Lot 8
  • 8

Bessarion, Johannes, cardinal.

Estimate
2,000 - 3,000 GBP
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Description

  • In calumniatorem Platonis libri quatuor... Eiusdem correctio librorum Platonis de legibus Georgio Trapezuntio interprete... Eiusdem de natura & arte adversus eundem Trapezuntium tractatus...Eiusdem metaphysicorum Aristotelis XIIII librorum tralatio. Theophrasti metaphysicorum lib. I. Index eorum omnium, quae singulis libris pertractantur. (Venice): Aldus, (September 1516)
2 parts in one volume, folio (307 x 200mm.), woodcut Aldine device on both title-pages and final verso (otherwise blank), eighteenth-century mottled calf, red edges, small hole in f1 with loss of a few letters, small inkstain on f2, second title-page torn and repaired without loss, marginal paper repairs to last 2 leaves, some damp-staining (mostly marginal), rebacked, all edges worn

Literature

Censimento 16 CNCE 5645; IA 118.157; Renouard 77/6; Texas 133; UCLA 129

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Bessarion's famous treatise, a reply to his adversary George of Trebizond's Comparatio philosophorum Platonis et Aristotelis, became one of the most important texts of the Renaissance. It had been written in Greek in the late 1450s and the 1469 first edition was based on Perotti's rephrasing of Bessarion's own translation into Latin with substantial additions by other protégés of Bessarion's.

The first Aldine edition (based on a copy of the 1469 edition with emendations by a member of Bessarion's household) was published in 1503, and for this edition Aldus's heirs have added the second section containing corrected translations of Aristotle and Theophrastus. Despite George of Trebizond's superior Latinity and force of argument, Bessarion's treatise was widely distributed and became well-known; George's treatise was only published once, in 1523, in a garbled edition caused by the earlier misbinding of the manuscript exemplar (J. Monfasani, "A tale of two books: Bessarion's In Calumniatorem Platonis and George of Trebizond's Comparatio Philosophorum Platonis et Aristotelis", Renaissance Studies 22 (2008), 1-15).