Pandolfo Collenuccio's "Specchio d'Esopo"

36 Pages·2008·5.7 MB·English

by  Giancarlo Fiorenza

PANDOLFOC OLLENUCCIOS'SP ECCHIOD' ESOPO
AND THE PORTRAITO F THE COURTIER
GIANCARLOF IORENZA
he ancientf ableso f Aesop figurep rominentliyn Giovanni
t
Boccacciod'se fensoe f fictionadli scoursien cludeidn hisG enealo-
gie deorumg entiliuma: fourteenth-centumryy thographtiecx t
whichg eneratedex tensivec ommentarIyn. bookf ourteenB, occac-
cio advocatest he fables as indispensablep edagogicalt ools,
especialliym portantto the intellectuadle velopmenatn dl eadership
potentiaol f a prince.I n ordert o providea n illustrativeex ample,
Boccaccior elatesh ow KingR oberto f Sicilya, s a boy,
wass o dullt hati t tookt heu tmosts killa ndp atiencoe f hism asterto teach
himt he meree lementos f lettersW. hena llh is friendsw eren earlyin de-
spairo f his doinga nythingh,i sm asterb, y them osts ubtles kifla, s it were,
luredh is mindw itht he fableso f Aesopi ntos o granda passionfo rs tudy
andk nowledgeth, ati n a brieft imeh e wasn ot onlyl earnedin theL iberal
Artsf amiliatro Italy,b ut alsoe nteredw ithw onderfukl eennesos f mind
intot hev eryi nnerm ysterieosf sacredp hilosophyIn. shorth, e madeh im-
selfa kingw hoses uperiolre arninmg enh aven ot seens inceS olomon.'
Boccaccioco nsiderAs esop'sfa blesp rimee xampleos f incredible
fiction( fabula)o,r discourse", whichu, ndert he guiseo f invention,
illustrateosr provesa ni dea;a nd,a si ts superficiaals pectis removed,
the meaningo f the authoris clear".H2 is definitionre liesi n parto n
I wish to thank Elizabeth Cropper, CharlesD empsey, Alexander Nagel, and Nicholas
Penny for theirh elpfulc ommentso n this text. MartinM arafiotki indlyc heckedm y translations
of Collenuccio'sf ables. I presented a shorterv ersion of my findings at the 2001 conferenceo f
the Renaissance Society of America.
I Boccaccio on Poetry, trans. C. OSGOOD,I ndianapolis-NewY ork, 1956, p. 51. I have
made a few minor adjustmentst o Osgood's translationf or clarity.
2 Ibid., p. 48. Boccaccio continues: "The first [kind of fiction] superficiallyl acks all
appearanceo f truth; for example, when brutes or inanimatet hings converse. Aesop, an an-
cient Greek, grave and venerable,w as past master in this form; and though it is a common
63
GIANCARLO FIORENZA
the authority of the classical author Aulus Gellius, whose Attic
Nights labels Aesop "sapiens" because of his ability to nourish
the mind and perpetuate knowledge through delightful fictions:
"[...] since he taught what it was salutaryt o call to mind and to rec-
ommend, not in an austere and dictatorialm anner, as in the way of
philosophers, but by inventing witty and entertainingf ables he put
into men's minds and hearts ideas that were wholesome and care-
fully considered, while at the same time he enticed their attention".3
Renaissance authors valued the fables of Aesop as supreme litera-
ture; they were seen as a window to the wisdom and teachings of
the ancient world. Boccaccio's endorsement of the fables as benefi-
cial to the formation of a prince's political identity also earned them
a central place in Renaissance court culture.
Pandolfo Collenuccio, while a resident at the Este court of Fer-
rara,d eveloped Boccaccio's argumentb y promoting the reading and
reciting of Aesop's fables in all aspects of court life. In particular,h is
vernaculare xpository dialogue Specchiod 'Esopo (Mirroro f Aesop),
composed around 1497 in the guise of a fable, offers a varietyo f strate-
gies on how to integrate fables into both public and private address.
