Works vol. 2 (poetry)

I have been very doubtful and hesitant about whether I should undertake the present interpretation and commentary on my own sonnets; and, even when I was occasionally inclined to do so, the reasons listed below occurred to me to the contrary and discouraged me from this work.

First was the presumption I felt I might incur by commenting on my own writings—both because of the excessive self-esteem I would seem to show, and because I seemed to be taking upon myself a judgment that ought to belong to others. In doing so, I would be marking the intellects of those into whose hands my verses will fall as being insufficient to understand them. Lorenzo is employing a classic "modesty trope." By suggesting he is worried about appearing arrogant, he actually highlights his status as an author-authority, modeled after Dante Alighieri’s own self-commentaries.

Beyond this, I thought I could easily be criticized by some for having poor judgment, having spent my time composing and commenting on verses whose subject matter and theme were largely centered on a passionate love. This seems even more reprehensible in my case due to my constant public and private duties, Lorenzo refers here to his role as the "de facto" leader of the Florentine Republic, where his time was occupied by intense diplomacy and statecraft. which should have pulled me away from such thoughts. According to some, these matters are not only frivolous and of little importance, but even harmful and somewhat damaging both to our souls and to our worldly honor.

And if this is so, then thinking about such things is a great error, and putting them into verse is an even greater one; but commenting on them seems no less a fault than that of one who has formed a long and hardened habit of wicked deeds. This is especially true because commentaries are usually reserved for matters of theology or philosophy, Philosophy: Specifically Neoplatonism, which was the dominant intellectual framework in Lorenzo’s Florence, often used to explain how human love could lead to a divine understanding. which lead to great results—either for the edification and consolation of our minds or for the benefit of the human race. To this is also added that it will perhaps seem reprehensible to some, even if the subject matter...