Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/898

DANTE AXIGHIERI. of Foleo Portinari. who later became the wife of Simone de' Bardi. As related iu that unique and earliest of the poet's productions, the ita .V»0(((, he met her first at a family festival when he himself was but nine years old, and slie some months younger. Yet from that moment his love for her seems to have been the dominant influ- ence in his life. There seems to be no good reason for questioninj;, as some have questioned, whether, after all, Beatrice was a real person- ality, or whether she was not the creation of a poet's mind, a mere personification of philosophy, it is difficult to read the ^'itu Xiioca and still question the truth of what it narrates; from first to last it bears the striking stamp of sin- cerity. Yet it must be borne in mind that his love for Beatrice was very diti'erent from what is ordinarily understood by the term. It was the highest form of spiritual love, freed from the dross of all earthly desires and vulgar jealousy. In Beatrice he saw something more than a «oman: from first to last, she was in his eyes an 'angiola gentilissiraa.' Beatrice died June 9, 1290, a date that marks an epoch in Dante's life. A'e know not who was the donna gentile to whom a year later he turned for spiritual sympathy, though some have cliosen to see in this unknown comforter the Gemma Donati, whom by the persuasion of his friends he was soon after led to marry. Two sons, a daughter Antonia, and perhaps another, Beatrice, were the fruit of this union, which there is no positive reason for believing an unhappy one. Dante maintained an unbroken silence regarding liis wife, who continued to live in Florence after his exile, and presumably they never met again. Of Dante's part in the public affairs of his city a few meagre details are preserved, enough to show that his interest gradually deepened after the death of Beatrice. Too much importance has sometimes been attached to the so-called heroism of his military service. In point of fact, he was simply discharging the duties incumbent upon a citizen of the comnuine when, in 12S9. he tooK part in an invasion of the territory of Arezzo and was present at the taking of the fortress of Caprona, shortly afterwards. After 1295 his voice was heard with growing frequency in muni- cipal affairs, until the summer of 1300. when he was chosen as one of the six Priors of the city. Though his duties lasted but two months, the time was long enough, as he himself said, to effect his undoing. The Guelphs at this time had become divided into two factions — the ycri. led by Corso Donati. and supporters of the Papal power: and the liiatiilii or moderate (luelphs, who leaned toward the ideas (if the Ohibellines. Dante had allied himself with the latter faction. but (luring his tenure of oftice party feeling ran .so high that the Priors decided upon the extreme measure of banishing the leaders of both fac- tions, and Dante advocated the measure, though Donati. a relative of his wife, was among the lianished yrri, and Cavalcanti. his friend, among the nianchi. But soon afterwards the Rinnrhi were unwisely allowed to return, and. fearing that their party would get the upper hand in the city. Boniface VTTI. sent Charles of Vahiis to Florence, who quickly restored the eri to power. In 1302 there followed a wholesale banishment of the liinnchi. among them Dante, charged with barratry, extortion, corruption, and conspiracy against Boniface, Charles, and the Guelph party. The exiled Bianchi joined forces with the many Ghibellines then living in banishment, and made many attempts to return by force of arms. Just how long Dante remained with his fellow exiles is not known, but sooner or later he wearied of their dissensions, and fomid an asylum with Bartolommeo della Scala, at Verona. Through the years of wandering that followed, it is i(5e to attempt to trace him — 'a ship without sail or helm,' he calls himself in the Vonvivio. In 1306 Ave find him at Padua; in 1307 at Casen- lino. and the following year perhaps at Forli; 1309 is the date assigned for his alleged visit to Paris, and some would have it that he even pushed on to Oxford, but this cannot be proved. At all events, in 1313 he was in Pisa, where Petrarch saw him as a child. Two years later the Florentines passed a decree allowing the exiles to return, but upon such humiliating con- ditions that Dante rejected them with scorn. In 1317 he made his permanent home at Ravenna, where he was warmly welcomed by Guido No- yello da Polenta, the lord of the city and nephew, it is thought, of Franccsca da Eiiiiini. Here he passed his last years, busied with the completion of his great epic, and surrounded by his children and friends, and here he died on" the. night of September 1-1, 1321. having been taken ill while on a political mission in behalf of Novello and the city that had given him refuge. He was buried by Xovello with great honor, but the latter was expelled from Ravenna before he had time to raise a fitting monument to his friend. Florence, which sought to make tardy atonement by raising a memorial tablet in the Church of Santa Croce, tried in vain to obtain the custody of his remains. For fear of theft, they were hidden, and their resting-place remained a secret down to 1S65. since which time they have been jealously guarded by Ravenna. The chronological order of Dante's writings has been the ground of endless debate. The order Avhich affords the least ground for objections is probably the following: Vita Xuovn. Dc X'ulgari Eloquentia, Conririo, De Mondrchia, the Rime and Epistolw, which cover a long period of years; the Ecloaw. and the f'oinmrrlia. The Mta A'l/ord ])robably dates from the early nineties, is written in mingled prose and verse, and contains the story of his love for Beatrice, together with the poems addressed to her and some other ladies. Aside from its lofty sentiment and poetic charm, the Vita Suoia possesses a deep interest as being the earliest example of polished Italian prose. The Convifio, or Banquet, is also a combination of prose and ])oetry. in which, as has been quaintly said, the poems are served up as the viands, the commentary as the accompanying bread. Here, also, Beatrice is the central figure, but this time as a sort of personification of divine philosophy. As originally planned, the Convivio should have contained fourteen canzoni. with accompanying comment, but in the form in which we have it. it is incomplete. The Rime or i'anzonierc are a collection of poems on many subjects, and obviously covering a long period of years. Among them are four canzoni which relate to a brief attachment felt by Dante for an unknown woman, whom he designates as La Pietra. and whom some would identify with the donna pentile of the ^'ita Xiiova. The Dr Viil- gari Floqurntia is the most interesting of Dante's Latin writings, and mav be defined as the first