ff. [60], 320 numbered leaves. Woodcut Aldine anchor and dolphin printer's device on the title page and last leaf. Latin Italic type. Some age stain, especially on first and last leaves. In several places the name of Erasmus is obliterated in ink by a censor. An early ownership on the title has been washed out, and a small marginal chip has resulted. Small 8vo. 160 mm. Edges decorated red. Early nineteenth century full vellum binding. Lacks front fly leaf. This second and improved Aldine edition is essentially a reprint of the edition of 1516, edited by Giovanni Battista Cipelli, called Egnazio (1478-1553), with the addition of annotations by Erasmus, which were first published in the Froben edition of 1518. Both Aldine editions contain the relevant texts of Aurelius Victor and Eutropius with the continuation by Paulus Diaconus. The full work was once the common manual of almost everyone who wished to study Roman history, and because of this long and hard use, it is extremely difficult to obtain a clean and perfect example - Renouard. This second edition is considered the more valuable, as containing an 'Index Memorabilium' and the notes of Erasmus and the Venetian philologist Joannes Baptista Egnatius (ca. 1473-1553). Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius (ca. 69/75-after 130). Suetonius was a close friend to Senator and letter-writer Pliny the Younger. Pliny describes him as 'quiet and studious, a man dedicated to writing'. Through Pliny, Suetonius came into favor with Trajan and Hadrian. Under Trajan he served as secretary of studies (precise functions are uncertain) and director of Imperial archives. Under Hadrian, he became the Emperor's secretary. In 122, Hadrian dismissed him for disrespectful behavior towards Empress Vibia Sabina. Suetonius may have later regained imperial favor under Hadrian and returned to his position. It was probably in Hadrian's time that he wrote his most important surviving work - this set of biographies on the Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Entitled 'De Vita Caesarum' it deals with successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar to Domitian. It also includes other texts on Roman history, notably Eutropius. This collection of ancient Roman historians is dedicated to the great book collector - Jean Grolier, and is followed by a letter from Erasmus commending the edition as well as Egnatius' scholarship. Renouard 91:7; Schweiger 974-975; Adams S-2035; UCLA A4S93; Graesse VI, 521; Ahmanson-Murphy 201 (incomplete); Bibliotheca Erasmiana Bruxellensis 499 (incomplete); Dibdin II, p. 439; STC Italian p. 651. Very good. Scarce. **PRICE JUST REDUCED! ALDINE BOX SAFE
