Q. Curtius Hoog-beroemde historie. Van t' leven ende de daden van Alexander de Groote. Inhoudende hoe hy Europa overheert, Darius der Persen Coninck met gantsch Asia ende India tot de Oceanische zee t'ondergebragt ende eyntlick tot Babilon gestorven is. Overgeset uit den Latyn door A. S(nel) by CURTIUS RUFUS

Delft (Tot Delf), By Adriaen Gerrits, 1613. Small 8vo. (XVI) p.; 323 leaves,(10 index) p., engraved portrait of Alexander. Vellum 16 cm (Ref: Geerebaert 105,1: the first translation into Dutch; OiN 154) (Details: 3 thongs laced through cover; manuscript short title on the back; covers blindstamped; engraved title; at the beginning of the translation an engraved portrait of 'Alexander de Groote, Coninck van Macedonien') (Condition: Vellum slightly soiled and spotted; endpapers renewed; the 3 outer margins of the title, which were frayed and somewhat damaged, are skillfully repaired; right margin of 2nd leaf frayed & slightly soiled) (Note: Quintus Curtius Rufus, probably first cent. A.D., is the author of the only surviving monography on Alexander the Great in Latin. He was an historian enough to use sources, which drew from different traditions, conscientiously. His aim was not to write great literature, but his 'Historia' certainly possesses great narrative qualities, acquired by a thorough knowledge of the Roman epic and historiographic traditions, and a training in Roman rhetoric. (NP, s.v. Curtius). This is the first edition of the first translation into Dutch of Curtius Rufus. The aim of the translator is didactic. The reader, the translator says in the preface, 'Voor-reden totten Leser', must learn from the best examples what to do and what to avoid. He can do this best by reading the ancient historians, of whom Curtius Rufus is the best. He turns against those who proclaim that Dutch is inferior to Latin. We learn also which edition Snel used for his translation, the 'Raphalyn'. This must be the edition of 'De rebus gestis Alexandri Magni' published 'ex officina Plantiniana Raphelengii' in Leiden in 1606. The translation is preceded by 'Byvoeghingh uit verschyden schrijvers tot vervullinghe van Quinti Curtii eerste' and 'tweede' boec.' This is a translation of a reconstruction of the lost first 2 books from other sources. Van der Aa does not know much about Snel. Only his translation of Curtius Rufus is mentioned. The NNBW does not mention him at all. In the short preface to the second edition of 1627, signed by one Albrecht Snel, we discover more about Snel. The preface of 1627 is in fact a dedicatio to the 'Rulers' of the city of Delft and the 'Opper-Heeren', that is curators of the local Schola Latina. Albrecht Snel tells the reader that he is a teacher at the local Schola Latina, and that he wants to dedicate his translation as first-fruits to the excellent members of the City Council, just like the old Greeks did when they wanted to thank their benefactors. He calls his bosses 'Voedster-Heeren', i.e. sponsors, or patrons of Greek and Latin, and of those whom they charge to teach them at the local school. The translation was a big success. It saw, according to Geerebaert, 15 reissues, the last one in 1765) (Collation: *8, A-2S8) (Photographs on request)