Rho's works in
Latin include: • [Apology against a Certain Archdeacon and his Loathsome Sycophant Accomplices] (1428) • (1430–1431) • (1431–1436) • [Genealogy of the Scipios and Catos] (by 1432) • [Philippic against Antonio Panormita] (1432) • or (1433–1443) • (1433–1443) • [Rhetorical Imitations] (1433–1443) • [Three Dialogues against Lactantius] (1442–1445) • • • In addition, there survives a manuscript fragment of a
quodlibetal disputation, nine orations, over twelve letters and some poems. Rho also translated
Suetonius'
Lives of the Caesars into the Italian vernacular. The , a biography of
Homer, has sometimes been attributed to Rho. It is actually the work of his friend,
Pier Candido Decembrio, dedicated to Rho.
Apology The
Apology was written in 1428 in response to his being passed over for the chair in theology at Milan Cathedral. The Milanese clergy considered him too ignorant in theology because of his devotion to humanistic learning (). In the
Apology, Rho describes becoming "enthralled" to the humanities during his time in Padua. He provides an account of authors and works he had read, both ancient and modern, among them: •
Aristotle,
Rhetoric •
Cicero • •
Julius Caesar •
Quintus Curtius •
Valerius Maximus •
Pliny the Elder •
Pliny the Younger •
Seneca the Younger •
Suetonius •
Plutarch (in
Leonardo Bruni's translation) •
Tacitus •
Florus •
Livy •
Josephus •
Eusebius of Caesarea •
Justin,
Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus •
Orosius •
Apuleius •
Martianus Capella,
Marriage of Philology and Mercury •
Gaius Marius Victorinus, commentary on •
Lactantius •
Macrobius •
Vegetius •
Frontinus • ?
Alain of Lille, commentary on •
Giles of Rome, commentary on the
Rhetoric • ?
Peter of Blois,
On the Rhetorical Art of Speaking •
Dante Alighieri,
The Divine Comedy •
Petrarch •
Giovanni Boccaccio •
Coluccio Salutati •
Poggio Bracciolini •
Guarino Veronese • •
Francesco Barbaro •
Leonardo Giustiniani The
Apology was addressed to Antonio Massa, master general of the Franciscan Order.
Rhetorical Imitations Rhetorical Imitations is a work of Latin
lexicography. It contains synonyms, idiomatic expressions and short essays presented alphabetically. First put together in 1433, it was augmented repeatedly until 1443. It survives in six manuscripts, but has never been printed. The
Imitations was the cause of a rupture in the previously good relationship between Rho and Valla. In one place, Rho criticizes a passage of Valla's as erroneous and ridicules him as a mere "elementary school teacher". Valla took exception and accused Rho of plagiarism. After Rho's death, he circulated note, , attacking many of Rho's analyses. He published the note as part of his .
Three Dialogues against Lactantius The
Three Dialogues against Lactantius was written between early 1442 and the summer of 1445. A
dedication copy was presented to
Pope Eugene IV. It is still preserved in the
Vatican Library. A deluxe
illuminated manuscript, its production was probably financed by Count
Vitaliano Borromeo. The
Dialogues is a work of fiction. The setting is
Pentecost in the garden of San Francesco Grande. The discussions take place over three days. The year is 1444. The main interlocutors in the dialogue are Pier Candido Decembrio and Nicolò Arcimboldi, but Rho himself, Francesco Barbaro, Vitaliano Borromeo, and
Biagio Ghiglini also play smaller roles. They were all acquaintances of Rho in real life. In the
Dialogues, Rho criticises the doctrinal errors of
Lactantius. His choice of the spelling
Lactentius rather than the more common
Lactantius was intended to signify that Lactantius was a "babe in Christ", since Latin was considered to mean "receiving milk", while meant "producing milk". The name
Lactantius was a sobriquet paying compliment to its bearer's eloquence, since eloquent speech was often consider "milky". ==References==