The

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

scholar Gabriele Faerno, also known by his Latin name of Faernus Cremonensis, was born in

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

about 1510 and died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on 17 November, 1561. He was a scrupulous textual editor and an elegant Latin poet who is best known now for his collection of

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

in Latin verse.

Life

Gabriele Faerno was born in Cremona to Francis Faerno, a local lawyer and scholar. In 1528 he was enrolled at the Collegium Notariorum in his hometown and then entered the service of the Bishop of Cremona. Biographical details for this period are sparse, except that in 1538 he is recorded as following his master on a mission to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in Spain. At some time in the next decade he was recommended by his sponsors to Rome. The first evidence of his presence in the city is in a letter from Carlo Gualteruzzi to Giovanni Della Casa in October, 1548. At the start of 1549 he began working in the Vatican Library and was brought into contact with many of the scholars and philologists who gravitated around the activities there. Faerno's literary accomplishments over the next decade gained him the esteem and friendship of the cardinal Giovanni Angelo de Medici, afterwards

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

, and of his nephew the cardinal

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

. Having acquired a critical knowledge of the Latin language, he was enabled to display much judgment in the correction of the Roman classics, and in the collation of ancient manuscripts on which he was frequently employed. Once Pius IV was elected to the papal throne, Faerno was urged to publish some of the results of his diligent work. He was also offered a bishopric, which he modestly refused. Illness intervened before he could see the works he was preparing through the press and he died at the home of Cardinal Giovanni Morone towards the end of 1561. A rare bust of Faerno by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

is in the Philosophers Room of the

Capitoline Museum The Capitoline Museums (Italian: ''Musei Capitolini'') are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Pal ...

Scholarship

Faerno died in the prime of life. How much might have been expected from his talents and habits of study, had he lived longer, may appear from the works he left. *1. ''Terentii Comoediae'', Florence 1565, 2 vols. 8vo, a valuable and rare edition, completed after his death by his friend

Piero Vettori Piero or Pietro Vettori (Latin: Petrus Victorius) (1499 – 8 December 1585) was an Italian writer, philologist and humanist. Life Vettori was born in Florence and in his life dealt with numerous matters, from agriculture to sciences, from rhet ...

. There is no ancient editor to whom

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

is more indebted than to Faerno; who, by a judicious collation of ancient manuscripts and editions, has restored the true reading of his author in many important passages. Faerno’s edition became the basis of almost every subsequent one, and Dr. Richard Bentley had such an opinion of his notes that he reprinted them entire in his edition. *2. ''Ciceronis Orationes Philippicae'', Rome 1563, 8vo, very highly praised by

Graevius Johann Georg Graevius (originally Grava or Greffe; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony. Life Graevius was originally intended for the law, but made ...

. *3. He also worked on the conflicting manuscripts of the historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

and Faerno's contemporary, Latino Latini, has left a note on the scrupulous care with which he approached the subject. 'As for Livy, I would not want you to believe that aernois so bold and presumptuous as to add or change anything without the evidence of the ancient codices, unless obviously corrupt. If he cannot avoid mistakes at times, he does everything scrupulously, giving exact reasons for any opinion or conjecture of his, so as to leave anyone free to judge for himself.' Other Latin authors to whom Faerno dedicated his efforts include

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria, ...

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

, and

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

Poetry

Faerno is counted one of the foremost of the Renaissance Latin poets, largely on account of his "100 Fables" (''Centum Fabulae ex antiquis autoribus delectae, et carminibus explicatae''). Though not published until 1563, there is evidence that the work was completed as early as 1558. So excellent were his versions that one scholar went so far as to accuse him of concealing an undiscovered manuscript of Phaedrus for fear of lessening the value of his own versions. But

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...

