"Bright Virgin! and immutable as bright,
O'er life's tempestuous ocean the sure star
Each trusting mariner that truly guides,
Look down, and see amid this dreadful storm
How I am tost at random and alone,
And how already my last shriek is near,
Yet still in thee, sinful although and vile,
My soul keeps all her trust;
Virgin! I thee implore
Let not thy foe have triumph in my fall;
Remember that our sin made God himself,
To free us from its chain,
Within thy virgin womb our image on Him take!
"Virgin! what tears already have I shed,
Cherished what dreams and breathed what prayers in vain,
But for my own worse penance and sure loss;
Since first on Arno's shore I saw the light
Till now, whate'er I sought, wherever turn'd,
My life has passed in torment and in tears,
For mortal loveliness in air, act, speech,
Has seized and soiled my soul:
O Virgin! pure and good,
Delay not till I reach my life's last year;
Swifter than shaft and shuttle are, my days
'Mid misery and sin
Have vanished all, and now Death only is behind!
SUMMARY AND QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
Difference between the Medieval and Modern World—Dante's position between the two—Petrarch, 1304-74, the real founder of modern civilization—Latin works—Fame rests on his Italian poetry—How this differed from the Sicilian and Tuscan schools—Laura and Petrarch's love—Her influence upon his life.
1. How does the medieval world differ from the modern?
2. Why is Petrarch called the founder of modern civilization?
3. Give a brief sketch of his life.
4. What kind of character did he have?
5. Name some of his Latin works.
6. What were his services to classical scholarship?