Orlando Furioso (Rose)/Canto 46
THE ORLANDO FURIOSO.
CANTO XLVI.
ARGUMENT.
After long search for good Rogero made,
Him Leon finds, and yields to him his prize:
Informed of all—already with that maid
He wives; already in her bosom lies:
When thither he that Sarsa’s sceptre swayed
To infect such bliss with impious venom hies,
But falls in combat; and, blaspheming loud,
To Acheron descends his spirit proud.
THE ORLANDO FURIOSO.
CANTO XLVI.
I.
I, if my chart deceives me not, shall now
In little time behold the neighbouring shore;
So hope withal to pay my promised vow
To one, so long my guide through that wide roar
Of waters, where I feared, with troubled brow,
To scathe my bark or wander evermore.
But now, methinks—yea, now I see the land;
I see the friendly port its arms expand.
II.
A burst of joy, like thunder to my ear,
Rumbles along the sea and rends the sky.
I chiming bells, I shrilling trumpets hear,
Confounded with the people’s cheerful cry;
And now their forms, that swarm on either pier
Of the thick-crowded harbour, I descry.
All seem rejoiced my task is smoothly done,
And I so long a course have safely run.
III.
What beauteous dames and sage, here welcome me!
With them what cavaliers the shore adorn[1]!
What friends! to whom I owe eternity
Of thanks for their delight at my return.
Mamma, Ginevra, with the rest I see,
Correggio’s seed[2], on the harbour’s furthest horn.
Veronica de Gambara[3] is here,
To Phœbus and the Aonian choir so dear.
IV.
With Julia, a new Ginevra is in sight[4],
Another offset from the selfsame tree;
Hippolita Sforza, and Trivultia bright[5],
Bred in the sacred cavern, I with thee
Emilia Pia, and thee, Margherite,
Angela Borgia, Graziosa, see,
And fair Richarda d’ Este[6]. Lo! the twain,
Blanche and Diana, with their sister train[7]!
V.
Beauteous, but wiser and more chaste than fair,
I Barbara Turca, linked with Laura, know[8]:
Nor beams the sun upon a better pair
’Twixt Ind and where the Moorish waters flow
Behold Ginevra! that rich gem and rare
Which gilds the house of Malatesta so[9],
That never worthier or more honoured thing
Adorned the dome of Keysar or of king.
VI.
If she had dwelt in Rimini of yore,
What time, from conquered Gaul returning home,
Julius stood fearing on the river-shore,
To ford the stream and make a foe of Rome,
He every banner would have bowed before
That dame, discharged his trophies, and such doom,
Such pact would have received as liked her best;
And haply ne’er had Freedom been opprest.
VII.
The consort of my lord of Bòzzolo
Behold! the mother, sisters, cousinhood[10];
Them of Torello, Bentivòglio,
Pallavigìni’s and Visconti’s brood[11]!
Lo! she to whom all living dames forego
The palm, and all of Grecian, Latin blood,
Or barbarous, all that ever were, whose name
For grace and beauty most is noised by Fame;
VIII.
Julia Gonzaga[12], she that wheresoe’er
She moves, where’er she turns her lucid eyes,
Not only is in charms without a peer,
But seems a goddess lighted from the skies:
With her is paired her brother’s wife[13], who ne’er
Swerved from her plighted faith—aye good and wise—
Because ill Fortune bore her long despite;
Lo! Arragonian Anna, Vasto’s light[14]!
IX.
Anne gentle, courteous, and as sage as fair,
Temple of Love and Truth and Chastity:
With her, her sister[15] dims all beauty, where
Her radiance shines. Lo! one that hath set free
Her conquering lord from Orcus’ dark repair,
And him in spite of death and destiny
(Beyond all modern instance) raised on high,
To shine with endless glory in the sky.
X.
My ladies of Ferrara, those of gay
Urbino’s court are here; and I descry
Mantua’s dames, and all that fair array
Which Lombardy and Tuscan town supply.
The cavalier amid that band, whom they
So honour, unless dazzled is mine eye
By those fair faces, is the shining light
Of his Arezzo, and Accolti hight[16].
XI.
Adorned with scarlet hat, and scarlet pall,
His nephew Benedict[17], lo! there I see;
With him Campeggio and Mantua’s cardinal[18];
Glory and light of the consistory;
And (if I dote not) mark how one and all
In face and gesture show such mighty glee
At my return, no easy task ’twould seem
So vast an obligation to redeem.
XII.
With them Lactantius is, Claude Ptolemy,
Trissino, Pansa, and Capilùpi mine[19],
Latino Giovenàl[20], it seems to me;
Sasso[21], and Molza[22], and Florian hight Montine[23];
With him, by whom through shorter pathway we
Are led to the Ascræan font divine,
Julio Camillo[24]; and meseems that I
Berna, and Sanga, and Flamìnio[25] spy.
XIII.
Lo! Alexander of Farnese[26], and O
Learned company that follows in his train!
Phædro, Cappella, Maddalen, Portio,
Surnamed the Bolognese, the Volterrane[27].
Blosio, Pierio, Vida, famed for flow
Of lofty eloquence of exhaustless vein;
Mussùro, Làscari, and Navagèro,
And Andrew Maro, and the monk Sevèro[28].
XIV.
Lo ! two more Alexanders! of the tree
Of the Orològi one, and one Guarìno:
Mario d’ Olvìto, and of royalty
That scourge, divine Piètro Aretìno.
I two Giròlamos amid them see,
Of Veritàde and the Cittadìno;
See the Mainàrdo, the Leonicèno,
Panizzàto, Cèlio, and Teocrèno[29].
XV.
Bernardo Capel, Peter Bembo here
I see, through whom our pure, sweet idiom rose,
And who, of vulgar usage winnowed clear,
Its genuine form in his example shows.
Behold an Obyson, that in his rear
Admires the pains which he so well bestows.
I Fracastòro, Bevezzàno note,
And Tryphon Gabriel, Tasso more remote[30].
XVI.
Upon me Nicholas Tièpoli
And Nicholas Ammànio fix their eyes;
With Anthony Fulgoso, who to spy
My boat near land shows pleasure and surprise.
There, from those dames apart, my Valery
Stands with Barignan[31], haply to devise
With him how, evermore by woman harmed,
By her he shall not evermore be charmed.
XVII.
Of high and superhuman genius, tied
By love and blood, lo! Pico and Pio true;
He that approaches at the kinsmen’s side,
—So honoured by the best—I never knew;
But, if by certain tokens signified,
He is the man I so desire to view,
That Sannazàro[32], who persuades the nine
To leave their fountain for the foaming brine.
XVIII.
Diligent, faithful secretary, lo!
The learned Pistòphilus[33], mine Angiar here.
And the Acciajuòli their joint pleasure show
That for my bark there is no further fear.
There I my kinsman Malaguzzo know;
And mighty hope from Adoardo hear,
That these my nest-notes shall by friendly wind
Be blown from Calpe’s rock to furthest Ind.
XIX.
Joys Victor Fausto; Tancred joys to view[34]
My sail; and with them joy a hundred more.
Women and men I see, a mingled crew,
At my return rejoicing, crowd the shore.
Then, since the wind blows fair, nor much to do
Remains, let me my course delay no more;
And turning to Melissa, in what way
She rescued good Rogero let me say.
XX.
Much bent was this Melissa (as I know
I many times have said to you whilere)
That Bradamant in wedlock should bestow
Her hand upon the youthful cavalier;
And so at heart had either’s weal and woe,
That she from hour to hour of them would hear:
Hence ever on that quest she spirits sent,
One still returning as the other went.
XXI.
A prey to deep and stubborn grief, reclined
Mid gloomy shades Rogero they descried;
Firm not to swallow food of any kind,
Nor from that purpose to be turned aside;
And so to die of hunger he designed:
But weird Melissa speedy aid supplied;
Who took a road, from home forth issuing, where
She met the Grecian emperor’s youthful heir;
XXII.
Leo that, one by one, dispatched his train
Of followers, far and wide, through every bourn,
And afterwards, in person, went in vain,
To find the warrior of the unicorn.
The wise enchantress, that with sell and rein,
Had on that day equipt a demon, borne
By him, in likeness of a hackney horse,
Constantine’s son encountered in her course.
XXIII.
“If such as your ingenuous mien” (she cried
To Leo) “is your soul’s nobility,
“And corresponding with your fair outside
“Your inward goodness and your courtesy,
“Some help, some comfort, sir, for one provide
“In whom the best of living knights we see;
“Who, save ye help and comfort quickly lend,
“Is little distant from his latter end.
XXIV.
“The best of knights will die of all, who don,
“Or e’er donned sword and buckler, the most fair
“And gentle of all warriors that are gone,
“Or who throughout the world yet living are,
“And simply for a courteous deed, if none
“Shall comfort to the youthful sufferer bear.
“Then come, sir, for the love of Heaven, and try
“If any counsel succour may supply.”
XXV.
It suddenly came into Leo’s mind
The knight of whom she parleyed was that same,
Whom throughout all the land he sought to find,
And seeking whom, he now in person came.
So that obeying her that would persuade
Such pious work, he spurred behind the dame;
Who thither led (nor tedious was the way)
Where nigh reduced to death the stripling lay.
XXVI.
They found Rogero fasting from all food
For three long days, so broken down; with pain
The knight could but upon his feet have stood,
To fall, albeit unpushed, to ground again.
With helm on head, and with his faulchion good
Begirt, he lay reclined in plate and chain.
A pillow of his buckler had he made,
Where the white unicorn was seen pourtraid.
XXVII.
There thinking what an injury he had done
To his lady love—how ingrate, how untrue
To her had been—not simple grief alone
Overwhelmed him, to such height his fury grew,
He bit his hands and lips; while pouring down
His cheeks, the tears unceasing ran, and through
The passion that so wrapt his troubled sprite,
Nor Leo nor Melissa heard the knight.
XXVIII.
Nor therefore interrupts he his lament,
Nor checks his sighs, nor checks his trickling tears.
Young Leo halts, to hear his speech intent;
Lights from his courser, and towards him steers:
He knows that of the sorrows which torment
Love is the cause; but yet from nought appears
Who is the person that such grief hath bred;
For by Rogero this remains unsaid.
XXIX.
Approaching nearer and yet nearer, now
He fronts the weeping warrior, face to face,
Greets with a brother’s love, and stooping low,
His neck encircles with a fast embrace.
By the lamenting Child I know not how
Is liked his sudden presence in that place;
Who fears annoy or trouble at his hand;
And lest he should his wish for death withstand.
XXX.
Him with the sweetest words young Leo plied,
And with the warmest love that he could show,
“Let it not irk thee,” to the Child he cried,
“To tell the cause from whence thy sorrows flow:
“For few such desperate evils man betide,
“But that there is deliverance from his woe,
“So that the cause be known; nor he bereft
“Of hope should ever be, so life be left.
XXXI.
“Much grieve I thou wouldst hide thyself from me,
“That know me for thy faithful friend and true;
“Not only now I am so bound to thee,
“That I the knot can never more undo;
“But even from the beginning, when to be
“Thy deadly foeman I had reason due.
“Hope then that I will succour thee with pelf,
“With friends, with following, and with life itself.
XXXII.
“Nor shun to me thy sorrow to explain,
“And I beseech thee leave to me to try
“If wealth avail to free thee from thy pain,
“Art, cunning, open force, or flattery.
“If my assistance is employed in vain,
“The last relief remains to thee to die:
“But be content awhile this deed to shun
“Till all that thou canst do shall first be done.”
XXXIII.
He said; and with such forceful prayer appealed;
So gently and benignly soothed his moan;
That good Rogero could not choose but yield,
Whose heart was not of iron or of stone;
Who deemed, unless he now his lips unsealed,
He should a foul discourteous deed have done.
He fain would have replied, but Made assay
Yet twice or thrice, ere words could find their way.
XXXIV.
“My lord, when known for what I am (and me
“Now shalt thou know),” he made at last reply,
“I wot thou, like myself, content wilt be,
“And haply more content, that I should die.
