XVII. A. Et. 43. The death of Flaminio, which happened CHAP. at Rome, in the year 1550, occasioned the sincerest grief to all the friends of literature. Of A. D. 1518. the numerous testimonies of affection, of A. Font. VI. respect, of admiration, and of grief, which were poured out by the scholars of Italy on this occasion, many have been collected by the editors of his works, and to these many others might yet be added from the writings of his contemporaries. But his own productions remain, and it is to these only that posterity will resort for an impartial estimate of his merits. The chief part of these are collected in eight books of Latin poems, and His writ consist of odes, eclogues, hymns, elegies, and ings. epistles to his friends. He appears never to have had the ambition to attempt any work of considerable length; yet if we may be allowed to judge from the vigour with which he always supports himself, he might with safety have ventured on a longer flight. It is diffi cult to determine in what department of poetry he most excels. In his odes he has caught the true spirit of Horace. His elegies, among which that on his own sickness and that on his journey to Naples are pre-eminently beautiful, may rank with the most finished remains of Tibullus; but if a preference be due to any part of his writings above the rest, it may perhaps XVII. CHAP. perhaps be given to his Hendecasyllabi and Iambics, in which he displays a simplicity and a pathos which seem to exhibit the real character of his mind. It is in these pieces, not the cold and laboured productions of the head, but written warm from the heart to the heart, that we are to trace that affection to his friends, that gratitude to his benefactors, that engaging tenderness of sentiment, which united with a lively fancy and exhibited with the utmost grace and elegance of expression, secured to him the love and admiration of all his contemporaries, and will never fail to conciliate a sincere esteem for his memory in all those who enjoy the pleasure of an acquaintance with his works. A. D. 1518. A. Pont. VI. A. Æt. 43. Among the particular friends of Fracastoro, Navagero, and Flaminio, many of whom contributed by their own productions to give additional lustre to the literature of the age, may be enumerated the three brothers of the Capilupi, Lelio, Ippolito, and Camillo of Mantua, all of whom distinguished themselves by their talents for Latin poetry, no less than by their various other accomplishments ;(a) Trifone (a) Their works were united together and published in 1540. Many of them are also inserted in the Carm. illustr. Poet. XVII. Trifone Benzio of Assisi, an Italian poet, CHAP. who by the elegance of his writings, and the philosophic firmness of his mind, alleviated the misfortune of his personal defects ;(a) Achille Bocchi, called Philerote, deeply skilled in the Greek and Hebrew tongues, and well-known by his elegant book of symbols,(b) and by his other Poet. Ital. vol. iii. Flaminio has addressed to them a copy of verses, accompanying some of his poems, in which he denominates them, "Fratres optimi et optimi poetæ." Flamin. lib. v. Garm. 53. (a) Mazzuch. Scrittori d'Ital. tom. ii. par. ii. p. 900. Tirab. vii. par. iii. p. 194. Flaminio, contrasting the personal deformity of his friend Benzio with the accomplishments of his mind, addresses him, "O dentatior et lupis et apris, (b) First printed at Bologna, 1555, and again in 1574. The prints in this work are designed and engraved by the celebrated artist, Giulio Bonasone. Their merit is various, but many of them are very beautiful; a circumstance which may A. D. 1518. A. Et. 43. A. Pont. VI. XVII. CHAP. other poems; Gabriello Faerno, whose Latin fables are written with such classical purity, as to have given rise to an opinion that he had A. Pont. VI. discovered and fraudulently availed himself A .D. 1518. A. Et. 43. of some of the unpublished works of Phadrus;(a) Onorato Fascitelli,(b) and Basilio Zanchi,(c) two Latin poets, whose writings are may be explained by a passage in Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice, ii. 72, where we find that Bonasone frequently copied his ideas from Michel-Agnolo and Albert Durer, and that he procured designs from Parmigiano and Prospero Fontana; the latter of whom was an intimate friend of Bocchi. With this information, it would not be difficult to allot these designs to their respective masters. In the second edition, the prints are retouched by Agostino Caracci, who has also engraved the first symbol from a design of his own; but notwithstanding the great merit of this artist, the first edition of this scarce work is to be preferred. The pieces addressed by Flaminio to Bocchi may be found in lib. i. Carm. 34, 43. lib. ii. Carm. 29. (a) Tirab. Storia della Lett. Ital. vii. þar. iii. p. 249. (b) A native of Isernia, and bishop of Isola, Many of his poems are annexed to the edition of Sanazzaro by Comino, Padua, 1731. He is denominated by Broukhusius, "Poeta purus ac nitidus;" a character not superior to his merits. (c) A native of Bergamo, who resided at Rome during the pontificate of Leo X. and whose poems were published at XVII. are deservedly ranked among the best produc- CHAP. tions of the age; Benedetto Lampridio, no less to be esteemed for the services rendered by him to the cause of literature, as an excellent preceptor, than for his Latin poems, in which he is considered as the first who emulated with any degree of success the flights of Pindar ;(a) Adamo Fumani, of whom many productions remain, in Greek, Latin, and Italian, and whose poem on the rules of logic in five books is mentioned by Tiraboschi in terms of the highest applause ;(b) and the three brothers of the Torriani, who although not celebrated by their own writings, were eminent promoters of literature and maintain VOL. III. GG ed at Bergamo, in 1747, with the life of the author by Serassi. Many of them are also inserted in the Carm. illust. Poet. Ital. and may bear a comparison with the finest productions of the times. v. Tirab. Storia della Lett. Ital. vii. par. iii. p. 224. (a) Tirab. Storia della Lett. Ital. vii. par. iii. p. 221. (b) This poem, and other works of Fumani, are printed with the works of Fracastoro, in the second edition, by Comino, two volumes quarto. Patav. 1739. A. D. 1518. A. Et. 43. A. Pont. VI. |
