Tatti Renaissance Library (HUP) CONTINS PASS TO - [email protected]
2 total works
Francesco Petrarca, one of the greatest of Italian poets, was also the leading spirit in the Renaissance movement to revive ancient Roman language and literature. Petrarch's four Invectives, written in Latin, were inspired by the eloquence of the great Roman orator Cicero. The Invectives are directed against the cultural idols of the Middle Ages-against scholastic philosophy and medicine as well as the dominance of French culture. They defend the value of literature and provide a clear statement of the values of Renaissance humanism. The new translations in this volume, commissioned for the I Tatti Renaissance Library, include the first English translation of three of the four invectives.
Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374), one of the greatest of Italian poets, was also the leading spirit in the Renaissance movement to revive literary Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, and Greco-Roman culture in general. My Secret Book (Secretum) records “the private conflict of my thoughts,” in the form of a dialogue between Franciscus and Augustinus in the presence of a beautiful woman, Truth personified. The discussion reveals remarkable self-awareness as Petrarca probes and evaluates the springs of his own morally dubious addictions to Fame and Love.