Michael Von Cotta-Schönberg

Silvio Enea

Piccolomini

; Piccolomini

Sylvius Aeneas

Silvius Aeneas

Kaiser

Michael V Cotta-Schönberg

Enea Silvio Piccolomini

In autumn 1445,

(Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II; 9) Foreword

In 2007, I undertook a project of publishing the Latin texts with English translations of the orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II. Altogether 80 1 orations (including papal responses to ambassadorial addresses) are extant today, though more may still be held, unrecognized, in libraries and archives.

At a later stage the project was expanded to include ambassadors' orations to the pope, of which about 40 are presently known.

I do not, actually, plan to publish further versions of the present volume, but I do reserve the option in case I -during my future studies -come across other manuscripts containing interesting versions of the oration or if important new research data on the subject matter are published, making it appropriate to modify or expand the present text. It will therefore always be useful to check if a later version than the one the reader may have previously found via the Internet is available.

I shall much appreciate to be notified by readers who discover errors and problems in the text and translation or unrecognized quotations.

12 September 2019 MCS 1 81 orations, if the "Cum animadverto" is counted is a Piccolomini-oration, see oration "Quam laetus" [18], Appendix On 27 July 1442, Emperor 2 Friedrich III crowned Enea Silvio Piccolomini as poet. 3 The emperor had not known Piccolomini before, and he was little interested in poetry, but he was solicitous to perform the traditional ceremonials of emperorship, and the coronation of poets was one such. Piccolomini, at the time secretary of antipope Felix V, had been recommended to the emperor by influential courtiers like Bishop Silvester of Chiemsee, and some months afterwards Piccolomini joined the imperial chancery as a secretary. He was to have a meteoric career as counsellor and diplomat at the imperial court 4 and later a career in the Church leading him to the papal throne in 1458.

By autumn 1445, Piccolomini had been member of the imperial chancery for almost three years, and he had already been on his first, very important, mission on behalf of the emperor to Pope Eugenius IV in Rome, from where he returned to the imperial court in early summer 1445. 5 In the autumn of 1445, Piccolomini was invited twice to give at lecture at the University of Vienna.

Apparently, he had not finished his university studies in Siena (1423-1430) with an academic degree, 6 but his diploma of poet laureate conferred on him the right of "legendi, disputandi, interpretandi et componendi poemata liberam ubique locorum facultatem." 7 The circumstances of the university's invitation are somewhat obscure and various interpretations have been given. 8 The university may have been interested in fresh humanist input from Italy, but at any rate the invitation to a member of the imperial chancery would have been a gesture of politeness to the court, and it was appreciated to the extent that the emperor was personally present when Piccolomini was presented with the topics for his second lecture. [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] The first lecture was probably given on 13 October 1445, at the beginning of the winter semester of the university. 10 The second lecture, the "Aderat nuper", was given in connection with the yearly academic celebration at the Faculty of the Liberal Arts, on the Feastday of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 25 November 1454.

It was a quodlibetal disputation, based on three of the theses presented by professor Johann [Widmann] of Dinkelsbühl1 and two other members of the academic staff. From the text of Piccolomini's oration it appears that these theses were presented during the solemn academic act on the feastday itself, in the presence of the emperor and his noble companions. As disputant he was then given a period, probably some days, to prepare his lecture, whereupon an academic assembly gathered -without the emperor and the noble guests -to hear his disputation, which was followed by some kind of conclusion (judicium) by Johann Dinkelsbühl.

It is not known what kind of relationship Piccolomini might have had to Dinkelsbühl,2 who presided over the disputation,3 but it is remarkable that one of the themes chosen for his lecture was directly related to his first lecture at the university. During that lecture he had praised each of the liberal arts and the other disciplines taught at the university, including the sciences of law, philosophy and theology. Philosophy he had called mother, creator, and queen of all the arts, and quoted Cicero naming her the guide to virtue as well as its explorer, gift of the gods, and teacher of morals. And theology he had called the only science ... which leads us to the Heavenly Kingdom. It teaches us to see the high throne of omnipotent God and all the ranks of the celestial hierarchy. It propels us to contemplate that which, as Paul says, it is not granted to man to utter. It promises immortality to its adherents and followers. And now, at the second lecture, he was given the task of defending the opposite position, i.e. that science and knowledge are different from morals and religiosity, knowledge being a purely cognitive function, whereas morals and religiosity are virtues based on the supreme emotion of love of the good. For Piccolomini it would not have been awkward or difficult to defend an opposite thesis of what he himself he said earlier: his training made it quite possible -and even interesting -for him to engage in such dialectical activities, a pleasant form of mental exercise.

Secondly, in the first lecture, he had, remarkably, not mentioned poetry, 4 even though Italian humanists had begun to include it in the broad concept of the liberal arts and humanities. Possibly the university climate in Vienna was, at the time, too traditional for such innovative ideas to be floated in a first lecture. But now, at the second lecture, he was directly offered the opportunity to present his ideas on poetry as an important discipline, including a defense of the use of classical pagan authors.

And thirdly, the facetious question about why chanceries sell animal skins and old shirts with wax (code for sealed documents on parchment and paper) so expensively, was an excellent opportunity for Piccolomini, a member of the imperial chancery, to shine, exercising his prodigious wits and humour. 1 All in all, these three questions may be considered as reflecting an interested, polite and friendly, possibly even cordial attitude on the part of Dinkelsbühl towards Piccolomini, and the two men may even have met and discussed the themes before the event.

Piccolomini's performance on this occasion may barely be criticised: his reply to the question on science versus wisdom was excellent, well-argued, and supported by great authorities. His apology and praise of poetry was lively and interesting (though not all may have been convinced that poetry was useful and necessary to a society), and it is, indeed, difficult to see how God may be praised if there are no poets to compose hymns in his honour! And Piccolomini's facetious answer to Dinkelsbühl's facetious question must surely have delighted the audience at a university where posing a facetious, tongue-in-the-cheek question was part of the standing procedure for quodlibetal disputations.

Themes

The three major themes of the oration are evidently the three questions or problems chosen by Piccolomini in reply to the theses presented by Johann of Dinkelsbühl. They are:

 Wisdom versus knowledge  Apology and praise of poetry  Price of skins sold by chanceries

Wisdom versus knowledge

Piccolomini sets out by defining the terms wisdom (prudentia) and knowledge (scientia) [sect. 3]. 1 Lhotsky, p. 140, believed that the choice of question may have showed some malicious intent, but this cannot be documented. Against Lhotsky, see Kisch, p. 49, n. 8, and pp. 48-49 Concerning knowledge he uses a definition by Isidore of Seville: Knowledge is the perception of something with certain reason. 1 The main concept here is the cognitive faculty of perception.

Concerning wisdom he rejects two definitions by Isidore and Cicero which appear to identify wisdom with knowledge (of good and bad Discussing these definitions, Piccolomini shows that people may perfecty well have moral knowledge -derived from books, e.g. Aristotle's Ethica -without transforming that knowledge into moral behaviour.

And concerning wisdom he defines it as a coming from God (the true sun) and comprising not only cognition, but also emotion, i.e. the love of good:

Knowledge is a passive cognition of things, which cannot change your will, so that you embrace what you know as good and avoid what you know as bad, whereas wisdom is a living ray of light, coming from the true sun, and it not only illumines the intellect, but also heatens the emotions. 5 Furthermore, he shows that though the two (knowledge, wisdom) may have the same object, they treat it so differently that they are not identical. Here he gives the very appropriate example of astronomy and astrology, astronomy being a science of natural phenomena, and astrology being a superstition predicting the course of human affairs on the basis of such phenomena:

Astronomy gives knowledge about the changes [observed] in the sky and the course of the stars. Astrology does the same. But astrology is a superstition since it tries to predict the

Apology and praise of poetry 3

Dinkelsbühl had asked why there were so few poets when they were apparently both useful and necessary. Piccolomini uses this question to present a proper apology and praise of poetry, such as he had wanted to do for a long time, and begun to in his Pentalogus of 1443 and in a letter to his friend Wilhelm von Stein of 1 June 1444, and which he would take up again later, in his treatise De liberorum educatione of 1450 4 and again in his letter to Cardinal Olesnicki of 27 October 1453. 5 By way of introduction to this theme, Piccolomini first shows, by a series of examples, how poets were highly honoured in Antiquity.

He then goes on to speak on four subthemes:

 Usefulness of poetry  Necessity of poetry  Use of classical pagan literature  Rarity of poets 4 In the notes to the translation, some of the recurrent quotations in these texts are indicated exempli gratia 5 WO, III, 1, nr. 177, pp. 332-336

Usefulness of poetry

Poetry is useful for two reasons: firstly it fulfils a useful moral purpose by praising virtue and blaming vice, and secondly it fulfils a useful religious purpose by praising God. Piccolomini proves his point by referring to a number of classical examples, derived mostly from the Bible, Basil's Ad adolescentes, Cicero's Pro Archia and Tusculanae Disputationes, and Solinus.

Necessity of poetry

For any society to thrive, it is necessary that citizens live morally and abandon vice: cities do no live well without men who are able to convince citizens to live morally and to abandon vice. [Sect. 16] Piccolomini identifies three kinds of men, or three professions, who perform this function: orators, theologians, and poets.

Like poets, orators have an important function in the persuasion of men to live morally. Some may think that they do it better than poets because they have a much broader store of words and concepts to use.

Related to orators are the theologians who have a professional duty to convince people to live morally and do so primarily by sermons, a form of oratory.

And then there are poets who persuade people to live morally through verses, i.e. short and cogent verbal messages.

Piccolomini observes that orators use long and disconnected concepts that are not easy to remember, wereas theologians are not trained as orators and therefore do not speak well. Therefore both orators and theologians fall short in their function of persuading people to live well.

Poets, however, have a privileged language in which to foster morals since they are able to coin striking phrases and concepts in a linguistic form (the metre) which makes it easy for people to remember. Thus poets are far superior as promoters of morals, and therefore they are necessary to society.

Use of classical pagan authors

The use of classical pagan authors was, for centuries, 1 a problem as well as bone of contention between a large segment of the clergy 2 on the one side and classically formed churchmen of the early Church and the new humanists of the Renaissance on the other. 3 The opponents pointed to the plurality of false gods and the blatant immorality of these gods, and to erotic themes unacceptable to Christians.

In his defense against these objections, Piccolomini uses the well-known arguments, concepts, and images developed by church fathers like Basil the Great, Jerome, and Augustine, indeed a worthy company. Even his reference to Plato's exclusion of poets from his ideal city is standard fare in this context. 4 More original are his arguments concerning the faults of poets versus the faults of theologians.

Poets and poetry as a whole should not be blamed just because a few poets err, for in that case also philosophers and philosophy, and theologians and theology as a whole must be rejected.

Piccolomini supports this argument with a reference to the many philosophical theories unacceptable to Christianity and to the plethora of heresies produced by theologians:

What is said in the poems about gods is not the fault of the poets but of the times since [at that time] people worshipped idols. And it is not just poets who speak about gods: the philosophers and all the writers of that age (except the Jews) talk about [gods]

Rarity of poets

The four reasons for the rarity of poets are:

 Only few people have the great knowledge and many and varied skills needed in poets  God only gives the gift of poetry to few men  Like human virtues decrease with time, so does poetry  Poets are not honoured as they deserve

Price of skins sold by chanceries

The background to this question may have been a rise in the charges for chancery documents, as noted by Heinrich Kollar:

Den Zeitgenossen dürfte eher aufgefallen sein, dass die Privilegien wegen ihres eindrucksvolles Aussehens … vom Empfänger teuer bezahlt wurden, wie es für die päpstliche Schriftstücken … längst üblich geworden war. Diese Beweggründe wurden erst vor wenigen Jahren von Isenmann hervorgehoben, der betonte, dass für das Urkundenwesen des Spätmittelalters finanzielle Überlegungen und die Höhe der notwendigen Zahlungen wichtiger als die Dokumentation rechtlicher Normen waren. 1 Dinkelsbühl´s facetious, but pointed question is answered by Piccolomini quite elegantly, and with a delightful, irreverent and somewhat risqué riposte against theologians of whom many would be present in the audience:

When the heads of the chancery heard this and understood that there was great power in skins, 1 they considered that they ought not be given out cheaply, but began -as was reasonable -to sell them, and shirts2 with wax,3 at a great price. In this they imitated the priests who reap great profits from dispensing the sound of bells, smoke, and water, and making words, and who would not dream of giving them away for free. [Sect. 26] The chancery had its playful revenge!

Date, place, audience and format

The oration was delivered some days after 25 November 1445, the Feastday of Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint of the Faculty of Liberal arts at the University of Vienna. That feast was the yearly occasion of an academic celebration accompanied by a quodlibetal disputation, initiated during the feast itself, and held by the disputant after some days of preparation. 4 The place was the aula of the University of Vienna, probably the one in the Nova Stuctura. 5 The audience at the presentation of the theses was Emperor Friederich III, Archduke Sigismund of Austria, many nobles accompanying the emperor, and presumably the high-ranking university officials and senior academic staff, as well as junior academic staff and students. The audience at the lecture itself consisted of doctors and students from the university. 6 The format was an academic quodlibetal lecture in reply to theses presented by Johann of Dinkelsbühl on the feastday itself, and it was immediately followed by Dinkelsbühl's conclusions (judicium).

