Platonis Philosophi
Platonis Philosophi Quae Extant Graece ad Editionem Henrici Stephani Accurate Expressa cum Marsilii Ficini Interpretatione; Praemittitur 1. III Laertii De Vita Et Dogm. Plat. cum Notitia Literaria. Accedit Varietas Lectionis. Studiis Societatis Bipontinae
by Plato
| Platonis Philosophi | |
 Title page from Platonis Philosophi, volume one, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Author | Plato |
| Editor | Friedrich Christian Exter and Johann Valentin Embser |
| Translator | Rodolphus Agricola (the "Axiochus") and Sebastiano Corradi (dialogues, volume eleven) |
| Published | Biponti (Zweibrücken): Ex typographia Societatis |
| Date | 1781-1787 |
| Language | Ancient Greek |
| Volumes | 11 volume set |
| Desc. | 8vo (22 cm.) |
Plato (429–347 B.C.E.) was the philosophical student of Socrates, and subsequently a massive influence on western thought in his own right. Plato's work touches on all aspects of life and philosophy. His philosophy of the "Forms", the ideal embodiment of any being or concept, leads people to question the world they see before themselves and to constantly strive for a better and more virtuous state of being.[1] His work in Republic, where Plato attempts with the help of two students to form the perfect city, would certainly have been on the minds of many during the eighteenth century.[2]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as "Plato. Gr. Lat. 12.v 8vo." and given by Thomas Jefferson to his grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph. The Brown Bibliography[3] lists the 1781-1787 edition of Platonis Philosophi based on the existence of that title and edition in Jefferson's library.[4] George Wythe's Library[5] on LibraryThing concurs that Platonis Philosophi was the "probable" title in Wythe's Library but no specific edition is listed. One possible problem with the identification of the 1781-1787 edition Platonis Philosophi as the title in Jefferson's inventory is the fact that Jefferson lists "12.v." and this edition only has 11 volumes. However, many copies of this edition, including Jefferson's at the Library of Congress, appear to have been accompanied by Dialogorum Platonis Argumenta Exposita et Illustrata, a Diet (Tiedemann: Biponti, 1786) bound as volume 12. The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the 1781-1787 edition.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Bound in mottled calf with gilt lining on boards and gilt decoration to spines. Title labels inset on black morocco and copper engraved title vignettes. Each volume includes the armorial bookplate of Mathew Wilson with the Latin motto "Res non verba" (Actions speak louder than words) on the front pastedown and the armorial bookplate of Frances Mary Richardson Currer on the front free endpaper. Purchased from K Books Ltd.
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
References
- ↑ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, sv. "Plato", last modified September 21, 2013.
- ↑ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, s.v. "American Philosophy", last modified July 21 2005.
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433
- ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 2:33-34 [no.1311].
- ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on April 21, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe
