Dante Alighieri, who ranks with Homer and Shakespeare as one of the three greatest poets of all time, was a citizen of the Republic of Florence. Though we commonly think of him only as a poet, his youth was distinguished by gallant feats of arms, and he was later one of the principal officers of the republic. But it was impossible to hold office long under the turbulent city states of that age. Two factions, the Whites and the Blacks, contended for the supremacy at Florence, and in 1302 Dante, with many of his followers, was banished from the city. The remaining nineteen years of Dante's life were spent in exile, the victorious party at Florence steadily refusing to remove the ban. He appears to have spent the years wandering from one seat of learning to another, and from one court to another, though but little is actually known relative to the matter. His last years were certainly spent at Ravenna, at the court of his friend, Guido da Polenta. Upon his death the fickle republic attempted to secure the return of the remains of its first citizen, but the request was denied, and he still lies at Ravenna. His great poem, the "Vita Nuova" (new life) would well have served to immortalize him, but it does not compare with his "Divine Comedy," an account of his journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. It is one of the world's greatest epics. The machinery of the poem was largely derived from the medieval legends and passion plays. But whether this be so or not, we know that Dante was thoroughly competent to have originated everything which the work contains. He calls Vergil his master, but while Vergil may have been his equal in style, he was far inferior to Dante in constructive genius. When about nine years of age Dante met and was filled with poetic love for Beatrice Portinari. She married another, and after her death a couple of years later, Dante married Gemma Donati, by whom he had several children. Gemma, it seems, was something of a shrew, and perhaps she cannot be blamed for not sympathizing with Dante's continued love for Beatrice. At any rate, she seems to have been a competent person, and when Dante was banished she successfully claimed a part of his property as dower and maintained the family in comfort. We cannot of course know at this time whether Beatrice was a person worthy of the adoration so abundantly bestowed. However this may be, the undying devotion of Dante, whose nature neither time nor adversity could change, has sufficed to immortalize her name. THE MAN 1. Of what stock was Dante descended? VIII, 263. 2. Of what state was he a citizen? 3. Under what circumstances did he leave Florence? 4. How did he spend the last nineteen years of his life? 5. What one element is most conspicuous in Dante's character? VIII, 368. 6. State the facts in regard to Beatrice. 7. Read Michelangelo's sonnet on Dante. IX, 93. 8. Where are his remains interred, and why? STYLE AND WORKS