Methodus rustica Catonis atq. Varronis praeceptis aphoristicis per locos communes digestis a Theodoro Zvingero typice delineata & illustrata.

LIBRI DE RE RUSTICA.

Edité par Basel (Basileae), Petri Pernae opera atque impensa, n.d. (1567)., 1567

A propos de cet article

8vo. (XXIV),494,(2 blank),(22 index) p. Overlapping vellum 19 cm (Ref: VD16 C 1580; Schweiger 2,75) (Details: 2 thongs laced through the joints. Woodcut printer's mark on the title: a woman holding a oil lamp, motto: 'Verbum tuum lucerna pedibus meis'. (Psalm 119 verse 105) Occasional woodcut initials) (Condition: Vellum soiled and wrinkled. Small hole in the back and in the upper board. Front endpapers renewed in 19th century. 19th century annotations concerning Zwinger, Cato & Varro on the front pastedown and recto of the front flyleaf. Title slightly soiled. Small fold in right lower corner of the title. Small stain at the bottom of the title) (Note: Theodor Zwinger, 1533-1588, or Theodorus Zuingerus, also spelled as Zwingerus, or Zvingerus, was of humble descent. He studied philosophy in Paris under Petrus Ramus. Supported by the printer/bookdealer Perna he later went to Padua, where he studied medicin for 6 years. After his promotion in 1559 he returned to his hometown Basel, and was appointed professor of Greek and Moral philosophy. In 1580 he became also professor of Medicin. He is best known for his editions of the Nicomachean Ethics of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, which he published in 1566 & 1588. (Griechischer Geist aus Basler Pressen, no. 127 and 128) He produced also a kind of encyclopedia which was much admired in his time, 'Theatrum vitae humanae', Basel 1565. As a physician and logician he published his thoughts about the agricultural works of the Roman authors Cato (234-149 B.C.) and Varro (116-27 B.C). He tries to analyse their opinions, and show their structures in systematic tables, like he had previously done with Aristotle. At the end he publishes texts of Cato and Varro on agriculture, a fact that escaped many bibliographers. In vol. 1, p. CXXXIX of the Biponti edition of the 'Scriptores Rei Rusticae' edited by J.M. Gesner, 1671-1761, it is stated that the text of Cato follows the edition of P. Victorius (1543), and the text of Varro is that of J.J. Scaliger, 1565) (For Zwinger see ADB 45,543/4, where this title is omitted. It is however mentioned in Zedler 64,862/4) § Famine (with war and the plague) was a great problem in Italy, France, England and Germany during the first half of the 16th century. There were serious food shortages and outbreaks of disease in the 1520th and 1530th. This scourge reached its peak in the crisis of 1545/46 which was perhaps the most terrible year in the history of 16th century Paris. Many thousands died of hunger. This period is marked by a dramatic fall in living standards. The gravity of the situation began to be reflected in the medical and agricultural literature of that time: how to avoid disease and preserve health in times of dearth on a poor diet of gruel, bread, broth and beer. The French humanist schoolmaster Robert Breton, whose ideas were heavily coloured by classical influences, published in 1539 his Agriculturae encomium, in which he emphasized the need to combine theoretical and practical learning in agriculture. 'The food produced in the countryside, he pointed out, was absolutely essential to the existence of the towns and the state itself'. (H. Heller, Labour, science and technology in France, Cambr. 1996, p. 66) Food, especially grain, was not only scarce because of the ignorance and poverty of the peasantry, but also because of warfare. Towards the middle of this century the provision of an adequate food supply became urgent. 'Beyond assuring the subsistence of the population, it as critical to maintaining the momentum of the burgeoning manufacturing sector of the economy. Sustaining profit margins in industry depended on controling wages. Relatively low wages were only possible if the cost of grain (.) could be contained. As a result, one notes a growing preoccupation with agriculture among humanist authors'. (Op. cit. p. 65) Between 1529 and 1550 eight Latin editions of the works of Cato, Varro, Columella and Palladius were published in Paris and.

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Methodus rustica Catonis atq. Varronis praeceptis aphoristicis per locos communes digestis a Theodoro Zvingero typice delineata & illustrata.
• Éditeur: Basel (Basileae), Petri Pernae opera atque impensa, n.d. (1567).
• Date de parution: 1567
• Poids: 700 grammes
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Old and Rare books