CLASSICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Mr. Editor—The following list of the editions of the classics fittest to enter into a literary collection of the Roman and Greek authors, was drawn up, a little while since, at the request of a friend, who is beginning to appropriate, out of his income, an annual sum to the forming of a private library. The series indicated is such as is recommended by the convenience of their form, the general goodness of their typographical execution, the correctness of their text, and the usefulness of a commentary, from which all that sort of erudition is excluded, which perpetually misses or goes beyond the mark. In such a plan, the mere luxury of editions—the pursuit of the rare, or curious, or costly, apart from more serious excellence—is, of course, to be disregarded. Beyond mere uniformity of size, I would make no sacrifice to the Graces; nor this, but that the octavo form combines the differing advantages of compactness and bulk. It neither forbids, by its diminutiveness, all explanation of the text; nor confounds you, like a folio, with the trivialities of an eternal erudition. It is, too, the form in which editions have been multiplied the most; so that it can offer, in a cheap but agreeable dress, almost every thing with which learning has elucidated the ancient writers.
I myself do not slight the passion of the mere book-fancier. In a country where the wealthiest and best-born of the land lavish their annual thousands, for the praise of possessing stud horses of the most honorable lineage, or that they may enjoy, through life, the society of grooms and trainers, it would be, perhaps, not amiss if, for mere diversity's sake, some less illiterate follies were introduced. Are the brawling and boorish fox-hunter, or the super-subtle man of the turf (races rapidly becoming the reproach of English manners and tastes) all that our men of fortune can imitate among the English gentry? Their ancestral mansions, adorned with whatever art or science can accumulate of beautiful or curious: their delightful pleasure-grounds, where the picturesque creates a thousand charmingly disposed landscapes: their museums of antiquities—their rich galleries of pictures—their master-pieces of sculpture—their noble and learned private libraries, the chief pride and ornament of every wealthy residence—when, alas! shall we, instead of what is coarsest and most immoral and least intellectual in the habits and amusements of English life, rise to even the idler and more puerile parts of Taste and Letters—the follies of the Virtuoso and the Bibliomaniac?
But “revenons à nos moutons:” let us get back to our ancients; of whom, I believe, you will find the annexed list a careful and a copious one. I have consulted, in compiling it, the following leading authorities: Morhof, Polyhistor Literarius; Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graeca; Idem, Bibliotheca Latina Vetus; Idem, Bibliographia Antiquaria; Idem, Historia Bibliothecae suae; Saxius, Onomasticon Literarium; Saldenus, De Libris corumque usu et abusu; Panzer, Annales; Renouard, Annales des Aldes; Cave's Chartophylax; Le Clerc, Bibliothèque Universelle; Idem, Bibliothèque Choisie; Bayle, Dictionaire historique, &c.; the great French Biographie Universelle; Barbier, Dictionaire des Anonymes et pseudonymes; Cailleau, Dictionaire bibliographique; Harwood, View of the Classics; Adam Clarke, Bibliographical Dictionary and Miscellany; Dibdin, Guide to the Classics; Moss, Classical Bibliography; Dunlop, Roman Literature; Schoell, Littérature Grecque; Hartshorne, Book rarities of the University of Cambridge; Bent's London Catalogues; Idem, Literary Advertiser; Anthon's Lempriere's Dictionary; Watts's Bibliotheca Britannica; Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual; but, much more than all, Brunet's excellent, exact, eminently useful Manuel du Libraire—a book which should be in the hands of every man attempting to pursue any thing like systematic study.
Editions of a series of Greek and Roman classics, 8vo. cum notis selectis variorum.
Achilles Tatius, (Clitophon et Leucippe) Heliodorus, (Æthiopica) Longus, (Daphnis et Chloe) et Xenophon, (Ephesiaca.) Bipont, 1792-4. Four parts in 3 vols. 8vo. 25 francs.
Ælian I would omit—both his Historia Animalium and his Variae Historiae.
Æschines—in the Greek orators; which see.
Æschylus, Tragædiae, (à Schutz.) London: 1823, 5 vols. 8vo. 2l. 12s. 6d. It has the Scholia, and Schutz's Notes.
Æsop, Fabulae, Gr. et Lat. Leipsic: 1810, 8vo. Cum notis vario. et de Furia: accedunt dissertationes Tyrwhitt de Babrio, Huschkii de Archilocho, et Bentleii de Æsopo. There is a cotemporary, and perhaps more esteemed edition, by Coray, (Paris, 8vo.) but I should prefer the first, for the Accessus.
Agathemerus (Geographia) I would omit, till they publish the new edition of Scriptores Geographiæ Minores.
Alcæus, Fragmenta. Halæ: 1810—à Stange, 8vo. 5 francs.
Alciphron. I would omit his Epistles, or buy the cheap 8vo. edition of Utrecht, 1791. 3 to 4 francs.
Ammianus Marcellinus. Leipsic, 1773, 8vo. ab Ernesti. It is regarded as one of his best editions. There is an admirable Glossary to it. 13 shillings.
Ammonius de adfinium vocabulorum differentia, I would not have.
Anacreon, à Fischer. Leipsic, 1793, 8vo. fine paper. 16 to 18 francs.
Andronicus Rhodius, I would omit.
Anonymi Ravennatis Geographia, à Porcheron. Paris. 1688, 8vo. 4 to 5 francs.
Anthologia Græca, à Brunck et Jacobs et Paulsen, Leipsic, 1813-17, 4 vols. 8vo. 90 francs.
Antiphon, Andocides, &c. See Greek orators.
Antoninus Imperator, Meditationes, Græco—Lat. à Gattaker. Oxford, 1704, 8vo. The notes are short; it contains a few epistles, judged spurious—5 to 7 francs: or the Leipsic reprint of 1729, 8vo. 5 to 6 francs.
Antoninus Liberalis, Transformationes. Græc. Lat.—cum Munckeri notis, et Verheyk. Leyden, 1774, 8vo. 8 to 10 francs.
Aphtonius, Progymnasmata. I would omit him, unless I wished a rhetorical collection.
