SOURCE: Foster, Kenelm. “The Idea of Truth in Manzoni and Leopardi.” Proceedings of the British Academy 53 (1967): 243-57.

In the following essay, Foster compares the philosophies of Manzoni and Leopardi, who, despite their extreme differences, were both concerned with the nature of truth.

There is a danger in being honoured beyond one's expectations; one may try a little too hard to rise to the occasion, and I fear I have run the risk of doing that in choosing to address so distinguished an audience on so difficult, though fascinating, a topic. Two men of genius and their idea of truth would always be a large subject for one lecture, and the matter is certainly made no easier in the present case by the fact that the two minds and mentalities I have chosen as my theme are not only complex but also exceedingly different. As thinkers—which is how...