Chapter 15

[351]See especially the preface to Aristotle, vol. i. 1495; vol. v. 1498.

[352]See Preface toThesaurus Cornucopiæ, quoted by Didot, p. 80; and cf. pp. 210, 221, 521, for further hints about selfish bibliomaniacs, who tried to hoard their treasures from the public and refused them to the press. Aldo, as a genuine lover of free learning, and also as a publisher, detests this class of men.

[353]See Pannizzi's tract on 'Francesco da Bologna,' published by Pickering, 1873. He was probably Francia the painter.

[354]In a letter to Marcello Virgilio Adriani, the teacher of Machiavelli, he mentions some books 'Cum aliis quibusdam communes,' as distinguished from others which were his private property. Didot, p. 233.

[355]On the subject of patents, privileges, and monopolies see Didot, pp. 79, 166, 189, 371, 479-481.

[356]Μουσαῖον τὸν παλαιότατον ποιητὴν ἠθέλησα προοιμιάζειν τῷ τε Ἀριστοτέλει καὶ τῶν σοφῶν τοῖς ἑτέροις αὐτίκα δι’ ἐμοῦ ἐντυπησομένοις. Thisπρόδρομος, or precursor, appeared without a date; but it must have come out earlier than 1494.

[357]John Lascaris had edited four plays of Euripides for Alopa in 1496. This Aldine edition contained eighteen, one of which, theHercules Furens, turned up while vol. ii. was in the press. TheElectra, not discovered till later on, was printed at Rome, 1545.

[358]TheAdagiawere first printed in 1500 at Paris by John Philippi. After the Aldine edition eleven were issued between 1509 and 1520 by Matthew Schürer, ten by Froben between 1513 and 1539, while seven or eight others appeared in various parts of Germany.

[359]See the passage quoted by Didot, pp. 297-299.

[360]Didot, pp. 147-151, 436-470, gives ample details concerning the foundation, constitution, and members of the Aldine Academy.

[361]We may compare the name of Melanchthon.

[362]A native of Rotino, in Crete (b. 1470, d. at Rome 1517). He acquired Latin so thoroughly that Erasmus wrote of him: 'Latinæ linguæ usque ad miraculum doctus, quod vix ulli Græco contigit præter Theodorum Gazam et Joannem Lascarem.' John Lascaris was his master.

[363]Etymologicon Magnum, 1499. Didot, pp. 544-578, may be consulted for information about this Greek press. Musurus boasts in his encomiastic verses that the work was accomplished entirely by Cretans.ἀναλώμασι Βλαστοῶ πόνῳ καὶ δεξιότητι Καλλιέργουin the colophon.

[364]There is some discrepancy about this Antonio between Renouard and Didot.

[365]'Sum ipse mihi optimus testis me semper habere comites, ut oportere aiunt, delphinum et anchoram; nam et dedimus multa cunctando, et damus assidue.' Preface to theAstronomici, dedicated to Duke Guidobaldo of Urbino, 1499. The observations of Erasmus on the motto deserve to be read with attention. See Didot, p. 299.

[366]See the passages from his letters and prefaces quoted and referred to onp. 239, above,note 2.

[367]The prospect of his visit to Milan in 1509 called forth these pretty April verses from Antiquari:—Aldus venit en, Aldus ecce venit!Nunc, O nunc, juvenes, ubique in urbeFlores spargite. Vere namque primoAldus venit en, Aldus ecce venit.

[367]The prospect of his visit to Milan in 1509 called forth these pretty April verses from Antiquari:—

[368]See above,p. 275, for his hatred of theβιβλιοτάφοι. He was the very opposite of Henri Estienne the younger, who closed his library against his son-in-law Casaubon.

[369]Didot, pp. 89, 299, 423.

[370]Priscian, at Erfurt, 1501;Alphabet,Batrachomyomachia, Musæus, Theocritus, Grammar of Chrysoloras, Hesiod'sWorks and Days, Paris, 1507; Aristotle onDivination by Dreams, Cracow, 1529; Lucian,περὶ διψάδων, Oxford, 1521, are among the earliest Greek books printed out of Italy. The grammars of the Greek humanists were frequently reprinted in the first quarter of the sixteenth century in Germany.

