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Guillaume Postel Archives Internationales D'histoire Des Idees GUILLAUME POSTEL ARCHIVES INTERNATIONALES D'HISTOIRE DES IDEES INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS 98 MARION L. KUNTZ GUILLAUME POSTEL Prophet of the Restitution of All Things His Life and Thought DIRECTORS: P. Dibon (Paris) and R. Popkin (Washington Univ. St. Louis) Editoral Board: J. Aubin (Paris); J .F. Battail (Upsala); J. Collins (St. Louis Univ .); P. Costa bel (Paris); A. Crombie (Oxford); I. Dambska (Cracow); H. de Ia Fontaine-Verwey (Amsterdam); H. Gadamer (Heidelberg); H. Gouhier (Paris); T. Gregory (Rome); T.E. Jessop (Hull); W. Kirsop (Melbourne); P.O. Kristeller (Columbia Univ.); Elisabeth Labrousse (Paris); A. Lossky (Los Angeles); S. Lindroth (Upsala); J. Malarczyk (Lublin); J. Orcibal (Paris); l.S. Revaht (Paris); Wolfgang ROd (Miinchen); J. Roger (Paris); H. Rowen (Rutgers Univ., N.J.); Ch.B. Schmitt (Warburg Inst. London); J.P. Schobinger (Zurich); G. Sebba (Emory Univ., Atlanta); R. Shackle- ton (Oxford); J. Tans (Groningen); G. Tonellit (Binghamton, N.Y.). GUILLAUME POSTEL Prophet of the Restitution of All Things His Life and Thought by MARION L. KUNTZ •1981 SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. ISBN 978-90-481-8268-8 ISBN 978-94-017-1724-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-1724-3 Copyright © 1981 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague in 1981 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Springer-Science+Business Media, B. V. GULJELMUS POSTELLUS. I ( r · /.: CJ J) . · t tl · - I lllt11Uirlllll r/~/1/;J /.IIIII-' '"'t."'.'J.It'l'"IJ t ~t'PU · r .A 1 ~r·/sr'l'.ltJiJ. A un uomo universale, erudito e sapiente, maestro dottissimo e arnica caro e sincero. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface - Paul Oskar Kristeller ix General Preface xi PART ONE: Viator PART TWO: Comprehensor 69 PART THREE: Congregator 143 Bibliography 178 Appendix 234 Index 246 PREFACE Gui 11 aume Postel was undoubtedly one of the most remarkab 1 e and interesting scholars and thinkers of the sixteenth century. His know­ ledge of Hebrew and Arabic was rare among his contemporaries, as was his study and use of the Rabbinical, Cabalistic and Islamic literature pre­ served in these languages. His attempt to harmonize Christian, Jewish and Mbhammedan thought give him an important place in the history of re­ ligious tolerance, whereas his prophecies about a universal religion and a universal monarchy seem to anticipate more recent ideas of a world state and of general peace. In his prophecies, Postel assigned a unique role to himself and to a pious 1 ady whom he met in Venice and whom he lavishly praises in all his later writings. Admired and respected by many contemporary scholars and princes in France, Italy and Germany, he also aroused the suspicions of the religious and political authorities of his time who considered him dangerous but mad and thus spared his life, but confined him to a monastery for many years. His numerous writ­ ings survive in rare editions and manuscripts, and the later copies of some of his works show that he continued to be read and to exercise much influence down to the eighteenth century. Marion Kuntz who has spent many years in the study of Postel's life and writings presents us here with a detailed biography that is based on a careful use of a 11 pertinent sources, i ncl udi ng many texts and docu­ ments that are unpublished, and many that were previously utilized or even not known. She skillfully weaves his religious and political ideas into the account of his life, and thus shows how these ideas, strange as they may appear to us, developed almost naturally from his studies and from his personal experiences. we are thus able to understand how Postel X and his work fit into the intellectual pattern of his period and continued to exercise cons i derab 1e influence during the following two centuries. In giving us a well documented and sympathetic interpretation of Postel's life, thought and work, this monograph is a fitting tribute to his memory on the fourth centenary of his death. New York tlarch 14, 1981 Columbia University Paul Oskar Kristeller GENERAL PREFACE Guillaume Postel first came to my attention about fifteen years ago when I was pursuing research on Jean Bodin. In the Vatican Library I discovered a reference to Postel in Antoine Tessier's additions to Jacques-Auguste De Thou's life of Jean Bodin. Postel was an unfamiliar name to me, but I soon discovered numerous books by Postel in the Vati­ can collections. MY research on Postel began at that moment. The study of Guillaume Postel's life and thought seems at times to be an overwhelming task because he left