A study of his dialogue will provide insight into the ways in which
members of court society experienced Aesop's fables. Moreover, an
examinationo f the receptiono f Collenuccio'Ss pecchiod Esopow ill reveal
a literary and cultural context in which to decipher a unique
iconography found in Italianp ortraitureo f the earlys ixteenthc entury.
Collenuccio was born in Pesaro in 1444, and studied law at the
University of Padua.4 In 1469 he married his first wife, the noble-
woman Beatrice Costabili, in Ferrara.R enowned for his oratorical
and popularf ormb oth in city and country,y et Aristotle,c hief of the Peripateticsa, nd a
man of divinei ntellect,d id not scornt o use it in his books".
3 AULUS GELLIUS,T he Attic Nights, trans.J . C. ROLFE, Loeb ClassicalL ibrary,
CambridgeM, ass.,1 984,2 .29.1: "[...] cum quaeu tiliam onitus uasuquee rant,n on severe
nequei mperiosep raecepite t censuit,u t philosophism os est, sed festivosd electabilesque
apologosc ommentusr, es salubritera c prospicientera nimadversaisn mentesa nimosque
hominumc um audiendiq uadami nlecebrai nduit".
4 Studieso n Collenuccio'lsi fe and worki nclude:A . SAVIOTn, PandolfoC ollenuccio,
umanistpa esaresed el sec.X V (1888),r eprintR, ome,1 974;C . VARESE", PandolfoC ollenuc-
cio umanista"in, Storiae politican ellap rosad el QuattrocentTo,u rin,1 961,p p. 149-286;N .
TANDAP, andolfoC ollenuccioI:I drammad ella" saviezza"R, ome,1 988;a nd Dizionariob io-
graficod egliI taliani2, 7, 1982, s.v. "CollenuccioP, andolfo"p, p. 1-5.
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PANDOLFOC OLLENUCCIOS'SP ECCHIOD 'ESOPO
skillsC, ollenuccisoe rveda s a diplomaat ndc ivico fficiaflo rn umer-
ous Italianc ity-statesth: e Bentivogliaop pointedh img iudiceto the
Disco dell'orsoi n Bologna (1473-1474); he later rose to the position
of procuratoreg enerale in Pesaro for the Sforza; and in 1490, upon
the invitation of Lorenzo de' Medici, he served as Podest2 of Flor-
ence. After a brief employment as Podest2 of Mantua, Collenuccio
transferred permanently to Ferrara in 1491 with his second wife
Lauretta. The Ferraresed uke Ercole I d'Este appointed him consi-
gliere ducale;h e also acted as the Este ambassadort o Rome and to
the imperial court. Collenuccio's dedication to the Este led Ercole
I to nominate him Capitanod i Giustiziai n May of 1500. A versatile
figure, Collenuccio immersedh imself in the city's flourishingh uman-
ist culture and helped shape the direction of scholarship at court.
Alreadyi n 1487 his vernaculart ranslationo f Anfitrioneb y the Roman
playwrightP lautus had been performedi n Ferrara.A mong the works
he composed while in the employment of the Este are his Pliniana
defensl'oC, ompendiod e le Istori'ed el Regno di Napoli,R egolad a piantar
et conservarm elaranci,a nd the Commediad i facob e di Ioseph, a sacra
rappresentazionteh at was performed in Ferrarao n 28 and 31 March
1504. At Pesaro, by contrast, the humanist's personal and political
fortunes had been highly unstable. Giovanni Sforza, the illegitimate
son of Costanzo Sforza,i mprisoned Collenuccio for eighteen months
beginningi n 1488 mainlyb ecause he had negotiatedw ith Pope Sixtus
IV to grant Giovanni control of the duchy under the condition of
papal jurisdiction. Later, when Collenuccio attempted to visit
family in Pesaro in 1504, he was imprisoned again by Giovanni
Sforza, and subsequently executed on 11 June.
