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Greek Philosophers in the Literature of the Later Middle AgesAuthor(s): Curt F. BühlerSource: Speculum, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct., 1937), pp. 440-455Published by: Medieval Academy of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2849299 .

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GREEK PHILOSOPHERS IN THE LITERATURE OF THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

BY CURT F. BtYHLER

PART I

THE r6le played by the Greek Philosophers in later mediaeval literature is not without general interest. Almost all the learned encyclopaedists of that time quoted them, generally with deference, so that their sayings, or at least the proverbs reputed to be theirs, recur at frequent intervals. While it is true that these are largely second-hand quotations and that references to what may be called fundamental source-books are very rare indeed, this does not detract in the least from the charm of these aphorisms. Nor is it safe to dismiss these descriptions with the notion that they are always mediaeval fantasies; the story of Socrates' death in the Dictes is reasonably accurate and is told with genuine feeling and ability. The proverbs of these philosophers, whether judged authentic or merely apocryphal by modern scholarship, were part of the stock-in-trade of almost every writer of the period, and they cannot fail to be of interest to the mediaevalist.

In the preparation of an edition of the Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers, a number of mediaeval opinions on the Greek Philosophers were brought to my notice but, as they were not directly connected with the Dictes, they were temporarily put aside. The present article is intended as a series of notes on the Greek Philosophers; it will shortly be seen that the term mediaeval literature will be taken in its broadest meaning, as a cultural state of mind rather than an historical period, so that even a sixteenth-century English text is included.

I

On the fifth of August, 1475, there was completed by Lucas Brandis in Luibeck a huge chronicle of 473 leaves entitled Rudimentum Novitiorum. Neither the author of the work nor the typographical points, interesting as they are, need detain us long. It will suffice to say that the Rudimentum Novitiorum is 'a very splendid and noteworthy book' (in the words of Professor Pollard), and as for the author, it is probable that he was a Dominican, living 'in nostra provincia Saxonia inferiori,' not unlikely in Lulbeck itself.' The work may be dated ca 1470-74.

That Brandis's magnificent edition achieved its merited success is attested by the fact that the work was translated into French and was published in Paris

1 A contemporary manuscript note on fol. 473r of the copy preserved in The Pierpont Morgan Library reads:

Nome Autoris Borcha(rdus) Sacre pagine professor

This is very probably a confusion with Brocardus, author of the Descriptio terrae sanctae, a work much quoted in the Rudimentum Novitiorum.

440



Greek Philosophers in Later Mediaeval Literature 441

(1488) under the title La Mer des Hystoires, not a few of the woodcuts of the French edition being modelled upon the Ltibeck ones.

Theodore Schwarz's investigations on the Rudimentum Novitiorum go to show that the author was a man of wide learning: for the sources, Schwarz' names among others: Augustine, Aquinas, Ambrosius, Solinus, Bernard, Plato, Me- thodius, Chronicon Slavicum, etc. It is probable, however, that many of these references were not obtained from the original source-books, but were taken from the larger chronicles and encyclopaedias which preceded the Rudimentum Novitiorium; chiefly those by Isidore, Hugo of St Victor, Vincent of Beauvais, etc.

For the sources of the statements on the Greek Philosophers, Schwarz makes the following observation: 'Diogenes Laertius ist in seinem Buche de vita philosophorum viel benutzt. Valerius Maximus ebenfalls oft in sententia et ejectu verborum (libri ix); haiufig auch die Noctes Atticae des Gellius.' Besides these, Ovid, Vergil, Horace, Terence, Cicero, Seneca, and Boethius appear, according to Schwarz, to have been used. There can be no doubt that the authorities named by Schwarz are the ultimate sources for the statements in the Rudimentum Novitiorum, but did the author of this work make the compilations himself or did he literally borrow them from another's work?

The problem can most easily be solved by examining closely the description of any philosopher. In the Rudimentum Novitiorum, Empedocles is described thus: Empedocles philosophus Athenis claruit tempore Ciri regis persarum. Hie, vt ait Boecius in prologo de arte musica, adeo nouerat ex musica de arte canendi quod, cum eius hospitem (iuuenis)2 quidam furibundus inuaderet eo quod patrem eius accusacione damnasset, ipse Empedocles adeo dulciter canendi modas (sic) dicitur flexisse (sic) quod adoles- cens iracundiam temperauit. Huius hece legitur sentencia vt habetur in prologo libri de vegetalibus (sic): tria sunt in tota rerum varietate precipua, scilicet mobilis affluencie contemptus, future felicitatis appetitus & mentis illustracio, quorum primo nihil honestius, secundo nihil felicius, tertio nihil ad amborum compendiosam adepcionem efficacius. Interrogatus Empedocles, vt ait Bernardus Siluestris, cur viueret ait: vt astra inspiciam; Celum subtrahe, nullus ero. Hie deum sic legitur descripsisse: Deus est spera cuius centrum est vbique & circumferencia nusquam. Hic animas immortales esse arbitrans Athenis se incendijs dedit & sibiipsi mortem intulit (fol. CCXLII). Boethius, De musica, says (Migne, Patr. Lat., LXIII, 1170): Sed et Empedocles cum ejus hospitem quidam gladio furibundus invaderet, quod ejus patrem ille accusatione damnasset, inflexisse dicitur modum canendi, itaque adolescentis iracundiam temperasse. It is clear that the description in the chronicle is ultimately derived from Boethius and similar sources, but the question is if the author of the Rudimentum Novi- tiorum was the compiler or if they were taken from some other work?

The transmission of Boethius through the earlier Middle Ages is of little interest to us; it is not till we come to that great work written some seven hundred years after Boethius, the Speculum Historiale of Vincent of Beauvais, that anything of peculiar interest is brought to our attention. Vincent writes:

I Ober den Verfasser und die Quellen des Rudimentum Novitiorum (Rostock, 1888). 2 Text inuenis.



442 Greek Philosophers in Later Mediaeval Literature

Boecius in prologo de arte musica. Empedocles cum eius hospitem gladio quidam furibundus inuaderet quod eius ille patrem accusatione damnasset, inflexisse dicitur modum canendi & ita adolescentis iracundiam temperasse. Aristoteles in libro de vegetabilibus. Tria sunt, vt ait Empedocles, in tota rerum varietate precipua, sciticet mobilis affluentie contemptus, future felicitatis appetitus, mentis illustratio; quorum primo nichil honestius, secundo nichil felicius, tercio nichil ad amborum adeptionem efficacius. (Then follows a quotation from the Metaphysica, Lib. ii.) Bernhardus Siluestris. Querenti Empedocles cur viueret, inquit: vt astra inspiciam; celum subtrahe nullus ero. Actor. Hic est Empedo- cles qui sic deum legitur descripsisse; deus (inquit) est spera cuius centrum est ubique et circumferentia nusquam. Hic totum sese Athenis incendiis dedit (vt refert Lactantius) mortem sibi intulit eo quod eternas esse animas suspicabatur. (Then a quotation from Macrobius; Lib. iv, c. xliiii.)

