CHAPTER XIV

LITERATURE

Owing to her position between the Italian and Slavonic elements, and her connections with Venice and with the Serb States, Ragusan literature was of a twofold, or indeed of a threefold, nature. There were Ragusans who wrote in Latin, others in Italian, and others in Slavonic. But so mixed was the character of the people that in many instances the same author composed works in all the three languages. “Dalmatia, and especially Ragusa, which represents the highest degree of Slavonic culture, shows at the end of the Middle Ages a peculiar and characteristic blend of Italian and Slavonic elements, which even to-day is a remarkable trait of this people.”[526] Venetian influence strengthened the original Latin element of the population, and most of the nobles had Italian names, although later these were given a Slavonic form as well. Thus Gondola is sometimes written Gundulić, Palmota, Palmotić, Bona Bunić, &c. The collapse of Venetian power in Dalmatia in 1358 opened the way to Slavonic influences, for Hungary was too alien to the Dalmatians to impress more than her political sovereignty on them. But Latin and Italian culture was maintained by the side of that of the Slaves, and indeed the Slavonic literature at Ragusa was wholly inspired by that of Italy.

“Under the influence of peculiar historical conditions there arose on the Serbo-Croatian littoral an important poetical literature, of which Ragusa was the centre, and the pure vernacular the organ.”[527] It had, however, no connection with the old Slavonic tradition or the Servian popular songs, but was based almost exclusively on Italian influences, for Ragusan culture was purely of Italian origin, and the conditions utterly unlike those of the people of the neighbouring Slavonic States. The literary movements and forms of Italy were all reflected at Ragusa, and thus we find specimens of Latin ecclesiastical literature, of the Provençal troubadours, of Renaissance culture and the revival of learning. In the Ragusan epic Italian influence is conspicuous, and also in the native lyric poetry, which is chiefly inspired from Petrarch’s _Canzoni_; while the Ragusan dramas are imitated from the mediæval mystery plays, the pastoral plays of Tasso, and Italian popular comedies. Even the so-called “macaronic” verses were adopted at Ragusa, _i.e._ a medley of dog-Latin and Slavonic. The outward forms of Italian literary life were copied no less than literary styles, and learned literary academies were established at Ragusa, where men of culture met to discuss their favourite topics. The city came to be known as the “Slavonic Athens.” Learned Italians were invited to lecture at Ragusa, for the Senate maintained chairs of Italian and Latin literature since the early fifteenth century. The study of Greek had been to some extent kept up owing to the old Byzantine tradition, and it was now promoted by the influx of learned Greeks who took refuge at Ragusa after the fall of Constantinople. On the other hand, many Ragusans went abroad, especially to Italy, for purposes of study, and some of them achieved considerable fame in various spheres of life, such as Stoicus or Stoiković one of the most celebrated theologians of the fifteenth century, and Anselmo Banduri, the archæologist.

The Ragusan poets who wrote in Latin may be dismissed in a few words. The most celebrated of them was Elio Cerva, who went to Rome in 1476 at the age of sixteen, where he studied the humanities, and joined the Quirinal academy. He Latinised his name according to the fashion of the time into Ælius Lampridius Cervinus, and two years later he was crowned Poet-laureate. He soon returned to Ragusa, married, and determined to devote his life to the public service, but on the death of his wife he took Holy Orders, and spent most of his time at Ombla. He died in 1520. He was much appreciated by his contemporaries, especially by Sabellicus and Palladius Fuscus. His chief compositions are an elegy on his retreat at Ombla, another on the tomb of Cicero’s daughter, and a number of odes, epigrams, and hymns.

Another Latin poet of some reputation was Giovanni Gozze. He was employed by the Republic on various embassies, in the course of which he made the acquaintance of a number of statesmen and men of letters, among others that of the celebrated Agnolo Poliziano. To the latter he afterwards sent some of his own works, and Poliziano’s letter of thanks, in which he expresses admiration for the poems, is published, together with his other epistles. Giovanni Bona, who died in 1534, was the author of several poems of a religious character. Niccolò Bratutti (1564-1632) of Mezzo was made Bishop of Sarsina in Italy, but was afterwards imprisoned, during which period he began to write religious poems. These were published in 1630 under the title of _Martyrologium Poeticum Sanctorum Totius Italiæ_. The name of Stefano Gradi may also be mentioned as the author of sundry works in Latin on philosophy, epistles, poems, &c. He did much for the relief of his fellow-citizens at the time of the earthquake, and was instrumental in obtaining help from the Pope and other foreign potentates. He died in 1683.

