Antonio Pacini da Todi


Antonio Pacini da Todi or Tudertino was an Italian humanist and translator.

Life

Pacini was born in in the first two decades of the 15th century. He moved to Florence, where he studied under Francesco Filelfo and tutored Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici. He lived in the Medici palace between 1438 and 1441, during which time he survived a bout of malaria. He also worked for the Curia Romana. In 1441–1442, he was the secretary of Cardinal Nicola Acciapaccia.
In 1442–1443, Pacini lectured on poetry and rhetoric at the. He continued to be attached to the Studio down to 1450, when he moved to Todi. In Todi, he founded the Accademia dei Convivanti and became a tutor for Bartolomeo d'Alviano. He died in Todi in 1489 and was buried there in the church of Saint Nicholas.

Works

Pacini translated six of the biographies in Plutarch's Parallel Lives from [Ancient Ancient Greek language|Greek language|Greek] into Latin:
He was introduced to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, by and sometime between 1442 and 1447 sent him a copy of his translation of the biography of Marius. In 1470, Ulrich Han published his translations as part of the first printing of Plutarch's Lives. His translations were not always well received. They were criticized by Filelfo, Giacomo Ammannati, Paolo Cortesi, Marcantonio Sabellico and Desiderius Erasmus. His other translations from Greek include poems 1, 2 and 10 of Gregory of Nazianzus, dedicated to Pope Eugene IV in 1439, and two works of Lucian of Samosata: De sacrificiis, dedicated to Ridolfo Lotti, and De laudibus patriae, dedicated to Piero de' Pazzi.
Pacini's other writings include a funeral oration for Lorenzo de' Medici, Oratio in funere Laurentii de Medicis, written on the day of his death and sent to Cesarini. He wrote a consolatory letter to Acciapaccia on the death of the latter's brother, Consolatio ad cardinalem Capuanum in obitum fratris sui. During his time in Florence, he wrote an urban encomium, Oratio in laudem Florentiae.