Admired for the poetical heights of his Canti , the gentle wit of his prose dialogues and the soul-searching questionings of his Zibaldone ( Notebooks ), Leopardi was also an acute social commentator and a sharp dissector of the human mind. Thoughts - a collection of philosophical and critical observations put together for publication by Leopardi himself shortly before his death in 1837 - shows a more light-hearted side to Leopardi's personality,...