“Know me for him so hated once by thee;
“Rogero who repaid that hate am I;
“And now ’tis many days since with intent
“Of putting thee to death from court I went.
XXXV.
“Because I would not see my promised bride
“Borne off by thee; in that Duke Aymon’s lore
“And favour was engaged upon thy side.
“But, for man purposes, and God above
“Disposes, thy great courtesy, well tried
“In a sore need, my fixt resolve did move.
“Nor only I renounced the hate I bore,
“But purposed to be thine for evermore.
XXXVI.
“What time I as Rogero was unknown,
“Thou madest suit I would obtain for thee
“The Lady Bradamant; which was all one
“As to demand my heart and soul from me.
“Whether thy wish I rather than mine own
“Sought to content, thou hast been made to see.
“Thine is the lady; her in peace possess;
“Far more than mine I prize thy happiness.
XXXVII.
“Content thee, that deprived of her, as well
“I should myself of worthless life deprive;
“For better I without a soul could dwell
“Than without Bradamant remain alive.
“And never while these veins with life-blood swell
“Canst thou with her legitimately wive:
“For vows erewhile have been between us said;
“Nor she at once can with two husbands wed.”
XXXVIII.
So filled is gentle Leo with amaze
When he the stranger for Rogero knows,
With lips and brow unmoved, with stedfast gaze
And rooted feet, he like a statue shows;
Like statue more than man, which votaries raise
In churches, for acquittance of their vows.
He deems that courtesy of so high a strain
Was never done nor will be done again;
XXXIX.
And that he him doth for Rogero know
Not only that goodwill he bore whilere
Abates not, but augments his kindness so,
That no less grieves the Grecian cavalier
Than good Rogero for Rogero’s woe.
For this, as well as that he will appear
Deservedly an emperor’s son—although
In other things outdone—he will not be
Defeated in the race of courtesy;
XL.
And says, “That day my host was overthrown,
“Rogero, by thy wond’rous valour, though
“I had thee at despite, if I had known
“Thou wast Rogero, as I know it now,
“So me thy virtue would have made thine own,
“As then it made me, knowing not my foe;
“So hatred from my bosom would have chased,
“And with my present love have straight replaced.
XLI.
“That I Rogero hated, ere I knew
“Thou wast Rogero, will I not deny.
“But think not that I further would pursue
“The hatred that I bore thee; and had I,
“When thee I from thy darksome dungeon drew,
“Descried the truth, as this I now descry,
“Such treatment shouldt thou then have had, as thou
“Shalt have from me, to thine advantage, now;
XLII.
“And if I willingly had done so then,
“When not, as I am now, obliged to thee;
“How much more gladly should I now; and when,
“Not doing so, I should with reason be
“Deemed most ungrateful amid ingrate men;
“Since thou foregoest thine every good for me!
“But I to thee restore thy gift, and, more
“Gladly than I received it, this restore.
XLIII.
“The damsel more to thee than me is due;
“And though for her deserts I hold her dear,
“If that fair prize some happier mortal drew,
“I think not I my vital thread should shear:
“Nor would I by thy death be free to woo:
“That from the hallowed bands of wedlock clear
“Wherein the lady hath to thee been tied,
“I might possess her as my lawful bride.
XLIV.
“Not only Bradamant would I forego,
“But whatsoe’er I in the world possess;
“And rather forfeit life than ever know
“That grief, through me, should such a knight oppress.
“To me is thy distrust great cause of woe,
“That since thou couldst dispose of me no less
“Than of thyself, thou rather than apply
“To me for succour wouldst of sorrow die.”
XLV.
These words he spake, and more to that intent,
Too tedious in these verses to recite;
Refuting evermore such argument
As might be used in answer by the knight:
Who said, at last, “I yield, and am content
“To live; but how can ever I requite
“The obligation, which by me is owed
“To thee that twice hast life on me bestowed?”
XLVI.
Melissa generous wine and goodly cheer
Thither bade carry, in a thought obeyed;
And comforted the mourning cavalier,
Who would have sunk without her friendly aid.
Meanwhile the sound of steeds Frontino’s ear
Had reached, and thither had he quickly made:
Him Leo’s squires at his commandment caught,
And saddled, and to good Rogero brought;
XLVII.
Who, though by Leo helped, with much ado
And labour sore the gentle courser scaled.
So wasted was the vigour which some few
Short days before, in fighting field, availed
To overthrow a banded host, and do
The deeds he did, in cheating armour mailed.
Departing thence, ere they had measured more
Than half a league, they reached an abbey hoar:
XLVIII.
Wherein what of that day was yet unworn
They past, the morrow, and succeeding day;
Until the warrior of the unicorn
His vigour had recruited by the stay.
He, Leo, and Melissa then return
To Charles’s royal residence; where lay
An embassy, arrived the eve before,
Which from the Bulgars’ land a message bore.
XLIX.
Since they that had for king proclaimed the knight
Besought Rogero thither to repair
Through these their envoys, deeming they would light
On him in Charles’s court, where they should swear
Fidelity, and yield to him his right;
And he from them the crown receive and wear.
Rogero’s squire who served this band to steer
Has published tidings of the cavalier.
L.
He of the fight has told which at Belgrade
Erewhile Rogero for the Bulgars won;
How Leo and his sire were overlaid,
And all their army slaughtered and undone;
Wherefore the Bulgars him their king had made;
Their royal line excluding from the throne:
Then how Ungiardo took the warrior brave,
And him to cruel Theodora gave.
LI.
He speaks with that of certain news, which say
‘How good Rogero’s jailer was found dead,
‘The prison broke and prisoner away:’
Of what became of him was nothing said.
—Towards the city by a secret way
(Nor was his visage seen) Rogero sped.
He, on the following morning, and his friend,
Leo, to Charles’s court together wend.
LII.
To Charles’s court he wends; the bird he bore
Of gold with its two heads of crimson hue
Its field and that same vest and ensigns wore,
As was erewhile devised between the two;
And such as in the listed fight before
His bruised and battered armour was in shew.
So that they quickly knew the cavalier
For him that strove with Bradamant whilere.
LIII.
In royal ornaments and costly gown,
Unarmed, beside him doth young Leo fare.
A worthy following and of high renown
Before, behind him, and about him are.
He bowed to Charlemagne, who from his throne
Had risen to do honour to the pair:
Then holding still Rogero by the hand,
So spake, while all that warrior closely scanned.
LIV.
“Behold the champion good, that did maintain
“From dawn till fall of day the furious fight;
“And since by Bradamant nor taken, slain,
“Nor forced beyond the barriers was the knight,
“He is assured his victory is plain,
“Dread sir, if he your edict reads aright;
“And he hath won the lady for his wife:
“So comes to claim the guerdon of the strife.
LV.
“Besides that by your edict’s tenor none
“But him can to the damsel lift his eyes,
“—Is she deserved by deeds of valour done,
“What other is so worthy of the prize?
“—Should she by him that loves her best be won,
“None passes him, nor with the warrior vies;
“And he is here to fight against all foes
“That would in arms his right in her oppose.”
LVI.
King Charlemagne and all his peerage stand
Amazed, who well believed the Grecian peer
With Bradamant had striven with lifted brand
In fight, and not that unknown cavalier.
Marphisa, thither borne amid the band,
That crowded round the royal chair to hear,
Hardly till Leo made an ending staid;
Then prest before the listening troop, and said:
LVII.
“Since here Rogero is not, to contest
“The bride’s possession with the stranger knight,
“Lest he, as undefended, be opprest.
“And forfeit so without dispute his right,
“On his behalf I undertake this quest,
“—His sister I—against whatever wight
“Shall here assert a claim to Bradamant,
“Or more desert than good Rogero vaunt.”
LVII.
She spake this with such anger and disdain,
Many surmised amid the assistant crew,
That, without waiting leave from Charlemagne,
What she had threatened she forthwith would do.
No longer Leo deemed it time to feign;
And from Rogero’s head the helm withdrew;
And to Marphisa, “For himself to speak,
“Behold him here and ready!” cried the Greek.
LIX.
As looked old Ægeus at the accursed board[35],
Seeing it was his son to whom—so willed
His wicked consort—that Athenian lord
Had given the juice from deadly drugs distilled;
Whom he, if he had recognised his sword
Though but a little later, would have killed;
So looked Marphisa when, disclosed to view,
She in the stranger knight Rogero knew;
LX.
And ran forthwith to clip the cavalier;
Nor could unclasp her arms: with loving show
Charlemagne, Roland, and Rinaldo, here
And there, fix friendly kisses on his brow.
Nor him Sir Dudon, nor Sir Olivier,
Nor King Sobrino can caress enow:
Nor paladin nor peer, amid the crew,
Wearies of welcoming that warrior true.
LXI.
Leo, who well can play the spokesman, now
That warlike band hath ceased to clip the knight,
Tells before Charles and all that audience, ‘how
‘Rogero’s daring, how Rogero’s might,
‘—Albeit to his good squadron’s scathe and woe—
‘Which at Belgrade he witnessed in that fight,
‘So moved him that they overweighed all harms
‘Inflicted on him by the warrior’s arms.
LXII.
‘So that to her Rogero being brought,
‘Who would all havoc of the youth have made,
‘He setting all his family at nought,
‘Had out of durance vile the knight conveyed;
‘And how Rogero, that the rescue wrought
‘By Leo might be worthily repaid,
‘Did that high courtesy; which can by none,
‘That ever were or e’er will be, outdone;’
LXIII.
And he from point to point continuing, said
‘That which Rogero had for him achieved;
‘And after, how by sorrow sore bested,
‘In that to leave his cherished wife he grieved,
‘He had resolved to die, and, almost dead,
‘Was only by his timely aid relieved;’
And this he told so movingly, no eye
Remained, amid those martial many, dry.
LXIV.
So efficaciously he after prayed
To the obstinate Duke Aymon, not alone
The stubborn sire of Bradamant he swayed,
And to forego his settled purpose won;
But that proud lord in person did persuade
To beg Rogero’s pardon, and his son
And son-in-law to be beseech the knight;
And thus to him his Bradamant was plight.
LXV.
To her, where, of her feeble life in doubt,
She in a secret chamber made lament,
Through many a messenger, with joyful shout
And mickle haste, the happy tidings went.
Hence the warm blood, that stagnated about
Her heart, by her first sorrow thither sent,
Ebbed at this notice in so full a tide,
Well nigh for sudden joy the damsel died.
LXVI.
Of all her vigour is she so foregone,
She cannot on her feeble feet rely:
Yet what her force must needs to you be known,
And what the damsel’s magnanimity.
None doomed to prison, wheel or halter, none
Condemned some other evil death to die,
About whose brows the sable band is tied,
Rejoices more to hear his pardon cried.
LXVII.
Joys Clermont’s, joys Mongrana’s noble house[36],
Those kindred branches that fresh knot to view.
With equal grief Count Anselm overflows,
Gan, Falcon, Gini and Ginami’s crew:
Yet they meanwhile beneath contented brows
Conceal the dark and envious thoughts they brew.
As the fox waits the motions of the hare,
They wait their time for vengeance, and forbear.
LXVIII.
Besides that oftentimes before the rage
Of Roland and Rinaldo on them fell,
Though they were calmed by Charles’s counsel sage,
And common danger from the infidel,
They had new cause for grief in Bertolage
Slain by their foemen and Sir Pinnabel:
But they concealed their hatred, and endured
Those griefs, as of the matter ill assured.
LXIX.
Those envoys of the Bulgars that had made
For Charles’s court (as hath erewhile been shown),
Hoping to find the knight, whose shield pourtrayed
The unicorn, elected to their throne,
Bless the good fortune which their hope repayed,
Seeing that valiant warrior, and fall down
Before his feet, and him in humble speech
‘Again to seek their Bulgary beseech;
LXX.
