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By Netsifters
Fragments of Empedocles
By William Ellery Leonard
8vo (8 1/2 ins.) Tan paper boards with a maroon spine. The title on the spine is gilded; printed in blue ink on the front cover. Published by The Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago,1908. The preface is dated Madison, Wisconsin, May 14, 1907. There are 92 pages including a bibliography and notes.
From the introduction:
"Of the many works, imputed to (the philospoher and poet) Empedocles by antiquity, presumably only two are genuine, the poems 'On Nature' and the 'Purifications'; and of these we possess but the fragments preseved in the citations oif philosopher and doxographer from Aristotle to Simplicius, which, though a small part of the whole, are much more numerous and comprehensive than those of either Xenophanes or Parmenides. It is impossible to determine when the poems were lost: they were read doubtless by Lucretius and Cicero, possibly as late as the sixth century by Simplicius, who at least quotes from the 'On Nature' at length."
From the 'Purifications':
For since, O Muse undying, thou couldst deign
To give for these our paltry human cares
A gateway to thy soul, O now much more
Kalliope of the beautiful dear voice,
Be near me now beseeching! -- whilst I speak
Excelling thoughts about the blessed gods.
Condition: Very Good minus. The covers and spine are only lightly shelf worn with just a hint of rubbing. There is some bumping. The binding is tight and square. The cover is very good, with some small spots on the back. The interior is mostly good, though there is some foxing to a few pages at the front and back. Page 26 has a small tear (approx. 1/2 inch) at the bottom, and there is some creasing and tearing to adjacent pages. There is an owner's inscription on the front endpage. The rear endpage is missing a small piece of its corner.
Each translated fragment is preceded by its original greek. This is an important volume of ancient greek poetry, translated by one of the major academics of his time.
Price: $2,000.00 for all ten books.
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