[hprints-00683151, v2] Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pius II ... - Hprints.org

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hprints-00683151, version 2 - 19 Mar 2013 [86] Et cujus vobis fides, quam ipsius principis potest esse securior? Noti sunt vobis mores ejus, neque 809 concipere metum potestis aliquem. Non hic vindictae exactor, non contumeliae illator, non injuriae prosecutor, cujus rei nemo magis didicit oblivisci, qui cum saepe ulcisci potuerit, vindictam tamen semper abhorruit. Hic animum vincere, iram cohibere, victoriam temperare 810 , adversariosque nobilitate, ingenio et virtute praestantes non modo extollere jacentes, sed etiam amplificare eorum pristinam dignitatem exemplo Caesaris consuevit. Huc ergo ite, huc animos intendite. Securitatem utilitatemque vestram agnoscite, discrimina non rerum solum, sed personarum etiam evadite: Accedite 811 hunc 812 qui semper vobis benefecit; ostendite gratitudinem et memoriam beneficiorum. [87] Sicubi tamen utilius aut melius esse potestis, vestri judicii sit: nihil erit duci molestum, si bene succedere intellexerit, eumque quocumque pergitis oboedientem habebitis. Vestrum tamen est cavere, ne periculosum eligentes locum, et jurisjurandi neglectores suscepti videamini, et, qua nunc apud omnes estis, clarissimam famam amittatis, quo bono nihil est humano generi aut acceptabilius a superis 813 aut praestantius concessum, cujus contemptores haud scio utrum numero sint habendi aliquo, siquidem famae contemptor suae ab eo prodigus appellatur, quem non Apollinis oraculum, sed sacrae litterae judicant sapientem. Finis 814 809 nec N 810 temparare A [D corrects temparere to temperare] 811 ad add. C 812 huc M 813 aut acceptabilius a superis : a superis acceptabilius Z 814 omit. B, D, M 156
hprints-00683151, version 2 - 19 Mar 2013 5.4. Final exhortation [86] And whom can you trust more than this Prince? You know his character, and you cannot possibly fear it. He does not like to pursue vendettas, to raise quarrels, or to repay insults. All such he has learnt, more than any other, to ignore. He could often have sought revenge, but he has always abhorred it. He has perfect selfcontrol, curbs his anger, and is moderate in victory. And when noble, brilliant, and courageous adversaries were lying prostrate and beaten, he - following the example of Caesar - not only lifted them up again, but even raised them above their former position. Therefore, think of Pavia; go there! Recognize where your security and advantage lie. Avoid the risks not only to your possessions, but also to your own persons. Go to him who always favoured you. Show your gratitude and remember his favours to you. [87] However, it is only you yourselves who can make the best and most advantageous choice. The duke will accept anything if only he can see that you are successful; wherever you want to go, he will comply. So, it is up to you not to choose an unsafe location, not to seem to fail your oath, and not to lose that excellent reputation which you now enjoy everywhere. For from Heaven mankind receives nothing more agreeable and admirable than an excellent reputation 815 . I honestly think there must very few, if any, who despise such a reputation! But should there be someone, who spurns his own reputation, then he will surely be called a profligate by the One who is called wise – not by the oracle of Apollo 816 , but by the Sacred Scriptures themselves 817 . 815 The theme of glory and fame was as dear to the humanists as it was to antiquity, cf. the introduction to Piccolomini’s “autobiography”, i.e. his famous Commentarii 816 Apollo: major God in Roman mythology 817 I.e. God. It is remarkable how Piccolomini manages, in front of the council fathers, to mention a Roman God from Antiquity in the same breath as the Christian God and still to put distance between them. Is he reassuring the council fathers of his orthodoxy – after having regaled them with references to antiquity all along his oration - or is he subtly challenging them? 157
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