Between 1494 and 1499 Collenuccio composed his Apologi (fa-
bles). Four of these are in Latin: Agenoria, Misopenes,A lithia, and
Bombarda,a nd they were first published collectively in 151 1.5 The
other two are in the vernacular:F ilotimo, published in 1517, and
Specchio d'Esopo, in 1526.i All of the fables bear a dedication to
5 Collenuccio's Latin fables are reprintedi n P. COLLENUCCOIOpe, rettem orali:P oesie
latine e volgari,e d. A. SAVIOTTIB, ari, 1929, with an additionale xaminationo f their genesis
and publicationh istory.A ll quotationsf rom the Latina pologia re from this edition. According
to Saviotti (p. 343), the fable Agenoriaw as first published independentlyi n 1497; Misopenes
in 1510, and Alithia in 1495 (or 1500).
6 The vernacularf ables are also edited, with an examination of their early history, by
65
5
GIANCARLOF IORENZA
Duke Ercole I d'Este. These original texts assimilate conceits not
only from the fables of Aesop, but also from the Roman comedies
of Plautus, the satiric dialogues of Lucian, and the Intercenales( Din-
ner Pieces) of the Renaissancea rchitect and humanist Leon Battista
Alberti (1404-1472).7T he dialogueS pecchiod 'Esopoi s distinct among
Collenuccio'sw ritings:i t offers an exposition on the ethical value of
fables for a Renaissancep rince and his courtiers through six inter-
locutors who converse with one another in a court setting. The pro-
tagonists are Ercole (Hercules),E sopo (Aesop), Plauto (Plautus),L u-
ciano (Lucian),B lacico (the porter), and il Re (the prince), who, ow-
ing to the text's dedication,c an be read as a figure for Ercole I d'Este.
With the dialogue, Collenuccio forms an investigative com-
munity of interlocutorsw ho discuss moral objectives by assimilating
fables and other ancient proverbs into their own speech.8 At the
heart of the work is an emphasis on how the reading and reciting
of Aesop's fables can help one obtain Virtue and Truth (Virtiua nd
Verita).T he specchio( mirror)o f the title is explained in the dialogue
as a figure of the human soul: "L'anima umana, quando in questa
mortal spoglia dal dator sommo de le forme si infonde, quasi come
lucidissimo specchio ne viene atta a rappresentarel e specie e imagini
di tutte quelle cose che a lei si presentano [...]".9 This dialogue has
Saviotti (see note 5). All quotations from the Specchio d'Esopo and Filotimo are from
P. COLLENUCCAIpOo, loghi in volgare,e d. G. MASI, Rome, 1998, which contains useful phil-
ological notes. I have made some minor adjustmentst o the text for clarity.
7 Interpretationso f Collenuccio's apologi are by S. ORLANDO"L, 'ideologiau manistica
negli Apologi di P. Collenuccio", in G. TARUG(Ie d.), Civilta dell'umanesimo,F lorence,
1972, pp. 225-240; E. MATTIOLI,L uciano e l'umanesimo, Naples, 1980, pp. 113-126;
S. PITTALUG"AN, ote sul Misopenesd i Pandolfo Collenuccio"R, es publical itterarum7, , 1984,
pp. 171-180; VARESEo, p. cit., (see note 4), pp. 177-222; and TANDAo, p. cit., (see note 4),
pp. 49-89. Collenuccio possessed a rare manuscript of Alberti's Intercenales,f or which
see L. D'AscIA, "Humanistic Culture and Literary Invention in Ferrara at the Time of
the Dossi", in L. CIAMMITTI-SO. STROW-SS.E TTIS(e ds.), Dosso's Fate: Painting and Court
Culture in RenaissanceI taly, Los Angeles, 1998, pp. 309-332, esp. p. 309. For a study
and translation of the Intercenales, see L. B. ALBERTDI,i nner Pieces, trans. D. MARSH,
Binghamton,1 987. Collenuccioa lso modeled his Specchiod 'Esopoa fter Plutarch'sD inner of
the Seven Wise Men, in which Aesop appears as an advisor to Croesus, King of Lydia.
