Epistolae clarorum virorum. Quibus veterum autorum complures explicantur, tribus libris [...] comprehensæ: atque nunc primùm in lucem editae

8vo. [8] prel. leaves, 445, [1], 25, [5] pp. Collation: *⁸, a-z⁸, A-E⁸; A-B⁸ (lacking E8, a blank). With the printer's device on the title page. 19^th century half morocco (Gardien, 1863), gilt back, old entries of ownership on the title-page and on the front end-paper.

Adams, E-22; Baudrier, VIII, 302; Index Aurelienis, 126.082.

FIRST EDITION. This collection was often confused with that of the same title printed by Paolo Manuzio in 1556. It is dedicated by Bruto to Cardinal Giulio della Rovere and has also a short note to the reader by Sébastien Gryphe. It is divided into three books with an appendix and contains 87 letters.

“La corrispondenza di Giovanni Michele Bruto può ben dirsi una preziosa miniera di informazioni sia sulla sua biografia, sia sui rapporti che intrattenne con Italiani appartenenti alle varie communità con le quali ebbe contatti durante la sua esistenza” (A. Cognolati, Giovanni Michele Bruto e l'educazione femminile: ‘La istitutione di una fanciulla nata nobilmente (1555)', in: “Annali dell'Università di Ferrara. Sezione III. Filosofia, Discussion Papers”, 64, 2001, p. 14).

(Liber I:)

Vettori, Pietro to Della Casa, Giovanni. Firenze, December 13, 1556 (p. 1)

Della Casa, Giovanni to Florimonte, Galeazzo (in verses) (p. 11)

Della Casa, Giovanni to Vettori, Pietro. January 21, 1556 (p. 14)

Vettori, Pietro to Della Casa, Giovanni (p. 19)

Contareni, Gaspare to Ginéz Sepúlveda, Juan. Roma, April 26, 1539 (p. 26)

id. to id. February 5, 1540 (p. 29)

Ginéz Sepúlveda, Juan to Contareni, Gaspare. [1540?] (p. 32)

id. to Pinciano, Fernando (p. 39)

id. to id. (p. 50)

id. to id. (p. 54)

Ginéz Sepúlveda, Juan to Quignonez, Juan. December 5, n.y. (p.61)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Valori, Baccio.(p. 66)

Bocca, Giuseppe to Angeli da Barga, Pietro (p. 75)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Bocca, Giuseppe (p. 78)

id. to id. (p. 85)

id. to id. (p.90)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Cioffi, Antonio (p. 95)

Bruto, Gian Michele to Gonzaga, Vespasiano. September 1, n.y. (p. 99) [added is an extract from Bruto's second book of his De Instauratione Italiæ, pp. 105-169]

Bruto, Gian Michele to Tiepolo, Paolo (p. 169) [added is an extract from Bruto's first book of his De Instauratione Italiæ, pp. 181-192]

Bruto, Gian Michele to Spinola, Franco (p. 192)

Bruto, Gian Michele to Vonicus, Sylvius (p. 205)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Bruto, Gian Michele (p. 224)

Luigini, Francesco to Bruto, Gian Michele. Toledo, February 10, 1560 (p. 229)

(Liber II:)

Giberti, Giovanni Matteo to Ginéz Sepúlveda, Juan. Verona, July 25, 1536 (p. 232)

Ginéz Sepúlveda Juan to Giberti, Giovanni Matteo. February 15, 1534 (p. 236)

Vettori, Pietro to Pole, Reginald. Firenze, March 19, 1550 (p. 239)

Pole, Reginald to Vettori, Pietro. Roma, March 28, 1550 (p. 243)

Amaseo, Romolo to Pellicerio, Guglielmo. Bologna, October 23, 1541 (p. 247)

Bonamici Lazzaro to Góis, Damião de. Padova, July 9, 1539 (p. 249)

id. to id. Padova, August 28, n.y. [1539?] (p. 250)

id. to id. Padova, April 18, n.y. [1540?] (p. 251)

Paleario, Aonio to Marino, Andrea (p. 253)

Marino, Andrea to Paleario, Aonio. Milano, November 23, 1559 (p. 256)

Luigini, Francesco to Paleario, Aonio. Toledo, January 15, 1560 (p. 258)

Paleario, Aonio to Luigini, Francesco (p. 260)

Bruto, Gian Michele to Angeli da Barga, Pietro (p. 262)

Minutolo, Giovanni Battista to Angeli da Barga, Pietro. Lyon, September 1, n.y. (p. 272)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Minutolo, Giovanni Battista. Pisa, October 10, 1560 (p. 277)

id. to id. (in verse) (p. 282)

Minutolo, Giovanni Battista to Bruto, Gian Michele (p. 284)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Gryphe, Antoine. Pisa, November 4, 1560 (p. (286)

Antoniano, Silvio to Angeli da Barga, Pietro (p. 289)

Bruto, Gian Michele to Pallavicino, Niccolò (p. 290)

Bruto, Gian Michele to Luigini, Francesco (p. 302)

id. to Minutolo, Giovanni Battista. E Laurentiano, January 15, n.y. (p. 307)

Minutolo, Giovanni Battista to Delbernus (Dubern?), Franciscus. Lyon, November 1, 1560 (p. 326)

(Liber III:)

Du Chastel, Pierre to Lambin, Denis. [Paris], January 28, 1547 (p. 332)

Della Casa, Giovanni to Lambin, Denis. Venezia, November 13, 1554 (p. 334)

Manuzio, Paolo to Lambin, Denis. Venezia, June 23, 1560 (p. 337)

Périon, Joachim to Lambin, Denis. Corméry, July 10, 1551 (p. 340)

Π?ρτς, Φραν?ι??ο? (Porto, Francesco) (p. 343 )

Maledent, Jehan to Lambin, Denis. Toulouse, July 1, 1549 (p. 345)

id. to id. Toulouse, July 8, n.y. [1549?] (p. 346)

id. to id. Cahors, July 14, 1549 (p. 348)

id. to id. Cahors, July 20, n.y. [1549?] (p. 350)

id. to id. Cahors,September 20, n.y. [1549?] (p. 354)

id. to id. Cahors (p. 356)

id. to id. Toulouse, February 17, n.y. [1550?] (p. 358)

id. to id. Toulouse, April 16, n.y. [1550?] (p. 362)

id. to id. Paris, May 7, n.y. [1550?] (p. 364)

Lambin, Denis to Maledent, Jehan. Roma, June 5, 1551 p. 369

Muret, Marc-Antoine to Lambin, Denis. Padova, February 5, 1558 (p. 378)

id. to id. Padova, February 13, 1558 (p. 379)

Lambin, Denis to Muret, Marc-Antoine. Corneilan, February 20, n.y. (p. 382)

Muret, Marc-Antoine to Lambin, Denis. Padova, February 23, n.y. (p. 387)

id. to id. Padova, February 25, n.y. (p. 389 )

id. to id. Padova, February 26, n.y. (p. 391)

id. to id. Padova, March 15, n.y. (p. 393)

id. to it. Padova, April 13, n.y. (p. 394)

id. to id. Padova, July 15, 1558 (p. 396)

id. to id. Treviso, November 29, n.y. (p. 397)

Lambin, Denis to Muret, Marc-Antoine. Corneilan, August 12, 1558 (p. 399)

Muret, Marc-Antoine to Lambin, Denis. Padova, August 12, n.y. (p. 403)

Lambin, Denis to Muret, Marc-Antoine. August 18, n.y. (p. 405)

Muret, Marc-Antoine to Lambin, Denis. Ferr(ara?), July 20, 1559 (p. 409)

Lambin, Denis to Muret, Marc-Antoine. Lucca, August 1, [1559] (p. 413)

Mesmes, Henry de to Lambin, Denis. Paris, November 28, 1560 (p. 428)

Lambin, Denis to Mesmes, Henry de. Lyon, February 5, 1561 (p. 432)

id. to Maledent, Jehan. Lyon, January 13, 1561 (p. 438)

id. to Angeli da Barga, Pietro. Lyon, February 13, 1561 (p. 442)

(Appendix:)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Lambin, Denis. Pisa, February 21, 1561 (p. 1)

Lambin, Denis to Angeli da Barga, Pietro. Lyon, April 1, n.y. [1561?] (p. 7)

Angeli da Barga, Pietro to Minutolo, Giovanni Battista. Pisa, November 4, 1560 (p. 10)

Bruto, Gian Michele to Lambin, Denis. Lucca, March 1, 1561 (p. 14)

Lambin, Denis to Bruto, Gian Michele. Lyon, April 5, 1561 (p. 17)

Maledent, Jehan to Lambin, Denis. Limoges, February 13, 1561 (p. 19)

Lambin, Denis to Maledent, Jehan. Lyon, February 18, 1561 (p. 23)

Giovanni Michele Bruto was born to a wealthy Venetian family. He had studied in Padua with the noted rhetorician Lazzaro Buonamici, and had become a deacon in the Order of Regular Canons. Around 1551 he lived with the Benedictines of Maguzzano sul Garda, joining the circle of humanists surrounding Cardinal Reginald Pole. Shortly thereafter accusations of heresy forced Bruto to leave Venice. He settled for a time in Antwerp, where his educational treatise La institutione di una fanciulla nata nobilmente appeared in 1555. In 1556 he went to Madrid as secretary of a Venetian delegation, than to England, Lyons, returning to Venice in 1558 over Genoa and Massa. Here he had to learn, that the printer Paolo Manuzio, who in the meantime was chosen as official printer of the Pope and of the decrees of the Council of Trent, had censured the names of authors suspected of heresy, among whom figured also Bruto.

He then decided to settle at Lyons and to resume his literary activities. Here he met numerous Florentine exiles and started to write his republican history of Florence (1562), depicting Cosimo de' Medici as an ambitious and unscrupulous despot and glorifying tyrannicide in the name of liberty. The Medici family heavily boycotted the diffusion of the work, and intervened with the Inquisition, which condemned Bruto as a heretic in 1565.

Shortly before the Massacre of St. Bartholomew (August 23, 1572) Bruto moved to Basle, where he accepted an invitation from Istvàn Bàthory, Voivode of Transylvania (later King of Poland) to became official court historiographer. Over Vienna he arrived in Transylvania in 1574 and started to work at his anti-Hapsburg history of Hungary. In 1583 a selection of his correspondence was published at Cracow. With the advent of Bàthory on the throne of Poland, the Catholic counter-offensive became more and more pressing. Bruto, after his re-conversion in April 1585, completely changed his previous religious and political views, became a zealous catholic and a supporter of the Hapsburg. He died on the way to Alba Julia in Transylvania in 1592, where he wanted to revise, before printing, his history of Hungary (cf. M. Battistini, Jean Michel Bruto, humaniste, historiographe, pédagogue au XVI^e siècle, in: “De Gulden Passer”, 32, 1954, pp. 29-156).

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