Enea Silvio Piccolomini

Michael Von Cotta

Schönberg Final

Silvio Enea

; Piccolomini

Sylvius Aeneas

Silvius Aeneas

Piccolomini

Maria Filippo

Visconti

Simon Charles

; Milan

Michael V Cotta-Schönberg

Keywords:

Enea Silvio Piccolomini delivered the oration Audivi to the fathers of the Council of Basel, concerning the venue for the Union Council between the Latin Church and the Greek Church. He argued for the City of Pavia in the territory of the Duke of Milan. The oration reflected the tensions between conciliarism and the Papacy, between the European countries, and between the Italian powers including the Papal State. Piccolomini used the occasion to demonstrate his rhetorical skills and humanist learning to the council fathers.

(Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II; 1) 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 in HAL Archives.

I shall much appreciate to be notified by readers who discover errors and problems in the text and translation or unrecognized quotations. The Council of Basel 2 opened in 1431. The presidency was soon assumed by the representative of the pope, Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini. Cesarini was torn between his loyalties towards the pope and the council, but as the council became more and more anti-papalist, he finally left it to join the pope. 3 Very few participants had come to Basel for the opening of the council, and the pope soon tried to repeat the Pavia-Siena procedure 4 by dissolving it. However, the council fathers stood firm and gained the support of the emperor and the princes. In 1433, the pope was forced to recognize the council in the bull Dudum sacrum. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] The council was not structured on the basis of nations as the Council of Konstanz (1414-1418) had been. Still, the national groups had some formalized presence, and the main party at the council was a national group, the French, which eventually came to dominate it completely. 6 The two other parties were the papal party, which gradually left the council, and the undecided elements, including the Germans.

July 2019 MCS

Table of volumes in Collected Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II. 12 vols. Edited and translated by Michael von Cotta-Schönberg. [Available on the web in HAL Archives]

Table of contents I. INTRODUCTION

Context

In his bull of appointment of the papal president of the Council, Martin V had listed five major aims: 1) to deal with the Hussite heresy; 2) to establish peace in Europe; 3) to reform the Church; 4) to reunite the Latin and the Greek churches, and 5) to preserve ecclesiastical independence of secular power. 7 The Hussite problem was solved by the Hussite Compacts in early 1436. The war between Burgundy, France and England was more or less laid to rest at the Congress of Arras in 1435. 8 As for Church reform, some decrees were passed, e.g. against the concubinage of priests, but the efforts of the council in this area were mainly directed against the Papacy. In June 1435, the council passed a decree depriving the popes of a considerable part of their revenue in the form of annates, but without assigning other forms of revenue to them.

As for the reunion with the Greek Church, the council very much wanted the honour of accomplishing this reunion, and so did the pope. The first major issue and a fresh cause for conflict between pope and council was the venue for a Union Council. The pope wanted to transfer the council from Basel to an Italian city so as to better be able to direct and control it. The council itself naturally disagreed, and on 9 September 1434 it passed a decree, Sicut pia mater, that the Union Council should take place in a suitable city in Italy, or in Buda, Vienna, or a city in Savoy. The Greeks wanted the council to take place in Italy since it was closer to them, and they also preferred it to take place under the effective presidency of the pope.

After the decree Sicut pia mater, the council continued to discuss the venue for the future Union Council with many speeches supporting different cities.

In October/November 1436, the council heard orations in support of various Italian cities, 1 including an -according to Piccolomini -inept oration by Isidoro da Rosate in support of the City of Pavia, in the territory of the Duke of Milan.

Piccolomini saw his chance and speedily prepared a much better speech, the oration "Audivi", in support of the same city, which he delivered at a general session on 16 November 1436. Apparently, this was not the first time he had written orations on conciliar matters. In a letter to Piccolomini of 28 February 1436, i.e. nine months before the delivery of the "Audivi", Francesco Filelfo mentioned two orations against the pope, which Piccolomini had sent to him, 2 warning Piccolomini not to be mistaken about the Duke of Milan's real attitude towards the pope 3 :

Tuas autem duas orationes in Eugenium pontificem maximum lectitaui quam accuratissime, quarum elegantiam probo equidem, sed argumentum ipsum non laudo. Vereor enim tibi fore 2 Incidentally, we know from Piccolomini himself (cf. the very first words of the introduction to the Intermediate Version, "Etsi numquam", of the "Audivi"), that the "Audivi" was the first oration he gave at the council. If he had written other orations before then, either they would not have been delivered, or they would have been written for and delivered by one of the council fathers 3 It is not known if Piccolomini actually held these orations at the council. He may have, since in 1445 he told Pope Eugenius IV -in the oration "Prius sanctissime praesul" [7]: While in Basel, I said, and wrote, and did much against you: I do not deny it. At any rate the two orations are not extant today: maybe Piccolomini somehow lost them himself, or maybe he suppressed them either because of Filelfo's criticism or because of his later papalist development and ecclesiastical career detrimentosum, quod ut credam auctoritas facit grauissimi huius prudentissimique uiri Iohannis Fagnani, que Sene legatum gerit pro Philippo Marie, inclyto Mediolanensium duce; ait enim ignorare te principis sui mentem erga Eugenium pontificem. Itaque tibi posthac cauendum reor, ne quid scribas, quod ignores. 1 Later, in 1450, Piccolomini in his De rebus Basiliae gestis Commentarius wrote about the Audivi:

Since we bore sorely the injury to the Duke whom we saw disdained because of this 2 , although we had little eloquence, we wished to make up for the negligence of the man and honor so great a Duke. Rising, therefore, in his place a few days 3 later, we delivered an oration in praise of Pavia and the Duke of Milan which was heard for two hours without any annoyance, without inflicting injury on anyone. 4 And still later, as Pope Pius II, he wrote about the oration in his Commentarii:

At the time, there was some discussion of transferring the Council to a place where the Greeks would come for a conference. The choice fell between four cities willing to pay the expenses of the Greeks: Florence, Udine, Pavia and Avignon. Eloquent speeches in praise of these cities resounded through the great hall; only Pavia had no one to plead its cause, because Isidoro Rosati, whom the Duke Filippo Maria of Milan had sent for that purpose, had spoken so badly and stupidly that he had been told to hold his tongue. Aeneas was moved by the humiliation of this noble city and its Prince, and that very night he composed a speech.

Next day he went into the Council, where Giuliano, the Papal Legate, used his influence to get him permission to speak. For two hours [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] he declaimed before a most attentive and admiring audience. Afterwards, everyone who had heard his speech had a copy made for himself. 6 One of Piccolomini's contemporary biographers, Giannantonio Campano, Bishop of Teramo, a protegé of Piccolomini after he became Pope, wrote about the oration, in his Vita Pii II Pontificis Maximi:

In Basel … he tried in vain to persuade the Fathers to transfer the Council to Pavia, since the Italians preferred Florence, the Germans Udine, and the French Avignon. 7 1 Epistolarium, ep. 19, p. 47 2 I.e. by the inept speech of Isidoro da Rosate 3 Actually 12 days later, see below 4 Reject, p. 348 [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Notary Bruneti said an hour and a half (Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 334) 6 CO, 1, 8, 1 (Meserve, I, p. 30-33). Note that in 1450 he wrote: "a few days later", and ten years after: "the next day" 7 Zimolo, p. 11: Basileae … concilium ut Papiam traduceretur frustra suasit, Italis Florentiam, Germanis Utinum, Gallis Avinionem praeferentibus.

The oration is also mentioned by Bartolomeo Platina, another of Pius' contemporary biographers, who wrote as follows:

He often spoke in the council, but one speech is considered to have been especially good and elegant, i.e. the speech concerning the choice of venue for the future council. In this speech, he showed that Pavia (once called Ticinum) should be preferred to Avignon, Udine, and Florence because of its conditions, convenience, and location, the magnificence of the private houses, the pleasant and mild climate, the ease of importing everything needed by a city, Duke Filippo's generosity, and the proximity of the river Ticino that provides for easy transportation of provisions. He gave this oration when he was commanded to speak in place of the man who had been sent by Filippo and who had been speaking confusedly and ineptly and who had no knowledge of the liberal arts. 1 Georg Voigt, Piccolomini's great 19 th century -and not very sympathetic -biographer, said about the speech:

Die Rede, die Enea nun vor dem Concil hielt, ist uns als das erste von ihm ausgehende Zeugnis seiner Fähigkeit und Gewandtheit wichtig. 2 And later: Wer sich an alle Parteien wendet, wird seiner Sache keinem Freund, aber auch seiner Person keinen Feind erwerben. An der Wahl von Pavia lag dem Redner weniger als an der Gunst des Herzogs, für den er sich aus freien Stücken verwendet, und an der hohen Meinung, die nach einer glänzenden und jedem schmeichelnden Rede alle Väter von ihm fassten. 3 In his biography of Piccolomini from 1908, William Boulting wrote about the speech that Piccolomini's cause, indeed, was hopeless. The French would never consent to give up; the Venetians and Florentines, who belonged to the Papal party were foes of the Duke, and were still less likely to do so … But it was a great opportunity. He was to appear before the assembled representatives of Europe, and could make his force felt by the most important audience conceivable. 4 Cecilia Ady, in her biography of 1913, comments that the speech was chiefly remarkable for the zeal with which AEneas set himself to gratify every shade of opinion in turn; but the careful attention to style at once proclaims the author as a disciple of humanism, and the rounded periods of his rhetoric came as a pleasant change from the less polished utterances to which the fathers were wont to listen. 1 And Gioacchino Paparelli:

Quando il dotto latino modellato alla scuola del Filelfo usci dalle sue labbra, un moto di sorpresa si propagò per la sala. Da tempo non s'ascoltava là dentro qualcosa di simile. Bisogna considerare che un concilio non era solo uno scontro d'interessi politici o di dottrine teologiche, ma anche un agone d'oratoria, una palestra di stile: un umanista vi stava a su agio. Per due ore Enea Silvio parlò. Fu un completo successo. Congratulazioni ed applause da ogni lato. I padri gli si strinsero intorno: tutti volevano une copia dell'orazione. 2 Johannes Helmrath lists the oration as the earliest surviving oration of Piccolomini and points out that here Piccolomini actually outlined his own life-long program of war against the Turks whose mighty empire could only be fought by a united Europe (Christianity). 3 In the end it was all for nothing: even Piccolomini's great rhetorical skills could not persuade the fathers to move to Italy, but he had demonstrated his abilities to the council and soon came to be appreciated as an intelligent and dependable lay official whose gifts for analysis, speaking, and writing were highly esteemed.

Discussions of the venue for the council continued in 1436 and 1437. When the matter came to a vote in a General Congregation on 7 December 1436, Piccolomini voted for Pavia, Parma, Udine (with reservations), and Savoy: Eneas de Senis Papiam vel Parmam, Utinum cum condicionibus et Sabaudiam. 4 Finally, in May 1437, the French-dominated majority at the council decided that it should take place in Avignon. This caused the papal party to leave, a severe loss of prestige for the council, and the beginning of its gradual decline. Later, in 1438, it deposed the pope, and in 1439 it managed to elect an anti-pope, the Duke of Savoy, under the name of Felix V, and it lingered on, condemned by the pope in Rome and unrecognized by most European powers, until it finally dissolved itself in 1449.

The battle of the venue for the council was won by the pope who succeeded in organizing a "papal" Union Council. It opened in Ferrara in 1438 and was later transferred to Florence. Among its participants were the Greek Emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople. A reunion of the Latin and Greek Churches was actually achieved and, although short-lived, it lent great prestige to the Papacy and was a determining factor in its remarkable reconsolidation during the Renaissance.

Themes

The major theme of the speech is, of course, the venue for the future council. However, other other themes are developed or interwoven in the text, e.g. the conflict between conciliarism and the Papacy, and the burgeoning of humanism in the great debates of Europe.

Venue of the future Union Council

As we have seen, the council itself had already, in the decree Sicut pia mater of 1434, pointed to a number of cities, but the matter was still under free discussion, and the council had, during the previous days, heard arguments in favour of various Italian cities.

The implications of the choice of venue for the council were clear to all: an Italian city meant greater papal influence on the council, whereas a German or French city meant greater conciliarist influence and greater influence for the transalpine princes, among them the King of France.

Evidently, for the conciliarists the most important issue was keeping the pope away from the council, so they did not really want the pope to be present. As the Bishop of Albenga, in Milanese territory, put it: It was not expedient that the Pope should be personally present in the Council, where he would have pre-eminence and authority. 1 Apart from being -at the time -a conciliarist, Piccolomini was inveterately pro-Italian and just as inveterately anti-French. The Germans he considered as barbarians. So, he naturally wanted the Union Council to take place in Italy. On the other hand, since he was at the time on the anti-papal side, he did not want the council to go to a city in the papal domains.

An Italian city in the territory of the pope's great enemy, the Duke of Milan, was therefore -to Piccolomini -a perfectly logical choice, though he well knew that it was also perfectly impossible.

The pope, of course, would not dream of having the council in the territory of his enemy, the Duke of Milan,1 who for years had been sending his condottieri against the Papal State2 and had even plotted against his person the previous year. 3 Everybody knew that the formal peace of 10 August 1435, between Florence, Venice and the pope on the one side and Milan on the other was tenuous, 4 and that the duke would most likely resume his depredations against the Papal State later, as he did in fact in 1438. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Piccolomini was quite aware of this. A short time before his speech, he wrote to the Senate of Siena:

The Pope and all the Italians are in favour of an Italian city, but all the rest -enemies of the Latin name -refuse to come to Italy. I do not know whether it will be possible to transfer the Council to Italy, but I hope that our prudence and perseverance may triumph, and that Italy may eventually have the Council. 6 Moreover, even if the council members would accept an Italian city, they would be careful about choosing a city belonging to the Duke of Milan. The duke was obviously a friend of the council, but he was known as a devious and conniving prince and feared alike by his friends at Basel and his enemies of the papal party. 7 Nobody would be unaware that his support aimed at creating a counterbalance to the pope. When the duke no longer needed the council, he might very well turn against it. And this was exactly what happened when the duke and his ally, King Alfonso of Naples, became reconciled with the pope in 1442-1443 and immediately afterwards declared themselves enemies of the council. 8 So, the council fathers would have reasonable cause for concern about choosing a place that would make them even more dependent on the Duke of Milan.

And finally, although the French king was diplomatic in his relationship with the pope, whose support for the French candidate for the crown of the Kingdom of Naples he needed, 1 the French party at the council evidently wanted a city in the French sphere, e.g. Avignon2 -with the ulterior motive of attempting to draw the Papacy back to that city and consequently under French domination. In the summer of 1436, the French party did in fact propose three French cities for the Council: Vienne, Lyon and Avignon.

But the big question is: if Piccolomini wanted to move the council to Italy, why did he argue in favour of Pavia, a city in Milanese territory that would be completely unacceptable to pope in view of the persistent enmity between the pope and the Duke of Milan?

A number of letters from Piccolomini to the magistrates in Siena3 provide documentation of Piccolomini's real aims with the speech.

In a letter of 9 April 14364 , Piccolomini informed the Sienese magistrates that the Greeks did not want the Union Council to be held in Basel, but preferred an Italian city, and he proposed that the magistrates make a bid to host the council in Siena which was in the domains of neither the Duke of Milan nor the pope.

In a letter of 6 August 1436 [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] , he reported the positive reception at the council of a speech made by the Sienese envoy, Cione di Battista Orlandi. However, the Sienese offer of 30.000 ducats to provide for the needs of the council fell far short of the offers of other Italian cities, especially Florence and Venice. He therefore urged the magistrates to raise the offer.

On 24 October 1436, he again wrote to the magistrates. 6 The day before, a messenger had arrived from Siena with a secret letter from the city to the President of the Council, Cardinal Cesarini. Cesarini told Piccolomini that the new offer of the city fell far short of the needs of the council, which was a shame because if the city would make an offer of 70.000 ducats, there were good reasons for the choice to fall on Siena. So, once again Piccolomini exhorted the city fathers to raise their offer, to this amount.

And finally, on 11 December 1436, 7 he wrote to Siena that the majority of the Council was now favouring Avignon and that Florence had raised their offer to 120.000 ducats. He did not again exhort the magistrates to raise their own offer -the play for Siena was over.

From these letters it is clear that the real aim of Piccolomini in November 1436 was not to move the Council to Pavia -that was plainly impossible -but to generally support an Italian venue for the Council and to indirectly prepare the grounds for Siena as a compromise solution.

Apart from that, Piccolomini's line of reasoning in favour of Pavia is clear, logical and sensible. It rests on three main arguments:

 Pavia is acceptable to the Greeks  Pavia is convenient for the pope  Pavia can provide board and lodging

All reasonably and credibly argued.

The fourth argument, that Pavia offers security and freedom for all parties incluing the pope, is the one that would defy belief.

Conciliarism vs. Papacy

The conflict between council and pope is rather clearly, but politely stated in Piccolomini's speech which is the first extant public declaration of his own adherence to the conciliarist position. He would later abandon it and join the papal party for which he would incur the censure of later historians, especially Georg Voigt. This is quite surprising in view of the fact that many other luminaries of the age, including Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, did exactly the same with no blemish on their reputation.

Even at this time, Piccolomini is quite respectful of the pope. He explicitly states that the pope is the true successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ. He is our head, which should never be separated from us, for a body cannot be complete without its head. He is the bridegroom of the Church; he is the captain of the ship; he is -as people say -God on earth. Through Peter and Peter's successors, Christ our Saviour, has given him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, though I do not deny that they have also been given to the Church as a whole. To him has been given so great an authority, so great a power, so great a knowledge of the divine mysteries that he is to be revered above all. Indeed, the papal dignity is so venerable that we must honour and revere the pope -even an evil one. However, entwined in the statements of respect are the defiant tenets of conciliarism:

Firstly, the Church is a body, i.e. a corporation. Granted, the pope is the head, but just as the body cannot function without the head, the head cannot function without the body. The head and the body form an undivisable whole.

Secondly, the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven have not only been given to the pope as the successor of the Apostle Peter, but to the Church as a whole, represented by the council.

And thirdly, though even an evil pope must be respected, he can be judged by the Church, i.e. a council, as happened at the Council of Konstanz. This is in direct opposition to the medieval, papalist maxim that nobody may judge the pope. 2 So, at this juncture Piccolomini clearly supported conciliarism.

His moderate or conciliatory words about the pope, in a period where he generally spoke against him, were probably occasioned by a controversy which broke out some days before at the council, when Isidoro de Rosate -in his oration on 3 November for a city in the Duchy of Milan -had spoken disparagingly about the pope, causing considerable indignation among the papalist and even the French council fathers. In a meeting on 1 2 Thus, Piccolomini was forewarned, even by his own employer, Cardinal Cervantes (the Cardinal of San Pietro), to speak agreeably about the pope, which he then did. 3

Humanist learning and rhetorics 4

The terms "humanist" or "Renaissance" had not yet been invented, but to the council fathers it would have been evident that the speech they were hearing was in that new rhetorical style from Italy: fresh, direct, elegant … and classical. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Piccolomini knew quite well what he was doing. In the beginning of the speech he directly refers to the persuasive skills of Demosthenes in the Athenian Senate and to the fact that many in the conciliar assembly detested rhetorics. But then he neatly extricates himself from possible embarrassment by referring to Cicero, that revered and towering figure of antiquity. 6

The fathers would have been reassured by some conventional references to God and the Scriptures and by the direct, traditional invocation of God at the end of the exordium. But they would have noticed, too, that all the direct quotations in the speech were from classical authors, mostly from the major works of Cicero, but also from some authors who might not be quite proper in the context, like Juvenal and Terence.

The use of general maxims or statements on morals, geography, and politics drawn from Cicero and other classical authors would be safe. But to the modern mind it is somewhat surprising that a speaker at the Council of Basel would be free to refer to the pagan Gods (Astrea withdrew to the Gods above, Juvenal 7 ), even if the reference was poetical. And applying pagan attributes to the God of the Christians like Terence's The one who shakes the lofty vaults of heaven with his thunder! 1 would seem to be risky. However, Piccolomini did it throughout his career and even as a pope when he wrote the liturgical office of Catherine of Siena whom he canonized.

And this is the true hallmark of Piccolomini as a humanist: the going back to classical authors as real, living "authorities", and not just by way of embellishments or cultured references to a noble past -though that purpose was served as well.

The classical rhetorical models for Piccolomini were Cicero and Quintilian. Piccolomini refers directly to Cicero's rhetorics in his speech, and from his later writings it is evident that he knew the work of Quintilian.

As for contemporary humanist authors, it seems probable that Piccolomini used materials on the origins of the Turks which he had from one of his teachers in Siena, Andrea Biglia, the Milanese humanist, cf. below. He also has two direct quotations from Leonardo Bruni's De Militia 2 , and two other quotations from Guarino Veronese's translation of Plutarch's De Liberis educandis. 3 Both the Plutarch translation and the De Militia he very probably had access to in the collection of one of the council fathers, Archbishop Pizzolpasso of Milan, 4 who became friend and mentor to Piccolomini, helped him to obtain a prebend in Milan, and asked him to give a sermon on the feastday of Saint Ambrose. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Piccolomini may actually have met both Bruni and Guarino when, as a student, he visited Firenze and Ferrara. In a letter from 1434, two years before he gave the oration "Audivi", he mentions them, together with Ambrogio Traversari, as contemporary luminaries of scholarship, 6 and he pays tribute to both of them in later writings. 7 Keeping in touch with the humanist environment in Italy was not easy for someone living north of the Alps, but these early quotations show that this mattered to Piccolomini.

In the oration, Piccolomini used the occasion to exercise his rhetorical skills and humanist competencies.

By this time in his life, Piccolomini was itching to make an impact on public affairs and to do so in the way for which he was eminently suited: as an orator with great persuasive skills and able to draw on an extensive knowledge of major works of classical Latin literature. In the "Audivi" he was, so to speak, unfolding his oratorical wings and beginning his career as one of Renaissance Europe's greatest speakers 1 .

Voigt had this to say about the oration:

So sollten sie No doubt he had his convictions and spoke passionately for things he believed in, but he was also quite able to shape his arguments and his rhetorics to suit the particular situation and the interest he had chosen or been chosen to defend.

Even though he may have been impressed by the Duke of Milan, he could not himself have believed in the splendid image of the prince which he held up to the council fathers. He did not truly believe in fanciful classical genealogies, 4 but nonetheles he exploited the one of the House of Visconti to try to convince the Fathers that the Turk would prefer to let the Greeks go to the duke's territory. And against better knowledge -we must believe -he downplayed to an absurd degree the enmity between the pope and the duke.

However, all these efforts were rhetorical ploys to persuade the fathers to make the choice he passionately believed in: to move the council to a city in Italy.

And he did it in the new humanist way: by drawing on classical literature as an authority and an embellishment of his argumentation.

It is quite remarkable that his speech to the council fathers contained at least 30 quotations from classical authors and only from the Bible and one from the Church Fathers.

Career promotion

Delivering the oration was also a means to promote his career, both vis-a-vis the Duke of Milan and the council.

Duke of Milan 1

Princes of the Renaissance were keen to enhance their reputation by having humanists extol their praises and act as propagandists in their cause. By his speech, "Audivi", Piccolomini gave effective proof that he was quite capable and willing to act in this respect for the Duke of Milan.

The message was heard, the panegyrics of the prince were appreciated, and the reward was not slow in coming: shortly afterwards Piccolomini was granted the provostship of San Lorenzo in Milan2 and managed to get effective possession of the office in spite of the chapter of the church already having elected its own candidate.

Piccolomini's view of the duke as expressed in the "Audivi" may or may not have been sincere, but undoubtedly it is in stark contrast with his later views. 3 There are two possible explanations: either Piccolomini was, in 1436, really an enthusiastic admirer of the great Duke of Milan, or he concealed his negative opinion of him with a view to promoting the general cause of the council and to gain the prince's favour. Those who focus on Piccolomini's opportunism prefer the latter explanation. Others who see him as a young, impoverished person trying to gain a foothold in the world and given to youthful enthusiasms may prefer the former. The truth may be somewhere in the middle …

Council

Piccolomini also wished to promote his career by making a positive impression on the Fathers through a skillful and well-crafted speech in the new humanist style.

In this, too, Piccolomini succeded. 1 As he himself wrote in the Commentarii:

For two hours he declaimed before a most attentive and admiring audience. Afterwards, everyone who heard his speech had a copy made for himself. From that time on, Aeneas grew more popular in the Council and in the favor of the Duke of Milan. Although his official title was merely psalmist, he acted as secretary and abbreviator and often sat on the Committee of Twelve. This post … was extremely influential … 2

Origins of the Turks

The conception of the Turks as descendants of the Trojans goes back to the Middle Ages, in particular to a genealogy of the Frankish Kings in the Chronicles of Fredegar from the 7 th century and to a note in the Gesta Francorum from the 12 th century. 3 It was picked up in a text from 1345 purporting to be a letter from Umur Pasha (Morbisanus) to Pope Clemens VI as a reaction to a crusaders' attack on Izmir. The letter was written in Italian and later translated into Latin and other languages. Over time, it was readressed to various popes, also to Pius II, and it was often published together with that pope's letter to Mehmed II as the sultan's reply to the pope. 4 The letter implies that the Turks are descended from the Trojans, and the Pasha vows to avenge the fall of Troy by attacking the Greeks who had conquered Troy.

The notion of the Turks descending from the Trojans was probably known to Coluccio Salutati, who was the first to apply the name Teucri (used by Virgil for the Trojans) to the Turks. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] However, he did not himself state explicitly that the Turks were the Trojans' descendants. 6 However, that idea -based on the false etymological approximation of Teucri/Troiani (Trojans) and Turci/Turcae (Turks) -spread to the Renaissance humanists who debated the issue hotly. It did not take long before the idea was rejected, and other forefathers of the Turks were considered to be more likely, e.g. the ancient Scythians, though that theory, too, was incorrect. The Trojan 1 Baldi, p. 20 2 CO, I, 8, 2 (Meserve, I, p. 32-33) 3 Meserve: Empires, p. 23; Meserve: Medieval; Meserve: Italian, pp. 25-31 4 Meserve: Empires, pp. 35-37 [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] In the Intermediate Version of the "Audivi", Piccolomini consistently used the word Teucri for the Turks. He still did so in an oration of 1447 (cf. the oration "Tritum est sermone" [12]), but appears to have abandoned that term by 1450 (cf. the oration "Quamvis in hoc senatu" [17]) 6 Meserve: Empires,Hankins,p. 136 origins of the Turks nonetheless resurfaced from time to time 1 , e.g. in the poem Amyris by Giovanni Mario Filelfo, the son of Francesco. 2 One of the most influential debaters of the origins of the Turks was our Piccolomini, who quite emphatically rejected the idea of the Turks' descent from the Trojans and propagated the theory of their descent from the Schythians instead. 3 According to Meserve, Piccolomini was "the most important -certainly the most frequent -critic of the idea" of the Trojans as forefathers of the Turks. 4 And Schwoebel writes that "Pius had no time for the theories about the Turks avenging their ancestors or occupying a rightful inheritance". [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Hankins even states that the theme recurred so often in Pius' writings that it amounted to an obsession. 6 Piccolomini's reasoning was based on his reading of classical authors which certainly did not support the Trojan thesis, but otherwise his theory of their descent from the Scythians was to a great extent motivated by his desire, shared by humanists in general, to assign a barbaric and primitive origin to that great enemy of Europe and of Christianity, the Turks. 7 In the speech "Audivi" from 1436, however, Piccolomini had not yet adopted this line of reasoning.

On the contrary, he states that the Duke of Milan descends from the Turks 8 of old and is thus related to them by a hereditary bond 9 which cannot in good faith be disclaimed (scientes ducem cum Turcis, unde vetustissimam trahit originem, hereditariam habere familiaritatem, quod, salva fide, vituperari non potest) 10 . When Piccolomini states that the duke descends from the Turks, he means the Trojans, cf. below on the Trojan genealogy of the house of Visconti. He thus uses the term "Turks" to mean both the Turks of his own time and the Trojans of antiquity, thereby implying that the contemporary Turks are descendants of the Trojans. This idea is reinforced a little later when Piccolomini calls the Turks the avengers of the destruction Troy (Troianae ruinae ultores) 11 which is a medieval theme -as seen above -and well-known in the humanist discourse on the Turks. [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] Until now, scholars have not focused on this statement by Piccolomini which seems to support the theory that the Turks were descendants of the Trojans, but in any case Piccolomini later gave up that idea. He did, however, use the term Teucri for the Turks as late as January 1447, in the oration "Tritum est sermone" [12] to Eugenius IV.

