1620 PUNICA 1st Silius Italicus Second Punic War + Lucretius Rerum Natura 2n1

1620 PUNICA 1^st Silius Italicus Second Punic War + Lucretius Rerum Natura 2n1

Two 17^th-century first editions of ancient Roman poetry.

The only surviving book of the epic Roman poet Silius Italicus is ‘Punica’, a fascinating work on the Second Punic War. First written during the late 1^st-century, ‘Punica’ seems to have been modeled after Virgil, Livy, and Homer and follows General Hannibal of Carthage and his military endeavors. Italicus was known for his stoic influence and focuses on concepts such as emotion, reason, and destiny, through the lens of a historical recounting of Roman military leaders Hannibal and Scipio.

This miniature 1620 first edition was published in Amsterdam by Jansson and is notable for including a printing of Lucretius’s only surviving work “Nature of Things” – a long but unfinished poem describing the world through an Epicurean lens.

Item number: #28341

Price: $499

ITALICUS, Silius

Silius Italicus de secundo Bello Punico + Titus Lucretius carus De Rerum natura

Amsterodami : Apud Ioann. Janssonium, 1620. First Janson edition.

Details:

• Collation: Complete with all pages – 2 works in 1
  • Italicus – 279, [1]
  • Lucretius – 168
• Provenance:
  • Armorial bookplate – Ioh. Herm. Schnobel
  • Handwritten – H. H. Stricker, 1803
• Language: Latin
• Binding: Vellum; tight and secure
• Size: ~4.75in X 2.5in (12cm x 6.5cm)

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