Volume 2

T. Lucreti Cari De rerum natura libri sex / with notes and a translation by H.A.J. Munro.

  • Lucretius
Date:
1900-1910
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: T. Lucreti Cari De rerum natura libri sex / with notes and a translation by H.A.J. Munro. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    first half of the twelfth century had taken the line from the poem itself; or had borrowed it from Priscian inst. rv 27 who cites it with nasci instead of gigni, the editor of the bibliotheca having thought fit tacitly to substitute gigni from Lucretius. The latter is proved to be the fact by Mr Julius Jessen in the philologus, vol. 30 pp. 236—238: he quotes what follows from Barthius! very learned note on Stat. silv. zt 7 76: *nec vero cadentibus aut collapsis iam rebus Romanis auctoritatem suam amisit Lucretius noster, ut videre potes apud Magnentium Rhabanum praefatione Laudum Daedalarum Crucis, Gulielmum Hirsaugiensem in Institutionibus Philosophicis et Astrologicis, Honorium Augustodunen- sem in Historia Mundi, Ven. Bedam Libro de Metris. Referring to the only printed edition of this work of William of Hirschau, who lived from 1026 to 1091, he shews that Honorius copied from him the passage in question, and that William cites it thus: *Ex insensili credas sensile nasci', getting it clearly then from Priscian. Hrabanus Maurus and Beda seem just as little to have known Lucretius at first hand. [ Hermes vol. 8 p. 332, it is said that in Brit. Mus. ms, 377 (13th century) of Daniel de Merlais Philosophia, in p. 90 a, Lucretius is quoted.] In Italy he was even more completely unknown. A catalogue which Muratori antiq. 111 p. 820 assigns to the tenth century, proves that the famous library of Bobbio contained at that time Zibrum Lucretii 1; but before the fifteenth no Italian poet or writer shews any knowledge of him whatever. In the year 1414 the celebrated Poggio Bracciolini went as apostolie secretary to the council of Constance and remained on this side the Alps in different countries, Switzerland Germany France and England, until 1420, with one short interval passed in Milan and Mantua. During these years he procured from various monasteries many most important Latin works hitherto totally unknown in Italy: see Mehus' preface to his life of Ambrosius Traversarius p. xxxiii foll. Among these was a manuscript of Lucretius, obtained apparently from some German monastery either by him or his companion Bartholomew of Montepulciano, about 1417 as his letters seem to indicate, and trans- mitted the same year to his intimate friend the Florentine Nicoló Nie- coli, a most zealous scholar and patron of the revived classical studies. This manuscript, which Poggio wrongly supposed to be only a part of the poem, has itself disappeared, but was the parent of every copy written during the 15th century, that is to say of every one now extant with the exception of those specified above: it must have very closely resembled the Leyden folio. *Et te, Lucreti, longo post tempore tandem Civibus et patriae reddit habere suae' says Landinus in his poem in praise of Poggio. Niceoli having such a treasure.in his hands was in no hurry to part with it. We find Poggio writing to him in December 1429 to remind him that he had kept his Lucretius twelve years. .A few days later it is *you have had Lucretius now for fourteen years; I want to read
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