By THOMAS CAMPBELL. Carey and Hart. 1 vol. 8vo. ART. II. — Life of Petrarch. As manufactures, by the division of labor, grow more perfect, and luxury and competition continually urge invention to novelty, the first struggle is to produce something good as well as new, and at a price proportioned to its excellence. The next effort is to furnish an inferior article, resembling the first but cheaper; and the last to make an imitation, very cheap and good for nothing. Something similar takes place when literature becomes a trade, and books are written for booksellers by contract and to order. Authors begin by laboring for reputation, and that once gained, strive to make the most of it while it lasts. As if they regarded public caprice and not merit as the source of popularity, they hasten to get rid of their wares before the fashion changes, and in fabricating them commit all the faults of haste and negligence. Even Byron did not escape this error. Undoubtedly those who gain an honorable subsistence by letters have the same right as others to dispose of their commodities to the best advantage, and of course to turn over their capital as rapidly as possible, consistently with the good faith which they owe to their customers. The public is now the great encourager of literature, and God forbid we should desire the restoration of those "good old days" when poets depended upon patrons. Nevertheless, years will always be required to produce whatever is destined to endure for ages, and though we cannot blame, we may be permitted to lament, the necessity that hurries men of genius through volume after volume, working by the job under the temptation of their publisher, and in utter defiance of Minerva and the Muses. It is especially painful to see our old favorite Campbell employed in such drudgery. We love to think of him as reviver of poetry in our day-the poetic idol of our boyhood. His name recalls the happy hours when we lingered, full of enthusiasm and tenderness, over the "Pleasures of Hope" and "Gertrude of Wyoming," "The Evening Star" and "Hohenlinden" and "O'Connor's Child," or kindled into admiration at the spirit-stirring "Mariners of England" 1842.] His Birth and Parentage. 295 and "Battle of the Baltic," little mindful of the arrogance that has too often marked Britain's naval supremacy, or the doubtful cause of quarrel in which she triumphed. We have heard, indeed, that he has written other things not so worthy of his pen. We have been told, he has spoken of us Americans less kindly than he ought, considering how much we loved his poetry, and how intimately his own fame has become associated with our scenery and history. The first cannot bias our judgment, since we have never read the productions in question, and the last, if allowed to exert any influence whatever, would only induce us, from self-respect, to treat him with greater courtesy and deference. Still, justice must be done, and on all alike; and, in the inquiry whether Mr. Campbell, as the biographer of Petrarch, has performed his task in a manner worthy of his subject and himself, no reverence for his name, no gratitude for the pleasure his poems have afforded us, no false delicacy or fear of incurring the imputation of unworthy motives will be allowed to disturb our impartiality. Neither a critic nor a magistrate can be too severe or too lenient without blame, for the public, in the end, are sure to judge the judge and review the reviewer.* A brief sketch of the life and character of Petrarch, will enable our readers to understand and appreciate more fully the justice or injustice of our remarks on his biographer. Francesco Petrarca, whose name has been irrevocably Anglicised into Petrarch, was born on the twentieth of July, 1304. His father, Petraccolo, the son of Ser Parenza, of Ancisa, was a Florentine citizen, and filled at least one embassy, but, during the feuds of the Bianchi and Neri, the same revolutionary tribunal that banished Dante condemned Petraccolo, on a false accusation of forgery, to lose his hand. He escaped the execution of this sentenee, for the proceedings took place in his absence, and were in the nature of an attainder par contumace. Dino Compagni, the historian, testifies to their iniquity, and the republic, in a calmer moment, offered to pardon the accused, but on terms to which he scorned to submit. He retired with his wife, Eletta Canigiani, to Arezzo, and there, in an humble dwelling still pre "Ce n'est jamais impunement qu' un magistrat s' ecarte de son devoir; il s'élève un cri public; et s' il est un moment ou les juges prononcent sur chaque citoyen, dans tous les temps la masse des citoyens prononce sur chaque juge.”. Beaumarchais. served by the Aretines and shown with honest pride to the passing stranger, Petrarch was born. Cardinal Niccolò da Prato, by command of the pope, attempted to reconcile the factions of Tuscany, and Petrarch's father was one of the commissioners to settle the terms of a peace on the part of the Bianchi. The treaty failed, and on the very day of the poet's birth Florence was attacked and almost taken by the exiles. It has been assumed that Petraccolo bore a part in the assault, but the fact, to say the least, is doubtful. His wife was allowed to return to Ancisa, and in crossing the Arno, her son, and the servant who carried him, narrowly escaped drowning. Her husband sometimes visited her by stealth, and two other sons were the pledges of their affection. One died in childhood, the other, Gherardo, is often mentioned by Petrarch as his companion. There are the strongest reasons for believing they had a sister Selvaggia, though no allusion to her whatever has been observed in the works of the poet. In Francisco's eighth year, Ser Petraccolo removed his family to Pisa, subsequently to Avignon, and thence to Carpentras, where Petrarch