It can be seen at a glance that with only a few minor changes (if the quotations from the Metaphysica and from Macrobius are omitted and the words Actor and Lactantius deleted) we have the text as it appears in the Rudimentum Novitiorum. The word 'Actor' in Vincent's works is familiar to all mediaevalists; it stands either for Vincent's own opinion or it is sometimes used, as he expressly states, for information imparted to him by his teachers. It will be found, on examining the Rudimentum Novitiorum, that the author was quite meticulous in quoting his authorities; if he quotes Vincent by name, why does he not men- tion the 'Actor'?

Turning, for the moment, from Empedocles, let us see what the Rudimentum Novitiorum says of Chilon, one of the Seven Sages of Greece:

Chilo, philosophus lacedemonius, Athenis claruit, vnus de septem sapientibus Grecie. Hic, vt dicitur in Pollitico libro primo, iungende societatis causa missus fuit Corinthum, vbi duces & seniores populi ludentes inuenit in alea, propter quod, infracto negocio, reuersus est, dicens, se nolle gloriam spartanorum quorum virtus, constructo Bisancio, clarescebat hac maculare infamia ut diceretur cum aleatoribus traxisse societatem. Hunc vt ait Laercius, interrogauit Esopus poeta; quid nam ageret Jupiter; respondit: alta humiliat, humilia vero exaltat. Interrogatus: in quo differunt dociles ab indoctis; ait, bona spe. Interrogatus: quid difficile; respondit: ineffabilia tacere, diligenciam bene disponere & iniuriam passim posse pacienter pati. Interrogatus: quid est fortuna; ait: ignarus medicus, multos enim execat. Docebat autem hec: dominari lingue & presertim in conuiuio. Non esse maledicendum proximis, alioquin oporteret audire ea quibus quis tristabitur. Item non esse minandum cuiquam, quoniam hoc muliebre est. Cicius ad calamitates amicorum quam ad prosperitates ire. Humiles nupcias facere. Non esse maledicendum mortuo. Senium honorare. Cauere sibiipsi. Damnum malle quam prauum lucrum, illud enim semel contristabit, hoc vsquequaque. Non irridere infelicem. Dominatorem mansuetum esse decet vt eum subditi magis reuereantur quam timeant. Discere bene preesse proprie domui. Linguam non preuenire intellectum. Ire dominari. Non cupere impossibilia. Non festinare in via. Loquentem non mouere manum. Non maniatum esse. Obedire legibus. Uti solicitudine. In hijs que dicuntur de aliquo ad propriam mentem recurrere; in lapidibus enim & cotibus aurum examinatur, virorum vero bonorum & malorum intellectus dedit examen. In iudicijs inimicum iudicare secundum leges vt saltem lex conseruetur scilicet et amicus. Dicebat eciam tristia cuncta exuperari posse animo & amico. Item has duas affectiones, scilicet amorem & odium, licet fortissimas, sic dicebat esse coherendas (sic) vt amicos diligas quis tamquam forte quandoque odio habiturus & inimicos odit tamquam postea amaturus. Fuit autem Chilo breuiloquus, vnde & Aristogoras [hunc]l loquendi modum chilum-colum vocat. Vixit autem annis LVI & mortuus est. Et iuxta sepulchrum eius

1 Text hnuc.




erecta fuit statua. Scripsit autem notabilia multa inducentis carminibus eleganter, ut ait Laercius. Et claruit tempore Sedechie, regis Jude (fol. ccxxxiii).

'Chilo' appears in Diogenes Laertius's Vitae et Sententiae Philosophorum as follows (Venice; Nicolas Jenson, 1475 - only parallel passages are quoted):

Chilo lacedaemonius .... Fertur & Aesopum interrogasse: quidnam faceret Juppiter; illumque respondisse; excelsa humiliat & humilia extollit. Rogatus quo differunt periti ab imperitis; bona, inquit, spe. Quid sit difficile; arcana, inquit, reticere & ocium recte disponere, iniuriasque tolerare posse. Praecipiebat & haec; linguam semper quidem, sed in conuiuio praesertim, continendam. Proximo non maledicendum, alioquin audituros quae nos moerore conficiant. Nemini intentandas minas, esse enim muliebre. Promptius ad amicorum aduersos casus, quam ad secundos successus accurrendum. Uxorem humilem apparatu modico ducendam. Mortuo non maledicendum. Honorandam senectutem. Ob- seruandum seipsum. Damnum potius quam turpe lucrum eligendum; id quippe semel tantum angere, hoc semper. Elato secundis rebus non irridendum.' Fortem mansuetum esse oportere, ut proximi non tam metuant quam reuereantur. Discendum domui suae rite praeesse. Linguam praeire animo non permittendam. Superandam iracundiam. Diuinationem non execrandam. Impossibilia non appetenda. In uia non festinandum. Interloquendum non agitandam manum; esse enim uaecordium. Obtemperandum legibus. Quietem adamandam. Inter caeteras eius sententias haec maxime placuit qua dixerat; lapideis cotibus aurum examinari & dare apertum sui documentum. Auro autem bonorum malorumque hominum mentem cuiusmodi sit, comprobari. Aiunt illum cum iam esset uetulus, dixisse; sibi nihil esse conscium in tota uita ingrate fecisse, una tamen re se modice moueri, quod cum semel inter amicos illi iudicandum esset, neque contra ius agere aliquid uellet, persuaserit amico iudicium a se prouocare, ut sic utrumque,2 legem scilicet amicum- que, seruaret.. . Erat in loquendo breuis, atque ob eam rem Aristagoras milesius, hunc loquendi morem Chilonium appellat.

It is apparent that the Vitae Philosophorum is largely responsible for the Chilon in the Rudimentum Novitiorum, but it does seem that the Latin translation of Diogenes Laertius is not the immediate source. If, however, we turn to the Speculum Historiale this time, we find that Chilon is hardly mentioned at all; he is called one of the Seven Sages, but the chapter (Lib. iII, cap. cxix) in which he is noticed is almost entirely devoted to Thales. It is clear, therefore, that Vincent also is not the direct source.

