The Romane Historie
London: Adam Islip, 1600.
The Romane Historie
London: Adam Islip, 1600. First English Language Edition. Folio (pages 209 x 304 mm), collates [10], 804, 809-1351, 1354-1403, [1, to the reader], [39, index], [1, errata], [1, blank]: lacking preliminary blank, else complete with the typical errors in pagination. With woodcut portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Titus Livius. Bound in early calf with red morocco spine label lettered in gilt. Front board rubbed and spine chipped. Worming at inner margin from title to C5 and again from Aaaaa3 to Ffffff6 mostly not affecting text. Small holes in K3 and Tttt6 barely affecting text. Closed tear at outer margin of Bbbbb4 not affecting text. Overall a very good, clean copy.
"Though Livy's research must have been voluminous...his information is often inaccurate, and his facts are sometimes self-contradictory. Yet scientific history was not his primary objective. He wished to hold up to his countrymen the great panorama of their past, to recall to them the glories of their ancestors, and to urge them to abandon their decadent ways. In this sense his aim was similar to that of Virgil in his Aeneid. Livy's style is one of political rhetorical brilliance, and the speeches he puts in the mouths of historical personages are masterful both as oratory and as character analysis" (Benet). Indeed, the Latin text had been used for over a century to educate Renaissance school boys in effective oratory and was believed to help young men develop into responsible citizens. This first appearance in English made Livy available to a much wider public.
ESTC S114001. (Item #2408)
