Corderii Colloquiorum Centuria Selecta, or A Select Century of Cordery's Colloquies
by Mathurin Cordier
| Cordery's Colloquies | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
||
| Author | Mathurin Cordier | |
| Edition | Precise edition unknown | |
Mathurin Cordier (c. 1480–1564), also known as Corderius (a Latinized version of his name) was a French schoolmaster, theologian, teacher, humanist, and pedagogian born in Normandy.[1] He taught in Paris at the Collège de Sainte-Barbe, where one of his students was John Calvin.[2] He would then become the director of the School of Lausanne (now the University of Lausanne)[3] in Geneva, where he would remain until his death on September 8th, 1564.[4]
Cordier’s Colloquia has been used by schools for centuries after his death, with numerous editions.[5] The adaptation of John Clarke, the master of a grammar school in Hull, England, saw widespread use in England and America in the eighteenth century.[6] This book was designed for the use of beginners in learning to speak Latin. [7]This was a textbook made for use in schools and was designed to make the study of language simplified. This contained both dictionary translations but also translation of common Latin phrases and also exercises for the practice of the language. The book also indicts previous educational practices as useless, a highly confrontational approach for an educational material.[8]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
The only evidence for Wythe's ownership of this title comes from the "Biographical Sketch of the Judges" in volume 4 of Daniel Call's Reports of Cases Argued and Decided in the Court of Appeals of Virginia:
As the widow and her son GEORGE were not left wealthy, she undertook his education herself; but only, taught him the Latin grammar, and to read the colloquies of Corderius very imperfectly, as he told me.[9]
No information exists to suggest which edition Wythe may have owned or whether he still owned it as an adult.
The Wolf Law Library has thus far been unable to purchase of copy of this title.
See also
References
- ↑ Hugh Chisholm, ed. (1911), "Corderius,” Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 7 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press. p. 138.
- ↑ Geoffrey Treasure, “Calvin: THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE,” in The Huguenots, 75–83, 76, Yale University Press, 2013. [1]
- ↑ John Mark Ockerbloom, ed. “Mathurin Cordier,” The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania Libraries, accessed January 13th 2026. [2]
- ↑ Chisholm, "Corderius."
- ↑ Chisholm, "Corderius."
- ↑ Cordier, Mathurin. Corderii Colloquiorum centuria selecta: or, A select century of the colloquies of Corderius. With an English translation, as literal as possible. Designed for the use of beginners in the Latin tongue. By John Clarke, late master of the publick grammar school in Hull. Translated by John Clarke, By Isaiah Thomas and Company. Sold at their bookstore, no. 45, Newbury Street, and at said Thomas's bookstore in Worcester, MDCCLXXXIX. [1789]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online, accessed 4 Feb. 2026. [link.gale.com/apps/doc/CB0127644771/ECCO?u=viva_wm&sid=bookmark-ECCO&xid=d91dad31&pg=1.]
- ↑ Corderii Colloquiorum centuria selecta; or, a Select century of Cordery's colloquies: with an English translation ... By John Clarke (Google Book [3]
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ "Biographical Sketch of the Judges," in Reports of Cases Argued and Decided in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, 2nd ed. (Richmond, VA: Robert I. Smith, 1833), 4:xi. The title of the second edition differs slightly from the first.