nostræ fidei documenta est ipse Deus” (¿b., art. 4). So even for this supposed intelligence there is no place in Dante's system, and Perez could not quote a single passage alluding to it; however, when he does quote, and the reference is to God, he purposely does not enlighten the reader as to the ambiguous expression Intelligenza. Or again, on p. 233 is quoted a passage from the letter to Can Grande, where Dante speaks of a substantia intellectualis separata; Perez, of course, renders this la intelligenza attiva; but Dante is speaking of the angels. Perez' proof, therefore, rests on a conjuring trick. His entire theory concerning the allegorical meaning of the "Vita Nuova" is based on the wrong interpretation of a passage in this little book—an interpretation which was repeated by Renier. Dante says (cap. 25), in justification of the personification of love occurring in one of the poems, that poets in the vulgar tongue employed figurative speech, like the classical poets; but that "it were a shameful thing if one should rhyme under the semblance of metaphor or rhetorical similitude, and afterwards, being questioned thereof, should be unable to rid his words of such semblance, unto their right understanding.” Perez (p. 51 sqq.) changes this to: "Shame to him, who does not speak figuratively, i.e., always in allegories." Are we really to assume that he did not notice how he was making Dante say something quite different?

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Page 233. For Vittorio Imbriani on Beatrice, cf. “Quando nacque Dante?” Napoli, 1879, p. 88 sq., the “Propugn.,” xv. 1o, p. 67, and many other passages; Bartoli, "Stor. lett.," iv. (Firenze, 1881), p. 171 sqq. A. Lubin, La Commedia di Dante Alighieri," Padova, 1881, p. 24 sq., admits Beatrice's reality; but still he thinks that her allegorical significance begins as early as § 17 of the "V. N." The allegorical, together with the historical significance, was assumed, among others, by Witte, Fornaciari, and, on one occasion, by Renier.

Page 234. The argument for Beatrice's reality, based on the circumstance that no explanation of the allegory is given in the "Convivio," has now been adopted by D'Ovidio, too (“Nuova Antol.," .c., p. 246, note 2). For the fact that a passage at the beginning of the "Convivio," which was supposed to vouch for the allegorical character of the "V. N.," was wrongly understood, see Ztschf. f. rom. Phil.," vii. 617.

Page 235. The latest flower in the art of allegorical interpretation may be admired in R. Renier's article in the "Giorn. stor. d. lett. ital.," ii. 379-395. Here every single point is explained; we have a whole crowd of beatrici chasing one another in Dante's brain. When Beatrice dies we are told that she has now become "the grand feminine ideal of humanity," and so

on. Renier even doubts whether the nearest blood relative was a brother; for Beatrice Portinari had five brothers, and a husband as well (!!). That the oft-quoted passage at the beginning of the "V.N."—"non sapeano che si chiamare"-proves Beatrice to be a proper name, and not an adjective, is shown in the "Literaturbl. f. germ. u. rom. Phil.," 1884, p. 151.-An excellent argument against the allegorical interpretation was brought forward by Renier himself in "La Vita Nuova e la Fiammetta," Torino, 1879, p. 151 sq. We have at least one direct piece of testimony for Beatrice's actual existence from some one besides Dante, namely, the canzone by Cino on her death. Now Renier endeavours to destroy this argument (“Giorn. stor. d. lett. ital.,” iv. 426 note) by supposing that the canzone of Cino da Pistoia is not addressed to Dante, and does not refer to the death of Beatrice. An unhappy idea this, for the allusions in the canzone are perfectly clear. In the first stanza we read: "Beata cosa come chiamava il nome ;" and, in the second, the words: "Chè Dio nostro signore Volle di lei, come avea l'angel detto, Fare il ciel perfetto," refer to the famous second stanza of Dante's canzone, "Donne ch'avete."-To prove the identity of the ladies celebrated by the poets of the new Florentine school is likewise the object of Renier's book, "Il tipo estetico della donna nel medio evo," Ancona, 1885, which was unfavourably criticised by Morpurgo, "Riv. crit.," ii. 132 sqq., by Borgognoni, “La bellezza femminile e l'amore nell' antica lirica ital." (in the "Nuova Antol.," October 16th, 1885, p. 593 sqq.), and by Fr. Torraca, "Donne reali e donne ideali,” Roma, 1885 (from the "Rassegna").—Bartoli dealt with the question again in the "Stor. lett.," v. 52-81. He quotes De Sanctis with satisfaction as his ally (p. 80, note); but he has only misunderstood De Sanctis, who fully realised this love, which sees and spiritualises the ideal in the actual woman herself, and who regarded Beatrice as a real person. Against Bartoli's view see D'Ancona's admirable observations, "Vita Nuova," p. xxxiv sqq., and a brilliant article by D'Ovidio, “La Vita Nuova di Dante ed una recente edizione di essa" ("Nuova Antol.," March 15th, 1884, p. 238 sqq.). The whole question of Beatrice is summed up by Dr. Moore, "Studies in Dante," ii. (Oxford, 1899), pp. 79-151. *

