Epistolarum [...] liber. Nunc demùm auctus & ab innumeris penè mendis, quibus librariorum incuria scatebat, repurgatus. Cui accesserunt epistolas aliquot D. Roberti Turneri ethices et eloquentiæ Professoris in Academia Ingolstadiensi. Una cum epistola Julii Pogiani viri disertiss. De Ciceronis imitandi modo

8vo. (2), 290 pp., (5) leaves. A-T⁸ (T8 is blank). Title and text within rulers. Contemporary blind stamped pigskin, two clasps.

Adams, M-1976; VD 16, M-6825; G. Stalla, Bibliographie der Ingolstädter Drucker des 16. Jahrhunderts, (Baden-Baden, 1977), no. 1506.

SECOND EDITION of Muret's collected letters. It contains the same letters in the same order as in the first edition printed in 1580 in Paris, with the omission of one letter in Greek addressed to Muret by a Nicholaos son of Nathaniel (dated Venice, 1559), and with the addition (by Muret himself?) of a letter to Sinibaldo Antonini, dated Rome, December 13, 1578, i.e. all in all 96 letters (although the last letter is numbered 97, for the poem by Justus Lipsius addressed to Muret is included in the numeration).

“Many more letters of Muretus survive than he published himself in a volume printed at Paris in 1580, i.e. five years before he died [...] The Paris selection comprises ninety-seven letters. In 1584 a new edition was published at Ingolstadt, to which one more letter was added, possibly by the author himself. In 1592 a posthumous edition was made by Johannes Croessel, also at Ingolstadt. This editor used materials collected by the Bavarian pupil of Muretus in Rome, Marcus Welser [...] Our next question concerns the order in which the letters are presented to the reader, i.e. the general structure of the book. This order is certainly not chronological and Muretus was anxious to underline the absence of chronological structure from the very beginning. In fact, the collection opens with a  number of letters to Muretus' Venetian printer and friend Paulus Manutius [...] The letters are not ordered by correspondents either. Although one could get that impression at the beginning [...] What then, one will ask, is the thread which connects them all and leads us to a correct understanding of the book? It is not clear from the beginning, but it dawns upon the reader at first dimly, then asserts itself more and more forcefully until, at the end, no doubt is left: Muretus is writing an autobiography and a self-defence, a real Apologia pro vita sua: it is the revenge of an old man, who publishes the proof of his successful career in the very town from whence he was ignominiously exiled in his youth. Of course, Muretus being an artist of the written word, does not proceed like a cool historian who writes a systematic survey of his life and deeds but he works like a skilful painter, drawing the main lines and adding touches and colours with subtle artistry until the end we see the finished picture in its full splendour, which is a famous vir bonus, docendi peritus, not in Paris, but in Rome, the undisputed capital of both the classical-humanist and the Roman catholic world” (J. Iisewijn, Marcus Antonius Muretus epistolographus, in: “La correspondance d'Érasme et l'épistolographie humaniste”, Bruxelles, 1985, pp. 185-187; see also J. Rice Henderson, On Reading the Rhetoric of the Renaissance Letter, in: “Renaissance Rhetorik: Renaissance rhetoric”, H.F. Plett, ed., Berlin, 1993, pp. 143-144).

At the end (pp. 284-290) is printed the letter by Giulio Poggiani (1522-1568) to Nicholas Fitzherbert on the imitation of Cicero, dated Rome, March 31, [before 1568] (cf. C. Mouchel, Cicéron et Senèque dans la rhétorique de la Renaissance, Marburg, 1990, p. 516).

Nicot, Jean. Roma, August 24, 1579 (p. 1)

from Nicot, Jean. Bray Comte Robert, September 30, 1579 (p. 7)

Manuzio, Paolo. Padova, March 29, [1568] (p. 14)

id. Padova, April 12, 1568 (p. 16)

id. Pavova, May 6, 1568 (p. 17)

id. Padova, April 22, [1568] (p. 19)

id. Padova, May 13, [1568] (p. 20)

id. Padova, April 27, [1568] (p. 21)

id. Padova, May 8, [1568] (p. 22)

id. Ferrara, July 19, [1568] (p. 23)

id. Padova, June 17, [1568] (p. 25)

id. [Padova?], May 16, [1568] (p. 26)

id. Padova, June 2, [1568] (p. 27)

id. [Padova, 1568?, Cum constituissem hodie] (p. 29)

id. Padova, August 26, [1568] (p. 31)

id. Padova, June 14, 1558 [i.e. 1568?] (p. 33)

id. Padova, June 26, [1568] (p. 34)

id. Padova, September 4, [1568] (p. 37)

id. Padova, September 6, [1568] (p. 38)

id. Padova, June 21, [1568] (p. 39)

id. Roma, December 29, 1560 (p. 41)