‘Where kept for him in Adrianople are
‘The sceptre and the crown, his royal due:
‘But let him succour to his kingdom bear;
‘For—to their further scathe—advices shew
‘Constantine doth a mighty host prepare,
‘And thitherward in person moves anew;
‘And they—of their elected king possest—
‘Hope the Greek empire from his hands to wrest.’
LXXI.
He accepts the realm, by their entreaties won;
And, to afford them aid against their foes,
Will wend to Bulgary when three months are done;
Save Fortune otherwise of him dispose.
When this is heard by that Greek emperor’s son,
‘He bids Rogero on his faith repose;
‘For since by him the Bulgars’ realm is swayed,
‘Peace between them and Constantine is made;
LXXII.
‘Nor needeth he depart in haste, to guide
‘His Bulgar bands against the Grecian foe;
‘For all that he had conquered far and wide,
‘He will persuade his father to. forego.’
None of the virtues, in Rogero spied,
Moved Bradamant’s ambitious mother so,
Or so to endear her son-in-law availed,
As hearing now that son a sovereign hailed.
LXXIII.
The rich and royal nuptials they prepare
As well befits him, by whose care ’tis done,
’Tis done by Charles; and with such cost and care
As if ’twere for a daughter of his own.
For such the merits of the damsel are,
And such had all her martial kindred shown,
Charles would not think he should exceed due measure
If spent for her was half his kingdom’s treasure.
LXXIV.
He a free court bids cry; whither his way
Securely every one that wills may wend;
And offers open lists till the ninth day
To whosoever would in arms contend;
And bids build b9wers afield, and interlay
Green boughs therein, and flowers and foliage blend;
And make those bowers so gay with silk and gold,
No fairer place this ample world doth hold.
LXXV.
Guested within fair Paris cannot be
The countless foreign bands that thither fare;
Who, rich and poor, of high and low degree,
And Greeks and Latins and Barbarians are.
There is no end of lord and embassy
That thither from all ends of earth repair;
All lodged conveniently, to their content,
Beneath pavilion, booth, and bower and tent.
LXXVI.
The weird Melissa against the coming night
With singular and matchless ornament
Had for that pair the nuptial chamber dight;
Whereon long time before she had been bent:
Long time before desirous of the rite
Had been that dame, presageful of the event;
Presageful of futurity, she knew
What goodly fruit should from their stem ensue.
LXXVII.
She had prepared the genial, fruitful bed,
Under a broad pavilion; one more rich,
Adorned, and jocund, never overhead
(Did this for peace or war its master pitch)
Was in the world, before or after, spread;
And this from Thracian strand had borne the witch.
The costly prize from Constantino she bore.
Who for disport was tented on that shore.
LXXVIII.
She with young Leo’s leave, or rather so
The Grecian’s admiration to obtain,
And a rare token of that art to show,
Which on Hell’s mighty dragon puts the rein,
And at her pleasure rules that impious foe
Of Heaven, together with his evil train,
Bade demons the pavilion through mid air
To Paris from Constantinople bear.
LXXIX.
From Constantino that lay therein, who swayed
The Grecian empire’s sceptre, at mid-day
This with its cordage, shaft whereby ’twas stayed,
And all within and out, she bore away;
And of the costly tent, through air conveyed,
For young Rogero made a lodging gay.
The bridal ended, this her demon crew
Thither, from whence ’twas brought, conveyed anew.
LXXX.
Two thousand tedious years were nigh complete,
Since this fair work was fashioned by the lore
Of Trojan maid, warmed with prophetic heat;
Who, ’mid long labour and ’mid vigil sore,
With her own fingers all the storied sheet
Of the pavilion had embroidered o’er;
Cassandra hight; that maid to Hector brave
(Her brother he) this costly present gave.
LXXXI.
The curtiest cavalier, the kindliest shoot
That ever from her brother’s stock should grow
(Albeit she knew fur distant from its root,
With many a branch between, should be that bough)
In silk and gold upon the gorgeous suit
Of hangings had she wrought in goodly show.
Much prized that gift, while living, Priam’s son,
For its rare work and her by whom ’twas done.
LXXXII.
But when by treachery perished Priam’s heir[37],
And Greeks the Trojans scathed in cruel sort,
When her gates opened by false Sinon were,
And direr ill was done than tales report,
This plunder fell to Menelaüs’ share,
Wherewith to Egypt’s land he made resort;
There left it to King Proteus, Egypt’s lord,
In ransom for his prisoned wife restored[38];
LXXXIII.
She Helen hight: her Menelaüs to free,
To Proteus the pavilion gave away;
Which, passing through the line of Ptolemy,
To Cleopatra fell; from her in fray
Agrippa’s band on the Leucadian sea
Bore off the treasure, amid other prey.
Augustus and Tiberius heired the loom,
Kept till the time of Constantine in Rome:
LXXXIV.
That Constantine, whom thou shalt ever rue
Fair Italy, while the heavens above are rolled.
Constantine to Byzantium, when he grew
Weary of Tyber, bore the tent of old.
Melissa from his namesake this withdrew,
Its pole of ivory and its cords of gold,
And all its cloth with beauteous figures fraught;
Fairer Apelles’ pencil never wrought.
LXXXV.
Here the three Graces in gay vesture gowned
Assisted the delivery of a queen[39].
Not in four ages in this earthly round
Was ever born a boy so fair of mien.
Jove, Venus, Mars, and Mercury renowned
For fluent speech, about the child are seen:
Him have they strewed, and strew with heaven’s perfume,
Ambrosial odours and ætherial bloom.
LXXXVI.
‘Hippolytus’ a little label said,
Inscribed upon the baby’s swaddling clothes.
By the hand him Fortune leads in age more staid;
And Valour as a guide before him goes.
An unknown band in sweeping vest arraid,
With long descending locks, the tapestry shows,
Deputed by Corvinus to desire
The tender infant from his princely sire[40].
LXXXVII.
He reverently parts from Hercules’ side,
From her, his lady mother, Eleanor;
And to the Danube wends; where far and wide
They meet the boy, and as a god adore.
The prudent king of Hungary is descried,
Who does due honour to his ripened lore,
In yet unripe, yea, raw and tender years,
And ranks the stripling above all his peers.
LXXXVIII.
One is there that in his green age and new
Places Strigonia’s crozier in his hand.
Him ever at Corvinus’ side we view;
Whether he doth in court or camp command,
Whether against the Turk, or German crew
The puissant monarch loads his martial band,
Watchful Hippolytus is at his side,
And gathers virtue from his generous guide.
LXXXIX.
There is it seen, how he his blooming age
Divides mid arts and wholesome discipline:
The secret spirit of the ancient page
There Fuscus well instructs him to divine:
“This must thou shun, that follow”—seems the sage
To say—“if thou immortally wouldst shine.”
Fashioned withal with so much skill and care
By her who wrought that work, their gestures were.
XC.
A cardinal he next is seen, though young
In years, at council in the Vatican;
Where for deep wisdom graced by eloquent tongue,
With wonder him the assembled conclave scan.
“What will he be”—they seem to say among
Themselves—“when he is ripened into man?
“Oh! if on him St. Peter’s mantle fall,
“What a blest æra! what a happy call!”
XCI.
That brave youth’s liberal pastimes are designed
In other place; on Alpine mountain hoar
Here he affronts the bear of rugged kind;
And there in rushy bottom bays the boar:
Now on his jennet he outgoes the wind,
And drives some goat or gallant hind before;
Which falls o’ertaken on the dusty plain,
By his descending faulchion cleft in twain.
XCII.
He is descried, amid a fair array
Of poets and philosophers elsewhere.
This pricks for him the wandering planets’ way;
These earth, these heaven for his instruction square.
Some chant sad elegies, some verses gay,
Lays lyric or heroic; singers there
He with rich music hears; nor moves a pace
But what in every step is sovereign grace.
XCIII.
The first part of the storied walls pourtraied
That noble prince’s gentle infancy.
Cassandra all beside had overlaid
With feats of justice, prudence, modesty,
Valour, and that fifth virtue, which hath made
With those fair sisters closest amity;
I speak of her that gives and that best
With all these virtues gilt, the stripling glows.
XCIV.
In this part is the princely youth espied
With that unhappy duke, the Insubri’s head[41];
In peace they sit in council at his side,
Together armed, the serpent-banner spread.
The youth by one unchanging faith is tied
To him for ever, well or ill bested;
His follower still in flight before the foe,
His guide in peril, his support in woe.
XCV.
Him in another quarter you descry,
For his Ferrara and her duke in fear,
Who by strange proofs doth sift, and certify
To his just brother, vouched by tokens clear,
The close device of that ill treachery,
Hatched by those kinsmen whom he held most dear;
Hence justly he becomes that title’s heir,
Which Rome yet free bade righteous Tully bear.
XCVI.
Elsewhere in martial panoply he shone,
Hasting to help the church with lifted blade;
With scanty and tumultuous levy gone
Against well-ordered host in arms arraid:
And lo! the coming of that chief alone
Affords the priestly band such present aid,
Extinguished are the fires before they spread.
He came, he saw, he conquered, may be said.
XCVII.
Elsewhere he stands upon his native strand,
Fighting against the mightiest armament,
That whensoever against Argive land,
Or Turkish, from Venetian harbour went;
Scatters and overthrows the hostile band,
And—spoil and prisoners to his brother sent—
Nothing reserves save that unfading bay;
The only prize he cannot give away.
XCVIII.
Upon those figures gazed the courtly crew,
But read no meaning in the storied wall:
Because there was not any one to shew
That these were things hereafter to befall.
Those fair and quaintly fashioned forms they view
With pleasure, and peruse the scrolls withal:
But Bradamant, to whom the whole was known,
By wise Melissa taught, rejoiced alone.
XCIX.
Though not instructed in that history
Like gentle Brndmnant, the affianced knight
Remembers how amid his progeny
Atlanta often praised this Hippolyte.
—Who faithfully could verse such courtesy,
As Charlemagne vouchsafed to every wight?
With various games that solemn feast was cheered,
And charged with viands aye the board appeared.
C.
Who is a valiant knight, is here descried;
For daily broke a thousand lances lay:
Singly to combat or in troops they ride;
On horseback or afoot, they mix in fray.
Worthiest of all Rogero is espied,
Who always conquers, jousting night and day;
And so, in wrestling, dance, and every deed,
Still from his rivals bears away the meed.
CI.
On the last day, when at their festive cheer
Was seated solemnly the assembled band,
Where at Charles’ left was placed the wedded peer,
And Bradamant upon his better hand,
Across the fields an armed cavalier,
Of semblance haughty, and of stature grand,
Was seen to ride towards the royal table;
Himself and courser wholly clothed in sable.
CII.
The King of Argier he; that for the scorn
Received from her, when on the bridge he fell,
Never to clothe himself in arms had sworn,
Nor draw the faulchion nor bestride the sell,
Till he had like an anchoret outworn
A year and month and day in lowly cell.
So to chastise themselves for such like crimes
Were cavaliers accustomed in those times.
CIII.
Albeit of Charles and Agramant the Moor
Had heard the several fortunes while away,
Not to forswear himself, he armed no more
Than if in nought concerned in that affray:
But when the year and month were wholly o’er,
And wholly past was the succeeding day,
With other courser, harness, sword, and lance,
The king betook him to the court of France.
CIV.
He neither lighted from his horse, nor bowed
His head; and, without sign of reverence due,
His scorn for Charlemagne by gestures showed,
And the high presence of so fair a crew.
Astound and full of wonder stood the crowd,
Such licence in that haughty man to view.
All leave their meat, all leave their talk, to hear
The purpose of the stranger cavalier.
CV.
To Charles and to Rogero opposite,
With a loud voice, and in proud accent, “I
“Am Rodomont of Sarza," said the knight,
“Who thee, Rogero, to the field defy;
“And here, before the sun withdraws his light,
“Will prove on thee thine infidelity;
“And that thou, as a traitor to thy lord,
“Deserv’st not any honour at this board.
CVI.
