Aldus Mannuccius Bassianas Latinus Catharinae Piae principi clarissimae ac prudentissimae salutem plurimam dicit,
{1} Quanti apud me sint Albertus Leonellusque liberi tui, quos nuper mihi erudiendos tradidisti, atque quanto ego amore, quantaque eos benivolentia prosequar, potes vel ex hoc facile perspicere, Catharina Princeps, Heroidum aetatis nostrae longe prudentissima, quod parum illud quod datur otii (nam multis negotiis impeditus vix quatuor horae ad summum suppeditare quotidie meo studio possum) non ad meam utilitatem, ut sane plerique facerent, legendo consumo, sed in aliquo potius scribendo componendoque opusculo in disciplina grammatices quod sit erudiendis liberis accomodatum. Quod si ita est, necne, alter qui melius sciat quam tu non facile inveniri potest.
{2} En de accentibus et Latinis et Graecis opusculum, quod nuper conscripsimus tibique donavimus, ut a te pueris non modo legendum, sed etiam ediscendum offeratur et donetur tuis. Quae cum digna mihi res, tum ipsis pernecessaria videbatur. Non enim parum fructus et splendoris habet secundum accentus recta pronunciatio et moderatio dictionum. Qua cum indigere liberos tuos animadverterem, ipsis deesse non volui, qui de accentu scriberem aliquid, quod ad evitandum barbarismum magno eis adiumento foret. In qua re conficienda quantum laboris et difficultatis sustinuimus, quoniam opus fuit ut plurimos et Graecos et Latinos libros evolveremus, ipse mihi sum optimus testis. Certe multum elaboravimus.
{3} Conscripsimus perpaucis ante diebus grammaticas Latinae linguae Institutiones, nec non de componendis carminibus opusculum, panagyricos quoque Musarum versus, quos illae de Alberti laudibus alternis concinunt–quibus omnibus, ut nosti, donavimus Albertum nostrum, adiuncto etiam libello Graeco, ut Graecas etiam litteras una cum nostris edisceret itaque pariter iret, ut neutra lingua, ut quemadmodum praecipit Quintilianus, alteri officerent. Quod eo etiam feci libentius, quoniam tibi, praeexcellenti ingenio Principi, atque habenti, cum plurimis in rebus, tum in re quoque litteraria et acre et subtile iudicium, gratissimum me facturum sciebam, si clara et egregia indole praeditis et te clarissima matre sane quam dignis pueris tuis aliquem libellum Graecum tamquam isagogicum scriberem. Quos tu non exculta solum, sed perfecta quoque litteratura fore desideras, quam nemini ex hominibus nostris absque aliqua Graecarum litterarum cognitione, mira quadam tui ingenii bonitate, cognoscis non posse contingere, contra quorundam indoctorum hominum stultam opinionem, qui nihil aut certe parum existimant necessarias esse Graecas litteras hominibus nostris. Qui quam recte sentiant viderint qui intelligunt: certe errant vehementer. Quomodo enim qui Graece nescit Graecos imitari auctores potest, in omni disciplinarum genere quam doctissimos? A quorum fontibus quicquid fore est laude dignum in linguam Latinam constat derivatum; qui tanta elegantia, tanto artificio, tam mirabili subtilitate omnia tractaverunt, ut Flaccus in Arte Poetica Graecos non iniuria admiratus, sic de Graecorum ingenio scripserit:
Graiis ingenium, Graiis dedit ore rotundo
Musa loqui, praeter laudem nullius avaris.
Et in eadem:
Vos exemplaria Graeca
Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna.
{4} Accedunt nostrae sententiae alii plurimi, tam huius, quam antiquae aetatis et docti et clari viri. Sed, ut novos missos faciamus, nonne Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, Latinae linguae peritissimus, hoc idem in primo De Oratoria Institutione sentire videtur, cum dicit. ‘A sermone Graeco puerum incipere malo, quia Latinus compluribus in usu est, vel nobis nolentibus se perhibet, simul quia disciplinis quoque Graecis simul instruendus est, unde et nostrae fluxerunt?’ Et paulo post subiungit: ‘non longe itaque Latina subsequi debent et cito pariter ire. Ita fiet, ut, cum aequali cura linguam utramque tueri coeperimus, neutra alteri officiat.’ Nonne etiam Priscianus, grammaticorum omnium meo quidem iudicio accuratissimus, confirmat sententiam nostram? Qui librum suum, qui est thesaurus grammaticae disciplinae, hoc modo incepit: ‘cum omnis eloquentiae doctrinam et omne studiorum genus sapientiae luce praefulgens, a Graecorum fontibus derivatum, Latinos proprio sermone invenio celebrasse et in omnibus illorum vestigia consecutos artibus video etc.’ Postea subiungit: ‘conatus sum pro viribus meis Graecorum praecepta virorum, quae congrua visa sunt, in Latinum transferre sermonem.’