Text 1

Manuscripts 2

For unknown reasons, the "Aderat nuper" is not mentioned in Pius´ Commentarii, and it was not included in the Collected Orations of Pope Pius II, compiled under his direct supervision in 1462. Possibly, the text had disappeared from his personal files at some point during his many travels as imperial secretary and diplomat.

The oration is extant in a number of manuscripts:3 The classical quotations dominate heavily, and there is only one quotation from the bible. This distribution may be due to the character of the oration as an academic lecture.

Biblical sources: 1

Old Testament: 0 In the year of the Lord 1445 the following questions were put to the poet Enea Silvio, in a quodlibet disputation in the aula of the University of Vienna, by magister Johann of Dinkelsbühl, 3 then licensed doctor of arts and theology. Friedrich, 4 Holy King of the Romans and Duke of Styria, and Duke Sigismund 5 of Austria were present when these questions were presented.

0.

Introduction [1] When some days ago His Imperial Majesty was here, accompanied by many barons and nobles, and the auditorium was filled with teachers and students, you, distinguished doctor, 6 and forceful and subtle debater, presented to me a number a problems. Among these problems were, if I remember correctly, the following three:

 The first was: is wisdom (prudentia) the same as the moral knowledge (scientia) set forth in [Aristotle's] books on Ethics, Politics and Economics and in the books of canons and laws?

 The second was: why are there so few poets in our time when apparently they are both very useful and necessary?

 The third was a question which may have been thought up either to embarrass the Chancery or humourously: why are cheap skins of dead animals and old shirts with wax on them sold in the chanceries at the price of precious metals?

These were -if I am not mistaken -the questions put to me by your eminently learned self 7 , distinguished magister and debater. [2] Two others, who are sitting over there, also formulated some questions as is the custom in a quodlibet disputation, but these questions I do not remember. Indeed I am not like Cineas, 1 the legate of Pyrrhus, 2 who according to the history books had so extensive a memory that he was able to greet each member of the Senate and the Equestrian Order by name already the day after coming to Rome. 3 So, now I shall only make a reply concerning those three problems which I was able to recall. And I am not ashamed to admit that I was unprepared when these problems were presented, for also Demosthenes, 4 the most outstanding orator of all the Greeks, once -when asked a question in the Senate and required to give his considered opinion 5 -was not ashamed to answer that he had come unprepared. 6 Some men are so eager for glory that they want to reply immediately to any question whatsoever, but such men often find great shame in stead of the glory they seek. For it is not human to be able to answer all questioners well. But the moderation of the present audience is so great that all are given time 7 to reflect. Having used this time, I have now come, ready to answer your questions, excellent magister and shining light of this university, and not just to make a reply, but a satisfactory one -I believe. As I speak I shall not be trying to lecture your learned selves, but laying bare my ignorance I shall heed the answers 8 with which you will instruct me properly. 5 "sententia" 6 Plutarch: Lives / Demosthenes, 8: Demosthenes was rarely heard to speak on the spur of the moment, but though the people often called upon him by name as he sat in the assembly, he would not come forward unless he had given thought to the question and was prepared to speak upon it. For this, many of the popular leaders used to rail at him, and Pytheas, in particular, once told him scoffingly that his arguments smelt of lamp-wicks. To him, then, Demosthenes made a sharp answer. "Indeed," said he, "thy lamp and mine, O Pytheas, are not privy to the same pursuits." To the rest, however, he made no denial at all, but confessed that his speeches were neither altogether unwritten, nor yet fully written out. Moreover, he used to declare that he who rehearsed his speeches was a true man of the people: for such preparation was a mark of deference to the people, whereas heedlessness of what the multitude will think of his speech marks a man of oligarchical spirit, and one who relies on force rather than on persuasion. Another circumstance, too, is made a proof of his lack of courage for an emergency, namely, that when he was interrupted by the clamours of the people, Demades often rose and spoke off-hand in his support, but he never rendered such a service to Demades 7 "mora" 8 The "judicium" or reply of Dinkelsbühl which would follow Piccolomini's oration

[3] Cum 1 igitur quaeritis, utrum prudentia sit idem habitus, sicut 2 ante dixi, negativam partem amplector 3 quam et vestrum argumentum tuetur, quod secundo loco posuistis. Prudentia namque viros bonos facit, scientia 4 vero illorum librorum 5 etiam malis 6 committatur 7 : ergo non est habitus idem. 8 9 Aggrediamur tamen 10 hoc 11 altius diffiniamusque 12 scientiam atque prudentiam. Omnis enim, ut Cicero in libris officiorum dicit, quae a 13 ratione suscipitur de aliqua re institutio, debet a diffinitione proficisci, ut intelligatur, quid sit id [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] , de quo 15 disputetur. Scientia [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] , ut Isidorus tradit, est, cum res aliqua certa ratione percipitur; prudentia est [START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF]

First question: is wisdom (prudentia) the same as moral knowledge (scientia)?

[3] When you ask whether wisdom (prudentia) is the same [as moral knowledge], I take the opposite view to the one defended by you in the second place. For wisdom makes men good, whereas the knowledge set forth in those books is also given to wicked men. Therefore they cannot be the same. However, let us now go deeper into this matter and define knowledge and wisdom, for in his books De Officiis, Cicero1 says that every systematic development of any subject ought to begin with a definition, so that everyone may understand what the discussion is about. 2 Isidore3 says that knowledge is the perception of something with certain reason, 4 and wisdom is the distinction between good and bad. 5 If this is so, knowledge is more praiseworthy than wisdom for it is more comprehensive. And Cicero agrees when, in his rhetoricals books, he says that wisdom is the knowledge of what is good, what is bad and what is neither good nor bad. 6 However, in his book on De moribus ecclesiae, Augustine 7 defines it differently when he says that wisdom is love distinguishing with sagacity between what hinders it and what helps it to God. 8 And elsewhere this definition is used: Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil things with love of the first and hate of the second. [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] [4] Secundum has diffinitiones, qui 1 prudens est, idem quoque vir bonus est, cum bona diligat malaque detestetur 2 . At scientia librorum Aristotelis et juris, quamvis bona malaque noscat, non tamen haec odire et 3 illa diligere cogit. Plures enim peritiam illius 4 habent, qui sunt et 5 avaritiae et aliorum vitiorum servi, quia non mutat affectum 6 cognitio semper, quamvis instruat intellectum. Nam et Salomon, qui scientissimus 7 fuit ac bonum et malum novit, tamquam vilissimum 8 pecus luxuriae sese tradidit inter uxores trecentas 9 concubinasque septuaginta 10 marcescens. Est enim scientia cognitio rerum {139r} mortua, quae voluntatem mutare non potest, ut [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] vel bonum cognitum 12 amplectatur vel 13 malum fugiat. At prudentia radius vivus 14 est 15 a vero sole [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] procedens, qui [START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] [4] Acording to these definitions the wise man is also a good man, since he loves what is good and hates what is bad. But the knowledge in the books of Aristotle 1 and in the books of law though it knows what is good and bad, does not make us hate what is bad and love what is good. Many experts on this matter are slaves to greed and other vices, for knowledge does not always change one's feelings about things, though if forms the understanding. Solomon 2 was the most knowledgeable of men and knew what was good and what was bad, but he still, like the lowest beast, gave himself over to sensual pleasure, languishing between 300 wives and 70 concubines. 3 For knowledge is a passive 4 cognition of things, which cannot change your will so that you embrace what you know as good and avoid what you know as bad, whereas wisdom is a living ray of light, coming from the true sun 5 , and it not only illumines the intellect, but also quickens the emotions. [cont.]

1 Aristotle (384-322 BC): Greek philosopher 2 Solomon (reigned ca. 970-931 BC): 3rd King of Israel. Son of David. Reputed to be fabuolously rich and wise, though given to sensual pleasures 3 In the Old Testament, various numbers of Solomon's wives and concubines are given 4 "mortua" 5 I.e. God [4 cont.] Quod si quis neget, probari potest 1 . Certum est enim Aristotelem, Tullium, Senecam 2 ceterosque philosophos inter virtutes numerare 3 prudentiam. Si virtus est, quae sunt virtutis, facit. Virtus autem 4 virum bonum 5 reddit; ergo et prudentia virum bonum reddit 6 7 . Quod autem virtus hominem 8 bonum 9 efficiat 10 , ex diffinitione liquet. Sic enim Augustinus eam in libro [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] De quantitate 12 animae 13 diffinit 14 : Virtus est aequalitas 15 quaedam vitae undique consonans rationi. Senecae quoque sententia est beatos fieri virtute homines [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] . Quod si virtus beatos efficit homines, et prudentiam, quae virtus est, idem facere necesse [START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] [4 cont.] If anybody should deny this, it can be proven. It is certain that Aristotle, Tullius, 1 Seneca, 2 and the other philosophers counted wisdom among the virtues. If it is virtue, it does what virtues do. But virtue makes a man good. Therefore, wisdom makes a man good. 3 But that virtue makes a man good is proven by definition. This is how Augustine defines it in his book De quantitate animae: Virtue is the evenness of a life in complete agreement with reason. 4 Seneca also says that virtue makes men happy. 5 If virtue makes men happy6 , and wisdom is a virtue, then it must do the same. 7 But this the knowledge of law and of all moral philosophy do not do at all, and therefore it is not a virtue. And if it is not a virtue, then it is not wisdom which is clearly a virtue. [5] Quaerit fortasse aliquis 1 , quomodo 2 fieri potest, ut sciens bonum 3 non operetur 4 . Facilis 5 responsio est. Plurimi sunt, qui in gymnasiis 6 musicam docent, qui cantare vel minimum versiculum in ecclesiis 7 ignorant 8 , sicut apud Athenienses Themistocles 9 , qui cum 10 in convivio recusasset lyram, habitus est indoctior. Nec omnes medici, qui practicam legunt, mederi sciunt. At usus communis -apud quem, ut [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] Flaccus ait, arbitrium est 12 et 13 vis [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] et norma loquendiprudentes vero non qui bonum a malo 15 discernunt, sed qui bonum operantur [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] , appellat. Erit igitur prudens, qui scit, vult et agit, quae bona sunt. Scioli autem moralis philosophiae jurisque periti, cum aliquando sceleratissimi sint, non possunt appellari prudentes. Plus -inquam -nam etsi operentur [START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] , quae in eorum libris didicere, nihil ultra quaerentes, extra tamen prudentum 18 numerum remanebunt. Prudentes namque numquam errant, semper enim, quae bona 19 sunt, operantur. Qui vero per omnia sequitur Aristotelem, cum is 20 semper deos nominet, in errore manebit. 1 [5] Maybe someone will ask why someone who knows what is good does not do it. The answer is easy: In the universities, many of those who teach music cannot sing even the shortest verse in the church, just like Themistocles1 in Athens who was considered to be less educated because he had refused to play the lyre at a party. 2 And not all doctors who teach the practice of medicine are able to heal. But according to common usage in hands, as Flaccus3 says, lies the judgment, the right and the rule of speech, 4 the wise are not those who can distinguish between good and evil, but those who do good. So, a man is wise who knows, wants and does what is good. The "experts" on moral philosophy and the jurists are sometimes very wicked men, and therefore they may not be called wise. And moreover -I declare -even if they do all that they learn from their books and seek nothing more, they may still not be counted among the wise. For wise men never err, and they always do what is good. But any man who follows Aristotle completely, remains in error, for Aristotle often mentions the gods. 5 [6] In jure civili 1 non desunt ineptiae, nam et eorum libri 2 ajunt legem quamquam duram esse servandam. In jure 3 pontificio 4 dietim mutationes fiunt, ut saepe, quod justum est hodie, cras fiat injustum. Nec possible est 5 , ut 6 jura et Aristotelis scripta praecipiunt 7 , simul vivere, quae sunt invicem saepe 8 contraria. Si quis igitur [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] prudenter vivere vult, eum 10 plura oportet scire [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] , quam 12 libris hujusmodi contineatur 13 . Ex quo liquet peritiam illorum [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] , quos dixi, librorum nedum prudentem hominem minime facere, sed nec omnia docere, quae sunt prudentiae necessaria. Aliud igitur est prudentia et 15 aliud rursus moralis scientia. Nec obstat argumentum vestrum loco priori positum. Quamvis enim prudentia [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] circa ea versetur [START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] , quae sunt ad vitam humanam bona, ac 18 circa eadem scientia moralis consistat, non tamen identitas sequitur, nam modis invicem diversis 19 se habent. Scientia enim solum intelligit, quod [START_REF] Ciceronem Venio | Quid hic dicemus quibusve armis tuebimur? Magnus est testis Cicero[END_REF] est bonum, prudentia vero, postquam novit 21 , etiam 22 operatur, ut ante dixi. Astronomia de caeli conversione stellarumque cursibus notitiam praebet; idem facit astrologia. Quia haec 23 tamen 24 25 superstitiosum quid habet, dum siderum cursu necessitates hominum 26 et mores praedicare conatur, aliud astronomiam 27 dicimus 28 esse 29 et aliud astrologiam 30 31 . Et haec 32 ad primam petitionem respondisse sufficiat 33 . [6] In civil law there is no lack of nonsensical rules, for in its books it is said that even a cruel 1 law should be followed. And pontifical law 2 is changed daily so that often what was legal one day is illegal the next. And it is not possible to live according to rules which are often in conflict one with another, though the laws and Aristotle's writings demand it. So, if one wishes to live wisely, he must know more than those books. From this it follows, as I have said, that even deep knowledge of such books does not in itself make a man wise, and it does not teach all that is necessary for wisdom. So, wisdom is not the same as knowledge of morals.

