Roman Imperial Lives – Aldine Publishing – 1519 | Post-Incunable First Edition

In hoc volumine haec continentur… edited by Giovanni Battista Egnazio, was published by Aldus Manutius in 1519. Aldine brings together a remarkable set of Roman imperial biographies and speeches. Notable works include extracts from Cassius Dio’s lives of Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian; selections from the often controversial Historia Augusta biographies; and rhetorical writings once attributed to Heliogabalus. It also includes Egnazio’s own De Caesaribus. It is, however, the inclusion of Aelius Aristides’ Oration on Rome and a description of the eruption of Vesuvius that make this work so desirable.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In hoc volumine haec continentur. Nervæ & Traiani, atque Adriani Cæsarum vitæ ex Dione
• Author(s): Giovanni Battista Egnazio
• Contributor(s): Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus; Sextus Aurelius Victor; Eutropius; Paulus; Cassius Dio (Translated by Merula); Aelius Aristides (Translated by Carteromachus)
• Publisher: Venetiis, In aedibus Aldi, et Andreae soceri
• Edition: First Aldine edition, 1519
• Format: (16mo), single volume
• Binding: Full leather
• Size:  6.25 in x 3.75 in (15.9 cm x 9.5 cm)
• Collation: 422 leaves; continuous
• Illustrations: title page vignette, publisher’s anchor
• Contents Include:
  • Lives of Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian (from Cassius Dio, tr. Merula)
  • Historia Augusta biographies, revised by Egnazio
  • Rhetorical oration attributed to Heliogabalus
  • De Caesaribus by Egnazio
  • Aelius Aristides’ Oration on Rome (tr. Carteromachus)
  • Dio’s description of the eruption of Vesuvius
• Provenance: bookplate of noble arms – unknown association
• Reference(s): Renouard, Annales de l’Imprimerie des Alde

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in full leather with a secure and tight text block. Gilt titling is retained on the spine. Minor loss of leather on the spine panel; corners and edges remain clean and intact. Pages are notably crisp, with no noted foxing or damage.

Why Collect This?

• Rare Aldine Renaissance compilation of Roman imperial texts
• Edited by prominent Venetian humanist Giovanni Battista Egnazio
• Contains both historical biography and rhetorical oratory from key classical sources
• Printed by Aldus and Andrea Torresano during a pivotal transitional period in Aldine press history

Item Number: # 29517