
Description
Lyon, B. Honorat, 1580
2 volumes
The various lessons of Pierre Messie gentleman of Sevile, with three dialogues of the said author, containing variable & memorable stories, put into French by Claude GRUGET Parisian, increased in addition to the previous impressions of the suite, made by Antoine du Verdier, sieur of Vauprivas, &c
8vo: 4 1/4 by 6 3/4"
478 pp. plus table
Very good condition, minor wear of binding.
Text in Latin
-
Pedro Mejía (old Spanish spelling: Pero Mexía) ( 1497 – 1551) was a Spanish Renaissance writer, humanist and historian.
He was born and died in Seville, where he lived for the majority of his life and for which there is always a special affection in his writings.
He studied humanities and law at Seville and Salamanca universities. He maintained correspondence with Erasmus of Rotterdam, Luis Vives and Juan Gines de Sepulveda. In 1548, he was appointed official chronicler of the court of Emperor Charles V.
His major work is Silva de varia lección (A Miscellany of Several Lessons) , which became an early best seller across Europe.
It is an encyclopedic miscellany or mixture of subjects of interest across the diverse repertoire of humanistic knowledge of the time.
The work takes material from the Attic Nights by Aulus Gellius, the Banquet of the Sophists by Athenaeus, the Saturnalia of Macrobius, the Memorable deeds and sayings of Valerius Maximus, the Inventor of all things by Polidoro Virgilio, the Moralia and Parallel Lives of Plutarch and, above all, the Natural History of Pliny the Elder.
It also contains work by Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Traces of this miscellany can be found in works by Mateo Alemán, Miguel de Cervantes, Shakespeare and Montaigne, to mention only a few of the authors he influenced.
Pedro Mexia was among the first scientific Renaissance scholars to write for a popular audience; in this work covering various subjects relating to astronomy, gastronomy, and medicine. He also describes Magellan's first circumnavigation of the earth; Mexia himself witnessed Magellan's fleet leaving Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 1519 and returning in 1522.
Reserve: $550.00
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Buyer's Premium
20%
1580 LESSONS of PIERRE MESSIE 2 volumes antique 16th CENTURY in LATIN
Estimate $700-$800
Starting Price
$260
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Antique books 15th-19th Century
Feb 05, 2026 6:00 PM ESTNew York, NY, United States
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