A Few Notes on Leopardi and Stobeo. An Unprecedented ‘Path Interrupted’ by the Neapolitan Papers (C.L. XII.7)

Abstract

The present paper concerns an unpublished autograph by Leopardi belonging to the Neapolitan Papers (XII.7). It contains a list of classic authors, each followed by a series of numbers. As the references to the 1549 Basilea edition show, the list is a study and an index of the 'Anthologion' by Johannes Stobæus, interrupted at the Sermo IX. Such study can be dated, for both internal and external reasons, to the last months of 1825. It is a witness of the working method adopted by the poet from Recanati who, by connecting each reading to the origin of a new work, proceeds by successive selections, up to the final composition. In this case, the objective - that was never reached, although tracks are recognizable - was to publish an index and translation of the Bizantine author. The autograph is therefore an evidence that helps understanding the criteria of the choices made.