The 'Hundred Old Novels,' which must have been composed about the end
of the thirteenth century, have as yet neither wit, the fruit of
contrast, nor the 'burla,' for their subject; their aim is merely to
give simple and elegant expression to wise sayings and pretty stories
or fables. But if anything proves the great antiquity of the
collection, it is precisely this absence of satire. For with the
fourteenth century comes Dante, who, in the utterance of scorn, leaves
all other poets in the world far behind, and who, if only on account of
his great picture of the deceivers, must be called the chief master of
colossal comedy. With Petrarch begin the collections of witty sayings
after the pattern of Plutarch (Apophthegmata, etc.).
What stores of wit were concentrated in Florence during this century is
most characteristically shown in the novels of Franco Sacchetti. These
are, for the most part, not stories but answers, given under certain
circumstances-- shocking pieces of _naivete,_with which silly folks,
court jesters, rogues, and profligate women make their retort. The
comedy of the tale lies in the startling contrast of this real or
assumed naivete with conventional morality and the ordinary relations
of the world--things are made to stand on their heads. All means of
picturesque representation are made use of, including the introduction
of certain North Italian dialects.
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