Solomon Emmetros, Sive, Tres Libri Solomonis Scilicet, Proverbia, Ecclesiastes, Cantica: Graeco Carmine Donati Per Jacobum Duportum
Cantabrigiae (Cambridge): Ex Officina Rogeri Danielis, 1646. First edition. Hardcover. 24mo. [2], 253, [1]pp. Original black-stamped full calf. Vignette on title page. Decorative initials. James Duport (1606-1679) was an English classical scholar, best known for his "Homeri gnomologia" (1660), a collection of all the aphorisms, maxims, and remarkable opinions in the "Iliad" and "Odyssey," illustrated by quotations from the Bible and classical literature. His other published works chiefly consist of translations (from the Bible and Prayer Book into Greek) and short original poems, collected under the title of "Horae subsecivae" or "Stromata." They include congratulatory odes (inscribed to the king); funeral odes; carmina comitialia (tripos verses on different theses maintained in the schools, remarkable for their philosophical and metaphysical knowledge); sacred epigrams; and three books of miscellaneous poems (Sylvae). The character of Duport's work is not such as to appeal to modern scholars, but he deserves the credit of having done much to keep alive the study of classical literature in his day. In 1646, Professor Duport was elected by the Heads of Houses Lady Margaret's Preacher: an appointment which obliged him to deliver annually at least six sermons in the Dioceses of London, Ely, and Lincoln. In the same year, he published this translation of three Books of Solomon - the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and 'the Song' - in Greek Hexameters, along with a Latin translation. Front board missing, and back board detached, but present. Light waterstaining along fore-edge (not affecting text. Text in Greek and Latin. Binding in overall poor, interior in good to good+ condition. Fair-Good. Item #38492
Price: $225.00