Lot 00007 |
ΔΙΩΝΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΑΣΣΙΟΥ: ΡΩΜΑΙΚΩΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΩΝ ΤΑ ΕΥΡΙΣΚΟΜΕΝΑ, DIONIS KASSII: HISTORIAE ROMANAE. HANOVIAE 1606
FIRST COMPLETE EDITION of all surviving parts of Dion Roman History. Royal FOLIO, contemporary full leather trimmed, spine gilt, impressive contemporary coat of arms on covers, complete, text in the original Greek with parallel Latin translation,some scattered foxing in few pages, overall clean and bright, a very good copy.
The 1606 edition of Dion Cassius is a major milestone in the preservation and scholarship of his Roman History,it was printed in Hanau (near Frankfurt) and is largely the work of the humanist scholar Johannes Leunclavius (Joachim Löwenklau), published by the Wechel Press, specifically under Claude Marne. Before this period, Cassius Dio’s massive 80-book history was only known in fragments and partial manuscripts. The 1606 edition was the most complete assembly of his work to date. While earlier editions (like the 1548 Estienne) focused only on Books 36-60, the 1606 edition included the Epitome of Xiphilinus (for Books 61-80) and various fragments collected from other Byzantine sources and published for the first time. Leunclavius’s corrected many of the errors found in the earlier editio princeps. Leunclavius was known for his polished style and his ability to reconcile different manuscript traditions. For over a century, this became the standard reference for historians of Rome. It remained the most authoritative version until almost the modern times.