ADDENDUM to BELLINI's FRARI

ADDENDUM to BELLINI's FRARI

While studying the altarpiece that Giovanni Bellini made in 1488 for the Frari Church in Venice,
we looked in particular in a previous blog at the figure on the far right, St. Benedict, as a stand-in for Benedetto Pesaro, the most prominent of the brothers Pesaro depicted in the altarpiece.

 The book which Benedetto holds is St. Benedict's Bible, open to a certain page.

While it is difficult to identify in photographs, the page, according to Rona Goffen, is taken from
Chapter 24 of the Book of the Bible known as Ecclesiasticus or the book of Sirach. This Book
is not included in the Old Testament of the King James version of the Bible of 1604-11 but rather in the Apochrypha section. By 1666 the Apochrypha section is left out of English editions of the Bible, but the Apochrypha stayed in Roman Catholic Bibles in English, Latin, and Italian even up until today. The Book of Ecclesiasticus (Latin and English) or the Siracide (Italian) is a compilation of teachings written by Ben Sira of Jerusalem between 200 and 175 B.C. taken from his father who was the son of Sirach. The compilation is unusual since we know the name of the author. The text shown in the painting appears to be the Latin version.
          Chapter 24 of this Book of Sirach or Eccles (Ecclesiasticus) is a series of statements made by
one person, sometimes purporting to be WISDOM, sometimes just as a person describing WISDOM. The reason it was of interest to 15th-century theologians, especially Pope Sixtus IV, was that it seemed to them to be a prophecy about the importance of Mary as Queen of Heaven. They regarded  Mary as Wisdom and the descriptions of Wisdom in this text supported everything they wished to promote about Mary:  that she was in the mind of God from the beginning of time, that she was raised upon a throne in heaven and surrounded by columns and clouds, that she was someone associated with sweetness and heavenly smells such as incense and honey, and that she was symbolically represented by the Cedar of Lebanon, the olive tree, and the rose bush. All of these individual things are listed as being associated with Wisdom in the Book of Ecclesiasticus.  How Pope Sixtus IV jumped from this one ancient book of gathered thoughts about the benefits of Wisdom to a promulgation of the idea that Mary was born pure of soul and without sin, IMMACULATELY CONCEIVED, is harder to fathom, but that is what happened. He used this text, among other things, to support the papal bull he wrote in 1476 to set up December 8 as the feast day of Mary's Immaculate Conception for the Roman Catholic Calendar. (See Rona Goffen, Piety and Patronage in Renaissance Venice, Yale, 1986, pp. 57-61.)
         TWO LINES in this Chapter 24 may be the lines that lend themselves to thinking Mary was created by God from the beginning and that she was eternal from her creation.

Line 3 says that WISDOM says, " 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High" and 
Line 9 says, "From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain."

There is no line in Book 24 of Ecclesiasticus, however, where Wisdom's PURITY or LACK OF SIN is mentioned per se. It is the eternal quality of Wisdom that is emphasized and the fact that she smells sweetly, like myrrh or incense, or honey.

           So if this text page was chosen by the Franciscans to be presented by Benedetto in the altarpiece over his mother's grave, it is hard to see how this essay on Wisdom was taken as

substantiating Sixtus IV's ideas about the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION of Mary.

One further notation about the page, though. Ecclesiasticus can be seen as the title at the top of the page in the center in clearer renditions of the page. But then what follows are paragraphs in the left column, one of which has a large INITIAL M, at the top, followed by one with a large INITIAL Q, both painted in bold to mark the start of phrases.

The beginning of Book 24 does not have any word with the initial M, nor is there a paragraph that follows with the initial Q. In the Latin text we have to wait until LINE 28 for a word that begins with M followed by a sentence later beginning with Q:

28 Memoria mea in generatione sæculorum.

29 Qui edunt me, adhuc esurient,
et qui bibunt me, adhuc sitient.

30 Qui audit me non confundetur,
et qui operantur in me non peccabunt:

31 qui elucidant me, vitam æternam habebunt.]

ITALIAN TEXT:

19 -Il mio ricordo e piu dolce del miele, possedermi val piu che favo di miele.
20 -Quanti mi mangiano avranno ancora fame, quanti mi bevono avranno ancora sete.

21 -Chi mi segue non sara svergognato, quanti si occupano di me non peccheranno.    
(My thanks to Professor Victor Carrabino for providing the Italian Catholic Bibbia Tabor for me. Edizioni San Paolo, Frascati,1989.)