began his education under the tuition of Convennole da Prato, who is said to have remarked the promise given by his pupil's genius. Petraccolo, who was himself learned, for a layman of those days, recommended to his son the study of the classics, and the boy grew so fond of them as to defeat his destination to the civil law. Paternal anxiety doomed his books to the flames, but returning tenderness rescued Virgil and Cicero. In compliance with his father's wishes, Petrarch studied jurisprudence for three years at Montpelier, and four at Bologna; but Petraccolo's death relieving his inclinations from constraint, he abandoned the law for ever. His mother died soon afterwards, and when he sought to collect together his patrimony, he found it much dilapidated by unfaithful executors. Devoting himself to letters, he acquired the friendship of James Colonna, and the patronage of his brother, the cardinal, under whose roof he was invited to take up his residence. In his twenty-third year he became enamored of Laura, who shares his celebrity, and whose character and even existence has been the subject of endless controversy. By many this lady has been supposed an imaginary mistress, and 1842.] Returns to Italy. 297 those who admit her reality dispute whether she was maid or wife. There seems, however, to be sufficient reason for believing that she was the daughter of Audibert di Noves, and had been married to Hugo de Sade about two years before her first meeting with the poet, which took place in the church of St. Clare, at Avignon, on the sixth of April, 1327. No very exact idea of her charms can be gathered from his description of her person. We learn only that she had black eyes, a fair complexion, golden hair, a figure more remarkable for grace than symmetry, and a countenance habitually grave and thoughtful, which became highly expressive when animated, the eloquence of her looks being aided by the harmony of her voice. From the indulgence of this passion he tore himself away to travel, visiting Paris, Ghent, Aix la Chapelle, Liege, and Cologne, and noting in his letters the objects he found most curious. Love recalled him to Avignon, and on his journey, the river that rolled by the walls of his mistress received the tribute of his verse. Repulsed by the object of his affection, he gave himself up to solitude and despair, and draws a humiliating picture of the conflict of his passions. Simeon Memmi, the most famous painter of that day, having been called to Avignon to decorate the pontifical palace, Petrarch was enabled to obtain the portrait of his beloved, an acquisition which he celebrated in rhymes not entirely Platonic. A restless mind, tormented by a hopeless attachment, naturally, though vainly, seeks relief in change of scene, and we find Petrarch, until late in life, flying from place to place with a fickleness that did not escape ridicule. He now betook himself to Italy. Embarking at Marseilles, and landing at Civita Vecchia, he was obliged by civil war to take refuge at Capranica, with Orso, Count of Anguillara, and from that place was accompanied to Rome by Stephen and James Colonna, with a strong escort. John of St. Vito, another of the Colonna family, was his guide to the wonders of the eternal city. Wearying of Italy, it is supposed he undertook a yet longer voyage, only to return to his chains, and to suppress, self-abased, the record of his fruitless absence. Avignon, then notorious for dissoluteness, did not allow him to escape its contagion. His passion for Laura was insufficient to secure him against the tyranny of the senses, and the birth of a natural son avouched the weakness of one whom the world, oddly enough, has agreed to consider the martyr and apostle of Platonic love. Shame and remorse were thus added to his inquietudes, which he endeavored to appease by reading St. Augustine's Confessions. Taking up his residence at Vaucluse, he now devoted himself to study, from which, indeed, no distractions ever entirely diverted him, and there, enjoying at times the visits of his friends, Guido Sette and the bishop of Cavaillon, he formed the design of writing the exploits of the Romans. Only two fragments of this work have been preserved, and the world has since grown too rich in the remains of antiquity to lament its loss. An undertaking more congenial to his taste was a Latin Epic entitled Africa, prosecuted to the end of his life, yet remaining so imperfect that he intended to destroy it. Petrarch's devotion to books and composition became daily greater and more constant. His poetry was read and admired throughout Italy. Modern languages were as yet but half formed, the age was rude and illiterate, and in his task of improving it, he was almost without assistance or competition. Dante, who preceded him, and Boccaccio, his friend and cotemporary, are accordingly the chief persons who have shared with him the glory of reviving letters. Excluding those who have filled thrones or led armies, no three men, since the fall of the Roman empire, have contributed so much to modern civilization, or exercised a more powerful influence on their age and posterity. Christendom still delights in Petrarch's genius after the lapse of five centuries, and in his own time his merit obtained him extraordinary honors. He received on the same day an invitation to be crowned with laurel at Rome and at Paris. His patriotism led him to accept the first, and, as a preliminary test, he voluntarily submitted his pretensions to the judgment of Robert, king of Naples, then esteemed a learned monarch, by whom he was examined and pronounced worthy. On the eighth, or according to others, on the sixteenth of April, 1341, the Roman people were assembled by sound of trumpet to witness his triumph. Preceded by eighteen youths, bearing crowns and richly clad in green and crimson, |