PETRARCH THE MAN 



brought forward as damning evidence. It is said that 

 he purposely sought the society of men of meaner 

 intellect than his own, those from whom he could get 

 nothing but adulation, to whom he could preach down 

 without having his authority questioned. These 

 accusations again seem to me ridiculous. While the 

 tone of his correspondence is not all that one could 

 desire, other reasons than insincerity account for our 

 dissatisfaction; and so far as the category of Petrarch's 

 friends is concerned, no man was more liberal, more 

 catholic in his tastes. Naturally he preferred those who 

 could share his interests; but as for intellectual capac- 

 ity, it is idle to say that he neglected or shunned his 

 peers or his superiors. There was in his day only one 

 man of letters with whom he could be compared; 

 namely, Boccaccio; and Boccaccio was his dearest 

 friend. 



IV 



The charge of selfishness has also been brought 

 against Petrarch in regard to his love for Laura. It has 

 been said that if he sang of her so long and so often, it 

 was in order that she might aid him to win fame. It 

 was then the fashion for young poets to be enamored of 

 some woman and celebrate her, the glory which the 

 songster bestowed upon the lady being reflected upon 

 him. To this particular affair an added shade of 

 romantic interest is given by the fact that it offers us 

 the spectacle of a churchman in love. 



58 



