Note 32 — CABINET CYCLOPÆDIA. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Canzone IV. In this, one of the most beautiful of his canzoni, Petrarch narrates the early story of his love. In it occur the following lines:—
"I' seguii tanto avanti il mio desire, Ch' un dì cacciando siccom' io solea, Mi mossi; e quella fera bella e cruda In una fonte ignuda Si stava, quanto 'l Sol più forte ardea. Io, perchè d' altra vista non m' appago, Stetti a mirarla: ond' ella ebbe vergogna, E per farne vendetta, o per celarse, L' acqua nel viso con le mane mi sparse, Vero dirò, forse e' parrà menzogna: Ch' i, sentii trarmi della propria immago; Ed un cervo solitario, e vago, Di selva in selva ratto mi transformo; Ed ancor de' miei can' fuggo lo stormo."
The abbé de Sâde, commenting on this poem with true French dryness of fancy, supposes that the scene actually occurred, and would point out the very spot in the environs of Avignon; not perceiving that the poet, in an exquisite allegory, founded on the story of Acteon, describes the wanderings of his mind, and the reveries in which he indulged concerning her he loved; and that both lady and fountain are the creations of his imagination, which so duped and absorbed him; that passion changed him to a solitary being, and his thoughts became the pursuers that perpetually followed and tormented him.