Muretus is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ized name of Marc Antoine Muret (12 April 1526 – 4 June 1585), a French

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 ...

who was among the revivers of a Ciceronian Latin style and is among the usual candidates for the best Latin prose stylist of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Biography

He was born at

Muret Muret (; in Gascon Occitan ''Murèth'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Muretains''. It is an outer suburb of the ci ...

near

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

. At the age of eighteen he attracted the notice of the elder Scaliger, and was invited to lecture in the

archiepiscopal In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

college at

Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The Riv ...

. He afterwards taught Latin at Villeneuve, and then at the

College of Guienne The College of Guienne (french: Collège de Guyenne) was a school founded in 1533 in Bordeaux. The ''collège'' became renowned for the teaching of liberal arts between the years 1537 and 1571, attracting students such as Michel de Montaigne. Histo ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, where his Latin tragedy ''Julius Caesar'' was presented. Some time before 1552 he delivered a course of lectures in the Collège du Cardinal Lemoine at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, which drew a large audience, King Henry II and his queen being among his hearers. In Paris he formed part of the larger circle of humanists and poets that included

Jean Dorat Jean Daurat ( Occitan: Joan Dorat; Latin: Auratus) (3 April 15081 November 1588) was a French poet, scholar and a member of a group known as '' The Pléiade''. Early life He was born Joan Dinemandy in Limoges and was a member of a noble famil ...

and

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

. He wrote almost exclusively in Latin:

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

s and letters, which were widely circulated before they were printed. His orations remained models for students through the eighteenth century.''Orationes, et epistolae...ad usum scolarum selectae....'' Venetiis: Apud Josephum Orlandelli, 1791, for example. The collection had been republished repeatedly since 173

His success made him many enemies, and he was thrown into prison on a charge of

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, but released by the intervention of powerful friends. The same accusation was brought against him at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, and he only saved his life by timely flight. The records of the town show that he was burned in effigy as a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

and as

sodomite Sodomite may refer to: * A person who practices sodomy * A resident of Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom * Sodomites (film), ''Sodomites'' (film), a 1998 short film by Gaspar Noé {{disambiguation ...

(1554). After a wandering and insecure life of some years in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, he received and accepted the invitation of the Cardinal

Ippolito II d'Este Ippolito (II) d'Este (25 August 1509 – 2 December 1572) was an Italian cardinal and statesman. He was a member of the House of Este, and nephew of the other Ippolito d'Este, also a cardinal. He is perhaps best known for his despoliation of the ...

to settle in Rome in 1559. In 1561 Muretus revisited France as a member of the cardinal's suite at the conference between

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

held at

Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one of ...

. He returned to Rome in 1563. His lectures gained him a European reputation, and in 1578 he received a tempting offer from the king of Poland to become teacher of jurisprudence in his new college at

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Muretus, however, who about 1576 had taken holy orders, was induced by the liberality of

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...

to remain in Rome, where he died. Muretus edited a number of classical authors with learned and scholarly notes. His other works include ''Juvenilia et poemata varia'', ''orationes'' and ''epistolae''.

Works

*Two volumes of ''Scripta selecta'', edited by J. Frey, 1871. *''Variae lectiones'', edited by

Friedrich August Wolf Friedrich August Wolf (; 15 February 1759 – 8 August 1824) was a German classicist and is considered the founder of modern philology. Biography He was born in Hainrode, near Nordhausen. His father was the village schoolmaster and organi ...

and J. H. Fasi, 1791–1828. *''The Iuvenilia of Marc-Antoine Muret'', edited and translated by Kirk. M. Summers, Columbus, OH: 2006

Complete editions

*'' Editio princeps'', Verona (1727-1730). There were further editions of Muretus edited by

David Ruhnken David Ruhnken (2 January 172314 May 1798) was a Dutch classical scholar of German origin. Origins Ruhnken was born in Bedlin (today Bydlino) near Stolp, Pomerania Province, (today Słupsk, Poland). After he had attended Latin school at König ...

(1789) and by C. H. Frotscher (1834-1841).

On-line

''Julius Caesar''
Muretus' Senecan tragedy, printed in 1591 (Latin text)

Notes

References