[371]Namque sub Œbaliæ memini me turribus altisQua niger humectat flaventia culta GalesusCoryciumvidissesenem.—Virg.Georg.lib. iv. 125.

[371]

[372]From the exordium to Valeriano's treatiseDe Infelicitate Literatorum.

[373]Lilius Gyraldus, in his dialogue 'De Poetis Nostri Temporis,'Opp.vol. ii. p. 384, mentions a critic who was so stupid as todesiderare in Pontano et si deis placet in Sanazario Christianam elocutionem, hoc est barbaram!

[374]SeeVol. I.,Age of the Despots, p. 145.

[375]He held this post under Julius II.

[376]The first Greek book printed in Rome, an edition of Pindar by Cornelius Benignius, 1515, issued from Chigi's press under the superintendence of Zacharias Kalliergos of Crete. Concerning this printer see Didot,Alde Manuce, pp. 544-578.

[377]The epitaph of Bella Imperia proves that the title of Hetæra was thought honourable: 'Imperia, Cortisana Romana, quæ digna tanto nomine, raræ inter homines formæ specimen dedit. Vixit a. xxvi. d. xii. ObiitMDXI., dieXV.Aug.' Berni'sCapitolo sopra un Garzonemay be referred to for the second half of the sentence.

[378]See Tiraboschi, vii. 1, lib. i. c. 2.

[379]SeeVol. I.,Age of the Despots, p. 342.

[380]Written 1504. First printed by Aldo, 1505.

[381]'De Guido Ubaldo Feretrio deque Elisabetha Gonzaga Urbini Ducibus.'

[382]Nam pol quâ proavusque avusque linguâSunt olim meus et tuus loquuti,Nostræ quâque loquuntur et sororesEt matertera nunc et ipsa mater,Nos nescire loqui magis pudendum est,Qui Graiæ damus et damus LatinæStudi tempora duplicemque curam,Quam Graiâ simul et simul Latinâ.Hac uti ut valeas tibi videndum est,Ne dum marmoreas remotâ in orâSumtu construis et labore villas,Domi te calamo tegas palustri.Carmina Quinque Illustrium Poetarum, p. 25.

[382]

[383]His most famous essays bore these titles:De Liberis InstituendisandDe Laudibus Philosophiæ.

[384]HisCommentary on the Romanswas placed upon the Index.

[385]Like the History of Guicciardini, it opens with the year 1494. It is carried down to 1547. A portion of the first decade was lost in the sack of Rome, and never rewritten by the author. Printed at Florence, 1550.

[386]Elogia Virorum literis illustrium, quotquot vel nostrâ, vel avorum memoriâ vixere, andElogia Virorum bellicâ virtute illustrium, Basel, 1557.

[387]De Piscibus Romanis, Rome, 1524.Ragionamento sopra i Motti e Disegni d'Arme e d'Amore.

[388]The titles of his philosophical works—De Studio divinæ et humanæ philosophiæ,De amore Divino,Examen vanitatis doctrinæ gentium et veritatis Christianæ disciplinæ,De rerum prænotione—show how closely he followed in the footsteps of Giovanni Pico.

[389]Joannis Francisci Pici Mirandolæ et Concordiæ Comitis Oratio ad Leon X. et Concilium Lateranense de reformandis Ecclesiæ moribus.

[390]Inghirami, made librarian 1510, died 1516. Beroaldo held the office two years, and died 1518. Acciaiuoli held it only for a few months. Aleander succeeded him in 1519.

[391]'Linguâ verius quam calamo celebrem ... dictus sui seculi Cicero,' says Erasmus. 'Affluentissimum eloquentiæ flumen' is Valeriano's phrase.

[392]See Burckhardt, p. 174. Roscoe'sLife of Leo X.vol. i. p. 357.

[393]See above,p. 86.

[394]Cf. Giovio, close of theElogia.

