The Works of Aristotle 1837 Immanuel Bekker Edition

Aristotelis Opera ex Recensione Immanuelis Bekkeri. Accedunt Indices Sylburgiani. Oxonii, e. Typographeo Academico, 1837.

 

The Works of Aristotle. The Immanuel Bekker Edition, published in Oxford, England, in 11 Volumes, 1837.

AN IMPORTANT AND VERY SCARCE SET OF THE WORKS OF ARISTOTLE; THE IMMANUEL BEKKER EDITION, FINELY BOUND BY RIVIERE.

 

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This set of the works of Aristotle is not only very scarce, for Aristotle's printed works are strangely rather scarce, but very comprehensive. It contains:

I. Organon

II. Natural History, Books VIII. On the Heavens, Books IV. On Generation and Corruption, Books II

III. Meteorology. On the Universe. On the Soul. On Sense and Sensibility. On Memory. On Sleep. On Dreams. On Divination in Sleep. On Length of Life. On Youth, etc. On Respiration. On Spirit

IV. History of Animals

V. On the Parts of Animals, Books IV. On the Movement of Animals. On the Gait of Animals. On the Generation of Animals, Books V

VI. On Colours. On Sounds. Physiognomics. On Plants. On Marvellous Observations. Mechanics. On Indivisible Lines. The Position and Names of Winds. On Xenophanes, Zeno, and Gorgias

VII. Problems

VIII. Metaphysics

IX. Nicomachean Ethics. Great Ethics. Eudemian Ethics. On Virtues and Vices

X. On the Republic, Books VIII, and Economics ... also included are Fragments of States from the edition of C.F. Neumann

XI. On Rhetoric, Books III. On Rhetoric to Alexander. On Poetics

 

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The text is in the original Greek throughout, with each volume having its own separate title page in Latin detailing the contents, translated to English in the list above for ease of reading.

Immanuel Bekker was a 19th-century German classical philologist and scholar renowned for his meticulous work on editing and compiling ancient texts. His edition of the works of Aristotle is a landmark achievement in the field of classical studies. Bekker's set of Aristotle's works is celebrated for its accuracy and scholarly rigour. He meticulously collated and compared numerous manuscripts to create a definitive edition of Aristotle's writings. This edition established a standard text for Aristotle's works that has been foundational for scholars and students alike since.

One of the key features of Bekker's edition is the systematic organisation of Aristotle's works into coherent volumes, making them accessible and manageable for study, a feature which subsequently (fortunately!) continued forwards. Additionally, Bekker provided extensive critical notes and annotations, offering insights into the textual history and interpretation of Aristotle's ideas.

 

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Size: 143 x 223 mm (approx., each)

 

Condition: 

Near contemporary full panelled calf, finely bound by Riviere, the binder imprint reading 'Bound by Riviere' and thus bound between circa 1840 and 1860, but likely the earlier end of that range, and thus potentially contemporary to printing. Fine gilt tooling to spines. All tooled labels are lacking aside from a small fragment to the third volume. A very attractive set on the shelf, with bright gilt and spines. Spines rubbed, with small losses in places to backstrips, with some small areas of black discolouration to the first three volumes as pictured, for which replacement labels would generally obscure if desired. Boards rubbed, but mostly very good or better, some good. Joints heavily rubbed, many cracked, some boards near detached, some detached. The joints appear to have been glued (?) at some time in an attempt to reattach some boards, correspondingly the first few leaves open a little tightly in those volumes. Shelf and edge wear. Page edges marbled, probably contemporaneously to printing, with top edges uniformly dulled as typical. Bookplate attached to front pastedown of each volume. Endpapers foxed, but generally very clean throughout.