[roman Emperors, Erasmus, Aldus] Svetonius, 1521 - Dec 08, 2014 | Bibliopathos Auctions In Italy
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[Roman Emperors, Erasmus, Aldus] Svetonius, 1521

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[Roman Emperors, Erasmus, Aldus] Svetonius, 1521
[Roman Emperors, Erasmus, Aldus] Svetonius, 1521
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THE ALDINE SVETONY WITH ERASMUS' COMMENTARY: THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST TWELVE ROMAN EMPERORS

In hoc volumine haec continentur. C. Suetonij Tranquilli XII Caesares. Sexti Aurelis Victoris à d. Caesare Augusto usque ad Theodosium excerpta. Eutropij De gestis Romanorum Lib. X. Pauli Diaconi libri VIII ad Eutropij historiam additi. Index rerum memorabilium per singulos Tranquilli Caesares ab Ioanne Baptista Egnatio Veneto compositus. Annotationes etiam Erasmi in Suetonium, Eutropium, & Paulum Diaconum per literarum ordinem. Venetiis in aedibus Aldi, et Andreae Soceri mense Maio MDXXI. [Venice: Aldo Manuzio and Andrea Torresani, May 1521].

8vo, 18th century French calf, gilt decorations at spine, ff. [60], 320.

Scarce edition of second (and last) Aldine Svetonius, renowned for the commentary made by Erasmus.

According to Renouard, this edition is rare to find in good condition because it was for longtime the main text for those that wanted to study the Roman history.

The main text of this collection is the most famous Svetonius’ unauthorized biography of the first twelve Roman emperors, written assembling official documents and non official references, as gossip, defamatory texts and oral accounts.

SVETONIUS’ Lifes, whose text is known almost completely, are parted into XII books and describe chronologically the lifes of Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus e Domitian. Analysing each emperor’s life, Svetonius follows a scheme that remains quite the same for all of them: description of family origins and career before taking over the power, of public figure, list of measures taken for what concerned the city of Rome, information about private life, physical appearance, vices and virtues and the narration of the last days before the death. Svetonius manages to mix Roman emperors’ biographic references (without leaving out flaws), public acts (decrees and Senate’s minutes) with tasty anecdotes, giving us a vivid insight of Roman society.

In particular, the ANECDOTES ABOUT FOOD, DRINKING AND THE EMPERORS’ HOBBIES make reading very pleasant: Vitellius invented a dish called Minerva’s shield, made up of liver, pheasant and peacock’s brain, parrot’s tongue and moray eels’ milk; Caligula was renowned for his sumptuous banquets, meanwhile he used to drink precious stones melted into vinegar and copulate with his own sisters; Augustus liked gladiatorial contests and amphitheatre events where he ordered to bring a rhinoceros, as well; Tiberius had been ridiculed as drunkard, to the point that his passion for wine let the soldiers to call him Biberius Caldius Mero («hot wine drinker») instead of Tiberius Claudius Nero.

DESIDERIUS ERASMUS OF ROTTERDAM (1466/69–1536) was the most famous and influential humanist of the Northern Renaissance, a man of great talent and industriousness became the leading intellectual figure of the early sixteenth century, courted by rulers and prelates. He was his generation’s finest Latin stylist, even more impressive for his much rarer mastery of Greek. Though most vividly remembered now for his critical satires of abuses in the church and secular society and for his work as editor of the first published edition of the Greek New Testament, he was a prolific and influential author in many genres: he wrote several treatises on education, produced excellent critical editions of the works of classical Greek and Latin authors, including translations of Greek texts into Latin, and he also published Latin poems on both secular and religious themes. Religion and the reformation of the Church were among his more dear themes since his early days, so that he was considered as dangerous as Luther from the Catholic institutions that, after his death condemned all his works: actually, Erasmus’ opinion on the matter was that the reformed Church must be one and must be reformed peacefully and gradually from within, without destroying its traditional organization. In order to carry on its studies, Erasmus travelled throughout all Europe and had contacts with the most influential scholars and printers of his time, such as Froben and Aldo Manuzio.

CAIUS SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS (c. 71-c.135 A.D.) was a Roman scholar and official, born in the province of Africa from an equestrian family. He was sent to Rome to be educated as an orator and there he met Pliny the Younger who, claiming to be a connoisseur of literary talent, was to help Suetonius’ career. Through Pliny, Suetonius came into favour with Trajan and Hadrian. He may have served on Pliny’s staff when Pliny was Proconsul of Bithynia Pontus between 110 and 112. Under Trajan he served as secretary of studies (precise functions are uncertain) and director of Imperial archives, while under Hadrian, he became the Emperor’s secretary until 119 when, probably for an affair the Empress Vibia Sabina, the Emperor dismissed him. Suetonius may have later regained imperial favor under Hadrian and returned to his position. This hypothesis is based on the suggestion that Offices of State was one of his last works, and that the subject was chosen to reflect Hadrian’s administrative reforms; however, there is no certain evidence for a public career after 120.

SEXTUS AURELIUS VICTOR (ca. 320-ca. 390 A.D.) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. He was the author of a History of Rome from Augustus to Julian (360), published ca. 361. Julian honored him and appointed him prefect of Pannonia Secunda. Possibly he is the same person who was consul in 369, jointly with the son of Valentinian I, and the prefect of the city of Rome.

References: Renouard, 91.7: Édition «assez rare, et qui ne se rencontre le plus souvent que très mal conditionnée, parce qu'elle fut longtemps le manuel de quiconque voulait étudier l'Histoire Romaine». CNCE 37658.
Condition
Traces of use, but a good copy
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[Roman Emperors, Erasmus, Aldus] Svetonius, 1521

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