X INTRODUCTION

freedom of speech at that time, a freedom which was to be sup—
pressed a generation later, that Bembo, who had been Pompon—
azzis student, was able in 1518 to protect him from the Lateran
Council which had condemned his work, and Pomponazzi re—
tired to Bologna.  But Fracastorius was more strictly orthodox,
or had to be more cautious, than the future Cardinal Bembo, and
in his own treatise De Anima, 'On the Soul?, that tedious tract,
expresses disapproval of such "insane andimpious theories". At
Padua he acquired the thorough knowledge of Latin and Latin
literature which is evident in his Latin prose and verse, and he
may have been taught Latin and some Greek by the Cretan
Musuro and L. C. Richerio. It does not appear that he ever read
Greek with ease, though it was said of him that, like Cato, he
studied the language in his old age. In his medical studies he
was so distinguished that he was admitted to the daily discus—
sions of the Paduan faculty, and sometimes, an unprecedented
honor, was allowed to lecture from the Professorial chair.

'While at Padua he married, in 1500, & native of Vicenza, of
whom we know only that her name was Elena, and that, accord—
ing to the census paper of 1501 (Verona), she was about five
years older than her husband. She died before 1541, in which
year her name is missing from the census paper.  In his writings
Fracastorius mentions her only once, in the poem on the death
of his two young sons. In 1501 he was appointed Lecturer in
Logic at Padua, and held the post for about six years.  His trea—
tise De Intellectione, in which he discusses the nature of induc—
tion, the syllogism, etc., reflects his youthful interest in this sub—
ject.

League of Cambrai

'The political misfortunes of Verona and Venice from 1507 de—
termined the career of Fracastorius, who, but for them, might
have remained to occupy a chair at Padua. Venice, in the first
decade of the 16th century, awoke at last to a realisation of her
unpopularity, when the League of Cambrai (1508) *a conspiracy
of greedy princes against a free State", was formed by Pope Ju—
lius II, the Emperor Maximilian I, Louis XII, and Ferdinand V
of Aragon, with the express object of dismembering her land em—
pire. 'The League included Verona among the cities that were
to be the spoil of Maximilian. While Venice was making des—
perate efforts to save her territory from the invading armies of