Mr. Charles Edwardes has translated with great skill Leopardi's Prose Works; I have translated his Poems, so that readers who may not be acquainted with Italian, can now obtain an idea of his philosophy and of his poetry. Equally as a thinker and as a poet, he is distinguished by depth. As a Prose writer, he bears a striking resemblance to Pascal. In both there is the same gloomy power of imagination, the same method of profound meditation, and the same intensity of pessimism. As a poet he displays the most marvellous variety of thought and of expression. His mock-heroic poem, entitled _Paralipomeni della Batracomiomachia,_ is, as the name indicates, a sort of continuation of the Greek Poem describing the War of the Frogs and the Rats. The subject is wretchedly chosen and it is obvious that the narrative serves only to introduce the digressions, and it is in these digressions that the poet's brilliant imagination and felicity of style are displayed. Indeed, in the style alone can the work be said to have any merit. It is the longest of his poetical productions, and it is greatly to be regretted that he did not bestow the labour wasted on so frivolous a subject upon a theme worthier of his genius. Still, there are some fine passages, as, for instance, a most poetical description of Night, of which I subjoin a translation: "The star of Venus in the Heavens high Appeared before the other stars or moon; Silent was all; no breath was heard, no cry, Unless the murmur of a far lagoon, And buzzing gnats who from the forest fly When veiling shades replace the glare of noon; The lovely face of Hesperus serene Was in the lake in pure reflection seen. The poem also offers an exquisite description of the Cuckoo, which may be compared to Wordsworth's poem on the same subject: In fragrant May, when love and life are bound In closer links, we hear the Cuckoo far, Mysterious bird, who in the woods profound Gives vent to sighs that almost human are, Who, like a ghost nocturnal, all around Deludes the shepherd following from afar; Nor long is heard the voice: it wanes and dies, Though born in Spring, when Summer heats arise." But Leopardi's universal renown is founded upon the forty-one poems and fragments of poems published under the collective title of _Canti._ Thirty-four of the pieces are complete and original poems, seven are either fragments or translations.