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Julius Caesar Scaliger

Excerpt from the "Real-Enzyklopaedie fuer die gebildeten Staende,
(Conversations - Lexicon) Reutlingen 1831"


The history of this famous scholar is wrapped by his vanity in darkness.
According to his fictions was he a descendant of the famous house of the Scaligers, princes of Verona, and born on 28 April 1484 on the castle Riva at the Gardasee, ward afterwards page with the emperor Maximilian, who he served 17 years in war and peace, received then a year content of the duke of Ferrara, studied to Bologna, commandet under the french vice-king a squadron, put on the study of the nature teachings and accompanied 1525 the bishop of Agen, Antonio de la Rovera, to his dioecese in France, where he established himself.
This narration received with several scholars, under those also de Thou, the friend and admirer of his son Joseph was, to faith; but it was made among other things, ridiculous already at his time by Scioppius and generally regarded as whole or to a large extent fictious.
After Tiraboschi's indication is Scaliger the son of Benedetto Bordone, one born Paduane, which operated the art of a illuminirer to Venice. Either of the indication of his workshop, or of the district where he was convenient della Scala, he had received his surname; up to his 42 years he lived to Venice or Padua in darkness, concerned himselve with the study and the practice of the medicine and published under the name Guilio Bordone some writings.
Either a promise or the hope to improve his circumstances pulled it him towards Agen, where he lived his remaining days. 1528 he does not seem to have been yet will to spend himself as a descendant of that dynasty, there he affected by Franz I. himself a naturalization patent under the name: Julius Caesar della Scala de Bordone, Dr. of physics, native from Verona in Italy.
Meanwhile he must have appeared to Agen with some honor, by receiving Andietta de Roques, a young woman from a noble and wealthy family, 1520 to his wife.
From this time on he began to publicly insure his princely origin, without however to be supported therein by a certified piece of act or acknowlegment of a prince from the veronese house.
He made his name glorious by several writings, which acquired him a high place among the scholars of his time, admits, although the bragging arrogance which prevailed in his works, tightened many enemies to him.
By continued practice of the natural history he acquired considerable richness and held a shining house. By the frankness of his writings he made himself orthodoxy suspicious.
He died however as a good catholic to Agen the 21. Oct. 1558 in the 76. year of live.
Scaliger was certainly a man of extraordinary abilities, and although he is counted to the late scholars, then to have nevertheless only few a higher stage in scientific regard climbed.
He had a strong memory and a lively understanding; he thought freely, if also not always follower genuine. Backobviously his moral characteristics his large truthfulness will particularly preisen from his son, but did not have to come thereby his vanity and disputatious disputatiousness into the play....
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