t02 
to. the teftamany of Sicco*, one of the 
moft celebrated of his {cholars, he not 
only taught the Roman Eloquence, but 
alfo the fcitaee of Moral Philofophy, with 
fuch fuccefs and applaufe, and improved 
his {cholars fo.mueh by his life and _ex- 
ample, that, according to. univerfal opi- 
nion, he far excelled all the profeffors of 
thofe fciences who had ever before ap- 
peared. ‘That he was here of confidera- 
ble fervice in reviving the fudy of the 
Latin language, and of the works of the 
ancient Romans, was acknowledged by 
all his fcholars, and.is confirmed by the 
following teftimony of Blondus +: 
ce About the fame period, Ravenna 
produced that learned grammarian and 
rhetorician Johannes, of whom Leonar- 
_ dus Aretinus ufed to fay, that he firft in- 
troduced into Italy, after a long period 
of barbarifm, the ftudy of the Latin lan- 
guage and eloquence, now fo flourifhing ; 
a circumftance which deferves to be en- 
darged on in the prefent work. Thofe 
well acquainted with Roman literature 
know, that after the periods of Ambrofe, 
Jerom, and Auguftin, there were none, 
or very few, who wrote with any ele- 
gance, unlefs we add to thefe good writ- 
ers, St. Gregory, the v venerable. Bede, and 
St. Bernard. Francis Bewarevawas the 
fir& who, with much genius and fill 
greater care, recalled from the duft the 
rue art of peetry and of eloquence. He 
did not attain to the flowers of Cicero- 
nian elaguicners with which many are 
adorned in the prefent century, but this 
was owing rather to a want of books 
than of talents... Though he 'boafted cf 
having found. at Ve saul Cacero’s letters 
to Lentuius, he was unacguainted with 
the books. of that great Reman De Ora- 
ee Quintilian’s Inftitutes, the Crator, 
the Buti s and. other WEISS of Cicero. 
john de anerate was known to Petrarch 
both im his Laue. and in his old-age.. 

° 
% sRdoteteehas tum ego poetas, et inftitut 
Tullii audiebam. Legebat tunc hac in civitate 
Padua, literarum nutrice, ‘fohannes Ravennas 
- iret fan€timonia morum, et ftudie ifto ex- 
cellens, atque fi. poteft fine invidia dici, ce- 
teris, gui magiftri artis hujus in terra Htalia 
ufguam degerent et do&tiflrmi habetentur, 
quantum recordari videor, omnium judicio 
preeferendns. Koc namque a preceptore non 
eloguentia modo, quam ex ordine Jegeret, fed 
mores etiam, ac quz#dam bene honefteque 
vivendi ratio cum ‘doétrinas tum. exemplis 
diicebatur—Sico Polentonus, Ap. Mehus }. c 
p-FSY- 
‘> Blondé Flavii ForlivienGs Italia illudra- 
ta. _ assy 1559. sfole p, 2g 
Account of foht of . Ravennn. 
He was not more converfant with, the 
ancients than Petrarch; and, as. dar, ag 
i know, left no works fein him. By 
his excellent genius, however, and, as 
Leonardus Aretinus fays, by-the particu- 
lar difpenfation of God, he was the pre- 
ceptor of this Peonardie: of Petrus Pau= 
lus Vergerius, of Annebonus de Paduas 
of Robert Roffi, of James Angeli, of 
Florence, of Toners and Guarino of 
Verona, of Victorinus, Sicco, and other 
men of lefs note, whom he incited: to 
the ftudy of better knowledge, and to 
imitate Cicero, if he could not form 
them or inftruét them completely.” . 
<¢ About thefame time Manuel Chry- 
foloras, a man as Virtuous as learnedy 
came from Conftantinople to Italy, and. 
inftructed in the Greek language, partly 
at Venice and partly at Florence. and 
Rome, all the before mentioned {cholars 
of John de Ravenna. After he had con-. 
tinued this inftruétion for fome years; 
thofe unacquainted with the Greek lan- 
guage and the ancient Gretk writerss 
were confidered, in italy, as more igno- 
rant than thofe unacquainted with the 
Latin. A, great many young men and 
youths were inflamed with an enthufiaftic. 
defire for the works of the ancient Greeks 
and Romans. At the time of the council 
of Conftance, in the beginning of the 
fifteenth century, many of my country- 
men endeavoured, by fearching the neigh- 
bouring cities am convents, to difcover 
= 
fome of the Roman manuferipts which 
had been loft. Poggius firft difcovered. 
a complete copy of Quintilian, 1 which was. 
foon followed by the letters of Cicero to 
Atticus. As our youth applied to the 
ftudy of thefe works with the utmott. di- 
ligenee, tliat celebrated grammarian and 
rhetorician, Cafparinus de Bergamo, 
opened a fchool at Venice, fuperion to. 
the for mer, and in which young perions . 
were encouraged to fudy the ancient, Jan- 
pula ses ‘and writers. About the fame. time 
flour fhed Petrus Paulis Vergerus,, Leos 
nardus Areti 
D> 
a5 
os 
aud Nicolaus de Me- 
hp 
=) 
OQ 
lary 
h 
dici, whom Ai ‘ods had long inttrudted< 
Guarinus alfo had begun. to initruct 
many at Venice, and Victorinus at, Man— 
tua, when Ph ilip Til. Duke of Milans 
recalled Cafpar inus as his fubjedt,. from 
Venice, to Padua and Milan.. The en- 
creafing ftudy of ancient literature wag 
much promoted by Gerard Landrianoy 
Bimep of Lodi, difcoyering under feme 
ruins an old copy of Cicer £02 WE itfen jn 
characters fearcely ke asa ible, which, among 
ether rheterical writings of. that pret 
Re Cae re ak 

Pig 
tri 
eee Robert Rofl, James. 
a 
