Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/341

 A R I O S T O. 305 excellent poet'ical pieces, one of tho mod remarkable which is the ftory of 1'yramus and Thilbe, which lie formed SJfcft 0> { into a play, and had it adted by his brothers and fillers. This his i ranrtat. performance gained him great applaufe, all who faw it pre "', lh '' ,- /. r i Orl.mdo fagmg he v^ould prove one of the greatelt poets of the age. Fur i f 0> His father, however, bcin^ - man of no tafte for learning, regarded more what lludy would be moft profitable for his fon to follow, than what fuited his genius and inclination : -he obliged him therefore to apply to the law, which he did for fome years, though with great reluctance; but upon his father's death, he returned to the more agreeable purfuitsof poetry. He was left but in indifferent cirrumftances, either becaufe the eftate was divided amongft all his brothers, or becaufe his father's income confifted chiefly of places of pro- fit, which determined at his death. When nriofto was about thirty years of age, he was introduced to Hippolito cardinal of Efte, a great patron of learned men, who enter- tained him in a very honourable manner. The fuccefs which he had hitherto had in the little poetical pieces he had published, infpired him with the ambition of diflinguifliing himleJf by fome nobler work. Sannazarius, Bembo, Nau- gerius, and Sadolet, had rendered themfelves famous for the beauty of their Latin poems : and Arioftohad likewife written fome in this language; but finding, as fir John Harrington obferves, that he could not raife himfelf to the hiihetl rank P. 417. amongft the Latin poets, which was already poflefled by others, he applied himfelf chiefly to the cultivation of his na- tive tongue-, bcino; defirous to enrich it with iuch works as would render it valuable and important to other nations. He read Homer and Virgil with vaft careful nefs ; and having in view thefe great originals, began a poem on the loves of Orlando, taking the fubjett from Bojardo's *' Orlando Inamo- rato," upon whole model he proceeded. He bi.ganthis poem when he was about thirty years of age ; it is the moll cele- brated of all his works, though there have been many differ- ent opinions concerning it [A]. But his attachment to poetry [A] Murctus, Paulus Jovius, and his " General Refli-flions upon Poetry.'* the gentlemen of P.,rt Royal have be- It is ohjrttcd './ lon.v, th.it he 'p-.-.iks flowed great encomiums on this poem. t"o mm 11 in I. is own p^rfoii by w.iy of Barnes Peletier, ot MonF, in the firft difnrtion, w huh is faid to be country "book of his" Art uf Poetry," has how- to 1 .it l.uvs of ^ '.tiy, bec.iul'e ncithir ever crnfuied many things in it ; as has Homer nor Virgil did if. " Me'vhiuks," Mr. Balzac, in his" CriticM Difcourfe fays fir John harringtun, in anf^er to " upon the HeroJ.cs tufanticidi of D i- this, " it is a fufikient defence to niel Heinfius," and father Rap : .n in " Arioflo doth it. Sure I am, it is VOL. I. X