Medieval Academy of America

Greek Philosophers in the Literature of the Later Middle Ages

Author(s): Curt F. Bhler
Source: Speculum, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct., 1937), pp. 440-455
Published by: Medieval Academy of America
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GREEK PHILOSOPHERS IN THE LITERATURE

OF THE LATER MIDDLE AGES
BY CURT F. BtYHLER

PARTI
THE r6le played by the GreekPhilosophersin later mediaeval literatureis not

withoutgeneral interest.Almost all the learned encyclopaedistsof that time

quoted them, generallywith deference,so that their sayings,or at least the
proverbsreputed to be theirs,recur at frequentintervals.While it is true
that these are largelysecond-handquotationsand that referencesto what may
be called fundamentalsource-booksare veryrare indeed,this does not detract
in the least fromthe charm of these aphorisms.Nor is it safe to dismissthese
descriptionswiththe notionthat theyare always mediaeval fantasies;the story
of Socrates' death in the Dictesis reasonablyaccurateand is told withgenuine
whetherjudged authentic
feelingand ability.The proverbsofthesephilosophers,
of
or merelyapocryphalby modernscholarship,werepart of the stock-in-trade
almost everywriterof the period,and they cannot fail to be of interestto the
mediaevalist.
In the preparationof an editionofthe Dictes and SayingsofthePhilosophers,
a numberof mediaeval opinionson the GreekPhilosopherswerebroughtto my
notice but, as they were not directlyconnected with the Dictes, they were
put aside. The presentarticleis intendedas a seriesofnotes on the
temporarily
Greek Philosophers;it will shortlybe seen that the termmediaeval literature
will be taken in its broadestmeaning,as a culturalstate ofmindratherthan an
Englishtext is included.
historicalperiod,so that even a sixteenth-century
I
On the fifthofAugust,1475,therewas completedby Lucas Brandisin Luibeck
a huge chronicleof 473 leaves entitledRudimentumNovitiorum.Neither the
author of the worknor the typographicalpoints,interestingas they are, need
detain us long. It will sufficeto say that the RudimentumNovitiorumis 'a
book' (in the wordsof ProfessorPollard), and as
verysplendidand noteworthy
forthe author,it is probablethathe was a Dominican,living'in nostraprovincia
Saxonia inferiori,'not unlikelyin Lulbeckitself.'The work may be dated ca
1470-74.
That Brandis's magnificentedition achieved its meritedsuccess is attested
by the factthat the workwas translatedintoFrenchand was publishedin Paris
1 A contemporarymanuscriptnote on fol. 473r of the copy preservedin The Pierpont Morgan
Libraryreads:
Nome AutorisBorcha(rdus)
Sacre pagine professor

This is veryprobablya confusionwithBrocardus,authorofthe Descriptioterraesanctae,a workmuch

Novitiorum.
quoted in the Rudimentum
440

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GreekPhilosophersin LaterMediaevalLiterature

441

(1488) under the title La Mer des Hystoires,not a few of the woodcutsof the
Frencheditionbeingmodelledupon the Ltibeckones.
Novitiorum
go to show
TheodoreSchwarz'sinvestigationson the Rudimentum
that the authorwas a man of wide learning:for the sources,Schwarz' names
among others: Augustine,Aquinas, Ambrosius,Solinus, Bernard,Plato, Methodius,ChroniconSlavicum,etc. It is probable,however,thatmany oftheserebut weretaken from
ferenceswerenot obtainedfromthe originalsource-books,
the larger chroniclesand encyclopaedias which preceded the Rudimentum
Novitiorium;chieflythose by Isidore,Hugo of St Victor,Vincentof Beauvais,
etc.
For the sourcesof the statementson the GreekPhilosophers,Schwarzmakes
the followingobservation:'Diogenes Laertius ist in seinemBuche de vitaphilosophorumviel benutzt.Valerius Maximus ebenfallsoft in sententiaet ejectu
verborum
(libri ix); haiufigauch die NoctesAtticaedes Gellius.' Besides these,
Ovid, Vergil,Horace, Terence,Cicero, Seneca, and Boethius appear, according
to Schwarz,to have been used. Therecan be no doubtthattheauthoritiesnamed
by Schwarz are the ultimate sources for the statementsin the Rudimentum
but did the author of this workmake the compilationshimselfor
Novitiorum,
did he literallyborrowthemfromanother'swork?
The problemcan most easily be solved by examiningcloselythe description
Empedocles is described
of any philosopher.In the RudimentumNovitiorum,
thus:
Hie,vt ait Boecius
Ciriregispersarum.
Athenisclaruittempore
philosophus
Empedocles
in prologode artemusica,adeo noueratex musicade artecanendiquod,cumeiushosdamnasinuaderet
quidamfuribundus
pitem(iuuenis)2
eo quodpatremeiusaccusacione
(sic) quodadolescanendimodas(sic)diciturflexisse
set,ipseEmpedoclesadeodulciter
vt habeturin prologolibride
Huius hecelegitursentencia
temperauit.
cens iracundiam
(sic): triasuntin tota rerumvarietateprecipua,scilicetmobilisaffluencie
vegetalibus
future
primonihilhonestius,
illustracio,
quorum
felicitatis
& mentis
appetitus
contemptus,
adepcionemefficacius.
secundonihilfelicius,tertionihilad amborumcompendiosam
curviueretait: vt astrainspiciam;
vt ait Bernardus
Siluestris,
Empedocles,
Interrogatus
nullusero.Hie deumsiclegitur
Deus estsperacuiuscentrum
Celumsubtrahe,
descripsisse:
Athenisse
essearbitrans
est vbique& circumferencia
nusquam.Hic animasimmortales
intulit(fol.CCXLII).
dedit& sibiipsimortem
incendijs
Boethius,De musica,says (Migne, Patr. Lat., LXIII, 1170):
invaderet,
quod ejus
Sed et Empedoclescumejus hospitem
quidamgladiofuribundus
diciturmodumcanendi,itaqueadolescentis
damnasset,
inflexisse
patremilleaccusatione
iracundiam
temperasse.
It is clearthatthedescriptionin thechronicleis ultimatelyderivedfromBoethius
Noviand similarsources,but the questionis if the author of the Rudimentum
tiorumwas the compileror if theyweretaken fromsome otherwork?
The transmissionof Boethius throughthe earlierMiddle Ages is of little
interestto us; it is not till we come to that great work writtensome seven
hundredyears afterBoethius,the SpeculumHistorialeof Vincentof Beauvais,
that anythingof peculiar interestis broughtto our attention.Vincentwrites:
I

Oberden Verfasser
unddie Quellendes Rudimentum
Novitiorum
(Rostock,1888).
Textinuenis.

