Page:The Earliest Lives of Dante (Smith 1901).djvu/62

Rh them, and that men followed him as their exemplar. So they think this first action of Phoebus is the cause of the coronation of poets and of emperors and the use of these leaves therefor down to this day. Certainly this opinion does not displease me, nor do I deny that this may have been the way it came to pass; nevertheless, I am moved by a different reason, which is this.

According to the opinion of those who examine the nature and virtues of trees, the laurel, among its other properties, has three that are especially notable and noteworthy. The first is that, as we perceive, it never loses its verdure or leaves. The second is that this tree has never been found struck by lightning, which thing we do not read to have been the fortune of any other. And the third is that, as we know, it is very fragrant.

The ancient originators of this honor thought that these three properties corresponded to the virtuous works of poets and victorious emperors. In the first place, the perpetual greenness of the leaves was said to illustrate the fame of their works, in that the works of those who have been crowned with the laurel, or shall be crowned in the future, will always remain alive. Secondly, they considered the works of these men to be of so great power that neither the fire of envy nor the thunderbolt of long-enduring time, which consumes all things, would ever be able to blast them, any more than the lightning from heaven strikes this tree. Finally, they said that these works through lapse of time would never be less pleasing and grateful to him who heard or read them, but would always be acceptable and fragrant. Hence a crown of these leaves, rather than of any other, was suited to men whose productions, so far as we can see, were conformable thereto. Therefore not without reason did our Dante ardently desire this honor, or rather the proof of so great virtue as this is to those who make themselves worthy of having their temples so adorned. But it is time to return to that place whence we departed in entering upon this discussion.