{5} Quid dicam de Cicerone nostro, doctissimorum quidem omnium consensu parente Romanae eloquentiae? Qui Athenas omnium liberalium artium inventrices dixit quique in eo libro, qui est scriptus ad Marcum Ciceronem filium de Officiis, cum philosophiae Athenis incumberet sub Cratippo principe illius aetatis philosophorum, filium ut cum Latinis Graeca coniungeret, quoniam conduceret plurimum, suo sic monuit: ‘tamen ipse ad meam utilitatem semper cum Graecis Latina coniunxi, neque id in philosophia solum, sed etiam in dicendi exercitationem feci: idem tibi censeo faciendum, ut par sis in utriusque orationis facultate.’
{6} Vide igitur, quam recte tu sentias, acri ingenio Princeps atque magnum clarae et magnificae tuae gentis decus, Catherina Pia, si liberos tuos non Latine solum, sed etiam Graece scire desideras, multorum exemplo et clarorum virorum. Adde, quod, quantum divitiis et dignitate, tantum moribus et doctrina vis eos ceteris praestare hominibus nec imitandos esse ducis nostrae aetatis principes, qui, quanto digniores potentioresque sunt, eo etiam a bonarum artium discpilinis magis alieni. Non sic Romanos illos rerum dominos, non ipsos barbaros quondam, quos tu dignos imitatione existimas, fecisse constat. Illi quidem liberalibus disciplinis eo ardentius maioreque animo incumbebant, quo et ditiores et dignores erant. Quod cum alii innumerabiles viri tam clarissimi quam potentissimi facere consueverunt, tum Ptolomaeus ille Philadelphus, vir quidem doctissimus, qui etiam bibliothecam nominatissimam fecit atque etiam Mithridates, rex Ponti, qui duarum et viginti gentium, quas sub ditione habuit, linguas percalluit quemque medicinae rei perquam peritum fuisse commemorant, unde adhuc huius regis antidotus celebratissima est, quae Mithridatios appellatur.
{7} His adde Philippum, Macedoniae regem, qui quamquam omni ferme tempore negotiis belli victoriisque affectus exercitusque esset, a liberali tamen Musa et studiis humanitatis nunquam abfuit. Immo tanti faciebat bonas litteras, ut ad Aristotelem philosophum, nato sibi Alexandro, qui a rebus magnifice gestis Magnus postea cognomento est appellatus, sic scriberet:
Ἀριστοέλει τò χαίρειν.
Ἲσθι μοι γεγονὀτα υἱὸν. Πολλὴν οὖν τοῖς θεοῖς χάριν ἔχω, οὖκ ὃυτως ἐπί τῇ γενέσει τοῦ παιδός, ὡς ἐπὶ τῷ κατὰ τὴν σὴν ἡλικίαν ἀυτὸν γεγονέναι. ἐλπίζω γὰρ, ἀυτὸν ὑπὸ σοῦ τραφέντα καί παιδευθέντα, ἄζιον ἐσεσθαι καὶ ἡμῶν καὶ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων διαδοχῆς.
Quod sic exponi Latine potest:
Philippus Aristoteli salutem plurimam dicit.
Scias mihi natum esse filium, quare diis habeo gratiam, non solum quia natus est, verum etiam quia eum nasci contigit temporibus tuis. Spero enim ipsum a te eductum eruditumque et nobis et rerum nostrarum successione dignum futurum.
{8} Vide, quanti a rege illo potentissimo prudentissimoque doctrina ac virtus aestimabatur, quod ob id potissimum sibi natum esse filium gaudebat, quoniam doceri ab Aristotele posset, qui floruit temporibus illis.
{9} Nec tamen ipse Alexander omittendus est, qui fuit et patre Philippo dignus filius et Aristotele praeceptore discipulus, qui copiisne atque opulentiis, an doctrina ceteros anteire maluerit, ostendit his verbis in epistola ad praeceptorem:
Ἀλέξανδρος Ἀριστοτέλει ἐῦ πράττειν,
Ὀυκ ὀρθῶς ἐποίησας, ἐκδοὺς τοὺς ἀκροαματικοὺς τῶν λόγων. Τίνι γάρ ἐτι διοίσομεν ἡμεῖς τῶν ἄλλων, εἰ καθ’ οὓς ἐπαιδεύθημεν λόγους, οὗτοι πάντων ἔσονται κοινοί; ἐγω δέ βουλοίμην ἂν ταῖς περὶ τὰ ἄριστα επειρίαις, ἤ ταῖς δυνάμεσι διαφέρειν. ἔρρωσο.