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442

GreekPhilosophersin LaterMediaevalLiterature

Boecius in prologode arte musica. Empedocles cum eius hospitemgladio quidam furibundus inuaderetquod eius ille patremaccusationedamnasset,inflexissediciturmodum
canendi & ita adolescentisiracundiamtemperasse.Aristotelesin libro de vegetabilibus.
Tria sunt,vt ait Empedocles,in tota rerumvarietateprecipua,sciticetmobilisaffluentie
futurefelicitatisappetitus,mentisillustratio;quorumprimonichilhonestius,
contemptus,
secundonichilfelicius,tercionichilad amborumadeptionemefficacius.(Then followsa
quotation fromthe Metaphysica,Lib. ii.) BernhardusSiluestris.QuerentiEmpedocles
cur viueret,inquit:vt astra inspiciam;celumsubtrahenullusero.Actor.Hic est Empedocles qui sic deum legiturdescripsisse;deus (inquit) est spera cuius centrumest ubique et
nusquam. Hic totum sese Athenisincendiisdedit (vt refertLactantius)
circumferentia
mortemsibi intuliteo quod eternasesse 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 Metaphysicaand from Macrobius are omitted and the words Actor
and Lactantiusdeleted) we have the text as it appears in the Rudimentum
The word 'Actor' in Vincent's works is familiar to all mediaevalists;
Novitiorum.
it stands either forVincent'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
that the author was quite meticulous
Novitiorum,
examining the Rudimentum
in quoting his authorities; if he quotes Vincent by name, why does he not mention the 'Actor'?
Turning, for the moment, from Empedocles, let us see what the Rudimentum
says of Chilon, one of the Seven Sages of Greece:
Novitiorum
Chilo, philosophuslacedemonius,Athenisclaruit,vnus de septem sapientibusGrecie.
Hic, vt diciturin Polliticolibroprimo,iungendesocietatiscausa missusfuitCorinthum,
vbi duces & seniorespopuli ludentes inuenit in alea, propterquod, infractonegocio,
reuersusest, dicens, se nolle gloriamspartanorumquorum virtus,constructoBisancio,
clarescebathac maculareinfamiaut dicereturcum aleatoribustraxissesocietatem.Hunc
vt ait Laercius, interrogauitEsopus poeta; quid nam ageret Jupiter;respondit: alta
dociles ab indoctis; ait,
humiliat,humilia vero exaltat. Interrogatus:in quo differunt
respondit:ineffabiliatacere,diligenciambene disbona spe. Interrogatus:quid difficile;
ponere& iniuriampassimpossepacienterpati. Interrogatus:quid est fortuna;ait: ignarus
medicus,multosenimexecat.Docebat autemhec: dominarilingue& presertimin conuiuio.
Non esse maledicendumproximis,alioquin oporteretaudire ea quibus quis tristabitur.
Item non esse minandumcuiquam, quoniam hoc muliebreest.Cicius ad calamitatesamiire.Humilesnupciasfacere.Non esse maledicendummortuo.
corumquam ad prosperitates
Seniumhonorare.Cauere sibiipsi.Damnum malle quam prauumlucrum,illud enimsemel
contristabit,hoc vsquequaque. Non irridereinfelicem.Dominatoremmansuetumesse
quam timeant.Discere benepreessepropriedomui.
decetvt eumsubditimagisreuereantur
Linguamnon preuenireintellectum.Ire dominari.Non cupereimpossibilia.Non festinare
in via. Loquentemnon moueremanum.Non maniatumesse. Obedirelegibus.Uti solicitudine. In hijs que dicunturde aliquo ad propriammentemrecurrere;in lapidibus enim &
cotibusaurumexaminatur,virorumvero bonorum& malorumintellectusdedit examen.
In iudicijsinimicumiudicaresecundumlegesvt saltemlex conserueturscilicetet amicus.
Dicebat eciam tristiacuncta exuperariposse animo & amico. Item has duas affectiones,
scilicetamorem& odium,licet fortissimas,sic dicebat esse coherendas(sic) vt amicos
diligas quis tamquamfortequandoque odio habiturus& inimicosodit tamquam postea
amaturus.Fuit autem Chilo breuiloquus,vnde & Aristogoras[hunc]lloquendi modum
chilum-columvocat. Vixit autem annis LVI & mortuusest. Et iuxta sepulchrumeius
1 Texthnuc.

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GreekPhilosophersin Later MediaevalLiterature

443

erectafuitstatua. Scripsitautem notabiliamulta inducentiscarminibuseleganter,ut ait

Laercius. Et claruittemporeSedechie,regisJude (fol. ccxxxiii).
'Chilo' appears in Diogenes Laertius's Vitae et Sententiae Philosophorum as
follows (Venice; Nicolas Jenson, 1475 - only parallel passages are quoted):
Fertur& Aesopuminterrogasse:quidnamfaceretJuppiter;
Chilo lacedaemonius....
peritiab
illumquerespondisse;excelsa humiliat& humiliaextollit.Rogatus quo differunt
imperitis;bona, inquit,spe. Quid sit difficile;arcana, inquit,reticere& ocium recte disponere,iniuriasquetolerareposse. Praecipiebat & haec; linguamsemperquidem, sed in
conuiuiopraesertim,continendam.Proximonon maledicendum,alioquin auditurosquae
nos moeroreconficiant.Nemini intentandasminas, esse enim muliebre.Promptiusad
amicorumaduersos casus, quam ad secundos successus accurrendum.Uxorem humilem
apparatu modico ducendam.Mortuo non maledicendum.Honorandam senectutem.Obseruandumseipsum. Damnum potius quam turpe lucrum eligendum;id quippe semel
tantum angere,hoc semper.Elato secundisrebus non irridendum.'Fortem mansuetum
esse oportere,ut proximinon tam metuantquam reuereantur.Discendum domui suae
rite praeesse. Linguam praeire animo non permittendam.Superandam iracundiam.
Diuinationemnon execrandam.Impossibilia non appetenda. In uia non festinandum.
legibus.
Interloquendumnon agitandammanum;esse enimuaecordium.Obtemperandum
Quietem adamandam. Inter caeteras eius sententiashaec maxime placuit qua dixerat;
lapideiscotibusaurumexaminari& dare apertumsui documentum.Auro autem bonorum
malorumquehominummentemcuiusmodisit, comprobari.Aiunt illum cum iam esset
uetulus,dixisse;sibinihilesse consciumin tota uita ingratefecisse,una tamenre se modice
moueri,quod cum semelinteramicos illi iudicandumesset,neque contraius agerealiquid
legemscilicetamicumuellet,persuaseritamico iudiciuma se prouocare,ut sic utrumque,2
que, seruaret.. . Erat in loquendo breuis,atque ob eam remAristagorasmilesius,hunc
loquendimoremChiloniumappellat.
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 (Nuremberg: Anthon Koberger, ca 14792),reads, with pertinent collations from the ediI

Textarridendum.

Textutrunque.

3 However,R. D. Hicks, in his editionof Diogenes Laertiusforthe Loeb Classical Library(19925),

states (p. x): 'An Englishman,Walter de Burleigh (1275-1357) a disciple of Duns Scotus, endrawinghis
deavouredto satisfythis curiosityby a Latin work,De vita et moribusphilosophorum,
seemto supportKnust's contentions.
materialsprincipallyfromDiogenes Laertius.' My ownfindings

