[Next Project] Essays and Dialogues by Giacomo Leopardi (trans. Charles Edwardes)

[Scott Voyles]

Hi folks,

I'd like to take a crack at this one, if there are no objections?

PG: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52356

Google Books: https://www.google.de/books/edition/Essays_and_Dialogues_of_Giacomo_Leopardi/KfwFAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=essays+and+dialogues+giacomo+leopardi&printsec=frontcover

For the cover art, I would use the portrait by Ferrazzi, though I've not found a suitable source for it yet.

[Alex Cabal]

OK, sure, you can work on that. Please send a link to your repo once you
start.

The whole thing should be pretty straightforward. There are quite a few
endnotes. Make sure each item is in an <article> element and not a
<section>. I would also cut the opening biographical sketch since it's
not especially interesting and there are more modern online sources for
the same information.

On 1/18/26 5:50 AM, Scott Voyles wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I'd like to take a crack at this one, if there are no objections?
>

> *PG*: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52356
> *Google Books:* https://www.google.de/books/edition/
> Essays_and_Dialogues_of_Giacomo_Leopardi/KfwFAAAAQAAJ?
> hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=essays+and+dialogues+giacomo+leopardi&printsec=frontcover
>
> For the cover art, I would use the portrait <https://en.wikipedia.org/
> wiki/Giacomo_Leopardi#/media/File:Leopardi,_Giacomo_(1798-1837)_-
> _ritr._A_Ferrazzi,_Recanati,_casa_Leopardi.jpg> by Ferrazzi, though I've

> not found a suitable source for it yet.
>

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[Scott Voyles]

Here's the repo: https://github.com/zeitchef/giacomo-leopardi_essays-and-dialogues_charles-edwardes

[Alex Cabal]

OK, Emma will manage with Weijia reviewing.

On 1/19/26 10:35 AM, Scott Voyles wrote:
> Here's the repo: https://github.com/zeitchef/giacomo-leopardi_essays-
> and-dialogues_charles-edwardes
>
> On Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 11:24:53 PM UTC+1 Alex Cabal wrote:
>
> OK, sure, you can work on that. Please send a link to your repo once
> you
> start.
>
> The whole thing should be pretty straightforward. There are quite a few
> endnotes. Make sure each item is in an <article> element and not a
> <section>. I would also cut the opening biographical sketch since it's
> not especially interesting and there are more modern online sources for
> the same information.
>
> On 1/18/26 5:50 AM, Scott Voyles wrote:
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > I'd like to take a crack at this one, if there are no objections?
> >

> > *PG*: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52356 <https://
> www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52356>
> > *Google Books:* https://www.google.de/books/edition/ <https://
> www.google.de/books/edition/>

> > Essays_and_Dialogues_of_Giacomo_Leopardi/KfwFAAAAQAAJ?
> >
> hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=essays+and+dialogues+giacomo+leopardi&printsec=frontcover
> >
> > For the cover art, I would use the portrait <https://

> en.wikipedia.org/ <https://en.wikipedia.org/>

> > wiki/Giacomo_Leopardi#/media/File:Leopardi,_Giacomo_(1798-1837)_-
> > _ritr._A_Ferrazzi,_Recanati,_casa_Leopardi.jpg> by Ferrazzi,
> though I've
> > not found a suitable source for it yet.
> >
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>
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[Scott Voyles]

Hey Emma, I've got a question about the bibliographical note at the end of chapter 14 (p. 116 of the source text) - should this also be moved to the endnotes? I wasn't sure since this is not a citation, but I didn't immediately find anything in SEMOS 7.10 about it. What do you think?

https://www.google.de/books/edition/Essays_and_Dialogues_of_Giacomo_Leopardi/KfwFAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=essays+and+dialogues+giacomo+leopardi&printsec=frontcover

[Emma Sweeney]

Yes, this would be an endnote.

Emma

[Scott Voyles]

Excellent. Do you also have tips how best to semantically lay out the epitaph at the end of chapter 14 (p. 138)?

[Scott Voyles]

Sorry, chapter 15 that is

[Emma Sweeney]

Put the epitaph in an unsemanticated <blockquote> element, use <br/> elements for the the line breaks (SEMoS 1.1.6), and mark "Philip Ottonieri" with a <b> element so you can increase the text size. 

You will also need some custom CSS. It would look something like:

#chapter-15 blockquote:nth-of-type(NUMBER){

text-align: center;

}

#chapter-15 blockquote:nth-of-type(NUMBER) b{

font-size: larger;

}

Emma

[Scott Voyles]

Hi folks, I'd like to get some feedback on the cover. As I mentioned, I was having trouble finding a source for my original idea, and still haven't come up with anything. So I've landed on the next best option - this portrait from Morelli:

https://www.google.de/books/edition/Emporium/_4xK2rnvcLUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=giacomo%20leopardi%20morelli&pg=PA116&printsec=frontcover

What does everyone think? 

[Emma Sweeney]

The PD proof is fine, but the source image has a pinkish cast. Can you find a better source image?

Emma

[Robin Whittleton]

Assuming Scott got it from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giacomo_Leopardi_Morelli.jpg, it looks suspiciously like a Wikipedian potentially just colorised the PD proof photo themselves, rather than this being a photo of the original artwork?

-Robin

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[Vince]

Based on the Source description of “photo-editing based on an ancient artwork,” I think you’re right. Though what’s up with them calling mid 1800’s “ancient”? :)

[Scott Voyles]

That's exactly where I found it, Robin. I also found this one, which looks more natural but has a little more glare than I would like:

Could this be usable?