And the first argument presented by you is not an obstacle. 3 For even though wisdom deals with such things which are good for human life and moral knowledge deals with the same things, it does not follow that they are identical, for they have different properties: knowledge only understands what is good, whereas wisdom first understands what is good and then does it -as I said before. [For example,] astronomy gives knowledge about the changes in the sky and the course of the stars. Astrology does the same. But astrology is a superstition since it tries to predict the necessary course and the character of people on the basis of the course of the stars, and therefore we claim that astronomy and astrology are not the same. 4 This suffices to answer the first question.

1 "dura" 2 Canon law 3 In his presentation, Piccolomini's opponent, Johann Dinkelsbühl had apparently argued that moral science (scientia) and moral wisdom (sapientia) were the same since they had the same object (how to do what is good). Piccolomini replies that though science and virtue may have the same object, they are different since science does not in itself result in good behaviour, whereas wisdom does (by definition) 4 Piccolomini argues that two "disciplines" may have the same object, but still be different because of their different treatment of the object [7] Transeo 1 nunc 2 ad interrogationem secundam: cur tam pauci sunt nostris temporibus poetae, cum 3 videantur multum utiles et necessarii? In qua re 4 , vir doctissime, ago vestrae prudentiae ingentes gratias, quae mihi de poesi dedit occasionem 5 publice loqui. Sunt enim plerique homines 6 , qui poeticam ignorantes invidorum 7 more poetas contemnunt atque, ut soli omnium 8 litteratissimi 9 reputentur, ea solum probant, quae ipsi sciunt. Quod vitium late patet ubique terrarum. Istorum ergo 10 inscitiam impudentiam contundere menti erat meae, sed non ingerebat se tempus commodum. Quod nunc mihi [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] datum esse admodum laetor.

[8] Verum ego, magister clarissime, paucos esse nostris temporibus poetas non miror. Semper enim pauci rarissimique fuerunt, quia non datur passim cuilibet divina poesis, sed eos despici atque 12 contemni nedum miror, sed indignor, stomachor 13 , turbor aetatique nostrae condoleo, quae tam splendidum jubar tantumque decus humanae ac [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] divinae scientiae, tam necessarium munus a Deo datum 15 nihili faciat. 1 Decisio secunde questionis in marg. M 2 autem quantum WY 3 tamen add. I, M 4 omit. I, M 5 de poesi dedit occasionem: occasionem de poesi dedit H; occasionem dedit de poesi H, U, WY 6 omit. I, M 7 invidiorum I 8 doctissimi add. R 9 litteratissimique R 10 vero LH 11 nunc mihi : michi nunc U 12 et U 13 stimulor WY [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] atque U, WY 15 a Deo datum omit. I, M 2. Second question: Why are there so few poets in our time when apparently they are both very useful and necessary?

Introduction

[7] I now pass on to the second question: why are there so few poets today when they are apparently both very useful and necessary? I am greatly indebted to your wisdom, 1 eminent scholar, for having given me an occasion to speak in public on the matter of poetry. For many men who are ignorant of poetry jealously condemn poets, and in order to be considered the most literate of all they only favour what they themselves have knowledge of. This vice has spread far and wide. Though I have been intending to demolish their injustice and impudence before, I have not had the time, and therefore I am delighted to have been given it now. 2

[8] Excellent magister, I do not wonder that there are only few poets today: poets have, indeed, always been few and far between for [the gift of] divine poetry is not given to everyone. And I do not wonder that they are despised and mocked, no, I am upset, indignated and angry, and I pity our own age for not appreciating this splendid light, this great ornament of human and divine knowledge, and this necessary gift from God. [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] voluerit H, M, R [9] In the old days when wisdom (sapientia) and virtue flourished, the honour shown to this discipline 1 was so great that when a poet finished his work, 2 he was -like a general after a victory -crowned with a laurel wreath and carried through the city on a triumphal chariot wagon, followed by jubilating citizens.

Thus Julius Caesar, 3 founder of the Roman Empire, and Augustus, 4 his successor, considered it as a great honour to be received into the College of Poets, and Julius was not angered that Accius did not rise when he entered the college, for he knew that Accius was a better poet. 5 And Scipio Africanus 6 loved Ennius 7 so much that he wanted him as a companion on all his travels and ordered a statue of him placed in his own tomb.

Usefulness of poetry

Poetry praises virtue and blames vice

[11] Every discipline1 which forms and improves human life is useful. Therefore poetry is useful. You may not believe this, but ask in what way poetry forms and improves men. So hear, pray, Basil,2 a Father most holy and greatly to be revered. He said: I have heard a certain man, skilled to understand a poet's mind, say all the poetry of Homer is praise of virtue, and especially so when talking about the naked Ulysses 3 4 he said that 'he was arrayed with virtue instead of a cloak." 5 What else does Homer say when he practically shouts: Pay attention to virtue, O men, who swims even with a shipwrecked man. 6 And this is also the meaning of Virgil 7 when he lets Aeneas 8 say to Ascanius 9 : Learn valour from me, my son, and true toil; fortune from others! 10 And again: A blessing on your young valour! So man scales the stars! [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] Poetry is useful because it praises the virtues and thus incites men to love them. 12 As Juvenal 13 said: Virtue is the one and only true nobility. [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] Again you see that poetry is useful because it hates the vices and draws men away from them. Juvenal says it beautifully in just three 15 words when he states that no bad man can be happy. 16 [12] Est et aliter utilis poetica, nam Dei nostri 1 laudes nullo pacto suavius aut melius 2 decantari possunt quam versibus poetarum. Hinc omnes apud Hebraeos psalmi, ut inquit Isidorus, metrico carmine constant, atque in morem Flacci 3 Romani et Graeci Pindari nunc jambici sunt 4 versus, nunc 5 Alchaici 6 , nunc Saphici 7 . Ob quam causam et 8 9 David regem sacrum poetam appellamus. Salomon quoque, cujus sapientiam tam nostri quam Judaei magnopere 10 demirantur [13] Now I shall just mention two examples proving the usefulness of poetry.

The Athenians and the Megarans fought a ruinous war about possession of the island of Salamis. After many grievous battles, the Athenians made it a capital offense to propose any law concerning the claim on Salamis. Since no other option was left to him, Solon1 changed the situation composing verses (which he did not usually do), and thus -through the art of poetryinspired the citizens to such courage that they quickly decided on war against the Megarans: the enemies were defeated, and the island fell to the Athenians.2

And another [example]: there was war between the Messenians and the Spartans. 3 The Spartan general was the lame poet Tyrtaeus from Athens4 . When the Spartans had suffered many dire defeats, they wanted to bring the army back [to Sparta] so that their city would not suffer even greater calamities by fighting against Fortune. But then Tyrtarus intervened: he composed some poems and recited them to the assembled army. In these poems he incited [the soldiers] to courageous action, he consoled them for their losses, and gave advice about the war. In doing so, he stirred up the soldiers so much that they went to battle and soon gained victory.

Thus two famous cities, Sparta and Athens, held to be the two eyes of Greece, were raised up again by the advice and genius of poets. [14] We shall now consider whether poets are necessary. That without which we cannot live well must of course be called necessary. But without poetry no society 1 lives well, therefore poetry is necessary. 2 Some may object that many, and even saints, have actually lived well without poetry. However, I am not saying that poetry is necessary to every individual, but that it is necessary to society as a whole, for cities do no live well without men who urge citizens to live morally 3 and who restrain them from vice. This is the proper function of poets who know how to promote morals and condemn vice in thousand ways and with great art. But someone may object to this and claim that the orator does this so much better, since he has thousands of words available. I do not deny this since those who make sermons to the people function, in this respect, as orators though they are actually theologians. However, unless they use the rules of oratory they will not have great success (though there are some who speak well by nature).

Necessity of poetry

But the statements of orators do not stick in the mind, and since they are unconnected they are easily forgotten. The sentences of poets are short and connected metrically, and therefore they are easily remembered. Thus in every people, however barbarous, primitive, and crude, there are poets. Even though they are not Latin, but common poets, they do manage to express important things briefly, in meaningful verses. They may not live up to the illustrious name and grand dignity of poets, but they do use poetry.

1 "res publica" 2 A classical syllogism. Major: That without which we cannot live is necessary. Minor: We cannot live without poetry. Conclusion: Therefore poetry is necessary 3 "bene"

[15] Addite, quod eloquentia, sermonis lux, expolitio [15] Add to this that eloquence, the light of speech, polish, brevity and gravity can only be had if you draw from the fountains of the poets. Therefore Jerome, Lactantius, 1 Augustine, Ambrose, Cyprian, 2 Leo 3 and others who wrote commentaries on Holy Scripture, studied the poets as shown by their writings which are replete with sayings from the poets. And you all know how frequently and appropriately Aristotle cites the poets in his books. Still, learned men of the present age 4 spurn poetry -to the great detriment of the Catholic faith -though it is undoubtedly necessary. But we should thank God and praise him in beautiful chants, and only poets know how to write psalms, and beautiful hymns, and lovely songs about God and his saints.

Since, as shown, poets are useful and necessary, one may justly wonder why they are not given the honour they merit, especially since their discipline, as Cicero says, is older than philosophy and other branches of knowledge, for poetry is said to have been invented by Museus 5 and Orpheus 6 who lived close to the times of Saturn. 7

[18] Quibus non erit mihi arduum respondere, si vobis facile fuerit 1 audire. Nam quod in 2 poematibus de diis mentio fiat 3 , non poetarum culpa 4 , sed temporum 5 fuit, quibus colebantur idola 6 . Nec enim 7 soli poetae de diis loquuntur, sed philosophi et omnes scriptores illius 8 saeculi praeter judaeos 9 deos 10 nuncupant et illos se 11 venerari fatentur 12 . Quod autem 13 For what is said in the poems about gods is not the fault of the poets, but of the times, since [at that time people] worshipped idols. And it is not just poets who speak about gods: philosophers and all the writers of that age (except the Jews) talk about gods and claim to worship them. That they tell of crimes is not objectionable for they do so in order to deter men from such crimes, just like theologians do. Those who approve of vice are actually very few, and all should not be blamed for what only two and three do. We should not condemn poetry because a few poets are in error, for if we pursue that course, we should follow no teaching1 at all, but despise even philosophy, the mother of all sciences, for it is a fact that there are also philosophers who have erred. What can be said to be more soft or languorous than the view of Epicure2 who based all happiness on pleasure and denied that souls are immortal? Pythagoras3 denies the existence of Hell and believes that after death the souls of men transmisgrate to other living beings. And Averroës 4 thought that all bodies share one soul.

[19] Quid theologi, quos hodie prae ceteris veneramur? Numquid 1 plures erravere? Quid Arius, quid Eutices 2 , quid Nestorius, quid alii paene infiniti unitatis ecclesiae divisores? Quid aevo nostro Johannes Hus 3 atque Jeronimus, qui Constantiae cremati sunt? Nec 4 enim umquam 5 tot haereses seminare potuissent, nisi theologorum se titulis ornavissent. Verum sicut irreprehensibilis {141v} est theologia, quamvis multi theologorum aberrent 6 , sic incorrupta est poesis, licet poetae nonnulli vitia tueantur. Nec enim malum dici potest 7 , quo possumus 8 uti bene, alioquin 9 nec 10 liberales artes nec mechanicae probandae viderentur [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] , cum his 12 uti male 13 possumus 14 . Quod autem de Jeronimi percussionibus objicitur, si quis Jeronimum attente pervolverit, non 15 propter Ciceronis lectionem accidisse comperiet, sed quia Jeronimus sic eum [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] 4 And in our own times, what about Jan Hus 5 and Jeronimus 6 who were burnt in Konstanz? 7 So many heresies could never have flourished if these men had not prided themselves in their title of theologian. But just as theology is not at fault because many theologians err, poetry, too, is not at fault because some poets favour vice. And something may not be called evil when we can also use it for good, for otherwise neither the liberal nor the mechanical arts would be acceptable since we can use them for evil.

And concerning the beating of Jerome: if you study Jerome carefully, [you will see that] he was not punished for reading Cicero, but for reading him so [intensely] that he neglected Holy Scripture. This I neither praise nor condone, but I say that poets should be read in such a way that under their inspiration 8 we are able to marvelously propound Holy Scripture. But we should not follow those who only take odour and colour 9 from flowers, nay, we should imitate the bees who also know how extraxt their honey. 10

[20] I now come to Cicero applauding Plato's view on the exclusion of poets. What shall we say to this, and which weapons shall we use in our defense? Cicero is indeed an important witness. Here, however, he did not express his considered opinion, but spoke in a fit of irritation. For right afterwards he excused the poets saying that the philosophers were doing the same thing for which he had blamed the poets. 1 Elsewhere he speaks more fully on the matter, endeavoring in so many words to persuade the Romans to give citizenship to the poet Archias, and claiming that thus they would gain great praise and benefit, as he says in an admirable oration which is still extant.

As for Plato, when he excluded the poets, he also said that he himself would have to be excluded since he too was a poet. Macrobius 2 quotes a verse of his: 3

When I kiss my boy With half-parted lips ... 4 and others, too.

