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Renaissance in Italy Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the Renaissance in Italy novel. A total of 208 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : Renaissance in Italy.Volume 1.by John Addington Symonds.PREFACE.This volume is the First
Renaissance in Italy.Volume 1.by John Addington Symonds.PREFACE.This volume is the First Part of a work upon the 'Renaissance in Italy.'The Second Part treats of the Revival of Learning. The Third, of the Fine Arts. The Fourth Part, in two volum
- 108 Non soner perche e' m'aiuti Carlo, Che per vilta mai non volli sonarlo: his address to the knights when rus.h.i.+ng into desperate battle at impossible odds[537]; the scene of his death, so tender in its pathos, so quaint in its piety; the agony of Char
- 107 [499] No one who has read Poliziano's Greek epigrams on Chrysocomus, or who knows the scandal falsely circulated regarding his death, will have failed to connect the sentiments put into the mouth of Orpheus (Carducci, pp. 109-110) with the personality of
- 106 [461] See _Fine Arts_, p. 183.[462] See _Revival of Learning_, pp. 215 _et seq._; _Fine Arts_, pp.183 _et seq._ [463] It is right to say here that considerable portions of Southern Italy, the Marches of Ancona and Romagna, Piedmont and Liguria, remained o
- 105 A somewhat earlier composition than _La Giostra_ was _La Favola di Orfeo_, a dramatic poem similar in form to the _Sacra Rappresentazione_, with a cla.s.sical instead of a religious subject.[497] To call it a tragedy would be to dignify it with too grand
- 104 _I Beoni_ is a plebeian poem of a different and more displeasing type.Written in _terza rima_, it distinctly parodies the style of the Divine Comedy, using the same phrases to indicate action and to mark the turns of dialogue; introducing similes in the m
- 103 The humanists themselves const.i.tuted a new and powerful body, a nation within the nation, separated from its higher social and political interests, selfish, restless, greedy for celebrity, nomadic, disengaged from local ties, conscious of their strength
- 102 [424] _Sacre Rappr._ iii. 270.[425] _Sacre Rappr._ i. 193. See Shakespeare Society's Publications, i. 119.[426] _Sacre Rappr._ i. 255.[427] _Sacre Rappr._ i. 357.[428] All the novelists might be cited to ill.u.s.trate this point.[429] At the end of the _
- 101 [384] _Op. cit._ p. 143. I have only translated the opening stanzas of this hymn.[385] Published at Florence by Molini and Cecchi, 1863. Compare the two collections printed by Prof. G. Ferraro from Ferrarese MSS._Poesie popolari religiose del secolo xiv._
- 100 Returning to the _Rappresentazioni_, we are forced to admit that the defect of the Italian fancy is more apparent than its quality, in a species of dramatic art which, being childish, needed some magic spell to reconcile an adult taste to its puerility.[4
- 99 A certain lord who on a journey went, Called unto him each of his serving men, And of his goods gave them arbitrament: To one he dealt five talents, to one ten, To another two, to try their heart's intent, And see how far they should be careless; then Un
- 98 Lord, unto me be kind: Give me that peace of mind, Which in this world so blind And false dwells but with Thee.Give me that strife and pain, Apart from which 'twere vain Thy love on earth to gain Or seek a share in Thee.If, Lord, with Thee alone Heart's
- 97 But here the voices of the Chorus, representing the Jewish mult.i.tude, are heard: Crucifige, crucifige!Omo che se fa rege, Secondo nostra lege, Contradice al Senato.Christ is removed to the place of suffering, and Mary cries: O figlio, figlio, figlio, Fi
- 96 [353] _Ibid._ pp. 99, 105.[354] See Child's _English and Scottish Ballads_, vol. ii. pp. 244, _et seq._ [355] Bolza, _Canz. Pop. Comasche_, No. 49. Here is the Scotch version from Lord Donald: What will ye leave to your true-love, Lord Donald, my son?Wha
- 95 _Sonetti del Burchiello, del Bellincioni, e d'altri_, 1757, Londra, p.125. See, too, the whole sonnet _Son medico in volgar_.[314] Gargani, _op. cit._ p. 23, extract from the _Catasto_, 1427: "Domenicho di Giovanni barbiere non ha nulla."[315] The para
- 94 The same version furnishes the episode of the poisoned hounds[356]: Coss'av fa dell'altra mezza, Figliuol mio caro, fiorito e gentil?Cossa av fa dell'altra mezza?L'ho dada alla cagnla: Signora mama, mio core sta mal!L'ho dada alla cagnla: Ohime, ch'
