1651 Rare Vellum Book - LUCAN's Pharsalia - Civil war between Julius Caesar and the Senate.

 

Author: LUCAN, Lucani, Marcus Annaeus.
Title : M. Annaei Lucani Pharsalia., sive De Bello Civili Caesaris et Pompeii lib. X. Ex emendatione V.C. Hug. Grotii cum eiusdem notis.
Language: Text in Latin
Publisher: Amsterdam (Amsterodami), Typis Ludovici Elzevirii, Sumptibus societatis, 1651.
Size: 5 " X 3 "
Pages: 273 pages
Binding: Very good full vellum binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed)  under a removable protective mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, some foxing and staining).
Illustrations: Including a nice illustrated title page.

The book: Rare and attractive17th century edition of De Bello Civili ; On the Civil War), more commonly referred to as the Pharsalia, -- a Roman epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great. The poem's title is a reference to the Battle of Pharsalus, which occurred in 48 BC, near Pharsalus, Thessaly, in northern Greece. Caesar decisively defeated Pompey in this battle, which occupies all of the epic's seventh book. In the early twentieth century, translator J. D. Duff, while arguing that "no reasonable judgment can rank Lucan among the world's great epic poets", notes that the work is notable for Lucan's decision to eschew divine intervention and downplay supernatural occurrences in the events of the story.

The author: Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. Despite his short life, he is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period, known in particular for his epic Pharsalia. His youth and speed of composition set him apart from other poets.