The question of Piccolomini's source for this notion does, however, remain. A most probable source is the Augustinian friar Andrea Biglia 1 , who lectured at the University of Siena from 1429 2 and had Piccolomini as one of his students at least towards the end of 1431. [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] making that ducal house, like so many others princely families, the descendants of the Trojans. Piccolomini uses the very same theme of Turkish benevolence towards the Viscontis as founded in a common hereditary relationship, i.e. descent from the Trojans, and until evidence to the contrary is produced, it may quite reasonably be assumed that he had taken over this notion from Biglia.

Diana Webb concludes her article on the Rise and Fall of Eastern Christianity (1975) with an expression of regret that Piccolomini did not say whether it was Biglia's Commentarii de defectu fidei in oriente he was thinking of when he remembered Biglia as a "historiarum scriptor." [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] Piccolomini quite probably knew about a number of Biglia's works, including his history of Milan, and he must also have known about the Commentarii and considered it as one of the "histories" that Biglia wrote. Indeed, Biglia's influence on Piccolomini's conception of historians and on his fascination with history1 may have been quite important and merits further study.

Another possible source for Piccolomini's notion that the Turks were descendants of the Trojans are the contacts and conversations during his wanderings years in the late 1420's with humanists in Florence and elsewhere, and among them Leonardo Bruni, who was much admired by Piccolomini. They would have been familiar with the ideas of their old master Salutati.

Later, Piccolomini's view of the matter was completely reversed, partly because of the growing Turkish threat to Europe culminating in the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and partly because of his reading of Aethicus,2 whom he apparently accepted as a real historian and from whom he took over the theory of the Turks having descended from the Scythians -in the mistaken belief that Aethicus was a classical and therefore an authoritative source.3

French interest

The French interest4 was a challenge for a speaker who wanted the council to be held in Italy, in part because the interests of the French Court and the French clergy did not coincide. The prelates wanted to strengthen the status of the Gallican church as a national church and to reduce papal influence over French church affairs. The king supported this policy which would, some years later, be expressed in the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges -but on the other hand the Crown would not want the French church to become too strong and independent of royal power. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Moreover, the high clergy and the king both wanted the council to be transferred to Avignon in order to reinforce French influence over it and -who knows -may be later to effect a return of the Papacy to Avignon and the French sphere of interest. The anti-Italian attitude of the French party was clearly expressed by the Bishop of Tours, Philippe de Coëtquis, who said: "Either we should snatch the Apostolic See from the hands of the Italians, or we should leave it plucked bare, so that, wherever it remains, it can do nothing." 6 But the king himself also wanted the pope's support in the question of the Kingdom of Naples where the House of Anjou, part of the extended royal family of France, was fighting for the Crown with the Spanish House of Aragon. So the French King did not wish to antagonise the pope who had until then favoured the French claims. It is, therefore, not surprising that the king sent one his seasoned diplomats, Simon Charles, 1 to Basel to ensure that his hotheaded clerics would not jeopardize his relations with the pope and compromise the French cause in Southern Italy.

In the matter of the venue for the council, Simon thus played a subtle role. No doubt he secretly favoured Avignon, but publicly he maintained his role as a cautious adviser and a friend to the council, and as someone who accepted and respected its independence, even as he and his ambassadorial colleagues during council meetings in autumn 1436 also expressed their support for the pope and his preference for an Italian venue. The French clergymen at the council were probably quite exasperated at hearing this, and Piccolomini himself at the end of the speech took care to soothe the feelings of the Cardinal of Arles, the most prominent figure among the French party, who certainly did not want to move the council to an Italian city. 1 So, at least there was one party among the audience which Piccolomini did not aim to please, attacking as he did the French position under cover of fulsome praise for the royal House of France and its pretend respect for the independence of the council.

Other themes

Some other themes may be indicated here:

Democracy

Throughout his life, Piccolomini was no admirer of democracy. Democracy had actually cost his own family its position in Siena when aristocratic government was overthrown and replaced by asomewhat more -broadly based, democratic regime.

The Council of Basel itself was a powerful expression of conciliarism and an exponent of a democratic government of the church in opposition to papal, monarchic government, and Piccolomini at the time certainly favoured this movement.

However, this did not translate into his political views: even to the young Piccolomini, the people was a dangerous animal, and those who were boasting of the name of liberty (i.e. democracy), were in reality slaves … who believe that freedom is to have many masters. 1 And later in the speech, he says about the common people that it is mostly unstable, seditious, quarrelsome, eager for political change, and opposed to peace and quiet. 2 So, Piccolomini -and the princes -would not be deaf to the assertion of the pope that the revolt of the council against the papal monarch was a threat to all monarchic governments. The pope in a Libellus Apologeticus from June 1436, sent to the princes of Europe, asked: Why are they [i.e. the council fathers] so eager to reduce this monarchy, 3 which God has established by his own word, to a popular state and to a democracy? 4

Dependence on princes

The council considered itself the highest authority in religious matters, and although the council fathers may have solicited the assistance of princes and been grateful for it, they considered it to be their God-given right.

The support of the princes was, in fact, extremely important to the council as the princes could require or forbid their bishops to attend the council.

Furthermore, they could give financial assistance to the council and favour a number of conciliar decisions which required their cooperation, e.g. concerning the provision of ecclesiastical benefices and offices in their respective territories.

Finally, their support was all-important in the conflict between pope and council, and in the end the council would flounder because ultimately the princes would favour their fellow-monarch, the pope. Not surprisingly, a number of council fathers resented the council's perceived dependence on the princes 1 . Piccolomini boldly gave expression to this frustration when he praised the attitude of the French ambassador, Simon Charles, who may have given advice to the council but then left the decision to the council thus subordinating his own opinion to the view of the universal Church. 2 Piccolomini at this point rebuked the council fathers for unduly deferring to the princes and for not having the courage to do anything that displeased them.

Undoubtedly, the youthful speaker and very junior participant in the council here gave voice to the views of senior churchmen, quite possibly or probably those of Cardinal Cesarini, the President of the Council, with whose permission he was speaking. Cesarini would not have forgotten that one of the five aims of the Council, stated in his letter of appointment, was to preserve the freedom of the Church from secular power.

National stereotypes

In the Renaissance, as in all other ages, national stereotyping was quite widespread, and Piccolomini used it often in his writings. The French whom he disliked were certainly not spared.

In the "Audivi" there is one instance of national stereotyping, in this case a positive one.

Commenting on the faithfulness of the people of Pavia, Piccolomini compares them to the Germans, about whose faithfulness, seriousness and steadfastness he could never say enough: They keep their oaths firmly and honestly.3

Logistics and provisions

The Council of Basel had a large number of members -with their households. Therefore, the matter of logistics, transport and provisions was undoubtedly an important issue in the debates concerning the future location of the council.

Firstly, the matter of transportation: it may surprise a modern reader to learn that transportation as such does not seem to have been perceived as a problem. They could ride, walk or be carried in various types of vehicle, but this was an ordinary and commonplace procedure, and though they would even cross mountains on their way to Italy, Piccolomini does not find it necessary to comment on the hardships of traveling by road. He does at some point mention the comforts of transport on river barges, however, so the issue is not quite absent. Safety from attacks by enemies and robbers was quite another matter, and Piccolomini is careful in outlining how the journey from Basel to Pavia would go through the territories of a friendly prince.

Sea travel may have been a convenient form of transportation, but this form of travel was quite hazardous, as Piccolomini had himself experienced on his way from Piombino to Genoa and later when he went to Scotland.

Secondly, the matter of lodgings: great care is taken in determining the number of houses to be made available to the leading members of the council and their retinues. The others would have to get accommodation as best they could.

Thirdly, the matter of provisions: this is evidently an important issue, and one of the major reasons advanced in favour of Pavia was the ease of provisioning the city with food from the rich agricultural area sourrounding it.

News and spies

As always, intelligence was extremely important, and the oration contains a couple of references to how such intelligence was obtained and disseminated.

Speaking of relations between the pope and the Duke of Milan, Piccolomini mentioned a certain Roberto of Florence. We may presume that this Roberto was Roberto Martelli, the manager of the Medici Bank's office in Basel from 1433-1438. Piccolomini called him a diligent gatherer of news, who is in possession of many letters. 1 Quite evidently the network of an international bank was an important instrument for gathering and disseminating news on matters affecting its affairs, even including copies of letters between princes.

1 Sect. 39. Roberto Martelli belonged to an eminent Florentine banking family, allied to the Medici. Since 1436 he diligently worked for the Union Council to take place in Florence, which later happened. In 1437, he was involved in the affair of the seals: the majority of the Council had voted for the Union Council (with the Greeks) to take place in Avignon, while the minority, headed by Cardinal Cesarini, voted for an Italian city, as the pope wished. The decree of the majority was sealed with the great seal of the council. But in the night between 13 and 14 June, a group of men, including Martelli, gained access to the small seal of the council, the leaden seal, with which the decree of the minority was promptly sealed before it was, in all haste, sent off to the pope. Martelli left Basel in 1438. From 1439 to 1464, including the pontificate of Pius II, he headed the Medici bank in Rome, cf. Becker, p. 53, and Crum, pp. 405-406 Another intelligence network is the prince's network of spies (exploratores). Among the three things in favour of choosing the territory of the Duke of Milan as the location for the council was the fact that he could eliminate all risk to the council, for the prince, being placed in a highly dangerous situation, endeavours to know through spies the secrets of many lords and various city states. Stated quite matter-of-factly! A prince who wants to eliminate every kind of danger must necessarily know about the affairs and plans of his enemies -and of his allies -and a spy network was apparently quite the acceptable thing.

Through his voluminous correspondence Piccolomini was himself a veritable hub of intelligence, and some of his youthful activities might actually have come rather close to spying, cf. his letter to the ruler of Piombino with its detailed information about the fleet and fortifications of Genoa. 1 Elsewhere, Piccolomini mentioned another valued source of information: the couriers who were travelling all over Europe and from whom valuable information, even of remote places, might be obtained. 2 And in the oration itself, he refers to those sea maps used by seamen to sail along coasts, probably the so-called portolans. 3

Date, place, audience and format

The date of the oration is given as May 1436 by Mansi, 4 Voigt 5 and Boulting 6 , and as 11 May 1436 by Helmrath 7 . However, this date seems not to agree with events, referred to in the oration, which took place later than May.

Piccolomini mentions the peace between the pope and the Duke of Milan as having been made "exacto jam anno", cf. sect. 37. That peace was concluded on 10 August 1435, which was considerably less than a year ago if the speech was given in May. This objection does not hold, of course, if "exacto jam anno" does not mean "a year ago", but "in the past year".

1 WO, I/1, pp. 5-6 2 WO, I/1, pp. 590 3 Portolans: navigational maps based on compass directions and distances observed by the pilots at sea. First made in the 13th century in Italy. The oldest extant portolan is from the middle ages 4 Pius II: Orationes (Mansi), I, p. xiv [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Voigt, I, pp. 116 ff. 6 Boulting, p. 80 7 Helmrath: Reichtagsreden, p. 141

The second objection to the May date concerns key events in the Ligurian war. 1 In 1421 the Republic of Genoa came under the rule of the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, but still functioned as a separate state, and not as a part of the Milanese state. It continued its longstanding rivalry and conflict with the Kingdom of Aragon (Barcelona) pursuing an aggressive expansionist policy in the Western Mediterranean and had designs on the Kingdom of Naples which it eventually conquered. On 5 August 1435, at the sea battle of Ponza, the Genoese won a complete victory over King Alfonso of Aragon whom they took prisoner together with his brother. The Duke of Milan had the distinguished prisoners transported directly to Milan where he treated them royally. And, in a complete reversal of policies, he then entered into an alliance with Alfonso, thereby creating a strong North-South power axis in Italy. This was a serious setback for Genoa as well as a mortal insult. So, on 27 December 1435 the Genoese defected from the duke and again became an independent republic. A war resulted which was the background for the Genoese joining forces with Venice and Florence in a league directed against Milan. The League Treaty was signed on 29 May. Piccolomini refers to it in his oration, cf. sect. 38, but he could not have known of it in Basel in May.

Piccolomi also refers to subsequent peace negotiations under the aegis of the pope, cf. sect. 38. These negotiations began in Bologna, in August 1436.

In view of these facts, it is difficult to see how Piccolomini could have delivered the speech in May.

The presumably oldest version of the oration, in the manuscript Chisianus 251, with the initial words Magnae saepe res, has the following title: "Oratio super electione loci pro futuro concilio ad reducendos Graecos habita Basileae in congregatione generali per dominum Eneam Silvium Senensem Kalendas XV Novembris MCCCCXXXVI", i.e. 17 October 1436.

But in notary Bruneti's protocol from the council, it is quite clearly stated that Piccolomini gave his oration on Friday 16 November 1436:

Die Veneris XVIa novembris MoIIIIcXXXVIo in generali congregatione ... Dominus Eneas de Senis in scriptis narravit fere per horam cum dimidia commoditates civitatis Papiensis in futuro concilio Grecorum, rationes et motiva aperiendo. 2 And later he stated: Dominus cardinalis legatus regraciatus est domino Enee de Senis de bona oracione ejus. 3 Bruneti's record is confirmed by Juan de Segovia who, in his Historia Gestorum Generalis Synodi Basiliensis, noted as follows:

Siquidem in concione ordinaria patrum XVIa die currentis Novembris Eneas Silvius Senensis oracione studiosa allocucione composita, in eius expressione moratus fere trium horarum spacio, cum laudes et commendaciones fecisset de loco Papiensi ad celebracionem oblato per ducem Mediolani, huius magnificencia velut supra cunctos principes abundancius exaltata, die altero posito avisamento … 1 2 So, it must be concluded that date of the oration was 16 November 1436. 3 It is worth noting the expression of Bruneti: Dominus Eneas de Senis in scriptis narravit ... which may indicate that Piccolomini actually spoke in the assembly on the basis of written notes or a written text which, 4 according to the Commentarii, he produced during the night following Isidoro Rosati's inept speech pleading for a city in the Duke of Milan's territory. As in other cases, Piccolomini's memory failed him to the point of marked exaggeration. According to Bruneti's protocol, Isidoro de Rosate spoke for the Duke of Milan's territory in the general congregation held on 3 November, two weeks before: Magister Ysidorus de Rosate legit in scriptis [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] commoditates locorum subiectorum illustrissimo dominio duci Mediolano pro concilio future Grecorum. 6 Piccolomini may have decided immediately to make his own speech, and he may have working on it during the nights, but he did not give the speech the day after Isodoro's as he claimed in the Commentarii.

The audience consisted of the the council fathers attending the general congregation on 16 November 1436.

As for the format of the text, Pius himself, in the speech itself, clearly designates it as an oration: Sed jam quid mea velit oratio in medium proferamus. 7 The word "oratio" is also directly used in the title.

Text 8

quantum mihil visum est oportere. Quare, si placet sive consonum est ea audire, quae commoda vestra concernunt, sinite ut haec mea scripta legantur in medium, quae melius unicuique deliberandi praebeant facultatem The oration is extant in three versions: an Early Version, an Intermediate Version and a Final Version.

Manuscripts 1 2

Early Version / "Magnae saepe res"

The Early Version circulated as individual copies,3 eventually finding its way into a number of humanist collective manuscripts. Its has the incipit "Magnae saepe res".

It is contained in two manuscripts: The Venetian manuscript has some variants in common with the Final Version, so that it might actually be considered as another Intermediate Version.

 Roma / Biblioteca

Intermediate Version / "Etsi numquam"

The Intermediate Version has a short introduction with the incipit "Etsi numquam". It has more variants in common with the Final Version than with the Early Version.

It is contained in one manuscript:

 Milano / Biblioteca Ambrosiana M 44 sup, ff. 102r ff4 (K)*

Final Version / "Audivi"

The "Audivi" is the final version of the oration, stripped of the introduction in the Early and Intermediate Version. It was included in the Collected Orations of Pius II, the first edition of which was compiled in 1462, under the pope's direct supervision. 1 It is contained in seven manuscripts:

 Lucca / Biblioteca

Present edition

For principles of edition (incl. orthography) and translation, see Collected Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II, vol. 1, ch. 9-10.

Text:

The text in the present edition is based on all ten manuscripts listed above. 1 The Chis. J.VIII 284 (A) has been chosen as the lead manuscript.

Pagination:

Pagination is from Chis. J.VIII 284 (red) and Chis. J.VII. 251 (blue).

Textual apparatus:

Variants from the Early Version (H -with or without K and/or V)) are given in bold types.

Variants common to D and G are colour-coded (red).

Sources 2

In the "Audivi", altogether 48 direct and indirect quotations from various sources have been identified: 2 and Simone of Venice3 had to report concerning their missions. If I understood their orations correctly, each of them wanted to draw the council to his own city, Simone to Venice and Gaspare to Florence. I have also heard Isidoro 4 and Raimondo5 favouring their own mission, and I do not doubt that others will speak in the same vein during the next days. It would appear that there are as many sentiments as there are cities. Since everybody excessively favours his home city,6 this Holy

Council is being drawn in all directions. Thus, it is highly to be feared that the council will fail because of private interests.

[2] Quibus de rebus maxima mecum 1 ipse cogitatione 2 contendi, facturusne verba in publico essem, an tacitus permitterem 3 suo labi flumina impetu. Videbatur homini privato atque inerudito tacendum fore in eruditissimorum coetu virorum, quales hinc 4 atque hinc 5 video, quorum consilio et auctoritate universus orbis recte regi gubernarique possit. Neque dignum existimabam, ut ego homuncio os aperirem, ubi non doctores modo scientiarum, sed patres 6 omnium facultatum adessent.

[3] Ceterum cum me vestro [2] For this reason, I have been thinking intensely about whether I should intervene in the debate, or silently let the river take its own course. On the one hand, it seemed that a private and unlearned man ought to remain silent in the assembly of very learned men I see around me. Indeed, the whole world may be rightly ruled and governed by their counsel and authority! And I thought it would be improper for an insignificant person such as myself me to open his mouth in an assembly where not only doctors in the various branches of knowledge,1 but also council fathers with every kind of qualification2 are present.

[3] On the other hand, when I considered my obligations towards your fellowship, and when I repeated to myself the words of my oath, 3 I found it necessary to speak up if I were to keep it. For I have always kept that oath religiously and supported this council whenever I could and had the possibility. I have spoken about your works everywhere, and where I could not speak I wrote. Always -and may God love me for it! -did I praise this council; always did I consider it necessary for the salvation of the Christians; and always have I been so passionately engaged in the council, to which I have given myself, that I would gladly sacrifice my own body and everything else I have in its service.

[4] Thus it appeared unseemly and absurd not to speak up in favour of something for which I am ready to give my life. If you have an obligation to give your life for your country, you have an even greater obligation to give it for the council. And if you should shun no danger for the sake of the council, then why should you withhold your words and the sound of your voice? Who will praise your silence if your speech would be useful? Homer says that "silence makes a woman beautiful, but this does not apply to a man." 1 2 [5] Judicavi ergo non solum decere me 1 loqui, sed oportere in tanto hujus sacri concilii periculo, quando 2 nullum adhuc audivi, qui ea dixerit, quae a me in praesentiarum, si placuerit, audietis. Et quoniam jam vos video 3 paratos et promptos ad audiendum, utinam illa 4 mihi 5 6 dicendi vis esset eaque persuadendi 7 auctoritas, qua olim in Atheniensi senatu adversus Aeschinem pro Ctesiphonte 8 usum ajunt fuisse Demosthenem.

[6] Neque enim ego dicendi artem facundiamque contemno, quemadmodum plerosque in hac congregatione perspexi, qui eam magnopere detestantes nullam omnino se habere aut habere se velle dixerint 9 eloquentiam. Ego enim ita sentio, et

Preparations for Greek participation in a Union Council

[8] As you know, the time approaches when you will have to act in the matter of reunion with the Greeks and the sending of ships. As great sums have been promised them for their transportation and provisions, you have been considering various ways of having the money ready in time. You have decided that the best way is to ask for money from the city where the council shall be held, so that those who want to have this Holy Synod on their territory would have to lend you the necessary funds. You have sent envoys to explore the minds of various princes and city-states. And now you have an offer from Venice, worthy both of you and of that illustrious realm. You also have magnificent promises from Florence. And you have an offer from the people of Avignon that is more than large, it is actually extremely generous, and it shows that city to be both a devoted and faithful daughter of the Church. You have also received a magnificent and princely offer from the mighty Prince Filippo Maria, Duke of Milan,1 who has always wished to obey your decrees and grant your petitions. And finally, you have generous and impressive offers from a number of other parties. So, you may now be certain that you can provide the Greeks with the asssistance you have decreed.

[9] Socratis tamen verba non absurde vobis insinuaverim 1 2 , qui cum videret hominem divitiis affluentem eaque de causa fastidio quodam 3 gloriabundum: "Non prius te," inquit 4 , "admirabor, quam [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] notum mihi 6 fuerit, quo pacto scias uti fortunis tuis." Magno nempe atque admirabili immortalis Dei beneficio usi estis, qui ea 7 vobis facilia fecerit, quae non solum difficilia, sed impossibilia videbantur. Ob quam 8 rem magnas habendas Deo 9 gratias censeo, qui talem de vobis curam gesserit, qui naviculam suam ex altissimis 10 fluctibus ad portum salutis eduxit 11 , ut navigare deinceps in portu videamini. [9] I think, however, that it is appropriate to remind you of something Socrates 1 once said when he saw a man who was rich and proud of it: I shall not admire you before I know how you use your fortune. 2 For immortal God has made those things easy for you which appeared to be not just difficult, but impossible, and until now you have used this great and wonderful gift well. We owe great thanks to God who has taken such good care of you and who has brought his ship 3 from the stormy sea into safe harbour so that you now seem to be sailing calmly within the harbour itself. [12] If I perceive such sentiments now, I do not consider them to be of a malicious nature, but I do think that no speaker should present himself as the Duke's man 1 or a man of Venice or of Florence, but rather as the Council's man or as a man of the World, as Socrates says. 2 Everything should be considered in terms of its usefulness to the council and its benefit to the world, and nobody should set his private affections above the common good. Unless I am mistaken, the very salvation of all Christianity depends on this, and if you choose a suitable venue for the council, you can remedy the Argolian 3 errors and much that is crude in the Latin language. But if you choose a dubious and unsafe location, the council will be dispersed and the prelates subjected to plunder and revenge -to the great detriment of the Christian people. [13] Let us imagine that the council is a person and consider what she should do. 1 If you ask her where she is from, she will not call herself Italian or French, German or Spanish, but she will insist that she is Christian and that she only desires what may benefit the Christian name. 2 Her task will be to remove the thorns from the field of the Lord, that is to eradicate heresy, to reform morals, and to restore peace everywhere. She will take care not to act unjustly, and she will observe the precept of Pythagoras3 : "

Step not beyond the beam of balance!" 4 She will take pains not to be found ungrateful towards anybody. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] She will preserve her liberty to live morally and to make the right decisions. She will not pursue delinquents to the point of making them desperate, nor tolerate them to the point of encouraging them. So, Fathers, let us put aside the names of nations, let everyone free himself of local patriotism, and let us discuss instead what may serve this council and the Christian faith, 6 and let us set sail in the direction which is the one most likely to advance our cause.

[14] Simone of Venice has said much about the fertilility of Friuli and the power and magnificence of Venice, and I consider that he has spoken both truthfully and elegantly. Gaspare has explained to us the advantages of Florence. And you have heard Raimondo speaking gracefully about the beautiful and splendid city of Avignon, a city entirely devoted to this Holy Council. In my opinion, these speakers have advanced all the possible arguments for transferring the council to their respective cities.

[15] De duce vero Mediolani, quamvis multa 1 Isidorus, orator vester diligentissimus, explicaverit 2 , neque sufficienter mea sententia 3 dictum videtur, neque admiratione dignum est, si ducales oratores, viri gravissimi, episcopus Albiganensis ac Christoforus de Velate 4 , cetera [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] subticuerunt. Satis namque duxerunt ad illum 6 principem pertinere, si requisitus responderit, si petita concesserit, si seipsum et quidquid habet obtulerit. Locorum vero comparationem {139v} facere vestrum esse dixerunt 7 . Certi enim sunt illum ducem, quidquid eligatis, contentum 8 fore, cupere tamen, ut bene vobis concilioque 9 succedat.

[16] Vestrum esset 10 igitur 11 , patres reverendissimi, ducalium terrarum investigare commoditates, quod onus, postquam alii rejiciunt, ego non minus vestra quam ducis causa suscipio, de Venetorum Florentinorumque terris omnino [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] silens, quos adeo promptos paratosque in necessitatibus ecclesiae [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF]

Offer of the Duke of Milan

[15] As concerns the Duke of Milan, your diligent envoy, Isidoro, had much to say. But in my opinion he did not say enough, and indeed it is not very impressive that the duke's own ambassadors, the Bishop of Albenga1 and Cristoforo da Velate, both serious men, remained silent about the rest, believing it to suffice if the prince responded to the solicitations of the council, if he granted its petitions, and if he offered himself and his possessions to it. As for the comparison of the various locations, they said that this is up to you, and they are sure that the duke will be content with whatever choice you make, and that his only desire is for you and the council to be successful.

[16] So, Reverend Fathers, it is your own responsibility to assess the advantages of the ducal territories. Since others2 will not assume this charge, I shall do so both for your sake and the duke's. I shall say nothing about the territories of Venice and Florence: you have already heard how eager and ready they are to provide what the Church needs, and we can only praise and extol them.

[17] De oblatione ducali pergo discutere, quae meo judicio nulli est inferior, et quae, si verum fateri volumus, omnium est aliarum 1 causa nobisque 2 ad optimam optionem 3 permaxime necessaria. Hujus enim oblationis 4 locus unus [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] est, nisi 6 fallor, ubi ex sententia terminari res 7 possit. Et ut quod dicimus luce clarius ostendamus 8 , quae requirat bona electio inquirendum est. Ea 9 licet alii 10 multifariam diviserint, mihi tamen quattuor 11 dumtaxat desideranda videntur, quorum si aliquod desit, recte eligere nullatenus valeamus. Illis autem concurrentibus nihil periculi sit acceptareque sine controversia debeamus, quicumque locum 12 illa concedat [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] . Ea 14 sunt, ut locum eligatis, in quo Graecis satisfacere possitis; ut commode papa cum concilio convenire queat; ut domus victualiaque suppetant; ut securitatem libertatemque in 15 loco habeatis electo. Quae omnia, si quis 16 sine passione consideret 17 , in urbe Papiensi ducalique territorio suspiciet 18 .

Criteria for choosing the venue of the council

[17] I now proceed to discuss the duke's offer, which -as I see it -is in no way inferior to all the other offers made. In truth, it is actually their cause,1 and it is, indeed, very important for making the right choice. Unless I am mistaken, the venue offered by the duke2 is definitely a place where our matter may be brought to the desired conclusion.

To explain more clearly what I am saying, I shall now examine the criteria for a good choice. Others have established a comprehensive set of such criteria, but personally I think that there are only four requirements: if just one of them cannot be fulfilled, the venue in question is unsuitable, but if all four requirements are fulfilled, there is no risk, and we may without controversy accept the venue which meets them.

The criteria for a suitable venue are that  it is acceptable to the Greeks;

 it is convenient for the pope meeting with the council;

 accomodations and provisions are available;

 and there is security and independence.

If one considers the matter dispassionately, all these conditions are met by the city of Pavia and the duke's lands.

[18] Prioremque 1 rem, si placet, examinemus, cujus tria sunt membra: ut locus in decreto aut nominetur aut comprehendatur; ut pecuniae necessariae praesto sint; ut trieriae 2 grossae subtilesque habeantur trecentique 3 arcitenentes, sive, ut vos dicere soletis, balistarii.

