New-York tribune., 1910-01-16

VI soc'ai experience What is it thar n, ia
ms soul from the desk to which his ,,., H0era,a
keep him chained, Whether or ~, VOL
"noie iehstn OF Mr.. Hutton's interr.~." " u
ehe riammetta episode. it was ,.a
mundane and emotional adventure tia, sAs
young man free @s u
There are scholars who have tho.
to the authenticity of all those re,a,;o.1 ueo
Boccaccio and Maria d'Aauino. NH, sss
be detached from the "Fiammettar b
early writings on a biographical hyno,h.s.-" "e
Hutton is quantity scornfuI OF these g.
To every type Of mind and soul save the .S
OF literature" he says. 'it must be ev,a.,. ~s
the love of Boccaccio for Fiammetta was s
soiuteiy real thing-so real that it made D. ~
clio what he was" This commentator -
fear. little too far. Repeatedly. as We - -
pages, we have to remind ourselves tb,, "a q
with which he colors his heros storv - -''@'
rived from the latter's romantic cor,,--. =
and constitute rather dubious evidence ~'.@s
ingenious of Mr.. Hutton TO describe a L.
fair in the body Of his book as tbougb q. .
actually occurred, and then in refa--;.
reader in footnote TO the %FIIOcoIo. ., =
particulars, to remark that without doub, =,
passages are biographical" Grave donb,.
matter of fact. remain At the same ,irn.
dispassionate student of BOccaccio r,us. :,
that the impetus which set him 50 st-au.
upon the first stages of authorship u,c,o-.'
ably came from his infatuation uit,
tiIul woman. In recognizing her influence =
his maturing powers one may the NOR :.
lily dispense, too. with the minutiae On n
Mr. Hutton is so insistent. because. when -
said, they are little beside the point =,
not greatly matter whether Boccaccio,s s.
F1ammetta's heart was long or short or -
1t ended in success or defeat. All that Ia
sentative, all that really counts. is i1zt h.
lection TO passion. the fact that when h
up his pen he wrote out of his heart "a ,.r
out OF his brain To that poignant sor,-
MS inspiration we must ever return if Urs
get at the secret of his career. If he ~
man OF thought he was even more a w.
teehns' Hence the extraordinary vitaBtr
magic OF the "Decameron" Mr. Hutton -;
lays stress upon the purely literary vir.r-
that book, saying of it that it is "an ab
work OF art, as detached as pIav bv e.
speare or portrait by Yelasquez." and 49,
that the scheme of the work is "a r,i,,.r i
design" But it is. above all things. tha -.
human nature in it that causes the Dec
to survive.
Even through the slender fabric Of R0.-
clos life that the scant documents uut ~
us We can see working the spirit of a ma, !
was personality before he was an au,s
moving busily up and down the world ,,--.
sensations. playing his part among his e.
Florentines, rejecting a good deal brt oh
ing more. and altogether making expe-ien,..
basis of what he had to say II is sig,i6u.
that the ''Decameron," which is OF the sA.
of sheer story telling all compact. sbouls a
for its prologue a description Of the D.
Death. The appalling realism of that nar-ss.
bites into the brain That was like Boecs,-
to seize upon a great human fact He Was
ways intensely human. always passionate
man of his time, a pioneer, like Petrarrh :
tending the boundaries Of culture. but a1r
every smallest interest Of the world in NJ
| he lived Thus, as he comes back to Flor,
| from Naples and Fiammetta. to beat Or
destiny, it is long before he settles dow
| the bookish mood of Petrarch He entes
| diplomatic service of the republic, he is ths
| of affairs as we'll as the man of letters
though his writings take q philosophical :
| his interest in the familiar emotions is AIN
| cropping out Mr.. Hutton has a good chas
| on Boccaccio's attitude toward woman. maE-
| free use of the ''COrbaccio." that curious
| burst of wrath against the SEX 1t is to Be-
| served. however, that there is nothing acadz
about this wrath. The temper of a man r
| hotly through it.
| AS the years went on scholarly traits Y
| to overlay his racy character. With q
Pilatus he threw himself upon the transit
A Of Homer ha iDta Of
| turned him upon thoughts of religion. IL