And to say plainly what I think, it is actually to the very great honour of poets that they are excluded from Plato's city! For what good man would want to live in Plato's city where, as Aristotle says in the Politica, 5 all women are held in common, sexual intercourse being promiscuous like that of animals, sons uncertain, and parents unknown? This will be enough concerning Plato.

[21] Verum ut de poetarum lectione in communi aliquid dicatur, beati Jeronimi in epistola ad oratorem urbis 1 instructio servanda est, qui de litteris saecularibus figuram esse in Deuteronomio dicit, dum captivae duci in matrimonium per Hebraeos prohibentur nisi capite raso et unguibus amputatis, quod in veteribus poematibus faciendum est, ut amputatis 2 , quae de diis verba fiunt, et abrasis amatoriis blandimentis 3 , ubi laudantur virtutes fulminanturque 4 vitia sine scrupulo recipiantur. Cui et magnus Basilius astipulatur, qui similitudine de apibus 5 posita 6 , Nec enim, inquit, illae 7 pariter 8 omnes flores [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] adeunt, nec 10 , si quos adeunt, eos totos absumunt, sed eo ablato, quod operi suo sit aptum [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] , reliquum omne valere sinunt 12 13 . Et nos quoque, si sapimus, in poetarum libris, cum excerpimus [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] , quod veritati amicum consentaneumque sit, cetera omnia transgrediemur 15 .

[22] Cum igitur ex testimonio magni Basilii sanctissimique Jeronimi [21] Concerning what is commonly said about the reading of poets, we may use Jerome's guidance in a letter to an orator in Rome where he states that in Deuteronomy we find a symbol of secular literature: the Hebrews are forbidden to marry female captives unless their head has been shaven and their nails cut. This means that the poems of old should be shorn of the passages concerning the gods and the erotic blandimentis, and be accepted without hesitation where they praise virtue and castigate vice. 1 Basil the Great supports this position, using the similitude of the bees: For they do not approach all flowers equally, nor do they attempt to carry away the whole of those to which they fly, but taking whatever is profitable for their work, they go away leaving the rest. 2 And we, too, if we are wise, should excerpt 3 from the poets' books only what is in accordance with truth, and pass over everything else. 4 [22] So, Basil the Great and Saint Jerome attest that even the old and pagan poets should be accepted. Poetry is a very old discipline that has great and important effects. [The writings of] the philosophers and the holy doctors are full of authoritative [quotations] from the poets. Emperors and kings and all great men revered contemporary poets. And poets are the best to sing the praises of God. For all these reasons, it is perfectly justified to wonder -as I said in the beginningwhy poets are looked down upon in our our time (though they have begun to rise again in Italy and be honoured on the the same level as theologians).

Rarity of poets

[23] Now we must deal with the problem why there are so few poets in our own times. In all ages and not just in ours, there have been few poets, but today there are indeed fewer than ever, and the reason for this I shall deal with now. It seems to me that there are four reasons (if there are more it will not bother me). The first is that the poet must know many and different things, for it is the task of the poet to write about wars, and to place seasons, times, places, 1 the conditions of individuals, and the extent of the sea 2 before the eyes of men. And he must praise virtue and castigate vice. So, who does not understand that he needs many skills, great knowledge and many arts 3 to deal well with such themes? But only few men obtain so many skills, and therefore there are few poets. 1 Cf. Solinus: Collectanea rerum memorabilium, proem., 3: locorum locorum commemoratio .. terrarum situs 2 Cf. Solinus: Collectanea rerum memorabilium, 3: tractus maris. Cf also Valerius, 3, 3, ext.

3 "ars": skill, knowledge, and art [24] The second reason is that all poets have received from on high the outstanding gift of describing human acts in polished 1 and sententious verses. But such outstanding and excellent gifts are only given to few men. Therefore there are only few poets. For as Cicero says in his oration for Archias, poetry it is a gift from God, which can only be had by skill or imitation if the virtue of speaking true is granted from on high. 2 Thus, poets have been very few not only in our own times, but at all times, as the same Cicero declares. 3 The third reason for the rarity [of poets] is that just as, in the course of time, human vices grow and virtues perish, poetry appears to be reduced to nothing as also happens with other disciplines. For nobody will give me an Augustine and a Jerome today, and likewise nobody will give me a Virgil or an Ovid. 4 The fourth and last reason is that poets are not honoured as they deserve. Therefore there are few poets. For as Cicero says: Public esteem is the nurse of the arts, and all men are fired to application by fame. 5 Where there is no honour, there is no real effort. Thus only few in our own times pursue poetry for they believe that poetry does not bring men honour and therefore they neglect it. [25] Absolutis duabus 1 prioribus 2 quaestionibus instat ridicula 3 tertia 4 inquisitio: cur viles cutes cadaverum atque antiquae camisiae cum cera in cancellariis venduntur pro optima minera 5 . Tangit me, Hercle 6 , ista quaestio, qui unus sum ex cancellaria, postquam divus Fridericus Caesar in secretarium suum me recepit. Solvam igitur quaestionem ex meo ingeniolo 7 .

[26] Quo in loco unum dicendum est jocosum. Viam solus asinus ibat suasque secum miserias quaerebatur, qui vinum portans aquam biberet frumentumque in horreis ponens fenum manderet. Sed haec levia reputasset, nisi quod etiam 8 post mortem ex ejus corio cribri 9 fierent atque 10 tympana. {142v} Quem sic quaerulosum audiens varius [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] , parvum 12 animal 13 , "Tace," inquit, "asine! Meus 3. Third question: Why are cheap skins of dead animals and old shirts with wax on them sold by the chanceries at the price of precious metals [25] Now that two of the three questions have been dealt with, the third, humourous, question remains: Why are cheap skins of dead animals and old shirts with wax on them sold in the chanceries at the price of precious metals.

This question, by Hercules, touches me personally as I belong to the Chancery since Emperor Friedrich engaged me as a secretary. So I shall answer the question as my own puny intellect dictates.

Facetious answer

[26] First we shall answer with a joke.

An ass was walking along the road, alone, complaining about how miserable he was since he who carried wine had himself to drink water, and while he was bringing grain to the trashing halls, he himself had to be content with hay. But he would take that lightly if only after his death his skin would not be used for sieves and drums. Hearing him griping, a sheep 1 , a small animal, said: "Shut up, ass! My labor comes after death! For when those who are called men want to make someone wise 2 they take my hairy skin and decorate the exterior of the person whom they want to make wise. Thus, when they create doctors, they clothe them with my skin, 3 and thus it is I -and that is the worst of all -who must transform great beasts into wise men! 4 This is how fate treats my skin: it is extremely irritating and annoying." When the heads of the chancery heard this and understood that there was great power in skins, they considered that they ought not be given out cheaply, but began -as was reasonable -to sell them, and shirts, with wax, at a great price. In this they imitated the priests who reap great profits from dispensing the sound of bells, smoke, 5 and water, 6 and making words, and who would not dream of giving them away for free. 7

1 Varius? 2 "sapiens": this choice of words may not quite agree with Piccolomini's previous distinction between wisdom as a virtue and moral knowledge 3 Piccolomini may be speaking of the doctoral robes 4 The university had made a joke of the chancery, and here Piccolomini neatly returns the joke on the university 5 Incense 6 Blessed water -Piccolomini does not dare or wish to mention the sacraments -that would be carrying the joke too far 7 Here the joke is turned specifically against the theological faculty, the most important faculty at the Vienna University

[27] At 1 ut omissisis 2 jocis ad seria redeamus 3 , ante cartae et membranarum usum in dolatis ex ligno 4 codicillis epistolarum alloquia

  Third question: Why are cheap skins of dead animals and old shirts with wax on them sold in the chanceries at the price of precious metals?[25-27]

	Table of contents I. INTRODUCTION 1. 3.2 Serious answer [27] Context 2.4. Rarity of poets [23-24] Facetious answer [26] 3. 3.1 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Context 1

  ). In their stead he prefers two definitions, one by Augustine and the other one by the medieval author, Jean de la Rochelle 2 : Augustine's definition is: Wisdom is love distinguishing with sagacity between what hinders it and what helps it to God. 3 Jean de la Rochelle's definition is: Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil things with love of the first and hate of the second.

1

  Scientia est, cum res aliqua certa ratione percipitur 2 Piccolomini does not refer to Jean de la Rochelle by name and indeed may not have known the source of this quotation 3 Prudentia est amor eorum, quibus adjuvatur in Deum, ab his, quibus impeditur, sagaciter eligens4 Prudentia est rerum bonarum et malarum cum alterarum dilectione et aliquarum detestatione scientia the character of people on the basis of the course of the stars, and therefore we claim that astronomy and astrology are not the same. [Sect. 6] 1He concludes by rejecting the thesis presented by Dinkelsbühl, that wisdom and knowledge are the same:

	For even though wisdom deals with such things which are good for human life and moral
	knowledge deals with the same things, it does not follow that they are identical, for they
	have different properties: knowledge only understands what is good, whereas wisdom first
	under-stands what is good and then does it, as I said before. [Sect. 6] 2

5

Est enim scientia cognitio rerum mortua, quae voluntatem mutare non potest, ut vel bonum cognitum amplectatur vel malum fugiat, at prudentia radius vivus est a vero sole procedens, qui non solum illuminat intellectum, sed etiam calefacit affectum necessary course and

(U)* 4.2. Editions

	5. Sources
	In this oration, altogether 46 direct and indirect quotations from various sources have been
	identified:
	Biblical	1
	Classical	34
	Patristic and medieval 10
	Contemporary	1
	All	46
	 München / Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
	Clm 215, ff. 62r-66r (M)*
	Clm 5311, ff. 157v-165v (H)
	Clm 18802, ff. 138r-142v (I)
	 Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
	Ross. lat. 786, 52r-57r (R) *
	 Szombathely / Egyházmegyei Könyvtár
	8
	 Uppsala / Universitetsbibliotek
	C 916, ff. 151r-155v The oration has been published a number of times, among them:
	 Pius II: Epistolae de laude poetica, de differentia inter scientiam et prudentiam et de poetis,
	de laude litterarum, cur libri cumulentur. Köln, Dictys / Arnold ter Hoernen, 1470-1471

  Wagendorfer, Martin: Eneas Silvius Piccolomini und die Wiener Universität. Ein Beitrag zum Frühhumanismus in Österreich. In: Enea Silvio Piccolomini nördlich der Alpen, hrsg. Franz Fuchs.Anno domini 1445.o in aula universitatis Wiennensis studii 1 Aenee Silvii 2 poetae propositae fuerunt 3 hae infrascriptae quaestiones in quodlibeto, quod disputatum 4 fuerat per eximium magistrum Johannem de Dinkelspuehl 5 , artium et theologiae doctorem pro tunc licentiatum, praesente 6 rege divo Romanorum 7 Friderico8 9 , Austriae, Stiriae duce 10 , ac Sigismundo Austriae 11 duce praesente12 , dum modo 13 proponebantur 14 15 16 .[1] {138r} Aderat nuper Caesarea majestas, multorum baronum ac 17 nobilium stipata catenis, dum mihi hoc in loco, vir praestantissime, disputator vehemens ac 18 subtilis, inter alia 19 tria, si rite 20 memini, obtulistis problemata 21 , fuitque tunc auditorium istud tam doctoribus quam discipulis frequentissimum. Ex illis primum fuit, utrum prudentia sit idem habitus cum scientia morali tradita in libro Ethicorum 22 , Politicorum 23 , Iconomicorum et in[START_REF]Secunda causa est, quia nemo poeta est, nisi 1 cui hoc singulare munus ex alto traditum est, ut cautis 2 ac 3 4 sententiosis versibus humanos actus conscribat. Singularia autem munera excellentia 5 paucis dantur. Ideo 6 pauci sunt poetae. Poesis namque, ut Cicero in oratione pro Archia poeta 7 dicit, munus est Dei nec arte vel 8 imitatione potest haberi 9 , nisi virtus 10 vera dicendi 11 12 13 detur ex alto. Ex quo fit, sicut idem 14 Cicero asserit 15 , ut non solum nostris, sed omnibus temporibus rarissimi poetae fuerunt. Tertia rarietatis causa est, quia successu temporis crescentibus hominum vitiis virtutibusque pereuntibus sicut 16 aliae disciplinae diminutae sunt 17 , sic et poesis ad nihilum videtur redacta. Nam sicut nemo mihi vel Augustinum vel Jeronimum 18 hodie dabit, sic vel Vergilium vel Ovidium 19 dabit nemo 20 . Quarta causa est et in hoc ultimo loco, quia non redditur poesi suus honor. Ideo pauci sunt poetae. Namque, ut Cicero dicit: Honor alit artes omnesque incendimur ad studia gloriae 21 . Ubi vero deest honor, ibi et studium deficit. Ac 22 sic 23 fit, ut pauci nostris temporibus poeticam assequantur[END_REF] libris canonum et legum. Secundum, cur poetae nostris temporibus sint adeo pauci, cum videantur multum utiles et necessarii. Tertium 25 (quod in cancellarie 26 notam fortasse 27 excogitatum est aut risus causa propositum est 28 ): Cur viles cutes cadaverum et antiquae camisiae cum cera in cancellariis venduntur pro optima minera 29 .

