Bibliographical notes on the English translation of Polydore Vergil's work, 'De inventoribus rerum' / communicated to the Society of Antiquaries by John Ferguson.

  • Ferguson, John, 1838-1916.
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Bibliographical notes on the English translation of Polydore Vergil's work, 'De inventoribus rerum' / communicated to the Society of Antiquaries by John Ferguson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    and in particular compiled five additional books on inventions nominally, but mainly on cburcb history and antiquities, which, with the original three, were printed in 1521, by Froben.a He possibly revised the whole again for Bebelins, whose edition came out in 1532, two years prior to the history of England (§ 25). Yergil, I take it, had a strong partiality for his history of inventions. 9. In 1524, during his autumn vacation in the country,b he composed a short commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, with the intention of bringing its meaning and value home to those who ran over it as a form, or as quickly as possible got through it as a hackneyed string of words. The remarks with which he prefaces this small work entitle him to be ranked as a reverent, sensible, and liberal- minded man. The epistle to bishop Fisher of Rochester, prefixed to the com- mentary, is dated: Nonis Nouembris, Londini, m.d.xxiiii.; and the commentary, so far as I know, appeared for the first time in the edition of the Proverbs and Inventions, printed by Froben, in 1525, pp. 248-255. It was often printed after- wards with the Inventions; it is contained, for example, in the editions of Basel, 1532, 1544, 1546, 1563, and 1570 in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries; in Stoer’s edition, 1604; in Zetzner’s, Argent. 1606; in Italian, 1543, 1550. Ellis (p. ii. note *) quotes a statement that it was published separately about 1554, but I know of nothing which confirms this. 10. In 1525 he edited the work of Hildas for the first time, from a manuscript in his own possession, collated with one belonging to bishop Cuthbert Tunstall. The copy of this book which I have is a tiny square octavo, of 44 leaves in all. It is printed in italics, and is said to have issued from Pynson’s press, but the volume itself has no printer’s name, date, or place of printing. The epistle to Tunstall concludes: ad vm. Iduum April, m.d.xxv. Londini. There are copies of this rare little volume in the British Museum and Bodleian. 11. In order of time, his next work was the dialogue De Prodigiis, in which he discusses all kinds of wonderful events, portents, monsters, and what not. The preface was addressed to Franciscus Maria, duke of TJrbino, and is dated: Londini, xm. Calendarum Augusti, h.d.xxvi. The earliest copy which I have seen is in the British Museum. It is dated 1531, and is well printed by Bebelius, at Basel. This was probably the first edition of the work. Another followed in 1533. a Bale, in Ms list of Vergil’s writings (Illustrium Maioris Britanniae Soriptorum . . . Summarium, Gippeswici, 1548, f. 223), enters tliis as a separate treatise with, the title: De ritibus christianorum, li. v. b This date and item of biography have been overlooked by Sir Henry Ellis.