# Fries (Zurich, 1556) ## expand\_more Author of this page: Elena Lu, Harvard (2024) As in Estienne 1548, Gessner praises Johannes Fries for his industrious nature and impressive mastery over five languages as they were applied to this new Latin-German dictionary. No longer celebrating Fries only for his translation of Robert Estienne’s French, Gessner emphasizes the utility of having German and Latin vocabularies joined “into one codex” (unum in codicem). Gessner and Fries seem to have shared a broader interest in the study of Germanic languages that would continue after the publication of Fries’ *Dictionarium* and Gessner’s *Mithridates* (1555): at their behest, Josua Maler, a student of both, edited a new German-Latin dictionary (1561), for which Gessner wrote a foreword. Though not the focus of this poem, Gessner’s indirect praise of Estienne is evidence of a continuing relationship between the two since the publication of Gessner’s *Pandectae* (1548). In 1557, Estienne, having located a copy of Athenagoras’ *Apologia pro Christianis*, asked Gessner to do the Latin translation and commentary for the text, later praising Gessner as “the Atlas of literary work” upon its publication (Leu, *Conrad Gessner* (2023), 240-241). This poem is preceded by a dedication to the “youth of Zurich;” a note on the proper use of the Dictionary; a list of benefits of the Dictionary for students; a list of ancient authors from whose works the words are drawn; and poems by Franciscus Niger of Bassa, Thomas Blaurerus, Rudolph Gwalther, and Johannes Parkhurstus of England; on the same page is a woodblock image of Fries, accompanied by an eight-line poem by Diethelmus Cellarius of Zurich. Translation: Dimetric Iambics by Conrad Gessner, for Johannes Fries’ Latin-German Dictionary. Frisius—the five-tongued man; practiced in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, German, and French; and an industrious man at that; the glory of our Germany—may he live and flourish for long. And that man, the brightest of France, the translator Robertus Stephanus—whose incomparable Latin-French Lexicon has not yet been praised enough—he \[Fries\] substituted German words for the French, elegantly, in good faith and by much work, with just as much learnedness. Each thesaurus (that of German, of Latin) has been joined into one codex, so that it should be of use to all. May he live and flourish for long, and hasten to do good for the country, and advance letters— Frisius, the five-tongued man. Transcription: Conradi Gesneri Dimetri Iambici in Dictionarium Latinogermanicum Ioannis Frisii. Vir pentaglottus Frisius, Graecè, Latinè, Hebraicè, Germanicéque et Gallicè Peritus, atque industrius, Nostrae decus Germaniae, Vivat diúque floreat. Et Galliae clarissimus Robertus ille Stephanus, Cuius Latinogallicum Nunquam satis laudatum Incomparabile Lexicon Interpretatus ille, Pro Gallicis Germanica Substituit, eleganter, Bona fide, multóque Labore, doctrina pari. Thesaurus utriusque (Germanicae, Latinae,) Coniunctus unum in codicem, Ut usui sit omnibus. Vivat, diúque floreat, Prodesse pergat patriae, Et promovere literas, Vir pentaglottus Frisius. ![Fries 1556](/sites/g/files/omnuum9491/files/gzp1565/files/2124586-maximum.jpg) Citation: Gessner, Poem, In Johannes Fries, *Dictionarium Latinogermanicum, Ioanne Frisio Tigurino interprete*. Zurich: Froschauer, February 1556, sig. \[α6\]r. Zentralbibliothek Zürich, shelf mark 5.9. Link: