first edition in English of the Rerum Romanorum
DIO, Lucius Cassius & XIPHILINUS, John; MANNING, Francis (translator).
The History of Dion Cassius abridg'd by Xiphilin. Containing the most considerable passages under the Roman Emperors, from the time of Pompey the Great, to the reign of Alexander Severus.
London, Printed for A. and J. Churchill, in Paternoster-Row, 1704.
Dio belonged to one of the leading families of Nicaea in the Roman province of Bithynia. His father, Cassius Apronianus, was Proconsul of Lycia and Pamphylia, and Dio too would serve as Governor and Consul during his political career.
This abridgement by Xiphlin is a crucial source for the last nineteen books of Dio's history, which otherwise only partially survives in fragments. The work covers the events from Book 36 through to Book 80, beginning with the period of civil wars which strafed the last years of the Roman Republic, with the subsequent chapters given over to biographic essays covering the reigns of Julius Caesar and Rome's emperors from Augustus to Severus Alexander, roughly the period when Dio's history was composed.
Little is known of the translator Francis Manning (fl. 1688-1716) who otherwise completed an English translation of Flechier's Life of Emperor Theodosius the Great printed in 1693, and Horace's odes which appeared in 1738.
From the library of Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet of Monreith (1845-1937). Maxwell was elected Member of Parliament for Wigtownshire in 1880 in the Conservative interest, and served as Junior Lord of the Treasury during the Salisbury administration. A keen antiquarian, Maxwell was President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Chairman of the National Library of Scotland, and Chairman of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, amassing an impressive library at his seat of Monreith House.
First edition in English; 2 vols; 8vo (20 x 12.5 cm); vol. I a4 cancel, armorial bookplate to front pastedown of each vol., front free endpaper of vol. II torn with loss at gutter margin, minor wear, internally crisp and clean; contemporary panelled calf, corners and spine ends slightly rubbed, spine labels renewed, sprinkled edges, very good; [22], 407, [1]; [8], 375, [1]pp.
ESTC T130908.
Stock code 124541
DELIVERY & RETURNS
We accept returns within 30 days of purchase. Please note that all items must be returned in their original condition, including all tags and packaging. Shipping costs are non-refundable.
The History of Dion Cassius
MALVEZZI, Virgilio; MONMOUTH, Henry Carey (Earl of).
[Romulus and Tarquin].
1637.
The first edition in English of Virgilio Malvezzi's histories of the legendary Roman kings Romulus and Tarquin, translated by Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth
£1,500.00
THUCYDIDES; HOBBES, Thomas (translator).
History of the Grecian War:
1676.
The final lifetime edition of Thomas Hobbes's English-language translation of Thucydides History of the Grecian War
£3,500.00
SARPI, Paolo; BROWN, Edward (translator).
The Letters of the Renowned Father Paul,
1693.
The first edition in English of the collected letters of Paolo Sarpi, translated out of the Italian by Edward Brown
£800.00
TROTSKY, Leon.
Stalin
1947.
The first UK edition of Leon Trotsky's biography of Joseph Stalin
£550.00
