Chapter V: Section I: Works Written or Annotated by Tory (1)

1

POMPONIUS MELA, DE TOTIUS ORBIS DESCRIPTIONE. AUTHOR
LUCULENTISSIMUS, NUNQUAM ANTEA CITRA MONTES IMPRESSUS.[174]
(Mark of Jehan Petit.)[175]

Quarto, of 45 numbered leaves, plus 11 leaves of index; in all, 56 leaves, or 14 sheets, arranged in 9 signatures of two sheets and one, alternately. Signatures _a_, _c_, _e_, _g_, and _i_ have two sheets [16 pages] each; signatures _b_, _d_, _f_, _h_, one sheet [8 pages] each.

The whole book is printed in roman type, except the first line of the title-page, which is gothic, and a few Greek words here and there.

As we have seen, this book was for sale by Jean Petit, but it was printed by Gilles de Gourmont, solely because of the Greek words just mentioned. So Tory himself tells us in a note at the end of the text, folio 45: 'Curavi siquidem accuratissimo impressori dare, qui etiam primus apud Parisios græcis caracteribus lotissimas addidit manus.'[176]

On the verso of the first leaf is a letter of the publisher, Geofroy Tory, to his friend Babou, thus conceived:--

BACCHVS

CERES ET

VENVS

SONT ICY

MENEZ CA

PTIFZ.
]

_Geofroy Tory of Bourges to Philibert Babou, citizen of Bourges,
very deserving treasurer and valet-de-chambre of the most serene
king of the French, humblest greeting._

On looking recently into Pomponius Mela, most illustrious Philibert, Mela who is the most trustworthy of the writers on geography, I found him so corrupt and so badly mutilated that

--Lo, before my eyes, in saddest plight,
The author seemed to stand and burst in tears.[177]

Virg. _Æn._ ii.

Lo, I say,

All black with dust and blood,--ah, sad, sad sight,--
By two-horse chariot dragged, his swollen feet
Torn through with thongs ...
How from the bottom of his heart he groaned.

_Id. Ibid._

In such words as these did he seem to complain: Am I, then, who described so elegantly all those many lands, those many peoples, those islands, rivers, straits, seas, and whirlpools, I who ventured so confidently upon the description of the whole world, am I to remain thus maimed, thus mutilated, thus disfigured?

--Ah me, how hacked am I,
How like that Hector who erstwhile brought back
... his squalid ... locks
All stiff with blood, and many a wound he got
About his country's walls. _Id. Ibid._

Unless some helping hand be stretched forth, I shall soon surely die.

In time Machaon healed the loathsome limbs of Philoctetes,
And Phillyreian Chiron gave to blinded Phœnix sight;
The god of Epidaurus, at a father's fond entreaties,
By Cretan herbs Androgeos brought again to realms of light.[1]

But verily I believe that

He who'll cure this pain of mine is certain of succeeding
In giving Tantalus the fruit that cheats his eager palm.
Yea, he the piercèd pails may fill, and heavy burden lighten,
The slender Danaïds endure, with ceaseless toil opprest;
From the bleak cliff of Caucasus unchain the fettered Titan,
And scare away the bird of prey that tears his mangled breast.[178]

I naturally said to myself on the spot: If I were Machaon, or Chyron, or Æsculapius, I should be glad to remedy this matter. But what if I were to make such slight effort as I can? Might I not be able to be of service? Perhaps; at least, I should have tried, and I should have had this object in view: to make him somewhat more free from faults.

And if my powers of song should fail--to dare were surely fame:
Enough that I have had the will; no higher praise I claim.

Proper. ii, _ad Musam_ (_ad Augustum?_).

I have accordingly added a very few annotations; provided with
which, under the protection of your name (for you are a devoted
admirer of letters and lettered men), under, as the saying is,
favourable auspices, let Pomponius Mela now go forth in greater
security than before. Farewell.

Paris, vj no. Decemb. MCCCCCVII.[179]

At the end of the text, on folio xlv, we find the following:[180]--

Here, then, you have, most illustrious Philibert, Pomponius Mela, purged of the many errors in which he abounded. I took the trouble to put him in the hands of a very careful printer, one who was, besides, the first Parisian to give to the Greek characters a form of superior elegance. I have been pleased to revise the text with special care and to add a very few annotations, so that, when it should come into your hands, and later on into the hands of the public, it might come in a more polished and finished form. You, now, with Mela in hand, may, like Phiclus, who, as the story goes, ran over the tops of the grain-fields without breaking the ears, traverse and re-traverse, not only in security, but confidently and resolutely, the whole world. If you wish to lay hold of tigers, swiftest of animals, and to see from a safe vantage the catoblepas, if you wish to meet dragons and wild beasts, Satyrs, Pans, and Silvani, if you wish to see the Indians, 'the Britons, separated by a world between,' the Sauromatae, the Africans, and all the peoples that lie between these, and learn of their wonderful habits, then take but this world, I mean Pomponius, many times in hand, and without doubt you will there be able to see and to know them all as in no other way. Farewell and forget not yours ever faithfully.

Paris, 24 December.

CIVIS.

_To Pomponius Mela._

Mela, the many errors in which you abounded have been cast forth;
few are the faults that remain with you. Better far and more perfect
in form do you stand forth now than formerly you did. This is the
accomplishment of my small hand.

_To Philibert Babou._

That my life for many years has been due to you, these two short
verses, Philibert, now testify. Whatever 'alpha' belonged to me in
my tender years, that your happy 'omega' wished to bear.

Ω

CIVIS.

At the end of the index, on the verso of the penultimate sheet, is a list of errata beginning thus:--

[181] 'Since nothing is more difficult than to be wholly free from error, it seems quite proper that I should, with the kind consent of the reader, consider a very few of the very few mistakes of this book: thus, for example, where "potuit" is found in the epistle, "possit" should be written.'

This list also is signed 'civis.' Beneath it is a short poem entitled: 'Carolus Rousseus ad lectorem tetrastichon.' And on the recto of the last leaf: 'In the year of the incarnation and of our salvation, 1507, the tenth day of January,[182] this work was printed by Gilles de Gourmont, and was very carefully revised by Tory of Bourges, at Paris.' (Mark of Gilles de Gourmont.)