[19] Contineri vero 4 Papiam in decreto nemo ambigit, cum omnes fere Italiae 5 urbes sint eligibiles, nisi quas Graeci expresse 6 repudiarunt. Atque ut clarius disseramus difficultatem istam 7

Pavia is acceptable to the Greeks

[18] Let us now examine the first requirement. It consists of three parts:

 the location must be mentioned in or covered by the decree;1

 the necessary funds must be available;

 large and light triremes2 must be available as well as 300 archers (you usually employ the term balistarii).3

Pavia is covered by the decree of the Council

[19] Nobody doubts that Pavia is covered by the decree since all Italian cities are eligible except those that have been expressly rejected by the Greeks. To be quite clear on this difficulty concerning the venues: it is only because we are acting in the interests of the Greeks that we must choose a location which they cannot reject. And in their letter, the Greeks themselves already asked for the territories of the Duke so in this respect we have no reason to reject Pavia: we should listen carefully to the Greeks.

[20] neque {3v} enim sine ratione moventur, scientes ducem cum Turcis 1 2 , unde vetustissimam trahit originem, haereditariam 3 4 habere familiaritatem, quod salva fide vituperari non potest. Idcirco timens Romeorum imperator 5 ne se absente Constantinopolim Turci 6 obsideant, credit ducem unis litteris periculo obviaturum, si Turcorum 7 principi scripserit, {140r} Graecos non alia quam fidei causa Italiam petisse 8 , de qua ille salvo imperio non curat, crederetque duci ista scribenti, aliis forte non item, a quibus tamquam hostibus dari sibi verba 9 existimaret et se dolis circumventum opinaretur. Nec illud est non considerandum: Graecos 10 fere omnes imperio Turcorum 11 esse subjectos, curareque ne quam rebellionis suspicionem ingerant dominis, a quibus profecto 12 impedirentur [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] . Nec 14 invitis Turcis 15 deducere Graecos quisquam poterit.

Attitude of the Turks

[20] They are indeed acting with good reason since they know that the duke is a descendant of the Turks1 of old. 2 Thus, he is related to them by a hereditary bond which cannot be disclaimed in good faith. The Byzantine 3 Emperor 4 fears that the Turks will lay siege to Constantinople in his absence, [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] but because of that relationship he believes the duke may remove the risk by writing a letter to the Prince of the Turks stating that the Greeks would be coming to Italy purely in a matter of our Faith. As long as his own power is safe, the Turk is indifferent to the matter of the Christian Faith, 6 and he would believe the duke writing to him to this effect. Others the Turk might not believe, as he would consider their words as coming from enemies and think that he was being deceived. It must also be kept in mind that almost all Greeks 7 are subject to the power of the Turks. Therefore We must take pains to avoid that their overlords might suspect a revolt and prevent their departure. For, indeed, no one can bring over 8 the Greeks against the will of the Turks.

[21] Magnum est imperium Turcorum [21] For great is the realm of the Turks,1 immense is the power of the Asians, and enormous their riches. They have extended their empire from Asia2 to Europe, 3 and they have occupied the whole of Greece as if they were the avengers of the destruction of Troy. To expel them from Greece would not be the task of a single city or state, but of the entire Christian world. 4 Only [God's] grace -not force -can give us the Greeks. The Turks tolerate that the Argolians5 have whatever religious beliefs they want. Therefore, they will allow them come to a council in a religious matter, but only if they do not suspect any deception or intrigue. 6 In order to allay their suspicions, the Greeks ask for the cities of the duke whom they think the Turks will not suspect. I do not deny that the Constantinopolitans would be able to come against the will of the Turks, but we must also take into account those other people7 who are subjects of the Turk and whom the Patriarch8 intends to bring with him. In conclusion, as far as the Greeks are concerned, Pavia is a most appropriate choice.

[22] Nonnulli 1 tamen ad terras, inquiunt, si ducis eatur, non permissuros Venetos 2 Graecis transitum Genuensesque obstaturos 3 ganniunt 4 , quod de florentibus illis civitatibus, duobus [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] , ut 6 ita dixerim, Christianitatis luminibus, nefas est non solum dicere, sed suspicari, quae solae nos ab orienti 7 defendunt, quae barbaricos reprimunt impetus, quae terras 8 Christianorum ab incursione tutantur infidelium, quae 9 plurimas non dico urbes, sed provincias in media Barbariae 10 bello armisque tenent. Hasne igitur civitates, arma assidue 11 pro fide gestantes, venientibus ad unionem Graecis putabimus obstaturas? Nec bonus est, qui ista dicit, neque prudens, qui illa credit.

[23] Ego tam [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] Venetos quam [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] Genuenses omnia porrecturos opinor auxilia, quibus rem hanc conficiatis, quocumque concilium transferatis. Nec 14 de Venetis ambigo

Attitude of Genoa and Venice

[22] Some people claim that if you go to the duke's territories, the Venetians will forbid the Greeks to pass through their territory. And they murmur 1 that the Genoese, 2 too, will oppose this choice.

To say, nay just to think thus about these flourishing Christian cities, two lights of Christendom, is a gross injustice. These two cities alone protect us from the East, they defend us against the attacks of the barbarians, they protect the lands of the Christians from the incursions of the infidels, and by military force they hold many cities and even provinces in the middle of Barbary. 3 Shall we really believe that these two cities, fighting continuously for the Faith, would hinder the travel of the Greeks to the Union Council? No good man claims this, and no sensible man believes it.

[23] For my own part, I am convinced that both Venice and Genoa will render every assistance to your enterprise wherever you decide to transfer the council. As for the Venetians, you already have their safeconduct, and the Genoese have said that they will send theirs shortly. In the meantime they have sent devoted letters, full of goodwill and commitment to your decisions. They also say that they will make a large fleet as well as their own persons available to this cause, as needed. So, I do not fear any obstacles or that the Greeks will suffer any violence, unless the Turks make trouble, as I have aready mentioned. I do not know or think that any Christian could be so wicked, so evil, and so perversely opposed to everything good that he would obstruct this matter.

Alternative route south of Sicily

[25] But the seaport of Pisa is much farther away. If the Greeks [take that route,] they will avoid [the Strait of] Scylla and Charybdis 1 through which the passage is unsafe and sail all around Sicily whose circumference -if the ancients are to be believed -measures at least 500.000 passus. 2 No Florentine needs to be angry with me on this score 3 for I do not point out this fact in order to rob their splendid city and famous people of the council: their devotion to the council is well-known and great, and they have made a truly remarkable offer. Already at the time of the council's first request, they promised such a large amount that you may hope for even greater favours from this people in the future. 4 But so that we may not appear to be completely blind and ignorant: what I am saying 5 is evident from the maps commonly used by seamen. 6 On the other hand, I do not attach great importance to this question as the council should not be given 7 or taken away depending on whether the travel takes three or four days more.

1 Scylla and Charybdis: two mythological sea monsters, which tradition placed on each side of the Messina strait 2 Passus: Roman measure of distance, ca. 1.5 meter 3 Piccolomini points out that if the council were to be held in Florence, the Greeks would then have to take the longer sea route South of Siciliy 4 Does Piccolomini really believe this, or is he subtly dropping poison into the ears of the council fathers? 5 I.e. about the passage south of Sicily to Pisa 6 An early reference to nautical charts, probably a "portolan" 7 To a city

[26] Illud vero 1 cavendum est, illudque prospiciendum, ne repudiari a Graecis locus possit. Nec ineleganter homo prudentissimus Gaspar dicebat: quae 2 Graecis promisistis diligentissime adimplenda, qui vel si 3 unum iota diminutum invenerint 4 , licitam se judicarent 5 excusationem habere. Sed illud praecipue ponderat, ut pecuniae habeantur ac navigia, quas res utrum ex duce 6 obtinueritis, Isidorus ipse plenissime demonstravit: quo ex Mediolano reverso, expendite 7 quaeso, an diminutas habueritis {4v} responsiones, an aliquid non obtinueritis, an ulla in re difficilem principem experti fueritis? 8 Quinque et octuaginta millia ducatorum 9 mutuo flagitastis 10 , bono vultu, bonoque animo annuit; terras arcesque consignari vobis 11

Availability of funds

[26] In any case, we must take great pains to avoid that the Greeks may reject the venue for the council. As the wise Gaspare put it very appropriately: your promises to the Greeks must be fulfilled exactly -if they find that just one iota has been taken away, they will claim that they have legitimate excuse. 1 It is crucial that they be provided with funds and ships. Both of these may be had from the duke, as Isidoro 2 has amply demonstrated. For were the offers he brought back from Milan in any way reduced? Was there anything you did not get? Did the prince make difficulties on any point whatsoever? You asked for a loan of 85.000 ducats: he granted it with good grace. You required that certain territories and fortresses be consigned to you: there was no objection. You asked for 38 houses free of charge: he gave it readily, and you would not even have had to ask for it! You demanded price controls for lodging and victuals: he answered gracefully and generously.

And finally he committed himself to confirm everything you wish in a public and solemn document. 3 Oh regal soul Oh generous prince! Oh extraordinary munificence! This is the one you want, Ennius 4 : When fortune is fickle the faithful friend is found. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Such was the duke's reply that no supplementary information was needed, no corroboration, and no further correspondence. If you choose his place now, all will be ready immediately. Consider whether others have done as much.

1 I.e. for not coming or for increasing their demands 2 Isidoro da Rosate [27] And please take note of this: did the duke require an onerous caution or burdensome sureties? 1 By Hercules, had I said that the prince did not demand any surety at all, I should not be blamed, for the surety he has asked for is not really a surety, but should rather be called a donation! He has asked that the loan be repaid out of the [revenue from the sale of] indulgences 2 so that if there are no such revenues he will not be repaid. This is your true son! This is your true servant! This is your true friend. This is the friendship which Tullius 3 mentions in many places and about which he says: It is mainly love (amor), from which the word "friendship" (amicitia) is derived, that leads to the establishing of goodwill. 4 In friendship nothing is pretence, nothing is simulated. Everything is genuine and everything is voluntary, as illustrated by the duke's benevolence towards you. If anyone denies that the duke is your friend, then indeed he makes everybody your enemy. The duke's affection and devotion to this assembly are so strong that he will agree to all your requests and rather grant money than loans. [28] So, when it comes to funding, there can be no objection to Pavia. And I will not listen to those who claim that they are "golden" and richer than all other Christians, or those who boast that they have a large amount of gold and silver. Why are they saying that? Do they think that the council is up for sale and will go to the highest bidder? This shame must be avoided and abhorred so that people will not say that the council has been sold. 1 I just want to convince you of this one thing: the duke will assist you financially whenever needed and whatever you ask for, and he will never fail you in your need. For he can get all the funds he wants. Not only is his city of Milan very populous -as you well know -but it is also very rich. All the treasures of Gallia Togata 2 are accumulated there so that he may gather any sum needed.

[29] At si de populo illo Mediolanensi 1 {5r} volumus verum dicere, nullum ego devotiorem vidi 2 , nullum fideliorem, nullum suo principi oboedientiorem, nullum denique meliorem, ob cujus, ut arbitror, bonitatem ac sanctimoniam divino munere actum est, ne illam urbem nostris diebus pestifera lues invaserit, cui populo nihil erit gratius quam in sanctissimum usum effudisse pecunias. Nec 3 credite illum munificentissimum {141v} principem ob 4 defectum pecuniarum rem dimissurum, qui non habendi concilii cupiditate argentum modo 5 pollicetur, sed ne quod 6 caritate pecuniae in dedecus prolaberemini. Dat ergo, ut satis est, Papia pecuniarum.

[30] De navigio 7 non magnam vim facio. Vestro enim, ut scitis, sumptu conducendae armandaeque sunt triremes, nec dissimiliter balistarii, neque tam grandis pecuniarum modo 8 9 quantitas petitur, nisi ut navigio balistariisque sufficiat. Depositis enim decem millibus apud Constantinopolim, Graecisque datis 10 XV millibus, viatico quoque oratoribus concilii praestito, quod superest in naves longas, balistariosque dispensabitur, quos conducere ubique poteritis: habentibusque pecunias neque balistarii 11 deerunt neque navigia. Jamque illum Sabaudiensem 12 spectata virtute militem vobis navigia offerentem vidistis, suosque labores promittentem [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] , cujus nobilitas, animique perspicua generositas non est huic 14 inepta negotio. Quare 15 sive istas, sive alias multis in locis conducere naves poteritis.

[29] As for the people of Milan, 1 truly, I have never seen a people more devoted, more faithful, and more obedient to their prince: indeed, I have never seen a better one. I believe that it is because of their goodness and faith that, by the grace of God, their city has not been infested with the plague in our days. Nothing would be more welcome to that people than to spend money in your holy cause. Do not believe that this munificent prince will give up the matter later due to lack of money: he promises money not because he wants to have the council, but because he wants to spare us the embarrassment of lacking money. In conclusion: the solution of Pavia will provide enough funding.

Availability of ships

[30] I shall not go deeply into the matter of the sea voyage. As you know, the triremes and the archers are to be hired and armed at your cost, and the amount required is not large -only as much as is sufficient for the ship and the archers. You have already deposited 10,000 ducats in Constantinople; 2 15,000 ducats have been given to the Greeks; and the council's orators have been given travel money. The rest will be spent on long ships and archers, and these you can hire everywhere. As you have money, you will lack neither archers nor ships. You have already seen the knight from Savoy, a man of recognized virtue, 3 offering ships to you and promising to work for you. 4 [31] However, so as not to fail you in any way whatsowever, the duke has decided to provide triremes, too. It would be unworthy of us to inquire where and how he will obtain them, for whatever he promises holds true. Still, I shall tell you why it is easy for him to provide ships. As you know, the duke is bound in close friendship 1 with His most Serene and Magnanimous Highness, the King of Aragon, 2 who would like nothing better -as his orator stated so eloquently -than to make his ships available for the sake of the council and the duke. To whom could this matter be better entrusted than to the King of Aragon? Who would more diligently deal with this matter of the Faith than he who has fought so long against the infidels? Or do you not know that this Catholic King, zealous in matters of the Faith, often and with a large force and a large fleet fought against the Africans, inveterate enemies of Christianity? Indeed, it is his honour and glory to have, by his own efforts, made the Mediterranean Sea safe from the infidel pirates. Pompey the Great 3 was equally meritorious, and likewise we honour this king who frequently made his trumpets sound when the Libyan ships and the hostile fleets of the infidels roamed that very sea, even as far as to the Tuscan shore. They fear this excellent King of the Ionian Sea and Guardian of the Tyrrhenian Sea, who has freed Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and the Balearic and Volcanian Islands 4 from all attacks of the Saracens. For him it would be worse not to be asked for assistance in this great cause of the Faith than to have his entire fleet devoured by a terrible storm. In conclusion, either the king's ships will be made available to you or else ships will be provided in another manner.

I have now said enough about the first and most important part of my subject. 1 The King fell into the hands of the duke when he was defeated by the Genoese fleet in the sea battle of Ponza in 1435. The King was treated honourably by the duke, and then the two princes concluded an alliance which completely upset the political and military balance of Italy 2 Alfonso V the Magnanimous (1396-1458): King of Aragon and Sicily from 1416 to his death. As King of Sicily (the island part of the Kingdom of Sicily) he had been adopted as heir to the Queen of Naples (i.e. the mainland part of th e Kingdom of Sicily) in 1421 and henceforth campaigned systematically to get effective control of the mainland kingdom, which he acquired in 1442/1443 3 Gnaeus Pompejus Magnus (106-48 BC): Roman general and statesman 4 Islands in the Mediterranean Sea to the east of Italy

[32] Transeo 1 ad secundum, ubi dicebam talem esse locum oportere, ad quem commode papa 2 cum concilio {142r} conveniret, nec irrationabiliter. Nam cum Graecos ad unionem sitis vocaturi, dignum est vos prius 3 esse unitos, ne quod 4 schisma, ne quam divisionem, ne quam 5 inter vos 6 controversiam Graeci reperiant. Verisimile etenim est facilius reduci Graecos, si vos unanimes quam si 7 disjunctos agnoscant 8 . Neque ob hanc solum 9 causam, sed ut multa scandala infinitaque mala cessent, quae nostra divisio suscitavit, quam schisma non injuria 10 vocitabimus. Hoc 11 est quod regius orator Simon Caroli, vir non sapientia solum, sed eloquentia singularis, hoc in loco flagitabat enixe [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] , cujus verba, patres amplissimi, cum locum eligetis, vestris debebunt insedere pectoribus, ut summe curetis posse [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] papam interesse.

Pavia is convenient for the pope

[32] I now move on to the second part.

As I said in the beginning, we need a location that is convenient for the pope to meet with the council. This is quite reasonable. For if you want to invite the Greeks to unite with you, you ought first to be united yourselves so that the Greeks will find no schism, no disunity, and no dispute between you. Obviously, the Greeks will be brought back1 more easily if they find that you are of one mind than if they find that you are divided. And not just for that reason, but also in order to put an end to all the scandals and countless evils caused by our disunity -or to put it more properly: our schism. This is what the king's2 ambassador, Simon Charles,3 a man of singular wisdom and eloquence, urged so brilliantly in this very room. 4 Honourable Fathers, when you choose the venue, you should heed his words and take great care to make it possible for the pope to participate.

[33] Nec

Pope is head of the Church

[33] For you should not despise the Holy See and the true successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ. 1 He is our head which should never be separated from us, for a body cannot be complete without its head. He is the bridegroom of the Church; he is the captain of the ship; he is -as people say -God on Earth. Through Peter and Peter's successors, Christ our Saviour has given him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, 2 though I do not deny that they have also been given to the Church as a whole. 3 To him has been given so great an authority, so great a power, so great a knowledge of the divine mysteries that he is to be revered above all. Indeed, the papal dignity is so venerable that we must honour and revere the pope -even an evil one. So, whatever lust he may have indulged in or whatever crime he may have committed, he must not be held in contempt before the Church has passed judgment. 4

Pope Eugenius IV

[34] What shall I say about the present Supreme Pontiff? [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] I would now have to speak about his holy life if the king's ambassadors 6 had not already spoken splendidly about his piety, his clemency, his fairness, his sense of justice, and his goodness. We do not at all deny that Our Most Holy Lord 7 will be necessary to the future council 8 so that it may benefit not only from the authority of his office, but also from his personal moral qualities 9 .

1 Note how respectfully Piccolomini here speaks about the papal office and the pope personally, cf. Introduction [37] And when there was a conflict between them, the Supreme Pontiff was overcome by the duke's forbearance: he had to admit that the duke had used legitimate weapons and legitimate force against him and only in self-defense, just as -according to Livy 1 -Camillus 2 spoke in the Tusculan Senate. 3 And do we not know 4 that this enmity -if you can really call it that -was ended through the conclusion of a peace already more than a year ago? [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] The mediators of this peace were those two great and distinguished men, the Cardinals of Santa Croce 6 and of San Pietro, 7 whom your Holy Assembly sent to Florence for this very purpose. The terms of peace were dictated by the pope himself, and afterwards there has been no enmity between them whatsoever.

[38] But if you want irrefutable proofs of their friendship, then hear this: the Genoese were pressed by war on all sides, 8 and in order to keep their liberty they defected from the duke and instead concluded a treaty with Venice and Florence. 9 The pope learned that the duke was threatened by a major war and estimated that he could not match the great forces [of his enemies]. To prevent the duke from being pressed into a war too dangerous for him, 10 the pope then offered himself as a peacemaker and sent the widely respected Cardinal of Santa Croce 11 on a peace mission to the duke, while he himself undertook to persuade the other parties. When the duke had considered this offer, he entrusted the whole conflict and controversy to Our Most Holy Lord [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] and chose the pope as mediator and friendly peacemaker between himself and his enemies. [39] Cujus rei veritatem 1 2 , nisi agnitam omnibus scirem, Roberti Florentini, novitatum diligentissimi exactoris, testimonium implorarem 3 , apud quem non unae litterae reperirentur 4 .

Vidi ego hisce oculis apostolicas litteras paternae caritatis et exuberantis plenas dilectionis, quae duci directae fuerant, ut nihil 5 filiis parentes soleant 6 scribere dulcius.

[40] Sed ponamus fore inimicitias. Numquid terram [39] If I did not know that you are all aware of this fact, I would ask for confirmation from Roberto of Florence,1 that diligent gatherer of news, who is in possession of many letters. 2 With my own eyes I have seen apostolic3 letters sent to the duke, full of paternal charity and great love. Parents could not write more lovingly to their children.

Council will have control over Pavia

[40] But let us set this issue of enmity aside. For, after all, how can anybody claim Pavia to be hostile territory when it would be placed in your own hands? Surely, it can only be considered hostile if the council declares it to be so. The duke promises to give the city freely into your hands, and when that happens, the pope will have nothing to fear. 4 And if the pope demands greater safety, I believe that this prince will deny him nothing. But the duke's ambassador, the esteemed and eloquent Cristorofo da Velate,5 is present: demand guarantees from him! Or do you consider this problem to be so difficult that no solution may be found? For my own part, I certainly do not see how other people would be able to provide greater security for the pope than the duke.

[41] In this council as well as at the Roman Curia there are cardinals and many other prelates whose loyalty is well-known both to you and to the pope. Entrust the government of the city to such people; let the city officials and citizens swear an oath between their hands, and, if necessary, let them provide a sworn statement of allegiance. With what right could the pope then reject a city which had been put into the hands of his own friends, and where else could he go if he did not want to come there?

[42] Quod si modus iste 1 non placet, excogitate 2 alios. Nihil 3 negare ducem invenietis, quod 4 rationi consentaneum 5 judicabitis. Ceterum si nihil horum recipitis, ostendam vobis {143r} denique, cum requiretis, etiam in civitate Papiensi summi pontificis non abesse consensum. Nunc istud praetereamus. Satis namque mihi fuerit ei locum recusandi abstulisse 6 , quem venire nolentem cogere non possemus. Sat fuit 7 , si venire eum commode posse ostensum est.

[43] Restat concilium quoque cum papa illic commode 8 monstrare 9 futurum, quoniam licet cuncti ad reductionem Graecorum papam clamitent necessarium, ego non minus puto concilium opportunum. Concilium namque rem inchoavit. Concilium 10 , si omittatur 11 , dedecus, si perficiatur [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] , laus sit secutura [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] . Concilium eligere locum debet. Concilium pecunias invenire ac triremes oportet mittere. Concilium denique totius rei consummationi supereminet. Exigit 14 ergo res ista non minus concilii quam papae praesentiam. Idcirco locum utrisque 15 aptum debetis eligere. [42] But if this solution is unacceptable, then think of others. You will find that the duke will refuse nothing that you consider to be reasonable. And if you do not accept any of this, I shall -if you so require -show that within the city of Pavia itself there is support for the pope. But let us now leave this issue. Evidently, we cannot force the pope to come to a place where he does not want to go, but it is sufficient for me to have removed any grounds for him to reject Pavia and to have shown that he is able to travel there with ease.

Pavia is convenient for the council

[43] It remains to show that also the council -like the pope -can move to Pavia with ease. For even if all declare that the pope's presence is essential for bringing back1 the Greeks, I consider that the council is just as important. The council started this whole matter. So, it would be shameful to discontinue the council and meritorious to continue it. It is the responsibility of the council to select the location, to find the money, to send the triremes, and generally to have the final say concerning the completion of the whole matter. So, the presence of both council and pope is required, and you must therefore choose a venue which is convenient for both.

[44] Hanc esse Christianissimi regis Francorum 1 ejusque oratorum arbitror intentionem. Quis enim non sanctissimum illius gloriosissimi regis propositum interpretetur? Quis de tali tantoque rege non caste atque optime suspicetur? Etenim sive antecessorum ejus gesta consideramus 2 , sive vitam ipsius ante oculos praeponamus 3 , regnum illud amplissimum, longe lateque patens, semper fuisse tutamen et ornamentum fidei cognoscemus 4 . De qua re, si dicere velim, prius dies quam verba deficiant [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] , pleni namque sunt codices historiarumque libri, majorumque regum clarissima gesta divinis quasi laudibus ubique gentium celebrantur. Totque fuerunt illius regni egregia pro 6 fide facinora, ut non solum inter regna principatum obtinuerit, sed Christianissimum quadam ultra cetera excellentia meruerit 7 appellari.

[45] Sed quid 8 ego ista 9 commemoro, quae meis dictis facio viliora? Taceo de illo gymnasio 10 memorabili et famosa schola Parisiensi 11 12 , cujus doctrina incredibile dictu [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] est, quantum {7r} fidei praestiterit incrementum, quam veteres reges singulari semper 14 reverentia prosecuti dicuntur. Neque ab 15 praedecessoribus suis modernum regem degenerantem cernimus, sed regibus quibusque superioribus belli pacisque artibus et gloria parem.

Attitude of the King of France

[44] I perceive that this is also the intent of the Most Christian King of France and his ambassadors. All see the worthy intentions of his glorious Majesty in this matter. And all think well and respectfully about this great king. Whether we consider the achievements of his ancestors or look at his own life, we must acknowledge that this great and vast kingdom has always been a bastion and an ornament of the Faith. If I were to talk about this subject, the day would run out before the words, for the annals 1 and history books are full of them. The magnificent accomplishments of the former kings are celebrated everywhere with almost divine praises. 2 So many were the illustrious deeds of this kingdom for the Faith that it gained the first place among kingdoms and even merited to be called the Most Christian of many excellent kingdoms.

[45] But why do I dwell on these things when my words cannot do them justice. I pass over that famous gymnasium and wonderful school of Paris 3 : it is impossible to speak adequately about its scholarship and how much it has contributed to the growth of the Faith. The old kings are said to have always shown it particular respect, and -as we see -the present king lives up to his predecessors and equals the former kings in the arts of war and peace as well as in glory.

1 "codices" 2 A number of Frankish emperors, starting with Charlemagne himself, and French Kings had over the centuries supported the popes militarily and intervened on their behalf 3 I.e. the University of Sorbonne. In this period the term "university" had not yet gained general currency. This university was a strong and highly respected proponent of conciliarism (see Stieber, p. 62). The remark of Piccolomini is therefore both a compliment and a political statement

[46] De cujus inclyta justitia ac religione, quamvis multa possimus 1 ordiri, illud prae ceteris adnotemus 2 , quod erga universalem ecclesiam sacrosanctumque 3 concilium factitavit. Inter papam et vos 4 olim illa prior dissentio 5 fuit, quod hic 6 vos 7 concilium dicere, ille negare. Ecclesiam Gallicanam 8 rex consuluit, qua concilium hic esse declarante omni vos favore juvandos 9 statuit. Missi e vestigio oratores viri ex archiepiscopali episcopalique dignitate, tum doctrina, tum etiam bonitate praestantes, qui jam quintum vobiscum 10 annum in agro dominico laborantes ducunt. Pecuniae ex regno ad utilitatem concilii detrahi permissae. Mandatum ut praelati proficiscantur ad concilium 11 ; auxilium datum, quodcumque petitum a 12 vobis est.

[47] Et quid aliud de ipso dixerim rege, nisi quod inter alios sibi praecipue teneamur [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] [46] We could say much about his elevated sense of justice and his piety, but above all we take note of his achievements for the Universal Church and the Holy Council. At one point there was disagreement between the pope and you: you maintained that the council was to be here, 1 and the pope refused. 2 The king consulted the Gallican Church, and when it declared that the council was here, he decided to favour your cause in every way. Very soon he sent you his envoys, 3 eminently learned and virtuous men of archiepiscopal and episcopal rank who have now been toiling together with you in the field of the Lord for more than four years. He allowed money to be sent from the kingdom for the use of the council; he ordered prelates to go to the council; whatever aid you asked for, he gave.

[47] What else can I say about this king except that we are particularly obliged to him for his help and support. As Cicero says: What better type of nature therefore can we find among human beings than the men who regard themselves as born into the world to help, guard and preserve their fellowmen? 4 Oh glorious King! Oh excellent Prince! Oh truly Most Christian Defender of the Faith! You defend the Church, you care about the Faith, you venerate the council. You we must honour and acclaim with perpetual praise.

