Plutarch’s Lives (In 6 Volumes) 1823

New Edition, 1823 (1770). LONDON: Printed by Richards & Co, Grocers’ Hall Court for W. Robinson and Sons, R. Jennings, J. M. Allison, J. Bumpus, G. and J. Offor, C. Chapple, J. Cranwell, J. Evans and Sons, J. Maynard, E. Wilson, W. Baynes and Son, T. Mason, W. Sharpe and Son, J. Robins and Co, W. Harwood, And W. Allison, London; Also, W. Stewart and Co., and J. Carfrae, Edinburgh; and W. Turnbull, Glasgow.

Octavo, 13cm x 22cm. Uniformly bound in half brown leather with marbled boards; 5 panels to spines, with volume number in gilt on black leather; decorative gilding on ridges.

Vol 1: 403 pp; Vol 2: 426pp; Vol 3: 396pp; Vol 4: 422pp; Vol 5: 394 pp; Vol 6: 402pp plus index.

B/w engraving of Plutarch by Wainwright facing title page of Vol. 1 only. Title pages read: PLUTARCH’S LIVES, translated from the original Greek with Notes, Critical and Historical; and a Life of Plutarch. By John Langhorne, D.D. and Wlliam Langhorne, A.M. A New Edition, carefully corrected throughout. In Six Volumes.

The Langhornes’ Plutarch was first published in 1770 and went through a number of editions by a variety of publishers.

Plutarch’s Lives, also known as Parallel Lives, is an influential collection of biographies of famous Greek and Roman soldiers, legislators, orators, and statesmen written as Bioi parallëloi by the Greek writer Plutarch, (c. 46 – 120 AD), the Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, near the end of his life. By comparing a famous Roman with a famous Greek, Plutarch intended to provide model patterns of behaviour and to encourage mutual respect between Greeks and Romans. Twenty-two pairs and four single biographies have survived. One of the better known comparisons is that of the Greek orator Demosthenes with the Roman orator Cicero. Plutarch’s biographies of Alexander the Great and Caesar are also notable, though his comparison of the two is not extant.

John Langhorne (March 1735 – 1 April 1779) was a British translator, poet and priest. He is chiefly remembered as the translator, with his brother, Rev. William Langhorne (1721–1772), of Plutarch's Lives, but in his day he had some reputation as a poet. His chief works in poetry are Studley Park and Fables of Flora. In his Country Justice (1774–77) he foreshadows George Crabbe, as in his descriptive poems he foreshadows William Wordsworth.

Condition: Bindings tight but all spines worn as are boards which have small tears to marbling; bumped corners; edges to back board of Vol. 1 frayed; one corner leather edging to front cover of Vol. 6 has come adrift. Some foxing and staining throughout. Some pages slightly ridged. Small tears to a very few pages. Bookseller’s name on small sticker on inside of all front covers: Greene & Co, 16 Clare Street, Dublin. Signature of Bladon Peake on following pages. Heavy lot: 3kg 268 g (600g per vol).

Please note that this lot will be posted from the UK.