2

COSMOGRAPHIA PII PAPÆ IN ASIÆ ET EUROPÆ ELEGANTI
DESCRIPTIONE, etc. Paris, Henri Estienne [1509].

Quarto, of 152 leaves of text, preceded by 12 unnumbered leaves and a folio cut representing the ancient world. On the second preliminary leaf is Tory's dedicatory epistle to Germain de Gannay, thus conceived:

_To the reverend Father and Lord in Christ, Germain de Gannay,
bishop-elect of Cahors, Geofroy Tory of Bourges proffers most humble
greeting._[183]

I here present, most excellent prelate, in more accurate and emended
form than that in which he has hitherto been read, Pope Pius, an
author who, in his Description of Asia and Europe, is much to be
admired both for the dignity and for the singular worth of his
work. In looking for some one to whom he, in behalf of his book,
freshly issuing from the printing-office, might straightway most
devotedly offer his respects, some one select, devoted to letters,
and possessed of the highest virtue, I could think of no one more to
be desired, more worthy than you. That the Supreme Pontiff himself
should go to visit you, a most venerable bishop, seemed to me a
thing not without humour. That he, I say, who was a meritorious
writer of geography, and, as you will be able to see, of history
well deserving to be read, should come and embrace you, lover and
cultivator of every form of polite literature, I thought a thing
very appropriate. It was like setting the gem to the gold, or the
'encaustum,' that is picture drawn with fire, to the silver, it was
like conferring the palm upon the victor; and that most certainly
is nothing other than to join the good to the good, the glorious to
the glorious, the deserving to the deserving. But along with these
reasons there is still another reason why to you of all persons
this most illustrious work should very properly be dedicated: it
was at your instance and suggestion that I divided the work into
chapters and gave to its parts a more convenient arrangement.
That you first, and then that all other students and readers, may,
as was your wish, find and remember the parts of the earth, which
are many in number, and the things in them that are interesting
to know about, more easily and conveniently, I have divided the
book thus: the names of rivers, towns, places, rulers, and other
important matters I have put in separate chapters and marked with
marginal captions; these names are also all to be found, provided
with numbers, in the index. This little work of mine, therefore,
I dedicate to you, my lord, in deepest reverence and with sincere
feeling. It is certainly far from being what I should offer to so
reverend a father, but you, whose goodness and integrity, which are
perfectly evident to me, all praise in the highest terms, will, if
it so please you, take the book into your most pure hands and bestow
upon it the favour which you are accustomed to bestow upon works of
this kind. Farewell.

Paris, at the College of Plessis, 2 Oct., A.D. 1509.

Next comes a 'table,' which fills eleven leaves, on the verso of the last of which we find the following note to the reader:--

_Geofroy Tory of Bourges to the Reader._[184]

You will find the words 'eruȩre, contendȩre, misȩre,'
and many others of the same sort, written with an _ȩ_ in the
penult: this was done in order that the perfect indicative, which
regularly has a long penult, might show its quantity (which
you are to utter in reading), as distinguished from that of
the present and past imperfect infinitive, which in the third
conjugation always shortens its penult. It is with pleasure that
I have imitated and adopted the very elegant and finished form of
writing which is used in the 'Psalterium Quincuplex,'[185] recently
published. You will also, though rarely, find this _ȩ_ used,
after the fashion of certain authors, for _æ_ in some words, and
similarly at times in the genitive and dative singular, and in the
nominative and vocative plural, of the first declension. I have
furthermore written designedly 'mistum' with an _s_ instead of an
_x_,--for 'misceo' makes its perfect 'miscui,' whence by analogy
'mistum,'--'intellego,' 'toties,' 'quoties,' 'litus,' 'opidum,'
'litera,' 'tralatum,' 'aliquando,' and other similar forms, which
are to be written according to ὀρθογραϕία, that is to
say, correct spelling. The word 'Turca' also, which many make in
the second declension, I have written in the first. I follow herein
with approval Michael Tarchaniota Marulus of Constantinople in his
lines addressed to Charles, King of France. These are his words:
'Invincible king, scion of the race of Charles the Great, whom the
holy prophecies of so many men, of so many gods, demand as the
vindicator of fallen justice and loyalty; whom here the sad Ausonian
land, there Greece with streaming locks, calls, and whate'er of Asia
and wealthy Syria the cruel Turk profanes,' etc.

In writing the accusatives 'plureis,' 'parteis,' 'omneis,'
'monteis,' in '_eis_,' I have believed that I was writing good
grammar and good Latin, following therein Priscian, book 7, the
chapter on the accusative plural of the third declension. This form
is valuable for distinguishing the accusative from the nominative,
and has been used by a thousand authors, of which great number it
is sufficient at present to cite as witnesses Sallust, Virgil,
and Plautus. Sallust, who used the first word also, says in the
Catilinarian War: 'Omneis homines qui sese,' etc. Virgil in the
first Æneid: 'Hic fessas non vincula naveis Ulla tenent....' Plautus
in the Aulularia: 'Quid est? quid ridetis novi omneis, scio fures
hic esse complureis.' I have been pleased to make this explanation,
good reader, so that you not only might know what pure speech is,
but also, both in reading and in speaking, might have pleasantly at
hand, like finger-posts, and might use, pure words. Farewell.

CIVIS.

On folio 152, after the errata, we read: 'Impressa est hæc Asiæ et Europæ quam elegantissima historia per Henricum Stephanum, impressorem diligentissimum, Parrhisiis, e regione scholæ decretorum, sumptibus eiusdem Henrici et Ioannis Hongonti,[186] VI idus Octobris anno Domini M. D. IX.[187]

3

DE PASSIONE DOMINICA CARMEN ELEGIACUM GUILIELMI DIVITIS, CIVIS
GANDAVENSIS, ARTIFICIOSÆ PIETATIS PLENISSIMUM.--_Item._
NENIA LACTANTII FIRMIANI VERBIS SALVATORIS NOSTRI E
CRUCE.--Mark of Josse Bade ('Prelum ascensianum').[188]

One octavo sheet, printed by Josse Bade, dated the 5th of the Ides of March, 1509; that is to say, March 11, 1510, new style.[189]

On the verso of the title-page is this letter from Herverus de Berna (of Saint-Amand-Montrond) to the young people of Bourges:--

_Herverus de Berna of Amand to the youth of Bourges, greeting._[190]

You are acquainted with Dives, our teacher, famed for his wisdom,
a foster-child of the Muses, who well deserves your gratitude. He
it is who introduced you to the Muses, Helicon, Phœbus' grove, and
Mercury, and from his school, as from the Trojan horse, have issued
men of education without number. His heart is in the Muses' glorious
service, and his memory, it seems to me, should be forever honoured
and kept green. He is reported, as the saying is, to have toiled
not only by the lamp of Aristophanes, but by that of Cleanthes as
well.[191] You do not doubt that he is deserving of praise for the
elegance of his song; whence it happens that there is a religious
poem of his written on the Passion of Our Lord,--a poem of such
brilliancy, such sweetness, such ornateness, that one could believe
it to be the work of the divine, rather than of a human, mind. I
do not doubt that, as a result of this fact, the same thing will
fall to his lot that usually falls to the lot of literary men:
as Claudian says, 'His presence will diminish his fame.'[192]
Not, however, without Theseus,[193] that is Tory of Bourges, my
fellow-student, a man of the old, and, as Plautus says, of the
Massilian, school,[194] one who combines sound learning with virtue,
have I wished Dives to issue forth into the world; again, I hope,
with favourable auspices, as the saying is. Farewell, with best
wishes.

From my house at Amand, 1 March.

Then follows the elegy by Wilhelm de Ricke, which has 140 verses and occupies 4 leaves; on the verso of the last of the four is this dialogue in verse by Tory:--

_Dialogue by Geofroy Tory of Bourges in praise of his teacher,
Wilhelm de Ricke of Ghent._[195]

_Speakers_: MONITOR _and_ LIBER.

M. Sacred book, who in song mourn Christ's Passion, now
speak: whose holy work can you be?

L. Whose work? Behold! Rich's work am I.

M. Well done! That Rich who to the people of Bourges has
given so many rich examples?

L. You judge rightly.

M. Rich truly has a wise heart.

L. No fitter name than this can be given him.

M. He it is who taught the people of Bourges to speak with
flowery tongue and to make facile verses with the mouth.

L. He not only taught them to speak and to weave song, but
he also gave them the power to see Christ's wounded body.

M. If one wished to see the arms of God fixed to the cross,
could even Rich grant him that to the life?

L. Should you desire to carry the cross of God, his cruel
wounds, the crown, hold me in hand, you will carry all.

M. May Rich's every prayer be ever happily granted, such
good he grants to pious hearts.

L. May he live and continue on earth through Nestorian
years, and after death gain the rich kingdom of Heaven.

CIVIS.

The little book comes to an end with the poem by Lactantius mentioned on the title-page. It fills the third and second last leaves, and the recto of the last, at the foot of which we read: 'Finis. Ex ædibus Ascensianis ad v idus martias MDIX.' This date corresponds with March 11, 1510, new style.

M. Jules de Saint-Genois, librarian of the University of Ghent, writes me as follows concerning his fellow-townsman, the author of the verses on the Passion:--

'The name of the person in whom you are interested was not le Riche, but de Rycke, in Flemish, which in the Latin rendering becomes Dives. This is what Sanderus says of him in "Flandria Illustrata," 1, 386 (edition Hagæ-Comitis, 1735): "Gulielmus Dives, vulgo de Rycke, Gandavensis poeta: ejus exstat 'Carmen elegiacum de Passione Dominica,' artificiosæ pietatis plenissimum, quod inter illustrium poetarum opera impressit Judocus Badius Ascensius Parisiis."

'Valère André, too, devotes a few lines to him in his "Bibliotheca Belgica" (Lovanii, 1623, p. 344): "Elegiam de Passione Dominica edidit Antverpiæ cum Dominici Mancini, Phil. Beroaldi et aliorum similis argumenti libellis, 1527, Mich. Hellenii typis."

'P. Hofmann Peerlkamp says in his "Liber de vita, doctrina et facultate Nederlandorum qui carmina latina composuerunt" (2d edition, Harlem, 1838, p. 29): "Gulielmus Dives Gandensis floruit 1520. Scripsit 'Carmen elegiacum de Passione Dominica,' artificiosæ pietatis plenissimum.... Hæc sæpius prodiit, addita etiam _Quatuor virtutibus_ Dominici Mancini, Antverpiæ, a. 1562. Si vocabulum his illic excipias minus latinum, Carmen est melioris notæ quam multa ejusdem temporis de hoc argumento."

'As for the edition which you mention, said to have been printed "in ædibus Ascensianis," in 1509, the library does not own it; but Gulielmus Dives' little poem is printed in "Dominici Mancini Poemata," Antverpiæ, 1559, 12mo.'

This is all that I have been able to learn concerning Guillaume le Riche or de Rycke; we do not know how this burgess of Ghent became a professor at Bourges. And yet the fact itself is not extraordinary, for, not long after, about 1530, another Belgian, named Hanneton, gave instruction in feudal law there.

Tory published also at the end of his edition of Valerius Probus [see number 5, infra], the following Latin distich,--an enigma,--written by his master:--

Dic age, quæ volucres gignunt animalia foetæe
Et præbent natis ubera plena suis?[196]

As for Herverus de Berna, Tory's fellow-pupil, I know even less of him. All that I have been able to learn is that he published in 1543 a short poem in praise of the dukes of Nevers, lords of Orval near Saint-Amand, where Herverus was born, and of which he was then curé, if I read aright his bombastic Latin. This is the title of the book, which was for sale at the shop of Vivant Gualtherot: 'Panegyricon illustrissimorum principum comitum Druydarum et Aurivallensium et Nivernensium, Hervero a Berna, curione Amandino Allifero, auctore. Parisiis, 1543.' (I fancy that the words 'curione Amandino Allifero' mean: curé of Saint-Amand-l'Allier, now Saint-Amand-Montrond.)

The work is dedicated to a friend of the author, and perhaps of Tory as well, named Nicolas Rocheus (La Roche?), described as 'Apollineæ artis doctor eximius' in the dedicatory epistle, which is dated: 'Tumultuarie, ex ædibus nostris Amandinis, kalendis ianuarii, 1542.'