1 i.e. in Basel 2 In 1432 and 1433 the pope, Eugenius IV, tried to transfer the council from Basel to a city in Italy, but the council would have none of it, and in the end the pope gave in. However, the venue of the council became an issue again some years later in connection with the negotiations on Church union with the Greeks 3 Among them the Archbishop of Lyon, Amédée de Talaru 4 Cicero: Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.14.32

[48] Hic cum crebras 1 inter vos 2 ac 3 summum pontificem dissensiones cerneret, saepenumero ad pacem laboravit nunc vobis, nunc summo pontifici supplicans tolli discidium. Nec 4 aliud 5 Simon collegaeque 6 rogitant, nisi ut concilium cum papa conveniat, omnesque discordiarum fomites 7 amputentur. Quid 8 hic -obsecro -irascatur? Num 9 rectae sanctaeque illae sunt voces 10 ? Num 11 omnes idem 12 cupitis? Ego sane, nisi [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] [48] When the King heard about the frequent disagreements between you and the Supreme Pontiff, he repeatedly intervened for the sake of peace and begged now you, now the Supreme Pontiff to end the conflict. What Simon 1 and his colleagues call for is precisely that the council should meet with the pope and that all the fuels of conflict be eliminated. Who -I ask -could take offense at this? Are these words not just and holy? Don't you all desire the same thing? For my own part, I must certainly commend this knight. What Simon asks is good and worthy of being granted. For he admonishes us to avoid the grounds for a schism, he asks us as to agree on a location with the pope, he does not make specific demands, and he does not reject any place by name. If I am not mistaken, his words point to Pavia 2 for he wants pope and council to be together, joined in concord. This -I think -can be achieved in three ways: either the pope gets his way, or you get your way, or some compromise is reached. To hope for the first two is pointless. Simon's mission concerns the third way: that a location should be chosen in common. And -I ask you -what location is more appropriate than Pavia, what is more suitable or convenient for both parties? Another location might possibly be more welcome to the pope, but then it would not be safe for you.

Relationship between princes and council

[49] But I have not yet heard Simon say that you should select an unsafe location: he would not say that, of course, and his king would not think of it. His custom has ever been first to give advice and then to leave the decision to the council, subordinating his own opinion to the view of Universal Church. 1 If I may say so, Fathers, today you defer unduly to the princes, and you do not dare do anything that displeases them. 2 For my own part, I certainly do not approve of this attitude, and I find that our forefathers did not act in this way, and neither did the apostles. Though they had the whole world against them, they preached the truth everywhere, and in the cause of truth they fled neither threats nor death nor cruel torture. 3 Thus it came about that the Christian name filled the whole world. But when fear of death and desire for riches came in, truth was deserted, and justice was flung to the ground and ignored. The Satirical Poet 4 fittingly says that

It was afterwards that, little by little, Astraea withdrew to the gods above with Chastity as her companion. The two sisters ran away together. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Hereafter the Christian people went into decline, and the sects of the infidels 6 began to grow.

1 Note the concept of the Universal Church, embodied by the council 2 The princes naturally had a keen interest in the councils, the only truly international (European) assemblies at the time, influencing them heavily through their ambassadors. Piccolomini probably expresses a general concern among council members or at least of the presidency of the council, otherwise he would hardly have dared to express this sentiment 3 An early expression of Pius' admiration for the primitive Church, a theme which recurs in his writings and in one of the most important speeches of his papacy, "Sextus agitur annus" [75], held towards the end of his life 4 Satyrus = Decimus Junius Juvenalis: Roman poet (active in the late 1st and early 2nd century AD). Juvenal was one of Piccolomini's favourite classical authors And concerning the location, no prince would reject Pavia for there pope and council may meet most conveniently.

We have not as yet discussed how the council may have security in Pavia, for this topic we have reserved for the last part of the oration.

[51] Nunc

Provisions

[54] The neighbouring country overflows with wine and all kinds of foodstuffs. I will not heed the words gushing forth from Varro1 : Campanian lands bear the best grain for our use, Falernum the best wine, Casinum the best oil, Tusculum the best figs, Tarentum the best honey, and the Tiber the best fish. 2 It may have been so at his time, but today all these things are to be found in Pavia and the other regions of Lombardy. They gather more hay and grain than their own inhabitants need, and there is a great abundance of fruit. If anything should be lacking, it can be imported via the Ticino River. But why do I dwell on this? As you know, the peoples of Lombardy never had to live on imported wheat, but on the contrary they exported their own wheat to the other provinces.

Splendour of Pavia and Milan

[55] I do not give much for the argument that the Greeks ought to meet a grandiose Latin Church. But if this argument should carry any weight, then where can you find it better than in Pavia? Just think of how honourably, how splendidly, how solemnly, and how extravagantly the duke would receive the Emperor of Constantinople. 1 Or is there any other man who lives in a more costly and magnificent fashion than this duke? An account of his largess would seem more stupendous than credible. When he shows generosity, he does it at his own behest. The Greeks will behold the grandeur of this prince with admiration and awe, and with their own eyes they shall see what they had already heard. Then they will acknowledge the truth of the Homerian saying that a reputation is never quite false if it is sung2 by many people. 3 Here, indeed, they shall find that reality surpasses reputation. Sometimes the Greeks would go to Milan where they would find a large population, wealthy citizens, and great splendour; they would almost believe that they were seeing another world! They would say that they had never seen so many artists nor so many fabulous events. So, if it is grandeur that makes the Church venerable, Milan would really be the best location. 4 [57] De 1 postremo jam membro tempus admonet disputare: de securitate scilicet 2 libertateque loci, quae duplici a nobis modo consideranda videntur: ut tuti in loco simus 3 , et ad locum tuti eamus.

[58] Refero 4 {145r} de secundo, in quo illud non est ignorandum, quod huic urbi nullum propiorem locum nominamus [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] . Septem dierum iter, de cujus securitate nulla -ut opinor 6 -est ambiguitas. Jacent medii Suizerorum 7 8 campi sive -ut verius dicamus -Alpes, hominum cum 9 belicosissimorum 10 , tum etiam pacis et justititae tenacissimorum, quorum terras percurrentibus 11 vobis nulla latronum violentia sit timenda [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] . Montem vero sancti Bernardi transituris religiosissimi principis ducis Sabaudiae 13 territorium occurrit 14 , qui pacis semper amator cultorque tranquillitatis {9r} est habitus, quem religio sanctissimaque justititia cunctis subditis miro modo colendum divinisque quodammodo laudibus celebrandum efficit, cujus terras nemo non secure percurrit.

Pavia offers security and freedom

[57] It is now time to talk about the last part of my subject, that is the security and the freedom of the place. We shall consider this matter from two angles: firstly, we must be able to stay there in security, and, secondly, we must be able to travel there in safety.

It is safe to travel to Pavia

[58] I start with the issue. Everybody knows that the city we have named is very close to us. The journey only takes seven days, and I think that there can be no doubt about its safety.

Between Pavia and us lies the territory of the Swiss, or, to be more precise, the Alps. The Swiss are a rather pugnacious people, but they are also fiercely beholden to peace and justice, and you will not have to fear any violence from robbers when you travel through their territory. When you pass over the Mountain of Saint Bernhard,1 you will enter the territory of that most God-fearing prince, the Duke of Savoy. 2 He has always been considered a prince who loves peace and cherishes tranquility. His piety and inviolate justice makes him extremely popular with all his subjects and worthy of almost divine praise. Everybody may pass through his territories in complete safety.

[59] From these two territories1 you will pass directly into Filippo's own country which is not only safe, but also very well-disposed towards you. And if anybody should still have some concerns, the prince offers you any fortresses you think will make your travel safer. You see that the duke's territory lies in the narrow confines between Gaul2 and Germany, so that as soon as you enter Italy, you meet the ducal fortresses. And Pavia lies not far from the Alps. For these reasons you may have a very safe journey to Pavia. You can yourselves judge whether it is equally safe to travel to other places.

It is safe to stay in Pavia

[60] It now remains to deal with the question of security and independence. You will acknowledge that these are to be had in Pavia if I can show you that  the city will be under your own control;

 its citizens are peace-loving and tranquil;

 the climate is healthy; and

 you can trust the prince.

[61] Futuram in manu vestra 1 civitatem jam supra edoctum 2 est, nec solum urbem, sed adjacentia simul oppida arcesque daturum se ducem intellexistis. Nec dubium est, quin de se quisque magis quam de altero confidat, quamvis 3 aliqui dicant non esse praelatos ad regendas urbes accommodos 4 , dominiaque civitatum male a sacerdotibus regi contendant [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] . Quod a Bohemica dementia tabificoque Hussitarum errore 6 non multum abest, qui omni -ut scitis -dominio spoliandos sacerdotes asseverabant. Et quis -oro -melius aut rectius urbes gubernavit Martino 7 V.? Nolo alios numerare pontifices: longus ordo sese praelatorum offerret 8 , qui magnis praesidentes urbibus subditos in pace ac 9 justitia pulcherrrime tenuerunt. Dicere vero 10 ineptos fore ad regimen sacerdotes, nihil est aliud quam vos 11 omnes contemnere Constantinumque [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] Caesarem reprehendere, cujus munere civitatum dominia [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] suscepistis. Sileant ergo, qui talia submurmurant, neque vos 14 condemnent 15 , qui petendas arces oratoribus commisistis. In potestate igitur civitatem habebitis, custodes arcibus imponetis, officiales quoslibet ordinabitis, juramentum fidelitatis recipietis. Et ubi, obsecro, liberius esse potestis? Ubi tutius? Aliam quoque securitatem 16 , si quam petieritis, facile impetratu erit.

Council may have control of Pavia

[61] I have already shown that the city itself will be under your control, and you have heard that the duke will also entrust you with the neighbouring towns and fortresses.

There is no doubt that you can trust him more than so many others who claim that prelates are not suitable for ruling cities and who allege that priests govern cities badly. 1 This is not far from the Bohemian madness and the virulent errors of the Hussites,2 claiming -as you know -that the clergy should be deprived of all temporal power. But who governed cities better and more justly than Martin V?3 I shall not list other pontiffs, for there is a long line of prelates who governed great cities and ruled their subjects admirably, in peace and justice. Saying that priests are unfit for government is tantamount to showing disrespect towards all of you and to rebuke Emperor Constantine4 who granted you the government of cities. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Let those who whisper such things be silent and not blame you because you have asked your envoys to require fortresses.

The city, then, will be in your power; you will assign commanders to the fortresses; you will appoint officials; you will receive an oath of allegiance. So where, I ask, may you have greater freedom? Where will you have greater safety? And should you want even more security you will obtain it easily.

Citizens of Pavia are peace-loving and tranquil

[62] Let us look now at the character of the citizens. This is clearly relevant to your security for it is highly perilous to live among citizens who are divided and contentious and who can in no way become reconciled. In such cities, there must necessarily be frequent political changes: now they have one government, now another. 1 However, political changes are never without risk, and as the Comic Poet 2 says: You can't do anything big or brilliant without risk. 3 This applies not only to the actors, but also to the bystanders.

[63] None of this you have to fear in the city of Pavia. It is a peace-loving people, given to quietness and tranquility. The citizens are perfectly civilized and do not want war or civil discord.

They are occupied with their own business and spend most of their time on agriculture. They live according to the Greek proverb: The art which each man knows, in this let he employ himself. 4 They do not vainly boast of the name of liberty as others do who call themselves free when in reality they are slaves, and who believe that freedom is to have many masters. Personally, I have never seen a quieter people that the Pavians: they have always been obedient to their prince, and they are greatly devoted to the Church. 5

1 This is an early statement of Piccolomini/Pius' inveterate disdain of democratic government and the common people. His views on this matter were probably influenced by the history of Siena, where the popular party in the 14th century expelled the noble families, including the Piccolomini, both from power and from the city itself. Afterwards Enea Silvio's branch of the family fell into poverty and insignificance, from which it was saved only by their illustrious member, our Piccolomini himself, as he rose to be Bishop of Siena

Climate of Pavia is healthy

[64] Now, hear about the healthy air which is very clean around the River Ticino. No swamps exude fetid air; no stagnant waters stink of rottenness; they are not invaded by frequent plagues; their health is not threatened by immense heat or burning sunshine or mountain winds. If we seek a city similar to Basel, then indeed it is Pavia that will provide us with the same great independence and health we have had here. 1 For whether it is an effect of the wholesome climate or the gift of our great God's miraculous goodness, the fact remains that we have now all been living here for more than five years and are in incredibly good health. 2 It is superfluous to talk about liberty because we really can speak freely here, and everybody can do as he wishes. Nothing has ever been forbidden us, and the citizens have never opposed your actions. In this they reflect the German nobility.

[65] For about the faithfulness, seriousness, and steadfastness of the Germans I could never say enough. They do not make promises readily, and when they make them they keep them firmly and honestly. They would rather die than fail to keep an oath. 3 Among the Germans it would be easy to find many like Attilius Regulus4 , who during the first Punic War5 would rather keep faith with his enemies than flee death and horrible torture.6 Such, indeed, is the dependability of the Germans, such is the faithfulness and seriousness of Germany: they keep their promises firmly and honestly!

[66] Being mindful of this, the people of Basel always stood by their promises to you. Therefore, I do wish that we could finish the business of the council here in Basel and that we would not have to test the faithfulness of others. But if we wish to avoid danger, we must go to the city of Pavia, where -as I have said -the citizens live peacefully together, and the air is always wholesome.

[67] If, however, we should have to find another place, there are in the prince's lands other quite convenient cities which you would have under your control, just like Pavia. For we also have to think of future eventualities, as Theseus This means that we should not foresee evils just to make them easier to bear, but to avoid them! In our case, we must choose a city that we can immediately exchange for another city capable of hosting the Council and amply provisioned. This might become necessary in case of the plague or for some other reason. Pavia certainly fulfils this condition. I have now said enough about the wholesome climate. [Firstly,] when Braccio, 2 that terrible enemy of the Church, had invaded many towns and cities belonging to the Roman See and occupied many of its provinces, he laid siege to the splendid city of Aquila. 3 His intention was to capture that city and then move the war and the siege to Rome. So great were the fear and trembling in the City 4 that they thought less about defense than about flight. The uproar and disorder in Rome were just as great as when Hannibal 5 had won the Battle of Cannae 6 and the whole of the Roman army had been destroyed: all hope was lost, the situation of the state was desperate and lamented, and many of the young men planned to flee. Then the duke sent aid to the pope and helped him with money and troops. When they joined battle, 7 the ducal troops prevailed and gained victory, and the duke was credited with the defeat of Braccio.

I shall omit the immense fleet which the duke sent to Puglia at the request of Pope Martin V, the capture of Gaeta, and the other memorable achievements of that fleet. [70] [Secondly], who will not greatly applaud that Emilia, now called Romagnola,1 was freed from the hands of the local tyrants,2 who had conquered it by force, and willingly restored to the pope?

Never did the prince fight the Supreme Pontiffs, never did he refuse to help the Church, and never did he reject the apostolic commands. present pope he always obeyed as Pontiff, father, lord, and Vicar of Christ, and he was the first of the princes to declare his obedience to him. Even if later there was some disagreement between them, that is how their relationship actually began. The duke never refused to serve the pope since he considers that the person who occupies the Holy See should never be shown disrespect.

Duke´s love of the council

[71] I believe that none of you can be unaware of the duke's attitude towards the council, and nobody will rebuke me if I call him Defender of the Council. For everybody knows that from the beginning he required his prelates to attend the council and has kept them here at great cost so that it would not collapse due to lack of participants.

And at the time when the council solicited the support of the princes, his prelates were ready to undertake the necessary missions -even at their own expense: none of them spared any effort or money. 3 [72] Atque ut sileam, quod

Duke´s justice towards his subjects

[75] I now turn to the next item: the duke's diligence in administering justice and fairness to his subjects. From this you will understand that he is loved by all his subjects and with good reason. Travel through his territory, and you will see that all unanimously speak well of their prince. They wish him the best, and they hope and pray to Heaven that he will survive and live long. You will find that no one speaks badly of the prince, and that everybody thinks very highly of him. The reason for this is his sense of justice -nobody can deny that! Just think of what happened to Sperone and many others: when the duke found that they were heavy-handed, harsh, and abusive towards his subjects, he dismissed them, and stripped them of all their offices. Therefore, his government has deep roots: it is based on love and affection and not on fear, which -as the orator says -is not a lasting teacher of duty. 1 I add that no one abhors the death of a man more than him, and no one is more loath to hear people being tortured.

[76] Sed de sua in hostes mansuetudine jam sermo desideratur, in qua {146v} re non erit absurdum, si ea de hoc principe dixerimus, quae de senatu populoque Romano

Duke's clemency towards his enemies

[76] We must now speak about his clemency towards enemies. It would be quite appropriate to say about this prince what Scipio 1 said about the Roman senate and people: They preferred to hold men by the bonds of kindness rather than by those of fear. They would rather have foreign nations united to them on terms of alliance and mutual good faith than kept down in hard and hopeless servitude. 2 We will show, with a few examples, how praiseworthy the duke is in this respect: Carlo Malatesta 3 had been defeated in battle and was brought to the duke as a prisoner. One would now expect death or prison. But no! Instead he was received with no severity at all: he was more fortunate in having been defeated than he would have been if he had been victorious. And I could mention other army commanders who came into his power and were treated so mercifully that they might actually conclude that it was better to be against this prince than to be for him!

[78] Hunc ergo quis neget erga omnes esse benignum, cum benignissimum semper in hostes repperierimus 1 ? Quis umquam ad eum venit non benigne magnificeque 2 receptus? Incredibile vobis 3 videretur, si pecuniarum illam explicarem summam, qua quotannis 4 transeuntes dominos et ad se venientes honorat oratores. Cujus rei 5 , si Papiam elegeritis 6 , experimentum principum oratores praelatique videbunt, quorum nemo indonatus abibit. Esset mihi magna copia memorandi plurimos, qui domo extorres patriaque pulsi ducali pecunia vitam agunt. But at this point there arises a certain question of some little difficulty: are new friends who are worthy of friendship at any time to be preferred to old ones. 2 To doubt him is unworthy of a man! 6.2. Appeal to friendship and caution [80] For though you may grow tired of other things, you should not grow tired of friendship. Indeed, old friendships should be the sweetest ones -like old wines. But it is also true, as they say, that men must eat many a peck 1 of salt together before the claims of friendship are fulfilled. 2 And Pythagoras 3 said that one should not shake hands with everybody, which Plutarch 4 interprets in the sense that one should not make alliances rashly or unthinkingly. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] He also says that you should not eat things with black tails. 6 By this he means that in all our affairs we should carefully consider the circumstances of the people with whom we are dealing.

[81] Therefore, we should examine the intentions of those parties who are seeking to host the council. 7 You yourselves will assess the other parties, but I shall speak about the duke who is most concerned with three things: to meet your requirements; to be zealous in the matter of the Faith; and to remove all risk to you. For being placed in a highly perilous situation, the prince endeavours to know, through spies, the secrets of many lords and various city states, 8 and he fears that you will choose a location which will be your ruin. 9 He wants to remove all danger from you. In this matter, excellent Fathers, I implore you to be vigilant and not to allow anything unforeseen, surprising or wholly new to happen. Keep careful watch in all directions so that you may not be deceived.

1 Modius: Roman measure of grain, the equivalent of 10,5 lit. The development of the spying, i.e. intelligence gathering systems of Renaissance rulers was evidently neither secret nor shameful, but on the contrary the mark of a prudent prince 9 Piccolomini hints that the duke may have acquired knowledge about the motives of other interested parties, e.g. the King of France, who might not be acting in the best interests of the council 6.3. Appeals to cardinals and prelates [82] Now, I beseech you, benevolent Father and Cardinal of Santa Sabina1 : take care not to lose in one day the reputation which you have built over many years, with considerable effort and diligence. Whatever happens, you will always be praised for bringing back2 the Hussites. 3 But Greece will bring you even greater honour if you avoid a perilous location and if you consent -and make others consent -to a location where the whole undertaking may be concluded in safety.

[83] I also appeal to you, honourable Father, Cardinal of San Pietro4 who presides [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] here not only in your own name, but also in the name of the pope and in the name of your king. 6 Consider what is worthy of you yourself, convenient for the Supreme Pontiff, and agreeable to your mighty and victorious king. Neither you nor your king is moved by passions. He is battling for the Faith 7 in his own country, and I would have said something about his merits and military triumphs if his own ambassadors, the learned and excellent Bishops of Cuenca 8 and Burgos, 9 had not been present.

For they are certainly able to speak better and more brilliantly on this subject than I. So, consider the matter of the Faith carefully and make every effort to prevent us from agreeing to an unsuitable place.

Oration on the choice of venue for the future Council of Union with the Greeks, held in Basel, in a General Congregation, by Enea Silvio of Siena, on 17 October 1436

[88] Reverend Fathers, often have great and difficult matters been treated and concluded in this Holy Council, but none has been greater and more risky than the one we are debating today. For it does not concern petitions, nor the reconciliation of princes, nor curbing the defiance of some or other cleric, but it is about the advancement of the Faith, about reunion with the Greeks, and about the recovery of an almost infinite number of souls. Success in these matters will bring great results and great glory, whereas failure will give not only us, but also the whole Latin Church a bad reputation. Since you declare that the reason for all this is the matter of the relocation of the council, the determining factor in the happy outcome of this matter will be -I think -to agree on a place that is safe and advantageous for the conduct of your affairs.

[89] Quapropter nihil modo magis vellem quam animos omnium in consulendo liberos fore, neque delicto neque libidini obnoxios, ut sine cunctatione locum eligeretis, qui nobis usui securitatique foret, sicque ordinaretis, ut orientali ecclesiae conventiones sine periculo occidentalis servare liceret. In qua re dum saepius ipse considero, dumque rei magnitudinem mecum ipse reputo 1 , ex usu fore considero, si quam multi de re hac 2 sermonem haberent locorumque vobis 3 nominatorum conditiones planius aperirent, quibus ex rebus nihil absurdum putavi, si me quoque quamvis indignum ex vestra 4 contione loquentem audiretis, de nullo alio quam de Papiensi loco verba facientem nullumque omnino injuria lacessentem, nusquam enim, ut puto, fines modestiae 5 sum egressurus 6 , quamquam veritatis inveniendae causa licitum mihi videatur nonnullis posse contradicere, qui ante dixissent 7 . Haec est enim, ut scitis dicere Ciceronem, vetus et Socratica ratio, contra alterius opinionem disserendi. Nam ita facillime quod verisimillimum esset inveniri posse, Socrates arbitrabatur. Sed vobis magis oboediendum existimavi 8 quam Socrati.

1 repeto V 2 omit. V 3 nobis V 4 nostra V 5 corr. ex molestiae H; molestiae V 6 aggressurus V 7 docuissent V 8 extimavi V

[89] Therefore, I desire nothing more than that, in this discussion, all minds should be free and not influenced by sin or passion, so that you may without hesitation choose a location that will be advantageous and safe for us, and that you may arrange matters in a way that makes it possible to have agreements with the Eastern Church without detriment to the Western Church. I often think on this matter and ponder its importance, and I consider it to be useful that many should speak and describe more clearly the condition of the venues proposed to you. Therefore I find it reasonable that you should also hear me, though unworthy, speak in your assembly: I shall talk only about the location of Pavia, without insulting anybody else and without transgressing the boundaries of propriety1 -though, for the sake of finding the truth I consider it legitimate to contradict some of those who have spoken before. For as you know, Cicero states that this is the old Socratic method of arguing against your adversary's position; for Socrates thought that in this way the probable truth was most readily discovered. 2 But, of course, I owe greater obedience to you than to Socrates.

[90] Et licet pater clarissimus, episcopus Albiganensis, vir non solum genere sed animi virtute nobilissimus, qui de rebus arduis se locuturum quamvis gravi confectum valetudine ipse pedibus suis venire non posset, portari se fecit, praestantissimo illi Romano Appio Claudio similem, licet etiam vir consultissimus, dominus Christoforus de Vellate, ducales oratores, licet etiam Isidorus, orator vester diligentissimus, et veri audacissimus explicator, multa de illo Papiensi loco multaque de illo victoriosissimo Mediolanensium duce non minus vere quam eleganter explicaverint 1 , tot tamen illius loci commoditates sunt, tot principis erga vos beneficia, ut nihil mirandum sit, si mihi quoque post se dicendi locum reliquerunt. Namque etsi qui post me velint dicere, patentem eis campum materiamque relinquo.

[91] Vos tamen, patres optimi, ne me -oro -contemnite, si privatus {137v} abjectusque homuncio fuerim 2 . Expedit enim in rebus arduis non auctorem 3 spectare, sed rationem, neque ita facere decet 4 , quemadmodum de Pythagoricis accepimus, quos ferunt siquid affirmarent in disputando, cum ex his quaereretur, quare ita esset, respondere solitos "Ipse dixit" -ipse autem erat Pythagoras -me namque si non auctoritas, at saltem ratio facit audiendum, nihil enim me dicturum censeo, quod non ex ratione consistat, quare, si placet, si ne 5 consonum est ea audire, quae commoda vestra concernunt, sinite ut ea, quae cogitavi, proferantur 6 in medium ut melius unicuique deliberandi praebeant 7 facultatem, quae omnia judicio vestro relinquo et vestro mando examini, ut siquid boni verique affero, amplectamini, siquid mali falsique est, id totum respuatis.

1 explicaverit V 2 fuero V 3 auctoritatem V 4 dicet V 5 si ne : sive V 6 corr. ex scripsi legantur H; cogitavi proferantur : scripsi legantur V 7 praebeat V

Oration of Enea Silvio Piccolomini to the Fathers of the Council of Basel

[92] Though this assembly has not heard me speak before, Most Reverend Fathers, you should not refuse to hear my small address. For when things were going well, my oration would have been superfluous. But seeing that the transfer of the Council and the Reunion with the Greeks are now under discussion, and noting that various interests1 are pulling you in different directions, I fear exceedingly that your disagreement will cause some great evil. For not only have the Greeks withdrawn from the Latins,2 but the pope is in open conflict with your council, and -what I greatly abhor -the council is even divided internally. This conflict is caused by the choice of the future venue of the council, since everyone excessively favours his own country and is more concerned about private advantages than the public good.

Therefore, I desire nothing more than that in this deliberation all minds should be free and not influenced by sin or passion so that you may without hesitation choose a location that will be advantageous and safe for you, and thus make it possible for you to come to an agreement with the Eastern Church that is not detrimental to the Western. I often think on this matter and, reflecting on the judgments of many others, I considered that it would be useful to write on it and, breaking my long silence, through careful examination determine a place that is safer and better and where you may all go without discord. I have therefore written about the matter of choosing a venue, as much as it has seemed needful to me. Therefore, if it pleases you and is agreable to hear what is to your own advantage, then allow me to read to you what I have written and which may provide everybody with a better basis for discussion.

the "Magnae saepe res" there is mention of the episode of the Bishop of Albenga being carried into the assembly which might be meaningful in the actual context of the oration, but less so in an edition done almost thirty years later.

The matter has yet to be discussed by scholars. However, a reasonable working hypothesis is that the "Magnae saepe res" is or is close to the original version of the oration as held by Piccolomini in Basel, whereas the "Audivi" is the final edition.

Apart from the introduction, the one substantial difference between the earlier versions and the final version of the "Audivi" concerns the expression "troianae ruinae ultores", used in the "Magnae saepe res" and the "Etsi numquam".

Chisianus 284 (A), the oldest manuscript containing the Collected Orations and produced under Pius' direct supervision, has the expression "troianae ruinae occultores", cf. sect. 21. 1 The somewhat later manuscripts, Vaticanus Latinus 1788 and the Chisianus 286, associated with the pope's humanist protégé, Cardinal Piccolomini Ammanati, have "troianae ruinae ultores", while the even later Chisianus 211, associated with the Cardinal Nephew, Francesco Piccolomini Todeschini, has "troianae ruinae cultores".

