20. — vada; cf. Purg. II, 132: Com' uom che va, nè sa dove riesca; Petrarca no. 18: Che non sa ove si vada e pur si parte.

23. — braccia; cf. XII, 105: ne le braccia de la fortuna. D. calls having recourse to pity via molto inimica (in sonnet la mia nemica, V. 13) not because it is distasteful to him, for in the ballata he has already invoked pietate; but because he has little expectation that B. will feel pity for his distress. Nevertheless, this is his only hope (cf. XIV). The first verse of the sonnet is harmonious, but the rest is too formal to be poetically very effective. Argument as to the character of love and complaints about the unresponsiveness of a lady are among the commonplaces of medieval lyric. The sonnet does not correspond exactly to the prose.

30. — Altro folle. The second thought, in contrast to the first, maintains ((ragiona) that the power (valore) of love is unreasonable (folle, 'mad'), implying that one who submits to it is foolish; sperando, however, suggests the hope of being loved in return, while the fourth (not specified in the sonnet) is contrasted with the third, and nothing is said about the name of love being sweet to hear.

34. Tremando agrees with li miei penser in the first verse, which is the subject of accordano; in the next verse, qual also refers to the thoughts.

35.-matera prenda; cf. below, 1. 45: da qual parte pigli

matera.

36. - ch'io mi dica, what I should say, the mi being expletive. 48. disdegnoso, because a poet would not ordinarily call an enemy 'Madonna.' Cf. Conv. III, 9.

XIV, 1. - battaglia, a common term in Troubadour lyric; cf. XVI, 10; XXXVII, 14; Conv. II, 2.

6. — quasi non sappiendo a che, scarcely knowing for what purpose. D. himself is meant by uno suo amico. Not knowing as yet that B. is in the wedding-party, he is unaware that he has been brought to l'estremitade de la vita, a phrase which anticipates what happens to him later (cf. Purg. XIII, 124; XXII, 48).

IO.

servite has not the special sense noted for servir in XII, 88 (love-service), but refers to ordinary social attentions; cf. Conv. IV, 25: soavi reggimenti, che sono dolce e cortesemente parlare, dolce e cortesemente servire e operare. Cf. Par. XXV, 103-8.

12. usanza. The number of guests and the kinds of refreshments allowed at weddings were regulated by Florentine ordinances, some of which are quoted by D'Ancona. Each invited guest could bring another person with him; and thus D., who apparently had not been invited, was brought by his friend. There is no foundation for the opinion of some commentators, that the bride was Beatrice.

18. tremore. This trembling da quella parte onde il cuore ha la gente (Purg. X, 48), before he has seen B., may indeed be called mirabile, but not unnatural or fantastic as some critics think.

21. — pintura, decorative painting which covered the four walls of the room; see Renier in Giornale Storico XXXVII, 141, Melodia, Federzoni, Cochin, etc. Either tapestry (Casini) or a picture on wood or canvas (Flamini) would have been unusual in a Florentine house in the 13th century.

25. — spiriti; cf. II, 13; XI, 8. The 'spirits' by which the perceptions of the eyes (istrumenti) are carried to the brain were banished by Amore, who took their place. D. could look at B. only through the medium of love.

32. questi, Amore.

33. la maraviglia, the miracle which this lady is; cf. XXVI, 12; XXIX, 27.

34. nostri pari, the spirits of sight of other people. D.'s eyes are the only ones unable to delight in seeing B., for Amore takes their place.

36. — si gabbavano (and below, gabbasse, gabbate; XV, 31 and 48, gabbo, gabbare). The verb, reflexive or not, means make fun, mock, not as in modern Ital. deceive (gabbarsi however now means fare beffe). This is a realistic detail in the description of an obviously real episode, although the account was written some years after the event. B. is shown acting in the most natural way. By constant references of the sort D. shows that he never ceases to think of her as an actual woman, in spite of his idealization of her. In the sonnet he speaks of her as joking with the others over his helpless and somewhat pathetic attitude, as she might well do without any unkind intention; in the prose, however, the other ladies joke with her. This slight difference possibly indicates a desire to make her appear in the prose more gentle and considerate. While the whole episode is obviously founded

on fact (however much colored), it is also true that the situation was a conventional one in French, Prov. and Ital. poetry, with use of the noun gab and the verb gaber or gabar; cf. Mott, pp. 97, 123; Azzolina, p. 177; Salvadori, Vita giovenile di D., pp. 55, 121.

37. amico di buona fede. The friend who had believed in good faith that D. would take pleasure in serving the ladies; onde implies that the friend has noticed the condition of D. as well as the amusement of the ladies.

41. —discacciati. The 'spirits of sight,' all the other spiriti being destroyed, or rendered powerless. D. recovers the use of his faculties when no longer near B. Cf. verse 10 of the sonnet, and the following chapter.

42. — Io tenni (cf.estremitade, 1. 77) recalls Shakespeare's phrase, Hamlet, act III, sc. 1: "The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns.”

50. — parlando a lei. The sonnet is addressed to B., but D. is not certain that she will hear it (per avventura).

52. saputa, i.e. la cagione.

68. — non sì, not to such an extent.

69. tormentosi modifies guai according to Scherillo, Melodia and Norton ('the grievous cries of those expelled'); Federzoni takes it with scacciati in the sense of tormented; cf. Cochin: 'les plaintes des Esprits chassés qui se tourmentent.'

