DGR clearly found this kind of cynical text interesting and
must have drawn from it parallel reflections on his own age: see for example his own
“On Refusal of Aid Betweeen
Nations.” The translation is quite close. DGR's source was
Poeti
del Primo Secolo (II. 218)
Textual History: Composition
The sonnet is probably an early work, from the late 40s or early 50s.
This collection contains 10 texts and images, including:
Early Italian Poets
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
DGR clearly found this kind of cynical text interesting and must have drawn from it parallel reflections on his own age: see for example his own “On Refusal of Aid Betweeen Nations.” The translation is quite close. DGR's source was Poeti del Primo Secolo (II. 218)
Textual History: Composition
The sonnet is probably an early work, from the late 40s or early 50s.
Printing History
The translation was first published in 1861 in The Early Italian Poets; it was reprinted in 1874 in Dante and his Circle.