[395]Andreas Fulvius Sabinus Antiquarius, Antiquitates Urbis Romæ, 1527.Bartholomæus Marlianus, Eques D. Petri, Urbis Romæ Topographia, 1534.Jacobus Mazochius, Epigrammata antiquæ urbis Romæ, 1521.Johannis Pierii Valeriani Hieroglyphica seu de Sacris Ægyptiorum, &c., in his collected works, Ven. 1604.

[396]The architect of Verona who first edited Vitruvius, and was employed by Lorenzo de' Medici in collecting inscriptions for him at Rome.

[397]See above,p. 111.

[398]See Castiglione's verses.

[399]Terzo Commentario del Ghiberti, Frammenti Inediti, in Le Monnier's Vasari, vol. i. pp. xi.-xiii. I have paraphrased rather than translated the original, which is touching by reason of its naïveté.

[400]SeeVol. I.,Age of the Despots, p. 17.

[401]See Rosmini'sVittorino da Feltre, p. 63, note.

[402]See Ghiberti'sCommentario, in Le Monnier's Vasari, vol. i. p. xiv.

[403]Alberi,Relazioni Venete, serie ii. vol. iii. p. 114, &c.

[404]By a brief dated Aug. 27, 1515.

[405]It may be observed that he calls the round-arched buildings of the Middle Ages Gothic; the pointed style German.

[406]'When we reflect upon the divinity of those intellects of the old world ... when we see the corpse of this noble city, mother and queen of the world, so piteously mangled ... how many Pontiffs have allowed the ruin and defacement of ancient temples, statues, arches, and other buildings, the glory of their founders! How many have suffered their foundations to be undermined for the mere sake of quarryingpozzolana, whereby in a short time the buildings themselves have fallen to earth! How much lime has been made of statues and other antique decorations! I should not hesitate to say that the whole of this new Rome which now meets the eye, great as it is, and fair, and beautified with palaces and churches and other buildings, has been cemented with lime made from antique marbles.'

[407]Tot proceres Romam, tam longa struxerat ætas,Totque hostes et tot sæcula diruerant;Nunc Romam in Româ quærit reperitque Raphael;Quærere magni hominis, sed reperire Dei est.Celio Calcagnini.Quod lacerum corpus medicâ sanaverit arte,Hippolytum Stygiis et revocarit aquis,Ad Stygias ipse est raptus Epidaurius undas;Sic pretium vitæ mors fuit artifici.Tu quoque dum toto laniatam corpore RomamComponis miro, Raphael, ingenio,Atque urbis lacerum ferro, igne, armisque cadaverAd vitam antiquum jam revocasque decus,Movisti Superum invidiam; indignataque mors estTe dudum extinctis reddere posse animam,Et quod longa dies paullatim aboleverat, hoc teMortali spretâ lege parare iterum.Sic miser heu primâ cadis intercepte juventâ:Debere et morti nostraque nosque mones.Baldassare Castiglione.

[407]

[408]See Benvenuto Cellini, i. 31.

[409]Vol. I.,Age of Despots, App. V.

[410]Printed at Venice, 1620.

[411]'Quod Romæ, hoc est in sentinâ omnium rerum atrocium et pudendarum deprehensi fuerimus.' Quoted by Gregorovius,Stadt Rom, vol. viii. p. 598, note 3.

[412]Cf. Filelfo, quoted in a note to the next chapter, who says,'Tuscan is hardly known to all Italians, while Latin is spread far and wide throughout the whole world.'

[413]I purpose in this chapter to use theDelitiæ Poetarum Italorum, two parts divided into 4 vols., 1608;Carmina Quinque Illustrium Poetarum, Bergomi, 1753;Poemata Selecta Italorum, Oxonii, 1808; andSelecta Poemata Italorum, accurante A. Pope, Londini, 1740.

[414]Bonucci's edition of Alberti's works, vol. i. Alberti's own preface, in the form of a dedicatory letter to Lionello d'Este, describes how he came to write this comedy, and how it was passed off upon contemporaries as an original play by Lepidus Comicus.Ib.pp. cxxi.-cxxiii.

[415]See above,p. 254, for the purpose fulfilled by theSylvæ.

[416]'Of men the solace, and of gods the everlasting joy.'

