PETRARCH THE CRITIC AND READER 



cial place to be chosen later, sheltered from fire and rain 

 for the honor of the donor and the consolation and 

 profit of men of letters and nobles of this city. He hopes 

 that from time to time this glorious city may add other 

 books at the expense of the State, and that nobles who 

 love their country, and even foreigners, may leave by 

 will a part of their property to the said church, and that 

 in this way the collection may become a great and 

 famous library, like those of antiquity." The Grand 

 Council gratefully accepted the offer, assigning a 

 palace on the Riva degli Schiavoni. For some reason 

 or other, the scheme most unfortunately fell through. 

 Petrarch found it pleasanter to live at Padua or Arqua, 

 where he could have his garden. There were wars 

 between Padua and Venice, and ultimately, some years 

 after Petrarch's death, without any blame attaching to 

 Petrarch or to Venice, the books were sold and dis- 

 persed. Perhaps Francesco of Carrara, the lord of 

 Padua, was the guilty person. He retained the greater 

 part of the library for himself; but when he was de- 

 feated by Venice and Gian Galeazzo Visconti, he had 

 to surrender his books, with other property, to the 

 Visconti family. 



So far as the make-up of Petrarch's library is con- 

 cerned, it was most complete in poetry. Only one great 

 poet was missing, and that was Lucretius. Of the works 

 of some of the other poets he knew only a part: Plau- 

 tus, Tibullus, and Martial. As might be expected, he 

 was fondest of Virgil. But he knew all of Ovid, and 



