CICERO, Marcus Tullius.

De officiis libri tres, Cato Maior, Laelius, Paradoxa, Somnium Scipionis ex recensione Ioannis Georgii Graevii.

Amsterdam, P. & J. Blaeu, 1688. 8vo (200 x 115 mm), pp. [xiv], 688, [64], [2, blank], 452, [16], [4, blank], with an engraved pictorial additional title; contemporary vellum, spine label lacking. First publication of this distinguished edition by Graevius. Cicero’s writings held a central place in political culture throughout the early modern period: ‘As the philosophically inclined defender of political legitimacy and the rule of law, there was no greater exemplar of patriotic statesmanship. Cicero’s Stoic defence of the good and of religion had enabled the Church Fathers to co-opt him as a pagan authority. But, at the same time, Cicero’s recognition that in politics nothing could override the claim of necessity and his philosophical definition of expediency in terms of the public good offered welcome support to civil rulers making tough decisions. At a time when Machiavelli, and even Tacitus, threatened to make statecraft a dangerous word, Cicero’s discussion of these issues was . . . couched in unobjectionable terms . . . . His analysis of the relationship between the good and the useful (honestum and utile) in De officiis, after the Bible one of the most widely and continuously read works in the history of Europe, was framed in terms of the needs of the public. This same public utility also mandated support for the religion of the state and its ancient customs, the mos maiorum . . . ’ (Miller, Defining the common good pp. 5–6).Brunet II 9.

• GBP 500.00 > otras divisas
• nº de pedido: T2075

• librero: Bernard Quaritch Ltd. (GREAT BRITAIN)