		 Seneca: 2 2
		 Solinus: 6 3
		 Valerius Maximus: 2
		 Vergilius: 2 4
	Wiesbaden, 2007, pp. 21-52. (Pirckheimer Jahrbuch für Renaissance-und Humanismusforschung;
	22)	Patristic and medieval sources: 10
		 Augustinus: 2 5
		 Basil of Caesarea: 5 6
	 Isidore: 2 7 6. Sigla and abbreviations
		 Jean de la Rochelle: 1
		Contemporary sources: 1
		 Bruni, L.: 1 8
		New Testament: 1
	 2. Corinthians: 1 6. Bibliography
		Classical sources: 34
		 Aristotle: 1 1
		 Arrianus: 1
		 Cicero: 11 2
		 Homer: 1
		 Horatius: 2 3
		 Juvenalis: 2
	 Macrobius: 1  Plato:  Plutarch: 2 1 1 Politica 4 Republic 3 Ars poetica 1; Epistolae, 1 2 De inventione 2; De officiis 1; Pro Archia 4; Tusculanae disputationes 4 1 4 1 Lives 2 Epistulae ad Lucilium 3 Collectanea mirabilium mundi 4 Aeneis 21 propleromata I; propleumata M; probleumata R, U, WY 22 omit. M 23 et add. WY 24 omit. I, R 25 fuit add. I 26 cancellaria WY

Basil of Caesarea: Ad adolescentes  Gane, Jennifer Helen: Fourth Century Christian Education. An Analysis of Basil's Ad Adolescentes. PH.d. in the School of Historical Studies. 2012  Basilio di Cesarea: Discorso ai giovani. Oratio ad adolescentes. Con la versione Latina di Leonardo Bruni. A cura di Mario Naldini. 2 nd ed. Bologna, 1998 Bruni, Leonardo: De studiis et litteris 5 De moribus ecclesiae catholicae 1; De quantitate animae 1 6 Adolescentes 7 Etymoligiae 8 De studiis Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: Pentalogus [1443]  Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: Pentalogus. Hrsg. von Christian Schingnitz. Hannover, 2009 (Monumenta Germaniae Hisistorica. Staatsschriften des späteren Mittelalters; 8) Pius II: Epistolae  Epistolae familiares. Ed. Nikolaus Wyle. Norimbergae: Anton Koberger, 1478, 1486  Enee Silvii Piccolominei Epistolarium Secvlare. Ed. A. van Heck. Città del Vaticano, 2007 Pius II: Opera  Pius II: Opera quae extant omnia. Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1551 & 1571 Pius II: Orationes  Pius II: Orationes politicae et ecclesiasticae. Ed. Giovanni Domenico Mansi. 3 vols. Lucca: Benedini, 1755-1759  Collected Orations of Pope Pius II. Ed. and transl. by Michael v. Cotta-Schönberg. 12 vols. 2019-2020 Schucan, Luzi: Das Nachleben von Basilius Magnus "ad adolescentes". Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des christlichen Humanismus. Genève, 1973. (Travaux d'humanisme et renaissance; 133) Solinus, Gajus Julius: Collectanea rerum memorabilium [3 rd c.]  Caius Julius Solinus: Wunder der Welt. Eingeleitet, übersetzt und kommentiert von Kai Brodersen. Darmstadt, 2014 Strnad, Alfred A.: Johannes Hinderbachs Obedienz-Ansprache vor Papst Pius II -Päpstliche und kaiserliche Politik in der Mitte des Quattrocento. In: Römische historische Mitteilungen, 10 (1966/67) 41-183 / pp. 165-177 Strnad, Alfred A.: Die Rezeption von Humanismus und Renaissance in Wien. In: Humanismus und Renaissance in Ostmitteleuropa vor der Reformation, hrsg. von W. Eberhard & A.A. Strnad. Köln, 1996. (Forschungen und Quellen zur Kirchen-und Kulturgeschichte Ostdeutschlands; 28) Tournoy, Gilbert: La storiografia greca nell'umanesimo -Arriano, Pier Paolo Vergerio e Enea Silvio Piccolomini. In: Humanistica Lovaniensia, 55 (2006) 1-8 H = München / Bayerische Staatsbibliothek / Clm 5311 I = München / Bayerische Staatsbibliothek / Clm 18802 M = München / Bayerische Staatsbibliothek / Clm 215 R = Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana / Ross. 786 U = Uppsala / Universitetsbibliotek / C 916 LH = Lhotsky, Alpons: Die Wiener Artistenfakultät 1365-1497. Wien, 1965. (Sitzungsberichte der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-historische Klasse; 247), pp. 263-273 WY = Pius II: Epistolae familiares. Ed. Nikolaus Wyle. Norimbergae: Anton Koberger, 1486 / Ep. CIIII Abbreviations CO = Pius II: Commentarii rerum memorabilium quae suis temporibus contigerunt [1464] HA = Eneas Silvius Piccolomini: Historia Austrialis. Teil 1: Einleitung von Martin Wagendorfer. 1. Redaktion ed. von Julia Knödler. Teil 2: 2./3, ed. Martin Wagendorfer. 2 vols. Hannover, 2009. (Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum. Nova Series; 24) HB = Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini: Historia Bohemica. Herausg. J. Hejnic & H. Rothe. 2 vols. Köln, 2005. (Bausteine zur slavischen Philologie und Kulturgeschichte. Neue Folge. Reihe B; 20) MA = Pius II: Orationes politicae et ecclesiasticae. Ed. Giovanni Domenico Mansi. 3 vols. Lucca: Benedini, 1755-1759 MPL = Migne, Jacques-Paul: Patrologia latina. 217 vols. 1841-1865 RTA = Deutsche Reichstagsakten WO = Der Briefwechsel des Eneas Silvius Piccolomini. Hrsg. von Rudolf Wolkan. 3 vols. Wien, 1909-1918 Decretum = Decretum magistri Gratiani. Ed. Lipsiensis secunda. Eds. A.L. Richter & A. Friedberg. 2 vols. Leipzig, 1879 Epistolarium = Enee Silvii Piccolominei Epistolarium Secvlare. Ed. A. van Heck. Città del Vaticano, 2007 Rainaldus = Annales ecclesiastici ab anno MCXCVIII ubi Card. Baronius desinit. Auct. Odoricus Raynaldus. Tom. XVIII-XIX. Roma: Varesius, 1659-1663 Reject = Reject Aeneas, accept Pius : Selected letters of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II). Intr. and transl. by T.M. Izbicki et al. Washington, D.C., 2006 II. TEXT AND TRANSLATION 1 Wiennensis studii : studii Wiennensis R 2 omit. H, R 3 fuere R 4 quod disputatum fuerat : disputato R 5 de Dinkelspuehl omit. H, R 6 omit. H, R 7 divo Romanorum omit. H, R 8 Frederico H 9 Rege divo Romanorum Friderico : divo Romanorum rege Friderico I 10 Austriae Stiriae duce omit. H, R 11 omit. H, R 12 presentibus H, R 13 omit. R 14 preponebantur H, R 15 Anno … proponebantur : Eneas Silvius In quotlibeto Wynensi M; omit. U; Triplicis probleumatis resolutio. Epistola CIIII. WY 16 dum revertentes deliberatione ut moris est accepta ut subsequitur incepit: Responsio Enee facta in aula Wiennense add. R 17 omit. I 18 atque M, U, WY 19 alios M, U, WY; alia corr. ex alias H; alias R 20 alias rite add. in marg. U; recte WY 27 notam fortasse : fortasse notam U, WY 28 omit. M, U, WY 29 optima munera : optimis muneribus WY Haec sunt 1 , nisi fallor 2 , quae vestra singularis prudentia, magister et disputator insignis, ex me percontata est.

  Quaesierunt 1 et alii duo, qui illic assident, quaedam alia, ut moris est in disputatione, quae de re qualibet habetur. Illa 2 ego memoriae non habeo 3 . Neque enim Cineas 4 sum, ille Pyrrhi legatus, qui altera die, qua5 Romam intraverat, {138v} universum senatum et equestrem ordinem propriis nominibus salutavit, tanta 6 eum 7 fuisse memoria 8 tradunt historiae. Respondebo igitur his 9 tantum tribus, quae retuli, problematibus 10 . Nec verebor 11 me dicere imparatum fuisse12 , cum illa quaererentur, nam et Demosthenes, qui omnium Graecorum praecipuus orator fuit, interrogatus jussusque13 sententiam in senatu dicere[START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] non erubuit imparatum 15 se[START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] venisse respondere. Quidam adeo cupidi gloriae sunt, ut ex tempore[START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] velint cuilibet interrogatiunculae satisfacere, sed his saepe, dum gloria quaeritur, ingens ignominia crescit. Nec enim humanum est cuilibet interroganti bene respondere, sed est hujus auditorii tanta modestia, ut data sit unicuique ad cogitandum mora. Qua nunc ipse usus paratus adveni vestris petitionibus, magister ornatissime ac hujus 18 universitatis clarissmum jubar 19 , non solum respondere, sed etiam, ut 20 opinor, satisfacere. Nihil tamen dicam quasi vestram doctrinam instruens 21 , sed tamquam meam ignorantiam erudiens verbum habeo 22 daboque locum responsis vestris, quibus me melius et rectius admonueritis.

	1 fuit LH 2 sunt nisi fallor : nisi fallor sunt R 3 Johann of Dinkelsbühl 4 Frederick III [Habsburg] (1415-1493): Duke of Austria (as Frederick V) from 1424. Elected King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor in 1440, crowned in Rome in 1452. Piccolomini's employer from 1442 to 1455 1 quesiverunt H, M, R 2 omit. R 3 teneo M, U, WY 4 Cineus vel Cineas I 5 cum M 6 tante M 7 tanta eum : eum tanta R 8 memorie M 9 omit. R 10 probleumatibus H, I, R, U, WY; propleumatibus M 11 vereor H, R; verebor corr. ex vereor I 12 dicere imparatum fuisse : imparatum fuisse dicere R 13 visusque H; visusque corr. ex jussusque I 14 omit. I 15 imperatum WY 16 omit. WY 17 parte I 18 omit. R 19 ac hujus … jubar omit. I, M 20 omit. H, R 21 instruendus U 22 habebo M, U

5

Sigismund

[Habsburg]

(1427-1496): Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Tirol from 1446 to 1490. Cousin of Emperor Friedrich III and his ward until 1446 6 "vir" 7 "singularis prudentia"

[2]

  Thessaly and friend og King Pyrrhus who after the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC sent him to negotiate peace with the Roman Senate. In Antiquity famed for his memory 2 Pyrrhus (ca. 319-272 BC): Greek general and statesman. King of Epirus and Macedon. Fought Rome. After the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC, he sent Cineas to Rome to negotiate a peace. Defeated a Roman army at the Battle of Asculum in 279 BC, but lost so many men that he could not afford more victories! (Pyrrhic victory) 3 Solinus: Collectanea rerum memorabilium, 1, 109 (p. 27): Cineas Pyrrhi legatus postero die, quam ingressus Romam fuerat, et equestrem ordinem et senatum propriis nominibus salutavit 4 Demosthenes (384-322 BC): Athenian statesman. Considered one of the best Greek orators

1

Cineas: (fl. 3 rd ca. BC): minister of

  cum 18 discernuntur a bonis mala. Id si 19 sic se habet, laudabilior est scientia quam prudentia: plura enim complectitur. Nec Cicero ab hoc dissentit, dum in rhetoricis 20 ait prudentiam esse rerum bonarum et 21 malarum ac 22 utrarumque 23 scientiam. Sed aliter Augustinus in libro De moribus ecclesiae diffinit. Sic enim ait: Prudentia est amor eorum 24 , quibus adjuvatur in Deum, ab his, quibus impeditur, sagaciter 25 eligens. Et alibi sic diffinitur: Prudentia est rerum bonarum et malarum 26 cum 27 alterarum dilectione et reliquarum 28 detestatione scientia.

	1 De prima questione in marg. M 2 ut H, R 3 amplecto WY 4 enim add. I 5 illorum librorum : librorum illorum I 6 em.; malos codd. 7 comitatur I, M, R; comitatus WY 8 habitus idem : idem habitus WY 9 est habitus idem : idem habitus est R 10 omit. R, U 11 haec H, R 12 diffiniamus R 13 omit. WY 14 illud M; omit. R 15 de quo : quod H, R 16 enim add. U; igitur add. I, M, WY 17 omit. R 18 qua U 19 omit. H, R 20 rethoricis H, I, M, R, U 21 atque I; ac M 22 et I 23 utraque WY 24 ea H, R, U 25 sagacior U 26 et malarum: malarumque WY 27 omit. I, M 28 aliquarum LH

  non solum 18 illuminat intellectum, sed etiam calefacit affectum. [cont.]

	1 vir add. M 2 detestatur H 3 omit. H, R 4 huius R 5 omit. U 6 effectum H, R 7 sapientissimus WY 8 tamen add. U 9 tricentas I, M, U 10 septingentas I; septuagintaque M; septuagintas H, R, U; septuaginta LH 11 omit. I 12 omit. U 13 et R 14 virens alias vivus I; unus WY 15 omit. U 16 solo I 17 que H, M, R, WY 18 omit. WY

  est. Scientia vero juris et totius 18 moralis philosophiae minime hoc 19 operatur; ergo virtus non est. Si non est virtus, nec 20 prudentia est, quam constat esse virtutem.