[417]'As from the heavens we see the stars on all sides fleeing, when the golden torch of the sun-god rises, and the diminished moon appears to fade; so with his burning lamp Mæonides obscures the honours of the earlier bards. Him alone, while he sang the divine deeds of heroes, and with his lyre arrayed fierce wars, Apollo, wonder-struck, confessed his equal. Close at his side, or higher even, but for the veneration due to age, Vergil entones the song of arms and the hero—Vergil, to whom from holy tilth and pasture land both Ascra's and Sicilia's shepherds yield their sway with willing homage.'—Quinque Illustrium Poetarum Carmina, p. 167.

[418]'Far off into the tracts of air and high above the clouds soars Pindar, the Dircæan swan, whose tender mouth ye gentle bees with nectar fed, while the boy gave rest to weary limbs that breathed soft slumber. But him the maid of Tanagra derided, what time she told him that he sowed his myths from the whole sack to waste; and when he dared contend with her in song, she bore away the victor's palm, triumphant by Æolian moods, and by her seductive beauty too. He with his mighty voice, trained in the school of Agathocles, sang the crowns of Olympia and the garlands wherewith the Isthmus and Delphi, and the Nemean wastes that falsely claimed the moon-born monster, shade the athlete's brows. Then, like a torrent, with swelling soul, he passed to celebrate the powers and virtues of the gods and heroes, and poured forth pious lamentations for the dead. Him Phœbus, lord of Cirrha, honoured with food and drink from his altar, and made him guest-fellow at his own board: shepherds too saw Pan in lonely caverns charming the woods with a Pindaric song. At last, when he was old, and lay with his neck reclined upon the bosom of the boy he loved, soothing his soul in sleep, Proserpina with still right hand approached and took him straight to join the shades and pace Elysium's fragrant meads. Nay, more: long afterwards, the foeman's flames, which laid seven-gated Thebes in ruins far and wide, these names dared not to burn so great a poet's house; and his descendants, safe 'mid a thousand swords, learned that his ashes still were young through fame that lives for aye.'—Carmina, &c. p. 173.

[419]'Ninth among lyric bards, Æolian Sappho joins the crew; she who by flowing water plucks Pieria's rose for venturous Love to twine in wreaths for his own brow; who with her dulcet lyre sings fair Cyrinna's charms, and Megara, and Atthis and sweet Anactoria, and Telesippa of the flowing hair. And thee, too, Phaon, beautiful in youth's rathe flower, on thee she gazes, thee she calls again; such power to thee gave Venus for her freightage in thy skiff, or else the herb of love. Yet at the last, not wisely bold, she leaps into the Ambracian waves.'Ib.&c. p. 175.

[420]'Æschylus, smitten by a tortoise falling from the air above his head, and he whose triumph, justly won in old age, killed him with excess of joy, and he whose body, torn by raging hounds, the reverent earth of Pella hides.'—Carmina, &c. p. 176.

[421]Ib.p. 177.

[422]'Nor yet of this meed of honour would I cheat wing-bearing Dante, who flew through hell, through the starry heavens, and o'er the intermediate hill of purgatory beneath the beauteous brows of Beatrice; and Petrarch too, who tells again the tale of Cupid's triumph; or him who in ten days portrays a hundred stories, and lays bare the seeds of hidden love: from whom unmeasured fame and name are thine, by wit and wealth twice potent, Florence, mother of great sons!'—Ib.p. 178.

[423]'What other men call study and hard toil, that for thee shall be pastime; wearied with deeds of state, to this thou hast recourse, and dost address the vigour of thy well-worn powers to song: blest in thy mental gifts, blest to be able thus to play so many parts, to vary thus the great cares of thy all-embracing mind, and weave so many divers duties into one.'—Carmina, &c. p. 179.

[424]'Dialogus de Poetis nostri Temporis.'Opp.vol. ii. p. 388. Edition of Basle, 1580.

