The match between Leopardi,the White Knight and Severino over the destiny of mankind

Abstract

Emanuele Severino’s latest book on Giacomo Leopardi’s writings, In viaggio con Leopardi: La partita sul destino dell’uomo, is seen as a ‘match’ between the Black Knight (Leopardi) and the White Knight (Western tradition) to halt the imminent destruction of mankind. A third player emerges, who, however, does not participate in the match but is capable of recognizing the catastrophic direction the game is taking, that is, threatening Western civilization itself.