Apollodorus, Bibliotheca. Græc. Lat. à Heyne. Göttingen, 1803, 2 vols. 8vo. It is regarded as a mine of mythological learning. 24 francs.
Apollonius Dyscolus should be omitted.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, à Wellauer. Leipsig, 1828, 2 vols. 8vo.—or Brunck, Leipsig, 1810, 2 vols. 8vo. 20 francs.
Apollonius Sophista, I would omit.
Appian Alexandrinus, Historia, à Schweighæuser. Lipsiæ, 1783-5, 3 large 8vos. to bind in 6: 54 francs. It is regarded as this commentator's best performance.
Apuleius, Opera. Bipont, 8vo. It stands next to the 4to. edition of Oudendorp & Rhunken. Leyden, 1786. The latter costs probably 40 to 50 francs.
Aratus, Phaenomena and Diosemia, à Buhle. Lipsiæ, 1796-1808, 2 vols. 8vo. 23 francs.
Archilochus, Reliquiae, edente Liebel. Lipsiæ, 1812, 2 vols. 8vo. 13 francs.
Archimedes, I would omit, as having no literary value.
Aristides, Orationes,—among the orators.
Aristænetus, Epistolae Eroticae, Boissonade. Paris, 1822, 8vo.
Aristarchus. I would omit him, unless in a grammatical collection, or in a mathematical one.
Aristæus, Historia LXX Interpretum, I would omit, as supposititious, though curious for the discussion that it involves. Hodius's is the edition that contains it; and is also the best. Oxford, 1692, 8vo. 3 to 5 francs.
Aristophanes, Comœdiae, à Brunck. Oxford, 1810, 4 vols. 8vo. with Lexicon Aristophanicum of Sanxay, as 5th vol. (Oxford, 1811,) about 2l.
Aristotle, Opera, Buhle. Bipont, 1791-9, 5 vols. 8vo. contain the Organon, Rhetorica and Poetica. The rest is not likely to be ever given: add, therefore,
Aristotelis Ethica, à Wilkinson, Oxford, 1818, 8vo. 9 frs.
Aristotelis Politica et Economica, Schneider. Oxford, 1810, 2 vols. 8vo. 18 frs.
Arrian, Opera Omnia, à Borheck, Lemgoviæ, 1792, 1811, 3 vols. 8vo. 18 frs. Or
Arrian, Tactica, Periplus Euxini, Periplus Erythræi, de Venatione, à Blancard. Amsterdam, 1683 or 1750, 8vo. 9 to 12 frs.
Arrian, Expeditio, et Indica, à Raphelio. Amsterdam, 1757, 8vo.
Artemidorus, Oneirocritica, I would omit, unless I formed a collection of the whole class of writers on Divination, &c.
Athenæus, Deipnosophistae, à Schweighæuser. Argentorati, 1801-7, 14 vols. 8vo. 188 frs.
Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticæ, à Gronovio. Leyden, 1686 or 7, 8vo. 10 a 15 frs.
Ausonius. I would take him only in a collection: but if apart, the edition of Tollius. Amsterdam, 1671, 8vo. 15 frs.
Avianus, Fabulae, à Cannegieter. Amsterdam, 1731, 8vo. 8 a 12 frs.
Avienus. I would take him in the collection of Poetae latini minores (Wernsdorf.)
Babrius. See Æsop.
Barclay. His Argenis is often brought into this sort of collection. Leyden, 1664-9, 8 vols. 8vo. 10 to 15 frs.
Bion, Moschus and Theocritus. The beautiful edition from Bodoni's press, (Zamagna's version; no notes) 1792, 12 to 18 frs. Or, for use,
Valcknaer's excellent edition of 1781. Leyden, 8vo. 12 frs.
Boetius, de Consolatione, Bertii. Leyden, 1671, 8vo. 10 to 12 frs.
Cæsar, ab Oberlino. Lipsiæ, 1805, 8vo. 15 frs. papier fin.
Callimachus, Ernesti. Leyden, 1761, 8vo.
Calphurnius, Eclogae, I would omit, or get in a collection.
Martianus Capella. This is only worth attention as the first attempt in scholarship of Hugo Grotius, (then 15 years old.) Leyden, 1599, 8vo. It is worth from 20 to 30 francs, with portraits of the P. de Condé and Grotius: but much less, when wanting these.
Catullus, Tibullus èt Propertius. The best edition is Vulpius's, of which the entire set (4 vols. 4to.) is a dear book. In 8vo. the edition of Gabbema, Utrecht, 1659, (in Italics) is perhaps to be preferred. Price about 9 francs. That of Grævius (1680) is much dearer, and scarcely so good. There is a very good Bipont one, which has the fragments of Gallus and the Pervigilium Veneris, 1783, 8vo. It has, also, a good notitia Literaria; which forms, indeed, one of the good points common to many of the Deux-ponts books.
Celsus, I would omit, as also Censorinus, de die natali.
Chariton, Chaerea et Callirhoe, à Reiske. Lipsiæ, 1783, 8vo. 12 a 15 frs.
Chion, Epistolae, (à Hoffman), cum fragmentis Memnonis, ab Orélli. Lipsiæ, 1816, 8 vo. Their authenticity is examined by Hoffman.
Cicero, Opera. Of the 8vo. editions, Ernesti's, Halle, 1776-7, 5 in 8 vols. 8vo. (with E.'s Clavis), 60 to 80 frs. (best paper) is good. Shùtz's, Lipsiæ, 1814-18, 18 vols. 8vo. is perhaps still better, 100 frs. It has, in the last volume, a good Index latinitatis.
Le Clerc's. Paris, 1827, 35 vols. large 12mo. with French translation en regard, is the only edition that is by any means complete. It contains a preliminary discourse; Plutarch's life, translated; a supplement from Middleton's; a copious bibliography of editions. In the 34th and 35th volumes, it has the Apochrypha and Fragments—the Invective against Sallust, and Reply; Discourse to the people, before going into exile; Letter to Octavius; Treatises on the supposititious works. In the 35th volume are Fragments, with an account of the discoveries made among the Palimpsestes, since 1814, with conjectures towards the yet undiscovered works; Fragments of Speeches, Letters, Philosophical works, Poems, and the apochryphal de Consolatione, with an Introduction. It seems to me a very agreeable literary edition. How far it is a critical one, I have never seen any authoritative decision. Though much ampler than any other, it has not, of course, the parts of orations published about 1830, by Maius, in his Scriptores Classici e Codicibus Vaticanis.
