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1739, Phrynichi Eclogae, Rare Utrecht Edition of the Ancient Attic Greek Style Guide, Greek & Latin
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1739, Phrynichi Eclogae, Rare Utrecht Edition of the Ancient Attic Greek Style Guide, Greek & Latin

550.00€

Rare 1739 Utrecht Edition of Phrynichi Eclogae – Landmark of Classical Greek Philology & Atticism

An exceptionally scarce eighteenth-century scholarly edition of Phrynichus Arabius’ Eclogae Nominum et Verborum Atticorum, published in Utrecht (Trajectum ad Rhenum) in 1739 by Joannes Evelt.

One of the most influential surviving works of ancient Greek philology, the Eclogae is far more than a grammar or dictionary. Compiled during the 2nd century AD, it is essentially an ancient linguistic “style guide,” dedicated to preserving the purity of Classical Attic Greek.

As the spoken language of the eastern Roman Empire evolved into Koiné Greek, Phrynichus sought to restore the refined vocabulary and idiom of fifth- and fourth-century BC Athens. His work belongs to the intellectual movement known as Atticism, whose adherents regarded authors such as Plato, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Sophocles, and Aristophanes as the supreme models of correct Greek.

Rather than composing a conventional grammar, Phrynichus organized his work as a series of concise corrective entries. Each condemns a contemporary word or grammatical form before prescribing its authentic Attic equivalent, producing one of antiquity’s most important records of linguistic prescription.

A Monument of Humanist Scholarship

This celebrated Utrecht edition assembles the work of several of Europe’s greatest Renaissance and early modern classical scholars.

It contains the influential Latin translation and commentary of Pedro Juan Núñez (Petri Joannis Nunnesii), together with extensive annotations by David Hoeschel, the celebrated textual observations of Joseph Justus Scaliger, and the editorial revisions and additional notes of Jan Cornelis de Pauw.

The result is a major critical edition that reflects centuries of European humanist scholarship and remains one of the finest early printed editions of Phrynichus.

An Essential Source for the History of the Greek Language

Ironically, the Eclogae is valued today for precisely the opposite reason it was written.

By meticulously condemning the vocabulary and expressions used in everyday Greek during the Roman Imperial period, Phrynichus inadvertently preserved invaluable evidence for the evolution of Koiné Greek, the common language of the Hellenistic world and of the New Testament.

For this reason, the work is regarded not only as a masterpiece of ancient Atticism but also as one of the most important surviving sources for the historical development of the Greek language.

Bibliographical Details

Title: Phrynichi Eclogae Nominum et Verborum Atticorum

Author: Phrynichus Arabius (2nd century AD)

Editor: Jan Cornelis de Pauw

With the scholarship of:

  • Pedro Juan Núñez
  • David Hoeschel
  • Joseph Justus Scaliger

Publisher: Joannes Evelt

Place: Trajectum ad Rhenum (Utrecht)

Year: 1739 (MDCCXXXIX)

Language: Greek & Latin

Pagination: 70 + 217 + 14 + 10 pages

Dimensions: 20.5 cm × 16 cm

Binding: Contemporary leather spine with original paper-covered boards.

Condition

Very good antique condition.

Complete and firmly bound in its contemporary binding with leather spine and original paper-covered boards. Expected age-related wear and rubbing to the binding. Internally clean and complete, with light foxing and natural age-toning characteristic of eighteenth-century handmade paper. The Greek and Latin text remains crisp and fully legible throughout.

Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the description.