Paulus Manutius (; ; 12 June 15126 April 1574) was a Venetian printer with a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

education, the third son of the famous printer

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and Renaissance humanism, humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preser ...

and his wife Maria Torresano.

Life

As a young man, Paulus Manutius moved to Venice to get an education and was well received by his father's old friends

Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, (; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was a Venetian scholar, poet, and literary theory, literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the Italian Re ...

, Ramberto, and Egnatio. During Paulus' education his grandfather, Andrea Torresani and two uncles, Frederick and Francesco, carried on the

Aldine Press The Aldine Press was the printing office started by Aldus Manutius in 1494 in Venice, from which were issued the celebrated Aldine editions of the classics (Latin and Greek masterpieces, plus a few more modern works). The first book that was d ...

. Andrea Torresani died in October 1528 which brought disputes between Paulus and his uncles that halted the work of the press for four years. In 1533 Paulus assumed direction of his father's business. In that first year alone, the press issued eleven titles. From 1536 to 1539, Paulus was involved in a lawsuit against his uncles in an effort to reclaim his father's italic type. In 1539, Paulus won. Paulus was a passionate Ciceronian, and perhaps his chief contributions to scholarship are the corrected editions of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

's letters and orations (''Epistolae ad familiares'' in 1540, ''Epistolae ad Atticum'' and ''Epistolae ad Marcum Iunium Brutum et ad Quintum Ciceronem fratrem'' in 1547), his own epistles in a Ciceronian style, and his Latin version of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

' ''

Philippics A philippic () is a fiery, damning speech, or tirade, delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term is most famously associated with three noted orators of the ancient world: Demosthenes of ancient Athens, Cato the Elder and Marcus ...

'' (''Demosthenis orationes quattuor contra Philippum'', 1549). Throughout his life he combined the occupations of a scholar and a printer. T. Kimball Brooker. "Paolo Manutio's Use of Fore-edge Titles for Presentation Copies (1540-1541)"

The Book Collector ''The Book Collector'' is a London-based journal that deals with all aspects of the book. It is published quarterly and exists in both paper and digital form. It prints independent opinions on subjects ranging from typography to national heritag ...

46 (no.1) Spring 1997: 27-68 and 46 (no.2) Summer 1997: 193–209. As a scholar he is remembered for four elegant Latin treatises on Roman antiquities. His correct editions of the classics, printed in a splendid style, were highly esteemed, yet sales did not always support such productions; in 1556 he received for a time external support from the

Venetian Academy The Gallerie dell'Accademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal (Venice), Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro. It was ori ...

founded by

Federico Badoer Federico Badoer (1519–1593) was a diplomat of the Republic of Venice whose career was derailed in the 1560s by debts and unauthorized diplomacy. Badoer was born on 2 January 1519 in Venice. His father was Alvise Badoer. He was a promising youth, ...

. But Badoer failed disgracefully in 1559, and the academy was extinct in 1562. Meanwhile, Paulus had established his brother, Antonio in a printing office and book shop at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Antonio died in 1559, having been a source of trouble and expense to Paulus during the last four years of his life. Other pecuniary embarrassments arose from a contract for supplying fish to Venice, into which Paulus had somewhat strangely entered with the government.

In Rome

In 1561,

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...

invited him to Rome, offering him a yearly stipend of 500 ducats, and undertaking to establish and maintain his press there. The profits on publications were to be divided between Paulus Manuzio and the

Papal Treasury The Apostolic Camera (), formerly known as the was an office in the Roman Curia. It was the central board of finance in the papal administrative system and at one time was of great importance in the government of the States of the Church and i ...

. Paulus accepted the invitation, and spent the larger portion of his time, under three pontiffs, with varying fortunes, in the city of Rome. The Vatican was eager to make effective use of the press to counter the growing influence of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

publications from beyond the Alps and his Roman editions for the Stamperia del Popolo Romano were mostly Latin works of theology and Biblical or patristic literature. They included

Reginald Pole Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal and the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558 during the Marian Restoration of Catholicism. Early life Pole was born at Stourt ...

's ''De Concilio'' and ''Reformatio Angliae'' (both 1562) and official publications from the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

such as the ''Canones et decreta'' (1564) the ''

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or re ...

'' (1564), the ''

Catechismus ''Catechismus in der windischenn Sprach'' or simply ''Catechismus'' (Catechism, also known as or simply in modern Slovene), is a book written by the Slovene Protestant preacher Primož Trubar in 1550. Along with Trubar's 1550 book, ''Abecedari ...

'' (1566), and the '' Breviarium Romanum'' (1568). Ill-health, the commercial interests he had left behind at Venice, and the lack of interest shown by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

, left Paulus ready to travel back to Venice in 1570, having spent nine years in Rome.

Later years and death

On April 6, 1574, Paulus Manutius died at 61 and was buried at the Dominican Church of Rome.

Works

* ''In epistolas Ciceronis ad Atticum,'' 1546. * ''Commentarius in epistolas M. Tullii Ciceronis ad M. Junium Brutum, et ad Q. Ciceronem Fratrem,'' 1557. * * ''Ciceronis in M. Antonium,'' 1572. * ''In Ciceronis orationem pro Archia poeta commentarius,'' 1572.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manutius, Paulus 1512 births 1574 deaths Italian printers Italian Renaissance humanists Italian classical scholars Italian Latinists Italian publishers (people) 16th-century Venetian people 16th-century writers in Latin 16th-century Italian businesspeople 16th-century Italian writers Scholars from the Republic of Venice