Les Œuvres de Lucain - Les Œuvres de Lucain, contenant l'Histoire des Guerres Civiles entre César & Pompée. - 1654

The Downfall of the Roman Republic as a grand historical epic: Lucan’s famous Pharsalia portrays the bitter power struggle between Julius Caesar and Pompey, which hurled Rome into a devastating civil war. The extensive Latin–French edition of 1654 presents the ancient original text together with the translation by the eminent French scholar Michel de Marolles. A magnificently engraved allegorical title and numerous decorative woodcut ornaments complete the impressive print of the 17th century.

Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus. Les Œuvres de Lucain, contenant l'Histoire des Guerres Civiles entre César & Pompée. Avec le Poëme de Pétrone, du Changement de la République, & le Panégyrique de Lucain à Pison. En Latin et en François. Übersetzt von Michel de Marolles, Abbé de Villeloin.
Paris, Guillaume de Luyne, 1654. Third edition of the translation. 20 Bl., 939 S., 1 ungezählte S., 18 Bl. With engraved allegorical title, ornamental woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Contemporary parchment binding. 18 x 12 cm
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Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (39–65 CE), a nephew of the philosopher Seneca, counts among the most important Roman poets of the Imperial era. His unfinished main work De bello civili, commonly referred to as Pharsalia, treats the civil war between Caesar and Pompey and, in particular, the decisive battle at Pharsalos in 48 BCE. Unlike the traditional heroic epics of antiquity, Lucan largely refrains from the involvement of the gods and places human greed for power, political conflicts, and the loss of republican liberty at the center.

The present edition offers the Latin original and Michel de Marolles’ (1600–1681) French prose translation on facing pages. Marolles was one of the most productive translators of ancient literature in 17th‑century France and was also a passionate collector of copper engravings. His extensive collection later formed an important foundation of the French royal copperplate cabinet. The bilingual arrangement makes the edition also a revealing testament to French reception of antiquity under Louis XIV.

Supplementing Lucan’s civil war epic are two further ancient poems: the Petronian poem on the change of the Roman Republic and the Panegyric to Pison. The compilation combines political historical poetry with further testimonies of Roman literature. Particularly appealing are the artistic typographic design, the allegorical copperplate title, and the numerous ornamental woodcuts.
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Parchment binding with slight age-related wear. Internally, occasionally slightly spotted and browned, some leaves with small edges creases and minor marginal losses. Older handwritten notes on the title page. Overall a beautiful, wide-margined copy of this extensive bilingual edition with engraved title page.