Petrarch writing to Boccaccio (1366)

A. The theme of the reading was that Petrarch is writing about how he had looked up to those of the Latin language and had written at this level the foundations. He soon realizes that those he had looked up to around him are lieing ignorants who rely on indolence and chance. Realizing this he then is aware of what not to do and that is not to let those around him influence his beliefs for he had lost his works to the vulgar language.B. "Although the short things I once wrote in the vulgar tongue are, as I have said, so scattered that they now belong to the public rather than to me, I shall take precautions against having my more important works torn to pieces in the same way." From the whole reading this stuck out to me the most because this is the point of change that he decides to make. He become wiser about the people that surrounded him. The written work that he once had was no longer meaningful to him.Therefore is he is aware of not making the same mistake and chooses to be more careful about his future written works. B. An idea that came into my head was I wonder what those who Petrarch is talking about would have to say about him, because from this writing Petrarch thinks of them as ignorant and prideful. But if we got to know what they said about him than maybe our thoughts and opinions would change. C. I see this paralleling to modern life in the sense that many of us do let ourselves be influenced by those around us and those who we look up to. Sometimes someone when we have someone we look up to we end up finding out that they are not the person we thought they were. Silly example but in the movie The Incredibles the little boy who looks up to Mr. Incredible is let down by him when he asks Mr. Incredible for help and he tells the little boy that he doesn't need anyone else's help. That then makes the little boy hate the hero that he had looked up to. D. This relates to the text into how Petrarch felt about the those of the Latin language. After finding out that what he had thought about them was all lies his thoughts and opinions changed and made him wiser about what to believe and to not be so vulnerable about being affected by others.