Aulu-Gelle - Noctes Atticae - 1644

Rare edition from Leiden, given by Hieronymus Vogel in 1644, of the Attic Nights written in Athens in the 2nd century by the Roman grammarian Aulus Gellius. The work opens with a lovely engraved title and the text, printed in small characters, is adorned with typographic ornaments (headings, initials, and tailpieces).

Kept in a beautiful later binding in half brown calf, with a smooth spine decorated with a lovely gold-tooled design, featuring a dark blue title piece. In good condition. Wear to the edges, headbands, and cuts. The binding is quite sturdy and decorative. A tear on the second cover. The first endpaper slightly torn at the top corner. Interior well preserved, clear foxing on about ten pages, some pages yellowed. Rare foxmarks. A fine copy.

Noctes Atticae is a fundamental text for understanding Roman culture and the educational practices of antiquity. It covers topics such as literature, arts, philosophy, history, law, geometry, medicine, natural sciences and meteorology, and geography.
A work teeming with erudition, in 20 volumes (including the eighth, which is lost and only known through a summary). The author's goal was notably to provide his children with an enjoyable way to learn.

The subjects are addressed in short essays that often take the form of small scenes depicting illustrious contemporaries or famous men from the past conversing or teaching. Thanks to the numerous quotations in the work (notably from archaic authors highly valued by the author: Cato the Elder, Ennius, Naevius, Pacuvius...), fragments of many lost works are preserved. About 275 authors are cited, both Greek and Latin, illustrating the perfect bilingualism of the educated class of his time.

Author: Aulus Gellius
Noctes Atticae
Edition: Leiden Hieronymus Vogel in 1644
Volume in-16 (12.5 x 8cm); [4], 1-595 [139] pages