The Comedies of Plautus, Translated into Familiar Blank Verse, by Bonnell Thornton, M.B.
London: J. Lister for T. Becket and P A. de Hondt, 1767; 1772; 1774. First English language edition. Hardcover. 5 vol. 8vo. [6], vii-xviii, [1], 20-342; [4], 3-386; [6], iii-viii, [2], 3-400; [5], 4-399, [1] (page of publisher's advertisements); [6], 3-416 pp. Contemporary full calf, spines in six compartments, each with a red morocco label lettered in gilt and with a second, smaller red morocco label with the volume number in gilt; all edges decoratively stained bright yellow. Volume three illustrated with the publisher's device on the title page. Nineteenth-century bookplate in each volume, an engraving of a hawk perched on a branch with the name William Tector below it. First editions of all volumes; the first two volumes are the 1767 editions translated largely by Thornton (and credited to him), volumes three and four are the 1772 editions translated by Richard Warner and credited to him, and the fifth volume first published in 1774 was also translated by and credited to Warner. Thornton provided translations for a majority of the plays in the first two volumes, and collected notes from himself and from various classical scholars of the day for his translation. Thornton died before he could complete his translation of the twenty plays, so Warner finished the work. Brueggemann 459. Moss 468. Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1194-1196. Smith 254. Smith cites a quote from H.T. Riley in Bohn's Classical Library edition of this work: "As a poetical work it is impossible to speak of it in other than terms of admiration...". This is the first complete edition of Plautus' twenty comedies and his fragments to be translated into English. In the British Monthly Review for July 1774, the set is called "a very ingenious and respectable translation ... [recommended] to the public, as a valuable acquisition to the classics in [the English] language ...". Plautus' plays are the earliest Latin works to have survived complete. Twenty complete plays are known to have been written by him, with fragments from others surviving. His plots portray love affairs, misunderstandings or the swapping of identities, and many of his plays are known to be influenced or adapted from Greek New Comedy. Plautus' comedy incorporates metatheatrical references, and the expansion of stock characters' roles. Plautus enjoyed portraying Roman patriarchs as villains, and captive slaves as roguish, comedic heroes. He remains a staple of classical curricula today, with his plays often being the most humorous of a course's required readings. A handsome example of this important set. Very Good. Item #00009390
A Very Good set with minor foxing to the preliminaries, the boards show minor wear to the joints (bindings firm and secure) and a few small areas of darkening to the front board of volume one.
Price: $2,000.00