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mentators? or do we think that law in a code the wisest, about the meaning of which there has been most dispute? The poem of Dante, like so many productions of antiquity, is, on the whole, a grand exhibition of genius; and, therefore, commentators have felt themselves obliged to seek perseveringly for a meaning to every passage; and a commentary, once made, was a fruitful source of more, by stimulating men's vanity to discover new interpretations, the human mind, as we all know, being often much more busily employed in displaying its ingenuity than in sincerely seeking for truth. Dante describes, in his Hell, the sufferings of the damned with an inexhaustible ingenuity and a truly poetical penetration into human life and character. In the Purgatory, he portrays the state of souls between heaven and hell, and in his Heaven, the state of the happy. The poem, like every great poetic production, bears a decisive stamp of the most characteristic features of the time when it was composed. It is essentially allegorical: it displays an ardent love for the learning of the ancients, and treats the Romans as forefathers, with whom the Italians of the author's age were in views and sentiments still intimately connected. Hence arises the frequent reference to the ancient nythology, and the constant blending of it with the sacred writings. Why he chose Virgil as his guide through hell and purgatory, is easy to explain. It was because he was a Roman, and the greatest epic poet then known (Homer being comparatively little read, and it being not then understood how much Virgil copied from Homer), and because Virgil manifests a constant reverence for the emperor-an important point in Dante's view, who, as an inveterate Ghibeline, wished all power and splendor to centre in the emperor, and hated the Guelphs and the pope. Not a single pope or cardinal has been admitted into his heaven, whilst hosts of them are to be found in the hell. Virtue and vice are the basis upon which reward and punishment are distributed in the poem; but the standard by which Dante measures these, the forms in which he clothes them, the images under which the poet represents his abstract ideas, are taken from the character of his time, or his personal character and theological views. Dante showed immense power in the composition of an epic on an entirely imaginary subject, and filled with learning, which yet keeps the interest of the reader awake throughOther great epics are founded on tales or historical facts, preserved in the

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memory of the poet's countrymen; but, with him, the whole was fiction, at least every thing beyond the common dogma of hell, purgatory and heaven. At the same time, it cannot be denied, that his learning sometimes, though seldom, renders him unpoetical; for instance, when he gives long astronomical descriptions. It has often been said, and often denied, that, in his Heaven, the interest diminishes. We must assent to the first opinion, which is founded, indeed, on human nature; for evil and suffering are far more exciting, and, on this account, more interesting than tranquil happiness. Does not every comedy close as soon as the couple are united, and the tragedy, when the wicked are punished ?-The name Commedia is derived from Dante's idea concerning the forms of eloquence, which were, in his opinion, tragic, comic and elegiac, as he relates in his work De vulgari Eloquentia, which was probably first written in Latin. What he called tragedy was a piece commencing with happy and peaceful scenes, and ending with events of a painful and terrible character; and what he called comedy was a piece which, beginning unpleasantly, terininated happily. The qualifying word divina was, however, added by others; but, in the oldest editions, the poet himself was called by the appellations of Il Divino and I Teologo. The poem of Dante has been considered, by some persons, but, in our opinion, unworthily, to have taken its rise from the author's circumstances. We may also mention the opinion maintained in 1753, by Bottari, that Dante made use of the Vision of Alberico, a mouk who lived in the first part of the 12th century, in a monastery on Monte Cassino, in Naples. There have been many such visions, from the earliest ages of Christianity; as, for instance, the vision of an English monk, which Matthew Paris mentions, in his history of England (in the year 1196), and which resembled Dante's poem much more than the vision of Alberico, published by Cancellicri, in 1814, at Rome, with observations (Osservazioni intorno alla Questione sopra la Originalitù della Divina Commedia di Dante); and, moreover, the vision of a gentleman named Tundall, in Ireland, which also falls in the first part of the 12th century. It is, therefore, very possible that Dante here and there may have borrowed a thought or image from those visions; but this is no fault: the recollections of great men are sparks which serve to kindle mighty flames.-There is no poet who bears so distinctly the impress of his age, and yet rises so high above it, as

