M. annaei lucani pharsalia, sive, de bello civili caesaris et pompeii libri x.
Londini.
Excudebat Richardus Field, 1618.
8vo.
[12], 291pp, [1]. With an engraved folding map depicting Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. Later blind-ruled calf, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece. Joints rubbed. Upper hinge exposed, occasional inked/pencilled underlining, gathering I-K protruding slightly from text-block, very light damp-staining to lower corner.
An adaptation by schoolteacher and grammarian Thomas Farnaby (1574/5-1647) of Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus' (39-65 AD) Pharsalia. Also known as De Bello Civili, the verse epic recounts in ten books the civil war between Caesar and the traditionalist elements of the Roman Senate, with forces led by Pompey. Lucan's inspiration for the title is taken from the decisive Battle of Pharsalus, which secured victory for Caesar's forces in 48 BC - an account of which occupies the entire seventh book. Beginning in 1612 with the satires of Juvenal and Persius, Farnaby annotated the works of many classical authors (Ovid, Virgil, Martial, Seneca, and Terence) with the intention to render them more accessible for the classroom.
ESTC S108872, STC 16883.
£ 500.00
Antiquates Ref: 14802