Φαλάριδος καὶ Βρούτου ἐπιστολαι. Phalaridis & Bruti epistolæ. His præfixa Epistolarum conscribendarum methodus, Græcè & Latinè

About this book

8vo. pp. 45, [3] 240. Signatures: πA-C⁸ A-P⁸. Vellum. Previously owned by Mary Augusta Elton (1838-1914). Bound with two other classical texts printed by Commelinus in 1597: Λψκοφρονοσ τοψ Χαλκιδεωσ Αλεχανδρα. Lycophronis Chalcidensis Alexandra, sive Cassandra, cum versione Latina Gulielmi Canteri. Eiusdem Canteri in eamdem Annotationes, quibus loca difficiliora partim e Scholiis Græcis, partim ex aliis scriptoribus explicantur. 1596. Γνωμογραφοι Θεογνιδος Μεγαρεως γνωμαι, Φωκυλιδου ποὶημα νουθετικὸν, Πυθαγορου χρυσα ἔπη, Σολωνος γνωμαι. Theognidis, Phocylides, Pythagorae, Solonis, & aliorum poemata gnomica. Græcis ex adverso Latina interpretatio apposita multis in locis correcta, additaq[ue], variantis scripturæ notatio, Opera Frederici Sylburgii. 1597. Facing Greek text and Latin translation, by Thomas Naogeorgus. The enduringly popular letter-essays attributed to Phalaris, tyrant of Agrigentum (6th century bc), are in fact of the second century AD, possibly by the Hellenistic sophist Adrianus of Tyre. They are perhaps technically pseudepigraphy, but their famous exposure by Richard Bentley has made them central to many studies of literary forgery. The work also contains both the Greek letters once attributed to Brutus but now thought spurious and a Latin letter usually considered authentic. See H. M. Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501-1600, in Cambridge Libraries. 2 vols. Cambridge, 1967, P977. For other works related to the pseudo-Phalaris Epistolae and the demolition of their authenticity, see also Bib# 4102607, 794581, 971306, 10080580, 1204575, 4102609, 4102610/Fr# 36-42 in this collection; E. Havens, “Babelic Confusion. Literary Forgery and the Bibliotheca Fictiva,” in W. Stephens & E. Havens (eds.), Literary forgery in early modern Europe, 1450-1800, Baltimore, 2018, p. 51; V. Hinz, Nunc Phalaris doctum protulit ecce caput: Antike Phalarislegende und Nachleben der Phalarisbriefe. Munchen, 2001; D. A. Russell, “The Ass in the Lion’s Skin: Thoughts on the Letters of Phalaris.” in: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 108 (1988), pp. 94-106; K. Haugen, Richard Bentley: Poetry and Enlightenment. Cambridge, MA, 2011; S. Gwara, Otto Ege's Manuscripts: A Study of Ege's Manuscript Collections, Portfolios, and Retail Trade, with a Comprehensive Handlist of Manuscripts Collected or Sold. Cayce, 2013, nr. 84. Click here to view the Johns Hopkins University catalog record.