Dante. The Italians justly regard him as the creator of their poetical language, and the father of their poetry, which, regulated and controlled by his genius, at once assumed a purer and far nobler form than it had previously worn. The terzina first reached its perfection in the time of Dante, on which account he has been erroneously regarded as the inventor of it.-The best editions of the Divina Commedia are those of Lombardi (Rome, 1791, 3 vols., 4to.), and the edition of Milan (in 1804, in 3 vols.). Of the former, a second and much improved edition appeared in 1815-17, at Rome, published by Romano de' Romani, in which the Vision of Alberico is also contained. In 1821, Luigi Fantoni published an edition of the Divina Commedia, stated to have been printed from a manuscript in the hand-writing of Boccaccio. An Italian professor at Paris, Biagioli, also published an edition of this poem, from the text of the Crusca edition, in 1818, together with a good commentary, in 3 volumes. Dante's complete works appeared in Venice in 1757-58, published by Zatta (in 5 vols., 4to.). His lyric poeins, sonnets and canzonets, of which some are beautiful, others dull and heavy, were written at different periods of his life. We have yet to mention his Banquet Il Convito a prose work, worthy, says Bouterwek, to stand by the side of the best works of antiquity. It contains the substance of all his knowledge and experience, and thus illustrates his poetry and his life. The marquis Trivulzio edited a new edition of it, in 1826, in Milan. A work containing much valuable matter to elucidate Dante is Del Veltro Allegorico di Dante (Florence, 1826, 8vo., with an interesting appendix), extracted from a very old Codex Mediceus, belonging, at present, to the Biblioteca Laurenziana, marked No. viii, bench xxix. Among the best modern commentaries on Dante are the treatises of doctor Witte in the Hermes, and also in the Silesian Provinzial-Blattern, in 1825. There is a good English translation of the Divina Commedia, by Mr. Carey (London, 1819, 3 vols., Svo.).--In one respect, Dante stands unrivalled by any man, as he, we might almost say, created the language, which he elevated at once to its highest perfection. Before him, very little was written in Italian, Latin being the literary language; but no one attempted to use the lingua volgare for the purposes of dignified composition. The poet, indeed, thought it necessary to excuse himself for having written in Italian, after having attempted to compose his poem in Latin. Thus he

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is to be regarded as the founder of Italian literature. One of the strangest productions of Dante is his De Monarchia, already mentioned. He labors, in this work, to prove that the emperor ought to have universal authority, and draws his arguments from the Sacred Scriptures and from profane writers, which, in this book, appear very often with equal authority. The dialectics of the schoolmen are here exhibited in a most characteristic way. The De Monarchia is valuable as a source of information respecting the great struggle of the Guelphs and Ghibelines, and its influence upon the Christian world at that time. This struggle was a part of the great convulsion attending the separation of the civil power from the ecclesiastical, with which, in the earliest ages, it is always united. On the whole, Dante's works are important chiefly in three respects-as the productions of one of the greatest men that ever lived, as one of the keys to the history of his time, and as exhibiting the state of learning, theology and politics in that age. To understand Dante, it is necessary to be acquainted with the history and spirit of his time, particularly with the struggle of the Guelphs and Ghibelines, the state of the north of Italy, and the excitement caused by the beginning of the study of the ancients; also to have studied the Catholic theology and the history of the court of Rome, and to keep always in mind that Dante was an exile, deprived of home and happiness. The Germans, at present, pay much attention to Dante. They have some excellent translations, by Kannegiesser and Streckfuss, and valuable works on the poet by Abeken, in Berlin, and others. Mr. Uhde, a few years ago, delivered lectures on Dante in the university of Berlin, which showed great study of the poet and his time.

Pietro Vincenzio, of the family of Rainaldi, was surnamed Dante, because he endeavored to imitate this great poet. He and his whole family were celebrated for their knowledge of mathematical science.

Giovanni Battista Dante, of Perugia, probably belonging to the same family, is well known by the surname of Dædalus, which he obtained on account of his mechanical ingenuity. In the 15th century, he made an attempt to fly, and is said to have succeeded in passing the lake of Perugia.

