‘Account of Fohn of Pie 
Roman, contained the whole books De 
Oratore, with his Brutus and Orator. 
This faved Cafparinus the trouble of 
fupplying the books of Cicero De Ora- 
tore, as he had attempted to fupply the 
works of Quintilian. As no one was 
found in all Milan, who could read this 
old manufcript of Cicero, an ingenious 
young man of Verona, named Cafmus, 
was {fo fortunate as firft to tranfcribe the 
books De Oratore, and to fill all Italy 
with copies of a work which was univer- 
fally fought for with the utmott avidity. 
¥ myfelf, in my youth, when I went to 
Milan, on the bufinefs of my native city, 
tranfcribed, with as much ardour as 
fpeed, the Brutus of Cicero, and fent co- 
pies of my tranicription to Guarinus at 
Verona, and'to Leonard Julftiniani at Ve- 
nicé, by which means, this work was 
foon difperfed all over Italy. By thefe- 
new works eloquence acquired new fire ; 
and Hence it happens, that in our age, 
people {peak and write better than in the 
time or Petrarch. The itudy of the 
Greek language, befides the abundance 
of new and uleful knowledce which it 
difclofed, was attended with this \ great 
advantage, that many attempted to tranf{- 
late Greek works into Latin, and there- 
by improved their ftyle much more than 
they could have done without that prac- 
tice. After this period, {chools for 
teaching the ancient languages increafed 
in Italy, and flouriffied more and more. 
Mott cities had fchools of this kind; and 
it gives one pleafure to obierve, that the 
{cholars excelled their matters, not only 
when they left thera, but even while they 
were under their tuition. Of the fcholars 
of John de Ravenna, two of the oldeft,° 
Guarinus and Viétorinus, the former at 
Mantua, and the latter at Venice, Vero- 
na, Florence, and Ferrara, inftruéted an 
immenife number of pupils, and among 
thefe, the Princes of Ferrara’ and. Man- 
tua. George of Trebifonde, when he 
le&tured at Rome, had, for his auditors, 
befides italrans, many French, Spaniards, 
and Germans, among whom fometimes 
there were men of rank and eminence. 
Francifcus Philelphus, who had been 
taught at Conftantinople by Chryfoloras 
himfelf, inftru€ted a great many young 
men and youths in the Greek and Latin 
languages at Venice, Florence, Siena, 
Bologna, and, laft of all, at Milan.” 
¥n the above quotation, the fhare which 
John de Ravenna had in revifing and dif- 
fufing a knowledge not-only of the Ro- 
man, but alfo of the Grecian literature, 
as fo clearly reprefented, that no farther 
103 
teftimony is neceffary to eftablith his claim 
to celebrity. Ps tie tale 
_ After John de Ravenna had taught af 
Padua, he removed for the like purpofe 
to Florence, where, as appears, he’ in- 
ftructed young people, for fome time, 
without being’ exprefsly invited by the 
government, and without being publicly 
paid for his labours. In the beginning 
of his refidence at Florence, he feems to 
have been recommended by Colucius to 
the learned Charles de Malateita. &* There 
lives here at prefent,’” fays Colucius, in 
one of his letters; ‘* a teacher of! great 
merit, John de Ravenna---he is,’’ con- 
tinues he, ‘* of mature age; irreproach- 
able in his manners, and fo difpofed in 
general, that if you receive him, as Lhope 
and wiih, among the number of your ins 
timate friends, you will find him an 
agreeable and incomparable aflitiant to 
you in your labours and ftudies. What 
can be more defirable to you than to. 
pofiefs a man who will lucubrate and la- 
bour for you; and who, in a fhort time, 
cai communicate to you what you could 
not obtain by your own exertions with- 
out great, dificulty.. I do not know 
whether you will find his like in all. 
Italy ; and 1 therefore wiih, that, if you 
confide. in my judgment, you will re-. 
ceive John de Ravenna in the room of 
your late learned. friend, James de Ale- 
eretti.”’ Itis not known, whether John 
de Ravenna went to refide with Maiatefta 
or-not. It is, however, certain’ that the 
former, in 1397, (the fame yearn which. 
Manuel Chryioloras came to Florence) 
was invited thither by the magiftrates of - 
that city, with the promife of an annual 
falary, to inftruét young people in’ the 
Roman language aud: eloquence; that 
Jobn de Ravenna, at the period when he 
entered into this honourable engagement, 
was forty-five vears of age; and that the 
{cholars of John de Ravenna were, at the 
fame time, {cholars of Chryfoloras. Sa- 
luratus Colucius, in all probability, was 
the caufe of this invitation; as he was- 
acquainted with the fervices of John de 
Ravenna, and knew how to appreciate 
them. ‘“* We know,’” fays he, in one 
of his letters to John de Ravenna, ‘and 
all who refpe& you know alfo, that 
none of the moderns, or even ancients, 
approached fo near to Cicero as you; and. 
that to the moft wonderful beauty and. 
powers of fpeech, you join. the deepelt., 
knowledge.”’ Johnde Ravenna, like Chry= 
foioras, and moft.ot the teachers of the 
Greek and Roman languages in the’ be- 
ginning of the fAfteenth century, was, ’ 
he 
