II - COMMENTARY ON SOME OF HIS SONNETS

it should suffice, and only the praise of high and noble spirits should be sought, caring little for the others, because it is impossible to produce any work in the world that is praised by all men. Therefore, he who has good judgment original: "elezione"; here meaning the ability to choose or discern what is truly valuable. strives to acquire praise from those who are themselves worthy of praise, and they care little for the opinion of others. It seems to me that one can hardly blame that which is natural: nothing is more natural than the desire to unite oneself with a beautiful thing, and this desire was ordained by nature in men for human propagation, a thing most necessary for the preservation of the human species. And in this, the true reason that should move us is not nobility of blood, nor hope of possessions, wealth, or any other convenience, but only natural choice original: "elezione naturale"; the author argues that love should be a spontaneous attraction between two compatible souls rather than a calculated social or economic arrangement., neither forced nor occupied by any other consideration, but moved solely by a certain conformity and proportion that the beloved and the lover share for the purpose of the propagation of the human species.

Therefore, those who are moved by desire to love things that are outside of this natural order and the true end we have proposed are highly to be condemned; and those who, following this end, love a single thing enduringly and with firm constancy and faith are to be praised. It seems to me that this objection has been answered quite copiously; and, given that this love is good (as we have said above), it does not seem very necessary to clear that part of myself which might perhaps seem more than reprehensible due to my various public and private occupations; for, if it is good, the good has no need of any excuse, because it bears no fault.

And if, nonetheless, some scrupulous judgment refuses to admit these reasons, let it at least grant this small license to my youthful and tender age, which does not seem so bound to the censure and judgment of men, and in which no error seems so grave—especially because youth is more stimulated to decline from the straight path through lack of experience, and is less able to oppose those things which nature and the common custom of others persuade us toward. This I say in the event that it should be esteemed an error to love with such great sincerity and faith a thing which, by its own perfection, compels the lover's love; a thing which I do not confess The sentence breaks off here as the author prepares to argue that his love is a pursuit of perfection rather than a moral failing.