Out of his fifty-three short poems (including all in Moore’s Oxford Edition, except those which form part of the _Vita Nuova_ or _Convivio_), twelve, or nearly a quarter, contain some reference to sun, moon, or stars, planets, or spheres; and from these alone we could form some idea of Dante’s acquaintance with astronomy. He speaks of the sun as measuring time,[145] and giving light to the stars[146] (according to the general belief); the moon[147] and each of the planets[148] is mentioned, some of the constellations also,[149] especially with reference to the seasons; the theory of the several heavens and their First Mover,[150] and the supposed influences of the stars and planets are alluded to.[151] These poems were written at different times, and some belong to a much later period than the _Vita Nuova_. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [145] _Son._ xxxvi. 2; _Canz._ xx. 89. [146] _Canz._ xix. 117; _Canz._ ix. 16, 17. [147] _Canz._ xx. 89; _Son._ xxviii. 11. [148] _Son._ xxviii.; _Canz._ xv. 4, 7. [149] _Canz._ xv. 3, 29, 41. [150] _Son._ xxviii. 2. [151] _Son._ xxviii. _Canz._ xix. 77, _Ball._ vi. 11, 12, _Canz._ xv. 41., _Son._ xxvi. 14. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is when we come to examine the _Convivio_, the work of his manhood,[152] that we find the clearest evidence of Dante’s careful study of astronomy. This book was written with the professed intention (as one of its aims) of sharing with others the learning he had been happy enough to acquire—not indeed as one of the guests at the Table of Wisdom, but as one sitting at their feet and gathering up the crumbs.[153] The thread which connects his discourse is a collection of his own Odes, on each of which he had intended to write a treatise or commentary, but the book never advanced beyond the fourth treatise. These Odes were nearly all love-poems, but the poet explains that they are a figurative expression of his devotion to Philosophy, and the whole book is a glorification of the pursuit of knowledge. In the opening sentences, with the reference to Aristotle, the manner of reasoning, the assumptions of our innate desire for absolute knowledge and the bliss brought by its attainment, Dante is the spokesman of his period. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [152] _Conv._ I. i. 111-113 and 125-127. [153] _Conv._ I. i. 67-86. “Siccome dice il Filosofo nel principio della _Prima Filosofia_, Tutti gli uomini naturalmente desideranno di sapere: La ragione di che puote essere, che ciascuna cosa, da providenza di propria natura impinta, è inclinabile alla sua perfezione. Onde, acciochè la scienza è l’ultima perfezione della nostra anima, nella quale sta la nostra ultima felicità, tutti naturalmente al suo desiderio siamo soggetti.”[154]