VALLA, LAUDENTIUS, one of the first scholars of the renaissance, was b. at Rome in 1415, taught classics in various places in the north of Italy; butin 1443, on account of his assaults on the scholastic philosophy, and his defense of Epicurus, found it advisable to seek protection at Naples from Alfonso V. Here, however, he soon fell under a sus picion of heresy, and was, it is said, dragged for punishment before the inquisition. Aided by king, he made his escape, and fled to Rome, where pope Nicholas V. par doned him, received him into favor, and appointed him papal secretary and canon iu the church of St. John Lateran. He died 1465. Valla's Latin translations of Herodotus (Par. 1510) and Thucydides (Lyon, 1543) are admirable, and had a great influence iu spreading a knowledge of classic history; but the work that brought him most renown was the E'legantim Latini Sermonis (6 books; Rome, 1471), which long served as a model in style to Latinists. From 1741 to 1536, no fewer than 59 editions of it appeared. It has
passages of noble eloquence in praise of the glorious tongue of Rome, through which one discerns a passionate desire for the unity of Italy—that now attained aspiration of Italian scholars and writers. The E'leganties is, moreover, full of nice grammatical observa tions, particularly on synonyms. Valla has also the credit of being the first of the renaissance scholars that used his classical culture in the criticism of the New Testament (Annotationes in Novum Testamentura, published by Erasmus). In his De Donatione Constantini Magni, he demonstrated the historical groundlessness of the pretended "Donation" of Constantine, and inveighed against the popes for their grasping after temporal power; but this he was forced to retract. A collected edition of Valla's works appeared at Basel in 1543.