Far more important is the Slavonic literature of Ragusa, Slavonic, as I have said, only in language, but Italian in character. The first Ragusan to write verse in the vernacular was Šiško Menčetić or Sigismondo Menze (1457-1501), who may be called the father of Ragusan poetry. His compositions were chiefly love lyrics of the Provençal troubadour character, a form introduced into Ragusa through the Republic’s connection with the Spanish court of Naples. His canzoniere is entitled _Pjesni Ljuvesne_.[528] Of a similar character are the poems of Gjore Držić (died 1510), and those of Hannibal Lučić or Lucio (1480-1540), author of a play called _Robinja_, or the Slave girl, of which the subject is an episode of the Turkish wars.[529] He also wrote an ode in praise of Ragusa, of which the following is an extract: “My songs cannot in any way tell of all the lands with which the famous Ragusa trades. Over mountains and through forests, all the world over, does she send her merchants without let or hindrance, through lands where the sun shines from afar, where it burns moderately, and where it blazes overmuch. All receive the wares which they peacefully bring, and what is given in exchange they peacefully carry away. Worthy is the city that she should everywhere be praised, that God and men should bless her!”

Nikola Vetranić-Čavčić (1482-1576) was much admired as a poet. He belonged to a noble Ragusan family, and was abbot of a monastery, but later in life he retired to a hermitage on a small island off the coast, where he continued to write poetry and keep up his intercourse with literary friends. His _Sacrifice of Abraham_ is considered one of the best of the Slavonic mystery plays, for it contains really artistic presentations of character and situations, while some of the episodes begin to resemble Servian popular poetry. In a poem called _Remeta_, or the Hermit, he describes his island retreat, and in the _Putnik_ (the Wanderer) Ragusan scenery. His _Italija_ is an ode to Italy, in which he shows that the Ragusans considered themselves almost Italians, for he hopes that her ancient glory may return to Italy, and that she will remain independent of the heathen (the Turks), and that neither the Eagle nor the Cock (the Empire and France) will do her any harm, and he wishes her freedom and unity. Vetranić is also the author of a translation of the Hecuba of Euripides. Andrija Čubranović (died about 1550), unlike the other poets mentioned, was a man of the people. His best known poem is the _Jegjupka_, or the Gipsy.[530] It seems to have been a carnival song, and recalls some of the Italian _Canti Carnascialeschi_. It is said to have been publicly recited at Ragusa in 1527, and is considered remarkable for the purity of the language.

A form of literature much in vogue at Ragusa was the pastoral play or idyll, based on Italian models. The Slavonic pastoral play is of two types, that of Ragusa, which is comic, and that of Lesina, which is more purely idyllic. The mathematician and astronomer Nikola Nalješković (1510-1587) achieved some poetic fame as a writer of these plays, in which the shepherd falls in love not with the classical nymph, but with the _vila_ of South-Slavonic popular legend. Another writer of plays was Marino Držić, praised by his Italian contemporaries for “il puro vago e dolce canto.” His principal works are _Tirena_,[531] _Dundo Maroje_,[532] and _Novela od Stanca_ (the tale from Stanac). He also wrote sacred poems.

Dinko Ranjina or Domenico Ragnina (1536-1607) was the most famous Ragusan poet of the sixteenth century. Born of one of the noblest families in the town, he spent some years in Italy attending to his father’s business. Subsequently he returned home and entered the service of the Republic, and was elected Rector several times. His poems are chiefly love lyrics; but he also wrote epistles, didactic poems, and idylls in the classical Renaissance manner, as well as translations from Tibullus, Propertius, and Martial.