, who published a translation of Faerno's work into French verse (Paris 1699), defended the author from this imputation in his preface. :Pope Pius IV, convinced that reading the fables of Aesop was of great use in forming the morals of young children, commissioned Gabriel Faerno, whom he knew as an excellent poet as well as a man with a taste for elegant and beautiful Latinity, to versify these fables so that children might learn, at the same time and from the same book, both moral and linguistic purity....Faerno has been called a second Phaedrus, by reason of the excellent style of his Fables, though he never saw Phaedrus, who did not come to our knowledge till above thirty years after his death; for

Pithoeus Pierre Pithou (1 November 1539 – 1 November 1596) was a French lawyer and scholar. He is also known as Petrus Pithoeus. Life He was born at Troyes. From childhood he loved literature, and his father Pierre encouraged this interest. Young ...

, having found that manuscript in the dust of an old library, published it in the beginning of this century. Thuanus, who makes very honourable mention of our author in his history, pretends that Phaedrus was not unknown to him; and even blames him for having suppressed that author, to conceal what he had stolen from him. But there is no ground for what he says; and it is only the effect of the strong persuasion of all those who are so great admirers of antiquity as to think that a modern author can do nothing that is excellent, unless he has an ancient author for his model. Out of the hundred fables which Faerno published in Latin verse, there are but five that had been treated by Phaedrus, and out of those five there are but one or two that have been managed nearly in the same manner: which happened only because it is impossible that two men, who treat on the same subject, should not agree sometimes in the same thoughts, or in the same expressions." Besides fables collected 'from ancient authors', Mediaeval folk tales such as The miller, his son and the donkey and The Mice in Council were included in the work as well. It was to go through some forty European editions, including translations into Italian, English, German, Dutch and French. In England the 1741 edition, which included Perrault's French translations and an English translation, was to serve as a school textbook. But the work was successful and influential for other reasons than the fineness of the language. The illustrations by

Pirro Ligorio Pirro Ligorio ( October 30, 1583) was an Italian architect, painter, antiquarian, and garden designer during the Renaissance period. He worked as the Vatican's Papal Architect under Popes Paul IV and Pius IV, designed the fountains at Villa d’ ...

which accompanied each fable were also esteemed. Published at the time of a taste for

Emblem books An emblem book is a book collecting emblems (allegorical illustrations) with accompanying explanatory text, typically morals or poems. This category of books was popular in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Emblem books are collection ...

, the morals with which Faerno furnished the fables by way of conclusion were seen as contributing to that fashion and widening the subject matter to include the Aesopic fable too. Poems attributed to Faerno were also printed in some later editions. They include his attack on Protestantism as a 'Germanic sect', ''In Lutheranos, sectam Germanicam''; verses accompanying illustrations of artistic works; complimentary addresses and other occasional verse. He was also the author of sonnets in Italian.

Titles

The title of Faerno's celebrated work translates as 'One hundred delightful fables, poetically interpreted from ancient authors'. The following is a list of the fables occurring there, with links to those that have a separate article devoted to them. :1. Ollae duae -

The Two Pots The Two Pots is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 378 in the Perry Index. The fable may stem from proverbial sources. The Fable There is a short Greek version of the fable and a longer, more circumstantial late Latin poem by Avianus. It concerns ...

:2. Iupiter et Minerva. :3. Leo, asinus et vulpes - The

Lion's Share The lion's share is an idiomatic expression which now refers to the major share of something. The phrase derives from the plot of a number of fables ascribed to Aesop and is used here as their generic title. There are two main types of story, wh ...

:4. asinus et lupus. :5. leo mente captus et caprea. :6. asini duo. :7. Formica et cicada -

The Ant and the Grasshopper The Ant and the Grasshopper, alternatively titled The Grasshopper and the Ant (or Ants), is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 373 in the Perry Index. The fable describes how a hungry grasshopper begs for food from an ant when winter comes and is ...

