"Sic me formabat puerum": Horace's Satire I,4 and Boccaccio's defense of the Decameron

Abstract

1 [And if ever I went out of my way to satisfy you ladies in anything, I'm all the readier to do so now, aware as I am that all anyone is entitled to say is that I and others who love you are acting in accordance with Nature [...] Silence, therefore, my critics! If you're insensitive to warmth, very well-stay chilled . . . ] I quote the text from Giovanni Boccaccio, Tutte le opere, Vittore Branca ed., vol. IV (Milano: Mondadori, 1976). Translations are from Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, Guido Waldman trans. (Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).