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444

GreekPhilosophersin Later MediaevalLiterature

tions of ter iloernen (Cologne 1472= T), Conrad Winters(Cologne 1479= W),
and Knust (K), as follows:
Grecie.Hie,
Athenisclaruit,vnusde vii sapientibus
lacedemonius,
Chilo,'philosophus
vt diciturin Pollitico2libroprimo,iungendesocietatiscausa missusfuitCorinthum,vbi

negocio,
reuersus
inalea,propter
quod,infracto3
inuenit
populiludentes
duces& seniores
Bisancioclarescebat
quorumvirtus,constructo
spartanorum
est,dicens;se nollegloriam
Hune vt ait
societatem.
cum aleatoribustraxisse4
hac maculareinfamiavt diceretur
Respondit:alta humiliat,
Esopuspoeta:QuidnamageretJupiter;
Laercius,interrogauit
in quo differunt
docilesab indoctis;ait, bona spe.
humiliaveroexaltat.Interrogatus
&
benedisponere
tacere,diligenciam
Respondit:ineffabilia
quid difficile;
Interrogatus:
medicus,
quidestfortuna;
ait; ignarus
pati.Interrogatus:
iniuriam
passimpossepacienter
in conuiuio.Non
lingue& presertim
multosenimexcecat.Docebatautemhie:dominari
Item
audireea quibusquis tristabitur.
Alioquinoporteret
essemaledicendum
proximis.
amicorum
est.Ciciusad calamitates
nonesseminandum
cuiquamquoniamhocmuliebre
mortuo.
ire. Humilesnupciasfacere.Non esse maledicendum
quam ad prosperitates
lucrum,illudenim
Caueresibiipsi.Dampnummallequamprauum5
Seniumhonorare.
mansuetum
Dominatorem
hoc vsquequaque.Non irridere
infelicem.
semelcontristabit
Discerebenepreesseproprie
quamtimeant.
essedecetvt eumsubditimagisreuereantur
Non
Ire dominari.
Non cupereinpossibilia.
domui.Lingwamnonpreuenire
intellectum.
in uia. Loquentemnonmoueremanum.Non maniatum
esse.Obedirelegibus.
festinare
In lapidibus
mentem
recurrere.
In hijsquedicuntur
dealiquoad propriam
Vtisolicitudine.
dedit
intellectus
virorum
verobonorum
& malorum
enim& cotibusaurumexaminatur,
scilicet&
legesvt saltemlexconseruetur
examen.In iudicijsinimicum
iudicaresecundum
posseanimo& amico.Itemhasduasaffecamicus.Dicebateciamtristiacunctaexuperari6
vt amicos
sicdicebatessecohercendas
& odium,licetfortissimas,7
tiones,scilicetamorem
& inimicos
odit9tamquampostea
diligas8
quistamquamfortequandoqueodiohabiturus
huncloquendimodum
vnde & Aristagoras
amaturus.Fuit autemChilo breuiloquus,
eius
est. Et iuxtasepulchrum
chilum-colum'0
vocat.VixitautemannisLVI & mortuus
vt
eleganter,
carminibus
erectafuitstatua.Scripsitautemnotabiliamultainducentist'
ait Laercius.Et claruittempore
Sedechie,regisude.
closelyto theR.N.)
textcorresponds
(TheKoberger
The same is true,of course,in the case of Empedocles.As Burley's text corthereis nothing
Novitiorum,
respondsalmostwordforwordwiththeRudimentum
to be gained by reproducingtheselineshere.
If we take one more shortexampleand printthe two versionstogetherwith
in parallel columns,the identicalcharacterof
the text of the Mer des hystoires
the threetexts is most easily made evident.
Rud. Novit.

Burley

Mer d. H.

Anaximenes Euristrati,
philosophusmilesius, asianus, Anaximandriphilosophi auditorfuit& preceptor
Permenidis & Anaxagore.
Hie omniumrerumcausas
aeri infundodedit.Nec deos
negauit aut tacuit, non

Anaximenes Euristrati,
philosophusmilesius, asianus, Anaximandriphilosophi auditorfuit& preceptor
Permenidis & Anaxagore.
Hie omniumrerumcausas
aeri infundodedit.Nec deos
negauit aut tacuit, non

Anaximenes, philosophe
asian cestadirede asie, fut
auditeur& disciple du philosophe Anaximander &
maistre de Permenides &
de Anaxagorasou tempsde
Cirus roydes perses.I1 dist
que lair estoit cause de

1 Chilon TWK.

2 Policrato
3 Infecto TWK.
TWK.
6 Textexuperrari.
contraxisseWK; construxisseT.
B malum WK.
7 ferocissimasTWK.
8 MS. correction
9 oderit TW; odiat K.
todiligat;so TWK.
10chiluculumT; chilonculumWK.
11in ducentisWK.
4

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GreekPhilosophersin Later MediaevalLiterature

tamen ab ipsis dijs aerem
factum, sed ipsos ex aere
ortos credidit. Claruit autemtemporeCyriregispersarum.

tamen ab ipsis dijs aerem

factum, sed ipsos ex aere
ortos credidit. Claruit autem temporeCiri regispersarum.

445

toutes choses. Et que non

pas seulementles choses inferioresmais que aussi les
dieux estoient procedez &
fais de lair.

II
One of the most popular chronicles,if not the most popular,printedin the
fifteenthcenturywas WernerRolewinck's Fasciculus Temporum.Hain's Reeditions of this
pertorium
Bibliographicum
alone recordsover thirtydifferent
work. The connectionand the interdependenceof the various editions is exhowever,need hardly
tremelycomplicated;the question of these relationships,
detain us as we are merelyenquiringinto the contentsof a fewof the editions
fordescriptionsof GreekPhilosophers.
Most of the earliereditions 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.) hardlygo beyond namingthe Seven
Sages and adding the followingshortnote to Thales:
id est poetas,
Thalesmilesiusvnusde 7 sapientibus
clarushabeturqui posttheologos,
defectum
solis&
sophidictisunt,id est sapientes.Iste Thalesprimuspotuitpredicere
lune,utdicitAugustinus
de civitatedei.
A numberof otherGreek and Roman 'men of letters'are noted by name only
or with a shortnote of description,rarelyextendingbeyond a few words. In
namingDemocritus,Anaxagoras,Heraclitus,Pindar, etc., Rolewinckadds the
note: 'Sententiashorumfloridas:vide in speculohistorialivincentij,'so that we
may suppose that the Fasciculus Temporumis largelydependenton Vincent
of Beauvais.
Whetherter Hoernen's 1474 edition of the Fasciculus is the editioprinceps
or not is stillunsettled;at presentit sharesthisdistinctionwithNicolaus Gotz's
firstedition.ter Hoernen'scolophonhas the note 'sicut ab autore suo . . . edita
est' which I should interpretas a 'slap' at Gotz, even thoughthe same note
occursin the Paradisus Conscientiae
ofthe followingyear.The prefatorynote to
Rolewinck'sSermoin FestoPraesentationis
BeatissimaeMariae Virginistestifies
to the fact that ter Hoernen knew Rolewinckas early as 1470 and had been
selectedby him to printthis work.The note to the Fasciculus does littlemore
than affirmthe authenticityof this edition,and would be unnecessaryunless
anotherworkhad appeared (or was appearing)withoutthe author'sassistance.
However it may be, we need onlyturnto the part dealingwiththe Seven Sages
of Greece to discoverthat, in this part at any rate, Gotz's editionwas printed
froma completelydifferent
manuscript.Six of the Seven are given adequate
descriptions(Pittacus onlybeing omitted)and these descriptionsare nottaken
fromthe SpeculumHistorialebut fromWalterBurley'sLiber de Vita et Moribus
Below are transcribedthe lines on 'Chion':
Philosophorum.
fuitin
vnusde septemsapientibus
Grecie;breuiloquus
Chion,philosophus
lacedemonius,
suis.Hie docebat:dominari
ne quisin conuiuiomaledicat
sentencijs
lingueet presertim
humiliat
tristentur.
proximone conuiuantes
Interrogatus:
quid sit fortuna;respondit:

