1594 PLANTIN PUBLISHING VALERIUS MAXIMUS VELLUM antique 16th Century

Valerius Maximus.

Dictorum factorumque memorabilium libri IX ... restituti, per Stephanum Pighium.

Leiden, Plantin; 1594

2 parts in 1 volume.


400 pp.; 96 pp., 7 leaves.


Original blind ruled vellum, red edges. 

-Adams V 122. Cf. Schweiger II, 1109 (Antwerp). – 


Front endpaper and title page with manuscript entries, slightly browned.

Well preserved.

Size 4.5 by 6.5"

Text in Latin
===============================================
Historians know very little about the life of early first century writer, Valerius Maximus (active during the Reign of Emperor Tiberius 14 C.E. – 37 C.E.) except that he was the friend of Sextus Pompeius and may have accompanied Pompeius on his governorship to Asia.

Valerius published Dictorum Factorumque Memorabilium Libri IX (Nine Books of Memorable Deeds and Sayings) around 31 C.E. This compilation of contemporary conventional wisdom is divided as follows:
Book I, religion, omens, prophecies;
Book II, social customs;
Books III-VI, virtuous conduct;
Books VII–VIII, a varied group including good fortune, military strategy, law suits, eloquence, and others;
Book IX, evil conduct.

Valerius dedicated Dictorum Factorumque Memorabilium Libri IX to the reigning emperor, Tiberius, and consistently flatters him throughout. He drew upon other writers, including Cicero, Livy, and Varro to create a "turgid and bombastic style."
=====================================