To complete Ernesti's or Schùtz's, the Respublica and these fragments are, of course, necessary.
Claudian, à Gesner. Lipsiæ, 1759, 2 vols. 8vo. 15 to 18 frs. best paper. There is also an esteemed edition by Barthius, first published, with much applause, when he was less than 20 years old. Hannover, 1612, 8vo. This, however, was one of his riper works: for he published the Psalms translated into Latin verse, at 12; and at 16, a work on the method of reading the Latin authors, from Ennius downwards.
Cœlius Apicius, De opsoniis et condimentis, by Dr. Martin Lister. Amsterdam, 1709, 8vo. 8 a 12 frs.
Coluthus, Raptus Helenae. Not worth having; but if taken, the edition of Bekker. Berlin, 1816, 8vo. It is the best text, and has seven additional verses—which are not unimportant, in a poem of 380—unless the whole should chance to be of no merit, as in this case.
Conon is of little importance, even as to mythology. He may be taken in Gale's collection—Scriptores antiqui Historiæ poeticæ.
Cornelius Nepos, à Fischero. Lipsiæ, 1806, 8vo. It is edited by Harles, and regarded as an excellent performance. In fine paper, 15 frs.
Corripus, I would omit—as also Demetrius Cydnus, and Demetrius Phalereus.
Curtius (Quintus), à Pitisco. Hague, 1708, 8vo. 15 a 20 frs.
Dares Phrygius. See Dictys Cretensis.
Demosthenes, may be taken in the collection of Greek Orators, by Reiske. Lipsiæ, 1770-5, 12 vols. 8vo. Isocrates alone is wanting, in this collection.
Dictys Cretensis is a forgery not worth having, except in mere illustration of the Chivalric Romances; of which it is largely the source. Take the edition à Perizonio, Amsterdam, 1702, 8vo. 15 to 18 frs. It includes Dares Phrygius.
Diodorus Siculus, à Wesselingio. Bipont, 1790-1806, 11 vols. 8vo. 108 frs. The 11th contains indexes. It has a good notitia literaria, Essay on the Sources, &c.
Diogenes Laertius à Longolio. Curiæ Regnit. 1739, 8vo. 18 a 24 frs.
Dion Cassius. There exists no 8vo. edition. That of Reimar, Hamburg, 1750, 2 vols. fol. 84 to 96 frs. is far the best. There is a late cheap one, by Schaefer. Lipsiæ, 1818, (Græce,) 4 vols. 18mo. 15 frs.
Dion Chrysostom. His Orations are published by Reiske, but without a Latin version. They match, in form and appearance, his Oratores Attici, 2 vols. 8vo. Lipsiæ, 1784 or 98. 25 frs.
Dionysius Alexandrinus, Orbis descriptio, à Wells. Oxford, 1704 or 9, 8vo. 6 a 9 frs.
Dionysius the Areopagite. Not now accounted authentic.
Dionysius Halicarnasseus, Antiquitates, &c. à Reiske. Lipsiæ, 1774, 6 vols. 8vo. 80 to 96 frs. The last volume (unfinished at R.'s death) is by Morus, as is the interesting life of Reiske.
Epictetus, Enchiridion, fragmenta, et Dissertationes ab Arriano digestæ, Schweighæuser. Lipsiæ, 1799, 4 vols. 8vo. 54 frs. Add the Commentary of Simplicius, by the same editor. Leipsig, 1800, 2 vols. 8vo. 27 francs. These form a dear, but the most valuable edition.
Epicurus, Physica et Meteorologica. I would omit these, as every thing else not having a literary value. We want the taste and the history of the ancients—not their science.
Eratosthenes and Euclid may be omitted, for the same reason. Of the latter, however, Van Loin's edition, Amsterdam, 1738, 8vo. 4 or 5 frs. or Baerman's, Leipsig, 1769, 8vo. 3 to 4 frs. is usually taken for such collections as this.
Euripides, Tragœdiae. Glasgow, 1820, 9 vols. 8vo. 7l. 17s. 6d. It has the Scholia and the entire notes of Barnes, Beckh, Brunck, Burney, Elmsley, Herman, Hoepfner, Markland, Monk, Musgrave, Porson, Seidler, Valcknaer, Wakefield, &c. as well as a copious index.
Eustathias, Ismeniae et Ismenis Amores, 8vo. Paris, 1618, ed. Gaulmin. They are now regarded as the production of Eumathes, a grammarian of the 14th century, not of the Scholiast. There should be 45 pp. of notes at the end of this edition.
Eutropius, à Verheyk. Leyden, 1762, 8vo. It has the Greek paraphrase of Pæanius, and the breviary of Sextus Rufus, with a very copious and judicious selection of notes, 12 a 16 frs.
Florus, Breviarium. Bipont, 1810, 8vo. 4 frs: a good edition.
Frontinus, I would omit, with the other Strategetics; or buy them all (the Latin ones) in the collection at the head of which stands Vegetius; whom see.
Fronto. The fragments of his Orations, published by Maius, (Milan, 1815, 2 vols. 8vo.) are, I fancy, too inconsiderable or disjointed to be worth having.
Gemistus Pletho, it is not worth while to have.
Geographiæ Veteris Scriptores Græci (Minores)—a valuable and necessary book, but too enormously dear to be purchased. A new edition has been long in expectation. The old (Oxford, 1698-1712, 4 vols. 8vo.) sells for no less than 80 to 100 dollars. It contains Hanno, Scylax, Agatharchides, Arrian, Nearchus, Heracleotes, Dicæarchus, Isidorus, Scymnus, Agathemerus, Various Excerpts, Anonymi expositio Mundi, Ptolemæi Arabia, Abulfedæ Chorasmia, Ejusdem Arabia, Excerpta varia, Dionysii Orbis Descriptio.