Sacrati, Paolo. Roma, December 26, 1571 (p. 42)

id. Roma, July 13, 1577 (p. 43)

from Douaren, François. Bourges, January 13, 1553 (p. 45)

from Fruterius [Fruytier], Lucas. (p. 48)

Canano, Giacomo. [Abbey of] Chaalis, October 6, 1562 (p. 62)

id. [Abbey of] Chaalis, September 20, 1562 (p. 64)

id. [Abbey of] Chaalis, December 26, 1562 (p. 67)

id. [Abbey of] Chaalis, November 14, 1562 (p. 69)

from Cardaneto, Orazio. January 9, 1569 (p. 72)

Cardaneto, Orazio. Roma, December 6, 1564 (p. 75)

id. [Roma?], December 30, 1564 (p. 77)

id. Roma, February 24, 1565 (p. 80)

id. Roma, April 12, 1570 (p. 83)

id. Roma, May 24, 1570 (p. 84)

id. Roma, Roma, January 26, 1571 (p. 86)

id. Roma, March 8, 1571 (p. 88)

from Perpiña, Pedro Juan. Roma, August 15, 1564 (p. 89)

Perpiña, Pedro Juan. Tivoli, August 17, 1564 (p. 90)

from Perpiña, Pedro Juan (p. 91)

Benci, Francesco. Roma, September 28, 1572 (p. 95)

from Canter, Willem. Frankfurt/M., Nundinis autumnalibus, 1564 (p. 98)

from Giustiniani, Alessandro. Venezia, September 30, 1558 (p. 110, i.e. 100)

from id. Genova, March 26, 1575 (p. 101)

from Belliviceius, Martinus. Padova, December 1, 1564 (p. 103)

Tournon, François de. Padova, February 3, 1558 (p. 105)

id. (p. 108)

from Valerius, Cornelius. Louvain, September 18, [1570?] (p. 110)

Valerius, Cornelius. Roma, April 3, 1570 (p. 113)

from [Chytraeus, Nathan]. Rostock, April 1, 1570 (p. 114)

Gidetus, Agapetus. Tivoli, August 3, 1577 (p. 116)

id. Tivoli, August 7, 1577 (p. 118)

from Barzellini, Costantino. [Rieti, 1576?] (p. 120)

from id. Rieti, February 5, 1576 (p. 122)

Barzellini, Costantino. Roma, February 16, 1576 (p. 124)

from id. Rieti, April 8, 1576 (p. 126)

Ripario, Alessandro. Tivoli, July 7, 1570 (p. 131)

id. Tivoli, July 12, 1570 (p. 132)

id. Tivoli, July 16, [1570?] (p. 133)

id. Tivoli, July 28, 1570 (p. 134)

id. Tivoli, August 9, 1570 (p. 135)

id. Tivoli, August 25, 1570 (p. 136)

id. Tivoli, September 23, 1570 (p. 137)

Vestri [Barbiani], Marcello. Roma, February 13, 1568 (p. 138)

Sacrati, Paolo. Roma, April 30, 1578 (p. 139)

Cujas, Jacques de. Roma, January 26, 1579 (p. 145)

from Caselius [Bracht], Johannes. Firenze, March 1, 1567 (p. 147)

from Dudith, Andreas. Pavia, May 10, 1559 (p. 148)

from Morin, Pierre. Chantelle, August 29, [1579?] (p. 150)

from id. [Roma?], September 6, 1557 (p. 152)

from id. Genova, January 14, 1559 (p. 154)

from [Giphanius, Hubertus]. Venezia, [August, 1569?] (p. 157)

from id. Venezia, August 13, 1569 (p. 160)

from id. Venezia, December 26, 1569 (p. 164)

from id. Venezia, January 1, 1569 (p. 166)

Giphanius, Hubertus. Roma, January 13, [1569?] (p. 168)

from id. Venezia, January 28, 1570 (p. 170)

from Zamoyski, Joannes. Gdansk, June 29, 1577 (p. 175)

Báthory, Stephen. Roma, December 1, 1577 (p. 176)

Zamoyski, Joannes. Roma, December 1, 1577 (p. 178)

from id. Warsaw, March 25, 1578 (p. 179)

Gerardo suo. Roma, August 12, 1575 (p. 180)

Valerio, Agostino. Roma, March 15, 1568 (p. 186)

