[587]II. vi. 7-15, 28-42; II. iv. 24-39; II. xiii. 20-23; I. xxv. 38.
[587]II. vi. 7-15, 28-42; II. iv. 24-39; II. xiii. 20-23; I. xxv. 38.
[588]I. xxiii. 38, 47; xxvi. 28.
[588]I. xxiii. 38, 47; xxvi. 28.
[589]I. xxiii. 6.
[589]I. xxiii. 6.
[590]Burne Jones, in hisPan and Syrinx, offers a parallel.
[590]Burne Jones, in hisPan and Syrinx, offers a parallel.
[591]II. xv. 43et seq.
[591]II. xv. 43et seq.
[592]II. xvii. 49et seq.
[592]II. xvii. 49et seq.
[593]See II. xxxi. xlv.; III. i. ii.
[593]See II. xxxi. xlv.; III. i. ii.
[594]See I. viii. 56et seq.The whole tale of Grifone and Marchino in that Canto is horrible.
[594]See I. viii. 56et seq.The whole tale of Grifone and Marchino in that Canto is horrible.
[595]On Ariosto's treatment of Boiardo's characters there is much excellent criticism in Pio Rajna'sLe Fonti dell'Orlando Furioso(Firenze, Sansoni, 1876), pp. 43-53.
[595]On Ariosto's treatment of Boiardo's characters there is much excellent criticism in Pio Rajna'sLe Fonti dell'Orlando Furioso(Firenze, Sansoni, 1876), pp. 43-53.
[596]I do not mean that other poets—Pulci and Bello, for example—had not interwoven episodicalnovelle. The latter's poem ofMambrianoowes all its interest to the episodes, and many of its introductory reflections are fair specimens of the discursive style. But the peculiarity of Boiardo, as followed by Ariosto, consisted in the art of subordinating these subsidiary motives to the main design. Neither Pulci nor Bello showed any true sense of poetical unity. It may here be parenthetically remarked that Francesco Bello, a native of Ferrara, called Il Cieco because of his blindness, recited hisMambrianoat the Mantuan Court of the Gonzagas. It was not printed till after his death in 1509. This poem consists of a series of tales, loosely stitched together, each canto containing just enough to stimulate the attention of an idle audience. Rinaldo, Astolfo, and Mambriano, king of Bithynia, play prominent parts in the action.
[596]I do not mean that other poets—Pulci and Bello, for example—had not interwoven episodicalnovelle. The latter's poem ofMambrianoowes all its interest to the episodes, and many of its introductory reflections are fair specimens of the discursive style. But the peculiarity of Boiardo, as followed by Ariosto, consisted in the art of subordinating these subsidiary motives to the main design. Neither Pulci nor Bello showed any true sense of poetical unity. It may here be parenthetically remarked that Francesco Bello, a native of Ferrara, called Il Cieco because of his blindness, recited hisMambrianoat the Mantuan Court of the Gonzagas. It was not printed till after his death in 1509. This poem consists of a series of tales, loosely stitched together, each canto containing just enough to stimulate the attention of an idle audience. Rinaldo, Astolfo, and Mambriano, king of Bithynia, play prominent parts in the action.
[597]SeeSatire, i. 100-102; ii. 109-111.
[597]SeeSatire, i. 100-102; ii. 109-111.
[598]SeeSatire, i. 113-123, for his reasons. He seems chiefly to have dreaded the loss of personal liberty, if he took orders.
[598]SeeSatire, i. 113-123, for his reasons. He seems chiefly to have dreaded the loss of personal liberty, if he took orders.
[599]Ippolito is said to have asked the poet: "Dove avete trovato, messer Lodovico, tante corbellerie?" That he did in effect say something of the kind is proved bySatire, ii. 94-99.
[599]Ippolito is said to have asked the poet: "Dove avete trovato, messer Lodovico, tante corbellerie?" That he did in effect say something of the kind is proved bySatire, ii. 94-99.
[600]Campori,Notizie per la Vita di L. Ariosto(Modena, Vincenzi, 1871), pp. 55-58.
[600]Campori,Notizie per la Vita di L. Ariosto(Modena, Vincenzi, 1871), pp. 55-58.
[601]Ibid.p. 58.
[601]Ibid.p. 58.
[602]He penned the following couplet in 1503, when it is to be hoped he had yet not learned to know his master's real qualities:Quis patre invicto gerit Hercule fortius arma,Mystica quis casto castius Hippolyto?In another epigram, written on the death of the Cardinal, he pretends that Ippolito, hearing of Alfonso's illness, vowed his own life for his brother's and was accepted. SeeOpere Minori, i. 349.
[602]He penned the following couplet in 1503, when it is to be hoped he had yet not learned to know his master's real qualities:
In another epigram, written on the death of the Cardinal, he pretends that Ippolito, hearing of Alfonso's illness, vowed his own life for his brother's and was accepted. SeeOpere Minori, i. 349.
[603]SeeSatiresii. vii.;Capitolii. ii.
