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170J Catullus (ca. 84-54BC),Tibullus (55-19BC), Propertius

Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius his accesserunt Corn. Galli fragmenta

Lugduni ,apud Seb. Gryphium anno :1531                            Sold

Octavo,6 x  4inches . a-x8 y4 (last leaf blank of printing but with manuscript index+ 2 more leaves with manuscript index ) This copy is bound in eighteenth century english calf .    This copy has the sixteenth century signature of “John Malrod?”

This work contains neoteric and elegiac works on the topic of love by the Roman poets Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius.  The poetical work of Catullus is illustrative of a revolution in Roman literary tastes and ethics that took place at the end of the Republic. Catullus was, in fact, at the very center of a social movement that was abandoning traditional Roman values of obligation to the state and civitas, adopting instead the individualism of Hellenistic Greece. The result was a shift from the epic and tragedy to idiosyncratic, lyric poetry. Catullus’ own poetry concerning the emotions emanating from his partnership with a promiscuous woman are representaive of this self-reflexive style. His success in capturing the imaginations of the cultivated Latin readership is mirrored in the influence his work had on the later Augustan poets. Tibbullus’ is best known as a love poet. His poetry has been described as possessing “a certain light, singable quality” (Gian Biago Conte’s Latin Literature: A History). Quintilian, too, indicates his esteem for Tibbullus, who he holds as both “refined and elegant” (10.1.93). The chief characteristic of Tibbullus’ work lies in its elegance, clarity, and expressive force which he conveyed through an economical use of words. It is further distinguished by its lack of mythological content and its emphasis on the bucolic, both of which ran contrary to his contemporaries. Propertius, like Tibbullus, is best remembered for his poetry on the topic of love. Propertius’ poetry, despite sharing a concern on the topic of love, is in many ways the polar extreme of Tibbullus’. In addition to employing a great deal of mythology as an examplar of how love should be, Propertius’ poetry is highly idiosyncratic, to the point of obscurity, and is characterized by its complex, even convoluted, structure. The obfuscation is, in part, due to a corrupted manuscript tradition. Despite its difficulty, Propertius’ work is not without its fascination, particularly, as regards its psychological intricacies (Gian Biago Conte’s Latin Literature: A History). 34

Baudrier, H.L. Bib. lyonnaise,; VIII, p. 58 (not in Adams) Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius his accesserunt Corn. Galli fragmenta 200

Images of some of the pages with notes