Paraphrasis superioris epistolae:
Alexander Aristoteli salutem dicit
Libros de Auscultatione Physica edidisse te sane moleste fero. Nam in qua item re erimus nos praestantiores caeteris, si eas, quibus eruditi sumus, disciplinas communes omnibus feceris? Malim equidem optimis disciplinis omnes, quam facultatibus antecellere. Vale.
Magnifica quidem vox et Alexandro invictissimo rege et sapientissimo digna, qui divitias virtute multo inferiores esse putabat.
{10} Quid dicam, de Romanis nostris, et de Iulio Caesare in primis, qui aeque in litteris atque in armis claruit? Quod ita sit, an minime, testes sunt eius commentarii, quos ille fecit, rerum suarum, ut relinqueret materiam volentibus de se scribere; sed tantae eloquentiae habiti sunt, ut nemo illos nec mutare nec aliquid iis addere aut minuere ausus sit. Quid item de Licinio Crasso Muciano, quem Romanae historiae scriptores quinque rerum maxima habuisse tradunt: quod esset ditissimus, quod nobilissimus, quod eloquentissimus, quod iurisconsultissimus, quod pontifex maximus? Quid de Gnaeo Planco, quem eius epistolae ad Ciceronem indicant fuisse non minus eloquentem, quam Cicero ipse fuerit? Quid de Asinio Pollione, de Maecenate, de Augusto Caesare deque multis aliis, quos enumerare tum difficile, tum etiam supervacaneum esset? Qui etsi erant nobiles et clarissimi viri ac principes, tamen et litteris accurate operam dabant et studiosos viros ita fovebant atque suis opibus adiuvabant, ut plerosque temporibus illis ex infima fortuna claros admodum et poetas et oratores evasisse latissime pateat necnon in ordinem senatorium atque ad summos honores processisse.
{11} Nostro autem tempore unum tantum vidimus, qui nuper excessit e vita, Federicum Urbini Ducem, qui pariter et armorum et liberalium disciplinarum gloria excelluit quique bonas artes tanta fuit benevolentia prosecutus, quod bibliothecam etiam quam magnificentissimam sibi construxit, in qua quidem comparanda circiter quadraginta millia nummum aureorum exposuit, longe etiam plura impensurus, nisi illum mors crudelis et inexorabilis invidisset hominibus studiosis. O iacturam grandem, o factum male, o damnum irreparabile! Tantum profecto hominem mori nunquam oportuisset, quem quidem unum ex principibus nostra aetate doctissimum extitisse mirabile est. Quamquam illum Iohannes Picus, Princeps inclitus germanusque tuus, longe quidem doctrina et bonarum artium cognitione antecellit, qui est tanto ingenio tantaque doctrina, ita ut se iam toti orbi notum fecerit. Non licet hoc loco, ubi de principibus sermo est in omnium bonarum artium disciplinis egregiis, qui temporibus nostris pauci admodum sunt, Petrum Baroccium praeterire, patricium Venetum per quam nobilem ac Patavinum Episcopum, summa veneratione summoque honore dignissimum, cuius laudum principium facile quidem inventu est, exitus vero apprime difficilis. Hic profecto Romanae linguae sanequam doctus, si prosa oratione scribit, copiosus est, ornatus, gravis; si quando se ad carmen et mansuetiores musas refert, tersus est ac dulcis, itaque excultus et doctus, ut cum antiquis quoque illis doctissimis certare videatur. Est etiam medicinae rei et simplicium maxime non ignarus atque etiam geometra maximus, item in disciplina iuris et pontificii et civilis excellentissimus. Sed sentio, quam angusto ambitu orationis summam huius principis doctrinam virtutemque complectar; non enim epistola digna est, sed immenso volumine. Praeterea cum sit summo ingenio princeps summaque continentia et humanitate, amplius antistes iustissimus, episcopus sanctissimus, in tuenda servandaque Salvatoris nostri Christi Iesu religione aptissimus, accuratissimus, optimus: non a meo ingenio, quod sentio quam sit exiguum, verum a summo et, quam meum, longe maiore posteritati tradendus est. Nec item Hermolaus Barbarus, patricius Venetus, vir aetate nostra rerum omnium impense doctus, est silentio praetermittendus. Hunc certe Licinio Crasso Muciano, de quo nuper meminimus, longe quidem rerum maximarum numero praestare facile cognosci potest. Lucium Crassum quinque rerum maxima habuisse historiae traditum est; Hermolaum vero, bone Deus, non modo quinque, sed etiam bis quinque et plura quoque habere conspicimus. De hoc enim dicere vere possumus: quod sit ditissimus, quod nobilissimus, quod eques clarissimus, quod et Graecae et Romanae linguae peritissimus, quod in cognitione simplicium medicinae excellentissimus, quod item eloquentissimus, quod iurisconsultissimus, quod philosophus maximus, quod astrologus summus, quod inter primos magistratus Venetos ornatissimus, quod homo optimus, quod, etsi iuvenis, etiam castissimus; adde quod Zacharia patre, viro dignissimo equiteque illustri ac Marci Evangelistae procuratore integerrimo, filius dignissimus. His atque aliis rerum maximis ornatus Hermolaus lumen est ac decus Veneti potentissimi illustrissimique Senatus.
