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Introduction

Sperone Speroni degli Alvarotti ( 1500–1588) was ’s (1462–1525) pupil at the University of where he was educated as an Aristotelian. He was one of the main members of the “Accademia degli Infiammati” (“Academy of the Burning Ones”) in Padua and “Accademia delle notti vaticane” (“Academy of the Vatican Nights”) in . He taught logic and at the . His extraordinary rhetorical ability and performances were well known in the Italian political and cultural environ- ment. Being an advocate of the use of Italian language for any and all disci- plines, he was presented as one of the fathers of the vernacular in Bernardino Tomitano’s (1517–1576) Ragionamenti della lingua toscana (1546). He was also in contact with the most important protagonists of the 16th century, including Pietro Aretino (1492–1556), Bernardo Tasso (1493–1569), Torquato Tasso (1544– 1595), Gasparo Contarini (1483–1542), Jacopo Mazzoni (1548–1598), Pius IV (1499–1565), and the Duke of Urbino Guidobaldo II della Rovere (1514–1574), among others.1 Sperone Speroni is mostly famous for his central role in the quarrel about language (“questione della lingua”) addressed in his Dialogo delle lingue (1542). His defense of the vernacular as a valuable language for literature and phi- losophy resulted in his choosing to write all his works in Italian. At the same time, Speroni proposed a revolution in philosophy promoting ancient sophists’ perspectives and arguments as the most appropriate for political and civil life. There is evidence that sophistry is constantly addressed and practiced in Speroni’s oeuvre, from his dialogues through his trattatelli to the Apologia dei dialoghi. Within these works, Speroni carries on a defense of ancient sophistry against its accusers, primarily Socrates (469–399 BCE) and Plato. According to Speroni, sophistic rhetoric should regain the significance it possessed before Socrates and Plato destroyed it and fundamentally changed the history of Western culture. Speroni argued that the sophistic approach to the human world is more appropriate than any metaphysics. In fact, the sophists’ relativism and flexibility in politics and ethics fit political and civil

1 An introduction to Speroni’s biography and work is provided by M. Pozzi, “Nota introdut- tiva.” Trattatisti del Cinquecento. (Ed.) M. Pozzi. Tome II. (Milano: Ricciardi, 1996), 471–509. The book Sperone Speroni (Padova: Editoriale Programma, 1989) collects essays on several aspects of Speroni’s production and above all provides two highly important tools for any scholarly research: a bibliography of Speroni’s published works and a catalogue of Speroni’s manuscripts collected in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Padua.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���8 | doi ��.��63/9789004354739_002 2 Introduction life better than Plato’s eternal essences. Implying that ancient Greece and share a similar political and ethical situation, Speroni advo- cated for a rebirth of sophistic rhetoric as the best way to enhance the public life of each particular community. Given the specific situation of Renaissance Italy, it being fragmented in a va- riety of regional cultures, a study of the relationship between Speroni’s think- ing and the tradition of ancient sophists, which is at the core of my research, may also significantly impact the understanding of the Italian Renaissance. Despite the fact that Speroni’s works deeply influenced early modern culture even beyond Italy, from Bernardino Tomitano to (c. 1522– 1560), his oeuvre and legacy have been mostly neglected. Therefore, the study of this subject carries the urgency of reconstructing an important part of Italian and European cultural heritage beyond specific disciplinary boundaries. Speroni’s manuscripts are collected in 17 volumes in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Padua. A description of them was first provided by Claudio Bellinati’s Catalogo dei manoscritti di Sperone Speroni nella Biblioteca Capitolare di Padova.2 A sec- ond and more detailed description is now available in Silvio Bernardinello’s Catalogo dei codici della Biblioteca Capitolare di Padova.3 Speroni’s works have been published several times from 1542 through the 20th century. A full descrip- tion of all editions is available in Mariella Magliani’s Bibliografia delle opere a stampa di Sperone Speroni.4 In 1740, Natale dalle Laste and Marco Forcellini published the only complete edition of Speroni’s works.5 Their edition is based on both manuscripts and previous editions. Scholars of Speroni can find just a few of these works in modern editions. Mario Pozzi published an edition of the following works: Dialogo d’amore, Dialogo delle lingue, Dialogo della re- torica (book I), Dialogo della istoria (part II), Della dignità delle donne, Apologia dei dialoghi (part I), and some letters.6 Antonio Sorella published the edition of the Dialogo delle lingue based on the autograph manuscript of Speroni kept in

2 C. Bellinati. “Catalogo dei manoscritti di Sperone Speroni nella Biblioteca Capitolare di Padova.” Sperone Speroni. 323–356. 3 S. Bernardinello. Catalogo dei codici della Biblioteca Capitolare di Padova. In appendice gli incunaboli con aggiunte manoscritte. 2 vols. (Padova: Istituto per la storia ecclesiastica pa- dovana, 2007). An important additional tool for finding Speroni’s manuscripts is the Italian project ALI (Autografi dei Letterati Italiani) whose results have been collected in an online archive (http://www.autografi.net) and published in G. Grata. “Sperone Speroni”. Autografi dei letterati italiani. Il Cinquecento. II (Roma: Salerno, 2013), 327–343. 4 M. Magliani. “Bibliografia delle opere a stampa di Sperone Speroni.” Sperone Speroni. 275–322. 5 S. Speroni. Opere … tratte da’ mss. Originali. (Eds.) N. dalle Laste and M. Forcellini. 5 tomes (Venezia: Appresso D. Occhi, 1740) reprint: (ed.) M. Pozzi (Roma: Vecchiarelli, 1989). 6 Pozzi, ed. Trattatisti del Cinquecento. 471–849.