- 93 He alone has no fear and no misgiving; for love in him is stronger than death. At the street door, when he reaches it, he finds no ghost, but his own dear lady yet alive. She is half frozen and unconscious; yet her heart still beats. How he calls the wome
- 92 [266] _Ibid._ pp. 355-359, 367-372.[267] For example the lines beginning "Sospetto e cure." _Ibid._ p.368.[268] _Op. Volg._ i. lxv. He was not alone in this experiment.Barbarous Italian Sapphics and Hexameters are to be found in the _Accademia Coronaria
- 91 [223] The anonymous biographer says: "Scripsit praeterea et affinium suorum gratia, ut linguae latinae ignaris prodesset, patrio sermone annum ante trigesimum aetatis suae etruscos libros, primum, secundum, ac tertium de Familia, quos Romae die nonagesim
- 90 [180] _Libro chiamato Quatriregio del Decorso de la Vita Humana in Terza Rima_, Impresso in Venetia del MCCCCCXI a di primo di Decembrio.There is, I believe, a last century Foligno reprint of the _Quadriregio_; but I have not seen it.[181] "Regno di Dio
- 89 [130] I may refer to the _Age of the Despots_, 2nd edition, pp. 58-65, for a brief review of the circ.u.mstances under which the Nation defined itself against the Church and the Empire--the ecclesiastical and feudal or chivalrous principles--during the Wa
- 88 As it stands in the _Governo_, the invective against statecraft is scarcely in keeping with Pandolfini's character. Though he retired from public life disgusted and ill at ease, the conclusion that no man should seek to serve the State except from a stri
- 87 Io so bene che quanto t'ho mostrato, La vista nol discerna apertamente, Per lo spazio ch'e lungo dov'io guato: Ma quando l'uom che bene ascolta e sente, Ode parlar di cosa che non vede, Immagina con l'occhio della mente.Such value as the _Dittamondo_
- 86 The poet summons his company of careless folk, on pleasure bent: No' siam una compagnia, I' dico di cacciapensieri.He takes them forth into the fields among the farms and olive-gardens, bidding them leave prudence and grave thoughts within the lofty wal
- 85 [116] See Sonnets vii. and viii. of the _Rime_.[117] The same motive occurs in the _Ameto_, where the power of love to refine a rustic nature is treated both in the prose romance and in the interpolated _terza rima_ poems. See especially the song of Teoga
- 84 [84] I may specially refer to the pa.s.sages of the _Amorosa Visione_ (cap. v. vi.) where he meets with Dante, "gloria delle muse mentre visse," "il maestro dal qual'io tengo ogni ben," "il Signor d'ogni savere;" also to the sonnets on Dante, and
- 83 Civil society succeeds to the savagery of the woodland, and love is treated as the vestibule to culture.[117] The romantic and legendary portions of this tale are ill-connected. The versification is lax; and except in the long episode of Mensola's seduct
- 82 In his treatment of chivalrous love we may notice this tendency to generalization. The material transmitted from the troubadours, handled with affectation by the Sicilians, philosophized by the Florentines, loses transient and specific quality in the _Can
- 81 Chivalrous Poetry--Ideal of Chivalrous Love--Bolognese Erudition--New Meaning given to the Ideal--Metaphysics of the Florentine School of Lyrists--Guido Cavalcanti--Philosophical Poems--Popular Songs--Cino of Pistoja--Dante's _Vita Nuova_--Beatrice in th
- 80 [23] See Carducci, _Cantilene_, etc. (Pisa, 1871), pp. 58-60, for thirteenth-century _rispetti_ ill.u.s.trating the Sicilian form of the Octave Stanza and its transformation to the Tuscan type.[24] The poetry of this period will be found in Trucchi, _Poes
- 79 The amus.e.m.e.nts lasted two months, from May 1 until the end of the midsummer feast of S. John, patron of Florence. Later on, we read of two companies, the one dressed in yellow, the other in white, each led by their King, who filled the city with the s
- 78 Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature.by John Addington Symonds.PART I NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1888 PREFACE.This work on the Renaissance in Italy, of which I now give the last two volumes to the public, was designed and executed on the plan of
