v. 117. Electra.] The daughter of Atlas, and mother of Dardanus the founder of Troy. See Virg. Aen. b. viii. 134. as referred to by Dante in treatise "De Monarchia," lib. ii. "Electra, scilicet, nata magni nombris regis Atlantis, ut de ambobus testimonium reddit poeta noster in octavo ubi Aeneas ad Avandrum sic ait "Dardanus Iliacae," &c.
v. 125. Julia.] The daughter of Julius Caesar, and wife of Pompey.
v. 126. The Soldan fierce.] Saladin or Salaheddin, the rival of Richard coeur de lion. See D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. and Knolles's Hist. of the Turks p. 57 to 73 and the Life of Saladin, by Bohao'edin Ebn Shedad, published by Albert Schultens, with a Latin translation. He is introduced by Petrarch in the Triumph of Fame, c. iiv. 128. The master of the sapient throng.] Maestro di color che sanno. Aristotle--Petrarch assigns the first place to Plato. See Triumph of Fame, c.
iii. Pulci, in his Morgante Maggiore, c. xviii. says, Tu se'il maestro di color che sanno.
v. 132. Democritus Who sets the world at chance.] Democritus,who maintained the world to have been formed by the fortuitous concourse ofatoms.
v. 140. Avicen.] See D'Herbelot Bibl. Orient. article Sina. He died in 1050. Pulci here again imitates our poet:
Avicenna quel che il sentimento Intese di Aristotile e i segreti, Averrois che fece il gran comento. Morg. Mag. c. xxv.
v. 140. Him who made That commentary vast, Averroes.] Averroes, called by the Arabians Roschd, translated and commented the works of Aristotle. According to Tiraboschi (storia della Lett. Ital. t. v. 1. ii. c. ii. sect. 4.) he was the source of modern philosophical impiety. The critic quotes some passages from Petrarch (Senil. 1. v. ep. iii. et. Oper. v. ii. p. 1143) to show how strongly such sentiments prevailed in the time of that poet, by whom they were held in horror and detestation He adds, that this fanatic admirer of Aristotle translated his writings with that felicity, which might be expected from one who did not know a syllable of Greek, and who was therefore compelled to avail himself of the unfaithful Arabic versions. D'Herbelot, on the other hand, informs us, that "Averroes was the first who translated Aristotle from Greek into Arabic, before the Jews had made their translation: and that we had for a long time no other text of Aristotle, except that of the Latin translation, which was made from this Arabic version of this great philosopher (Averroes), who afterwards added to it a very ample commentary, of which Thomas Aquinas, and the other scholastic writers, availed themselves, before the Greek originals of Aristotle and his commentators were known to us in Europe." According to D'Herbelot, he died in 1198: but Tiraboschi places that event about 1206.
v. 5. Grinning with ghastly feature.] Hence Milton: Death Grinn'd horrible a ghastly smile. P. L. b. ii. 845.
v. 46. As cranes.] This simile is imitated by Lorenzo de Medici, in his Ambra, a poem, first published by Mr. Roscoe, in the Appendix to his Life of Lorenzo. Marking the tracts of air, the clamorous cranes Wheel their due flight in varied ranks descried: And each with outstretch'd neck his rank maintains In marshal'd order through th' ethereal void. Roscoe, v. i. c.
v. p. 257. 4to edit. Compare Homer. Il. iii. 3. Virgil. Aeneid. 1 x. 264, and Ruccellai, Le Api, 942, and Dante's Purgatory, Canto XXIV. 63.
v. 96. The land.] Ravenna.
v. 99 Love, that in gentle heart is quickly learnt.] Amor, Ch' al cor gentil ratto s'apprende. A line taken by Marino, Adone, c. cxli. st. 251.
v. 102. Love, that denial takes from none belov'd.] Amor, ch' a null' amato amar perdona. So Boccacio, in his Filocopo. l.1. Amore mal non perdono l'amore a nullo amato. And Pulci, in the Morgante Maggiore, c. iv. E perche amor mal volontier perdona, Che non sia al fin sempre amato chi ama. Indeed many of the Italian poets have repeated this verse.
v. 105. Caina.] The place to which murderers are doomed.
v. 113. Francesca.] Francesca, daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna, was given by her father in marriage to Lanciotto, son of Malatesta, lord of Rimini, a man of extraordinary courage, but deformed in his person. His brother Paolo, who unhappily possessed those graces which the husband of Francesca wanted, engaged her affections; and being taken in adultery, they were both put to death by the enraged Lanciotto. See Notes to Canto XXVII. v. 43 The whole of this passage is alluded to by Petrarch, in his Triumph of Love c. iii.
v. 118. No greater grief than to remember days Of joy,xwhen mis'ry is at hand!] Imitated by Marino: Che non ha doglia il misero maggiore Che ricordar la giola entro il dolore. Adone, c. xiv. st. 100 And by Fortiguerra: Rimembrare il ben perduto Fa piu meschino lo presente stato. Ricciardetto,c. xi. st. 83. The original perhaps was in Boetius de Consol. Philosoph. "In omni adversitate fortunae infelicissimum genus est infortunii fuissefelicem et non esse." 1. 2. pr. 4v. 124. Lancelot.] One of the Knights of the Round Table, and the lover of Ginevra, or Guinever, celebrated in romance. The incident alluded to seems to have made a strong impression on the imagination of Dante, who introduces it again, less happily, in the Paradise, Canto XVI.
v. 128. At one point.] Questo quel punto fu, che sol mi vinse. Tasso, Il Torrismondo, a. i. s. 3.
v. 136. And like a corpse fell to the ground ] E caddi, come corpo morto cade. So Pulci: E cadde come morto in terra cade. Morgante Maggoire, c. xxiiv. 1. My sense reviving.] Al tornar della mente, che si chiuse Dinanzi alla pieta de' duo cognati. Berni has made a sportive application of these lines, in his Orl. Inn. l. iii. c. viii. st. 1.
v. 21. That great worm.] So in Canto XXXIV Lucifer is called Th' abhorred worm, that boreth through the world. Ariosto has imitated Dante: Ch' al gran verme infernal mette la briglia, E che di lui come a lei par dispone. Orl. Fur. c. xlvi. st. 76.
