Versus veteres proverbiales.
?Venetian Slovenia, s.n. c. 1680.
8vo (174 x 110 mm.). Modern pencil foliation: 30 leaves. Manuscript in a single cursive hand.
Modern tan paper wrapper. Evidence of two leather sewing cords from previous binding.
This collection of some six hundred alphabetically arranged one-liners and distichs is culled from pagan classical literature and a few Renaissance authors (e.g. Baptista Mantuano). The proverbs tend toward the bittersweet, sharp and sarcastic, treating mores, love, family, women, food, wine, agriculture, business, health and weather.
At first, the compiler — a schoolboy? — numbered the entries and identified the quotes’ origins, but he quickly lost steam and then only desultorily made attributions. A single line, apparently in Slovene with Venetian traits, suggests the territories of the Venice Republic as the place of composition. In good condition (pale stain throughout), canceled inscription on the first recto, two excised (?blank) leaves at the end.
Price: $750.00