“He has not developed the ‘rhythmic effects’ he talks of by any device more essential than ingenious systems of indentation, which gives the printed pages a resemblance to parts of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or a long-division sum. Similar affectations spoil his sense as well as his form.”
| − + | Sat. R. 104. sup. 5. S. 28, ’07. 280w. |
* Villani, Giovanni. [Villani’s chronicle; being selections from the first nine books of the Chronicle Florentine of Giovanni Villani]; tr. by Rose E. Selfe and ed. by P. H. Wicksteed. *$2. Dutton.
“Within the compass of twenty pages the author retells the tangled tale of Florentine political history, from the days of the Countess Matilda to those of Cosmo Pater Patriæ, handling his subject in a fashion which leaves the reader better informed as to the real forces at work throughout that troubled period than the perusal of many bulky volumes is likely to make him.” (Ath.) It throws light upon the historical allusions in the “Divine comedy.”
“Of the translation we can speak in terms of high praise, not only for its fidelity, but also for the admirable manner in which it reflects the garrulous grace and lively movement of the original.”
| + + | Ath. 1907, 1: 604. My. 18. 500w. |
“Like Rambaldi’s Latin commentary on the ‘Commedia,’ Villani’s chronicle is a perfect mine of information in regard to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Tuscany, although less personal and not so anecdotal as the work of the Imola professor.”
| + | N. Y. Times. 12: 758. N. 30, ’07. 310w. |
“Mr. Wicksteed’s introduction shows all the qualities that might be expected from one of the most widely read of English Dantists. In a few pages he manages to throw a really searching light on the confused struggle of Florentine politics.”