YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
GENERAL COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS AND
MANUSCRIPTS
PRE-1600 MANUSCRIPTS
Marston MS 72 Rome, 1460; Padua [?], s. XV 2
Cicero, De finibus, etc.
I. 1. ff. 1r-90r M. T. Ciceronis de finibus bonorum et malorum
liber primus incipit foeliciter. Non eram nescius brute cum que
summis ingeniis exquisitaque doctrina phylosophi greco sermone
tractauissent...Quod cum ille dixisset et satis disputatum uideretur
in oppidum ad Pomponium perreximus omnes. M. T. C. de finibus
bonorum et malorum liber v. et ultimus explicit foeliciter. Deo
gratias. Finitum Romae XVII Decembris MCCCCLX. f. 90v ruled,
but blank
Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum; Th. Schiche, ed., Teubner
fasc. 43 (1915) pp. 1-203. There are some contemporary interlinear
glosses by Scribe 2 that record variant readings or emendations to
the text; in addition, the same hand has written in the margins
numerous parts of the text left out by the original scribe. Greek
words are usually written in Roman letters; occasionally, however,
a space is left blank, or the Greek letters are used.
II. 2. ff. 91r-106r Caroli Aretini ad Cosmum et Laurentium de
medicis de matris obitu consolatoria incipit. Nuper viri mihi
amicissimi cum in matris uestre sanctissime atque honestissime
femine funere adessem...tamen hoc opusculum nostro ingeniolo
Lucubratum summa cum uoluptate uos Lecturos existimo. Valete viri
prestantissimi ac iterum bene ualete. Caroli aretini oratoris
eximij ad Cosmum et Laurentium de Medicis ciues florentinos uiros
clarissimos de matris obitu consolatoria explicit. Deo gratias.
f. 106v blank
Carlo Aretino Marsuppini, Oratio ad Cosimum et Laurentium de
Medicis de matris obitu; P. G. Ricci, "Una consolatoria inedita
del Marsuppini," La Rinascita 3 (1940) pp. 363-433; Beinecke
MS 72 not listed.
3. ff. 107r-132v Bernardi Iustiniani veneti patritij Leonardi
filij de laudibus francisci foscari Ducis venetiarum funebris oratio
incipit feliciter. Cum egregia quedam pietatis officia humanissime
princeps posterior etas a maioribus accepisset que deinde paulatim
exoleuere [sic]...cum omnium principum populorumque beneuolentia
perfrui liceat quam in iusto bello petita iustis armis defendere
necesse sit. Bernardi Iustiniani Veneti patritij Oratoris eximij
de Laudibus francisci foscari Ducis Venetiarum funebris et
elegantissima oratio. Explicit.
Bernardo Giustiniani, Oratio funebris habita in obitu Francesco
Foscari Ducis (d. 1457); published in Orazioni, elogi e vite scritte
da letterati veneti patrizj in lode di doge, ed altri illustri
soggetti (Venice, 1787) v. 1, pp. 21-59.
4. f. 132v Epitaphium dicti francisci. Post mare perdomitum post
urbes marte subactas/ Florentem populum longeuus pace reliqui.
Epitaph of Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice (d. 1457).
5. f. 132v [Added later by the same scribe:] Franciscus Fosc.
Venetorum Dux. Reip. cura. eloquentia animi magnitudine rerum
gestarum gloria omnium Principum...splendorum immortalem relinquens.
Anno salutis Mcccclvij. Ducatus xxxiiij. etatis Lxxxij Kl. Nouembr.
7-line account, in prose, summarising the accomplishments and life
of Francesco Foscari (see also arts. 3-4).
6. ff. 133r-152r Petri Balbi Pisani ad R. in chrysto patrem d.
Nicolaum de Cusza tituli Sancti petri ad uincula S. R. E. presbiterum
Cardinalem uirum eruditissimum in Epitoma Alcinoj disciplinarum
platonis de Greco in Latinum conuersum. prefatio Incipit feliciter.
Praefatio. Cum te intelligam sapientissime atque optime patrum tum
Aristotelis acutissimam doctrinam ceterorumque priscorum phylosophorum
...[text, f. 133v:] Epitoma Alcinoi disciplinarum Platonis Incipit.
Que sint proprijssima Platonis documenta queue doctrina probre inter
hinc ordiemur...Ab his tamen que diximus speculantes et perquirentes
cetera platonis precepta consequi possunt. Epitoma Alcinoi
disciplinarum Platonis explicit. Deo gratias.
Alcinous, Epitoma disciplinarum Platonis, translated into Latin
by Pietro Balbi; GKW, v. 1, no. 806. The date (1460 or earlier)
and circumstances of the translation are discussed in H.-D.
Saffrey, "Pietro Balbi et la premiere traduction latine de la
Theologie platonicienne de Proclus," Miscellanea codicologica
F. Masai dicata, ed. P. Cockshaw, et al. (Gand, 1979) pp. 425-37,
with the dedicatory preface to Nicholas of Cusa.
7. ff. 152r-157v Bernardi Iustiniani Veneti legati sue ciuitatis
ad Sixtum IIII Ro. Pont. oratio habita. Si unquam antea
sanctissime et beatissime pater diuine prouidentie lumen humanis
laboribus affulsit...sed presenti animo constantique fide semper
erunt re atque opere quam uerbo et oratione ueriores.
Bernardo Giustiniani, Oratio apud Sixtum IV Pontificem Maximum
habita, delivered at Rome in December 1471; published in his
Orationes, nonnullae epistolae, traductio in Isocratis Libellum
...Leonardi Justiniani epistolae (Venice, 1493) ff. Gv-G6r.
Part I: ff. 1-90. Parchment, ff. i (paper) + 90, 250 x 177 mm.
Remains of prickings in upper and lower margins. Other details
of page format are different for the two scribes who copied the
text. Scribe 1: ff. 1r-38v (conclusion of quire IV), written
space is 168 x 103 mm.; 28 long lines. Double vertical bounding
lines ruled in hard point on hair side (Derolez 13.31). Written
in a well formed round humanistic script, below top line and
sometimes not using the final line ruled for text.
Scribe 2: ff. 39r-90r, written space is 165 x 100 mm.; 28
long lines. Double vertical bounding lines ruled in crayon
(Derolez 13.31); lines for text ruled faintly in ink. Single
pricking in outer margins, 5 mm. above top line (Derolez 18.3).
Written in a smaller and less calligraphic humanistic script
with cursive features by Stefano Guarnieri, below top line.
I 8, II-VIII 10, IX 12. Catchwords throughout Part I are
perpendicular to text between inner bounding lines (Derolez 12.5)
and were added by Scribe 2; many trimmed. 5 illuminated initials,
6- to 4-line, yellow and ochre on blue, green and deep red ground
with white vine-stem ornament, sometimes extending into the margins
to form partial borders. Headings in red majuscules written by
Scribe 2.
Part II: ff. 91-157. Paper (watermarks: Briquet Ciseaux
3668) + i (paper), 250 x 177 (165 x 110) mm. 31 long lines.
Frame-ruled in crayon; text rulings in hard point [?]. Copied by
Scribe 2 of Part I: arts. 2-6 in italic, above top line; art. 7
added later, disregards bounding lines of written space. 4
illuminated initials, 6-line, dark yellow on irregular grounds
of blue, green and pink with white vine-stem ornament, shaded
with grey; white dots on blue, pale yellow on green and blue on
pink. Headings in red.
Binding: Italy, s. xix. Brick red goatskin, blind-tooled.
Bound in the same bindery for the Guarnieri-Balleani library (Iesi)
as MS 450 and Marston MSS 86, 212, 181, 182, with the first three
probably by the same binder. Title, in ink, on tail edge:
"C. DE. FI. BO. ET MA."
Part I was copied in Rome in 1460 (see colophon, art. 1) by two
scribes; the second scribe, who completed the work of the first,
I have identified as the humanist Stefano Guarnieri (d. 1495;
U. Nicolini, "Stefano Guarnieri da Osimo cancelliere a Perugia
dal 1466 al 1488," L'umanesimo umbro: atti del IX convegno di
studi umbri - Gubbio 22-23 settembre 1974 [Perugia, 1977]
pp. 307-23). Arts. 2-6 of Part II were written in the third
quarter of the 15th century after ca. 1460 (see art. 6);
art. 7 was added after 1471, the date the oration was delivered;
all of Part II was also copied by Stefano Guarnieri, though in
a less formal hand than was used in Part I; the decoration in
Part II seems characteristic of Padua. For other Beinecke
manuscripts either copied, annotated or owned by Guarnieri,
see catalogue entries for MS 450, Index V of this volume under
Guarnieri-Balleani Library, as well as C. Annibaldi, L'Agricola
e la Germania di Cornelio Tacito [Iesi, 1907]) pp. 4-10. From
the Guarnieri-Balleani Library at Iesi (characteristic binding
and remains of paper labels on spine). Purchased from Lathrop
Harper by Thomas E. Marston (bookplate and note on front pastedown:
"Purchased through Lathrop Harper Inc. from Ct. Balleani -
Nov. 1953").
secundo folio: [f. 2:] [antio]pam pacuuij
[f. 92:] Morte
Bibliography: Faye and Bond, p. 72, no. 72.
Barbara A. Shailor