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446

GreekPhilosophersin Later MediaevalLiterature

alta et exaltathumilia.Docebateciam;humilesnupciasfacere;mortuis
nonmalidicere;
seniumhonorare;
damnummallequamparuum(sic) lucrum;infelicem
nonirridere;
non
in via; legibusobedire;et plurimanotabilia(fol.LXIII).
festinare
It was broughtout in Part I that VincentonlymentionedChilon by name, so
that the SpeculumHistorialecould not be the sourceforthis passage. If the text
is compared to the Burley-Rudimentum
Novitiorumquotation, it will be seen
that the linesin Gotz's Fasciculus are onlya verycondensedversionofBurley's
account. To take another example, Anaxagoras in Gtitz's edition corresponds
to the closinglines in Burley:
G6tz:Anaxagoras
studiosissimus
cursuscripsit;tandem
multade motuceliet syderum
ab Athenijvenenoextinctus
est (fol.Lrxxv).
Burley:Hie studiosus
fuitvaldeet multade motuceli& cursusiderum
& naturarerum
scripsit.Vixitautemannis LxxiJ. In carcereenimab Atheniensibus
positus& multa
inediasqualidusab eis venenatusest quia solemdicebatlapidemignitum
essequemilli
prodeocolebant.
ter Hoernen, on the other hand, literallycopies Vincent's short note in the
SpeculumHistoriale: 'Hic Anaxagoras,vt dicit Augustinus,successoremhabuit
Archelauimqui fuit magister Socratis' (Lib. iv, cap. xxxiii). There are other
differences
betweenthe two editions;the BritishMuseum Catalogue of Incunabula (i, 238) notes that 'the author's introduction(in the Gotz edition) differs
widelyfromthat in the originaleditionby ter Hoernen,and the table is much
more elaborate.' There are numerousother dissimilarities;forexample,if we
examinethe text on folio13 (terHoernen'snumbering),the followingvariations
may be noted: forSalmanazar, thereis no correspondingpassage in Gotz; the
Seven Sages are listed only by ter Hoernen; Thales differsin the two editions;
(folio 14) 'On false Gods' is omittedby Gotz; the Sibilla Samia is longerin ter
Hoernen,while Numa Maximus is describedat greaterlengthby Gotz; etc.
Ernst Voullieme (Der BuchdruckKolns [Bonn, 1903] p. xvii, n. 1) writes:
'Indessen scheintes mir keinemZweifelzu unterliegen,dass diejenige Arnold
Therhoernensdie editio princepsist. Dieser war der Verlegerdes Rolevinck,
dessen Schriften,soweit sie iuberhauptgedrucktwurden,zuerst bei ihm erschienen.'On the otherhand, it has also been maintained' that Gotz's edition
was at presswhilethe terHoernenone was beingprepared.As it has been demonstratedthat these two editionswere set up fromdifferent
manuscripts,the
assumptionthat the Gotz editionis a pirated one can, I believe,be dismissed.
A pirated edition usually correspondsclosely to the genuinework which it is
meant to duplicate. If, also, ter Hoernen's is the editioprincepsand Gotz's a
revision,it is strangethat Gotz, forhis second edition of the work,instead of
reprintingthis 'revised' copy, used ter Hoernen's throughout.On the whole,
Miss Stillwell'ssuggestionthat Gotz's was a trialeditionappears to be the most
satisfactorysolution,as this explainsalso why Gotz used ter Hoernen'stext for
his second edition.
1 M. B. Stillwell,'The Fasciculus Temporum,' BibliographicalEssays: A Tributeto Wilberforce
Eames, Cambridge,Mass., 1994.

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447

III
HartmannSchedel's famousNiirnbergChronicleis the last of the chronicles
to be examinedhere. Schedel's workappears to be littlemorethan a reworking
of otherchronicles,one of the most importantof these being the Fasciculus
which may even have served as a model. In describingthe Seven
Temporum,
Chroniclecombinesthe methodsof the two 'first'editions
Niirnberg
Sages, the
of the Fasciculus Temporum.The Seven Sages are discussed separately as in
Gotz's edition and collectivelyas in ter Hoernen's. On fol. LIXr may be found
the long descriptionof 'Tales'; on fol. LXV, the Seven Sages are listed as in ter
Hoernen'sedition,togetherwith the followingnote, quite obviouslyborrowed
fromthe Fasciculus:
et poetassophi
clarushabeturqui posttheologos
Tales milesiusvnusde vii sapientibus
solis& lune,vt
defectum
dictisunt,id est sapientes:isteTales primuspotuitpredicere
gestaac dictaeorummanifestant.
De hisfoliaprecedentia
dicitAugustinus.
For the restofthe Seven Sages as well as fora numberof otherclassical philosophers,SchedelborrowedheavilyfromBurley'sDe vitaetmoribusphilosophorum.
The note on Chilon,forexample,is longerthan in the Gotz Fasciculus,although
it is also little more than a condensed account of the Burley-Rudimenturm
text:
Novitiorum
Grecie
Athenisclaruit,terciusde septemsapientibus
Lacedemonius,
Chilon,philosophus
sapientiambreueloquusdictusest. Hie iungendecausa
qui ob eius profundissimam
vbi duces& seniorespopuliludentesinuenitin alea,
societatismissusfuitCorinthum:
quorum
spartanorum
est: dicensse nollegloriam
negocio,reuersus
quod,infecto
propter
cumaleatoribus
vtdiceretur
infamia
hacmaculari
Bisantio,clarescebat:
constructo
virtus,
mulRespondit;ignarusmedicus,
quidestfortuna.
Interrogatus;
societatem.
contraxisse
in conuiuijs.Non
lingue& presertim
tosenimexcecat.DocebatautemChilon;dominari
Itemnon
alioquinaudireoportetea quibusquistristabitur.
proximis,
essemaledicendum
amicorum
cuiquam,quoniamhoc est muliebre.Ciciusad calamitatem
esse minandum
mortuo.
ire. Humilesnuptiasfacere.Non esse maledicendum
quam ad prosperitatem
illudenimsemel
Damnummallequamprauumlucrum,
Caueresibiipsi.
Seniumhonorare.
mansuetum
& fortem
Dominatorem
infelicem.
hocvsquequaque.Nonirridere
contristabit
Non cupere
quam timeant.Ire dominari.
subditimagisreuereantur
esse decet,vt eumn
annis(fol.
Et claruittemporeSedechieregis.Vixitautemquinquagintasex
impossibilia.
LIX) .

Empedoclesis also taken fromBurley's workand not fromthe SpeculumHistoriale,as may be seen by comparingSchedel'stext with that in the Rudimentum
printedabove:
Novitiorum
laudatur:qui adeo canendipericia
his temporibus
Atheniensis
Empedoclesphilosophus
inuadereteo quod
eius iuuenisquidamfuribundus
edoctuserat.Quod cumhospiteml
dicitur:vt
patremeius accusationedamnasset:ita dulcitercanendimoduminflexisse
Huius autemhec fuitsententia.Tria sunt (inquit)in
temperarit.
iuuenisiracundiam
felicitatis
future
appetitus&
mobiliscontemptus,
scilicetaffluentie
totarerumvarietate,
tercionihilde
secundonihilefficacius;
quorumprimonihilhonestius,
mentisillustratio;
Descripsitquedeum:Deus est speracuius
efficacius.
amborumadeptionecompendiosa
deniqueanimasimmortales
nusquam.Arbitratus
est vbique& circumferentia
centrum
se incendijsdedit (fol.LXXI).
1 Texthospotem.

