755J Cicero.  (106-43 BC)

M.T. Ciceronis opera ex Petri Victorii codicibus maxima ex parte descripta : viri docti et in recensendis authoris huius scriptis cauti & perdilegentis, quem nos industria, quanta potuimus, co[n]sequuti, quasdam orationes redintegratas, tres libros De legibus multo quàm antea meliores, & reliquias de commentariis qui de Republica inscripti erant, magno labore collectas vndique, descriptásque libris, vobis exhibemus : eiusdem Victorii explicationes suarum in Ciceronem castigationum : index rerum et verborum.. 

[vol. 3]. M. Tullii Ciceronis epistolae — [vol. 4]. M. Tullii Ciceronis philosophica — [vol. 5]. Petri Victorii explicationes suarum in Ciceronem castigationum.

Parisiis : Ex officina Roberti Stephani, 1538-9.              Price $ 3,800.

Large folio with wide margins (385 mm x 255 mm). signatures: vol. 3: A-2C⁸; vol. 4: Aa Zz⁸ Aaa-Ddd⁸ Eee¹⁰; vol. 5: A-P⁸ Q¹⁰ (-Q10)./ Includes indexes.  Third and Fourth volumes of Cicero’s works. [2], 416–450, 158, Index. With the Fifth volume containing the commentaries by Pietro Vettori. Bound in  contemporary calf binding. The binding shows significant wear: corners are bumped, and although the boards remain sturdy, there is splitting along the spine. Ink spotting affects the first 15 leaves. The printer’s line Ex Robert Stephani has been burned away. Each part is separately paginated. Otherwise, a beautiful wide-margined copy, annotated throughout. 

Liber I-III of Cicero’s De Officiis is heavily annotated in a contemporary hand. The scholarly value of this particular copy lies in the extensive and dense marginalia in a contemporary hand, found especially on pages 341–420 of the fourth volume. Many passages are underlined in red ink. Most likely, this was the working copy of a Renaissance scholar.

This edition of Cicero’s collected works, produced in four folio volumes between 1538 and 1539, set the standard for the reading.

Adams, C 1640; Bibliothecae ecclesiae Cicestrensis librorum catalogus (1871),; 1309; Brunet, J.-C. Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres (5e éd.),; II, 7;  French books III & IV,; 61406; Index Aureliensis,; VIII, page 104; Renouard, A.A. Annales de l’imprimerie des Estienne,; page 48, no. 8;      Short-title catalogue of books printed in France and of French books printed in other countries from 1470 to 1600 now in the British Museum,; page 109; Not in Schreiber, F. 

Plinius in prologo Naturalis Historiae. Difficulter volumina Ciceronis viri
lectu: non modo in manibus habenda,
quotidie, sed etiam diligenter observanda,
ut quae ad officium pertinent cognoscantur.

Ex his locis legimus, ut philosophia
et etiam ad religionem debeat
fieri; ita de officiis Ciceronis.

Nam apud Platonem et alios disputatur
de virtutibus; similiter apud Ciceronem.

Sed hic magis continetur quod officium
est civile; nam Cicero ad vitam
practicam spectat, non ad solam speculationem.

Ergo ex hoc libro sumenda sunt
praecepta ad vitam dirigendam,
non solum ad disputationem.

Pliny, in the prologue to the Natural History.

The books of Cicero are difficult—
not only to be held in the hands daily,
but to be carefully observed,
so that what pertains to duty may be understood

From these passages we learn that philosophy
must also extend even to religion;
so too in Cicero’s On Duties.

For among Plato and others there is discussion
of the virtues; likewise in Cicero.

But here there is more clearly contained
what concerns civil duty;
for Cicero looks toward practical life,
not merely to speculation.

Therefore from this book are to be drawn
precepts for directing life,
not only for disputation.

Here at the opening of Cicero’s de Officci Libri 1 the annotator reads Cicero comparatively alongside Pliny and Plato, explicitly distinguishing between speculative philosophy and practical ethics, and extracting from the text a set of precepts intended for the conduct of life.

Short Link. https://wp.me/p3kzOR-9pC

For university and special collections purchases, I am accustomed to working within committee timelines and budget cycles. Titles may be placed on hold during review, and flexible invoicing arrangements can be discussed where appropriate. I welcome inquiries at jamesgray2@me.com.

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