- 77 'Tis not enough, dear Lord, to make me yearn For that celestial home, where yet my soul May be new made, and not, as erst, of nought: Nay, ere Thou strip her mortal vestment, turn My steps toward the steep ascent, that whole And pure before Thy face she
- 76 From sweet laments to bitter joys, from peace Eternal to a brief and hollow truce, How have I fallen!--when 'tis truth we lose, Mere sense survives our reason's dear decease.I know not if my heart bred this disease, That still more pleasing grows with g
- 75 [411] Mr. Perkins, following the suggestion of Panza, in his _Istoria dell' Antica Republica d'Amalfi_, is inclined to think that this head represents, not Sigelgaita, but Joanna II. of Naples, and is therefore more than a century later in date than the
- 74 Correggio, again, though he can hardly be said to have founded a school, was destined to exercise wide and perilous influence over a host of manneristic imitators. Francesco Mazzola, called Il Parmigianino, followed him so closely that his frescoes at Par
- 73 [362] Notice lib. i. cap. 40, p. 90, the dialogue between Cellini and the old woman, on his return to the paternal house: "Oh dimmi, gobba perversa," &c.[363] "Per essere il mondo intenebrato di peste e di guerra," is a phrase of Cellini's, i. 40.[36
- 72 When Rome was carried by a.s.sault in 1527, and the Papal Court was besieged in the castle of S. Angelo, Cellini played the part of bombardier. It is well known that he claims to have shot the Constable of Bourbon dead with his own hand, and to have wound
- 71 [320] See Gotti, pp. 150, 155, 158, 159, for the correspondence which pa.s.sed upon the subject, and the various alterations in the plan. As in the case of all Michael Angelo's works, except the Sistine, only a small portion of the original project was e
- 70 When the fresco was uncovered, there arose a general murmur of disapprobation that the figures were all nude. As society became more vicious, it grew nice. Messer Biagio, the Pope's master of the ceremonies, remarked that such things were more fit for st
- 69 Contrast of Michael Angelo and Cellini--Parentage and Boyhood of Michael Angelo--Work with Ghirlandajo--Gardens of S. Marco--The Medicean Circle--Early Essays in Sculpture--Visit to Bologna--First Visit to Rome--The "Pieta" of S. Peter's--Michael Angel
- 68 Veronese elevated pageantry to the height of serious art. His domain is noonday sunlight ablaze on sumptuous dresses and Palladian architecture.Where Tintoretto is dramatic, he is scenic. t.i.tian, in a wise harmony, without either the aeschylean fury of
- 67 [252] It was finished, according to Fra Paciolo, in 1498.[253] Signorelli, with his usual originality, chose the moment when Christ broke bread and gave it to His disciples. In that rare picture at Cortona, we see not the betrayed chief but the founder of
- 66 [211] This is the conjecture of Signor Luzi (_Il Duomo di Orvieto_, p.168). He bases it upon the Dantesque subjects ill.u.s.trated, and quotes from the "Inferno":-- "Omero poeta sovrano; L' altro e Orazio satiro che viene, Ovidio e il terzo, e l' ult
- 65 Lionardo's turn for physical science led him to study the technicalities of art with fervent industry. Whatever his predecessors had acquired in the knowledge of materials, the chemistry of colours, the mathematics of composition, the laws of perspective
- 64 By no process can the cla.s.sic purity of this bas-relief be better understood than by comparing the original with a transcript made by Rubens from a portion of the "Triumph."[202] The Flemish painter strives to add richness to the scene by Baccha.n.a.l
- 63 [165] See above, Chapter III, Andrea Verocchio, for what has been said about Verocchio's "David."[166] A drawing made in red chalk for this "Dream of Constantine" has been published in facsimile by Ottley, in his _Italian School of Design_.He wrongly
- 62 [159] See _Inferno_, xxix. 121; the sonnets on the months by Cene dalla Chitarra, _Poeti del Primo Secolo,_ vol. ii. pp. 196-207; the epithet "Molles Senae," given by Beccadelli; and the remarks of De Comines.[160] I have not thought it necessary to dis
- 61 Giotto and his followers, then, in the fourteenth century painted, as we have seen, the religious, philosophical, and social conceptions of their age. As artists, their great discovery was the secret of depicting life.The ideas they expressed belonged to