The Geoponici, I would omit.
Hecatæus of Abdera. Mere fragments.
—— of Miletus, in Creuzer's Historicorum Græcorum Vetustissimorum Fragmenta. Heidelberg, 1806, 8vo. They also include part of the preceding. The price I cannot ascertain.
Heliodorus. In the Scriptores Erotici. See Achilles Tatius.
Hellanicus. His fragments were published by Sturz. Leipsig, 1787, 8vo.
Hermogenes Sophista. His Ars Rhetorica (Coloniæ, 1614, 8vo.) I would leave for a collection of another sort.
Herodian, à Ruddiman, 8vo. Edinburg, 1724, 4 frs.
Herodotus. Schweighæuser's, (Paris, 1816, 6 vols. 8vo.) is generally esteemed the best edition. 90 frs. A new and valuable edition (by Bähr) is in progress in Germany—the first volume already out. The Translation of Larcher, (Paris, 1802, 9 vols. 8vo.) has valuable geographical illustrations. There are, besides, those of Rennel and Niebuhr—the latter printed in an English translation, London, 1830, 8vo. The Lexicon Ionicum of Portus is likewise an important aid to the study of H. (Oxford, 1810, 8vo. 9 frs.)
Hesiod, à Loesnero. Lipsiæ, 1778, 8vo. 15 a 18 frs.
Hierocles, Commentarii in Aurea Carmina, à Warran. London, 1742, 8vo. 10 to 12 frs. The Facetiæ passing under his name are usually esteemed supposititious. His de Providentia et Fato are not sought for.
Himerius Sophista. His Eclogæ et Declamationes, may safely be omitted.
Hippocrates, I would also omit in this collection. If he be taken, the edition of Vander Linden, (Leyden, 1665, 2 vols. 8vo.) is the proper one, but is very dear; common copies of it selling at from 60 to 80 frs.
Historiæ Augustæ Scriptores, I would not embrace in this collection. Suetonius and Eutropius you will have already taken, in another form. Spartian, Julius Capitolinus, Elius Lampridius, Trebellius Pollio, and Vopiscus are without literary value. The 8vo. edition of Leyden (1671, 2 vols.) is both an indifferent and dear book. It sells for 27 to 36 francs; while the esteemed folio edition of Paris, 1620, by Salmasius, sells at from 8 to 10 frs.
Historiæ Poeticæ Scriptores antiqui, à Gale—embracing Apollodorus, Conon, Ptolemæus, Parthenius, Antoninus Liberalis; with his Dissertatio de Scriptoribus Mythologicis—may be let alone. The single edition is that of Paris, 1675, 8vo., worth 15 to 24 frs. It sometimes is dated London, 1676.
Homer. Ernesti's (Lipsiæ, 1759, 5 vols. 8vo., or its beautiful and faithful reprint, by Foulis, Glasgow, 1814, 5 vols. 8vo.—the latter having also Wolf's prolegomena) is the best general edition, costing 100 francs in the first form, and 120 in the second. The edition of Wolf (Lipsiæ, 1804-7, 4 vols. 8vo. 20 francs) should also be possessed; nor is it possible to omit mentioning Heyne's very esteemed edition of the Iliad. Lipsiæ, 1802, 8 vols. 8vo.
Horace, à Gesner, cum notis Zeunii. Leipsic, 1788; or Glasgow, 1794, 8vo. 10 to 20 frs. Bentley's emendations and notes have no doubt done much towards the elucidation of Horace; but, as a commentary, Gesner's is certainly preferable. Bentley's edition, however, as reprinted at Leipsig, 1764, 2 vols. 8vo. (15 to 20 frs.) may be added to the forgoing.
Hyginus. I would omit him, with the other mythologues.
Isæi Orationes, in Reiske's Orators.
Isocrates, Orationes et Epistolæ, à Coray. Paris, 1807, 2 vols. 8vo. 21 frs. The notes, in modern Greek, are very valuable. A learned disquisition on the Greek education and tongue is prefixed.
Jamblichus may be fairly let alone with the mystagogues.
Josephus, à Havercamp et Hudson. Lipsiæ, 1782-5, 3 vols. 8vo. 80 francs. A volume of Commentary and Index was to have followed. I do not know if it has ever appeared.
Julian Apostate. His Cæsares (Heusinger, Gotha, 1736, 8vo. 6 to 8 frs.) and his In Constantii laude Oratio (Schæfer, Leipsig, 1802, 8vo. 7 frs.) may be taken.
St. Justin may be omitted in this collection.
Justinian, Corpus Juris Civilis, &c. omit.
Justin. Bipont edition, 1784, or Argentorati, 1802, 8vo. 5 frs. Very good and cheap edition, with a good notitia literaria.
Juvenal and Persius, cura Ruperti. Lipsiæ, 1801 or 1818, 2 vols. 8vo. 27 frs.
Lactantius is to be omitted, of course.
Libanius, as a sophist, not an orator, may be excluded.
Leonidæ (the two) should be taken only in the Anthology.
Livy, Recensuit Drachenborch, edidit Crevier. Oxford, 1822, 4 vols. 8vo. 1l. 18s.
Longinus. Toup's (Oxon, 1778, 8vo.) though not sufficiently correct in the typography, is the Editio opt. It is, however, of a form somewhat too large—royal 8vo. 8 to 10 frs.
Longus, Daphnis et Chloe. It should be taken in the Bipont Erotici Græci; though this wants Courier's restoration of the chasm of eight pages. The latter may be seen in one of the volumes of the Classical Journal. There can scarcely be said to be any edition that contains it: for Courier's (Rome, 1810, 8vo.) was printed for private distribution only—52 copies. It has the Greek text alone. The complete version (French) may be found in the works of Paul Louis Courier.
Lucan, Pharsalia. Take the Glasgow reprint of the Strawberry-hill edition, cum notis Grotii et Bentleii, cura posteriore Cumberland, 8vo. 1816, 18 frs.
