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beacon lights of history-iii-2-第7章

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Its appearance was of course an epoch; calling out the admiration

of Italians; and of all who could understand it;of all who

appreciated its moral wisdom in every other country of Europe。  And

its fame has been steadily increasing; although I fear much of the

popular enthusiasm is exaggerated and unfelt。  One who can read

Italian well may see its 〃fiery emphasis and depth;〃 its condensed

thought and language; its supernal scorn and supernal love; its

bitterness and its forgiveness; but few modern readers accept its

theology or its philosophy; or care at all for the men whose crimes

he punishes; and whose virtues he rewards。



But there is great interest in the man; as well as in the poem

which he made the mirror of his life; and the register of his

sorrows and of those speculations in which he sought to banish the

remembrance of his misfortunes。  His life; like his poem; is an

epic。  We sympathize with his resentments; 〃which exile and poverty

made perpetually fresh。〃  〃The sincerity of his early passion for

Beatrice;〃 says Hallam; 〃pierces through the veil of allegory which

surrounds her; while the memory of his injuries pursues him into

the immensity of eternal light; and even in the company of saints

and angels his unforgiving spirit darkens at the name of Florence。 。 。 。

He combines the profoundest feelings of religion with those

patriotic recollections which were suggested by the reappearance of

the illustrious dead。〃



Next to Michael Angelo he was the best of all famous Italians;

stained by no marked defects but bitterness; pride; and scorn;

while his piety; his patriotism; and elevation of soul stand out in

marked contrast with the selfishness and venality and hypocrisy and

cruelty of the leading men in the history of his times。  〃He wrote

with his heart's blood;〃 he wrote in poverty; exile; grief; and

neglect; he wrote like an inspired prophet of old。  He seems to

have been specially raised up to exalt virtue; and vindicate the

ways of God to man; and prepare the way for a new civilization。  He

breathes angry defiance to all tyrants; he consigns even popes to

the torments he created。  He ridicules fools; he exposes knaves。

He detests oppression; he is a prophet of liberty。  He sees into

all shams and all hypocrisies; and denounces lies。  He is temperate

in eating and drinking; he has no vices。  He believes in

friendship; in love; in truth。  He labors for the good of his

countrymen。  He is affectionate to those who comprehend him。  He

accepts hospitalities; but will not stoop to meanness or injustice。

He will not return to his native city; which he loves so well; even

when permitted; if obliged to submit to humiliating ceremonies。  He

even refuses a laurel crown from any city but from the one in which

he was born。  No honors could tempt him to be untrue unto himself;

no tasks are too humble to perform; if he can make himself useful。

At Ravenna he gives lectures to the people in their own language;

regarding the restoration of the Latin impossible; and wishing to

bring into estimation the richness of the vernacular tongue。  And

when his work is done he dies; before he becomes old (1321); having

fulfilled his vow。  His last retreat was at Ravenna; and his last

days were soothed with gentle attentions from Guido da Polenta;

that kind duke who revived his fainting hopes。  It was in his

service; as ambassador to Venice; that Dante sickened and died。  A

funeral sermon was pronounced upon him by his friend the duke; and

beautiful monuments were erected to his memory。  Too late the

Florentines begged for his remains; and did justice to the man and

the poet; as well they might; since his is the proudest name

connected with their annals。  He is indeed one of the great

benefactors of the world itself; for the richness of his immortal

legacy。



Could the proscribed and exiled poet; as he wandered; isolated and

alone; over the vine…clad hills of Italy; and as he stopped here

and there at some friendly monastery; wearied and hungry; have cast

his prophetic eye down the vistas of the ages; could he have seen

what honors would be bestowed upon his name; and how his poem;

written in sorrow; would be scattered in joy among all nations;

giving a new direction to human thought; shining as a fixed star in

the realms of genius; and kindling into shining brightness what is

only a reflection of its rays; yea; how it would be committed to

memory in the rising universities; and be commented on by the most

learned expositors in all the schools of Europe; lauded to the

skies by his countrymen; received by the whole world as a unique;

