A Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris, Themistocles, Socrates, Euripides, and Others; and the Fables of Aesop.
Place and Imprint: London: Printed by J. Leake, for Peter Buck, 1697.
Edition: First edition, separate issue.
Bibliographical References: ESTC R14052; Wing B1928; cf. Bibliotheca Fictiva 39.
Condition: Edges a little rubbed; upper hinge repaired; very good copy.
Book ID: 28838
Physical Description
8vo, early polished calf, gilt rules.Comments
The seminal treatise by Richard Bentley (1662-1742) on the authenticity of ancient texts, most notably the alleged letters of the 500 BC tyrant Phalaris, which Bentley convincingly demonstrated on linguistic and historical grounds to be forgeries. It was a controversial treatise and roundly attacked, but Bentley successfully defended his arguments. “Richard Bentley was and remains the greatest of English classical scholars. His reputation was made by his Dissertation on Phalaris, the final crushing blow in the Battle of the Books” - see under Printing and the Mind of Man, 178. The Dissertation was issued in two forms in 1697, as an appendix to William Wotton's Reflections upon Ancient and Modern Learning, Second Edition (1697) and separately, as here. The title-pages and text of both issues are identical. See the ODNB. Early ink number on the title-page.Price: $1,500.00
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