- 60 Distribution of Artistic Gifts in Italy--Florence and Venice --Cla.s.sification by Schools--Stages in the Evolution of Painting--Cimabue --The Rucellai Madonna--Giotto--His widespread Activity--The Scope of his Art--Vitality--Composition--Colour--Naturali
- 59 This shrine, now in the Duomo, was made for the sacristy of S. Pietro in Cielo d'Oro, where it stood until the year 1832.[76] Bonino da Campione, the Milanese, who may have had a hand in the Arca di S. Agostino, carved the tomb of Can Signorio. That of M
- 58 But indeed, If ever I would have mine drawn to the life, I would have a painter steal it at such time I were devoutly kneeling at my prayers; There is then a heavenly beauty in't; _the soul Moves in the superficies_.The same Webster condemns that evil cu
- 57 Whether Giovanni Pisano had any share in the sculpture on the facade of the cathedral at Orvieto, is not known for certain. Vasari a.s.serts that Niccola and his pupils worked upon this series of bas-reliefs, setting forth the whole Biblical history and t
- 56 [27] The following pa.s.sage quoted from Milizia, _Memorie degli Architetti_, Parma, 1781, vol. i. p. 135, ill.u.s.trates the contemptuous att.i.tude of Italian critics to Gothic architecture. After describing Arnolfo's building of the Florentine Duomo,
- 55 Subordinate spires would then have been placed at each of the four angles where the nave and transepts intersect; and the whole external effect, for richness and variety, would have outrivalled that of any European building. It is well known that the erec
- 54 Renaissance in Italy.Vol. 3.by John Addington Symonds.PREFACE This third volume of my book on the "Renaissance in Italy" does not pretend to retrace the history of the Italian arts, but rather to define their relation to the main movement of Renaissance
- 53 [Footnote 516: 'Perfect nose, imperial nose, divine nose, nose to be blessed among all noses; and blessed be the b.r.e.a.s.t.s that made you with a nose so lordly, and blessed be all those things you put your nose to!' The above is quoted from Cantu's
- 52 Vixisti, genitor, bene ac beate, Nec pauper, neque dives, eruditus Satis, et satis eloquens, valente Semper corpore, mente sana, amicis Jucundus, pietate singulari.Nunc l.u.s.tris bene s.e.xdecim peractis Ad divm proficisceris beatas Oras; i, genitor, tuu
- 51 Ipse ego bina tibi solenni altaria ritu, Et geminos sacra e quercu lauroque virenti Vicino lucos Nanceli in litore ponam.[484][Footnote 484: 'Therefore shall all our shepherds pay thee divine honours, as to Pan or Phoebus, on fixed days, great Father; an
- 50 [Footnote 464: 'When Lorenzo was dead, and Death went by in triumph, drawn by her black horses, her eyes fell on one who madly struck the chords, while sighs convulsed his breast. She turned, and stayed the car; he storms and calls on all the G.o.ds for
- 49 _Poemata Selecta_, p. 224; and again, _ib._ p. 226:-- Tu Jovis ambrosiis das nos acc.u.mbere mensis; Tu nos diis aequas superis, &c.]It is difficult in a summary to do justice to this portion of Vida's poem. His description of the ideal epic is indeed no
- 48 Et nos ergo illi grata pietate dicamus Hanc de Pierio contextam flore coronam, Quam mihi Cajanas inter pulcherrima nymphas Ambra dedit patriae lectam de gramine ripae; Ambra mei Laurentis amor, quem corniger Umbro, Umbro senex genuit domino gratissimus Ar
- 47 Poetry being thus regarded as a necessary branch of scholars.h.i.+p, it followed that few men distinguished for their learning abstained from versification. Pedants who could do no more than make prosaic elegiacs scan, and scholars respectable for their a
- 46 This is the proper occasion for resuming what has to be said about the Roman ruins, and the feeling for them shown in the Renaissance period.We have already listened to Poggio's lamentations over their gradual decay through wanton injury and lapse of tim
- 45 [Footnote 378: See Tiraboschi, vii. 1, lib. i. c. 2.][Footnote 379: See Vol. I., _Age of the Despots_, p. 342.]The muster-roll of the Academy brings the most eminent wits of Rome before us. First and foremost stands Pietro Bembo, the man of letters, who,
- 44 [Footnote 364: There is some discrepancy about this Antonio between Renouard and Didot.][Footnote 365: 'Sum ipse mihi optimus testis me semper habere comites, ut oportere aiunt, delphinum et anchoram; nam et dedimus multa cunctando, et damus a.s.sidue.'
