Letters on Familiar Matters (Rerum familiarium libri), Volume 3

This translation makes available for the first time to English-speaking readers Petrarch's earliest and perhaps most important collection of prose letters. They were written for the most part between 1325 and 1366, and were organized into the present collection of twenty-four books between 1345 and 1366. The collection represents a portrait of the artist as a young man seen through the eyes of the mature artist. Whether in the writing of poetry, or being crowned poet laureate, or in confessing his faults, describing the dissolution of the kingdom of Naples, summoning up the grandeur of ancient Rome, or in writing to pope or emperor, Petrarch was always the consummate artist, deeply concerned with creating a desired effect by means of a dignified gracefulness, and always conscious that his private life and thoughts could be the object of high art and public interest. As early as 1436 Leonardo Bruni wrote in his Life of Petrarch: "Petrarch was the first man to have had a sufficiently fine mind to recognize the gracefulness of the lost ancient style and to bring it back to life." It was indeed the very style or manner in which Petrarch consciously sought to create the impression of continuity with the past that was responsible for the enormous impact he made on subsequent generations. This complete translation by Aldo S. Bernardo has long been out of print and is reproduced here in its entirety in three volumes. Introduction, notes, bibliography.Vol. 3 includes Books XVII-XXIV. CONTENTS 7 Preface 13 Introduction 17 Rerum Familiarium Libri XVII–XXIV 21 Fam. XVII, 1 23 Fam. XVII, 2 31 Fam. XVII, 3 32 Fam. XVII, 4 41 Fam. XVII, 5 44 Fam. XVII, 6 47 Fam. XVII, 7 48 Fam. XVII, 8 49 Fam. XVII, 9 51 Fam. XVII, 10 52 Fam. XVIII, 1 58 Fam. XVIII, 2 66 Fam. XVIII, 3 69 Fam. XVIII, 4 71 Fam. XVIII, 5 72 Fam. XVIII, 6 74 Fam. XVIII, 7 76 Fam. XVIII, 8 78 Fam. XVIII, 9 82 Fam. XVIII, 10 83 Fam. XVIII, 11 84 Fam. XVIII, 12 85 Fam. XVIII, 13 87 Fam. XVIII, 14 88 Fam. XVIII, 15 90 Fam. XVIII, 16 91 Fam. XIX, 1 96 Fam. XIX, 2 97 Fam. XIX, 3 99 Fam. XIX, 4 105 Fam. XIX, 5 107 Fam. XIX, 6 109 Fam. XIX, 7 110 Fam. XIX, 8 111 Fam. XIX, 9 113 Fam. XIX, 10 118 Fam. XIX, 11 120 Fam. XIX, 12 123 Fam. XIX, 13 125 Fam. XIX, 14 126 Fam. XIX, 15 127 Fam. XIX, 16 128 Fam. XIX, 17 134 Fam. XIX, 18 137 Fam. XX, 1 145 Fam. XX, 2 150 Fam. XX, 3 152 Fam. XX, 4 154 Fam. XX, 5 161 Fam. XX, 6 162 Fam. XX, 7 164 Fam. XX, 8 166 Fam. XX, 9 171 Fam. XX, 10 172 Fam. XX, 11 173 Fam. XX, 12 174 Fam. XX, 13 176 Fam. XX, 14 181 Fam. XX, 15 186 Fam. XXI, 1 187 Fam. XXI, 2 188 Fam. XXI, 3 190 Fam. XXI, 4 191 Fam. XXI, 5 192 Fam. XXI, 6 193 Fam. XXI, 7 194 Fam. XXI, 8 197 Fam. XXI, 9 202 Fam. XXI, 10 207 Fam. XXI, 11 211 Fam. XXI, 12 214 Fam. XXI, 13 219 Fam. XXI, 14 221 Fam. XXI, 15 224 Fam. XXII, 1 230 Fam. XXII, 2 233 Fam. XXII, 3 238 Fam. XXII, 4 239 Fam. XXII, 5 241 Fam. XXII, 6 245 Fam. XXII, 7 246 Fam. XXII, 8 251 Fam. XXII, 9 253 Fam. XXII, 10 254 Fam. XXII, 11 256 Fam. XXII, 12 257 Fam. XXII, 13 262 Fam. XXII, 14 264 Fam. XXIII, 1 276 Fam. XXIII, 2 279 Fam. XXIII, 3 288 Fam. XXIII, 4 289 Fam. XXIII, 5 290 Fam. XXIII, 6 293 Fam. XXIII, 7 294 Fam. XXIII, 8 295 Fam. XXIII, 9 297 Fam. XXIII, 10 299 Fam. XXIII, 11 301 Fam. XXIII, 12 303 Fam. XXIII, 13 311 Fam. XXIII, 14 313 Fam. XXIII, 15 314 Fam. XXIII, 16 316 Fam. XXIII, 17 318 Fam. XXIII, 18 320 Fam. XXIII, 19 322 Fam. XXIII, 20 325 Fam. XXIII, 21 327 Fam. XXIV, 1 330 Fam. XXIV, 2 336 Fam. XXIV, 3 339 Fam. XXIV, 4 341 Fam. XXIV, 5 344 Fam. XXIV, 6 348 Fam. XXIV, 7 351 Fam. XXIV, 8 354 Fam. XXIV, 9 356 Fam. XXIV, 10 358 Fam. XXIV, 11 362 Fam. XXIV, 12 364 Fam. XXIV, 13 373 This translation makes available for the first time to English readers Petrarch’s earliest and perhaps most important collection of prose letters. Written for the most part between 1325 and 1366, and organized into twenty-four books, the collection represents a portrait of the artist as a young man seen through the eyes of the mature artist. Whether in the writing of poetry, or being crowned poet laureate, or in confessing his faults, describing the dissolution of the kingdom of Naples, summoning up the grandeur of ancient Rome, or in writing to pope or emperor, Petrarch was always the consummate artist, deeply concerned with creating a desired effect by means of a dignified gracefulness, and always conscious that his private life and thoughts could be the object of high art and public interest. This complete translation by Aldo S. Bernardo has long been out of print and is reproduced here in its entirety in three volumes. Vol. 3, Books XVII-XXIV. Introduction, notes, bibliography 1. Books I-viii -- 2. Books Ix-xvi -- 3. Books Xvii-xxiv. Francesco Petrarch ; Translated By Aldo S. Bernardo. Includes Bibliographical References. Translated From Latin.