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That Schedeldid not depend exclusivelyon the De vitaetmoribusphilosophorum

may be seen in the case of Pythagoras,but it is safe to say that Schedel's most
importantsource for the Greek Philosopherswas Burley's work with a few
additions,possiblyfrommoreclassical sources.
PART II

I
In the firstsectionofthis article,'a numberofLatin chronicleshave been discussed whichweredependent,forthe descriptionsofthe Greekphilosophers,on
Walter Burley'sLiber de Vita et Moribus Philosophorum.It is needlessto add
that the influenceof Burley's workand what I call the 'Vincenttradition'extendedfarbeyondthe chronicles.In a greatmanyworksquotationscan be found
which could very easily have been borrowedfromBurley but which,as was
pointedout in the firstpart,may also have been extractedfromotherworks;for
example,Jacques Le Grand includesthe followingin his Sophologium:'Iste est
Empedocles qui sic descripsissedeum legitur. Deus, inquit, est spera cuius
nusquam,'2but it will be recalled that,
centrumest ubique et circumferencia
thoughthisstatementoccursin Burley'swork,it also formsa part ofEmpedocles'
sayings in the Speculum Historialeand elsewhere.As the attributionof such
quotationsis doubtful,we shall examineonlythosethatcan, withsomecertainty,
be ascribedto a definitework.
Beforeturningto Burley's influenceon the workswrittenin the vernacular,
we may note that, on the one hand, Burley'scompilationwas not the onlywork
chroniclesand, on the other,that the
used as a source for fifteenth-century
Liberde Vita etMoribusPhilosophorum
the
discredit
not
entirely
did
Renaissance
and that its influenceextendedwell into the sixteenthcentury.3The SupplementumChronicarumof Jacobus Philippus Bergomensisis a most interesting
case. Solon is thus described:
siuesalamigreciaesecundus:patriaatheniensis
Solonphilosophus
e septemsapientibus
et ibi leges
athenisfloruit:
nus:histemporibus
Gelliotestelib.s. 14 noctiumatticarum:
ait: si athenienses
quas sicutValeriusliberde ingratis
multas:atque optimasinstituit:
Constatnamque
habiturifuissentimperium.
perpetuoseruareuoluissetsempiternum
monitaelegia:
ut Laertiusscribit:ipsumlegeset contionesscripsisse:et in semetipsum
uinoindulsisse
haberetur:
ac oraculiiudiciosapientissimus
omnium:
qui quumhominum
multa
in 2 Politicorum
fertur.
De Solone autemisto Plato in Thimeo:et Aristotiles
aetatissuae anno:quummandasset
Tandemin cyproinsulaobiitoctogesimo
scripsere.
atque ea in cineremdissoluta:peromnem
suis: ut ossa sua Salaminamtransferrent:
nonfuit:quumipsiussepulchro
sedeiusiussisobtemperatum
disseminarent:
prouinciam
Sopropulitiras legiferum
taleepigramma
sit:qua dudumrabidasmedorum
inscriptum
hanc solamhichabeautemeius plurimis:
lonempulchratenetSalamis:ex sententiis
gigni:quae nonposuisti
amus: satietatemex diuitiisnasci:et ex sacietatecontumelias
nontollas:mentiri
noliet cetera.4
I Referencesto books in thePierpontMorgan Library,New York, are noted PML., withthe accession numberfollowing.
2 [Cologne: Printerof AlbertusMagnus de Virtutibus,
ca. 1473],Lib. i, cap. 8 (PML. 21538).
3In the seventeenthcentury,the work was issued as an originalcompilationunder the title:
Tractatusde Vita et Moribus PhilosophorumVeterumAnastasii a Sala MombellensisJ. U. D. cum
SapientiumDictorumac Indicis AdiectioneLocupletissima.Casali, 1603.
4 Venice: Albertusde Lissona, 1503,fol. 94v (PML. 20977). In these quotations,punctuationhas

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449

If thispassage is comparedwiththe descriptiongivenby Burley,it will be seen

to be of quite a different
origin.Philippus has drawnhis statementsfromthe
NoctesAtticaeofAulus Gellius (incidentallythe referenceshouldread Liber17),
fromValerius Maximus, Plato, Aristotleand Diogenes Laertius. The latter
writes:
Obiitautemin Cyproaetatissuaeannooctogesimo:
hocsuismandansut Salaminam
eius
ossatransferrent:
... porroipsius
atqueincinerem
solutaperprouinciam
disseminarent:
imaginiin huncsensumEpigramma
scriptum
est:
Quaedudum
rabidas
medorum
propulit
iras.
Solonapulchra
tenetSalamis.
Legiferum
... Satietatem
ex diuitiisnasci:et ex satietatecontumelias
gigni,etc.1
If is clear that the Solon of the Supplementum
Chronicarum
is largelydrawn
fromDiogenes Laertius,and as the epitaphin thesetwo worksagreesverbatim,
it is certainthat Philippusused the same translationas Jensondid forhis edition,
thatby AmbrosiusTraversarius.2
Most ofthephilosophersare similarlydescribed
fromvarious classical sources,but even in this workthe Vincenttraditionis at
work,forwe findthat the descriptionofEmpedoclesreads:
Empedoclesphilosophus
atheniensis
et ipse his temporibus
laudatur:qui adeo canendi
peritiaedoctuserat:quod quumhospitem
eius iuuenisfuribundus
quidameuadereteo
quodpatremeiusaccusatione
damnasset:
ita dulcitercanendimoduminflexisse
dicitur:
ut iuuenisiracundiam
temperarit.
Huiusautemhaecfuitsententia.
Tria sunt(inquit)in
totarerumuarietate:scilicet:affluentie
mobiliscontemptus,
future
felicitatis
appetitus:
et mentisillustratio.
Quorumprimonihilhonestius.
Secundonihilefficacius.
Tertionihil
ad amborum
compendiosa
adeptioneefficacius.
Descripsitautemhic Deum sic. Deum
est speracuiuscentrum
est ubiqueet circunferentia
(sic) nusquam.Arbitratus
denique
animasimmortales
se incendiisdedit:ut habeturff.de iniustoruptotestamento:
lege
Siquisfilio.Parafo.Quodsi quistediouite.3
With the exceptionof the last fewlines,Empedocles has the same description
as in Burley's work.
Albrechtvon Eyb, in his great compilation,the Margarita
Poetica,included
a chapterwhichhe called: 'Ex laerciode vita et moribusphilosophorumautoritates incipiunt.'AlthoughEyb was to a certainextentan earlyGermanhumanist
and had read extensivelyin the classics,4neverthelessthis chapterhas nothing
to do withDiogenes Laertius,but consistsofextractsfromBurley'swork.As an
illustration,the followingpassage on Crates may be cited:
Cratesthebanusphilosophus.
Hic, vt ait Hieronimus
epistolatercia,magnumpondus
auriproiiecit
in maredicens:abitepessimediuitie:egopotiusvossubmergam
quamsuba vobis.Nonenimputauitse possesimulvirtutes
mergar
et diuitiaspossidere.
Hic etiam,
onlybeen suppliedwhereabsolutelynecessary.Contractionshave been expandedwithoutthe use of
italics,but typographicalpeculiarities,such as u forv and e forae, have been retained.
1 Quoted fromthe editionby Jenson,Venice, 1475 (PML. 309). The text has been slightlyrearrangedto conformto the textin the Supplementum
Chronicarum.
2 Only the Latin translationby AmbrosiusTraversariuswas publishedin the fifteenth
century.
The followingeditionswill appear in the Gesamtkatalog
der Wiegendrucke:
Rome, Lauer, ca 1472;
Venice, Jenson,1475; Brescia, Brittanicus,1485; Venice,Locatellus, 1490; Bologna, Ragazonibus,
1495;andVenice,Pincius,1497.
Op. cit.,fol. 109r.
4 He quotes fromValeriusMaximus, Cicero, Lactantius,Macrobius,Apuleius,Terence,Plautus,
Seneca, Orosius,QuintusCurtius,etc.

