This is a superb critical edition of the brief treatise on translation written by humanist-chancellor Bruni who, like many of his contemporaries, rejected the methods practiced in the Middle Ages, but who also formulated, however succinctly, a translation theory that the editor Bertolio contextualizes synchronically and diachronically, reevaluating it in the light of modern theory.

The edition, which is accompanied by an impressive apparatus, is based on a meticulous recension of the manuscripts. Examined thoroughly as to their provenance, physical features, substantive content, and the critical studies on them, the witnesses are classified into families and a stemma is provided. There is also a judicious assessment of the modern editions and translations of the Latin tract. For the text itself, Bertolio offers some new readings of single words, which he justifies convincingly, placing the variants on each page immediately below the text. In the “Nota al testo” he also resolves some questions regarding the date of composition, the completeness of the work, and the fluctuating word order in its title. The fulsome information provided on the dedicatee exemplifies the considerable archival research on which this study is based.

What stands out in the edition of this slim fifteenth-century text is the remarkably rich seventy-page introduction, fully documented with copious footnotes. Duly acknowledging previous scholarship where appropriate, Bertolio explains the intellectual context surrounding and preceding the composition of the tract, including the influence on Bruni of Chrysoloras and especially the classical tradition dating back to Cicero and Jerome. Borrowings from Cicero, whose treatise On the Orator had been recently rediscovered, support the similarity noted between the orator and Bruni's translator. On the question of Bruni's critique of literalism in translation, Bertolio cites other authors as well, including Boethius, Scotus, and Manetti, but finds far greater subtlety in Bruni, who, as he clarifies, does not simply contrast verba and sententia but actually distinguishes between word-for-word translation and incorrect translation. In order to explain the complexity of Bruni's concept of ornatus, as in connection with other topics too, Bertolio provides supplementary references to other works by Bruni—namely, De Studiis et Litteris and Dialogi. For the discussion of the fundamental analogy between translation and art (ut pictura translatio) he demonstrates how classical sources are conflated in Bruni and how the concept even affects Bruni's own language, which includes artistic terminology. Displaying his own broad cultural background, Bertolio draws comparisons between Bruni and later writers too, such as the translator Dolet and English authors Dryden and Pope. In connection with Bruni's insistence that translators must possess knowledge of the full meaning of words, even beyond that suggested by the specific context, Bertolio cites Leopardi, who in modern times similarly understood the great power of words.

Of special interest is the unique manner in which Bertolio analyzes the subtleties of Bruni's theories according to concepts familiar to the modern reader. Detecting in Bruni a notable awareness of language (“una notevole sensibilità linguistica,” xxix), Bertolio finds that the Ciceronian-like belief in the need to translate the original author's style stems from the humanist's understanding of the density and pregnant meaning of the words of a text. He also notes the varied terminology employed by Bruni: six different verbs to indicate “to translate”; three for the noun “translation,” and two for “translator” (xxv). He tabulates the data of his linguistic analysis, including the number of occurrences, in a clear chart form. Arguing that Bruni adds new semantic nuances even to the terms inherited from Cicero and Jerome, Bertolio credits the humanist with having established an influential and truly modern semantics of translation.

This publication is recommended highly not only to students and scholars of Renaissance humanism but also to anyone interested in or even engaged in translation. A model of textual editing and criticism, it demonstrates how an early text can successfully be reread and fully appreciated from the point of view of modern theory.