It was shown by llermann Knust, Gualteri Burlaei Liber de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum (Ttibingen, 1886) that Burley's book is not entirely derived from classical sources3 but is largely a re-working (with some additions) of Vincent's compilations. Upon comparing Burley's text with the Rudimentum Novitiorum, it is immediately made clear that the two are identical and, as Burley's work is the earlier, it must be that the author of the Rudimentum Novitiorum did not actually derive his statements from the classical sources named by Schwarz but that he simply borrowed a large part of Burley's work. Burley's text (Nurem- berg: Anthon Koberger, ca 14792), reads, with pertinent collations from the edi-

I Text arridendum. 2 Text utrunque. 3 However, R. D. Hicks, in his edition of Diogenes Laertius for the Loeb Classical Library (19925),

states (p. x): 'An Englishman, Walter de Burleigh (1275-1357) a disciple of Duns Scotus, en- deavoured to satisfy this curiosity by a Latin work, De vita et moribus philosophorum, drawing his materials principally from Diogenes Laertius.' My own findings seem to support Knust's contentions.




tions of ter iloernen (Cologne 1472 = T), Conrad Winters (Cologne 1479= W), and Knust (K), as follows:

Chilo,' philosophus lacedemonius, Athenis claruit, vnus de vii sapientibus Grecie. Hie, vt dicitur in Pollitico2 libro primo, iungende societatis causa missus fuit Corinthum, vbi duces & seniores populi ludentes inuenit in alea, propter quod, in fracto3 negocio, reuersus est, dicens; se nolle gloriam spartanorum quorum virtus, constructo Bisancio clarescebat hac maculare infamia vt diceretur cum aleatoribus traxisse4 societatem. Hune vt ait Laercius, interrogauit Esopus poeta: Quid nam ageret Jupiter; Respondit: alta humiliat, humilia vero exaltat. Interrogatus in quo differunt dociles ab indoctis; ait, bona spe. Interrogatus: quid difficile; Respondit: ineffabilia tacere, diligenciam bene disponere & iniuriam passim posse pacienter pati. Interrogatus: quid est fortuna; ait; ignarus medicus, multos enim excecat. Docebat autem hie: dominari lingue & presertim in conuiuio. Non esse maledicendum proximis. Alioquin oporteret audire ea quibus quis tristabitur. Item non esse minandum cuiquam quoniam hoc muliebre est. Cicius ad calamitates amicorum quam ad prosperitates ire. Humiles nupcias facere. Non esse maledicendum mortuo. Senium honorare. Cauere sibi ipsi. Dampnum malle quam prauum5 lucrum, illud enim semel contristabit hoc vsquequaque. Non irridere infelicem. Dominatorem mansuetum esse decet vt eum subditi magis reuereantur quam timeant. Discere bene preesse proprie domui. Lingwam non preuenire intellectum. Ire dominari. Non cupere inpossibilia. Non festinare in uia. Loquentem non mouere manum. Non maniatum esse. Obedire legibus. Vti solicitudine. In hijs que dicuntur de aliquo ad propriam mentem recurrere. In lapidibus enim & cotibus aurum examinatur, virorum vero bonorum & malorum intellectus dedit examen. In iudicijs inimicum iudicare secundum leges vt saltem lex conseruetur scilicet & amicus. Dicebat eciam tristia cuncta exuperari6 posse animo & amico. Item has duas affectiones, scilicet amorem & odium, licet fortissimas,7 sic dicebat esse cohercendas vt amicos diligas8 quis tamquam forte quandoque odio habiturus & inimicos odit9 tamquam postea amaturus. Fuit autem Chilo breuiloquus, vnde & Aristagoras hunc loquendi modum chilum-colum'0 vocat. Vixit autem annis LVI & mortuus est. Et iuxta sepulchrum eius erecta fuit statua. Scripsit autem notabilia multa inducentist' carminibus eleganter, vt ait Laercius. Et claruit tempore Sedechie, regis ude.

(The Koberger text corresponds closely to the R.N.)

The same is true, of course, in the case of Empedocles. As Burley's text corresponds almost word for word with the Rudimentum Novitiorum, there is nothing to be gained by reproducing these lines here.

If we take one more short example and print the two versions together with the text of the Mer des hystoires in parallel columns, the identical character of the three texts is most easily made evident.

Rud. Novit. Anaximenes Euristrati,

philosophus milesius, asia- nus, Anaximandri philosophi auditor fuit & preceptor Permenidis & Anaxagore. Hie omnium rerum causas aeri infundo dedit. Nec deos negauit aut tacuit, non

Burley Anaximenes Euristrati,

philosophus milesius, asia- nus, Anaximandri philosophi auditor fuit & preceptor Permenidis & Anaxagore. Hie omnium rerum causas aeri infundo dedit. Nec deos negauit aut tacuit, non

Mer d. H. Anaximenes, philosophe

asian cestadire de asie, fut auditeur & disciple du philosophe Anaximander & maistre de Permenides & de Anaxagoras ou temps de Cirus roy des perses. I1 dist que lair estoit cause de

1 Chilon TWK. 2 Policrato TWK. 3 Infecto TWK. 4 contraxisse WK; construxisse T. B malum WK. 6 Text exuperrari. 7 ferocissimas TWK. 8 MS. correction to diligat; so TWK. 9 oderit TW; odiat K. 10 chiluculum T; chilonculum WK. 11 in ducentis WK.




tamen ab ipsis dijs aerem factum, sed ipsos ex aere ortos credidit. Claruit autem tempore Cyri regis persarum.

tamen ab ipsis dijs aerem factum, sed ipsos ex aere ortos credidit. Claruit autem tempore Ciri regis persarum.

toutes choses. Et que non pas seulement les choses in- feriores mais que aussi les dieux estoient procedez & fais de lair.

II One of the most popular chronicles, if not the most popular, printed in the

fifteenth century was Werner Rolewinck's Fasciculus Temporum. Hain's Re- pertorium Bibliographicum alone records over thirty different editions of this work. The connection and the interdependence of the various editions is ex- tremely complicated; the question of these relationships, however, need hardly detain us as we are merely enquiring into the contents of a few of the editions for descriptions of Greek Philosophers.

Most of the earlier editions of the Fasciculus Temporum (such as: Cologne: A. ter Hoernen, 1474; H. Quentell, 1480; Louvain: J. Veldener, 1476; Venice: G. Walch, 1479; E. Ratdolt, 1481; etc.) hardly go beyond naming the Seven Sages and adding the following short note to Thales: Thales milesius vnus de 7 sapientibus clarus habetur qui post theologos, id est poetas, sophi dicti sunt, id est sapientes. Iste Thales primus potuit predicere defectum solis & lune, ut dicit Augustinus de civitate dei.

A number of other Greek and Roman 'men of letters' are noted by name only or with a short note of description, rarely extending beyond a few words. In naming Democritus, Anaxagoras, Heraclitus, Pindar, etc., Rolewinck adds the note: 'Sententias horum floridas: vide in speculo historiali vincentij,' so that we may suppose that the Fasciculus Temporum is largely dependent on Vincent of Beauvais.