“Albeit thy felony be plain and clear,
“Which thou, as christened, canst not disavow;
“Nathless to make it yet more plain appear,
“This will I prove upon thee; and, if thou
“Canst find a knight to combat for thee here,
“Him will accept;—if one be not enow—
“Will four, nay six accept; and will maintain
“My words against them all in listed plain.”
CVII.
Rogero, with the leave of Pepin’s
Uprose at that appeal, and thus replied;
“That he—nor he alone—but every one,
“Who thus impeached him as a traitor, lied;
“That so he by his king had ever done,
“Him none could justly blame; and on his side,
“He vas prepared in listed field to shew
“He evermore by him had done his due.
CVIII.
“He can defend himself; nor need he crave
“Another warrior’s help that course to run;
“And ’tis his hope to show him he would have
“Enough, perhaps would have too much, of one.”
Thither Orlando and Rinaldo, brave
Olivier, and his white and sable son[1],
Thither good Dudon and Marphisa wend;
Who fain with that fierce paynim will contend.
CIX.
They tell Rogero that, ‘as newly wed
‘The combat he in person should refuse.’
“Take ye no further pains,” the warrior said,
“For such would be for me a foul excuse.”
The Tartar’s arms were brought, which cut the thread
Of more delay and of all further truce:
With spurs Orlando deck’d the youthful lord,
King Charlemagne begirt him with the sword.
CX.
Marphisa and Bradamant in corslet case
His breast, and clothe him in his other gear.
Astolpho led his horse of noble race:
Sir Dudon held his stirrup: far and near
Rinaldo and Namus made the mob give place,
Assisted by the Marquis Olivier.
All from the crowded lists they drive with speed,
Evermore kept in order for such need.
CXI.
The pale-faced dames and damsels troop, in guise
Of pigeons round the lists, a timid show;
When, homeward bound, from fruitful field they rise,
Scared by wide-sweeping winds, which loudly blow,
Mid flash and clap; and when the sable skies
Threat hail and rain, the harvest’s waste and woe:
A timid troop, they for Rogero fear,
Ill matched they deem with that fierce cavalier.
CXII.
So him deemed all the rabble; and so most
Of those bold cavaliers and barons thought;
In that they had not yet the memory lost
Of what that paynim had in Paris wrought,
When singly fire and sword the warrior tost,
And much of that fair town to ruin brought;
Whose signs remained, and yet will long remain:
Nor ever greater havoc plagued that reign.
CXIII.
Bradamant’s heart above those others’ beat:
Not that she deemed the Saracen in might,
Or valour which in the heart-core hath its seat,
Was of more prowess than the youthful knight;
Nor (what oft gives success in martial feat)
That with the paynim was the better right.
Yet cannot she her some ill misgivings quell.
But upon those that love such fear sits well.
CXIV.
Oh! in her fear for him, how willingly
She battle for Rogero would have done!
If lifeless on the listed field to lie
Surer than sure,—in fight with Ulien’s son[2].
More than one death would she consent to die,
If she withal could suffer more than one,
Rather than she in that unhappy strife
Would see her cherished consort risk his life.
CXV.
But prayer availed not on the damsel’s part
To make Rogero leave to her the quest:
She then with mournful face and beating heart
Stood by to view that pair to fight addrest.
From right and left the peer and paynim start,
And at each other run with lance in rest.
The spears seem ice, as they in shivers fly,
The fragments birds, that mount through middle sky.
CXVI.
Rodomont’s lance which smote in the career
Upon mid-shield, yet harmed it little; so
Perfect was famous Hector’s iron gear,
Hardened by Vulcan’s hand, and safe from blow.
As well against the shield his levelled spear
Rogero guides, and that good buckler—though
Well steeled within and out, with bone between,
And nigh a palm in thickness—pierces clean;
CXVII.
And—but his lance resists not that fierce shock,
And at the first assault its splinters fly.
And bits and fragments of the shivered stock
Seem fledged with feathers they ascend so high;
Were his arms hewn from adamantine rock,
The spear would pierce the paynim’s panoply;
And end that battle: but it breaks withal,
And on their croups both staggering coursers fall.
CXVIII.
With bridle and with spur the martial pair
Raise their proud horses nimbly from the ground;
And having broke their spears, with faulchions bare
Return, to bandy fierce and cruel wound.
Wheeling with wondrous mastery, here and there,
The bold and ready coursers in a round,
The warriors with their biting swords begin
To try where either’s armour is most thin.
CXIX.
Rodomont had not that hard dragon-hide
Which heretofore had cased the warrior’s breast;
Nor Nimrod’s trenchant sword was at his side;
Nor the accustomed helm his temples prest.
For on that bridge which spanned the narrow tide,
A loser to Dordona’s lady[3], vest
And arms suspended from the votive stone
He left; as I, meseems, erewhile have shown.
CXX.
Clad was the king in other goodly mail;
Yet not like that first panoply secure:
But neither this, nor that, nor harder scale
Could Balisarda’s deadly dint endure;
Against which neither workmanship avail,
Enchantment, temper, nor prime steel and pure.
So here so there Rogero plied his sword,
He more than once the paynim’s armour bored.
CXXI.
When Rodomont beholds in that fierce close
His widely crimsoned arms, nor can restrain
The greater portion of those griding blows
From biting to the quick, through plate and chain,
He with more fury, with more rage o’erflows,
Than in mid winter the tempestuous main,
Flings down his shield, and with both hands outright
Lays at Rogero’s helm with all his might.
CXXII.
With that excessive force, wherewith the gin,
Erected in two barges upon Po,
And raised by men and wheels, with deafening din
Descends upon the sharpened piles below,
With all his might he smote the paladin
With either hand; was never direr blow:
Him the charmed helmet helped, or such its force
The stroke would have divided man and horse.
CXXIII.
As if about to fall, the youthful lord
Twice nodded, opening legs and arms; anew
Rodomont smote, in that he would afford
His foe no time his spirits to renew:
Then threatened other stroke; but that fine sword
Bore not such hammering, and in shivers flew;
And the bold Saracen, bereft of brand,
Was in the combat left with unarmed hand.
CXXIV.
But not for this doth Rodomont refrain:
He swoops upon the Child, unheeding aught:
So sore astounded is Rogero’s brain;
So wholly overclouded is his thought.
But him the paynim well awakes again.
Whom by the neck he with strong arm has caught,
And gripes and grapples with such mighty force,
He falls on earth, pulled headlong from his horse.
CXXV.
Yet leaps from earth as nimbly, moved by spleen
Far less than shame; for on his gentle bride
He turned his eyes, and that fair face serene
Now troubled the disdainful warrior spied.
She in sore doubt her champion’s fall had seen;
And well nigh at that sight the lady died.
Rogero, quickly to revenge the affront,
Clutches his sword and faces Rodomont.
CXXVI.
He at Rogero rode, who that rude shock
Shunned warily, retiring from his ground,
And, as he past, the paynim’s bridle took
With his left hand, and turned his courser round;
While with his right he at his rider struck,
Whom he in belly, flank and breast would wound;
And twice sore anguish felt the monarch, gored
In flank and thigh, by good Rogero’s sword.
CXXVII.
Rodomont, grasping still in that close fight
The hilt and pommel of his broken blade,
Layed at Rogero’s helmet with such might,
That him another stroke might have dismaid:
But good Rogero, who should win of right,
Seizing his arm, the king so rudely swayed,
Bringing his left his better hand to speed,
That he pulled down the paynim from his steed.
CXXVIII.
Through force or skill, so fell the Moorish lord,
He stood his match, I rather ought to say
Fell on his feet; because Rogero’s sword
Gave him, ’twas deemed, advantage in the fray.
Rogero stands aloof, with wary ward,
As fain to keep the paynim king at bay.
For the wise champion will not let a wight
So tall and bulky close with him in fight;
CXXIX.
Rogero flank and thigh dyed red beheld,
And other wounds; and hoped he would have failed
By little and by little, as it welled;
So that he finally should have prevailed.
His hilt and pommel in his fist yet held
The paynim, which with all his might he scaled
At young Rogero; whom he smote so sore,
The stripling never was so stunned before.
CXXX.
In the helmet-cheek and shoulder-bone below
The Child was smit, and left so sore astound,
He, tripping still and staggering to and fro,
Scarce kept himself from falling to the ground.
Rodomont fain would close upon his foe;
But his foot fails him, weakened by the wound,
Which pierced his thigh: he overtasked his might;
And on his kneepan fell the paynim knight.
CXXXI.
Rogero lost no time, and with fierce blows
Smote him in face and bosom with his brand;
Hammered, and held the Saracen so close,
To ground he bore that champion with his hand.
But he so stirred himself, again he rose:
He gripes. Rogero so, fast locked they stand.
Seconding their huge vigour by address,
They circle one another, shake, and press.
CXXXII.
His wounded thigh and gaping flank had sore
Weakened the vigour of the Moorish king:
Rogero had address; had mickle lore;
Was greatly practised in the wrestlers’ ring:
He marked his vantage, nor from strife forbore;
And, where he saw the blood most freely spring,
And where most wounded was the warrior, prest
The paynim with his feet, his arms, and breast.
CXXXIII.
Rodomont filled with spite and rage, his foe
Takes by the neck and shoulders, and now bends
Towards him, and now pushes from him; now
Raises from earth, and on his chest suspends;
Whirls here and there and grapples; and to throw
The stripling sorely in that strife contends.
Collected in himself, Rogero wrought,
To keep his vantage taxing strength and thought.
CXXXIV.
So shifting oft his hold, about the Moor
His arms the good and bold Rogero wound;
Against his left flank shoved his breast, and sore
Strained him with all his strength engirdled round.
At once he past his better leg before
Rodomont’s knees and pushed, and from the ground
Uplifted high in air the Moorish lord;
Then hurled him down head foremost on the sward.
CXXXV.
Such was the shock wherewith King Rodomont
With battered head and spine the champaign smote,
That, issuing from his wounds as from a font,
Streams of red blood the crimsoned herbage float.
Rogero, holding Fortune by the front,
Lest he should rise, with one hand griped his throat,
With one a dagger at his eyes addrest;
And with his knees the paynim’s belly prest.
CXXXVI.
As sometimes where they work the golden vein
Within Pannonian or Iberian cave,
If unexpected ruin whelm the train
By impious avarice there condemned to slave,
So with the load they lie opprest, with pain
A passage can their prisoned spirit have:
No less opprest the doughty paynim lay,
Pinned to the ground in that disastrous fray.
CXXXVII.
Rogero at his vizor doth present
His naked poniard’s point, with threatening cry,
‘That he will slay him, save he yields, content
‘To let him live, if he for grace apply.’
But Rodomont, who rather than be shent
For the least deed of shame, preferred to die,
Writhed, struggled, and with all his vigour tried
To pull Rogero down, and nought replied.
CXXXVIII.
As mastiff that below the deer-hound lies,
Fixed by the gullet fast, with holding bite,
Sorely bestirs himself and vainly tries,
With lips besmeared with foam and eyes alight,
And cannot from beneath the conqueror rise,
Who foils his foe by force, and not despite;
So vainly strives the monarch of Argièr
To rise from underneath the cavalier.
CXXXIX.
Yet Rodomont so twists and strives, he gains
The freedom of his better arm anew;
And with the right hand, which his poniard strains,
For he had drawn his deadly dagger too,
Would wound Rogero underneath the reins:
But now the wary youth the error knew
Through which he might have died, by his delay
That impious Saracen forthwith to slay;
CXL.
And smiting twice or thrice his horrid front,
Raising as high as he could raise in air
His dagger, buried it in Rodomont;
And freed himself withal from further care.
Loosed from the more than icy corse, to font
Of fetid Acheron, and hell’s foul repair,
The indignant spirit fled, blaspheming loud;
Erewhile on earth so haughty and so proud.
NOTES TO CANTO XLVI.
What fair dames and sage, &c.
Stanza iii. line 1.