Dinko Zlatarić (1556-1510), also a noble, studied at Padua, and at the age of twenty-three was appointed Rector of the University gymnasium. Thence he went to Agram, and then home to Ragusa. He translated Tasso’s _Aminta_ under the title of _Ljubomir_, the _Electra_ of Sophocles, and the episode of Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid, and is the author of a number of love idylls and didactic poems. With his name is coupled that of Floria Zuzzeri, a Ragusan lady renowned for her beauty and her virtue, also a poetess of distinction, whom he adored. She had been the centre of a little circle of literary ladies at Ragusa until her father took her to Ancona on business. There she married Bartolommeo Pescioni, a wealthy Florentine, in 1577. She settled in Florence, where she kept a _salon_ frequented by many famous Italian authors and dilettanti, and also by Ragusans, such as the aforesaid Zlatarić, Ragnina, and Giovanni Gondola. She wrote sonnets both in Italian and Slavonic, some of which became famous throughout Italy. She died in 1600.

The most celebrated of all the Ragusan poets is Ivan Gundulić or Giovanni Gondola (1588-1638). Very little is known of his life beyond the fact that he studied the classics, philosophy, and law, and that he was a great admirer of Italian literature. He desired to introduce the harmony of Italian verse into Illyrian, and to purify that language. He preferred the style of Tasso, which he closely imitated, to that of Petrarch, till then the favourite model of Ragusan poets. Instead of a line of ten, eleven, twelve, or thirteen syllables, he adopted that of eight, in rhymed strophes, which he deemed more fluid and vigorous, capable of expressing feelings with greater power, and more in accordance with the genius of the language. His first essay was a translation of Tasso’s _Gerusalemme_, after which he devoted himself to the drama, composing or translating from the Italian a number of plays, which he and a circle of literary friends produced on the stage. The chief of these are _Dubravka_, _Arijadna_, _Armida_, and _Galatea_. But the work on which his fame chiefly rests, and is regarded as the most important composition in the Servian language, is the _Osman_, an epic in twenty cantos. The subject is the war between Turkey and Poland, and the fall of the Sultan Osman after his defeat. The Polish victory of Koczim in 1621 forces the Turks to make peace, and the action of the poem begins at this moment. After the defeat of the Turks Osman deplores the disaster and attributes it to the decadence of the Ottomans, and proposes a number of reforms. He orders the arrest of his uncle Mustafa, who had already usurped the throne once, sends Ali to Warsaw to sue for peace, and Cislar to the provinces to find a number of fair damsels, from among whom he will choose the Sultana, and orders that the Polish prisoner, Prince Koreski, immured in the Castle of the Seven Towers, shall be carefully watched. Ali goes through Moldavia, where he finds Kronoslava, Koreski’s wife, attired as a warrior, and tells her of the imprisonment of her husband. She resolves to go to Constantinople in disguise to obtain his ransom. The Poles celebrate the anniversary of the victory of Koczim, when Prince Ladislas of Poland has an encounter with Sokolica, the daughter of the Grand Mogul, and her amazons; he captures them, but out of admiration for their courage sets them free, and they return to Constantinople. Ali reaches Warsaw and enters the Royal Palace, where he notes the splendour of the court and sees the tapestries representing the battle of Koczim, here described in detail. He concludes the treaty of peace and returns home. Cislar has collected a number of maidens from Greece, Macedonia, and the Archipelago, and goes to the borders of Moldavia to capture Danica, the daughter of Prince Ljubidrag, who, having lost his estates, is living in a rural retreat. While he and his friends are performing rustic games, Cislar and his companions arrive and carry off Danica. Satan, enraged at the victories of the Christians, summons his demons, and flies with them to Constantinople to raise trouble. There, too, Kronoslava has arrived in search of her husband; she is told that he is in love with the daughter of the governor of the prison, and although not quite convinced, she begins to feel jealous. By bribery she manages to see Prince Koreski, is convinced of his fidelity, and falls into his arms. The Sultan soon afterwards sets him free, and he returns home with his wife. Cislar appears with his fair captives, but Osman, seeing Danica’s despair and hearing her story, sends her back to her father. Sokolica, too, comes to Constantinople, and Osman chooses her as first Sultana, and marries two Greek maidens as well. He then prepares for an expedition to Asia against the rebels, but the Janissaries revolt, and demand the heads of Dilaver Pasha the Grand Vizir, of the Hodja, and of the chief eunuch. The rebellion spreads, the Grand Vizir is murdered, and Osman’s uncle Mustafa freed and proclaimed Sultan. While Osman is deploring his misfortunes and recalling the glories of his ancestors, he, too, is assassinated by Mustafa’s orders.

