Geofroy Tory of Bourges doth say and give humble greetings to all studious and true lovers of excellent pastime in reading.
Horace, a poet of old surnamed Flaccus, hath told us in writing in his 'Ars Poetica' that philosophers and poets are wont, under the outer bark of deceitful words, to convey a moral meaning which may profit us in the knowledge of virtue or give us pleasure in the charm of their style and their pleasing invention. Wherefore, seeing this to be true, and reading all day the Table of the ancient philosopher Cebes, likewise the Dialogues of the very learned and graceful Greek author Lucian, methought that it would be well done of me to translate them into our French tongue also, and cause them to be printed, to the end that each one of you, upon reading the said Table, may readily recognize what pure virtue is, and may find honest pleasure in the ingenious and moral Dialogues of the said Lucian. I offer them with a most humble and devout heart to you, O scholars and lovers of pure worth! giving you to know that, in so far as it hath been possible for me so to do, I have followed the true text, adding nothing of my own thereto, neither using nor misusing any modification or stuffing whatsoever. I have most gladly written them down for you in flowing language, in your domestic mother tongue, without attempting to mix therein refinements of phrase, strange words, or such language as Carmentes, mother of Evander, might be unable to understand or decipher. I see some who, if they should write but six words, four will be either out of use, or manufactured, or stretched out longer than a spear. Like him who said in the laments and epitaphs of a king of the Basoche:—
'Au point prefix que spondile et muscule,
Sens vernacule, cartilaige auricule,
DIsis acule, Diana crepuscule,
Et lheure acculle pour son lustre assoupir.'
And a thousand other like sayings which I leave to him. I know not to whom such language gives pleasure; but to me it seems scarce fair or fine. It would seem, and yet I misdoubt, as if such a battery of behorned and overrefined words had come or been hurled down from the Latin language to ours; for there have been, and there are to this day many who think that they have done a wondrous thing if they have written in Latin a strange and unduly long word, like him who said, and ingeniously none the less: 'Conturbabuntur Constantinopolitani innumerabilibus sollicitudinibus.' And that other, Hermes by name, who took such delight in writing long and refined words that he was hoist with his own petard when another ingenious man composed against him, in manufactured words, with an armful of syllables, the distich which follows:—
'Gaudet honorificabilitudinitatibus Hermes,
Consuetudinibus, sollicitudinibus.'
I say this in passing, that you may not expect to find unwonted words in this your little book. I know that there was once a wise man and philosopher who said one day to his friend: 'Loquere verbis presentibus et utere moribus antiquis,' which is to say, 'Speak in ordinary language and live according to the manners of the good old days.' In this your said little book you will, I think, find charm, for it is full of many goodly and ingenious conceits both of Cebes and of Lucian. I have placed first herein, as I have said, the Table of this man Cebes, to the end that you may see at the outset that 'poesis est pictura loquens': a poetical work is a speaking picture. Touching the Dialogues of the learned Lucian, I have not included them all, nor translated all; but I have chosen thirty only of those which in my opinion are the finest and most moral, which you may readily discover to be not only pleasant to read, but most profitable in goodly moral teaching. You will accept them then, if it please you, with kindly face and heart, remembering that with God's help I will shortly make you some other new gift, to the best of my ability. And meanwhile I will pray to our Lord Jesus to have you in his keeping according to your wishes.
From Paris; in all things your devoted servant,
Geofroy Tory.
Follows a long list of errata, and a table of the Dialogues, followed by another letter, 'aux lecteurs des Dialogues de Lucian contenuz en ce present livre.' This letter contains nothing personal to Tory, and I will quote only the closing passage, where, speaking of the Dialogues, he says:—
I believe that, if the ancient and noble painter Zeuxis of Heracleia, if Raphael of Urbino, Michel Angelo, Leonardo da Vinci, or Albrecht Dürer should try to paint philosophers and their various aspects, they could not paint them so well nor so to the life as our Lucian paints them herein. It will seem to you that you do verily see them and hear them speak, and that Menippus, before your wondering eyes, doth fly up to heaven to learn the truth concerning all the falsehoods of the said philosophers. May God have you in his keeping according to your noble and goodly desire.
From the University of Paris; in all things your devoted servant,
Geofroy Tory.
At the end of the book, after the Dialogues, Tory introduced a number of moral apothegms and plays upon words, probably of his own invention.
This volume is printed with the type and decorative letters of 'Champ fleury.'
12
SUMMAIRE DE CHRONIQUES, CONTENANS LES VIES, GESTES ET CAS FORTUITZ DE TOUS LES EMPEREURS DEUROPE, DEPUIS IULES CESAR IUSQUES A MAXIMILIEN, DERNIER DECEDE.—Avec maintes belles histoires et mensions de plusieurs roys, ducs, contes, princes, capitaines et aultres, tant chrestiens que non, tant de hault que de has estat et condition.—Faict premierement en langue latine par venerable et discrete personne Iehan Baptiste Egnace, Venicien.—Et translate de ladicte langue latine en langaige francoys par maistre Geofroy Tory de Bourges.—On les vend a Paris, a lenseigne du Pot Casse.—Avec privilege du Roy nostre sire pour X ans.'
Octavo; 16 preliminary leaves (signatures a and b), 99 leaves of text, numbered, and 13 leaves of index and errata, not numbered (signatures A to O); in all, 128 leaves, or 16 octavo sheets. All the pages are enclosed in threefold fillets, with compartments running into one another, such as were still used in printing-offices until quite recently. I will remark in passing that the sheets of this book bear only two signature letters each, one on the first page (for the first form), the other on the third page (for the second form), as is the general practice to-day, instead of the four which were commonly inserted, to no useful end.
On the verso of the first leaf, the recto of which is occupied by the title, is printed the king's license, in these terms:—