Colloquia Maruliana ..., Vol. 6 , 1997.
Original scientific paper
The Studia Humanitatis in Marulić's Library
Bratislav Lučin
Abstract
Two lists of the books contained in Marulić’s library have been preserved, one drawn up in Marulić’s hand and appended to his will (Repertorium librorum), and the other produced by its executors after Marulić’s death (Inventarium librorum). Considering what we already know about Marulić, we can say with certainty that the two lists do not register all of the items that made part of the poet’s original library holdings; still, they provide an important secondary source for the study of the literary work and spiritual profile of the Split humanist. The names of the authors and titles of around 190 listed works (mainly printed and partly in manuscript), testify to the multifaceted nature of the owner’s interests.
In the Repertorium librorum Marulić grouped the items of his collection according to the criteria of genre and subject–matter. The resulting divisions bear the fol-lowing titles (we add also the number of items in each division):
Ecclesiastici: 35 (Marulić’s own works are not included);
Libri zentilium: Poetae - 15; Historici - 22; Geographi -2; Gramatici - 13; Comenta -4; Epistolae - 6; De re rustica - 4; Astronomi - 3; Philosophi et oratores - 32.
Even such a brief and schematic survey makes it possible to draw the following, important conclusions: in the divisions of the Pagan books (where, along with the Classical authors, appear the names of some medieval and contemporary authors as well) we can find, practically by name, all five fields of the studia humaniratis: grammar (Gramatici), rhetoric (Philosophi et oratores), poetry (Poetae), history (Historici), moral philosophy (Philosophi et oratores). It should be emphasized that these divisions include the largest number of titles (with exception of the group Ecclesiastici, of course). Although, on the whole, the Inventorium librorum repeats the titles from the Repertorium, it is enlarged with twenty new titles. In the present study all the items from both lists are ordered according to the afore-
said humanist disciplines and accompanied by brief commentaries. They have two purposes:
1. to identify at least some of the titles that so far have remained obscure; 2. to determine the role that the works collected by Marulić had in the context of the cultural and educational horizons of the Renaissance Humanism. (The titles of the single volumes are not quoted here, as they may be consulted in the text itself.)
It is worth noting that many of the books that Marulić read were not represented in his library (or, at least, have not been registered in the lists). Consequently, we should not be deceived by the mere numerical ratio between the groups of the Ecclesiastici and Libri zentilium, particularly since Marulić was much better read in the Christian authors than it could be inferred from the testamentary catalogue.
Where the Pagan authors and secular themes in general are concerned, we could say that the ratio between the evidence offered by the extant works and those of whose existence we learn from the testamentary documents, is inverse.
In his works Marulić refers to the Pagan authors with emphasized caution, declaring fit for reading only those that can be useful to a Christian as an instrument of moral perfection. In his role of the »active« humanist (i.e. as a writer), the deeply religious Marulić preferred to promote Christian principles and moral-didactic action. Other themes - pleasures and sorrows of every-day life, satirical stings aiming at con-temporaries, the handling of Classical mythological themes, even love and erotic impulses - are present in his work to a far lesser extent, and almost exclusively in verse.
The research undertaken here points to the unique conclusion that, as a »passive« humanist (i.e. as a reader), Marulić stood in the main stream of the literary and spiritual life of his day, characterized by a lively and unrestrained interest in every sphere of human life and integral heritage of the Antiquity. The titles quoted in the division Libri zentilium show, beyond doubt, that the horizons of the reader Marulić were much wider than it could be concluded on the mere base of his work and declared attitudes. This should be kept in mind whenever we discuss, in general terms, Marulić’s out-look and his synchronization with the Renaissance Humanism.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
9575
URI
Publication date:
22.4.1997.
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