The Life of Solitude

An exposition of the advantages of a solitary, contemplative life over a worldly life lived among men. "Petrarch's purpose in the [this text] is to celebrate the beauty of a life of leisure, retired from crowded haunts and importunate cares and devoted to the enjoyment of reading, of literary creation, peaceful brooding, and the society of a few chosen friends. ...[H]is object in writing is to assert an ideal purely personal and private." [from the translator's Introduction]