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Quinedon Cyrillus, who lived around the 14th century, was considered to be the
4th-5th century Cyrillus Alexandrinus, the work was published several times in
the 15th century, long before the death of Matthias. Another followed the seven
editions of the 15th century in 1505, but essentially, they were copies of each
other. In none of the editions are there any references to the use of a codex from
Buda (there is no such reference in the 2014 critical edition’“*). The 17th century
Jesuit Balthasar Cordier (1592-1650) from Vienna apparently did not know that
the speculum sapientiae and the apologi morales were the same text, so based on a
corvina found in the University Library (Bibliotheca nostra Academia)” he pub¬
lished a reading of the corvina he considered to be authentic.**° The censor was the
Hungarian Gyorgy Forré (1571-1641), a fellow Jesuit member. He believed what
was written on the front page was true: unc primum in lucem editi”. He wrote
about the history of the Codex in a dedication to the reader. He indicates at the
beginning of the dedication that Cyrillus Alexandrinus had no known work with
this title, although he searched in vain for it in the memoirs of his contemporaries
and in the Apparatus of Antonio Possevino (1533-1611).”*' He then describes the
manuscript he worked from and highlights how much work he put into interpret¬
ing the text.
, Benevolo Lectori.. Exemplar autem quo usus sum, prout compactura, et insignia
indicabent, fuerat olim gloriosae memoriae Matthiae Coruini Hungariae Regis famosis~
simi, e celeberrima illa totius fere Orientis Bibliotheca Budensi, per Reverendissimum
D. Joannem Fabrum Viennensem Epsicopum tamquam praeclarum e Danaum reliquiis
trophaeum, in Academia nostra Bibliotheca suspensum. Erat quidem splendide satis,
in membrana exaratum:; sed adeo vitio, ut vix ulli periodo, sensus suus, aut con¬
structio constaret. Quare mihi maximopere laborandum fuit, ut vel diuinando saltem,
sensum aliquem assequerer, qui si alicubi, minus feliciter fortassis, expressus sit, ve¬
hiam dabis, napaMnAws ipsum exactius expressuro, si quando emendatum aliquod
exemplar Graecum, nactus fuero. Vale’?
247 THE first two editions were around 1474 and 1475. (Strassburg, Heinrich Eggestein, around 1474,
ISTC ic01016000; Basel, Michael Wenssler, around 1475, ISTC ic01017000).
248 BONJOHANNES-ESSER-BLANKE 2014.
2 THE codex was taken to its current preservation place, to the Imperial Library, in 1756 (ÔNB Cod.
Lat. 1037).
250 Csaropt 1973, 200 (Nr. 219.) identifies the author as Pseudo-Cyrillus and indicates that the text was
already published in the 15th century.
31 "The first edition of Possevino’s Apparatus sacer ad scriptores... earlier, summaries of similar collections
of material, Venetiae, Societas Veneta, were published in 1606. Its corrected and enlarged edition
was published in two volumes, in Cologne, at the workshop of Johann Gymnicus in 1608 (VD17
7:6294800 ).
252 CYRILLUS-CORDERIUS 1630, recommendation.
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