Whether ter Hoernen's 1474 edition of the Fasciculus is the editio princeps or not is still unsettled; at present it shares this distinction with Nicolaus Gotz's first edition. ter Hoernen's colophon has the note 'sicut ab autore suo . . . edita est' which I should interpret as a 'slap' at Gotz, even though the same note occurs in the Paradisus Conscientiae of the following year. The prefatory note to Rolewinck's Sermo in Festo Praesentationis Beatissimae Mariae Virginis testifies to the fact that ter Hoernen knew Rolewinck as early as 1470 and had been selected by him to print this work. The note to the Fasciculus does little more than affirm the authenticity of this edition, and would be unnecessary unless another work had appeared (or was appearing) without the author's assistance. However it may be, we need only turn to the part dealing with the Seven Sages of Greece to discover that, in this part at any rate, Gotz's edition was printed from a completely different manuscript. Six of the Seven are given adequate descriptions (Pittacus only being omitted) and these descriptions are not taken from the Speculum Historiale but from Walter Burley's Liber de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum. Below are transcribed the lines on 'Chion': Chion, philosophus lacedemonius, vnus de septem sapientibus Grecie; breuiloquus fuit in sentencijs suis. Hie docebat: dominari lingue et presertim ne quis in conuiuio maledicat proximo ne conuiuantes tristentur. Interrogatus: quid sit fortuna; respondit: humiliat




alta et exaltat humilia. Docebat eciam; humiles nupcias facere; mortuis non malidicere; senium honorare; damnum malle quam paruum (sic) lucrum; infelicem non irridere; non festinare in via; legibus obedire; et plurima notabilia (fol. LXIII).

It was brought out in Part I that Vincent only mentioned Chilon by name, so that the Speculum Historiale could not be the source for this passage. If the text is compared to the Burley-Rudimentum Novitiorum quotation, it will be seen that the lines in Gotz's Fasciculus are only a very condensed version of Burley's account. To take another example, Anaxagoras in Gtitz's edition corresponds to the closing lines in Burley: G6tz: Anaxagoras studiosissimus multa de motu celi et syderum cursu scripsit; tandem ab Athenij veneno extinctus est (fol. Lrxxv). Burley: Hie studiosus fuit valde et multa de motu celi & cursu siderum & natura rerum scripsit. Vixit autem annis LxxiJ. In carcere enim ab Atheniensibus positus & multa inedia squalidus ab eis venenatus est quia solem dicebat lapidem ignitum esse quem illi pro deo colebant.

ter Hoernen, on the other hand, literally copies Vincent's short note in the Speculum Historiale: 'Hic Anaxagoras, vt dicit Augustinus, successorem habuit Archelauim qui fuit magister Socratis' (Lib. iv, cap. xxxiii). There are other differences between the two editions; the British Museum Catalogue of Incuna- bula (i, 238) notes that 'the author's introduction (in the Gotz edition) differs widely from that in the original edition by ter Hoernen, and the table is much more elaborate.' There are numerous other dissimilarities; for example, if we examine the text on folio 13 (ter Hoernen's numbering), the following variations may be noted: for Salmanazar, there is no corresponding passage in Gotz; the Seven Sages are listed only by ter Hoernen; Thales differs in the two editions; (folio 14) 'On false Gods' is omitted by Gotz; the Sibilla Samia is longer in ter Hoernen, while Numa Maximus is described at greater length by Gotz; etc.

Ernst Voullieme (Der Buchdruck Kolns [Bonn, 1903] p. xvii, n. 1) writes: 'Indessen scheint es mir keinem Zweifel zu unterliegen, dass diejenige Arnold Therhoernens die editio princeps ist. Dieser war der Verleger des Rolevinck, dessen Schriften, soweit sie iuberhaupt gedruckt wurden, zuerst bei ihm er- schienen.' On the other hand, it has also been maintained' that Gotz's edition was at press while the ter Hoernen one was being prepared. As it has been dem- onstrated that these two editions were set up from different manuscripts, the assumption that the Gotz edition is a pirated one can, I believe, be dismissed. A pirated edition usually corresponds closely to the genuine work which it is meant to duplicate. If, also, ter Hoernen's is the editio princeps and Gotz's a revision, it is strange that Gotz, for his second edition of the work, instead of reprinting this 'revised' copy, used ter Hoernen's throughout. On the whole, Miss Stillwell's suggestion that Gotz's was a trial edition appears to be the most satisfactory solution, as this explains also why Gotz used ter Hoernen's text for his second edition.

1 M. B. Stillwell, 'The Fasciculus Temporum,' Bibliographical Essays: A Tribute to Wilberforce Eames, Cambridge, Mass., 1994.




III Hartmann Schedel's famous Niirnberg Chronicle is the last of the chronicles

to be examined here. Schedel's work appears to be little more than a reworking of other chronicles, one of the most important of these being the Fasciculus Temporum, which may even have served as a model. In describing the Seven Sages, the Niirnberg Chronicle combines the methods of the two 'first' editions of the Fasciculus Temporum. The Seven Sages are discussed separately as in Gotz's edition and collectively as in ter Hoernen's. On fol. LIXr may be found the long description of 'Tales'; on fol. LXV, the Seven Sages are listed as in ter Hoernen's edition, together with the following note, quite obviously borrowed from the Fasciculus: Tales milesius vnus de vii sapientibus clarus habetur qui post theologos et poetas sophi dicti sunt, id est sapientes: iste Tales primus potuit predicere defectum solis & lune, vt dicit Augustinus. De his folia precedentia gesta ac dicta eorum manifestant.

For the rest of the Seven Sages as well as for a number of other classical philosophers, Schedel borrowed heavily from Burley's De vita et moribus philosophorum. The note on Chilon, for example, is longer than in the Gotz Fasciculus, although it is also little more than a condensed account of the Burley-Rudimenturm Novitiorum text: Chilon, philosophus Lacedemonius, Athenis claruit, tercius de septem sapientibus Grecie qui ob eius profundissimam sapientiam breueloquus dictus est. Hie iungende causa societatis missus fuit Corinthum: vbi duces & seniores populi ludentes inuenit in alea, propter quod, infecto negocio, reuersus est: dicens se nolle gloriam spartanorum quorum virtus, constructo Bisantio, clarescebat: hac maculari infamia vt diceretur cum aleatoribus contraxisse societatem. Interrogatus; quid est fortuna. Respondit; ignarus medicus, multos enim excecat. Docebat autem Chilon; dominari lingue & presertim in conuiuijs. Non esse maledicendum proximis, alioquin audire oportet ea quibus quis tristabitur. Item non esse minandum cuiquam, quoniam hoc est muliebre. Cicius ad calamitatem amicorum quam ad prosperitatem ire. Humiles nuptias facere. Non esse maledicendum mortuo. Senium honorare. Cauere sibiipsi. Damnum malle quam prauum lucrum, illud enim semel contristabit hoc vsquequaque. Non irridere infelicem. Dominatorem & fortem mansuetum esse decet, vt eumn subditi magis reuereantur quam timeant. Ire dominari. Non cupere impossibilia. Et claruit tempore Sedechie regis. Vixit autem quinquagintasex annis (fol. LIX) .

