Titus Lucretius Carus - De rerum natura - 1631

Titus Lucretius Carus. De Rerum Natura. Amsterdam, published by Johannes Janssonius, 1631. in 32° (approximately 6 x 11 inches), pp. 165 pages. Contemporary binding in full soft parchment. Rare and in better-than-good condition. The edition is situated within the peak of Dutch publishing, characterized by the production of small-format volumes (duodecimo or sixteenth). These books were extremely popular among scholars, merchants, and European travelers because they were portable, affordable (compared to large folios), and printed with clear, clean type. Johannes Janssonius was one of the leading printers, cartographers, and publishers in Amsterdam, known for his competition with the famous Elzevir family. While the Elzevirs dominated the market for pocket editions, Janssonius also produced high-quality humanist editions, often using very fine copper engravings for the title pages, as seen in this book. The illustrated title page of the booklet is a distinctive feature of high-quality Dutch editions of the seventeenth century. The allegorical engraved scene depicts: Probably a personification of Nature or Venus, central figures in the proem and in Lucretius's philosophy, as they are the motors of the world.

The armillary sphere (visible below the title) is a symbol of astronomy and cosmology, disciplines crucial to Lucretius's work (De rerum natura).
Lucretius's poem, which expounds Epicurus's atomistic philosophy and rejects the fear of gods and death, was a central text for humanism, emerging science, and the most advanced intellectual circles. Janssonius's edition aimed therefore at an educated readership interested in rediscovering classical philosophy and its implications for science.