MONTAIGNE, Michel de.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Essays. First Nonesuch edition, number 650 of 1,375 copies, of which 900 were released for sale in England. Regarded as the most important Elizabethan translation of any contemporary text, the translation's influence on English writers and philosophers of the time - including Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton, Hobbes, and Locke - is inestimable. Florio's translation was first published in 1603. This beautifully printed production, based on the third edition of 1632, is considered "the most authoritative" (Yates, p. 242). "Florio's style is clearly visible throughout the translation. His extraordinary skill in the use of alliteration, his ability to embroider and amplify the French original through the addition of English synonyms, his sense of rhythm, his art of turning French proverbs and expressions into idiomatic English equivalents, and his experimentation with new-formed English words (such as 'conscientious', 'endeare', 'efface', 'facilitate') made his Montaigne one of the great translations of the Elizabethan age" (ODNB).

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.