8 D. MARSHT, he QuattrocentoD ialogue:C lassicalT raditiona nd HumanistI nnovation,
Cambridge, Mass., 1980, discusses the structure and development of the humanist dia-
logue.
9 COLLENUCCI(Oe d. MASI), op. cit. (see note 6), pp. 56-57: "The human soul, when
clothed in this mortal form given to it by the highest giver of forms, infuses itself like a most
66
PANDOLFO COLLENUCCIO'SS PECCHIOD 'ESOPO
been relativelwy ell servedb y interpretationess,p eciallyth ose of
AlfredoS aviotti,C laudioV arese,a nd Nicola Tanda.I wish to
emphasizteh e impacto f its messagew ithint he literarya ndv isual
cultureo f Renaissancceo urts ociety.
CollenuccioS'sp ecchido' Esopoo pensw ithH erculesa, figureo f
virtue,g reetingA esopo utsidea royalc ourt.S addenedA, esope x-
plainst hath e hads oughtt he prince'sa udienceb, utw asd eniede n-
trancei nto the courtb ecauset he portersf ailedt o recognizeh is
"gifts"(a pologia)s w orthyo fferingfso rt her ulerI. n ordert o express
how unfairlhy e wast reatedA, esopi nventsa fableo f a nightingale
whosem elodics ingingw asj udgedi nferiorto the two-tonedc allo f
a cuckoob y a simple-mindejdac kassH. erculesw, ho is amusedb y
the wittyp aralleli,s remindedo f the ancientp roverb( heres poken
in the vernacular"):C heh a da far l'asinoc on la lira?"( Whath as
a jackassto do with a lyre?).1T0h e mythicahl eroa greest o escort
Aesopi ntot hec ourtp, astt heu nyieldinpgo rtera, ndf urtherre assures
himt hatt hel earnedp rincew illn ot failt o recognizteh ev alueo f his
fables.H e encourageAs esop to smilew hen they encountert he
ushersa ndc ourto fficialisn ordert o dissolveth eirm asko f superior-
ity: "Spacciap ur lor col riso, come la Volpe tua la mascarad el
mimo".1W' ith this adviceH erculesi nvokest he Aesopianf able
"TheF ox beforet he TragicA ctor'sM ask"w, hichr eadsa s follows:
A fox, afterl ookingb y chancea t a tragica ctor'ms askr, emarked":O
whata majestifca cei s here,b ut it hasn o brains!".
Thisi s a dictumf or thoset o whomF ortuneh asg rantedr anka ndr e-
nown,b ut deniedt hemc ommons ense.'2
Herculesc ounselsA esopt o learnf romh is owni nvention-s to
assumeth ea ttitudoe f thec leverf ox andd isdainth ei gnoranpt orter.
ThroughouCt ollenucciot'se xt the characterins tegratAe esop'sf a-
bles and other ancientp roverbsi nto familiarc onversationa nd
lucid mirrora nd becomess uitablef or representintgh e types of imageso f all thingst hat
representth emselvesto it [...]".
10I bid.,p . 40. As Masin otes,t his proverbw as a favoriteo f Lucian;s ee, for instance,
his De mercedec onductips otentiumfa miliaribusp,. 25.
11I bid.,p . 42.
12 PhaedrAi ugustfia bularumA esopiarumtr, ans.B . E. PERRYL, oeb ClassicaLl ibrary,
CambridgeM, ass.,1 965, 1.7.
67
GIANCARLOF IORENZA
publics peakingT. hed ialogueth usp rovideas theorya s practice(o r
performanceS)u. cha modela ppealsto the Rhetori(c1 393a-1394a)
by Aristotlew, ho definesf ablea s a typeo f argumenbt y example.
Aristodset ressetsh e pleasuraen dp ersuasiveneosfs h earinpg articular
facts( inventedo r actual)t hata pplyt o generasl ituationsa, ndc ites
exampleso f Aesop'sf ablesu sedi n judiciaol ratory.'3
Upong aininge ntrancea t court,t he characteAr esopc onverses
with the Greeks atiristL uciana nd the Latinp laywrighPt lautus.
Aesopf eels at home amongt his courtlye ntourageo f ancientl et-
teratiW. henh e meetsL uciana ndP lautusf or the firstt ime,A esop
remarktso Herculest hatt hey are delightfuiln structorosf practi-
cal reasona nd virtue,s tating:" sono omini d'ognim ano, dotti,
acuti,u manif, aceti,p ronti,e legantid, estrie t esperti,c he con tan-
ta dolcezzad imostronloe condiziondi e la vitau manae insegnano
costumie virtu'c, he chi con loro practicap, are a pena che mal
omo possa essere".'4T hrought he conversationaelx changeo f
his interlocutorCs, ollenucciore vealsh is distrusot f scholasticp hi-
losophy( or logic) and inflateda cademicj argon.T he character
Luciand rives this point home when he introducesA esop to
the prince,p raisingt he inventoro f fablesa s a specialb reed of
"philosopheri"n the followingm anner:
I1n omed i costuio, re,c hiamanEo sopo[ ...] et e filosofom, an onc ome
li altric hec ons illogismei l onghen arrazione id ifficilmi ostranao l i ominlia
via de la virtiuf,a cendoo scuroq uelc he moltoc hiaroe sserd overiae, non
facendop eroc on le opereq uelloc he conl a linguain segnanoM. ah a tro-
vatou nan ovav iab revee t espeditap, erl a qualep igliandoa rgumentdoi
13 ARISTOTLER, hetoric, trans. W. R. ROBERTSN, ew York, 1954, 1394a: "Fables are
suitable for addresses to popular assemblies;a nd they have one advantage- they are com-
parativelye asy to invent, whereas it is hard to find parallelsa mong actual past events. You
will in fact frame them just as you frame illustrativep arallels:a ll you requirei s the power of
thinking out your analogy, a power developed by intellectual training".
14 COLLENUCCIO (ed. MAsI)o, p. cit., (see note 6), p. 49: "theya re men capableo f
everything, cultivated, acute, humble, witty, prepared, elegant, skilled, and expert, who
with such sweetness reveal the conditions of human existence and teach proper customs
and virtues that, for those who train with them, it barely seems possible to be a bad
man". This passage is discussed by K. SIDWELL, "'Qui miscuit utile dulci': La fortuna delle
opere di Luciano nella societa del Quattrocento Italiano",i n Homo sapiens,h omo humanus:
Letteratura,a rte e scienza nella seconda meta del Quattrocento,F lorence, 1990, vol. 2, pp.
449-459, esp. p. 453.
68
PANDOLFO COLLENUCCIO'SS PECCHIOD 'ESOPO
cose umilie naturalic, on dolci esemplid imostraq uelloc he a 1i ominis ia
utile.
'5
Lucian's words demonstrate that Renaissanceh umanists valued
Aesop's fables for their brevitas:t he abilityt o compress wisdom and
experiencea nd apply it to practicalq uestions.C ollenuccioc hampions
the fables because they relocate virtuous activityw ithin the intimate
network of social bonds and the habits of daily life. As a humanist
dialogue, the Specchio d'Esopo provides the reader seeking ethical
guidance with exemplary deeds and model courtly behavior rather
than with arcane philosophical doctrine. In addition, the above
passage refers to Horace's dictum "omne tulit punctum qui miscuit
utile dulci" (He has won every vote who has blended profit with
pleasure) from the Ars poetica (343).16 The Specchio d'Esopo
testifies to the literaryp restige of fables and demonstratesh ow they
facilitate practical experience and quotidian reasoning.
When Collenuccio praises the relativem erits of Aesop's fables in
his Specchiod 'Esopo, he reveals the vernacular'si mportance for the
experience of classicall iteraturea t the Este court. To be sure, trans-
lating the ancient fables from Greek into Latin constituted an en-
riching philological activity for such early Renaissance humanists
as Gregorio Correr, Ermolao Barbaro, Lorenzo Valla, Ognibene
da Lonigo, and most notably Guarino da Verona, who moved to
Ferrarai n 1429 where he educated the Este and served as a profes-
sor at the universityu ntil his death in 1460.17I n 1437 Leon Battista
15 COLLENUCC(eIdO. MASI),o p. cit. (see note 6), pp. 51-52: "Dear Prince, this is the
man they call Aesop [...] and he is a philosopher, but not like the others, who with their
syllogismsa nd long and difficult discourses try to show the path to virtue, making obscure
that which should be clear, and being unable to demonstratet he practicalityo f that which
they teach. Instead, he has found a new way, brief and expedient, through which, by un-
folding the argument of humble and natural things, he shows with sweet examples that
which is useful to men".
16 HORACEA,r s Poetica, trans. H. R. FAIRCLOUGLHoe, b ClassicalL ibrary,C ambridge,
Mass., 1966, p. 343.
17 On the importance of Aesop's fables for Renaissance humanists in Italy and be-
yond, I have consulted S. I. CAMPOREALLoEr,e nzo Valla: umanesimoe teologia, Florence,
1972, esp. p. 174; C. FINCH, "The RenaissanceA daptation of Aesop's Fables by Gregorius
Corrarius",C lassicalB ulletin, 49, 1973, pp. 44-48; J. BERRIGA"NT, he LibellusF abellarumo f
Gregorio Correr",M anuscripta1, 9, 1975, pp. 131-138; R. GALLIT, he FirstH umanist Trans-
lations of Aesop, Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,1 978; M. FuMA-
69
GIANCARLOF IORENZA
Albertci omposedo neh undredL atinf ablesi n imitationof Aesopi n
whichh e strovef or richnesos f responseth roughli nguisticb revity.
Albertid edicatedh is fables to the influentialF erraresec anon
FrancescMo arescalcWo.i thh isd edicatiohne, soughta, nds ubsequently
achievedd,o sep ersonatli esw itht he Estec ourt.'A8 lberti'osw nf ables
informedt he writingso f Celio Calcagnin(i1 479-1541)t,h e Este
courth istoriana ndc hairo f the facultyo f rhetorica t the University
of FerraraC. alcagninhii mselfc omposedo ne hundredL atinf ables
cherishedfo r theiri ronicl ook at humane xistence.'Y9 et it is im-
portantt o note that by the last quartero f the fifteenthc entury,
whichs awt hea dvenot f printinga, muchb roadear udienc-e ranging
fromp rincetso courtierssc, hoolchildrteon h umanistlsa, yt o religious
peoples- encounteretdh e fablesp rimariliyn the vernaculanro, t in
theo riginaGl reeko r Latin.2T0h ee arliesat ndm ostp opulavr ernacu-
lart ranslatiopnr intedin Italyw ast he editionp ublishedb y Giovanni
andA lbertoA lvisei n Veronao n 26 June1 479:A esopums oralisatus,
latinee t italice.2T' he variousin ventorieosf the Estel ibraryr ecord
ROLI, "Les 'Fables'e t la traditionh umaniste de l'apologue esopique", in M. FUMAROLI (ed.),
La Fontaine: 'Fables',P aris, 1985, pp. 73 -92; E. FAHY-BM. CTIGUE, The MediciA esop, New
York, 1989; and A. PATTERSON, Fables of Power: Aesopian Writing and Political History,
Durham-London, 1991.
18 P. TESTI MASSETANI, "Ricerche sugli Apologi di Leon Battista Alberti", Rinasci-
mento, 12, 1972, pp. 79-133. In his dedication, Alberti begged Marescalcot o have patience
if the fables seem obscure, for obscurity often accompanies condensed elocution (brevitas).
It is precisely this brevity that Alberti strove to achieve and painstakinglyr esearched;i n this
format he guaranteest hat the fables can be read repeatedly with increased attention, pro-
viding much pleasure and revealingi nsight through their application.F or Alberti's quest to
gain favor with the Este through his literaryp ractice, see A. GRAFTONLe, on BattistaA lberti:
Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance,N ew York, 2000, pp. 189-224.