{12} Tu autem cum ea sis, quae et virtutem diligas mirum in modum et nihil cupias magis, quam ut optimum quemque atque doctissimum virum sibi imitandum liberi eligant tui seque ad illorum imaginem comparent, qui mirabiliter in laude vixerunt: non dubito, quin cum clarissimis atque iis, quos connumeravimus, viris sint merito conferendi. Quamobrem perge, ut coepisti, quandoquidem cum prudentia tua, quae est quidem maxima, tum his filiis superabis omnium fortunas. Me autem, ut de me loquar, habebis, cui aeque cari sint, atque fuerint patri; tibique persuadeas velim quantum viribus eniti, consilio admonere, studio et doctrina iuvare potuero, hoc commune Alberto Leonelloque magnificis liberis tuis semper futurum. Vale.
Notes to the Text
comparent Berlin : componant Schück
Translation
Aldus Manuccius the Latin from Bassiano warmly greets Catarina Pia, most famous and wise princess,
{1} Princess Catarina, the most learned of the Heroines of our day by far, you can easily perceive how much I esteem your children, Alberto and Leonello, whom you recently entrusted to me to be educated, and with how much love, how much good will, I attend to them from the fact that I do not spend the small bit of leisure that I have (for I am so weighed down by my various commitments that I am hardly able to cobble together four hours a day for my own study) by reading for my own benefit, as most people do, but rather in writing, composing a small work in the study of Grammar with an eye the education of your sons, but it would not be easy to find someone, other than you, who is in a better position to know if this true or not.
{2} Behold that little book about Latin and Greek accents, which I recently put together and gave to you so that you could give it to your sons not just to read, but to learn by heart. This subject seems as worthy to me as it is critical to them. The right pronunciation and moderation of speech according to the accents holds no shortage of benefit and glory. Since I have noticed that your sons require such, I have not wished to fail them, and have written a little something concerning accents which might be a great help in avoiding barbarisms. As to how much work and hardship I took on in completing it, since I needed to pore over quite a few books in Greek and Latin, I am my own best witness. I certainly took great pains to complete it.
{3} A few days ago, I finished a Grammar of the Latin language, not to mention a little book on composing poetry, as well as panegyric verses by the Muses, which they take turns singing in lyric praise of Alberto. All of these, as you know, I dedicated to our Alberto, with a small Greek book added as well so that he might learn Greek letters along with ours and thus progress evenly, neither language hindering the progress of the other, as Quintilian teaches us. I was all the more pleased with my work because I knew that it would ingratiate me to you, a Princess exceeding all in talent, with subtle and sharp judgement concerning most things, not least in literary matters, if I composed a Greek book as a kind of introduction for your boys, who are endowed with clear, outstanding, talent, and certainly worthy of such a famous mother. You desire these boys to have a knowledge of literature that is not simply educated, but entirely complete, and you recognize, by the miraculous excellence of your intellect, that this cannot be achieved by anyone without some understanding of Greek, contrary to that foolish opinion of certain ignorant men, who consider Greek letters to be of little or no use to our people. Let those who understand judge the correctness of those naysayers: they’re certainly wrong. How can authors who do not know Greek imitate the Greeks, the most learned in every discipline? From their sources flows everything worthy of praise in the Latin language. They handle everything with such elegance, such artfulness, such remarkable subtlety, that Flaccus in his Ars Poetica, enamored with the Greeks, and not without cause, wrote this:
The muse gave the Greeks, hungry for nothing but praise, the talent to speak with a well turned mouth.