Lucian, Opera. Hemsterhuy's edition, with Gesner and Reiske's notes, as reprinted at Deux-Ponts, 1789-91, 10 vols. 8vo. 80 to 100 francs, is no doubt the completest. There is, however, the excellent and much cheaper one of Schnieder. Halle, 1800, 2 vols. 8vo. 30 francs. It has no interpretation, but offers esteemed notes, and some valuable readings.
Lucilius. That of the Vulpii, Patavii, 1735, 8vo. is no doubt best. 4 to 6 francs.
Lucretius. Bentley and Wakefield's edition, in the Glasgow reprint of 1813, 4 vols. 8vo. 2l. It is beautifully printed by Bell, rivalling the Foulis.
Lycophron may fairly be left to the lovers of the unintelligible.
Lycurgus. Take him in Reiske's Orators.
Lysias. Also in Reiske's Orators.
Macrobius, Opera, à Vulpiis fratribus. Patavii, 1736, 8vo. 6 to 9 frs. The edition of Gronovius is more commonly taken (Leyden, 1670, 8vo.) but is dearer—18 to 24 francs.
Manilius. His Astronomicon may be omitted, as striving in vain to make good poetry out of very bad astronomy.
Martial. The Bipont edition, 1784, 8vo. after the variorum of Schrevelius. The Amsterdam (1701, 8vo.) after the Delphin Editor Collessus, is usually taken. But it is rather dear (about 20 francs); and has, besides, a villainous collection of the loci obscœni into a sort of Cloaca, at the end. There are rare copies, in which the text is in its place; but they sell very high—50 francs or more.
Maximus Tyrius. His Platonism is of very little use.
Meleager. I would take his Epigrams, &c. in the Anthology.
Menander. Of his Fragments, Meineke's edition, Berlin, 1823, 8vo. is the best. The older one of Le Clerc—which gave occasion to that fierce literary war between Bentley, Gronovius, Burmann, De Pauw and others—is very defective; though hitherto usually employed.
Minucius Felix, as purely ecclesiastical, should be omitted.
Moschion. His de Mulieribus we should, of course, exclude from any but a medical collection.
Musæus. His Hero and Leander is best edited by Schræder. Leovardiæ, 1742, 8vo. 10 to 12 frs. That of Magdeburg (by Carpzovius) 8vo. 1775, is of some esteem. Its preface is curious.
The Mythographi Latini, collected by Muncker, (Amsterdam, 1681, 8vo. 12 to 18 frs.) consisting of Hyginus, Planciades Fulgentius, Lactantius Placidus, and Albricus Philosophus, may be omitted.
Nemesianus. His Cynegetica, &c. are given in that volume of Wernsdorf's Poetæ Lat. Minores, which contains the poems de Venatione et Piscatu, [the 1st.]
Nemesius, de Natura Hominis, may be omitted.
Nicander. His Alexipharmics and Theriacs may be banished, with no great harm, among the medical writers.
Nicolaus Damascenus. The fragments of his concinnated Universal History should have a place in a historical, but scarcely in a literary collection.
Nonnus. His Dionysiaca are not yet given in a good edition. There are two unfinished editions probably yet in progress, that began to appear at Heidelberg and Leipsig, in 1819. The first is by Moser, as yet of only the 6 books from the 8th to the 13th. The other, by Græfe, contains the first 24 books, 1 vol. the text alone.
Nonnius Marcellus is confined to grammatical subjects.
Julius Obsequens. His de Prodigiis may be safely omitted.
Ocellus Lucanus. His Fragments are neither important, nor of a clear authenticity.
Oppian, de Venatione et Piscatu. If purchased, the best edition is that of Schnieder, Leipsig, 1813, 8vo. It should, however, when bought, be given to some genius vast enough to embrace both the arts of Industry and those of Indolence.
Oratores Græci, à Reiske. Lipsiæ, 1770, 8 vols. in 12, 8vo. It brings 220 francs, entire. The latter 6 volumes may sometimes be had separate; and these, united with the London re-edition of Reiske's Demosthenes [1822, 3 vols. 8vo.] and the Isocrates of Coray, give the proper series of Orators.
Orphæus, Argonautica, &c. cum notis variorum, àb Hermanno. Lipsiæ, 1805, 8vo. 20 francs. It contains the discussion as to the age and author of the Orphica; a dispute set on foot by Huet, whose opinion Valcknaer, Schnieder and Hermann have since maintained; while the genuineness of the Poems has been supported by Gesner, Ruhnken and some others.
Ovid. Burmann's is no doubt the best edition; but is in 4to. and high priced—8l. 8s. The best 8vo. edition, notis variorum, is that of Cnipping, Leyden, 1670, 3 vols. 45 frs.
Palæphatus. His Incredibilia are only proper for a mythographic collection.
Palladius, de Febribus may, of course, be omitted.
Rutilius Palladius, de Re Rustica, is in the collection Scriptores rei rusticæ.
Panegyrici Veteres [latini] à Iaeger. Nuremberg, 1778, 2 vols. 8vo. 14 frs. The Delphine edition [by de la Baune] is also much esteemed; and there is a London reprint, 1716, 8vo. That of Arntzenius, Utrecht, 1790-7, 2 vols. 4to. is the editio opt. 24 a 30 frs. The collection embraces 12 panegyrics—1 of Plinius Cæcilius; 2 of Claudius Mamertinus; 1 of another Claud Mam.; 5 of Eumenius; 1 of an unknown; 1 of Nazarius; 1 of Drœpanius.
Parthenius. Of his Erotic tales, Heyne's is the best edition. Gottingen, 1798, 8vo. 3 frs.
Paterculus. Ruhnken's edition, Leyden, 1789, 2 vols. 8vo. 18 to 24 francs, is best.
Pausanias. That of Facius is much the best. Lipsiæ, 1794-7, 4 vols. 8vo. 36 frs.
Pœdo Albinovanus. His Elegies are in Wernsdorf's Poetæ; as is Severus's Ætna.
Persius. See Juvenal Ruperti.