19 C. CALCAGNINI, Apologi caeliani, in Opera aliquot, Basel, 1544, pp. 625-640. A
study of Calcagnini's fables in their literary context is offered by S. PRANDI, "Celio
Calcagnini, Ortensio Lando e la prosa morale degli apologhi", Schede umanistiche,
1, 1994, pp. 83-93.
20 V. BRANCA (ed.), in Esopo toscanod eifrati e mercantit recenteschiV, enice, 1989, dis-
cusses how merchanta nd religious communitiesi n fourteenth-centuryT uscany adapted the
fables of Aesop and accompanyingm orals to suit their respective professions.
21 This edition, which is illustratedw ith woodcuts, contains the Latin verse translation
of the Greek fables transcribedb y GualtheriusA nglicus (12th century?), accompanied by a
vernacular translation in double sonnet (sonetto materiale and sonetto morale) by Accio
Zucco of Sommacampagna. Studies on this famous edition include: G. MARDERSTEIG,
Liberale ritrovaton ell'Esopo Veronesed el 1479, Verona, 1973; and L. DONATI", Osserva-
zioni sull'Esopo di Verona, 26 June 1479", GutenbergJ ahrbuch,1 976, pp. 138-146.
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PANDOLFOC OLLENUCCIOS'SP ECCHIOD 'ESOPO
that it housedb oth a Latina nd a vernaculaerd itiono f Aesop's
fables.2W2 hati s more,t he impressivsec opeo f classicatle xtst rans-
latedi nto the vernaculaart Ferrarain, cludingth e workso f Lucian
andP lautust,e stifiesto the newlye merginlgi terarfyo rmsa ndc on-
ventionisn whicht het rutho f ancienet xperiencbee comesa bsorbed
and assimilateidn to a moderna nd sharedla nguageC. ollenuccio's
Specchido' Esopios justo nee xampleo f thes ophisticatiothne v ernac-
ularc oulda chievei,l lustratinwgh atC arloD ionisottci onsideretdh e
vernacular"'sa ristocratisct"a tusa s a courtlyla nguage.T23h atC olle-
nuccioc hoosest hel anguagoef thev ernaculatro discussth e relative
meritso f Aesop'sf ablesu pholdst heirw ide culturavl aluea s both
communaaln dc ourtlyp ossession.
The dialogueS pecchido 'Esopois an essentiaRl enaissanctee xt
that demonstratetsh e uses of Aesop'sf ablesa s agentso f moral
and culturael xchangeI. n the dialoguet he princea sksf or whom
the "fruits"o f Aesop'sl aborsm ightb e usefula nd advantageous.
Aesope xplaintsh att hep rincec anu set hemf orh isp leasurbee cause,
beingo f nobleb irthh, e alreadpyo ssesselse arningw, hereahs isc ourt-
iersn eedt hemi n ordert o "cleara waya ndb urnishth eirm irrorss"o
thatt heym ays ee reflectedin themt he "VV ":
Ma 1i toi familiarei ministri,c he tantae sperienzae dono dal ciel non
hanno,a d altrou saren on li devenon e possono,c he a purgaree a brunire
1il oro specchi,l i qualin ettie brunitic he siano,p erspicuamentvee deranno
quellid ui 'V V', 1iq ualit u ora possiedi:e allorae ssendo,c ome tu ora, sa-
nati, ne potranno con volutta gustare e I'acquistatas anita mantenere.24
22 G. BERTONIL, a biblioteca estense e la colturaf erraresea i tempi del Duca Ercole I
(1471-1505), Turin, 1903, p. 221, no. 103 [1467]: "Exopus fabulosus non eo modo quo
sunt illi quibus utimur sed diverso versibus exametius";p . 241, no. 192 [1495]: "Fabule
de Jsoppo in vulgare coperto de brasilo stampato". For an additional study of the Este li-
brary,s ee A. QUONDAM", Le biblioteche della corte estense", in A. QUONDAM( ed.), II libro
a corte, Rome, 1994, pp. 7-38
23 C. DIONISOTTIG, eografiae storia della letteraturai taliana, Turin, 1967, pp. 125-
178. Dennis Looney demonstratesh ow the activityo f translatingc lassicalt exts into the ver-
nacular had a direct impact on the writings of such Ferrarese authors as Matteo Maria
Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto; see D. LOONEY,C ompromisingt he Classics:R omanceE pic
Narrativei n the Italian Renaissance,D etroit, 1996.