Empedocles is also taken from Burley's work and not from the Speculum His- toriale, as may be seen by comparing Schedel's text with that in the Rudimentum Novitiorum printed above: Empedocles philosophus Atheniensis his temporibus laudatur: qui adeo canendi pericia edoctus erat. Quod cum hospiteml eius iuuenis quidam furibundus inuaderet eo quod patrem eius accusatione damnasset: ita dulciter canendi modum inflexisse dicitur: vt iuuenis iracundiam temperarit. Huius autem hec fuit sententia. Tria sunt (inquit) in tota rerum varietate, scilicet affluentie mobilis contemptus, future felicitatis appetitus & mentis illustratio; quorum primo nihil honestius, secundo nihil efficacius; tercio nihil de amborum adeptione compendiosa efficacius. Descripsitque deum: Deus est spera cuius centrum est vbique & circumferentia nusquam. Arbitratus denique animas immortales se incendijs dedit (fol. LXXI).

1 Text hospotem.




That Schedel did not depend exclusively on the De vita et moribus philosophorum may be seen in the case of Pythagoras, but it is safe to say that Schedel's most important source for the Greek Philosophers was Burley's work with a few additions, possibly from more classical sources.

PART II I

In the first section of this article,' a number of Latin chronicles have been discussed which were dependent, for the descriptions of the Greek philosophers, on Walter Burley's Liber de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum. It is needless to add that the influence of Burley's work and what I call the 'Vincent tradition' extended far beyond the chronicles. In a great many works quotations can be found which could very easily have been borrowed from Burley but which, as was pointed out in the first part, may also have been extracted from other works; for example, Jacques Le Grand includes the following in his Sophologium: 'Iste est Empedocles qui sic descripsisse deum legitur. Deus, inquit, est spera cuius centrum est ubique et circumferencia nusquam,'2 but it will be recalled that, though this statement occurs in Burley's work, it also forms a part of Empedocles' sayings in the Speculum Historiale and elsewhere. As the attribution of such quotations is doubtful, we shall examine only those that can, with some certainty, be ascribed to a definite work.

Before turning to Burley's influence on the works written in the vernacular, we may note that, on the one hand, Burley's compilation was not the only work used as a source for fifteenth-century chronicles and, on the other, that the Renaissance did not entirely discredit the Liber de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum and that its influence extended well into the sixteenth century.3 The Supple- mentum Chronicarum of Jacobus Philippus Bergomensis is a most interesting case. Solon is thus described: Solon philosophus e septem sapientibus greciae secundus: patria atheniensis siue salami- nus: his temporibus Gellio teste lib. s. 14 noctium atticarum: athenis floruit: et ibi leges multas: atque optimas instituit: quas sicut Valerius liber de ingratis ait: si athenienses perpetuo seruare uoluisset sempiternum habituri fuissent imperium. Constat namque ut Laertius scribit: ipsum leges et contiones scripsisse: et in semetipsum monita elegia: qui quum hominum omnium: ac oraculi iudicio sapientissimus haberetur: uino indulsisse fertur. De Solone autem isto Plato in Thimeo: et Aristotiles in 2 Politicorum multa scripsere. Tandem in cypro insula obiit octogesimo aetatis suae anno: quum mandasset suis: ut ossa sua Salaminam transferrent: atque ea in cinerem dissoluta: per omnem prouinciam disseminarent: sed eius iussis obtemperatum non fuit: quum ipsius sepulchro tale epigramma inscriptum sit: qua dudum rabidas medorum propulit iras legiferum So- lonem pulchra tenet Salamis: ex sententiis autem eius plurimis: hanc solam hic habe- amus: satietatem ex diuitiis nasci: et ex sacietate contumelias gigni: quae non posuisti non tollas: mentiri noli et cetera.4

I References to books in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, are noted PML., with the ac- cession number following.

2 [Cologne: Printer of Albertus Magnus de Virtutibus, ca. 1473], Lib. i, cap. 8 (PML. 21538). 3In the seventeenth century, the work was issued as an original compilation under the title:

Tractatus de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum Veterum Anastasii a Sala Mombellensis J. U. D. cum Sapientium Dictorum ac Indicis Adiectione Locupletissima. Casali, 1603.

4 Venice: Albertus de Lissona, 1503, fol. 94v (PML. 20977). In these quotations, punctuation has




If this passage is compared with the description given by Burley, it will be seen to be of quite a different origin. Philippus has drawn his statements from the Noctes Atticae of Aulus Gellius (incidentally the reference should read Liber 17), from Valerius Maximus, Plato, Aristotle and Diogenes Laertius. The latter writes: Obiit autem in Cypro aetatis suae anno octogesimo: hoc suis mandans ut Salaminam eius ossa transferrent: atque in cinerem soluta per prouinciam disseminarent: ... porro ipsius imagini in hunc sensum Epigramma scriptum est:

Quae dudum rabidas medorum propulit iras. Legiferum Solona pulchra tenet Salamis.

... Satietatem ex diuitiis nasci: et ex satietate contumelias gigni, etc.1 If is clear that the Solon of the Supplementum Chronicarum is largely drawn from Diogenes Laertius, and as the epitaph in these two works agrees verbatim, it is certain that Philippus used the same translation as Jenson did for his edition, that by Ambrosius Traversarius.2 Most of the philosophers are similarly described from various classical sources, but even in this work the Vincent tradition is at work, for we find that the description of Empedocles reads: Empedocles philosophus atheniensis et ipse his temporibus laudatur: qui adeo canendi peritia edoctus erat: quod quum hospitem eius iuuenis furibundus quidam euaderet eo quod patrem eius accusatione damnasset: ita dulciter canendi modum inflexisse dicitur: ut iuuenis iracundiam temperarit. Huius autem haec fuit sententia. Tria sunt (inquit) in tota rerum uarietate: scilicet: affluentie mobilis contemptus, future felicitatis appetitus: et mentis illustratio. Quorum primo nihil honestius. Secundo nihil efficacius. Tertio nihil ad amborum compendiosa adeptione efficacius. Descripsit autem hic Deum sic. Deum est spera cuius centrum est ubique et circunferentia (sic) nusquam. Arbitratus denique animas immortales se incendiis dedit: ut habetur ff. de iniusto rupto testamento: lege Siquis filio. Parafo. Quod si quis tedio uite.3 With the exception of the last few lines, Empedocles has the same description as in Burley's work.

Albrecht von Eyb, in his great compilation, the Margarita Poetica, included a chapter which he called: 'Ex laercio de vita et moribus philosophorum autoritates incipiunt.' Although Eyb was to a certain extent an early German humanist and had read extensively in the classics,4 nevertheless this chapter has nothing to do with Diogenes Laertius, but consists of extracts from Burley's work. As an illustration, the following passage on Crates may be cited: Crates thebanus philosophus. Hic, vt ait Hieronimus epistola tercia, magnum pondus auri proiiecit in mare dicens: abite pessime diuitie: ego potius vos submergam quam sub- mergar a vobis. Non enim putauit se posse simul virtutes et diuitias possidere. Hic etiam, only been supplied where absolutely necessary. Contractions have been expanded without the use of italics, but typographical peculiarities, such as u for v and e for ae, have been retained.