Harrington has left out the first fifteen stanzas of this canto. Hoole apparently undertook them, with the intention to do what he could with them, and, where he was puzzled, to “skip and go on.” My first disposition, on undertaking this work, was in all such passages to adopt what has been done by Harrington; but I changed my mind upon a second consideration of the subject. In this I was influenced by more reasons than one. In the first place I observed that circumstances in some descriptions, like that before us, often threw light on something in others. Thus in canto iii. stanza 56. referring to the Cardinal Ippolito d’Este,
Ch’ abbia un Maron, come un altro ebbe Augusto,
A Maro with a new Augustus given,
the English reader, unless more than usually conversant with the biography of those times, understands Ariosto as guilty of a monstrous piece of self-conceit, in designating himself by Maro as Augustus by Alphonso of Este. The thirteenth stanza, however,of the present canto seems to free him from such a suspicion, making it clear that he simply referred to Andrew Maro (Andrea Marone) a poet, living under the protection of the House of Este, and here classed by him with Vida and many other distinguished persons. Now if this observation applies to all Ariosto’s galleries of portraits, many of the originals of which, bating their rank and riches, cannot certainly deserve the attention of any age but their own, how much more deserving of regard is the group before us, consisting of the wits and learned men who shed their splendor on the age of the Medici! Besides this consideration, I observed that there were generally many beauties scattered through the catalogues of persons which the poet has given us, and I thought it a pity to throw away sand when grains of gold were contained in it. Thus in stanza Iv. canto iii. we have as fine a burst of martial music as is often to be heard in the Furioso.
Ch’ avrà l’ onor ne i campi di Romagna
D’ aver dato a l’ esercito di Francia
La gran vittoria contra Giulio e Spagna.
Nuoteranno i destrier sin a la pancia
Nel sangue umau per tutta la campagna;
Ch’ a sepellire il popol verrà manco,
Tedesco, Greco, Ispano, Italo, e Franco.
Shall win the praise, that in Romagnan plain
He opens to the chivalry of France
The victory over Julius leagued with Spain.
Girth-deep in human gore shall steeds advance
Where graves are insufficient for the slain,
Which everywhere on that wide champaign reek,
Italian, Spaniard, German, Frank, and Greek.
We have again a beautiful imitation of Virgil’s luctus ne quære tuorum in the same canto: but it is unnecessary to multiply illustrations. At any rate, the reader will not think, I imagine, that I have made versions of such parts of the Furioso, as those to which I have alluded, for my own pleasure, unless he be one of those who finds amusement in untying a knot, or in re-packing clothes in a trunk of the same dimensions as that in which they were before contained.
Most indeed must admit that I have here (as in other similar cases) undertaken a painful as well as an ungrateful task. Nor was it a less unprofitable labour to Ariosto, as it would appear. Ugo Foscolo once told me that, so ill was his praise appreciated at the time, that some of those commemorated in this canto were indignant at having been mentioned by him. I do not know on what he founded this statement, unless he inferred it from the conduct of one who has repaid Ariosto’s praise with censure, or spoke from a confused remembrance of letters of other worthies which I shall cite; but (however this may be) Ariosto certainly displeased, and in one instance at least made a bitter enemy, by his omissions. This was the famous critic Sperone Speroni, not mentioned in the present catalogue, who writes thus to Bernardo Tasso:—“The poem of Ariosto may be likened to a woman, who has few really beautiful features, and is pleasing through a certain je ne sais quoi, which makes her only recommendation; and perhaps that je ne sais quoi which we feel and acknowledge in him is none of his own, but borrowed. That is to say, the invention and disposition of his work, together with the names of the knights, were his, whom he has not deigned, (or, to speak more properly,) has not dared, to name, fearing lest the world should find out that he had done by Boiardo as Mariano did by Gryphon; and whoever doubts this may go and hear the miserable screech of five or six cantos which he has set up, and in which he has wretchedly stopt short, because he had no other dependence than that weak and worthless wind of his which breathes through them. He has died more like a goose than a swan,” &c.
A curious contract to this letter is to be found in another from a much more distinguished person, the famous Machiavel, whom (strange to say!) Ariosto has also omitted in his list of distinguished friends. In this letter, addressed to Alamanni in 1517, he says, “I have lately read Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, and really the poem is beautiful throughout, and in many places admirable. If he is where you are, commend me to him, and tell him, I only grieve that, having recorded so many poets, he should not have given me a place as one; and that he has done by me in his Orlando what I will not do by him in my Golden Ass.” Machiavel, however, has neither mentioned Ariosto nor any one else in bis Golden Ass, having been probably deterred from doing so by the objections which, upon consideration, offered themselves to such a practice.
These are well put in a letter from Bernardo Tasso, himself named in this canto, to Andrea Gallo. “Heaven pardon Ariosto,” he says, “who by the introduction of this abuse into poems has obliged those who write after him to follow in his steps. He dwells so much upon the thing, and will make mention of so many, that he wearies us.”
The objection of Bernardo Tasso will necessarily hare yet greater force with the modern reader, who will take less interest in this catalogue; for it must be confessed that out of those who figure in it there are some who do not seem to have deserved their place; and who indeed, but for this mention of them, would be unknown to posterity. There is, however, nothing in this that should occasion us surprise; for sympathising, as everyone does more or less with the opinions of those by whom he is surrounded, who can be an impartial judge of cotemporary merit? But if present praise is never a security for posthumous fume, it must have been yet less so in the case of many of those eulogized by Ariosto, who were of all poets the most ephemeral, to wit, improvvisatori. Maffei, the author of the Storia della Letteratura Italiana, says, “I am of opinion that these poets pleased from being accustomed to accompany their verses with the lute, singing them extemporarily. How otherwise can we account for the excessive applause bestowed upon Bernardo Accolti?”—one of the worthies celebrated in this canto.—“He was overwhelmed with encomiums in the court of Urbino, where he sighed for the duchess, as may be gathered from a letter of Bembo. He lived to enjoy the munificence of Leo X.; and when it was rumoured that he was about to recite his verses, the shops used to be shut; and the most learned men crowded to hear him: but considering one of his triplets, which was the wonder of the court of Leo, I find nothing in it but a thought for which he was indebted to scripture, and that expressed without elegance.”
I was disposed to do by these persons in my notes what 1 have done with respect to other cotemporaries celebrated by Ariosto; that is to say, to use such notices of them as had been furnished by Hoole, correcting his sins of omission and commission as I could. But when I came to examine his commentary upon this canto, I found such a task impossible, from his utter confusion of places and persons. A single example of this may suffice. Not knowing that Aretino simply means ‘of or belonging to Arezzo,’ (a mistake, however, in which it must be confessed that he has many companions) he has confounded the Unico Bernardo Accolti Aretino lately mentioned with the infamous Pietro Aretino, though the two persons are separately commemorated by Ariosto in the same page. Under such circumstances, I thought there would be less trouble in writing a commentary myself than in attempting to correct one which appeared to be incorrigible. I found, however, that I was utterly incompetent to the task; for the execution of which I have in consequence resorted to my friend Mr. Panizzi, of the London University, who has furnished me with the following notes. But notwithstanding his learning and industry, well proved by his excellent work on the romantic narrative poetry of the Italians, some of the names of those celebrated have escaped even his researches. I am, however, disposed to consider these as flies preserved in amber.
Mamma, Ginevra, with the rest I see,
Correggio’s seed.
Stanza iii. lines 5 and 6.
“Of these ladies I know nothing.”—Panizzi.
Veronica de Gambara.
Stanza iii. line 7.
“Veronica da Gambera was daughter of Count Giann-Francesco Gambera, and married to Giberto X. Lord of Correggio, whom she lost nine years after their marriage, when she was scarcely 33 years of age. She ranted to be engraved on the door of her apartment the two beautiful lines,
‘Hic meos primus qui me sibi junxit amores
Abstulit, ille habeat secum servetque sepulcro.’
And she was more firm of purpose than Dido. She governed Correggio during the minority of her two sons, Girolamo and Ippolito. Her letters are remarkable for their easy elegance; and her poetry for its loftiness and vigour of ideas. Her conduct was irreproachable ; and she held a literary correspondence with the greatest men of her age, of whom she was a generous patroness. Charles V. visited her twice at Correggio.”—Panizzi.
With Julia, a new Ginevra is in sight.
Stanza iv. line 1.
“Of these ladies I know nothing.”—Panizzi.
Hippolita Sforza, and Trivultia bright.
Stanza iv. line 3.
“Hippolita Sforza married to Alessandro Bontivoglio of Ferrara, and is praised by Bandello (who dedicated to her the first of his novels) as a beautiful and learned woman, capable of appreciating the merit of Latin poetry. He also mentions the literary meetings which were held in her gardens at Milan, her native place.
“Damigella or Domitilla Trivulcia was wife of Francesco Torello, Lord of Montecchiarugolo. She was renowned for her talents, her sweet voice, her knowledge of music, her grace, and her learning, as well as for her rare beauty. I suspect it is to her that the epigram of Ariosto
Quod genere et censu præstes Trivultia multis
is addressed. Ariosto wrote another epigram,
Sis dives, generosa, bella, casta,
which cannot have pleased her so much, as he accuses her of being proud.”—Panizzi.
Emilia Pia, and thee, Margherite,
Angela Borgia, Graziosa, see,
And fair Richarda d’Este.
Stanza iv. lines 5, 6, 7.
“Emilia Pia was one of the brightest ornaments of the court of Urbino when it was the asylum of the muses under the Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. Pia was married to Antonio, Count of Montefeltro, the duke’s brother, who left her a widow when very young. She continued to reside at the duke’s court in the most intimate friendship with Elizabetta his wife, who also was left early a widow. Of the elegance of that refined court, of the accomplishments, beauty, and purity of morals of these two ladies, Castiglione’s Cortigiano may give an idea. See also above, canto xxvi. stanzas 49 and 50; and canto xliii. stanza 148.
“I do not know who Margherite, Angela Borgia}}, and Graziosa were.
“Richarda here named is not the same lady mentioned above, canto xiii. stanza 67. This was Ricciarda, Marchioness of Saluzzo, wife of Niccolo III. d’Este. She died in 1474.”—Panizzi.
Blanche and Diana, with their sister train.
Stanza iv. line 8.
“Diana and Bianca (Blanche) were daughters of Sigismondo of Este; the former married to Ugnccione de’ Contrari, and the latter to Alberigo Sanscverino, both knights of Ferrara. Sigismondo was son of Niccol III. and of Ricciarda of Saluzzo, his third wife, and from him descended the branch of the Estes, Lords of San Martino iu Rio. Diana of Este was mentioned above, canto xlii. stanza 90.”—Panizzi.
I Barbara Turca, linked with Laura, know.
Stanza v. line 2.
“I know nothing of this Barbara. The family of the Turchi was, however, an ancient and powerful family at Ferrara.
“Laura I suspect to be Laura Danti, afterwards Laura Eustochia, first the mistress then the third wife of Alfonso I., Duke of Ferrara. Her marriage has been indisputably proved by Muratori; yet on the plea that this lady was never lawfully wedded to Alfonso, the Popes robbed the House of Este of Ferrara.”—Panizzi.
Behold Ginevra! that rich gem and rare
Which gilds the house of Malalesta, &c.
Stanza v. lines 5 and 6.
“This is, I think, Ginevra Malatesta, celebrated for her beauty and for the vehement affection which Bernardo Tasso bore to her. She was married to a knight of the family of Obizzi of Ferrara, and ou her marriage Tasso wrote a most elegant sonnet. The Malatestas were lords of Rimini or Arimino.”—Panizzi.
The consort of my lord of Bòzzolo
Behold! the mother, sisters, cousinhood.
Stanza vii. lines 1 and 2.
