Petrarch (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Excerpt from Petrarch

It had long been regarded as a reproach to Italy, and especially to Florence, which was Petrarch's native state, though he never lived there, that so little had been done to condense and utilise these vast materials, to correct the errors with Which the earlier editions of the Latin works abound, and to print those portions which still existed in manuscript. The libraries of Italy contain at least forty-nine manuscripts of the Letters more or less complete. It was reserved for a Frenchman, the Abbé de Sade, himself descended from the family into which Laura de N oves, the object of Petrarch's amatory verses, married, to publish the first complete life of the poet, based on his own prose writings. This biography ap peared in three quarto. Volumes in 1764, with copious translations from the Letters and Poems into French. It was on this publication, rather than on an accurate examination of the originals, that Gibbon founded his graphic account of the triumph and coronation of Petrarch, which is to be found in the seventieth chapter of his great History; and Mr Hallam appears also to have relied mainly on the Abbé de Sade in his criticism of Petrarch's philosophical and familiar compositions. Gibbon said of the Abbé de Sade, N ot an idea or a fact in the writings of Petrarch appears to have escaped him. The minor biographies of Petrarch Which have since appeared in English by Mrs Dobson and Thomas Campbell the poet are mere compilations from the Abbe de Sade's Memoirs.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Petrarch

One of the best editions of his 'Rume' is that published by Zatta in Venice, in 1756, with the Commentary of Castelveltro, including also the oldest biographies of the poet and a vast superfluity of notes. In modern times the edition published by Ciardetto in Florence, in 1822, is perhaps the most complete.

The Latin works of Petrarch, from which the materials of the following pages are chiefly taken, were as follows:

The Familiar Letters. Twenty-four books.
The Senile Letters. Seventeen books.
The Various Letters. One book.
Letters without a title. One book.

These letters were the work of his life, a complete correspondence extending from 1326 to 1374, and embracing almost every incident which befell him in those forty-eight years. They were arranged by Petrarch himself, and intended by him to be the record of his thoughts and actions. He tells us that in making the collection he destroyed above one thousand letters and pieces which he thought unworthy to form part of it.

Next come his philosophical writings: -

The Secretum, or Conflict of Cares, written in 1342.
Of Solitary Life, written in 1346.
Of Monastic Leisure, written in 1347.
Of Memorable Events (date unknown).
Of True Wisdom: a Dialogue (date unknown).

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.