The *Vita Nuova* is the love diary of a young man. Not just any young man, but a peculiar, visionary one—a Philip K. Dick of seven centuries ago. He is destined to write the greatest poem of humanity. But he doesn’t know it yet. Right now, he is madly in love with Beatrice, a girl he has only glimpsed. He trembles at the thought of her. He sheds tears of tenderness and despair. He dreams of both pleasure and misfortune. He writes verses to understand what is happening to him and to soothe himself. His friends first laugh at him, then become worried about his state, which resembles madness. “Madness of love, ” Dante replies. “What is this love worth, ” ask the friends of both, “if merely seeing her makes you tremble and feel unwell?” “I want only one thing, ” replies the young poet: “to spend my time weaving her praises.”
Appendix: DANTEAN CHRONOLOGY