18
E
UR
A
MERICA
Thus, an interesting phenomenon came to Petrarch’s notice: to be
remembered by posterity, some dignitaries purposely cultivated
men of letters. In this respect, Petrarch invokes Horace to underpin
his argument that people’s memory largely hinges on whether they
have an accomplished author to immortalize their names.
18
Hence for Petrarch writing is sorely necessary to the pursuit
of posthumous fame. That is, without the agency of writing even
surpassing human achievements are subject to erosion by time and
will sink into obscurity soon after the death of these luminaries.
Among the many kinds of writing, Petrarch expresses a marked
preference for literary works, since for him only literature can
preserve, if not indefinitely, the glorious feats accomplished by
humans, and this unique quality of literature also celebrates its
practitioners. In this sense, poets are the spreaders of fame because
they are instrumental in conferring immortality to those they
chronicle.
III. Chaucer: the
House of Fame
Chaucer’s attitude toward fame in the
House of Fame
is a
tricky issue, and the main reason for the frequent bewilderment is
Chaucer’s characteristic style, whereby he oftentimes oscillates
“between the sublime and the ridiculous” (Minnis, Scattergood, &
Smith, 1995: 181). This observation obviously applies to the
House of Fame
, for in this poem Chaucer seldom makes explicit
tearless night . . . since they lack an inspired bard”
(1983: IV.9.25-28).
Alexander the Great had felt a similar sense of urgency to find a suitable writer
to document his achievements: as related by Cicero in his
Oration for Archias
,
when Alexander visited the tomb of Achilles, he was unable to conceal his great
envy of Achilles because Homer, “the prince of all poets, bestowed everlasting
fame upon Achilles”
(as cited in Petrarch 1953: 1248). In 62 BCE Cicero wrote
the
Pro Archia
to champion Archias, a Greek poet who intended to apply for
Roman citizenship (Cerutti, 2006: xx).
18
“There is little difference between buried indolence and buried excellence” (as
cited in Petrarch, 1953: 1248).