Petronius, Satyricon, &c. à Hadrianide. Amsterdam, 1669, 8vo. with the Fragmentum Traguriense 1671. It should also include Sulpitiæ Satyra, Priapeia, Pervigilium Veneris, Statilii Apologia, and an Index of 4 leaves. The whole costs 15 to 20 frs. Burmann's 4to. edition is the best. Amsterdam, 1743, 2 vols. 4to.
Phædrus, à Schwabio. Brunswick, 1806, 2 vols. 8vo. 16 francs, engravings. It has a life—an excellent notitia literaria—a dissertation on the age of Phædrus—another on the Fables of Gabriel Faernus—34 Fables è MSto. Divionensi—a copious Index; and supplenda. There are some castrated editions of Phædrus.
Phalaris, à Boyle. Oxon, 1718, 8vo. 7 frs. Though now regarded as certainly spurious, the epistles are worth having, for the sake of the literary controversy, and Bentley's masterly investigations on Phalaris, Æsop, &c. London, 1817, 8vo.
Philo Judæus may be left among the mystic and ecclesiastic writers.
Philo Byzantinus is of little worth, even in a geographical collection.
Philostratus. His Life of Apollonius, his Heroica, Icones, and Lives of the Sophists may be all omitted. There is no uniform edition, except in folio. The 8vo. of Boissonade, Paris, 1806, is of the Heroica only.
Phlegon Trallianus. His fragments are of no value.
Phocylides. The fragments attributed to him are too slight and too uncertain to collected.
Photius. Of his Myriobiblon, there is no 8vo. edition.
Pindar, à Heyne. Göttingen, 1798-9, 3 vols. in 5, 8vo. 45 to 60 francs. It is the best. Its Leipsig copy of 1817, in 4 vols. 8vo. may be taken equally well.
Plato. The Bipont edition, 1781-8, 12 vols. 8vo. is certainly to be preferred. Besides its other auxiliaries, the discourse of Thiedman (in the 12th vol.) on the Philosophy of Plato, is highly valuable. It grows dearer every day; now worth probably 150 francs. Good editions have since been published by Bekker and Ast—the former reprinted in London, 11 vols. 8vo. 10l It is well to mention the Translation into French, which Cousin is now publishing, and of which some 7 or 8 vols. have appeared.
Plautus, à Bothio. Berlin, 1804-11, 4 vols. 8vo.; the last occupied with notes. It offers a much emended text, and a metrical restoration—1l. 1s.
Plinius, Historia Naturalis, à Franzio. Lipsiæ, 1776-91, 10 vols. 8vo. This is the edition usually adopted for such a collection. It is, however, too copious, and wants taste. It would, perhaps, be well to abandon, in this instance, the 8vo. size, and take the beautiful and esteemed edition of Brotier, printed by Barbou, Paris, 1779, 6 vols. 12mo. Its price is about 45, and that of Franzius about 60 francs. It may be remarked, however, in regard to the latter, that its 10th vol. is made up of some curious Dissertations. It possesses, too, in the 1st, 2d, and 3d, various other auxilliary pieces of value.
Plinius the Younger. His Panegyricus Trajani is in the collection, already indicated, of the Panegyrici Veteres Latini.
Plinius, Epistolæ, à Gierig. Lipsiæ, 1800, 2 vols. 8vo. 17 frs. The edition of 1806, by the same Editor, is still better, and includes the Panegyric. It is about the same price.
Plotinus, de pulchritudine, may be omitted, unless in forming a philosophical collection. It is the only one of his works published in an 8vo. form. Creusner, Heidelberg, 1814, 21 francs. It includes, besides Wyttenbach's notes, Anecdota Græca; Procli disputatio de unitate et pulchritudine; Nicephorus Nathaniel adversus Plotini de Anima; Lectiones plotinicæ.
Plutarch, Vitæ, à Coray. Paris, 1809-15, 6 vols. 8vo. 108 frs. It is the best edition of the Lives, Heeren's dissertation “de fontibus et auctoritate Vitarum par. Plutarchi,” Göttingen, 1820, 8vo. is an indispensable critical adjunct to the Lives.
Plutarch, Moralia, à Wyttenbach. Oxon, 1795-1810, 13 vols. 8vo. 5l. 5s. It is reputed the best edited book that ever came from the classic press of Oxford—we might almost say, of England. It is the chef d'œuvre of Wyttenbach; having occupied 30 years of his life.
Poetæ Latini Minores, à Wernsdorf. Altemberg, 1780-98, 6 in 10 vols. 8vo. 72 frs. Far the best collection; including, besides those of Burmann's collection, many others: that is, it has Nemesianus and others, de aucupio, Venatione et piscatu; Nemeseani Laudes Herculis; Ausonii Mosella et de ostreis; the Idyllia et Bucolica of Calpurnius, of Sidonius Syracusanus, of Serverus Sanctus, Bede, Septimius Serenus; Ausonii Cupido Cruci affixus, Cassius Parmensis, &c. &c. These are the contents of the two first volumes only. The third contains the lesser Satyrists, with some Elegies and Lyrics: the fourth, Heroic Poems: the fifth, Geographic ones: the sixth, Agricultural and rural, with some amatory and convivial ones.
Poetæ Minores Græci, à Gaisford. Oxford, 1814, 4 vols. 8vo. 2l. 7s. It is much approved.
To these I would decidedly add the little collection of Pope, Selecta Poemata Itatorum qui latiné scripserunt. London, 1740, 2 vols. small 8vo. It is far the most charming body of Modern Latin Poetry that exists. Price, 10 to 12 francs. It embraces Eclogues, Odes, Elegies, and a Sylva, from Sannazaro, the Amalthei, Vida, Fracastoro, Politian, Jano Etrusco, the Strozzas, Ariosto, Sadolet, Buchanan, and others.
Polybius. Schweighæuser's, Leipsig, 1789-95, 7 in 9 vols. 8vo. is undoubtedly the best edition of this most important historian. It offers a very complete Apparatus to him. There are geographical and historical Indexes, and a Lexicon Polybianum. The Notes are excellent; the arrangements of the fragments, admirably luminous, according to Gibbon, who commends the whole performance very highly. It is thought least excellent, in the elucidation of the Achæan League. Price 120 francs. There is a Supplement, by Orellius, containing the Commentary of Æneas Tacticus. Leipsig, 1818, 8vo. 8 francs.
Polyænus. His Strategemata do not come within the plan of this collection.
Pomponius Mela, Gronovii. Leyden, 1748, 2 vols. 8vo. 12 to 15 francs. That of Tzschuckius, Leipsig, 1807, 7 vols. 8vo. is usually said to be the best; but is entirely too bulky and too dear—108 frs.
Porphyrius. His de Abstinentia ab esu animalium is the only one of his works printed in 8vo. except his Life of Pythagoras. He is, however, only fit to be passed over.
Proclus. His Platonic Commentaries, and his Astronomical works may all be omitted.
Propertius, Barthii, Lipsiæ, 1777, 8vo. 7 francs. That of Kuinoel, Leipsig, 1805, 2 vols. 8vo. 24 francs, were better, if it were smaller. Of the best, which is unquestionably the elegant one of Vulpius [Patavii, 1755, 2 vols. 4to.] there is no other impression. It is also a dear book—48 to 60 frs.
Prudentius should be omitted. He is below the age of either Poetry or Classical Latinity.
Psellus de Lapidum Virtutibus, Synopsis Legum, de dæmone, and his mathematical works may all be safely omitted.
Quintus Calaber. His Prætermissa ab Homero are of too low an age, except for a collection intending to be absolutely complete.
Quintilian, à Spalding. Leipsig, 1798-1816, 4 vols. 8vo. and a 5th, in 1829, by Zumpt, containing supplemental notes and an Index: 55 a 60 francs, for the whole. It is much the best edition. It of course excludes, as spurious, the Declamationes, and the de Claris Oratoribus.
The Rei rusticæ Scriptores, I would exclude, except so far as embraced in the body of the works of their chief authors.
Rhetores Selecti Græci, edente Gale, Oxon, 1676, 8vo. worth 10 to 15 francs, is a collection worth having. It embraces Demetrius Phalereus, Tiberius, Anonymus Sophista, and Severus Alexander.
Of the Rhetores Latini, there is no 8vo. edition. There is a 4to. edition by Capperonnier, Argentorati, 1756, 8 to 10 frs. It embraces Rutilius Lupus, Aquila Romanus, Julius Rufianus, Curius Fortunatianus, and others.
Gale's two other collections—his Historiæ Poeticæ Scriptores antiqui [London, 1675, 8vo.] and his Opuscula Mythologica, Ethica et Physica [Amsterdam, 1688, 8vo.] may be taken or omitted, according to one's view. The latter [Gr. and Lat.] comprises Palephatus, Heraclitus, Phornutus, Sallustius Philosophus, Ocellus, Lucanus, Timæus, Locrus, Demophilus, Democratus, Secundus, Sextus Pythagoricus, Theophrastus, Heliodorus Larissæus, &c.
Sextus Ruffus. His Breviarium and de Regionibus Urbis, are of little consequence.
Rutilius Numatianus. His Itinerary is in Wernsdorf's Poetæ Lat. Minores.
Rutilius Lupus, de figuris Sententiarum et Elocutionis, is proper only to a Rhetorical collection. It has been edited by Rhunken, along with Aquila Romanus and Julius Rufianus. Leyden, 1768, 8vo. 7 to 10 frs.
Sallust, à Krotscher, Lipsiæ, 1825, 8vo. Its price I cannot ascertain. Gronovius's, Leyden, 1690, 8vo. is likewise good, but somewhat dear—18 francs. The 4to. edition of Havercamp, Amsterdam, 1742, is much approved, but somewhat overloaded with Commentary. That of Wasse [Cambridge, 1710, 4to.] is excellent, 10 to 15 frs.
Sappho. See below.
Scribonius Largus. His Compositiones Medicæ, [Pharmacy] are in very bad Latin, besides being out of our range.
Scriptores Antiqui Parabilium Medicamentorum, ab Ackermanno, is another collection of the same sort—to be, therefore, passed over.
Scriptores Erotici Græci. See Achilles Tatius &c.
Scriptores Physiognomoniæ Veteres, à Franzio, may also be omitted.
Secundus [Joannes.] His Basia and Epithilamia are elegant and pure enough to enter into a collection of classic Latin poets. There is an 8vo. edition, Warrington, 1776. I do not know its present price.
Sedulius. His Carmen Paschale has no merit but that of orthodoxy; which, in poetry, is no great affair.
Sappho. The last edition [that of Vogler, Leipsig, 1810, 8vo. 6 frs.] is said to be without criticism, though surcharged with notes. It is better, therefore, to take Wolff's 4to. one, Hamburg, 1733, 12 to 15 francs, joining to it his
Poetriarum [Græcarum] Octo fragmenta, Hamburg, 1734, 4to. 12 to 15 francs. It contains the remains of Erinna, Miro, Mirtis, Corinna, Telesilla, Praxilla, Nossis and Anyta—the eight who, with Sappho, make those usually known as the Greek Muses. There is a third collection of Wolff, Mulierum Græcarum quæ oratione prosa usæ sunt, fragmenta. Gottingen, 1739, 4to. 12 to 15 francs. It forms, with the two preceding, an interesting series.
Seneca. The Elzevir edition [by Gronovius] Amsterdam, 1672, 3 vols. 8vo. is most esteemed, but is become too dear—60 to 80 frs. The later one of Ruhkopf, Leipsig, 1797-1811, 8vo. 5 vols. 1l. 16s. is regarded as very excellent.
Severus [Sulpitius.] His Historia Sacra is of too low an age.
Silius Italicus, Ruperti, Gottingen, 1795, 2 vols. 8vo. is the best edition, 18 frs. The Preface is by Heyne.
Sophocles. London, 1819, 3 vols. 8vo. 1l 8s. It is a reimpression of Brunck's, with the Scholia; Fragments; a Lexicon Sophocleum; an Index; Excerpts from the Variæ lectiones of Erfurt's edition; some inedited notes of Charles Burney; the Scholia of Demetrius Triclinius, &c.
