and yet in the verses published by Gabriele Simeoni, in his satire upon Avarice, are these lines: Successe a lui Leon poi lume e specchio Leo to him succeeds, in whom we find And in the margin is this note: Leo X. gave Ariosto several hundred crowns to complete his work. Upon the exaltation of Leo X. to the papal chair, he paid a visit to that pontiff, with great expectations of advantage, as appears from his viith satire. The pope gave him a very gracious reception, and gave him a grant of half the profits of a certain bull, the amount of which is altogether unknown; and possibly the sum arising from this may be the donation meant by Simeoni. It is however certain, that he left Rome dissatisfied in his expectation: he declares that Fortune, when she raises men to dignities, dips them in Lethe: at the same time he bears testimony to the pope's honourable reception of him. Testimonio son io di quel ch'io scrivo, Ch'io nol 'ho ritrovato, quando il piede, La mano e poi le gote ambi mi preše, Satire iii. This well I know, this truth can well attest, He seem'd not mindless of his grace design'd, But it seems that Ariosto had raised his thoughts to some great ecclesiastical preferment: on which occasion Signor Rolli observes, that one reason why he was not preferred was, that he was devoted to Alphonso of Ferrara, whom the pope hated, and therefore could not give our author a cardinal's hat. Leo died in 1521, six years after the first publication, and the year in which Ariosto published the third edition of his poem. Perhaps had he lived longer, the poet might have experienced further marks of his generosity. A very extraordinary circumstance is related, and has been received as truth by some, that pope Leo X. exerted the authority and influence of his apostolic character in promoting the success of Ariosto's poem, and that he went so far as to publish a bull in favour of the Orlando Furioso, denouncing the censure of excommunication on all those who should presume to find fault with that performance. Bayle, in his article of Leo X. gravely propagates the story in these words: "Etoit ce garder le decorum de la paupautè que d'expedier une bulle si favorable aux poësies de l'Arioste, Hippolite en jugea très bien, quand il dit, D'où avezvous pris tant de fadaises. Leo fut plus debonnaire en menaçant d'excommunication ceux qui les blameroient ou empecheroient le profit de l'imprimeur." This matter was very likely to be caught up by Voltaire, who accordingly alludes to it, with his usual gaiety, in his last opinion given of Ariosto *. Upon a close inquiry it will perhaps appear, that there was no other foundation for this story than a diploma or licence granted by Leo for the sale of the work, and this merely from his authority as a temporal prince, in the same manner as patents or privileges are granted in other nations by their respective sovereigns. We learn from Fontanini, that to the third edition of Ariosto's poem in 1521, published at Ferrara, was a diploma of Leo X. for printing the work (privativa della stampa), written by cardinal Jacobo Sadoletto, Secretary of the Briefs; and that other diplomas of the same nature were granted to Ariosto by the king of France, by the Venetians, by the Florentines, by the Genoese, and other powers. Apostolo Zeno relates that he had seen a fourth edition, which had once been in the possession of Peter Aretine, in the blank leaf of which were several poetical pieces by that poet; and that in the beginning was a diploma of Clement VII. written by Palladio Blossio, Secretary of the Briefs, dated January, 1532, which grants to Ariosto the privilege of printing, publishing, and vending his Orlando Furioso, with any additions or corrections, imprimere, corrigere, et supplere, et in melius reformare. In the college library at Winchester is an old edition of a Greek Pindar, printed at Rome in 1515, the year in which Ariosto's work was first published, with a diploma or privilege of Leo X. in the title-page +; and in * See preface, page 21. Impressi Romæ per Zachariam Calergi Cretensem, per missu 8. D. N. Leonis X. Pont. Max. ea etiam conditione, ut nequit alius 1513, a patent for printing masses, set to music, was granted by the same pope to Ottavio Petruccio. After what has been said, I believe there can be little reason to doubt but that this pretended bull of Leo was nothing more than a common licence to a book, granted in the customary forms; which circumstance appears to have been violently exaggerated, from the religious fury of the times, to cast an odium on the papal authority in general, and on Leo in particular; and has since been received without examination. The general character and qualities of Ariosto may be, in some sort, gathered from the foregoing narrative, to which his Italian biographers have added the following particulars. In his conversation he was modest and affable to every body, demeaning himself in such a manner, as if altogether unconscious of that great superiority which nature had given him: he was close in argument and ready in repartees, but was seldom observed to laugh more than became the dignity of a philosopher: yet, though his temper was rather inclined to melancholy, which is perhaps the nature of every great genius, he was very remote from a rigid disposition; being particularly open and sprightly in his conversation with women, by whom his company was much coveted. He was an avowed enemy to ceremony, though always ready to pay due respect to place and rank. He abhorred all those dignities that could only be acquired by servility he was a sincere lover of his country, loyal to : per quinquennium hos imprimere, aut venundare Libros possit, utque qui secus fecerit, is ab universa Dei Ecclesia, toto orbe terrarum expers excommunicatusque censeatur. his prince, and steady in his friendships. In his diet he was abstemious, making only one meal a day, and that generally towards the evening, and was neither curious for variety or luxuries, being indeed a contemner of luxury in general. Io non hò molto gusto di vivande, Che scalco sia, fui degno esser' al mondo, I little heed what plenteous wealth affords, Satire ii. While he was composing his Orlando, he would frequently rise in the middle of the night, and cause his servant Gianni to bring him pen, ink, and paper, when he wrote down what had immediately occurred to his imagination, which in the day he communicated to his friends. His integrity was incorruptible, as appears by what he says to his brother Galasso of the old man, who, being possessed of great wealth, was fearful of being poisoned by his relations, and therefore would trust himself in no hands but Ariosto. His affection, as a son and brother, is seen from the care he took of his family, after the death of his father: concerning his mother, he thus tenderly expresses him self: L'eta di nostra madre mi percote Di pieta il core, che da tutti a un tratto I view my mother's age with pitying eye, Satire ii. |