	1 posset H, R 2 Senecamque WY 3 numerari WY 4 enim U 5 virum bonum : bonum virum U 6 facit I, M 7 ergo et … reddit omit. U 8 omit. R 9 hominem bonum : virum bonum U 10 afficiat U 11 eam in libro omit. H, R 12 qualitate U 13 animi I 14 diffinivit U 15 qualitas U 16 fieri virtute homines : fieri homines virtute; virtute fieri homines WY 17 necessum H, R; necessarium WY 18 et totius : totiusque H, R, U, WY 19 omit. WY 20 neque H, R

8 1

 8 Cicero 2 Seneca the Younger [Lucius Annaeus Seneca] (ca. 4 BC-65 AD): Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and writer. Tutor of Emperor Nero 3 A syllogism, where the Major is: Virtue makes a man good. The Minor: Wisdom is a virtue. The Conclusion: Ergo, wisdom is a virtue 4 Augustinus: De quantitate animae, 16. MPL, XXXII, col. 1052: Virtus est aequalitas vitae rationi undique consentientis. See also Seneca: Epistulae ad Lucilium, 31.8: Perfecta virtus est aequalitas et tenor vitae per omnia consonans sibi. See also Cicero: De inventione, 2, 54.159: Nam virtus est animi habitus, naturae modo, rationi consentaneus

  Nam priscis temporibus, cum sapientia virtusque 1 viguit, tantus honor huic doctrinae impendebatur, ut sicut 2 post victoriam imperator, sic 3 et post consummatum studium poeta laureatus per urbem 4 triumphali curru sequentibus civibus 5 ac festum agentibus duceretur. Hinc et Julius Caesar, Romani fundator imperii, et Augustus, successor ejus, ad magnam sibi laudem reputarunt in collegio recipi poetarum, nec aegre tulit Julius, cum sibi collegium intranti non assurgeret Accius, quem poetam norat se 6 esse praestantiorem. Scipio Africanus Major 7 poetam Ennium 8 adeo dilexit, ut eum viarum suarum omnium comitem habere voluit 9 ejusque statuam in suo sepulchro collocari mandavit.[cont.]

	3
	1 "prudentia" 2 Piccolomini had previously treated poetry and poets in his Pentalogus of 1443 and in his letter to Wilhelm Stein of 1 June 1444, see above 3 Piccolomini had already touched upon this subject the year before, in his letter to Wilhelm von Stein of 1 June 1444, with a reference to Cicero: Cicero, qui fuit lingue latine princeps, semper poetas fuisse raros testator, quoniam hec 1 utriusque M 2 sibi R 3 ita H, R; omit. WY 4 orbem H 5 civilibus WY 6 norat se : se norat U 7 omit. I 8 Eneam U

facultas donum dei est, quod non omnibus datur. Artes cetere studio, diligentia preceptionibusque possunt apprehendi, hanc nemo assequitur nisi diuino munere preditus (Epistolarium, p. 290). Cicero: Pro Archia, 8, 19: Qua re suo iure noster ille Ennius sanctos appellat poëtas, quod quasi deorum aliquo dono atque munere commendati nobis esse videantur

[9]

  8 [cont.] Augustus, Gajus Octavius (63 BC-14 AD): Adoptive son of Julius Caesar. Founder of the Roman Empire and its first emperor, ruling from 27 BC to his death5 Valerius Maximus: Facta et dicta memorabilia, 3.7.11. It is not clear which poet Accius Valerius speaks of since the famous Lucius Accius died c. 86 BC when Julius Caesar was only 14 years old. Piccolomini had already alluded to this theme the year before in his letter to Wilhelm Stein of 1 June 1444, see. Lysander, Lacedaemoniorum imperator, dum obsideret Athenas, quia comperit 1 poetam Sophoclem 2 interisse 3 corpusque suum adhuc inhumatum esse, indutias dedit, ut poetae magno congruae fierent exequiae. Alexander, Amyntae 4 filius, rex Macedonum, Pindarum poetam apprime dilexit. Archelaus 5 , qui ei successit 6 , Euripidi tragico consiliorum summam credidit 7 . Alexander Magnus, cum transisset in Asiam vidissetque tumulum Hectoris: O 8 fortunate, inquit, adolescens[START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] , quem talis tuba decantavit! Voluisset nempe et ipse Homerum alterum habuisse 10 , qui suas laudes cecinisset, sed non fuit adeo felix. Choerilum tamen poetam multis donavit muneribus, etsi fuit ineptus, ut Flaccus inquit. Some say that Alexander crowned the tomb of Achilles, while Hephaestion, others say, placed a wreath on Patroclus' tomb; and Alexander, so the story goes, blessed Achilles for having Homer to proclaim his fame to posterity.Alexander might well have counted Achilles happy on this score, since, fortunate as Alexander was in other ways, there was a great gap left here, and Alexander's exploits were never celebrated as they deserved, either in prose or verse; there were not even choral lyrics for Alexander as for Hiero, Gelo, Thero and many others not to be compared with him, so that Alexander's exploits are far less known than very minor deeds of old times. (Arrian: Anabasis ofAlexander, 1.12). Piccolomini knew the text of Arrian in the Latin translation by Pier Paolo Vergerio which he had somehow gotten hold of, see Tournoy. It is not known when he acquired that manuscript, and it might have been after his composition of the oration "Aderat nuper" 11 I.e. Homer. In the Western classical tradition, Homer is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Most modern researchers place Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC12 Horace Cum ergo tales tantique {140r} viri poetas amarint et honori habuerint 1 , eosdem nostris temporibus contemni, non indigne miror. Verum quia dicitis in quaestione vestra, magister gravissime, poetas videri utiles et necessarios, constat ex hoc vestram prudentiam nonnihil detraxisse dignitati poeticae 2 . Non enim, ut sunt, poetas utiles esse 3 dicitis, sed videri utiles. Plura namque videntur utilia, quae non sunt. Est igitur huic parti obviandum monstrandumque poetas et utiles et necessarios fore, quod paucis agam.

	1 "doctrina" 2 "studium" 3 Julius Caesar, Gaius (100-44 BC): Roman general and statesman
	4 Epistolarium, p. 289 6 Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus [Scipio Africanus the Younger] (185-129 BC): politician of the Roman Republic, twice consul. As general he destroyed Carthage in 146 BC 7 Ennius, Quintus (ca. 239-ca. 169 BC): Roman poet 1 comperiit WY 2 Sophodem M 3 interiisse M, U 4 Amitae H, I, M, U; amice WY 5 Archillas R; Archilaus U, WY 6 successerat M

8

Cicero: Pro Archia, 9.22: Carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius, itaque etiam in sepulcro Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus ex marmore.

Cf. also Valerius Maximus: Facta et dicta memorabilia, 8.14.1. See also Solinus: Collectanea mirabilium mundi, 1.122, p. 29

. Piccolomini had already used this example the year before in his letter to Wilhelm Stein of 1 June 1444, see Epistolarium, p. 289

[9 cont.]

7 credidit corr. ex tradidit H; tradidit U 8 omit. R 9 omit. I 10 habuisset I the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into present-day Pakistan

[START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF]

Hector (Greek myth.): Son of King Priam of Troy. Killed by Achilles 10 Piccolomini had already used this quote the year before in his letter to Wilhelm Stein of 1 June 1444, see Epistolarium, p. 289. He had it from Cicero: Pro Archia, 10.24, but here the text is: Atque is tamen, quum in Sigeo ad Achillis tumulum astitisset: "O fortunate, inquit, adolescens, qui tuae virtutis Homerum praeconem inveneris!" Note that Piccolomini misquotes Cicero, either through a lapsus of memory or because be reproduced an error in his source. Piccolomini would also -later -be able to read Arrian's passage on Alexander's visit to Achilles' tomb in Sigeum:

3

13

Choerilus of Iasus (4th c.): Poet from Iasus. Accompanied Alexander the Great on his expeditions and functioned as his court-poet 14 Horatius: Epistolae, 2.1.232: gratus Alexandro regi magno fuit ille Choerilus, incultis qui versibus et male natis rettulit acceptos, regale nomisma, Philippos

[10]

  [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] , in numero poetarum fuit. Tres enim, quos lingua12 sua composuit libros, Parabolas, Ecclesiasten et Cantica canticorum, hexametris et13 pentametris versibus currere voluit, sicut Josephus Jeronimusque testantur. Isaias quoque canticum suum eadem metrorum quantitate conscripsit, nec Jeremias poetae nomen[START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] abhorruit, qui, sicut Isidorus ait, pleraque ex suis operibus 15 diverso metro[START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] composuit. Quae idcirco retuli, ut videatis etiam domesticos 17 fidei 18 poeticae navasse operas. Quos et Christiani secuti sunt uti 19 Damasus, Ambrosius, Gregorius et alii, qui postea diversis poetarum mensuris hymnos scripsere[START_REF] Ciceronem Venio | Quid hic dicemus quibusve armis tuebimur? Magnus est testis Cicero[END_REF] . Nam qui 21 de Johanne Baptista canitur 22 hymnus, Saphicum carmen habet: {140v} Ut queant laxis resonare fibris. Transeo Boethium Severinum, qui, licet philosophus 23 sanctus 24 fuerit, 25 nullum 26 tamen genus carminis neglexit. Duoque tantummodo referam exempla, quibus utilem constat esse poeticam. Inter Athenienses et Megarenses de proprietate Salaminae 1 insulae prope usque interitum armis dimicatum fuerat. Post multas clades capitalis 2 3 esse apud Athenienses 4 cepit 5 , si quis de vindicanda 6 insula legem tulisset. Quam rem Solon, cum aliter non posset, insuetis sibi versibus perturbavit atque animos civium arte 7 poetica sic cepit, ut extemplo bellum adversus Megarenses decerneretur insulaque devictis hostibus Atheniensium fieret. Refero 8 aliud: Inter Messenios atque[START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] Lacedaemonios bellum erat. Dux Lacedaemoniorum Thirtheus poeta Atheniensis 10 claudus fuit. Cumque 11 multa sinistre perpessi essent12 Lacedaemonii, ne contra fortunam majora detrimenta civitati inferrent, reducere13 exercitum voluerunt. Sed intervenit Thirteus, qui[START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] composita carmina exercitui pro contione recitavit, in quibus hortamenta virtutis, damnorum solatia, belli consilia scripsit. Itaque tantum ardorem militibus injecit, ut commisso proelio mox victoriam obtinuerunt 15 . Sic duo clarissimae civitates, Sparta et Athenae, quae duo totius Graeciae oculi putabantur, consilio et ingenio poetarum relevatae sunt.

	1 omit. I 2 omit. M 3 Falerii I 4 omit. I, M 5 vel R 6 Aloyci I; Altaici M, U 7 versus add. I, M 8 omit. R 9 causam et : et causam H 10 magno tempore R 11 dimirantur I, WY 12 ligua I, M, U 13 atque H, R, U, WY 14 poetae nomen : nomen poetae H, R 15 opibus WY 16 diverso metro : diversa metra I 17 domesticas I 18 omit. I 19 et I; ut M 20 scripsisse I; scripserunt R 21 quid H; qui LH 22 cantatur U 23 omit. I, M 24 factus LH 25 fuit I 26 malum R [13] 1 Salmanie H 2 capitale U; capitales LH 3 cepit add. M 4 esse apud Athenienses : apud Athenienses esse R 5 omit. M 6 iudicanda U, WY 7 omit. H, R 8 referam U 9 et M, U 10 omit. I 11 cum itaque U 12 erant H; que R 13 ad add. H, R 14 et R 15 obtinuerint WY

  1 , brevitas, gravitas haberi 2 non potest, nisi ex poetarum fontibus hauriatur. Hinc Jeronimus, Lactantius, Augustinus, Ambrosius 3 , Cyprianus, Leo et ceteri, qui litteras 4 sacras ornatissime commentati 5 sunt, studiosi fuerunt {141r} poeticae, sicut eorum scripta demonstrant poetarum dictis ubique referta. In Aristotelis voluminibus omnes scitis, quam crebra et inculcata sint testimonia poetarum, quamvis moderni doctores non sine gravi damno catholicae fidei poeticam spernant 6 , quae procul dubio necessaria est 7 . Sed 8 referre 9 gratias Deo suasque laudes pulchre cantare debemus, nec enim alii sunt, qui psalmodiam dulcesque hymnos ac 10 suavissima de Deo suisque sanctis carmina recte componere norint nisi poetae, quos tam 11 utiles 12 et 13 , ut monstratum est, necessarios mirandum[START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] est dignis honoribus non efferri 15 et maxime 16 , cum eorum doctrina, sicut Cicero tradit, et philosophiam et alias scientias vetustate 17 praecedat 18 , cujus repertores Museus atque Orpheus reputantur, qui vicini erant 19 Saturnis 20 temporibus 21 .