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interrogauit:
secretoambulantem
adolescentulum
vt ait Senecalibroprimoepistolarum:
quid illicfaceret?Solusmecum,inquit,loquor;cui Crates:caue ne cumhominemalo

loquaris.1

This passage followsBurley's text closely,and differsin detail fromVincent's

The factthat St Jeromeis quoted is positiveproof,ifany moreis
description.2
needed, that this Crates has not been directlytaken fromDiogenes Laertius.
Incidentally,the referenceto Jeromeis incorrect.In the letter'Ad Paulinum
de InstitutioneClericorum,'he writes:3 'Crates illeThebanus,homo
Presbyterum
quondam ditissimus,cum ad philosophandumAthenas pergeret,magnumauri
pondus abjecit; nec putavit se simul posse et virtuteset divitias possidere.'4
Burley'squotationis, however,drawnfromanotherofJerome'sworks,Adversus
Jovinianum(Liber Ii, cap. 9): 'Unde et Crates ille Thebanus, projectoin mari
non parvo auri pondere, Abite, inquit, pessum malae cupiditates: ego vos
mergam,ne ipse mergara vobis.'5
II
If we now turnto the vernacularliterature,we findthat Burley'sinfluenceis
by no means any less. Each of the worksdiscussedin the previoussectionwas
Novitiorurn,
translatedintoone ormoreofthenationaltongues;the Rudimentum
as we have seen, reappearedas the Mer des Hystoires;the NiirnbergChronicle
was issued in Germanless than six monthsafterits initialappearancein Latin;
and the Fasciculus Temporumwas translatedinto German,French and Dutch.
is an accuratetranslationofthe original,nothingmore
As the Buch derChronilk
need be said about it, and althoughthe Mer des Hystoireswas discussed.inthe
firstpart, one more point is worthnoting.MS. 277 of The PierpontMorgan
Library is a collectionof moral sayings of the philosophers,the title page of
whichreads: 'Si apres sensuiuentaulcunsmoraulxdictz des philozophesque i'ay
extraitzde la mer des ystoireset d'ailleurs.' These sayings are all, however,
and do not includeany statementsnot found
derivedfromthe Mer desHystoires,
in the original.Occasionally a passage is slightlyrewritten;for example, the
Mer des Hystoiresattributesthe followingto Socrates:'Le malicieuxouurierfait
la chose bonne estre laide,'f6whichappears in the Morgan manuscript(under
Ozocrates) as: 'Le meschantfait trouuerla chose bonne estre mauuaise.'
A numberof the philosophershave changedtheirnames,as Philo appears in
place of Chilo in the Morgan text,and Platon forAnaxagoras;at least once (in
Pittacus),the textwas emended,possiblywithan attemptat humour.The Mer
des Hystoireshas:
1472,fol. ccxcvi, E (PML. 23552).
INtirnberg: Sensenschmidt,

2 Vincentomitsthe sentencebeginning
'non enim'and the orderdiffers
slightly.The Seven Sages,
in any case, are unquestionablyborrowedfromBurley.
3 Migne, Patr. Lat., xxii, 580.
4Compare, also, Brant's Das Narrenschiff
(Basel: J. Bergmannvon Olpe, 1494 - PML. 25971):

Crates syn gelt warffin das mer

Das es nythyndertinn zur ler.
5Migne, Patr. Lat., xxiii, 998. Quite obviouslyJerome'stwo statementswerecombinedinto one
6 Paris: Pierrele Rouge, 1488,Vol. ii, fol.23r (PML. 17593).
at an earlydate.

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451

la terre.
Quellechoseestloyale/ respondit
quelledesloyale/ respondist
la mer.'
In MS. 277 the same sayingreads: 'L'on luy demanda quelle chose est loyalle.
Respondit,la terre.et quelle chose est desloyalle: la femme.'2The manuscript
bears the autographentryof PierreSala, apparentlya memberof the wealthy
Sala familywho had numerousmanuscriptswrittenand illuminatedforthem,
and thus gives an interesting
example of the literarytaste of that period.3
Nor is thereanythingspecial to note in regardto the Fasciculus Temporum.
The German,French, and Dutch translationsrepresentedby the respective
editionsof Strassburg1492 (Hain 6940), Geneva 1495 (Hain 6943) and Utrecht
1480 (Hain 6946) were made fromthe normaltext,4and thus have only short
notes on the Greek philosophersinstead of the long descriptionsgiven in the
Gotz edition.
The influenceof the Vincenttraditionextendsfarbeyondthe translationof
these dependentworks.As earlyas the last quarterofthe thirteenth
century,a
compilationofsayingsofthephilosophersextractedfromtheSpeculumHistoriale
and translatedinto Italian appeared under the title Fiori e Vita di Filosafi.5
Burley's work also appeared in the vernacular; it was printedin Germanby
AntonSorg (Augsburg,1490; Hain 4125), thetitleofwhichreads: 'Das buch von
demlebenvnd sittenderheydnischen
maister;'a Spanishtranslationofthiswork
was publishedby HermannKnust;6and a manuscriptof an Italian translation
was mentionedby Mone.7 In addition,a numberof editionsof a book entitled
'I1 libro della vita de philosophiet delle loro elegantissimesententieextracto
da D. Lahertio & da altriantiquissimiauctori' appeared in the last quarterof
thefifteenth
century.8
Despite thetitle,9thebook is littlemorethan a translation
ofBurley'scompilationto whicha numberofsayingswereadded, chieflydrawn
fromValerius Maximus and Aulus Gellius. That this workwas not dependent
on Diogenes Laertius will be seen in the followingpassages on Empedocles:
Empedoclefuphilosofo
Agrigentino
di Sicilia:& secondoAristotile
fuinuentore
dell'arte
'Op. cit.,i,

256r.

2 The

two quotationsfromMorgan MS. 277 willbe found,respectively,

on folios24r and 8v.
3 See LteopoldDelisle, Le Cabinetdes Manuscritsde la Bibliotheque
Imp&iale (Paris, 1868), i, 285.
For identification
of the manuscriptwithPierreSala and noteson the Sala family,I am obligedto
Miss Meta HarrsenofThe PierpontMorganLibrary.
4 The Dutch editionis in The PierpontMorgan Library(PML. 626). I have examinedthe copy
of the Germaneditionin the Union Theological Seminary,New York. For the French text,I am
obligedto Mr ErnstF. DettererofThe NewberryLibrary,Chicago,who kindlysentme a transcriptionof the linesin question.
5 CompareHermannVarnhagen,Oberdie Piori e Vita di Filosafi(Erlangen,1893).
6 Bibliothek
des litterarischen
Vereinsin Stuttgart,
Vol. CLXXVII.
7 Anz. f. Kunde d. deutsch.
Vorzeit,viii, 323. Possiblythereis also an early Frenchtranslationof
Burley'sbook; compareBrunet,Manuel du Libraire,ii, 767.
8 The Gesamtkatalog
derWiegendrucke
willenterthis workunderDiogenes Laertiuswiththe note:
'ist eine gektlrzte,
freieBearbeitungderlateinischenVorlage.'No less than twelveseparatefifteenthcenturyeditionsare recorded.
9 Burley'sbook was apparentlyknownas the workofDiogenesLaertiusat thistime.This accounts
forthe titlein the Italian editionas well as forEyb's chapterpreviouslynoted.