72. — ragionata cagione. The explanation in prose of the occasion that produced the sonnet; cf. ragione, XXXV, 19.

82.

-

- indarno.

Any further explanation would be useless (for those who are not in simile grado fedele d'Amore) or else unnecessary (for those who are).

XV, 17. — riprensione, the pensamento forte (to cease trying to see B.), which needs excuse or at least explanation.

18. ponesse (1st person), I should undertake also to speak of what happens to me when near her.

20. - Ciò che

What comes to my mind (the recollection of le passate passioni and the resolution to avoid them in future) is destroyed by the desire to gaze upon your beauty, and I am impelled to seek the sight of you; but when I approach you, Amore counseled by reason tells me to flee. This is the natural meaning of the first quatrain taken in connection with the preceding and

the following prose; cf. more with uccide; mente with memoria; vegno a veder with cercare la veduta and non mi tengo di gire; son presso with se' presso, presso di lei, le son presso. The distinction between quand'i'vegno and quand'io vi son presso must be observed. Some editors, including Barbi in 1921, put a comma after incontra and after more, and connect more with ne la mente; but as Barbi (1907) and Flamini observe, ne la mente may go logically with both verbs: What arises in my mind dies out in my mind when I start to see you. Sometimes incontra is taken in the sense of oppose; Norton: 'That which opposeth in my mind doth die'; Cochin: 'Ce qui dans ma mémoire me peut menacer, meurt.' Cf. Barbi, Flamini, Scherillo. This sonnet, addressed like the preceding one to B., is obscure and not particularly pleasing. 21. — gioia is a common epithet for the lady of a poet. 24-25.- Lo viso . appoia. Two striking figures: the face shows the color of the heart really means that the pale color of the face shows the fainting condition of the heart (cf. divisione following); and the heart supports itself wherever it can means that it causes the body to lean against some support to avoid falling from faintness. This passage refers to poggiai la mia persona, etc., XIV, 20, or to some similar incident. Appoiare, modern appoggiare (Conv. I, 11, etc.), suggesting Prov. apojar, was frequently used by the older poets.

26. ebrietà, of which tremore is a symptom, cf. inebriato III, 14. A consequence of the ebrietà is that the stones of the buildings seem to threaten D. with death when he leans against them. The interpretation that even the stones are moved to pity and call upon death to end D.'s sufferings, is erroneous.

28. chi allora mi vide, probably whoever sees me at such a time. So Carducci (in D'Ancona), Flamini, and most modern editors, taking vide as a present (Lat. videt) rhyming with ancide. The MS. (Cod. Chigiano L. viii. 305) which is the basis of the editions of Barbi and Casini, has vede, destroying the rhyme, but indicating the present tense (Casini, p. 213). But D'Ovidio, Nuova Antologia, 15 marzo 1884, p. 267, followed by Casini and Scherillo, takes vide as a preterit (Lat. vidit): Whoever saw me at such a time commits a sin, etc. A similar question arises for vide in XXI, 18 (also in rhyme). Notice that chi allora counts as three syllables.

30-31.

- Sol.

pietà, at least by showing by means of the pity which is caused (si cria) by the deathlike appearance of my eyes, etc. This pity is killed, or as the divisione says, the piteous appearance of the eyes loses its appeal, through the gabbo, which leads others to adopt a mocking attitude. There seems to be close connection between this sonnet and the occasion described in the previous chapter, although in XVIII, 5, D. speaks of molte mie sconfitte.

XVI, 9. — terza. With the third thing cf. sonnet of XV.

10-15. — battaglia, pugnava, difendesse, disconfiggea are all words suggesting warfare (cf. prova, XIV, 61; sconfitte, XVIII, 5). 18-20.- vegnonmi and venmene (both present) increase the effect by the repetition.

19. - Le oscure qualità; cf. XXXV, 26: La qualità de la mia vita oscura. To D. darkness suggests sadness, distress; and as is continually evident in Par., light suggests joy.

20. - pietà, pity for himself.

21. — avviene elli, ‘cela advient-il à personne?' (Cochin).

24.

Campami may be, as in modern Ital., intransitive: 'only one of my spirits escapes alive' (cf. above, 1. 8: 'n me non rimanea altro di vita; so Witte, Scherillo, Norton); or transitive: 'only one spirit saves me alive' (cf. Purg. I, 62: per lui campare; so Casini, Flamini, Melodia, Cochin).

30.-tremoto, in some editions and MSS. terremuoto (so also in XXIV, 3), is a form doubtless due to confusion of tremore or tremito, 'trembling,' with terremuoto, 'earthquake.' In Inf. XII, 6; XXXI, 106; Purg. XXI, 70, it is used to mean 'earthquake'; it might be used of any violent trembling.

XVII, 5.

convenne ripigliare is the main proposition of this involved sentence, which may be paraphrased as follows: After addressing the last three sonnets to B., while D. thought it best (in view of the fact that he had sufficiently described his condition) to write no more about himself, the incident described in the following chapter determined him to begin writing on a new subject, although he might thenceforth refrain from addressing poems to B. This is important as indicating the beginning of a new attitude, and a new section of the V.N. The preceding poems, ten in number, form the first section, and with them may be asso