[92]. This letter (as also the following one to Vergil) is written
in verse, and is translated into verse by Fracassetti, who assigns
to it the date 1337 or 1350. The chances are in favor of the later
date; for Petrarch himself says (in the prefatory letter to Socrates,
Vol. I, p. 25) that the letter he addressed to Cicero (_Fam._,
XXIV, 3, dated 1345) served as a precedent for the other letters to
the classical authors. The letters to Horace and to Vergil really
belong to the _Epistolae Poeticae_, the collection of which was
dedicated to Barbato da Sulmona (_Fam._, _praefatio_, I, pp. 15, 16,
and _Fam._, XXII, 3). Their presence here, then, must be due to the
subject-matter.
A mere glance at the letter will reveal to the reader Petrarch’s
intimate knowledge of the complete works of Horace. Fracassetti
says in this regard (Vol. 5, p. 177) that he did not trace the
many allusions to their sources, because such labor would have
proved utterly useless to one already acquainted with the works of
Horace, and would have been of very doubtful assistance to one who
did not possess such knowledge. The nature of this study, however,
demands the presence of the following notes. They will not be read,
of course. They are given merely for the sake of reference and of
completeness.
One word more. The allusions are so numerous that it has been thought
best to give at the end of each paragraph the references to all the
allusions contained therein. To facilitate identification, each
reference is introduced by a caption of one or more words.
[93]. “secluded woodlands,” _Carm._, i, 17, 17; _Epod._, ii, 11.
[94]. “Faunus,” _Carm._, i, 17; iii, 18; “Bromius,” _ibid._, ii, 19;
iii, 25; “secret rites,” _ibid._, iii, 2; “ivy-crowned,” _ibid._,
iii, 25, 20; iv, 8, 33; “in need of both,” _ibid._, i, 18, 6; 32, 9;
iii, 21, 21; cf. Terence, _Eun._, iv, 5, 6; “Nymphs,” _Carm._, i, 4;
“Satyrs,” _ibid._, i, 1, 31; “naked bodies,” _ibid._, iii, 19, 17;
iv, 7, 6; “Hercules,” _ibid._, i, 12, 25; iv, 5, 36; 8, 30; “Mars,”
_ibid._, i, 2, 36; “Aegis,” _ibid._, i, 15, 11; iii, 4, 57; “Leda,”
_ibid._, i, 12, 25; “constellation,” _ibid._, i, 12, 27, 28; iii, 29,
64; iv, 8, 31; “lyre,” _ibid._, i, 10, 6; “Xanthus,” _ibid._, iv, 6,
26; “quiver,” _ibid._, iii, 4, 72; “terror,” _ibid._, i, 12, 22.
[95]. “Drusus,” _Carm._, iv, 4, 18; 14, 10; “Scipio,” _Sat._, ii, 1,
17 and 72; “shines forth,” _Carm._, i, 12, 46-48.
[96]. “glory,” _Carm._, i, 1, 2; “Algidus,” _ibid._, i, 21, 6; “warm
waters,” _Epist._, i, 15, 5; “Sabine lake,” _Carm._, iv, 1, 19;
“Soracte,” _ibid._, i, 9, 1 and 2; “Brundisium,” _Sat._, i, 5; “slow
with cold,” cf. _Carm._, iii, 23, 5-8; iv, 7, 9-12; “Cyclades,”
_Carm._, i, 14, 20; iii, 28, 14; “Bosporus,” _ibid._, ii, 20, 14;
iii, 4, 30; “Lybia,” _ibid._, i, 22, 5 and 16; ii, 6, 3 and 4;
“Caucasus,” _ibid._, i, 22, 7; _Epod._, i, 12.
[97]. “wanton,” _Carm._, i, 25; iii, 15; iv, 13; “drawn swords,”
_Epod._, 7 and 16; “school,” _Sat._, i, 4 and 10; “footsteps,”
_Epist._, i, 19, 21-25; cf. _Carm._, iii, 30, 13; “honors,” _Carm._,
iii, 25, 7, 8; “Florus,” _Epist._, ii, 2; “Fuscus,” _Epist._, i, 10;
“steed,” _Epist._, i, 10, 34-41; “Crispus,” _Carm._, ii, 2; “Vergil,”
_ibid._, i, 24; “pleasure,” _ibid._, iv, 12; “Hirpinus,” _ibid._,
ii, 11; “Torquatus,” _ibid._, iv, 7; “Postumus,” _ibid._, ii, 14:
“fleeting days,” _ibid._, iv, 13, 16; cf. iii, 28, 6; “shortness of
life,” _ibid._, iv, 13, 22; _Sat._, ii, 6, 97; _Epist._, ii, 1, 144;
“as we write,” _Carm._, i, 11, 7; “flying feet,” _ibid._, iii, 2,
14; _Sat._, ii, 1, 58.
[98]. “Augustus,” _Carm._, iii, 3, 11, 12; 25, 6; “adamant,” _ibid._,
i, 6, 13; “sacred hill,” _ibid._, iv, 2, 35; “fetters,” _Epod._,
vii, 8; “detested,” _Carm._, i, 37, 32; “asp,” _ibid._, i, 37, 28;
“shepherd,” _ibid._, i, 15, 1, 2; “quieted waves,” _ibid._, i, 15,
3; “prophecy,” _ibid._, i, 15, 5; “Danae,” _ibid._, iii, 16; “royal
maiden,” _ibid._, iii, 27, 25 ff.
[99]. “hags,” _Epod._, v; “herd,” _Carm._, ii, 16, 40; iii, 1, 1;
“Lalage and wolf,” _ibid._, i, 22; “tree,” _ibid._, ii, 13; cf. ii,
17, 27; iii, 4, 27; 8, 8.
[100]. “fresh turf,” _Carm._, i, 1, 21; ii, 3, 6; _Epod._, ii, 23;
“springs,” _Carm._, i, 1, 22; _Epod._, ii, 25 and 27; “birds,”
_ibid._, ii, 26; “flowerets,” _ibid._, 19; “field,” _ibid._, 24;
“lyre,” _Carm._, i, 1, 34; “India,” _Epist._, i, 1, 45; cf. _Carm._,
i, 31, 6; iii, 24, 2; “gleaming steeds,” _Carm. Saec._ 9; “western
Ocean,” _Carm._, i, 31, 14; _Epod._, i, 13; “Islands of the Blessed,”
_Carm._, iv, 8, 27; _Epod._, xvi, 42; “Antium,” _Carm._, i, 35;
“citadels,” _ibid._, ii, 6, 22; _Carm. Saec._, 65; _Carm._, i, 2, 3.