DANTON, George James, an advocate by profession, was born at Arcis-sur-Aube Oct. 26, 1759, and beheaded April 5, 1794. He played a very important part during the first years of the French revo

lution, of which he was an active and zealous promoter. His external appearance was striking; his stature was colossal; his frame athletic; his features harsh, large and disagreeable; his voice shook the dome of the chamber of the assembly; his eloquence was vehement; and his imagination was as gigantic as his person, which made every one recoil, and "at which," says St. Just, "Freedom herself trembled." These qualities contributed to extend his influence, and he became one of the founders of the club of the

Cordeliers. (q. v.) After the imprisonment of Louis at Varennes, he took the lead in the meeting of the Champ-de-Mars, which demanded the dethronement of the king. In November, he was appointed assistant to the procurator of the commune of Paris. His importance in the capital increased in 1792, where he became one of the instigators of the events of June 20th, and a leader on the 10th of August. After the fall of Louis XVI, Danton was a member of the provisional executive council, was made minister of justice, and usurped the appointment of officers in the army and departments. He thus raised up a great number of creatures entirely devoted to his views. Money flowed from all sides into the hands of the minister, and was as profusely squandered on his tools and partisans. His violent measures led to the bloody scenes of September. He endeavored, by the terrors of proscription, to annihilate all hope of resistance on the part of the royalists.

The invasion of Champagne by the Prussians, Sept. 3d, spread consternation through the capital, and among the members of the government. The ministers, the most distinguished deputies, and even Robespierre himself, who was, at that time, in fear of Brissot, now assembled around Danton, who alone preserved his courage. He assumed the administration of the state, and prepared measures of defence: he called on all Frenchmen, capable of bearing arms, to march against the enemy, and prevented the removal of the assembly beyond the Loire. Danton showed, on this occasion, undaunted courage. From this time forward, he was hated by Robespierre, who could never pardon the superiority which Danton had shown on that occasion. Being called on to render an account of the secret expenditures during his ministry, Danton maintained that the ministers should give in their reports collectively; and this view was adopted. He voted for the capital punishment of all returning emigrants,

and undertook the defence of religious worship. The contest between the Girondists and the Mountain daily assumed a more serious aspect, and Danton appeared to fear the consequences of these dissensions. The 26th of November, on the occasion of the festival of reason, in which the adherents of Hébert acted a conspicuous part, he declared himself anew against the attack on the ministers of religion, and subsequently united with Robespierre to bring Hébert and his partisans to the scaffold. But their connexion was not of long duration, and the secret hate which had long existed between them soon became public. Danton wished to overthrow the despotism of Robespierre, and the crafty Robespierre endeavored to undermine him, in order to get rid of a dangerous rival. St. Just denounced him to the committee of safety, and Danton was arrested on the night of March 31, together with those who were called his accomplices. Being thrown into prison in the Luxembourg, he maintained the appearance of serenity. When he was transferred into the Conciergeric, his countenance became dark, and he appeared mortified at having been the dupe of Robespierre. All his discourses were a strange mixture of sorrow and pride. At his trial, he answered, with perfect composure, "I am Danton, sufficiently known in the revolution; I shall soon pass to nothingness, but my name will live in the Pantheon of history." April 5, the revolutionary tribunal condemned him to death, as an accomplice in a conspiracy for the restoration of monarchy, and confiscated his large property. He mounted the fatal car with courage, and without resistance; his head was elevated; his look commanding and full of pride. Before ascending the scaffold, he was, for a moment, softened: "O my wife, my dear wife, shall I never see you again?" he exclaimed; but checked himself hastily, and, calling out, "Danton, no weakness,' ascended the scaffold.-Danton was one of the most remarkable characters of the French revolution-a strange mixture of magnanimity, ability and courage, with cruelty, avarice and weakness. He was 35 years old at the time of his death.