These variants do not seem to be due to scribal errors, but to intentional editing of the text. Both occultores and cultores ruinae trojanae are somewhat artificial, whereas ultores ruinae trojanae is a well-known Renaissance topos connected with the Turks. Since in 1436 Piccolomini thought that the Turks were descended from or related to the Trojans, he might quite naturally have used the term ultores ruinae trojanae about the Turks. This term with its implications of Turkish relatedness to the Trojans he quite emphatically rejected later when he read had Aethicus and Otto von Freising and -under the impression of the Turkish expansion into Europe and the fall of Constantinople -developed the conception of the Turks as a barbaric people descending from those proto-barbarians, the Scythians. And when, as pope, he made this thesis central to his campaign for a crusade against the Turks, it became rather akward for him to publish an edition of his orations where, in his very first oration, he called the Turks the avengers of Troy, implying that they were the descendants of the Trojans. So, it may reasonably be hypothesized that he had occadded to ultores, making the Turks the "occultores" instead of the "ultores" of the destruction of Troy, meaning more or less that they would hide or cover up that destruction.

In the manuscripts associated with the humanist Cardinal Ammanati (Vat. Lat. 1788 and Chis. 286) the occultores was changed back to ultores, as being the more correct phrase.

In the manuscript associated with the Pope's nephew, Cardinal Todeschini-Piccolomini (Chis. 211), the occultores was changed to cultores, meaning "those who cultivate the [former,] ruined lands of the Trojans". This issue will have to be examined further, but it seems a defensible position that here we have a rare example of an earlier speech being modified to fit the later development of Piccolomini's thought and the political situation of his pontificate.

  generali congregacione, in qua specifice intendunt respondere ad proposita per dominum Albinganensem. Dominus Lugdunensis proposuit ad idem. Similiter dominus episcopus Burgensis, requirens quod de cetero tales obloquentes de sanctissimo domino nostro papa in generali congregacione minime audirentur, sed ad partem per deputaciones, antequam in generali congregacione etc. Dominus cardinalis S. Petri hocidem requisivit.

	plenius audiri in
	concordia inter
	sacrum concilium et eundem dominum nostrum, surrexerunt in medium ambassiatores
	domini nostri regis 3 et per organum magistri Guillermi Charterii 4 narraverunt multa, que
	dixerunt habere in mandatis a domino rege, et specialiter quod eligeretur locus , in quo
	commode dominus noster posset interesse, ubi omnes divisiones terminarentur; petentes

5

November, the Bishop of Albenga in Milanese territory, Matteo di Carretto, came to the aid of Isidoro. Bruneti related the episode: Dominus Albiganensis narravit, quod ad ipsius noticiam pervenerat, quod nonnulli patres de concilio male contentabantur de nonnullis in quodam quaterno per dominum Ysidorum pridie lecto pro commoditatibus patrie subiecte domino duci Mediolani, et presertim in eo quod tetigerat personam sanctissimi domini nostri pape etc. colorando factum suum. Exposuit inter cetera, quod dominus noster adversabatur sacro concilio, qui non tenebat decreta etc. … Quia dominus Albinganensis in multis notaverat dominum nostrum, pro excusacione dicti domini nostri pape et ut omnes obloquciones cessarent et haberetur bona

  2 denn fühlen lernen, was der Schüler der Alten vermöge. Wie leicht und flüssig rollt die Rede dahin, wie so klar und rund sind ihre Perioden, wie wohlgeordnet und eingetheilt die Gedanken und Argumente, wie lebhaft und eindringlich die Wendungen, wie zierlich die Bescheidenheitsflosceln, wie wortreich und begeistert die ausgeschütteten Lobeserhebungen! Und doch, die rechten Licht-und Glanzpunkte gab der polirten und eleganten Rede erst die Fülle der classischen Citationen aus Virgilius und Sallustius, aus Ennius undCicero, aus Livius

und Juvenalis, ja irgend ein glücklich aufgegriffener Vers aus dem Homeros oder Euripides, alle verschwenderisch und bunt durcheinander gemischt. Solche Sprüche und Beispiele glänzten, wie am goldenen Geschmeide der Besatz von Edelsteinen, oder wie im silbern-strömenden Bächlein hineingeworfene Blumen. Der Hörer wurde von Wort zu Wort, von Satz zu Satz, von einer Schönheit zu andern mit fortgetragen, er wusste vor Entzücken kaum, wie ihm geschah.

  He considered the Turks to be the descendants of a number of peoples in classical Asia Minor, including the Trojans (Teucri), and he uses the term Teucrians for the Turks of his own time.7 Though Biglia did not refer to the Turks as the avengers of Troy, 8 he stated outright that the Turks love the Visconti [of Milan], because they say they [themselves 9 ] were descended from Aeneas the Trojan 10 -though the Turks, actually, said nothing of the sort. Biglia, who wrote a history of Milan, the Mediolanensium rerum historia from 1402-1431, 11 knew that Pietro da Casteletto had "glorified the house of Visconti by tracing the ancestry of the duke back to Aeneas,"

	3 Piccolomini may not
	have seen Biglia's book Commentarii de defectu fidei in oriente [sive de origine Turcharum] 4 ,
	completed shortly after May 1433 5 , when Piccolomini had already left Siena for Basel, but he
	would quite probably have known of Biglia's ideas from lectures and discussions. Biglia's book has
	been called "the first substantial discussion of early Turkish history by an Italian humanist." 6

TEXT AND TRANSLATION Orationes Aeneae Silvii Picolominei Senensis, qui postea pontificatum maximum adeptus Pius Secundus appellatus est. Editae fuerunt ante et post susceptum 1 pontificatum. 2 Et haec prima habita fuit ab eo nondum sacris initiato in concilio Basiliensi cum ageretur de loco eligendo pro oecumenico 3 concilio cum Graecis habendo. 4 5

  By far the greatest number of quotations are from classical authors, with only two quotations from the Bible.Pesce, Ambrogio: Sulle relazioni tra la Republica di Genova e Filippo Maria Visconti dal 1435 al 1447. Tom.1. Torino, 1921 (Biblioteca della Società Storica Subalpina; 87) Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: De Gestis Concilii Basiliensis Commentariorum Libri II. [1440]  Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: De Gestis Concilii Basiliensis Commentariorum Libri II. Ed. and transl. by Dennis Hay and W.K. Smith. London, 1967 Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: De rebus Basiliae gestis Commentarius. [1450]  Revised History of the Council. In: Reject Aeneas, Accept Pius. Selected Letters of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II). Intr. and transl. by T.M. Izbicki et al. Washington, DC, 2006, pp. 318-387 Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, 49/50 (1976/77) 198-216 Zimolo, Giulio C. (ed.): Le vite di Pio II di Giovanni Antonio Campano e Bartolomeo Platina. Historia Bohemica. Herausg. J. Hejnic & H. Rothe. 2 vols. Köln, 2005. (Bausteine zur slavischen Philologie und Kulturgeschichte. Neue Folge. Reihe B; 20) [1] {1r} {137v} Audivi, patres optimi atque sanctissimi, quae superioribus diebus viri cum eloquentia, tum etiam 6 bonitate praestantes, Gaspar Perusinus, seu 7 Florentinus, quod illa sit civitate donatus, ac Simon Venetus 8 de suis legationibus referebant, quorum, si rite judico 9 , eo penitus tendebat oratio, ut ad se quisque concilium traheret: hic Venetias, ille Florentiam. Audivi etiam Isidorum Raimundumque 10 suam, ut quisque aestimavit 11 , legationem anteferentem, et alios esse dicturos propediem non dubito. Itaque ut varia sunt loca, sic variae sunt affectiones concilium hoc sacratissimum diverse trahentes, quod praeter modum patriae quisque suae 12 favet, ut magnopere 13 formidandum sit, ne privatorum affectibus 14 concilium pessumdetur.

	Biblical sources Contemporary sources
	Old Testament Bruni	0 3 1
	All	3
	New Testament Matthew MA = Pius II: Orationes politicae et ecclesiasticae. Ed. Giovanni Domenico Mansi. 3 vols. Lucca: 1 2. Corinthians 1 Benedini, 1755-1759
	All MPL = Migne, Jacques-Paul: Patrologia latina. 217 vols. 1841-1865 2
	Classical sources 6. Bibliography RTA = Deutsche Reichstagsakten
	Aristotle Bologna, 1964. (Rerum Italicarum Scriptores; t. III, p. II) 1 1 WO = Der Briefwechsel des Eneas Silvius Piccolomini. Hrsg. von Rudolf Wolkan. 3 vols. Wien, 1909-
	Cicero 1918. (Fontes rerum Austriacarum, 2 / 61, 62, 67, 68) 19
	Homer	3
	Juvenalis	2
	Livius 7. Sigla and abbreviations	2
	Macrobius	1
	Plutarch	5 2
	Sallustius	1 3
	Seneca	1 4
	Sophocles	1
	Tacitus	1
	Terentius	2 5
	Vergilius	1
	Biblical All	40	2
	Classical		40
	Patristic and medieval Contemporary Patristic and medieval sources		3 3
	All Basil of Caesarea Burley All 1 omit. B, C 2 Lege feliciter add. A 3 icomenico A, B, C, F 4 Orationes … habendo : Oratio Enee Silvii Piccolominei Senensis habita Basilee pro loco deligendo pro oecumenico 48 1 2 6 3 Concilio cum Grecis celebrando D, G 5 Incipit add. B, C, E 6 et iam E; et V 7 sive V 8 de Valle H, V 9 judicio V 10 Raymundum quod C; et Raymundum K

1

Ethica Nicomac.

2

De liberor. educ. 3 (in a Latin translation by G. Veronese); Moralia 2

3

Bellum Catilinae

4

Epist. morales

[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF]

Eunuch. 1; Heautont. 1 6 Lib. de vita et moribus phil.

Ady, Cecilia M.: Pius II (AEneas Silvius Piccolomini) -the Humanist Pope.

London, 1913

Aethicus Ister: Cosmographia  Herren, Michael W.: The Cosmography of Aethicus

Ister -Edition, Translation, and Commentary. Turnhout, 2011

. (Publications of the Journal of Medieval Latin; 8) Baldi, Barbara: Il "cardinale tedesco". Enea Silvio Piccolomini fra impero, papato, Europa (1442-1455). Milano, 2012 Becker, Paul: Giuliano Cesarini. Inauguraldissertation. Kallmünz, 1935 Bisaha, Nancy: Creating East and West. Renaissance Humanists and the Ottoman Turks. Philadelphia, 2004 Black, Robert: Benedetto Accolti and the Florentine Renaissance. Cambridge, 1985 Blanchard, W. Scott: Patrician Sages and the Humanist Cynic. Francesco Filelfo and the Ethics of World Citizenship. In: Renaissance Quarterly, 60 (2007) 1107-1169 Boulting, William: AEneas Silvius (Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini -Pius II.). Orator, Man of Letters, Statesman, and Pope. London, 1908 Bruni, Leonardo: De militia (= De re militari). [1422]  Bayley, C.C.: War and Society in Renaissance Florence -The De Militia of Leonardo Bruni. Toronto, 1961, pp. 360-397 Burley, Walter: Liber de vita et moribus philosophorum. Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: De viris illustribus  Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: De viris illustribus. Ed. A. van Heck. Città del Vaticano, 1991. (Studi e test; 341) Piccolomini, Ena Silvio: Libellus Dialogorum de generalis concilii authoritate et gestis Basiliensium. [1440]  A.F. Kollarius: Analecta monumentorum omnis aevi Vindobonensia. Tom. II. Wien, 1762, cols. 691-790  Piccolomini, Enea Silvio: Libellus dialogorum. A cura di Simona Iaria. Roma, 2015. (Edizione nazionale dei testi umanistici; 12) Pius II: Commentarii rerum memorabilium quae suis temporibus contigerunt. [1464]  Commentarii rervm memorabilivm que svis temporibus contigervnt. Ed. A van Heck. 2 vols. Città del Vaticano, 1984. (Studi e testi; 312-313)  Commentaries. Ed. M. Meserve and M. Simonetta. Vols. 1 ff. Cambridge, MA, 2003 ff. Pius II: Epistolae  Der Briefwechsel des Eneas Silvius Piccolomini. Hrsg. Rudolf Wolkan. 3 vols. Wien, 1909-1918. (Fontes rerum Austriacarum, 2 / 61, 62, 67, 68)  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  Enee Silvii Piccolominei Epistolarium Secvlare. Ed. A. van Heck. Città del Vaticano, 2007. (Studi e testi; 439) Pius II: Orationes. [1436-1464]  Pius II: Orationes politicae et ecclesiasticae. Ed. Giovanni Domenico Mansi. 3 vols. Lucca, 1755-1759  Collected orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II. Edit. and transl. by Michael von Cotta-Schönberg. 12 vols. Final ed. Copenhagen, 2015-2019. [Available on the web in HAL Archives] Platina, Bartolomeo: Vita Pii II Pontificis Maximi. SEE Zimolo Plutarch: De Liberis Educandis Liber. Transl. Guarino Veronese. [1421]  Plutarchus Chaeroneus: Ethica seu Moralia Opuscula, quae quidem in hunc usque diem e Graeco in latinum conversa extant, universa. Parisiis, 1544 Reinhardt, Volker: Pius II. Piccolomini -Der Papst, mit dem die Renaissance begann. München, 2013 Schnaubelt, Joseph C.: Andrea Biglia (s. 1394-1435), Augustinian Friar and Renaissance Humanist -A critical edition of four orations with introduction, translations, commentary and appendices. A dissertation. Catholic University of America, 1976 Schwoebel, Robert: The Shadow of the Crescent. The Renaissance Image of the Turk (1453-1517). Nieuwkoop, 1967 Spencer, Terence: Turks and Trojans in the Renaissance. In: The Modern Language Review, 47 (1952) 330-333 Stieber, Joachim W.: Pope Eugenius IV, the Council of Basel and the Secular and Ecclesiastical authorities in the Empire. The Conflict over Supreme Authority and Power in the Church. Leiden, 1978. (Studies in the History of Thought; 13) Stolf, Serge: Les Lettres et la Tiare. E.S. Piccolomini -un humaniste au XVe siècle. Paris, 2012. (Etudes et Essais sur la Renaissance; 98) Voigt, Georg: Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini als Papst Pius der Zweite und sein Zeitalter. 3 vols. Berlin, 1856-63 Webb, Diana M.: The Decline and Fall of Eastern Christianity -a Fifteenth-century View. In: A = Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana / Chis. J.VIII.284 B = Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana / Vat. lat.1788 C = Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana / Chis. J.VIII.286 D = Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana / Chis. J.VI.211 E = Milano / Biblioteca Ambrosiana / I. 97 inf. F = Mantova / Biblioteca Communale / 100 G = Lucca / Biblioteca Capitolare Feliniana / 544 H = Roma / Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana / Chis. J.VII.251 K = Milano / Biblioteca Ambrosiana / M 44 sup V = Venezia / Biblioteca Marciana / Lat. XI.77 MA = Pius II: Orationes politicae et ecclesiasticae. Ed. Giovanni Domenico Mansi. 3 vols. Lucca, 1755-1759 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: 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. (Studi e testi; 439) 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. 11 existimavit corr. ex estimavit D; extimavit F, V; existimavit G, H, MA 12 quisque suae : suae quisque G, MA 13 maxime H, K, V 14 corr. ex affectionibus A; affectionibus H, K,

V Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini of Siena, who later became Supreme Pontiff under the name of Pius II. They were given before and after his accession to the Papacy And this the first one was held before he entered holy orders, at the Council of Basel, during the negotiations about the choice of venue for the Ecumenical Council with the Greeks 1. Introduction 1.1. Background

[1]

Most excellent and holy fathers, over the last days, I have heard 1 what those eloquent and good men, Gaspare of Perugia (or of Florence whose citizen he has become)

  7 adstrictum 8 consortio meminissem, cum jurisjurandi 9 a me suscepti verba repeterem, loquendum penitus existimavi oportere 10 , si juramento vellem satisfacere, cujus antehac numquam contempsi religionem. Namque et ubi potui et ubi licuit semper 11 huic concilio favi, vestraque opera 12 ubique gentium {1v} publicavi, atque ubi verbis esse non potui, scriptis interfui. Namque, ita me Deus amet, semper hoc concilium magnifeci, semper esse saluti Christianorum putavi necessarium; atque ideo magno affectu erga ipsum semper accensus 13 extiti 14 , cui me ita 15 dedi, ut corpus et 16 quidquid 17 extra corpus habeo libenter pro eo sim 18 expositurus.

	1 cum C 2 ipse cogitatione corr. ex cogitatione ipse G; cogitatione ipse MA 3 pretermitterem C; permittere K 4 habere V 5 inde H; omit. V 6 parentes A-C, E-F, H, K, V 7 nostro V 8 adscriptum C; astrictum H, V 9 jurisjurandum V 10 omit. H 11 et add. F 12 omit. K 13 omit. B, C, E 14 accensus extiti corr. ex extiti accensus G; extiti accensus MA

15 me ita : ita me H, V 16 omit. V 17 est add. F 18 sum C, K

  10 sic testem habeo Ciceronem, "rerum dominam esse vim eloquendi11 , quae sola facit, ut ea quae ignoramus discere, et quae scimus alios docere possimus." Quae quantum mihi modo[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] esset opportuna, nemo me melius novit. Multa enim scio et mentis video luminibus, quae non ut vellem vobis possum[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] insinuare, quando eam 14 mihi video 15 deesse 16 , cui soli et orandi et exorandi attributum est 17 munus. 5] I have come to the conclusion that I should, nay I must speak up in this grave danger to the Sacred Council, as I have not as yet heard anyone say the things you shall hear from me now, if you so permit. And as I see that you are ready to listen, I wish that I may have the same power to speek and the same authority to convince as Demosthenes 1 when he spoke, in the Athenian Senate, for Ktesiphon against Aeschines.2 [6] For I do not despise the art of speaking and eloquence even though I am aware that many in this assembly claim to detest them, and do not have any eloquence at all nor want to have it. But in my own opinion -and Cicero is my witness -"the power of eloquence is the mistress of things … It is she alone that makes us able to learn what we do not know and to teach others what we do know."3 Nobody knows better than I how useful eloquence could be to me, for I know many things and see them in my mind,4 but I cannot explain them to you as well as I would since I am lacking that [eloquence] which alone has the power to bestow the gift of speaking.[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] At 1 tu, Deus, oro, qui 2 templa caeli summa 3 sonitu concutis, qui genus humanum benigne curas, qui et 4 hoc congregare concilium 5 voluisti et rem Graecam in medium adduxisti, jam mihi et recte consulendi facultatem et his bene atque utiliter deliberandi mentem concedito. Tuum est hoc negotium, tuaque sunt 6 opera. In te omnium sita spes, in te conversi omnium oculi sunt. Neque putamus tuam nobis opem 7 negari, quam nemo petens umquam 8 non impetravit. Quod nisi putassem, numquam hodie huc loci ratiocinaturus accessissem. Spero enim, patres humanissimi 9 , et daturum mihi Deum, quod loquar, cum de suis rebus agatur, et vestras mentes ad 10 partem per eum flecti ducique meliorem {2r}. Sed jam quid mea velit 11 oratio in medium proferamus[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] . But you, oh God, the one who shakes the lofty vaults of heaven with his thunder! 1 who benevolently takes care of the human race, who has wanted to gather this council, and who has caused us to deal with the matter of the Greeks, 2 I ask you: grant me the ability to give good counsel and grant this assembly to discuss the matter well and profitably. For this matter is Yours, this work is Yours. All our hope is in You; all our eyes are on You. And we believe that we can trust in Your assistance, for anyone who has ever asked for Your help has received it. If I did not think so, I would never have come here today to present my views. For I hope, kind Fathers, that God will let me know what to say in his own cause, and that he will bend and lead your minds towards the best solution. But let us now proceed to the subject of my oration.3 Tempus 1 , ut scitis, prope est, quo de reductione Graecorum naviumque missione agendum a vobis 2 est. Et quoniam multae illis pecuniae sunt promissae, quibus et duci possint et ali, nonnulli a vobis excogitati sunt modi, quibus hanc summam possetis 3 in tempore4 habere paratam. Nullam tamen expeditiorem viam censuistis quam ex loco pecunias quaerere, ubi futurum esset concilium. Ut 5 si qui essent, qui sanctam hanc synodum in suis terris 6 habere cuperent, mutuam {138v} hanc summam concederent. Misistis, qui diversorum principum ac 7 communitatum 8 animos persentirent 9 . Hinc illa Venetorum oblatio nec vobis nec illo illustri 10 dominio 11 indigna. Hinc Florentinorum promissiones ab exuberanti quadam magnificentia procedentes. Hinc Avinionensis 12 populi non magna solum, sed amplissima pollicitatio, quae illam urbem non minus fidelem quam devotam ecclesiae filiam manifestat. Hinc principis potentissimi[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] Filippi Mariae ducis Mediolani mirifica regalisque concessio, cui semper 14 animo fuit nec 15 vestris deesse mandatis, nec petitionibus adversari. Hinc aliorum neque viles neque contemnendae sponsiones. Hinc jam certi estis ea servare Graecis posse, quae vestra decreta decantant.

	1 omit. C 2 quanto C 1 Narratio in marg. A, K 3 vos video : video vos K 4 omit. C 5 illa mihi : mihi illa G, MA, V 6 omit. K 7 omit. V 8 Demophonte H, K, V 9 dixerunt H, V 10 ut K 11 vim eloquendi : eloquendi vim F 12 mihi modo : modo mihi H ] 13 vobis possum : possum vobis B, D, E, G, MA 14 enim G, MA 1 Demosthenes (384-322 BC): Greek statesman 2 Cf. Cicero: Orator, 8.8.26: Demosthenes, who, I said, excels all others, in his masterpiece, the famous oration In Defence of Ctesiphon (hic, quem praestitisse diximus ceteris, in illa pro Ctesiphonte oratione longe optima). This speech was considered by Renaissance humanists to be a classical masterpiece of rhetorics 1 Invocatio in marg. A, F, K 2 per V 3 summo K 4 etiam H, V 5 congregare concilium : concilium congregare G, MA 6 tuaque sunt: tua quae fiunt H, K, V 7 nobis opem : opem nobis K 8 numquam K 2 agendum a vobis : a vobis agendum G, MA 3 possitis V 4 possetis in tempore : in tempore possetis G, MA 5 omit. K 6 suis terris : terris suis G, MA 7 et H 8 comitatum V 9 presentirent K 10 illari V 11 domino E, F, K 12 Ammonensis V

15 intelligo H; omit. V 16 quae non … deesse omit. K 17 sit G, MA [

3 Cicero: De natura deorum, 2.59.148

: Iam vero domina rerum, ut vos soletis dicere, eloquendi vis quam est praeclara quamque divina: quae primum efficit ut et ea quae ignoramus discere et ea quae scimus alios docere possimus 4 "mentis luminibus": "by the lights of my mind"

[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF]

"orandi et exorandi"

[7]

9 patres humanissimi omit. K 10 in H, V 11 mea velit : velit mea V 12 proferam H, V

[7]

1 Terentius: Eunuchus, 590 2 I.e. the project of reunification of the Greek and the Roman (Latin) Church 3 "oratio": note the term used by Piccolomini to designate his text [8] 13 atque invictissimi add. H, K, V 14 in add. B, E 15 neque F

  Quod quamquam ita est, non tamen dimittendum esse clavum arbitror, neque abjiciendam gubernaculi curam. Vidimus enim saepe nautas cum summo gaudio atque ingenti laetitia portum suscepisse, et in ipso seu magistri negligentia, seu maris 1 violentia fecisse naufragium. Quocirca etsi vobis 2 paene in tuto 3 res est, nolite tamen clausis oculis ad ea, quae restant, accedere. Adhuc enim vitandi sunt scopuli, adhuc praevidenda tempestas et cavenda est nobis4 . Neque enim quocumque pergitis tutum est, sed in ipsa electione 5 difficultas laborque versatur 6 , ut si bene eligatis, bene succedat, si male, eveniat male.[11] De hujuscemodi 7 ergo electione loquendum mihi statui, cujus, {2v} ut opinor, verba minime contemnetis. Nec quis dicat, sed quae dicantur, trutinabitis. Notam siquidem vobis illam Ciceronis8 De natura Deorum sententiam puto, qui ait: Non tam auctores in disputando quam rationis momenta quaerenda esse. Quod si quid inepte dixero, repudiate; si quid cum ratione attulero, suscipite. Atque utinam 9 ea vobis 10 modo convenirent 11 , quae[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] apud Sallustium[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] Caesar in consulendo requirit: Omnes homines, inquit ille, patres conscripti, qui de rebus dubiis consultant, ab odio, amicitia, ira atque misericordia vacuos esse decet. Quod si modo 1 cernerem, nihil 2 mali suspicarer. Nec 3 {139r} enim loquens aliquis ducalem aut Venetum aut Florentinum se jactitaret, sed conciliarem 4 , sed mundanum 5 , ut inquit Socrates 6 , sese exhiberet7 , cunctaque ad utilitatem concilii mundique commoda referret, nec suae affectioni 8 publicam postponeret utilitatem. Hinc namque, ni fallor, totius Christianitatis salus dependet, ut si locus aptus eligatur 9 , et Argolicis erroribus mederi et multis latinae linguae deformitatibus providere possitis. Quod si dubium insecurumque 10 acceptare contingat, dissipetur 11 concilium[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] , et praelati in praedam ultionemque dentur[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] , quod sine magno Christiani populi malo fieri non potest. Hic igitur aperiendi sunt oculi, hic summis digitis suspendendae oculorum palpebrae, ne quid perperam aut temere incipiatis. Sed imitemini sapientem, cujus proprium 14 est, ut a Cicerone 15 dicitur 16 , nihil facere quod poenitere possit.

	1 navis V 2 nobis D, G, MA 3 toto E 4 vobis H, V 5 omit. K 6 vertitur B, E 7 cuiuscemodi K 8 Cicero in marg. A, K 9 ut F 11 conveniret E 10 nobis D, G, MA 1 omit. G, MA 2 nil K 3 hec B, E, F; neque H, V 4 conciliamini V 5 mundamini V 6 Socrates in marg. A, K 7 exuberet B, E 8 factioni B, E 9 deligatur MA 10 in securum V 11 dissipabitur H, V 12 Christiani populi add. K

1 Socrates (ca. 469 -399 BC): Greek philosopher 2 Quoted in Basil: Ad adolescentes, 9, 23

3

Metaphor for the Church [10] 12 et add. K

[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF]

Salustius in marg. A, K

[12]

13 dabuntur H, V 14 preceptum H; principium V

15

Cicero in marg. A, K 16 dicetur E

  Indeed you must open your eyes and keep your eyelids apart with your fingertips so that you do not embark upon a reckless and risky course. Let us imitate the wise man whose nature it is -as Cicero says -to do nothing of which he may repent.4 1 i.e. of Milan 2 "mundanus": Socrates as quoted by Plutarch, On Exile in Moralia: "… the saying of Socrates is still better, that he was no Athenian or a Greek, but a "cosmian" (as one might say Rhodian or Corinthian), because he did not shun himself up with Sunium or Taenarus and the Ceraunian mountains." Cicero refers to this saying in Tusculanae Disputationes,5.37.108. Cf. also Burlaeus (Socrates). Piccolomini may have taken over the notion of world citizenship from Francesco Filelfo whose lectures he heard, as a young man, in Florence: … in his early career Filelfo imagined himself a stoic Fingamus 1 igitur concilii personam, et quid illam facere deceat examinemus. Eam, si cujatem 2 se dicat, interroges, neque Italicam, neque3 Gallicam, neque Germanicam aut Hispanicam se vocitabit, sed Christianam 4 asseverabit, solumque illud se quaerere dicet, quod nomini[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Christiano conducat. Hujus erit sentes ex agro dominico, idest haereses eradicare, mores reformare, pacem 6 ubique statuere7 . Cavebit ne quid agat injuste, praeceptumque illud Pythagoricum 8 9 observabit 10 , quo praecipit 11 , "jugum stateramque ne transcendere[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] ." Studebit 13 ne adversus quempiam reperiatur ingrata, in libertate se bene vivendi et recta statuendi conservabit. Delinquentes non ita 14 ad desperationem persequetur, neque ita patietur, ut provocet. Deponite igitur haec nationum nomina, patres. Exuite quisque provinciarum affectiones et in medium consulite, quid 15 huic concilio 16 et quid 17 fidei Christianae credatis 18 expedire, eoque vela tendamus, quo melius res geri verisimilius existimatis 19 .[14] Multa de ForoJulii 20 ubertate, Venetorumque potentia ac magnificentia Simon Venetus peroravit ac meo judicio non minus vere quam eleganter. De Florentinorum vero commoditatibus Gaspar explicuit. De urbe vero 21 illa Avinionensi 22 pulcherrima atque optima et hujus sacri concilii devotissima Raimundum {3r} bellissime perorantem accepistis. Atque, ut existimo 23 , nihil est ab eis praetermissum, quod trahere concilium ad eorum valeat civitates.

