Athénée

Deipnosophistae in Greek.

1514 · réf. 159868 — Venice: Aldus Manutius and Andreas Torresanus August 1514. The philosophers' banquet 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 £17328; since in a private collection. 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-grain 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. Housed in a dark blue quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. 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 attractively in the binding. 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. hardcover