Details
PLATO. His Apology of Socrates, and Phaedo or dialogue concerning the immortality of mans soul, and manner of Socrates his death. [Translated by Walter Charleton (1619-1707)]. London: T[homas]. R[atcliffe]. and N[athaniel]. T[hompson]. for James Magnes and Richard Bentley, 1675.
8° (172 x 111mm). Collation: A8 a8 *4 B-S8 S8 V8 (A1 blank, A2 title, A3-*2r dedication to Earl of Anglesey, *2v blank, *3r-4r Latin testimonials, *4v advertisement, B1r text, V7-8 blank). Engraved frontispiece by R. White, title printed in red and black. (Small wormhole, tiny rusthole in p.209.) Contemporary speckled calf, blindstamped fillet border, speckled edges (slight wear at foot of spine, a few very minor restorations), modern half calf solander box. Provenance: R. Burman, Caius [?College, Cambridge] (18th-century inscription); Rickards (bookplate); Kenneth Garth Huston (modern bookplate).
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of the Apology and Phaedo, and the FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS EVER PRINTED OF AUTHENTIC DIALOGUES OF PLATO (S. Jayne, p.139). Plato remained relatively unread in England up to the 17th century, so that John Brinsley in 1612 could complain that there was no English translation of any of Plato's works in print for students to use in translation exercises. While the idea of Platonic love became in vogue at the royal court, exemplified in the plays of Jonson, it was not until the third quarter of the 17th century that Plato gained prominence in scholarly circles. The present first edition of two of Plato's authentic dialogues was preceded only by the pseudo-Platonic Axiochus translated by Spenser (printed in 1592 and known in a unique copy only) and a selection of Plato's dialogues printed for school use in 1673. Further evidence of the fundamental importance of Plato for late 17th-century England was the formation of the Cambridge Platonists, a philosophical school which rejected materialism and linked the search for Truth with the search for God. The identity of the translator of these dialogues was revealed in a copy of this work presented to John Evelyn by the translator, Walter Charleton (see Evelyn Library sale, Christie's 16 March 1978, lot 1187). A VERY FINE COPY, with a contemporary binding and all the blanks. Cf. Sears Jayne, Plato in Renaissance England, 1995, esp. p.139; Wing P-2405.
8° (172 x 111mm). Collation: A
FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of the Apology and Phaedo, and the FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS EVER PRINTED OF AUTHENTIC DIALOGUES OF PLATO (S. Jayne, p.139). Plato remained relatively unread in England up to the 17th century, so that John Brinsley in 1612 could complain that there was no English translation of any of Plato's works in print for students to use in translation exercises. While the idea of Platonic love became in vogue at the royal court, exemplified in the plays of Jonson, it was not until the third quarter of the 17th century that Plato gained prominence in scholarly circles. The present first edition of two of Plato's authentic dialogues was preceded only by the pseudo-Platonic Axiochus translated by Spenser (printed in 1592 and known in a unique copy only) and a selection of Plato's dialogues printed for school use in 1673. Further evidence of the fundamental importance of Plato for late 17th-century England was the formation of the Cambridge Platonists, a philosophical school which rejected materialism and linked the search for Truth with the search for God. The identity of the translator of these dialogues was revealed in a copy of this work presented to John Evelyn by the translator, Walter Charleton (see Evelyn Library sale, Christie's 16 March 1978, lot 1187). A VERY FINE COPY, with a contemporary binding and all the blanks. Cf. Sears Jayne, Plato in Renaissance England, 1995, esp. p.139; Wing P-2405.