Odescalchi, Giovanni Antonio. Roma, January 3, 1568 (p. 189)

Este, Ippolito d' to Sorbino, A. Roma, March 12, 1568 (p. 191)

Vettori, Pietro to Chasteigner de la Rochepozay, Louis. Firenze, December 27, 1578 (p. 192)

Chasteigner de la Rochepozay, Louis to Vettori, Pietro. Roma, January 2, 1579 (p. 194)

Ciofani, Ercole. Roma, March 19, 1569 (p. 196)

id. Roma, April 22, 1570 (p. 198)

id. [Roma?], July 22, 1570 (p. 199)

id. Tivoli, September 9, 1570 (p. 201)

Roscio, Giulio. [Roma?], July 22, 1570 (p. 202)

id. Tivoli, October 5, 1570 (p. 203)

Ciofani, Ercole. Roma, March 12, 1569 (p. 205)

from Mallocius, Gilbertus. Gratianopolis, September 20, 1575 (p. 206)

Antonini, Sinibaldo. Roma, December 13, 1578 (p. 208)

Marc-Antoine Muret exemplifies the essence of French Renaissance humanism. A master of Latin and student of Classical antiquity, he not only engaged in the recovery and exposition of ancient texts, but also actively employed the old genres and skills in the contemporary ecclesiastical and public spheres. He wrote Latin poetry, both sacred and profane, delivered public orations in Latin, and lectured in various schools throughout France and Italy on authors as diverse as Catullus and Tacitus and on topics as varied as Greek philosophy and Roman law. His list of friends, acquaintances, teachers, and students reads like a Who's Who of the period.

Born near Limoges, he attracted soon the notice of the elder Scaliger and was invited to lecture in the archiepiscopal college at Auch. He afterwards taught Latin in the Collège de Guyenne at Bordeaux, where he had Montaigne among his pupils and where his Latin tragedy Julius Caesar was presented. Some time before 1552 he delivered a course of lectures in the College of Cardinal Lemoine at Paris, which drew a large audience, King Henry II and his queen being among his hearers. He twice received counsel from the elder Scaliger at Agen and at Poitiers participated in a poetry contest judged by Jean Salmon Macrin. At Limoges, he knew Jean Dorat and Joachim du Bellay. Pierre Ronsard attended his lectures at various times, and the latter corresponded with him throughout his life. Denys Lambin, the great commentator of Lucretius, befriended him until their odd falling out in 1559. At Paris, he crossed paths with George Buchanan, Claude Goudimel, François le Duchat, Étienne Jodelle, and other well-known poets, printers, musicians, and intellectuals active there.

His success made him many enemies, and he was thrown into prison on a charge of homosexuality and heresy, but released by the intervention of powerful friends. The same accusation was brought against him at Toulouse, and he only saved his life by timely flight. The records of the town show that he was burned in effigy as a Huguenot and as sodomite (1554). This led to his flight to Italy.

He held a professorship of humanities at Venice, where he became a friend of Paolo Manuzio. Then accepted an invitation of cardinal Ippolito d'Este to settle in Rome, where he lectured for more than twenty years under no small difficulties and restrictions, foreseeing the decline of learning in Italy and making every effort to arrest it. In 1561 Muret revisited France as a member of the cardinal's suite at the conference between Roman Catholics and Protestants held at Poissy. He returned to Rome in 1563.

His lectures gained him a European reputation, and in 1578 he received a tempting offer (which he declined) from the king of Poland to become teacher of jurisprudence in his new college at Kraków. Despite the scandal and turbulences, he received the holy orders in 1576 and was induced by the liberality of Gregory XIII to remain in Rome, where he died in 1585 (cf. V. Leroux, Introduction, in: M.-A., Muret, “Juvenilia”, Genève, 2009, pp. 13-24; see also Ch. De Job, Marc-Antoine Muret: Un professeur Français en Italie dans la secondemoitié du XVI^e siècle, Paris, 1881, passim, F. Delage, Marc-Antoine Muret, poète français, Limoges, 1910, passim; D. Menager, Marc-Antoine Muret à la recherche d'une patrie, in: “La circulation des hommes et des oeuvres entre la France et l'Italie à l'époque de la Renaissance”, A. Fontana, ed., Paris, 1992, p. 260-269; and R. Trinquet, Un maître de Montaigne: l'humaniste limousin Marc-Antoine Muret, in: “Bulletin de la Société des amis de Montaigne”, 1966, pp. 3-17).

