Hope

Two of Leopardi’s most famous works are based on hope (a sentiment typical of youth), these are: in the Canti, Il sabato del villaggio; and in the Operette morali, the Dialogo di un venditore d’almanacchi e di un passeggere. Unforgettable is also the comparison between the death of the youthful Silvia and the  death of the poet’s hope in the Canto A Silvia.

In the Zibaldone the theme of hope is at the heart of many thoughts:

Only an adolescent has the “consolidated and certain hope of a much better future”, the greatest happiness in life [76, 85, 3440-1]] – in hope the good that is distant is always better than the one that’s near [105, 612] – today the sages do not feel it, but the ignorant do [162, 169] – “Hope never abandons man as to nature. Whilst it does as to reason” [183] – also during the greatest mishaps man always maintains “a spark, a drop of it” [285] – “it is better than pleasure, having something undefined, that reality cannot contain” [1017] – “the hope for a small good is an absolutely greater pleasure than the possession of a great good one has already experienced” [1464] – it is never excluded, not even in the most desperate (for example, those who commit suicide hope to be wept for) [1546-8, 1551-2, 4146] – hope comes of one’s love for oneself [2315-6, 4145-6] – in hope and waiting for better times consists all of man’s pleasure [2526-7] – it being unreasonable to nurture it in this life, man has moved it to beyond death [3028]; but human desires are of the world, thus the hope proposed by Christianity cannot console [3497-509] – languages have few words with which to express hope, many to express fear: proof of the fact that man is more inclined to this last [4123] – to hope for oneself is the foundation of one’s interest in others [4238] – “virgin hope, untouched” in a youth from 16 to 18 years old [4301] – “He who nothing hopes, does not feel, and does not have pity” [4489].