indeed frequently to put in proper caveats; but upon the whole, you show too great an affection for his cause. I must advise you henceforth to write upon such subjects in a more guarded manner.”[82] The cold caution of Leonardo may be a quality conducive to the insurance of personal safety; but the generous warmth of Poggio lays an irresistible claim to the applause of every ingenuous mind. CHAP. III. _Poggio receives a copy of Francesco Barbaro’s treatise De Re Uxoriâ—Memoirs of Francesco Barbaro—Poggio’s journey in quest of ancient manuscripts—Account of the ancient authors recovered by him—Death of Cardinal Zabarella—Poggio’s oration pronounced at Zabarella’s funeral—Account of Zabarella—Martin V. elected to the pontificate—Termination of the Schism—Dissolution of the Council—Poggio attends the pontiff to Mantua—He visits England, at the instance of Beaufort, bishop of Winchester—He is disappointed—State of literature in Britain—Several of Cicero’s works recovered in Italy—Quarrel between Leonardo Aretino and Niccolo Niccoli—Poggio obtains a small benefice—He is still dissatisfied—He returns to Italy—Notices of the state of society in Britain which occur in his works._ CHAP. III. Soon after the execution of Jerome of Prague, Poggio received from Guarino Veronese,[83] a copy of a treatise, _De Re Uxoriâ_, i. e. on the duties of a wife, which had been lately published by Francesco Barbaro, a Venetian scholar, who was now beginning to attain a considerable degree of celebrity. His opinion of this composition he expressed in the following terms. “I thank you, my dear Guarino, for the little volume which you have been so kind as to communicate to me. My obligation to you would be immense, had I any thoughts of matrimony; but I must acknowledge, that the perusal of this treatise has done away the little inclination which I previously felt to enter into the married state; for how can I expect to find a help-mate who concentrates in her character all the good qualities, the union of which, in the opinion of wise judges, constitutes a good wife. But to be serious. As soon as I received the book, I began to peruse it; and found the subject so novel, the style so excellent, and the method so clear, that I hastily ran over the whole in one day. I afterwards read it again more deliberately. The subject is indeed a pleasant one; and he has illustrated it by numerous and well arranged examples. I am however most of all captivated by the gravity of his diction. This dissertation on the duty of a wife, is, in my opinion, worthy to be classed with Tully’s Offices. You know that I am no flatterer, but that I always speak from the impulse of the heart. Barbaro unites with the greatest eloquence a dignity of sentiment, worthy of a man of consummate gravity. Earnestly exhort him to cultivate those talents, the first fruits of which are so admirable.”[84]