original; unapproachable production; suggesting grand thoughts to

Milton; reappearing even in the creations of Michael Angelo;

coloring art itself whenever art seeks the sublime and beautiful;

inspiring all subsequent literature; dignifying the life of

letters; and gilding philosophy as well as poetry with new

glories;could he have seen all this; how his exultant soul would

have rejoiced; even as did Abraham; when; amid the ashes of the

funeral pyre he had prepared for Isaac; he saw the future glories

of his descendants; or as Bacon; when; amid calumnies; he foresaw

that his name and memory would be held in honor by posterity; and

that his method would be received by all future philosophers as one

of the priceless boons of genius to mankind!





AUTHORITIES。



Vita Nuova; Divina Commedia;Translations by Carey and Longfellow;

Boccaccio's Life of Dante; Wright's St。 Patrick's Purgatory; Dante

et la Philosophie Catholique du Treizieme Siecle; par Ozinan;

Labitte; La Divine Comedie avant Dante; Balbo's Life and Times of

Dante; Hallam's Middle Ages; Napier's Florentine History; Villani;

Leigh Hunt's Stories from the Italian Poets; Botta's Life of Dante;

J。 R。 Lowell's article on Dante in American Cyclopaedia; Milman's

Latin Christianity; Carlyle's Heroes and Hero…worship; Macaulay's

Essays; The Divina Commedia from the German of Schelling;

Voltaire's Dictionnaire Philosophique; La Divine Comedie; by

Lamennais; Dante; by Labitte。







GEOFFREY CHAUCER



A。D。 1340…1400。



ENGLISH LIFE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY。





The age which produced Chaucer was a transition period from the

Middle Ages to modern times; midway between Dante and Michael

Angelo。  Chaucer was the contemporary of Wyclif; with whom the

Middle Ages may appropriately be said to close; or modern history

to begin。



The fourteenth century is interesting for the awakening; especially

in Italy; of literature and art; for the wars between the French

and English; and the English and the Scots; for the rivalry between

the Italian republics; for the efforts of Rienzi to establish

popular freedom at Rome; for the insurrection of the Flemish

weavers; under the Van Arteveldes; against their feudal oppressors;

for the terrible 〃Jacquerie〃 in Paris; for the insurrection of Wat

Tyler in England; for the Swiss confederation; for a schism in the

Church when the popes retired to Avignon; for the aggrandizement of

the Visconti at Milan and the Medici at Florence; for incipient

religious reforms under Wyclif in England and John Huss in Bohemia;

for the foundation of new colleges at Oxford and Cambridge; for the

establishment of guilds in London; for the exploration of distant

countries; for the dreadful pestilence which swept over Europe;

known in England as the Black Death; for the development of modern

languages by the poets; and for the rise of the English House of

Commons as a great constitutional power。



In most of these movements we see especially a simultaneous rising

among the people; in the more civilized countries of Europe; to

obtain charters of freedom and municipal and political privileges;

extorted from monarchs in their necessities。  The fourteenth

century was marked by protests and warfare equally against feudal

institutions and royal tyranny。  The way was prepared by the wars

of kings; which crippled their resources; as the Crusades had done

a century before。  The supreme miseries of the people led them to

political revolts and insurrections;blind but fierce movements;

not inspired by ideas of liberty; but by a sense of oppression and

degradation。  Accompanying these popular insurrections were

religions protests against the corrupted institutions of the

Church。





In the midst of these popular agitations; aggressive and needless

wars; public miseries and calamities; baronial aggrandizement;

religious inquiries; parliamentary encroachment; and reviving taste

for literature and art; Chaucer arose。



His remarkable career extended over the last half of the fourteenth

century; when public events were of considerable historical

importance。  It was then that parliamentary history became

interesting。  Until then the barons; clergy; knights of the shire;

and burgesses of the town; summoned to assist the royal councils;
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