Scaligero - Caesaris ... Pompei - 1576

FRAGMENTS, VARIANTS, CONJECTURES: SCALIGER AND THE BIRTH OF MODERN PHILOLOGY
The Castigationes of Joseph Scaliger on Sesto Pompeo Festo's De verborum significatione represent one of the foundational moments of modern philology. In this volume, conceived as an autonomous critical apparatus, Scaliger does not limit himself to correcting an ancient text, but reconstructs an entire linguistic, historical, and institutional universe of archaic Rome. The Paris edition of 1576, printed in the workshop of Robert Estienne, presents philology as a militant discipline: a knowledge that combines erudition, a comparative method, and systematic ambition, laying the foundations of modern textual criticism.
MARKET VALUE
In the market for philological and humanist books of the 16th century, Scaligerian editions of grammatical and antiquarian scope generally range between 500 and 900 euros, with fluctuations tied to the condition of binding, completeness of parts, and the quality of the copy. Complete copies of only the critical apparatus volume, like the present one, are sought as autonomous testimony of Scaliger's method and his role in the history of philology.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
18th-century leather binding, with signs of wear. Manuscript ownership title “J. Béchade-Labarthe, 1966” on ex libris. Two parts in one volume. In old books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 216; 22nn; (2); 75; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Josephi Scaligeri Julii Caesaris F. in Sex. Pompei Festi libros de verborum significatione castigationes.
Lutetiae, apud Mamertum Patissonium, in officina Rob. Stephani, 1576.
Joseph Scaliger.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This volume constitutes the second volume of Scaliger's edition of Festo and is entirely devoted to the critical apparatus. Scaliger treats the fragmentary text of the Latin grammarian not as a simple lexical repertory, but as a primary historical source for knowledge of ancient institutions, cults, and Roman law. The Castigationes are a laboratory of method: systematic comparison of sources, attention to variants, conjectural reconstruction grounded in history and linguistics. The work marks a turning point in humanistic philology, transforming textual criticism into a rigorous historical science.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Joseph Scaliger was born in 1540 and died in 1609. Considered one of the greatest philologists of the modern era, he revolutionized classical studies by applying historical and comparative criteria to chronology, linguistics, and textual criticism. His works laid the foundations of scientific philology and profoundly influenced European culture between the 16th and 17th centuries.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed in Paris in 1576 by the publisher Mamert Patisson in the workshop of Robert Estienne, the edition lies at the heart of the great Parisian printing season devoted to the classics. The volume of the critical apparatus often circulated separately from the text of Festo and was used as an independent working tool by humanists and philologists.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN
WorldCat
Bibliothèque nationale de France
A. Grafton, Joseph Scaliger. A Study in the History of Classical Scholarship
E. Garin, La filologia umanistica
Studi sulla tradizione di Sesto Pompeo Festo