ENGLISH TRANSLATION (my own) of the ITALIAN TEXT:

The memory of me is sweeter than honey, possessing me is more valuable than honeycomb.

Those who eat of me will still have more hunger, those who drink from me will still thirst.

Whoever follows me will never be ashamed, those who occupy themselves with me will not sin.

The Latin text seems to add two lines :
one at the beginning saying "the memory of me will last for centuries of generations"
and another after the passage quoted, that is, at line 31: "whoever follows me will have eternal life."

Were those lines added to the Latin Bible to reinforce the passage as applying to Mary?
Still, all of the ideas written down certainly seem to talk about the importance of learning and wisdom in the passage of time. The musings of Ben Sira may have been prophetic, but they
are clearly meant to come to terms with the significance of teaching and learning in conveying
wisdom from one generation to the next. 

All of which above is to say that my interpretation of the altarpiece as a personal tribute to
the mother buried below it, Franceschina Tron, is not changed by knowing what the text is
about that is being held by one of her sons, Benedetto Pesaro, in the right wing of the altarpiece.
For the Franciscans adhering to Pope Sixtus IV's bull establishing December 8 as the feast day 
of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, this page may have had resonance to enable them to
continue in their faith. But the Latin lines about the memory of Wisdom lasting for generations and the eternal life promised by Wisdom are not at odds with the desires of the children of Franceschina Tron to hold on to her memory in their desire to reach eternal life. After all, she has preceded them
into death. Benedetto holds on to the book as a way of showing us his own idea of what her life meant to him. The Old Testament Book of Ecclesiasticus provides a guidebook for the staff held in the other hand by Saint Benedict/Benedetto. His journey with that staff has been foreseen by Wisdom
over the intervening centuries.

Full English text of Chapter 24, Book of Ecclesiasticus: (highlighted in yellow in each case are phrases on the altarpiece page):

¹ Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people she glories in herself.

² She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High, she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One:

³ 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like mist.

⁴ I had my tent in the heights, and my throne was a pillar of cloud.

⁵ Alone, I have made the circuit of the heavens and walked through the depths of the abyss.

⁶ Over the waves of the sea and over the whole earth, and over every people and nation I have held sway.

⁷ Among all these I searched for rest, and looked to see in whose territory I might pitch camp.

⁸ Then the Creator of all things instructed me and he who created me fixed a place for my tent. He said, "Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance."

⁹ From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall remain.

¹⁰ In the holy tent I ministered before him and thus became established in Zion.

¹¹ In the beloved city he has given me rest, and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.

¹² I have taken root in a privileged people, in the Lord's property, in his inheritance.

¹³ I have grown tall as a cedar on Lebanon, as a cypress on Mount Hermon;

¹⁴ I have grown tall as a palm in En-Gedi, as the rose bushes of Jericho; as a fine olive in the plain, as a plane tree, I have grown tall.

¹⁵ Like cinnamon and acanthus, I have yielded a perfume, like choice myrrh, have breathed out a scent, like galbanum, onycha, labdanum, like the smoke of incense in the tent.

¹⁶ I have spread my branches like a terebinth, and my branches are glorious and graceful.

¹⁷ I am like a vine putting out graceful shoots, my blossoms bear the fruit of glory and wealth.

¹⁸

¹⁹ Approach me, you who desire me, and take your fill of my fruits,

²⁰ for memories of me are sweeter than honey, inheriting me is sweeter than the honeycomb.

²¹ They who eat me will hunger for more, they who drink me will thirst for more.

²² No one who obeys me will ever have to blush, no one who acts as I dictate will ever sin.'

²³ All this is no other than the Book of the Covenant of the Most High God, the Law that Moses enjoined on us, an inheritance for the communities of Jacob.

²⁴

²⁵ This is what makes wisdom brim over like the Pishon, like the Tigris in the season of fruit,

²⁶ what makes intelligence overflow like the Euphrates, like the Jordan at harvest time;

²⁷ and makes discipline flow like the Nile, like the Gihon when the grapes are harvested.

²⁸ The first man did not finish discovering about her, nor has the most recent tracked her down;

²⁹ for her thoughts are wider than the sea, and her designs more profound than the abyss.

³⁰ And I, like a conduit from a river, like a watercourse running into a garden,

³¹ I said, 'I am going to water my orchard, I intend to irrigate my flower beds.' And see, my conduit has grown into a river, and my river has grown into a sea.

³² Making discipline shine forth from daybreak, I shall send its light far and wide.

