Exploring mainly human love and primarily the sorrows of that heartfelt impulse, Petrarch is a master of both form and content. Here are some select lines:
Ambition tempts you, and you try and fail,
and reap bitter remorse instead of fame
for having chased a dream of the world's delight. (1)
Love found me unarmed and helpless; he
saw that my eyes were an easy way to my heart
(those passageways that so easily fill with tears). (3)
Avarice and excessive indolence in
our comfy beds have turned our natures bad,
corrupting them and making us a sad
mockery of what we could have been...
Philosophy wonders about, naked and poor,
while practical men seek comforts that gold buys. (7)
Petrarch often communicates his deep feelings for Laura, but in this stanza we see his feelings and response to her in the most beautiful of terms,
From her come loving thoughts on the kind that lead
to noble and virtuous actions that one would
associate with grace. She makes me good,…" (13)
and When I have turned my eyes toward my Lady's face
I am blinded as if by the shine the light so bright
that broad daylight is dazzled into night
and I have no sense either of time or place. (18)
However, there are also moments of true darkness in the poems of Petrarch,
"You can be my friend
and save me – and yourselves as well, for you
are mortal meat that must any income to
the nothingness, which may be
not so far off,
if you could only see
through all our tears the blackness's vivid burning. (14)
There are certain poems by Petrarch that I understand not only in terms of the words, but of the reality and the truth that stand behind the words because of the experiences of my life and the love for my wife, Tina.
That wispy idea of beauty we all adore
made of wind and shadows will never appear
in a single body – or rarely, it can cohere
as it did in her one time and then no more.
Nature begrudges us such gifts when the rest
are poor, but to demonstrate that it can be done
she lavished all her riches upon one,
the nonpareil, the paragon, the best. (315)
Petrarch also captures the essence of the truth that sometimes the greatest teachings of pain can make us wise,
But as Nature gave you wings,
she gave me eyes
that I could use to observe what caused me pain
not merely sharp but shameful to explain
(but only from its teaching do we grow wise). (320)
There are also some poetic lines reflecting a devotion to God that rivals the great Dante:
A number of these poems are rich in theological and devotional import,
This life's delusions cannot hold me here.
I know them all and long since have learned
where true happiness lies, and I have turned
toward Heaven from which the light is bright and clear. (322)
Love stabs in heals, but I have escaped his grip
and have found in an easy freedom from his wiles,
though not through any virtue or scholarship.
The lord in heaven has put an end to my trials,
and his peace is the object of the trip
I shall conclude after a few more miles. (326)
You can see all my defects, Heavenly King,
and can mend my soul,
in tatters now and frayed.
Having been indifferent and having strayed,
your mercy is the hope to which I cling. (327)
Petrarch poetically and clearly states what his overall intention is--that he longed to be as skilled as the poetic masters of ancient days, in hopes to give proper literary homage to Laura.
She deserves at least a Homer or divine
Orpheus, or perhaps the Mantuan bard
to celebrate her grace as she walks on earth. (164)
Having read and enjoyed the masterpieces of Homer and Virgil, Petrarch can requiescat in pace that he is indeed in their company. The good news is that there are Classical Christian schools across the nation that read, copy, imitate, and study the masterpieces of poetry. Following the Great Tradition of the Medieval and Renaissance academy, in the discipline of imitating the best, students developing the skills of copia should look at masterful translations of the poetic giants and strive to imitate. The practice of imitating the best in a range of translations will assuredly provide richer form and content for all students.
Ambition tempts you, and you try and fail,
and reap bitter remorse instead of fame
for having chased a dream of the world's delight. (1)
Love found me unarmed and helpless; he
saw that my eyes were an easy way to my heart
(those passageways that so easily fill with tears). (3)
Avarice and excessive indolence in
our comfy beds have turned our natures bad,
corrupting them and making us a sad
mockery of what we could have been...
Philosophy wonders about, naked and poor,
while practical men seek comforts that gold buys. (7)
Petrarch often communicates his deep feelings for Laura, but in this stanza we see his feelings and response to her in the most beautiful of terms,
From her come loving thoughts on the kind that lead
to noble and virtuous actions that one would
associate with grace. She makes me good,…" (13)
and When I have turned my eyes toward my Lady's face
I am blinded as if by the shine the light so bright
that broad daylight is dazzled into night
and I have no sense either of time or place. (18)
However, there are also moments of true darkness in the poems of Petrarch,
"You can be my friend
and save me – and yourselves as well, for you
are mortal meat that must any income to
the nothingness, which may be
not so far off,
if you could only see
through all our tears the blackness's vivid burning. (14)
There are certain poems by Petrarch that I understand not only in terms of the words, but of the reality and the truth that stand behind the words because of the experiences of my life and the love for my wife, Tina.
That wispy idea of beauty we all adore
made of wind and shadows will never appear
in a single body – or rarely, it can cohere
as it did in her one time and then no more.
Nature begrudges us such gifts when the rest
are poor, but to demonstrate that it can be done
she lavished all her riches upon one,
the nonpareil, the paragon, the best. (315)
Petrarch also captures the essence of the truth that sometimes the greatest teachings of pain can make us wise,
But as Nature gave you wings,
she gave me eyes
that I could use to observe what caused me pain
not merely sharp but shameful to explain
(but only from its teaching do we grow wise). (320)
There are also some poetic lines reflecting a devotion to God that rivals the great Dante:
A number of these poems are rich in theological and devotional import,
This life's delusions cannot hold me here.
I know them all and long since have learned
where true happiness lies, and I have turned
toward Heaven from which the light is bright and clear. (322)
Love stabs in heals, but I have escaped his grip
and have found in an easy freedom from his wiles,
though not through any virtue or scholarship.
The lord in heaven has put an end to my trials,
and his peace is the object of the trip
I shall conclude after a few more miles. (326)
You can see all my defects, Heavenly King,
and can mend my soul,
in tatters now and frayed.
Having been indifferent and having strayed,
your mercy is the hope to which I cling. (327)
Petrarch poetically and clearly states what his overall intention is--that he longed to be as skilled as the poetic masters of ancient days, in hopes to give proper literary homage to Laura.
She deserves at least a Homer or divine
Orpheus, or perhaps the Mantuan bard
to celebrate her grace as she walks on earth. (164)
Having read and enjoyed the masterpieces of Homer and Virgil, Petrarch can requiescat in pace that he is indeed in their company. The good news is that there are Classical Christian schools across the nation that read, copy, imitate, and study the masterpieces of poetry. Following the Great Tradition of the Medieval and Renaissance academy, in the discipline of imitating the best, students developing the skills of copia should look at masterful translations of the poetic giants and strive to imitate. The practice of imitating the best in a range of translations will assuredly provide richer form and content for all students.
