_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. 2_l_.
12_s_. 6_d_. 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.
{678} 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
2_l_.
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.
{679} 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. 7_l_. 17_s_. 6_d_.
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.
{680} 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. 1_l_. 18_s_.
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. 2_l_. 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.
{681} 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—8_l_. 8_s_. 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. 10_l_ 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—1_l_. 1_s_.
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 {682} 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.
5_l_. 5_s_. 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. 2_l_.
7_s_. 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 {683} 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. 1_l_. 16_s_. 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. 1_l_ 8_s_. 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. 2_l_.
8_s_.
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.
2_l_. 18_s_. 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. 1_l_. 18_s_.
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. 1_l_. 11_s_. 6_d_.
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. 1_l_. 11_s_. 6_d_. the
latter, Oxford, 1821, 4 vols. 8vo. 2_l_. 12_s_. 6_d_.
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.
4_l_. 4_s_. As a {684} 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.