Note *163 — Chapter L

A good edition of the Lettere of Aretino was published under the care of Vanzolini and Bacci della Lega, in four volumes, in Bologna, 1873-75. The best edition, now very rare, of I Ragionamenti is that of Florence, 1892. See also Fabi, Opere da P.A., Milano, 1881. For his life, consult Luzio, P.A. nei primi suoi anni a Venezia e la corte dei Gonzago (Torino, 1888); Gauthiez, L'Aretin, 1492-1556 (Paris, 1895); and Sinigaglia, Saggio di uno studio su P.A. con scritti e documenti inediti (Roma, 1892). It was, I think, Mr. Claude Phillips who wittily called Aretino not the scourge but "the screw of princes." Nevertheless, those who knew Aretino best will appreciate him most. Titian was wise enough to have him for a friend, and, indeed, he was capable of many very human and even beautiful actions, as when he would daily throw wide his doors at nightfall and take the lost and the beggars into his house. After all, those he blackmailed were blackmailers themselves. He made even the Pope fear him.