Petronio - La Satyre de Pétrone - 1693

# PETRONIO IN THE RARE FRENCH TRANSLATION OF 1693: THE SATYRICON REDISCOVERED AFTER THE BELGRADE MANUSCRIPT

The *Traduction Entière de Pétrone suivant le nouveau Manuscrit trouvé à Belgrade en 1688*, published in Cologne by Pierre Groth in 1693, represents one of the most important French editions of the *Satyricon* to appear in the wake of the famous discovery of the so-called "Belgrade Manuscript." The publication sparked enormous interest in European scholarly circles as it offered a deeply expanded version of Petronius’s work, integrating the new fragments that emerged at the end of the seventeenth century with a French translation intended for a wide educated audience. This small volume constitutes a significant testimony to the publishing fortune of one of the most fascinating and controversial texts of classical antiquity.

# WHY TO BUY

• Rare edition of 1693 published shortly after the discovery of the so-called Belgrade Manuscript.
• First publishing season of the modern translations of the *Satyricon*.
• Important document of Petronius’s European fortune.
• Elegant contemporary full leather binding with decorated spine and inlay.
• Complete text accompanied by the editor’s notes.
• Volume of great interest for collectors of classical literature, libertinism, and seventeenth-century French publishing.
• Edition always sought after for its historical and bibliographic value.

# MARKET VALUE

The first French translations of the *Satyricon* published in the years immediately following the discovery of the new Belgrade fragments are highly valued in the international antique market. Complete copies, preserved in their contemporary binding and in good condition, are generally offered between 1,200 and 3,000 euros, with higher quotations for copies of particular freshness or illustrious provenance.

# PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION

Volume in 12°. Contemporary full leather binding with spine featuring raised bands ornamented in gold and a red inlay bearing the title. Boards with widespread signs of use, abrasions and small losses concentrated mainly at the corners and edges, perfectly compatible with the volume’s age. Internally, paper broadly fresh with slight uniform browning and occasional light foxing. Good margins. Genuine copy and structurally well preserved.
In 12°.
Preliminaries.
Pages 309
Final leaves containing the editor’s notes.
In old books, with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always detected in the description.

# FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR

Petronius Arbiter.
Traduction Entière de Pétrone suivant le nouveau Manuscrit trouvé à Belgrade en 1688. Avec les Remarques.
À Cologne, Chez Pierre Groth, 1693.

# CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE

The *Satyricon* of Petronius represents one of the most extraordinary documents of imperial Latin narration and constitutes one of the most enigmatic works to have come down from antiquity. Traditionally attributed to Petronius, the arbiter elegantiae of Nero’s court described by Tacitus, the text offers a vivid and often ironical portrait of Roman society of the I century CE, alternating realistic episodes, social satire, erotism, and sophisticated literary experimentation. The discovery in 1688 of new fragments attributed to a manuscript found in Belgrade sparked genuine enthusiasm in the Republic of Letters across Europe. Editors, philologists, and translators hurried to publish new editions of the work that integrated the recently emerged material. The 1693 edition belongs to this essential editorial phase and attests to the interest of French culture in the rediscovery of classical literature during the full reign of Louis XIV.

# BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR

Petronius Arbiter, generally identified with the *arbiter elegantiae* of Nero’s court described by Tacitus, lived in the I century CE. A man of extraordinary culture and refined connoisseur of Roman aristocratic taste, he composed the *Satyricon*, a work unique in Latin literature for its narrative freedom, psychological realism, and linguistic richness. Although the text has come to us only in fragmentary form, it has exerted enormous influence on modern narrative, inspiring authors such as Boccaccio, Rabelais, Flaubert, and James Joyce.

# PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION

Following the early Renaissance editions, the *Satyricon* enjoyed a renewed and extraordinary publishing fortune at the end of the seventeenth century after the alleged discovery of the Belgrade manuscript. Editions published between 1688 and the early eighteenth century sought to integrate the new fragments into the traditional text, giving rise to numerous translations and commentaries for European audiences. Pierre Groth’s 1693 edition stands among the most significant of this publishing season and helped diffuse the work among French and international educated circles.

# BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

Brunet, *Manuel du Libraire et de l'Amateur de Livres*.
Graesse, *Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux*.
Cohen-De Ricci, *Guide de l'Amateur de Livres à Gravures*.
WorldCat – OCLC.
Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Schweiger, *Handbuch der klassischen Bibliographie*.}