4

BEROSUS BABILONENSIS, DE HIS QUÆ PRÆCESSERUNT INUNDATIONEM
TERRARUM; ITEM MYRSILUS, DE ORIGINE TURRENORUM, etc.

Quarto, Paris, 1510; with the small mark of the Marnefs (the Pelican),[197] with the letters E. I. G.

This work, which was printed by J. Marchand, at the expense of Geofroy de Marnef, bookseller and publisher, was prepared for the press by Geofroy Tory, who placed at the beginning the following letter:--

_To the most distinguished Philibert Babou, Geofroy Tory of Bourges,
heartiest greeting._[198]

Last year, when I was attending to the printing of Pope Pius's
Cosmography, the idea occurred to me of thoroughly revising and
handing to the printer at an early date the Babylonian Berosus's
work on the 'Antiquities of the Kingdoms'; but, my mind at that
time taking another turn, I determined to postpone this work, for
the reason that I had a project of almost divine character on
hand; and indeed I should have postponed it for a long time,--as
the saying is, to the Greek Calends,--had not Berosus himself, so
to speak, and, what is and always will be of no little importance
to me, a number of my friends, daily whispering in my ear, as it
were, their prayers, demanded of me most earnestly that I should
print, along with Berosus, Myrsilus 'De origine Turrenorum,' Cato's
fragments, Archilochus, Metasthenes, Philo, Xenophon 'De æquivocis,'
Sempronius, Fabius Pictor, and Antoninus Pius's fragments of the
'Itinerarium.' There is a very avaricious class of human beings,
which, if it has a book--a book that is hard to find--consisting of
three or four short lines, straightway,--like the ants of India, or
the griffins, which are fabled to carry gold to a remote spot and
there keep watch over it, threatening with dire destruction any one
who attempts to touch it,--carries it off and guards it, and loading
it with chains and fetters, keeps it imprisoned like a miserable
captive. Such people ought to display their officious greed--the
greed of possessing something unique all to one's self--in company
with the ants and griffins, which other people avoid, rather than to
continue their incivility, or perhaps I should rather say immunity,
among human beings. We are born not alone for ourselves: we owe
something also to our friends, something to our country. Therefore,
that it may not seem to be my desire to extinguish the brilliant
light of a burning lamp, I the more willingly, under your name,
Philibert, most illustrious citizen of Bourges, send forth Berosus's
'Antiquities,' together with the other authors mentioned above, for
the common study of all, and I believe that I shall therein be doing
an act that will gain the gratitude, in some small measure, of my
country. Farewell.

Paris, at the College of Plessis, 2 May, 1510.

CIVIS.

Tory's letter is dated May 2, 1510; but the printing of the book was not finished until the ninth of that month, as we see by the subscription of the first edition; for there were at least three distinct editions in Tory's name, to say nothing of a multitude of others issued by different publishers. Annius of Viterbo, otherwise known as Jean Nanni, had recently brought into fashion the fables of Berosus, which he attempted to palm off as an ancient work; and scholars were still at odds as to the authenticity of the book, the sale of which their discussions aided to maintain. Tory seems to have taken sides with Annius of Viterbo, as he himself prepared an edition of the supposititious Berosus, the preface of which we have just quoted. We have said that there were three editions in his name. They may be described thus:--

_First Edition_

Quarto; 28 leaves numbered in Arabic figures, and 4 preliminary leaves.

Folio 1 recto, title: 'Berosus Babilonicus, de his quæ præcesserunt inundationem terrarum; item Myrsilus, de origine Turrenorum; Cato, in fragmentis; Archilocus, in epitheto de temporibus; Metasthenes, de judicio temporum; Philo, in breviario temporum; Xenophon, de equivocis temporum; Sempronius, de divisione Italiæ; Q. Fab. Pictor, de aureo seculo et origine urbis Romæ; fragmentum itinerarii Antonini Pii; altercatio Adriani Augusti et Epictici.' Then comes the mark of the Marnefs, with the letters E. I. G., and the words 'Le Pelican' in a scroll at the left. (No. 15 of M. Silvestre's 'Marques Typographiques.')

On the verso of this leaf is Tory's letter, quoted above. Four unnumbered intercalated leaves follow, containing the table of contents and a list of errata.

Folio 2, recto: 'Berosus, de his quæ præscesserunt inundationem terrarum.'

The articles mentioned on the title-page follow, up to folio 28, where we find these words:--

'Impressum est hoc opus Parrhisiis, in Bellovisu, per Joannem Marchant, impensis Godofredi de Marnef, anno Domini 1510, septimo idus maias.[199]--CIVIS.'

_Second Edition_

Quarto; 4 unnumbered preliminary leaves, and 30 leaves of text numbered in roman figures; in all, 34 printed leaves.

On the first of the unnumbered leaves is the title, 'Berosus Babilonicus,' etc. (as in the first edition), but with the following additional words: 'Vertumniana Propertii. Manethon.' Same mark as in the first edition, but smaller.[200]

On the second leaf, Tory's letter. On the verso of this leaf the index begins, and fills the two leaves following.

Folio i. 'Berosus,' etc. The text corresponds with that of the first edition[201] to folio xxvii, where the additions begin.

Fol. xxvii, recto. End of the 'Altercatio.'
verso. 'Vertumniana Propertii.'
xxviii, verso. 'Manethonis, prima pars.'

Fol. xxx (not numbered), several pieces of verse [not mentioned on the title-page], perhaps by Tory, but not signed:--

1. 'Ad reverendissimum ac religiosissimum Arturum Calphurnium, Sancti Georgii de Nemore antistitem.'

2. 'Ad eruditissimum Nicolaum Corbinum, Vindocinensis plage judicem.'

3. 'Ad bonarum literarum vere amatorem amicum sibi fidelem Philippum Morinensem.'

This edition, which seems never to have been described by any bibliophile, is in the Bibliothèque Mazarine, and at Sainte-Geneviève. It was undoubtedly published in 1511, but it bears no indication of its date.

