Sperone Speroni’s Della Pace and the problematic definition of concord

This paper contributes to the study of a mostly neglected work of the fifteenth-century Italian literature: Sperone Speroni’s collection of short treatises (“trattatelli”) published in the fifth volume of his Opera in 1740. In particular, I focus on Della Pace (On Peace), probably a draft of a never-written longer treatise. I provide a transcription and English translation of the text as well as an analysis of its content and linguistic aspects. The focus of Speroni’s text is the discussion of the meaning of ‘concord’, which goes beyond the classical definition and brings to an unconventional analysis of also its opposite terms: discord and conflict. By reading Speroni’s writing, we discover his original thought nourished by Machiavelli’s and pre-Socratic influences. This paper looks at Speroni not only as an author involved in literary debates, but also as a philosopher with an original perspective to be discovered.

Publication year:2020

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