Plauto - Comoediae Viginti - 1587

Playful Without a Mask: Between Old Jokes and Modern Comments
This Geneva edition of Plautus's comedies represents one of the highest moments of the humanistic reception of Latin theater in the late 16th century. The text, established with rigorous philological standards and accompanied by the Variæ Lectiones and comments by Denis Lambin, presents Plautus as a classical author to read, study, and discuss, no longer merely to perform. Printed in Geneva by Jacob Stoer in 1587, the volume fits within the context of the great Reformed publishing movement, attentive to text clarity, linguistic accuracy, and the pedagogical function of classics. A 'modern' Plautus, therefore, filtered through humanistic critique and offered in a compact, portable form, aimed at students, scholars, and educated readers.
Market value
In the international market for 16th-century classical editions, this Geneva edition of Plautus from 1587 generally falls within a range of 300 to 800 euros, with higher prices for copies in well-preserved contemporary binding and with fresh papers. The complete presence of Denis Lambin's comments and the high typographic quality of the Geneva printing significantly contribute to its collectibility appeal.

Physical description and condition
Example in old binding in full leather, decorated spine in gold with a red Moroccan panel and gold title. Architectural engraved frontispiece. Pages with some browning and foxing. In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 8nn; 824; (2).

Full title and author
Twenty comedies.
Ginevra, Iacobus Stoer, 1587.
Titus Maccius Plautus

Context and Significance
The comedies of Plautus form the foundation of Latin comedic tradition and are one of the main sources of modern European theater. In this edition, the Plautine text undergoes a systematic philological revision based on comparing manuscript variants and previous editions. The Variæ Lectiones allow the reader to follow the critical process, while Lambin's comments clarify linguistic difficulties, wordplay, cultural references, and metrical issues. The volume fully reflects the humanistic ideal of the classics as a living text to be critically examined, and testifies to Geneva's central role as an international editorial hub in the second half of the 16th century.

Biography of the Author
Titus Maccius Plautus was probably born in Sarsina around 250 BC and died in 184 BC. He is the greatest author of archaic Latin comedy, known for the energy of his language, verbal invention, and creative adaptation of Greek models of new comedy. His works profoundly influenced the European theatrical tradition, from Terence to Renaissance and Baroque theater.
Denis Lambin, born in 1516 and died in 1572, was one of the most important French philologists and humanists of the 16th century. A professor at the Collège Royal, he dedicated much of his activity to the critical edition of Latin classics, distinguishing himself for his methodological rigor and attention to the original text.

Printing history and circulation
The 1587 edition is part of the tradition of commented Plautine editions initiated in the 16th century, with Lambin being one of the main figures. Printed in Geneva, a central city for the dissemination of humanistic and Reformed books, the work was widely circulated within the European academic sphere, particularly in universities and colleges where Plautus was a reference author for the study of Latin and rhetoric.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Adams, P., Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501–1600.
Grafton, A., Defenders of the Text.
Reynolds, L. D., Texts and Transmission.
WorldCat, censuses of Plautine editions from the 16th century.