Lucian of Samosata. From the Greek. With the Comments and Illustrations of Wieland and Others. By William Tooke... In Two Volumes

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1820. First This Translation. Full Leather. Quarto. Good Plus. Item #34036

Pp. vi, xxii, 790; vi, 793. Engraved frontis portrait. Bound in contemporary full calf, neatly rebacked, spine with raised bands flanked by gilt rules and contrasting spine labels, gilt. Covers somewhat worn and scuffed, corners exposed, preliminary and final leaves (including frontis and title) foxed, sporadic light foxing throughout, armorial bookplates, but overall a nice clean set, in worn but still presentable bindings. The First Edition of Tooke's translation of the works of Lucian, with the notes of Wieland and others. It was the standard English version in the 19th-century and was later reprinted by the Navarre Society in 1930. William Tooke (1744-1820) was an English printer, novelist, historian and translator. Besides the present work, he is remembered for his historical writings on Russia and her empire in the 18th and 19th-centuries. Lucian of Samosata (in Syria) began his career as a statuary, but soon gave up sculpture for rhetoric, and made his fortune travelling throughout Asia Minor, Greece and Italy composing and reciting show speeches. He later settled in Athens and devoted himself to philosophy. There he created a new form of literature, the satirical dialogue, and demonstrated a special aptitude for satirising the beliefs of the old mythological religion and the contradictions of philosophy. Lucian was also the author of numerous fantastic tales which later inspired Rabelais and Swift's "Gulliver"

Price (CAD): $750.00

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