“I suppose that Ariosto alludes to the lady of Federigo Gonzaga, lord of Bozzolo, whose mother, Francesca Fieschi, as well as the sister, Cammilla Gonzaga, married to the Marquis Tripalda, and the relations, Isabella and Cammilla Gonzaga da Gazzuolo, are celebrated as very accomplished ladies by cotemporary authors. It is, however, difficult to ascertain who were the ladies meant, as the house of Gonzaga, then divided into the branches of Mantova, Bozzolo, Gazzuolo, Luzzara, San Martino, Sabbioneta, &c. counted several ladies of very prominent merits, many of whom bore the same Christian name.”—Panizzi.
Them of Torello, Bentivòglio,
Pallavigìni’s and Visconti’s brood.
Stanza vii. lines 3 and 4.
“Four of the noblest families of Italy, and the former one of the oldest in the world. They are still existing, except the last. They were all related to Este, Gonzaga, Montefeltro; and many ladies of those families were celebrated for their accomplishments and beauty in the poet’s time.”—Panizzi.
Julia Gonzaga.
Stanza viii. line 1.
“This lady, celebrated for her learning, and still more for her extraordinary beauty, was married, when very young, to Vespasiano Colonna, duke of Trajetto and earl of Fondi, who was old and infirm, and very soon afterwards died. Julia, after his death, refined the most splendid offers of marriage, and lived in a secluded manner at Fondi. Ariadeno Barbarossa, the famous pirate, afterwards dey of Tunis, on hearing her beauty so much praised, landed 2000 men at Fondi one night, in 1534, to carry her off to the Sultan Solyman II. She had scarcely time to jump out of a window and fly from her brutal enemies, and, undressed as she was, succeeded in making her escape to the neighbouring mountains.”—Panizzi.
With her is paired her brother’s wife.
Stanza viii. line 5.
“Isabella Colonna, married to Luigi, brother of Giulia Gonzaga, surnamed Rodomonte on account of his bravery. The pope opposed their marriage, but the steady attachment of Isabella triumphed over all obstacles. To this Ariosto has alluded more at length in canto xxxvii. stanza 9, et seq. Rodomonte Gonzaga was a great friend of Ariosto, and wrote some stanzas in praise of the Furioso. He was lord of Gazzuolo, and is mentioned also canto xxvi. stanza 50.”—Panizzi.
Lo! Arragonian Anna, Vasto’s light.
Stanza viii. line 8.
“Anna, daughter of Ferrante d’ Arragona, duke of Montalto, married to Alfonso Davalo, Marquis Vasto—a great general, a good poet, and a splendid patron of literature, who, on the 18th of October, 1531, settled an annuity of one hundred golden ducats on Ariosto. He is praised more than once in the poem: see canto xv. stanza 28; canto xxxiii. stanza 24, et seq.; and canto xxxiii. stanza 47.”—Panizzi.
With her, the sister dims all beauty, where
Her radiance shines. Lo! one that hath set free
Her conquering lord from Orcus’ dark repair.
Stanza ix. lines 3, 4, 5.
“Giovanna d’ Arragona, married to Ascanio Colonna.
“Vittoria, daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, married to Ferdinando Francesco, son of Alfonso Davalo (not the one just mentioned, but an older one), marquis of Pescara. He was one of the greatest generals of his day, and died of the wounds which he received at the battle of Pavia, where he had a great share in the capture of King Francis I. of France. There was a scheme set on foot for making him king of Naples. He pretended to acquiesce in some proposals concerning this, only to betray the conspirators and the Italian powers who were privy to it to Charles V. The reciprocal love of Vittoria and Francesco has never been surpassed. In her thirty-third year Vittoria lost her husband; a loss for which she was inconsolable all her life. Her poems are very good, and no lady has ever written better. She was as beautiful and virtuous as accomplished. Hence the infamous Aretino calumniated her. She was in correspondence with all the great geniuses of her age, more particularly with Veronica Gambara, mentioned above. She, as well as her husband, is always mentioned by Ariosto in the highest terms of praise: see canto xxxiii. stanzas 47 and 53, and canto xxxvii. stanza 16, et seq.”—Panizzi.
The shining light
Of his Arezzo, and Accolti hight.
Stanza x. lines 7 and 8.
“Bernardo Accolti, surnamed l’Unico Accolti or l’Unico Aretino, son of the historian Benedetto Accolti, than whom no poet was ever more popular. The poetry he has left does not answer the high reputation he enjoyed. As an improvvisatore he must have been much distinguished, since he was admired at the court of Urbino.”—Panizzi.
His nephew Benedict, &c.
Stanza xi. line 2.
“Benedetto Accolti, bishop of Cadiz, next of Cremona, and afterwards archbishop of Ravenna. He was, together with Sadoleto, secretary to Clement VII. when only twenty-five years of age, and cardinal when thirty years old. He was long imprisoned by order of Paul III without anyone knowing why, and was liberated by the intercession of the cardinal of Mantua, here mentioned, on paying a large fine. Not only was he a good poet, hut the liberal patron and warm friend of the greater men of his days.”—Panizzi.
With him Campeggio and Mantua’s cardinal.
Stanza xi. line 3.
“Ercole Gonzaga, son of Francesco, last marquis, and brother of Federigo, first duke, of Mantua, one of the presidents of the Council of Trent, was ‘Mantua’s cardinal.’
“Campeggio was Lorenzo Campeggi, from whose family sprang so many learned civilians in the sixteenth century. Lorenzo was professor of law at Padua and Bologna, then (having lost his wife and become a priest) judge of the Rota at Rome, bishop of Feltre, and finally cardinal. Leo X. and Clement VII. sent him either as legate or as nuncio to the first potentates of Europe. He was twice legate in this country; first from Leo X., then from Clement VII. to judge with the validity of the marriage of Henry VIII. with Catherine of Arragon.”—Panizzi.
With them Lactantius is, Claude Ptolemy,
Trissino, Pansa, and Capilùpi mine.
Stanza xii. lines 1 and 2.
“Of Lattanzio Tolommei, Giovio says, ‘Nihil enim vel aspectu arduum, vel reipsâ difficile, vel magnitudine immensum morari posse existimo Lactantium Ptolomeum Senensem, tum familiæ alque opum dignitate tum reconditis artibus atque animi virtute nobilissimum.’ I know nothing more of him.
“Claudio Tolommei was a whimsical character. He was doctor of civil law, but for some unknown reason insisted on being undoctored and passing through the same formalities with which the degree had been conferred upon him. He tried to bring Italian hexameter and pentameter verses into fashion, and failed. He was of the court of Cardinal Ippolito of Este the younger, nephew of that Cardinal Ippolito to whom Ariosto dedicated his poem.
“Three brothers Capilupi were contemporaries of Ariosto—Lelio, Ippolito, and Cammillo, the first of whom was celebrated for his great skill in composing poems with verses studiously taken from other poets. The brothers Capilupi were considered good poets themselves, and Ippolito and Cammillo enjoyed the reputation of good statesmen and diplomatists.
“Paulo Pansa, of whom Giovio says, ‘Veluti ab joco ad studia Latinorum carminum, in quibus serius atque felicius se exercet, ingenium traduxit.’ I know nothing more of him.
“Giorgio Trissino (in the original Dresino), the author of Sofonisba and L’ Italia Liberata, was the first who attempted to write a tragedy and an epic poem after the classical models. He was not ashamed, in return for Ariosto’s compliment, of saying, in his poem,
L’Ariosto
Coti quel Furioso suo che piace al volgo!!!”
—Panizzi.
Latino Giovenàl.
Stanza xii. line 3.
“Latino Giovenale de’ Nanneti, praised by Bembo, his friend, as a writer of good Italian verses. His Latin verses are certainly very elegant. He was a learned antiquary and a distinguished diplomatic. After having been nuncio to several courts, he was appointed commissioner for the preservation of antiques at Rome.”—Panizzi.
Sasso.
Stanza xii. line 4.
“Pamfilio Sassi who is said to have died in 1527. Giraldi says of him, ‘Extemporalis poeta . . . in faciendis versis promptissimus. . . . Illi memoria penè divina. . . . Minus omnino Sassio judicii ac limæ.’ Giovio (who wrote after the plunder of Rome in 1527) writes, ‘Retinet adhuc Pamphilus Saxius Mutinensis pristinum ilium volucris et exultantis ingenii furorem, et in hâc exactâ ætate Latinis etiam et Hetruscis epigrammatis cum florentissimis juvenitus colludit.’”—Panizzi.
And Molza.
Stanza xii. line 4.
“Francesco Maria Molza, celebrated for his fondness of the fair sex, his extensive learning, and his truly exquisite poetry, both Latin and Italian. He was the neatest imitator of Tibullus. His name occurs above, canto xxxvii. stanza 12. Bayle is mistaken when he thinks that upon him was written the following epitaph, which I transcribe for its singularity. It is still to be read in the cathedral of Modena. ‘Si animarum auctio fieret Franciscum Molzam licitarentur virtutes patria et Catharina, ejus uxor, quæ illi et sibi vivens hoc posuit.’ Our Francesco Maria was not married to a Catharina. He was, however, from Modena, where the family still exists.”—Panizzi.
And Florian hight Montine.
Stanza xii. line 4.
“To Floriano Montino, Manardo the physician, whom I shall presently mention, dedicated his book Epistolarum Medicinalium, ‘propter antiquam inter nos amicitiam, singularemque tuam eruditionem optimis moribus conjunctam.’ I suspect this Floriano to be Floriano de’ Floriani da Montagnana, who married a lady of the court Cornaro at Asola, on which occasion Bembo supposes the dialogues to have taken place which he wrote with the title of Asolani.”—Panizzi.
Julio Camillo.
Stanza xii. line 7.
“Giulio Cammillo Delminio, who could talk much and say nothing. He boasted of having invented a certain Teatro (nobody ever understood what it was to be) by means of which in a month a person of rank (for Delminio protested he would not teach any other) might learn all that has ever been known, and easily equal the eloquence of Demosthenes and Cicero. Francis I. of France took two lessons from him. He imposed upon some, but was little valued by most of his cotemporaries.”—Panizzi.
The dialogue among the Erasmi colloquia, entitled Ars notoria, shows this to have been among the European follies of the day.
Berna, and Sanga, and Flamìnio spy.
Stanza xii. line 8.
“Giovanni Battista Sanga was a good Latin poet, and secretary to Cardinal Bibiena, then to Giberti when Datario, then to Cardinal Salviati, then to Clement VII.
“Francesco Berni, or Berna, or Bernia, a poet very well known. He succeeded Sanga as Giberti’s secretary; and when the latter retired to his diocese of Verona, Berni followed him thither. In the translation of Rose’s Orlando Innamorato (Introd. p. xxxix.) it is said by mistake that he was then in the service of Cardinal Bibiena. The cardinal died eight years before that, in 1520. To this cardinal Berni alluded when he spoke of
A cardinal allied to him by blood,
And one that neither did him harm nor good.
See ibid. p. xlv.
“Marc’ Antonio Flamminio, whose lyric Latin verses are by common Italian consent the most exquisite poems in that language written after the middle ages. Flamminio was one of the most amiable men that ever lived. He was a favourite of Leo X., of Giberti, whom he followed to Verona, of Alexander Farnese (Pope Paul III. mentioned next), and of Cardinal Polo, who glories in having prevented him from turning protestant. His death was considered a national calamity.”—Panizzi.
Lo! Alexander of Fornese.
Stanza xiii. line 1.
“Alessandro Farnese and Marcello Cervini (afterwards Pope Marcello II.) formed the princely scheme of publishing, at their own expense, the Greek MSS. of the Vatican Library. They established a press, and called the printer Blado to Rome for that purpose. Farnese was a great patron of literature. When pope he created cardinals some of the greatest men of his age; amongst others, Contarini, Polo, Bembo, Pio, Sadoleto, his friend Cervini, &c.”—Panizzi.
Phædro, Cappella, Maddalen’, Portio,
Surnamed the Bolognese, the Volterrane.
Stanza ixii. lines 3 and 4.
“Tommaso Inghirami, having performed with great applause the part of Phædra in Seneca’s Hyppolitus, was surnamed Fedro. He was a good Latin poet, and librarian to the Vatican. Erasmus says he was called the Cicero of his age.
