Valerii Maximi Dictorum et Factorum – Valerius Maximus – 1626 | Latin Miniature

Dictorum et Factorum or Historical Anecdotes is a collection of short stories, sayings, and phrases by Valerius Maximus. Written during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, these anecdotes depict ancient Greek life and philosophy as well as famous kings and Caesars. Many modern historians claim that Valerius’s work was taken from Cicero, Livy, and Sallust, as well as other ancient historians and philosophers, rather than creating original works.

However, many of the topics he writes about were controversial and unusual for the time. He wrote on homosexuality within the Roman army and the aristocracy of ancient Greece, and while homosexuality itself was written on, it was only considered tolerable in a ‘master-slave’ relationship; not within a public and high status sense. Other topics include omens, revenge, superstitious cults, women lawyers, modesty, crimes, and conflicting political views. Notable names mentioned in this famous work include Scipio Africanus, Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus, and Alexander the Great!

This 1626 edition is a very small tome with gold-gilt page edges.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Valerii Maximi dictorum factorumque memorabilium, libri IX
• Author(s): Valerius Maximus
• Illustrator(s):
• Contributor(s): Johann Buffenantium (Biographer)
• Publisher: Amsterodami, apud ioannem ianssonium
• Edition: 1626
• Format: (16mo), single volume
• Binding: Full leather
• Size:  4.5 in x 2.25 in (11.4 cm x 5.7 cm)
• Collation: 301 pp, [4]
• Illustrations: Engraved title page
• Provenance: bookplate – De la Bibliotheque de M. Baguenault de Puchesse
• Contents Include:
  • Life of Valerius Maximus by Johann Buffenantium
  • Dictorum Factorumque Memorabilium

Condition:

Very Good. Leather binding firm with secure hinges. Boards and spine show gilt decoration. Pages lightly toned. Engraved title intact. Endpapers marbled. Contents complete.

Why Collect This?

• Early Amsterdam miniature format

• Covers topics rarely recorded in Roman literature

Item Number: # 29107