Macrobius. 1597 Aur. Theodosii Macrobi... Opera. Plantin, Leiden.

Late 16th century edition of Macrobius' works (Opera, in Latin), printed by the venerable Plantin press.

The works in this edition include:

Commentarius in Somnium Scipionis

Saturnaliorum (in seven books)

De Differentiis et Societatibus Graeci Latinique verbi Libellus. (This is a fragmentary work, and not complete; it is considered a lost work as a whole).

Wikipedia - Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. c. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was as widespread as Greek among the elite. He is primarily known for his writings, which include the widely copied and read Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis ("Commentary on the Dream of Scipio") about Somnium Scipionis, which was one of the most important sources for Neoplatonism in the Latin West during the Middle Ages; the Saturnalia, a compendium of ancient Roman religious and antiquarian lore; and De differentiis et societatibus graeci latinique verbi ("On the Differences and Similarities of the Greek and Latin Verb")

Provenance -

At the rear is the signature of Willem Cornelis Ackerdijck Junior, a Dutch jurist, author, historian and lawyer. He does have a Wikipedia dedicated to him. This book, his inscription dated 1777 and place location noted, was his while at the University of Utrecht (which he graduated from in 1779).

Bibliographic Details -

Universal Short Title Catalogue (USTC) number 423870, not rare, found in many of the world's best libraries.

Worldcat OCLC catalogue number 9639766.

Pettegree, Walsby, Netherlandish Books, reference 20070

Physical Attributes -

Measures approx. 17 x 11 x 4.5 cm. Gatherings of eight (8vo). Vellum binding over pasteboard boards, with Yapp edges (ties expired). Faint manuscript title on spine. Printer’s mark on title page. Some Greek passages.

Pages – xvi, 1-697, [55 – notis, index, Meunsi notes]

Collation - *8, A-Z8, Aa-Xx8, *-**8, t8

Condition -

See pictures. An auction house polished the vellum, which gives it an odd feel; I have wiped most of it off with a cloth. Binding with a little wear, spine title faded and ties expired. Top edge darkened. Graphite mark on pastedown. Some annotations on flyleaf. Title page with a struck name at top, and other manuscript name near bottom edge. Text block with some toning throughout and occasional thumbing, dog-eared corner, rust spot, etc. Dd5-Dd8 unopened, testifying to how wide the margins are. A rust spot in the * gathering of the Index. *6/7 with remnants of trimming along fore-edge.