And, further:
You must turn the exemplary works of Greece
In your hands day and night
{4} Many other learned and famous men, in this age and in antiquity, subscribe to my opinion, but, to set aside newer authors, doesn’t Quintilian, most experienced in the Latin language, seem to feel this same way in the first book of his Institutio Oratoria, when he says: “I prefer to begin a child with the Greek language for two reasons, because Latin is in common use for more people, and because it makes itself known, no matter what we do. Greek also must be taught, since where does our language come from?” And a little later he adds: “Latin must not follow far off and it should go equally fast. Make sure that we begin to examine each language with equal care. Let neither language hold back the progress of the other.” Doesn’t Priscian, in my opinion the most accurate of all the grammarians, also agree with me? He begins his book, a treasure trove for the study of grammar, like this: “Since I find Latins proclaiming in their own language that the method of every type of rhetoric, as well as every kind of study that shines by the light of wisdom, is derived from Greek sources, and since I see that they have followed the footsteps of the Greeks in every discipline,” etc. He later adds: “I have tried with all my strength to translate into Latin the Greek teachings that seemed fitting.”
{5} Why should I even mention our Cicero, the parent of Roman eloquence in the eyes of every accomplished scholar? Cicero names Athens as the crucible of all liberal arts, and, in his De Officiis, addressed to his son Marcus while he was studying philosophy in Athens under Cratippus, the lead Philosopher of the age, he admonished him to combine his study of Latin and Greek since it would be most beneficial, and I quote: “Nevertheless, I myself have always combined Latin and Greek to my great benefit, and I have done this not only in philosophy but even in the practice of rhetoric. I think that you must do the same, so that you be equally fluent in either language.”
{6} See how right you are, Catarina Pia, Princess of sharp wit, credit to your magnificent race, since you desire that your sons know not only Latin, but also Greek, following the example of so many famous men. Add to this the fact that that you want them to be superior to others as much in character and upbringing as wealth and nobility and not to imitate the other princes of our time, who, the higher born and richer they are, the more unfamiliar they are to training in the good arts. Is it not agreed that the Romans, did not behave this way, those master statesmen, once themselves Barbarians, whom you consider to be worth imitating. The more effort and dedication they put into the liberal arts, the more wealthy and more worthy they were. In addition to the uncountable other men, as famous as they were powerful, who followed this custom, there was Ptolemy Philadelphus, a most learned man, who even built a library named after himself, and also Mithridates, the king of Pontus, who could speak the languages of the twenty two nations that he held under his command, and who was said to have completely mastered the art of medicine, whence comes the antidote, known even today, called Mithridatios.
{7} Add to these Philip, the king of Macedonia, who although he was caught up and engaged with the business and victories of war nearly all the time, was never absent from the liberal Muse and Humanistic study. He valued good letters so much that he wrote this letter to Aristotle upon the birth of his son Alexander, who would later be called “the Great” on account of his magnificent deeds:
Philip to Aristotle, greetings,
You should know that a child was born to me. I thank the gods very much, not so much because the child was born but because he was born during your lifetime. I certainly hope that, once he has been raised and educated by you, he will be worthy both of us and of the assumption of our work.
Which can be translated into Latin like this:
Philip sends his warmest greeting to Aristotle,
You know I had a son, for which reason I give thanks to the gods, not only because he was born but also because he happened to be born during your time. In fact, I hope that, educated and taught by you, he will be worthy both of us and of the inheritance of our household.
{8} See how much worth he ascribed to virtue and instruction by a king so capable and so wise, since he celebrated his son’s birth primarily on this account: that he had had a son that could be taught by Aristotle, who was eminent at that time.
{9} At the same time, Alexander himself should not be left out – he was a worthy son of his father Philip and a worthy pupil of his teacher Aristotle. He asked in this letter whether he should prefer to surpass others in wealth and luxury or in learning, and I quote:
“Alexander looks warmly on Aristotle,
You did not act rightly in publishing your esoteric doctrines. For whom will we surpass if everyone is familiar with the the arguments that we have learned? I would prefer to be notable for my learning about the highest things than for power alone. Farewell.
Paraphrasing the above letter:
Alexander to his dear Aristotle,
I certainly take offense to your publishing the Physics. For in what area will I be superior over others, if you make the teachings that I was brought up with common to all? I would certainly prefer to surpass everyone by having the best education than by having the most resources. Farewell.
A wonderful quote, and worthy of Alexander an unconquered and knowledgeable king, who thought riches much worse than virtue.
