L. ANNAEI SENECAE PHILOSOPHI OPERA OMNIA. [bound with] . SENECA (THE ELDER). M. ANNAEI SENECAE RHETORIS by (BINDINGS - HIGHLY DECORATED 17TH CENTURY). SENECA (THE YOUNGER) - 1628

Amsterodami: Apud G. I. Caesium (Blaeu), 1628. 128 x 72 mm. (5 x 2 3/4"). [12], 609, [1]; 221, [7]. HANDSOME CONTEMPORARY RED MOROCCO, HEAVILY GILT, covers with central gilt lozenge and borders comprised of gilt fleurons and lacy tooling, smooth spine similarly gilt, all edges gilt and with two small rows of subtle gauffering. Engraved title to first work, separate title page with printer's device for second work, both works with printer's device on final blank page. Flyleaf with ink ownership signature of Julius Paoucci(?). Schweiger III, 911. Very short tear to upper joint at foot of spine, a few small wormholes along the spine, corners somewhat rubbed, a touch of soiling, but a very sound binding, entirely unsophisticated, and quite pleasing to the eye; a few pages with creases affecting readability, a little scattered browning and the occasional blemish, otherwise a very good, clean copy internally. An altogether pleasing volume. In a finely gilt and unsophisticated contemporary binding, this volume contains the work of two classic authors: the Roman statesman, philosopher, and dramatist Seneca the Younger, and his father, the rhetorician known as Seneca the Elder. The Younger, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (ca. 1 B.C.-65 A.D.), has the unusual distinction of being popular with both the Medieval church--which believed him to be a Roman convert to Christianity--and with Renaissance humanists like Erasmus. Among his works are numerous philosophical dialogues (many of which are reproduced here) on topics that certainly would have appealed to the Christian mindset. Seneca the Elder (ca. 54 B.C.-39 A.D.) was primarily a rhetorician who wrote about the great orators and his musings on invented legal cases. The present volume would probably have been intended for scholastic use, but the 17th century pocket in which it resided must have belonged to a student or scholar of considerable means, given the elaborate degree to which the book has been decorated in gilt. The delicate, lace-like borders, composed of tiny repeating floral tools, demonstrate the increasingly refined skill of the binders and craftsmen of the period, while the use of recessed sewing (a binding shortcut that produces a smooth spine) seen here is another hallmark of 17th century book production, reflecting the need for quicker assembly to meet a growing demand for printed material.