IL CESARE
_TRAGEDIA_
D’ORLANDO PESCETTI
_Dedicata
AL SERENISS. PRINCIPE
DONNO ALFONSO II. D’ESTE
DVCA DI FERRARA, &C._
[Illustration:
IN VERONA,
Nella Stamparia di Girolamo Discepolo.
M D X CIIII.
]
A PROBABLE ITALIAN SOURCE
OF
SHAKESPEARE’S “JULIUS CÆSAR”
BY
ALEXANDER BOECKER, PH.D.
INSTRUCTOR IN THE MANUAL TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
NEW YORK
1913
PRESS OF
THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY
LANCASTER, PA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
This monograph was submitted to the Faculty of New York University in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy, and was accepted by them in May, 1912. Its composition was
prompted chiefly by a desire to call attention to the long forgotten
work of Orlando Pescetti, because it is at least an open question
whether Shakespeare derived from the “Cesare” of the Italian dramatist
many hints which he later used in his own “Julius Caesar.” Pescetti’s
drama seems to have been entirely overlooked as a possible source,
although the many striking similarities to Shakespeare’s tragedy render
it well worth investigating. I believe that the present work is the
first attempt to demonstrate the possible relation between the two
dramas.
“Cesare” seems to be the only play on the subject which has not been
exhaustively examined. The only notices in English with which I am
acquainted appeared in letters published in the _Nation_, June 2 and 9,
1910, while this work was in process of preparation. The first, by Miss
Lisi Cipriano, called attention to some marked similarities in
expression and treatment between the two dramas. In reply, two letters
appeared the following week: one from Professor Harry Morgan Ayres of
Columbia University, the other from Professor Henry N. McCracken of
Yale. Neither seemed to regard the parallels cited by Miss Cipriano as
indicative of direct borrowing on the part of Shakespeare. Professor
Ayres had previously in the June, 1910, number of the “American Modern
Language Association Publications” been the first to make any mention of
Pescetti in relation to Shakespeare. In his article, “Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar in the Light of Some other Versions,” he called attention
to some parallels, without, however, attaching to them any particular
significance.
The above writers seem, however, to have missed the really vital points
of contact between the two dramas. These, I trust, will become
sufficiently evident in the following pages.
Pescetti has been no more fortunate in his Continental critics. The mere
mention of his name from Tiraboschi on is all one finds till Emilio
Bertana, in his “La tragedia” (1904), gives a brief analysis and
critique of the play. Ferdinando Neri, in his “La tragedia italiana nel
Cinquecento” (1904) has a brief mention, but none of his countrymen have
ever discussed Pescetti’s drama as a possible Shakespearean source. It
seems unknown to French and German critics.
Owing to the absence in America of material bearing upon Pescetti, I was
compelled to base my study upon a very carefully executed transcript of
the 1594 edition of “Cesare” now in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of
Florence. Through the courtesy of Professor Ayres, I have been enabled
carefully to check all quotations by reference to his own copy of the
1594 edition. The references to “Julius Caesar” are to the Globe
Edition. The copy of Lydgate referred to is in the Library of Columbia
University, while the quotations from Ovid are taken from Golding’s 1575
translation in the Yale University Library. To the latter I am also
indebted for the extracts from the 1578 translation of Appian. The
references to Plutarch are to Professor Skeats’ edition.
To Mr. Emilio Bruschi of Florence I am indebted for his careful
transcriptions of documents, and to Professor Salomone Morpurgo, the
head librarian of the Biblioteca Nazionale, for his courtesy in putting
the available material contained therein at my disposal. To Professor
Harry Morgan Ayres I wish to express my thanks for permitting me to use
his copy of “Cesare.” To Professor Theodore F. Jones and Mr. Arthur H.
Nason of New York University I owe many valuable suggestions regarding
the arrangement of subject matter. My many obligations to Professor M.
W. MacCallum’s “Shakespeare’s Roman Plays and their Background,” and to
Professor F. H. Sykes’ edition of “Julius Caesar” are in evidence
throughout.
I am above all indebted to my colleague, Dr. Edoardo San Giovanni, for
his kind help and encouragement, without which this work would probably
never have been consummated.
ALEXANDER BOECKER.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION 1
Purpose of Thesis—The Prologue of “Cesare”—Synopsis of its
Plot—Its Senecan Characteristics—The Dramatis Personae—Persons
Common to both “Cesare” and “Julius Caesar”—The Relation of
“Cesare” to its Predecessors—Contemporary Notice by Beni—The
Material derived from Classical Sources used by both Shakespeare
and Pescetti—Appian, Pescetti’s Main Source—Pescetti the Source
of the Historical Matter in “Julius Caesar” not traceable to
Plutarch.