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 S. 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 par ticularly 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,
Quando vivevan gli huomini di ghiande.

I little heed what plenteous wealth affords,
Where costly dainties pile luxurious boards:
Well had I liv'd, when man to hardship bred,
In early times on simple acorns fed!

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 himself:

L'eta di nostra madre mi percote

Di pieta il core, che da tutti a un tratto
Senz' infamia lasciata esser non puote.

I view my mother's age with pitying eye,
That draws my soul by every tender tie:
Shall she be left by all? forbid it shame,
And every duty to a parent's name!

Sutire il.

He took great delight in building, but was an economist in his expenses that way: a friend once expressing an astonishment that he, who had described such magnificent edifices in his poem, should be contented with so poor a dwelling, Ariosto answered very aptly, that "words were much easier put together than bricks;" and leading him to the door of his house, pointed to this distich, which he had caused to be engraved on the portico:

Parva, sed apta mihi, sed nulli obnoxia, sed non
Sordida, parta meo sed tamen ære domus.

Small is my humble roof, but well design'd
To suit the temper of the master's mind;
Hurtful to none, it boasts a decent pride,
That my poor purse the modest cost supply'd..

Notwithstanding what has been mentioned of his personal bravery in the engagement between the pope's vassals and the duke's, he is reported to have been naturally of a timid disposition: when on horseback, he would alight on the least appearance of danger: he was particularly timorous on the water; and when he went out of a vessel, would always stay till the last, frequently using this expression, de puppe novissimus exi; in every other respect his temper was firm and unruffled.

His son Virginio has left behind him the following particulars relative to his father, which we will insert in his own words, as the least matter of information must gratify curiosity in the life of so extraordinary a

"He was never satisfied with his verses, but continually altering them. He was very fond of gardening, but so frequently varying his design, that he never suffered any plant to remain above three months; at the same time he knew little of botany. I remember, that once imagining he had planted capers, he was highly pleased to see them thrive so well, till at last, instead of capers, he found that he had planted elder. Of authors he highly approved Virgil and Tibullus; he greatly extolled Horace, but thought little of Propertius.

"He made no distinction in his food, but always eat of that which was next him, and often eat a small loaf or roll after he had dined. He was in general so lost in meditation, that he attended little to what passed. It so happened that a stranger once came to visit him at dinner-time, and while his guest was talking, Ariosto eat the meat that was set before him: for which being afterwards reproved by his brother, he only cooly replied, "That the loss was the stranger's, and that he ought to have taken care of himself."

Sir John Harington has given the following anecdote of Ariosto, for which he has not mentioned his authority, and which does not appear in any of the biographers or commentators consulted in writing this life. Take the relation in Sir John's own words.

"As he himself could pronounce very well, so it was a great penance to him to hear others pronounce ill that which himself had written excellent well. Insomuch as they tell of him, how coming one day by a potter's shop that had many earthen vessels ready made to sell on his stall, the potter fortuned, at that time, to sing some