Page 238. G. B. Giuliani, "Il Convito di Dante Allighieri reintegrato nel testo con nuovo commento," Firenze, 1874, * quoted by the author as the "latest" edition; now cf. the " Oxford Dante." That the exact title is "Convivio," not " Convito," was shown by Witte, "Danteforsch," ii. 574 sqq.-Dante's philosophy: A. F. Ozanam, “Dante et la philosophie catholique au XIIIe siècle," Paris, 1845. E. Ruth, Studien über Dante Allighieri (the first part), Tübingen, 1853. A. Conti, in

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Dante

e il suo secolo," p. 271 sqq., and in the "Storia della filosofia,"

Firenze, 1874, ii. 132 sqq. G. Simmel, " Dante's Psychologie," in the "Ztschf. f. Völkerpsychologie," xv., 18 and 239.

Page 242. To compare the sciences with the heavens appears to have been a general practice in those days. In a letter attributed to Pier della Vigna, on the death of a grammarian of the University of Naples (Huillard, "Vie et correspond.," p. 395) we read: nam ars grammaticæ, quæ lunæ vocabulo designatur, privata decoris radiis sedet in tenebris."

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Page 244. Anselm's parable on the fourfold sense of a work occurs in the "Eadmeri liber de S. Anselmi Similitudinibus," caput 194 (Migne, " Patrologia," ser. lat., t. 159, p. 707 sq.-the "Similitudo Cellerarii"). Thomas Aquinas in the "Summa theol.," p. I, qu. i., art. 10.

Page 244. Theodulphus' verses are often quoted on the hidden meaning of poetry; and at a later period Alanus de Insulis ("De Planctu Naturæ," p. 296, in the ed. of 1654), wrote: "At in superficiali litteræ cortice falsum resonat lyra poëtica, sed interius auditoribus secretum intelligentiæ altioris eloquitur, ut, exteriore falsitatis abiecto putamine, dulciorem nucleum veritatis secrete intus lector inveniat." Other passages from medieval writers, as well as some of the fourteenth century, are quoted by Haase," De medii ævi studiis philologicis," Programma, Vratislaviæ, 1856, pp. 21, 24, and by Perez, "La Beatrice svelata," pp. 34-38; see, too, among poems in the vulgar tongue, the Roman de la rose," v. 7918 sqq., and the "Leys d'amors," iii. 252 sq.-Allegory in the works of poets and philosophers is treated with great fullness also by A. Lubin, "La Commedia di Dante All.,” p. 174 sq.

Page 246. The poetical elements in Dante's science are discussed by Francesco De Sanctis, with his usual brilliance, in the "Stor. della lett. ital.," Napoli, 1870, i. 60.

Page 246. Latterly, too, some scholars have thought that Dante did not conceive the allegorical interpretation of his canzoni at the time of their composition-thus, Fauriel, Wegele (p. 201), Todeschini (i. 320), Carducci ("Studi," 213); against this theory, already Witte," Lyr. Ged.," ii. 181, and now D'Ancona, "Vita Nuova," p. lxvii. In view of Dante's express assurance, this assumption is not justified. When, in the sonnet Parole mie che per lo mondo siete," he speaks of Philosophy as quella donna in cui errai, he is merely adhering to the image of the love-poetry, and does not mean that he has made a mistake in philosophy. The word errare is here (as so often with the Sicilians) almost equivalent to "be in distress, anxiety" (cf. "V. N.," 13: Così mi trovo in amorosa erranza). The question of the reality of the Donna gentile is quite distinct from this, cf. "Ztschf. f. rom. Phil.," vii. 617.

