Gian Vittorio Rossi's Eudemiae libri decem

Book excerpt: Gian Vittorio Rossi (1577–1647) was an active participant in the intellectual and artistic community in Rome orbiting around Pope Urban VIII and the powerful Barberini family. His prolific literary output encompassed letters, dialogues, orations, biographies, poetry, and fiction. A superlative Latinist, Rossi unleashed his biting wit and deep knowledge of Classical literature against perceived societal wrongs. Set on the fictional island of Eudemia in the first century CE, Eudemiae libri decem is a satirical novel that criticizes Rossi's own society for its system of patronage and favors that he saw as rewarding wealth and opulence over skill and hard work. An understudied figure, Rossi's involvement with one of Rome's premier literary academies and his relationships with intellectuals in Italy and throughout Europe provide a unique insider view of seventeenth-century Rome.