Antiquariat Büchel-Baur

Leaf A8 verso:

The second poem reads:

Clarissimio ac de utraque lingua optime merito d(omino) Aldo Manucio

                                                                                                 Daniel Finus.

                                    Praesidium, tutela, decus: lux maxima linguae

                                        Et Graiae, et latiae gratulor Aldus tibi:

                                    Edita quod tandem sunt Stroza poemata per te,

                                        Iudicii limam quae subiere tui.

                                    Reddita cum quibus est tua dulcis epistola nobis:

                                        Inde tibi grates officiosus ago.

                                    Debemus tantum quantum gens Strocia debet :                                                        Posteritas quantum lingua triplexve tibi :

                                    Borsius: Alcides: Alphonsus: Borgia quantum

                                        Borgia: cui charitum gratia maior inest.

                                    Anxia qua bello Ferraria saepe vigorem

                                        Sumpsit, in hostiles irruitura manus,

                                    His habet aeternae praeconia grandia fame

                                        Inter Arestinas gloria summa Duces.

                                    Ante feret segetes suilcatus vomere fluctus:

                                        Et metet indigenas aequore messor opes,

                                    Strocia quam sileant excusa poemata laudes

                                        Amplaque nostrorum stemmata nostra Ducum.

To the famous and, in both languages, respected Aldus Manutius (I wish) riches, safe-keeping, adornment: loftiest light of linguists, the Latin as well as the Greek, I congratulate you, Aldus. The poetry of the Strozzis has been published by you, subject to the attentions of your file. We have received a letter together with these poems, and therefore I thank you assiduously. We owe you so much appreciation as the house of Strozzi and future generations and the threefold language. Those who owe you thanks are also Borso, Alcides, Alphonsus and the Borgias. Ferrara, always fearful of falling into enemy hands, always managed to gain new energy.

These poems bring great glory to the leaders of d’Este, and one should mow on water or sow seeds on the tide rather than let the poetry of Strozzi be silenced and with it the house and fame of the dukes. Fini describes the printer Aldus in this eulogy as someone who has rendered outstanding service to the princely family of d’Este in Ferrara (Borso, Alcides = Ercole and Alfonso), to the Borgias (Cesare and Lucrezia) and to the three languages in which the work was printed (Latin, Greek and Hebrew).

Literatur:

Anita della Guardia, Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, Poesie latine tratta dall'Aldina e confrontate coi codici. Modena 1916.

L. Bertalot, Initia humanistica latina. Initienverzeichnis lateinischer und Poesie aus der Zeit des 14.-16. Jahrhunderts.Band I: Poesie. Tübingen 1985.

W. Ludwig, Die Borsias des Tito Strozzi. Munich 1977.