“Bernardino Cappella, praised as a good Latin poet by Glraldi.
“Evangelista Fausto Maddaleni is mentioned as an elegant Latin poet by Giraldi, who says that he would have done more had not his wife left him little leisure for the muses.
“Cammillo Oirzio, or de’ Porcari (not the historian), professor of literature, and a distinguished courtier of Leo X., who made him a bishop. He and Fedro are thus celebrated by Giovio:— ‘Interiit illa tota vetus disciplina rectè ac temperatè Latinas voces exprimendi et rotunda facundia orationes et carmina recitandi postquam T. Phædrus et Portius Camillus præclara Acad. Romanæ Lumina fato extincta optimas literas felicioris eloquentiæ huc orbatas reliquerunt.’
“Filippo Beroaldo da Bologna the youngest, a Latin poet, and librarian to the Vatican, was surnamed the Bolognese. He died in 1518.
“There were two Maffei from Volterra, called each of them Volterrano—Mario and Raffaelle. I think Ariosto speaks of the former, as he, as well as most of those mentioned in this stanza, were members of the Roman Academy, and are praised by Sadoleto in one of his letters almost in the same order as they are mentioned by Ariosto.”—Panizzi.
Blosio, Pierio, Vida, famed for flow
Of lofty eloquence of exhaustless vein;
Mussùro, Làscari, and Navagèro,
And Andrew Maro, and the monk Sevèro.
Stanza xiii. lines 5, 6, 7, 8.
“Biagio Pallai, who, according to the fashion of the day, on entering the Roman Academy, had his vulgar name changed into the more classically sounding name of Blosio Palladio,was an elegant Latin poet, and one of the heads of the university of Rome, the Sapienza. He was secretary to Popes Clement VII. and Paul III., and in the name of the former he wrote the privilege for the corrected edition of Ariosto’s poem of 1532, dated mi the 31st of January of that year. He was elected bishop of Foligno by the latter of these popes. Ariosto mentions him as a friend in his satire addressed to Pistofilo, which begins
‘Pistofilo tu scrivi che se appresso,’
of which a translation by Lord Holland may be seen at the end of the fifth volume of this translation.
“Giampetro or (as he was called afterwards) Pierio Valeriani was an adherent of the Medici. He enjoyed the favour of Leo X., was elected professor of literature by Clement VII., and then trusted with the education of Ippolito and Alexander de’ Medici, two pupils who did not great credit to their masters. Pierio was a good historian, an elegant Latin poet, and a very learned man.
“Marco Girolamo Vida, bishop of Alba, whose poems Christiados, Scacchia Ludus, Ars Poetica, Bombices, are too well known to require any praise. He was called Virgilius redivivus; and, if any thing, he may be said to have been excessively Virgilian. His generous disposition rendered him very popular among the poor of his diocess.
“Marco Musuro of Creta (whom Ariosto calls Musura in his satire addressed to Bembo), a pupil of John Lascari; a man of extensive learning, professor at the university of Padua, and archbishop of Malvasia. A few Latin epigrams only have survived him. Erasmus says that he was ‘Latinæ linguæ usque ad miraculum doctus: quod vix ulli Græco contigit.’
“Giovanni Lascari of Constantinople fled to Italy on the conquest of that city by the Turks, and was educated at Padua. His extensive learning and amiable character rendered him a favourite of Lorenzo il Magnifico, Leo X., and Charles VIII., as well as Francis I. of France.
“Andrea Navagero, not the historian of Venice, whose work was published by Muratori, R. I. S., vol. 22d, but a learned man, second to none in taste and elegance in his Latin verses, and who died at Blois in France on the 8th of May, 1529. He detested so much Martial’s poetry that he sacrificed every year to Vulcan a copy (some say more) of his epigrams. Six lines of this author may serve as a favourable specimen of his Latin poetry.
Et strepitis blando per nemora alta sono;
Serta dat hæc vobis, vobis hæc rusticus Idmon
Spargit odorato plena canistra croco.
Vos lenite æstum, et paleas sejungite inanes
Dum medio fruges ventilat ille die.’
“Andrea Marone; a man who was never equalled for his facility of making good Latin verses impromptu, and whose genius is described by Giovio, who knew him, as incredibile, portentosum. The same historian, to give us an idea of the manner in which Marone made his extemporary verses, uses the following words: —‘Fidibus et cantu musas invocat; et quum simul conjectam in numeros mentem alacriore spiritu inflaverit, tanta vi in torrentis modum concitatus fertur, ut fortunâ et subitariis tractis ducta, multum ante provisa et meditata carmina videantur. Canenti defixi exardent oculi, sudores manant, venæ contumescunt, et, quod mirum est, eruditæ aures, tamquam alienæ ac intentæ omnem impetum profluentum numerorum exactissimâ ratione moderantur.’ He was mentioned by our poet, above, c. iii. st. 56, as equal to his namesake Virgil; and also in the satire to A. Ariosto and Baguo, which begins
Io desidero intendere da voi;
where the poet advises Marone to give up making verses and learn an art to please his eminence of Este, who disliked Ariosto because he was a poet.
“The Monk Severo. Perhaps Severo Varino, called also Severo da Piacenza, or da Firenzuola, a learned Benedictine; or Severo da Volterra, a Benedictine also, and a poet, among whose MSS. there were sonnets addressed to Ariosto, as Porcacchi informs us.”—Panizzi.
Lo! two more Alexanders! of the tree
Of the Orològi one, and one Guarìno:
Mario d’ Olvìto, and of royalty
That scourge, divine Piètro Aretìno.
I two Giròlamos amid them see,
Of Veritàde and the Cittadino;
See the Mainàrdo, the Leonicèno,
Panizzàto, Cèlio, and Teocrèno.
Stanza xiv.
“Alessandro Orologi, a gentleman from Padua: (Fornari). I know nothing more of him.
“Alessandro Guarini, secretary to the duke of Ferrara. He published an edition of Catullus corrected by his father, with notes of his own.
“Mario Equicola d’Alvito (and not Olvito, as all the editions of Ariosto say) took his name from the place of his birth. He wrote a history of Mantua, a treatise on poetry, and another on the nature of love. He was secretary to Isabella d’Este, Marchioness Gonzaga of Mantua, of whom Ariosto makes a splendid panegyric, canto xiii. st. 59, et seq., to her husband Francis, and to her son Frederick, with whom Mario was besieged in Pavia. Calcagnini describes him as ‘manu strenuum, lingua disertum, ingenio clarissimum.’
“Pietro Aretino. The basest and most impudent wretch that ever lived, with neither talents nor honour. He called himself ‘divino’ and ‘flagello de’ principi,’ but none ever flattered them more barefacedly. He attacked in the most scurrilous manner all those from whom he had nothing to fear. He took his name from Arezzo, his native place, being a bastard. His father was, it is said, Luigi Bacci. The following epitaph was considered appropriate to his merits:
Che disse mal d’ognun, fuor che di Dio,
Scusandosi col dir: non lo conosco.’
“Girolamo Verita is said to have been an elegant poet, and a man fond of scientific pursuits. Giovio says, ‘Laudatur in Veriteii Veronensis carmine nitidissimus candor, atque in omnem semper partem diffusus et æquabilis.’
“Girolamo Cittadino was a friend of Bembo, who, in a letter, praises two sonnets of his. He lived at Ferrara, as I learn from Bandello, iu the service of Ippolita Sforza, mentioned above, stanza 4. Giovio praises him as a good Latin poet.—‘Hieron. Cittadinus Insuber poemata sua odoratis atque venereis floribus mollissimè conspergit.’
“Niccolo Leoniceno, a distinguished physician, of great learning, an elegant writer of Latin verses, when young, and of a most pure life. He was one of the first who dared to question the authority of Pliny, and died, 96 years old, at Ferrara, in 1524.
“Giovanni Manardi (not Mainardi, as is erroneously printed in all Ariosto’s editions), a physician of note. He travelled much, and was one of the first who boldly appealed to reason and observation instead of authority, as may be seen from the first of his Epistularum Medicinalium, already quoted. Calcagnini wrote to Erasmus that he was ‘vir Græcè et Latinè doctissimus. Scripsit plurima digna immortalitate; sed vir minime ambitiosus ea rondum pubblicam materiam fecit: hoc superstite, minus Leonicenum desideramus.’
“Benedetto Tagliacarne, or Teocreno (as he chose to call himself), was named tutor to the son of Francis I. of France, who appointed him to the bishopric of Grasse. Teocreno had spoken slightly of Erasmus; and hence we may understand why Olivarius called him a pedant. He generally is considered to have been a learned man.
“Celio Calcagnini, a learned man, but an affected writer, highly esteemed by Erasmus. Before Copernicus published his astronomical system in 1543, Calcagnini published a book to demonstrate ‘quod cœlum stet, terra autem moveatur.’ Having followed the cardinal of Este to Hungary, he was appointed professor of literature at Ferrara on his return; whilst Ariosto, who did not like to go, lost his eminence’s good graces. In the satire addressed to A. Ariosto and Bagno, quoted above, the poet relates it himself, and adds, that he cares not for the cardinal preferring Marone and Celio to him. Calcagnini is also praised above, canto xlii. stanza 90. These reasons make me think that it was Celio Calcagnini, and not Cello Richeri from Rovigo, who took the name of Celio Rodigino, a learned man also then living, of whom Arlosto speaks here. This Celio had been a pupil of Leoniceno, and was then professor of literature at Ferrara.
“Niccolò Maria, or Mario Panizzato, of Ferrara; a poet of some note, according to Giraldi. He was professor of literature in that city, and it has been said that Ariosto studied under him.”—Panizzi.
Bernardo Capel, Peter Bembo here
I see, through whom our pure, sweet idiom rose,
And who, of vulgar usage winnowed clear,
Its genuine form in his example shows.
Behold an Obyson, that in his rear
Admires the pains which he so well bestows.
I Fracastòro, Bevezzàno note,
And Tryphon Gabriel, Tasso more remote.
Stanza xv.
“Bernardo Capello, a Venetian nobleman, and a pupil of Bembo. He was iniquitously banished by the Council of X. on account of his freedom of speech in the senate—‘numquam suspicatus,’ as very properly Egnazio says, ‘ut in liberâ civitate, nimia libertas sibi officere posset.’ He went to Rome, where he was very well received by Cardinal Farnese, and died an exile. His lyric poetry is excellent. He was a poet, not a timid imitator of Petrarca. Giovio mentions a Carlo Capello of whom I never heard; and perhaps it is a mistake in the name:—‘Carolum Capellium nobilem Venetum, qui Græcè etiam profecit, generosum poetam evadere perspicimus.’
“Pietro Bembo, a Venetian, whose family ranked among the very first of that proud republic. He was a learned and accomplished man, of a kind and amiable disposition. He wrote the most Ciceronian Latin, and his name stands very high in the annals of Italian literature. He deserves more credit for the patronage which he granted to literature than for his own works. He was, with Sadoleto, secretary to Leo X.; and to this excellent colleague he owed his cardinalship, as it was only by his intercession that Paul III. was induced to pass over Bembo’s juvenile levities. He was then bishop, first of Gubbio, and afterwards of Bergamo. Capello and Bembo were mentioned above, canto xxxvii. stanza 8; and Bembo again, canto xlii. stanza 86. To him Ariosto addressed the satire which begins
‘Bembo, io vorrei com’ è il comun desio;
and also a very curious and interesting Latin elegy, beginning
‘Me tacitum perferre meæ peccata puellæ?’
“Gaspar Obizzi, a friend of Bembo, who addressed to him his 58th sonnet, praising his poetry. I do not know whether he was the one who married Ginevra Malatesta, mentioned above, stanza 5.
“Girolamo Fracastoro, whose name is well known as that of a man who in his Latin poem De Morbo Gallico vied with Virgil. Fracastoro was, moreover, a great physician, zoologist, astronomer, and geographer. He is said to have been the first to use a kind of telescope to observe the stars. He was highly respected and esteemed by all those who knew him for his kind and generous disposition.
