Books

Naples, Felice Mosca, 1709-1712. . First editions; four works in one volume, 12mo, (15.5 x 9.5 cm); small woodcut device to titles, woodcut headpieces and initials, some leaves browned, scattered light foxing; later quarter brown morocco, gilt lettering to spine, raised bands, some wear to boards and extremities, corners slightly rubbed, marbled endpapers, overall a good firm copy; 126, [2]; 130, [2]; 48; 93, [3]pp. A sammelband of four scarce first editions by the influential Enlightenment philosopher Giambattista Vico (1668-1744).Vico 'spent most of his professional life as Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Naples. He was trained in jurisprudence, but read widely in Classics, philology, and philosophy, all of which informed his highly original views on history, historiography, and culture. His thought is most fully expressed in his mature work, the Scienza Nuova or The New Science. In his own time, Vico was relatively unknown, but from the nineteenth century onwards his…

This work by Giambattista Vico discusses the early wisdom of the Italians. Vico approaches the topic from a philosophical perspective, asserting that the early Italians had developed a concrete and refined form of wisdom.