bligations to the Decameron,
that he was as well acquainted with Italian. There may have been a
common Latin original of the main incidents of many, if not of all the
tales, for which Chaucer is supposed to have been wholly indebted to
Boccaccio, and from which originals Boccaccio himself may have taken
them. That Chaucer was not acquainted with Italian may be inferred from
his not having introduced any Italian quotation into his works,
redundant as they are with Latin and French words and phrases."--_Life
of Chaucer_, pp. 24, 25.

To which the following note is subjoined:

"Though Chaucer's writings have not been examined for the purpose, the
remark in the text is not made altogether from recollection, for at the
end of Speght's edition of Chaucer's _Works_, translations are given of
the Latin and French words in the poems, but not a single Italian word
is mentioned."

If Sir Harris Nicolas had examined the writings of Chaucer with any care,
he would scarcely have formed or expressed so strange an opinion, for he
must necessarily have discovered that Chaucer was not only well acquainted
with the language, but thoroughly well versed in Italian literature, and
that he paraphrased and translated freely from the works of Dante,
Petrarca, and Boccaccio. Chaucer would naturally quote Latin and French, as
being familiar to his cotemporaries, and would abstain from introducing
Italian, as a knowledge of that language must have been confined to a few
individuals in his day; and he wrote for the many, and not for the
minority.

The circumstances of Chaucer's life, his missions to Italy, during which he
resided several months in that country, when sent on the king's business to
Genoa, and Florence, and Lombardy, afforded {518} him ample opportunities
of becoming thoroughly acquainted with the language and literature of
Italy; the acquisition of which must have been of easy accomplishment to
Chaucer, already familiar with Latin and French. So that it is not
necessary to endow Chaucer "with all human attainments as proof of his
having spoken Italian."

Chaucer's own writings, however, afford the strongest evidence against the
opinion entertained by Sir Harris Nicolas, and such evidence as cannot be
controverted.

Chaucer loves to refer to Dante, and often translates passages from the
_Divine Comedy_. The following lines are very closely rendered from the
_Paradiso_, xiv. 28