	1 exposicio R 2 habere WY 3 omit. I, M 4 omit. I 5 communicati I 6 spernunt I 7 necessaria est : est necessaria M 8 si M, U; tibi add. WY 9 ferre WY 10 omit. U 11 tamen H, I, R 12 viles M 13 omit. H, I, R 14 morandum I 15 afferri R 16 maxima R 17 vetuste H, R 18 procedat R 19 fuerunt M, U, WY 20 Saturni M, U, WY 21 partibus I

  crimina referunt[START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] , non est reprehensibile, quando id 15 agunt, ut homines ab his deterreant, nam et theologi idem factitant. Qui vero vitia probant, rarissimi sunt, nec, quod duo tresve faciunt, in commune[START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] trahendum est. Nec 17 idcirco vituperanda est poesis, quia quidam poetarum errores tuentur, nam, si sic pergimus 18 , nullam doctrinam sequemur 19 , sed ipsam scientiarum matrem philosophiam contemnemus, nam et ipsos constat errasse philosophos. Quid enim mollius aut languidius dici potest Epicuri sententia, qui omnem felicitatem in voluptatibus collocavit[START_REF] Ciceronem Venio | Quid hic dicemus quibusve armis tuebimur? Magnus est testis Cicero[END_REF] et animas 21 negavit immortales existere? Pythagoras inferos esse negat 22 23 et animas[START_REF]Secunda causa est, quia nemo poeta est, nisi 1 cui hoc singulare munus ex alto traditum est, ut cautis 2 ac 3 4 sententiosis versibus humanos actus conscribat. Singularia autem munera excellentia 5 paucis dantur. Ideo 6 pauci sunt poetae. Poesis namque, ut Cicero in oratione pro Archia poeta 7 dicit, munus est Dei nec arte vel 8 imitatione potest haberi 9 , nisi virtus 10 vera dicendi 11 12 13 detur ex alto. Ex quo fit, sicut idem 14 Cicero asserit 15 , ut non solum nostris, sed omnibus temporibus rarissimi poetae fuerunt. Tertia rarietatis causa est, quia successu temporis crescentibus hominum vitiis virtutibusque pereuntibus sicut 16 aliae disciplinae diminutae sunt 17 , sic et poesis ad nihilum videtur redacta. Nam sicut nemo mihi vel Augustinum vel Jeronimum 18 hodie dabit, sic vel Vergilium vel Ovidium 19 dabit nemo 20 . Quarta causa est et in hoc ultimo loco, quia non redditur poesi suus honor. Ideo pauci sunt poetae. Namque, ut Cicero dicit: Honor alit artes omnesque incendimur ad studia gloriae 21 . Ubi vero deest honor, ibi et studium deficit. Ac 22 sic 23 fit, ut pauci nostris temporibus poeticam assequantur[END_REF] hominum post mortem in alia putat animantia pertransire25 . Averroes unam in omnibus corporibus 26 animam esse 27 rebatur. It will not be difficult for me to answer [these objections], if it would be easy for you to hear.

	2.3.1.2. Refutation
	[18]
	1 vobis facile fuerit : fuerit vobis facile R 2 omit. I 3 fit U 4 culpe M 5 em.; tempore H, I, M, R, WY; temporum LH 6 colebantur idola : idola colebantur M, U, WY 7 omit. U 8 omit. I; hujus R; illi WY 9 omit. I 10 omit. H, R 11 omit. H, R 12 venerari fatentur : fatentur venerari I 13 omit. I 14 referant H, R, U, WY 15 illud I 16 communi WY 17 neque H, R 18 peregrinus I 19 sequamur I; sequimur R, U 20 posuit I, M 21 omit. I; animos H, R, U 22 negavit U, WY 23 et animas … negat omit. R 24 animos H, R, U 25 transire I, M 26 viventibus R 27 omit. H, R

  legebat, ut sacras litteras fastidiret. Quod ego nec laudo nec probo, sed ita legendos poetas dico, ut eorum 17 imbuti coloribus scripturam sacram ornatissime sciamus proferre. Nec enim sequendi sunt aliqui, qui ex floribus nihil sumunt praeter odorem atque colorem, sed imitandae sunt apes, quae 18 mel 19 etiam 20 exinde norunt excerpere. What about the theologians whom we today honour most of all? Did they never err? What about Arius, 1 what about Eutyches, 2 what about Nestorius, 3 what about those almost countless others who caused division in the Church?

	[19]
	1 numquam H 2 Eitices H; Eutite I; Eutides WY; Eutices LH 3 Huss I, M, U 4 sic M 5 omit. I, M 6 oberrent WY 7 dici potest : potest dici M 8 possemus WY 9 omit. I 10 et M 11 artes add. R 12 iis U 13 uti male : male uti U 14 possimus M, U, WY 15 nec I, M 16 Jeronimus sic eum : sic eum Jeronimus H, R, U; sic Hieronymus eum M, WY 17 omit. R 18 qui [sic!] LH 19 omit. I 20 mel etiam : eciam mel U

  [START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] etiam veteres gentilesque poetae recipiendi {142r} sint, cum antiquissima disciplinarum sit 17 poetica, cum magni ex ea et necessarii fructus resultent, cum philosophi sanctique doctores pleni sint 18 auctoritatibus poetarum, cum Caesares atque reges omnesque maximi viri poetas suis temporibus honorifice susceperunt19 , cum divinae laudes a nullis melius queant 20 21 quam a poetis decantari, non immerito -sicut ab initio dixi -mirandum est nostro tempore 22 vilipendi poetas, quamvis jam in Italia 23 resurgere coeperint et[START_REF]Secunda causa est, quia nemo poeta est, nisi 1 cui hoc singulare munus ex alto traditum est, ut cautis 2 ac 3 4 sententiosis versibus humanos actus conscribat. Singularia autem munera excellentia 5 paucis dantur. Ideo 6 pauci sunt poetae. Poesis namque, ut Cicero in oratione pro Archia poeta 7 dicit, munus est Dei nec arte vel 8 imitatione potest haberi 9 , nisi virtus 10 vera dicendi 11 12 13 detur ex alto. Ex quo fit, sicut idem 14 Cicero asserit 15 , ut non solum nostris, sed omnibus temporibus rarissimi poetae fuerunt. Tertia rarietatis causa est, quia successu temporis crescentibus hominum vitiis virtutibusque pereuntibus sicut 16 aliae disciplinae diminutae sunt 17 , sic et poesis ad nihilum videtur redacta. Nam sicut nemo mihi vel Augustinum vel Jeronimum 18 hodie dabit, sic vel Vergilium vel Ovidium 19 dabit nemo 20 . Quarta causa est et in hoc ultimo loco, quia non redditur poesi suus honor. Ideo pauci sunt poetae. Namque, ut Cicero dicit: Honor alit artes omnesque incendimur ad studia gloriae 21 . Ubi vero deest honor, ibi et studium deficit. Ac 22 sic 23 fit, ut pauci nostris temporibus poeticam assequantur[END_REF] pariter cum theologis honorari.

	1 verbis WY 2 quod in … amputatis omit. WY 3 blanditoriis U 4 sublimanturque WY 5 cepibus U 6 ponit I, M 7 omit. I 8 omit. R 9 omit. I 10 ut I 11 ceptus U; alias ceptum add. in marg. U 12 omne valere sinunt omit. I 13 omne valere sinunt : dimittunt M 14 exceperimus H; receperimus WY 15 transgrediamur U, WY 16 sanctissimique Jeronimi : Jeronimique sanctissimi I 17 disciplinarum sit : sit disciplinarum R 18 sunt R 19 susceperint M 20 omit. WY 21 melius queant : queant melius I 22 nostro tempore : nostris temporibus I, M 23 jam in Italia : in Italia iam WY 24 ac H, R

  Pro Archia, 8.18: Atqui sic a summis hominibus eruditissimisque accepimus, ceterarum rerum studia et doctrina et praeceptis et arte constare, poëtam natura ipsa valere et mentis viribus excitari et quasi divino quodam spiritu inflari. Qua re suo iure noster ille Ennius sanctos appellat poëtas, quod quasi deorum aliquo dono atque munere commendati nobis esse videantur. Piccolomini had already used this theme the year before in his letter to Wilhelm Stein of1 June 1444, cf. Epistolarium, p. 290

1 "cautus" 2 Cicero: 3 Quotation not identified

4

Ovidius Naso, Publius (43 BC-17/18 AD): Roman poet

5

Cicero: Tusculanae disputationes, 1.2.4: Honos alit artes omnesque incenduntur ad studia gloria

  [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] est post mortem labor15 . Nam isti[START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] , qui dicuntur homines, cum aliquem volunt sapientem facere, corium meum adhuc pilosum recipiunt frontemque illius adornant, quem volunt esse sapientem. Doctores enim creantes[START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] , meis eos 18 pellibus vestiunt meque, quod est rerum omnium difficillimum, ex magnis bestiis viros oportet sapientes efficere19 . Sic enim corium meum fata disposuerunt, quod est mihi 20 gravissimum et 21 molestissimum." Audiverunt haec rectores cancellariae videntesque 22 in coriis cadaverum magnas esse 23 virtutes, non censuerunt illa parvo pretio danda, sed ea atque camisias cum cera, sicut aequum erat, magno pretio coeperunt vendere imitatique sacerdotes, qui sonum campanarum et fumum et aquam et verba dantes magnis utuntur emolumentis, coria sua non putaverunt gratis danda.[START_REF]Secunda causa est, quia nemo poeta est, nisi 1 cui hoc singulare munus ex alto traditum est, ut cautis 2 ac 3 4 sententiosis versibus humanos actus conscribat. Singularia autem munera excellentia 5 paucis dantur. Ideo 6 pauci sunt poetae. Poesis namque, ut Cicero in oratione pro Archia poeta 7 dicit, munus est Dei nec arte vel 8 imitatione potest haberi 9 , nisi virtus 10 vera dicendi 11 12 13 detur ex alto. Ex quo fit, sicut idem 14 Cicero asserit 15 , ut non solum nostris, sed omnibus temporibus rarissimi poetae fuerunt. Tertia rarietatis causa est, quia successu temporis crescentibus hominum vitiis virtutibusque pereuntibus sicut 16 aliae disciplinae diminutae sunt 17 , sic et poesis ad nihilum videtur redacta. Nam sicut nemo mihi vel Augustinum vel Jeronimum 18 hodie dabit, sic vel Vergilium vel Ovidium 19 dabit nemo 20 . Quarta causa est et in hoc ultimo loco, quia non redditur poesi suus honor. Ideo pauci sunt poetae. Namque, ut Cicero dicit: Honor alit artes omnesque incendimur ad studia gloriae 21 . Ubi vero deest honor, ibi et studium deficit. Ac 22 sic 23 fit, ut pauci nostris temporibus poeticam assequantur[END_REF]

	1 duobus U 2 tribus H; omit. R; [de] tribus LH 3 ridiculosa H 4 ridicula tertia : tertia ridiculosa R 5 optima minera : optimis muneribus WY 6 Hercule H 7 ingenio WY 8 quod etiam : etiam quod H, R 9 cribi H; cribra U 10 et I 11 varius (?) LH 12 parium WY 13 parvum animal : animal parvum U 14 opus WY 15 labori WY 16 hii R 17 omit. I 18 meis eos : eos meis I 19 sapientes efficere : efficere sapientes I, M 20 et add. I, M 21 ac H, R 22 magnas esse add. U 23 magnas esse omit. U 24 dandis WY

  5 scribebantur 6 , sicut 7 et Cicero et Damasus et Isidorus attestantur. Exinde tam Graeci quam Tusci superinducere ceras incoeperunt illasque graphio ferreo inscripserunt. Post haec cartarum usus apud Aegyptum coepit 8 , quae ex decerpto papyri tegmine conficiebantur, ac postmodum ex lineis pannis jam ineptis aliis 9 usibus. Exinde reges Pergami membranarum usum excogitarunt 10 , quae ex membris 11 pecudum detrahuntur12 et adhuc propter memoriam loci pergamena dicuntur. Quia igitur in cartis, quae ex vetustis fiunt13 camisiis, et in cutibus pecorum ad usum scribendi paratis res magnae maximaeque notantur, non est injuria, si hoc 14 15 magno pretio[START_REF]Nunc tempus est, ut eorum argumenta dissolvam, qui poeticae solent detrahere poetasque carpere[END_REF] venduntur[START_REF] Wy ; H | Poetarum libri deos esse plures 2 affirmant eosque discordes, plura quoque 3 in his adulteria et nefanda crimina continentur ac nunc amorem suadent illicitum, nunc alia vitia probant 4 . Quod si idcirco beatus Jeronimus 5 se caesum ab angelo narrat, quia 6 Ciceronianus 7 esset 8 , cum tamen Cicero totus moralis existat, quibus 9 tandem 10 verberibus afficiendus erit, qui poetarum lenociniis oblectatur? Platoque 11 in his, quos edidit de re publica, libris 12 poetas censuit ex sua, quam ordinavit 13 , civitate pellendos, ne 14 blandis orationibus 15 viriles 16 animos demollirent[END_REF] . Non enim res, quae continet, sed quae 18 contenta est, in extimationem venit. Ac 19 sic tribus quaestionibus vestris, excellentissime magister[START_REF] Ciceronem Venio | Quid hic dicemus quibusve armis tuebimur? Magnus est testis Cicero[END_REF] , respondisse sufficiat 21 , vestro gravi et optimo judicio nihilominus salvo.22 23

	1 ac M, WY 2 emissis I 3 transeamus I, M 4 lingno H; tab vel (tabulis?) I 5 eloquia U 6 et add. I 7 sic M 8 omit. I 9 omit. U 10 excogitaverunt I, R 11 membro R 12 detrahentur I; detrahantur WY 13 fiebant WY 14 hec I, R, U 15 si hoc : hoc si WY 16 omit. H, M, U 17 pretio venduntur : venduntur pretio R 18 omit. R 19 at WY 20 haec add. WY 21 sufficiant WY 22 Laus Deo add. M

23

Hanc praescriptam responsionem pronuntiavit Hermannus Edlawer praesente domino Aenea ac legente in latere add. H; Hanc praescriptam responsionem pronuntiavit Hermannus Edlawer praesente domino Aenea ac legente in latere illeg. quo supra add. R [This addition has somewhat baffled researchers, but

Kisch, p. 48, n. 6

, noted as follows: Dieser Schlussbemerk … muss vorläufig als apokryph betrachtet werden].

