VALENTIN ROTMAR

...we are not only delighted by [abstract] studies, but our own times—those shared experiences, especially those regarding our own station in life—also move us. For it is pleasant to have the memory refreshed of those with whom we once lived familiarly, or to whom we are still joined by a mutual bond of friendship, however much separated by distance, or finally, of those who preceded us in the same Scholastic Republicoriginal: "Repub. Scholastica"; referring to the "Republic of Letters," the international community of scholars and intellectuals. and literary arenaoriginal: "literaria palaestra"; a palaestra was a Greek wrestling school, used here as a metaphor for the rigorous training of the mind and the "wrestling" of academic debate.. Indeed, the memory of things done in that same Republic, even if they are slight, brings pleasure; in these and other such matters, whenever we withdraw our mind from heavier studies as if weary, we find a gentle rest.

For my part, certainly, when I turned my thoughts to the earlier times of our school, I recalled partly what I remembered myself, partly what I heard from others, and partly what was contained in public records. It was most sweet to behold the beginnings, growth, and progress of our Academy, and the series and succession of its Rectors; to come upon the memory of illustrious men, most famous Professors, and friends—both those long dead and those still living, both present and absent. Finally, it was a joy to survey with my eyes and mind these academic matters brought together into one view, as if depicted upon a single tablet.

And if these things seem of slight importance to anyone, or if anyone considers them "domestic trifles," I do not object if they—remaining ignorant of what is properly our own—neglect the acts of our Academies (which are the most beautiful ornaments of nations and regions, and the richest storehousesoriginal: "promptuaria"; literally a storeroom or pantry, implying a place where wisdom is kept ready for use. of all learning and wisdom) and pursue instead only external and foreign things. For me, most excellent Prince, it is abundantly sufficient that I have had authors of no small renown as models in this genre of writing.

For first, that incomparable hero of our time, Georgius Ederus (1523–1587) was a prominent jurist and rector at the University of Vienna who published a list of its officials.Georgius Ederus—a most famous lawyer, an unconquered defender of the Catholic Religion, and a most worthy counselor to four Emperors—gave me no small occasion for writing with his Catalog of Viennese Rectors. Then, when I had already been thinking about this matter for almost two years, I was afraid to begin—not so much because I distrusted my own strength, but because I was deterred by the corrupt judgments of men. However, not long before his [departure] from...