{10} What can I say about our Romans, and of Julius Caesar first of all, who had distinguished himself equally in literature and in warfare? His commentaries on his own history are the best witnesses as to the truth of that statement, commentaries which he wrote himself, of his own actions, so that he might leave behind subject matter for those who wanted to write about him, but which contain so much eloquence that no one would dare to either change them, add anything to them, or remove anything from them. In the same vein, what about Licinius Crassus Mucianus, who, Roman historians say, possessed the five best things that anyone could have: he was extremely rich, he was the best lawyer, he was from the best family, he was the best orator and he was the chief high priest of the college of Pontiffs? And what about Gnaeus Plancus, whose letters to Cicero reveal him to be no less eloquent than Cicero himself? And what about Asinius Pollio, Maecenas, Augustus Caesar and many others that would be too difficult, and even redundant, to list here? In sum, although those men were noble and honorable, and princes besides, nonetheless, they carefully gave their resources to literature, supporting learned men and contributing to their wealth to such a degree that it is perfectly clear that very many people, in those days, rose from the humblest condition to become very famous, both as poets and orators, and even proceeded to the senatorial order and the highest honors.
{11} However, in our era, we have seen only one man, Frederico the Duke of Urbino, who recently passed away, whose fame was equally prominent both in arms and liberal arts. He pursued the good arts with such benevolence that he built the most splendid library for himself, in preparation for which he spent about forty thousand golden coins, with the intention of spending even more, if cruel and inexorable death had not denied him to the community of learned men. Oh great loss, oh foul deed, oh irretrievable damage! If only such a man had never had to die, the single most learned of our nobility whose existence in our age was a miracle. Yet, even he is surpassed in learning and understanding of the good arts by Giovanni Pico, an illustrious prince and your brother, a man who has so much natural talent and knowledge that he has made himself known the world over. At this point, since the discussion has turned to princes outstanding in the learning of all the good arts, a rare breed today, it is not right to leave out Pietro Barozzi, Venetian aristocrat and Bishop of Padua, worthy of the utmost admiration and respect. It is easy to find the start of his praises, but there is no end to them in sight. He is without a doubt an expert of Roman language, if he writes a prose oration, he is abundant, decorous and serious; if he turns himself toward poetry and gentler muses, he is elegant and sweet and so refined and erudite that he seems to compete even with the wisest authors of antiquity. Moreover, he is not unfamiliar with medical and natural remedies, as well as being the greatest mathematician and similarly excellent in canonical and civil law. I sorely feel how I have confined this prince’s most excellent learning and virtue to a narrow passage of speech. They are not worthy of a letter, but a massive tome. In any case, he should not be handed to posterity by my talent–I am all to familiar with how paltry it is–but by the greatest talent, one far better than mine, because, besides everything I have mentioned, he is a prince of the highest disposition, moderation and culture, an amply just master, a sacred bishop, and the most apt, accurate and excellent man to serve and look after the religion of Jesus Christ our Savior. Nor, likewise, does Ermolao Barbaro deserve to be silently passed over: a Venetian aristocrat, a man, in our time, exceedingly learned in every subject. It is easy to recognize that this man outstrips Licinius Crassus Mucianus, who we mentioned above, in the number of his great qualities. Indeed, it has been passed down to history that Licinius Crassus had five of the greatest attributes. We know that, on the other hand, Ermolao had, good God, not only five, but two times five and even more. In fact, we are able to speak about this truthfully: he is extremely rich, extremely noble, a distinguished horseman, extremely well versed both in Greek and Latin, excellent in knowledge of medical remedies, at the same time extremely eloquent, an excellent jurist, a great philosopher, the ultimate astrologer, the most distinguished amongst the best Venetian lawyers, an excellent man and, although young, a very chaste man; add to this the fact that he was the most worthy son of his father Zaccaria, an extremely proper man, himself a distinguished horseman and an incorruptible representative of Mark the Evangelist. Hermolao, decorated with these and other great things, is the light and glory of the extremely powerful and illustrious Venetian Senate.
{12} Since you are the kind of person who loves virtue to a wondrous degree, desiring nothing more than that your sons select the best and most learned model and measure themselves against the template of those who lived miraculously in the light of praise, I do not doubt that they should deservingly be brought together with those famous men whom I just listed. For this very reason, press on as you began, seeing that, as much as you will surpass the everyone else’s prosperity in your cleverness, which is the greatest, you also do so with these children. If I may talk about myself for a moment, you also have me, to whom these boys are just as dear as if I were their father. I want you to persuade yourself that as much as I am able to accomplish with my strength, advise with my intellect, and help with my enthusiasm and learning, all of this will always be at the disposal of Alberto and Leonello, your amazing sons. Farewell.