[425]'On themes like these I spent my hours of leisure in the grottoes of Fiesole, at the Medicean villa, where the holy hill looks down upon the Mæonian city, and surveys the windings of the distant Arno. There good Lorenzo gives his friends a happy home and rest from cares; Lorenzo, not the last of Phœbus' glorious band; Lorenzo, the firm anchor of the Muses tempest-tost. If only he but grant me greater ease, the inspiration of a mightier god will raise my soul; nor shall the lofty woods alone and mountain rocks resound my words; but thou—such faith have I—thou too shalt sometime hear, kind nurse of mine, nor haply scorn my song, thou, Florence, mother of imperial bards, and learned eloquence in three great tongues shall give me fame.'Carmina, &c. p. 196.

[426]'Nay, but for everlasting lives our poet's work, abides, and goes forth toward the ages late in time. So long as in the silent firmament the stars shall shine; so long as day shall rise from sun-burned Ind; so long as Phosphor runs before the wheels of light; so long as gloomy winter leads to spring, and summer to autumn; while breathing ocean ebbs and flows by turns, and the mixed elements put on their changing shapes—so long, for ever, shall endure great Maro's fame, for ever shall flow these rivers from his unexhausted fount, for ever shall draughts of learning be drawn from these rills, for ever shall these meadows yield their perfumed flowers, to pasture holy bees, and give the youthful Graces garlands for their hair.'—Carmina, &c. p. 207.

[427]'Supper was over; Orpheus awakes the lyre, and sings a melody to suit the tune he plays. The men were silent; the winds hushed; the rivers held their waters back to hear; the birds hung motionless in air; and the wild beasts grew calm. From the cliffs the oaks run down with listening ears, and the top of Pelion nods his barren head. And now the bard had soothed the whole world with his mother's song; when he ceased from singing and put down the thrilling lyre. This bold Achilles seizes; he runs his fingers o'er the strings, and chaunts an untaught lay, the simple boy. What was his theme? you ask. He praised the singing of the gentle guest, the mighty murmurs of that lyre divine. The Minyæ laughed; but yet, so runs the tale, even all too sweet, Orpheus, to thee was the boy's homage. Just so my praise of mighty Maro's name, if faith be not a dream, gives joy to Maro's self.'—Carmina, &c. p. 197.

[428]'We also, therefore, with glad homage dedicate to him this garland twined of Pieria's flowers, which Ambra, loveliest of Cajano's nymphs, gave to me, culled from meadows on her father's shores; Ambra, the love of my Lorenzo, whom Umbrone, the horned stream, begat—Umbrone, dearest to his master Arno, Umbrone, who now henceforth will never break his banks again.'—Carmina, &c. p. 224.

[429]Cf. Juvenal,Satire, i. 9-14; vii. 81-87. Persius,Satire, i. 79-82. And cf. Petronius Arbiter for a detailed picture of these Roman recitations.

[430]Carmina Quinque, &c. pp. 250, 272, 276.

[431]The epitaphs on Giotto, Lippo Lippi, the fair Simonetta, and others, are only valuable for their historic interest, such as that is.

[432]I shall quote from hisCollected Poems, Aldus, 1513.

[433]See the Elegy of Sannazzaro on the writings of Pontanus,Poemata Selecta, pp. 1-4, and Fracastoro'sSyphilis, ib. p. 72.

[434]Delitiæ Poetarum Italorum, pt. ii. pp. 668-712. Specimens may also be read in thePoemata Selecta Italorum, pp. 1-24.

[435]See, for instance, the tale of Hylas, lib. v. p. 103; the tale of Cola Pesce, lib. iv. p. 79; the council of the gods, lib. i. p. 18; the planet Venus, lib. i. p. 5.

[436]Lib. v. pp. 105-108. 'For thee I hung the house with wreaths; and thy twin sisters poured forth Syrian perfumes at the marriage chamber. What for our garlands and our perfumes hast thou left? Days without light, nights without a star, long sleepless nights.'

[437]'Fame herself, seated by my tomb with golden raiment, mighty-mouthed, mighty-voiced, with mighty wings, shall spread abroad among the people my names with mighty sound of praise, and carry through the centuries my titles, and with my glory shall resound applauding airs of heaven; renowned through everlasting ages Jovian shall live.'