³³ I shall pour out teaching like prophecy, as a legacy to all future generations.

³⁴ And note, I have been working not merely for myself, but for all who are seeking wisdom.

Full Italian text of Chapter 24, Siracide (Ecclesiasticus):

SIRACIDE, 24   - Italian version of Old Testament book SIRACH

                             Or Ecclesiasticus

La Sapienza personificatasi presenta:

Wisdom personified – presents herself:

1- La sapienzia loda se stessa e si vanta in mezzo al suo popolo.

2- Apre la bocca nell’assemblea dell’Altissimo e si vanta dinanzi alla sua corte celeste.

3- Io sono uscita dalla bocca dell’Altissimo, e come vapore ho ricoperto la terra.

4 -Ho abitato nelle altezze del cielo, avevo il trono in una colonna di nubi.

5 -Io sola ho fatto il giro del cielo e ho passeggiato nel profondo degli abissi.

6 -Sui flutti del mare e su tutta la terra, in ogni popolo e nazione avevo dominio.

7- Cio nonostante ho cercato un luogo di quiete, qualcuno, nel cui podere sostare.

8 - Allor il Creatore di tutto mi diede un commando, il mio Creatore mi ha dato una sede per riposare e mi ha detto: Metti tenda in Giacobbe, sia in Israele la tua eredita.

9-Egli mi ha creato nell’inizio, prima del tempo e non verro meno, per sempre.

10- Ho officiato davanti a lui, nella tenda sacra, risiedendo in Sion.

11 - Nella citta che ama, mi ha fatto posare, il mio potere e ora in Gerusalemme.

12 - Ho messo radici in un popolo glorioso, ho avuto l’eredita nella porzione del Signore.

13 -Son cresciuta alta come cedro del Libano e come cipresso dei monti dell’Ermon.

14 -Son cresciuta come una palma d’Engaddi, come un roseto di Gerico, come ulivo che spicca in pianura, mi son fatta alta come platano.

15 -Ho diffuso profumo come cinnamomo come balsamo aromatico e come mirra, come galbano, onice e storace, come vapore d’incenso nel santuario.

16 -Stendo i miei rami come il terebinto, essi sono rami di gloria e di grazia.

17 -Come la vite ha splendidi pampini, i miei fiori portano frutti di gloria e di ricchezza.

18 -Venite a me, o voi che mi desiderate per saziarvi con i miei frutti.

19 -Il mio ricordo e piu dolce del miele, possedermi val piu che favo di miele.

20 -Quanti mi mangiano avranno ancora fame, quanti mi bevono avranno ancora sete.

21 -Chi mi segue non sara svergognato, quanti si occupano di me non peccheranno.

 La Sapienza e la legge

22 -Tutto cio e il libro dell’alleanza del Dio altissimo, la legge che ci ha comandato Mose e forma l’eredita delle adunanze di Giacobbe.

23 -Essa trabocca di sapienza come il Pison e come il Tigri nei giorni delle primizie,

24 -effonde intelligenza come l’Eufrate e come il Giordano nei giorni di raccolto.

25 -Come luce irradia la dottrina, come il Ghicon nei giorni di vendemmia.

26 -Il primo uomo non ha finito di conoscerla, ne l’ultimo la potra investigare.

27 -Perche i suoi pensieri sono piu vasti del mare e il suo consiglio piu grande dell’abisso.

28 -E io come un condotto che parte dal fiume e come un canale che giunge nel giardino,

29 -mi son detto, “Irrighero il mio orto, innaffiero la mia aiuola,” ed ecco che il condotto e diventato un fiume e il fiume si e mutato in mare.

30 -Faro brillare la dottrina come l’aurora, la faro splendere in plaghe lontane.

31 - Effondero l’insegnamento come profezia, lo trasmettero alle generazioni future.

32 -Vedete che non ho faticato solo per me, ma per tutti quelli che la cercano.