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oratoria.Costui era cosi buono musicosecondoche dice Boetio, che una uolta un giouane
elcui padre lui haueua accusato uenne per assaltarlo & farglimale. Empedocle comincio
si dolcementea cantareche il giouanesi stettefermo& non hebbe mai animodoffenderlo.
Dimandato Empedocle perche uiuesse Rispuose per guardare il cielo. Costui uedendo
l'animeessereimmortali:& sperandodi la esseremiglioruita lui stessisabrucioin Athene.
Fu al tempodi CyroRe 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 Phtilosophorum; in the description of Anaximenes, only the first two sentences are
from Burley, all the rest having been taken from Valerius Maximus:
AnaximenesphilosophoMilesio discepolodi Anasimandro& maestrodi Parmenide& di
Anaxagora.Costui trouola ragionedi moltecose: ne credeua,ne negaua gli dei: & diceua
I'aria non esserefacta da gli dei: ma l'aria hauerfactogli dei. Diceua Valerioche sapendo
Alexandroche Anaximenesdoueua ueniredallui, egli giurofarel'opposito di quello che
adimandasse:laqualcosa conoscendoAnaximenesdomandoche Alexandrodouesse disfare
la cipta di Lampsaco: & cosi Alexandroper farel'oppositodella sua domandala conseruo,
et in quel modo fu liberataquella cipta. Costui fu al tempo di Cyro Re di Persia: & non
pochodoppo che fussedisfactoDario 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 Trimberg's Der Renner, we findthe followinglines:
Wol hhtuns bescheidendes
Der wise man Empedocles,
Der wundersvil geschribenhat,
Und sprichetalso an einerstat:
'Swer werltlichesguotesltitzelahtet
Und nAchEwigens6ldentrahtet
Und hUtwol einenerliuhtenmuot,
Diu driu dine sintbesunderguot:
Vor dem 6rstenist nihterlicher,
Vor dem andernist nihtniizllcher,
vor dem dritten
Niht volbrengelicher
Daz disiu zwei besliuzetmitten.'3
This is, of course, the passage beginning 'Tria sunt' and attributed to Aristotle's
De Vegetabilibusby 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 filosafo disse che nele cose del seculo tre sono le principali, cio e despregiare abondancia di richece, desiderare beatitudine, chiararsi nell'animo di buone virtudi.'4
1 Quotations are taken fromthe thirdedition (Florence: Francesco Buonaccorsi & Antonio di
Francesco,1488: Hain 69207).Comparethe textwithBurley(cap. XLVIII).
2 ComparewithValeriusMaximus (Lib. vii, cap. iII) and withBurley(cap. LXIII). Since the Seven
Sages are treatedas in Burley,the Italian workcannotgo back directlyto Vincent.
3 Gustav Ehrismann'sedition,Bibliothek
Yereinsin Stuttgart,
deslitterarischen
CCLII, 179,11.2125768.
4 Varnhagen,op. cit.,p. 2.

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453

The openinglines of Albrechtvon Eyb's Ob einemMann sei zu nehmenein

ehelichWeib odernichtread:
Socratesphylosophus
einnatUirlicher
meister
zu Athenasderdo istgewestzu denzeytten
Assweri
desktunigs
wardvoneinemJtlngling
gefragt
ob ereinweybnemensoltodernit.
Antwurt
der meistervnd sprachzu im. Wellichsdu tust,das wirtdichreuen.Wann
nymstu
einweybso bistuallezeytinsorgen
vndangsten,
instetem
kriegemitdemweybe,
mitderschwiger,
mitirenfreuntten,
mitauffhebung
desheiratguts,in verdechtlichkeit
mitanndern
mennern
vndinvngewisheit
derkinder.
Bleibestdu aberonweybe,so wirt
dichbekUmern
vndpeinigen
alleinonweyblich
liebvndtrostezuleben,
derkinder
berawbt
zu sein,vnttergangk
deinesgeschlechts,
vndeinesfremden
vngewisen
erbenszu wartten.1
The originof this storyis surelyto be found in Diogenes Laertius,who wrote:
t A', "/n1,6 av abrci'v rots,
jtera-yvc&q.2The fullstory
is found,however,in ValeriusMaximus (Liber vii, cap. 11), in Vincent (Spec.
Hist., iv, cap. 58), in Burley (cap. 30) and in Eyb's ownMargaritaPoetica,in a
sectionentitled:'Ex valeriomaximohistorieet autoritatesincipiunt.'There can
be littledoubt that Eyb took this passage fromthe classical sourceratherthan
fromany of the mediaeval works;on the otherhand, the name Assweriis unusual. I cannot recall that'Assweriis foundin any classical text,mostcertainly
not in Aulus Gellius,ValeriusMaximus or Diogenes Laertius,and he is also not
foundin Vincent.8In the passage Eyb extractedfromValeriusMaximus,king
Assweriis not mentioned,but he is noted in Eyb's Ex laerciochapter under
Socrates: 'Mortuusest venenipoculo temporeassueriregisassiriorumanno vero
etatis sue nonagesimoquarto.'4This is not exactlythe same arrangementas in
Burley's text (cap. 30) for it is a somewhatcondensedaccount,but therecan
be no doubt that it was derivedfromthat work.Vincentin a similarpassage
(iv, 66) omitskingAssweri(Ahasuerus)and correctlystates that Socrateswas
seventywhenhe died. Burley and Eyb (Ex laercio) both claim that Ysocrates
also lived in the reignofkingAssweri.5
In Middle English literature,the influenceof the Vincent traditionis also
not wanting.Hoccleve, in his Regiment
ofPrinces,wrote:
spTrr0EL iro6repovyr.at

Demostenus
hishondesonesputte
In a wommans
bosomejapyngly,
Offacefaire,butofhirbodya slutte;
'Witheyouto dele,'seidehe,'whatshalleI
You yeve?''Fourtypens,'kotheshe,'sothely.'
He seidenay,so derehe byenolde
A thyngforwhichehe repentsholde.6
I

2 Liber ii, cap. 33.

[Ntirnberg:
A. Koberger,ca 1472]- (PML. 30060).
3 This name is not found in Pauly-Wissowa,Real-Encyclopddie
der klassischenAltertum8wissenschaft.Assweriis obviouslythe Biblical characterAssuerusor Ahasuerus;the Book of Estheropens
withthe words'In diebus Assueriqui regnavitab India usque Aethiopiametc.' The name A8sweri,
like Athenasabove, was simplytaken over in the originalcase.
4 Eyb, op. cit.,fol.CCXCVIIv.
B Eyb, op. cit.,fol.CCXCVIv:
'Isocrates philosophusclaruitin Grecia temporeAssueriregis';so also
in Burley(cap. 27).
0 Edited by Thomas Wright,RoxburgheClub, 1860, p. 135. For othernotes on Hoccleve's poem,
see Allan H. Gilbert,'Notes on the Influenceofthe SecretaSecretorum,'
SPECuLuM, iII (1928), 93-98.