This poem, although not of first-rate quality, has some originality, and is interesting from its subject. It is only at Ragusa that a Christian writer would have made a Turkish Sultan his hero, and it is only here and there that a few passages are introduced reflecting unfavourably on the Turks. A great deal of it is simply an adaptation of Tasso, and whole passages are translated from that work. It is full of repetitions and exaggerations and useless accessories, but it also contains many passages of real beauty and feeling, such as the address to Ragusa: “O mayest thou ever live peaceful and free as thou art now, O white city of Ragusa, famous throughout the world, pleasing to the heavens.... Bondmen are thy neighbours, oppressive violence grinds them all down, thy power alone sits on the throne of freedom” (Canto viii.). Gondola also apostrophises Stephen Dušan, the Nemanjas, Marko Kraljević, and other Servian heroes. Cantos xiv. and xv. were lost, and have been rewritten by Petar Sorkočević, Marino Zlatarić, and Ivan Mažuranić. The interest is divided between the two heroes, Osman and Ladislas, and a great deal of the work is lyrical rather than epic in character.[533]

Of the prose writers of this time, the one most deserving of notice is Mauro Orbini, who died in 1601. His chief work, which is written in Italian, is entitled _Storia del Regno degli Slavi_. It is of no great historic value, but it is important as being the first attempt to deal with the history of all the Slaves as a comprehensive whole. Other historians are Niccolò Ragnina, author of the _Annali di Ragusa_, Giacomo Luccari, whose _Copioso Ristretto degli Annali di Ragusa_ contains much interesting information about the constitution of the Republic, and Giunio Resti, author of the very detailed _Cronaca Ragusina_, in thirteen books, a most unreliable work. None of these writers have shown any conspicuous qualities as historians of their native city, being inspired by a strong political bias, and are only to be consulted with caution.

Ragusa gave birth to several men of science, of whom two deserve to be remembered—Marino Ghetaldi and Ruggiero Bosković.[534] Ghetaldi was born in 1566, and studied in Rome and Paris. After travelling about Europe he obtained the professorship of mathematics at Louvain. He subsequently returned to Ragusa, and served in the Government offices. In summer he would retire to his villa by the sea to meditate and make experiments in a cave on his estates. He was regarded by the people as a magician, and his experiments in setting fire to boats out at sea by means of mirrors and burning-glasses were considered quite diabolical. He wrote _Promotus Archimedes, seu de variis corporum generibus gravitate et magnitudine comparatis_ (Rome, 1603), and many other mathematical works. He is said to have applied geometry to algebra before Des Cartes, and to have been the first to discover equations of the fourth degree. He died in 1627. Bosković was born in 1711, and became a Jesuit at an early age. He obtained the professorship of mathematics in Rome, and measured the meridian between Rome and Rimini with the Englishman Maire. He made a map of the Papal States, and wrote a work on the molecular theory of matter, _Theoria Philosophiæ Naturalis redacta ad unicam Legem Virium in Natura existentium_. In 1759 he was sent to England on a diplomatic mission, where he made the acquaintance of Dr. Johnson, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, to whom he dedicated his Latin poem _De Solis et Lunæ Defectus_. He afterwards travelled in Turkey for scientific purposes, and was then appointed Professor of Mathematics at Pavia (1764) and Director of the Brera Observatory. His vanity and egoism made him many enemies, and in 1770 he left Italy for Paris, where he was made Director of Optics to the Ministry of Marine, an office which he held for ten years. In 1783 he returned to Italy and published all his works. His health was failing, his reputation on the wane, and he soon fell into melancholy and madness, and died in 1787. Besides other works, he wrote the _Elementa Universæ Mathesos_, published in 1754.