24 COLLENUCCI(Oed . MAsI),o p. cit. (see note 6), pp. 54-55: "However, your courtiers
and ministers,w ho do not possess such experience and heavenlyg ifts, must use [my fables]
for no other reason than to purge and burnish their mirrors,i n which, no matter how clear
71
GIANCARLOF IORENZA
The imagined "V V" reflected in the mirror of the soul is Colle-
nuccio's own remarkable invention. These initials appear in bold
majusculesi n the early manuscripts,a s in the one dedicated and de-
livered to the Medici Pope Leo X in 1513 by Pandolfo's son Teo-
doro Collenuccio (Figs. 1 and 2).25 This manuscript testifies to the
circulationo f the dialoguew ithin the papal states,a point to which we
shall return below. At this stage in the narrative,t he prince accepts
the fables with a good heart, praising their universalitya nd efficacy.
It is clear that Collenuccio is playing upon the literaryg enre of the
speculump rincipis( the mirror of the prince), texts written as guides
to the education of a prince that combine ethics and political in-
struction. The metaphor of the mirror as reflection of divine truth
also has scriptural authority in the Book of Wisdom (7.26): "For
[Wisdom] is [...] an unspotted mirror of the working of God, and
an image of his goodness".26W hen prompted by Lucian and Plautus
to clarifyt he meaning of Aesop's words, the prince states that fables
clear away vice more easily and more enjoyably than scholastic
studies, like medicine sweetened with fruit:
II che vedendoi l nostroE sopo, una facile,d olce e naturalv ia, si come
l'asprezzad e la medicinac on la dolcezzad el melle si tempra,p ar che tro-
vato abbiad i questis uavissimsio i fruttiA pologi:c he con umilem odo veri
esemplia d esser gustatii nvitano,e poi teneramentein duconoc hi lor gu-
stanoa purgaree polireI i lor specchie al primos uo splendorer idurlia; ccio
che purificatqi uellil e vere imaginir eferendo,q uelled ue antiquissimseo -
reileV irtue' Verita,[ le] quaile sso per bid ui 'V V' designarv oile,n e b'anima
si prestino e cosi al suo principio felicemente la rendino.27
and glistening, perspicuouslyt hey can see the two "V V", which you alreadyp ossess. And
hence being healed, as you are now, they will be able to enjoy them with great delight and
maintain their improved moral health".
25 J have consulted the manuscript now housed in the Biblioteca Palatina of Parma
(MS. Palatino 256). Another manuscript of the dialogue exists in the Vatican Library (Va-
ticano-Urbinate1 228). On these two manuscripts,s ee COLLENUCCI(Oed . SAVIOTTI)o, p. cit.
(see note 5), pp. 358-359.
26 Translationf rom The Apocryphaa nd Pseudepigraphao f the Old Testament,e d. R.
H. CHARLES, Oxford, 1983, vol. 1, p. 547 (The Book of Wisdom, 7.26).
27 COLLENUCCI(Oed . MAsI), op. cit. (see note 6), p. 58: "Therefore,o ur Aesop, seeing
a simple, sweet, and natural path, just as the bitterness of medicine is tempered by the
sweetness of fruit, seems to have found this in his most elegant fruitful fables, which
through humble ways and truthful examples invite a tasting, and then gently induce those
who taste them to purge and polish their mirrorsa nd return them to their former splendor.
72