Konrad Dinner - Epithetorum Graeco-Latinorum - 1614

The Richest Graeco-Latin Epithets Mélange

This work is a learned collection printed in 1614 in Geneva by Gabriel Cartier. It fully fits within the European humanist tradition, which placed mastery of Latin and Greek at the heart of intellectual formation. This book is not a literary work in the narrative sense, but a pedagogical tool intended for students, teachers, and scholars.

Its content consists of a vast compilation of epithets, that is, qualifying expressions drawn from or inspired by classical authors. These formulas allowed one to enrich style, compose elegant speeches, and imitate the language of the great writers of Antiquity. At a time when Latin remained the dominant language of knowledge, this type of work played an essential role in learning writing and rhetoric.

The author, Konrad Dinner, was a German humanist of the sixteenth century, educated in the classical disciplines. Jurist and professor, he participated in this broad movement of transmission and codification of ancient knowledge. His work reflects a determination to systematize language and facilitate its practical use.

Today, this book stands as a precious testimony to the learned culture of late Renaissance. Beyond its historical aspect, it illustrates the importance accorded to language, memory, and the imitation of ancient models in European intellectual formation.

1614, 11.5 x 18 cm, [24], 1039, [34] pages. Blind-stamped full leather binding, spine with three raised bands. Binding worn, with several worm holes. Leather tinted toward green. Old water stain touching the upper part of the pages, as well as the lower part up to page 300. Several ink stains on the edge of the pages (see photo), extending into the lower-right corner of some pages. Foxing scattered.