Satyrae, cum scholiis veterum et commentariis integris, selectis et conquisitis fere omnium eruditorum, ut Is. Grangaei, Jo. Britannici, Nic. Rigaltii... Accedit Auli Persii Flacci Satirarum liber ...
Lugduni Batavorum (Leiden): Apud Petrum vander Aa, 1695. Editio novissima (New edition). Hardcover. Quarto (10 1/2 x 8"). [34], 980, [68]pp; [12], 214, [16]pp. Contemporary full morocco, with gold lettering and tooling to spine. Raised bands. Additional engraved title by Joseph Mulder, after a drawing by Jan Goeree. Title page in red and black lettering. Publisher's device on title. Decorative woodcut initials and tailpieces.
The Satires are a collection of 16 satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the early 2nd centuries AD. Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a wide-ranging discussion of society and social mores in dactylic hexameter.
This work is a reprint of the much desired 1685 Utrecht edition containing the Satires of both Juvenal and Persius, as well as commentaries and notes by some of the most renowned scholars.
Juvenal’s satiric poems deal mainly with life in Rome under the much-dreaded emperor Domitian and his more humane successors Nerva (96-98), Trajan (98-117), and Hadrian (117-138). They were published at intervals in five separate books. Book One, containing Satires 1-5, views in retrospect the horrors of Domitian’s tyrannical reign and was issued between 100 and 110. (The historian Tacitus, a contemporary of Juvenal, was also embittered by the suspicion and fear of that epoch.) Book Two, the single, enormous Satire 6, contains topical references to the year 115. The third Book, with Satires 7, 8, and 9, opens with praise of an emperor - surely Hadrian, who endowed a literary institute to assist deserving authors - whose generosity makes him the sole hope of literature. There is no datable allusion in Book Four, which comprises Satires 10-12. Book Five, made up of Satires 13, 14, 15, and 16, has two clear references to the year 127.
The Satires attack two main themes: the corruption of society in the city of Rome and the follies and brutalities of mankind. (For more information, see: Anderson, William S. "Essays on Roman Satire" (1982), Princeton: Princeton University Press; Courtney, E. "A Commentary of the Satires of Juvenal" (1980), London: Athlone Press).
This work is illustrated throughout with 11 full-page engravings (12 with the additional title), and includes the "Vita Iuvenalis" (Life of Juvenal) written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, Johannes Britannicus' commentary on Juvenal's satires (first published in 1501), selective notes by Heinrich Christian von Henning, as well as contributions by Theodore Pulmann, Pierre Pitou, Nicolas Rigalti, and Domizio Calderini.
The last section of the book contains Persius' Satires.
Aulus Persius Flaccus (Persius) (34-62), was a Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan origin. His satires are composed in hexameters, except for the scazons of the short prologue. The first satire censures the literary tastes of the day as a reflection of the decadence of the national morals. The remaining satires handle in order, (2) the question as to what we may justly ask of the gods (cf. Second Alcibiades), (3) the importance of having a definite aim in life, (4) the necessity of self-knowledge for public men (cf. Plato's First Alcibiades), (5) the Stoic doctrine of liberty (introduced by generous allusions to Cornutus' teaching), and (6) the proper use of money.
Includes a life of Persius, as well as Isaac Casaubon's Prolegomenon and commentary to the author's Satires.
Binding rubbed along edges and covers, with some abrasion to leather. Head and tail of spine chipped. Sporadic minor to moderate foxing and age-toning throughout. Text in Latin, with some Greek. Binding in overall fair, interior in good+ to very good condition. fair to vg. Item #43321
Price: $450.00