	4 se add. G, MA 5 more V 6 pacemque G, MA 7 omit. K 8 Picthagoricum F; Pictagoricum H, V 9 Pythagoras in marg. A, D, G, K 10 conservabit D, G, MA 11 praecepit G, MA 12 transcendas H, V; trascende MA 13 studebis V 14 omit. H; non ita : vero V 15 quod H 16 consilio C 17 quod H 18 creditis H, K, V 19 estimetis H; estimatis K; extimetis V 20 Forlivii K; Fori-Julii MA 21 omit. V 22 Ammonensi V

"world citizen", attached to no particular city and detached from political concerns (Meserve: Nestor, p. 62, quoting Blanchard)

3

I.e. Greek

4

Cicero: Tusculanae Disputationes, 5.28.81

[13]

1 Persona concilii in marg. A 2 omit. K [blank space] 3 aut H, K, V 23 corr. ex estimo A; estimo H, K; extimo V

  comperitis 14 , ut laudare ipsos et amplissimis commendare testimoniis 15 teneamini.

	4 Valete E 5 ceteri K 6 omit. K 7 duxerunt K; duxerim V 8 contemptum B, E 9 consilioque C; quocumque H, V 10 erat V 11 omit. V 12 oratio V 13 ecce G, MA 14 comperietis V

1 omit. C 2 explicavit H, K, V

3 neque convenienter add. H, V 15 praeconiis H, V; laudibus K

  locorum, nonnisi Graecorum causa facimus 8 , ut illum eligamus locum, quem repudiare Graeci non debeant. Sed ipsi jam terras ducis suis litteris petiverunt 9 . Ergo nil 10 est cur Papiam in hac parte contemnamus, Graecisque 11 debemus non parum auscultare

	1 Subdivisio … rebus in marg. A; Subdivisio trimembris K 2 Trieriae triremes in marg. D, G 3 tricentique H 4 non K 5 Italicae H, V 6 expressi D, G 7 difficultatem istam : difficultates istas H, V 8 Textus corruptus 9 petierunt G, MA 10 nihil B, K, MA 11 Graecis F

  1 2 , ingentes Asiaticorum vires, et opes ipsae florentissimae, qui ex Asia in Europam imperium prorogarunt 3 totamque Graeciam occuparunt4 tamquam Troianae ultores 5 ruinae, 6 quos Graecia pellere non unius civitatis aut dominii, sed totius esset Christianitatis opus. Non vis, sed gratia 7 Graecos det nobis 8 oportet. Ferunt Turci 9 , ut de fide -ut lubet 10 -Argolici sentiant, ideoque fidei causa patientur ad concilium proficisci, si nihil contra se machinari, nullasque ordiri sibi fraudes suspicentur. Ad fugiendas ergo suspiciones ducis 11 efflagitant urbes, quem[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] sibi nullo pacto suspectum Turci 13 arbitrentur. Nec Constantinopolitanos invito Turco 14 venire posse negaverim, sed aliorum etiam habenda est 15 ratio parentium Turcis 16 , quos secum trahendos patriarcha confidit. Quo fit, ut Graecorum 17 causa Papia sit maxime accommoda.

	2 Teucrorum K 3 prorogavit V 4 occupavit V 5 occultores A; ultores B, C, E, F, H, K, V; cultores D, G, MA 6 Ruina Troiana in marg. A 7 Grecia F 8 Graecos det nobis : det nobis Graecos G, MA 9 Teucri K 10 libet H; omit. V 11 Mediolani add. H, V 12 quas V 13 Teucri K 14 Teucro K

1

De imperio Teucrorum in marg. A, K 15 etiam habenda est : habenda est etiam K 16 parentium Turcis omit. H, V; Teucris K 17 certorum H [NB: V agrees with

Intermediate and Final Version]

  15 , quorum salvum conductum habetis. Genuenses vero brevi se missuros 16 dixere 17 . Interim {4r} devotas et benevolentiae plenas miserunt epistolas vestris sese jussibus committentes, qui etiam magna classe, quando oporteret, huic se rei propriis cum corporibus exhiberent. Nihil itaque timeo obstaculi, nihil violentiae Graecis fieri, nisi Turci 18 , ut jam praedixi, molesti sint. Christianorum vero neminem neque 19 scio neque puto 20 ita scelestum 21 , ita iniquum, ita bonorum omnium {140v} perversorem, ut huic se negotio opponat.

	2 ventos F 3 obstituros MA 4 omit. K; garriunt V, MA 5 duabus K 6 non K 7 oriente C 8 terram H 9 infideliumque D, G, MA 10 Barbaria E, G, H, MA 11 dietim H, K, V 12 omit. E 13 tamquam E 14 neque K 15 amgibo A; angibo F 16 se missuros : missuros se G, MA 17 dixisse F 18 Teucri K 19 nequam V

1

De Venetis et Genuensibus in marg. A, K 20 neque puto omit. E 21 scelestem H, K, V

  Et quoniam aliqua de propinquitate maris et itineris brevitate 1 etiam alii dixerunt, non ab re erit de hoc quoque me 2 pauca disputasse3 . Namque, ut arbitror utque scio, ex locis, qui hodie nominantur, nullus est Graecis quam Papia 4 accessu facilior, nisi terrestre iter facturi sint, quo casu longe proximius habent Utinum 5 . Mari autem venientes Papiam habent propiorem 6 , sive enim7 Utinum, sive Papiam postulent, Ravennae 8 prius fretum secaturi 9 sunt, quod non magis Papia 10 quam Utino abest. Graecis vero 11 Papiam petentibus ad Ravennam[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] Padus occurit flumen, ut nostis, ob suam amplitudinem et poetarum carminibus et historiarum[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] scriptis illustre. Ex Pado 14 in 15 Ticinum 16 ascendent, qui ad portas urbis navigium vectitabit. Portus vero Pisanus 1 longe remotior est, Charybdim namque Scyllamque2 3 , per quas dubius est transitus, evitantibus4 Graecis totus Sicaniae 5 circuendus 6 est orbis, cujus, si qua veteribus 7 fides, non minus quingentis millibus passuum clauditur ambitus. Neque mihi ob hanc rem Florentinus 8 quisquam 9 succenseat 10 , neque enim hoc ideo dico, quod illi amplissimae urbi memorabilique populo concilium auferre velim, cujus tanta erga concilium cognita est 11 caritas, ut nullius magis stupeam oblationes, qui prima requisitione tantam pecuniarum summam tam effuse promiserit[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] , ut illius etiam[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] populi majora in posterum sperare 14 beneficia debeatis. Sed ne caeci omnino et rerum videamur 15 ignari, hoc enim, quod dico, carta illa 16 edocet, qua uti 17 nautae consueverunt. Haec tamen semper ego parvifeci: iter namque duorum triumve 18 dierum nulli 19 dare aut auferre concilium debet.

	1 breviter V 2 non C 3 disputare H 4 Papia in marg. A, K 5 Utinum in marg. A, K 6 propriorem H, K; priorem V 7 omit. E 8 Ravenna in marg. A, K 9 secuturi E; sequuturi K 10 Papiam E 11 autem V 12 ad Ravennam omit. G, MA 13 historiam B, E 4 euntibus H; civibus V 5 Sicania in marg. A, K 6 circumeundus MA 7 vertentibus K 8 Florentinis K 9 quispiam G, MA 10 sue censeat K 11 cognita est : est cognita G, MA 12 promiserunt H, V 13 et H, V 14 spectare H, V 15 videamini V 16 omit. F 17 qua uti : quanti K 18 termine V 19 ulli H

1 "ganniunt" 2 Genoa (Genova): capital city of Liguria. Merchant state during the Middle Age and traditional rival of Venice … and Milan 3 Here used to designate the territories held by non-Christian rulers [24] 14 Padus in marg. A, K 15 omit. V 16 Ticinum in marg. A, K [25] 1 Portus Pisanus in marg. A, K 2 Scilla Caribdim in marg. A, K 3 Graecis add. A [Example of A corrected by other mss.]

si : si vel H, K, V 4 invenirent H, K, V

  [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] requiritis[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] , nulla fit resistentia; duas 14 de quadraginta domos sine pensione petitis 15 , concedit facile quod fuerat sine petitione facturus; taxationes domorum victualiumque postulatis 16 , {141r} respondet non minus grate quam liberaliter17 . Quidquid denique vultis, publico ille sollemnique chirographo completurum se obligat. O regalem animum, o liberalem principem, o inauditam magnificentiam! Hic est, quem requiris, Enni 18 : Amicus certus in re 19 incerta 20 cernitur. Talis certe ducalis responsio fuit, ut nulla suppletione 21 indiguerit, nullo adjumento, nulla rescriptione, cujus locum, si statim elegissetis 22 , statim erant parata omnia. Utrum alii sic fecerint, vos videritis.

	5 indicarent G, MA 6 ex duce omit. K 7 expedite F, H, V 8 Oblationes ducis in marg. A 9 millia ducatorum : ducatorum milia K 10 flagitatis C 11 arcesque consignari vobis : vobis arcesque consignari G, MA 12 consignari vobis : vobis consignari H 13 requisivistis H, V 14 decem H, K, V 15 petivistis H, V 16 postulastis H, V 17 libenter K, V 18 Ennius in marg. A; Ennius de amico in marg. D, G 19 omit. K

1 illudque corr. ex illud vero G 2 qui V 3 vel 20 em.; certa codd.; incerta MA [Error either due to Piccolomini himself, or to some scribe] 21 suppletore V 22 eligissetis F

  Jamque propter pecunias nihil est, quod Papiae objiciatis1 . Nec illos audio, qui se aureos affirmantes omnibus se Christicolis jactitant ditiores, magnumque auri et argenti pondus habere se 2 gloriantur. Quorsum enim illa dicuntur 3 ? Forsitan quia vendi concilium putant, ut plus offerenti veneat 4 ? Quod probri loco vitandum detestandumque est, ne venditum vulgo concilium dicant. Unum tamen persuasum volo, quod 5 ducem scilicet 6 ipsum, ubicumque sit opus, quascumque petieritis, daturum esse pecunias neque necessitatibus vestris umquam defuturum. Namque ut volet, sic etiam poterit invenire pecunias. Habet enim, ut scitis, urbem Mediolanum non solum populosissimam7 , verum etiam pecuniosissimam 8 , ubi totius Galliae togatae cumulati thesauri sint 9 , ex qua nulla non 10 possit haberi summa pecuniarum.

	1 abiciatis K 2 habere se : se habere D, E, G, MA; omit. H, V 3 ducuntur F 4 veniat V 5 omit. K, MA 6 omit. H, K, V

1 I.e. caution for the loan to the council 2 Cf. Pius II: Orationes, I, p. 36, n. 9. Cf. also letter of 25 October, 1436 to Siena: Dux enim Mediolani concilium petens omnem pecuniarum summam oportunam concessurum se pollicetur neque aliam cautionem petit nisi ut semidecimarum indulgentiarumque collectores sibi respondeant (Piccolomini: Epistolarium, ep. 22, p.58) 3 I.e. Cicero

4 Cicero: De amicitia, 8.26

[28] 7 solum populosissimam : populissimam solum H, V 8 verum … pecuniosissimam omit. E 9 sunt H 10 omit. E, K

  Milan: the capital of Lombardy and a major power in Renaissance Italy 2 Constantinople: Capital of the Greek-Roman Empire, founded by the Emperor Constantine in 330, present-day Istanbul. Fell to the Turks 17 years afterwards, in 1453 3 "spectata virtute" 4 Nicolas de Menton, governor of Nice, who spoke to the Council in the General Congregation on 9 November: Accessit ad generalem congregationem[Nicodus] de Mentone gubernator civitatis et comitatus Niciensis pro domino duce Sabaudiae et per organum domini thesaurarii approbavit oblaciones per eumdem dominum thesaurarium nomine suo pridie factas et ratificavit, offerens se ad servicia concilii in conducendo galeas pro Grecis tam ad Constantinopolim Placet tamen duci, ne qua in parte deficiat, triremes etiam reperire, quas unde habeat aut 1 quomodo habeat indignum est quod vestigemus. Ratum est enim quodcumque promittit. Hoc tamen non tacebo, navium scilicet illi concessionem non esse difficilem. Siquidem magna 2 , ut 3 scitis 4 , cum 5 serenissimo ac magnanimo rege Aragonum 6 amicitia est, qui, suum7 quemadmodum facundissime dixit orator, promptus est tam concilii quam ducis gratia praestare 8 navigium. Et cui, obsecro, melius haec committi res potest 9 quam regi Aragonum? Quis eo diligentius rem fidei pertractet, qui diu 10 adversus infideles bella gessit. An ignoratis regem illum catholicum et fidei zelatorem magna saepe manu magnaque classe adversus Afros, Christiani nominis inimicissimos, decertasse? Illa profecto laus illaque huic regi 11 gloria tribuatur Mediterraneum mare sua diligentia ab infidelibus piratis esse custoditum. Et quod magno Pompejo decori fuit, huic 12 etiam 13 concedamus honori 14 , cujus nisi frequenter 15 in pelago classica insonaret tuba, ad ipsum usque litus Etruscum, Libycae naves hostilesque classes infidelium crassarentur16 . Sed timent 17 praestantissimum 18 regem Jonii, Tyrrhenique maris custodem, qui Sardiniam, Corsicam, Siciliam, Baleares ac Vulcanias insulas ab omni Saracenorum impetu liberavit: cui {5v} magis erit molestum in tanta re fidei non requiri, quam si totam ejus classem dira tempestas absorpserit. Aut igitur regiae naves compraestabuntur, aut marina aliunde vasa comperientur 19 . Ac de primo principalique membro satis sit dictum.

	3 omit. G, MA 4 omit. G, MA 5 omit. G, MA 6 De rege Aragonum in marg. A, K 7 suus B, C, E, F, H, K; si vis V 8 praeterire V 9 committi res potest : committeres MA 10 dum G, MA 11 omit. G, MA 12 omit. G, MA 13 ejus MA 14 honorem H; honore V 15 nisi frequenter corr. ex frequenter nisi G; frequenter nisi MA 16 grassarentur K, MA 17 tamen G, MA 18 paratissimum V 19 comperirentur F

His nobleness and generous spirit are just what we need in this matter. So, therefore you can either hire his ships or you can hire other ships in many places. 1 quam Pisas vel Florenciam, ubi concilium ordinaverit. De expensis necessariis refert se ad dominos de concilio (Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 325). On 19 November 1436, the Council's formal contract with Nicolas de Menton was read to the General Congregation, whereupon he was solemnly appointed captain [capitaneus] of the council's -as yet unexisting -fleet (Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 337; Paul Becker, p. 50) [31] 1 et H 2 sibi add. H, K, V

  1 enim 2 sanctissimam illam3 sedem Petrique verissimum successorem ac Christi vicarium debetis contemnere. Hoc est quidem caput nostrum, quod separatum esse nequaquam convenit, quod nullum sine capite corpus potest esse perfectum. Hic est sponsus ecclesiae; hic magister navis; hic, ut vulgo dicunt, in terris Deus, cui claves regni caelorum per Petrum aliosque Petri successores Christus, redemptor noster, contulit, quamquam ecclesiae quoque non inficior datas. Hujus tanta est 4 auctoritas, tanta potestas, tanta divinorum concessa mysteriorum cognitio, ut omni honore omnique veneratione sit dignus[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] , tantaeque reverentiae papalis est dignitas, ut papam, vel malum, honorare venerarique teneamur 6 . Neque 7 temnere 8 papam quisquam 9 debet, quamcumque libidinem, quodcumque nefas maturaverit, nisi prius ecclesia judicarit.[34] Quid de praesenti summo dicemus pontifice? Esset mihi de sua nunc sanctimonia sermo, nisi magnifice oratores regii 10 de ipsius pietate 11 , mansuetudine, aequitate, justititia et bonitate 12 dixissent. Nos illud nequaquam inficiamur, sanctissimum[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] dominum nostrum in futuro concilio fore necessarium, ut non auctoritate solum, sed etiam 14 morum honestate proficiat 15 .

	1 De sede apostolica in marg. A, K 2 etiam MA 3 sanctissimam illam: illam sanctissimam K 4 res K 5 sit dignus : dignus sit K 6 Papam etiam malum veneremur in marg. D, G 7 nec D, G, M 8 spernere H, V 9 papam quisquam : quisquam papam K 10 regis G, MA 11 omit. H, V

[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF]

et bonitate : pietate H, V

[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF]

sed K 14 vitae et H, K, V 15 perficiat K

  Libellus, 72 (Iaria, pp. 48-49). He also referred to it in his De gestis concilii Basiliensis from the same year (Hay, p. 66), quoting Augustine's Sermo natalis Petri et Pauli: Has enim claves non ille[Peter] ut homo unus, sed unitas accepit ecclesiae, and also quoting Augustine's De agone Christi: Huic enim ecclesiae claves regni coelorum datae sunt, cui Petro datae sunt4 … but in the end he states the conciliarist position that the council is ultimately above the pope and can pass judgement on him, as the Council of Konstanz had done 20 years before, and the Council of Basel itself were to do some years later. The passage "he [the pope] must not be held in contempt before the Church [i.e. the Council] has passed judgement" is in direct contradiction of the medieval, papalist view that "the pope may be judged by nobody" Ut si qua umquam indignatio fuerit, victus 1 ducali patientia summus pontifex nil aliud duci {142v} posset dicere 2 , nisi quod solus adversus iram vera arma verasque vires, quibus se tutaretur3 , invenisset, sicut4 in Tusculano senatu dixisse Camillum 5 Livius 6 refert. Numquid praeterea 7 novimus 8 inimicitias, si quae fuerant 9 , exacto jam anno per pacem sopitas? Cujus mediatores fuerunt 10 viri optimi atque rarissimi 11 , cardinales sanctae crucis et sancti Petri, a vestro sacerrimo coetu ob eam rem Florentiam destinati. Conditiones pacis secundum papam dictae. Post eam12 13 nihil 14 umquam odiosum inter eos contigit.[38] Sed ut videatis manifestissima benevolentiae indicia 15 , hic animum paulisper intendite. Defecerunt ab 16 duce Genuenses 17 , qui cum bello undique premerentur, libertatis servandae gratia cum Venetis ac 18 Florentinis foedera percusserunt. Tum papa ingens duci bellum imminere cognoscens imparemque 19 tantis 20 viribus eum 21 existimans, ne periculoso 22 nimis proelio urgeretur, auctorem se pacis obtulit virumque omnium opinione probatissimum, cardinalem sanctae crucis, misit, qui ducem de pace requireret, ipse alios flexurus. Quo inspecto animo omnem dux ipse litem omnemque controversiam sanctissimo domino nostro commisit, arbitrumque et amicabilem compositorem inter se atque hostes papam elegit.

	(papa a nemine judicetur) 5 Eugenius IV (1383-1447): Pope from 1431 to his death 6 "oratores" 1 victrix H 2 dici V 3 tutaret H; se tutaretur : settaret V 4 sic H 5 Camillus in marg. A, K 6 Livius in marg. A, K 7 non add. MA 8 nominis V 9 fuerunt H, V; fuerat K 10 exacto iam … fuerunt omit. V [NB: confirms that H is not derived from V] 11 clarissimi V 12 post eam : postea E 13 pacem add. H, K, V 14 nil K 15 iudicia V 16 a MA 17 Januenses H, V 18 et F 19 impotentemque H; in paceque V 20 tanti B, E 21 ducem H, K, V 22 periculo B, E

2

Matthew 16, 13-20

3

Piccolomini would return to this theme in his Libellus dialogorum (1440), where he wrote: … per illa verba iudiciariam potestatem datam esse non solum Petro, sed aliis etiam apostolis et toti ecclesie in episcopis et presbyteris (Piccolomini: 7 I.e. the pope 8 i.e. The Union Council 9 Eugenius IV was generally considered a stubborn and undiplomatic person, pope and statesman, but at the same time a man of great piety and great moral qualities

[37]

  [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF]

veritatem : rem H, V

  7 inimici Papiam dicet, quae, cum in vestra futura sit manu, inimici reputari non potest, nisi concilium existimet 8 inimicum. Libere namque in manibus vestris 9 daturum se urbem dux pollicetur. Quo facto nihil 10 erit, quod papae timendum sit. Ac 11 si quid securius papa exigat, nihil est quod illum principem {6v} negaturum rear[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] . Adest orator suus, vir clarus atque facundus, Christoforus de Velate 13 : expetite 14 securitates. An adeo difficilis res ista censetur 15 , ut inveniri modus 16 nequeat? Certe non video, cur magis alii quam dux dare papae securitatem valeant 17 .[41] Sunt in hoc concilio cardinales aliique praelati quamplures, sunt etiam in Romana curia, quorum neque vobis, neque papae suspecta est fides. Committite his gubernaculum civitatis; jurent in manibus horum officiales civesque, si oportet 18 , fidelitatis exhibeant juramentum. Quo tunc jure aut 19 urbem papa contemnat in manibus suorum positam amicorum, aut quo ibit, si huc non veniat?

	3 imploratorem C 4 reperientur V 5 nil K 6 solent G, MA 7 tetram B, E 8 existimetur H, K, V 9 in manibus vestris : vestris in manibus K 10 nil K 11 at H 12 aut reat A; reat B, F; erat E; reor H 13 Valete E; Vellate H, K, V 14 expedite E 15 censeatur V 16 modum H

1 add. in marg. A; omit. B, C, E, F, K 2 rei 17 magis … valeant : aliorum magis quam ducis oblate securitates accipiende sint H, V 18 oporteat G, MA 19 hanc H, K, V

abstulisse : videtur si justam repudiandi causam papae auferamus, neque sibi apud Deum mundumve relinquamus sibi excusandi locum

	1 modus iste: iste modus G, MA 2 excogitare E 3 nil K 4 quem V 5 rationi consentaneum : consentaneum rationi F 6 fuerit … H, K, V 7 fuerit G, MA 8 omit. H, V 9 monstrante H, V 10 omit. F 11 ommittant B, E; obmittatur H, V 12 proficiatur H, V 13 secura V 14 exiget H, V

15

corr. ex utrique A; utrique H, K, V

  , cujus auxilio defensi servatique 14 sumus. Et quae melior est, inquit Cicero 15 , in hominum genere natura quam eorum, qui se natos ad homines juvandos, tutandos, conservandos arbitrantur 16 ? O regem ergo gloriosissimum, o principem excellentissimum, {143v} o vere Christianissimum fidei defensorem: tu ecclesiam defendis, tu fidei consulis 17 , tu concilium veneraris, tu es quem merito honorare perpetuisque praeconiis debemus extollere.

	1 possumus G, MA 2 advocemus K 3 sacrosanctum K 4 nos V 5 discutio H, V 6 si F 7 nos V 8 Gallicinam D, G; Gallicam E, V 9 jurandos V 10 omit. K 11 proficiscantur ad concilium : ad concilium proficiscantur F, H, K, V 12 omit. B, E 13 tenemur H

14 omit. H, V

15

Cicero in marg. A, K 16 Bellissime in marg. F [the copyist's comment on the quote from Cicero!] 17 tu fidei consulis omit. C

, MA 12 omnes idem : idem omnes H, V 13 nichil H; nil

  aliud sentio, non possum militarem 14 illum virum non laudare. Rem namque optimam et 15 concessu dignissimam petit. Commonet schismatis evitare causas16 , communem papae locum petit 17 , neque specialius quidquam dicit 18 , neque locum aliquem nominatim 19 repudiat. Cujus, nisi fallor, verba eligendam 20 nobis Papiam 21 suadent. Vult 22 enim papam et concilium simul esse concordiamque utrimque 23 fieri 24 , cujus nonnisi tres 25 vias esse 26 considero: ut vel papae omnino mos geratur, vel vobis, aut transactio quaedam litigiorum[START_REF] Unumque | hic advertite, an cautio subdifficilis, an gravia postulentur assignamenta. Non essem, Hercule, increpandus, si hunc principem nullam petere cautionem dixerim. Hujusmodi enim, quae petitur cautio, non est cautio, sed magis appellanda 1 donatio. Ex indulgentiis reddi sibi mutuum petit 2 3 , ut si nihil indulgentiae 4 reddant, nihil recuperet. Hic est verus filius, verus servitor, verus amicus vester 5 . Haec est illa, quam quaerit multis in locis Tullius 6 , amicitia: Amor, inquit ille, ex quo amicitia nominata est, princeps est ad benevolentiam conjungendam[END_REF] fiat. Sperare 28 superiora vanum reor. Ad tertiam rem missus est Simon, ut communis utrique locus eligatur. Et quis, obsecro, Papia communior aut aptior atque 29 utrique commodior? Gratior forsitan alius papae 30 locus esset, qui tamen vobis non esset tutus.

	15 omit. K 16 dans V 17 obsecrat H, K, V 18 neque specialius … dicit : neque specifice aliud dicit H; specifice neque alium diem V 19 nominatum H, K, V 20 omit. G, MA 21 nobis Papiam: Papiam nobis G, MA 22 Quomodo potest fieri concordia inter papam et concilium in marg. A; Quomodo potest fieri inter papam et
	concilium concordia in marg. K 23 utriusque H, V 24 fidei H, V 25 tris G 26 vias esse: esse vias D, G, MA 27 legitimorum V 28 spectare V 29 aut F, V 30 Papiae V

1 omit. K 2 nos MA 3 et H, K; ad V 4 Oratores gallici in marg. A, K 5 modo add. H, K, V 6 collegae B, E 7 fontes K 8 quis corr. ex quid D; quis G, H, V, MA; quique K 9 nam H, V; non MA 10 sunt voces : voces sunt H 11 non H, K, VV [all the other mss. have nisi which is probably due to an error of transcription somewhere in the line of transmission] 14 omit. H, V

  Sed {7v} nondum Simonem audivi dicentem, ut insecurum eligatis locum, quod nec 1 ipse diceret, nec 2 suo regi in mentem 3 caderet, cujus ea semper consuetudo fuit, ut prius consuleret, deinde 4 concilio judicium dimitteret, suumque sensum universalis ecclesiae postponeret opinioni. Quamquam 5 , si licet dicere, nimium 6 vos hodie, patres, defertis principibus, nec quidquam audetis agere, quod principibus non libuerit. Quod ego sane non laudo, quoniam non 7 sic 8 majores nostros invenio factitasse, nec sic se apostolos 9 habuisse, qui licet 10 totum contra se mundum haberent, veritatem tamen ubique praedicabant, neque minas, neque mortem, aut taeterrimos cruciatus pro veritate diffugiebant. Quibus rebus factum est, ut totum orbem Christianum nomen impleverit. Ubi vero mortis timor invasit, et divitiarum cupido supervenit, deserta veritas et incognita justitia jacet. Aut 11 verius cum Satyro 12 dixerimus 13 : Jam dudum ad superos Astraea 14 recessit; Hac 15 comite atque 16 duae pariter fugere 17 sorores.Hinc 18 diminutus populus Christianus, et 19 auctae infidelium sectae.

