1534 ALDINE FIRST EDITION by Valerius Maximus (1st century BC – 1st century AD). Maximus was a Roman historian and this book is a manual of rhetorical-moral examples, which collects facts related to hundreds of characters such as Julius Caesar, Archimedes, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Cicero, Nero, Euclid, Hadrian, Alcibiades, Aesop, Scipio Africanus, Demosthenes, Aeschylus, Horace, Tiberius, Augustus, Euripides. Maximus' anecdotes are taken from various sources such as Cicero, Livy, Varro, Sallust and, among the Greeks, Herodotus, Xenophon and Diodorus Siculus. All divided into various books and dozens of categories of vices and virtues such as lust, greed, ingratitude, cruelty, honesty, idleness, betrayal, strength, patience, avarice, discipline, humility, constancy, loyalty, Justice...etc. At the beginning there is a large index with all the characters, subjects, countries, cities mentioned in the book. Antique half-leather binding solid and in excellent condition. References; World CAT OCLC n°778888707; USTC n°861784; Morgan Library Museum PML 75174; Early European Books (Proquest) Reference: ita-bnc-ald-00000127-001; OPAC SBN Edit 16 n°27233. This is the first edition printed in Venice by the heirs of Aldus Manutius, with large dolphin and anchor device at the beginning and end of the book. Text in Latin and Greek, printed entirely in Aldine italic cursive type. Paolo Manuzio or Paulus Manutius (1512-1574) was the son of Aldus, and the second of three generations of Venetian printers. In his preface, Valerius intimates that his work is intended as a commonplace book of historical anecdotes for use in the schools of rhetoric, where the pupils were trained in the art of embellishing speeches by references to history. Pages are all very clean with few marginal notes of the former owner. COMPLETE EDITION. TITLE: Valerius Maximus nuper editus, INDEX copiosissimus rerum omnium, & personarum, de quibus in his libri agitur. (Valerius Maximus, recently published, with a most copious INDEX of all the things and persons treated of in these books). AUTHOR: Valerius Maximus (1st century BC – 1st century AD) PUBLISHER: Aldine Press & Aldo Manuzio and his heirs Paolo Manuzio or Paulus Manutius DATE: MDXXXIIII (1534), first edition, published in Venice DESCRIPTION: In 8vo size, height 167 x width 116 mm (6.6 by 4.6 inches). Pages [16], 209 numbered leaves, i.e. 418 pages, [3], complete work. Antique half-leather binding from around 1850, solid and in excellent condition, with golden titles on the spine. Pages are all very clean, rare small stains or defects, some pages with old notations by the previous owner. AUTHOR: Valerius Maximus (1st century BC – 1st century AD) was a Latin writer, protected by Sextus Pompeius (consul in 14 AD), who followed him in the proconsulate of Asia (around 27 AD); his work, dedicated to the emperor Tiberius, was published after the fall of Sejanus, whose memory is execrated in it. Maximus' work is a collection of memorable facts and sayings in 9 books: Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX. The facts and sayings are collected in 95 rubrics, each of which is divided into two parts, one for Romans and one for foreigners. Roman things prevail: there are 636 against 320 foreign ones. The tone is patriotic and moralizing, with an evident rhetorical purpose: the collection is valid as a tool for a school of rhetoric. In compiling Maximus he made use of previous similar collections (such as those of Pomponius Rufus, Hyginus, Cornelius Nepos), but he also directly used Latin authors such as Cicero, Varro, Titus Livius, Sallust, Pompeius Trogus, and Greeks such as Xenophon, Theopompus, Diodorus Siculus. Maximus' style is scholastic: the manner is aimed at the search for effect, so that each episode is stylized as an example. The work was successful in ancient times as well as in the Middle Ages; two ancient epitomes and a medieval one have survived. EDITOR/PRINTER: Aldo Pio Manuzio or Aldus Pius Manutius (circa 1449-1515) was an Italian publisher, grammarian, and humanist. He introduced the italic typeface and the octavo format for classical texts (1501). Aldine's editions are considered among the most valuable and valuable books in the history of printing. Manutius is considered the greatest printer of his time and the first publisher in the modern sense. Paulus Manutius also known as Paolo Manuzio (1512-1574) was a Venetian printer with a humanist education, the third son of the famous printer Aldus Manutius and his wife Maria Torresano. SHIPPING: via UPS, DHL, National Postal Services, protected, INSURED and fully tracked package. Estimated time for Europe 3-5 working days. Shipping within one working day, you can combine shipping if you purchases several items from us, saving money and time.