Meanwhile it seemed as though Leonora had been forgotten by her servant.  We possess one letter written to her from Casteldurante on September 3, 1573, in which he encloses a sonnet, disparaging it by comparison with those which he believes she has been receiving from another poet (Guarino probably), and saying that, though the verses were written, not for himself, but ’at the requisition of a poor lover, who, having been for some while angry with his lady, now is forced to yield and crave for pardon,’ yet he hopes that they ’will effect the purpose he desires.’[14] Few of Tasso’s letters to Leonora have survived.  This, therefore, is a document of much importance; and it is difficult to resist the conclusion that he was indirectly begging Leonora to forgive him for some piece of petulance or irritation.  At any rate, his position between the two princesses at this moment was one of delicacy, in which a less vain and more cautious man than Tasso might have found it hard to keep his head cool.

[Footnote 14:  Lettere, vol. i, p. 47.  The sonnet begins, ’Sdegno, debil guerrier.’]

Up to the present time his life had been, in spite of poverty and domestic misfortunes, one almost uninterrupted career of triumph.  But his fiber had been relaxed in the irresponsible luxurious atmosphere of Courts, and his self-esteem had been inflated by the honors paid to him as the first poet of his age in Europe.  Moreover, he had been continuously over-worked and over-wrought from childhood onwards.  Now, when he returned to Ferrara with the Duchess of Urbino at the age of twenty-nine, it remained to be seen whether he could support himself with stability upon the slippery foundation of princely favor, whether his health would hold out, and whether he would be able to bring the publication of his long expected poem to a successful issue.

In 1574 he accompanied Duke Alfonso to Venice, and witnessed the magnificent reception of Henri III, on his return from Poland.  A fever, contracted during those weeks of pleasure, prevented him from working at the epic for many months.  This is the first sign of any serious failure in Tasso’s health.  At the end of August 1574, however, the Gerusalemme was finished, and in the following February he began sending the MS. to Scipione Gonzaga at Rome.  So much depended on its success, that doubts immediately rose within its author’s mind.  Will it fulfill the expectation raised in every Court and literary coterie of Italy?  Will it bear investigation in the light of the Dialogues on Epic Poetry?  Will the Church be satisfied with its morality; the Holy Office with its doctrine?  None of these diffidences assailed Tasso when he flung Aminta negligently forth and found he had produced a masterpiece.  It would have been well for him if he had turned a deaf ear to the doubting voice on this occasion also.  But he was not of an independent character to start with; and his life had made him