Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/45

 ^s.m.jAN.14,'99.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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lore of braggadocio than of fact, Cardan, however nuch he may have been carried away by delusions cr perversities, is at least at no pains to hide us faults. The description he gives of himself n his horoscope in the 'Geniturarum Exempla' loes not err in the direction of reticence. In Copying this it is, perhaps, as well to keep the protection of a dead language, and quote the original Latin. Cardan describes himself we quote verbatim et literatim -as "nugacem, religionis cpntemptorem, injurite illatse memorem, invidum, tristem, insidia- torem, proditorem, magum, incantatorem, frequen- tibus calamitatibus pbnpxium, suorum osore, turpi libidini deditum, splitarium, inamcenum, austerum, sponte etiam divinantem, zelotypum, lascivum, obsccenum, maledicum, obsequiosum, senum con- versatione se delectantem, varium, ancipitem, im- puru, et dolis mulierum obnoxium, calumniatorem, et omnino incognitum propter naturse, et morum repugnantiam, etiam his cum quibus assidue versor." Malcolm, in ' Macbeth,' seems not more anxious than he to frame a monstrous self-arraignment. If a less portion of the public is familiar with these i utterances than with those of later and less con- scientious self -historians, it must be remembered that Cardan's works are in Latin, and have never, practically, so far as we are aware, been translated I into the vernacular ; that his adventures are curious j rather than sympathetic or interesting ; and that his habit of ascribing almost everything to sorcery and witchcraft, his faith in his own horoscopes which scarcely "deviate" into accuracy when written subsequently to the events with which they deal and his custom of regarding every common- place event as an omen or a portent, cast upon his book a strong suspicion of insincerity.

The not too attractive life of Jerome Cardan has already been made the subject of a memoir by Prof. Henry Morley that stands deservedly high in public estimation. The fact that that work is out of print and inaccessible has prompted Mr. Waters to his new memoir. Prof. Morley s work, moreover, treats of the circle in the midst of which Cardan dwelt with an elaborateness that is scarcely called for in the case of so little-known a man. These things have emboldened Mr. Waters to give to the world a scholarly work, the materials of which are entirely drawn from Cardan's own writings, principally his ' De Vita Propria,' his ' De Subtilitate,' and his ' Geniturarum Exempla.' The book is an admirable

Eiece of workmanship, and will serve to spread a nowledge of a Renaissance scholar more talked about than read, and not even much talked about. Of Cardan's visit to Scotland, and his treatment of Archbishop Hamilton, of St. Andrews, an animated account is given. Cardan's mendacious claim to have found a cure for consumption reads rather strangely in the face of recent alleged discoveries. In fact, so far as regards medical science Cardan accepted all the heresies of his epoch. It is difficult to resist the conviction that a patient's chance of recovery must have been seriously diminished when he called in the physician. The book, which is handsomely got up, contains a portrait of Cardan.

The Mirror of Perfection : St. Francis of Assisi. By Brother Leo of Assisi. Translated by Sebastian Evans. (Nutt.)

BY his admiration for the recently published work of M. Paul Sabatier upon the ' Legend of St. Francis of Assisi ' Dr. Evans has been induced to translate for English readers the 'Speculum Perfectionis,

seu S. Francisci Assisiensi Legenda Antiquissima,' of Brother Leo, one of the pupils and early bio- graphers of the saint. A wider aim has been to transcribe in English " a document which appeals directly to the heart of humanity." Brother Leo was more than a disciple, companion, and friend of St. Francis ; he was, in the saint's later years, his sick-nurse, secretary, and confessor. His style is of a hempen simplicity, which the translator has done his best to retain. The ' Speculum Perfectionis,' as we gather, was unknown to scholars and theo- logians until now brought to light by M. Sabatier. We find, at least, no reference to it in any work, bibliographical or hagiographical, to which we have access. It is a record of the deeds and sayings of the saint, and may be held to supply the very quintessence of his teaching. Poverty, chastity, and obedience are, naturally, the three things taught. Money was with him " of no more account than the dung of an ass." " Coarseness and mean- ness " were to be observed in the case of outward garb, " otherwise, possibly, lukewarmness will so far prevail as that the sons of a father that was a beggar will not be ashamed even to wear scarlet cloth, with only a change of colour." The highest obedience, we learn, was, in the eyes of the saint, when, '" by divine inspiration, men do go among the infidels either for the profit of their neighbours or for the desire of martyrdom." Brother Leo claims for himself a share in the divine com- munications received by his master, and tells how the Lord Jesus Christ communicated to him directly His grief over the ingratitude and pride of the brethren. The booklet it is scarcely more is full of things naive, and also interesting and edifying to those willing to be interested or edified by such themes. In the introduction, which is to us the most attractive portion of the book, Dr. Evans deals with some of the controversies still waged concerning the founder of the Friars Minor. We notice that he gives as the day of his death the 3rd of October, 1226, and not the 4th, as has been stated by assumed authorities. He holds that St. Francis has " a message for others besides the antiquary, the hagiologist, the historian, the preacher, the psychologist, and the man of letters. Brother Francis is all men's brother. The man is an Umbrian 'religious' of the thirteenth century. His message is to all men of all time."

Index Bibliographiqiie. Par Pierre Dauze. (Paris,

Repertoire des Ventes Publiques.) IN issuing the third volume of his ' Index Biblio- graphique' M. Pierre Dauze has greatly modified the shape. In so doing he has made it approximate much more nearly to our own ' Book-Prices Current.' In the previous volumes the arrangement under authors, or, in the case of anonymous works, the first important word of the title, was strictly alpha- betical. In the case of works of reference this is so much the best plan that no other is even to be discussed. In that of works such as the present it is open to more than one grave exception. The gravest consists in the fact that the whole of the matter must be in hand before the task of printing is begun. This means that the last sale of the season must be over before the compiler begins to make up. As the labour is huge, great delay in publication is inevitable. In the present case, accordingly, the volume only ends with September, 1896, instead of with the same month, 1898. The