Plutarco; Samuel Squire - Isis e Osiride - 1744

Plutarch – On Isis and Osiris - 1744
Ancient bilingual Greek–Latin edition with English translation

Elegant volume in 23 × 13 cm format, complete collotype: pp. (8), 189, (3), XVI, 112. Frontispiece in Greek and Latin characters, with the original text and English version accompanied by critical apparatus, annotations and emendations by learned scholars.

Signature of ownership: W. W. Ward.

The work On Isis and Osiris represents one of the most fascinating texts of the classical tradition: a philosophical–religious treatise in which Plutarch interprets the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris in an allegorical key, offering deep reflections on cosmology, morality and religious syncretism between Greco-Roman and Egyptian culture. The text had a great influence on humanist culture and on European Hermeticism.

Subsequent binding in half-leather with marbled boards, interiors well preserved, with natural foxing and slight signs of time. Presence of prefaces, introductions and erudite notes, airy layout, good-quality paper.

A scholarly edition of considerable interest, testimony to the modern reception of Plutarch and to the philological tradition between the 17th and 18th centuries. The presence of the Greek text, the English translation and the extensive critical apparatus make it particularly sought after by collectors and scholars.

Complete copies in good condition like this are increasingly difficult to find on the antiquarian market.
Ideal for collections of classical studies, the history of religions and ancient philosophy.