Statius. That of Veerhusen, Leyden, 1671, 8vo. has been the most esteemed, but is very dear—30 frs. Lemaire published a very excellent edition in Paris, 1825, 3 vols. 8vo. Its price I cannot ascertain, but it is probably 12 francs per volume—the usual rate of his collection of classics.
Stobæus, Eclogæ ethicæ et physicæ, à Heeren. Gottingen, 1792, 2 in 4 vols. 8vo. 30 francs.
Stobæus, Florilegium by Gaisford, Oxford, 1822, 4 vols. 8vo. 2l. 8s.
Strabo. That of Siebenkees and Tzschucke [Leipsig, 1796-1818, 7 vols. 8vo. 108 francs] is usually preferred. Corey, however, published at Paris, 1816-19, in 4 vols. 8vo. an excellent edition, with much improved readings, and a very judicious commentary. It has no Latin Version. 54 francs. This may be said to be part of that excellent performance of Coray and du Theil, the French translation of Strabo; of which the notes and dissertations offer such important illustrations of the Geographer.
Strato. His Epigrams are in the Greek Anthology. See Anthologia.
Suetonius, à Wolf. Lipsiæ, 1802, 4 vols. 8vo. 36 francs. It has the notes of Casaubon and Ernesti; the Ancyran Monument, and the Fasti Prænestini. There are also many notes of Ruhnken.
Synesius. His Hymni, Epistolæ, de Insomniis and de Febribus may all be passed over.
Tacitus. I should prefer the Commentary of Brotier to all others. The original edition, [4to. Paris, 1771, 4 vols.] is scarce and dear. Valpy has reprinted it very handsomely, London, 1812, 5 vols. 8vo. 2l. 18s. To Broitier's notes he has added a selection of others, and the inedited annotations of Porson. There is a very excellent edition, remarkable as a monument of feminine scholarship, by Mrs. Grierson, Dublin, 1730, 3 vols. 8vo. 1l. 18s.
Tatian. His Oratio ad Græcos might be passed over, were it not that, in this Temperance Society age, it is well to commemorate the sole surviving production of him who was the first to forbid the use of wine in the Eucharist.
Terentianus Maurus may be passed by, or taken in some grammatical collection.
Terence. Zeunius's is the best edition; accurate, but very ugly, in the original impression. There is a very handsome, but less correct London reprint, 1820, 2 vols. 8vo. retaining the Notes and Subsidiæ of Z. It adds a selection from other annotators. 1l. 11s. 6d.
Tertullian, we may, of course, pass over.
Theocritus is given in Gaisford's Poetæ Minores Græci.
Theodorus Prodromus. His Rhodanthe et Dosicles is regarded as one of the poorest of the Greek romances.
Theodosius de Sphera, we will, of course, pass over.
Theognis. His Sententiæ, with those of the other Greek Gnomic poets, should be taken in Brunck's collection—the new edition, Leipsig, 1817, 8vo. 10 frs.
Theophrastus. His Characters alone come within our plan. Of these, the best edition is that of Ast, Leipsig, 1816, 8vo.
Thucydides. The Bipont edition, 1788-9, 6 vols. 8vo. is most in request. It is formed upon that of Wass and Dukker, with annotations by the Bipont Society—75 francs. There are later editions, by Hackius & Bekker, of which I can ascertain every thing except the critical merit: the former, London, 1823, 3 vols. 8vo. 1l. 11s. 6d. the latter, Oxford, 1821, 4 vols. 8vo. 2l. 12s. 6d.
Tiberius Rhetor. See Rhetores Selecti Græci, à Gale.
Tibullus. Heyne's edition, as revised by Wunderlich, Leipsig, 1816-17, 2 vols. 8vo. 25 francs, is the best.
Tryphiodorus. His Ilii Excidium may be passed over.
Tyrtæus. His remains are found in the Anthology of Brunck.
Valerius Flaccus. The edition of Harles, Altenburg. 8vo. above 1300 pp. is accounted the best. It is founded on Burmann's. 20 frs.
Valerius Maximus. Kappius's, Lipsiæ, 1782, 8vo. 9 francs, is unquestionably the best edition.
Varro. I would take the edition of Henry Stephens, Paris, 1573 or 1581, small 8vo. 9 to 15 francs. The Durdrecht edition, 1619, may have some advantage over it: but I would take the other, merely as a specimen of the Stephens press. It is also cheaper.
Verrius Flaccus, and his abreviator Pompeius Festus may be passed by, unless in a grammatical collection. He is also the supposed author of the Fasti Prænestini.
Vibius Sequester, de fluminibus, is of little importance.
Aurelius Victor. The edition of Pitiscus, Utrecht, 1696, 8vo. 12 a 18 francs, is the best for our purpose.
Virgil. Heyne's edition is esteemed, on all hands, the chef-d'œuvre of all classical criticism. The Leipsig reprint of 1800, 6 vols. large 8vo. 130 francs, is the best. It is adorned with 204 very agreeable vignettes, and is every way a beautiful book. Lemaire was to have reproduced it, with additional notes, in his Bibliotheque des Auteurs classiques latins. Four vols. had appeared some time ago. There is also a very handsome reprint by Priestley, London, 1821, 4 vols. 8vo. 4l. 4s. As a critical adjunct to Virgil, Uraini's Virgilius Collatione Scriptorum Græcorum illustratus, may be taken. Leovardæ, 1747, 8vo. 8 to 10 frs.
Vitruvius. If he be taken, the edition of Schnieder, Leipsig, 1807-8, 3 vols. 8vo. 45 francs.
Xenocrates the Physician. His de alimento ex aquatilibus may be omitted.
Xenophon. Schnieder's edition of Leipsig, 1800, reprinted at Oxford, 1812, 6 vols. 8vo. is certainly the best.
Zosimus. Reittemeier's edition of his Historiæ, Leipsig, 1784, 8vo. is reputed the best—10 frs.
E. W. J.
S. C. College.