THE LIFE OF GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA

...too [concise] and unraveled, which he certainly would have divided into many chapters had he lived. He also composed two prayers to God: one in Tuscan rhymes original: "rithmis hetruscis"; this refers to Italian vernacular poetry. in elegiac meter, and another by which he might soothe his mind by singing to the lyre when he was exhausted by weightier studies.

Refined Music

In the first years of his youth, he had so refined every kind of musical art that the melodies he devised and the harmonies he recorded with proper musical settings were held in high renown. We have also seen many things in his writing-chests, though they are disorganized; nevertheless, I would think something useful could be gathered from them, especially for his commentary on the Psalms.

Furthermore, approximately fifty letters appeared, written in various styles—some personal, some doctrinal, others encouraging—along with the Oration which he would have delivered in Rome had the debate taken place. These works do not merely suggest the most perceptive genius and abundant learning of a young man not yet twenty-four years old; rather, all his writings provide us with the most fruitful testimony of his exceptionally rich eloquence.

Approved character of speech

He always employed a highly admirable style, one that was not artificial but shaped by a multifaceted genius according to the variety of subjects. Even if he exhausted (as they say) the entire perfume-box of Isocrates original: "Isocratis myrothecion"; a classical metaphor for a collection of rhetorical ornaments or "scents" used to make prose more pleasing and polished., he nevertheless preserved a purity and the graceful ornaments of majesty. For regarding those celebrated styles of speaking—of which Gellius lists three and Macrobius four—one can easily find them in his commentaries. There, one finds the Copious style in which Cicero almost reigns supreme;

the Brief style which is ascribed to Sallust; the Dry style given to Fronto; and the Rich and Florid style in which Pliny and Symmachus were said to have indulged. But perhaps Brutus would not have called this abundance "weak," nor would Sallust have called it "immoderate." A trained orator, using right judgment, would not find it difficult to see the dryness of Fronto made moist, the brevity of Sallust expanded, or the florid richness of Pliny carried into a broader field. Add to these the milky fountain of Livy original: "Liuii lacteū fontē"; a famous description of Livy's smooth and copious prose style., perhaps without that "Patavinity" original: "patauinitate"; a criticism originally made by Asinius Pollio regarding Livy's provincial Paduan dialect. (as that man says), with many little flowers of Apuleius added.

Yet he did not exercise himself here merely in the philosophy borrowed from the Greeks, nor in the Attic Nights A reference to the work of Aulus Gellius., nor in the fictional Saturnalia A reference to the work of Macrobius. constructed to praise the nearly divine Aeneid, nor in Roman history, nor in mere natural history void of the highest and most difficult speculations. Instead, he toiled in understanding the fabric of the world, in attacking the enemies of the most holy Catholic Church, and he grew weary in the elimination of astrologers. He labored in examining theological questions and in the harmony of Aristotle and Plato; he devoted himself to explaining the sacred words of scripture, and he spent his energy on advising and encouraging his friends. Indeed, he was so far from chasing after the kind of eloquence we are discussing that he instead condemned those who, seeking "painted allurements" Refers to excessive rhetorical decoration. too scrupulously, applied all the strength of their genius to investigating the origins of words. All of these things turned many people toward an even greater admiration of him, because he had dwelt long and most intently among their literature. Those who have not professed Latin literature to be filled with the "flowers of eloquence" should bear these things with an even temper—those excessive lovers of antiquity. For although these matters are related concisely and briefly, they are perhaps told more truly by men more learned than I: Hermolaus Barbarus, Baptista the Carmelite Also known as Baptista Spagnoli of Mantua., Marsilio Ficino, Matteo Bosso, and many other most learned and eloquent men.

Speed of reading

He both read through and excerpted from vast libraries of both Latin and Greek authors with incredible speed. He never passed over any commentaries unread (if the opportunity was given). He had acquired such a great knowledge of the ancient Doctors of the Church that it is difficult to believe, even for one who had spent his entire life solely in turning their pages. Regarding the more modern theologians—who used that style commonly called the Parisian style original: "Parisiensem"; refers to the technical, often "unpolished" Scholastic Latin associated with the University of Paris.—such great judgment resided in him that if anyone had unexpectedly asked for the unraveling of an obscure or poorly explained question from any of them, he could provide it on the spot.