Page 247. The interpretation of the canzone "Tre donne" is

doubtful; that given in the text is practically the one preferred by Witte, "Lyr. Ged.," ii. 138 sqq. At any rate, it fits in best with Dante's words. Drittura names herself, and says of the other two that the one is her daughter, born at the source of the Nile, and that she, reflecting herself in the source, generated the third one; that is to say, the natural disposition towards justice produces the universal human law, and this, in its turn, the law of the state, which is only a modification of it. The source of the Nile may indicate the earliest civilisation in Egypt. Orelli (in Witte) and Carducci regard the second lady as the legge divina; but can it be said that this is a thing which has been generated? Ginguené's interpretation, which was accepted by Fraticelli and Tommaseo (see Giuliani, "V. N.," p. 298) is quite untenable.-Tommaseo and Giuliani, Z.c., p. 293 sqq., doubted the authenticity of the poem ; but Carducci says that all the MSS. he has seen ascribe it to Dante, and who could, at that time, have been the great poet who wrote this piece, except Dante? The authenticity of the poem is confirmed by Pietro Alighieri, too, in his "Commentarium" to "Inf.," vi. (Nannucci's ed., Florentiæ, 1845, p. 94), and he gives there also an interpretation of the allegory; he says that the two giusti, whom Ciacco mentions as the only ones in Florence (“Inf.," vi. 73), might be "illa duo principalia jura, et neutrum ipsorum auditur: primum scilicet fas, quod est jus divinum et naturale, per quod quisque jubetur alteri faccre quod sibi vult fieri, et prohibetur alteri inferre quod fieri sibi non vult.... Et hoc jus est illa Dirictura, de qua auctor dicit in illa cantilena : Tre donne intorno al cor'... Item secundum justum est jus gentium sive jus humanum, quod vult jus suum unicuique tribuere, et neminem cum alterius jactura locupletari. Et istud jus quodammodo filius est superioris juris et pater quodammodo legis, ut in dicta cantilena dicitur." We have here, therefore, the same interpretation as is given in the text, save for the Drittura.-For the rest, the guilt which is mentioned at the end cannot be guilt against Florence; this would not fit in with the lofty consciousness of right in the verses that precede. Dante means his sinful mode of life in general, for which his misfortune might be the punishment inflicted by God; and his repentance is the same as in the "Commedia."

Page 250. The sonnet" Parole mie che per lo mondo siete " is generally (and rightly, as it appears) regarded as the last of Dante's philosophical lyrics; for the interpretation of this poem see the important observations of Fornaciari, “Studi su Dante," p. 164 sq.

Page 250. Charles Martel of Hungary, the son of Charles II., of Naples, was at Florence in March, 1294, as Todeschini proved, i. 171 sqq.; see, too, Del Lungo, "Dino Compagni," ii. 503.

Page 251. For the date of the composition of the "Convivio," see Witte, "Lyr. Ged.," ii. 60.-În "Conv.," iv. 29, Ser Manfredi da Vico is named as prætor and prefect of Rome. According to Gregorovius he was there in 1308 (“ Gesch. der St. Rom.," v. 431 note), but likewise still in 1312 (zb., vi. 45 sq.). But from the "Riv. crit.," iii. 40, I gather that he was there as early as 1304. Scolari, and after him Fraticelli, in the "Dissertazione sul Convito " ("Opere minori di Dante," iii.), fix the date of the composition of treatises ii. and iv., c. 1297 or 1298, and that of i. and iii., c. 1314. The theory that the work was composed at various times was held also by Selmi: "Il Convito, sua cronologia," etc., Torino, 1865. Their arguments were refuted already by Witte; see too Ztschf. f. rom. Phil.," vii. 615 [Nazz. Angeletti, "Cronologia delle opere minori di Dante," parte i., Città di Castello, 1885].

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Page 251. A MS. of the Riccardiana, No. 1044, gives the complete list of the 14 canzoni of the "Convivio," which is printed in Giuliani's “Conv.," p. 741. But it is wrong, and contradicts even the indications given by Dante himself; some one must have made it up quite arbitrarily. Witte's attempt (“ Lyr. Ged.," ii., p. xxxii sqq.) to determine the missing poems of the Conv.," is generally considered to be a complete failure. Selmi remarked (p. 95 sq.) that the number of the missing treatises corresponds to the number of eleven virtues, postulated by Aristotle and accepted by Dante ("Conv.,” iv. 17), and thought that the treatises following the fourth were to deal with these eleven virtues.

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Page 254. The "De Eloquentia Vulgari" in Giuliani's "Le Opere Latine di Dante Alighieri," Firenze, 1878, i. 19 sqq., * quoted by the author as the "latest" edition; now see, above all, Pio Rajna's edition, Firenze, 1896 (" il vol. I. delle opere minori di Dante Alighieri, edizione critica procurata dalla Società Dantesca italiana"); a separate reprint of the text alone (with a certain number of alterations), Firenze, 1897. "Traité de l'éloquence vulgaire," a facsimile reproduction of the Grenoble MS., ed. by Maignien and Prompt, Venise, 1892. * See on this work E. Böhmer, "Ueber Dante's Schrift de vulgari eloquio," Halle, 1868, and D'Ovidio's admirable paper (of which I have largely availed myself), "Sul trattato de vulgari eloquentia di Dante Alighieri" (in the "Arch. glottol. ital.," ii. 59 sq., and, with some additions, in the " Saggi critici," Napoli, 1879, p. 330 sqq.). F. D'Ovidio, "Dante e la filosofia del linguaggio," Napoli, 1892. *

Page 255. The opinion that the "De el vulg." was intended to be merely a Poetica we find expressed already by Giov. Maria Barbieri, "Dell' origine della poesia rimata," Modena, p. 37, and now by D'Ovidio, "Saggi," p. 334.