1619 Scarce Latin Vellum Book - Valerius Maximus' Stories of Roman life. Dictorum, factorumque memorabilium libri IX.
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Author: Valerius Maximus.
Title: Valerii Maximi dictorum factorumque memorabilium libri IX.
Language: Text in Latin.
Publisher: Duaci (Douai), Typis Ioannis Bogardi, 1619.
Size: Small 4" X 3 ".
Pages: 545 pages + index.
Binding: Attractive and very good original full vellum binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown) under a removable protective mylar cover.
Content: Good content (tight, some light foxing and staining - as shown, upper corner of first blank endpaper cut probably to remove a previous owner name - as shown).
Estimate : (USD 250 - USD 350)
The book: Rare 17th-century edition of those stories -- a variety of anecdotes illustrating how the ancient Romans lived. While the majority of the stories are of Roman life, he does have some foreign stories at the end of some chapters. Most of these are of Greek life and most of those are about Greek philosophers or famous kings.
Several of the stories relate to moral subjects that parallel those in the Old Testament and New Testament. Valerius refers to his moral stories as "examples" that were to be used as moral guidance.[4] Valerius' work on the preservation of moral values of the Roman Republic of the past was widely popular through the Age of Enlightenment, a literary life-span of some 1,700 years. People read Valerius' work for practical guidance in their everyday tasks for living a moral life.[4] This work was especially used as a reference by writers and professional orators.
The author: Valerius Maximus was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as De factis dictisque memorabilibus or Facta et dicta memorabilia). He worked during the reign of Tiberius (14 AD to 37 AD).
During the Middle Ages, Valerius Maximus was one of the most copied Latin prose authors, second only to Priscian. More than 600 medieval manuscripts of his books have survived as a result.