VALLA, Lorenzo (Latin Valens or Vallensis). - Humanist of Piacenza origin, b. in Rome in 1405 (according to others, in 1407).
He taught rhetoric at Pavia (1431-33), from where he had to depart because of a writing against Bartolus. In 1435 he moved to Naples, where he became secretary to King Alfonso of Aragon, whom he followed in his various wanderings and wars. In 1443, once peace was made between Eugene IV and the King of Naples, he tried in vain to return to Rome, being prevented above all by his Declamatio on the Donation of Constantine. Only in 1447, with the election of the humanist Nicholas V, was V. able to settle in his city and become, in accordance with an old desire, apostolic writer. He died in 1457 and was buried in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, of which he had been a canon since 1455. His tomb, removed from its original site, is indicated in the Chapel of the Crucifix.
Ambitious and of vast culture, V. tried his hand, as he himself affirms, "in omni fere doctrinarum genere." Besides the translations from Greek and numerous minor works, not all of which have come down to us, mention should be made of Elegantiorum latinae linguae libri sex (before 1444), the most important literary work, which brought the author wide renown; Dialecticarum disputationum libri tres (ca. 1440), anti-Aristotelian; De libero arbitrio; De voluptate ac de vero bono (1432), a dialogue on Stoic, Epicurean and Christian moral doctrine; De professione religiosorum; In Novum Testamentum ex diversorum utriusque linguae codicum collatione adnotationes (1449?), with which he opened the way for Erasmus (v.)'s criticism of the text of the New Testament; De mysterio Eucharistiae; Historiarum Ferdinandi regis Aragoniae libri
(phot. Enc. Catt.)
VALLA, LORENZO - Prefazione di L. V. to his Latin translation of Demosthenes' Oration On the Crown. In the initial portrait of V. and at the bottom the coat of arms of Federico da Montefeltro, miniature of the Ferrarese school - Vatican Library, cod. Urb. lat. 337, f. 1r. (1475-82).
tres (1445); De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione declamatio (1440), which aroused the liveliest polemics, lasting until the 18th century; Ad Eugenium IV Apologia; Recriminaciones in B. Faciens; Antidotus in Poggium, of a personal character.
The markedly polemical character of the figure and work of Lorenzo V. still affects the judgments of scholars. The unscrupulousness of certain of his self-satisfied attitudes toward "magnis et longo iam aevo probatis auctoribus," such as Aristotle, Cicero, to whom he preferred Quintilian, Boethius, Bartolus, St. Thomas Aquinas, and his biting tone earned him among many the reputation of a vulgar libelist and the charge of heresy. For others, his bold and disconcerting positions constitute a merit of V., considered the father of criticism and philology, a precursor of free thought and modern anticlericalism. To judge properly the polemics of V. and about V., it is necessary to examine further the complex aspects of humanism. In particular, regarding the religiosity of the humanists one must be cautious, because of the inadequacy of current research on the religious sentiment of Italians in the fifteenth century and because the sincerity of that sentiment must not be measured by the standard of the contribution, sometimes negative, of their works. It therefore seems rash to dwell on certain extremely bold attitudes of V., since he confronts the most arduous problems of philosophy, theology and Holy Scripture often with only the preparation of a grammarian and scholar. His clear professions of faith have every appearance of sincerity, while the insinuations of Poggio, taken up by Pontano, must be relegated among the obligatory themes of humanistic polemic, too often rich in invectives and improbable accusations. As for the De voluptate, despite certain vivid descriptions, the author's favor for Epicureanism is far from certain, even if one does not wish to consider sincere the Christian conclusion of the third book or prefers to speak of an ambiguous work. The theologically dangerous framing perhaps lies in the attempt to insert Epicureanism, seen as a high moral teaching and a noble ideal of serene and healthy life, into Christianity. The two doctrines would thus be evaluated on the same level and the doctrine of Grace relegated to a subordinate position, even while recognizing in Christianity alone the realization of the supreme good.
The famous Declamatio, it is well to state decisively, was neither the first, nor the most original, nor the decisive confutation of the celebrated Constantinian forgery, which, despite and against V., had supporters down to Baronius. V., however, went too far. Falsely maintaining that the donation was the foundation, indeed the sole juridical foundation, of temporal power, he declares this illegitimate and the source of all the ills of Italy. Hence the praises of the Reformation and the renewed sympathies of the 19th century for the humanist. He nevertheless, even though the Declamatio was included in the Index of 1559, unequivocally exalts the spiritual power of the Apostolic See, which he wishes to recall to its mission. The anticlericalism of V., limited, like that of Dante, to temporal power, appears entirely occasional and the fruit of opportunism, if one keeps in mind that he was writing in the service and interest of Alfonso in conflict with Eugene IV during the events of the Council of Basel; nor, on the other hand, is there any trace of the incredible invectives against the papacy in any other work of V. Moreover Nicholas V showed that he did not take too seriously the outbursts of the bitter humanist, toward whom he showed particular benevolence, as did his successor Callixtus III.