ĎANTZIC (Danzig); a commercial city and fortress on the west bank of the Vistula, about five miles from the Baltic, in the government of the same name, in the Prussian province of West Prussia, and 300 miles from Berlin. It has a very agreeable situation, in the midst of a beautiful country. Exclusive of the suburbs,

it is about 2 miles in circuit, and is neither regularly nor handsomely built. Including the suburbs, it contains 5172 houses, and 54,756 inhabitants, of whom 2148 are Jews. Its fine harbor and advantageous situation have procured it an extensive commerce by land and sea. It was an important member of the Hanseatic league, and was often called the granary of the North. As early as the 10th century, it was called Gedance (Gedansk). For a long period, it continued to change masters, with the territory in which it lies. The Danes, Swedes, Pomeranians and Teutonic knights contended for its possession. In 1310, it fell into the hands of the last. The industry of the inhabitants soon restored its importance and prosperity, which had been diminished by the frequent wars, and inspired the citizens with such energy, that, in 1454, Dantzic declared itself independent, and was soon after recognised as such by the republic of Poland. The city then struck its own coins, with the image of the king of Poland, maintained a secretary at Warsaw, and voted in the diets of the kingdom, and at the election of king, by a deputy. In 1772, the city was almost surrounded by the Prussian dominions; its trade, industry and population continually declined, and the last king of Poland declared that he must leave Dantzic to its fate. May 28, 1793, the Prussians took possession of the outworks: the people immediately flew to arms, and a short struggle ensued, which, after a few days, terminated with the surrender of the city. It soon after regained its former prosperity under the Prussian government, and continued to flourish till the breaking out of the war between France and Prussia. March 7, 1807, Dantzic was besieged by marshal Lefèvre, and surrendered on the 24th of May. The marshal was afterwards rewarded with the title of duke of Dantzic. A military contribution of 20,000,000 of francs, to be paid by instalments, was levied on the city. By the peace of Tilsit, however, Dantzic was recognised as a free city, with a jurisdiction of 2 leagues in extent, which was afterwards enlarged to 10 miles by Napoleon, under the protection of France, Prussia and Saxony; but, being occupied by a French garrison, it was not allowed to enjoy its independence. A French governor, general Rapp, continued in the garrison. In 1808, the Code Napoléon was introduced; and, by the continental system, its most important branch of support, the commerce with England, was cut off. Under such unfa

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vorable circumstances, the year 1812 drew nigh, bringing the heavy burdens of the Russian war. December 31, the city was declared in a state of blockade. After a very obstinate defence of nearly a year's continuance, a capitulation was entered into, Jan. 1, 1814. On this day, all the Poles and Germans were dismissed, and, on the 2d, the French marched out, to be conducted, as prisoners of war, to the interior of Russia. During this blockade and siege, 309 houses and warehouses were burnt, 1115 buildings damaged, and 90 men perished by hunger. Feb. 3, 1814, Dantzic fell again under the dominion of Prussia. Dec. 6, 1815, great damage was done by the explosion of a powder magazine.-There are, in this city, important manufactures of gold and silver lace, cloth, woollen stuffs and Cordovan leather: the dye-houses, sugar-refineries, brandy and other distilleries, vitriol, potash, &c. manufactories, are likewise considerable. An important article of commerce in Dantzic is corn, which is brought down the Vistula from Poland, and exported to England, Holland and the Hanse towns. Other articles of export are timber, leather, wool, furs, butter, tallow, wax, honey, potash, hemp and flax. The principal edifices worthy of mention are, the high church of St. Mark (in which is the Judgment Day, by Van Eyck), the synagogue, the academical gymnasium, the marine institute, the buildings of the society of natural history, including their observatory. This society celebrated its 84th anniversary Jan. 2, 1826. It has published memoirs. In 1823, there were 747 ships entered, and 758 cleared, at this port. On the side of the city between the Vistula and Nogat, is the fertile island of Werder, which supports numerous herds of cattle; and at the mouth of the former lies the fort of Münde, which defends the roads of Dantzic, called Neufahrwasser. April 9, 1829, the Vistula, swollen by the melting of the snow in the interior, and choked by masses of ice, broke through the dyke, which extends 25 miles up the river, overwhelming 50 villages. The lower town of Dantzie was inundated, and the houses filled to the roofs. The torrent swept over the city, carrying away many houses, and whatever they contained. On the 12th, the waters began to abate; but, as late as the 14th, many sufferers were still remaining on the roofs of the houses, unable to obtain relief, and destitute of food. (For an account of the last siege of this city, see the Relation de la Défense de Dantzic en 1813, Paris, 1820; and also