Full Latin text of Chapter 24, Book of Ecclesiasticus:

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Vulgate (Latin): Sirach Chapter 24

1 [Sapientia laudabit animam suam,
et in Deo honorabitur,
et in medio populi sui gloriabitur,

2 et in ecclesiis Altissimi aperiet os suum,
et in conspectu virtutis illius gloriabitur,

3 et in medio populi sui exaltabitur,
et in plenitudine sancta admirabitur,

4 et in multitudine electorum habebit laudem,
et inter benedictos benedicetur, dicens:

5 Ego ex ore Altissimi prodivi,
primogenita ante omnem creaturam.

6 Ego feci in cælis ut oriretur lumen indeficiens,
et sicut nebula texi omnem terram.

7 Ego in altissimis habitavi,
et thronus meus in columna nubis.

8 Gyrum cæli circuivi sola,
et profundum abyssi penetravi:
in fluctibus maris ambulavi.

9 Et in omni terra steti:
et in omni populo,

10 et in omni gente primatum habui:

11 et omnium excellentium et humilium corda virtute calcavi.
Et in his omnibus requiem quæsivi,
et in hæreditate Domini morabor.

12 Tunc præcepit, et dixit mihi Creator omnium:
et qui creavit me, requievit in tabernaculo meo.

13 Et dixit mihi: In Jacob inhabita,
et in Israël hæreditare,
et in electis meis mitte radices.]

14 [Ab initio et ante sæcula creata sum,
et usque ad futurum sæculum non desinam:
et in habitatione sancta coram ipso ministravi.

15 Et sic in Sion firmata sum,
et in civitate sanctificata similiter requievi,
et in Jerusalem potestas mea.

16 Et radicavi in populo honorificato,
et in parte Dei mei hæreditas illius,
et in plenitudine sanctorum detentio mea.]

17 [Quasi cedrus exaltata sum in Libano,
et quasi cypressus in monte Sion:

18 quasi palma exaltata sum in Cades,
et quasi plantatio rosæ in Jericho:

19 quasi oliva speciosa in campis,
et quasi platanus exaltata sum juxta aquam in plateis.

20 Sicut cinnamomum et balsamum aromatizans odorem dedi;
quasi myrrha electa dedi suavitatem odoris:

21 et quasi storax, et galbanus, et ungula, et gutta,
et quasi Libanus non incisus vaporavi habitationem meam,
et quasi balsamum non mistum odor meus.

22 Ego quasi terebinthus extendi ramos meos,
et rami mei honoris et gratiæ.

23 Ego quasi vitis fructificavi suavitatem odoris:
et flores mei fructus honoris et honestatis.

24 Ego mater pulchræ dilectionis, et timoris,
et agnitionis, et sanctæ spei.

25 In me gratia omnis viæ et veritatis:
in me omnis spes vitæ et virtutis.

26 Transite ad me, omnes qui concupiscitis me,
et a generationibus meis implemini:

27 spiritus enim meus super mel dulcis,
et hæreditas mea super mel et favum.

28 Memoria mea in generatione sæculorum.

29 Qui edunt me, adhuc esurient,
et qui bibunt me, adhuc sitient.

30 Qui audit me non confundetur,
et qui operantur in me non peccabunt:

31 qui elucidant me, vitam æternam habebunt.]

32 [Hæc omnia liber vitæ,
et testamentum Altissimi, et agnitio veritatis.

33 Legem mandavit Moyses in præceptis justitiarum,
et hæreditatem domui Jacob,
et Israël promissiones.

34 Posuit David, puero suo,
excitare regem ex ipso fortissimum,
et in throno honoris sedentem in sempiternum.

35 Qui implet quasi Phison sapientiam,
et sicut Tigris in diebus novorum:

36 qui adimplet quasi Euphrates sensum,
qui multiplicat quasi Jordanis in tempore messis:

37 qui mittit disciplinam sicut lucem,
et assistens quasi Gehon in die vindemiæ.

38 Qui perficit primus scire ipsam,
et infirmior non investigabit eam.

39 A mari enim abundavit cogitatio ejus,
et consilium illius ab abysso magna.

40 Ego sapientiam effudi flumina:

41 ego quasi trames aquæ immensæ de fluvio:
ego quasi fluvii dioryx,
et sicut aquæductus exivi de paradiso.

42 Dixi: Rigabo hortum meum plantationum,
et inebriabo prati mei fructum.

43 Et ecce factus est mihi trames abundans,
et fluvius meus appropinquavit ad mare:

44 quoniam doctrinam quasi antelucanum illumino omnibus,
et enarrabo illam usque ad longinquum.

45 Penetrabo omnes inferiores partes terræ,
et inspiciam omnes dormientes,
et illuminabo omnes sperantes in Domino.

46 Adhuc doctrinam quasi prophetiam effundam,
et relinquam illam quærentibus sapientiam,
et non desinam in progenies illorum usque in ævum sanctum.

47 Videte quoniam non soli mihi laboravi,
sed omnibus exquirentibus veritatem.]

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