Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Library of Pico Della Mirandola by Pearl Kibre

Review by: M. F. Ashley-Montagu
Source: Isis , Dec., 1936, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Dec., 1936), pp. 159-161
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science
Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/225064

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 REVIEWS 159

1485, Paris, 1512, Strasbourg, 1541). The following auxiliary sources

were also consulted: BONUCCI's edition (Florence, I843-49) of an Italian
version, ascribed to ALBERTI, of the first three books; two Italian transla-
tions, by LAURO (Venice, 1546) and by BARTOLI (Ist ed., Florence, 1550),
respectively; the French translation, by MARTIN (Paris, 1553); the English
version, by LEONI (Ist ed., London, 1726) of BARTOLI'S translation;
and the German translation, by THEUER (Vienna, 1912). The Spanish
translation, by LOZANO (Ist ed., Madrid, I582) is mentioned in the
but not among the books consulted by the translator. The preface
does not mention the source of the chapter titles and of the table of
contents; both are absent in the editio princeps, the only Latin edition
accessible to me; apparently, the subdivisions introduced in the
XVIth-century Latin editions were followed.
The preface states that all the illustrations of the Florentine edition
of 1550 are reproduced (there were no illustrations in the Latin editions
and in the Venetian translation of 1546). The engraved title-page of
the Florentine edition of 1550 is reproduced, but the numerous
illustrations in the text are but poor imitations of those I find in the
Library of Congress copy of 1550; they are very similar to but not identical
with the mirror-image cuts of the Venetian edition of I-565. A. P.

Pearl Kibre.-The Library of PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA. XiV+330 pp.

New York: Columbia University Press, 1936 ($4.00).
One of the simplest, and generally most reliable, ways of ascertaining
the breadth of a man's interests and thus something of his mental furniture
is to look at the backs of the books upon the shelves of his library. In
this way one may learn more about a man than years of association with
him or with his writings could teach one. Certainly no one will deny
that a man's library serves to throw an appreciable light upon the
unadvertised sources of his mental equipment, and upon his views
and opinions, and until that time arrives-if it ever does-when writers
will provide their readers with running side-notes indicating as far
as they are able the sources of their ideas, for all ideas of whatever kind
are derivative, the student of a particular thinker and his works will
find in the record of the latter's library a valuable aid to the discovery
of, at least, some of those sources. With a view to providing such an
aid Miss KIBRE has printed an inventory and written an analysis of
the works in that "Phoenix of the wits" GIOVANNI PICO DELLA
MIRANDOLA'S (1463-94) library. This inventory is based upon two
sources, the first an inventory published by CALORI CESIS (GIOVANNI
PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA, I897, p. 76) which contained the list of books
made in 1498, four years after Pico's death, at the time of the sale of

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 i6o Isis, XXVI, I

the library to Cardinal DOMENIcO GRIMANI, the second an inventory,

hitherto unpublished, contained in a sixteenth century manuscript from
the ORSINI collection now in the Vatican library. This second inventory,
which consists of a running list of I 132 items and contains some fifty-eight
items less than are to be found in the list of 1498, records a number of
works which probably represent later additions made by the sixteenth
century copyist: these have been disregarded by Miss KIBRE in her
survey of Pico's collection; the whole inventory is, however, printed
in an appendix. The date at which this latter inventory was drawn
up is not known, nor is much known of its provenance beyond the fact
that the volume of which it forms a part originally belonged to ANGELO
COLLUCI, Bishop of Nocera (d. 1549), whose library was pillaged in 1527
during the sack of Rome. The volume later found a place in the library
of Cardinal ORSINI, a former pupil and friend of COLLUCI.
The I,190 volumes of Pico's library inventoried in 1498 must rank
as one of the largest of the private libraries of the period, and judging
from its titles, as amongst the most eclectic. There were some 900 works
in Latin, 157 in Greek, and I24 works, all but seventeen of which divided
between Aramaic and Arabic texts, were in Hebrew, the latter being
in itself one of the largest collections of works in Hebrew of the period.
Whilst a large number of works by the authors of classical antiquity
were represented in the library the large predominance of works on theo-
logy and mediaeval scholastic philosophy attest to Pico's adherence to
the main tenets of mediaeval scholasticism. Contemporary humanists
were, however, extremely well represented, and belles-lettres, law, travel,
occult and natural science, mathematics astrology, the Malleus Malefi-
carum, and even the Secrets of Women (ascribed to ALBERTUS MAGNUS)
all contributed their share to the weight of Pico's shelves. Greek medicine
was represented by HIPPOCRATES and GALEN, but altogether the medical
treatises of antiquity were considerably outnumbered by those of
succeeding centuries. Roman medicine was represented by CELSUS, in
connection with whom Miss KIBRE points out that though his work
was little known during the centuries immediately preceding the invention
of printing, it was not altogether unknown in the earlier Middle Ages
as is attested by several extant manuscripts dating from the tenth, eleventh
and twelfth centuries, (W. S. TEUFFEIL lists Mss. at Rome, Vatican 595
oth century; Florence, Laurent. Plutarch. 73, I, and Paris, N.B. 7028,
ith Century. Bd. II, 19I0, 24).
Since Pico's career coincided in large part with the introduction of
printing it is of interest to note that at least four hundred and eighty-nine
of the works in his library, that is to say some forty-two per cent, were
printed editions, and it is also of interest to note that none of the printed