“Agostino Bevazzano}, or Beazzano, a great friend of Bembo, who introduced him to Leo X., by whom he was patronised. He was an indifferent Italian poet, but wrote very elegant Latin verses.
“Trifon Gabriello, of a patrician family of Venice, is celebrated as a learned and upright man. Of him was said by Valiero, his countryman, ‘Gabriela familia Venetum Socratem peperisse existimatur Tryphonem.’ Speroni, alluding to this surname, says, ‘Che a guisa di Socrate non iscrisse mai cosa alcuna, ma insegnava ciò che sapeva.’ A sonnet of his to Bembo, which is printed, gives a poor opinion of his poetical talents. Berrnardo Tasso confesses himelf highly indebted to his suggestions respecting his poem Amadigi.
“Bernardo Tasso, father of Torquato; a distinguished lyric poet, peculiarly soft and sweet, and the author of a romanesque poem, The Amadigi, in 100 cantos, in which he tried to surpass Ariosto. Although he failed in this, the work is full of poetry. The Furioso, The Innamorato, the Morgante, and The Amadigi, are the best poems of this class. The first and last distant ‘longo intervallo’ no doubt.”—Panizzi.
Upon me Nicholas Tièpoli
And Nicholas Amànio fix their eyes;
With Anthony Fulgoso, who to spy
My boat near land shows pleasure and surprise.
There, from those dames apart, my Valery
Stands with Barignan, & c.
Stanza xvi. lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
“Niccolo Tiepolo, of a patrician family of Venice, was honoured by Pope Julius II., who conferred upon him the degree of doctor with his own hands, as, according to Bembo, in a letter to the duchess of Ferrara, the famous Lucrezia Borgia, he had given proofs ‘d’essere il più valente disputante e filosofo che per avventura in Italia oggi sia.’ Giovio wrote, ‘Floret Venetiis pulcherrimorum carminum laude illustri ac elaboratus Teupulus.’
“Niccolo Amanio (not Ammanio, as it is erroneously printed in all modern Ariosto’s editions) is mentioned by Bandello in his first novel, who calls him ‘dotio Dottore e soavissimo poeta;’ and Giovio praised in him ‘pressum et floridum dicendi genus.’
“Antonio Fulgoso, or Fregoso, or Campofregoso, of a patrician family of Genoa, and whose relation, Federigo Fulgoso, was mentioned in so friendly and playful a manner by Ariosto, canto xlii. stanza 20. Antonio wrote some Latin verses now forgotten, and was surnamed Fileremo, on account of his fondness of seclusion.
“Giovanni Francesco Valerio, an illegitimate son of a nobleman of the patrician family Valerio of Venice. He was a prelate, and was put to death as a traitor to his republic, for having bribed the secretaries of the senate, and communicated the secrets of the state to the Turks. A volume of tales which he wrote was never published, and I consider it fortunate for young readers, as one may deduce from the story of Fiammetta the merit of which Ariosto attributes to him. See canto xxvii. stanza 137, and canto xxviii. stanza 78. Giovio praises him as a poet: ‘Valerius cum in versis tum in amatoriis dissertationibus elegans, acutus, salsus.’ He was a favourite with the great and the literati his cotemporaries.
“Pietro Barignano, a poet, of whom Giovio said, ‘Laudatur . . . . Barennianus e Brixiâ uti circumscriptus, suavis, et floridus.’ Why he kept aloof from the ladies, ‘not to be still a martyr to their charms, may be learned from Fornari.”—Panizzi.
Of high and superhuman genius, tied
By love and blood, lo! Fico and Pio true;
. . . . .
. . . . .
He is the man I so desire to view,
That Sannazàro.
Stanza xvii. lines 1, 2, 6, 7.
“Gian Francesco Pico, lord of Mirandola, son of the famous Giovanni Pico, had as much talent as his uncle, and used it much better. He was one of the most learned men of his days, and highly esteemed by his contemporaries.
“Alberto Pio, lord of Carpi, son of a sister of Giovanni Pico, aunt of Gian Francesco. He was a learned man, and a great patron of literature. His name is connected with that of Erasmus, on account of a theological dispute which took place between them. He was accused of having excited Leo X. to make war on the duke of Ferrara, who eventually succeeded in depriving Pio of his dominions. It is remarkable that Ariosto, living at the court of Ferrara, could so nobly praise Pio, who appears to have been a great friend of his. To him is addressed Ariosto’s carmen,
‘Alberte, proles inclyta Cæsarum;’
and also another on the death of his mother:
‘Fama tuæ matris crudeli funere raptæ,’
where Ariosto uses the comparison to be read in the Furioso, canto i. stanza 69. I here transcribe the verses, that the scholar may compare Ariosto’s Italian and Latin style.
Cujus glandiferos populatur fulmine ramos
Jupiter, ut rutilo reteguntur lumine sylvæ,
Et procul horrenti quatitur nemus omne fragore;
Labitur ille impos mentis, rigor occupat artos,
Stant immoti oculi, ora immota, immobile pondus.’
“Jacopo Sannazarro, who, on entering the academy of Pontano, changed, according to the fashion of the day, his christian name for that of Azzio Sincero. He was one of the first, about the end of the fifteenth century, who returned to the elegance and sweetness of Petrarca’s language. He wrote eclogues, some describing the life and costumes of shepherds, some of fishermen;—but we must remember he spoke of fishermen in the Bay of Naples. He was equal to Vida, and some even say to Fracastoro in his Latin poems, of which that De Partu Virginis is the most celebrated, and very justly so. He died in 1530, and his sepulchre not being far from that of Virgil, Bembo wrote on him the following epitaph:—
Sincerus Musâ proximus, ut tumulo.’”
—Panizzi.
The learned Pistòphilus, mine Angiar here,
And the Acciajuòli their joint pleasure show
That for my bark there is no further fear.
There I my kinsman Malaguzzo know;
And mighty hope from Adoardo hear, &c.
Stanza xviii. lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
“Bonaventure Pistofilo, secretary to the duke of Ferrara, a patron of literature, and a poet, to whom, Giovio says, ‘molliores musæ delicata ubera præbuerunt.’ To him Ariosto addresses one of his satires, as I have observed.
“Pietro Martire d’Anghiari, or d’Anghiera, was a celebrated traveller and historian. Here, however, I suppose Ariosto spoke of Girolamo Angeriano, whom Giovio says, ‘Amatoria judiciis hominum famæ commendata celebrem fecerunt.’
“Pietr’ Antonio and Jacopo Acciajuoli are highly praised by Giraldi; Jacopo more particularly, whose Latin verses were also the subject of Calcagnini’s encomiums. They were of a Florentine family, but had settled at Ferrara.
“Annibal Malaguzzi, from Reggio in Lombardy, where the family still exists, was Ariosto’s first cousin, since Daria, sister of Valerio Malaguzzi, was the poet’s mother. He was an intimate friend of Ariosto, who addressed to him the satire, ‘Poi che Annibale intendere vuoi come;’ and the other, ‘Da tutti gli altri amici, Annibal, odo.’
“Of this Adoardo I know nothing.”—Panizzi.
Joys Victor Fausto; Tancred joys to view.
Stanza xix. line 1.
“Vittor Fausto succeeded Musuro as professor of Greek, and was, moreover, famous for having invented a ship of a large size, properly a galley called quinquereme, of which a description may be found in a letter of Bembo to Barrusio, May 29th, 1529.
“Angiolo Tancredi was professor at the university of Padua, and an intimate friend of Francesco Negro, also a professor there, who afterwards went to the court of the Cardinal d’Este, to whom the Furioso is dedicated.”—Panizzi.
As looked old Ægeus at the accursed board.
Stanza lix. line 1.
“Egeus, king of Athens, being on his travels entertained at the house of Pittœus, in Trezene, had an intrigue with Etra his daughter, and when he departed left with her his sandals and sword, charging her, if she should be brought to bed of a boy, to send him to Athens with these tokens. She was afterwards delivered of Theseus, who being grown op, took the sword and sandals, deposited with Etra by his father, and went to Athens, where he found all the city in confusion by the machinations of Medea, who, at the arrival of Theseus, made him suspected by Egeus, and persuaded the king to destroy him at a banquet by poison; but fortunately, as the youth reached out his hand to receive the cup, Egeus perceived his sword, and embracing him, acknowledged him for his son.”—Hoole.
Joys Clermont’s, joys Mongrana’s noble house.
Stanza lxvii. line 1.
Mr. Panizzi seems to be of opinion that Ariosto considered Mongrana as the same as Risa, or Reggio. Mongrana, or Reggio, then was the house of Rogero, and Clermont the house of Bradatnant.
But when by treachery perished Priam’s heir.
Stanza lxxxii. line 1.
“Ariosto, with the romantic writers in general, whenever the siege of Troy is alluded to in his poem, gives the story a partial turn in favour of the Trojans, from whose great hero Rogcro is said to derive his origin. In the xxxivth Book, he makes St. John impute the account given by Homer of the Grecian heroes and heroines to the venality of the poet. He always speaks of the death of Hector as brought about by treachery. To this we may observe, that our great countryman, Shakspeare, whose materials are often drawn from popular stories, particularly from an old story hook of the siege of Troy, has, in his Troilus and Cressida, represented the characters of the Trojans superior to the Greeks, and has made Achilles kill Hector at an unfair advantage.”—Hoole.
There left it to King Proteus, Egypt’s lord,
In ransom for his prisoned wife restored.
Stanza lxxxii. lines 7 and 8.
“Ariosto here alludes to a story of Helen told by Herodotus, that Paris, returning with Helen from Troy, was received by Proteus king of Egypt, who afterwards sending away Paris, detained Helen, with all her treasure, at his court; and Ariosto here relates, that she was ransomed by Menelaus for this tent, which he gave to Proteus.”—Hoole.
Here the three Graces in gay vesture gowned
Assisted the delivery of a queen.
Stanza lxxxv. lines 1 and 2.
“Leonora of Arragon, daughter of Ferdinando king of Naples, to whom the poet here gives the title of queen, married to duke Hercules I. by whom she had Hippolito of Este, Ariosto’s patron, whose birth is here celebrated.”—Hoole.
Deputed by Corvinus to desire
The tender infant from his princely sire.
Stanza lxxxvi. lines 7 and 8.
“Beatrice, sister of Leonora, and wife of the great Matteo Corvino king of Hungary, being without children, sent for young Hippolito from his parents; who, arriving in Hungary, was received by the king with every mark of esteem and affection: He afterwards made him archbishop of Strigonia, before he was eight years of age. Ludovico Sforza, called Il Moro, the duke of Milan, who had married Beatrice, the sister of Hippolito, hearing of his great virtues, procured for him the bishopric of Milan; after which, being very young, he was created cardinal, and taken to assist him in the government.”—Hoole.
There Fuscus, &c.
Stanza lxxxix. line 4.
“Tommaso Fusco, first tutor to Hippolito, and afterwards his private secretary. Cœlio Calcagnino dedicated to him his translation of Lucian.”—Hoole.
In this part is the princely youth espied
With that unhappy duke, the Insubri’s head.
Stanza sciv. lines 1 and 2.
“Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan, deposed by Louis XII.”—Hoole.
Upon those figures gazed the courtly crew.
Stanza xcviii. line 1.
“In the old poem of Aspramonte, is a description of the bridal bed of Rogero and Gallicella, the father and mother of our Rogero, from which, possibly, Ariosto might take his hint for the pavilion and bed here described. See Aspramonte, c. x.”—Hoole.
To font
Of fetid Acheron, and hell’s foul repair,
The indignant spirit fled.
Stanza cxl. lines 5, 6, 7.
Vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras.
Ariosto is particularly happy (as it appears to me) in this his last imitation, in which he has added the point of Virgil to the more satisfactory conclusion of the modern novellist. He leaves his readers satisfied. Would I could entertain such a hope, on thus finishing my task!