- 43 In 1462 Adolph of Na.s.sau pillaged Maintz and dispersed its printers over Europe. Three years later two Germans, by name Sweynheim and Pannartz, who had worked under Fust, set up a press in Subbiaco, a little village of the Sabine mountains. Here, in Oct
- 42 The spirit of Roman literature lived again in Poliziano. If he cannot be compared with the Augustan authors, he will pa.s.s muster at least with the poets of the silver age. Neither Statius nor Ausonius produced more musical hexameters, or expressed their
- 41 If Lorenzo neglected the pursuit of wealth, whereby Cosimo had raised himself from insignificance to the dictators.h.i.+p of Florence, he surpa.s.sed his grandfather in the use he made of literary patronage. It is not paradoxical to affirm that in his pol
- 40 492, tells a story which ill.u.s.trates these relations between Vittorino and the Marquis. Cf., too, p. 494.]The numerous biographers of Vittorino have transmitted many details in ill.u.s.tration of his method of teaching. He used to read the cla.s.sic au
- 39 1459. Oration to Pius II. on his Crusade.1460. Oration on the Election of the Bishop of Como.1464. Funeral oration for the Senator Filippo Borromeo.1466. Ditto for Francesco Sforza.It is probable that all of these were not recited; but all were conceived
- 38 What personal jealousies, what anxious compet.i.tion for the princely favour, such warfare concealed may be readily imagined; nor is it improbable that Fazio's attack on Valli was prompted by the covert spite of Beccadelli. Scarcely less close to the per
- 37 [Footnote 226: He first came to Italy in 1430, professed Greek at Ferrara from 1441 to 1450, and died in Campania about 1478. He translated many works of Aristotle. His own book on Grammar was printed by Aldus in 1495.]Among the Greeks protected by Bessar
- 36 The profuse liberality of Nicholas brought him thus into relation with the whole learned world of Italy. Among the humanists who resided at his Court in Rome, mention must be made of Lorenzo Valla, who was appointed Apostolic Scriptor in 1447, and who ope
- 35 The most important event of Gemistos's life was the journey which he took to Italy in the train of John Palaeologus in 1438. Secretly disliking Christianity in general, and the Latin form of it in particular, he had endeavoured to dissuade the emperor fr
- 34 'Politics,' and 'Economics.'[159] The 'Politics' were dedicated to the Earl of Worcester, and the autograph was sent to England. Some delay in the acknowledgment of so magnificent a tribute of respect caused the haughty scholar to transfer the honou
- 33 'Messer Palla,' says Vespasiano, 'sent to Greece for countless volumes, all at his own cost. The "Cosmography" of Ptolemy, together with the picture made to ill.u.s.trate it, the "Lives" of Plutarch, the works of Plato, and very many other writings
- 32 The relations of Petrarch to Rienzi offer matter for curious reflection, while they ill.u.s.trate the part played by the enthusiasm for ancient Rome in the early history of humanism. Petrarch and Rienzi had been friends and correspondents before the emerg
- 31 Their position there was always that of wandering stars and resident aliens. This accounts in some measure for the bitter hostility and scorn which they displayed against the teachers of theology and law and medicine. The real home of the humanists was in
- 30 [Footnote 62: See Manetti's _Life_, Mur. xx. col. 531. Other references will be found in Vespasiano's _Lives_. Boccaccio's library was preserved in this convent.][Footnote 63: _Poggii Opera_, p. 271.]It is my object in this chapter to show how humanist
- 29 [Footnote 36: See the _Epistles to Rienzi_, pp. 677, 535.][Footnote 37: Epistle to the Roman people, beginning 'Apud te invictissime domitorque terrarum popule meus,' p. 712.][Footnote 38: Epistle to Charles IV., _De Pacificanda Italia_, p. 531.This con
- 28 'When to Maro's tomb they brought him Tender grief and pity wrought him To bedew the stone with tears; What a saint I might have crowned thee, Had I only living found thee, Poet first and without peers!']Meanwhile the utter confusion consequent upon th
- 27 Renaissance in Italy.Volume 2.by John Addington Symonds.PREFACE [Footnote 1: To the original edition of this volume.]This volume on the 'Revival of Learning' follows that on the 'Age of the Despots,' published in 1875, and precedes that on the 'Fine
- 26 [1] P. 348.[2] P. 349. They were 14 and 13 years of age respectively.The greater part of what remains of the _Sommario_ is occupied with the wars and intrigues of Francis, Charles, and Clement. Vettori, it may be said in pa.s.sing, records a very unfavora
