Politian

Politian
Politian
Italian humanist (1454-1494)

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Politian
    Politian
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Politian
    (ANGIOLO DE 'AMBROSINI DA MONTE PULCIANO)
    An Italian Humanist, born at Monte Pulciano in 1454; died at Florence in 1494. At the age of ten he went to Florence, where he followed the courses of Landino, Argyropoulos, Andronicus Callistus, and Marsilio Ficino. In 1477 he was tutor to the children of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and became one of the Accademia which Lorenzo had grouped about him, in which with Marsilio Ficino, were associated Landino, Pico della Mirandola, and Hermolaus Barbarus. Politian was professor of Greek and Latin literature at Florence from 1480; among his pupils were the Englishmen, Grocyn and Linacre, and the German Reuchlin. He was rather a master and interpreter of the ancient spirit than a philologist. His lessons on each author were preceded by an introduction, often in verse, with a poetic title: "Nutritia" for the general eulogy of poetry, "Rusticus" for Hesiod and the Georgics of Virgil, "Manto" for Virgil, "Ambra" for Homer. His discourses or preliminary poems form a collection called "Prælectiones". Politian was one of the first Italian Humanists who succeeded in rivalling the Greek scholarship of the native-born Hellenes. At eighteen he translated Books I to V of the "Iliad" and won the surname of Homericus juvenis. Subsequently he translated Callimacus, the historian Herodien, Epictetus, the "Charmides" of Plato, the "Eroticus" of Plutarch, treatises of Hippocrates and Galian, and selections from Moschus and the "Anthology". He read many other authors, which for a long time existed only in manuscript, e. g., the "Months" of John Lydus which Schow made known only in 1794. His most important philological work is his collection of "Miscellanea" (1489), wherein he treats various scholarly subjects; the employment of breathings in Greek and Latin, the chronology of Cicero's familiar letters, the orthography of the name of Virgil, which he fixed under the form Vergilius, the discovery of purple, the difference between the aorist and the imperfect in the signature of Greek sculptors. He was a modern philologist in his efforts to recover the best manuscripts and to procure collations. He thus contributed towards improving the text or preserved intact the Latin elegiacs, the "Silvæ" of Statius, Terence, Lucretius, Ovid, Celsus, Quintilian, Festus, Ausonius, the agricultural treatises. The critical editions of these authors place his name in the history of manuscripts, but he made a special study of the "Pandects" on the sixth century Manuscripts brought from Pisa to Florence in 1411. As a Humanist, Politian is a Latin writer ef poetry and prose, a poet of Latin sentiment in Italian. He does not share the Ciceronian purity of Valla, but endeavours to create a personal style. He had to defend these ideas against the Latin secretary of Florence, Bartolomeo Scala and against Paolo Cortesi. He was one of the earliest to attract attention to the Latin writers of the Silver Age. His Latin, like his Italian, verses are full of grace and sentiment. He wrote in Latin a history of the conspiracy of the Pazzi in which he took Sallust as a model. His letters together with those of Bembo were long considered as realizing the ideal of style.
    SANDYS, A Hist. of Classical Scholarship, II (Cambridge, 1908), 83; MÄHLY, Ang. Politianus, Ein Culturbild aus d. Renaissance (Leipzig, 1864); BERNAYS, Gesammelte Abhandlungen, II (Berlin, 1885), 330; SYMONDS, The Renaissance in Italy, II (London, 1875-86), 345; SABBADINI, Ciceronianismo (Turin, 1886), 34; IDEM, Le scoperte dei codici (Florence, 1905), 151. Editions: Opera (Venice, 1498; Florence, 1499; Basle, 1553); Epistolœ (Basle, 1522; Anvers. 1567); Opera, Epistolœ, Miscellanea (Lyons, 1526); Poesie latine e greche in Prose Volgari, ed. DEL LUNGO (Florence, 1867).
    PAUL LEJAY.
    Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Politian — [pō lish′ən] (born Angelo Ambrogini) 1454 94; It. humanist & poet …   English World dictionary

  • Politian — /poh lish euhn/, n. (Angelo Poliziano) 1454 94, Italian classical scholar, teacher, and poet. * * * orig. Angelo Poliziano or Angelo Ambrogini born July 14, 1454, Montepulciano, Tuscany died Sept. 28/29, 1494, Florence Italian poet and humanist.… …   Universalium

  • Politian (play) — Politian lautet der Titel eines von Edgar Allan Poe 1835 begonnenen Theaterstücks, das er nie fertigstellte. Es war sein einziger Versuch auf dramatischem Gebiet. Er war zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch auf der Suche nach dem literarischen Genre, das ihm …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Politian (play) — Politian (1835) is the only play known to have been written by Edgar Allan Poe, composed in 1835 but never completed.Plot summaryThe play is written in blank verse and takes place in 16th century Rome. A man named Castiglione becomes engaged to a …   Wikipedia

  • Politian (Theaterstück) — Politian lautet der Titel eines von Edgar Allan Poe 1835 begonnenen Theaterstücks, das er nie fertig stellte. Es war sein einziger Versuch auf dramatischem Gebiet. Er war zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch auf der Suche nach dem literarischen Genre, das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Politian (Humanist) — Angelo Poliziano Angelo Poliziano, eigentlich Angiolo Ambrogini (lat. Angelus Politianus, Angelus Ambrosini; dt. auch kurz Politian; * 14. Juli 1454 in Montepulciano; † 29. September 1494 in Florenz) war ein italienischer Humanist und Dichter der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Politian — biographical name 1454 1494 Angelo Poliziano or Angelo Ambrogini Italian classical scholar & poet …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • politian — po·li·tian …   English syllables

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