The most important literary dispute of the Renaissance pitted those writers of Neo-Latin who favored imitation of Cicero alone, as the single best exemplar of Latin prose, against those who preferred to follow an eclectic array of literary models. This Ciceronian controversy is the subject of the texts collected for the first time in this volume: exchanges of letters between Angelo Poliziano and Paolo Cortesi; between Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola and Pietro Bembo; and between Giovambattista Giraldi Cinzio and his mentor Celio Calcagnini. A postscript by Lilio Gregorio Giraldi and writings by Antonio Possevino comment further on this correspondence.

Because they address some of the most fundamental aspects of literary production, these quarrels shed light on similar debates about vernacular literature, which also turned on imitation and the role of the author. The Ciceronian controversy can also be seen as part of larger cultural movements, such as the choice of vernacular language over Latin, the development of Jesuit pedagogy, and the religious conflicts that characterized much of the Renaissance.

About the Author
JoAnn DellaNeva is Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Notre Dame. Brian Duvick is an Instructor in Philosophy, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Reviews
Believe it or not, the central issues of the book still make a worthy claim upon our attention. And this new bilingual edition, edited by JoAnn DellaNeva and translated by Brian Duvick, brings before the public for the first time in one blue volume, as beautifully printed as its 20 predecessors in this series, the most crucial documents in a literary debate that once engaged the finest minds in Europe. -- James Gardner * New York Sun *
Dellaneva and Duvick's Ciceronian Controversies in turn offers the major texts from one of the great arguments in Renaissance culture, the one about how a proper Latin style should be developed...As is usual with this series, the texts rely on critical editions established by others and the notes are minimal, what is necessary for an informed first reading. Everything is done to a uniformly high standard, and it is worth pausing for a moment to note that there are now more than twenty-five volumes in this series. That this milestone was reached in only seven years is a remarkable accomplishment. -- Craig Kallendorf * Neo-Latin News *
Dellaneva and Duvick's Ciceronian Controversies in turn offers the major texts from one of the great arguments in Renaissance culture, the one about how a proper Latin style should be developed...As is usual with this series, the texts rely on critical editions established by others and the notes are minimal, what is necessary for an informed first reading. Everything is done to a uniformly high standard, and it is worth pausing for a moment to note that there are now more than twenty-five volumes in this series. That this milestone was reached in only seven years is a remarkable accomplishment. -- Craig Kallendorf * Neo-Latin News *



Book Information
ISBN 9780674025202
Author JoAnn DellaNeva
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Harvard University Press
Publisher Harvard University Press