PETRARCH THE AUTHOR 



again most cordial invitations from the Pope, the 

 emperor, the French king, and other kings, which I 

 cannot attribute to anything but the hidden workings 

 of fate/' Above all should be read the letter to Donato, 

 the teacher of Piacenza, in which he enumerates his 

 illustrious visitors; and the one to Bruni in which he 

 describes his courageous behavior on the trip from 

 Pavia to Padua. Here, if nowhere else, one could col- 

 lect evidence of his desire for fame. He has no mind to 

 cheapen himself; and, writing to Urban V, he makes 

 this interesting remark: "I should do better not to 

 appear before you, lest that befall me which a fellow- 

 countryman of mine thus expressed, ^ His presence 

 hurts his reputation.' '' Fame above all else: he makes 

 every effort to acquire and retain it. Boccaccio vainly 

 pleads with him to desist from striving: " Because of 

 your example, many within and perhaps without Italy 

 are cultivating studies neglected for centuries; so you, 

 being old, should rest and give them an opportunity." 

 He cannot be persuaded. And yet his honors have cost 

 him dear. Ever since he was crowned, he has had to be 

 on his guard dodging the blows rained down upon him 

 by former friends made enemies, now attacking him 

 with pen and tongue. "Oh! how many things of that 

 kind I could tell you," he exclaims, " which would 

 make you shudder! " And then the envious! But, as 

 Petrarch says, " the troubles of the mind are perilous, 

 to be sure, yet easier to cure than those of the body." 

 Moreover, he has found a remedy: " Unceasing labor 



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