ILLUSTRATED
Revd. Mr. Spence
Polymetis: or, An Enquiry concerning the Agreement Between the Works of the Roman Poets, and the Remains of the Ancient Artists.
Being An Attempt to illustrate them mutually from one another.
London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1747.
361, [1]pp. 41 plates.
Large folio. 10.5 by 16.5"
Original boards.
Heavy wear to spine and panels.Book block is cracked.
Interior with only minor occasional foxing.
Twenty-one dialogues and 41 engraved plates of antiquities and mythology.

Joseph Spence (1699 – 1748) was an English scholar of both literature and anecdote, who spent the majority of his life traveling throughout Europe. During these travels he wrote many of his most distinguished pieces, and received inspiration for other literary works and lectures he went on to give at Oxford. Alexander Pope became a life-long friend to Spence and heavily influenced his work. Due in part to this friendship, Spence was elected the Oxford Chair of Poetry in 1728, and went on to become a professor of modern history at Oxford in 1742. After publishing Polymetis, Spence used his profits to fulfill his love of gardening, and he continued to produce literary works (both published and unpublished) until his death.
Polymetis, published in 1747, reflected Spence’s first visit to Italy and draws upon the works he observed while there. Written in dialogue form, it provides a history and criticism on subjects such as Roman sculpture, mythological art, and Latin poetry, complete with illustrations. With a special focus on how these works of art and literature interplay and provide explanations for each other, Spence, as the title suggests, "attempt[s] to illustrate them mutually from one another."

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