of his new wife, obliged to associate with whomever she pleased; and, dragged from his own noble companions, to listen to the arguments of women, and, if he did not wish to increase his misery tenfold, not only to listen to them, but to praise them. He, who was accustomed, whenever he grew weary of the crowd, to retire into some solitary place, and there meditating, inquire what spirit moves the heavens, whence the living creatures of the earth draw their life, and what are the causes of things; or to meditate on some invention, or to compose something which should ensure him a life after death, in fame-He, who was formerly thus employed, was now not only hindered from contemplation, but, whenever his new wife pleased, was forced into the society of persons in nowise disposed to such pursuits :-and yet more,-he who was accustomed to laugh, to complain, to sing, or sigh, just as passion, pleasure, or love prompted, now either dare not do it, or must give his wife an account of why he did it; and not only in greater matters, but with respect to every little sigh, telling her whence it rose, and for what it was intended; his cheerfulness being regarded by her as a sign of his loving some one else; his melancholy, as a proof that he hated her." "Oh! inconceivable torture!" concludes the writer, "to have to live and converse, and then to grow old and die with such a jealous animal!"* It is but fair to add, that in another old Memoir of Dante, we find this opinion of Boccaccio very strongly controverted. Our author is there represented as not only loving society, and enjoying the conversation of learned men, but as being equally agreeable in the company of ladies: and the witty Florentine is confuted as to his opinion respecting the unfitness of the marriage state for men of letters, by the examples of Socrates and Aristotle, who was twice married, and of Marcus Tullius, and Cato, and Varro, and Seneca, all of whom were great philosophers and politicians, and enjoyed high offices in the state. The same writer affirms, and after him Lodovico Dolce, and others, that the course of Dante's life, at this period, was regular, virtuous, and studious; and that he was hence deemed a fitting person for the important situations in the state to which he was called. The testimony of Aretino, however, is scarcely sufficient to outweigh the general opinion respecting our author's unfortunate domestic quarrels. But the uneasiness he suffered from this cause was, it is probable, considerably alleviated by the active * Origine Vita, &c. + Leonardo Aretino. employment of his mind at this period in the affairs of the Republic. It is reported that he was sent by the Government on no less than fourteen embassies, and for the following purposes :— - to the people of Sienna, for the regulation of the frontier -to the Perugians, to treat respecting the delivery of some Florentine prisoners-to Venice and Naples, to establish treaties of alliance-to the Marquis of Estè, to congratulate him on his nuptials, on which occasion he is said to have been at the head of the mission-to Genoa, respecting the frontier-a second time to the King of Naples, to obtain the liberation of Barducci, who had been condemned to death by that monarch-four times to the Pope, Boniface VIII.-twice to the King of Hungary-and once to the King of France. In all these embassies, except the last, he is reported to have had distinguished success: but it is matter of doubt how he could have been employed in so many, as his political career in Florence was of very brief continuance. The principal authority also on which the information rests is the testimony of an author* who lived two centuries after Dante, the circumstance being mentioned by no contemporary or very early writer. But, though it is ques * Filelfo. + Tiraboschi. tionable whether, in the few years which intervened between his becoming eligible for public offices and his exile, he could be engaged in so many missions, it is evident that he was by this time actively engaged in the affairs of the state, and rapidly rising in power and reputation. But, unfortunately for the happiness of this great man, he lived at a period when the elements of civil discord were all at work, and the foundations of society were trembling with the first motions of a great political earthquake. The whole of Italy had been thrown into a state of violent excitement by the conflict between the Popes and the Emperors of Germany-a struggle which had its origin in ecclesiastical ambition, and its support in the factious disposition of the subjects of the two powers. It seems to be commonly the case, that when some general cause of agitation exists, private feuds also prevail to an alarming extent; and thus, at the time of which we are speaking, Florence was about to be scourged by faction and discord, till her best and wisest citizens fell under the calamity. Among the noblest and most wealthy families in the state were the Cerchi and Donati, both powerful and jealous of their rank; and, while the latter could boast a more ancient origin, the former found an equivalent advantage in their richer possessions. Thus placed on the same eminence, each family regarded any additional honour obtained by the other as an injury to itself; and their palaces being in the same quarter of the city, no circumstance could escape their mutual observation. The hatred which they at length conceived for each other led to acts of secret injury; and the Cerchi were believed to have robbed their rivals of an expected inheritance. To revenge this, Corso Donati, the chief of the family, and a man generally esteemed for his knightly valour, contrived, it is reported, on the same kind of evidence, the murder of several of the Cerchi by poison. Whether there was sufficient proof of either of these crimes for men, uninfluenced by passion, to act upon, is not, at this distance of time, to be determined; but the Cerchi, now regarding their neighbours as the most deadly foes, determined to invite a party of the citizens to espouse their cause. For this purpose they employed all the influence afforded by their wealth and station, and it was not long before they were surrounded by a body of partizans ready to proceed to any extremity in their support. The Donati, on the other hand, dreading the effects of this conspiracy against them, lost no time in raising a party of their |