Sect. III.] Italian Language. 313 



SECTION III. 

 ITALIAN LANGUAGE. 



During a great part of the seventeenth century 

 the Italian language was in a state of coniparative 

 degeneracy. It ahounded to an excess with me- 

 taphor and antithesis, aUusion, and conceit ; so 

 that, instead of the simphcity which had hefore 

 prevailed, affectation and obscurity became its th- 

 stinguishing characteristics. This taste was too 

 much countenanced and promoted by the writings 

 of Marini, Tasso, and Ckiabrera, which, though 

 monuments of great genius, yet gave currency to 

 false principles of composition. During this pe- 

 riod the best models of ancient taste fell into ne- 

 glect ; and such were selected for imitation as fa- 

 voured the glitter, the bombast, and the pedantry 

 which were then in vogue. Of this the satires of 

 Benedict Menzini, and of Salvator Rosa, and the 

 discourses of Morone, Paoletti, and others, atibrd 

 sufficient proof. 



Towards the close of the seventeenth century 

 these perversions of taste began to dechue, and the 

 Italian literati assumed a style more simple, unat- 

 fected, and accurate than that which had been in 

 fashion for more than a hundred years. Ap<>^- 

 tolo Zeno, a distinguished \'enetian Nvriter, was 

 one of the first who introduced a natural turn of 

 sentiment and expression into his writuigs, and 

 recommended this manner to his couutryinen. 

 Gravina, about the same time, recallcil the atten- 