	1 neque F 2 neque F 3 mente F 4 denique H 5 Contra episcopos in marg. D, G 6 nimius V 7 cum K 8 sit B 9 ad populos V 10 etsi H; omit. V 11 Juvenalis in marg. A 12 satyrio A 13 diximus H 14 justitia interlin. E [in explanation]; astra H, K; astrea corr. ex astra V 15 ac H, K 16 ac B, E, V 17 fugiere G, MA 18 habere V

1

Simon Charles 2 Piccolomini -and his audience -must have known that this contention was quite preposterous. The King of France evidently favoured a French city for the council, in casu Avignon, but for political reasons (the Kingdom of Naples) the French court pretended to accept an Italian city

[49]

19 omit. H, V

  Vere ille riteque olim dicebat archiepiscopus Mediolanensis, quem hoc in templo sepultum habetis (vere multi alii): "Agamus," inquiebat ille, "quod nobis 1 et justitia dignum est. Quidquid exinde sequatur 2 , aequo patiamur animo." Cujus vel mortui verba ne contemnite, oro3 . Agite quod dignum hac congregatione putatis. Nemo vos deseret, nemo adversus erit. Cuncti vobis principes favebunt bene facientibus. Sic Caesareum culmen Augustalemque majestatem vobiscum habebitis4 . Sic Francorum, sic alii 5 ex ordine reges 6 vobis parebunt. Et quantum ad locum attinet, nemo est principum, qui spernere Papiam debeat, ubi et papa optime et concilium valeat convenire. Nondum tamen 7 excussimus, {144r} quomodo Papiae securum possit esse concilium, id enim ad ultimum orationis nostrae membrum reservavimus. An Archbishop of Milan 1 who -like so many others -lies buried in this temple 2 once said very justly on this subject: "Let us do," he said, "what is worthy of ourselves and of justice. And whatever follows we shall bear with equanimity". I ask you: do not reject his words even if he is dead. Do what you think is worthy of this assembly. Nobody will desert you, nobody will oppose you. All the princes will favour you as long as you pursue a good course. His Imperial Highness and August Majesty 3 will support you. The French King and indeed all the other kings will follow you.

	5 Juvenalis: Satirae, 6.19-20 6 I.e. Islam 7 tandem D 6 reges K 5 omit. H, V 4 habetis F, V 3 rogo D, G, MA 2 sequetur K [50] 1 vobis K, V [50]

  1 ad tertium transeamus. Hujus partis est ostendere non domos solum, sed victualia quoque ubertim suppetere, in qua re 2 non multum erit negotii. Ipsa enim res se 3 manifestat. Ut tamen de hac etiam parte disseramus4 , ex toto dominio suo duci placet, ut quam velitis urbem eligatis. Quis nescit Galliam ipsam, quae circa Padum jacet, et esse et a Cicerone[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] dici florem Italiae? Aut quis regionem illam cum aliis aequiparet 6 agris?7 Cum hujus tanta ubertas, tantaque feracitas 8 sit, ut semper abunde suppleverit 9 , quamvis jam multis non dico annis, sed saeculis continuo sit bello agitata. Alibi vero nonnullae provinciae sunt adeo steriles 10 , adeo infecundae, ut non suscepto {8r} bello, sed audito belli nomine exhauriantur. Hic vero plurimae sunt urbes recipiendo concilio et alendo sufficientes. Nam ut Mediolanum taceamus, urbem populosissimam, quae, ut semper fuit, sic modo caput est 11 Insubrium. Quid de Papia, Placentia, Parma, Cremona dixerimus? Let us now move on to the third part. Since it is self-evident, I shall have no difficulty in showing that Pavia can provide not only lodgings, but also abundant food. But to say just a few words about this issue, the duke has decided that you can choose any city you want within the whole of his dominion. Who does not know that the part of Gaul around the river Po is the flower of Italy? Even Cicero says so! Who will liken this region to other territories? Its fertility and feracity are so great that it has always yielded abundant crops even though it has been plagued continuously by wars not just for years, but for centuries. By contrast, many other provinces are so barren and infertile that they are completely drained by war, nay, by the mere mention of war! In this region, many cities can accommodate and feed the council. We shall not even mention Milan, that populous city, which is -as always -the capital of Lombardy. What shall I say about Pavia, Piacenza, Parma, and Cremona?1 [52] Omissis aliis, Papiam expendamus 1 . Est profecto illa urbs splendidis 2 commodissimisque ornata domibus. Testes voco 3 ex hac contione quamplurimos, qui me, si mentiar 4 , reprehendant: Notam namque 5 rem dico. Hic moderni 6 genitor ducis 7 cohabitavit, princeps omnium sua aetate consultissimus. Hic curiam continuo tenuit, quam 8 magni domini omnisque 9 fere nobilitas Italiae sequebantur 10 . Ob quam rem multa ingentia palatia et amplissimae sunt aedes aedificatae. Curiales namque 11 , ut fit, certatim[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] sibi magnificas construebant domos, quod[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] quisque ditior 14 , quod 15 quisque mundior videri volebat.[53] Illic palatium est quod Castellum 16 appellant 17 ingenti fossa circumdatum, de cujus amplitudine illud retulisse sufficiat 18 , quod augustalis pontificalisque curiae capax existimetur, cujus pulchritudinem ac commoditatem omnis oratio comminuere 19 videatur. Hinc urbi adjacet, illinc ducali viridario supereminet, operi omnium maximo atque excellentissimo, cui Parco est nomen venationibus piscationibusque constructo, ubi feras innumerabiles XX millia passuum complexus murus 20 observat. De cujus rei amoenitate ac voluptate 21 nonnulla dissererem, nisi omnem a vobis contemni voluptatem 22 deliciasque omnes 23 parvi 24 aestimari 25 cognossem 26 . Vino praeterea cunctisque edulibus 1 adjacens patria maxime abundat. Nec 2 Varronem 3 in illa audio prorumpentem verba 4 : Optima ad victum fert ager[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Campanus 6 frumentum, Falernus7 vinum, Casinas oleum, Tusculanus ficum, mel Tarentinus, piscem Tybris. 8 Haec suo forsitan tempore ita erant. Modo haec omnia Papienses habent, ceterique Longobardorum populi, foeni et bladi 9 plus legunt, quam ipsi cupiant 10 , cives. Omnis pomi copia est ingens. Quidquid abest, Ticini flumen advectare potest. Sed {144v} quid 11 immoror? Insubres, ut scitis, populi numquam externo tritico victitarunt, sed suum 12 ipsi ceteris[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] provinciis subministrarunt. Quo fit, ut summam semper in Papia victualium copiam sitis habituri. Nec aliquis Italus vobis 14 minori pretio victum dabit. Nolo probare quod per se patet. Sed quaerite alias urbes, et rerum pretia 15 investigate. Quod 16 tribus denariis alibi emetis, duorum hic denariorum pretium habebit. Neque disputatione res indiget, quod 17 taxationem rerum vestro judicio dux committit, frustraque de fertilitate patriae urbisque commoditate sermonem 18 facio, quod omnia illa majora esse cognoscitis, {8v} quam ego dicam.

	1 Tertia orationis pars in marg. A; Tertium membrum in marg. D, G; Tertia pars orationis in marg. K 2 omit. H, V 3 res se : sese res H, V 4 dixeramus V 5 Cicero in marg. A, K 6 equiperet A, B, C, D, E, F, K; aequiperat V 7 Gallia flos Italiae in marg. D; Gallia togata, flos Italiae in marg. G 8 fertilitas H 9 suppleverint H, V 10 fertiles [sic!] H 11 caput est: est caput G, MA 4. Pavia can provide lodgings and provisions [51] 1 expediamus F 2 splendidissimis D, G, MA 3 vero F 4 mentior H, V 5 notam namque: notamque C 6 modernus V 7 Ducis pater in marg. A, K 8 quem H 9 omnis C 10 sequebatur H, V 11 omit. K 12 certatum H 13 quid V 14 dictior V 15 quid V 16 De Castello in marg. A, K 17 vocant H, V 18 sufficit H, V 19 convenire K 20 omit. H, V 21 ac voluptate omit. H, V 22 contemni voluptatem : voluptatem contemni H 23 omnis A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, V 24 … [sic!] V 25 corr. ex extimari C; existimari D, G, K, MA; extimari F, H, V 26 cognoscerem E, H, V [54] 1 eduliis corr. ex edulibus D; eduliis G, MA 2 haec B, E, F 3 vatorem H; vaporem V 4 Verba Varronis in marg. A, K; Varro in marg. C; Varro de Campania in marg. D, G 5 agere H 6 Campanisii F; Campanum V 7 Falernas V 8 Tyberis G, MA; tribus V 9 blandi E; pani K 10 cupiunt F 11 hic add. H, K, V 12 suis V 13 ceterisque V 14 Italus vobis : vobis Italus H, K, V 15 presentia V 16 quo E; que K 17 quare MA 18 omit. B, E

  Therefore you will always have a veritable abundance of foodstuffs in Pavia, and no other Italian will sell you food more cheaply. It should not be necessary to prove what is evident, but do ask the other cities about their prices: what you buy for three denarii elsewhere you will get for two in Pavia. The matter is beyond discussion. Even so, the duke entrusts pricing to your own judgment. But it is superfluous for me to speak about the fertility of the country and the advantages of the city, for you know that they are greater than I can say.[55] Illa vero parvipendo, quae dicuntur, oportere Graecos Latinam ecclesiam magnificam invenire. Quod tamen si quid habet momenti, ubi melius quam in Papia reperietis 1 ? Quo enim honore, qua magnificentia 2 , qua pompa, quo sumptu Constantinopolitanum imperatorem ab 3 duce recipi aestimatis 4 ? An quisquam 5 vivit hoc duce ad sumptum effusior aut ad magnificentiam animatior? De cujus largitionibus stupenda magis quam credibilis narratio videretur. Cui liberalitatem aliquam exercenti sua solum voluntas sufficit. Videbunt hujus principis excellentiam Graeci singulari quadam admiratione ac stupore, idque oculis perspicient, quod auribus aliquando cognoverant 6 . Verumque illud Homeri experientur dicentis: Famam 7 numquam penitus vanam esse, quam populi multi decantant. Immo et rem fama majorem invenient. Ibunt nonnumquam Mediolanum, ubi populum numerosum, ubi opulentissimos cives, ubi florentissimas opes agnoscent, ubi alterum paene orbem videre videbuntur. Tot artifices, tot pompas numquam satis spectasse dicent. Quod si magnificentia venerabilem reddit ecclesiam, illa est potissime civitas eligenda.

	1 invenietis MA 2 De magnificentia ducis in Grecos in marg. K 3 a B, C, E, F, H, V 4 extimatis F, V 5 est add. K 6 cognoverunt H, V 7 famamque H, V

  , Prince of the Empire and of the Church, and finally pope 2 Comicus = Publius Terentius Afer: Roman playwright(195/185-159 BC), better known in English as Terence. He was one of Piccolomini's favourite classical authors Aeris nunc salubritas 1 pernoscatur, quem purissimum esse 2 apud Ticinum reperietis. Nullae ibi foedae paludes exhalant, non maritima stagna putredinem suggerunt, non crebrae pestes invadunt, non aestus 3 immensi intemperatique solares radii aut montani venti officiunt sanitati. Quod 4 si Basileae similem quaerimus civitatem, Papia profecto est, quae Basiliensem 5 nobis et libertatem et sanitatem praestet, quam hic permaximam sumus experti. Nam sive aeris salubritas fuit, sive miraculosa magni Dei bonitas id 6 concessit, sextum hinc 7 jam trahentes annum incredibili omnes sanitate praestitimus 8 . Nec 9 de libertate expedit disputare: libere enim hic loqui libereque 10 facere, quodcumque libuit, numquam estis prohibiti, nec cives vestris 11 se umquam actionibus opposuerunt, ut qui Germanicam nobilitatem redolent.[65] De Germanorum namque fide[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] , gravitate, constantia nihil satis explicare possem. Non sunt ad promittendum faciles, sed promissa inconcusse inviolateque custodiunt. Emori 13 malunt, quam juramento deficere. Apud quos facile sit multos 14 Attilio Regulo 15 similes invenire, qui primo Punico bello fidem hostibus prius 16 servare voluit quam 17 mortem et foedum corporis effugere laniatum. Haec profecto constantia Germanorum, haec fides, haec gravitas Alamaniae, ut tenacissime fidem servent.[66] Cujus rei memores Basilienses nihil 18 vobis promissum commutarunt. Apud quos utinam quod restat negotii consumare possemus, ne 19 aliorum fidem probaturi essemus. Si tamen pericula volumus evitare 20 , Papiensis nobis 21 est 22 civitas adeunda, ubi, quemadmodum dixi, et civium grata {145Ar} conversatio 23 est et aeris perpetua salubritas.

	3 insunt V 4 De Basilea et moribus Teutonicorum in marg. A, K 5 Basiliensibus H 6 omit. H, V 7 hic B, E, H, K, V 8 perstitimus corr. ex prestitimus C 9 neque F 10 et libere H, V 11 cives vestris : vestris cives K 12 Germanorum fides in marg. D, G; Mos Germanorum in marg. F 13 et mori H 14 multo K 15 M. Atilius Regulus in marg. A; Atilius Regulus in marg. K 16 omit. D, G, MA 17 cui C 18 nil K 19 ut E 20 volumus evitare : evitare volumus H 21 vobis K 22 nobis est: est nobis MA 23 conversatione K

3

Terentius: Heautontimoroumenos, 314

4

Cicero: Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.18.41 5 I.e. both to their secular and religious rulers

[64]

1

De salubritate aeris in marg. A, K 2 fore H, K

  1 does in Euripides 2 whose words Cicero translated into Latin thus:

	I treasured up what some learn'd sage did tell,
	And on my future misery did dwell;
	I thought of bitter death, of being drove
	Far from my home by exile, and I strove
	With every evil to possess my mind,
	That, when they came, I the less care might find. 3

  Principis 1 vero fides quanti a vobis 2 , celeberrimi patres, sit habenda, extremo praesentique loco retinui. De qua re abunde putavero dictum3 , cum ejus principis erga ecclesiam4 devotionem, erga vos ipsos sacrumque 5 concilium dilectionem, erga subditos justitiam et aequitatem 6 , erga hostes clementiam et mansuetudinem, erga omnes magnificentiam et benignitatem ostendero. Quibus absolutis quis neget summam in hoc7 principe fidem habendam 8 ? Quas res me nunc peroraturum 9 , utinam digna rebus sequeretur facundia. Meritus 10 es namque, victoriosissime 11 princeps, de quo summi oratores et[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] clarissima poetarum ingenia fatigentur.[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] Sed dabis Aeneae 14 veniam, si non ut vellet, sed ut potest tuam causam perorabit. Vos quoque, patres amplissimi, desinite admirari, si non dignam tanto principe 15 orationem audietis : tot sunt enim illius stupendae virtutes, tot miranda gesta, tot pacis et belli incredibiles artes, ut inferior omnis oratio videri debeat. Sed pergo, ut in buccam venit, ac de sua erga ecclesiam devotione duo quam brevissime absolvam. Braccius 1 , hostis ecclesiae immanissimus 2 , cum multa Romanae sedis oppida urbesque invasisset, ac multas provincias vi occupasset, urbem insignem Aquilam eo animo obsedit, ut ea capta bellum urbi obsidionemque admoveret, tantusque in urbe metus ac trepidatio fuit, ut non urbis 3 defendendae 4 , sed faciendae fugae consilium esse 5 putarent. Nec minor 6 agitatio Romae tumultusque7 fuit victore 8 apud Cannas Hannibale 9 {145Av} omnique Romanorum prostrato exercitu, cum 10 perditam spem fore desperatam comploratamque rempublicam nonnulli juvenes opinati 11 de aufugio cogitabant. Tum papae auxilia dux misit, pecuniisque copiisque papam juvit. {10v} Cumque ad manum[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] devenere, ducales copiae plurimum valuerunt eoque proelio victoriam pepererunt, ut victum Braccium duci adscriberent. Omitto classem ingentem rogatu papae Martini in Apuliam destinatam, Cajetamque 13 14 receptam et alia classis illius spectata facinora. But I shall say what comes into my head,1 and concerning the duke's devotion to the Church, I shall briefly mention two points:

	1 Theseus: Greek mythological hero 2 Euripides: Greek tragedian (c. 480-406 BC). The tragedy itself is lost, but the above passage was quoted in Greek by Plutarch in his Moralia, 112D New York, 1877 [68] 1 Subdivisionis subdivisio in marg. A, K 2 nobis H, V 3 putavero dictum : dictum putavero H, K, V 4 ecclesiasticam V 5 sacrum K; sanctumque V 6 equanimitatem H, V 7 vos add. H, K, V 8 habituros H, K, V 9 oraturum V 10 veritus H 11 gloriosisissime K 12 omit. K 13 Philippi laudes in marg. D, G 14 ante H; euge V 15 principi F 14 Caieta in marg. A, K 13 Cajetam F 12 manus H, V 11 omit. G, MA 10 locus corruptus in marg. MA 9 Anibal in marg. A, K 8 victorie B, E; corr. ex victorie A, D, F [and possibly C] 7 tumultus F; timorque H, V 6 major corr. ex minor H; major V 5 erat V 4 defendere V 3 urbem V 2 inhumanissimus K 5.3.1. Duke's devotion to the Church [69] 1 Bracius in marg. A, K [69]

3

Cicero: Tusculanae Disputationes, 3.14.29: Nam qui haec audita a docto meminissem viro, Futuras mecum commentabar miserias: Aut mortem acerbam aut exsili maestam fugam, Aut semper aliquam molem meditabar mali, Ut, si qua invecta diritas casu foret, Ne me imparatum cura laceraret repens. Quoted after the translation of C.D. Yonge.

  1 magna cum diligentia in hoc concilio et extra concilium ab episcopo Albiganensi 2 est gestum, viro non solum genere, sed animi virtute nobilissimo, quid de aliis dicam3 ? Hinc episcopus Novariensis ad regem Franciae destinatus, hinc Laudensis in Angliam missus. In remotissimamque4 usque Poloniam Parmensis episcopus jussus est ire, quo 5 tempore ille vivebat, cujus modo insignia viduis depicta 6 tapetibus cernitis ante oculos, moderni genitor regis7 , cui Deus adversus infidelium impetus omnes conatus secundos efficiat. Ad regem vero Aragonum Riccius abbas sancti Ambrosii 8 in Siciliam usque perrexit. Nec tu, potentissime princeps Burgundorum 9 , ab 10 Longobardis praelatis fuisti praetermissus. Abbati namque de Cereto 11 , patri integerrimo, ea legatio obvenit, quem tu propter patriam propterque dominum laeto vultu et gratissimo animo recepisti[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] , non ignarus quantum tibi[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] dux ille Mediolanensis 14 afficiatur, qui nihil magis exoptat quam {146r} tuae morem gerere voluntati15 . Apostolorum mihi illa 16 tempora videbantur, cum orbis provincias inter se sortiti suam quisque legationem suscepit evangelium praedicaturus. Cujus rei non absimilem 17 curam 18 ducales praelati receperunt, quoniam tunc alii aberant. Pergo ad alia: justitiaeque 1 erga subditos ministrandae aequitatisque 2 servandae ducale studium vel in eo potestis comprehendere, quod ab omnibus subditis peraeque diligitur3 . Percurrite ejus territorium: omnes uno ore videbitis 4 de suo principe bene dicere sibique bene optare, superosque rogare, ut superstes ac longaevus fiat. Nullum principi male dicere, nullum nisi magnifice amplissimeque de suo sentientes principe invenietis. Quam rem nemo ex justitia natam 5 negaverit. Eo pertinet, quod de Sperone 6 aliisque plerisque factum est, quos7 , cum ipse in subditos graves, acerbos contumeliososque repperisset 8 , ab 9 sese 10 penitus abdicavit omnique magistratu dejecit. Ex quo fit, ut ejus dominatus altissimis defixus radicibus existat. Est enim in amore ac caritate fundatus, non in timore, qui, ut dicit orator 11 , non est diuturnus magister officii. Nec illud queo praeterire, quod nemo magis mortem hominis abhorret, nemo magis invitus torqueri homines audit.

	1 quid G, MA 2 Episcopus Albiganensis, Episcopus Novariensis, Episcopus Laudensis, Episcopus Parmensis in marg. A, K 3 dicemus H, V 4 remotissimam F, G, MA 5 omit. V 6 depincta K 7 Rex Polonie in marg. K 8 Abbas sancti Ambrosii in marg. A, K 9 Dux Borgundorum in marg. A, K 10 a B, E, H 11 Abbas Cereti in marg. A; Abbas de Cereto in marg. K 12 suscepisti H 13 omit. K 14 tibi add. K 15 voluptati K 16 mihi illa : illa mihi E 17 ad similem V 18 curalem B, E [75] 1 justitiae H, V 2 aequitatisve MA 3 diligere V 4 audietis H, V 5 et equitate prodire H, V 6 de Petra Sancta add. interlin. E; de Sperone : Speroni H, V 7 quo F 8 respuisset V 9 a H 10 se MA

11

Cicero in marg. A, K

  1 Scipio 2 dixit, quem beneficio quam metu obligare homines malle, exterasque gentes fide ac societate junctas habere, quam tristi subjectas servitio asseverabat. Qua laude hunc esse dignum ducem paucis colligemus exemplis. Victus adverso proelio Carolus Malatesta captivus 3 duci deditur4 . Expectatis necem aut carceres? Nullo receptus supercilio fortunatius 5 sibi 6 fuisse vinci quam vicisse {11v} expertus est. Quid alios exercituum duces commemorem7 , qui in hujus deducti potestate tantam 8 clementiam invenerunt, ut jam plerique didicerint tutius esse huic principi adversari quam favere. 1 populoque Romano : Romanoque populo A [NB: A corrected by the other mss.] 2 Scipio in marg. A, K 3 capitaneus H, V 4 Karolus in marg. A, K; Carolus Malatesta in marg. D, G

[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF]

fortunatus B, E 6 omit. F 7 duces commemorem: commemorem duces B, E 8 tam E

16 hinc H 6. Conclusion 6.1. Pavia is the best choice in all respects [

  Sed jam finem nostra poscit 1 oratio. Quod 2 ea, quae ab initio 3 sumus 4 polliciti, non probasse solum, sed ostendisse planius opinamur. Quare cum hujus principis {146Ar} devotionem erga vos et ecclesiam non minimam neque vulgarem 5 dinoscatis, cum pium, cum justum, cum clementem, cum magnificentissimum ducem videatis 6 , quid est quod ejus vobis suspectam fidem efficiat 7 ? Quis timor, quae dubitatio, quae suspicio de isto 8 potest concipi duce 9 ? Nihil profecto est quod Papiam repudietis. Hic quae ad Graecos opus 10 sunt habetis. Hic papa cum concilio potest convenire. Hic domos egregias. Hic victualium invenietis copiam. Hic securitas, hic libertas ostenditur. Hic principem amicum 11 nacti estis, cujus vetus[START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] et probata est amicitia, quem si novis postponatis amicis a Ciceronis consilio recedetis, cujus haec de amicitia verba leguntur[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] : {12r} Existit autem hoc 14 loco quaedam quaestio subdifficilis, numquid amici novi digni 15 amicitia veteribus amicis sint anteponendi. Homine 16 indigna dubitatio. 79] But our oration now approaches the end. We conclude that we have not only shown, but indeed proven what we promised in the beginning. You must acknowledge that the devotion of this prince towards you and the Church is neither small nor ordinary, and that he is a pious, just, clement, and generous duke. Then, how could you doubt his trustworthiness? Why should you fear, doubt, and distrust him? There is simply no reason to reject Pavia. Here 1 you have everything needed in relation to the Greeks. Here the pope can meet with the council. Here you will find stately houses and ample provisions. Here security and independence are manifest. Here you have gained a prince as friend, and one whose friendship is old and proven. If you prefer other, new, friends to him, then you will disregard the advice of Cicero, who has written this about friendship:

	1 reperimus/repperimus B, D, E, G; reperuerimus A, H; repererimus/reppererimus C, D, F, G, MA 2 magnificentissimeque H, V 6 eligeretis D; eligeritis E, H, V 5 omit. F 4 tot annis K 3 nobis V [79] 1 possit E 2 quare MA 3 ab initio : a principio V 4 scimus F 5 vulgantem H 6 cognoscatis H, V 7 faciat G, M; efficiatur V 8 ipso G, M 9 principe V 10 necessaria H, V 11 omit. G, M 12 vera H, V

[START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF]

Cicero in marg. A, K; Cicero de amicitia in marg. D; Tullius de amicitia in marg. G 14 in add. H, V 15 digna H

  2 Cf. Aristotle: Eth. Eudem.,7. 2; Eth. Nic.: 8.3.8. Quoted by Cicero: De amicitia, 19.67 3 Pythagoras (ca. 570-ca. 495 BC): Greek philosopher 4 Plutarch (ca. 46-120): Greek historian 5 Verbatim quote from Guarino Veronese's translation from Greek into Latin of Plutarch's De Liberis educandis, p. 7 6 Verbatim quote from Guarino Veronese's translation from Greek into Latin of Plutarch's De Liberis educandis, p. 7 7 E.g. Avignon (France), Savoy, Venice, Florence, Perugia, cf. sect. 1 above 8

81 orations, if the "Cum animadverto" is counted is a Piccolomini-oration, see oration "Quam laetus", Appendix

Ady, p. 58

Paparelli, p. 64

Helmrath: Pius, p. 89

Concilium Basiliense: Protokolle, p. 357. Voigt's claim that Piccolomini voted otherwise appears to be unwarranted,Voigt, I, 8, p. 146; Haller, I, p. 13

Quoted after Gill: Eugenius, p. 89

Gill: Eugenius, p. 36, 46, 55

Reject, p.

 3 Gill: Eugenius, p. 824 Gill: Eugenius, p. 82[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Gill: Eugenius, pp. 108-109 6 WO, I/1, 2 (ep. 20): Papa et Italici omnes Italiam petunt, reliqui omnes, Latini nominis inimici, venturos se in Italiam negant, nec scio, an erit possible concilium ad Italiam transmutari, sed spero nostrorum prudentiam pertinaciam istorum superaturam et demum Italiam habituram concilium. English translation quoted after Ady, p. 57 7 Boulting, p. 78; Ady, p. 58 8 Stieber, p. 62

Gill: Eugenius, p. 87

Boulting, p. 78

Baldi, p. 21

Epistolarium, letter 20

Epistolarium, letter 21

Epistolarium, letter 22

Epistolarium, letter 23

This reflects the general conception of the pope's personality and private life, held even in Basel, cf.Gill, p. 197

"Papa a nemine judicetur"

The King of France

Guillaume Chartier, later Bishop of Paris

Boulting,

CO, I, 8,

[3][4] I,; Ady, pp. 58-593 Boulting, p. 79

Piccolomini: De gestis, p. 3

Cf. Aethicus Ister

Hankins, p. 137; Bisaha, Other sources for Piccolomini's later theory were Otto von Freising and Niccoló Sagundino

Helmrath: Baseler,

Stieber, pp.

[64][65][66][START_REF]Si quando tamen mutare locum 1 oporteret, non desunt 2 in territorio principis commodissimae civitates, quarum, sicut de Papia est dictum, {10r} dominium haberetis. Neque enim 3 futuri casus sunt a nobis 4 non cogitandi, sed sicut apud Euripidem Theseus facere nos decet 5 , cujus illa sunt verba a Cicerone 6 7 in latinum conversa: Nam qui haec audita a docto meminissem viro, Futuras mecum connitabar 8 miserias, Aut mortem acerbam, aut exilii moestam 9 fugam, Aut semper aliquam molem meditabar mali: Ut si qua injecta diritas casu foret, Ne me imparatum cura laceraret repens. Quae non ideo solum dicta confirmo 10 , ut malum fiat praemeditatione levius, sed ut praevidentes mala diffugiamus. Et quantum ad nos attinet, illud in eligendo loco desideremus, ut venientem pestem aliamve mali molem possimus evitare, sicut in urbe cernimus Papiensi, qua seu peste[END_REF][68][69][START_REF]summis pontificibus adversatus est, numquam ecclesiae defuit auxilio, numquam apostolica 4 mandata contempsit, modernoque pontifici ut patri, ut domino, ut Christi vicario semper obtemperavit[END_REF][START_REF]Qualis vero erga concilium fuerit, vestrum neminem arbitror praeterire, nec me aliquis reprehendat, si hunc defensorem concilii nominaverim, quem non ignoratis 7 cum magno suorum sumptu semper hic 8 praelatorum frequentiam 9 tenuisse curasseque 10 , ne defectu suppositorum 11 concilium[END_REF] p. 346

Sect. 84

Helmrath: Baseler, pp. 92 ff.

Sect. 49

Sect. 65

Cf. Pesce, and notes to sect. 37-38

Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p.

 3 Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p.

