to Cardenio," and in the set of sonnets addressed to him, in which love, despair, hope, yearning and adoration are mingled, to all degrees. "Cardenio" first comes upon Platen's scene—for us—on November 22, 1822; Platen quotes in the entry a certain lino of poetry from the Persian Chakani, in which the old poet exclaims—"And is it really needful that I should know the name of everyone who steals my heart?" Then Platen says—"How I first came to know Cardenio has been already partially told"—though no such earlier reference appears in the Diary. It may have been torn out by Platen. Then comes a long description of the beauty of this "Cardenio," and more Persian quotations—sexual in key. Throughout the "Cardenio" affair, there come many references to Hafiz, At this time Platen was absorbed with the reading and study of that highly pederastic Persian poet.
We may note that as "Cardenio" was a mere boy, this particular love-sentiment, acutely physical, on Platen's side was eminently pederastic, like the Persian's tendency. In fact this sort of sentiment, from now on, especially when Platen was in Italy, took a clear place in his nature, as not earlier. After a considerable term of suspense, of idealizing and so on, Platen met "Cardenio." He tried hard to achieve a friendship with the beautiful boy. We can see that it was,a foolish attempt, ab initio. Platen was twenty-six, highly intellectual, an aristocrat in social position, an idealist; "Cardenio" was a preoccupied, boyish, untemperamental, and commonplace young collegian, dull-hearted and not too-clever. Max von Gruber once writes to Platen that "Cardenio" seemed to him (Gruber) "the most arid nature that I have ever met." "Cardenio" never was drawn to Platen; was unable to appreciate such a type. He did not respond to Platen's overtures. This coldness of course set poor Platen into a miserable state of mind. Platen would have spared himself infinite distress (and the upsetting of a whole winter's plans of study) if he
— 612 —
(50)
