PARINI, pa-re'ne, GIUSEPPE (1729-99). An Italian poet. born at Bosio, May 23, 1729. Af ter the appearance of his first verses he was made a member of the Accademia dei Trasfor mati, and he was admitted into a branch of the Arcadia. Ile became a priest in 1734. From 1773 on he tamtht the principles of fine arts at the Brera in Milan. To Bonaparte he owed a temporary office in the government of Milan. He died at Milan, August 15, 1799. His more important works are the descriptive poem Il Giorno and the Odi or Odes. The Odi, sonic twenty-one in number, were composed between 1757 and 1795, and, like most of his earlier poetry, show that lie had a deal of the Arcadian spirit, although he intentionally avoided the excessive refinement and mellifluousness of the Arcadian measures. The Oiorno, written after 1760, is not only Parini's masterpiece, but is also one of the most important literary productions of Italy in the eighteenth century. It is composed of four
parts: the Jiattino (morning), the Merigyio (noon), the l'espro (evening). and the Notte (night). Under the form of counsels given to a young noble as to the way in which he sheuld spend his day, the author has here satirized the fashionable youth of his time, who were given up to effeminate and corrupt practices. Consult Reini's edition of the Opere di Giuseppe Parini (Milan, 1801-04), which is still the most nearly complete collection of his works, and contains his prose productions (mainly academic discourses) as well as his verse. Of the Oil the hest edi tion is that of Salveraglio (Bologna, 1882 Con sult also C'erquetti. Il pier sicuro dcllc Odi di Giuseppe Parini (0,5imo. 1892).