Lovati's scholarship marked characteristics which would later define the development of humanism: an appetite for classical texts; a philological concern to correct them, and ascertain their meaning; and a desire to imitate them.
Lovato responded by stating his fears that the conflict would lead to increased factionalism within Padua and reasoned that liberty would only thrive in a time of peace.
In Lovato's final years he seems to be cognisant of the weakness of the Paduan commune, possibly taking Padua's defeat by the Venetian salt monopoly in 1304 as a bad omen.
[17] According to Giovanni del Virgilio, on Lovato's deathbed he gave his reed pipes to Albertino Mussato and said: "Since you are deemed gifted by the muses, by these will you be muse-inspired.
"[20] While assessing ancient literature, Lovato characterized three features which mark the development of humanism: an appetite for classical texts; a philological concern to correct them and ascertain their meaning, and a desire to imitate them.
However while drawing on ancient Roman sources for their own work, Lovato and his disciple Albertino Mussato, showed little interest in investigating the nature of the society, that produced them.
[22] Lovato's poetry exposed his confused notion of the ancient past, where Greek and Roman history and mythology mingle without distinction as their basis in reality.
He wrote a short account of Senecan meters,[24] illustrating Latin poet's preference for two verse patterns, the pentameter and the hexameter.
[25] In his letters, Lovato strives to match classical vocabulary, meter and tone, revealing a strong emphasis of grammatical components towards the literary movement.
This pressure, combined with his spirit of competition, inspired Lovato to not only write, but also defend ancient Latin poetry against those who preferred modern vernacular verse.
[31] Lovato was involved in a large discovery of the ceremonious reburial and supposed body remains of the mythical founder of Padua, the Trojan Antenor.
The literary circle led by Lovato, based in the mid thirteenth century Paduan commune was one of the first scholarly groups of people in Europe to embrace the humanistic philosophical outlook and to develop a revived interest in ancient text.
[34] Lovato's first poems began to appear in the 1250s displaying evidence of his urge to reconnect with the ancient past thus marking the start of the classicising movement.
During the late twelfth century, French and Provençal models exerted large influence on the vernacular poetry of northern Italy.
[23] Despite Lovato's condescending feelings towards the vernacular referring to them as "barbarous" in one of his letters to Bellino Bissolo, he nonetheless incorporated many of the French and Provençal influences in his poems.
[39] In addition, Lovato in his poem reintroduced some of the unheard ancient authors to his audiences such as Tibullus, Propertius, Martial, Catullus, and Lucretius whom regular contemporary medieval Europeans may have never heard of for the past several centuries.
[41] In composing this poem Lovato at times experienced difficulties mastering the language in describing his thoughts, which explains why certain passages sounded more like prose.
[39] The vocabulary Lovato employed in his poems at this time was generally classical in character, as well as displaying accurate use of metrics coherent with ancient models.
[41] Despite Lovato's overall humanistic approach in composing poetry, many evidences suggest that the Paduan notary was not completely broken away from medieval characteristics.
Lovato's fondness with the Leonine verse, a form of rhythmic structure in Latin poetry popular in the Middle Ages, the inclusion of many Christian references in his own epitaph as well as his poems, the allusion to Tristan and Isolde all exemplify his imperfect secession with the medieval tradition.
[44] Other than rare works such as Horace's Carmina and Statius's Silvae being brought back into the awareness of Western Europeans for the first time in three to four centuries, Lovato also made known Ovid's Ibis and Martial's Epigramus to his medieval audiences.
[44] Despite his insistence on adhering to classical literary model and the orthodoxy of the Latin language, Lovato's work was not impermeable to the popular French influences, which were appreciated and adopted by many of his contemporary Italian poets.
[12] During the time when Treaty of Treviso, which ended the war over salt trade with Venice, was signed, Lovato exchanged views with Mussato on whether this peace would last.
[52] We cannot assume that the influence of Lovato on other poets and scholars of the Renaissance is direct, but his general belief in the magnificence of Latin verse and his unique compositions made it the preferred form of expression in the period.
According to Witt,"The first to capture with consistency the flavor of the classical authors and to state explicitly that imitation f the ancients was his goal, Lovato may rightfully be considered the founder of Italian humanism.
By making the writings of the ancient world his guiding spirit, he was able to bring about a conscious intellectual change in the manner in which poets perceived the environment around them.
In his writings, from the first instances of his poetical composition, as seen in the letters of 1267/68, they would be the first "written by an Italian since late antiquity to employ classical diction for the expression of private thoughts and feelings"[43] through a conscious discarding of the vernacular taste that had been influenced by the French works.
"[56] And it was Lovato's belief in the promise of a better time as expounded by Seneca, which coloured his poetry and ultimately helped formulate the thinking of Petrarch towards such matters.
One of the most important ideas of the humanistic philosophy of the specific period was a desire to lead the good life, understood in the sense of being happy and contribute to the world around oneself.