Pomponius Laetus
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Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428 – 9 June 1498), also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian
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 ...
.


Background

Laetus was born at
Teggiano Teggiano (), formerly Diano, is a town and (municipality) in the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy. It is situated on an isolated eminence above the upper part of the valley to which it gives the name of Vallo di Diano. Among the historic ...
, near
Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...
, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of
Sanseverino Sanseverino may refer to: * House of Sanseverino, Neapolitan noble family * Antonio Sanseverino, (ca. 1477–1543), Neapolitan cardinal * Ferdinando Sanseverino (1507–1572), prince of Salerno and Italian condottiero * Aurora Sanseverino (1669 ...
, the German historian
Ludwig von Pastor Ludwig Pastor, ennobled as Ludwig von Pastor, Freiherr von Campersfelden (31 January 1854 – 30 September 1928), was a German historian and diplomat for Austria. He became one of the most important Catholic historians of his time and is most no ...
reported. He studied at
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
under
Lorenzo Valla Lorenzo Valla (; also latinized as Laurentius; 1 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator and scholar. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the Donation of Constantine w ...
, whom he succeeded in 1457 as professor of eloquence in the Gymnasium Romanum. About this time he founded an academy ('' Accademia Romana''), the members of which adopted
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
names, and met at the house of Laetus on the
Quirinal The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has com ...
, which was filled with fragments and inscriptions and Roman coins collected by this early
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
, to discuss classical questions; they celebrated the birthday of
Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...
. Its constitution resembled that of an ancient priestly college, and Laetus was styled '' pontifex maximus''.
Bartolomeo Platina Bartolomeo Sacchi (; 1421 – 21 September 1481), known as il Platina () after his birthplace of Piadena, was an Italian Renaissance humanist writer and gastronomist, author of what is considered the first printed cookbook. Platina star ...
and
Filippo Buonaccorsi Filippo Buonaccorsi, called Callimachus, Callimaco, Bonacurarius, Caeculus, Geminianensis latin language, (Latin: ''Philippus Callimachus Experiens'', ''Bonacursius''; , 2 May 1437 – 1 November 1496) was an Italian Renaissance Humanism, humani ...
were among the most distinguished members of the circle, which also included Giovanni Sulpizio da Veroli, the editor of the first printed ''
De architectura (''On architecture'', published as ''Ten Books on Architecture'') is a treatise on architecture written by the Ancient Rome, Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius, Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesa ...
'' of
Vitruvius Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...
and organizer of the first production of a
Senecan tragedy Senecan tragedy refers to a set of ten ancient Roman tragedies, eight of which were probably written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Senecan tragedy, much like any particular type of tragedy, had specific chara ...
mounted since Antiquity.


Controversy surrounding his academy

In 1466, on his way to take up an appointment at the University of Rome, Laetus stopped for a sojourn in Venice. Here he was brought under investigation by the
Council of Ten The Council of Ten (; ), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...
on suspicion of having seduced his students, whom he was said to have praised with excessive ardour in some Latin poems. Charged with
sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...
, he was imprisoned. At the same time in Rome,
Pope Paul II Pope Paul II (; ; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched fr ...
began viewing Laetus's academy with suspicion, as savouring of
paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
,
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
, and
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...
. In 1468 twenty of the academicians were arrested during
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on charges of conspiracy against the Pope. Laetus, who was still in
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
at the time the supposed conspiracy was discovered, was sent back to Rome, imprisoned and put to the torture, but refused to plead guilty to the charges of infidelity and immorality. For want of evidence, he was acquitted and allowed to resume his professorial duties; but it was forbidden to utter the name of the academy even in jest. He also decided not to set foot in Venice again, and for greater security, soon married. In the meantime, Laetus received from Frederick III a dispensation to grant the
laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...
: the young poet Publio Fausto Andrelini from
Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
(Italy) was the first to receive it. Laetus continued to teach at the University of Rome until his death in 1498.
Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...
permitted the resumption of the Academy meetings, which continued to be held until the sack of Rome in 1527. Laetus's importance in cultural history lies mostly in his role as a teacher. On his death he was buried in the church of
San Salvatore in Lauro San Salvatore in Lauro is a Catholic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located on a piazza of the same name in the rione Ponte. It stands on Via Vecchiarelli, just south of the Lungotevere Tor di Nona and north of via dei Coronari. It is the ...
in Rome.


Significance

Laetus, who has been called the first head of a
philological Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
school, was extraordinarily successful as a teacher; he said that he expected, like
Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
and
Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...
, to live on through his pupils, some of whom were many of the most famous scholars of the period. Among those put under his charge to be educated were Alexander Farnese, later pope Paul III. His works, written in sophisticated classicizing Latin,Palmer, Ada. "The Use and Defense of the Classical Canon in Pomponio Leto's Biography of Lucretius." Renaessanceforum, 2015. http://www.renaessanceforum.dk/rf_9_2015.htm were published in a collected form (''Opera Pomponii Laeti varia'', 1521). They contain treatises on the Roman magistrates, priests and lawyers, and a compendium of Roman history from the death of the younger Gordian to the time of Justin III. Laetus also wrote commentaries on classical authors, and promoted the publication of the ''
editio princeps In Textual scholarship, textual and classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts. These had to be copied by han ...
'' of
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
at Rome in 1469.


Notes


References

*
Catholic Encyclopedia article
*Pastor, Ludwig, ''The History of the Popes, from the Close of the Middle Ages'' vol. IV (1894) p 41ff. *For articles on Pomponius Laetus and his humanist circle, see
The Repertorium Pomponianum
" with bibliographies including: Accame, Maria. ''Pomponio Leto: vita e insegnamento'' (Tivoli oma Tored, 2008) and other recent publications. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pomponius Laetus, Julius 1428 births 1498 deaths People from Teggiano Italian Renaissance humanists People prosecuted under anti-homosexuality laws 15th-century writers in Latin