[603]SeeSatiresii. vii.;Capitolii. ii.
[604]Campori,op. cit.p. 59.
[604]Campori,op. cit.p. 59.
[605]SeeSatireiv. 67-72.
[605]SeeSatireiv. 67-72.
[606]SeeSatirev. 172-204.
[606]SeeSatirev. 172-204.
[607]This is one of the pretty stories on which some doubt has lately been cast. See Campori, pp. 105-110, for a full discussion of its probable truth.
[607]This is one of the pretty stories on which some doubt has lately been cast. See Campori, pp. 105-110, for a full discussion of its probable truth.
[608]"Small, but suited to my needs, freehold, not mean, the fruit of my own earnings." His son Virginio substituted another inscription which may still be seen upon the little house-front:Sic domus hæc Areostea propitios habeat deos olim ut Pindarica—"May this house of Ariosto have gods propitious as of old the house of Pindar."
[608]"Small, but suited to my needs, freehold, not mean, the fruit of my own earnings." His son Virginio substituted another inscription which may still be seen upon the little house-front:Sic domus hæc Areostea propitios habeat deos olim ut Pindarica—"May this house of Ariosto have gods propitious as of old the house of Pindar."
[609]The date is uncertain. It was not before 1522, perhaps even so late as 1527.
[609]The date is uncertain. It was not before 1522, perhaps even so late as 1527.
[610]xv. 28; xxxiii. 24.
[610]xv. 28; xxxiii. 24.
[611]See Panizzi,op. cit.vol. vi. p. cxix. for a description of these verbal changes.
[611]See Panizzi,op. cit.vol. vi. p. cxix. for a description of these verbal changes.
[612]See especiallySatireii. 28-51, andCapitoloi.
[612]See especiallySatireii. 28-51, andCapitoloi.
[613]"Ludovici Areosti humantur ossa," etc.,Op. Min.i. 365.
[613]"Ludovici Areosti humantur ossa," etc.,Op. Min.i. 365.
[614]See theOpere Minori, vol. i. p. 336. Also Carducci's eloquent defense of these Horatian verses in his essay,Delle Poesie Latine di L. Ariosto(Bologna, Zanichelli, 1876), p. 82. The latter treatise is a learned criticism of Ariosto's Latin poetry from a point of view somewhat too indulgent to Ariosto as a poet and a man. Carducci, for example, calls the four Alcaic stanzas in question "una cosellina quasi perfetta," though they contain three third lines like these:Furore militis tremendo....Jacentem aquæ ad murmur cadentis....Mecumque cespite hoc recumbens.Ariosto was but second-rate among the Latin versifiers of his century. It must, however, be added that his Latin poems were written in early manhood and only published after his death by Giambattista Pigna, in 1553.
[614]See theOpere Minori, vol. i. p. 336. Also Carducci's eloquent defense of these Horatian verses in his essay,Delle Poesie Latine di L. Ariosto(Bologna, Zanichelli, 1876), p. 82. The latter treatise is a learned criticism of Ariosto's Latin poetry from a point of view somewhat too indulgent to Ariosto as a poet and a man. Carducci, for example, calls the four Alcaic stanzas in question "una cosellina quasi perfetta," though they contain three third lines like these:
Ariosto was but second-rate among the Latin versifiers of his century. It must, however, be added that his Latin poems were written in early manhood and only published after his death by Giambattista Pigna, in 1553.
[615]Op. Min.vol. i. p. 333:Quid nostra an Gallo regi an servire Latino,Si sit idem hinc atque hinc non leve servitium?Barbaricone esse est pejus sub nomine, quam subMoribus? At ducibus, Dii, date digna malis.What Ariosto thought about the Italian despots finds full expression in theCinque Canti, ii. 5, 6, where he protests that Caligula, Nero, Phalaris, Dionysius and Creon were surpassed by them in cruelty and crime.
[615]Op. Min.vol. i. p. 333:
What Ariosto thought about the Italian despots finds full expression in theCinque Canti, ii. 5, 6, where he protests that Caligula, Nero, Phalaris, Dionysius and Creon were surpassed by them in cruelty and crime.
[616]I have followed the order of Lemonnier's edition, vol. i. ofOpere Minori, Florence, 1857. But the dates of composition are uncertain, and it may be doubted whether Ariosto's own autograph can be taken as the basis of a chronological arrangement. Much obscurity rests upon these poems. We do not know, for instance, whether they were sent to the friends addressed in them by name, or whether the author intended them for publication. The student may profitably consult upon these points the lithographed facsimile of the autograph, published at Bologna by Zanichelli in 1875. Meanwhile it is enough to mention that the first epistle was addressed to Messer Galasso Ariosto, the poet's brother, the second to Messer Alessandro Ariosto and Messer Lodovico da Bagno, the third and fourth to Messer Annibale Maleguccio, the fifth to Messer Sismondo Maleguccio, the sixth to Messer Buonaventura Pistofilo, and the seventh to Monsignore Pietro Bembo.
