Exil und Heimatferne in der Literatur des Humanismus von Petrarca bis zum Anfang des 16. Jahrhunderts
in libertatem redegit […].
(This famous Timoleon from Corinth, having scattered the forces of the Carthaginians and driven out all the tyrants, restored the noble island of Sicily to freedom).4
The parallel with Cosimo is hard to miss.
Lapo da Castiglionchio
By the 1430 s Italian humanists were translating vast amounts of Greek literature into Latin, and the Lives of Plutarch offer a window into the political and cultural world of classical studies in the Quattrocento. One of the most productive of the new generation of translators was the short-lived Lapo da Castiglionchio (1406‒1438), a Florentine whose search for patronage was consistently frustrated. In 1434‒1436 he made a version of Plutarch’s Themistocles that he sent to Cosimo de’ Medici.1 His dedication draws exaggerated parallels between the Greek general and the Florentine banker. Where Poggio preferred to cite Roman examples, Lapo says that on the subject of exile he chooses to discuss eminent Greeks:
Ad clarissimum virum et sapientissimum civem Cosmam Medicem Lapi Castelliunculi prooemium in Themistoclis vitam incipit feliciter.
Themistoclis Atheniensis clarissimi et sapientissimi ducis vitam latine interpretatus ad te missurus eram, humanissime Cosma, cum eius exilii recenti memoria multorum ducum et principum civitatum cladibus in mentem mihi revocatis in eam sum, quam saepe soleo, dubitationem compulsus, fortuna ne magis an virtute consilioque opus esset iis, qui in florentissimus rebus publicis administrandis sine periculo vellent et cum dignitate versari. Nam cum me ad Graecorum summos viros, malo enim externa in tali re commemorare quam nostra, mente et cogitatione converto, video pene innumerabiles, in quibus iudicio omnium summa dignitas, summa virtus fuisset, quique in rebus perditis suo consilio et sapientia a gravissimis periculis ac prope interitu patriam vendicassent, partim interemptos esse a suis civibus, partim eiectos, quosdam etiam privatos honoribus misere atque ignominiose vixisse. Quo in loco huius ipsius, quem dico, Themistoclis fuga et persecutio et Miltiadis carcer aliorumque complurium omni dignitate principum non dissimiles exitus subeunt. Quae quidem ego saepe numero mecum repetens vehementer indignari soleo, qui maximis laboribus periculisque suis salutem et incolumitatem caeteris peperissent, tantum abfuisse ut digna suis virtutibus praemia reportarent, ut, quibus saluti fuissent et a quibus ornandi erant, ab ii, ut scelerati et impii, plecterentur […].2
(To the most renowned and wise citizen Cosimo de’ Medici, Lapo da Castiglionchio’s preface to the Life of Themistocles begins auspiciously.
Having translated into Latin the Life of Themistocles, a most renowned and wise Athenian general, I was going to send it to you, most humane Cosimo, but the recent memory of his exile called to mind the ruin of many generals and rulers of republics. I was seized by a doubt that often occurs to me, namely, whether those who seek to administer flourishing states without danger and with dignity have greater need of good fortune or of virtue and judgment. Now, when I turn my attention to the greatest of the Greeks (for on this topic I prefer to review foreign rather than domestic examples), I see nearly countless men universally regarded as endowed with great distinction and great virtue, whose judgment and wisdom in desperate time saved their countries from great perils and near destruction; yet some of them were killed by their fellow citizens, some exiled, and some stripped of their honors to live in distress and disgrace. On this topic, there occur to me the exile and hunting down of the aforementioned Themistocles, the imprisonment of Miltiades, the similar fates of other rulers of every rank. Now, as often as I review such things, I am usually shaken by violent indignation. For men who have obtained the safety and well-being of others by their own great labors and perils, far from reaping the rewards of their virtues are punished by those wicked and impious citizens who, owing their safety to them, should have honored them).
