Diogenes Laertius. De vita & moribus philosophorum (Vitae et Sententiae philosophorum)

Diogenes Laertius; Translation : Ambrosius Traversarius, Ed: Benedictus Brognolus

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Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Diogenes Laertius. De vita & moribus ...

Éditeur : Bonetus Locatellus for Octavianus Scotus, Venice

Date d'édition : 1490

Reliure : Hard Cover

Etat du livre : Good

Etat de la jaquette : No Jacket

Edition :

Description :

Diogenes Laertius. De vita & moribus philosophorum (Vitae et Sententiae philosophorum). Translation : Ambrosius Traversarius, Ed: Benedictus Brognolus. Venice: Bonetus Locatellus for Octavianus Scotus, 18 Dec. 1490. 4to in vellum, complete text and title page and colophon with all printing information. This is an important and scholarly Latin incunable edition, dating back to 1490 -- as translated by the prominent theologian Traversarius and edited by humanist scholar Brognoli -- of the very influential works of the Roman-era biographer Diogenes Laertius. It is the complete edition of his exceedingly important (and often quite lively and amusing) "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers", the most important early source (and in many cases the only source) on the most important philosophers of the early West. It is also very handsomely printed -- by the important Venetian printing house of Octavianus Scotus and decorated with numerous large and lovely woodcut initials in an intricate entwined format, typical of the high style of early Venetian printing. A rare and handsome collectible of early printing, complete with original title page and colophon -- and a very important work of Western thought and philosophy, dating back to 1490, before Columbus reached America. The incunable is bound in what appears to be an early 17th century vellum with a spine label. It is a 4to measuring 6.5" x 8.75". Vellum is smooth, some bumping at corners, front edge shows a bit of wear, vellum just starting to split a bit at top and bottom spine joints. There are no preliminaries or blanks at the front. The title page is the first page and it is present but has been decorated or strengthened with a border of old marbled paper. Locatelli’s printing is very nice, a crisp roman typeface with floriated woodcut initials, including a number of very pretty large initials. It is 42 lines and headline per page. It is unpaginated but 112 leaves or 224 pages, complete, signatures A8-08. Colophon: impressum suit Venetii simpensis nobilis viri Octaviani Scoti civis Modoetie(n)sis MCCCCLXXXX decimoquinto Kalendas Ianuarias. Registrum.O[mn]es sunt quaterni. ISTC id00222000, Goff D222, HC 6202, Kleb 338.4, OCLC 20468572. The condition of this incunable is pleasingly good. There are numerous contemporary notes, marginalia, pointing hands, etc. throughout but especially in the front, on some pages in two colors – brown and a pale red, very attractively done. A green silk page marker is still present. Paper is strong with occasional light foxing and a few scattered small dark stains at the gutter. There is some worming in the "l" quire at the bottom gutter not affecting text. The colophon page has some small holes in the margin along with more wear. Back of the colophon has a few notes made by the old hand, along with a 1950 ownership signature. Last blank has some modern pencil notations. Otherwise very nice. Little is known of the Roman-era author Diogenes Laertius. He probably wrote this rich compendium on the lives and doctrines of philosophers sometime in the third century. This, his masterwork, ranges back to the earliest days of Western philosophy, covering over three centuries, from Thales through Plato to Epicurus (to whom the whole tenth book of Diogenes is devoted). It is a fount of information: Diogenes Laertius carefully compiled his information from hundreds of sources and enriches his accounts with numerous quotations. "The chief service of Diogenes Laertius (fl. 220) in his Lives was the preservation of the 'Sovran Maxims' of Epicurus, the collection of the forty most important articles in the Epicurean doctrine. Other biographies of scientific (including chemical) interest are those of Aristotle, Democritus, Leucippus, and Theophrastus. Diogenes's famous Lives of the philosophers was among the favorite schoolbooks of the ealier Renaissance, and there were numerous editions of it, especially in Italy where is remained in favor until the beginning o. N° de réf. du libraire 003651