Angiolo Poliziano.

ANGIOLO POLIZIANO was born on the 14th of July 1454, and is celebrated for his scholarship, poetical talents, and close intimacy with Lorenzo de' Medici. The town in which he first drew breath, Monte Pulciano, gave him the name by which he is generally known; but his father was Benedictus de Cinis, or De Ambroginis, a Doctor of Civil Law, and who, from the care which he bestowed on the education of his son, notwithstanding the smallness of his income, seems to have been a man of worth and ability. The most celebrated scholars of the day were the instructors of Angiolo, and, under Christoforo Landino,

Andronicus of Thessalonica, and Johannes Argyropylus, he made those rapid advances in erudition which rendered him, at an early age, the wonder of his country. But it was the favour of the Medici which placed him in a sphere where his brilliant abilities had fair scope for action, and were sure of being duly appreciated. Giuliano's tri

umph in a tournament, held shortly after that in which his brother carried off the prize, afforded the young scholar an opportunity of exercising his genius. The " Giostra," in which he celebrated this event, was in every way superior to that which had been written by Luca Pulci in honour of Lorenzo. The elegance of the style, the variety and liveliness of the descriptions, and the vigour of fancy which shone throughout this production, would have claimed no inconsiderable degree of praise had the author been arrived at the age when the faculties are usually matured. But Angiolo, at the period he wrote the "Giostra of Giuliano," was a mere youth, and had hitherto been almost solely occupied with classical studies and composition. It is asserted by many authors, that he was only fourteen when he produced this specimen of Italian verse, which, since the time of Petrarch, had been so much neglected, that the highest honour

due to Lorenzo is for his having restored it by his ability, and the example he set for its cultivation, to the attention which it merited.

This opinion, however, respecting his extreme youth has been controverted ;* and it is said, that a poem so rich in variety of circumstances and imagery, and so nervous in expression, could never have been the production of a mere boy. Instead, therefore, of supposing that the "Giostra of Giuliano" was written in the year 1468, as asserted by some writers, it is contended that the publication of several Latin epigrams in 1471 first introduced him to general notice, but not to the particular patronage of Lorenzo, who had then been about two years in the enjoyment of his paternal rank and fortune. Soon after the publication, however, of these classical productions, the success of which was sufficiently encouraging, Poliziano conceived, it is further supposed, the idea of attracting the notice of Lorenzo, by writing an Italian poem, and dedicating it to that great patron of letters. No better subject could be found for the purpose than the Giostra of Giuliano, whom his brother tenderly loved, and by commemorating whose triumph, and dedicating the poem to Lorenzo, he

would secure the favour of the two most powerful and popular men in Florence. He pursued this politic plan, and produced the first part, and the only one ever written, of his celebrated poem; but he was then, if the opinion now mentioned be correct, in his nineteenth or twentieth year.

The principal authority cited in corroboration of this theory is the fourth stanza of the poem itself, in which the author addresses Lorenzo as the laurel under which Florence reposed in peace and security, fearing the storms of neither earth nor Heaven. I do not, however, see so much force in this argument as M. Ginguené did; for, in the first place, a poet writing to please a young patron, would feel himself in some degree allowed to anticipate the time when he would come to his inheritance, and enjoy the honours which his parent was endeavouring to increase and preserve for him; in this view of it the compliment was correct, and might be both given and received, though Piero were living at the time. So far also was it from being probable that the father would be jealous of his son's praise, that there was every reason to suppose it would gratify him; and this not merely from the pride of feeling common to parents in such circumstances, but from the peculiar desire