_Third Edition_

Quarto; 6 preliminary leaves, unnumbered, and 51 leaves numbered in roman figures, divided into ten signatures (A to K), containing alternately one and a half and two leaves. In all, 57 printed leaves, and one blank.

On the first unnumbered leaf is the title: 'Berosus,' etc. (as in the first edition), but with the following addition: 'Cornelii Taciti de origine et situ Germanorum opusculum. C. C. de situ et moribus Germanorum.--Anno Domini 1511.' Then follows a shocking imitation of the mark of the Marnefs in the first edition. The gothic initials E and G are changed to C and O, and the I, which in the other editions stands between the E and the G, is omitted. The words 'Le Pelican,' in a scroll at the left, are reduced to the three letters L, P, and A, the foreign artist having been either unable or unwilling to read what was printed on the copy put before him, which, it is true, may have been imperfect. The first decorated letter, also, has been copied, in order to deceive the reader, who, if we may judge from appearances, was assumed to be seeking the edition prepared by Tory.

On the second leaf is the letter of the editor, from which the word 'civis,' Tory's device, has been omitted, the foreign printer apparently not knowing its meaning. The four leaves following are taken up with the table of contents.

Folio i of the text: 'Berosus,' etc. The text which follows corresponds with that of the first edition down to folio xxxii (erroneously numbered xxxiii), which ends with the word 'finis.'

On folio xxxiii recto, the work of Tacitus mentioned above ['Germania'] begins. Next, on folio xliii verso, a work in verse by Conrad Celtès, the title of which is given above, and on folio xlviii, another work, in prose, by the same author, with this title: 'Ex libro C. C. de situ et moribus Norimberge, de Herciniæ silvæ magnitudine, et de eius in Europa definitione et populis incolis.'

There is nothing to indicate where the book was printed; but everything leads me to believe that it is a German counterfeit. My opinion is based upon, first, the stupid imitation of the printer's mark of the first edition; second, the omission of Tory's device at the end of the letter; third, the additions, all of which relate to Germany; fourth, the fact that two of the three known copies of this edition were recently to be found in the same country. One belonged to Panzer, who has described it in his 'Annales Typographiques'[202]; I do not know what has become of it; a second copy was formerly in the library of M. Bunau,[203] whence it passed to the Dresden Library; the third is in Paris, in the Bibliothèque Nationale, which also possesses a copy of the first edition. It was by comparing the two editions that I discovered the fraud committed by the printer of the edition of 1511 with respect to the typographical mark. The description of this mark given by Panzer, with that courteously sent me from Dresden by the learned bibliographer Herr Graesse, before I was aware of the existence of the copy of the third edition in the Bibliothèque Nationale, had utterly baffled such bibliographical knowledge as I possess. I sought a meaning for the letters inscribed on the mark in the third edition; of course I could not find any. M. Brunet has since produced a facsimile of this mark, in the fifth edition of his 'Manuel.'[204]

5

VALERII PROBI GRAMMATICI DE INTERPRETANDIS ROMANORUM LITERIS
OPUSCULUM, CUM ALIIS QUIBUSDAM SCITU DIGNISSIMIS, FŒLICITER
INCIPIT.--Mark: Marnef's E. I. G. (Silvestre, no. 974.)

Octavo; 6 printed sheets (signatures A to I). Paris, E. I. G. de Marnef [1510]. This book was probably printed by Gilles de Gourmont, for we find in it his unaccented Greek type. It contains two engravings on wood,--the mark on the title-page, and a Roman portico farther on. There are also some small cuts engraved on metal in one of the pieces; but none of them have any artistic merit, and they cannot be attributed to Tory.

On the verso of the title is the following letter, addressed by Tory to two of his old college friends, who were at this time personages of note: the first, Philibert Babou, was secretary and silversmith to the king; the second, Jean Lallemand, was Mayor of Bourges.

_Geofroy Tory of Bourges to the most illustrious Philibert Babou and
Jean Lallemand, the younger, citizens of Bourges, united in mutual
friendship, greeting._[205]

I owe to you, most estimable of men, the fruit of whatever toil
I may undertake--even purposely for your sakes--by night or day.
Behold! Since you in no slight degree practise and admire the
old school of morals, the school, that is, of respectability
and true worth, I now, under the protection of your names, ever
to be cherished by me, commit to print Probus Valerius, a most
diligent collector and accurate interpreter of the old writings and
abbreviations which appear, elegantly drawn, on the ancient coins,
tombs, and tablets; glad am I to be of even such small service to
my country, and hopeful that the slight revision to which I have
subjected the work will prove to have been as happily, as it has
been carefully, done. Permit, I beg, an author of exceeding merit to
come first of all into your hands, which are most fitted for every
excellence, and then to go forth brightly and cheerfully into the
hands of all other students. Farewell.

Paris, at the College of Plessis, 10 May, 1510.

CIVIS.

And at the end of the book is this other letter, which gives us to know that the volume is a collection of fragments of ancient authors.

_Geofroy Tory of Bourges to the Reader, greeting._[206]

When I began, I believe under favourable auspices, to print Valerius
Probus, it occurred to me, not wishing a book of one or two codices
to be unsuitable as a manual, to print, along with Probus, several
articles well worth making the acquaintance of. I have added to
Probus, Priscian's treatise 'De ponderibus et mensuris'; likewise
Columella's 'Quemadmodum datæ formæ agrorum metiri debeant'; also
Georgius Valla's 'Figuras quæ sub dimensionem cadant'; and, further,
some dialogues, together with some enigmas, carefully collected,
as occasion allowed, from various authors. The enigmas I have
designedly left unexplained, so that, when you come to read them
(as Gellius says in book xii, ch. 6), you may sharpen your wits by
trying to puzzle them out.[207] Give your attention to them, I beg,
good reader, so that I may not, as Plautus enigmatically observes in
the 'Miles,' throw dust in your eyes. Farewell.

In addition to the pieces which Tory here mentions, there are many others in this volume of miscellanies.[208] It contains also several pieces of verse by Tory himself. Here is one which will give an idea of his literary tastes:--

_Dialogue by Geofroy Tory, in which the City of Bourges is described
in the rôle of a speaking character._[209]

_Speakers_: MONITOR _and_ CITY.

MON. City, what is your name?

CITY. Bourges.

MON. Now, tell me, what mean those proud buildings that I
see?

CITY. Temples, houses, towers, divine palaces you see.

MON. Ah! they overtop the heavens with their piles. What
temple is that, I pray?

CITY. The Cathedral of St. Etienne, first of martyrs; it
overtops even the lofty marbles of the goddess Trivia.

MON. What is that single house which stands distinguished
for its red hearts? Was it built by the hand of Memnon?

CITY. This was built in an earlier time by the mortal
Jacques Cœur [Heart],[210] a man of wealth; him envy took from us.

MON. Say! what tower is that that is seen standing higher
than the lighthouse of Pharos? I am filled with wonder when I see it
fully.

CITY. When the mighty Ambigatus ruled the Celtic peoples,
in an earlier time, this great tower was built.

MON. Say, oh, say, that golden palace, is it the Capitol?
Answer; why do you not speak, Bourges? You who just now talked
with easy speech say nothing. Do you wish to become to me what
Harpocrates was of yore?

CITY. No, but, see you, this palace is to be approved for
its great art, because the world has not yet produced another like
it.

MON. What is this earth that yawns with such an opening?

CITY. It is the place where a tower was to be erected for
me.

MON. Have you not another as great as that?

CITY. I have. From two towers I get my name Bourges
[Biturix].

MON. By what name is it called in this time of ours?

CITY. The people name and call it 'the fosse of sands.'

MON. What river, what river have you to mention?

CITY. The Auron.

MON. Is it the one Cæsar mentions in describing the Gallic
Wars?

CITY. It is.

MON. Are there others?

CITY. There are two: they are the Voiselle and the Yèvre
herself, swarming with numberless fishes.

MON. What privileges have you?

CITY. The all-valuable privilege have I, and the hall, that
coin money.

MON. Is there nothing else?

CITY. Aquitaine calls me capital and receives her laws from
me.

MON. What divinities are with you?

CITY. There are Juno, Jupiter, and Pan, Vesta, Diana,
Ceres, Liber, and the Father himself.

6

QUINTILIANUS.

Such is the complete title of an edition of Quintilian's 'Institutes,' produced by Tory, in 1510, at the request of Jean Rousselet, of Lyon.[211]

This is a large octavo volume, printed in italic (without pagination), composed of 46 quarto sheets (signatures A to ZZv): there are several passages in Greek type of excellent appearance, but without accents. Undertaken at the request of Jean Rousselet, and printed at his expense, this book probably was not put on the market. In fact it bears no bookseller's nor any printer's name. We should not even know where it was printed, were it not for the fact that the dedication, dated the third of the Calends of March,[212] states that the manuscript was sent by Tory from Paris to Lyon. At the end of the volume we find these words only: 'Impressum fuit hoc opus anno Domini M. CCCCCX, septimo calend. Julii.' This date corresponds to June 25, 1510.

7

LEONIS BAPTISTÆ ALBERTI FLORENTINI ... LIBRI DE RE ÆDIFICATORIA
DECEM. (Mark of B. Rembolt.) Venundantur Parrhisiis, in Sole
Aureo vici Sancti Jacobi, et in intersignio Trium Coronarum, e
regione Divi Benedicti.

Quarto; 14 preliminary leaves and 174 of text (signatures A to Y). On the last page is the mark of Louis Hornken, 'aux Trois Couronnes.' On the second preliminary leaf is printed the following dedication:--

_Geofroy Tory of Bourges to Philibert Babou and Jean Lallemand, the
younger, most illustrious men, heartiest greeting._[213]

Everybody knows, most estimable of men, that our forefathers,
contented with their own goodness, practised in the olden times a
kind of architecture that had in it little art and little elegance.
Satisfied with mediocrity, they built and inhabited houses and
dwellings of no great cost or splendour. Matters have finally
reached the point that now, men's intelligence having somewhat
awakened, new buildings are everywhere being erected which have
considerable celebrity. In fact, beginning with the time when
the magnanimous King Charles VIII, who was the terror of all
Italy, returned, victorious and crowned with glory, from Naples,
architecture, certainly a beautiful art, began, not only in its
Doric and Ionic forms, but also in its Italian form, to be practised
with great elegance throughout this country of France. At Amiens,
at Gaillon, at Tours, at Blois, at Paris, and in a hundred other
well-known places, one may now see striking buildings, public and
private, in the ancient style of architecture. One may now, I say,
see many buildings of such beauty and so nicely carved that the
French actually seem, and are generally considered, to surpass,
not only the Italians, but also the Dorians and the Ionians, who
were the teachers of the Italians. Notwithstanding the brilliancy
of these performances and these artists, I have thought it best
to offer gratefully, and carefully to add, a contribution of some
worth. Leo Baptista Albertus, a writer on architecture who is
trustworthy and familiar with his subject, was lying stored away in
my house as if in his last sleep. It seemed to me that he thoroughly
deserved to be printed in France just at this time, for the delight
and benefit of other famous artists who are better than he. It
seemed to me, I say, that he thoroughly deserved to be printed,
and for this reason especially, that the ten books, of which
the whole work consists, have been divided into chapters. These
chapters were accurately and carefully arranged by Robertus Duræus
Fortunatus,[214] a man of education and culture, who was the Head of
his College of Plessis at Paris four years ago when I taught there,
and they were generously given to me by him to be copied. I copied
them, and I furthermore polished up the whole work and cleared it of
all the errors possible; I wrote the gist of the text on the margin,
and gave the work to the printer to be printed. Permit, I pray, most
distinguished citizens of Bourges, that this excellent work come
auspiciously into the hands of all good artists and students, and
that it be handled and read under the protection of your names ever
to be cherished by me. Farewell, you who are the support and the
most distinguished glory of your country.[215]

Paris, near the College Coqueret, 18 August, 1512.

CIVIS.

At the end of the volume (penultimate page) we read:--

'This most elegant and useful work on architecture of Leo Baptista Albertus of Florence, a man of great distinction, was printed with great accuracy at Paris at the Golden Sun in the street of St. Jacques, at the expense of Master Berthold Rembolt and Louis Hornken, who live in the same street, at the sign of the Three Crowns, near St. Benedict, A.D. 1512, 23rd day of August.'

