Background
Justus Lipsius was born on October 18, 1547 in Overijse, Belgium.
( As part of the sixteenth century s intellectual "trium...)
As part of the sixteenth century s intellectual "triumvirate," which included Joseph Scaliger and Isaac Casaubon, Justus Lipsius formulated a humanist scholarship aimed ultimately at practical application in both public and personal affairs. Justus Lipsius distinguished himself as a student of the classics, first at the Jesuit college at Cologne and then at the university in Leuven (Louvain). In 1569, soon after completing his studies, he published a precocious volume of Varia Lectiones, a collection of philological observations on classical texts. This initial work had significant and lasting effects on his career, the most immediate being an appointment as Latin secretary to Cardinal Granvelle, chief minister of Philip II in the Low Countries, who took the young man to Rome, where he was introduced to international power politics as well as to the treasures of Italian libraries, including the Vatican s. After two years in Rome, Lipsius began his uneasy roaming, traveling from Vienna to Jena to Cologne, serving in a variety of posts. In 1579, he accepted a position at Leiden University in Holland, where he found a haven from his home province for nearly thirteen years. It was there that he delivered the lectures on letter-writing that later became Epistolica Institutio. In 1591, when Leiden University became too stridently Calvinist for Lipsius, he returned to Leuven as professor of Latin and was once again reconciled with the Catholic Church. There he remained for the rest of his life, resisting numerous appeals from foreign courts and especially from Italian churchmen. As a particularly suitable commentator on the letter, Lipsius, like so many humanist scholars, was a prolific correspondent and published many of his own letters. In the manner typical of his age, he used the published letter as a kind of forerunner to the scholarly article. Yet his chief distinction as an epistolary theorist lies in his view of the letter as a means of personal expression. His purpose was to recover the classical Roman view of the letter as written conversation, a conception lost during the Middle Ages and only imperfectly restored during the earlier Renaissance. Hence, the Epistolica Institutio assumes an important position in the Lipsius canon: as an effort to restore the authentic features of the classical genre, it bespeaks the humanist scholar; in marking out a space for individual self-definition during a period of increasingly powerful and alienating social and religious pressures, it anticipates the ideological preoccupations of the contemporary world.
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(A Brief Outline of the History of Libraries is written by...)
A Brief Outline of the History of Libraries is written by Justus Lipsius, a Belgian philologist and humanist who wrote several books capitalizing on his love of philosophy and his penchant for detailed explorations of philosophical thought. This particular book, however, highlights a completely different interest of Lipsius': his passion for the cultivation of knowledge and the historic collection of ancient texts. This book is a great asset for readers interested in the origins of the modern library, for those that have an intense love of books, or even those who have worked in libraries and can appreciate the history of this hallowed institution. For Lipsius, the word library can describe three very different things: a place where books are kept, a physical bookcase, or books themselves. Lipsius' ode to libraries begins with an exploration of the history of the book, more specifically printed text, and how it rose to become a prevalent mode of communication in the modern world. Lipsius then explains how individuals began to collect these printed texts and store them in their homes, generally on aptly named "bookshelves". As printed texts became more and more mainstream and the intrinsic value of the book became a known commodity, groups or organizations quickly followed to collect, organize, and store said materials: what is known today as a library. Justus Lipsius' book A Brief Outline of the History of Libraries holds a considerable amount of information on the beginning of the printed word and the creation of libraries. This is an interesting read for anyone interested in the history of books, and especially people who have utilized or worked in libraries. This is a beginner book which sets solid groundwork for a more detailed exploration into the history of libraries. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Justus Lipsius' De Constantia (1584) is one of the most i...)
Justus Lipsius' De Constantia (1584) is one of the most important and interesting of sixteenth century Humanist texts. A dialogue in two books, conceived as a philosophical consolation for those suffering through contemporary religious wars, De Constantia proved immensely popular in its day and formed the inspiration for what has become known as 'Neo-stoicism'. This movement advocated the revival of Stoic ethics in a form that would be palatable to a Christian audience. In De Constantia Lipsius deploys Stoic arguments concerning appropriate attitudes towards emotions and external events. He also makes clear which parts of stoic philosophy must be rejected, including its materialism and its determinism. De Constantia was translated into a number of vernacular languages soon after its original publication in Latin. Of the English translations that were made, that by Sir John Stradling (1595) became a classic; it was last reprinted in 1939. The present edition offers a lightly revised version of Stradling's translation, updated for modern readers, along with a new introduction, notes and bibliography.
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humanist philologist philosopher
Justus Lipsius was born on October 18, 1547 in Overijse, Belgium.
Sent early to the Jesuit college in Cologne, he was removed at the age of sixteen to the university of Louvain by his parents, who feared that he might be induced to become a member of the Society of Jesus.
Appointed to the chair of history and philosophy at Jena in 1572, Lipsius later accepted the chair of history and law at the new University of Leiden (1578) and that of history and Latin at Leuven.
His first scholarly publication, the Variae lectiones of 1569, was in the traditional field of textual criticism. He quickly established himself as the leading editor of Latin prose texts, and his editions of Tacitus (first in 1574) and of Seneca (1605) were long renowned as models of their kind and are still worthy of attention.
Lipsius was also a leader in the anti-Ciceronian stylistic movements of his time. His Latin style, terse and epigrammatic, owes a large debt to Tacitus. Force of personality and style also distinguish his vast correspondence conducted in Latin.
His 1604 introduction to Stoic thought remained the most intelligent and complete assessment of that philosophy for more than two centuries, although it was chiefly Roman, not Greek, Stoicism that inspired it. For him the ancient philosophers and historians were no mere subjects for research: they were guides to practical morality. He considered himself a Stoic, and his interest in Seneca lies at the root of his tract De constantia (1584). Similarly, his interest in Tacitus inspired his political theory, the Politicorum libri sex of 1589.
( As part of the sixteenth century s intellectual "trium...)
(A Brief Outline of the History of Libraries is written by...)
(Justus Lipsius' De Constantia (1584) is one of the most i...)