thousands of pages of his writ­ ings, those published and those still in manuscript, and because his thought is complex and often obscure. One can easily become discouraged by the bulk and difficulty of the Postellan corpus. However, one is challenged by the many facets of Postel's ideas which become, as it were, a crossroad for countless developments in Renaissance and Reforma­ tion Europe, and in Asia, which are reflected in later centuries. Although I have become very familiar in the past fifteen years with Postel and his many writings, there is still an elusive quality about the man and his thought which frustrates and fa sci nates at the same time. One thing is certain. He is never boring, and research on this enigmatic and eccentric genius constantly leads one into ever-widening areas of knowledge. This study of Postel deals with his life and his thought, since it is impossible to treat Postel historically without presenting the most significant aspects of his philosophy. His life and his philosophy are inextricably linked. A second book which treats in detail his philosophy and its application to his religious, social, and political views is completed and soon will be edited and published as a companion volume to the present one. XII I have endeavored to present the facts of Postel's life as accu­ rately as possible and to reveal for the first time new information about the mysterious woman in Venice whom he praised until his death as the one in whom the spirit of Christ most fully dwelled. The two years which Postel spent in Venice from 1547-1549 under the tutelage of his Venetian Virgin were to influence all his subsequent ideas and actions. Under her mystical guidance the prophetically-inclined philologist­ mathematician became a revolutionary-minded prophet. Pastels revolution, however, was to be fought not with guns, but with reason and the mind and heart of man. Postel was a mystic who emphasized reason. He found the true God by turning inward to himse 1f and outward to the world of nature. He was a Judaizer who proclaimed the Law and works of charity as he reinterpreted the meaning of Christianity. Postel's emphasis upon man and his ability to comprehend the world of nature, even God, enables one to view him as a man of the period known as the Renaissance. On the other hand, his earnest desire for a universal state and a universal re­ ligion, in which universal brotherhood would naturally flourish, and his insistence upon good works as indications of true piety reveal ideas which are compatible to the modern age. I have made no attempt to trace all the numerous strands of thought which come together in Postel's philosophy. If this had been my purpose, I fear the reader would have no clear picture of Postel but only a com­ partmentalization of influences. Instead, I have tried to present the life and thought of Postel synthetically. The second volume will treat specific points introduced in the first. Although Postel's printed works are numerous, one needs to study with care the unpublished documents in order to obtain a more complete picture of the man and his thought. A large part of this book reflects Postel ' s ideas which are revealed in his manuscripts, most of which we have in his own handwriting. In all my citations from Postel's manuscripts and books, as well as from other sixteenth century documents, I have fo 11 owed the orthography of the original texts. Lengthy citations in the footnotes from Postel's works are presented as an aid to the reader, since many of the documents are inaccessible. For help in preparing this text am indebted to numerous individ­ uals. Mbnsignor Jose Ruysschaert, Vice-Prefect of the Biblioteca XIII Apostolica Vaticana, has for many years made available for my research the rare books and manuscripts in the Vatican Library, has answered numerous questions, and has rendered countless services for which I am deeply grateful; Dr. Giorgio Ferrari, former Director of the Biblioteca M:trciana, Dr. Gian Albino Ravalli-Mldoni, Director, Biblioteca M:trciana, and Dottoressa Dillon, Keeper of Minuscripts, Biblioteca Mirciana, have been helpful to me over a long period of time. Signor Giuseppe Ellero, Archivist, Istituzioni di Ricovero e di Educazione, Venice, has rendered me the greatest help by providing me with archival information and bibliography and also by locating countless documents for me in the Archives of I.R.E. His help has been singularly valuable to me. Signora Iolanda Pizzamano, of the Biblioteca del MJseo Civico Correr, Dr. Ferruccio Zago, Director of the Archivio di Stato, Venice, and Dottoressa Miria Francesca Tiepolo, Archivio di Stato, Venice, have frequently aided me in my research.
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