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454

GreekPhilosophersin LaterMediaevalLiterature

The storyof Demosthenesand Lais goesback, of course,to a similarpassage in

the NoctesAtticaeof Aulus Gellius:
clanculum
aditet ut sui copiamfaceret,
petit.At Lais ydptas
Ad hancilleDemosthenes
miliapoposcit;hoc facitnumminostratis
denarium
id est decemdrachmarum
3paXydas
ictus expauidusque
Tali petulantiamulierisatque pecuniemagnitudine
decemmilia.
tantinonemo.1
et discedens:
auertitur
Demosthenes
ego,inquit,poenitere
A parallel passage is foundin Burley'swork:
iocandosubpalpitans
et queritans
meretricis
stomachum
laydisnobilissime
Demostenes
tantinonemo.2
respondit:
egopenitere
promilledenarys,
quantumlicet.Cumilladiceret
ofPrincesare much
It is readilyapparentthat the English linesin the Regiment
closer to Burley's text than to the classical source.One otherstanza at least,
Hoccleve borrowedfromBurley'swork;it reads:
is hadenoweofourlawes;
Smalletendirnesse
For yfso be thatoneofthegretewattes
A dededo,whichethatageynthelaweis,
forthatis.
Not at alle he punysshede
Rightas lop-webbes
flyessmaleand gnattes
Taken,and suffren
greteflyesgo,
For alle thisworldlawe is reuledeso.3

This statementcan be tracedback to Diogenes Laertius (Solon) but as it is beyond probabilitythat Hoccleve was acquainted with this Greek work and as
in the
the quotationmay be foundin theLiberde Vita etMoribusPhilosophorum
same wordsas in the marginalnote in the manuscript,therecan be littledoubt
that Hoccleve actuallyhad someworkofthe Vincenttraditionbeforehim when
he was writingthe RegimentofPrinces.
It remainsto be pointed out that a few sources apart fromthose already
noted can be traced. In the anonymousCourtof Sapience,the historyof Greek
philosophyis summedup as:
Millesius,ooneofthesagesseuyn,
In Grecefurst
drew,as inthecraftofkynde,
By hysreasounthecausesoftheheuyn,
Andofychethyngthenatureganhe fynde;
ThancamePlato,a worthy
clerkofkynde;
Fornaturallartsoughtoutgeometry,
Arsmetryk,
MusykandAstronomy.
Dame Ethica,pryncesse
ofpolycy,
GoodSocratesfurstfoundforgouernaunce,
To knowvertewandto lyuehonestly;
Andfowreladyeshe sought,
fullofplesaunce,
To serueDame Ethykewythobeysaunce,
WhosnamesbynPrudenceandRyghtwysnes,
Dame Fortitude
I geas.4
andTemperaunce
1 Rome: [Sweynheym
&

Pannartz],1469,Lib. i, cap. 8 (PML. 242).

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,' Beitragezur englischen
Philologie
(Leipzig, 1932), pp. 13 and 93.
2

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GreekPhilosophersin LaterMediaevalLiterature

455

This is a simpletranslationof a passage in St Isidore's Etymologiae:

est ThalesMilesius,unusex septemillis
Physicamapud Graecosprimusperscrutatus
contemplata
sapientibus.
Hic enimantealioscaeli causasatquevimrerumnaturalium,
id est,
Plato in quatuordefinitiones
distribuit,
ratione,suspexit,quam postmodum
EthicamSocratesprimusad corarithmeticam,
geometriam,
musicamet astronomiam.
atque omnestudiumeius ad bene vivendi
rigendoscomponendosque
moresinstituit,
disputationem
perduxit,
dividenseam in quatuorvirtutesanimae,id est,prudentiam,
justitiam,
fortitudinem
et temperantiam.1
oaar6vwas
It is amusingto note also how the famousGreek proverb'yvcOt
Frenchand Englishtexts.Jacques Le Grand
transliteratedin fifteenth-century
in Le Livre de Bonnes Moeurs wrote: 'Et ce mesmesdist Juuenalet tesmoigne
que la dicte voix disoit,Notis elicos qui vault autant a direcommecognoistoy
toy mesmes.'2When Wynkynde Worde publishedthe English translationof
this work,it read: And the same sayth Juuenalland wytnesseththat the sayd
voys sayd Gnoto solidos whicheis to saye knowethy selfe.'3
So farwe have onlytracedthe influenceofthe Vincenttraditionon mediaeval
literature.It is hardlynecessaryto add that othersourceswere used by mediaeval writersforthe storiesof the Greekphilosophers.4
The most importantof
all these sources,the Liber PhilosophorumMoraliumAntiquorumrecentlyattributedto Johannesde Procida by Remigio Sabbadini,5will not be discussed
at all. The text of this importantwork,as well as the sources and the early
Spanish text have been admirablyedited and investigatedby HermannKnust6
and Ezio Franceschini.7The Frenchand Englishtranslationswill be morefully
than is possible
treatedin my editionoftheDictesand SayingsofthePhilosophers
here,but it may be pointedout in passing that the importanceof this workto
theFrenchand Englishliteratureoftheperiodhas notyetbeenfullyappreciated.
Over fortymanuscriptsof the Frenchtext and dependentversions,in addition
to someten earlyeditions,are knownto me; ofthe variousEnglishtranslations,
I have seen twelvemanuscriptsand fourearlyprintedtexts. The influenceof
Ausoniusand the pseudo-AusoniustextsI hope to discussin a subsequentessay.
THE PIERPONT MORGAN LIBRARY.
1 Migne,
Patr.Lat.,LXXXII, 141.
2 MorganMS. 734, fol.6v. The printededition(Lyons: Guillaumele Roy, ca 1487- PML. 24939)
similarlyhas 'Notis elicos' (fol.5v).
3 PML. 747, sig. A4verso.
4 A greatmanyreferences
to Greekphilosophersare, of course,purelyfictitious;so, forexample,
in Die Vier Angeltugenden
[Strassburg:P. Attendorn,ca 1492 - PML. 27818], Socrates quotes
fromAristotle,St Gregoryand St Augustine,whileAristotleis made to quote fromSeneca, Nero,
Theodosius,Solomon,etc. Such worksdo not,ofcourse,comeintothe scope ofthispaper.
6 '
TraduttoreLatino del Liber Philosophorum,'
Attidel Reale IstitutoVenetodi Scienze,Lettere
ed Arti,Anno Accademico1932-3, Tomo xcii, Parte Seconda.
6 'Ein Beitragzur KenntnissderEscorialbibliothek,'
Jahrbuch
fiirromanische
Literaund englische
tur,x and xi, and 'Mittheilungenaus dem Eskurial,'Bibliothekdes litterarischen
in Stuttgart,
V7ereins
1879.'
7 'Il Liber PhilosophorumMoraliumAntiquorum,'Attidel R. IstitutoVenetodi Scienzeetc.,Anno
1931-32,Tomo xci, Parte Seconda. The sourcesand influences
ofthisworkweretreatedby the same
author in Memoriedella R. ^AccademiaNazionale dei Lincei, Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche,e
Filologiche,Serie vi, Vol. iii, Fasc. v.

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