210 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 



prophet, and persuaded of the futility of such 

 dreams in comparison with the splendid and en- 

 during certainties of his own art, Dante used that 

 gift with cruel force to convey a similar accusation 

 regarding the romantic fame of the philosopher, 

 holding him up to the world as no mighty master of 

 mysterious power, but, in this too, a mere impostor. 



The anonymous Florentine, in his comment on 

 the Divine Comedy, softens the matter a little, and 

 at the same time imports into it a confusion of 

 thought very difficult to unravel, when he says : 

 ' This art of magic may be employed in two ways ; 

 for either magicians compose by cunning certain 

 bodies, all compact of air, which yet appear sub- 

 stantial, or else they show things having the ap- 

 pearance of reality but not in truth real, and in 

 both these ways of working was Michael a great 

 master/ There is an attempt here to vindicate for 

 Scot a higher place than that of the mere charlatan, 

 but the commentator's distinction is one not readily 

 or clearly to be apprehended, and we may greatly 

 doubt if it ever entered his author's mind. 



The hint thus given was speedily acted upon. 

 For to it, no doubt, we owe the numerous tales re- 

 garding Michael Scot of which Benvenuto da Imola 

 and the anonymous Florentine speak. Landino gives 

 a specimen, as follows. During the philosopher's 

 residence in Bologna he used to invite his friends 

 to dinner, but without making any preparation for 

 their entertainment. When the hour struck, and 

 the guests were seated at table, they found it 

 nevertheless covered with the choicest viands. 

 Their host would then explain that one dish came 

 from the royal kitchen at Paris, another from that 