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 REVIEWS i6i

works were duplicated in the manuscript works forming the remainder

of the library; this would perhaps suggest that whenever possible Pico
preferred the printed copy to the manuscript copy of a work; whatever
if any, his reasons may have been, decidedly he seems to have been partial
to the printed page.
If additional evidence were needed to attest to the largeness of Pico's
restless mind this record of his library would be the place in which to
browse for it.
Miss KIBRE has given us an exceedingly careful and well-done piece
of work which will greatly help the student to an understanding of Pico.
There is an excellent index, but a portrait of PiCo is lacking.
New York University. M. F. ASHLEY-MONTAGU.

Oluf Luth.-Nogre stycker af thenn frije konst astronomia (Cod. Holm.

D 77,) med innledning utgiven av Henrik Sandblad. (Skrifter
utgivna av K. Humanistiska Vetenskaps-Samfundet i Uppsala. 29:4,
Uppsala, ALMQVIST & WIKSELLS Boktryckeri-A.-B. und Leipzig,
OTTO HARRASSOWITZ, I935). XXIV und gI Seiten.
Die hier erstmalig edierte Handschrift-Cod. Holm. D 77,-deren.
Titel in deutscher tbersetzung lautet: " Einige Stiicke aus der freien
Kunst Astronomia," geht zuriick auf ein verlorenes Original des im
Jahre I580 verstorbenen Uppsala-Professors OLAUS JONAE LUTH. Gemass
dem Datum des Titelblattes (I) entstand die Abschrift im Jahre I584,
vier Jahre nach dem Tode des Autors. Der Text ist im altertlimlichen
Schwedisch des I 6. Jahrhunderts geschrieben, bietet jedoch in
sprachlicher Hinsicht keine Schwierigkeiten. Die geradezu unerh6rt
korrumpierte Form, in der uns die Abschrift erhalten ist, hat offenbar
ihren Grund darin, dass der Schreiber des Lateinischen und der
Astronomie vollig unkundig gewesen ist. Ober die Person dieses
Schreibers wissen wir nichts. Die von HARALD WIESELGREN gemachte
Angabe (2), dass die Abschrift der Hand des JOHANNES BUREUS entstam
kann wohl nicht zutreffen, da selbst der damals nur i6 Jahre alte BUREUS
schwerlich sich so grobe Fehler hatte zuschulden kommen lassen.
Dagegen zeigt das Exlibris des Titelblattes, dass die Schrift spater im
Besitze des BUREUS gewesen sein muss, ebenso wie auch zahlreiche
Textverbesserungen von seiner Hand herruihren diirften.
Ausser dem Titelblatt umfasst die Handschrift 6o Quartblatter, wovon
fol. 56 leer ist, sowie eine gr6ssere Tabelle nach fol. 8 und je ein kleineres

(i) Das Titelblatt ist facsimiliert wiedergegeben in K. IJUNDMARK, Ndgra

blad ur den svenska astronomiens historia, Popul. Astr. Tidskr., IX, I928, S. I44.
(2) In Reconditi Labores, Samlaren, i888, S. iIo.

II

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