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The 1651 first edition of the royalist poet Edmund Prestwich¿s translation of Seneca¿s ¿Hippolitus,¿ (now generally known as ¿Phaedra¿) together with Prestwich¿s own poetry - his first published work and possibly the rarest volume produced by the ¿Shirley Stanley circle.¿ The volume is prefaced by commendatory verses by other members of the Shirley Stanley circle, including James Shirley and Charles Cotton. ¿Hippolitus¿ comprises the first half of the volume, while Prestwich¿s original poems comprise the second half. This, like Sherburne¿s ¿Medea,¿ is a major document of the ¿Shirley Stanley circle¿ - a group of royalist poets formed during the commonwealth and protectorate years around the philosopher Thomas Stanley (¿The History of Philosophy¿) and the royalist poet James Shirley (¿Dodona¿s Grove¿). Teresa Grant (University of Warwick) states: ¿These writers [of the Shirley Stanley circle] used Seneca to understand, enable and justify a coherent way of existing under tyranny, just as Seneca had tried to do in the first century AD.¿ Exceptionally rare on the market ¿ no example at auction since 1978. The volume has been made complete, with leaves a1, a7, c3, d1, d6, g1, h1-2, h7-8, and i4 in excellent facsimile. The restorer, one ¿Jones¿ according to a note on the rear free-endpaper, is to be commended; the facsimile leaves are very tastefully done and beautifully integrated, making this a remarkably pleasing volume. It is paginated as follows (including the facsimile leaves): [26], 70, 67-139, [3]. The volume measures 14.8 cm by 9.7 cm by 1.8 cm; each leaf measures about 143 mm by 93 mm. Internally, the volume is in about very good condition, with generally clean pages, clear print and sufficient to ample margins throughout. There is a little occasional toning or spotting, heavier toning of the title page, and tasteful, unobtrusive strengthening of the fore-edge of several leaves (not affecting the text). Attractively bound in mid-17th century English calf, contemporary to the time of publication (rebacked with the original 17th century spine laid-down), in about very good condition. The volume may be referenced as Wing S2512, Pforzheimer 861, and Woodward & Macmanaway 1016. Provenance: 1. Michael Osbaldeston (his ownership signature dated 1684 on the verso of the final leaf); 2. ¿Tripsy Greengoose¿ (remarkable 17th or early 18th century ownership signature, almost certainly pseudonymous, on the verso of the title); 3. Stephen Maggs (his ownership inscription dated 22 May 1711 on the verso of the title); 4. John Gray (his ownership signature on the title dated 1712/13); 5. Edward Tyryll (his 18th century ownership signature on the verso of the title and the verso of the final leaf); 6. Flora Books (sold to Christopher Rowe in 2004); 7. Christopher Rowe (his early 21st century bookplate on the front endpaper). The tragedy of Hippolitus, now generally known as the tragedy of Phaedra, tells the story of the wife of King Theseus of Athens, and her consuming lust for her stepson, Hippolytus. Based on Greek Mythology and the tragedy Hippolytus by Greek playwright Euripides, Seneca's Phaedra is one of several artistic explorations of this tragic story. Seneca portrays the title character as knowing and direct in the pursuit of her stepson, while in other iterations of the myth she is more of a passive victim of fate. Seneca wrote Phaedra during the Roman Empire before 54 C.E., and the play has exercised significant influence over the dramatic literature of the subsequent centuries, particularly in the works of Shakespeare and dramas of 16th and 17th century France. Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known as Seneca the Younger c. 4 BC - AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. Seller Inventory # 025597
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