[Scott Voyles]

[Emma Sweeney]

That is a better source image. I'll add this to the art DB.

I was able to edit the cracks out.

Emma

[Scott Voyles]

That's fabulous Emma, thanks!

[Scott Voyles]

What does the correct CSS markup look like for "epub-type='song'"?

[Alex Cabal]

There is no markup for songs. They are not italicized.

On 1/28/26 4:18 PM, Scott Voyles wrote:
> What does the correct CSS markup look like for "epub-type='song'"?
>
> On Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 7:41:47 AM UTC+1 Scott Voyles wrote:
>
> That's fabulous Emma, thanks!
>
> On Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 6:31:39 AM UTC+1 Emma Sweeney wrote:
>
> That is a better source image. I'll add this to the art DB.
>
> I was able to edit the cracks out.
>

> test-cover.jpeg
>
>
> Emma
> On Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 11:49:37 AM UTC-5
> zeit...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> cover.png
>
> On Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 5:34:46 PM UTC+1 Scott
> Voyles wrote:
>
> That's exactly where I found it, Robin. I also found
> this one, which looks more natural but has a little more
> glare than I would like:
>

> Domenico_Morelli_-_Giacomo_Leopardi_-
> _(MeisterDrucke-632473).jpg

>
> Could this be usable?
> On Monday, January 26, 2026 at 11:12:52 PM UTC+1 Vince
> wrote:
>
> Based on the Source description of “photo-editing
> based on an ancient artwork,” I think you’re right.
> Though what’s up with them calling mid 1800’s
> “ancient”? :)
>
>
>> On Jan 26, 2026, at 3:59 PM, Robin Whittleton
>> <ro...@reala.net> wrote:
>>
>> Assuming Scott got it from https://
>> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

>> File:Giacomo_Leopardi_Morelli.jpg <https://
>> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
>> File:Giacomo_Leopardi_Morelli.jpg>, it looks

>> suspiciously like a Wikipedian potentially just
>> colorised the PD proof photo themselves, rather
>> than this being a photo of the original artwork?
>

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[Vince]

Is this for a song title or for song lyrics? If the latter, then it’s the same as verse; see SEMoS 7.5. If the former, then what Alex said. Either way, epub:type=“song” is incorrect.

[Scott Voyles]

Lyrics, specifically. I just want to confirm if there is CSS that I'm not seeing. If not, no worries.

[Emma Sweeney]

If it is for lyrics, you should use the CSS in SEMoS 7.5 and replace `z3998:poem` with `z3998:song`.

Emma

[Scott Voyles]

Emma, I'm cleaning up the endnotes and would like your opinion, for the following:

<p>Cicero says: “Labour and pain are not identical. Labour is a toilsome function of body or mind⁠—pain an unpleasant disturbance in the body. When they cut Marius’ veins, it was pain; when he marched at the head of the troops in a great heat, it was labour.”⁠—<i>Tusc. Quaest.</i> <a href="chapter-12.xhtml#noteref-18" epub:type="backlink">↩</a></p>

would you keep "Cicero says:" and then do <cite>—Tusc. Quaest.</cite>? Or move "Cicero" to the citation as well?

I'm also generally inclined to go ahead and spell out the abbreviations of major works (ie. "History of America", "Tusculanae Quaestiones", etc.) - would that be alright?

[Emma Sweeney]

Leave "Cicero says:" as-is, and format the citation as `<cite>—<i epub:type="se:name.publication.book" xml:lang="la">Tusculanae Quaestiones</i>.</cite>`. Make an [Editorial] commit when you expand the title.

Emma

[Scott Voyles]

Alright, I think this is ready for a review

[Erin]

I came here from the responsive CSS thread to check that Plato wasn't still called "Plate" at one point as he is in your screenshots there :) He still is, i.e. in chapter-22.xhtml "leave Plate alone" should be "leave Plato alone". This is a transcription error: presumably an OCR error because the final `o` is partially cut off in the scans: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Essays_and_Dialogues_of_Giacomo_Leopardi/KfwFAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA184&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22beg%20you%22

As I had to go to content.opf to find your scans to verify that this was a transcription rather than printing error, I had occasion to see you're using a .de link to Google Books in the metadata. It needs to be .com, see https://standardebooks.org/manual/1.8.6/single-page#9.1.5

I cloned the repo in order to find the chapter where "Plate" occurs, and noticed that `se lint` flags several errors and items for manual review; typogrify makes changes to many files; semanticate makes a few changes too, and modernize-spelling also a couple that seem correct.

It would probably save Weijia some time if you could fix these things before the review, especially the lint issues: see step 26 of the step-by-step guide. If lint is silent for you as your repo stands then either there are local commits you haven't pushed or your version of the tools is not the latest.

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[Emma Sweeney]

Please make sure you have fixed any lint errors before the initial review. Also, Alex mentioned earlier to change each file <section> element to an <article>, which you still need to do.

Emma

[Weijia Cheng]

Once you have fixed the issues Erin and Emma highlighted, let me know and I will review the repo.

[Scott Voyles]

All issues have been fixed. Whenever you're ready Weijia :)

[Weijia Cheng]

Thanks, this has been a busy weekend but I will try and get to it before the end of the day.

[Weijia Cheng]

Scott, I have filed the first part of my review. Unfortunately there are some major issues here and I am unable to complete the review in one sitting. Once you have made the requested changes I will review again from scratch. I have also made some suggestions about how to configure your environment for future projects to make this process easier both for yourself and for your reviewers.