De remediis utriusque fortunae

De remediis utriusque fortunae ("Remedies for Fortunes") is a collection of 254 Latin dialogues written by the humanist Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), commonly known as Petrarch.

Phisicke Against Fortune
book cover of 1579

The dialogues, completed towards the end of Petrarch's life, are treasure-chests of wisdom and humour which have not lost their relevance despite the passing of six centuries. They display remarkably lucid ideas that are cogently expressed. Drawing on classical sources, Petrarch expounded on refinement in taste and intellect, on finesse and propriety in speech and style.

The writing is a bouquet of moral philosophy, set out to show how thought and deed can generate happiness on the one hand, or sorrow and disillusionment on the other. In a recurring theme throughout the dialogues, Petrarch advises humility in prosperity and fortitude in adversity.[1]

The 254 woodcut illustrations by the anonymous Master of Petrarch for the 1532 German edition are considered masterpieces of the German Renaissance.

In 1579 the dialogues were translated into English by the Elizabethan physician Thomas Twyne (1543–1613) as Phisicke Against Fortune, and by Susannah Dobson in 1791 as Petrarch's View of Human Life.[2]

References
  2. Antonella Braida, "Dobson , Susannah (d. 1795)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 7 October 2014, subscription required.

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