It would have been well for him if he had turned a deaf ear to the doubting voice on this occasion also.

But he was not of an independent character to start with; and his life had made him sensitively deferent to literary opinion.

Therefore, in an evil hour, yielding to Gonzaga's advice, he resolved to submit the _Gerusalemme_ in MS.

to four censors--Il Borga, Flaminio de'Nobili, vulpine Speroni with his poisoned fang of pedantry, precise Antoniano with his inquisitorial prudery.

They were to pass their several criticisms on the plot, characters, diction, and ethics of the _Gerusalemme_; Tasso was to entertain and weigh their arguments, reserving the right of following or rejecting their advice, but promising to defend his own views.