Petrarca, Francesco Invectives (0674011546)
Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), one of the greatest of Italian poets, was also the leading spirit in the Renaissance movement to revive ancient Roman language and literature. Just as Petrarch's Latin epic
Africa imitated Virgil and his compendium
On Illustrious Men was inspired by Livy, so Petrarch's four
Invectives were intended to revive the eloquence of the great Roman orator Cicero. The
Invectives are directed against the cultural idols of the Middle Ages--against scholastic philosophy and medicine and the dominance of French culture in general. They defend the value of literary culture against obscurantism and provide a clear statement of the values of Renaissance humanism. This volume provides a new critical edition of the Latin text based on the two autograph copies, and the first English translation of three of the four invectives.
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