t only one of
the greatest among poets, but a man whose character gives to his poetry
its highest and its most enduring interest.

[Illustration: Signature]

NOTES

For the student of Italian, the following books may be recommended as
opening the way to the study of Dante's life and works:

1. Tutte le Opere di Dante Alighieri. Nuovamente rivedute nel testo da
Dr. E. Moore. Oxford, 1894, 1 vol.; sm. 8vo; pp. x. 490. [The best text
of Dante's works, and the only edition of them in one volume. Invaluable
to the student.]

2. La Divina Commedia di Dante Alighieri. Riveduta ... e commentata da
G. A. Scartazzini. 2d ediz., Milano. 1896, 1 vol.; sm. 8vo; pp. xx,
1034; col Rimario ed Indice, pp. 122. On the whole the most useful
edition for the beginner. The historical and biographical notes and the
references to the sources of Dante's allusions are abundant and good;
but interpretations of difficult passages or words are not always
unquestionable.

Scartazzini's edition of the 'Divina Commedia' in three volumes, with
his volume of 'Prolegomeni,' may be commended to the more advanced
student, who will find it, especially the volume of the 'Paradise,' a
rich storehouse of information.

For the English reader the following books and essays will be
useful:--Cary's translation of the 'Divine Comedy,' in blank verse,
modeled on Milton's verse, and remote from the tone of the original.
This is the version of a refined scholar; it has been much admired and
is generally quoted in England. It is furnished with good notes.

Longfellow's verse-for-verse unrhymed translation is far the most
accurate of the English translations in verse, and is distinguished also
for the verbal felicity of its renderings. The comment accompanying it
is extensive and of great value, by far the best in English.

Of literal prose translations, there are among others that of the
'Inferno' by Dr. John Carlyle, which is of very great merit; that of the
whole poem, with a comment of interest, by Mr. A. J. Butler; and that
also of the whole poem and of the 'New Life' by C. E. Norton.

The various works on Dante by the Rev. Dr. Edward Moore, of Oxford, are
all of the highest worth, and quite indispensable to the thorough
student. Their titles are--'Contributions to the Textual Criticism of
the Divina Commedia,' 'Time References in the Divina Commedia,' 'Dante
and his Early Biographers,' and 'Studies in Dante.'

Lowell's essay on 'Dante' (prose works