(g) Mà l'alta providentia, che con Scipio (b) Velutello and Landino render it very justly: "As the divine providence, fays the Poet, em"ploy'd the valour of Scipio to fave Rome, the glory of the world, from the cruelty of Hanni"bal; fo will it foon, by the means of an excel"lent Prince, defend the Church from the wicked "Prelates, thofe wolves difguis'd like shepherds. F. H. tranflates it thus: "La Providence par le "bras d'un fecond Scipion fecourra bientôt Rome, " lui rendra, comme le premier le fit autrefois, "l'avantage d'etre la plus glorieufe ville du mon"de; adding, T mettant le Pape & la Papontè, & "la retirant d'Avignon." His fault is, in referring what belongs only to the verb difefe, alfo to Soccorra; where alla Chiesa, or a' Fedeli is plainly understood, just as the two Commentators render it. So far F. H. is in the right: 'Tis the quarrel between Louis the Bavarian, and Pope John the Twenty-fecond, the Poet bas here in view (i), (g) Parad. Cant. 27. (b) Velutello indeed is wrong, in that he fays, all these great things are to be done, "Mediante la Virtù d' arrige Jefto (for fettimo) Imperadore: For that Emperor died before John XXII (il Papa Caorfino) was Pope. (i) I believe feveral places in the Poem, which speak of great Deliverances by the help of a Prince, fhou'd be rather understood of Louis than Henry, as Velutello explains 'em ; agreeably to what he fays in his Life of Dante, quoted below. The prefent paffage must be understood of Louis, for the reafon given in the preceding Note. 66 66 which he expects will be of service to his party, but not "Rendra a Rome l'avantage, &c. Now Dante might very well mean this quarrel; for all who have mention'd him, agree, that the Poem was written toward the end of his life: Velutello (k) in particular fays, "Dante compos'd all the Comedy in bis exile, when having loft all bopes of returning to Florence, and "wander'd about from place to place, be at laft fix'd in Ravenna, under the protection of Gui"do da Polenta, where he died. And the Poet himself (1) fays, he faw a feat prepar❜d in Paradife for the Emperor Henry the Seventh, who was come thither before him. Now to make Dante no prophet, this part of the poem at least must be written after Henry's death, and confe quently Louis's election. ' John, immediately after he was chofen Pope, A. D. 1316, refus'd to confirm Louis's election, because he had taken the title of Emperor without the authority of the holy See, and exceeded in fome inftances the bounds of the Imperial power: And the next year he publish'd a Contitution against thofe Princes, who govern'd feveral parts of Italy, under the title of Vicarii Imperii: The chief of thefe was Maffeo Vifconti, who with Uguecio Fagiola, and the Family D'Efte, (who had turn'd the Pope's Officers out of Ferrara) was perfecuted by the Pope, and fupported by Louis. All this before the year 1318 (m). (k) Vita di Dante. (1) Parad. Cant. 30. (m) Blond. Decad. 2. 1. 9. Spendan. fub Annis prædift. Platina in vitis Clem. V. & Johan. XXII. quem ille XXIII. vocat. The The Guelfs, agreeably to their principles, declared for John, and the Ghibellins for the Emperor, (thofe of Tuscany, under the direction of the above-mention'd Fagiola.) That Dante was of this party, is afferted by Bellarmin (n) a Jefuit, and a Cardinal: But as I fear, Dear , thefe qualifications may leffen his credit with you, I fhall produce two other Authors of a very different fort: Boccace (o) fays, He turn'd Ghibellin; and Machiavel (p), that the White party, expell'd Florence by Charles de Valois, join'd themselves with the Ghibellins'; and that upon the approach of the Emperor Henry to restore the Exiles, most of the Ghibellins, and fome of the White faction, viz. those banish'd by name, were still kept out, when the Citizens agreed to restore the reft. Upon both these occafions Dante is nam'd. So this wishing well to the Ghibellins under Henry and Louis, can by no means be brought to prove that he did not profefs Guelfifm (the reigning opinion of the State) whilft in his own country; fince all the expell'd Florentines chang'd fides in the fame manner. And this is alfo a reason for his speaking fo freely of the Popes, who were at the head of the Guelfs, without referring him to Wickliffe's (9) time, as F. H. infinuates. There, is no need of going fo low, to find the crying abuses then in the Church diflik'd and expos'd. St. An (n) In Appendice ad Libros de Summo Pontifice, Cap. 12. & 14. (0) Vita di Dante. (p; Hiftor. Florent. L. 2. ad initium. (9) Who publifh'd his doctrine about the year 1377. Ra pin. Hift. Edw. III. tonine, tonine, in the Section immediately preceding that quoted above, fays, "That in Florence itfelt, there were at that time (A. D. 1322.) many Pauperes de Lugduno (Waldenfes) who were condemn'd by John XXII. And Dante, the true Dante, according to F. H. in his book de Monarchia, makes the Emperor independent of the Pope. To mention only our two other excellent Italians of that age, Petrarch's three famous Sonetto's, and many paffages in Boccace, fhew fufficiently what the men of fenfe in those days thought of their Ecclefiaftical Governors. Cardinal Bellarmin (r), in answer to the citations out of these Authors, against the Romish corruptions in the Auvifo piacevole alla bella Italia, never thinks of proving them moderns; he is more modeft; and only produces many good catholic fentiments out of their writings, to balance thofe of the other fort. Coeffeteau does the fame in his anfwer to Mornoay. Is it not then exceedingly hard for F. H. to bring down our Poet a whole century below his time, for the fake of his heretical pofitions; when, according to his own favourite fyftem (s), Severus Archontius, and his affociates, compos'd fuch a number of pieces, under the names of the most celebrated writers of antiquity, about the beginning of the thirteenth century, on purpose to fubvert the catbolic faith? (r) In Appendice, ut fupra, C. 19, 20, 22. (s) Harduini Oper. Select. Edit. Amftel. p. 343, 345, 515. See alfo p. 35. of the first Edit. of his Chron. Vet. Teft. where he fays, A writer of the 13th Century had the fame hatred for Bishops, the Calvinists now have. JANUARY 1730. E As As to the other erroneous opinions of our Poet, I can find nothing which even hints the Eternity of the World: And for the conceit, "That the firft Mover can't exist, without producing motion; F. H. muft take it from these verfes, (t) Et ancho la ragion lo vede alquanto ; Where 'tis clear from the context, that Motori must mean the Angels; and fo Landino and Velutello explain it. "Tis indeed abfolute nonfenfe, understood of God, or as a general argument. In the first paffage relating to the Trinity (u), F. H. fuppreffes what comes between the verfes he quotes, where the Poet says, He does not believe thofe divine truths, only on phyfical or metapbyfical reafoning, but from Scripture. The fecond paffage I don't find, not having the Edition of Venice 1477. In the Credo of Landino's Edition, there is nothing heterodox. But in general, I don't fee any reafon to expect in a Poem fuch an exactness of expreffion, as is requir'd in a Treatife of Divinity or Philofophy: Nor fhou'd I have taken notice of the particulars above, were it not to fhew how ftrangely F. H. miftakes, or misrepresents the plaineft things. But you know well enough, 'tis the way of the Journalists, to make every Author, who in any point finds fault with the Corruptions of the (1) Parad. Cant. 29, Church, |