- 25 The factions of the Monti de' Nove and del Popolo had been raging; the city was full of feud and suspicion, and all Italy was agitated by the French invasion. It seemed good, therefore, to the heads of the chief parties that an oath of peace should be ta
- 24 After the freedom regained by the expulsion of the Duke of Athens and the humbling of the n.o.bles, regularity for the future in the government might have been expected, since a very great equality among the burghers had been established in consequence of
- 23 It would be terrible to think that such a father could have been the parent of such a son. In Ferdinand the instinct of liberal culture degenerated into vulgar magnificence; courtesy and confidence gave place to cold suspicion and brutal cruelty. His fero
- 22 in the scheme of policy which he framed for Florence, Naples, Milan, and Ferrara. But on the accession of Alexander, Franceschetto Cibo determined to get rid of Anguillara, Cervetri, and other fiefs, which he had taken with his father's connivance from t
- 21 Never was there so sweet a gladness, Joy of so pure and strong a fas.h.i.+on, As with zeal and love and pa.s.sion Thus to embrace Christ's holy madness!Cry with me, cry as I now cry, Madness, madness, holy madness!--the procession of boys and girls throu
- 20 [2] See p. 424.Of his boyhood we know but little. His biographers only tell us that he was grave and solitary, frequenting churches, praying with pa.s.sionate persistence, obstinately refusing, though otherwise docile, to join his father in his visits to
- 19 [1] Much might be written about the play of the imagination which gave a peculiar complexion to the profligacy, the jealousy, and the vengeance of the Italians. I shall have occasion elsewhere to maintain that in their literature at least the Italians wer
- 18 The inherent feebleness of Italy in this respect proceeded from an intellectual apathy toward religious questions, produced partly by the stigma attaching to unorthodoxy, partly by the absorbing interests of secular culture, partly by the worldliness of t
- 17 The hoa.r.s.e rhetoric of friars in the Coliseum, and the drone of pifferari from the Ara Coeli, mingled with the Latin declamations of the Capitol and the tw.a.n.g of lute-strings in the Vatican. Meanwhile, amid crowds of Cardinals in hunting-dress, danc
- 16 Panvinius mentions three Cardinals who were known to have been poisoned by the Pope; and to their names may be added those of the Cardinals of Capua and of Verona.[1] To be a prince of the Church was dangerous in those days; and if the Borgia had not at l
- 15 [6] See Corio, p. 420. Corio hints that the Venetians poisoned the Cardinal for fear of this convention being carried out.[7] _1st. Fior_, lib. i. vol. i. p. 38.Sixtus, however, while thus providing for his family, could not enjoy life without some youthf
- 14 Yet after the book has been shut and the apology has been weighed, we cannot but pause and ask ourselves this question, Which was the truer patriot--Machiavelli, systematizing the political vices and corruptions of his time in a philosophical essay, and c
- 13 Machiavelli, according to the letter addressed by his son Pietro to Francesco Nelli, died of a dose of medicine taken at the wrong time. He was attended on his deathbed by a friar, who received his confession.His private morality was but indifferent. His
- 12 pp. 377 to 453. Machiavelli's treatise _De re militari_, or _I libri sull' arte della guerra_, was the work of his later life; it was published in 1521 at Florence.[3] Though Machiavelli deserves the credit of this military system, the part of Antonio G
- 11 Each records the facts revealed by the autopsy according to his own impressions.The literary qualities of these historians are very different, and seem to be derived from essential differences in their characters. Pitti is by far the most brilliant in sty
- 10 The year 1300, which Dante chose for the date of his descent with Virgil to the nether world, and which marked the beginning of Villani's 'Chronicle,' is also mentioned by Dino Compagni in the first sentence of the preface to his work. 'The recollecti
- 9 [4] To multiply the instances of fraud and treason on the part of Italian condottieri would be easy. I have only mentioned the notable examples which fall within a critical period of five years. The Marquis of Pescara betrayed to Charles V. the league for