Selected Works of Juan Luis Vives – serie

This is a critical, annotated, bilingual edition, with introduction and cumulative indices, of the last three of Vives' five speeches on the abdication of Sulla, the Roman Republican dictator. These five declamations form an unprecedented dramatic ensemble, grounded in thorough familiarity with the ancient sources, but amplified occasionally by elements of historical fiction. The third oration is Sulla's formal abdication, defending his sometimes savage record. In the fourth, Sulla's enemy Lepidus the new consul promises to undo Sulla's program; in the fifth, at Sulla's death, Lepidus continues his unrestrained attack on Sulla's morals, henchmen, and constitutional alterations. The five-speech ensemble, dedicated to the Emperor Charles V's youthful brother Ferdinand, explores political and ethical issues while exemplifying Vives' remarkable generic versatility.

The De Europae dissidiis et republica (On Conflicts in Europe and on the Commonwealth) is a collection published by Vives in 1526 that has been called his “summa politica.” It contains five letters, to Henry VIII and three prelates including Cardinal Wolsey; a Lucian-style underworld satire on European wars and the Turkish threat; and Latinizations of two political speeches by Isocrates.It counsels the pursuit of peace following Christian principles, but it also explores the possibility of an aggressive war against the Turks as the means of unifying and saving European Christendom. It urges the calling of a council to deal with Luther. We present critical Latin texts and, for the first time, English translations, with introduction and notes.