[106] This appears from the conclusion (Op. Volg. viii. 376). Fiammetta was the natural daughter of Petrarch's friend and patron, King Robert. Boccaccio first saw her in the church of S. Lawrence at Naples, April 7, 1341.
[107] The history of this widely popular medieval romance has been traced by Du Méril in his edition of the thirteenth-century French version (Paris, 1856). He is of opinion that Boccaccio may have derived it from some Byzantine source. But this seems hardly probable, since Boccaccio gained his knowledge of Greek later in life. Certain indications in the Filocopo point to a Spanish original.
[108] See Op. Volg. vii. 6-11. Compare with these phrases those selected from the humanistic writings of a later date, Revival of Learning, p. 397.
[109] This is the climax (Parte Terza, stanza xxxii.):
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A cui Troilo disse; anima mia, I' te ne prego, sì ch'io t'abbia in braccio Ignuda sì come il mio cor disia. Ed ella allora: ve' che me ne spaccio; E la camicia sua gittata via, Nelle sue braccia si raccolse avvaccio; E stringnendo l'un l'altro con fervore, D'amor sentiron l'ultimo valore. |
[110] The Amorosa Visione ends with these words, Sir di tutta pace; their meaning is explained in previous passages of the same poem. At the end of cap. xlvi. the lady says:
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Io volli ora al presente far quieto Il tuo disio con amorosa pace, Dandoti l'arra che finirà il fleto. |
Again in cap. l. we read:
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E quel disio che or più ti tormenta Porrò in pace, con quella bellezza Che l'alma al cor tuttora ti presenta. |
The context reveals the nature of the peace to be attained. It is the satisfaction of an orgasm. We may compare the invocation to Venus and her promise at the end of the Caccia di Diana, canto xvii. (Op. Volg. xiv.). The time-honored language about "expelling all base thoughts" is here combined with the anticipation of sensual possession.