PETRARCH THE MAN 



can only give voice to my irritation when I hear the 

 common herd befouling with their stupid mouths the 

 noble beauty of his lines." Since these words were 

 written in a letter acknowledging the receipt of the 

 Divine Comedy^ they prove that he was not unfamiUar 

 with a certain amount of Dante — which would go far 

 to explain the Dantesque reminiscences and might 

 acquit him of the accusation of having deliberately lied. 

 But, after all, was he not really envious and jealous, 

 in spite of his protestations ? It is curious how seldom 

 he mentions Dante by name in the rest of his works. 

 In the Res MemorandcB, to be sure, he does tell two 

 stories about Dante^s stay at the court of Can Grande, 

 as examples of the great poet's sharp retort. '^ Dante 

 Alighieri, one of my fellow-citizens, most illustrious 

 because of his vernacular works, but in manners a little 

 too brusque and in speech too uncompromising to 

 please the sensitive eyes and ears of the princes of our 

 age, was received during his exile by Can Grande, the 

 generous host and consoler of the afflicted at that time. 

 At first he was held in honor, but, as time went, he lost 

 favor. One day, at a meal, among the buffoons and 

 mimes present there was one who because of his free 

 language and gestures called forth great applause. 

 Can Grande, suspecting that Dante was ill-pleased, 

 after calling the buffoon before him and bestowing 

 great praise upon him, turned towards Dante and said: 

 ' I wonder how it is, a crazy fellow like this can delight 

 us all, when you, a learned man, fail to do so.' Dante 



55 



