But, this particular essay is lovely and sometimes funny. He's basically arguing that hi-falutin documents/writing/poetry should be in Italian rather than Latin. It's lovely because he's making the "clear, comprehensible language" argument of his epoch, he's making the "democratic" argument of his age, and he's making a pretty good argument about class too. What makes it funny is that he pretends to be making a very formal, learned argument, but he's really not, and it's very obvious and very endearing. Give it a try someday when you're in a generous frame of mind. It's pretty short ...fifty odd pages....
The version I read was in a book called "Literary Criticism of Dante Alighieri" -- translated /edited by Robert S. Haller. Great introduction.
Here's Dante's version of the Tower of Babel story:
"Almost the whole human race, indeed, had come together for this work of iniquity. Some were giving orders, some acting as architects, some forming the walls, some making them straight with levels, some laying on mortar with trowels, some quarrying stone, some transporting it on land, some on the sea, and various other groups were engaged in various other occupations, when they were struck with such confusion from heaven that, where all had been served in the work with one and the same language, they, having been divided among many languages, ceased their labors, and never again found themselves able to cooperate in a common medium of exchange. For the same language remained only to those who worked together in the same action; that is all the architects had one language, all those rolling the stones, one; all those preparing them, one; and so forth with each group of workers. And thus to the extent that there had been varieties of skills contributing to the labor, to that extent the human race was now divided into language groups; and to the extent that their skills were more noble, to that same extent their language was now more crude and barbaric."
Nothing could be more wrong or more full of genius. Enjoying Dante has to do with perceiving and appreciating this paradox.
Joanna ----------------------------- R wrote:
> At 04:27 PM 9/27/2004, you wrote:
>
>> Oh no, no, no. "On Eloquence in the Vernacular" is one of the most
>> beautiful and profound things I've ever read.
>>
>> Joanna
>
>
> joanna, i have to congratulate you for getting something out of him.
> dante bores the living bejesus out of me. did you read him in the
> original?
>
> R
>
>
>> R wrote:
>>
>>> At 11:16 AM 9/27/2004, you wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> dante, being a western intellectual, is obsessed with "forced
>>> choice" testing. without it, there is no heaven, no hell and no
>>> purgatory.
>>> everything is black and white.
>>>
>>> R
>>
>
>
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