8

ITINERARIVM PROVINCIARUM OMNIUM ANTONINI AUGUSTI, CUM FRAGMENTO
EIUSDEM, NECNON INDICE HAUD QUAQUAM ASPERNANDO.--CUM PRIVILEGIO, NE
QUIS TEMERE HOC AB HINC DUOS ANNOS IMPRIMAT.--Venale habetur
ubi impressum est, in domo Henrici Stephani, e regione Scholæ
decretorum, Parrhisiis.

Sixteenmo (printed as 16s.); 120 leaves (signatures A to T), plus 8 preliminary leaves. [1512.] Printed in black and red.

The volume begins with this dedicatory epistle:--

_Geofroy Tory of Bourges to Philibert Babou, most modest of men,
heartiest greeting._[216]

The 'Itinerarium,' most illustrious of men, which for many years
had lain in almost entire neglect, I first received four years ago
from a friend whom I must ever cherish, Christophe de Longueil,
who is beyond question a scholar of the highest standing in all
branches of polite learning. He gave it to me that I might make
a copy of it. It had occurred to me to send to you from Paris to
Tours a copy which, though written in my own hand, was not wholly
without elegance of form. I had given it to a man to bring to you
whose name I purposely spare, but he, regardless alike of both of
us and of his trust, quite shamelessly made a present of it to some
one else. Thus cheated of the fruit of my labour, I was preparing to
make for you another copy, when Longueil himself, who had formerly
brought the original from Picardy, and, as I have said, had given
it to me, having recently come to Paris from Poictiers, urged me
to have the work printed. This I have done, having arranged the
names of the towns separately and in order, and also added in the
proper places some matter taken from another manuscript. I have also
made an index, to facilitate the finding of the name of any town
or place in the whole work. Some perhaps will wonder at the style
of the work, and also occasionally in places at the Latinity. The
style, however, will receive sufficient approval from the student,
while the Latinity, in consideration of the early time in which the
work was written, will be condoned by the well-disposed reader. I
should have been disposed to make a number of emendations, using for
the purpose Ptolemy, Strabo, Dionysius, Mela, Pliny, Solinus, and
some others who are not at all to be despised, but out of regard
for the venerable author and in the desire to keep the manuscript,
which is very old, unchanged, I determined to make no alterations.
I am waiting for my friend Longueil to subject it some day to his
scrutinizing study, or for some Hermolaus to apply his exacting
file. One thing there is here which I shall not hesitate to touch:
the author's name in the manuscript was, in my judgement, wrong,
for it is written 'Antonius Augustus.' Hermolaus, a man of culture
withal, calls it in a number of places in his Corrections to Pliny,
'Antoninus.' Those who read will see for themselves. In the text
I have followed the manuscript itself; in the title of the book I
have followed Hermolaus. The fruit of my labour, such as it is, I
dedicate, as in duty bound, to you personally, in a spirit abounding
in gratitude. Accept it, I pray, with the favour with which you are
accustomed to accept all good things, and allow the studious to
pass, under your guidance, with this Itinerary in hand, through a
thousand famous cities. Farewell, most cultured patron of my studies.

Paris, near the College Coqueret, August 19, 1512.

CIVIS.

Then comes a letter from the publisher to the reader:--

_Tory to the Reader, greeting._[217]

In order, gentle reader, that you may be able to use this
'Itinerarium' to better advantage, you must be advised that whatever
you find marked with a red virgule was larger in number in the old
manuscript than in the other which is more recent. Words which had
a different reading in the recent manuscript have small red letters
printed above in the proper places. Whenever the sign (˄) occurs
between words, a word or number should be marked above or at the
side by the same sign. The sign 'mpm.,' so written, also frequently
occurs in the text, and signifies 'milia plus minus.' It was written
thus so that the reader might not be wearied by the frequent
repetition of the long form. In the index you will sometimes find
the letter _b_ alone, either following or between the page-numbers:
this signifies that the word in question is found at least twice on
the same page. Pay attention, therefore, and kindly see to it that
in case you notice any who are displeased with my work, you may
say to yourself with reference to them that Persian saying: 'that
they may see virtue, and pine away leaving it behind.' I write this
because at the time of printing there were some who, understanding
nothing of this sort, condemned the matter according to their usual
practice. Farewell and live long in happiness.

CIVIS.

Next to this comes a summary of the life of Antoninus, and, lastly, some verses by the Burgundian Gérard de Vercel, in laudation of Tory and against poor printers. Here are the verses:--

_Hendecasyllabic Poem of the Burgundian Gérard de Vercel, on poor
printers._[218]

Therefore hence, away therefore, profane hands of the inauspicious
throng of printers; your impure works be off; that by your forbidden
coming and impious front you may not stain and soil this heavenly
thing. Let no man fail to know: this volume is sacred.

Ah! vile and wretched printers, unskilled to put in print even the
trifles of the schools or old women's tales, why do you spoil arts
that are holy, and pollute with impure hand the laborious works of
the nine[219] sisters?

What do you not put forth from your office that is worthy to be cast
forth and buried where the refuse of the stomach is placed?

Therefore hence, away therefore, oh ye profane, ye vile and wretched
printers. Be this word enough: sacred is this volume, which our
Geofroy, our famous Geofroy, he, I say, of Bourges, taking pity
on Pius, unearthed from its Lethæan rust and sleep, employing the
guidance and assistance of his friend Longueil.[220]

The book is brought to a close by an 'avis au lecteur' thus conceived:

_Tory to the Reader, happiness._[221]

These few corrections, excellent reader, I beg you not to wonder at.
I have collected them, such as differ from the readings of the old
manuscript, so that you may be able readily to emend the book for
yourself. I should lay the burden of the errors on the printers, but
the art of printing has this natural peculiarity, that the smallest
book cannot be printed from beginning to end without some mistakes.
Farewell.

_Epigram to the Student by Tory._

If, reader, you are preparing to journey in a fixed course to a
hundred towns, to a hundred cities, if you desire to travel, better
instructed and on the direct road, to a hundred seaports with their
bays, then ever gratefully and carefully hold this little book in
your right hand ready to consult.[222]

9

GOTOFREDI TORINI BITURICI IN FILIAM CHARISSIMAM, VIRGUNCULARUM
ELEGANTISSIMAM, EPITAPHIA ET DIALOGI.--IN EANDEM ETIAM QUATOUR ET
VIGINTI DISTICHA UNUM ET EUNDEM SENSUM COPIA VERBORUM ET INGENII
FŒCUNDITATE PULCHRE REPETENTIA.

