"THE MOST HUMAN OF ALL BOOKS…": 1634 FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF MARCUS AURELIUS' MEDITATIONS

AURELIUS, Marcus. The Roman Emperor, His Meditations Concerning Himselfe: Treating of a Naturall Mans happinesse; Wherein it consisteth, and of the meanes to attaine unto it. London: Printed by M. Flesher, for Richard Mynne, 1634. Small quarto (5-1/2 by 7-1/2 inches), contemporary full brown sheep, raised bands.

First edition of the first English translation of this classic of Stoic philosophy, "one of the most precious of the legacies of antiquity… preserving, in a time of universal corruption, unreality and self-indulgence, a nature sweet, pure, self-denying, unaffected."

Wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance are the cornerstones of Aurelius' Meditations, an early and influential precursor of humanism. Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 CE, "Marcus possessed a gift which has been granted to few, the power of writing down what was in his heart just as it was, not obscured by any consciousness of the presence of witnesses or any striving after effect. He does not seem to have tried deliberately to reveal himself, yet he has… in a work which was not meant to be read by the public; broken flames of the white passion that consumed him bursting through the armour of his habitual accuracy and self-restraint… [I]t is hard for most men to breathe at that intense height of spiritual life, or, at least, to breathe soberly" (Murray, Four Stages of Greek Religion, 159-60). "No one would now dare write a book like Marcus Aurelius' To Himself, or, as we call it in English, The Meditations, and present it to the world as philosophy. He didn't either. But once published, these, his most intimate thoughts, were considered among the most precious of all philosophical utterances by his contemporaries, by all Western Civilization after they returned to favor at the Renaissance, and most especially by the Victorian English, amongst whom The Meditations was a household book" (Rexroth, Classics Revisited, 112). "The Meditations were written, it is evident, as occasion offered—in the midst of public business, and on the eve of battles on which the fate of the empire depended—hence their fragmentary appearance, but hence also much of their practical value… [T]hey are generally considered as one of the most precious of the legacies of antiquity. Renan even called them 'the most human of all books'… But above all, what gives the sentences of Marcus Aurelius their enduring value and fascination, is that they are the gospel of his life. His precepts are simply the record of his practice… preserving, in a time of universal corruption, unreality and self-indulgence, a nature sweet, pure, self-denying, unaffected" (Britannica). This translation by Meric Casaubon (son of the great scholar Isaac Casaubon) is the first directly into English; Casaubon's elegant and scholarly translation was still being reprinted in the 20th century. In 1643, Casaubon edited, with notes, a Latin edition of the Meditations (DNB). With ornamental woodcut-engraved initials and type-ornaments; without folding plate depicting Roman pottery found in some copies. With side notes; without initial blank. Signature F3 mis-signed "E3" as issued. STC 962. Palmer, 16. Harris, 100. ESTC S100316. See Brueggemann I:342-43. Graesse, 153. Early owner signatures to title page. Early unobtrusive ink marginalia and later light pencil notes to pastedowns.

Interior clean with embrowning to edges and some very light occasional dampstaining; expert marginal repair to title page, not affecting text; flyleaves renewed. Expert restoration to contemporary sheep binding.