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ivme Cmh^^ this idea received its full completenessof form/' » The time was now ripe for the more generalappreciation in this country of so introspective a workas the Vita Nisova* Some of the great poets of thedawning century had prepared the atmosphere. Un-fortunately it has to be admitted that the first English-man who occupied himself seriously with Dante'slove-story was attracted thereto by considerations thatwould have puzzled Dante no less than they havepuzzled every serious student since first they weregiven to the world. Charles Lyell was not only thefriend, he was a disciple of Gabriele Rossetti, the 1 In the Preface (p. zzzii) to the Remains in Vent anaProsi of Arthur Henry Hallam (London 1834V his fatherwrote: <*• . . about the same time (i 832) he nad a designto translate the VOa Nuena of his favourue Dante, a workwhich he justly prized as the development of that immense J genius in a kind of autobiography which best prepares usor a real insight into the Divine Comedy, He renderedaccordingly into verse most of the sonnets which the f7/aNuova contains; but the Editor does not believe that hemade any progress in the prose translation. These sonnetsappearing rather too literal, and consequently harsh, it hasnot been thought worth while to print." — Had they l>eenpublished, young Hallam would have had the distinction ofbeing the earliest English translator of these lyrics. It maybe added that he was also the author of some very damaging"Remarks on Professor Rossetti's Ditquisixioni tullo tpiritoantipafale^ (I'SO* xzi father of the poet. It is enough to say that Gabrieleexpounded the whole of the exquisite love-poetry ofmedieval luly in a political sense. In every way anoble and most estimable man, this is the one faultthat can be laid to his charge.^ Fortunately hisdisciples in this particular direction numbered onlytwo of importance — Lyell in England^ and Aroux in 1 Evein in the midst of his Dante blunders he is frequentlyinstructive. Thus he appears to have been tlie first to notethe symmetrical structure of the fUa Nuova: "These 33poetic compositions [there are really only 31, but Gabrielefollowed the ist ed. of Lyell, who obtained the figure 39by including Cavalcanti's reply to Dante's ist sonnet andcounting the double commencement on p. x 70 as 1 sonnets]are to be divided into 3 parts, according to tnose 3 sections,and to the 3 predominant canzoni of the Ktta Nuova» Thecentral canzone ... is the head of the skein, and fromthat point must the interpretation begin; and then onemust talce, on this side and on that, the 4 lateral sonnets tothe left, and the 4 to the rieht. ... On this side and onthat follow the 1 canzoni placed synmietrically. . . . Andthus, proceeding from one side to the other, collating the10 compositions to the rieht with the 10 to the left, wecome finally to the first and last sonnets of the Flia Nuova,which contain 1 visions. ..." There can be no doubtthat Norton (see above, p. ziv) worked independently, forthe letter (addressed to Lyell on Jan. 13, 1836) from whichthe foregoing passage is taken, was not printed till 1901(in GairieU RotsettL A nftrtifitd ataobugraphy, Tratu/ateJ andsuppUmenUa hf W. M» R, ; p. 137).— Rossetti published hisdiscovery in // MUten ddV Amor Phtonico, London, 1840,▼ol. ii, p. 637. * « The two remarkable works of Professor Rossetti (he
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