THE CERTOSA OF FLORENCE 



laurel crown from the hands of the Emperor Charles 

 IV. For him the Grand Seneschal had a deep and 

 tender affection, which nothing could ever impair ; 

 and the letter which he wrote on the poet's death is a 

 touching memorial of an intimacy honourable to both 

 men. Genuine sorrow for his friend is mingled with 

 lamentation over the loss sustained by the world in 

 the death of a poet, the like of whom had not arisen 

 for perhaps a thousand years, " saving only one other, 

 Messer Francesco Petrarcho." 



" No gift of all that Fortune has bestowed upon 

 me in this world do I hold equal to the friendship of 

 this man. He chose me and I chose him as friend, 

 in all things our souls agreed together. Leaving his 

 country, his home, and his kinsfolk, at my request he 

 gladly followed me. When he was present we took 

 sweet counsel together ; in his absence his letters 

 were my joy and delight. As I read I saw my friend 

 and felt all the nobility of his soul, the graces with 

 which God had filled this divine spirit. But since 

 the clearness of his intellect could distinguish things 

 unseen through the mists of this life, since while my 

 excellent friend lived he saw what was hidden and 

 recognised the vanity of this world, he is now come 

 to the place where he lives and will live for ever, and 

 I am there with him. Inseparable were our souls 

 and inseparable will they remain." 



Like the poet of In Memoriam, he notes the dif- 

 ferent phases of grief, and from the contemplation 

 209 o 



