ISOCRATES, ETC., LATINE.
Vellum, 8.375 x 5.5, ff. 202 + 4, 29 lines to a page. Late fifteenth cent., in a good black hand, probably Flemish.
Given by Hilkiah Croke. Inscription as in C. 10, without date.
Belonged to J. Gunthorpe, Dean of Wells (d. 1498), a famous collector.
Liber Iohannis Harte (xvi) on f.1. At end: Joh. harte iure tenet sed falso acquisiuit. Joh. harte iure tenet et recte acquisiuit, etc.
Collation: 4 flyleaves, 18 - 98 102 118 - 268.
Contents:
1. Isocrates ad Nicoclem . . . . . . . . . f. 1
Preface. Cum isocratem nuper lodouice adolescens mag-
nanime legerem
-nomini suo tantopere celebrato respondeant.
Consueuere plerique o nic[l]ocles aurum cellatum . . . . . 1b
-praeciosiora que reddentur.
(Or. II.) Pref. : Saepius ante oculos res humanas proponenti 11
-absolutum habebis regentis officium.
Salamim preclara olim cypri urbs . . . . . . . . 12
-isocrati viginti talenta dono misisse.
Plerique sunt qui graues in eloquentiam . . . . . . . 12b
-uniuersa hec licebit absoluere.
2. Isocrates ad Demonicum.
Habes tota quod mente petisti, flore valeri . . . . . . 22b
-admonitio quam intentus audi.
Isocratis parainesiz inc. feliciter ad Demonicum . . . . . 23b
In multis equidem Demonice comperiemus
-superari fas fuerit. Finis.
f. 32 (34) blank.
3. Plutarchus de virtute Romanorum.
Pref. Memini me pater beatissime cum nondum puericie annos 33 (35)
-quam iocundissime uiueremus effecisti. Vale.
Que multa sepenumero maximaque certamina . . . . . 34
-peditesque simul contendere bello Dev caric.
4. Nicolai Perotti de fortuna uirtute ve nominum ad Nicolaum
quintum pont. max. . . . . . . . . . 46b
Maxima semper summe pontifex non solum apud maiores
-me hunc laborem suscepisse plurimum letabor. Finit foeliciter.
Plutarchus de Alexandri fortuna virtute ve inc. foeliciter . . . . 50
Haec fortunae oratio est
Lib. II, f. 59.
-si uos meam timeatis.
f. 74 blank.
5. Nic. Peroti in Basilium de inuidia ad Nicolaum quintum Pont.
Max. praefatio . . . . . . . . . 75
Contemplanti michi saepenumero
-prodesse possim. Vale.
Finit praef. magni Bas. de inuidia.
Magni Basilii de inuidia oratio inc. foeliciter . . . . . 76
Bonus est deus
-sicut et deus donauit nobis. Mag. Bas. de inv. finit.
6. Nic. Perotti in Plutarchum de inuidia et odio prohemium ad
Nic. quint. Pont. Max. . . . . . . . . . 83
Accipe summe pontifex - tua sanctitas percipere ualeat.
Plutarchi de inuidia et odio libellus inc. . . . . . . . 83
Nichil fere ab odio differre
-bene secum agi existimant.
7. Basilii orationes duo per Nic. Perottum versae (no title).
Pref. A Rhodo nuper ad me sacrarum scripturarum liber . . . . 86b
-procidensque commendo.
Or. 1. In hac mensis nouitate et insigni ac festo nobis die 87b
-gloria et potestas est in sec. sec. Amen.
Or. 2. Exhortamini inquit sacerdotes et inuitate populum . . . . 97
-gloria et potestas in sec. sec. Amen
104b blank.
8. Illustri principi Ioanni Vigorniae comiti Franciscus Aretinus
salutem . . . . . . . . . . 104
Hanc luciani de calumnia
-teterrimo vicio senserit intelligas.
Luciani oratio de calumnia . . . . . . . . . 104b
Res profecto grauissima
-a veritate illustratis inueniret.
9. A change of hand. No title.
Xenophon de tyrannide (per Leon. Aretinum) . . . . . . 112
Pref. Xenophontis philosophi quendam libellum
-ausi sumus attingere.
Text. Cum ad hieronem tirannum simonides . . . . . . 113
-nemo tibi inuidebit. Expl.
Tirannus idem est quod dominus. Materia libri est utrum uita
tirannica .i. uita dominorum melior sit uita priuatorum.
126b blank.
10. Nich. Perotti in Epicteti philosophi Enchiridium pref. inc.
feliciter ad Nich. quintum pont. max. . . . . . . 127
Soleo mecum interdum mirari
-Valeat tua sanctitas felicissime.
Nich. perotti poete laureati In epicteti, etc., pref. finit.
Simplicii philosophi in exposicionem Enchiridii prefacio inc.
felicissime . . . . . . . . . . . 129
De uita quidem Epicteti
-deberent peruersi spirituales. Nich. perotti de greco
translacio prohemii finit feliciter.
Epicteti philosophi Enchiridium Inc. fel. . . . . . . . 132b
Eorum que sunt quedam in nobis sunt
-nocere uero michi minime possunt. Finit Enchiridium.
11. De erroribus in lege Machometi (no title) . . . . . . . 148
Presens prohemium singulariter tractat quomodo ecclesia
militans dolet
Ends with capitula (18). Expl. prohemium.
De quibusdam erroribus in lege Machometi contentis cap. 1 150
Fraudulentus fictus et falsus ille machometus
-ymmo penitus respuenda. Expl. opusculum in nomine
dei. 172b blank.
12. Inc. Inuectiua Leonardi Aretini contra ipocritas . . . . . . 173
Ex omni genere hominum quos uariis dampnabilibusque uiciis
-non curiosus sis sed in tua.
Expl. inuect. Leonardi contra ypocritas.
13. Clarissimi uiri Guarini Veronensis ad illustrem principem .d.
leonellum estensem de assentatoris et amici differencia ex
plutarcho . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Platonem uirum doctissimum
-a fonte id sibi manasse meminerint. Finit plutarchus
de assent. et amici diff. per Guarinum Veron. oratorem
precipuum.
Gunthorp'.
There are handsome initials, and borders, and also some well blazoned shields in initials and margins, viz.:
1. f. 1. Within a bordure sable engrailed, argent a chevron gules between three guns proper (for Gunthorpe).
2. f. 14b. gules a chevron or between three lions' heads erased argent.
3. f. 25b. gules a chevron arg. between three crosses pattee of the second.
4. f. 35. Within a bordure of azure and arg.: gules a bend dexter of the bordure of six parts, the azure parts bearing leopards' heads or, between two lions' heads erased arg.
5. f. 46b. or a maunche (?) vert.
Compare the shields in the Emmanuel College MS. 3, which also belonged to Gunthorpe.
Negative and positive microfilm in St John's College Library.
On J. Gunthorpe see Revd G. Woodforde, 'John Gunthorpe, Dean of Wells, 1472-1498, his Coat of Arms, badges, motto and monogram', Journal of the British Society of master glass painters 9:1 (1943).
P. O. Kristeller, 'Niccolo Perotti ed i suoi contributi alla storia dell' umanesimo', Res publica litterarum : studies in the classical tradition 4 (1981), 7-25.
D. Lepine, '"Guns and roses": The identity and "self-fashioning" of John Gunthorp, Dean of Wells (d.1498)', The Ricardian 31 (2021)
Section 8 is dedicated to John Tiptoft, Duke of Worcester, by Francesco Griffolini, c. 1460. On John Tiptoft see R. Weiss, Humanism in England during the 15th century (Oxford, 1957).
Early pen foliation includes the following mistakes:
fol. 7 is followed by fol. 10
fol. 37 is followed by fol. 37 and then an unnumbered folio
fol. 75 is followed by fol. 77
fol. 78 is followed by fol. 78
fol. 86 is followed by fol. 88
fol. 115 is followed by an unnumbered folio.
James' s foliation does not notice all errors.
