Moral Fables and Other Poems (Sicilian/English Anthology) Quotes

“Already famous, Meli became the favorite of Palermitan aristocracy. The ladies of the nobility vied to have him as a guest at their elegant parties. The most celebrated gallant and erotic odes, written for the likes of Baroness Martinez, Duchess Lucia Migliaccio, the Marquise Regiovanni, Lady Marianna Mantegna, and others, belong to this period.”
― Giovanni Meli, Moral Fables and Other Poems

“His first poetic season saw him writing entirely in Italian, but after the poem “La Ragione,” a compendium of his vast scientific and philosophical readings Meli wrote primarily in Sicilian.”
― Giovanni Meli, Moral Fables and Other Poems

“While attending to his medical training, Meli devoted himself to writing verse in the manner of Metastasio, Rolli and Frugoni, the foremost representatives of the Arcadian movement in Italy.”
― Giovanni Meli, Moral Fables and Other Poems

“Giovanni Meli was born in Palermo on March 6, 1740. His family was not wealthy. His father, Antonio, was a goldsmith; his mother Vincenza Torriquos, was of Spanish origin.”
― Giovanni Meli, Moral Fables and Other Poems

“Having received a traditional education seven years in the Jesuits’ Collegio Massimo, which he later characterized as worthless, he felt the need to study on his own. He began reading Latin and Italian classics as well as the authors of the French Encyclopaedia when he was 16 years old.”
― Giovanni Meli, Moral Fables and Other Poems