C. Julii Caesaris quae extant omnia cum animadversionibus integris Dion. Vossii, J. Davisii... ut & qui vocatur Julius Celsus de vita et rebus gestis C. Julii Caesaris, ex musaeo Joannia Georgii Graevii

Leiden (Netherlands) / Delft (Netherlands): Apud C. Boutesteyn & S. Luchtmans / Apud Adrianum Beman, 1713. Hardcover. Very Good. Two parts in one volume, 8vo (192 x 120mm). [8], [2], 604pp. Title printed in red and black. Engraved half title. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Julius Caesar. 13 copperplate engraved plates and maps (seven folding Europe, Gall, Castra Caesaris, Caesar’s bridge, Alesia, Pompeii, Alexandria), and full pages depicting, Uxellodunum, Massilia, Avaricum, Turris Caesaris and three breeds of land roaming animals (p. 237). Later calf; (pages 143-154, 255-258, 357-362, excised, front cover loose but present, some wear with use, tape repairs to some maps, overall in tact). Plates are complete, tho -- oddly -- text is not. Sold as is. Ex-Libris of Joannis Clarke of the former Trinity Collection, Canterbury. Scattered annotations in various 18th century hands by early owners “Nov. 10 1747 John Dryden” and “Sussex” in another hand “Abraham Covent” all on final verso. Inscribed “G.B. Blagden March 1793” on engraved half title. Later inscribed “ M.E. Doble” on front pastedown.

Despite the ascription to a shadowy “Julius Celsus,” this is in fact and edition of the biography of Julius Caesar that Petrarch composed very late in his life. As someone imbued with the spirit of Livy, Petrarch is much more concerned with Caesar’s military campaigns and recounts them in detail. The attention he gives to Caesar concerns some facts regarding family history and his personal qualities such as courage and intellect. While the primary source is Suetonius, Petrarch reports personal details not found in the Divus Julius, such as the year of Caesar’s birth, the names of his parents, and his youthful prowess in Greek, Latin and rhetoric. This copy certainly captures the essence of a student’s enthusiasm for pouring over the text, leaving their mark and even excising what they like. Despite this the volume includes all of the valuable commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars, all Books and ending “belli Alexandrini fuerunt” as it should.