Flavii Josephi Antiquiatum Judaicarum Libri XX. ad vetera exemplaria diligenter recogniti De Bello Judaico libri VII ex collatione Graecorum codicum castigatiores quam unquam ante redditi. Contra Apionem libri ii.pro corruptis antea, iam ex Graeco itidem uonsolum emendati, sed etiam suppleti. De Imperio Rationis sive De Machabeis liber unus a Des. Erasmo Roterdamo recognitus. Cum Indice copiosissimo. Basileae: In Officinia Frobeniana, MDXL, folio.
Flavius Josephus. The Jewish Antiquities, in twenty books, diligently revised according to ancient copies. The Jewish War, in seven books, made more correct than ever before from a collation of Greek manuscripts. Against Apion, in two books, not only now emended from the Greek in place of the previously corrupted text, but also supplemented. On the Supremacy of Reason, or On the Maccabees, one book, revised by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. With a very full index. Basel: At the Froben Press, 1540, folio.
-------------------
A handsome Froben edition of Josephus’ works, revised by Erasmus of Rotterdam. This printing brings together the principal writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus: the Antiquities of the Jews, the Jewish War, Against Apion, and the philosophical treatise On the Supremacy of Reason, or On the Maccabees, as stated in the title.
The editorial work of Erasmus lends particular significance to this edition: not only did he revise the Maccabees text, but the entire corpus was carefully corrected against older exemplars, making it one of the most accurate and influential Josephus printings of the sixteenth century. The inclusion of a copious index further enhanced its utility for humanist readers, theologians, and historians, and this was a popular edition in its time, particularly in the Reformer tradition who were interested in Josephus' independent historical accounts of both events of the Old Testament, and more pertinently, those of the New Testament.
Printed in Basel by the famed Froben press, long associated with Erasmus, the volume represents the intersection of humanist scholarship and classical Jewish/Christian history. Josephus’ works were central for both Catholic and Protestant historians seeking to reconstruct the history of the Jews and the context of early Christianity. A substantial and important folio, widely used by scholars of Renaissance Europe and one of the finest early modern editions of Josephus. Rare in commerce.
-------------------
Condition:
[(1), α⁴, β⁴, a–z⁶, A–Z⁶, 2A–2Y⁶, 2Z⁹, (1)]
Quarter brown calf over paper backed boards, rebacked retaining most of the original spine. Binding rubbed and scuffed with some marks and small losses of leather. Both boards attached with hinges cracked, thus somewhat fragile. Shelf and edge wear. Page edges toned. Lacking pastedowns. Text blocks very clean with light toning and sporadic foxing, and with dampstaining through most of the text block, not affecting legibility. Title page minor loss at edges, some damp staining, wormholing, and creasing.