[616]I have followed the order of Lemonnier's edition, vol. i. ofOpere Minori, Florence, 1857. But the dates of composition are uncertain, and it may be doubted whether Ariosto's own autograph can be taken as the basis of a chronological arrangement. Much obscurity rests upon these poems. We do not know, for instance, whether they were sent to the friends addressed in them by name, or whether the author intended them for publication. The student may profitably consult upon these points the lithographed facsimile of the autograph, published at Bologna by Zanichelli in 1875. Meanwhile it is enough to mention that the first epistle was addressed to Messer Galasso Ariosto, the poet's brother, the second to Messer Alessandro Ariosto and Messer Lodovico da Bagno, the third and fourth to Messer Annibale Maleguccio, the fifth to Messer Sismondo Maleguccio, the sixth to Messer Buonaventura Pistofilo, and the seventh to Monsignore Pietro Bembo.
[617]The first and secondCapitoli, upon the irksome and exhausting service of the Cardinal, as dangerous to Ariosto's health as it was irritating to his temper, should be read side by side with this Epistle.
[617]The first and secondCapitoli, upon the irksome and exhausting service of the Cardinal, as dangerous to Ariosto's health as it was irritating to his temper, should be read side by side with this Epistle.
[618]See above,p. 505, for Ariosto's liking for turnips. He ate them with vinegar and wine sauce.
[618]See above,p. 505, for Ariosto's liking for turnips. He ate them with vinegar and wine sauce.
[619]Compare the apologue of the gourd and the pear-tree in the sixth Satire (55-114). It is to the same effect, but even plainer.
[619]Compare the apologue of the gourd and the pear-tree in the sixth Satire (55-114). It is to the same effect, but even plainer.
[620]The word I have translated "magpie" isgazain the autograph. This has been interpreted as a slip of the pen forganza; but it may be a Lombardism forgazza. In the latter case we should translate it "magpie," in the former "sweetheart." I prefer to readgazza, as the ironical analogy between a magpie and a poet is characteristic of Ariosto.
[620]The word I have translated "magpie" isgazain the autograph. This has been interpreted as a slip of the pen forganza; but it may be a Lombardism forgazza. In the latter case we should translate it "magpie," in the former "sweetheart." I prefer to readgazza, as the ironical analogy between a magpie and a poet is characteristic of Ariosto.
[621]The irony of this passage is justly celebrated. After all his hopes and all the pontiff's promises, the poet gets a kiss, a trifling favor, and has to trudge down from the Vatican to his inn. Themezza bollais supposed to refer to the fine for entrance on the little benefice of Sant'Agata, half of which Leo remitted.
[621]The irony of this passage is justly celebrated. After all his hopes and all the pontiff's promises, the poet gets a kiss, a trifling favor, and has to trudge down from the Vatican to his inn. Themezza bollais supposed to refer to the fine for entrance on the little benefice of Sant'Agata, half of which Leo remitted.
[622]The third elegy is a beautiful lamentation over his separation from his mistress. Written to ease his heart in solitude, it is more impassioned and less guarded than the epistle.
[622]The third elegy is a beautiful lamentation over his separation from his mistress. Written to ease his heart in solitude, it is more impassioned and less guarded than the epistle.
[623]It may be interesting to compare this scarcely disguised satire with the official flatteries ofCanzoneii. andElegiesi., xiv., where Ariosto praises the Medici, and especially Lorenzo, as the saviours of Florence, the honor of Italy.
[623]It may be interesting to compare this scarcely disguised satire with the official flatteries ofCanzoneii. andElegiesi., xiv., where Ariosto praises the Medici, and especially Lorenzo, as the saviours of Florence, the honor of Italy.
[624]22-69.
[624]22-69.
[625]As when, for instance, he calls the sun in the firstCanzone, "l'omicida lucido d'Achille." Several of the sonnets are artificial in their tropes.
[625]As when, for instance, he calls the sun in the firstCanzone, "l'omicida lucido d'Achille." Several of the sonnets are artificial in their tropes.
[626]De Sanctis, ii.
[626]De Sanctis, ii.
[627]See especially the lines entitledDe suâ ipsius mobilitate.
[627]See especially the lines entitledDe suâ ipsius mobilitate.
[628]See Sonnets xii. xi. xxvi. xxiii.
[628]See Sonnets xii. xi. xxvi. xxiii.
[629]See Ermolao Rubieri,Storia della Poesia Popolare Italiana, p. 45.
[629]See Ermolao Rubieri,Storia della Poesia Popolare Italiana, p. 45.
[630]Carducci,Intorno ad Alcune Rime, p. 107.
[630]Carducci,Intorno ad Alcune Rime, p. 107.
[631]Opere Volgari di L.B. Alberti, vol. i. p. ccxxv.
[631]Opere Volgari di L.B. Alberti, vol. i. p. ccxxv.
[632]See passage referred to above,p. 524, note.
[632]See passage referred to above,p. 524, note.