:8. turdi. :9. sus et canis. :10. Senex et mors - The Old Man and Death :11. mergus, rubus et vespertilio. :12. cornix et canis. :13. Corvus et mater - The Sick Kite :14. Musca - The Fly in the Soup :15. rusticus et eques. :16. Equus et asinus - The Horse and the Donkey :17. Vulpes et erinaceus -

The Fox, the Flies and the Hedgehog The fable of The Fox, the Flies and the Hedgehog is ascribed to Aesop’s Fables. From its beginning it was applied satirically to political leaders and is numbered 427 in the Perry Index. The fable An enfeebled fox is plagued by flies, ticks or ...

:18. Leo et vulpes - The Lion and the Fox :19. Vulpes et uva - The Fox and the Grapes :20. Corvus et vulpes -

The Fox and the Crow (Aesop) The Fox and the Crow is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 124 in the Perry Index. There are early Latin and Greek versions and the fable may even have been portrayed on an ancient Greek vase. The story is used as a warning against listening to fla ...

:21. dies festus et profestus. :22. pavo et monedula. :23. cervus et hinnulus. :24. Cervus et serpens -

The Crow and the Snake The Crow or Raven and the Snake or Serpent is one of Aesop's Fables and numbered 128 in the Perry Index. Alternative Greek versions exist and two of these were adopted during the European Renaissance. The fable is not to be confused with the story ...

:25. Cygnus et anser -

The Swan and the Goose The classical legend that the swan sings at death was incorporated into one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 399 in the Perry Index. The fable also introduces the proverbial antithesis between the swan and the goose that gave rise to such sayings as ...

:26. puer et scorpius. :27. Anguilla et serpens -

The Eel and the Snake The fable of the Eel and the Snake was originated by Laurentius Abstemius in his ''Hecatomythium'' (1490). Versions of it appeared in several European languages afterwards and in collections associated with Aesop’s Fables. The fable and its ve ...

:28. canis et lupus. :29. Canis, gallus et vulpes -

The Cock, the Dog and the Fox The Cock, the Dog and the Fox is one of Aesop's Fables and appears as number 252 in the Perry Index. Although it has similarities with other fables where a predator flatters a bird, such as The Fox and the Crow and Chanticleer and the Fox, in th ...

:30. mulus. :31. iuvenes duo et coquus. :32. cochleae. :33. cornix et hirundo. :34. Mercurius et statuarius - The Statue of Hermes :35. Pater et filii -

The Farmer and his Sons The Farmer and his Sons is a story of Greek origin that is included among Aesop's Fables and is listed as 42 in the Perry Index. It illustrates both the value of hard work and the need to temper parental advice with practicality. The Fable A far ...

:36. simius et delphus. :37. ranae duae sitientes. :38. ranae duae vicinae. :39. Auceps et cassita - The Bird-catcher and the Blackbird :40. deceptor et Apollo. :41. Uxor submersa et vir - The drowned woman and her husband :42. Feles et gallus - noticed under

The Wolf and the Lamb The Wolf and the Lamb is a well-known fable of Aesop and is numbered 155 in the Perry Index. There are several variant stories of tyrannical injustice in which a victim is falsely accused and killed despite a reasonable defence. The fable and i ...

:43. asinus simius et talpa. :44. vulpes vota mutans. :45. Musca et quadrigae - The fly on the chariot wheel :46. pica et aves. :47. Mures - The Mice in Council :48. Avarus - The Miser and his Gold :49. vulpes et lupus. :50. Canna et oliva - The Oak and the Reed :51. asini et Iupiter. :52. herus et canis. :53. Canis et caro -

The Dog and Its Reflection The Dog and Its Reflection (or Shadow in later translations) is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 133 in the Perry Index. The Greek language original was retold in Latin and in this way was spread across Europe, teaching the lesson to be conte ...

:54. asinus et aper. :55. pullus asini et lupus. :56. Lupus et grus - The Wolf and the Crane :57. Iupiter et cochlea - mentioned under

Zeus and the Tortoise Zeus and the Tortoise appears among Aesop’s Fables and explains how the tortoise got her shell. It is numbered 106 in the Perry Index. From it derives the proverbial sentiment that ‘There’s no place like home’. Home is best The fable te ...

