Page:Carducci - Poems of Italy.djvu/17

 passion for books, an ardent worship of the great classic writers and of those modern Italian authors who dreamed a new life for Italy—such Carducci showed himself, during these four years in Florence, to his companion Chiarini, who in his turn has drawn the portrait for us. An incident that occurred a little later, while Giosue was studying at the Normal School of Pisa, throws further light on his character.

In the summer of 1855, a severe epidemic of cholera broke out at Pian Castagnaio, the little village where the Carducci family was then settled. Giosue, home for his holidays, instantly laid aside his books and his writing, and, aided by his brother and two acquaintances, threw himself with enthusiastic devotion into the business of caring for the sick. So much practical ability did he display that the Municipality put him at the head of a commission for sanitary measures and public assistance, and until the epidemic was at an end, late in September, he gave his time and energy to the work entrusted to his hands. "I have put aside, as is the duty of a good citizen, the meditative life for the

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