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Beatus Rhenanus
(1485 - 1547). Southern German humanist.
Testimonia:1) Beatus Rhenanus to Theodoricus Gresemundus. (Strassbourg, 12 January 1510)
Ed.: A. Horawitz and K. Hartfelder, Briefwechsel des Beatus Rhenanus (Leipzig 1886), no.13, p.28.
... Quare, praestantissime vir, cum tuum in investiganda antiquitate studium exploratum habeam, Pomponii Laeti de Romae antiquitatibus libellum mendorum ineluibilium non expertem nactus reliquis operibus adiiciundum curavi, ut cum velles, insignia urbis loca, quae ipse olim conspicatus es, in animum reduceres. Si quis tamen ob stili simplicitatem et quorundam inelegantem cohaerentiam Pomponii esse negarit, sciat, praeterquam quod vir ille castum magis quam phaleratum et tumidum sermonem semper amavit, hunc libellum ab eo non aeditum. Nam Sabellicus cum de elucubratis operibus in Vita loquitur, huius nusquam meminit. Iccirco aut adulterinum subdititiumque suspicari libet, aut ut memoriae forsan suffragaretur, non publicaret, hoc modo paulo inornatius concinnatum. Sed dicet alius, si Pomponius hanc illustrandae Romae vetustatis provinciam subiisset, quam nemo unquam diligentius observavit et veneratus est, plura attulisset, ut quondam P. Victor fecit. Respondeo Pomponium dirutae iam urbis amplitudinem magnificentiamque ex ruderibus solum collapsorumque aedificiorum ruinis indicare, at Publium Victorem urbem foelicissimo statu florescentem descripsisse. ...
Therefore, since I am well acquainted with your eagerness in exploring antiquity, I have chosen to add Leto's De Romae antiquitatibus libellus to the edition of the Opera omnia, even though it is not without heavy corruptions, so that you, if you should want to, may remind yourself of the monuments of Rome you have once seen. The authorship of Leto may seem doubtful because of the book's simple style and lack of coherence. Leto, however, preferred a chaste style to stiltedness and pomposity. Also the book has never been published by him, since Sabellico in his Life does not mention it amongst Leto's works. Therefore one might suspect it to be a forgery, or that Leto had written it not for publication, but just as an aide-memoire and therefore in a less ornate style. One might object that if Leto had written a description of Rome — a city which he knew closely and loved — surely he would have written a longer book, as Publius Victor has done. But Pomponius was restricted to indicating the greatness and splendor of the destroyed city from its ruins, while Victor described a flourishing city at its height.
2) Beatus Rhenanus to Willibald Pirkheimer (Bâle, 23 February 1518)
Ed.: A. Horawitz and K. Hartfelder, Briefwechsel des Beatus Rhenanus (Leipzig 1886), no.72, p.103.
Quam [sc. vetustatem Romanam] ne contaminarent, sic a sacris abstinuerunt, ut a Graecis olim Pomponius Laetus, ne Rhomanae linguae castimoniam violaret, homo superstitiose Rhomanus.
To preserve the purity of Roman Antiquity some Italian writers have kept away from religion, just as Leto avoided all things Greek so as not to contaminate the chastity of the Roman language, a devoutly Roman man.
3) Beatus Rhenanus to Lucas Bathodius (Selestad, 13 December 1520)
Ed.: A. Horawitz and K. Hartfelder, Briefwechsel des Beatus Rhenanus (Leipzig 1886), no. 187, p.259
Porro quando studiosus es antiquitatis, ex horum Panegyricorum lectione multum tibi cognitionis accedet. Nam quae de posterioribus imperatoribus ab historicis non tradita desiderantur, hinc nonnihil licet animadvertere, unde etiam verisimile est Pomponium Laetum Caesares suos locupletasse.
Since you have an interest in antiquity you can learn a lot from the Panegyrici, because some information about the later emperors not contained in the historians can be gleaned from them, whence Leto probably had enriched his Caesares.
Note: The Caesares are the Compendium Historiae Romanae ab interitu Gordiani usque ad Iustinum III.
Johann Ramminger (17. Nov. 2005) |