Muret's library passed to the Jesuits in Rome, and from there in great part to the Library of king Victor-Emmanuel (today Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Rome) (cf. P. Renzi, I libri del mestiere: ‘La Bibliotheca Mureti' del Collegio Romano, Siena, 1993, passim).

The edition also includes the Epistolae aliquot by Robert Turner.

VD 16, T-2363; G. Stalla, Bibliographie der Ingolstädter Drucker des 16. Jahrhunderts, (Baden-Baden, 1977), no. 1506.

FIRST EDITION of this collection of 28 letters by Robert Turner, which were reprinted at Ingolstatd in 1588, 1602,1609, and 1615.

William [V] of Bavaria (p. 211)

id. Ingolstadt (p. 213)

id. Ingolstadt (p. 214)

Vendius [Fend], Erasmus. Roma, 1580 (p. 215)

N., Joannes. Roma (p. 218)

Vendius [Fend], Erasmus (p. 222)

id. Ingolstadt (p. 224)

Fitzherbert, Nicholas. Paris (p. 228)

Allen, William. Paris (p. 232)

N., Petrus. (p. 233)

Welser, Anton. Stuttgart, 1581 (p. 237)

id. Stuttgart (p. 240)

Goldwell, Thomas. Ingolstadt (p. 242)

Lauretanus, Michael. Ingolstadt (p. 245)

N., Petrus. Ingolstadt (p. 247)

Holonius, Johannes. München (p. 251)

Petreus [Petrsikh], Wenceslaus. Ingolstadt (p. 253)

Zetzius, Vitus. Ingolstadt (p. 255)

Beruitius, Joannes. (p. 256)

Minucci, Minuccio de. (p. 259)

Beruitius, Joannes. München (p. 261)

Dummius, Martinus. München (p. 263)

Welser, Anton. Ingolstadt (p. 266)

Vogelius, Johannes. Ingolstadt (p. 269)

Stobaeus, Georgius. Ingoldstadt (p. 271)

Dethicus, Henricus. Roma (p. 272)

Vietor, Johannes. Augsburg (p. 276)

Nidescius [Nidecki], Andreas Patritius. Ingolstadt (p. 280)

Robert Turner, a scion of a Scottish family, was born at Barnstaple, Devonshire. He was educated for a time at Exeter College, Oxford, and at Christ's College, Cambridge, whence he matriculated in 1567, but left each university without a degree. In after years he said: ‘Non ego nunc, ut anteà, ætatem meam in nugis (ne quid gravius dicam) Oxonii apud homines hæreseos crimine obstrictos, neque in fabulis domi apud homines nulla politiori literatura excultos, otiosè, turpiter, nequiter contererem' (Epistolæ, ed. 1615, p. 230).

Leaving his country and parents on account of his attachment to the Roman catholic religion, he went in 1572 to the English College at Douai, where he became professor of rhetoric, and was ordained priest in 1574. In 1576 he went to Rome, and taught the classics for several years in the German College. He states that he was a pupil of Edmund Campion, but whether at Oxford or Rome does not appear. He was never himself, as has been sometimes stated, a member of the Society of Jesus.

Turner was for some time prefect of studies at the college of Eichstadt in Bavaria, and, after many journeys and services undertaken for the Roman catholic cause, he was, by the influence of Cardinal William Allen, appointed professor of eloquence and ethics in the Georgian College at Ingolstadt, where he was created D.D. Subsequently he became rector of that university. He was also nominated one of the privy council to William, duke of Bavaria, but, incurring that prince's displeasure, he retired for a time to Paris.

A year or two later he returned to Germany, and was made canon of Breslau in Silesia, and afterwards secretary for the Latin tongue to Archduke Ferdinand, who had an especial esteem for him. He died at Grätz in Styria on November 28, 1599. His friend John Pits describes him as ‘vir in litteris politioribus et philosophia plus quam vulgariter doctus, et in familiari congressu satis superque facetus' (De illustrium Angliæ scriptoribus, Paris, 1619, p. 799) (cf. W. Kausch, Geschichte der theologischen Fakultät Ingolstadt im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1977, p. 68).

Bound with: M.-A. Muret, Hymnorum sacrorum liber. Eiusdem alia quædam Poëmatia, aucta nunc demùm & recognita. His accesserunt: Actii Synceri Sannazarii Neapolitani De partu Virginis libri tres. Una cum eiusdem selectis quibusdam Poëmatibus longè elegantissimis. Quibus omnibus clarissimorum Heroum Maximiliani Primi & Caroli Quinti, eorundorumq(u)e, Belli Ducum Elogia adjuncta sunt, Ingolstadt, David Sartorius, 1584 (VD 16, M-6833).

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