Juan de Segovia, Bk. IX, Cap. XXII, tom. II, p. 915

Note that Bruneti says the oration lasted one hour and a half, whereas Juan says almost three hours

Cf. Baldi: Cardinale, p. 20

This is confirmed by a passage in the Intermediate Version, sect. 6: Scripsi ergo circa materiam electionis loci

On the textual history of the Audivi, see appendix C

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

Cf. Pius' own information that many council fathers wanted copies of the oration, cf. above

"Liber olim Lanciani Curtii Artium Scholaris Mediol. Ann. 1484…" Contains a selection of humanist Latin texts, including the Audivi

Cf. Collected orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II, ch. 5.2

The text published by Mansi has been collated, too, (MA), with a view to assessing the quality of that edition

For an analysis of Piccolomini's use of sources, see Collected Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II, ch. 8

De militia

Piccolomini had attended meetings of the council where envoys of various Italian cities argued the advantages of their own city as a venue for the impending council with the Greek Church, on union between the Latin Church and the Greek

Gaspare spoke for Florence on

and 5 November, cf. Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 320-321 3 Simone della Valle, cf. Pius II: Orationes, I, p. 35, note 2. He spoke for Udine in Venetian territory in the General Congregations of 30 October and 9 November, cf. Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 319 and 325: Dominus Symon de Valle lecta littera Venetorum de oblacionibus etc. narravit commoditates loci oblati per Venetos etc. videlicet civitatis Utinensis / Dominus Symon de Valle inscriptis nomine dominorum Venetorum continuavit commoditates Veneciarum

Isidoro da Rosate: envoy of the Duke of Milan who presented the case for Pavia so ineptly that the council fathers bade him be silent. He thereby provided Piccolomini with an opportunity to take over … and to shine, cf. Pius II: Orationes, I, p. 35, note 3. Piccolomini speaks disparagingly about him on other occasions, cf. De Viris Illustribus, IV, and a letter to Francesco Pizzolpasso of

December 1442. He spoke for the territory of the Duke of Milan in the General Congregation of 3 November, cf. Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 319 and 320. Also the Archpriest of Pavia spoke for Pavia, in the General Congregation of 7 November, cf. Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 323 5 Raimondo Taloni: the council fathers had delegated the matter of Avignon to him, cf. Pius II: Orationes, I, p. 35, note 4. Like Gaspare, he spoke on 5 November, reading the speech (in scriptis legit), cf. Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 323

"patria"

"scientia"

"parentes [D, M have patres] omnium facultum". Meaning unclear

Oaths: at this time oaths were still being taken very seriously and formed the basis of important contractual engagements, cf. sect. 65

This is a direct quote from Leonardi Bruni: De Militia, 1422, p. 384: Mulieri inquit Homerus taciturnitas decus affert, sed non item viro. The quote refers to Homer: Odyssey, 1, 356-359, and is found directly in Sophocles, Ajax,

293:Gynaíksi kósmon è sigé phèrei. St. Paul alludes to this passage in 1. Corinthians 14, 34. Also quoted by Aristotle, in Politica 2 Note an example of Piccolomini's frequent use of sentences (sententiae) from classical literature to give depth and authority to an argument

Filippo Maria Visconti (1392 -1447): Duke of Milan from 1412 to his death

Note Piccolomini's use of the classical rhetorical device of personificatio

I.e. cause

BC): Greek philosopher and mathematician4 Burley, 17 (Pythagoras), p. 74: Stateram ne transilias, id est: ne pertransgrediaris iusticiam. Cf: Me zygon, in the sense: Do no injustice. Symbols of Pythagoras, nr 14 (recorded by Iamblichus of Chalcis), 1905, p. 65. Quoted from Guarino Veronese's translation from Greek into Latin of Plutarch's De Liberis educandis, p. 7: Jugum stateramque non trascendere[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Here Piccolomini prepares a later argument, that it would be ungrateful of the council not to accept the Duke of Milan's offer of Pavia 6 Piccolomini speaks for a broad, international, i.e. European, approach to solving the problems posed by the negotiations with the Greeks. In this context, the international argument is being used to undermine the position of those speakers who had pointed to their own cities as seat of the council. On the one hand, the argument certainly had merit in itself, but on the other hand Piccolomini's clear ambition to secure an Italian venue for the council or, if possible, even a Sienese one, makes his argument somewhat specious

Matteo del Carretto: Bishop of Albenga in Liguria from 1429 to 1448. Cf. Pius II: Orationes, I, p. 37, n. 17

I.e. the envoys of the duke

The offer made by the Duke of Milan may have provoked the other North Italian states to make similar offers out of fear or general rivalry

I.e. Pavia

I.e. the decree of the Council, Sicut pia mater, ofSeptember 7, 1434

Trireme: a galley, developed by the ancient Greeks as a warship, with three banks of oars on each side

In a letter to Siena of 25 October 1436, Piccolomini had written: Indiget ut scitis concilium ingenti pecuniarum summa, opusque est secundum pacta cum Grecis facta … misisse ad Grecos duas galeas subtiles et totidem grossas trecentosque arcitenentes siue, ut aiunt, balistarios(Piccolomini: Epistolarium, ep. 22, p. 57)

Interestingly, in this very early text Piccolomini follows the thesis that the Turks originate from the Trojans, a thesis that he later vehemently -and correctly -rejects, see Helmrath: Pius, p. 106-107

In the style of the times, a classical genealogy had been constructed for the house of the Viscontis, making them the descendants of the Trojans. Piccolomini probably knew about this genealogy from Andrea Biglia, cf. the Introduction. If both the contemporary Turks and the Viscontis descended from the Trojans, they are related through their common forefathers, and Piccolomini therefore claims that this family bond will make the Turks trust the Visconti Duke. The claim is, of course, completely preposterous, and it is doubtful that any educated person in the assembly would have believed it. See Pius II: Orationes, I, p.

36, note 8 3 "Romeorum"4 Johannes VIII Palaiologos (1392 -1448): Second last Greek Roman emperor, from 1425 to his death[START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] As well he might, in view of the expansionist policies of the Turks and their former attacks on Constantinople 6 An early reference by Piccolomini to the religious toleration practiced by the Turks7 Outside the area around immediately around Constantinople 8 Or: bring back the Greeks [to union with the Latin Church]

I.e. the Ottoman Turks whose rulers eventually conquered the entire Byzantine Empire and a large part of the Mediterranean world and became a serious threat to Europe

i.e. Asia Minor

Note the use of the term "Europe" as a geopolitical term

This passage is an early expression of what would be a lifelong and major concern of Piccolomini/Pius: the war and crusade against the Turks to save Europe and Christianity. Piccolomini may very well have picked up the notion of a common European military campaign against the Turks from Filelfo when, during his wandering years, he heard him lecturing in Florence (cf.Meserve: Nestor)

i.e. the Greeks

This view is completely naïve: the Constantinopolitans wanted Church Union with the Latins not for theological reasons, but in order to obtain financial and military help in the losing battle against Turkish expansion. The Turks would have been aware of this fact, so it is quite surprising that they eventually allowed the Greeks under their control to accompany emperor and patriarch to the council

Greek theologians and bishops from those areas outside of Constantinople already conquered by the Turks

Josephos II (1360-1439): Patriarch of Constantinople from 1416 to his death

Which would be the sin of simony. Cf. letter to Siena of 6 August, 1436: si patres de concilio res hujusmodi venales haberent et plus offerenti concederent(Epistolarium, letter

21)2 Gallia togata: Togate Gaul, i.e. the region between the river Po and the Alps = Cisalpine Gaul = Northern Italy

I.e. to the union with the Roman Church

King Charles VII of France (1403-1461): ruler from 1429 to his death

Simon Charles: counselor of King Charles VII of France, ambassador to the Council of Basel

Simon Charles spoke for the King of France in the General Congregation of 3 November (iterum vice regia peciit, quod eligatur locus, in quo commode dominus noster possit interesse), see Concilium Basiliense: Die Protokolle, p. 320

Probably Roberto Martelli, manager of the Medici office in Basel from 1433-1438

This passage throws an interesting light on dissemination of news and on information gathering at the time, with banks having the function as veritable nodes of information

Apostolic, i.e. papal. Piccolomini rarely uses the word "papal"; he prefers the traditional term "apostolic"

In view of the fact that the preceding council, i.e. the Council of Konstanz, 1414-1418, deposed three popes, it is not quite clear why the pope should feel safe in a city controlled by the council, particularly in view of his conflicts with the council which actually later deposed him

Cristofore da Velate: Milanese diplomat

Reject, p. 345: Most often the Latins used "reduction", leading back, when referring to this union

Bartolomeo della Capra (1365-1433): Archbishop of Milan from 1411 to his death. Died at the Council of Basel and is buried in the cathedral where the council met for its major sessions

Cf. Pius II: Orationes, I, p.

37, n. 14 3 Sigismund (Luxemburg) (1368-1437): King of Hungary and Croatia from 1387, King of Bohemia from 1419, and crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1433

Other cities in Lombardy

Marcus Terentius Varro (116 BC -27 BC): Roman writer

The quote is not directly from Varro, but from Macrobius citing Varro in his Saturnalia,

3.16.12: Quod equidem cur ita illis visum sit ignoro: fuisse autem etiam M. Varro ostendit, qui enumerans, quae in quibus Italiae partibus optima ad victum gignantur, pisci Tiberino palmam tribuit his verbis in libro Rerum humanarum undecimo: Ad victum optima fert ager Campanus frumentum, Falernus vinum, Cassinas oleum, Tusculanus ficum, mel Tarentinus, piscem Tiberis

Johannes VIII Palaiologos

I.e. praised

This is a direct quote from Leonardi Bruni: De Militia, 1422: Fama autem, ut inquit Homerus, nunquam penitus vana est, quam populi multi decantant. Bruni, p. 384. Cf. Homer: Odyssey, 19.333-334: But if one be blameless and have a blameless heart, his fame do strangers bear far and wide among all men, cf. Peter Thiermann: Die Orationes Homeri des Leonardi Bruno Aretino, Leiden 1993, p. 385. According to Thiermann, the quote refers to Homer's Odyssey, 24.196 ff.: Therefore the fame of her [Penelope's] virtue shall never perish, but the immortals shall make among men on earth a pleasant song in honour of constant Penelope. The quote is a testimony of Piccolomini's usage of Bruni, whom he much admired

Here Piccolomini possibly sends up a "test balloon" for the choice of Milan itself as the venue for the council. It would, of course, have been an international scoop for Milan, but it was quite out of the question as the other Italian powers would never agree

Great Saint-Bernard-Pass

Amedée VIII (1383-1451) : Count, later Duke of Savoy. Three years later, in 1439, he was elected antipope under the name of Felix V by the Council of Basel, after its dissolution by Pope Eugenius IV. Piccolomini himself became his secretary

I.e. the Swiss Alps and Savoy

I.e. Lombardy

There was widespread dissatisfaction, not least in the Papal State, with priestly rule, i.e. government by popes and bishops, and the secular princes on the Church's lands constantly tried to free themselves of papal rule and become independent rulers. It is remarkable that Piccolomoni defends priestly rule since he was at that time not very clerically minded. But speaking to an assembly of prelates, many of whom had the secular government of their territory, he must have felt that it would be politic to speak in favour of priestly rule

A religious movement in Bohemia following the teachings of Jan Hus (ca. 1369-1415) and challenging many tenets and dogmas of the Roman Church. It became one of the forerunners of the Reformation

Martin V (1369Martin V ( -1431)): Pope from 1417 to his death. His election at the Council of Konstanz effectively ended the Western Schism

Constantine I the Great [Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus] (ca. 272 -337): Roman Emperor from 306 to his death

A falsified medieval document, The Donation of Constantine (probably from the 8 th century), purported to be a decree of the Emperor Constantine, by which he donated large territories and Rome itself to the popes. It was considered to constitute the legal base of priestly government. Already during the period of the Council of Basel, the authenticity of the document was being challenged by humanists (Nikolaus von Kues, and later Lorenzo Valla), and Piccolomini soon accepted their arguments. Instead, he began to refer to later donations of land to the popes by other princes

I.e. in Basel

Just three years later a violent plague struck Basel, described in dramatic detail by Piccolomini himself in his De gestis Concilii Basiliensis Commentariorum Libri II

The theme of German faithfulness Piccolomini had from Tacitus: Annales, 13.54: nullos mortalium armis aut fide ante Germanos esse

): Roman general and consul. Mentioned in Bruni:De militia, p. 384. Cf. Cicero: De officiis, 1.13.39

Punic wars: a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 to 146 BC

Note this instance of Piccolomini's frequent use of examples (exempla) from Antiquity to give depth and authority to an argument

Piccolomini himself

Romagnola: a region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna and forming an important part of the then papal state. The capital was Bologna

Not in the sense of cruel rulers, but in the sense of self-made, local rulers without the sanction of the Empire or the Church

Piccolomini returned to this theme in other works, e.g. the De rebus Basiliae gestis commentarius, written four years later, in 1450(Reject, p. 332)

Cicero: Philippicae,

2.36

Note Piccolomini's use of two classical rhetorical devices, which he employed frequently: the anaphora (repetition) with dramatic effect ("hic … hic … hic … hic … hic …), and the accumulatio, i.e. the piling up of persuasive reasons and arguments

Cicero: De amicitia, 19.67

Giuliano Cesarini (1398-1444). Cardinal (1426), papal legate, President of the Council, mentor and friend of Piccolomini. Little did Piccolomini know that one day he himself would succeed him as Cardinal of Santa Sabina

"reductio": i.e. bringing back the Hussites to the fold of the Roman Catholic Church

The Hussites were reconciled with the Church at the Council of Basel through the agency of Cardinal Cesarini. The agreement between the Hussites and the council was called the Hussite Compacts. Later in his career, Piccolomini, who had direct knowledge of the Hussites from a visit to Bohemia, defended confirming the agreement (see oration "Res Bohemicas"[28], 1455), but as a pope he definitively abrogated it (cf. oration "Superioribus diebus"[66], 1462)

Juan Cervantes (1380/1382-1453): created cardinal by Pope Martin V in 1426. On 27 March 1436, Cardinal Cervantes returned to Basel. In 1436, Piccolomini became his private secretary, and later they became colleagues and friends

As had Isidoro da Rosate some days before, speaking ill of the pope, cf. Introduction

Cf. Cicero: Tusculanae disputationes,1.4.8

In another, later hand

Here follows a clear separation of the introduction from the main text introduced by Audivi

"voluntates"

I.e. from union with the Latin Church

Certain features of the "Magnae saepe res", like repetition of phrases in the introduction and the main text, point to it being an unfinished revision of the original text (e.g. the duplicated compliment to the Bishop of Albenga (vir non solum genere sed animi virtute nobilissimus, sect.72 and 90)

Cf. Collected Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II, ch. 2.5.1

Possibly later corrected to "cultores"

Venue for the council

[10] Still, it is too early to detach the rudder and stop caring about the steering wheel. For often we have seen seamen enter a port, joyful and jubilant, only to be shipwrecked inside the port itself 1 because of the captain's inattention or the violent sea. Therefore, though the matter is almost safely concluded: do not approach what remains to be done with eyes shut. For there are still cliffs to be avoided, and you must still be on guard against storms. Not all directions are safe for you. Choosing a venue for the council is fraught with difficulty and trouble: you will have success if you make a good choice and fiasco if you make a bad one.

Impartiality of the council

[11] I shall be speaking of this choice, and I trust you not to spurn my words. Do not consider who is saying them, but what is being said. I presume that you know the sentence from Cicero's 2 De Natura Deorum 3 to the effect that in a discussion you should not consider authority of the debaters, but their arguments. 4 So, if I say something that is inept, then reject it, and if I say something that is reasonable, then accept it. And may that apply to you which Caesar [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] -according to Sallust 6 -required in deliberations: Members of the Senate, 7 all men who deliberate upon difficult questions had best be devoid of hatred, friendship, anger and pity. 81 Seneca: Epistulae morales, 2.14.15: Perit aliqua navis in portu 2 Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC): Roman statesman 3 Cicero,De natura deorum (c. 45 BC). Book on the theology of various schools in antiquity. 4 Cicero: De natura deorum, 1.5.10: Non enim tam auctoritatis in disputando quam rationis momenta quaerenda sunt. [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC): Roman general and statesman 6 Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86-34 BC): Roman historian 7 "Patres conscripti" = Conscript fathers: the senators of ancient Rome. When a group of new senators were first added (conscripti) to the original assembly of "Fathers" (Patres), the extended assembly was called "Patres et Conscripti". Later, the whole assembly was just called "Patres conscripti" 8 Sallustius: Bellum Catilinae, 51.1 [35] Let us now look at why Pavia is convenient for him. In my opinion, nothing about Pavia should displease him whether he desires the commodity of the roads or safety: there is only a short distance from Bologna 1 to Pavia, the route is safe and even, and both by road and by river the journey is highly comfortable. No other place is easier for the pope to get to. [36] Moreover, the place is safe for him because he has no quarrel with the citizens nor with its prince. I am greatly surprised by the temerity of some people who claim that there is enmity between the pope and the duke. 2 How they can say that, I simply do not know. Maybe they are looking inside their two heads, trying to guess at the minds of others. For my own part, I know for sure that the Duke of Milan has never called the pope an enemy, or an adversary, or an opponent, and he has never spoken less than respectfully about the Supreme Pontiff. On the contrary, he has always spoken with great reverence and deference about the pope and called him Most Holy Father and Most Gracious Lord. 1 Where the pope was in residence at the time 2 In a letter to Siena of 6 August 1436 (Epistolarium, letter 21), Piccolomini had actually written: As regards the Duke, his enmity with the pope is an obstacle (duci obstat inimicitia papae). There had certainly been a serious conflict between pope and duke, as part of the power game in Italy at the time. The pope was perceived as an opponent of Milan for at least two reasons: firstly, he was a Venetian and favouring Venice, the mortal enemy of Milan; secondly, he naturally opposed the expansionist designs of Milan into the Papal State. The duke's support of the councilagainst the pope -was related to this conflict. Interestingly, Piccolomini himself had probably, in the course of this conflict, some years before been involved in a Milanese plot to seize the pope's person. The man in charge of this conspiracy was Bartolomeo Visconti, Bishop of Novara, in Milanese territory, who was closely connected with the Duke of Milan and who was Piccolomini's employer at the time. Piccolomini obviously downplays what was a very dangerous conflict for the pope, but it is probably true to say that the conflict was a political one, and not the result of personal enmity. It could therefore have been ended by the peace treaty between Milan and the pope in 1435, but later events showed that it had not

Distance to Pavia for the pope

Relations between the pope and the Duke of Milan

Lodgings

[52] Here, we shall only speak of Pavia. The city is adorned with splendid and commodious buildings. I call to witness many members of this assembly who will rebuke me if I am lying, for it is a well-known fact. Here, the present duke's 1 father, 2 the wisest prince of his age, had his second residence. Here, he held court continuously, and many great lords and almost the entire nobility of Italy attended it. Therefore, many grand palaces and large houses were built there, for the courtiers -as always -vied with each other in raising stately homes: everyone wanted to appear more wealthy and splendid than others.

[53] Here is a palace called the Castello 3 , surrounded by an enormous moat. About its size it is enough to say that it is thought capable of accommodating the Imperial or the Papal Court. Its beauty and amenity are so great that words cannot do them justice. On the one side lies the city, on the other the ducal gardens, a large and magnificent establishment called the Parco. 4 It has been created for hunting and fishing, and it contains innumerable wild animals. The whole complex is surrounded by a wall which measures 20,000 passus. I would speak at length about the charm and the pleasures of this place if I did not know that you scorn pleasure and do not care for enjoyments. 51 Filippo Maria Visconti 2 Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402): Ruler of Milan from 1385 to his death, from 1395 with the title of Duke 3 Castello Visconteo: castle built in 1360 4 The famous park where the battle of Pavia between the French and the Spaniards took place in 1525, resulting in the defeat and capture of the French King, Francis I 5 Here Piccolomini probably speaks with his tongue in the cheek! If I do that, then who will deny that you can trust this prince implicitly? As I begin to speak about this, I hope that my eloquence will be worthy of the subject For that is what you merit, oh victorious Prince! Even the greatest orators and the most excellent poets would find it hard to do justice to you, so I hope that you will forgive Aeneas 1 if he speaks on your behalf not as well as he would like to, but as well as he is able to. And you, great Fathers, do not be surprised if you do not hear an oration worthy of this great prince. For, indeed, his admirable virtues, his memorable deeds, and his incredible skills of war and peace are so manyfold that no oration can do them justice.

Council can trust the duke

[72] Passing over the tireless endeavours, both inside and outside the council, of the Bishop of Albenga, 1 a man distinguished not only by family, but also by his virtue of soul, what shall I say about the other prelates? 2 The Bishop of Novara 3 was sent to the King of France, 4 and the Bishop of Lodi 5 to England. The Bishop of Parma 6 was ordered to far-away Poland when the father 7 of the present king 8 was still alive. You see his coat of arms, painted by widows, on the tapestry right in front of you. May God help the present king to successfully resist the attacks of the infidels. To the King of Aragon, 9 who then resided in Sicily, was sent Abbot Ricci of Saint Ambrose. 10 Nor were you, mighty Duke of Burgundy, 11 neglected by the Lombard prelates. This mission fell to the Abbot of Cereto, [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] that upright Father, whom you received with pleasure, both because of his country and because of his lord. For you know how greatly you are esteemed by the Duke of Milan who wants nothing more than to accommodate your wishes. To me that period seemed to resemble that of the apostles when they divided the provinces of the world between them, and each undertook a mission to preach the Gospel there. A similar task was entrusted to the ducal prelates [START_REF] Müller | Die Franzosen, Frankreich und das Basler Konzil[END_REF] because at that time many other prelates had not yet arrived. 14 1 Matteo del Carretto 2 They are all prelates from the territory of the Duke of Milan. Piccolomini here shows how the duke -through his prelates -helped the council to obtain the recognition of the European princes 3 Bartolomeo Visconti (1402-1457): Bishop of Novara from 1429 to his death. For some time Piccolomini's own employer 4 Charles VII [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] Gerardo Landriani: Bishop of Lodi, made cardinal in 1439 6 Delfino da Pergola: Bishop of Parma 7 Wladislaw II Jagiello (ca. 1362-1434): King of Poland from 1386 to hos death 8 Wladislaw III Jagiello (1424-1444): King of Poland from 1434 to his death 9 Alfonso V 10 Antonio Ricci: Abbot of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan 11 Philippe III le Bon (1396-1467): Duke of Burgundy 1419 to his death [START_REF]Ambassadors' orations to Pope Pius II 1.5[END_REF] The abbot of Chiaravalle 13 I.e. the bishops of the Duchy of Milan 14 Reject, p. 332 [73] I urge you to consider the favours the duke has bestowed upon you: how long would we have been here without his support? Have you ever asked him for something that you did not receive? Has he not always praised the excellent decisions of this council and ordered them to be obeyed? 1 Has he not offered you armed men, foot soldiers, mounted soldiers, money, land, and even himself? Has he not always fulfilled his promises to you? Has he not always shown you great love? When the cardinals travelled to the council, he gave them ships; 2 he offered safe passage to them all, and he helped us in every way. Many say now this now that, but he always said and did the same thing. I do not say this in order to criticize you, but so that you may acknowledge his fidelity towards you, trust him more than others, and take care not to seem ungrateful. For ingratitude is a sin towards the divine mind and the blessed Holy Spirit who is believed to preside over councils. [74] Take care that it may not be said about you what, according to Cicero, was said about Gaius Laelius, 3 a good and highly respected man, who had sought the consulship: when contrary to custom he had not been elected, it was said that it was more a case of the people being rejected by a good consul, than of the consul being rejected by a good people. 4 1 I.e. in his own duchy 2 Piccolomini had actually sailed on one these ships, in the company of his then employer, Cardinal Capranica 3 Gaius Laelius Sapiens (b. ca. 188 BC): Roman statesman 4 Cicero: Tusculanae Disputationes, 5.19.54: non populus a bono consule potius, quam ille a populo 2 repulsam fert [84] And you, eminent Father, Cardinal of Arles 1 : I need not appeal to you as I see how deeply you are engaged in this whole matter. 2 Be vigilant, constant and firm, and devoted to the council as you have always been: now is the time for you to listen carefully, now you must show your integrity and diligence! For the reason that you cardinals are called Cardinals is that you are the 'Cardines´ (hinges) of the Church.

[85] In the same way, I implore and beseech all you other prelates and clergymen 3 : support Faith and justice, throw off passions, and imitate the Most Christian King. 4 For this king is not a victim to self-interest, but wants us to choose the location where you think the council can best be held [START_REF] Omit | K 8 est add. H, K, V 9 ducis cernimus : cernimus ducis K 10 omit. K 11 petitionem G 12 petitionum abnuat: abnuat petitionum B, E 1 De Mediolanensibus A; De populo Mediolenensi in marg. K 2 unquam add. H, K, V 3 ne MA 4 ad C 5 omit. K 6[END_REF] and where the matter of Faith and concord can be successfully concluded. Others may think differently, but I believe that Pavia is the safest place for this. I really do not see where you could stay in greater comfort and independence, for you would be going to a benevolent prince who fully supports your cause. He does not order others to engage in any deceit, and he himself is entirely without such. 6 He will only contemplate that which is noble and generous. It is safer to entrust yourselves to a noble prince who desires only what is honourable than to the common people which is mostly unstable, seditious, quarrelsome, eager for political change, and opposed to peace and quiet . 7 As Virgil 8 says:

The wavering crowd is torn into opposing factions. 9

1 Louis Alleman (ca. 1390-1450): Cardinal (1426). Leader of the French party at the council and virulently antipapal 2 Appealing directly to the French cardinal in favour of Pavia would not only be futile, but also insolent as the cardinal would certainly want to move the council to France. Piccolomini would later become his friend, only to disappoint him when later again he switched to the papal party 3 Piccolomini seemingly did not appeal to the numerous non-clerical elements of the council to which he himself belonged (though he was later quite critical of the practice of incorporating uneducated laymen, e.g. members of prelates' retinues, into the council for the purpose of bolstering the number of delegates in general and of followers of the individual prelates in particular) 4 Charles VII, King of France 5 At the risk of further aggravating the French party and the Cardinal of Arles, Piccolomini persists in the hypocritical fiction that the French King is truly neutral and does not desire the council to go to a French city 6 Here Piccolomini stretches the credulity of the assembly quite unreasonably: the Duke of Milan was well-known as a scheming, deceitful prince Appendix C: Textual history of the "Audivi"

The collation of the various texts of the oration support the hypothesis that there are at least three versions of the text:

An Early Version with a foreword beginning with the words "Magnae saepe res" (H, V).

A Middle Version with a foreword beginning with the words "Etsi numquam" (K).

And a Final Version forming part of the Collected Orations of Pope Pius IIs, prepared under his direct supervision, as pope, in 1462, and beginning with the word "Audivi" (the seven other manuscripts).

There may, of course, be other versions, not extant or known, and even an earlier one than the "Magnae saepe res". 1 Apart from the introduction, the differences between the three versions of the "Audivi" are mostly differences of style (e.g. vocabulary and word order) and not of substance. A notable instance of a difference in substance is the case of ultores vs. occultores and cultores, see below.

The theoretical question may be raised if the "Magnae saepe res" version and the "Etsi numquam" version could conceivably be later than the "Audivi" version prepared at the middle of Pius' pontificate. Apart from features of the textual transmission, both external and internal features point to "Magnae saepe res" being the earlier version.

Firstly, it is difficult to believe that the old and sick pope would, shortly after having supervised the first edition of his collected orations, have written another version of the first oration, adding a new introduction. Secondly, if the "Magnae saepe" res was the later version, it is curious that it was not at all picked up in the the later manuscript editions of the anthology. 2 Thirdly, the title of the "Magnae saepe res" reflects Piccolomini's early status ("per dominum Eneam Silvium Senensem…"). If it is a reedited version of the "Audivi", it seems strange that the title of the "Audivi" reflecting Pius' papal status would have been dropped. Fourthly, there are some redundancies between the introduction to the "Magnae saepe res" and the main text which would be difficult to explain if they had been added to a version dated subsequently to the already thoroughly edited version prepared for the Collected Orations. And fifthly, in the introduction to