CHAP, ficiency was made in classical literature, at the VII. very time that the Italian language was again sinking into barbarism and neglect; and the former advanced, by a gradual but certain progress, towards that perfection which the latter suddenly and unexpectedly attained, from the causes to which we have before adverted.

Latin writings of

trarca, and Boccaccio.

In assigning the reason for this remarkable Dante, Pe- distinction, we must again recur to the times of Dante, of Petrarca, and of Boccaccio; and observe the effects produced by the exertions of those great men, whose talents throw a lustre over a period which would otherwise be involved in total darkness. In estimating their labours, we shall find that their various attempts to reduce into form their native language, and to revive the study of the ancient tongues, were not only attended with different degrees of success, but were followed by consequences precisely the reverse of those which might have been expected. With whatever justice Petrarca and Boccaccio might, in their own days, have boasted of their voluminous productions in the Latin tongue, the increasing applause bestowed on their Italian writings soon obscured their fame as Latin authors; and they are indebted for their present celebrity to works which they almost blushed to own, and were ashamed to communicate to each

other.

VII.

other. The different merits of their Latin CHA P. and their Italian compositions were, however, soon appreciated; and whilst the latter were daily rising in the estimation of the world, the former lost a great share of their reputation before the close of the succeeding century. "It is not to be denied," says a very judicious critick of that period, "that both Dante and "Petrarca were warm admirers of the ancients; "but the Latin writings of Dante, like a picture "that has lost its colour, exhibit little more "than an outline. Happy indeed had it been, "had this author been enabled to convey his "sentiments in Latin, as advantageously as he "has done in his native tongue. The numerous "works

a The Decamerone of Boccaccio was not communicated to Petrarca till many years after it was written (Manni, Illust. del Boccaccio, p. 629.); and Petrarca himself confesses, that the reception of his Italian writings was far more favourable than he expected.

S'io avessi pensato che si care,

Fossin le voci de' sospir miei in rima,
Fatte l'avrei dal sospirar mio prima,
In numero più spesse, in stil più rare.

Son. 253.

b Paulus Cortesius, De Hominibus doctis, p.7. Ed. Flor.

1734.

VII.

CHA P. "works of Petrarca, the offspring of that soli"tude in which he delighted, are lasting monu"ments of his industry and his talents. Yet "his style is harsh, and scarcely bears the "character of Latinity. His writings are indeed "full of thought, but defective in expression, "and display the marks of labour without the "polish of elegance; but as we sometimes take "a potion, not for the sake of gratification, but "of health, so from these writings we must

expect to derive utility rather than amuse"ment. Rude as they are, they possess, how"ever, some secret charm which renders them "engaging. The distinguished talents of Boc

66

caccio sunk under the pressure of the general "malady. Licentious and inaccurate in his "diction, he has no idea of selection. All his "Latin writings are hasty, crude, and unin"formed. He labours with thought, and "struggles to give it utterance; but his senti"ments find no adequate vehicle, and the "lustre of his native talents is obscured by the "depraved taste of the times." Whilst such was the fate of the Latin productions of these authors, their Italian writings were the objects rather of adoration than applause. No longer confined to the perusal of the closet, and the gratification of an individual, the poems of Dante and of Petrarca were read in publick assemblies of

the

the inhabitants of Florence, and their beauties c ́HAP. pointed out, or their obscurities illustrated, by the most eminent scholars of the time. No sooner was the art of printing discovered, than copies of them were multiplied with an avidity which demonstrates the high esteem in which they were held. Even the prolix annotations with which these early editions were generally accompanied, if they do not for the most part display the talents of the critick, are a proof of the celebrity of the author. This observation is not, however, applicable to the commentary of Dante by Landino, who, with a laudable perseverance, has preserved the remembrance of many historical facts, and related many circumstances indispensably necessary to the explanation of the Divina Commedia. His industry in the execution of a task so grateful to his countrymen, was rewarded by the donation of a villa, or residence, on the hill of Casentino, in the vicinity of Florence, which he enjoyed under the sanction of a publick decree. Whilst the anno. tator was thus compensated, the exiled poet was, upwards of a century after his death, restored to his family honours, with the same formalities as if he had been still living; his descendants were permitted to enjoy the possessions of their illustrious ancestor, and his bust, crowned with laurels, was raised at the publick expense.

VI.

ced by them.

СНАР. It might then have been expected, that the successful efforts of these authors to improve Effect produ- their native tongue would have been more effectual than the weak, though laudable attempts made by them to revive the study of the ancient languages; but it must be remembered, that they were all of them men of genius, and genius assimilates not with the character of the age. Homer and Shakspeare had no imitators, and are no models. The example of such talents is perhaps, upon the whole, unfavourable to the general progress of improvement; and the superlative abilities of a few have more than once damped the ardour of a nation. But if the great Italian authors were inimitable in the productions of their native language, in their Latin writings they appeared in a subordinate character.

4

Dopo la morte di Cicerone e di Vergilio due chia rissimi specchi della lingua Latina, cominciò il modo dello scrivere Romanamente, così in versi come in prosa, a mutarsi & variare da se medesimo, e andò tanto di mano in mano peggiorando, che non era quasi più quel desso. Il medesimo nè più nè meno avvenne nella lingua fiorentina; perche spenti Dante, il Petrarca, e'l Boccaccio, cominciò a variare e mutarsi il modo e la guisa del favellare e dello scrivere fiorentinamente, e tanta andò di male in peggio che quasi non si riconosceva più, &c.

Varchi L' Ercolano, vol. i. p. 83. Ed. Padova

1744.