:58. Satyrus et homo -

The Satyr and the Traveller The Satyr and the Traveller (or Peasant) is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 35 in the Perry Index. The popular idiom 'to blow hot and cold' is associated with it and the fable is read as a warning against duplicity. The Fable There are Gre ...

:59. Mures et feles -

The Cat and the Mice The Cat and the Mice is a fable attributed to Aesop's Fables, Aesop of which there are several variants. Sometimes a weasel is the predator; the prey can also be rats and chickens. The Fables The Greek version of the fable recorded by Babrius con ...

:60. Vulpes et aquila -

The Eagle and the Fox The Eagle and the Fox is a fable of friendship betrayed and revenged. Counted as one of Aesop’s Fables, it is numbered 1 in the Perry Index. The central situation concerns an eagle that seizes a fox’s cubs and bears them off to feed its young. ...

:61. vulpes. :62. Lignator et Mercurius - The Honest Woodcutter :63. fullo et carbonarius. :64. iactator. :65. vulpes et rubus. :66. Vulpes et larva - The Fox and the Mask :67. canes duo. :68. Mulier et medicus - The Old Woman and the Doctor :69. Asinus dominos mutans - The Ass and his Masters :70. cerva et vitis. :71. latro et mater. :72. vates. :73. Astrologus -

The Astrologer who Fell into a Well "The Astrologer who Fell into a Well" is a fable based on a Greek anecdote concerning the pre-Socratic philosopher Thales of Miletus. It was one of several ancient jokes that were absorbed into Aesop's Fables and is now numbered 40 in the Perry I ...

:74. Leo et vulpes -

The Fox and the Sick Lion The Fox and the Sick Lion is one of Aesop's Fables, well known from Classical times and numbered 142 in the Perry Index. There is also an Indian analogue. Interpretations of the story's meaning have differed widely in the course of two and a half ...

:75. armentarius. :76. lupus et mulier. :77. vespertilio et mustela. :78. aper et vulpes. :79. gallinus et hirundo. :80. canes duo et coquus. :81. Simius et vulpes - noticed under The Boy and the Filberts :82. Vulpes, asinus et leo :83. Formica - noticed under

:84. asinus et equus. :85. monedula. :86. herus et canes. :87. agnus et lupus :88. Asinus et vulpes -

The Ass in the Lion's Skin The Ass in the Lion's Skin is one of Aesop's Fables, of which there are two distinct versions. There are also several Eastern variants, and the story's interpretation varies accordingly. Fables Of the two Greek versions of this story, the one ca ...

:89. asinus corvus et lupus. :90. Mercurius. :91. Bubulcus et Hercules -

Hercules and the Wagoner Hercules and the Wagoner or Hercules and the Carter is a fable credited to Aesop. It is associated with the proverb "God helps those who help themselves", variations on which are found in other ancient Greek authors. The Greek proverb A number o ...

:92.

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

:93. Arbores et rhamnus - noticed under

The Trees and the Bramble The Trees and the Bramble is a composite title which covers a number of fables of similar tendency, ultimately deriving from a Western Asian literary tradition of debate poems between two contenders. Other related plant fables include The Oak and ...

:94. Spes - The Jar of Blessings :95. Asinus simulacrum gestans - The Ass Carrying an Image :96. cassita. :97. vulpes et simius. :98. rusticus et Iuppiter. :99. leo lupus et vulpes. :100. Pater, filius et asinus - The miller, his son and the donkey

Notes

The bulk of the biographical information is taken from the

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biograp ...

(Dictionary of Italian Biography)View online
/ref> It has been supplemented with details from Alexander Chalmers’ ''General Biographical Dictionary'' (1812–17), a text that is in the public domain on account of its age.

References

External links

''Fabellae Aesopicae'' (Aesop's Fables) by Gabriele Faerno on Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faerno, Gabriele Italian male writers Aesop's Fables 16th-century Latin-language writers 16th-century Italian writers 16th-century male writers Italian Renaissance humanists