Notes to the Translation:
Aldus Manuccius: This spelling of Aldus’ last name is common among his early letters. The adoption of the more Latinate “Manutius” later displays his increased investment in antiquarian convention as he rose to prominence as a printer of ancient texts.
The Latin: This epithet Latinus either reflects his current profession as an instructor in Latin, or is derived from his birthplace Bassiano, which is in the province of Lazio, making Aldus technically ‘a Latin.’ Manutius later adopts Romanus as his descriptor of choice, despite living in Venice, reflecting his increasing interest in recreating and participating in a society steeped in the wisdom of the ancient Romans.
Caterina Pia…princess: Caterina Pico della Mirandola was the sister of Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola, the famous humanist. She married Leonello Pio I, the lord of Carpi, and had three children by him, Caterina, Leonello II, and Alberto III. Aldus Manutius served as a tutor for the two boys in the early part of his career. After the death of her husband in 1477, Caterina managed the affairs of Carpi for her young son Alberto until her marriage to Rodolfo Gonzaga around 1484. Heinrich Bühler, in his 1955 article The First Aldine, notes that, since the letter is addressed to Caterina Pia, not Gonzaga the letter was probably written in the intervening period between Leonello Pio’s death and Catarina’s remarriage. He explains away the reference to Pietro Barozzi as bishop of Padua, discussed below, as an addition at the time of printing by Aldus, who, despite being comfortable with this small change, perhaps thought that changing Caterina’s name would remove important context for the letter.
By far the most learned of the Heroines of our day: This epithet, Heroidum aetatis nostrae longe prudentissima, raises a great many issues with respect to memory, exemplarity, and gender in this period and in Aldus’ work as a whole. Here Aldus is making reference to the Heroides, written by Ovid in the first century BCE, which ventriloquizes mythic women in a series of epistolary poems. Prudentissima–clever, skilled– can be read as either genuinely complementary or as a backhanded compliment, whether intentionally so or not. The adjective denotes practical knowledge, the sphere of knowledge that would most benefit a woman tasked with running a household, rather than the wisdom denoted by the word sapiens. Aldus’ choice of this adjective, rather than erudita or docta, is perhaps a gendered one. Prudens also lends a tinge of irony to the reference to the Heroides. The subjects of Ovid’s poems were frequently women abandoned by mythic heroes, women who had decidedly not been prudent, at least within the moral framework set up by the poet. The qualifier aetatis nostrae, of our time, perhaps casts an unfavorable judgement on the other noblewomen in Aldus’ social circle, with Caterina Pia coming out on top. It is also worth noting that, if the putative date of this letters’ composition is correct, Caterina Pia has been “abandoned” by her husband Leonello, who had died prior to its composition, leaving Caterina to manage the household and protect the young heir, her son Alberto, from her late husband’s relatives, a task where being prudens would be especially helpful.
Little book about Greek and Latin Accents…Grammar of the Latin language…Little book on composing poetry…Verses in praise of the Muses…Small Greek book: Out of the five books Aldus lists here, only two are available today: the Institutiones Grammaticae, which is his Latin grammar, and the Musarum Panegyris, which is the poem that this letter follows, as discussed in the introduction. Few traces remain of the remaining three books, which were probably composed as pamphlets to aid in Aldus’ teaching duties at Carpi. In the prefatory letter to the Institutiones, addressed to Alberto Pio, he does make mention of exercitamenta grammatices atque utrius linguae fragmenta et alia quaedam valde (ut spero) placitura, which could refer to these works. It seems as though he never published them. However, in a letter from November 8th, 1565 written by his son Paolo to Mario Corrado, we can obtain a clue as to their ultimate fate:
Fragmenta patris mei quod requiris apud me nulla sunt. Furto ablata, quo ille tempore vita excessit, creditum est.
I no longer have those “Fragmenta” of my father that you are asking for. It is believed that they were stolen when he passed away.
(cf. Bateman Aldus Manutius’ “Fragmenta Grammatica”)
Certain ignorant men: Simon Goldhill, in his essay Who Needs Greek?, chronicles the initial resistance to Greek pedagogy in the Renaissance, which, he contends, was motivated by a fear that Greek would displace Latin as the language of the clergy.
Flaccus in his Ars Poetica: Horace Ars Poetica ll. 323-325, and ibid. ll. 268-269
Quintilian…Institutio Oratoria: Quintilian Institutio Oratoria 1.12, which, emended differently in modern editions, reads: “…quia Latinum qui compluribus in usu est vel nobis nolentibus perbibet. …because [the child] will thoroughly imbibe latin, which is in common use, even if we don’t want it to happen.”
Priscian: Priscian Institutiones Grammaticae 1.1.
