"Bright Virgin! and immutable as bright, O'er life's tempestuous ocean the sure star Each trusting mariner that truly guides, Look down, and see amid this dreadful storm How I am tost at random and alone, And how already my last shriek is near, Yet still in thee, sinful although and vile, My soul keeps all her trust; Virgin! I thee implore Let not thy foe have triumph in my fall; Remember that our sin made God himself, To free us from its chain, Within thy virgin womb our image on Him take! "Virgin! what tears already have I shed, Cherished what dreams and breathed what prayers in vain, But for my own worse penance and sure loss; Since first on Arno's shore I saw the light Till now, whate'er I sought, wherever turn'd, My life has passed in torment and in tears, For mortal loveliness in air, act, speech, Has seized and soiled my soul: O Virgin! pure and good, Delay not till I reach my life's last year; Swifter than shaft and shuttle are, my days 'Mid misery and sin Have vanished all, and now Death only is behind! SUMMARY AND QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW Difference between the Medieval and Modern World--Dante's position between the two--Petrarch, 1304-74, the real founder of modern civilization--Latin works--Fame rests on his Italian poetry--How this differed from the Sicilian and Tuscan schools--Laura and Petrarch's love--Her influence upon his life. 1. How does the medieval world differ from the modern? 2. Why is Petrarch called the founder of modern civilization? 3. Give a brief sketch of his life. 4. What kind of character did he have? 5. Name some of his Latin works. 6. What were his services to classical scholarship? 7. On what does his fame as a poet rest? 8. How does his lyrical poetry differ from that of his predecessors? 9. Tell the story of his love for Laura, as seen in his poetry. 10. How is his character illustrated in his poetry? BIBLIOGRAPHY A collection of translations of Petrarch's Italian poems, together with an extended life of the poet, is published in the Bohn Library. Very important are the Latin letters of Petrarch; an English translation of a number of these was published a short time ago by Putnam & Co., of New York. FOOTNOTES: [19] Best translated literally, "world pain." CHAPTER V BOCCACCIO