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Vitae XII Caesarum, with commentary by Philippus BEROALDUS (1453-1505). Bologna: Benedictus Hectoris, 5 April 1493.
Details
SUETONIUS TRANQUILLUS, Caius (c.69-c.122 A.D.)
Vitae XII Caesarum, with commentary by Philippus BEROALDUS (1453-1505). Bologna: Benedictus Hectoris, 5 April 1493.
The first edition to contain the commentary of Beroaldus. First published in 1470, Lives of the Twelve Caesars covers the Roman Emperors from Julius Caesar (d. 44 BC) to Domitian (d. 96 AD). Suetonius is the main source of the famous stories of Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, his assassination in the Senate, Nero singing while Rome burned, and many others. He was a friend of Pliny the Younger, who described him as ‘quiet and studious, a man dedicated to writing’. He was secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, who dismissed him for allegedly having an affair with the Empress.
Owing to its many lively personal anecdotes, De vita Caesarum has been criticised for its lack of historical rigour, yet it was highly influential as a model for biography in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Suetonius was praised in particular by Petrarch, who included it in a list of his favourite books. HC 15126*; GW M44198; BMC VI 840; Bod-inc S-346; BSB-Ink S-617; Goff S-825; ISTC is00825000.
Chancery folio (287 x 198mm). 333 leaves (of 334, lacking the final blank). Woodcut printer’s device on colophon (lightly washed and pressed, tiny marginal wormhole in first quire, a few scattered spots or stains). 18th-century calf, spine decorated in gilt between raised bands, red edges (rebacked preserving most of original spine panel, somewhat scuffed). Provenance: numerous early annotations (some trimmed) – bookseller’s ink note on front endleaf recording purchase in 1924 – Carlos Obligado (Argentine writer, 1889-1949; bookplate after Alfredo Guido).
Vitae XII Caesarum, with commentary by Philippus BEROALDUS (1453-1505). Bologna: Benedictus Hectoris, 5 April 1493.
The first edition to contain the commentary of Beroaldus. First published in 1470, Lives of the Twelve Caesars covers the Roman Emperors from Julius Caesar (d. 44 BC) to Domitian (d. 96 AD). Suetonius is the main source of the famous stories of Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, his assassination in the Senate, Nero singing while Rome burned, and many others. He was a friend of Pliny the Younger, who described him as ‘quiet and studious, a man dedicated to writing’. He was secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, who dismissed him for allegedly having an affair with the Empress.
Owing to its many lively personal anecdotes, De vita Caesarum has been criticised for its lack of historical rigour, yet it was highly influential as a model for biography in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Suetonius was praised in particular by Petrarch, who included it in a list of his favourite books. HC 15126*; GW M44198; BMC VI 840; Bod-inc S-346; BSB-Ink S-617; Goff S-825; ISTC is00825000.
Chancery folio (287 x 198mm). 333 leaves (of 334, lacking the final blank). Woodcut printer’s device on colophon (lightly washed and pressed, tiny marginal wormhole in first quire, a few scattered spots or stains). 18th-century calf, spine decorated in gilt between raised bands, red edges (rebacked preserving most of original spine panel, somewhat scuffed). Provenance: numerous early annotations (some trimmed) – bookseller’s ink note on front endleaf recording purchase in 1924 – Carlos Obligado (Argentine writer, 1889-1949; bookplate after Alfredo Guido).
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Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts