"THE WORLD IS SO MALICIOUS, THAT IF WE TAKE NOT HEEDE TO PREPARE AGAINST HIS WRINCHES, IT WILL OVERTHROW US TO OUR GREATER LOSSE AND HURTE"

(BOURCHIER, John) AURELIUS, Marcus. The Golden Booke of Marcus Aurelius, Emperour, and eloquent Oratour. London: Thomas East, 1586. Small thick 12mo, early 20th-century full red morocco, raised bands. $6000.

Later edition of Bourchier's translation of Antonio de Guevara's Libro aureo, his collection of incidents and letters from the life of Marcus Aurelius, one of the most widely read and translated books of the 16th century.

Antonio de Guevara, a Spanish bishop, served as the royal chronicler Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. His 1528 Libro áureo, a history of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius that included letters and works by him, was one of the most popular works in the 16th century in Europe; it was almost immediately translated into many other languages, and was one of the main engines for the renewed focus on the Roman philosopher king. John Bourchier's translation was first published in 1534; it precedes Meric Causubon's esteemed translation of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations by exactly 100 years. According to the last page of the text, the work was "translated out of French into English." "Copies of all the early editions are rare" (Pforzheimer 441). Palmer, 17. Brueggemann, 342. STC 12447. Owner signature dated 1798.

Text trimmed close, occasionally touching headlines only; a bit of faint dampstaining, interior generally quite clean. Handsomely bound.