1 Quoted from the edition by Jenson, Venice, 1475 (PML. 309). The text has been slightly rear- ranged to conform to the text in the Supplementum Chronicarum.

2 Only the Latin translation by Ambrosius Traversarius was published in the fifteenth century. The following editions will appear in the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke: Rome, Lauer, ca 1472; Venice, Jenson, 1475; Brescia, Brittanicus, 1485; Venice, Locatellus, 1490; Bologna, Ragazonibus, 1495; and Venice, Pincius, 1497. Op. cit., fol. 109r.

4 He quotes from Valerius Maximus, Cicero, Lactantius, Macrobius, Apuleius, Terence, Plautus, Seneca, Orosius, Quintus Curtius, etc.




vt ait Seneca libro primo epistolarum: adolescentulum secreto ambulantem interrogauit: quid illic faceret? Solus mecum, inquit, loquor; cui Crates: caue ne cum homine malo loquaris.1

This passage follows Burley's text closely, and differs in detail from Vincent's description.2 The fact that St Jerome is quoted is positive proof, if any more is needed, that this Crates has not been directly taken from Diogenes Laertius. Incidentally, the reference to Jerome is incorrect. In the letter 'Ad Paulinum Presbyterum de Institutione Clericorum,' he writes :3 'Crates ille Thebanus, homo quondam ditissimus, cum ad philosophandum Athenas pergeret, magnum auri pondus abjecit; nec putavit se simul posse et virtutes et divitias possidere.'4 Burley's quotation is, however, drawn from another of Jerome's works, Adversus Jovinianum (Liber Ii, cap. 9): 'Unde et Crates ille Thebanus, projecto in mari non parvo auri pondere, Abite, inquit, pessum malae cupiditates: ego vos mergam, ne ipse mergar a vobis.'5

II

If we now turn to the vernacular literature, we find that Burley's influence is by no means any less. Each of the works discussed in the previous section was translated into one or more of the national tongues; the Rudimentum Novitiorurn, as we have seen, reappeared as the Mer des Hystoires; the Niirnberg Chronicle was issued in German less than six months after its initial appearance in Latin; and the Fasciculus Temporum was translated into German, French and Dutch. As the Buch der Chronilk is an accurate translation of the original, nothing more need be said about it, and although the Mer des Hystoires was discussed .in the first part, one more point is worth noting. MS. 277 of The Pierpont Morgan Library is a collection of moral sayings of the philosophers, the title page of which reads: 'Si apres sensuiuent aulcuns moraulx dictz des philozophes que i'ay extraitz de la mer des ystoires et d'ailleurs.' These sayings are all, however, derived from the Mer des Hystoires, and do not include any statements not found in the original. Occasionally a passage is slightly rewritten; for example, the Mer des Hystoires attributes the following to Socrates: 'Le malicieux ouurier fait la chose bonne estre laide,'f6 which appears in the Morgan manuscript (under Ozocrates) as: 'Le meschant fait trouuer la chose bonne estre mauuaise.'

A number of the philosophers have changed their names, as Philo appears in place of Chilo in the Morgan text, and Platon for Anaxagoras; at least once (in Pittacus), the text was emended, possibly with an attempt at humour. The Mer des Hystoires has:

INtirnberg: Sensenschmidt, 1472, fol. ccxcvi, E (PML. 23552). 2 Vincent omits the sentence beginning 'non enim' and the order differs slightly. The Seven Sages,

in any case, are unquestionably borrowed from Burley. 3 Migne, Patr. Lat., xxii, 580. 4Compare, also, Brant's Das Narrenschiff (Basel: J. Bergmann von Olpe, 1494 - PML. 25971):

Crates syn gelt warff in das mer Das es nyt hyndert inn zur ler.

5Migne, Patr. Lat., xxiii, 998. Quite obviously Jerome's two statements were combined into one at an early date. 6 Paris: Pierre le Rouge, 1488, Vol. ii, fol. 23r (PML. 17593).




Quelle chose est loyale / respondit la terre. quelle desloyale / respondist la mer.'

In MS. 277 the same saying reads: 'L'on luy demanda quelle chose est loyalle. Respondit, la terre. et quelle chose est desloyalle: la femme.'2 The manuscript bears the autograph entry of Pierre Sala, apparently a member of the wealthy Sala family who had numerous manuscripts written and illuminated for them, and thus gives an interesting example of the literary taste of that period.3

Nor is there anything special to note in regard to the Fasciculus Temporum. The German, French, and Dutch translations represented by the respective editions of Strassburg 1492 (Hain 6940), Geneva 1495 (Hain 6943) and Utrecht 1480 (Hain 6946) were made from the normal text,4 and thus have only short notes on the Greek philosophers instead of the long descriptions given in the Gotz edition.

The influence of the Vincent tradition extends far beyond the translation of these dependent works. As early as the last quarter of the thirteenth century, a compilation of sayings of the philosophers extracted from the Speculum Historiale and translated into Italian appeared under the title Fiori e Vita di Filosafi.5 Burley's work also appeared in the vernacular; it was printed in German by Anton Sorg (Augsburg, 1490; Hain 4125), the title of which reads: 'Das buch von dem leben vnd sitten der heydnischen maister;' a Spanish translation of this work was published by Hermann Knust;6 and a manuscript of an Italian translation was mentioned by Mone.7 In addition, a number of editions of a book entitled 'I1 libro della vita de philosophi et delle loro elegantissime sententie extracto da D. Lahertio & da altri antiquissimi auctori' appeared in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.8 Despite the title,9 the book is little more than a translation of Burley's compilation to which a number of sayings were added, chiefly drawn from Valerius Maximus and Aulus Gellius. That this work was not dependent on Diogenes Laertius will be seen in the following passages on Empedocles: Empedocle fu philosofo Agrigentino di Sicilia: & secondo Aristotile fu inuentore dell'arte

'Op. cit., i, 256r. 2 The two quotations from Morgan MS. 277 will be found, respectively, on folios 24r and 8v. 3 See Lteopold Delisle, Le Cabinet des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Imp&iale (Paris, 1868), i, 285.

For identification of the manuscript with Pierre Sala and notes on the Sala family, I am obliged to Miss Meta Harrsen of The Pierpont Morgan Library.

4 The Dutch edition is in The Pierpont Morgan Library (PML. 626). I have examined the copy of the German edition in the Union Theological Seminary, New York. For the French text, I am obliged to Mr Ernst F. Detterer of The Newberry Library, Chicago, who kindly sent me a transcrip- tion of the lines in question.

5 Compare Hermann Varnhagen, Ober die Piori e Vita di Filosafi (Erlangen, 1893). 6 Bibliothek des litterarischen Vereins in Stuttgart, Vol. CLXXVII.

