Caii Julii Caesaris et A. Hirtii de Rebus a Caesare Gestis Commentarii

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by Julius Caesar

Andrew's ReportsCaii Julii Caesaris et A. Hirtii de Rebus a Caesare Gestis
CaesarCaiiJulii1750TitlePage.jpg

Title page from Caii Julii Caesaris et A. Hirtii de Rebus a Caesare Gestis Commentarii, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary.

Author Julius Caesar
Editor {{{editor}}}
Translator {{{trans}}}
Published Glasguae: In Aedibus Academicis: Excudebant Robertus et Andreas Foulis
Date 1750
Edition {{{edition}}}
Language Latin
Volumes {{{set}}} volume set
Pages [4], 378, [13]
Desc. fol. (33 cm.)
Location [[Shelf {{{shelf}}}]]
  [[Shelf {{{shelf2}}}]]

Julius Caesar (full name Gaius Iulius Caesar) was born into one of the highest social, yet relatively politically unimportant, families of Rome in 100BCE. Throughout his life, Caesar married daughters of high-ranking men in order to gain political and social power. He was a successful military general and a convincing (albeit not always successful) Attic orator who often used bribes, threats and a multitude of friendships and connections to exact revenge and to rise up the ranks of the politically powerful in Rome. Given control of three large regions of what would be Europe by the Senate, Caesar started, and finished, a major war in Gaul which quickly and vastly increased his influence over the Roman people while simultaneously solidifying his enemies’ positions against him. In order to escape conviction and exile, Caesar “crossed the Rubicon” in 49BCE with his army and invaded Italy, starting a civil war which spread throughout the Roman Empire. After his victory, Caesar enjoyed a variety of high political positions from 49 to 45BCE before finally naming himself dictator perpetuo (perpetual dictator) in 44BCE. On the “Ides of March,” 15 March 44BCE, Caesar was assassinated in a widespread conspiracy to take him out of power. Caesar adopted his great-nephew Octavian, who would become the first Roman “emperor” Augustus, posthumously through his will. [1]

This 1750 compilation of Julius Caesar’s works includes his most famous war commentaries in the original Latin. These are: De Bello Gallico, De Bello Civili, De Bello Alexandrino, De Bello Africano, and De Bello Hispaniensi. Caesar relates his role and memories from these wars in Gaul, the Roman Empire (Civil War), Greece, Africa, and Spain, respectively. Additionally included are fragments of letters Caesar wrote to the orator Cicero, and an index of words and concepts from the works, Index Rerum et Verborum.

This work was published by two well-known and regarded Scottish publishers. Robert and Andrew Foulis (ne Faulls) were brothers who opened their own publishing company and printing press in 18th century Glasgow.[2] Robert was a barber before enrolling in University of Glasgow courses, while Andrew “received a more regular education…[as] a student of Humanity” who taught Greek, Latin and French for a time after he graduated.[3] The brothers began as booksellers and then transitioned to publishing and printing books, with Robert initiating each endeavor before later being joined by Andrew.[4] In 1740-42, Robert had other printers print what he chose to publish, but began printing his own books in 1742 which continued until his and his brother’s deaths in 1775 and 1776, respectively, when Andrew’s son Andrew took over The Foulis Press. [5] The Foulis Press primarily produced text books and other “works of learning…and of general literature,” as it was the printer to the University of Glasgow.[6] The press is unique for the plethora of variant issues and editions of published books on special paper, in special font, or even on copper plates.[7] This is the first Foulis edition of Caesar's Commentaries, edited by Samuel Clarke, in the rare large paper issue. "This edition is a very magnificent and rare one, and in considerable request, both on account of the beauty of the impression, and of the great reputation which the Foulises have so justly acquired, by the numerous editions of the Classics published by them."[8]

Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library

Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as Caesar fol. Foul. and given by Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes. According to Gaskell's bibliography, the Foulis Press published Caesar's Works in folio once, in 1750.[9] Both Brown's Bibliography[10] and George Wythe's Library[11] on LibraryThing include this title and edition as the one intended by Jefferson's notation.

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in full, old polished calf, with brown morocco title label on the spine. Has five raised bands with floral-design gilt tooling in the compartments, triple-line borders around the covers, doubline-line borders on the cover edges, floral & leaf-form tooling along the leather turn-ins. All the edges are stained red with marbled paper endpapers and a light blue silk bookmarker bound in. Purchased from Peter Keisogloff Rare Books, Inc.

View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.

References

  1. "Iūlius Caesar" in Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World, ed. by John Roberts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
  2. David Murray, Robert & Andrew Foulis and the Glasgow Press with some account of The Glasgow Academy of the Fine Arts (Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons, Publishers to the University), 8.
  3. Ibid at 3.
  4. Ibid 6-10.
  5. Philip Gaskell, A Bibliography of the Foulis Press, 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire, England: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1986), 190.
  6. Ibid 17-18.
  7. Ibid 18-19.
  8. J. W. Moss, Classical Bibliography (1837), Vol. I, p. 236)
  9. Philip Gaskell, A Bibliography of The Foulis Press, 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire, England : St Paul's Bibliographies, 1986), 136-137.
  10. 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
  11. LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on June 28, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe