1 had to smile approval1 while the ,spanish ,viceroy knocked thus with mailed hand for him at the door of ,florence4 ,the ,florentines were paralysed with terror4 ,they deposed ,soderini and received the ,medici4 ,giovanni and ,giuliano entered their devastated palace in the ,via ,larga1 abolished the ,grand ,council1 and dealt with the republic as they listed4 ,,xxii ,there was no longer any medium in ,florence possible between either tyranny or some such government as the ,medici had now destroyed4 ,the ,state was too rotten to recover even the modified despotism of ,lorenzo's days4 ,each transformation had impaired some portion of its framework1 broken down some of its traditions1 and sowed new seeds of egotism in citizens who saw all things round them change but self-advantage4 ,therefore ,giovanni and ,giuliano felt themselves secure in flattering the popular vanity by an empty parade of the old institutions4 ,they restored the ,signory and the ,gonfalonier1 elected for intervals of two months by officers appointed for this purpose by the ,medici4 ,florence had the show of a free government4 ,but the ,medici managed all things2 and soldiers1 commanded by their creature1 ,paolo ,vettori1 held the ,palace and the ,public ,square4 ,the tyranny thus established was less secure1 inasmuch as it openly rested upon violence1 than ,lorenzo's power had been2 nor were there signs wanting that the burghers could ill brook their servitude4 ,the conspiracy of ,pietro ,paolo ,boscoli and ,agostino ,capponi proved that the ,medicean brothers ran daily risk of life4 ,indeed1 it is not likely that they would have succeeded in maintaining their authority--for they were poor and ill-supported by friends outside the city--except for one most lucky circumstance3 that was the election of ,giovanni de' ,medici to the ,papacy in #aeac4 ,the creation of ,leo ,x4 spread satisfaction throughout ,italy4 ,politicians trusted that he would display some portion of his father's ability1 and restore peace to the nation4 ,men of arts and letters expected everything from a ,medicean ,pope1 who had already acquired the reputation of polite culture and open-handed generosity4 ,they at any rate were not deceived4 ,leo's first words on taking his place in the ,vatican were addressed to his brother ,giuliano3 ',let us enjoy the ,papacy1 now that ,god has given it to us2' and his notion of enjoyment was to surround himself with court-poets1 jesters1 and musicians1 to adorn his ,roman palaces with frescoes1 to collect statues and inscriptions1 to listen to ,latin speeches1 and to pass judgment upon scholarly compositions4 ,any one and every one who gave him sensual or intellectual pleasure1 found his purse always open4 ,he lived in the utmost magnificence1 and made ,rome the ,paris of the ,renaissance for brilliance1 immorality1 and self-indulgent ease4 ,the politicians had less reason to be satisfied4 ,instead of uniting the ,italians and keeping the great ,powers of ,europe in check1 ,leo carried on a series of disastrous petty wars1 chiefly with the purpose of establishing the ,medici as princes4 ,he squandered the revenues of the ,church1 and left enormous debts behind him--an exchequer ruined and a foreign policy so confused that peace for ,italy could only be obtained by servitude4 ,florence shared in the general rejoicing which greeted ,leo's accession to the ,papacy4 ,he was the first ,florentine citizen who had received the tiara1 and the popular vanity was flattered by this honour to the republic4 ,political theorists1 meanwhile1 began to speculate what greatness ,florence1 in combination with ,rome1 might rise to4 ,the ,pope was young2 he ruled a large territory1 reduced to order by his warlike predecessors4 ,it seemed as though the republic1 swayed by him1 might make herself the first city in ,italy1 and restore the glories of her ,guelf ascendency upon the platform of ,renaissance statecraft4 ,there was now no overt opposition to the ,medici in ,florence4 ,how to govern the city from ,rome1 and how to advance the fortunes of his brother ,giuliano and his nephew ,lorenzo 7,piero's son1 a young man of twenty-one71 occupied the ,pope's most serious attention4 ,for ,lorenzo ,leo obtained the ,duchy of ,urbino and the hand of a ,french princess4 ,giuliano was named ,gonfalonier of the ,church4 ,he also received the ,french title of ,duke of ,nemours and the hand of ,filiberta1 ,princess of ,savoy4 ,leo entertained a further project of acquiring the crown of ,southern ,italy for his brother1 and thus of uniting ,rome1 ,florence1 and ,naples under the headship of his house4 ,nor were the ,medicean interests neglected in the ,church4 ,giulio1 the ,pope's bastard cousin1 was made cardinal4 ,he remained in ,rome1 acting as vice-chancellor and doing the hard work of the ,papal ,government for the pleasure-loving pontiff4 ,to ,lorenzo1 ,duke of ,urbino1 the titular head of the family1 was committed the government of ,florence4 ,during their exile1 wandering from court to court in ,italy1 the ,medici had forgotten what it was to be burghers1 and had acquired the manners of princes4 ,leo alone retained enough of caution to warn his nephew that the ,florentines must still be treated as free people4 ,he confirmed the constitution of the ,signory and the ,privy ,council of seventy established by his father1 bidding ,lorenzo1 while he ruled this sham republic1 to avoid the outer signs of tyranny4 ,the young duke at first behaved with moderation1 but he could not cast aside his habits of a great lord4 ,florence now for the first time saw a regular court established in her midst1 with a prince1 who1 though he bore a foreign title1 was in fact her master4 ,the joyous days of ,lorenzo the ,magnificent returned4 ,masquerades and triumphs filled the public squares4 ,two clubs of pleasure1 called the ,diamond and the ,branch--badges adopted by the ,medici to signify their firmness in disaster and their power of self-recovery--were formed to lead the revels4 ,the best sculptors and painters devoted their genius to the invention of costumes and cars4 ,the city affected to believe that the age of gold had come again4 ,,xxiii ,fortune had been very favourable to the ,medici4 ,they had returned as princes to ,florence4 ,giovanni was ,pope4 ,giuliano was ,gonfalonier of the ,church4 ,giulio was ,cardinal and ,archbishop of ,florence4 ,lorenzo ruled the city like a sovereign4 ,but this prosperity was no less brief than it was brilliant4 ,a few years sufficed to sweep off all the chiefs of the great house4 ,giuliano died in #aeaf1 leaving only a bastard son ,ippolito4 ,lorenzo died in #aeai1 leaving a bastard son ,alessandro1 and a daughter1 six days old1 who lived to be the ,queen of ,france4 ,leo died in #aeba4 ,there remained now no legitimate male descendants from the stock of ,cosimo4 ,the honours and pretensions of the ,medici devolved upon three bastards--on the ,cardinal ,giulio1 and the two boys1 ,alessandro and ,ippolito4 ,of these1 ,alessandro was a mulatto1 his mother having been a ,moorish slave in the ,palace of ,urbino2 and whether his father was ,giulio1 or ,giuliano1 or a base groom1 was not known for certain4 ,to such extremities were the ,medici reduced4 ,in order to keep their house alive1 they were obliged to adopt this foundling4 ,it is true that the younger branch of the family1 descended from ,lorenzo1 the brother of ,cosimo1 still flourished4 ,at this epoch it was represented by ,giovanni1 the great general known as the ,invincible1 whose bust so strikingly resembles that of ,napoleon4 ,but between this line of the ,medici and the elder branch there had never been true cordiality4 ,the ,cardinal mistrusted ,giovanni4 ,it may1 moreover1 be added1 that ,giovanni was himself doomed to death in the year #aebf4 ,giulio de' ,medici was left in #aeba to administer the ,state of ,florence single-handed4 ,he was archbishop1 and he resided in the city1 holding it with the grasp of an absolute ruler4 ,yet he felt his position insecure4 ,the republic had no longer any forms of self-government2 nor was there a magistracy to whom the despot could delegate his power in his absence4 ,giulio's ambition was fixed upon the ,papal crown4 ,the bastards he was rearing were but children4 ,florence had therefore to be furnished with some political machinery that should work of itself4 ,the ,cardinal did not wish to give freedom to the city1 but clockwork4 ,he was in the perilous situation of having to rule a commonwealth without life1 without elasticity1 without capacity of self-movement1 yet full of such material as1 left alone1 might ferment1 and breed a revolution4 ,in this perplexity1 he had recourse to advisers4 ,the most experienced politicians1 philosophical theorists1 practical diplomatists1 and students of antique history were requested to furnish him with plans for a new constitution1 just as you ask an architect to give you the plan of a new house4 ,this was the field-day of the doctrinaires4 ,now was seen how much political sagacity the ,florentines had gained while they were losing liberty4 ,we possess these several drafts of constitutions4 ,some recommend tyranny2 some incline to aristocracy1 or what ,italians called ,governo ,stretto2 some to democracy1 or ,governo ,largo2 some to an eclectic compound of the other forms1 or ,governo ,misto4 ,more consummate masterpieces of constructive ingenuity can hardly be imagined4 ,what is omitted in all1 is just what no doctrinaire1 no nostrum can communicate--the breath of life1 the principle of organic growth4 ,things had come1 indeed1 to a melancholy pass for ,florence when her tyrant1 in order to confirm his hold upon her1 had to devise these springs and irons to support her tottering limbs4 ,,xxiv ,while the archbishop and the doctors were debating1 a plot was hatching in the ,rucellai ,gardens4 ,it was here that the ,florentine ,academy now held their meetings4 ,for this society ,machiavelli wrote his ',treatise on the ,art of ,war1' and his ',discourses upon ,livy4' ,the former was an exposition of ,machiavelli's scheme for creating a national militia1 as the only safeguard for ,italy1 exposed at this period to the invasions of great foreign armies4 ,the latter is one of the three or four masterpieces produced by the ,florentine school of critical historians4 ,stimulated by the daring speculations of ,machiavelli1 and fired to enthusiasm by their study of antiquity1 the younger academicians formed a conspiracy for murdering ,giulio de' ,medici1 and restoring the republic on a ,roman model4 ,an intercepted letter betrayed their plans4 ,two of the conspirators were taken and beheaded4 ,others escaped4 ,but the discovery of this conjuration put a stop to ,giulio's scheme of reforming the ,state4 ,henceforth he ruled ,florence like a despot1 mild in manners1 cautious in the exercise of arbitrary power1 but firm in his autocracy4 ,the ,condottiere4 ,alessandro ,vitelli1 with a company of soldiers1 was taken into service for the protection of his person and the intimidation of the citizens4 ,in #aebc1 the ,pope1 ,adrian ,,vi41 expired after a short papacy1 from which he gained no honour and ,italy no profit4 ,giulio hurried to ,rome1 and1 by the clever use of his large influence1 caused himself to be elected with the title of ,clement ,,vii4 ,in ,florence he left ,silvio ,passerini1 ,cardinal of ,cortona1 as his vicegerent and the guardian of the two boys ,alessandro and ,ippolito4 ,the discipline of many years had accustomed the ,florentines to a government of priests4 ,still the burghers1 mindful of their ancient liberties1 were galled by the yoke of a ,cortonese1 sprung up from one of their subject cities2 nor could they bear the bastards who were being reared to rule them4 ,foreigners threw it in their teeth that ,florence1 the city glorious of art and freedom1 was become a stable for mules--stalla da muli1 in the expressive language of popular sarcasm4 ,bastardy1 it may be said in passing1 carried with it small dishonour among the ,italians4 ,the ,estensi were all illegitimate2 the ,aragonese house in ,naples sprang from ,alfonso's natural son2 and children of ,popes ranked among the princes4 ,yet the uncertainty of ,alessandro's birth and the base condition of his mother made the prospect of this tyrant peculiarly odious2 while the primacy of a foreign cardinal in the midst of citizens whose spirit was still unbroken1 embittered the cup of humiliation4 ,the ,casa ,medici held its authority by a slender thread1 and depended more upon the disunion of the burghers than on any power of its own4 ,it could always reckon on the favour of the lower populace1 who gained profit and amusement from the presence of a court4 ,the ,ottimati again hoped more from a weak despotism than from a commonwealth1 where their privileges would have been merged in the mass of the ,grand ,council4 ,thus the sympathies of the plebeians and the selfishness of the rich patricians prevented the republic from asserting itself4 ,on this meagre basis of personal cupidity the ,medici sustained themselves4 ,what made the situation still more delicate1 and at the same time protracted the feeble rule of ,clement1 was that neither the ,florentines nor the ,medici had any army4 ,face to face with a potentate so considerable as the ,pope1 a free ,state could not be established without military force4 ,on the other hand1 the ,medici1 supported by a mere handful of mercenaries1 had no power to resist a popular rising if any external event should inspire the middle classes with a hope of liberty4 ,,xxv ,clement assumed the tiara at a moment of great difficulty4 ,leo had ruined the finance of ,rome4 ,france and ,spain were still contending for the possession of ,italy4 ,while acting as ,vice-,chancellor1 ,giulio de' ,medici had seemed to hold the reins with a firm grasp1 and men expected that he would prove a powerful ,pope2 but in those days he had ,leo to help him2 and ,leo1 though indolent1 was an abler man than his cousin4 ,he planned1 and ,giulio executed4 ,obliged to act now for himself1 ,clement revealed the weakness of his nature4 ,that weakness was irresolution1 craft without wisdom1 diplomacy without knowledge of men4 ,he raised the storm1 and showed himself incapable of guiding it4 ,this is not the place to tell by what a series of crooked schemes and cross purposes he brought upon himself the ruin of the ,church and ,rome1 to relate his disagreement with the ,emperor1 or to describe again the sack of the ,eternal ,city by the rabble of the ,constable de ,bourbon's army4 ,that wreck of ,rome in #aebg was the closing scene of the ,italian ,renaissance--the last of the ,apocalyptic tragedies foretold by ,savonarola--the death of the old age4 ,when the ,florentines knew what was happening in ,rome1 they rose and forced the ,cardinal ,passerini to depart with the ,medicean bastards from the city4 ,the youth demanded arms for the defence of the town1 and they received them4 ,the whole male population was enrolled in a militia4 ,the ,grand ,council was reformed1 and the republic was restored upon the basis of #adie4 ,niccolo ,capponi was elected ,gonfalonier4 ,the name of ,christ was again registered as chief of the commonwealth--to such an extent did the memory of ,savonarola still sway the popular imagination4 ,the new ,state hastened to form an alliance with ,france1 and ,malatesta ,baglioni was chosen as military ,commander-in-,chief4 ,meanwhile the city armed itself for siege--,michel ,angelo ,buonarroti and ,francesco da ,san ,gallo undertaking the construction of new forts and ramparts4 ,these measures were adopted with sudden decision1 because it was soon known that ,clement had made peace with the ,emperor1 and that the army which had sacked ,rome was going to be marched on ,florence4 ,,xxvi ,in the month of ,august #aebi the ,prince of ,orange assembled his forces at ,terni1 and thence advanced by easy stages into ,tuscany4 ,as he approached1 the ,florentines laid waste their suburbs1 and threw down their wreath of towers1 in order that the enemy might have no harbourage or points of vantage for attack4 ,their troops were concentrated within the city1 where a new ,gonfalonier1 ,francesco ,carducci1 furiously opposed to the ,medici1 and attached to the ,piagnoni party1 now ruled4 ,on ,september #dth the ,prince of ,orange appeared before the walls1 and opened the memorable siege4 ,it lasted eight months1 at the end of which time1 betrayed by their generals1 divided among themselves1 and worn out with delays1 the ,florentines capitulated4 ,florence was paid as compensation for the insult offered to the pontiff in the sack of ,rome4 ,the long yoke of the ,medici had undermined the character of the ,florentines4 ,this1 their last glorious struggle for liberty1 was but a flash in the pan--a final flare-up of the dying lamp4 ,the city was not satisfied with slavery2 but it had no capacity for united action4 ,the ,ottimati were egotistic and jealous of the people4 ,the ,palleschi desired to restore the ,medici at any price--some of them frankly wishing for a principality1 others trusting that the old quasi-republican government might still be reinstated4 ,the ,red ,republicans1 styled ,libertini and ,arrabbiati1 clung together in blind hatred of the ,medicean party2 but they had no further policy to guide them4 ,the ,piagnoni1 or ,frateschi1 stuck to the memory of ,savonarola1 and believed that angels would descend to guard the battlements when human help had failed4 ,these enthusiasts still formed the true nerve of the nation--the class that might have saved the ,state1 if salvation had been possible4 ,even as it was1 the energy of their fanaticism prolonged the siege until resistance seemed no longer physically possible4 ,the hero developed by the crisis was ,francesco ,ferrucci1 a plebeian who had passed his youth in manual labour1 and who now displayed rare military genius4 ,he fell fighting outside the walls of ,florence4 ,had he commanded the troops from the beginning1 and remained inside the city1 it is just possible that the fate of the war might have been less disastrous4 ,as it was1 ,malatesta ,baglioni1 the ,commander-in-,chief1 turned out an arrant scoundrel4 ,he held secret correspondence with ,clement and the ,prince of ,orange4 ,it was he who finally sold ,florence to her foes1 'putting on his head1' as the ,doge of ,venice said before the ,senate1 'the cap of the biggest traitor upon record4' ,,xxvii ,what remains of ,florentine history may be briefly told4 ,clement1 now the undisputed arbiter of power and honour in the city1 chose ,alessandro de' ,medici to be prince4 ,alessandro was created ,duke of ,civit di ,penna1 and married to a natural daughter of ,charles ,v4 ,ippolito was made a cardinal4 ,ippolito would have preferred a secular to a priestly kingdom2 nor did he conceal his jealousy for his cousin4 ,therefore ,alessandro had him poisoned4 ,alessandro in his turn was murdered by his kinsman1 ,lorenzino de' ,medici4 ,lorenzino paid the usual penalty of tyrannicide some years later4 ,when ,alessandro was killed in #aeci1 ,clement had himself been dead five years4 ,thus the whole posterity of ,cosimo de' ,medici1 with the exception of ,catherine1 ,queen of ,france1 was utterly extinguished4 ,but the ,medici had struck root so firmly in the ,state1 and had so remodelled it upon the type of tyranny1 that the ,florentines were no longer able to do without them4 ,the chiefs of the ,ottimati selected ,cosimo1 the representative of ,giovanni the ,invincible1 for their prince1 and thus the line of the elder ,lorenzo came at last to power4 ,this ,cosimo was a boy of eighteen1 fond of field-sports1 and unused to party intrigues4 ,when ,francesco ,guicciardini offered him a privy purse of one hundred and twenty thousand ducats annually1 together with the presidency of ,florence1 this wily politician hoped that he would rule the ,state through ,cosimo1 and realise at last that dream of the ,ottimati1 a ,governo ,stretto or di ,pochi4 ,he was notably mistaken in his calculations4 ,the first days of ,cosimo's administration showed that he possessed the craft of his family and the vigour of his immediate progenitors1 and that he meant to be sole master in ,florence4 ,he it was who obtained the title of ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany from the ,pope--a title confirmed by the ,emperor1 fortified by ,austrian alliances1 and transmitted through his heirs to the present century4 ,,xxviii ,in this sketch of ,florentine history1 ,i have purposely omitted all details that did not bear upon the constitutional history of the republic1 or on the growth of the ,medici as despots2 because ,i wanted to present a picture of the process whereby that family contrived to fasten itself upon the freest and most cultivated ,state in ,italy4 ,this success the ,medici owed mainly to their own obstinacy1 and to the weakness of republican institutions in ,florence4 ,their power was founded upon wealth in the first instance1 and upon the ingenuity with which they turned the favour of the proletariate to use4 ,it was confirmed by the mistakes and failures of their enemies1 by ,rinaldo degli ,albizzi's attack on ,cosimo1 by the conspiracy of ,neroni and ,pitti against ,piero1 and by ,francesco de' ,pazzi's attempt to assassinate ,lorenzo4 ,it was still further strengthened by the ,medicean sympathy for arts and letters--a sympathy which placed both ,cosimo and ,lorenzo at the head of the ,renaissance movement1 and made them worthy to represent ,florence1 the city of genius1 in the fifteenth century4 ,while thus founding and cementing their dynastic influence upon the basis of a widespread popularity1 the ,medici employed persistent cunning in the enfeeblement of the ,republic4 ,it was their policy not to plant themselves by force or acts of overt tyranny1 but to corrupt ambitious citizens1 to secure the patronage of public officers1 and to render the spontaneous working of the ,state machinery impossible4 ,by pursuing this policy over a long series of years they made the revival of liberty in #adid1 and again in #aebg1 ineffectual4 ,while exiled from ,florence1 they never lost the hope of returning as masters1 so long as the passions they had excited1 and they alone could gratify1 remained in full activity4 ,these passions were avarice and egotism1 the greed of the grasping ,ottimati1 the jealousy of the nobles1 the self-indulgence of the proletariate4 ,yet it is probable they might have failed to recover ,florence1 on one or other of these two occasions1 but for the accident which placed ,giovanni de' ,medici on the ,papal chair1 and enabled him to put ,giulio in the way of the same dignity4 ,from the accession of ,leo in #aeac to the year #aebg the ,medici ruled ,florence from ,rome1 and brought the power of the ,church into the service of their despotism4 ,after that date they were still further aided by the imperial policy of ,charles ,v41 who chose to govern ,italy through subject princes1 bound to himself by domestic alliances and powerful interests4 ,one of these was ,cosimo1 the first ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,debt ,,of ,,english ,,to ,,italian ,,literature ,to an ,englishman one of the chief interests of the study of ,italian literature is derived from the fact that1 between ,england and ,italy1 an almost uninterrupted current of intellectual intercourse has been maintained throughout the last five centuries4 ,the ,english have never1 indeed1 at any time been slavish imitators of the ,italians2 but ,italy has formed the dreamland of the ,english fancy1 inspiring poets with their most delightful thoughts1 supplying them with subjects1 and implanting in their minds that sentiment of ,southern beauty which1 engrafted on our more passionately imaginative ,northern nature1 has borne rich fruit in the works of ,chaucer1 ,spenser1 ,marlowe1 ,shakspere1 ,milton1 and the poets of this century4 ,it is not strange that ,italy should thus in matters of culture have been the guide and mistress of ,england4 ,italy1 of all the ,european nations1 was the first to produce high art and literature in the dawn of modern civilisation4 ,italy was the first to display refinement in domestic life1 polish of manners1 civilities of intercourse4 ,in ,italy the commerce of courts first developed a society of men and women1 educated by the same traditions of humanistic culture4 ,in ,italy the principles of government were first discussed and reduced to theory4 ,in ,italy the zeal for the classics took its origin2 and scholarship1 to which we owe our mental training1 was at first the possession of none almost but ,italians4 ,it therefore followed that during the age of the ,renaissance any man of taste or genius1 who desired to share the newly discovered privileges of learning1 had to seek ,italy4 ,every one who wished to be initiated into the secrets of science or philosophy1 had to converse with ,italians in person or through books4 ,every one who was eager to polish his native language1 and to render it the proper vehicle of poetic thought1 had to consult the masterpieces of ,italian literature4 ,to ,italians the courtier1 the diplomatist1 the artist1 the student of statecraft and of military tactics1 the political theorist1 the merchant1 the man of laws1 the man of arms1 and the churchman turned for precedents and precepts4 ,the nations of the ,north1 still torpid and somnolent in their semi-barbarism1 needed the magnetic touch of ,italy before they could awake to intellectual life4 ,nor was this all4 ,long before the thirst for culture possessed the ,english mind1 ,italy had appropriated and assimilated all that ,latin literature contained of strong or splendid to arouse the thought and fancy of the modern world2 ,greek1 too1 was rapidly becoming the possession of the scholars of ,florence and ,rome2 so that ,english men of letters found the spirit of the ancients infused into a modern literature2 models of correct and elegant composition existed for them in a language easy1 harmonious1 and not dissimilar in usage to their own4 ,the importance of this service1 rendered by ,italians to the rest of ,europe1 cannot be exaggerated4 ,by exploring1 digesting1 and reproducing the classics1 ,italy made the labour of scholarship comparatively light for the ,northern nations1 and extended to us the privilege of culture without the peril of losing originality in the enthusiasm for erudition4 ,our great poets could handle lightly1 and yet profitably1 those masterpieces of ,greece and ,rome1 beneath the weight of which1 when first discovered1 the genius of the ,italians had wavered4 ,to the originality of ,shakspere an accession of wealth without weakness was brought by the perusal of ,italian works1 in which the spirit of the antique was seen as in a modern mirror4 ,then1 in addition to this benefit of instruction1 ,italy gave to ,england a gift of pure beauty1 the influence of which1 in refining our national taste1 harmonising the roughness of our manners and our language1 and stimulating our imagination1 has been incalculable4 ,it was a not unfrequent custom for young men of ability to study at the ,italian universities1 or at least to undertake a journey to the principal ,italian cities4 ,from their sojourn in that land of loveliness and intellectual life they returned with their ,northern brains most powerfully stimulated4 ,to produce1 by masterpieces of the imagination1 some work of style that should remain as a memento of that glorious country1 and should vie on ,english soil with the art of ,italy1 was their generous ambition4 ,consequently the substance of the stories versified by our poets1 the forms of our metres1 and the cadences of our prose periods reveal a close attention to ,italian originals4 ,this debt of ,england to ,italy in the matter of our literature began with ,chaucer4 ,truly original and national as was the framework of the ',canterbury ,tales1' we can hardly doubt but that ,chaucer was determined in the form adopted for his poem by the example of ,boccaccio4 ,the subject-matter1 also1 of many of his tales was taken from ,boccaccio's prose or verse4 ,for example1 the story of ,patient ,grizzel is founded upon one of the legends of the ',decameron1' while the ,knight's ,tale is almost translated from the ',teseide' of ,boccaccio1 and ,troilus and ,creseide is derived from the ',filostrato' of the same author4 ,the ,franklin's ,tale and the ,reeve's ,tale are also based either on stories of ,boccaccio or else on ,french ',fabliaux1' to which ,chaucer1 as well as ,boccaccio1 had access4 ,i do not wish to lay too much stress upon ,chaucer's direct obligations to ,boccaccio1 because it is incontestable that the ,french ',fabliaux1' which supplied them both with subjects1 were the common property of the medival nations4 ,but his indirect debt in all that concerns elegant handling of material1 and in the fusion of the romantic with the classic spirit1 which forms the chief charm of such tales as the ,palamon and ,arcite1 can hardly be exaggerated4 ,lastly1 the seven-lined stanza1 called rime royal1 which ,chaucer used with so much effect in narrative poetry1 was probably borrowed from the earlier ,florentine ',ballata1' the last line rhyming with its predecessor being substituted for the recurrent refrain4 ,indeed1 the stanza itself1 as used by our earliest poets1 may be found in ,guido ,cavalcanti's ',ballatetta1' beginning1 ,posso degli occhi miei4 ,between ,chaucer and ,surrey the ,muse of ,england fell asleep2 but when in the latter half of the reign of ,henry ,,viii4 she awoke again1 it was as a conscious pupil of the ,italian that she attempted new strains and essayed fresh metres4 ',in the latter end of ,henry ,,viii4's reign1' says ,puttenham1 'sprang up a new company of courtly makers1 of whom ,sir ,t4 ,wyatt the elder1 and ,henry ,earl of ,surrey1 were the two chieftains1 who1 having travelled into ,italy1 and there tasted the sweet and stately measures and style of the ,italian poesy1 as novices newly crept out of the schools of ,dante1 ,ariosto1 and ,petrarch1 they greatly polished our rude and homely manner of vulgar poesy1 from that it had been before1 and for that cause may justly be said the first reformers of our ,english metre and style4' ,the chief point in which ,surrey imitated his 'master1 ,francis ,petrarcha1' was in the use of the sonnet4 ,he introduced this elaborate form of poetry into our literature2 and how it has thriven with us1 the masterpieces of ,spenser1 ,shakspere1 ,milton1 ,wordsworth1 ,keats1 ,rossetti attest4 ,as practised by ,dante and ,petrarch1 the sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines1 divided into two quatrains and two triplets1 so arranged that the two quatrains repeat one pair of rhymes1 while the two triplets repeat another pair4 ,thus an ,italian sonnet of the strictest form is composed upon four rhymes1 interlaced with great art4 ,but much divergence from this rigid scheme of rhyming was admitted even by ,petrarch1 who not unfrequently divided the six final lines of the sonnet into three couplets1 interwoven in such a way that the two last lines never rhymed4#ag ,it has been necessary to say thus much about the structure of the ,italian sonnet1 in order to make clear the task which lay before ,surrey and ,wyatt1 when they sought to transplant it into ,english4 ,surrey did not adhere to the strict fashion of ,petrarch3 his sonnets consist either of three regular quatrains concluded with a couplet1 or else of twelve lines rhyming alternately and concluded with a couplet4 ,wyatt attempted to follow the order and interlacement of the ,italian rhymes more closely1 but he too concluded his sonnet with a couplet4 ,this introduction of the final couplet was a violation of the ,italian rule1 which may be fairly considered as prejudicial to the harmony of the whole structure1 and which has insensibly caused the ,english sonnet to terminate in an epigram4 ,the famous sonnet of ,surrey on his love1 ,geraldine1 is an excellent example of the metrical structure as adapted to the supposed necessities of ,english rhyming1 and as afterwards adhered to by ,shakspere in his long series of love-poems4 ,surrey1 while adopting the form of the sonnet1 kept quite clear of the ,petrarchist's mannerism4 ,his language is simple and direct3 there is no subtilising upon far-fetched conceits1 no wire-drawing of exquisite sentimentalism1 although he celebrates in this1 as in his other sonnets1 a lady for whom he appears to have entertained no more than a ,platonic or imaginary passion4 ,surrey was a great experimentalist in metre4 ,besides the sonnet1 he introduced into ,england blank verse1 which he borrowed from the ,italian versi sciolti1 fixing that decasyllable iambic rhythm for ,english versification in which our greatest poetical triumphs have been achieved4 ,before quitting the subject of the sonnet it would1 however1 be well to mention the changes which were wrought in its structure by early poets desirous of emulating the ,italians4 ,shakspere1 as already hinted1 adhered to the simple form introduced by ,surrey3 his stanzas invariably consist of three separate quatrains followed by a couplet4 ,but ,sir ,philip ,sidney1 whose familiarity with ,italian literature was intimate1 and who had resided long in ,italy1 perceived that without a greater complexity and interweaving of rhymes the beauty of the poem was considerably impaired4 ,he therefore combined the rhymes of the two quatrains1 as the ,italians had done1 leaving himself free to follow the ,italian fashion in the conclusion1 or else to wind up after ,english usage with a couplet4 ,spenser and ,drummond follow the rule of ,sidney2 ,drayton and ,daniel1 that of ,surrey and ,shakspere4 ,it was not until ,milton that an ,english poet preserved the form of the ,italian sonnet in its strictness2 but1 after ,milton1 the greatest sonnet-writers--,wordsworth1 ,keats1 and ,rossetti--have aimed at producing stanzas as regular as those of ,petrarch4 ,the great age of our literature--the age of ,elizabeth--was essentially one of ,italian influence4 ,in ,italy the ,renaissance had reached its height3 ,england1 feeling the new life which had been infused into arts and letters1 turned instinctively to ,italy1 and adopted her canons of taste4 ',euphues' has a distinct connection with the ,italian discourses of polite culture4 ,sidney's ',arcadia' is a copy of what ,boccaccio had attempted in his classical romances1 and ,sanazzaro in his pastorals4#ah ,spenser approached the subject of the ',faery ,queen' with his head full of ,ariosto and the romantic poets of ,italy4 ,his sonnets are ,italian2 his odes embody the ,platonic philosophy of the ,italians4#ai ,the extent of ,spenser's deference to the ,italians in matters of poetic art may be gathered from this passage in the dedication to ,sir ,walter ,raleigh of the ',faery ,queen3' ,i have followed all the antique poets historical3 first ,homer1 who in the persons of ,agamemnon and ,ulysses hath ensampled a good governor and a virtuous man1 the one in his ,ilias1 the other in his ,odysseis2 then ,virgil1 whose like intention was to do in the person of neas2 after him ,ariosto comprised them both in his ,orlando2 and lately ,tasso dissevered them again1 and formed both parts in two persons1 namely1 that part which they in ,philosophy call ,ethice1 or virtues of a private man1 coloured in his ,rinaldo1 the other named ,politico in his ,goffredo4 ,from this it is clear that1 to the mind of ,spenser1 both ,ariosto and ,tasso were authorities of hardly less gravity than ,homer and ,virgil4 ,raleigh1 in the splendid sonnet with which he responds to this dedication1 enhances the fame of ,spenser by affecting to believe that the great ,italian1 ,petrarch1 will be jealous of him in the grave4 ,to such an extent were the thoughts of the ,english poets occupied with their ,italian masters in the art of song4 ,it was at this time1 again1 that ,english literature was enriched by translations of ,ariosto and ,tasso--the one from the pen of ,sir ,john ,harrington1 the other from that of ,fairfax4 ,both were produced in the metre of the original--the octave stanza1 which1 however1 did not at that period take root in ,england4 ,at the same period the works of many of the ,italian novelists1 especially ,bandello and ,cinthio and ,boccaccio1 were translated into ,english2 ,painter's ',palace of ,pleasure' being a treasure-house of ,italian works of fiction4 ,thomas ,hoby translated ,castiglione's ',courtier' in #aefa4 ,as a proof of the extent to which ,italian books were read in ,england at the end of the sixteenth century1 we may take a stray sentence from a letter of ,harvey1 in which he disparages the works of ,robert ,greene3--',even ,guicciardine's silver histories and ,ariosto's golden cantos grow out of request3 and the ,countess of ,pembroke's ,arcadia is not green enough for queasy stomachs2 but they must have seen ,greene's ,arcadia1 and ,i believe most eagerly longed for ,greene's ,faery ,queen4' ,still more may be gathered on the same topic from the indignant protest uttered by ,roger ,ascham in his ',schoolmaster' 7pp4 #gh-ia1 date #aegj7 against the prevalence of ,italian customs1 the habit of ,italian travel1 and the reading of ,italian books translated into ,english4 ,selections of ,italian stories rendered into ,english were extremely popular2 and ,greene's tales1 which had such vogue that ,nash says of them1 'glad was that printer that might be so blest to pay him dear for the very dregs of his wit1' were all modelled on the ,italian4 ,the education of a young man of good family was not thought complete unless he had spent some time in ,italy1 studied its literature1 admired its arts1 and caught at least some tincture of its manners4 ,our rude ancestors brought back with them from these journeys many ,southern vices1 together with the culture they had gone to seek4 ,the contrast between the plain dealing of the ,north and the refined ,machiavellism of the ,south1 between ,protestant earnestness in religion and ,popish scepticism1 between the homely virtues of ,england and the courtly libertinism of ,venice or ,florence1 blunted the moral sense1 while it stimulated the intellectual activity of the ,english travellers1 and too often communicated a fatal shock to their principles4 ,inglese ,italianato un diavolo incarnato passed into a proverb3 we find it on the lips of ,parker1 of ,howell1 of ,sidney1 of ,greene1 and of ,ascham2 while ,italy itself was styled by severe moralists the court of ,circe4 ,in ,james ,howell's ',instructions for forreine travell' we find this pregnant sentence3 ',and being now in ,italy1 that great limbique of working braines1 he must be very circumspect in his carriage1 for she is able to turne a ,saint into a devill1 and deprave the best natures1 if one will abandon himselfe1 and become a prey to dissolut courses and wantonesse4' ,italy1 in truth1 had already become corrupt1 and the fruit of her contact with the nations of the ,north was seen in the lives of such scholars as ,robert ,greene1 who confessed that he returned from his travels instructed 'in all the villanies under the sun4' ,many of the scandals of the ,court of ,james might be ascribed to this aping of ,southern manners4 ,yet1 together with the evil of depraved morality1 the advantage of improved culture was imported from ,italy into ,england2 and the constitution of the ,english genius was young and healthy enough to purge off the mischief1 while it assimilated what was beneficial4 ,this is very manifest in the history of our drama1 which1 taking it altogether1 is at the same time the purest and the most varied that exists in literature2 while it may be affirmed without exaggeration that one of the main impulses to free dramatic composition in ,england was communicated by the attraction everything ,italian possessed for the ,english fancy4 ,it was in the drama that the ,english displayed the richness and the splendour of the ,renaissance1 which had blazed so gorgeously and at times so balefully below the ,alps4 ,the ,italy of the ,renaissance fascinated our dramatists with a strange wild glamour--the contrast of external pageant and internal tragedy1 the alternations of radiance and gloom1 the terrible examples of bloodshed1 treason1 and heroism emergent from ghastly crimes4 ,our drama began with a translation of ,ariosto's ',suppositi' and ended with ,davenant's ',just ,italian4' ,in the very dawn of tragic composition ,greene versified a portion of the ',orlando ,furioso1' and ,marlowe devoted one of his most brilliant studies to the villanies of a ,maltese ,jew4 ,of ,shakspere's plays five are incontestably ,italian3 several of the rest are furnished with ,italian names to suit the popular taste4 ,ben ,jonson laid the scene of his most subtle comedy of manners1 ',volpone1' in ,venice1 and sketched the first cast of ',every ,man in his ,humour' for ,italian characters4 ,tourneur1 ,ford1 and ,webster were so dazzled by the tragic lustre of the wickedness of ,italy that their finest dramas1 without exception1 are minute and carefully studied psychological analyses of great ,italian tales of crime4 ,the same1 in a less degree1 is true of ,middleton and ,dekker4 ,massinger makes a story of the ,sforza family the subject of one of his best plays4 ,beaumont and ,fletcher draw the subjects of comedies and tragedies alike from the ,italian novelists4 ,fletcher in his ',faithful ,shepherdess' transfers the pastoral style of ,tasso and ,guarini to the ,north4 ,so close is the connection between our tragedy and ,italian novels that ,marston and ,ford think fit to introduce passages of ,italian dialogue into the plays of ',giovanni and ,annabella' and ',antonio and ,mellida4' ,but the best proof of the extent to which ,italian life and literature had influenced our dramatists1 may be easily obtained by taking down ,halliwell's ',dictionary of ,old ,plays1' and noticing that about every third drama has an ,italian title4 ,meanwhile the poems composed by the chief dramatists--,shakspere's ',venus and ,adonis1' ,marlowe's ',hero and ,leander1' ,marston's ',pygmalion1' and ,beaumont's ',hermaphrodite'--are all of them conceived in the ,italian style1 by men who had either studied ,southern literature1 or had submitted to its powerful sthetic influences4 ,the ,masques1 moreover1 of ,jonson1 of ,lyly1 of ,fletcher1 and of ,chapman are exact reproductions upon the ,english court theatres of such festival pageants as were presented to the ,medici at ,florence or to the ,este family at ,ferrara4#bj ,throughout our drama the influence of ,italy1 direct or indirect1 either as supplying our playwrights with subjects or as stimulating their imagination1 may thus be traced4 ,yet the ,elizabethan drama is in the highest sense original4 ,as a work of art pregnant with deepest wisdom1 and splendidly illustrative of the age which gave it birth1 it far transcends anything that ,italy produced in the same department4 ,our poets have a more masculine judgment1 more fiery fancy1 nobler sentiment1 than the ,italians of any age but that of ,dante4 ,what ,italy gave1 was the impulse toward creation1 not patterns to be imitated--the excitement of the imagination by a spectacle of so much grandeur1 not rules and precepts for production--the keen sense of tragic beauty1 not any tradition of accomplished art4 ,the ,elizabethan period of our literature was1 in fact1 the period during which we derived most from the ,italian nation4 ,the study of the ,italian language went hand in hand with the study of ,greek and ,latin1 so that the three together contributed to form the ,english taste4 ,between us and the ancient world stood the genius of ,italy as an interpreter4 ,nor was this connection broken until far on into the reign of ,charles ,,ii4 ,what ,milton owed to ,italy is clear not only from his ,italian sonnets1 but also from the frequent mention of ,dante and ,petrarch in his prose works1 from his allusions to ,boiardo and ,ariosto in the ',paradise ,lost1' and from the hints which he probably derived from ,pulci1 ,tasso and ,andreini4 ,it would1 indeed1 be easy throughout his works to trace a continuous vein of ,italian influence in detail4 ,but1 more than this1 ,milton's poetical taste in general seems to have been formed and ripened by familiarity with the harmonies of the ,italian language4 ,in his ,tractate on ,education addressed to ,mr4 ,hartlib1 he recommends that boys should be instructed in the ,italian pronunciation of vowel sounds1 in order to give sonorousness and dignity to elocution4 ,this slight indication supplies us with a key to the method of melodious structure employed by ,milton in his blank verse4 ,those who have carefully studied the harmonies of the ',paradise ,lost1' know how all-important are the assonances of the vowel sounds of o and a in its most musical passages4 ,it is just this attention to the liquid and sonorous recurrences of open vowels that we should expect from a poet who proposed to assimilate his diction to that of the ,italians4 ,after the age of ,milton the connection between ,italy and ,england is interrupted4 ,in the seventeenth century ,italy herself had sunk into comparative stupor1 and her literature was trivial4 ,france not only swayed the political destinies of ,europe1 but also took the lead in intellectual culture4 ,consequently1 our poets turned from ,italy to ,france1 and the ,french spirit pervaded ,english literature throughout the period of the ,restoration and the reigns of ,william and ,queen ,anne4 ,yet during this prolonged reaction against the earlier movement of ,english literature1 as manifested in ,elizabethanism1 the influence of ,italy was not wholly extinct4 ,dryden's ',tales from ,boccaccio' are no insignificant contribution to our poetry1 and his ',palamon and ,arcite1' through ,chaucer1 returns to the same source4 ,but when1 at the beginning of this century1 the ,elizabethan tradition was revived1 then the ,italian influence reappeared more vigorous than ever4 ,the metre of ',don ,juan1' first practised by ,frere and then adopted by ,lord ,byron1 is ,pulci's octave stanza2 the manner is that of ,berni1 ,folengo1 and the ,abb ,casti1 fused and heightened by the brilliance of ,byron's genius into a new form4 ,the subject of ,shelley's strongest work of art is ,beatrice ,cenci4 ,rogers's poem is styled ',italy4' ,byron's dramas are chiefly ,italian4 ,leigh ,hunt repeats the tale of ,francesca da ,rimini4 ,keats versifies ,boccaccio's ',isabella4' ,passing to contemporary poets1 ,rossetti has acclimatised in ,english the metres and the manner of the earliest ,italian lyrists4 ,swinburne dedicates his noblest song to the spirit of liberty in ,italy4 ,even ,george ,eliot and ,tennyson have each of them turned stories of ,boccaccio into verse4 ,the best of ,mrs4 ,browning's poems1 ',casa ,guidi ,windows' and ',aurora ,leigh1' are steeped in ,italian thought and ,italian imagery4 ,browning's longest poem is a tale of ,italian crime2 his finest studies in the ',men and ,women' are portraits of ,italian character of the ,renaissance period4 ,but there is more than any mere enumeration of poets and their work can set forth1 in the connection between ,italy and ,england4 ,that connection1 so far as the poetical imagination is concerned1 is vital4 ,as poets in the truest sense of the word1 we ,english live and breathe through sympathy with the ,italians4 ,the magnetic touch which is required to inflame the imagination of the ,north1 is derived from ,italy4 ,the nightingales of ,english song who make our oak and beech copses resonant in spring with purest melody1 are migratory birds1 who have charged their souls in the ,south with the spirit of beauty1 and who return to warble native wood-notes in a tongue which is their own4 ,what has hitherto been said about the debt of the ,english poets to ,italy1 may seem to imply that our literature can be regarded as to some extent a parasite on that of the ,italians4 ,against such a conclusion no protest too energetic could be uttered4 ,what we have derived directly from the ,italian poets are1 first1 some metres--especially the sonnet and the octave stanza1 though the latter has never taken firm root in ,england4 ',terza rima1' attempted by ,shelley1 ,byron1 ,morris1 and ,mrs4 ,browning1 has not yet become acclimatised4 ,blank verse1 although originally remodelled by ,surrey upon the versi sciolti of the ,italians1 has departed widely from ,italian precedent1 first by its decasyllabic structure1 whereas ,italian verse consists of hendecasyllables2 and1 secondly1 by its greater force1 plasticity1 and freedom4 ,the ,spenserian stanza1 again1 is a new and original metre peculiar to our literature2 though it is possible that but for the complex structures of ,italian lyric verse1 it might not have been fashioned for the ',faery ,queen4' ,lastly1 the so-called heroic couplet is native to ,england2 at any rate1 it is in no way related to ,italian metre4 ,therefore the only true ,italian exotic adopted without modification into our literature is the sonnet4 ,in the next place1 we owe to the ,italians the subject-matter of many of our most famous dramas and our most delightful tales in verse4 ,but the ,english treatment of these histories and fables has been uniformly independent and original4 ,comparing ,shakspere's ',romeo and ,juliet' with ,bandello's tale1 ,webster's ',duchess of ,malfy' with the version given from the ,italian in ,painter's ',palace of ,pleasure1' and ,chaucer's ,knight's ,tale with the ',teseide' of ,boccaccio1 we perceive at once that the ,english poets have used their ,italian models merely as outlines to be filled in with freedom1 as the canvas to be embroidered with a tapestry of vivid groups4 ,nothing is more manifest than the superiority of the ,english genius over the ,italian in all dramatic qualities of intense passion1 profound analysis1 and living portrayal of character in action4 ,the mere rough detail of ,shakspere's ',othello' is to be found in ,cinthio's ,collection of ,novelle2 but let an unprejudiced reader peruse the original1 and he will be no more deeply affected by it than by any touching story of treachery1 jealousy1 and hapless innocence4 ,the wily subtleties of ,iago1 the soldierly frankness of ,cassio1 the turbulent and volcanic passions of ,othello1 the charm of ,desdemona1 and the whole tissue of vivid incidents which make ',othello' one of the most tremendous extant tragedies of characters in combat1 are ,shakspere's1 and only ,shakspere's4 ,this instance1 indeed1 enables us exactly to indicate what the ,english owed to ,italy and what was essentially their own4 ,from that ,southern land of ,circe about which they dreamed1 and which now and then they visited1 came to their imaginations a spirit-stirring breath of inspiration4 ,it was to them the country of marvels1 of mysterious crimes1 of luxurious gardens and splendid skies1 where love was more passionate and life more picturesque1 and hate more bloody and treachery more black1 than in our ,northern climes4 ,italy was a spacious grove of wizardry1 which mighty poets1 on the quest of fanciful adventure1 trod with fascinated senses and quickened pulses4 ,but the strong brain which converted what they heard and read and saw of that charmed land into the stuff of golden romance or sable tragedy1 was their own4 ,english literature has been defined a literature of genius4 ,our greatest work in art has been achieved not so much by inspiration1 subordinate to sentiments of exquisite good taste or guided by observance of classical models1 as by audacious sallies of pure inventive power4 ,this is true as a judgment of that constellation which we call our drama1 of the meteor ,byron1 of ,milton and ,dryden1 who are the ,jupiter and ,mars of our poetic system1 and of the stars which stud our literary firmament under the names of ,shelley1 ,keats1 ,wordsworth1 ,chatterton1 ,scott1 ,coleridge1 ,clough1 ,blake1 ,browning1 ,swinburne1 ,tennyson4 ,there are only a very few of the ,english poets1 ,pope and ,gray1 for example1 in whom the free instincts of genius are kept systematically in check by the laws of the reflective understanding4 ,now ,italian literature is in this respect all unlike our own4 ,it began1 indeed1 with ,dante1 as a literature pre-eminently of genius2 but the spirit of scholarship assumed the sway as early as the days of ,petrarch and ,boccaccio1 and after them ,italian has been consistently a literature of taste4 ,by this ,i mean that even the greatest ,italian poets have sought to render their style correct1 have endeavoured to subordinate their inspiration to what they considered the rules of sound criticism1 and have paid serious attention to their manner as independent of the matter they wished to express4 ,the passion for antiquity1 so early developed in ,italy1 delivered the later ,italian poets bound hand and foot into the hands of ,horace4 ,poliziano was content to reproduce the classic authors in a mosaic work of exquisite translations4 ,tasso was essentially a man of talent1 producing work of chastened beauty by diligent attention to the rule and method of his art4 ,even ,ariosto submitted the liberty of his swift spirit to canons of prescribed elegance4 ,while our ,english poets have conceived and executed without regard for the opinion of the learned and without obedience to the usages of language--,shakspere1 for example1 producing tragedies which set ,aristotle at defiance1 and ,milton engrafting ,latinisms on the native idiom--the ,italian poets thought and wrote with the fear of ,academies before their eyes1 and studied before all things to maintain the purity of the ,tuscan tongue4 ,the consequence is that the ,italian and ,english literatures are eminent for very different excellences4 ,all that is forcible in the dramatic presentation of life and character and action1 all that is audacious in imagination and capricious in fancy1 whatever strength style can gain from the sallies of original and untrammelled eloquence1 whatever beauty is derived from spontaneity and native grace1 belong in abundant richness to the ,english4 ,on the other hand1 the ,italian poets present us with masterpieces of correct and studied diction1 with carefully elaborated machinery1 and with a style maintained at a uniform level of dignified correctness4 ,the weakness of the ,english proceeds from inequality and extravagance2 it is the weakness of self-confident vigour1 intolerant of rule1 rejoicing in its own exuberant resources4 ,the weakness of the ,italian is due to timidity and moderation2 it is the weakness that springs not so much from a lack of native strength as from the over-anxious expenditure of strength upon the attainment of finish1 polish1 and correctness4 ,hence the two nations have everything to learn from one another4 ,modern ,italian poets may seek by contact with ,shakspere and ,milton to gain a freedom from the trammels imposed upon them by the slavish followers of ,petrarch2 while the attentive perusal of ,tasso should be recommended to all ,english people who have no ready access to the masterpieces of ,greek and ,latin literature4 ,another point of view may be gained by noticing the pre-dominant tone of the two literatures4 ,whenever ,english poetry is really great1 it approximates to the tragic and the stately2 whereas the ,italians are peculiarly felicitous in the smooth and pleasant style1 which combines pathos with amusement1 and which does not trespass beyond the region of beauty into the domain of sublimity or terror4 ,italian poetry is analogous to ,italian painting and ,italian music3 it bathes the soul in a plenitude of charms1 investing even the most solemn subjects with loveliness4 ,rembrandt and ,albert ,drer depict the tragedies of the ,sacred ,history with a serious and awful reality3 ,italian painters1 with a few rare but illustrious exceptions1 shrink from approaching them from any point of view but that of harmonious melancholy4 ,even so the ,english poets stir the soul to its very depths by their profound and earnest delineations of the stern and bitter truths of the world3 ,italian poets environ all things with the golden haze of an artistic harmony2 so that the soul is agitated by no pain at strife with the persuasions of pure beauty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,popular ,,songs ,,of ,,tuscany ,it is a noticeable fact about the popular songs of ,tuscany that they are almost exclusively devoted to love4 ,the ,italians in general have no ballad literature resembling that of our ,border or that of ,spain4 ,the tragic histories of their noble families1 the great deeds of their national heroes1 and the sufferings of their country during centuries of warfare1 have left but few traces in their rustic poetry4 ,it is true that some districts are less utterly barren than others in these records of the past4 ,the ,sicilian people's poetry1 for example1 preserves a memory of the famous ,vespers2 and one or two terrible stories of domestic tragedy1 like the tale of ,rosmunda in ',la ,donna ,lombarda1' the romance of the ,baronessa di ,carini1 and the so-called ,caso di ,sciacca1 may still be heard upon the lips of the people4 ,but these exceptions are insignificant in comparison with the vast mass of songs which deal with love2 and ,i cannot find that ,tuscany1 where the language of this minstrelsy is purest1 and where the artistic instincts of the race are strongest1 has anything at all approaching to our ballads4#ba ,though the ,tuscan contadini are always singing1 it rarely happens that ,the plaintive numbers flow ,for old1 unhappy1 far-off things1 ,and battles long ago4 ,on the contrary1 we may be sure1 when we hear their voices ringing through the olive-groves or macchi1 that they are chanting ,some more humble lay1 ,familiar matter of to-day1-- ,some natural sorrow1 loss1 or pain1 ,that has been1 and may be again2 or else1 since their melodies are by no means uniformly sad1 some ditty of the joyousness of springtime or the ecstasy of love4 ,this defect of anything corresponding to our ballads of ',chevy ,chase1' or ',sir ,patrick ,spens1' or ',gil ,morrice1' in a poetry which is still so vital with the life of past centuries1 is all the more remarkable because ,italian history is distinguished above that of other nations by tragic episodes peculiarly suited to poetic treatment4 ,many of these received commemoration in the fourteenth century from ,dante2 others were embodied in the novelle of ,boccaccio and ,cinthio and ,bandello1 whence they passed into the dramas of ,shakspere1 ,webster1 ,ford1 and their contemporaries4 ,but scarcely an echo can be traced through all the volumes of the recently collected popular songs4 ,we must seek for an explanation of this fact partly in the conditions of ,italian life1 and partly in the nature of the ,italian imagination4 ,nowhere in ,italy do we observe that intimate connection between the people at large and the great nobles which generates the sympathy of clanship4 ,politics in most parts of the peninsula fell at a very early period into the hands either of irresponsible princes1 who ruled like despots1 or else of burghers1 who administered the state within the walls of their ,palazzo ,pubblico4 ,the people remained passive spectators of contemporary history4 ,the loyalty of subjects to their sovereign which animates the ,spanish ballads1 the loyalty of retainers to their chief which gives life to the tragic ballads of the ,border1 did not exist in ,italy4 ,country-folk felt no interest in the doings of ,visconti or ,medici or ,malatesti sufficient to arouse the enthusiasm of local bards or to call forth the celebration of their princely tragedies in verse4 ,amid the miseries of foreign wars and home oppression1 it seemed better to demand from verse and song some mitigation of the woes of life1 some expression of personal emotion1 than to record the disasters which to us at a distance appear poetic in their grandeur4 ,these conditions of popular life1 although unfavourable to the production of ballad poetry1 would not1 however1 have been sufficient by themselves to check its growth1 if the ,italians had been strongly impelled to literature of this type by their nature4 ,the real reason why their ,volkslieder are amorous and personal is to be found in the quality of their imagination4 ,the ,italian genius is not creatively imaginative in the highest sense4 ,the ,italians have never1 either in the ancient or the modern age1 produced a great drama or a national epic1 the 'neid' and the ',divine ,comedy' being obviously of different species from the ',iliad' or the ',nibelungen ,lied4' ,modern ,italians1 again1 are distinguished from the ,french1 the ,germans1 and the ,english in being the conscious inheritors of an older1 august1 and strictly classical civilisation4 ,the great memories of ,rome weigh down their faculties of invention4 ,it would also seem as though they shrank in their poetry from the representation of what is tragic and spirit-stirring4 ,they incline to what is cheerful1 brilliant1 or pathetic4 ,the dramatic element in human life1 external to the personality of the poet1 which exercised so strong a fascination over our ballad-bards and playwrights1 has but little attraction for the ,italian4 ,when he sings1 he seeks to express his own individual emotions--his love1 his joy1 his jealousy1 his anger1 his despair4 ,the language which he uses is at the same time direct in its intensity1 and hyperbolical in its display of fancy2 but it lacks those imaginative touches which exalt the poetry of personal passion into a sublimer region4 ,again1 the ,italians are deficient in a sense of the supernatural4 ,the wraiths that cannot rest because their love is still unsatisfied1 the voices which cry by night over field and fell1 the water-spirits and forest fairies1 the second-sight of coming woes1 the presentiment of death1 the warnings and the charms and spells1 which fill the popular poetry of all ,northern nations1 are absent in ,italian songs4 ,in the whole of ,tigri's collection ,i only remember one mention of a ghost4 ,it is not that the ,italians are deficient in superstitions of all kinds4 ,every one has heard of their belief in the evil eye1 for instance4 ,but they do not connect this kind of fetichism with their poetry2 and even their greatest poets1 with the exception of ,dante1 have shown no capacity or no inclination for enhancing the imaginative effect of their creations by an appeal to the instinct of mysterious awe4 ,the truth is that the ,italians as a race are distinguished as much by a firm grasp upon the practical realities of existence as by powerful emotions4 ,they have but little of that dreamy ,schwrmerei with which the people of the ,north are largely gifted4 ,the true sphere of their genius is painting4 ,what appeals to the imagination through the eyes1 they have expressed far better than any other modern nation4 ,but their poetry1 like their music1 is deficient in tragic sublimity and in the higher qualities of imaginative creation4 ,it may seem paradoxical to say this of the nation which produced ,dante4 ,but we must remember not to judge races by single and exceptional men of genius4 ,petrarch1 the ,troubadour of exquisite emotions1 ,boccaccio1 who touches all the keys of life so lightly1 ,ariosto1 with the smile of everlasting ,april on his lips1 and ,tasso1 excellent alone when he confines himself to pathos or the picturesque1 are no exceptions to what ,i have just said4 ,yet these poets pursued their art with conscious purpose4 ,the tragic splendour of ,greece1 the majesty of ,rome1 were not unknown to them4 ,far more is it true that popular poetry in ,italy1 proceeding from the hearts of uncultivated peasants and expressing the national character in its simplicity1 displays none of the stuff from which the greatest works of art in verse1 epics and dramas1 can be wrought4 ,but within its own sphere of personal emotion1 this popular poetry is exquisitely melodious1 inexhaustibly rich1 unique in modern literature for the direct expression which it has given to every shade of passion4 ,signor ,tigri's collection1#bb to which ,i shall confine my attention in this paper1 consists of eleven hundred and eighty-five rispetti1 with the addition of four hundred and sixty-one stornelli4 ,rispetto1 it may be said in passing1 is the name commonly given throughout ,italy to short poems1 varying from six to twelve lines1 constructed on the principle of the octave stanza4 ,that is to say1 the first part of the rispetto consists of four or six lines with alternate rhymes1 while one or more couplets1 called the ripresa1 complete the poem4#bc ,the stornello1 or ritournelle1 never exceeds three lines1 and owes its name to the return which it makes at the end of the last line to the rhyme given by the emphatic word of the first4 ,browning1 in his poem of ',fra ,lippo ,lippi1' has accustomed ,english ears to one common species of the stornello1#bd which sets out with the name of a flower1 and rhymes with it1 as thus3 ,fior di narciso4 ,prigionero d'amore mi son reso1 ,nel rimirare il tuo leggiadro viso4 ,the divisions of those two sorts of songs1 to which ,tigri gives names like ,the ,beauty of ,women1 ,the ,beauty of ,men1 ,falling in ,love1 ,serenades1 ,happy ,love1 ,unhappy ,love1 ,parting1 ,absence1 ,letters1 ,return to ,home1 ,anger and ,jealousy1 ,promises1 ,entreaties and ,reproaches1 ,indifference1 ,treachery and ,abandonment1 prove with what fulness the various phases of the tender passion are treated4 ,through the whole fifteen hundred the one theme of ,love is never relinquished4 ,only two persons1 ',i' and 'thou1' appear upon the scene2 yet so fresh and so various are the moods of feeling1 that one can read them from first to last without too much satiety4 ,to seek for the authors of these ditties would be useless4 ,some of them may be as old as the fourteenth century2 others may have been made yesterday4 ,some are the native product of the ,tuscan mountain villages1 especially of the regions round ,pistoja and ,siena1 where on the spurs of the ,apennines the purest ,italian is vernacular4 ,some1 again1 are importations from other provinces1 especially from ,sicily and ,naples1 caught up by the peasants of ,tuscany and adapted to their taste and style2 for nothing travels faster than a ,volkslied4 ,born some morning in a noisy street of ,naples1 or on the solitary slopes of ,radicofani1 before the week is out1 a hundred voices are repeating it4 ,waggoners and pedlars carry it across the hills to distant towns4 ,it floats with the fishermen from bay to bay1 and marches with the conscript to his barrack in a far-off province4 ,who was the first to give it shape and form8 ,no one asks1 and no one cares4 ,a student well acquainted with the habits of the people in these matters says1 ',if they knew the author of a ditty1 they would not learn it1 far less if they discovered that it was a scholar's4' ,if the cadence takes their ear1 they consecrate the song at once by placing it upon the honoured list of 'ancient lays4' ,passing from lip to lip and from district to district1 it receives additions and alterations1 and becomes the property of a score of provinces4 ,meanwhile the poet from whose soul it blossomed that first morning like a flower1 remains contented with obscurity4 ,the wind has carried from his lips the thistledown of song1 and sown it on a hundred hills and meadows1 far and wide4 ,after such wise is the birth of all truly popular compositions4 ,who knows1 for instance1 the veritable author of many of those mighty ,german chorals which sprang into being at the period of the ,reformation8 ,the first inspiration was given1 probably1 to a single mind2 but the melody1 as it has reached us1 is the product of a thousand4 ,this accounts for the variations which in different dialects and districts the same song presents4 ,meanwhile1 it is sometimes possible to trace the authorship of a ballad with marked local character to an improvisatore famous in his village1 or to one of those professional rhymesters whom the country-folk employ in the composition of love-letters to their sweethearts at a distance4#be ,tommaseo1 in the preface to his ',canti ,popolari1' mentions in particular a ,beatrice di ,pian degli ,ontani1 whose poetry was famous through the mountains of ,pistoja2 and ,tigri records by name a little girl called ,cherubina1 who made rispetti by the dozen as she watched her sheep upon the hills4 ,one of the songs in his collection 7p4 #aha7 contains a direct reference to the village letter-writer3-- ,salutatemi1 bella1 lo scrivano2 ,non lo conosco e non so chi si sia4 ,a me mi pare un poeta sovrano1 ,tanto gli sperto nella poesia4#bf ,while ,i am writing thus about the production and dissemination of these love-songs1 ,i cannot help remembering three days and nights which ,i once spent at sea between ,genoa and ,palermo1 in the company of some conscripts who were going to join their regiment in ,sicily4 ,they were lads from the ,milanese and ,liguria1 and they spent a great portion of their time in composing and singing poetry4 ,one of them had a fine baritone voice2 and when the sun had set1 his comrades gathered round him and begged him to sing to them ',con quella patetica tua voce4' ,then followed hours of singing1 the low monotonous melodies of his ditties harmonising wonderfully with the tranquillity of night1 so clear and calm that the sky and all its stars were mirrored on the sea1 through which we moved as if in a dream4 ,sometimes the songs provoked conversation1 which1 as is usual in ,italy1 turned mostly upon 'le bellezze delle donne4' ,i remember that once an animated discussion about the relative merits of blondes and brunettes nearly ended in a quarrel1 when the youngest of the whole band1 a boy of about seventeen1 put a stop to the dispute by theatrically raising his eyes and arms to heaven and crying1 ',tu sei innamorato d' una grande ,diana cacciatrice nera1 ed io d' una bella ,venere bionda4' ,though they were but village lads1 they supported their several opinions with arguments not unworthy of ,firenzuola1 and showed the greatest delicacy of feeling in the treatment of a subject which could scarcely have failed to reveal any latent coarseness4 ,the purity of all the ,italian love-songs collected by ,tigri is very remarkable4#bg ,although the passion expressed in them is ,oriental in its vehemence1 not a word falls which could offend a virgin's ear4 ,the one desire of lovers is lifelong union in marriage4 ,the damo--for so a sweetheart is termed in ,tuscany--trembles until he has gained the approval of his future mother-in-law1 and forbids the girl he is courting to leave her house to talk to him at night3-- ,dice che tu t affacci alia finestra2 ,ma non t dice che tu vada fuora1 ,perch1 la notte1 cosa disonesta4 ,all the language of his love is respectful4 ,signore1 or master of my soul1 madonna1 anima mia1 dolce mio ben1 nobil persona1 are the terms of adoration with which he approaches his mistress4 ,the elevation of feeling and perfect breeding which ,manzoni has so well delineated in the loves of ,renzo and ,lucia are traditional among ,italian country-folk4 ,they are conscious that true gentleness is no matter of birth or fortune3-- ,e tu non mi lasciar per poverezza1 ,ch povert non guasta gentilezza4#bh ,this in itself constitutes an important element of culture1 and explains to some extent the high romantic qualities of their impassioned poetry4 ,the beauty of their land reveals still more4 ',o fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint6' ,virgil's exclamation is as true now as it was when he sang the labours of ,italian country-folk some nineteen centuries ago4 ,to a traveller from the north there is a pathos even in the contrast between the country in which these children of a happier climate toil1 and those bleak1 winter-beaten fields where our own peasants pass their lives4 ,the cold nights and warm days of ,tuscan springtime are like a ,swiss summer4 ,they make rich pasture and a hardy race of men4 ,tracts of corn and oats and rye alternate with patches of flax in full flower1 with meadows yellow with buttercups or pink with ragged robin2 the young vines1 running from bough to bough of elm and mulberry1 are just coming into leaf4 ,the poplars are fresh with bright green foliage4 ,on the verge of this blooming plain stand ancient cities ringed with hills1 some rising to snowy ,apennines1 some covered with white convents and sparkling with villas4 ,cypresses shoot1 black and spirelike1 amid grey clouds of olive-boughs upon the slopes2 and above1 where vegetation borders on the barren rock1 are masses of ilex and arbutus interspersed with chestnut-trees not yet in leaf4 ,men and women are everywhere at work1 ploughing with great white oxen1 or tilling the soil with spades six feet in length--,sabellian ligones4 ,the songs of nightingales among acacia-trees1 and the sharp scream of swallows wheeling in air1 mingle with the monotonous chant that always rises from the country-people at their toil4 ,here and there on points of vantage1 where the hill-slopes sink into the plain1 cluster white villages with flower-like campanili4 ,it is there that the veglia1 or evening rendezvous of lovers1 the serenades and balls and feste1 of which one hears so much in the popular minstrelsy1 take place4 ,of course it would not be difficult to paint the darker shades of this picture4 ,autumn comes1 when the contadini of ,lucca and ,siena and ,pistoja go forth to work in the unwholesome marshes of the ,maremma1 or of ,corsica and ,sardinia4 ,dismal superstitions and hereditary hatreds cast their blight over a life externally so fair4 ,the bad government of centuries has perverted in many ways the instincts of a people naturally mild and cheerful and peace-loving4 ,but as far as nature can make men happy1 these husbandmen are surely to be reckoned fortunate1 and in their songs we find little to remind us of what is otherwise than sunny in their lot4 ,a translator of these ,volkslieder has to contend with difficulties of no ordinary kind4 ,the freshness of their phrases1 the spontaneity of their sentiments1 and the melody of their unstudied cadences1 are inimitable4 ,so again is the peculiar effect of their frequent transitions from the most fanciful imagery to the language of prose4 ,no mere student can hope to rival1 far less to reproduce1 in a foreign tongue1 the charm of verse which sprang untaught from the hearts of simple folk1 which lives unwritten on the lips of lovers1 and which should never be dissociated from singing4#bi ,there are1 besides1 peculiarities in the very structure of the popular rispetto4 ,the constant repetition of the same phrase with slight variations1 especially in the closing lines of the ripresa of the ,tuscan rispetto1 gives an antique force and flavour to these ditties1 like that which we appreciate in our own ballads1 but which may easily1 in the translation1 degenerate into weakness and insipidity4 ,the ,tuscan rhymester1 again1 allows himself the utmost licence4 ,it is usual to find mere assonances like bene and piacere1 oro and volo1 ala and alata1 in the place of rhymes2 while such remote resemblances of sound as colli and poggi1 lascia and piazza1 are far from uncommon4 ,to match these rhymes by joining 'home' and 'alone1' 'time' and 'shine1' c1 would of course be a matter of no difficulty2 but it has seemed to me on the whole best to preserve1 with some exceptions1 such accuracy as the ,english ear requires4 ,i fear1 however1 that1 after all1 these wild-flowers of song1 transplanted to another climate and placed in a hothouse1 will appear but pale and hectic by the side of their robuster brethren of the ,tuscan hills4 ,in the following serenade many of the peculiarities which ,i have just noticed occur4 ,i have also adhered to the irregularity of rhyme which may be usually observed about the middle of the poem 7p4 #ajc73-- ,sleeping or waking1 thou sweet face1 ,lift up thy fair and tender brow3 ,list to thy love in this still place2 ,he calls thee to thy window now3 ,but bids thee not the house to quit1 ,since in the night this were not meet4 ,come to thy window1 stay within2 ,i stand without1 and sing and sing3 ,come to thy window1 stay at home2 ,i stand without1 and make my moan4 ,here is a serenade of a more impassioned character 7p4 #ii73-- ,i come to visit thee1 my beauteous queen1 ,thee and the house where thou art harboured3 ,all the long way upon my knees1 my queen1 ,i kiss the earth where'er thy footsteps tread4 ,i kiss the earth1 and gaze upon the wall1 ,whereby thou goest1 maid imperial6 ,i kiss the earth1 and gaze upon the house1 ,whereby thou farest1 queen most beauteous6 ,in the next the lover1 who has passed the whole night beneath his sweetheart's window1 takes leave at the break of day4 ,the feeling of the half-hour before dawn1 when the sound of bells rises to meet the growing light1 and both form a prelude to the glare and noise of day1 is expressed with much unconscious poetry 7p4 #aje73-- ,i see the dawn e'en now begin to peer3 ,therefore ,i take my leave1 and cease to sing1 ,see how the windows open far and near1 ,and hear the bells of morning1 how they ring6 ,through heaven and earth the sounds of ringing swell2 ,therefore1 bright jasmine flower1 sweet maid1 farewell6 ,through heaven and ,rome the sound of ringing goes2 ,farewell1 bright jasmine flower1 sweet maiden rose6 ,the next is more quaint 7p4 #ii73-- ,i come by night1 ,i come1 my soul aflame2 ,i come in this fair hour of your sweet sleep2 ,and should ,i wake you up1 it were a shame4 ,i cannot sleep1 and lo6 ,i break your sleep4 ,to wake you were a shame from your deep rest2 ,love never sleeps1 nor they whom ,love hath blest4 ,a very great many rispetti are simple panegyrics of the beloved1 to find similitude for whose beauty heaven and earth are ransacked4 ,the compliment of the first line in the following song is perfect 7p4 #bc73-- ,beauty was born with you1 fair maid3 ,the sun and moon inclined to you2 ,on you the snow her whiteness laid ,the rose her rich and radiant hue3 ,saint ,magdalen her hair unbound1 ,and ,cupid taught you how to wound-- ,how to wound hearts ,dan ,cupid taught3 ,your beauty drives me love-distraught4 ,the lady in the next was ,december's child 7p4 #be73-- ,o beauty1 born in winter's night1 ,born in the month of spotless snow3 ,your face is like a rose so bright2 ,your mother may be proud of you6 ,she may be proud1 lady of love1 ,such sunlight shines her house above3 ,she may be proud1 lady of heaven1 ,such sunlight to her home is given4 ,the sea wind is the source of beauty to another 7p4 #af73-- ,nay1 marvel not you are so fair2 ,for you beside the sea were born3 ,the sea-waves keep you fresh and fair1 ,like roses on their leafy thorn4 ,if roses grow on the rose-bush1 ,your roses through midwinter blush2 ,if roses bloom on the rose-bed1 ,your face can show both white and red4 ,the eyes of a fourth are compared1 after quite a new and original fashion1 to stars 7p4 #baj73-- ,the moon hath risen her plaint to lay ,before the face of ,love ,divine4 ,saying in heaven she will not stay1 ,since you have stolen what made her shine3 ,aloud she wails with sorrow wan1-- ,she told her stars and two are gone3 ,they are not there2 you have them now2 ,they are the eyes in your bright brow4 ,nor are girls less ready to praise their lovers1 but that they do not dwell so much on physical perfection4 ,here is a pleasant greeting 7p4 #abd73-- ,o welcome1 welcome1 lily white1 ,thou fairest youth of all the valley6 ,when ,i'm with you1 my soul is light2 ,i chase away dull melancholy4 ,i chase all sadness from my heart3 ,then welcome1 dearest that thou art6 ,i chase all sadness from my side3 ,then welcome1 ,o my love1 my pride6 ,i chase all sadness far away3 ,then welcome1 welcome1 love1 to-day6 ,the image of a lily is very prettily treated in the next 7p #gi73-- ,i planted a lily yestreen at my window2 ,i set it yestreen1 and to-day it sprang up3 ,when ,i opened the latch and leaned out of my window1 ,it shadowed my face with its beautiful cup4 ,o lily1 my lily1 how tall you are grown6 ,remember how dearly ,i loved you1 my own4 ,o lily1 my lily1 you'll grow to the sky6 ,remember ,i love you for ever and aye4 ,the same thought of love growing like a flower receives another turn 7p4 #fi73-- ,on yonder hill ,i saw a flower2 ,and1 could it thence be hither borne1 ,i'd plant it here within my bower1 ,and water it both eve and morn4 ,small water wants the stem so straight2 ',tis a love-lily stout as fate4 ,small water wants the root so strong3 ',tis a love-lily lasting long4 ,small water wants the flower so sheen3 ',tis a love-lily ever green4 ,envious tongues have told a girl that her complexion is not good4 ,she replies1 with imagery like that of ,virgil's ',alba ligustra cadunt1 vaccinia nigra leguntur' 7p4 #ca73-- ,think it no grief that ,i am brown1 ,for all brunettes are born to reign3 ,white is the snow1 yet trodden down2 ,black pepper kings need not disdain3 ,white snow lies mounded on the vales ,black pepper's weighed in brazen scales4 ,another song runs on the same subject 7p4 #ch73-- ,the whole world tells me that ,i'm brown1 ,the brown earth gives us goodly corn3 ,the clove-pink too1 however brown1 ,yet proudly in the hand 'tis borne4 ,they say my love is black1 but he ,shines like an angel-form to me3 ,they say my love is dark as night2 ,to me he seems a shape of light4 ,the freshness of the following spring song recalls the ballads of the ,val de ,vire in ,normandy 7p4 #he73-- ,it was the morning of the first of ,may1 ,into the close ,i went to pluck a flower2 ,and there ,i found a bird of woodland gay1 ,who whiled with songs of love the silent hour4 ,o bird1 who fliest from fair ,florence1 how ,dear love begins1 ,i prithee teach me now6-- ,love it begins with music and with song1 ,and ends with sorrow and with sighs ere long4 ,love at first sight is described 7p4 #gi73-- ,the very moment that we met1 ,that moment love began to beat3 ,one glance of love we gave1 and swore ,never to part for evermore2 ,we swore together1 sighing deep1 ,never to part till ,death's long sleep4 ,here too is a memory of the first days of love 7p4 #gi73-- ,if ,i remember1 it was ,may ,when love began between us two3 ,the roses in the close were gay1 ,the cherries blackened on the bough4 ,o cherries black and pears so green6 ,of maidens fair you are the queen4 ,fruit of black cherry and sweet pear6 ,of sweethearts you're the queen1 ,i swear4 ,the troth is plighted with such promises as these 7p4 #bcj73-- ,or ere ,i leave you1 love divine1 ,dead tongues shall stir and utter speech1 ,and running rivers flow with wine1 ,and fishes swim upon the beach2 ,or ere ,i leave or shun you1 these ,lemons shall grow on orange-trees4 ,the girl confesses her love after this fashion 7p4 #hf73-- ,passing across the billowy sea1 ,i let1 alas1 my poor heart fall2 ,i bade the sailors bring it me2 ,they said they had not seen it fall4 ,i asked the sailors1 one and two2 ,they said that ,i had given it you4 ,i asked the sailors1 two and three2 ,they said that ,i had given it thee4 ,it is not uncommon to speak of love as a sea4 ,here is a curious play upon this image 7p4 #bbg73-- ,ho1 ,cupid6 ,sailor ,cupid1 ho6 ,lend me awhile that bark of thine2 ,for on the billows ,i will go1 ,to find my love who once was mine3 ,and if ,i find her1 she shall wear ,a chain around her neck so fair1 ,around her neck a glittering bond1 ,four stars1 a lily1 a diamond4 ,it is also possible that the same thought may occur in the second line of the next ditty 7p4 #abj73-- ,beneath the earth ,i'll make a way ,to pass the sea and come to you4 ,people will think ,i'm gone away2 ,but1 dear1 ,i shall be seeing you4 ,people will say that ,i am dead2 ,but we'll pluck roses white and red3 ,people will think ,i'm lost for aye2 ,but we'll pluck roses1 you and ,i4 ,all the little daily incidents are beautified by love4 ,here is a lover who thanks the mason for making his window so close upon the road that he can see his sweetheart as she passes 7p4 #aah73-- ,blest be the mason's hand who built ,this house of mine by the roadside1 ,and made my window low and wide ,for me to watch my love go by4 ,and if ,i knew when she went by1 ,my window should be fairly gilt2 ,and if ,i knew what time she went1 ,my window should be flower-besprent4 ,here is a conceit which reminds one of the pretty epistle of ,philostratus1 in which the footsteps of the beloved are called ,greek3 erreismena philmpta 7p4 #aag73-- ,what time ,i see you passing by2 ,i sit and count the steps you take3 ,you take the steps2 ,i sit and sigh3 ,step after step1 my sighs awake4 ,tell me1 dear love1 which more abound1 ,my sighs or your steps on the ground8 ,tell me1 dear love1 which are the most1 ,your light steps or the sighs they cost8 ,a girl complains that she cannot see her lover's house 7p4 #aag73- ,i lean upon the lattice1 and look forth ,to see the house where my lover dwells4 ,there grows an envious tree that spoils my mirth3 ,cursed be the man who set it on these hills6 ,but when those jealous boughs are all unclad1 ,i then shall see the cottage of my lad3 ,when once that tree is rooted from the hills1 ,i'll see the house wherein my lover dwells4 ,in the same mood a girl who has just parted from her sweetheart is angry with the hill beyond which he is travelling 7p4 #afg73-- ,i see and see1 yet see not what ,i would3 ,i see the leaves atremble on the tree3 ,i saw my love where on the hill he stood1 ,yet see him not drop downward to the lea4 ,o traitor hill1 what will you do8 ,i ask him1 live or dead1 from you4 ,o traitor hill1 what shall it be8 ,i ask him1 live or dead1 from thee4 ,all the songs of love in absence are very quaint4 ,here is one which calls our nursery rhymes to mind 7p4 #aai73-- ,i would ,i were a bird so free1 ,that ,i had wings to fly away3 ,unto that window ,i would flee1 ,where stands my love and grinds all day4 ,grind1 miller1 grind2 the water's deep6 ,i cannot grind2 love makes me weep4 ,grind1 miller1 grind2 the waters flow6 ,i cannot grind2 love wastes me so4 ,the next begins after the same fashion1 but breaks into a very shower of benedictions 7p4 #aah73-- ,would ,god ,i were a swallow free1 ,that ,i had wings to fly away3 ,upon the miller's door ,i'd be1 ,where stands my love and grinds all day3 ,upon the door1 upon the sill1 ,where stays my love2--,god bless him still6 ,god bless my love1 and blessed be ,his house1 and bless my house for me2 ,yea1 blest be both1 and ever blest ,my lover's house1 and all the rest6 ,the girl alone at home in her garden sees a wood-dove flying by and calls to it 7p4 #agi73-- ,o dove1 who fliest far to yonder hill1 ,dear dove1 who in the rock hast made thy nest1 ,let me a feather from thy pinion pull1 ,for ,i will write to him who loves me best4 ,and when ,i've written it and made it clear1 ,i'll give thee back thy feather1 dove so dear3 ,and when ,i've written it and sealed it1 then ,i'll give thee back thy feather love-laden4 ,a swallow is asked to lend the same kind service 7p4 #agi73-- ,o swallow1 swallow1 flying through the air1 ,turn1 turn1 ,i prithee1 from thy flight above6 ,give me one feather from thy wing so fair1 ,for ,i will write a letter to my love4 ,when ,i have written it and made it clear1 ,i'll give thee back thy feather1 swallow dear2 ,when ,i have written it on paper white1 ,i'll make1 ,i swear1 thy missing feather right2 ,when once 'tis written on fair leaves of gold1 ,i'll give thee back thy wing and flight so bold4 ,long before ,tennyson's song in the ',princess1' it would seem that swallows were favourite messengers of love4 ,in the next song which ,i translate1 the repetition of one thought with delicate variation is full of character 7p4 #agh73-- ,o swallow1 flying over hill and plain1 ,if thou shouldst find my love1 oh bid him come6 ,and tell him1 on these mountains ,i remain ,even as a lamb who cannot find her home3 ,and tell him1 ,i am left all1 all alone1 ,even as a tree whose flowers are overblown3 ,and tell him1 ,i am left without a mate ,even as a tree whose boughs are desolate3 ,and tell him1 ,i am left uncomforted ,even as the grass upon the meadows dead4 ,the following is spoken by a girl who has been watching the lads of the village returning from their autumn service in the plain1 and whose damo comes the last of all 7p4 #bdj73-- ,o dear my love1 you come too late6 ,what found you by the way to do8 ,i saw your comrades pass the gate1 ,but yet not you1 dear heart1 not you6 ,if but a little more you'd stayed1 ,with sighs you would have found me dead2 ,if but a while you'd keep me crying1 ,with sighs you would have found me dying4 ,the amantium irae find a place too in these rustic ditties4 ,a girl explains to her sweetheart 7p4 #bdj73-- ',twas told me and vouchsafed for true1 ,your kin are wroth as wroth can be2 ,for loving me they swear at you1 ,they swear at you because of me2 ,your father1 mother1 all your folk1 ,because you love me1 chafe and choke6 ,then set your kith and kin at ease2 ,set them at ease and let me die3 ,set the whole clan of them at ease2 ,set them at ease and see me die6 ,another suspects that her damo has paid his suit to a rival 7p4 #bjj73-- ,on ,sunday morning well ,i knew ,where gaily dressed you turned your feet2 ,and there were many saw it too1 ,and came to tell me through the street3 ,and when they spoke1 ,i smiled1 ah me6 ,but in my room wept privately2 ,and when they spoke1 ,i sang for pride1 ,but in my room alone ,i sighed4 ,then come reconciliations 7p4 #bbc73-- ,let us make peace1 my love1 my bliss6 ,for cruel strife can last no more4 ,if you say nay1 yet ,i say yes3 ',twixt me and you there is no war4 ,princes and mighty lords make peace2 ,and so may lovers twain1 ,i wis3 ,princes and soldiers sign a truce2 ,and so may two sweethearts like us3 ,princes and potentates agree2 ,and so may friends like you and me4 ,there is much character about the following1 which is spoken by the damo 7p4 #bbc73-- ,as yonder mountain height ,i trod1 ,i chanced to think of your dear name2 ,i knelt with clasped hands on the sod1 ,and thought of my neglect with shame3 ,i knelt upon the stone1 and swore ,our love should bloom as heretofore4 ,sometimes the language of affection takes a more imaginative tone1 as in the following 7p4 #bcb73-- ,dearest1 what time you mount to heaven above1 ,i'll meet you holding in my hand my heart3 ,you to your breast shall clasp me full of love1 ,and ,i will lead you to our ,lord apart4 ,our ,lord1 when he our love so true hath known1 ,shall make of our two hearts one heart alone2 ,one heart shall make of our two hearts1 to rest ,in heaven amid the splendours of the blest4 ,this was the woman's4 ,here is the man's 7p4 #aac73-- ,if ,i were master of all loveliness1 ,i'd make thee still more lovely than thou art3 ,if ,i were master of all wealthiness1 ,much gold and silver should be thine1 sweetheart3 ,if ,i were master of the house of hell1 ,i'd bar the brazen gates in thy sweet face2 ,or ruled the place where purging spirits dwell1 ,i'd free thee from that punishment apace4 ,were ,i in paradise and thou shouldst come1 ,i'd stand aside1 my love1 to make thee room2 ,were ,i in paradise1 well seated there1 ,i'd quit my place to give it thee1 my fair6 ,sometimes1 but very rarely1 weird images are sought to clothe passion1 as in the following 7p4 #acf73-- ,down into hell ,i went and thence returned3 ,ah me6 alas6 the people that were there6 ,i found a room where many candles burned1 ,and saw within my love that languished there4 ,when as she saw me1 she was glad of cheer1 ,and at the last she said3 ,sweet soul of mine2 ,dost thou recall the time long past1 so dear1 ,when thou didst say to me1 ,sweet soul of mine8 ,now kiss me on the mouth1 my dearest1 here2 ,kiss me that ,i for once may cease to pine6 ,so sweet1 ah me1 is thy dear mouth1 so dear1 ,that of thy mercy prithee sweeten mine6 ,now1 love1 that thou hast kissed me1 now1 ,i say1 ,look not to leave this place again for aye4 ,or again in this 7p4 #bcb73-- ,methinks ,i hear1 ,i hear a voice that cries3 ,beyond the hill it floats upon the air4 ,it is my lover come to bid me rise1 ,if ,i am fain forthwith toward heaven to fare4 ,but ,i have answered him1 and said him ,no6 ,i've given my paradise1 my heaven1 for you3 ,till we together go to paradise1 ,i'll stay on earth and love your beauteous eyes4 ,but it is not with such remote and eerie thoughts that the rustic muse of ,italy can deal successfully4 ,far better is the following half-playful description of love-sadness 7p4 #ga73-- ,ah me1 alas6 who know not how to sigh6 ,of sighs ,i now full well have learned the art3 ,sighing at table when to eat ,i try1 ,sighing within my little room apart1 ,sighing when jests and laughter round me fly1 ,sighing with her and her who know my heart3 ,i sigh at first1 and then ,i go on sighing2 ',tis for your eyes that ,i am ever sighing3 ,i sigh at first1 and sigh the whole year through2 ,and 'tis your eyes that keep me sighing so4 ,the next two rispetti1 delicious in their navet1 might seem to have been extracted from the libretto of an opera1 but that they lack the sympathising chorus1 who should have stood at hand1 ready to chime in with 'he1' 'she1' and 'they1' to the ',i1' 'you1' and 'we' of the lovers 7p4 #abc73-- ,ah1 when will dawn that glorious day ,when you will softly mount my stair8 ,my kin shall bring you on the way2 ,i shall be first to greet you there4 ,ah1 when will dawn that day of bliss ,when we before the priest say ,yes8 ,ah1 when will dawn that blissful day ,when ,i shall softly mount your stair1 ,your brothers meet me on the way1 ,and one by one ,i greet them there8 ,when comes the day1 my staff1 my strength1 ,to call your mother mine at length8 ,when will the day come1 love of mine1 ,i shall be yours and you be mine8 ,hitherto the songs have told only of happy love1 or of love returned4 ,some of the best1 however1 are unhappy4 ,here is one1 for instance1 steeped in gloom 7p4 #adb73-- ,they have this custom in fair ,naples town2 ,they never mourn a man when he is dead3 ,the mother weeps when she has reared a son ,to be a serf and slave by love misled2 ,the mother weeps when she a son hath born ,to be the serf and slave of galley scorn2 ,the mother weeps when she a son gives suck ,to be the serf and slave of city luck4 ,the following contains a fine wild image1 wrought out with strange passion in detail 7p4 #cjj73-- ,i'll spread a table brave for revelry1 ,and to the feast will bid sad lovers all4 ,for meat ,i'll give them my heart's misery2 ,for drink ,i'll give these briny tears that fall4 ,sorrows and sighs shall be the varletry1 ,to serve the lovers at this festival3 ,the table shall be death1 black death profound2 ,weep1 stones1 and utter sighs1 ye walls around6 ,the table shall be death1 yea1 sacred death2 ,weep1 stones1 and sigh as one that sorroweth6 ,nor is the next a whit less in the vein of mad ,jeronimo 7p4 #cjd73-- ,high up1 high up1 a house ,i'll rear1 ,high up1 high up1 on yonder height2 ,at every window set a snare1 ,with treason1 to betray the night2 ,with treason1 to betray the stars1 ,since ,i'm betrayed by my false feres2 ,with treason1 to betray the day1 ,since ,love betrayed me1 well away6 ,the vengeance of an ,italian reveals itself in the energetic song which ,i quote next 7p4 #cjc73-- ,i have a sword2 'twould cut a brazen bell1 ,tough steel 'twould cut1 if there were any need3 ,i've had it tempered in the streams of hell ,by masters mighty in the mystic rede3 ,i've had it tempered by the light of stars2 ,then let him come whose skin is stout as ,mars2 ,i've had it tempered to a trenchant blade2 ,then let him come who stole from me my maid4 ,more mild1 but brimful of the bitterness of a soul to whom the whole world has become but ashes in the death of love1 is the following lament 7p4 #adc73-- ,call me the lovely ,golden ,locks no more1 ,but call me ,sad ,maid of the golden hair4 ,if there be wretched women1 sure ,i think ,i too may rank among the most forlorn4 ,i fling a palm into the sea2 'twill sink3 ,others throw lead1 and it is lightly borne4 ,what have ,i done1 dear ,lord1 the world to cross8 ,gold in my hand forthwith is turned to dross4 ,how have ,i made1 dear ,lord1 dame ,fortune wroth8 ,gold in my hand forthwith is turned to froth4 ,what have ,i done1 dear ,lord1 to fret the folk8 ,gold in my hand forthwith is turned to smoke4 ,here is pathos 7p4 #agb73-- ,the wood-dove who hath lost her mate1 ,she lives a dolorous life1 ,i ween2 ,she seeks a stream and bathes in it1 ,and drinks that water foul and green3 ,with other birds she will not mate1 ,nor haunt1 ,i wis1 the flowery treen2 ,she bathes her wings and strikes her breast2 ,her mate is lost3 oh1 sore unrest6 ,and here is fanciful despair 7p4 #afh73-- ,i'll build a house of sobs and sighs1 ,with tears the lime ,i'll slack2 ,and there ,i'll dwell with weeping eyes ,until my love come back3 ,and there ,i'll stay with eyes that burn ,until ,i see my love return4 ,the house of love has been deserted1 and the lover comes to moan beneath its silent eaves 7p4 #aga73-- ,dark house and window desolate6 ,where is the sun which shone so fair8 ',twas here we danced and laughed at fate3 ,now the stones weep2 ,i see them there4 ,they weep1 and feel a grievous chill3 ,dark house and widowed window-sill6 ,and what can be more piteous than this prayer8 7p4 #hji73-- ,love1 if you love me1 delve a tomb1 ,and lay me there the earth beneath2 ,after a year1 come see my bones1 ,and make them dice to play therewith4 ,but when you're tired of that game1 ,then throw those dice into the flame2 ,but when you're tired of gaming free1 ,then throw those dice into the sea4 ,the simpler expression of sorrow to the death is1 as usual1 more impressive4 ,a girl speaks thus within sight of the grave 7p4 #hjh73-- ,yes1 ,i shall die3 what wilt thou gain8 ,the cross before my bier will go2 ,and thou wilt hear the bells complain1 ,the ,misereres loud and low4 ,midmost the church thou'lt see me lie ,with folded hands and frozen eye2 ,then say at last1 ,i do repent6-- ,nought else remains when fires are spent4 ,here is a rustic ,oenone 7p4 #cjg73-- ,fell death1 that fliest fraught with woe6 ,thy gloomy snares the world ensphere3 ,where no man calls1 thou lov'st to go2 ,but when we call1 thou wilt not hear4 ,fell death1 false death of treachery1 ,thou makest all content but me4 ,another is less reproachful1 but scarcely less sad 7p4 #cjh73-- ,strew me with blossoms when ,i die1 ,nor lay me 'neath the earth below2 ,beyond those walls1 there let me lie1 ,where oftentimes we used to go4 ,there lay me to the wind and rain2 ,dying for you1 ,i feel no pain3 ,there lay me to the sun above2 ,dying for you1 ,i die of love4 ,yet another of these pitiful love-wailings displays much poetry of expression 7p4 #bga73-- ,i dug the sea1 and delved the barren sand3 ,i wrote with dust and gave it to the wind3 ,of melting snow1 false ,love1 was made thy band1 ,which suddenly the day's bright beams unbind4 ,now am ,i ware1 and know my own mistake-- ,how false are all the promises you make2 ,now am ,i ware1 and know the fact1 ah me6 ,that who confides in you1 deceived will be4 ,it would scarcely be well to pause upon these very doleful ditties4 ,take1 then1 the following little serenade1 in which the lover on his way to visit his mistress has unconsciously fallen on the same thought as ,bion 7p4 #he73-- ,yestreen ,i went my love to greet1 ,by yonder village path below3 ,night in a coppice found my feet2 ,i called the moon her light to show-- ,o moon1 who needs no flame to fire thy face1 ,look forth and lend me light a little space6 ,enough has been quoted to illustrate the character of the ,tuscan popular poetry4 ,these village rispetti bear the same relation to the canzoniere of ,petrarch as the 'savage drupe' to the 'suave plum4' ,they are1 as it were1 the wild stock of that highly artificial flower of art4 ,herein lies1 perhaps1 their chief importance4 ,as in our ballad literature we may discern the stuff of the ,elizabethan drama undeveloped1 so in the ,tuscan people's songs we can trace the crude form of that poetic instinct which produced the sonnets to ,laura4 ,it is also very probable that some such rustic minstrelsy preceded the ,idylls of ,theocritus and the ,bucolics of ,virgil2 for coincidences of thought and imagery1 which can scarcely be referred to any conscious study of the ancients1 are not a few4 ,popular poetry has this great value for the student of literature3 it enables him to trace those forms of fancy and of feeling which are native to the people1 and which must ultimately determine the character of national art1 however much that may be modified by culture4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,popular ,,italian ,,poetry ,,of ,,the ,,renaissance ,the semi-popular poetry of the ,italians in the fifteenth century formed an important branch of their national literature1 and flourished independently of the courtly and scholastic studies which gave a special character to the golden age of the revival4 ,while the latter tended to separate the people from the cultivated classes1 the former established a new link of connection between them1 different indeed from that which existed when smiths and carters repeated the ,canzoni of ,dante by heart in the fourteenth century1 but still sufficiently real to exercise a weighty influence over the national development4 ,scholars like ,angelo ,poliziano1 princes like ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 men of letters like ,feo ,belcari and ,benivieni1 borrowed from the people forms of poetry1 which they handled with refined taste1 and appropriated to the uses of polite literature4 ,the most important of these forms1 native to the people but assimilated by the learned classes1 were the ,miracle ,play or ',sacra ,rappresentazione2' the ',ballata' or lyric to be sung while dancing2 the ',canto ,carnascialesco' or ,carnival ,chorus2 the ',rispetto' or short love-ditty2 the ',lauda' or hymn2 the ',maggio' or ,may-song2 and the ',madrigale' or little part-song4 ,at ,florence1 where even under the despotism of the ,medici a show of republican life still lingered1 all classes joined in the amusements of carnival and spring time2 and this poetry of the dance1 the pageant1 and the villa flourished side by side with the more serious efforts of the humanistic muse4 ,it is not my purpose in this place to inquire into the origins of each lyrical type1 to discuss the alterations they may have undergone at the hands of educated versifiers1 or to define their several characteristics2 but only to offer translations of such as seem to me best suited to represent the genius of the people and the age4 ,in the composition of the poetry in question1 ,angelo ,poliziano was indubitably the most successful4 ,this giant of learning1 who filled the lecture-rooms of ,florence with students of all nations1 and whose critical and rhetorical labours marked an epoch in the history of scholarship1 was by temperament a poet1 and a poet of the people4 ,nothing was easier for him than to throw aside his professor's mantle1 and to improvise ',ballate' for the girls to sing as they danced their ',carola' upon the ,piazza di ,santa ,trinit in summer evenings4 ,the peculiarity of this lyric is that it starts with a couplet1 which also serves as refrain1 supplying the rhyme to each successive stanza4 ,the stanza itself is identical with our rime royal1 if we count the couplet in the place of the seventh line4 ,the form is in itself so graceful and is so beautifully treated by ,poliziano that ,i cannot content myself with fewer than four of his ,ballate4#cj ,the first is written on the world-old theme of ',gather ye rosebuds while ye may4' ,i went a roaming1 maidens1 one bright day1 ,in a green garden in mid month of ,may4 ,violets and lilies grew on every side ,mid the green grass1 and young flowers wonderful1 ,golden and white and red and azure-eyed2 ,toward which ,i stretched my hands1 eager to pull ,plenty to make my fair curls beautiful1 ,to crown my rippling curls with garlands gay4 ,i went a roaming1 maidens1 one bright day1 ,in a green garden in mid month of ,may4 ,but when my lap was full of flowers ,i spied ,roses at last1 roses of every hue2 ,therefore ,i ran to pluck their ruddy pride1 ,because their perfume was so sweet and true ,that all my soul went forth with pleasure new1 ,with yearning and desire too soft to say4 ,i went a roaming1 maidens1 one bright day1 ,in a green garden in mid month of ,may4 ,i gazed and gazed4 ,hard task it were to tell ,how lovely were the roses in that hour3 ,one was but peeping from her verdant shell1 ,and some were faded1 some were scarce in flower3 ,then ,love said3 ,go1 pluck from the blooming bower ,those that thou seest ripe upon the spray4 ,i went a roaming1 maidens1 one bright day1 ,in a green garden in mid month of ,may4 ,for when the full rose quits her tender sheath1 ,when she is sweetest and most fair to see1 ,then is the time to place her in thy wreath1 ,before her beauty and her freshness flee4 ,gather ye therefore roses with great glee1 ,sweet girls1 or ere their perfume pass away4 ,i went a roaming1 maidens1 one bright day1 ,in a green garden in mid month of ,may4 ,the next ,ballata is less simple1 but is composed with the same intention4 ,it may here be parenthetically mentioned that the courtly poet1 when he applied himself to this species of composition1 invented a certain rusticity of incident1 scarcely in keeping with the spirit of his art4 ,it was in fact a conventional feature of this species of verse that the scene should be laid in the country1 where the burgher1 on a visit to his villa1 is supposed to meet with a rustic beauty who captivates his eyes and heart4 ,guido ,cavalcanti1 in his celebrated ,ballata1 ',in un boschetto trovai pastorella1' struck the keynote of this music1 which1 it may be reasonably conjectured1 was imported into ,italy through ,provenal literature from the pastorals of ,northern ,france4 ,the lady so quaintly imaged by a bird in the following ,ballata of ,poliziano is supposed to have been ,monna ,ippolita ,leoncina of ,prato1 white-throated1 golden-haired1 and dressed in crimson silk4 ,i found myself one day all1 all alone1 ,for pastime in a field with blossoms strewn4 ,i do not think the world a field could show ,with herbs of perfume so surpassing rare2 ,but when ,i passed beyond the green hedge-row1 ,a thousand flowers around me flourished fair1 ,white1 pied and crimson1 in the summer air2 ,among the which ,i heard a sweet bird's tone4 ,i found myself one day all1 all alone1 ,for pastime in a field with blossoms strewn4 ,her song it was so tender and so clear ,that all the world listened with love2 then ,i ,with stealthy feet a-tiptoe drawing near1 ,her golden head and golden wings could spy1 ,her plumes that flashed like rubies 'neath the sky1 ,her crystal beak and throat and bosom's zone4 ,i found myself one day all1 all alone1 ,for pastime in a field with blossoms strewn4 ,fain would ,i snare her1 smit with mighty love2 ,but arrow-like she soared1 and through the air ,fled to her nest upon the boughs above2 ,wherefore to follow her is all my care1 ,for haply ,i might lure her by some snare ,forth from the woodland wild where she is flown4 ,i found myself one day all1 all alone1 ,for pastime in a field with blossoms strewn4 ,yea1 ,i might spread some net or woven wile2 ,but since of singing she doth take such pleasure1 ,without or other art or other guile ,i seek to win her with a tuneful measure2 ,therefore in singing spend ,i all my leisure1 ,to make by singing this sweet bird my own4 ,i found myself one day all1 all alone1 ,for pastime in a field with blossoms strewn4 ,the same lady is more directly celebrated in the next ,ballata1 where ,poliziano calls her by her name1 ,ippolita4 ,i have taken the liberty of substituting ,myrrha for this somewhat unmanageable word4 ,he who knows not what thing is ,paradise1 ,let him look fixedly on ,myrrha's eyes4 ,from ,myrrha's eyes there flieth1 girt with fire1 ,an angel of our lord1 a laughing boy1 ,who lights in frozen hearts a flaming pyre1 ,and with such sweetness doth the soul destroy1 ,that while it dies1 it murmurs forth its joy2 ,oh blessed am ,i to dwell in ,paradise6 ,he who knows not what thing is ,paradise1 ,let him look fixedly on ,myrrha's eyes4 ,from ,myrrha's eyes a virtue still doth move1 ,so swift and with so fierce and strong a flight1 ,that it is like the lightning of high ,jove1 ,riving of iron and adamant the might2 ,nathless the wound doth carry such delight ,that he who suffers dwells in ,paradise4 ,he who knows not what thing is ,paradise1 ,let him look fixedly on ,myrrha's eyes4 ,from ,myrrha's eyes a lovely messenger ,of joy so grave1 so virtuous1 doth flee1 ,that all proud souls are bound to bend to her2 ,so sweet her countenance1 it turns the key ,of hard hearts locked in cold security3 ,forth flies the prisoned soul to ,paradise4 ,he who knows not what thing is ,paradise1 ,let him look fixedly on ,myrrha's eyes4 ,in ,myrrha's eyes beauty doth make her throne1 ,and sweetly smile and sweetly speak her mind3 ,such grace in her fair eyes a man hath known ,as in the whole wide world he scarce may find3 ,yet if she slay him with a glance too kind1 ,he lives again beneath her gazing eyes4 ,he who knows not what thing is ,paradise1 ,let him look fixedly on ,myrrha's eyes4 ,the fourth ,ballata sets forth the fifteenth-century ,italian code of love1 the code of the ,novelle1 very different in its avowed laxity from the high ideal of the trecentisti poets4 ,i ask no pardon if ,i follow ,love2 ,since every gentle heart is thrall thereof4 ,from those who feel the fire ,i feel1 what use ,is there in asking pardon8 ,these are so ,gentle1 kind-hearted1 tender1 piteous1 ,that they will have compassion1 well ,i know4 ,from such as never felt that honeyed woe1 ,i seek no pardon3 nought they know of ,love4 ,i ask no pardon if ,i follow ,love2 ,since every gentle heart is thrall thereof4 ,honour1 pure love1 and perfect gentleness1 ,weighed in the scales of equity refined1 ,are but one thing3 beauty is nought or less1 ,placed in a dame of proud and scornful mind4 ,who can rebuke me then if ,i am kind ,so far as honesty comports and ,love8 ,i ask no pardon if ,i follow ,love2 ,since every gentle heart is thrall thereof4 ,let him rebuke me whose hard heart of stone ,ne'er felt of ,love the summer in his vein6 ,i pray to ,love that who hath never known ,love's power1 may ne'er be blessed with ,love's great gain2 ,but he who serves our lord with might and main1 ,may dwell for ever in the fire of ,love6 ,i ask no pardon if ,i follow ,love2 ,since every gentle heart is thrall thereof4 ,let him rebuke me without cause who will2 ,for if he be not gentle1 ,i fear nought3 ,my heart obedient to the same love still ,hath little heed of light words envy-fraught3 ,so long as life remains1 it is my thought ,to keep the laws of this so gentle ,love4 ,i ask no pardon if ,i follow ,love2 ,since every gentle heart is thrall thereof4 ,this ,ballata is put into a woman's mouth4 ,another1 ascribed to ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 expresses the sadness of a man who has lost the favour of his lady4 ,it illustrates the well-known use of the word ,signore for mistress in ,florentine poetry4 ,how can ,i sing light-souled and fancy-free1 ,when my loved lord no longer smiles on me8 ,dances and songs and merry wakes ,i leave ,to lovers fair1 more fortunate and gay2 ,since to my heart so many sorrows cleave ,that only doleful tears are mine for aye3 ,who hath heart's ease1 may carol1 dance1 and play ,while ,i am fain to weep continually4 ,how can ,i sing light-souled and fancy-free1 ,when my loved lord no longer smiles on me8 ,i too had heart's ease once1 for so ,love willed1 ,when my lord loved me with love strong and great3 ,but envious fortune my life's music stilled1 ,and turned to sadness all my gleeful state4 ,ah me6 ,death surely were less desolate ,than thus to live and love-neglected be6 ,how can ,i sing light-souled and fancy-free1 ,when my loved lord no longer smiles on me8 ,one only comfort soothes my heart's despair1 ,and mid this sorrow lends my soul some cheer2 ,unto my lord ,i ever yielded fair ,service of faith untainted pure and clear2 ,if then ,i die thus guiltless1 on my bier ,it may be she will shed one tear for me4 ,how can ,i sing light-souled and fancy-free1 ,when my loved lord no longer smiles on me8 ,the ,florentine ,rispetto was written for the most part in octave stanzas1 detached or continuous4 ,the octave stanza in ,italian literature was an emphatically popular form2 and it is still largely used in many parts of the peninsula for the lyrical expression of emotion4#ca ,poliziano did no more than treat it with his own facility1 sacrificing the unstudied raciness of his popular models to literary elegance4 ,here are a few of these detached stanzas or ,rispetti ,spicciolati3-- ,upon that day when first ,i saw thy face1 ,i vowed with loyal love to worship thee4 ,move1 and ,i move2 stay1 and ,i keep my place3 ,whate'er thou dost1 will ,i do equally4 ,in joy of thine ,i find most perfect grace1 ,and in thy sadness dwells my misery3 ,laugh1 and ,i laugh2 weep1 and ,i too will weep4 ,thus ,love commands1 whose laws ,i loving keep4 ,nay1 be not over-proud of thy great grace1 ,lady6 for brief time is thy thief and mine4 ,white will he turn those golden curls1 that lace ,thy forehead and thy neck so marble-fine4 ,lo6 while the flower still flourisheth apace1 ,pluck it3 for beauty but awhile doth shine4 ,fair is the rose at dawn2 but long ere night ,her freshness fades1 her pride hath vanished quite4 ,fire1 fire6 ,ho1 water6 for my heart's afire6 ,ho1 neighbours6 help me1 or by ,god ,i die6 ,see1 with his standard1 that great lord1 ,desire6 ,he sets my heart aflame3 in vain ,i cry4 ,too late1 alas6 ,the flames mount high and higher4 ,alack1 good friends6 ,i faint1 ,i fail1 ,i die4 ,ho6 water1 neighbours mine6 no more delay ,i ,my heart's a cinder if you do but stay4 ,lo1 may ,i prove to ,christ a renegade1 ,and1 dog-like1 die in pagan ,barbary2 ,nor may ,god's mercy on my soul be laid1 ,if ere for aught ,i shall abandon thee3 ,before all-seeing ,god this prayer be made-- ,when ,i desert thee1 may death feed on me3 ,now if thy hard heart scorn these vows1 be sure ,that without faith none may abide secure4 ,i ask not1 ,love1 for any other pain ,to make thy cruel foe and mine repent1 ,only that thou shouldst yield her to the strain ,of these my arms1 alone1 for chastisement2 ,then would ,i clasp her so with might and main1 ,that she should learn to pity and relent1 ,and1 in revenge for scorn and proud despite1 ,a thousand times ,i'd kiss her forehead white4 ,not always do fierce tempests vex the sea1 ,nor always clinging clouds offend the sky2 ,cold snows before the sunbeams haste to flee1 ,disclosing flowers that 'neath their whiteness lie2 ,the saints each one doth wait his day to see1 ,and time makes all things change2 so1 therefore1 ,i ,ween that 'tis wise to wait my turn1 and say1 ,that who subdues himself1 deserves to sway4 ,it will be observed that the tone of these poems is not passionate nor elevated4 ,love1 as understood in ,florence of the fifteenth century1 was neither2 nor was ,poliziano the man to have revived ,platonic mysteries or chivalrous enthusiasms4 ,when the octave stanzas1 written with this amorous intention1 were strung together into a continuous poem1 this form of verse took the title of ,rispetto ,gontinuato4 ,in the collection of ,poliziano's poems there are several examples of the long ,rispetto1 carelessly enough composed1 as may be gathered from the recurrence of the same stanzas in several poems4 ,all repeat the old arguments1 the old enticements to a less than lawful love4 ,the one which ,i have chosen for translation1 styled ,serenata ovvero ,lettera in ,istrambotti1 might be selected as an epitome of ,florentine convention in the matter of love-making4 ,o thou of fairest fairs the first and queen1 ,most courteous1 kind1 and honourable dame1 ,thine ear unto thy servant's singing lean1 ,who loves thee more than health1 or wealth1 or fame2 ,for thou his shining planet still hast been1 ,and day and night he calls on thy fair name3 ,first wishing thee all good the world can give1 ,next praying in thy gentle thoughts to live4 ,he humbly prayeth that thou shouldst be kind ,to think upon his pure and perfect faith1 ,and that such mercy in thy heart and mind ,should reign1 as so much beauty argueth3 ,a thousand1 thousand hints1 or he were blind1 ,of thy great courtesy he reckoneth3 ,wherefore thy loyal subject now doth sue ,such guerdon only as shall prove them true4 ,he knows himself unmeet for love from thee1 ,unmeet for merely gazing on thine eyes2 ,seeing thy comely squires so plenteous be1 ,that there is none but 'neath thy beauty sighs3 ,yet since thou seekest fame and bravery1 ,nor carest aught for gauds that others prize1 ,and since he strives to honour thee alway1 ,he still hath hope to gain thy heart one day4 ,virtue that dwells untold1 unknown1 unseen1 ,still findeth none to love or value it2 ,wherefore his faith1 that hath so perfect been1 ,not being known1 can profit him no whit3 ,he would find pity in thine eyes1 ,i ween1 ,if thou shouldst deign to make some proof of it2 ,the rest may flatter1 gape1 and stand agaze2 ,him only faith above the crowd doth raise4 ,suppose that he might meet thee once alone1 ,face unto face1 without or jealousy1 ,or doubt or fear from false misgiving grown1 ,and tell his tale of grievous pain to thee1 ,sure from thy breast he'd draw full many a moan4 ,and make thy fair eyes weep right plenteously3 ,yea1 if he had but skill his heart to show1 ,he scarce could fail to win thee by its woe4 ,now art thou in thy beauty's blooming hour2 ,thy youth is yet in pure perfection's prime3 ,make it thy pride to yield thy fragile flower1 ,or look to find it paled by envious time3 ,for none to stay the flight of years hath power1 ,and who culls roses caught by frosty rime8 ,give therefore to thy lover1 give1 for they ,too late repent who act not while they may4 ,time flies3 and lo6 thou let'st it idly fly3 ,there is not in the world a thing more dear2 ,and if thou wait to see sweet ,may pass by1 ,where find'st thou roses in the later year8 ,he never can1 who lets occasion die3 ,now that thou canst1 stay not for doubt or fear2 ,but by the forelock take the flying hour1 ,ere change begins1 and clouds above thee lower4 ,too long 'twixt yea and nay he hath been wrung2 ,whether he sleep or wake he little knows1 ,or free or in the bands of bondage strung3 ,nay1 lady1 strike1 and let thy lover loose6 ,what joy hast thou to keep a captive hung8 ,kill him at once1 or cut the cruel noose3 ,no more1 ,i prithee1 stay2 but take thy part3 ,either relax the bow1 or speed the dart4 ,thou feedest him on words and windiness1 ,on smiles1 and signs1 and bladders light as air2 ,saying1 thou fain wouldst comfort his distress1 ,but dar'st not1 canst not3 nay1 dear lady fair1 ,all things are possible beneath the stress ,of will1 that flames above the soul's despair6 ,dally no longer3 up1 set to thy hand2 ,or see his love unclothed and naked stand4 ,for he hath sworn1 and by this oath will bide1 ,e'en though his life be lost in the endeavour1 ,to leave no way1 nor art1 nor wile untried1 ,until he pluck the fruit he sighs for ever3 ,and1 though he still would spare thy honest pride1 ,the knot that binds him he must loose or sever2 ,thou too1 ,o lady1 shouldst make sharp thy knife1 ,if thou art fain to end this amorous strife4 ,lo6 if thou lingerest still in dubious dread1 ,lest thou shouldst lose fair fame of honesty1 ,here hast thou need of wile and warihead1 ,to test thy lover's strength in screening thee2 ,indulge him1 if thou find him well bestead1 ,knowing that smothered love flames outwardly3 ,therefore1 seek means1 search out some privy way2 ,keep not the steed too long at idle play4 ,or if thou heedest what those friars teach1 ,i cannot fail1 lady1 to call thee fool3 ,well may they blame our private sins and preach2 ,but ill their acts match with their spoken rule2 ,the same pitch clings to all men1 one and each4 ,there1 ,i have spoken3 set the world to school ,with this true proverb1 too1 be well acquainted ,the devil's ne'er so black as he is painted4 ,nor did our good ,lord give such grace to thee ,that thou shouldst keep it buried in thy breast1 ,but to reward thy servant's constancy1 ,whose love and loyal faith thou hast repressed3 ,think it no sin to be some trifle free1 ,because thou livest at a lord's behest2 ,for if he take enough to feed his fill1 ,to cast the rest away were surely ill4 ,they find most favour in the sight of heaven ,who to the poor and hungry are most kind2 ,a hundred-fold shall thus to thee be given ,by ,god1 who loves the free and generous mind2 ,thrice strike thy breast1 with pure contrition riven1 ,crying3 ,i sinned2 my sin hath made me blind6-- ,he wants not much3 enough if he be able ,to pick up crumbs that fall beneath thy table4 ,wherefore1 ,o lady1 break the ice at length2 ,make thou1 too1 trial of love's fruits and flowers3 ,when in thine arms thou feel'st thy lover's strength1 ,thou wilt repent of all these wasted hours2 ,husbands1 they know not love1 its breadth and length1 ,seeing their hearts are not on fire like ours3 ,things longed for give most pleasure2 this ,i tell thee3 ,if still thou doubtest let the proof compel thee4 ,what ,i have spoken is pure gospel sooth2 ,i have told all my mind1 withholding nought3 ,and well1 ,i ween1 thou canst unhusk the truth1 ,and through the riddle read the hidden thought3 ,perchance if heaven still smile upon my youth1 ,some good effect for me may yet be wrought3 ,then fare thee well2 too many words offend3 ,she who is wise is quick to comprehend4 ,the levity of these love-declarations and the fluency of their vows show them to be 'false as dicers' oaths1' mere verses of the moment1 made to please a facile mistress4 ,one long poem1 which cannot be styled a ,rispetto1 but is rather a ,canzone of the legitimate type1 stands out with distinctness from the rest of ,poliziano's love-verses4 ,it was written by him for ,giuliano de' ,medici1 in praise of the fair ,simonetta4 ,the following version attempts to repeat its metrical effects in some measure3-- ,my task it is1 since thus ,love wills1 who strains ,and forces all the world beneath his sway1 ,in lowly verse to say ,the great delight that in my bosom reigns4 ,for if perchance ,i took but little pains ,to tell some part of all the joy ,i find1 ,i might be deem'd unkind ,by one who knew my heart's deep happiness4 ,he feels but little bliss who hides his bliss2 ,small joy hath he whose joy is never sung2 ,and he who curbs his tongue ,through cowardice1 knows but of love the name4 ,wherefore to succour and augment the fame ,of that pure1 virtuous1 wise1 and lovely may1 ,who like the star of day ,shines mid the stars1 or like the rising sun1 ,forth from my burning heart the words shall run4 ,far1 far be envy1 far be jealous fear1 ,with discord dark and drear1 ,and all the choir that is of love the foe4-- ,the season had returned when soft winds blow1 ,the season friendly to young lovers coy1 ,which bids them clothe their joy ,in divers garbs and many a masked disguise4 ,then ,i to track the game 'neath ,april skies ,went forth in raiment strange apparelld1 ,and by kind fate was led ,unto the spot where stayed my soul's desire4 ,the beauteous nymph who feeds my soul with fire1 ,i found in gentle1 pure1 and prudent mood1 ,in graceful attitude1 ,loving and courteous1 holy1 wise1 benign4 ,so sweet1 so tender was her face divine1 ,so gladsome1 that in those celestial eyes ,shone perfect paradise1 ,yea1 all the good that we poor mortals crave4 ,around her was a band so nobly brave ,of beauteous dames1 that as ,i gazed at these ,methought heaven's goddesses ,that day for once had deigned to visit earth4 ,but she who gives my soul sorrow and mirth1 ,seemed ,pallas in her gait1 and in her face ,venus2 for every grace ,and beauty of the world in her combined4 ,merely to think1 far more to tell my mind ,of that most wondrous sight1 confoundeth me1 ,for mid the maidens she ,who most resembled her was found most rare4 ,call ye another first among the fair2 ,not first1 but sole before my lady set3 ,lily and violet ,and all the flowers below the rose must bow4 ,down from her royal head and lustrous brow ,the golden curls fell sportively unpent1 ,while through the choir she went ,with feet well lessoned to the rhythmic sound4 ,her eyes1 though scarcely raised above the ground1 ,sent me by stealth a ray divinely fair2 ,but still her jealous hair ,broke the bright beam1 and veiled her from my gaze4 ,she1 born and nursed in heaven for angels' praise1 ,no sooner saw this wrong1 than back she drew1 ,with hand of purest hue1 ,her truant curls with kind and gentle mien4 ,then from her eyes a soul so fiery keen1 ,so sweet a soul of love she cast on mine1 ,that scarce can ,i divine ,how then ,i 'scaped from burning utterly4 ,these are the first fair signs of love to be1 ,that bound my heart with adamant1 and these ,the matchless courtesies ,which1 dreamlike1 still before mine eyes must hover4 ,this is the honeyed food she gave her lover1 ,to make him1 so it pleased her1 half-divine2 ,nectar is not so fine1 ,nor ambrosy1 the fabled feast of ,jove4 ,then1 yielding proofs more clear and strong of love1 ,as though to show the faith within her heart1 ,she moved1 with subtle art1 ,her feet accordant to the amorous air4 ,but while ,i gaze and pray to ,god that ne'er ,might cease that happy dance angelical1 ,o harsh1 unkind recall6 ,back to the banquet was she beckond4 ,she1 with her face at first with pallor spread1 ,then tinted with a blush of coral dye1 ',the ball is best6' did cry1 ,gentle in tone and smiling as she spake4 ,but from her eyes celestial forth did break ,favour at parting2 and ,i well could see ,young love confusedly ,enclosed within the furtive fervent gaze1 ,heating his arrows at their beauteous rays1 ,for war with ,pallas and with ,dian cold4 ,fairer than mortal mould1 ,she moved majestic with celestial gait2 ,and with her hand her robe in royal state ,raised1 as she went with pride ineffable4 ,of me ,i cannot tell1 ,whether alive or dead ,i there was left4 ,nay1 dead1 methinks6 since ,i of thee was reft1 ,light of my life6 and yet1 perchance1 alive-- ,such virtue to revive ,my lingering soul possessed thy beauteous face1 ,but if that powerful charm of thy great grace ,could then thy loyal lover so sustain1 ,why comes there not again ,more often or more soon the sweet delight8 ,twice hath the wandering moon with borrowed light ,stored from her brother's rays her crescent horn1 ,nor yet hath fortune borne ,me on the way to so much bliss again4 ,earth smiles anew2 fair spring renews her reign3 ,the grass and every shrub once more is green2 ,the amorous birds begin1 ,from winter loosed1 to fill the field with song4 ,see how in loving pairs the cattle throng2 ,the bull1 the ram1 their amorous jousts enjoy3 ,thou maiden1 ,i a boy1 ,shall we prove traitors to love's law for aye8 ,shall we these years that are so fair let fly8 ,wilt thou not put thy flower of youth to use8 ,or with thy beauty choose ,to make him blest who loves thee best of all8 ,haply ,i am some hind who guards the stall1 ,or of vile lineage1 or with years outworn1 ,poor1 or a cripple born1 ,or faint of spirit that you spurn me so8 ,nay1 but my race is noble and doth grow ,with honour to our land1 with pomp and power2 ,my youth is yet in flower1 ,and it may chance some maiden sighs for me4 ,my lot it is to deal right royally ,with all the goods that fortune spreads around1 ,for still they more abound1 ,shaken from her full lap1 the more ,i waste4 ,my strength is such as whoso tries shall taste2 ,circled with friends1 with favours crowned am ,i3 ,yet though ,i rank so high ,among the blest1 as men may reckon bliss1 ,still without thee1 my hope1 my happiness1 ,it seems a sad1 and bitter thing to live6 ,then stint me not1 but give ,that joy which holds all joys enclosed in one4 ,let me pluck fruits at last1 not flowers alone6 ,with much that is frigid1 artificial1 and tedious in this old-fashioned love-song1 there is a curious monotony of sweetness which commends it to our ears2 and he who reads it may remember the profile portrait of ,simonetta from the hand of ,piero della ,francesca in the ,pitti ,palace at ,florence4 ,it is worth comparing ,poliziano's treatment of popular or semi-popular verse-forms with his imitations of ,petrarch's manner4 ,for this purpose ,i have chosen a ,canzone1 clearly written in competition with the celebrated ',chiare1 fresche e dolci acque1' of ,laura's lover4 ,while closely modelled upon ,petrarch's form and similar in motive1 this ,canzone preserves ,poliziano's special qualities of fluency and emptiness of content4 ,hills1 valleys1 caves and fells1 ,with flowers and leaves and herbage spread2 ,green meadows2 shadowy groves where light is low2 ,lawns watered with the rills ,that cruel ,love hath made me shed1 ,cast from these cloudy eyes so dark with woe2 ,thou stream that still dost know ,what fell pangs pierce my heart1 ,so dost thou murmur back my moan2 ,lone bird that chauntest tone for tone1 ,while in our descant drear ,love sings his part3 ,nymphs1 woodland wanderers1 wind and air2 ,list to the sound out-poured from my despair6 ,seven times and once more seven ,the roseate dawn her beauteous brow ,enwreathed with orient jewels hath displayed2 ,cynthia once more in heaven ,hath orbed her horns with silver now2 ,while in sea waves her brother's light was laid2 ,since this high mountain glade ,felt the white footsteps fall ,of that proud lady1 who to spring ,converts whatever woodland thing ,she may o'ershadow1 touch1 or heed at all4 ,here bloom the flowers1 the grasses spring ,from her bright eyes1 and drink what mine must bring4 ,yea1 nourished with my tears ,is every little leaf ,i see1 ,and the stream rolls therewith a prouder wave4 ,ah me6 through what long years ,will she withhold her face from me1 ,which stills the stormy skies howe'er they rave8 ,speak6 or in grove or cave ,if one hath seen her stray1 ,plucking amid those grasses green ,wreaths for her royal brows serene1 ,flowers white and blue and red and golden gay6 ,nay1 prithee1 speak1 if pity dwell ,among these woods1 within this leafy dell6 ,o ,love6 'twas here we saw1 ,beneath the new-fledged leaves that spring ,from this old beech1 her fair form lowly laid3-- ,the thought renews my awe6 ,how sweetly did her tresses fling ,waves of wreathed gold unto the winds that strayed ,fire1 frost within me played1 ,while ,i beheld the bloom ,of laughing flowers--,o day of bliss6-- ,around those tresses meet and kiss1 ,and roses in her lap of ,love the home6 ,her grace1 her port divinely fair1 ,describe it1 ,love6 myself ,i do not dare4 ,in mute intent surprise ,i gazed1 as when a hind is seen ,to dote upon its image in a rill2 ,drinking those love-lit eyes1 ,those hands1 that face1 those words serene1 ,that song which with delight the heaven did fill1 ,that smile which thralls me still1 ,which melteth stones unkind1 ,which in this woodland wilderness ,tames every beast and stills the stress ,of hurrying waters4 ,would that ,i could find ,her footprints upon field or grove6 ,i should not then be envious of ,jove4 ,thou cool stream rippling by1 ,where oft it pleased her to dip ,her naked foot1 how blest art thou6 ,ye branching trees on high1 ,that spread your gnarled roots on the lip ,of yonder hanging rock to drink heaven's dew6 ,she often leaned on you1 ,she who is my life's bliss6 ,thou ancient beech with moss o'ergrown1 ,how do ,i envy thee thy throne1 ,found worthy to receive such happiness6 ,ye winds1 how blissful must ye be1 ,since ye have borne to heaven her harmony6 ,the winds that music bore1 ,and wafted it to ,god on high1 ,that ,paradise might have the joy thereof4 ,flowers here she plucked1 and wore ,wild roses from the thorn hard by3 ,this air she lightened with her look of love3 ,this running stream above1 ,she bent her face6--,ah me6 ,where am ,i8 ,what sweet makes me swoon8 ,what calm is in the kiss of noon8 ,who brought me here8 ,who speaks8 ,what melody8 ,whence came pure peace into my soul8 ,what joy hath rapt me from my own control8 ,poliziano's refrain is always3 ',gather ye rosebuds while ye may4 ,it is spring-time now and youth4 ,winter and old age are coming6' ,a ,maggio1 or ,may-day song1 describing the games1 dances1 and jousting matches of the ,florentine lads upon the morning of the first of ,may1 expresses this facile philosophy of life with a quaintness that recalls ,herrick4 ,it will be noticed that the ,maggio is built1 so far as rhymes go1 on the same system as ,poliziano's ,ballata4 ,it has considerable historical interest1 for the opening couplet is said to be ,guido ,cavalcanti's1 while the whole poem is claimed by ,roscoe for ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 and by ,carducci with better reason for ,poliziano4 ,welcome in the ,may ,and the woodland garland gay6 ,welcome in the jocund spring ,which bids all men lovers be6 ,maidens1 up with carolling1 ,with your sweethearts stout and free1 ,with roses and with blossoms ye ,who deck yourselves this first of ,may6 ,up1 and forth into the pure ,meadows1 mid the trees and flowers6 ,every beauty is secure ,with so many bachelors3 ,beasts and birds amid the bowers ,burn with love this first of ,may4 ,maidens1 who are young and fair1 ,be not harsh1 ,i counsel you2 ,for your youth cannot repair ,her prime of spring1 as meadows do3 ,none be proud1 but all be true ,to men who love1 this first of ,may4 ,dance and carol every one ,of our band so bright and gay6 ,see your sweethearts how they run ,through the jousts for you to-day6 ,she who saith her lover nay1 ,will deflower the sweets of ,may1 ,lads in love take sword and shield ,to make pretty girls their prize3 ,yield ye1 merry maidens1 yield ,to your lovers' vows and sighs3 ,give his heart back ere it dies3 ,wage not war this first of ,may4 ,he who steals another's heart1 ,let him give his own heart too3 ,who's the robber8 ',tis the smart ,little cherub ,cupid1 who ,homage comes to pay with you1 ,damsels1 to the first of ,may4 ,love comes smiling2 round his head ,lilies white and roses meet3 ',tis for you his flight is sped4 ,fair one1 haste our king to greet3 ,who will fling him blossoms sweet ,soonest on this first of ,may8 ,welcome1 stranger6 welcome1 king6 ,love1 what hast thou to command8 ,that each girl with wreaths should ring ,her lover's hair with loving hand1 ,that girls small and great should band ,in ,love's ranks this first of ,may4 ,the ,canto ,carnascialesco1 for the final development if not for the invention of which all credit must be given to ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 does not greatly differ from the ,maggio in structure4 ,it admitted1 however1 of great varieties1 and was generally more complex in its interweaving of rhymes4 ,yet the essential principle of an exordium which should also serve for a refrain1 was rarely1 if ever1 departed from4 ,two specimens of the ,carnival ,song will serve to bring into close contrast two very different aspects of ,florentine history4 ,the earlier was composed by ,lorenzo de' ,medici at the height of his power and in the summer of ,italian independence4 ,it was sung by masquers attired in classical costume1 to represent ,bacchus and his crew4 ,fair is youth and void of sorrow2 ,but it hourly flies away4-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,this is ,bacchus and the bright ,ariadne1 lovers true6 ,they1 in flying time's despite1 ,each with each find pleasure new2 ,these their ,nymphs1 and all their crew ,keep perpetual holiday4-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,these blithe ,satyrs1 wanton-eyed1 ,of the ,nymphs are paramours3 ,through the caves and forests wide ,they have snared them mid the flowers2 ,warmed with ,bacchus1 in his bowers1 ,now they dance and leap alway4-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,these fair ,nymphs1 they are not loth ,to entice their lovers' wiles4 ,none but thankless folk and rough ,can resist when ,love beguiles4 ,now enlaced1 with wreathd smiles1 ,all together dance and play4-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,see this load behind them plodding ,on the ass6 ,silenus he1 ,old and drunken1 merry1 nodding1 ,full of years and jollity2 ,though he goes so swayingly1 ,yet he laughs and quaffs alway4-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,midas treads a wearier measure3 ,all he touches turns to gold3 ,if there be no taste of pleasure1 ,what's the use of wealth untold8 ,what's the joy his fingers hold1 ,when he's forced to thirst for aye8-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,listen well to what we're saying2 ,of to-morrow have no care6 ,young and old together playing1 ,boys and girls1 be blithe as air6 ,every sorry thought forswear6 ,keep perpetual holiday4--- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day2 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,ladies and gay lovers young6 ,long live ,bacchus1 live ,desire6 ,dance and play2 let songs be sung2 ,let sweet love your bosoms fire2 ,in the future come what may6--- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day6 ,nought ye know about to-morrow4 ,fair is youth and void of sorrow2 ,but it hourly flies away4 ,the next1 composed by ,antonio ,alamanni1 after ,lorenzo's death and the ominous passage of ,charles ,,viii41 was sung by masquers habited as skeletons4 ,the car they rode on1 was a ,car of ,death designed by ,piero di ,cosimo1 and their music was purposely gloomy4 ,if in the jovial days of the ,medici the streets of ,florence had rung to the thoughtless refrain1 ',nought ye know about to-morrow1' they now re-echoed with a cry of ',penitence2' for times had strangely altered1 and the heedless past had brought forth a doleful present4 ,the last stanza of ,alamanni's chorus is a somewhat clumsy attempt to adapt the too real moral of his subject to the customary mood of the ,carnival4 ,sorrow1 tears1 and penitence ,are our doom of pain for aye2 ,this dead concourse riding by ,hath no cry but penitence6 ,e'en as you are1 once were we3 ,you shall be as now we are3 ,we are dead men1 as you see3 ,we shall see you dead men1 where ,nought avails to take great care1 ,after sins1 of penitence4 ,we too in the ,carnival ,sang our love-songs through the town2 ,thus from sin to sin we all ,headlong1 heedless1 tumbled down3-- ,now we cry1 the world around1 ,penitence6 oh1 ,penitence6 ,senseless1 blind1 and stubborn fools6 ,time steals all things as he rides3 ,honours1 glories1 states1 and schools1 ,pass away1 and nought abides2 ,till the tomb our carcase hides1 ,and compels this penitence4 ,this sharp scythe you see us bear1 ,brings the world at length to woe3 ,but from life to life we fare2 ,and that life is joy or woe3 ,all heaven's bliss on him doth flow ,who on earth does penitence4 ,living here1 we all must die2 ,dying1 every soul shall live3 ,for the ,king of kings on high ,this fixed ordinance doth give3 ,lo1 you all are fugitive6 ,penitence6 ,cry ,penitence6 ,torment great and grievous dole ,hath the thankless heart mid you2 ,but the man of piteous soul ,finds much honour in our crew3 ,love for loving is the due ,that prevents this penitence4 ,sorrow1 tears1 and penitence ,are our doom of pain for aye3 ,this dead concourse riding by ,hath no cry but ,penitence6 ,one song for dancing1 composed less upon the type of the ,ballata than on that of the ,carnival ,song1 may here be introduced1 not only in illustration of the varied forms assumed by this style of poetry1 but also because it is highly characteristic of ,tuscan town-life4 ,this poem in the vulgar style has been ascribed to ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 but probably without due reason4 ,it describes the manners and customs of female street gossips4 ,since you beg with such a grace1 ,how can ,i refuse a song1 ,wholesome1 honest1 void of wrong1 ,on the follies of the place8 ,courteously on you ,i call2 ,listen well to what ,i sing3 ,for my roundelay to all ,may perchance instruction bring1 ,and of life good lessoning4-- ,when in company you meet1 ,or sit spinning1 all the street ,clamours like a market-place4 ,thirty of you there may be2 ,twenty-nine are sure to buzz1 ,and the single silent she ,racks her brains about her coz3-- ,mrs4 ,buzz and ,mrs4 ,huzz1 ,mind your work1 my ditty saith2 ,do not gossip till your breath ,fails and leaves you black of face6 ,governments go out and in3-- ,you the truth must needs discover4 ,is a girl about to win ,a brave husband in her lover8-- ,straight you set to talk him over3 ',is he wealthy8' ',does his coat ,fit8' ',and has he got a vote8' ',who's his father8' ',what's his race8' ,out of window one head pokes2 ,twenty others do the same3-- ,chatter1 clatter6--creaks and croaks ,all the year the same old game6-- ',see my spinning6' cries one dame1 ',five long ells of cloth1 ,i trow6' ,cries another1 ',mine must go1 ,drat it1 to the bleaching base6' ',devil take the fowl6' says one3 ',mine are all bewitched1 ,i guess2 ,cocks and hens with vermin run1 ,mangy1 filthy1 featherless4' ,says another3 ',i confess ,every hair ,i drop1 ,i keep-- ,plague upon it1 in a heap ,falling off to my disgrace6' ,if you see a fellow walk ,up or down the street and back1 ,how you nod and wink and talk1 ,hurry-skurry1 cluck and clack6-- ',what1 ,i wonder1 does he lack ,here about8'--',there's something wrong6' ,till the poor man's made a song ,for the female populace4 ,it were well you gave no thought ,to such idle company2 ,shun these gossips1 care for nought ,but the business that you ply4 ,you who chatter1 you who cry1 ,heed my words2 be wise1 ,i pray3 ,fewer1 shorter stories say3 ,bide at home1 and mind your place4 ,since you beg with such a grace1 ,how can ,i refuse a song1 ,wholesome1 honest1 void of wrong1 ,on the follies of the place8 ,the ,madrigale1 intended to be sung in parts1 was another species of popular poetry cultivated by the greatest of ,italian writers4 ,without seeking examples from such men as ,petrarch1 ,michelangelo1 or ,tasso1 who used it as a purely literary form1 ,i will content myself with a few ,madrigals by anonymous composers1 more truly popular in style1 and more immediately intended for music4#cb ,the similarity both of manner and matter1 between these little poems and the ,ballate1 is obvious4 ,there is the same affectation of rusticity in both4 ,cogliendo per un prato4 ,plucking white lilies in a field ,i saw ,fair women1 laden with young ,love's delight3 ,some sang1 some danced2 but all were fresh and bright4 ,then by the margin of a fount they leaned1 ,and of those flowers made garlands for their hair-- ,wreaths for their golden tresses quaint and rare4 ,forth from the field ,i passed1 and gazed upon ,their loveliness1 and lost my heart to one4 ,togliendo l' una all' altra4 ,one from the other borrowing leaves and flowers1 ,i saw fair maidens 'neath the summer trees1 ,weaving bright garlands with low love-ditties4 ,mid that sweet sisterhood the loveliest ,turned her soft eyes to me1 and whispered1 ',take6' ,love-lost ,i stood1 and not a word ,i spake4 ,my heart she read1 and her fair garland gave3 ,therefore ,i am her servant to the grave4 ,appress' un fiume chiaro4 ,hard by a crystal stream ,girls and maids were dancing round ,a lilac with fair blossoms crowned4 ,mid these ,i spied out one ,so tender-sweet1 so love-laden1 ,she stole my heart with singing then3 ,love in her face so lovely-kind ,and eyes and hands my soul did bind4 ,di riva in riva4 ,from lawn to lea ,love led me down the valley1 ,seeking my hawk1 where 'neath a pleasant hill ,i spied fair maidens bathing in a rill4 ,lina was there all loveliness excelling2 ,the pleasure of her beauty made me sad1 ,and yet at sight of her my soul was glad4 ,downward ,i cast mine eyes with modest seeming1 ,and all a tremble from the fountain fled3 ,for each was naked as her maidenhead4 ,thence singing fared ,i through a flowery plain1 ,where bye and bye ,i found my hawk again6 ,nel chiaro fiume4 ,down a fair streamlet crystal-clear and pleasant ,i went a fishing all alone one day1 ,and spied three maidens bathing there at play4 ,of love they told each other honeyed stories1 ,while with white hands they smote the stream1 to wet ,their sunbright hair in the pure rivulet4 ,gazing ,i crouched among thick flowering leafage1 ,till one who spied a rustling branch on high1 ,turned to her comrades with a sudden cry1 ,and ',go6 ,nay1 prithee go6' she called to me3 ',to stay were surely but scant courtesy4' ,quel sole che nutrica4 ,the sun which makes a lily bloom1 ,leans down at times on her to gaze-- ,fairer1 he deems1 than his fair rays3 ,then1 having looked a little while1 ,he turns and tells the saints in bliss ,how marvellous her beauty is4 ,thus up in heaven with flute and string ,thy loveliness the angels sing4 ,di novo giunt'4 ,lo3 here hath come an errant knight ,on a barbed charger clothed in mail3 ,his archers scatter iron hail4 ,at brow and breast his mace he aims2 ,who therefore hath not arms of proof1 ,let him live locked by door and roof2 ,until ,dame ,summer on a day ,that grisly knight return to slay4 ,poliziano's treatment of the octave stanza for ,rispetti was comparatively popular4 ,but in his poem of ',la ,giostra1' written to commemorate the victory of ,giuliano de' ,medici in a tournament and to celebrate his mistress1 he gave a new and richer form to the metre which ,boccaccio had already used for epic verse4 ,the slight and uninteresting framework of this poem1 which opened a new sphere for ,italian literature1 and prepared the way for ,ariosto's golden cantos1 might be compared to one of those wire baskets which children steep in alum water1 and incrust with crystals1 sparkling1 artificial1 beautiful with colours not their own4 ,the mind of ,poliziano held1 as it were1 in solution all the images and thoughts of antiquity1 all the riches of his native literature4 ,in that vast reservoir of poems and mythologies and phrases1 so patiently accumulated1 so tenaciously preserved1 so thoroughly assimilated1 he plunged the trivial subject he had chosen1 and triumphantly presented to the world the spolia opima of scholarship and taste4 ,what mattered it that the theme was slight8 ,the art was perfect1 the result splendid4 ,one canto of #abe stanzas describes the youth of ,giuliano1 who sought to pass his life among the woods1 a hunter dead to love1 but who was doomed to be ensnared by ,cupid4 ,the chase1 the beauty of ,simonetta1 the palace of ,venus1 these are the three subjects of a book as long as the first ,iliad4 ,the second canto begins with dreams and prophecies of glory to be won by ,giuliano in the tournament4 ,but it stops abruptly4 ,the tragic catastrophe of the ,pazzi ,conjuration cut short ,poliziano's panegyric by the murder of his hero4 ,meanwhile the poet had achieved his purpose4 ,his torso presented to ,italy a model of style1 a piece of written art adequate to the great painting of the ,renaissance period1 a double star of poetry which blent the splendours of the ancient and the modern world4 ,to render into worthy ,english the harmonies of ,poliziano is a difficult task4 ,yet this must be attempted if an ,english reader is to gain any notion of the scope and substance of the ,italian poet's art4 ,in the first part of the poem we are placed1 as it were1 at the mid point between the ',hippolytus' of ,euripides and ,shakspere's ',venus and ,adonis4' ,the cold hunter ,giuliano is to see ,simonetta1 and seeing1 is to love her4 ,this is how he first discovers the triumphant beauty3#cc ,white is the maid1 and white the robe around her1 ,with buds and roses and thin grasses pied2 ,enwreathd folds of golden tresses crowned her1 ,shadowing her forehead fair with modest pride3 ,the wild wood smiled2 the thicket where he found her1 ,to ease his anguish1 bloomed on every side3 ,serene she sits1 with gesture queenly mild1 ,and with her brow tempers the tempests wild4 ,after three stanzas of this sort1 in which the poet's style is more apparent than the object he describes1 occurs this charming picture3-- ,reclined he found her on the swarded grass ,in jocund mood2 and garlands she had made ,of every flower that in the meadow was1 ,or on her robe of many hues displayed2 ,but when she saw the youth before her pass1 ,raising her timid head awhile she stayed2 ,then with her white hand gathered up her dress1 ,and stood1 lap-full of flowers1 in loveliness4 ,then through the dewy field with footstep slow ,the lingering maid began to take her way1 ,leaving her lover in great fear and woe1 ,for now he longs for nought but her alway3 ,the wretch1 who cannot bear that she should go1 ,strives with a whispered prayer her feet to stay2 ,and thus at last1 all trembling1 all afire1 ,in humble wise he breathes his soul's desire3 ',whoe'er thou art1 maid among maidens queen1 ,goddess1 or nymph--nay1 goddess seems most clear-- ,if goddess1 sure my ,dian ,i have seen2 ,if mortal1 let thy proper self appear6 ,beyond terrestrial beauty is thy mien2 ,i have no merit that ,i should be here6 ,what grace of heaven1 what lucky star benign ,yields me the sight of beauty so divine8' ,a conversation ensues1 after which ,giuliano departs utterly lovesick1 and ,cupid takes wing exultingly for ,cyprus1 where his mother's palace stands4 ,in the following picture of the house of ,venus1 who shall say how much of ,ariosto's ,alcina and ,tasso's ,armida is contained8 ,cupid arrives1 and the family of ,love is filled with joy at ,giuliano's conquest4 ,from the plan of the poem it is clear that its beauties are chiefly those of detail4 ,they are1 however1 very great4 ,how perfect1 for example1 is the richness combined with delicacy of the following description of a country life3-- ,,book ,i4 ,,stanzas #ag-ba4 ,how far more safe it is1 how far more fair1 ,to chase the flying deer along the lea2 ,through ancient woods to track their hidden lair1 ,far from the town1 with long-drawn subtlety3 ,to scan the vales1 the hills1 the limpid air1 ,the grass and flowers1 clear ice1 and streams so free2 ,to hear the birds wake from their winter trance1 ,the wind-stirred leaves and murmuring waters dance4 ,how sweet it were to watch the young goats hung ,from toppling crags1 cropping the tender shoot1 ,while in thick pleachd shade the shepherd sung ,his uncouth rural lay and woke his flute2 ,to mark1 mid dewy grass1 red apples flung1 ,and every bough thick set with ripening fruit1 ,the butting rams1 kine lowing o'er the lea1 ,and cornfields waving like the windy sea4 ,lo6 how the rugged master of the herd ,before his flock unbars the wattled cote2 ,then with his rod and many a rustic word ,he rules their going3 or 'tis sweet to note ,the delver1 when his toothd rake hath stirred ,the stubborn clod1 his hoe the glebe hath smote2 ,barefoot the country girl1 with loosened zone1 ,spins1 while she keeps her geese 'neath yonder stone4 ,after such happy wise1 in ancient years1 ,dwelt the old nations in the age of gold2 ,nor had the fount been stirred of mothers' tears ,for sons in war's fell labour stark and cold2 ,nor trusted they to ships the wild wind steers1 ,nor yet had oxen groaning ploughed the wold2 ,their houses were huge oaks1 whose trunks had store ,of honey1 and whose boughs thick acorns bore4 ,nor yet1 in that glad time1 the accursd thirst ,of cruel gold had fallen on this fair earth3 ,joyous in liberty they lived at first2 ,unploughed the fields sent forth their teeming birth2 ,till fortune1 envious of such concord1 burst ,the bond of law1 and pity banned and worth2 ,within their breasts sprang luxury and that rage ,which men call love in our degenerate age4 ,we need not be reminded that these stanzas are almost a cento from ,virgil1 ,hesiod1 and ,ovid4 ,the merits of the translator1 adapter1 and combiner1 who knew so well how to cull their beauties and adorn them with a perfect dress of modern diction1 are so eminent that we cannot deny him the title of a great poet4 ,it is always in picture-painting more than in dramatic presentation that ,poliziano excels4 ,here is a basrelief of ,venus rising from the ,ocean foam3-- ,,stanzas #ii-ajg4 ,in ,thetis' lap1 upon the vexed ,egean1 ,the seed deific from ,olympus sown1 ,beneath dim stars and cycling empyrean ,drifts like white foam across the salt waves blown2 ,thence1 born at last by movements hymenean1 ,rises a maid more fair than man hath known2 ,upon her shell the wanton breezes waft her2 ,she nears the shore1 while heaven looks down with laughter ,seeing the carved work you would cry that real ,were shell and sea1 and real the winds that blow2 ,the lightning of the goddess' eyes you feel1 ,the smiling heavens1 the elemental glow3 ,white-vested ,hours across the smooth sands steal1 ,with loosened curls that to the breezes flow2 ,like1 yet unlike1 are all their beauteous faces1 ,e'en as befits a choir of sister ,graces4 ,well might you swear that on those waves were riding ,the goddess with her right hand on her hair1 ,and with the other the sweet apple hiding2 ,and that beneath her feet1 divinely fair1 ,fresh flowers sprang forth1 the barren sands dividing2 ,then that1 with glad smiles and enticements rare1 ,the three nymphs round their queen1 embosoming her1 ,threw the starred mantle soft as gossamer4 ,the one1 with hands above her head upraised1 ,upon her dewy tresses fits a wreath1 ,with ruddy gold and orient gems emblazed2 ,the second hangs pure pearls her ears beneath2 ,the third round shoulders white and breast hath placed ,such wealth of gleaming carcanets as sheathe ,their own fair bosoms1 when the ,graces sing ,among the gods with dance and carolling4 ,thence might you see them rising toward the spheres1 ,seated upon a cloud of silvery white2 ,the trembling of the cloven air appears ,wrought in the stone1 and heaven serenely bright2 ,the gods drink in with open eyes and ears ,her beauty1 and desire her bed's delight2 ,each seems to marvel with a mute amaze-- ,their brows and foreheads wrinkle as they gaze4 ,the next quotation shows ,venus in the lap of ,mars1 and ,visited by ,cupid3-- ,,stanzas #abb--abd4 ,stretched on a couch1 outside the coverlid1 ,love found her1 scarce unloosed from ,mars' embrace2 ,he1 lying back within her bosom1 fed ,his eager eyes on nought but her fair face2 ,roses above them like a cloud were shed1 ,to reinforce them in the amorous chace2 ,while ,venus1 quick with longings unsuppressed1 ,a thousand times his eyes and forehead kissed4 ,above1 around1 young ,loves on every side ,played naked1 darting birdlike to and fro2 ,and one1 whose plumes a thousand colours dyed1 ,fanned the shed roses as they lay arow2 ,one filled his quiver with fresh flowers1 and hied ,to pour them on the couch that lay below2 ,another1 poised upon his pinions1 through ,the falling shower soared shaking rosy dew3 ,for1 as he quivered with his tremulous wing1 ,the wandering roses in their drift were stayed2-- ,thus none was weary of glad gambolling2 ,till ,cupid came1 with dazzling plumes displayed1 ,breathless2 and round his mother's neck did fling ,his languid arms1 and with his winnowing made ,her heart burn3--very glad and bright of face1 ,but1 with his flight1 too tired to speak apace4 ,these pictures have in them the very glow of ,italian painting4 ,sometimes we seem to see a quaint design of ,piero di ,cosimo1 with bright tints and multitudinous small figures in a spacious landscape4 ,sometimes it is the languid grace of ,botticelli1 whose soul became possessed of classic inspiration as it were in dreams1 and who has painted the birth of ,venus almost exactly as ,poliziano imagined it4 ,again1 we seize the broader beauties of the ,venetian masters1 or the vehemence of ,giulio ,romano's pencil4 ,to the last class belong the two next extracts3-- ,,stanzas #ajd--ajg4 ,in the last square the great artificer ,had wrought himself crowned with ,love's perfect palm2 ,black from his forge and rough1 he runs to her1 ,leaving all labour for her bosom's calm3 ,lips joined to lips with deep love-longing stir1 ,fire in his heart1 and in his spirit balm2 ,far fiercer flames through breast and marrow fly ,than those which heat his forge in ,sicily4 ,jove1 on the other side1 becomes a bull1 ,goodly and white1 at ,love's behest1 and rears ,his neck beneath his rich freight beautiful3 ,she turns toward the shore that disappears1 ,with frightened gesture2 and the wonderful ,gold curls about her bosom and her ears ,float in the wind2 her veil waves1 backward borne2 ,this hand still clasps his back1 and that his horn4 ,with naked feet close-tucked beneath her dress1 ,she seems to fear the sea that dares not rise3 ,so1 imaged in a shape of drear distress1 ,in vain unto her comrades sweet she cries2 ,they left amid the meadow-flowers1 no less ,for lost ,europa wail with weeping eyes3 ,europa1 sounds the shore1 bring back our bliss ,but the bull swims and turns her feet to kiss4 ,here ,jove is made a swan1 a golden shower1 ,or seems a serpent1 or a shepherd-swain1 ,to work his amorous will in secret hour2 ,here1 like an eagle1 soars he o'er the plain1 ,love-led1 and bears his ,ganymede1 the flower ,of beauty1 mid celestial peers to reign2 ,the boy with cypress hath his fair locks crowned1 ,naked1 with ivy wreathed his waist around4 ,,stanzas #aaj--aab4 ,lo6 here again fair ,ariadne lies1 ,and to the deaf winds of false ,theseus plains4 ,and of the air and slumber's treacheries2 ,trembling with fear even as a reed that strain4 ,and quivers by the mere 'neath breezy skies3 ,her very speechless attitude complains-- ,no beast there is so cruel as thou art1 ,no beast less loyal to my broken heart4 ,throned on a car1 with ivy crowned and vine1 ,rides ,bacchus1 by two champing tigers driven3 ,around him on the sand deep-soaked with brine ,satyrs and ,bacchantes rush2 the skies are riven ,with shouts and laughter2 ,fauns quaff bubbling wine ,from horns and cymbals2 ,nymphs1 to madness driven1 ,trip1 skip1 and stumble2 mixed in wild enlacements1 ,laughing they roll or meet for glad embracements4 ,upon his ass ,silenus1 never sated1 ,with thick1 black veins1 wherethrough the must is soaking1 ,nods his dull forehead with deep sleep belated2 ,his eyes are wine-inflamed1 and red1 and smoking3 ,bold ,mnads goad the ass so sorely weighted1 ,with stinging thyrsi2 he sways feebly poking ,the mane with bloated fingers2 ,fauns behind him1 ,e'en as he falls1 upon the crupper bind him4 ,we almost seem to be looking at the frescoes in some ,trasteverine palace1 or at the canvas of one of the sensual ,genoese painters4 ,the description of the garden of ,venus has the charm of somewhat artificial elegance1 the exotic grace of style1 which attracts us in the earlier ,renaissance work3-- ,the leafy tresses of that timeless garden ,nor fragile brine nor fresh snow dares to whiten2 ,frore winter never comes the rills to harden1 ,nor winds the tender shrubs and herbs to frighten2 ,glad ,spring is always here1 a laughing warden2 ,nor do the seasons wane1 but ever brighten2 ,here to the breeze young ,may1 her curls unbinding1 ,with thousand flowers her wreath is ever winding4 ,indeed it may be said with truth that ,poliziano's most eminent faculty as a descriptive poet corresponded exactly to the genius of the painters of his day4 ,to produce pictures radiant with ,renaissance colouring1 and vigorous with ,renaissance passion1 was the function of his art1 not to express profound thought or dramatic situations4 ,this remark might be extended with justice to ,ariosto1 and ,tasso1 and ,boiardo4 ,the great narrative poets of the ,renaissance in ,italy were not dramatists2 nor were their poems epics3 their forte lay in the inexhaustible variety and beauty of their pictures4 ,of ,poliziano's plagiarism--if this be the right word to apply to the process of assimilation and selection1 by means of which the poet-scholar of ,florence taught the ,italians how to use the riches of the ancient languages and their own literature--here are some specimens4 ,in stanza #db of the ',giostra' he says of ,simonetta3-- ,e 'n lei discerne un non so che divino4 ,dante has the line3-- ,vostri risplende un non so che divino4 ,in the #ddth he speaks about the birds3-- ,e canta ogni augelletto in suo latino4 ,this comes from ,cavalcanti's3-- ,e cantinne gli augelli4 ,ciascuno in suo latino4 ,stanza #de is taken bodily from ,claudian1 ,dante1 and ,cavalcanti4 ,it would seem as though ,poliziano wished to show that the classic and medieval literature of ,italy was all one1 and that a poet of the ,renaissance could carry on the continuous tradition in his own style4 ,a1 line in stanza #ed seems perfectly original3-- ,e gi dall'alte ville il fumo esala4 ,it comes straight from ,virgil3-- ,et jam summa pocul villarum culmina fumant4 ,in the next stanza the line-- ,tal che 'l ciel tutto rasseren d'intorno1 is ,petrarch's4 ,so in the #efth1 is the phrase 'il dolce andar celeste4' ,in stanza #eg-- ,par che 'l cor del petto se gli schianti1 belongs to ,boccaccio4 ,in stanza #fj the first line3-- ,la notte che le cose ci nasconde1 together with its rhyme1 'sotto le amate fronde1' is borrowed from the #bcrd canto of the ',paradiso4' ,in the second line1 ',stellato ammanto' is ,claudian's 'stellantes sinus' applied to the heaven4 ,when we reach the garden of ,venus we find whole passages translated from ,claudian's ',marriage of ,honorius1' and from the ',metamorphoses' of ,ovid4 ,poliziano's second poem of importance1 which indeed may historically be said to take precedence of ',la ,giostra1' was the so-called tragedy of ',orfeo4' ,the ,english version of this lyrical drama must be reserved for a separate study3 yet it belongs to the subject of this1 inasmuch as the ',orfeo' is a classical legend treated in a form already familiar to the ,italian people4 ,nearly all the popular kinds of poetry of which specimens have been translated in this chapter1 will be found combined in its six short scenes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,orfeo ,the ',orfeo' of ,messer ,angelo ,poliziano ranks amongst the most important poems of the fifteenth century4 ,it was composed at ,mantua in the short space of two days1 on the occasion of ,cardinal ,francesco ,gonzaga's visit to his native town in #adgb4 ,but1 though so hastily put together1 the ',orfeo' marks an epoch in the evolution of ,italian poetry4 ,it is the earliest example of a secular drama1 containing within the compass of its brief scenes the germ of the opera1 the tragedy1 and the pastoral play4 ,in form it does not greatly differ from the ',sacre ,rappresentazioni' of the fifteenth century1 as those miracle plays were handled by popular poets of the earlier ,renaissance4 ,but while the traditional octave stanza is used for the main movement of the piece1 ,poliziano has introduced episodes of terza rima1 madrigals1 a carnival song1 a ballata1 and1 above all1 choral passages which have in them the future melodrama of the musical ,italian stage4 ,the lyrical treatment of the fable1 its capacity for brilliant and varied scenic effects1 its combination of singing with action1 and the whole artistic keeping of the piece1 which never passes into genuine tragedy1 but stays within the limits of romantic pathos1 distinguish the ',orfeo' as a typical production of ,italian genius4 ,thus1 though little better than an improvisation1 it combines the many forms of verse developed by the ,tuscans at the close of the ,middle ,ages1 and fixes the limits beyond which their dramatic poets1 with a few exceptions1 were not destined to advance4 ,nor was the choice of the fable without significance4 ,quitting the ,bible stories and the ,legends of ,saints1 which supplied the mediaeval playwright with material1 ,poliziano selects a classic story3 and this story might pass for an allegory of ,italy1 whose intellectual development the scholar-poet ruled4 ,orpheus is the power of poetry and art1 softening stubborn nature1 civilising men1 and prevailing over ,hades for a season4 ,he is the right hero of humanism1 the genius of the ,renaissance1 the tutelary god of ,italy1 who thought she could resist the laws of fate by verse and elegant accomplishments4 ,to press this kind of allegory is unwise2 for at a certain moment it breaks in our hands4 ,and yet in ,eurydice the fancy might discover ,freedom1 the true spouse of poetry and art2 ,orfeo's last resolve too vividly depicts the vice of the ,renaissance2 and the ,mnads are those barbarous armies destined to lay waste the plains of ,italy1 inebriate with wine and blood1 obeying a new lord of life on whom the poet's harp exerts no charm4 ,but a truce to this spinning of pedantic cobwebs4 ,let ,mercury appear1 and let the play begin4 ,,the ,,fable ,,of ,,orpheus ,,mercury announces the show4 ,ho1 silence6 ,listen6 ,there was once a hind1 ,son of ,apollo1 ,aristaeus hight1 ,who loved with so untamed and fierce a mind ,eurydice1 the wife of ,orpheus wight1 ,that chasing her one day with will unkind ,he wrought her cruel death in love's despite2 ,for1 as she fled toward the mere hard by1 ,a serpent stung her1 and she had to die4 ,now ,orpheus1 singing1 brought her back from hell1 ,but could not keep the law the fates ordain3 ,poor wretch1 he backward turned and broke the spell2 ,so that once more from him his love was ta'en4 ,therefore he would no more with women dwell1 ,and in the end by women he was slain4 ,enter ,a ,,shepherd1 who says-- ,nay1 listen1 friends6 ,fair auspices are given1 ,since ,mercury to earth hath come from heaven4 ,,scene ,i ,,mopsus1 an old shepherd4 ,say1 hast thou seen a calf of mine1 all white ,save for a spot of black upon her front1 ,two feet1 one flank1 and one knee ruddy-bright8 ,,aristaeus1 a young shepherd4 ,friend ,mopsus1 to the margin of this fount ,no herds have come to drink since break of day2 ,yet may'st thou hear them low on yonder mount4 ,go1 ,thyrsis1 search the upland lawn1 ,i pray6 ,thou ,mopsus shalt with me the while abide2 ,for ,i would have thee listen to my lay4 ,exit ,,thyrsis4 ',twas yester morn where trees yon cavern hide1 ,i saw a nymph more fair than ,dian1 who ,had a young lusty lover at her side3 ,but when that more than woman met my view1 ,the heart within my bosom leapt outright1 ,and straight the madness of wild ,love ,i knew4 ,since then1 dear ,mopsus1 ,i have no delight2 ,but weep and weep3 of food and drink ,i tire1 ,and without slumber pass the weary night4 ,,mopsus4 ,friend ,aristaeus1 if this amorous fire ,thou dost not seek to quench as best may be1 ,thy peace of soul will vanish in desire4 ,thou know'st that love is no new thing to me3 ,i've proved how love grown old brings bitter pain3 ,cure it at once1 or hope no remedy2 ,for if thou find thee in ,love's cruel chain1 ,thy bees1 thy blossoms will be out of mind1 ,thy fields1 thy vines1 thy flocks1 thy cotes1 thy grain ,,aristaeus4 ,mopsus1 thou speakest to the deaf and blind3 ,waste not on me these wingd words1 ,i pray1 ,lest they be scattered to the inconstant wind1 ,i love1 and cannot wish to say love nay2 ,nor seek to cure so charming a disease3 ,they praise ,love best who most against him say4 ,yet if thou fain wouldst give my heart some ease1 ,forth from thy wallet take thy pipe1 and we ,will sing awhile beneath the leafy trees2 ,for well my nymph is pleased with melody4 ,,the ,,song4 ,listen1 ye wild woods1 to my roundelay2 ,since the fair nymph will hear not1 though ,i pray4 ,the lovely nymph is deaf to my lament1 ,nor heeds the music of this rustic reed2 ,wherefore my flocks and herds are ill content1 ,nor bathe their hoof where grows the water weed1 ,nor touch the tender herbage on the mead2 ,so sad1 because their shepherd grieves1 are they4 ,listen1 ye wild woods1 to my roundelay2 ,since the fair nymph will hear not1 though ,i pray4 ,the herds are sorry for their master's moan2 ,the nymph heeds not her lover though he die1 ,the lovely nymph1 whose heart is made of stone-- ,nay steel1 nay adamant6 ,she still doth fly ,far1 far before me1 when she sees me nigh1 ,even as a lamb flies fern the wolf away4 ,listen1 ye wild woods1 to my roundelay2 ,since the fair nymph will hear not1 though ,i pray4 ,nay1 tell her1 pipe of mine1 how swift doth flee ,beauty together with our years amain2 ,tell her how time destroys all rarity1 ,nor youth once lost can be renewed again2 ,tell her to use the gifts that yet remain3 ,roses and violets blossom not alway4 ,listen1 ye wild woods1 to my roundelay2 ,since the fair nymph will hear not1 though ,i pray4 ,carry1 ye winds1 these sweet words to her ears1 ,unto the ears of my loved nymph1 and tell ,how many tears ,i shed1 what bitter tears6 ,beg her to pity one who loves so well3 ,say that my life is frail and mutable1 ,and melts like rime before the rising day4 ,listen1 ye wild woods1 to my roundelay2 ,since the fair nymph will hear not1 though ,i pray4 ,,mopsus4 ,less sweet1 methinks the voice of waters falling ,from cliffs that echo back their murmurous song2 ,less sweet the summer sound of breezes calling ,through pine-tree tops sonorous all day long2 ,than are thy rhymes1 the soul of grief enthralling1 ,thy rhymes o'er field and forest borne along3 ,if she but hear them1 at thy feet she'll fawn4-- ,lo1 ,thyrsis1 hurrying homeward from the lawn6 ,re-enters ,,thyrsis4 ,,aristaeus4 ,what of the calf8 ,say1 hast thou seen her now8 ,,thyrsis1 the cowherd4 ,i have1 and ,i'd as lief her throat were cut6 ,she almost ripped my bowels up1 ,i vow1 ,running amuck with horns well set to butt3 ,nathless ,i've locked her in the stall below3 ,she's blown with grass1 ,i tell you1 saucy slut6 ,,aristaeus4 ,now1 prithee1 let me hear what made you stay ,so long upon the upland lawns away8 ,,thyrsis4 ,walking1 ,i spied a gentle maiden there1 ,who plucked wild flowers upon the mountain side3 ,i scarcely think that ,venus is more fair1 ,of sweeter grace1 most modest in her pride3 ,she speaks1 she sings1 with voice so soft and rare1 ,that listening streams would backward roll their tide3 ,her face is snow and roses2 gold her head2 ,all1 all alone she goes1 white-raimented1 ,,aristaeus4 ,stay1 ,mopsus6 ,i must follow3 for 'tis she ,of whom ,i lately spoke4 ,so1 friend1 farewell6 ,,mopsus4 ,hold1 ,aristaeus1 lest for her or thee ,thy boldness be the cause of mischief fell6 ,,aristaeus4 ,nay1 death this day must be my destiny1 ,unless ,i try my fate and break the spell4 ,stay therefore1 ,mopsus1 by the fountain stay6 ,i'll follow her1 meanwhile1 yon mountain way4 ,exit ,,aristaeus4 ,,mopsus4 ,thyrsis1 what thinkest thou of thy loved lord8 ,see'st thou that all his senses are distraught8 ,couldst thou not speak some seasonable word1 ,tell him what shame this idle love hath wrought8 ,,thyrsis4 ,free speech and servitude but ill accord1 ,friend ,mopsus1 and the hind is folly-fraught ,who rates his lord6 ,he's wiser far than ,i4 ,to tend these kine is all my mastery4 ,,scene ,,ii ,,aristaeus1 in pursuit of ,,eurydice4 ,flee not from me1 maiden6 ,lo1 ,i am thy friend6 ,dearer far than life ,i hold thee4 ,list1 thou beauty-laden1 ,to these prayers attend3 ,flee not1 let my arms enfold thee6 ,neither wolf nor bear will grasp thee3 ,that ,i am thy friend ,i've told thee3 ,stay thy course then2 let me clasp thee6-- ,since thou'rt deaf and wilt not heed me1 ,since thou'rt still before me flying1 ,while ,i follow panting1 dying1 ,lend me wings1 ,love1 wings to speed me6 ,exit ,,aristaeus1 pursuing ,,eurydice4 ,,scene ,,iii ,a ,,dryad4 ,sad news of lamentation and of pain1 ,dear sisters1 hath my voice to bear to you3 ,i scarcely dare to raise the dolorous strain4 ,eurydice by yonder stream lies low2 ,the flowers are fading round her stricken head1 ,and the complaining waters weep their woe4 ,the stranger soul from that fair house hath fled2 ,and she1 like privet pale1 or white ,may-bloom ,untimely plucked1 lies on the meadow1 dead4 ,hear then the cause of her disastrous doom6 ,a snake stole forth and stung her suddenly4 ,i am so burdened with this weight of gloom ,that1 lo1 ,i bid you all come weep with me6 ,,chorus ,,of ,,dryads4 ,let the wide air with our complaint resound6 ,for all heaven's light is spent4 ,let rivers break their bound1 ,swollen with tears outpoured from our lament6 ,fell death hath ta'en their splendour from the skies3 ,the stars are sunk in gloom4 ,stern death hath plucked the bloom ,of nymphs3--,eurydice down-trodden lies4 ,weep1 ,love6 ,the woodland cries4 ,weep1 groves and founts2 ,ye craggy mounts2 you leafy dell1 ,beneath whose boughs she fell1 ,bend every branch in time with this sad sound4 ,let the wide air with our complaint resound6 ,ah1 fortune pitiless6 ,ah1 cruel snake6 ,ah1 luckless doom of woes6 ,like a cropped summer rose1 ,or lily cut1 she withers on the brake4 ,her face1 which once did make ,our age so bright ,with beauty's light1 is faint and pale2 ,and the clear lamp doth fail1 ,which shed pure splendour all the world around ,let the wide air with our complaint resound6 ,who e'er will sing so sweetly1 now she's gone8 ,her gentle voice to hear1 ,the wild winds dared not stir2 ,and now they breathe but sorrow1 moan for moan3 ,so many joys are flown1 ,such jocund days ,doth ,death erase with her sweet eyes6 ,bid earth's lament arise1 ,and make our dirge through heaven and sea rebound6 ,let the wide air with our complaint resound6 ,a ,,dryad4 ',tis surely ,orpheus1 who hath reached the hill1 ,with harp in hand1 glad-eyed and light of heart6 ,he thinks that his dear love is living still4 ,my news will stab him with a sudden smart3 ,an unforeseen and unexpected blow ,wounds worst and stings the bosom's tenderest part4 ,death hath disjoined the truest love1 ,i know1 ,that nature yet to this low world revealed1 ,and quenched the flame in its most charming glow4 ,go1 sisters1 hasten ye to yonder field1 ,where on the sward lies slain ,eurydice2 ,strew her with flowers and grasses6 ,i must yield ,this man the measure of his misery4 ,exeunt ,,dryads4 ,enter ,,orpheus1 singing4 ,,orpheus4 ,musa1 triumphales titulos et gesta canamus ,herculis1 et forti monstra subacta manu2 ,ut timidae malri pressos ostenderit angues1 ,intrepidusque fero riserit ore puer4 ,a ,,dryad4 ,orpheus1 ,i bring thee bitter news4 ,alas6 ,thy nymph who was so beautiful1 is slain6 flying from ,aristaeus o'er the grass1 ,what time she reached yon stream that threads the plain1 ,a snake which lurked mid flowers where she did pass1 ,pierced her fair foot with his envenomed bane3 ,so fierce1 so potent was the sting1 that she ,died in mid course4 ,ah1 woe that this should be6 ,,orpheus turns to go in silence4 ,,mnesillus1 the satyr4 ,mark ye how sunk in woe ,the poor wretch forth doth pass1 ,and may not answer1 for his grief1 one word8 ,on some lone shore1 unheard1 ,far1 far away1 he'll go1 ,and pour his heart forth to the winds1 alas6 ,i'll follow and observe if he ,moves with his moan the hills to sympathy4 ,follows ,,orpheus4 ,,orpheus4 ,let us lament1 ,o lyre disconsolate6 ,our wonted music is in tune no more4 ,lament we while the heavens revolve1 and let ,the nightingale be conquered on ,love's shore6 ,o heaven1 ,o earth1 ,o sea1 ,o cruel fate6 ,how shall ,i bear a pang so passing sore8 ,eurydice1 my love6 ,o life of mine6 ,on earth ,i will no more without thee pine6 ,i will go down unto the doors of ,hell1 ,and see if mercy may be found below3 ,perchance we shall reverse fate's spoken spell ,with tearful songs and words of honeyed woe3 ,perchance will ,death be pitiful2 for well ,with singing have we turned the streams that flow2 ,moved stones1 together hind and tiger drawn1 ,and made trees dance upon the forest lawn4 ,passes from sight on his way to ,hades4 ,,mnesillus4 ,the staff of ,fate is strong ,and will not lightly bend1 ,nor yet the stubborn gates of steely ,hell4 ,nay1 ,i can see full well ,his life will not be long3 ,those downward feet no more will earthward wend4 ,what marvel if they lose the light1 ,who make blind ,love their guide by day and night6 ,,scene ,,iv ,,orpheus1 at the gate of ,hell4 ,pity1 nay pity for a lover's moan6 ,ye ,powers of ,hell1 let pity reign in you6 ,to your dark regions led me ,love alone3 ,downward upon his wings of light ,i flew4 ,hush1 ,cerberus6 ,howl not by ,pluto's throne6 ,for when you hear my tale of misery1 you1 ,nor you alone1 but all who here abide ,in this blind world1 will weep by ,lethe's tide4 ,there is no need1 ye ,furies1 thus to rage2 ,to dart those snakes that in your tresses twine3 ,knew ye the cause of this my pilgrimage1 ,ye would lie down and join your moans with mine4 ,let this poor wretch but pass1 who war doth wage ,with heaven1 the elements1 the powers divine6 ,i beg for pity or for death4 ,no more6 ,but open1 ope ,hell's adamantine door6 ,,orpheus enters ,hell4 ,,pluto4 ,what man is he who with his golden lyre ,hath moved the gates that never move1 ,while the dead folk repeat his dirge of love8 ,the rolling stone no more doth tire ,swart ,sisyphus on yonder hill2 ,and ,tantalus with water slakes his fire2 ,the groans of mangled ,tityos are still2 ,ixion's wheel forgets to fly2 ,the ,danaids their urns can fill3 ,i hear no more the tortured spirits cry2 ,but all find rest in that sweet harmony4 ,,proserpine4 ,dear consort1 since1 compelled by love of thee1 ,i left the light of heaven serene1 ,and came to reign in hell1 a sombre queen2 ,the charm of tenderest sympathy ,hath never yet had power to turn ,my stubborn heart1 or draw forth tears from me4 ,now with desire for yon sweet voice ,i yearn2 ,nor is there aught so dear ,as that delight4 ,nay1 be not stern ,to this one prayer6 ,relax thy brows severe1 ,and rest awhile with me that song to hear6 ,,orpheus stands before the throne4 ,,orpheus4 ,ye rulers of the people lost in gloom1 ,who see no more the jocund light of day6 ,ye who inherit all things that the womb ,of ,nature and the elements display6 ,hear ye the grief that draws me to the tomb6 ,love1 cruel ,love1 hath led me on this way3 ,not to chain ,cerberus ,i hither come1 ,but to bring back my mistress to her home4 ,a serpent hidden among flowers and leaves ,stole my fair mistress--nay1 my heart--from me3 ,wherefore my wounded life for ever grieves1 ,nor can ,i stand against this agony4 ,still1 if some fragrance lingers yet and cleaves ,of your famed love unto your memory1 ,if of that ancient rape you think at all1 ,give back ,eurydice6--,on you ,i call4 ,all things ere long unto this bourne descend3 ,all mortal lives to you return at last3 ,whate'er the moon hath circled1 in the end ,must fade and perish in your empire vast3 ,some sooner and some later hither wend2 ,yet all upon this pathway shall have passed3 ,this of our footsteps is the final goal2 ,and then we dwell for aye in your control4 ,therefore the nymph ,i love is left for you ,when nature leads her deathward in due time3 ,but now you've cropped the tendrils as they grew1 ,the grapes unripe1 while yet the sap did climb3 ,who reaps the young blades wet with ,april dew1 ,nor waits till summer hath o'erpassed her prime8 ,give back1 give back my hope one little day6-- ,not for a gift1 but for a loan ,i pray4 ,i pray not to you by the waves forlorn ,of marshy ,styx or dismal ,acheron1 ,by ,chaos where the mighty world was born1 ,or by the sounding flames of ,phlegethon2 ,but by the fruit which charmed thee on that morn ,when thou didst leave our world for this dread throne6 ,o queen6 if thou reject this pleading breath1 ,i will no more return1 but ask for death6 ,,proserpine4 ,husband1 ,i never guessed ,that in our realm oppressed ,pity could find a home to dwell3 ,but now ,i know that mercy teems in ,hell4 ,i see ,death weep2 her breast ,is shaken by those tears that faultless fell4 ,let then thy laws severe for him be swayed ,by love1 by song1 by the just prayers he prayed6 ,,pluto4 ,she's thine1 but at this price3 ,bend not on her thine eyes1 ,till mid the souls that live she stay4 ,see that thou turn not back upon the way6 ,check all fond thoughts that rise6 ,else will thy love be torn from thee away4 ,i am well pleased that song so rare as thine ,the might of my dread sceptre should incline4 ,,scene ,v ,,orpheus1 sings4 ,ite tritumphales circum mea tempora lauri4 ,vicimus ,eurydicen3 reddita vita mihi est1 ,haec mea praecipue victoria digna coron4 ,oredimus8 an lateri juncta puella meo8 ,,eurydice4 ,all me6 ,thy love too great ,hath lost not thee alone6 ,i am torn from thee by strong ,fate4 ,no more ,i am thine own4 ,in vain ,i stretch these arms4 ,back1 back to ,hell ,i'm drawn1 ,i'm drawn4 ,my ,orpheus1 fare thee well6 ,,eurydice disappears4 ,,orpheus4 ,who hath laid laws on ,love8 ,will pity not be given ,for one short look so full thereof8 ,since ,i am robbed of heaven1 ,since all my joy so great is turned to pain1 ,i will go back and plead with ,death again6 ,,tisiphone blocks his way4 ,,tisiphone4 ,nay1 seek not back to turn6 ,vain is thy weeping1 all thy words are vain4 ,eurydice may not complain ,of aught but thee--albeit her grief is great4 ,vain are thy verses 'gainst the voice of ,fate6 ,how vain thy song6 ,for ,death is stern6 ,try not the backward path3 thy feet refrain6 ,the laws of the abyss are fixed and firm remain4 ,,scene ,,vi ,,orpheus4 ,what sorrow-laden song shall e'er be found ,to match the burden of my matchless woe8 ,how shall ,i make the fount of tears abound1 ,to weep apace with grief's unmeasured flow8 ,salt tears ,i'll waste upon the barren ground1 ,so long as life delays me here below2 ,and since my fate hath wrought me wrong so sore1 ,i swear ,i'll never love a woman more6 ,henceforth ,i'll pluck the buds of opening spring1 ,the bloom of youth when life is loveliest1 ,ere years have spoiled the beauty which they bring3 ,this love1 ,i swear1 is sweetest1 softest1 best6 ,of female charms let no one speak or sing2 ,since she is slain who ruled within my breast4 ,he who would seek my converse1 let him see ,that ne'er he talk of woman's love to me6 ,how pitiful is he who changes mind ,for woman6 for her love laments or grieves6 ,who suffers her in chains his will to bind1 ,or trusts her words lighter than withered leaves1 ,her loving looks more treacherous than the wind6 ,a thousand times she veers2 to nothing cleaves3 ,follows who flies2 from him who follows1 flees2 ,and comes and goes like waves on stormy seas6 ,high ,jove confirms the truth of what ,i said1 ,who1 caught and bound in love's delightful snare1 ,enjoys in heaven his own bright ,ganymed3 ,phoebus on earth had ,hyacinth the fair3 ,hercules1 conqueror of the world1 was led ,captive to ,hylas by this love so rare4-- ,advice for husbands6 ,seek divorce1 and fly ,far1 far away from female company6 ,enter a ,,maenad leading a train of ,,bacchantes4 ,a ,,maenad4 ,ho6 ,sisters6 ,up6 ,alive6 ,see him who doth our sex deride6 ,hunt him to death1 the slave6 ,thou snatch the thyrsus6 ,thou this oak-tree rive6 ,cast down this doeskin and that hide6 ,we'll wreak our fury on the knave6 ,yea1 he shall feel our wrath1 the knave6 ,he shall yield up his hide ,riven as woodmen fir-trees rive6 ,no power his life can save2 ,since women he hath dared deride6 ,ho6 ,to him1 sisters6 ,ho6 ,alive6 ,,orpheus is chased off the scene and slain3 the ,,maenads then return4 ,a ,,maenad4 ,ho6 ,bacchus6 ,ho6 ,i yield thee thanks for this6 ,through all the woodland we the wretch have borne3 ,so that each root is slaked with blood of his3 ,yea1 limb from limb his body have we torn ,through the wild forest with a fearful bliss3 ,his gore hath bathed the earth by ash and thorn6-- ,go then6 thy blame on lawful wedlock fling6 ,ho6 ,bacchus6 take the victim that we bring6 ,,chorus ,,of ,,maenads4 ,bacchus6 we all must follow thee6 ,bacchus6 ,bacchus6 ,oh6 ,oh6 ,with ivy coronals1 bunch and berry1 ,crown we our heads to worship thee6 ,thou hast bidden us to make merry ,day and night with jollity6 ,drink then6 ,bacchus is here6 ,drink free1 ,and hand ye the drinking-cup to me6 ,bacchus6 we all must follow thee6 ,bacchus6 ,bacchus6 ,oh6 ,oh6 ,see1 ,i have emptied my horn already3 ,stretch hither your beaker to me1 ,i pray3 ,are the hills and the lawns where we roam unsteady8 ,or is it my brain that reels away8 ,let every one run to and fro through the hay1 ,as ye see me run6 ,ho6 after me6 ,bacchus6 we all must follow thee6 ,bacchus6 ,bacchus6 ,oh6 ,oh6 ,methinks ,i am dropping in swoon or slumber3 ,am ,i drunken or sober1 yes or no8 ,what are these weights my feet encumber8 ,you too are tipsy1 well ,i know6 ,let every one do as ye see me do1 ,let every one drink and quaff like me6 ,bacchus6 we all must follow thee6 ,bacchus6 ,bacchus6 ,oh6 ,oh6 ,cry ,bacchus6 ,cry ,bacchus6 ,be blithe and merry1 ,tossing wine down your throats away6 ,let sleep then come and our gladness bury3 ,drink you1 and you1 and you1 while ye may6 ,dancing is over for me to-day4 ,let every one cry aloud ,evoh6 ,bacchus6 we all must follow thee6 ,bacchus6 ,bacchus6 ,oh6 ,oh6 ,though an ,english translation can do little toward rendering the facile graces of ,poliziano's style1 that 'roseate fluency' for which it has been praised by his ,italian admirers1 the main qualities of the ',orfeo' as a composition may be traced in this rough copy4 ,of dramatic power1 of that mastery over the deeper springs of human nature which distinguished the first effort of the ,english muse in ,marlowe's plays1 there is but little4 ,a certain adaptation of the language to the characters1 as in the rudeness of ,thyrsis when contrasted with the rustic elegance of ,aristus1 a touch of simple feeling in ,eurydice's lyrical outcry of farewell1 a discrimination between the tender sympathy of ,proserpine and ,pluto's stern relenting1 a spirited presentation of the ,bacchanalian furore in the ,mnads1 an attempt to model the ,satyr ,mnesillus as apart from human nature and yet sympathetic to its anguish1 these points constitute the chief dramatic features of the melodrama4 ,orpheus himself is a purely lyrical personage4 ,of character1 he can scarcely be said to have anything marked2 and his part rises to its height precisely in that passage where the lyrist has to be displayed4 ,before the gates of ,hades and the throne of ,proserpine he sings1 and his singing is the right outpouring of a poet's soul2 each octave resumes the theme of the last stanza with a swell of utterance1 a crescendo of intonation that recalls the passionate and unpremeditated descant of a bird upon the boughs alone4 ,to this true quality of music is added the persuasiveness of pleading4 ,that the violin melody of his incomparable song is lost1 must be reckoned a great misfortune4 ,we have good reason to believe that the part of ,orpheus was taken by ,messer ,baccio ,ugolini1 singing to the viol4 ,here too it may be mentioned that a tondo in monochrome1 painted by ,signorelli among the arabesques at ,orvieto1 shows ,orpheus at the throne of ,plato1 habited as a poet with the laurel crown and playing on a violin of antique form4 ,it would be interesting to know whether a rumour of the ,mantuan pageant had reached the ears of the ,cortonese painter4 ,if the whole of the ',orfeo' had been conceived and executed with the same artistic feeling as the chief act1 it would have been a really fine poem independently of its historical interest4 ,but we have only to turn the page and read the lament uttered for the loss of ,eurydice1 in order to perceive ,poliziano's incapacity for dealing with his hero in a situation of greater difficulty4 ,the pathos which might have made us sympathise with ,orpheus in his misery1 the passion1 approaching to madness1 which might have justified his misogyny1 are absent4 ,it is difficult not to feel that in this climax of his anguish he was a poor creature1 and that the ,mnads served him right4 ,nothing illustrates the defect of real dramatic imagination better than this failure to dignify the catastrophe4 ,gifted with a fine lyrical inspiration1 ,poliziano seems to have already felt the ,bacchic chorus which forms so brilliant a termination to his play1 and to have forgotten his duty to the unfortunate ,orpheus1 whose sorrow for ,eurydice is stultified and made unmeaning by the prosaic expression of a base resolve4 ,it may indeed be said in general that the ',orfeo' is a good poem only where the situation is not so much dramatic as lyrical1 and that its finest passage--the scene in ,hades--was fortunately for its author one in which the dramatic motive had to be lyrically expressed4 ,in this respect1 as in many others1 the ',orfeo' combines the faults and merits of the ,italian attempts at melo-tragedy4 ,to break a butterfly upon the wheel is1 however1 no fit function of criticism3 and probably no one would have smiled more than the author of this improvisation1 at the thought of its being gravely dissected just four hundred years after the occasion it was meant to serve had long been given over to oblivion4 ,,note ,poliziano's ',orfeo' was dedicated to ,messer ,carlo ,canale1 the husband of that famous ,vannozza who bore ,lucrezia and ,cesare ,borgia to ,alexander ,,vi4 ,as first published in #adid1 and as republished from time to time up to the year #aggf1 it carried the title of ',la ,favola di ,orfeo1' and was not divided into acts4 ,frequent stage-directions sufficed1 as in the case of ,florentine ',sacre ,rappresentazioni1' for the indication of the scenes4 ,in this earliest redaction of the ',orfeo' the chorus of the ,dryads1 the part of ,mnesillus1 the lyrical speeches of ,proserpine and ,pluto1 and the first lyric of the ,mnads are either omitted or represented by passages in ottava rima4 ,in the year #aggf the ,padre ,ireneo ,aff printed at ,venice a new version of ',orfeo1 ,tragedia di ,messer ,angelo ,poliziano1' collated by him from two ,,mss4 ,this play is divided into five acts1 severally entitled ',pastoricus1' ',nymphas ,habet1' ',herocus1' ',necromanticus1' and ',bacchanalis4' ,the stage-directions are given partly in ,latin1 partly in ,italian2 and instead of the ',announcement of the ,feast' by ,mercury1 a prologue consisting of two octave stanzas is appended4 ,a ,latin ,sapphic ode in praise of the ,cardinal ,gonzaga1 which was interpolated in the first version1 is omitted1 and certain changes are made in the last soliloquy of ,orpheus4 ,there is little doubt1 ,i think1 that the second version1 first given to the press by the ,padre ,aff1 was ,poliziano's own recension of his earlier composition4 ,i have therefore followed it in the main1 except that ,i have not thought it necessary to observe the somewhat pedantic division into acts1 and have preferred to use the original ',announcement of the ,feast1' which proves the integral connection between this ancient secular play and the ,florentine ,mystery or ',sacra ,rappresentazione4' ,the last soliloquy of ,orpheus1 again1 has been freely translated by me from both versions for reasons which will be obvious to students of the original4 ,i have yet to make a remark upon one detail of my translation4 ,in line #cij 7part of the first lyric of the ,mnads7 the ,italian gives us3-- ,spezzata come il fabbro il cribro spezza4 ,this means literally3 ',riven as a blacksmith rives a sieve or boulter4' ,now sieves are made in ,tuscany of a plate of iron1 pierced with holes2 and the image would therefore be familiar to an ,italian4 ,i have1 however1 preferred to translate thus3-- ,riven as woodmen fir-trees rive1 instead of giving3-- ,riven as blacksmiths boulters rive1 because ,i thought that the second and faithful version would be unintelligible as well as unpoetical for ,english readers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,eight ,,sonnets ,,of ,,petrarch ,,on ,,the ,,papal ,,court ,,at ,,avignon ,fountain of woe6 ,harbour of endless ire6 ,thou school of errors1 haunt of heresies6 ,once ,rome1 now ,babylon1 the world's disease1 ,that maddenest men with fears and fell desire6 ,o forge of fraud6 ,o prison dark and dire1 ,where dies the good1 where evil breeds increase6 ,thou living ,hell6 ,wonders will never cease ,if ,christ rise not to purge thy sins with fire4 ,founded in chaste and humble poverty1 ,against thy founders thou dost raise thy horn1 ,thou shameless harlot6 ,and whence flows this pride8 ,even from foul and loathed adultery1 ,the wage of lewdness4 ,constantine1 return6 ,not so3 the felon world its fate must bide4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,,stefano ,,colonna ,,written ,,from ,,vaucluse ,glorius ,colonna1 thou on whose high head ,rest all our hopes and the great ,latin name1 ,whom from the narrow path of truth and fame ,the wrath of ,jove turned not with stormful dread3 ,here are no palace-courts1 no stage to tread2 ,but pines and oaks the shadowy valleys fill ,between the green fields and the neighbouring hill1 ,where musing oft ,i climb by fancy led4 ,these lift from earth to heaven our soaring soul1 ,while the sweet nightingale1 that in thick bowers ,through darkness pours her wail of tuneful woe1 ,doth bend our charmed breast to love's control2 ,but thou alone hast marred this bliss of ours1 ,since from our side1 dear lord1 thou needs must go4 ,,in ,,vita ,,di ,,madonna ,,laura4 ,,xi ,,on ,,leaving ,,avignon ,backward at every weary step and slow ,these limbs ,i turn which with great pain ,i bear2 ,then take ,i comfort from the fragrant air ,that breathes from thee1 and sighing onward go4 ,but when ,i think how joy is turned to woe1 ,remembering my short life and whence ,i fare1 ,i stay my feet for anguish and despair1 ,and cast my tearful eyes on earth below4 ,at times amid the storm of misery ,this doubt assails me3 how frail limbs and poor ,can severed from their spirit hope to live4 ,then answers ,love3 ,hast thou no memory ,how ,i to lovers this great guerdon give1 ,free from all human bondage to endure8 99 99 99 99 99 ,,in ,,vita ,,di ,,madonna ,,laura4 ,,xii ,,thoughts ,,in ,,absence ,the wrinkled sire with hair like winter snow ,leaves the beloved spot where he hath passed his years1 ,leaves wife and children1 dumb with bitter tears1 ,to see their father's tottering steps and slow4 ,dragging his aged limbs with weary woe1 ,in these last days of life he nothing fears1 ,but with stout heart his fainting spirit cheers1 ,and spent and wayworn forward still doth go2 ,then comes to ,rome1 following his heart's desire1 ,to gaze upon the portraiture of ,him ,whom yet he hopes in heaven above to see3 ,thus ,i1 alas6 my seeking spirit tire1 ,lady1 to find in other features dim ,the longed for1 loved1 true lineaments of thee4 ,,in ,,vita ,,di ,,madonna ,,laura4 ,,lii ,,oh ,,that ,i ,,had ,,wings ,,like ,a ,,dove6 ,i am so tired beneath the ancient load ,of my misdeeds and custom's tyranny1 ,that much ,i fear to fail upon the road ,and yield my soul unto mine enemy4 ',tis true a friend from whom all splendour flowed1 ,to save me came with matchless courtesy3 ,then flew far up from sight to heaven's abode1 ,so that ,i strive in vain his face to see4 ,yet still his voice reverberates here below3 ,oh ye who labour1 lo6 the path is here2 ,come unto me if none your going stay6 ,what grace1 what love1 what fate surpassing fear ,shall give me wings like dove's wings soft as snow1 ,that ,i may rest and raise me from the clay8 99 99 99 99 99 ,,in ,,morte ,,di ,,madonna ,,laura4 ,,xxiv ,the eyes whereof ,i sang my fervid song1 ,the arms1 the hands1 the feet1 the face benign1 ,which severed me from what was rightly mine1 ,and made me sole and strange amid the throng1 ,the crispd curls of pure gold beautiful1 ,and those angelic smiles which once did shine ,imparadising earth with joy divine1 ,are now a little dust--dumb1 deaf1 and dull4 ,and yet ,i live6 wherefore ,i weep and wail1 ,left alone without the light ,i loved so long1 ,storm-tossed upon a bark that hath no sail4 ,then let me here give o'er my amorous song2 ,the fountains of old inspiration fail1 ,and nought but woe my dolorous chords prolong4 ,,in ,,morte ,,di ,,madonna ,,laura4 ,,xxxiv ,in thought ,i raised me to the place where she ,whom still on earth ,i seek and find not1 shines2 ,there 'mid the souls whom the third sphere confines1 ,more fair ,i found her and less proud to me4 ,she took my hand and said3 ,here shalt thou be ,with me ensphered1 unless desires mislead2 ,lo6 ,i am she who made thy bosom bleed1 ,whose day ere eve was ended utterly3 ,my bliss no mortal heart can understand2 ,thee only do ,i lack1 and that which thou ,so loved1 now left on earth1 my beauteous veil4 ,ah6 wherefore did she cease and loose my hand8 ,for at the sound of that celestial tale ,i all but stayed in paradise till now4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,in ,,morte ,,di ,,madonna ,,laura4 ,,lxxiv ,the flower of angels and the spirits blest1 ,burghers of heaven1 on that first day when she ,who is my lady died1 around her pressed ,fulfilled with wonder and with piety4 ,what light is this8 ,what beauty manifest8 ,marvelling they cried3 for such supremacy ,of splendour in this age to our high rest ,hath never soared from earth's obscurity4 ,she1 glad to have exchanged her spirit's place1 ,consorts with those whose virtues most exceed2 ,at times the while she backward turns her face ,to see me follow--seems to wait and plead3 ,therefore toward heaven my will and soul ,i raise1 ,because ,i hear her praying me to speed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,we may compare with ,venice what is known about the ancient ,hellenic city of ,sybaris4 ,sybaris and ,ravenna were the ,greek and ,roman ,venice of antiquity4 ,footnote #b3 ,his first wife was a daughter of the great general of the ,venetians against ,francesco ,sforza4 ,whether ,sigismondo murdered her1 as ,sansovino seems to imply in his ,famiglie ,illustri1 or whether he only repudiated her after her father's execution on the ,piazza di ,san ,marco1 admits of doubt4 ,about the question of ,sigismondo's marriage with ,isotta there is also some uncertainty4 ,at any rate she had been some time his mistress before she became his wife4 ,footnote #c3 ,for the place occupied in the evolution of ,italian scholarship by this ,greek sage1 see my ',revival of ,learning1' ,renaissance in ,italy1 part #b4 ,footnote #d3 ,the account of this church given by neas ,sylvius ,piccolomini 7,pii ,secondi1 ,comment41 ii4 #ib7 deserves quotation3 'dificavit tamen nobile templum ,arimini in honorem divi ,francisci1 verum ita gentilibus operibus implevit1 ut non tam ,christianorum quam infidelium dmones adorantium templum esse videatur4' ,footnote #e3 ,almost all the facts of ,alberti's life are to be found in the ,latin biography included in ,muratori4 ,it has been conjectured1 and not without plausibility1 by the last editor of ,alberti's complete works1 ,bonucci1 that this ,latin life was penned by ,alberti himself4 ,footnote #f3 ,there is in reality no doubt or problem about this ,saint ,clair4 ,she was born in #abge1 and joined the ,augustinian ,sisterhood1 dying young1 in #acjh1 as ,abbess of her convent4 ,continual and impassioned meditation on the ,passion of our ,lord impressed her heart with the signs of ,his suffering which have been described above4 ,i owe this note to the kindness of an anonymous correspondent1 whom ,i here thank4 ,footnote #g3 ,the balance of probability leans against ,isabella in this affair4 ,at the licentious court of the ,medici she lived with unpardonable freedom4 ,troilo ,orsini was himself assassinated in ,paris by ,bracciano's orders a few years afterwards4 ,footnote #h3 ,i have amplified and corrected this chronicle by the light of ,professor ,gnoli's monograph1 ,vittoria ,accoramboni1 published by ,le ,monnier at ,florence in #ahgj4 ,footnote #i3 ,in dealing with ,webster's tragedy1 ,i have adhered to his use and spelling of names4 ,footnote #aj3 ,the fresco of the ,coronation of the ,virgin upon the semi-dome of ,s4 ,giovanni is the work of a copyist1 ,cesare ,aretusi4 ,but part of the original fresco1 which was removed in #afhd1 exists in a good state of preservation at the end of the long gallery of the library4 ,footnote #aa3 ,see the chapter on ,euripides in my ,studies of ,greek ,poets1 ,first ,series1 for a further development of this view of artistic evolution4 ,footnote #ab3 ,i find that this story is common in the country round ,canossa4 ,it is mentioned by ,professor ,a4 ,ferretti in his monograph entitled ,canossa1 ,studi e ,ricerche1 ,reggio1 #ahgf1 a work to which ,i am indebted1 and which will repay careful study4 ,footnote #ac3 ,charles claimed under the will of ,ren of ,anjou1 who in turn claimed under the will of ,joan ,,ii4 ,footnote #ad3 ,for an estimate of ,cosimo's services to art and literature1 his collection of libraries1 his great buildings1 his generosity to scholars1 and his promotion of ,greek studies1 ,i may refer to my ,renaissance in ,italy3 ',the ,revival of ,learning1' chap4 iv4 ,footnote #ae3 ,giottino had painted the ,duke of ,athens1 in like manner1 on the same walls4 ,footnote #af3 ,see ,archivio ,storico4 ,footnote #ag3 ,the order of rhymes runs thus3 a1 b1 b1 a1 a1 b1 b1 a1 c1 d1 c1 d1 c1 d2 or in the terzets1 c1 d1 e1 c1 d1 e1 or c1 d1 e1 d1 c1 e1 and so forth4 ,footnote #ah3 ,it has extraordinary interest for the student of our literary development1 inasmuch as it is full of experiments in metres1 which have never thriven on ,english soil4 ,not to mention the attempt to write in asclepiads and other classical rhythms1 we might point to ,sidney's terza rima1 poems with sdrucciolo or treble rhymes4 ,this peculiar and painful form he borrowed from ,ariosto and ,sanazzaro2 but even in ,italian it cannot be handled without sacrifice of variety1 without impeding the metrical movement and marring the sense4 ,footnote #ai3 ,the stately structure of the ,prothalamion and ,epithalamion is a rebuilding of the ,italian ,canzone4 ,his ,eclogues1 with their allegories1 repeat the manner of ,petrarch's minor ,latin poems4 ,footnote #bj3 ,marlowe makes ,gaveston talk of ',italian masques4' ,at the same time1 in the prologue to ,tamburlaine1 he shows that he was conscious of the new and nobler direction followed by the drama in ,england4 ,footnote #ba3 ,this sentence requires some qualification4 ,in his ,poesia ,popolare ,italiana1 #ahgh1 ,professor d',ancona prints a ,pisan1 a ,venetian1 and two ,lombard versions of our ,border ballad ',where hae ye been1 ,lord ,randal1 my son1' so close in general type and minor details to the ,english1 ,german1 ,swedish1 and ,finnish versions of this ,volkslied as to suggest a very ancient community of origin4 ,it remains as yet1 however1 an isolated fact in the history of ,italian popular poetry4 ,footnote #bb3 ,canti ,popolari ,toscani1 raccolti e annotati da ,giuseppe ,tigri4 ,volume unico4 ,firenze3 ,g4 ,barbra1 #ahfi4 ,footnote #bc3 ,this is a description of the ,tuscan rispetto4 ,in ,sicily the stanza generally consists of eight lines rhyming alternately throughout1 while in the ,north of ,italy it is normally a simple quatrain4 ,the same poetical material assumes in ,northern1 ,central1 and ,southern ,italy these diverge but associated forms4 ,footnote #bd3 ,this song1 called ,ciure 7,sicilian for fiore7 in ,sicily1 is said by ,signor ,pitr to be in disrepute there4 ,he once asked an old dame of ,palermo to repeat him some of these ditties4 ,her answer was1 ',you must get them from light women2 ,i do not know any4 ,they sing them in bad houses and prisons1 where1 ,god be praised1 ,i have never been4' ,in ,tuscany there does not appear to be so marked a distinction between the flower song and the rispetto4 ,footnote #be3 ,much light has lately been thrown on the popular poetry of ,italy2 and it appears that contemporary improvisatori trust more to their richly stocked memories and to their power of recombination than to original or novel inspiration4 ,it is in ,sicily that the vein of truly creative lyric utterance is said to flow most freely and most copiously at the present time4 ,footnote #bf3 ',remember me1 fair one1 to the scrivener4 ,i do not know him or who he is1 but he seems to me a sovereign poet1 so cunning is he in his use of verse4' ,footnote #bg3 ,it must be remarked that ,tigri draws a strong contrast in this respect between the songs of the mountain districts which he has printed and those of the towns1 and that ,pitr1 in his edition of ,sicilian ,volkslieder1 expressly alludes to the coarseness of a whole class which he had omitted4 ,the ,,mss4 of ,sicilian and ,tuscan songs1 dating from the fifteenth century and earlier1 yield a fair proportion of decidedly obscene compositions4 ,yet the fact stated above is integrally correct4 ,when acclimatised in the large towns1 the rustic ,muse not unfrequently assumes a garb of grossness4 ,at home1 among the fields and on the mountains1 she remains chaste and romantic4 ,footnote #bh3 ,in a rispetto1 of which ,i subjoin a translation1 sung by a poor lad to a mistress of higher rank1 love itself is pleaded as the sign of a gentle soul3-- ,my state is poor3 ,i am not meet ,to court so nobly born a love2 ,for poverty hath tied my feet1 ,trying to climb too far above4 ,yet am ,i gentle1 loving thee2 ,nor need thou shun my poverty4 ,footnote #bi3 ,when the ,cherubina1 of whom mention has been made above1 was asked by ,signor ,tigri to dictate some of her rispetti1 she answered1 ',o signore6 ne dico tanti quando li canto6 4 4 4 ma ora 4 4 4 bisognerebbe averli tutti in visione2 se no1 proprio non vengono4' ,footnote #cj3 ,i need hardly guard myself against being supposed to mean that the form of ,ballata in question was the only one of its kind in ,italy4 ,footnote #ca3 ,see my ,sketches in ,italy and ,greece1 p4 #aad4 ,footnote #cb3 ,the originals will be found in ,carducci's ,studi ,letterari1 p4 #bgc et seq4 ,i have preserved their rhyming structure4 ,footnote #cc3 ,stanza ,,xliii4 ,all references are made to ,carducci's excellent edition1 ,le ,stanze1 l',orfeo e le ,rime di ,messer ,angelo ,ambrogini ,poliziano4 ,firenze3 ,g4 ,barbra4 #ahfc4