Cicero…De Officiis: Cicero De Officiis 1.1
Mithridatios: Mithridates VI was king of Pontus from 120 BCE until 63, when he was defeated by Pompey Magnus and his kingdom became a tributary of the Roman Empire. His famous immunity to poison, which ironically prevented his suicide (Cassius Dio, Roman History, XXXVII.13), was attributed to an antidote of his own design known as Mithridatium, as well as habitual consumption of poison (Pliny Natural History XXV.6-7). There are several ancient recipes for Mithridatium, none of which agree, (Celsus, De Medicina V.23.3 and Pliny, Natural History, XXIX.25 provide two good examples). Galen (De Theriaca ad Pisonem) had a version all his own and called this type of medicine a “theriac,” the origin of the English word “treacle.” Theriacs, most commonly Venetian treacle, continued to be used until the 18th century (“Venetian Treacle and the Foundation of Medicines Regulation” (2004) by J. P. Griffin, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 58(3), 317-325.)
Phillip to Aristotle, Greetings: Aldus here cites this letter from Aulus Gellius Noctes Atticae 9.3. However, he provides his own translation, instead of the one provided by Gellius. Curt Bühler, in his article The First Aldine, speculates that this is to prove his skill at translation to his patron Caterina.
Alexander to his dear Aristotle: This letter also appears in Gellius (Noctes Atticae 20.5), but Aldus could have read it in the introduction of Simplicius’ commentary to Aristotles Physics. For issues raised by these letters and their inclusion in said commentary see Markus Asper, Doing Commentary Ancient and Modern https://www.academia.edu/38915431/DOING_COMMENTARY_ANCIENT_AND_MODERN
Licinius Crassus Mucianus: A politician during the Roman Republic. He lived between 188 B.C. and 130 B.C. He was also appointed as high priest of pontiffs in 132 and consul in 131 with Lucius Valerius Flaccus.
Gnaeus Plancus: Aldus is referring to Lucius Munatius Plancus who was born in 87 ca B.C. and died in 15 B.C. He was a Roman senator, a consul and a censor in Rome. He is well known for having changed alliances throughout his lifetime and, for this, being able to survive in the uncertain Roman political climate. He is well known for his clever political maneuvers as well as his epistolary exchange, especially in the Renaissance. In fact, Aldus, in this letter, is making a reference to Plancus’s epistolary exchange with Cicero.
Federico Duke of Urbino: Federico da Montefeltro was born in Gubbio on June 7th 1422 and died in Ferrara on September 19th 1482. He was the Duke of Urbino and one of the most renowned warlord of the 15th century. He was not only famous for his war skills, but also for his strong interest in the patronage of literary and artistic talents during the Renaissance. Moreover, his library was famous for being the most supplied library in Italy, second only to the on e in the Vatican. He was one of few people who, during the 15th century, were able to conciliate the role of ruler and well rounded humanist. For this reason, he was well regarded not only by other rulers, but also by the Italian intellectual class of his time.
Pietro Barozzi: Barozzi was born in 1441 and died in 1507. He was a humanist and bishop, first in the city of Belluno in Northern Italy and then in Padova where he remained until his death. He was held in the highest regard both as a bishop and as an intellectual. He was known for his ascetic ideas, which were reflected in his major works such as: De modo bene moriendi; Consoladorii libri III; Officium ad deprecandam pestilentiam, ad impetrandam pluviam, ad aëris serenitatem poscendam. He is also known for a Vita Christi, a poem in Latin written in exameters. Julius Schück, in his 1819 book, fixed the date of the letter using a reference to Pietro Barozzi as the bishop of Padua. Barozzi, originally the bishop of Belluno, moved to Padua in May of 1487. Heinrich Bühler, in a 1955 article entitled The First Aldine, states that, although might seem to give a terminus post quem for the composition of the letter, the particular form of the address to Catarina Pia suggests otherwise, since she would have been Catarina Gonzaga by 1487. He does however, use Schück’s reasoning for dating the later publication of the letter in Venice, along with the Musarum Panagyris.
Ermolao Barbaro: Barbaro was born in 1453 and died in 1493. He was a Venetian humanist who taught philosophy in Padova. He was elected as a senator for the Republic of Venice. In 1490 he was nominated ambassador of the Republic of Venice at the papal court of Innocenzo VIII, who nominated him patriarch of Aquileia. However, for this reason he was removed from his role of ambassador and exiled from the Republic. This was due to on old law in Venice that prohibited ambassadors from accepting any gifts from rulers outside of the Republic of Venice.
Neo-Latin Lab 