[438]'Lilius Gyraldus,' loc. cit. p. 384, writes about this epic, 'in quibus, ut sic dicam, statarius poeta videri potest. Non enim verborum volubilitate fertur, sed limatius quoddam scribendi genus consectatur, et limâ indies atterit, ut de illo non ineleganter dictum illud Apellis de Protogene Pontanus usurpare solitus esset, eum manum de tabulâ tollere nescire.'

[439]SeeDelitiæ Poetarum Italorum, second part, pp. 713-761. The following couplet on the death of Cesare Borgia is celebrated:—Aut nihil aut Cæsar vult dici Borgia; quidni?Cum simul et Cæsar possit et esse nihil.

[439]SeeDelitiæ Poetarum Italorum, second part, pp. 713-761. The following couplet on the death of Cesare Borgia is celebrated:—

[440]'When Neptune beheld Venice stationed in the Adriatic waters, and giving laws to all the ocean, "Now taunt me, Jupiter, with the Tarpeian rock and those walls of thy son Mars!" he cried. "If thou preferrest Tiber to the sea, look on both cities; thou wilt say the one was built by men, the other by gods."'

[441]See above,p. 288.

[442]Bombycum; Libri duo. Scacchia, Ludus; Liber unus.Pope'sPoemata Italorum, vol. i. pp. 103-130; pp. 190-210. The former poem is addressed to Isabella Gonzaga, née d'Este.

[443]Poemata Selecta, pp. 207-266. It will be remembered that Francis I., after Pavia, gave his two sons as hostages to Charles V.

[444]'Thou, Francis, art the first to answer to my call. Scorn not the sacred Muses, scion of a royal line, to whom the sceptre of the kings of Gallia in due season of maturity will pass. Their sweetness even now shall yield thee some slight solace, exiled from home and fatherland by fate impiteous on the Spanish shore, thee and thy brother Henry. So the fortunes of thy mighty-hearted father willed, condemned to strive against unequal doom. Yet spare thy tears: perchance hard fate will soften, and a day of supreme joy will come at last, when, after thy sad exile, once more given to thy nation, thou shalt behold thy country's gladness, and hear the shouts of all her cities and the ringing songs of happiness, and mothers shall perform their vows for thy return. Meanwhile let the maidens of Pieria attend thee; and, with me for guide, ascend into the groves of high Parnassus.'

[445]tibi digna supellexVerborum rerumque paranda est, proque videndaInstant multa prius, quorum vatum indiget usus.Poemata Selecta, p. 209.

[445]

[446]After mentioning the glories of Virgil, Vida adds:—Sperare nefas sit vatibus ultra.Nulla mora, ex illo in pejus ruere omnia visa,Degenerare animi, atque retro res lapsa referri.Hic namque ingenio confisus posthabet artem;Ille furit strepitu, tenditque æquare tubarumVoce sonos, versusque tonat sine more per omnes;Dant alii cantus vacuos, et inania verbaIncassum, solâ capti dulcedine vocis.Poemata Selecta, p. 213. Cf. the advice (p. 214) to follow none but Virgil:—Ergo ipsum ante alios animo venerare Maronem,Atque unum sequere, utque potes, vestigia serva.

[446]After mentioning the glories of Virgil, Vida adds:—

Poemata Selecta, p. 213. Cf. the advice (p. 214) to follow none but Virgil:—

[447]Dona deûm Musæ: vulgus procul este profanum.Poemata Selecta, p. 224; and again,ib.p. 226:—Tu Jovis ambrosiis das nos accumbere mensis;Tu nos diis æquas superis, &c.

[447]

Dona deûm Musæ: vulgus procul este profanum.

Poemata Selecta, p. 224; and again,ib.p. 226:—

[448]'Ye native gods of Rome! and thou, Apollo, Troy's founder! by whom our race is raised to heaven! let not at least this glory be withdrawn from Latium's children: may Italy for ever hold the heights of art and learning, and most beauteous Rome instruct the nations; albeit all success in arms be lost, so great hath grown the discord of Italia's princes. Yea, one against the other, we draw bloody swords, nor feel we any shame in calling foreign tyrants into our own land.'—Poemata Selecta, p. 245.

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