Beschreibung:

1 November 1495 - June 1498 ARISTOTLE. Opera , Gk. With texts by Theophrastus, Galen, Philo Judaeus, Alexander of Aphrodisias and others. Eds. Aldus, Thomas Linacre, Justin Decadyos, Gabriel Bracius and others. Super-chancery 2° (310 x 205mm and slightly smaller). 5 parts bound in 7 volumes, pt. V divided after fos. 228 and 398. Collation as given for the Botfield copy (Christie's 30-iii-94 lot 39), but the 8-leaf last quire in pt. III inserted at the beginning, conjugate blank to inserted fo. PP in the same vol. cancelled, fo. [1/2] blank of pt. IV uncancelled. COMPLETE SET: 234 (I: Organon , including Analytics and Porphyry's Universalia ); 300 (II: Natural philosophy 1, including Physics); 467 (III: Natural philosophy 2, including De animalibus ); 520 (IV: Natural philosophy 3, including Mechanics, Metaphysics, and Theophrastus's De plantis ); 330 (V: Moral philosophy, including Ethics, Economics and Politics) leaves. Greek types 1:146 (2nd state, cast on a larger body than the Lascaris state) and 2:114 (essentially a reduced copy of type 1, with some novel sorts inspired by the Gregoropouloses, see Barker ch. 4), and three incidental roman founts. 30 lines and headline. Woodcut diagram, numerous woodcut floral and interlace headpieces and Greek initials. (Minor worming at beginning and/or end of pts. I, IV and V, some staining in pts. I, II and V, cancel-strip on kk10 v of pt. III carelessly pasted in, tear in a2 of pt. I affecting marginalia) PREFACE: Aldus dedicated each part of his Aristotle, one of the most important printing ventures of the 15th century and the greatest achievement in his early Greek publishing programme, to Alberto Pio (1475-1531), Lord of Carpi and his former pupil, who financed the project. He calls the book a fit gift for the young Maecenas, and urges him to emulate his uncle Pico della Mirandola, the learned companion of Ermolao Barbaro and Poliziano (pt. I). Pio's riches work fertile fields and an academy will grow, from whose fruits men will feed six hundred years hence; the printer then acknowledges his helpers Linacre, Decadyos, Bracius, Niccolò Leoniceno and Lorenzo Maioli (pt. II). Not only will Pio learn much from De animalibus , but the elegance of Aristotle's style will become clearer; Gaza has translated the work into Latin and, thus, there is no easier introduction to the Greek language (pt. III). Plato, asked what might be the best form of government, replies that it will come about when philosophers rule and rulers philosophize; in Pio's name then, Aldus offers the Metaphysics, to be followed by the rest of the Aristotelian corpus, on which he will toil day and night (pt. IV). Finally, Aristotle's moral philosophy teaches how to rule and how to behave in private and in public. Aldus has sent all over the world including the British Isles for Leonardo Bruni's translations, but no more was found than what could be had in Venice. He rejoices that his task has been achieved, particularly since Pio supported it (pt. V) BINDING: 20th-century vellum-backed pasteboard, pt. V with a pair of 14th-century-manuscript flyleaves (Alexander de Villa Dei?) PROVENANCE: early Greek manuscript marginalia to the Categories and Hermeneutics in pt. I, the Metaphysics in pt. IV and the Nicomachean Ethics in pt. V; Latin marginalia to the Prior Analytics in pt. I, the Physics in pt. II and to bk. 2 of De anima in pt. III; Latin translation and commentary in a near-contemporary hand crowded onto the margins of 74 pages of the Posterior Analytics (pt. I) and 66 pages of the Metaphysics; Bergamo, Church of Santo Spirito (inscr. pt. II); Bologna, Jesuit College (inscr. pt. IV v. 4); Brussels, Jesuit College 1638 (inscr. pt. IV v. 5) EDITIO PRINCEPS OF THE WORKS OF ARISTOTLE AND THEOPHRASTUS, and of shorter texts, biographies, commentaries by Alexander of Aphrodisias, Diogenes Laertius, Galen, Philo, Porphyry, etc. The volumes of this fascinating set between them show evidence of at least three humanistic co