Nam acer et diligens gubernator nihil expavescit, sed fortis contra vim tempestatis insurgit […]. Quem sapientem aegregiumque civem proponere sibi in re publica decet, siquid indigne patitur, non se abicere, sed fortunae et tempori cedere et ad aliam oportunitatem se et suas vires servare, qualem Athenis Aristidem fuisse accepimus, et e nostris Furium Camillum, qui et pulsi irae civium concesserunt, et cum oportuna res cecidit, saluti non defuerunt. Itaque talium virorum quottidie magis gloria claret. A quorum institutis nihil tu mihi aberasse videris, qui nulla tua culpa seditionibus et quasi fluctibus civitatis eiectus patriae iniurias ita tulisti, ut in ea exilii calamitate fortunam tuam indolerent omnes, constantiam probarent, sapientiam mirarentur. Itaque meritissimo communi civium consensu et voluntate summa cum gloria in patriam revocatus perspicue declarasti tibi eiusmodi casum non delicti supplicium, sed illustrandae virtutis materiem extistisse.
(A brave and diligent helmsman fears nothing, but boldly rises up against the fury of the tempest […]. A wise and distinguished citizen in the state should hold up such a model, and if he suffers some injustice, should not be downcast but should yield to fortune and the moment, reserving himself and his strength for another occasion. Such, we hear, was Aristides of Athens, and Furius Camillus among the Romans: both of them yielded to the citizens’ wrath and went into exile, but when the right moment arrived they looked to their survival. The glory of such men shines forth more every day. You seem to me to follow their example, for through no fault of your own you were exiled by the republic’s factional strife and rough seas, as it were, but you bore the insults of your country so well that in the disaster of exile everyone lamented your ill fortune, lauded your constancy, and wondered at your wisdom. Hence by the well-deserved consensus and goodwill of all the citizens you were recalled in glory to your homeland, and you manifestly showed that what befell you was not punishment for a crime but material for displaying your virtue).
Lapo comments that Cosimo’s positive view of exile was not shared by Themistocles, who in all other respects was the greatest of Greek generals:
Quae una ex omnibus virtutibus Themistoci defuit, caeteris tamen ita excelluit, ut eum cunctis Graeciae ducibus anteferre non dubitem. Quare, etsi non me latet, quam imprudenter agam, qui tibi in hac tanta occupatione vitae atque urbis meis scriptis obstrepere audeam, praesertim cum tibi quottidie assit Leonardus Arretinus princeps eloquentiae huius aetatis, decus et ornamentum Latinae linguae, Ambrosius abbas, Nicolaus Nicolus, Poggius, Carolus Arretinus, doctissimi et eloquentissimi viri, qui te suis scriptis teneant, quorum sermonibus tuae assidue mulcentur aures, decrevi tamen meorum laborum ac vigiliarum tibi aliquid impartire, haud nescius ad summorum principum colloquia tenuissimos interdum homines admitti solere.3
(While Themistocles lacked this one virtue, he so far excelled in all the others that I would place him above all the other Greek generals. Now, I am aware how imprudently I act in daring to disturb you with my writings when you are busy with your career and politics, especially since every day you meet Leonardo Bruni – the prince of eloquence in our age and the glory and ornament of the Latin language – Ambrogio Traversari, Niccolò Niccoli, Poggio, and Carlo Marsuppini, all most learned and eloquent men whose writings engage you and whose conversation continually charms your ear. All the same, I resolved to share with you some product of my labors and studies, knowing that lesser men are sometimes admitted to the circle of great rulers).
Fretus igitus tua humanitate Themistoclis res gestas a me nuper ex Plutarcho versas, quod praeclarae mihi visae sunt atque imitatione imprimis dignae, ad te mitto, ut ex iis, si quid ad tuum usum pertinebit, deligere possis et te eum virum pietate simul et felicitate superasse laeteris. In quo si minus tibi meus labor gratus erit, debebis tamen eas et Themistoclis nomine et Plutarchi auctoritate libenter legere; itaque ut facias, te et oro et obsecro et me, si haec probari abs te percepero, plura ac maiora tuo nomine aggressurum esse profiteor.4
(Trusting in your generosity, I send you the deeds of Themistocles that I recently translated from Plutarch, since they seemed excellent and quite worthy of imitation. If something in them proves useful to you, you may select it for imitation, and will rejoice that you surpass this man in both piety and happiness. If any of my work displeases you, you should still gladly read these deeds, encouraged by Themistocles’ reputation and by Plutarch’s authority. I beg and beseech you to do this, and if I see that you are pleased, I promise that I shall undertake more and more important things in your name).
We may note that Guarino