To extenuate the suffering which a man of his temper endured in this enforced seclusion would be unjust to Tasso.
There is no doubt that he was most unhappy.

But to exaggerate his discomforts would be unjust to the duke.

Even Manso describes 'the excellent and most convenient lodgings' assigned him in S.Anna, alludes to the provision for his cure by medicine, and remarks upon the opposition which he offered to medical treatment.

According to this biographer, his own endeavors to escape necessitated a strict watch upon his movements.[53] Unless, therefore, we flatly deny the fact of his derangement, which is supported by a mass of testimony, it may be doubted whether Tasso was more miserable in S.Anna than he would have been at large.

The subsequent events of his life prove that his release brought no mitigation of his malady.
[Footnote 53: _Op.