Cousin Bettyby Honore de BalzacTranslated by James WaringDEDICATIONTo Don Michele Angelo Cajetani, Prince of Teano.It is neither to the Roman Prince, nor to the representative ofthe illustrious house of Cajetani, which has given more than onePope to the Christian Church, that I dedicate this short portionof a long history; it is to the learned commentator of Dante.It was you who led me to understand the marvelous framework ofideas on which the great Italian poet built his poem, the onlywork which the moderns can place by that of Homer. Till I heardyou, the Divine Comedy was to me a vast enigma to which none had...
