Page:Petrach, the first modern scholar and man of letters.djvu/329

Rh A good deal has been written about Petrarch's famous ascent of Mount Ventoux. Körting assuredly exaggerates its significance when he declares it “an epoch-making deed“ which would by itself substantiate Petrarch's title to be called the first modern man. The reader will observe that, however modern may have been the spirit in which the excursion was undertaken, the relapseinto mediaeval perversity was speedy and complete. As we shall find, Petrarch had no sooner reached the top than he bethought himself of his Augustine, before whose stern dictum the wide landscape quickly lost its fascination.

The Ascent of Mount Ventoux. To Dionisio da Borgo San Sepolcro. To-day I made the ascent of the highest mountain in this region, which is not improperly called