452 
Who, though not quite twenty years of 
age, was already a confummate matter of 
almoft all-learning. From Mirandula, 
Aldo went, fome time after, to refide with 
his pupil, Alberto Pio, at Carpi. Gio- 
vanni Pico, in a fhort time, followed him 
to the fame place. Young Pio, though 
not more than twelve years of age, was of 
fuch a forward genius , and had made fuch 
advances in learning, that he was already 
qualified to take a part in the ferious con- 
verfations, and the defigns of his uncle 
and his preceptor. It is believed to have 
been at this time, and in concert with 
thefe two young noblemen, that Aldo 
conceived the project of his fubfequent 
printing eftablifhment at Venice. As he 
had but little money of his own, it is na- 
turally enouzh imagined, that Pico and 
Pio muft have largely contributed to the 
expence of the undertaking. 
He began to print, at Venice, in the 
year 1488. The firft work of his prefs 
was the {mall Greek poem of Mujceus, 
which he printed in quarto, with a Latin 
tranflation. It is without date; but is 
known net to have been finifhed in the 
prefs before the year 1494. In the end 
of the fame year, he publifhed the Greek 
Grammar of Lafcaris. He printed in 
1495, in one collection, the grammatical 
treatifs of Theodore Gaza, Apollonius, 
and Herodian. 
He had already begun to colleét, col- 
late, and prepare for the prefS, the manu- 
ftripts of the then unprinted originals of 
the works of Ariftotle. Thofe were, in 
number and extent, fufficient to fill five 
volumes in folio. The manuferipts were, 
in many inftances, {carce legible, often 
mutilated, or having the reading almoft 
obliterated. They were all prodigioufly 
depraved by the ignorance and negligence 
of the copyifts. Latin tranflations of 
them were before this time in print; but 
mone had hazarded the arduous tafk to 
give an edition cf the Greek. With al- 
moft incredible efforts of diligence and 
erudition, Aldo bicught out a firft volume 
of the Works cf Ariltotle in 1495. The 
edition was completed in 1498. Aldo 
was from that time confefled, without dif- 
Rute, to fland as an editor in the very 
firft rank among his ccntemporaries. 
The printers of that age were in ge- 
neral more attentive to the demancs of the 
market, than ambitious to promote the 
reftoration of claffical learning. ‘Their 
prefl-s were employed on works of fchool- 
logic, of myfic theology, and of jurif- 
prudence, with fome very few eafy and 
popular works in claffical literature, and 
Memoir of Alda Manuzio. 
[June 1,5 
in the philofophy of the ancients. Many 
printing-houles were entirely without typcs 
of the Greek characters; fo that, for the 
Greek quotations in books printed in fuch 
houfes, there were left blanks, to be after- 
wards filled up with the pen. Yet Aldo 
was not the very firft that printed an en- 
tire Greek book. The Greek Grammar 
of Lafcaris had been printed in folio, at 
Milan, in 1476. The works of Homer 
were printed at Florence in 1488; and 
feveral other Greek works had alfo ap- 
peared in print, when Aldo began his ef- 
tablifhment. He was, however, the firft 
that uled elegant Greek types, and printed 
from the moil correct and authentic ma- 
nuicripts. ; 
In imitation, it 1s faid, of the hand- 
writing of the celebrated Petrarch, Aldo 
procured the firit examples of that which 
is callcd, in printing, the italic character, 
to be cut and caft tor him by Francefco of 
Bologna, about the year 1500. An edi- 
tion of the Works of Virgil, in oétavo, - 
was the firft book he printed in this type. 
The type is {till known among printers, 
by the name of Aldine. The inventor 
obtained a patent from the Senate of Ve- 
nice, for its exclufive ufe for ten years, 
from the 13th of November, 1502; and 
another fimilar patent from Pope Alex- 
ander the Sixth, from the 17th of No- 
vember, 1502. ‘The laft of thefe was re- 
newed for fifteen years more, by Julius 
the Second, on the 27th of January, 1513; 
and again by Leo the Tenth, on the 28th 
of the following November. 
From the year 1502, the different works 
priated by Aldo, were reprinted at Lyons, 
with a clofe imitation of the Aldine type 
and edition. The very Prefaces of Aldo, 
and his affiftants, were copied in the edi- 
ticns of Lyons. But the imitation was 
difgraced by many typographical errors. 
Aldo obferving and noting thele, publifh- 
ed on the 16th of March, 1503, a lift in 
which they were particularly enumerated, 
aud which he appears to have diftributed 
to the purchafers of copies of his own ge- 
nuine editions. The cunning and induf- 
trious Lyonnefe tock this lift of their er- 
rors, corrected them in new editions of the 
fame books; and thus ftill divided the 
market with Aldo, and now more fucceff- 
tully than at the firft. " 
In the years 1501, 1502, 1503, 1504, 
and 1505, Aldo printed in folio, or in oc- 
tavo, a confiderable number of the beft 
authors, Greek, Roman, ana Italian, fuch” 
as Demofithenes, Lucian, Dante, Horace, 
Petrarch, Cicero’s Epiftles to his familiar 
Fiiends, Juvenal, Lucan, Homer, aes 
cles 5 