Cf. also Wagendorfer, pp. 47-49

Strnad: Rezeption, p. 81

Kisch, p. 47

Ibid.

Except for calling Homer the first of poets

Koller,

I.e. parchment

I.e. paper

i.e. wax seals

Kisch, p. 42

The Nova Structura was built 1423-1425

Kisch, p. 42

Concerning the textual transmission of Pius II´s orations, see Collected orations of PopePius, vol. 1, ch. 5

Manuscripts for which an orthographical profile is given in Collected orations of Pope Pius II, vol. 11, are marked with an asterisk

Cf. Wagendorfer, p. 23, n. 7

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (106-43 BC): Roman statesman and author

Cicero: De officiis, 1.2.7: Omnis enim, quae [a] ratione suscipitur de aliqua re institutio, debet a definitione proficisci, ut intellegatur, quid sit id, de quo disputetur

Isidore of Seville (ca. 550-636): Archbishop of Seville. Author of Etymologiae, an encyclopedia based on classical works which served as a storehouse of knowledge for later centuries

Isidore: Etymologiae, 2, 24, 2: Scientia est cum res aliqua certa ratione percipitur

Isidore: Etymologiae, 2, 24,

6: Prudentia est cum discernuntur a bonis mala 6 Cicero: De inventione, 2.53.160: Prudentia est rerum bonarum et malarum neutrarumque scientia 7 Augustinus, Aurelius (354-430): Bishop of Hippo. Theologian. Doctor of the Church. Saint 8 Augustine: De moribus ecclesiae catholicae, 1, 15, 25. MPL, XXXII, col. 1322 9 Cf. Jean de la Rochelle: Tractatus de divisione multiplici potentiarum animae, p. 166: Similiter Arialdus in libro de requie mentis: Prudentia est rerum bonarum et malarum cum alterarum delectatione et reliquarum detestatione scientia. With note by editor: Auctor et locus non inveni. Jean de la Rochelle was a French Franciscan monk, philosopher and theologian, who lived from 1200 to 1245. It is not known where Piccolomini picked up the quotation from his book

Seneca: Epistulae ad Lucilium, 81.21: Nam si malitia miseros facit, virtus beatos

"beati": happy, with the contextual overtone of blessed in the religious sense

Another syllogism, where the Major is: Virtue makes a man happy. The Minor: Wisdom is a virtue. The Conclusion: Ergo, wisdom makes a man happy

A double implicit syllogism: A) Virtue makes men happy; Knowledge of law/Moral philosophy does not make men happy; Knowledge of law/Moral philosophy is not a virtue. B) Wisdom is a virtue; Knowledge of law/Moral philosophy is not a virtue; Knowledge of law/Moral philosophy is not wisdom

: Athenian politician and general.

Cicero: Tusculanae Disputationes,1.2.5. Quintilianus, 1.10.19. McManamon, p. 89: Cicero and Quintilian had both cited Themistocles' refusing to play the lyre at banquets as evidence of insufficient training: he was less than learned(indoctior)

Flaccus = Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65-8 BC): Roman poet

Horatius: Ars poetica, 70: usus, quem penes arbitrium est et ius et norma loquendi

The Greek gods, who -as Christians know -do not exist. To speak of them as existing would therefore be a serious error

habuerunt I, U

non nihil detraxisse … poeticae : dignitati poetice non nichil detraxisse U

omit. H, I, R, WY

"doctrina". Note Piccolomini's use of this term for poetry

Basil of Caesarea (ca.

329-379): Greek bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Doctor of the Church. Saint 3 Ulysses [Odysseus]: Greek myth. King of Ithaca. Hero of Homeric poem Odyssey 4 Homer: Odyssey, 6.127-130 5 Basil of Caesarea: Ad adolescentes, 5, 6, in Leonardo Bruni's Latin translation: Ego autem e quodam viro qui ad vestigandas poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur audivi cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse virtutis omniaque illius poetae huc tendere nisi interdum incidens sit. Verum in eo loco vel maxime id patere cum finxit cephalenorum ducem naufragio eiectum tantum abfuisse, ut illos quibus et solus et nudus apparuit verecundia aliqua averteret: quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit ornatum. English translation quoted after Schucan, p. 121 6 Basil of Caesarea: Ad adolescentes, 5.8, in Leonardo Bruni's Latin translation: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis quae et cum naufragio simul enat et in littore nudum eiectum teacibus venerabiliorem ostendit

Solon (638-558 BC): Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet

Plutarch: Parallel Lives / Solon, 8

Tyrtaeus (7 th c. BC): Greek poet from Sparta. Known especially for the poems in which he exhorted the Spartans to fight the Messenians. Some classical sources mention that he at some time commanded the Spartan army, that he came from Athens, and that he was lame. Piccolomini's source not identified

"doctrina"

: Greek philosopher

BC): Greek philosopher and mathematician 4 Averroes [Ibn Rushd] (1126-1198): Andalusian scholar, philosopher and polymath

Arius [Arrius] (250 or

: Christian and priest in Alexandria. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead emphasized the Father's divinity over the Son. They were condemned by the Council of Nicea in 325 2 Eutyches (ca. 380-ca. 456): archimandrite at Constanople. Opposed the Nestorian heresy, but instead developed teachings concerning the nature of Christ which led to is own condemnation as a heretic 3 Nestorius (ca. 386-450): Archbishop of Constantinople. His teachings on the nature of Christ were condemned as heretical4 Half a year later, Piccolomini would return to the theme of ecclesiastics causing the divisions in the Church in his oration "Breviter me hodie" [10], sect. 2 5 Jan Hus (ca. 1369-1415): Czech priest, philosopher, early Christian reformer and Master at Charles University in Prague. Inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe 6 Jeronimus of Prague [Jeroným Pražský] (1379-1416): Bohemian church reformer and one of the chief followers of Jan Hus. Burned for heresy at the Council of Constance 7 In 1415 and 1416 respectively, at the Council of Konstanz 8 "eorum imbuti coloribus" 9 I.e. perfume and cosmetics 10 Basil: Ad adolescentes, 4, 7-8. The translation by Leonardo Bruni has: Ut enim ex floribus ceteri quidem nichil sumunt preter odorem atque colorem. Apes vero etiam mella inde sciunt excerpere

Cicero: Tusculanae disputationes,

2.12.28: Sed quid poëtis irascimur? Virtutis magistri, philosophi, inventi sunt qui summum malum dolorem dicerent 2 Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius (flourished during the early 5 th c.): Roman author 3 Poem by Plato, quoted by Macrobius 4 Macrobius: Saturnalia, 2.2.17. One wonders if Piccolomini was aware of the homosexual meaning of this verse, which in the context would be rather risqué. That the subject of "savio" is a male, not a female, is shown by a later passage in in the same poem: "ut ad me fierem mortuus" 5 Aristotle: Politica, 2.1 (1261a): For example, it is possible for the citizens in Plato's communistic Republic. to have children, wives and possessions in common with each other, as in Plato's Republic, in which Socrates says that there must be community of children, women and possessions. See also Plato: Republic, 5, 449c ff., 457d ff., 461e ff., 464b ff.

Poetry praises God

Poetry is useful in another way, too, for the praises of our God are not sung better or more sweetly than in the verses of poets. Thus, according to Isidore, all the psalms of the Hebrews are composed as metric verses and -like in the Roman Flaccus and the Greek Pindar -their verses are now in Iambic, now in Alchaic, and now in Sapphic metre. Therefore we call King David 1 the Holy Poet. And Solomon, too, whose wisdom both we and the Jews admire greatly, was among the poets for, according to Josephus 2 and Jerome, 3 the three books he composed in his own language, 4 the Parables, the Ecclesiastes, and the Canticle of Canticles, he wrote in hexameters and pentameters. Isaiah, 5 too, wrote his song in the same meters. And Jeremiah 6 was not ashamed to be called a poet for, as Isidore says, he also composed many of his works in diverse meters. This I have related so that you may see that also those of the household of the faith 7 made poetry. They were followed by Christian [authors] like Damasus, 8 Ambrose, [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] Gregory 10 and others who wrote hymns in various meters. For the hymn which is sung in praise of John the Baptist, [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] the Ut queant laxis resonare fibris, 12 is in Sapphic meter. 13 I pass over Boethius Severus 14 who, though being a holy philosopher, used all forms of poetry.

1 David (ca. 1010 -970 BC): Second King of Israel. Father of King Solomon 2 Josephus, Titus Flavius (37-c. 100): Roman-Jewish historian 3 Jeronimus, Eusebius Sophronius (ca. 347-420): Cardinal. Doctor of the Church. Saint 4 Hebrew 5 Isaiah ( 8th c. BC): Jewish prophet 6 Jeremiah (6 th c. BC): Jewish prophet 7 Here used with reference to the Jews 8 Damasus I (ca. 305-384): Pope from 366 to his death [START_REF]died and not yet been buried, he made a truce so the poet could be given a fitting burial[END_REF] Ambrosius, Aurelius (ca. 340-397). Archbishop of Milan. Doctor of the Church. Saint 10 Gregorius I (c. 540 -604): Pope 590 to his death in 604 [START_REF]Nempe omnis doctrina, quae vitam erudit humanam, utilis est. Hujusmodi est 1 poetica ergo utilis. Dubitatis 2 fortasse quaeritisque, quonam pacto erudiat homines poesis. Sed audite, obsecro, patrem sanctissimum et omni reverentia dignum Basilium. Ego, inquit ille, e 3 quodam viro, qui ad vestigandas 4 poetarum mentes acutissimus habebatur, audivi, cum diceret totam Homeri poesim laudem esse 5 virtutis et eo potissimum loco, dum naufragum et nudum Ulixem refert, quandoquidem pro vestibus virtute illum dixit esse ornatum. Quid enim aliud tunc 6 7 clamat Homerus quam: O homines, sit vobis cura virtutis, quae etiam cum naufrago 8 simul enatat! Quid sibi vult aliud 9 Vergilius 10 , dum ait Ascanio 11 Aeneas 12 : Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, fortunam ex aliis! Et iterum: Macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad 13 astra! Est igitur utilis poetica, quae laudando virtutes in earum amorem allicit homines. Hinc illud Juvenalis: Nobilitas sola est atque 14 unica virtus. Est et iterum utilis, quia vitia detestatur arcetque ab his homines, quod tribus verbis Juvenalis pulcherrime 15 facit, dum ait: Nemo malus felix[END_REF] John the Baptist (2st c. BC): Jewish itinerant preacher and prophet. Major religious figure in Christianity and Islam 12 Cf. Bruni: De studiis (Kallendorf), p. 117: when Mass is being said in church, we sometimes yawn and fall asleep even when it is done very beautifully, but when once that poetical refrain breaks our, the Primo dierum or the Iste confessor, or the Ut queant laxis resonare fibris, which one of us is so earthbound as not to feel some lifting up of the soul, some inspired feeling? 13 Ut queant laxis: Latin hymn in honour of John the Baptist written in Horatian Sapphics and traditionally attributed to Paulus Diaconus. Famous for its part in the history of musical notation, in particular solmization [START_REF]Nunc an sint poetae necessarii videamus. Nempe dici necessarium 1 debet illud 2 , sine quo bene non possumus 3 vivere. Sed absque poetica nulla res publica bene vivit; ergo necessaria est. Dicent 4 aliqui et sine poetica plures bene vixisse 5 fuisseque 6 sanctos. Sed 7 ego non unicuique necessariam dico 8 poesim 9 , sed in communi rei publicae 10 , quia non bene vivunt civitates, nisi sint, qui bene mores suadeant 11 et vitia confutent, quod proprie 12 poetarum est, qui mille modis milleque artibus sciunt hoc probare et illud redarguere. Instabitur rursus diceturque melius hoc oratorem facere, cui verborum millia suppeditabunt. Non nego, nam qui sermones habent ad populum[END_REF] Boëthius, Anicius Manlius Severinus (ca. 480-524): Roman senator, consul, philosopher [16] It is now time for me to demolish the arguments of those who are wont to belittle poetry and to criticize poets. 2.3.1.1. Objections [17] They say that "the books of the poets claim that there are many gods, and that these gods have conflicts between them. Moreover, the books contain many cases of adultery and unspeakable crime, and sometimes they promote illicit love, sometime they approve of other vices. If Saint Jerome says that he was beaten by an angel because he was a Ciceronian 1 (even if Cicero was completely moral), then should those who enjoy the alluring [verses] of the poets not also to be whipped. In the books he wrote on The State, Plato 2 considered that poets should be expelled from the city he was planning so that they would not weaken manly characters with smooth speech, 3 as Cicero mentions and approves in his Tusculanae." 4 These are the usual objections against against poetry.

Christians' use of pagan authors