These verses of Tory on the death of his daughter Agnes form a small volume of two quarto sheets (or eight leaves). The book is dedicated to Philibert Babou; it was printed February 15, 1523, old style (1524), a few days after Tory had conceived the idea of his 'Champ fleury' (January 6, 1524). The printer, who is not named, was Simon de Colines, then living near the School of Law ('e regione scholæ decretorum').

On the last page appears a mark engraved specially for this little book, for it includes a tiny winged figure ascending heavenward, which doubtless represents the soul of Tory's daughter returning to God. This mark reappears at the end of the Hours of 1524-1525, but minus the small figure just mentioned.[223]

As we learn from the text, Agnes, who died August 25, 1522, at the age of nine years eleven months and thirty days, was born August 26, 1512. So that Tory was married at least as early as 1511. We know from another document that his wife's name was Perrette le Hullin.

The only known copy of this little volume, the text of which I reproduce in extenso, belonged [in 1865] to M. Joachim Gomez de la Cortina, Marquis de Morante, who was so exceedingly kind as to send it from Madrid to Paris, that I might examine it at my leisure. M. de la Cortina has described it in the fifth volume of the catalogue of his library (Madrid, 1859; octavo). My only previous knowledge of it was derived from that catalogue, although it was bought of M. Techener not more than ten years ago, for 80 reals (20 francs).

_Tory to his Book._[224]

Go, book, to the sacred sanctuaries of pious poets; you are light,
polished, radiant, and neat. Splendidly arrayed you are, and
have nard, and roses, and saffron; the Latin goddesses, gracious
divinities, together with Phœbus. Be not afraid lest you do
not carry with you the favour of the gods; they will lift you,
laurel-scented, above the stars.

_Agnes Tory, sweetest and most modest of maidens, addresses the
wayfarer from her tomb._

Thou who passest with light foot, beloved wayfarer, stay thy step a
little; lo, I wish to say a few words to thee. Live in remembrance
of death, free from vices, and, if thou art wise, cast aside that
hope of life which thou cherishest. Thou art radiant with beauty
to-day, but, when the thread is cut, impious Fate hurries thee
straight on to nought. I know this by experience, for, lately but
a young girl of ten, I was suddenly snatched away. Like a rose I
bloomed, sharer in those virtues which are usually seen in tender
maidenhood. But yet I died, overwhelmed by the cruel fates, and now
I am food for the flesh-eating worms. Food for the flesh-eating
worms I lie, but not so wholly lifeless that I cannot speak the
truth to thee. I speak in the Latin tongue, and this is not strange,
fair friend, for I am to be named the daughter of a pious poet.
Desiring to instruct me in the Ausonian tongue, and also to render
me accomplished in the polite arts, he, like a most affectionate
father, teaching me night and day, himself laid the foundations,
sweet and ample, for my life. I should be accomplished in the
learning of the famous Muses, and I should sing beautiful songs in
pleasing measure; and then my sire would have given me fond kisses,
placing the laurel-wreath upon my head. O pitiful lot of human
beings! O hopes doomed to perish! On earth there is nothing that
can be lasting. Not only does death show herself face to face to
wretched mortals, but with silent step she steals upon them secretly
and unbeknown. Ah! beware, therefore, beware, thou who art doomed
to die, the world will certainly in a moment's time fall and crash
about thee. Thou, while thou still livest, while thou seekest great
honours, art with infirm and rapid step steadily approaching thy
doom. If thou departest satisfied with this one certain warning, and
if thou believest that I speak the truth, bestrew me with flowers,
violets and lilies, and nard. Pray for me too, if it please thee,
and weep. Me thou wilt cause by thy prayers to mount to the lofty
vault of Heaven, where is perpetual light, peace, and grateful rest.
This was the little that I wished thee to know. Live in remembrance
of death, thou who art destined soon to die. Farewell.

She died where she was born, at Paris, 25 August, A.D. 1522.

She lived nine years, eleven months, about thirty days; the hours
are known to none; God alone knows the minutes.

FATHER _and_ DAUGHTER, _Speakers_.

F. Food for the worms you lie, dearest daughter. Me you
leave in perpetual tears and weeping.

D. Dear father, spare your weeping and tears. It is all
over with me. Death carries away both young and old.

F. Nor can I refrain from terrible wailing. Alas! I should
have more rightly died before you.

D. Such was not the will of the heavenly fates. At your
death, believe me, you shall most certainly come to me.

F. In the meantime, with bended head, I will bring with
full hands violets and lilies to your tomb.

D. Add your prayers; through prayers I shall fly to the
high vault of Heaven. Pious prayers enable us to ascend to the lofty
stars.

F. It is as you say; and do you too, my daughter, pray for
your father; pray that he may rise with you to the glad Heavens.

D. To the glad Heavens you shall rise, free from bitter
cares, and with all the trouble of your mind removed.

F. You speak the truth, and so I will do. The good God
calls you to himself in Heaven? Dear daughter, farewell.

F. Alas! my sweet soul, you are dead.

D. Courage, father, no one is immortal.

_Twelve distichs to be inscribed on the twelve different sides of an
urn._

On the first side.

You wish flowers! violets! you wish lilies! garlands! cyperus! These
this earthen urn will give you, take them and be glad.

On the second.

In this urn the deceased maiden Agnes lies; in its centre breathes a
delightful odour.

On the third.

Here is Merriment, here Love too, Sport, and Virtue; and here the
Graces' selves, beings divine, with the Muses, sit and dwell.

On the fourth.

In this urn are marjoram and sweet-smelling cyperus; here are
violets, lilies, garlands, roses.

On the fifth.

Not alone does the maiden Agnes here abide, but, with Phœbus, the
Clarian goddesses themselves sit and dwell.

On the sixth.

Gold-leaf joined with gems, and green jewels, are kept with
everlasting flowers in this urn.

On the seventh.