“Nunc eo ingenio sum.” Philologie et écriture de soi dans les Variae lectiones de Marc-Antoine Muret

Abstract

The collection Variae lectiones by Marc-Antoine Muret (1526-1585), which is part of the humanist tradition of miscellanea, is characterized by the prominent presence of the first person. This article proposes to study the relationship between philology and writing about oneself by examining the different kinds of ‟Iˮ used by Muret. Staking at the outset a claim to auctoritas, the ‟Iˮ of Variae lectiones refers above all to a scholarly and erudite persona, which the French humanist develops with the ambition of consolidating his personal reputation at a crucial period of his career in Italy. Finally, while writing as a philologist, Muret sometimes reveals himself through his readings of the Ancients, and hints at a more intimate ‟Iˮ which emerges in some accounts of episodes experienced.