Deipnosophistae, in Greek.

Beschreibung

Editio princeps. The only extant work of Athenaeus of Naucratis, Sophists at Dinner has been described as an "encyclopaedia under the disguise of a dialogue" (Sandys, p. 330): containing countless anecdotes from ancient authors on food, wine, and dining customs, this is an invaluable source of information on ancient daily life. The title Deipnosophistae can be literally translated as "men learned in the arts of the banquet". The work is an account of a series of banquets held at the house of the Roman pontiff Larentius, attended by major exponents of all disciplines - including Democritus, Galen, Ulpian and Plutarch - who discuss extensively of grammar, poetry, rhetoric, music, philosophy, and medicine. "Food and drink, cups and cookery, stories of famous banquets, scandalous anecdotes, specimens of ancient riddles and drinking songs and disquisitions on instruments of music are only part of the miscellaneous fare which is here provided. We are indebted to the quotations in Athenaeus for our knowledge of passages from about 700 ancient writers who would otherwise be unknown to us" (ibid.). Also included is the text of the earliest known recipe by a named author (Mithaecus) in any language, and what may be considered to be the first patents (i.e. exclusive right granted to an inventor). The text was edited by the prominent Greek scholar Marcus Musurus (c.1470-1517), from an early 10th-century manuscript (Marcianus Gr. 447). A native of Odemira, modern Heraklion in Crete, Musurus worked as professor of Greek at the University of Padua (Erasmus attended his lectures there), and later at the University of Venice. In 1493, he began a collaboration with the Aldine press which lasted for over two decades, producing editions of the Greek classics; Musurus's handwriting notably was the model for Aldus's celebrated Greek type. This was the last edition he worked on before Aldus's death in 1515. In the Latin preface, Aldus refers to him affectionately as "Musurus noster" ("our Musurus") and praises the accuracy of his corrections to the text. Aldus began to plan a Greek edition of Athenaeus soon after establishing his press; a one-page proof of an unrealized edition, printed in Aldus's second Greek type (first used in 1496) and containing the epitome of Book One, survives at the Pierpont Morgan Library. Provenance: Paris, library of St.-Germain-des-Pres, largely formed by the humanist bishop of Meaux, Guillaume Briconnet (1472-1534), its library opened to the public from 1636; Marquess of Bath, Longleat, sold at auction Christie's, 13 June 2002, lot 8, £17,328; since in a private collection. Adams A 2096; Bitting, p. 18; Brunet I, 535; Dibdin, p. 199; EDIT 16 CNCE 3340; Renouard 158:5; USTC 811383; Vicaire 50. John Edwin Sandys, A History of Classical Scholarship, Vol. I, 1903. Super-chancery folio (327 x 211 mm). 168 leaves, paginated. Aldine device (Fletcher f4) on title page and verso of last leaf, Greek type 3bis:90 (text), italic 1:80 (dedication), roman 12:90 (incidental), 45 lines and 2 headlines, pages ruled in red. Initial spaces with guide-letters. Early 19th-century blue straight-grained morocco by Bozerian jeune (François Bozérian, 1765-1826), spine with raised bands tooled in gilt and blind with pointillé design, sides with roll-tooled border à vermiculures, board edges gilt, citron morocco doublures with gilt roll-tooled border, olive free endpaper, vellum flyleaves, gilt edges, pink silk book marker. 17th-century armorial stamp of the library of the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, to title page; the abbey was founded in the 6th century, and its library opened to the public from 1636. Negligible superficial split at foot of rear joint, but firm, couple of minor scuffs to front cover, light foxing to endpapers, two nicks to upper edge of title page, discreet repairs to margins of pp. 79 and 239, very occasional faint marks to contents, otherwise internally crisp and clean. An handsome, well-margined copy, presenting. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 159868

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