7 Anz. f. Kunde d. deutsch. Vorzeit, viii, 323. Possibly there is also an early French translation of Burley's book; compare Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, ii, 767.

8 The Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke will enter this work under Diogenes Laertius with the note: 'ist eine gektlrzte, freie Bearbeitung der lateinischen Vorlage.' No less than twelve separate fifteenth- century editions are recorded.

9 Burley's book was apparently known as the work of Diogenes Laertius at this time. This accounts for the title in the Italian edition as well as for Eyb's chapter previously noted.




oratoria. Costui era cosi buono musico secondo che dice Boetio, che una uolta un giouane elcui padre lui haueua accusato uenne per assaltarlo & fargli male. Empedocle comincio si dolcemente a cantare che il giouane si stette fermo & non hebbe mai animo doffenderlo. Dimandato Empedocle perche uiuesse Rispuose per guardare il cielo. Costui uedendo l'anime essere immortali: & sperando di la essere miglior uita lui stessi sabrucio in Athene. Fu al tempo di Cyro Re di Persia.'

This is clearly enough only an extract made from Burley's work. Not all the philosophers are so closely copied from the Liber de Vita et Moribus Phtiloso- phorum; in the description of Anaximenes, only the first two sentences are from Burley, all the rest having been taken from Valerius Maximus:

Anaximenes philosopho Milesio discepolo di Anasimandro & maestro di Parmenide & di Anaxagora. Costui trouo la ragione di molte cose: ne credeua, ne negaua gli dei: & diceua I'aria non essere facta da gli dei: ma l'aria hauer facto gli dei. Diceua Valerio che sapendo Alexandro che Anaximenes doueua uenire dallui, egli giuro fare l'opposito di quello che adimandasse: laqualcosa conoscendo Anaximenes domando che Alexandro douesse disfare la cipta di Lampsaco: & cosi Alexandro per fare l'opposito della sua domanda la conseruo, et in quel modo fu liberata quella cipta. Costui fu al tempo di Cyro Re di Persia: & non pocho doppo che fusse disfacto Dario da Alexandro.2

III

Turning now to the popular works in the various national languages, we can see that the Vincent tradition extended even into this field. In Hugo von Trim- berg's Der Renner, we find the following lines:

Wol hht uns bescheiden des Der wise man Empedocles, Der wunders vil geschriben hat, Und sprichet also an einer stat: 'Swer werltliches guotes ltitzel ahtet Und nAch Ewigen s6lden trahtet Und hUt wol einen erliuhten muot, Diu driu dine sint besunder guot: Vor dem 6rsten ist niht erlicher, Vor dem andern ist niht niizllcher, Niht volbrengelicher vor dem dritten Daz disiu zwei besliuzet mitten.'3

This is, of course, the passage beginning 'Tria sunt' and attributed to Aristotle's De Vegetabilibus by Vincent. It is amusing to note that this is the only passage omitted in the Pseudo-Laertius Libro della Vita de Philosophi and the only quotation preserved in the Fiori e Vita di Filosaft, where it reads: 'Empedocles filo- safo disse che nele cose del seculo tre sono le principali, cio e despregiare abon- dancia di richece, desiderare beatitudine, chiararsi nell'animo di buone virtudi.'4

1 Quotations are taken from the third edition (Florence: Francesco Buonaccorsi & Antonio di Francesco, 1488: Hain 69207). Compare the text with Burley (cap. XLVIII).

2 Compare with Valerius Maximus (Lib. vii, cap. iII) and with Burley (cap. LXIII). Since the Seven Sages are treated as in Burley, the Italian work cannot go back directly to Vincent.

3 Gustav Ehrismann's edition, Bibliothek des litterarischen Yereins in Stuttgart, CCLII, 179, 11. 21257- 68. 4 Varnhagen, op. cit., p. 2.




The opening lines of Albrecht von Eyb's Ob einem Mann sei zu nehmen ein ehelich Weib oder nicht read:

Socrates phylosophus ein natUirlicher meister zu Athenas der do ist gewest zu den zeytten Assweri des ktunigs ward von einem Jtlngling gefragt ob er ein weyb nemen solt oder nit. Antwurt der meister vnd sprach zu im. Wellichs du tust, das wirt dich reuen. Wann nymstu ein weyb so bistu allezeyt in sorgen vnd angsten, in stetem kriege mit dem weybe, mit der schwiger, mit iren freuntten, mit auffhebung des heirat guts, in verdechtlichkeit mit anndern mennern vnd in vngewisheit der kinder. Bleibest du aber on weybe, so wirt dich bekUmern vnd peinigen allein on weyblich lieb vnd troste zuleben, der kinder berawbt zu sein, vnttergangk deines geschlechts, vnd eines fremden vngewisen erbens zu wartten.1

The origin of this story is surely to be found in Diogenes Laertius, who wrote: spTrr0EL iro6repov yr.at t A', "/n1, 6 av abrci'v rots, jtera-yvc&q.2 The full story is found, however, in Valerius Maximus (Liber vii, cap. 11), in Vincent (Spec. Hist., iv, cap. 58), in Burley (cap. 30) and in Eyb's own Margarita Poetica, in a section entitled: 'Ex valerio maximo historie et autoritates incipiunt.' There can be little doubt that Eyb took this passage from the classical source rather than from any of the mediaeval works; on the other hand, the name Assweri is un- usual. I cannot recall that 'Assweri is found in any classical text, most certainly not in Aulus Gellius, Valerius Maximus or Diogenes Laertius, and he is also not found in Vincent.8 In the passage Eyb extracted from Valerius Maximus, king Assweri is not mentioned, but he is noted in Eyb's Ex laercio chapter under Socrates: 'Mortuus est veneni poculo tempore assueri regis assiriorum anno vero etatis sue nonagesimo quarto.'4 This is not exactly the same arrangement as in Burley's text (cap. 30) for it is a somewhat condensed account, but there can be no doubt that it was derived from that work. Vincent in a similar passage (iv, 66) omits king Assweri (Ahasuerus) and correctly states that Socrates was seventy when he died. Burley and Eyb (Ex laercio) both claim that Ysocrates also lived in the reign of king Assweri.5

In Middle English literature, the influence of the Vincent tradition is also not wanting. Hoccleve, in his Regiment of Princes, wrote:

Demostenus his hondes ones putte In a wommans bosome japyngly, Of face faire, but of hir body a slutte; 'Withe you to dele,' seide he, 'what shalle I You yeve?' 'Fourty pens,' kothe she, 'sothely.' He seide nay, so dere he bye nolde A thyng for whiche he repent sholde.6

I [Ntirnberg: A. Koberger, ca 1472] - (PML. 30060). 2 Liber ii, cap. 33. 3 This name is not found in Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyclopddie der klassischen Altertum8wissen-

schaft. Assweri is obviously the Biblical character Assuerus or Ahasuerus; the Book of Esther opens with the words 'In diebus Assueri qui regnavit ab India usque Aethiopiam etc.' The name A8sweri, like Athenas above, was simply taken over in the original case. 4 Eyb, op. cit., fol. CCXCVIIv.

B Eyb, op. cit., fol. CCXCVIv: 'Isocrates philosophus claruit in Grecia tempore Assueri regis'; so also in Burley (cap. 27).

0 Edited by Thomas Wright, Roxburghe Club, 1860, p. 135. For other notes on Hoccleve's poem, see Allan H. Gilbert, 'Notes on the Influence of the Secreta Secretorum,' SPECuLuM, iII (1928), 93-98.




The story of Demosthenes and Lais goes back, of course, to a similar passage in the Noctes Atticae of Aulus Gellius: Ad hanc ille Demosthenes clanculum adit et ut sui copiam faceret, petit. At Lais ydptas 3paXydas id est decem drachmarum milia poposcit; hoc facit nummi nostratis denarium decemmilia. Tali petulantia mulieris atque pecunie magnitudine ictus expauidusque Demosthenes auertitur et discedens: ego, inquit, poenitere tanti non emo.1

A parallel passage is found in Burley's work: Demostenes stomachum laydis nobilissime meretricis iocando subpalpitans et queritans quantum licet. Cum illa diceret pro mille denarys, respondit: ego penitere tanti non emo.2 It is readily apparent that the English lines in the Regiment of Princes are much closer to Burley's text than to the classical source. One other stanza at least, Hoccleve borrowed from Burley's work; it reads:

Smalle tendirnesse is hade nowe of our lawes; For yf so be that one of the grete wattes A dede do, whiche that ageyn the lawe is, Not at alle he punysshede for that is. Right as lop-webbes flyes smale and gnattes Taken, and suffren grete flyes go, For alle this world lawe is reulede so.3

This statement can be traced back to Diogenes Laertius (Solon) but as it is beyond probability that Hoccleve was acquainted with this Greek work and as the quotation may be found in the Liber de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum in the same words as in the marginal note in the manuscript, there can be little doubt that Hoccleve actually had some work of the Vincent tradition before him when he was writing the Regiment of Princes.

It remains to be pointed out that a few sources apart from those already noted can be traced. In the anonymous Court of Sapience, the history of Greek philosophy is summed up as:

Millesius, oone of the sages seuyn, In Grece furst drew, as in the craft of kynde, By hys reasoun the causes of the heuyn, And of yche thyng the nature gan he fynde; Than came Plato, a worthy clerk of kynde; For naturall art sought out geometry, Arsmetryk, Musyk and Astronomy. Dame Ethica, pryncesse of polycy, Good Socrates furst found for gouernaunce, To know vertew and to lyue honestly; And fowre ladyes he sought, full of plesaunce, To serue Dame Ethyke wyth obeysaunce, Whos names byn Prudence and Ryghtwysnes, Dame Fortitude and Temperaunce I geas.4

1 Rome: [Sweynheym & Pannartz], 1469, Lib. i, cap. 8 (PML. 242). 2 Op. cit., cap. xxxvii. 3 Op. cit., p. 101. 4 Robert Spindler, 'The Court of Sapience,' Beitrdge zur englischen Philologie (Leipzig, 1927), pp.

187-188, and my note in the 'Sources of the Court of Sapience,' Beitrage zur englischen Philologie (Leipzig, 1932), pp. 13 and 93.




This is a simple translation of a passage in St Isidore's Etymologiae: Physicam apud Graecos primus perscrutatus est Thales Milesius, unus ex septem illis sapientibus. Hic enim ante alios caeli causas atque vim rerum naturalium, contemplata ratione, suspexit, quam postmodum Plato in quatuor definitiones distribuit, id est, arithmeticam, geometriam, musicam et astronomiam. Ethicam Socrates primus ad cor- rigendos componendosque mores instituit, atque omne studium eius ad bene vivendi disputationem perduxit, dividens eam in quatuor virtutes animae, id est, prudentiam, justitiam, fortitudinem et temperantiam.1

It is amusing to note also how the famous Greek proverb 'yvcOt oaar6v was transliterated in fifteenth-century French and English texts. Jacques Le Grand in Le Livre de Bonnes Moeurs wrote: 'Et ce mesmes dist Juuenal et tesmoigne que la dicte voix disoit, Notis elicos qui vault autant a dire comme cognois toy toy mesmes.'2 When Wynkyn de Worde published the English translation of this work, it read: And the same sayth Juuenall and wytnesseth that the sayd voys sayd Gnoto solidos whiche is to saye knowe thy selfe.'3

So far we have only traced the influence of the Vincent tradition on mediaeval literature. It is hardly necessary to add that other sources were used by mediaeval writers for the stories of the Greek philosophers.4 The most important of all these sources, the Liber Philosophorum Moralium Antiquorum recently attributed to Johannes de Procida by Remigio Sabbadini,5 will not be discussed at all. The text of this important work, as well as the sources and the early Spanish text have been admirably edited and investigated by Hermann Knust6 and Ezio Franceschini.7 The French and English translations will be more fully treated in my edition of the Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers than is possible here, but it may be pointed out in passing that the importance of this work to the French and English literature of the period has not yet been fully appreciated. Over forty manuscripts of the French text and dependent versions, in addition to some ten early editions, are known to me; of the various English translations, I have seen twelve manuscripts and four early printed texts. The influence of Ausonius and the pseudo-Ausonius texts I hope to discuss in a subsequent essay.

THE PIERPONT MORGAN LIBRARY.

1 Migne, Patr. Lat., LXXXII, 141. 2 Morgan MS. 734, fol. 6v. The printed edition (Lyons: Guillaume le Roy, ca 1487- PML. 24939)

similarly has 'Notis elicos' (fol. 5v). 3 PML. 747, sig. A4 verso. 4 A great many references to Greek philosophers are, of course, purely fictitious; so, for example,

in Die Vier Angeltugenden [Strassburg: P. Attendorn, ca 1492 - PML. 27818], Socrates quotes from Aristotle, St Gregory and St Augustine, while Aristotle is made to quote from Seneca, Nero, Theodosius, Solomon, etc. Such works do not, of course, come into the scope of this paper.

6 ' Traduttore Latino del Liber Philosophorum,' Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Anno Accademico 1932-3, Tomo xcii, Parte Seconda.

6 'Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Escorialbibliothek,' Jahrbuch fiir romanische und englische Litera- tur, x and xi, and 'Mittheilungen aus dem Eskurial,' Bibliothek des litterarischen V7ereins in Stuttgart, 1879.'

7 'Il Liber Philosophorum Moralium Antiquorum,' Atti del R. Istituto Veneto di Scienze etc., Anno 1931-32, Tomo xci, Parte Seconda. The sources and influences of this work were treated by the same author in Memorie della R. ^Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche, e Filologiche, Serie vi, Vol. iii, Fasc. v.



bühler, curt f._greek philosophers in the literature of the later middles ages_speculum, 12,...

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