First edition of the bilingual Greek-Latin text of Iamblichus' Life of Pythagoras by Ludolf Küster from the manuscript held at the Laurentian Library. The facing Latin translation is the work of Frédéric Ulrich Obrecht and Konrad Rittershausen. Bound at the end is Porphyry’s Life of Pythagoras.

Illustrated with a large frontispiece portrait of Pythagoras, based on a coin from the collection of Fulvio Orsini.

Contemporary Dutch gilt-panelled vellum boards, spine with 5 raised bands and gilt ornaments with the arms of the city of Amsterdam, large gilt arms of the city of Amsterdam on each board within double gilt floral borders around sides both with incorporated coat of arms of Amsterdam within vegetal ornaments, armorial corner ornaments, speckled edges. Vellum darkened, a 2.5 cm split to the middle of the upper joint, one abrasion and a pale mark to the upper cover, some gilt tooling partially faded,traces of ties, scattered foxing.

Magnificent copy of the Neoplatonist biographies of Pythagoras by Iamblichus and Porphyry, with the arms of the city of Amsterdam featuring the Stedemaagd, the allegorical female figure of the city flanked by cherubs.

Upon publication, this edition of Iamblichus’ text was immediately praised: “Mr. R. Küster [...] oversaw the printing of this collection. The first piece it contains, namely Iamblichus’ book on the life and philosophy of Pythagoras, had already appeared in 1598, printed by Commelin in quarto, with a Latin translation by Jean Arcerius, a Frisian. It would be difficult to find an ancient author more poorly treated by time and the ignorance of copyists than the Greek text of Iamblichus in that first edition; and it can truly be said that the Latin translation reflected all the corruption of the original text. No one until now had undertaken to restore that text to its original purity, and Mr. Küster has taken on this task, for which he was especially well suited, being deeply versed in the reading of the Ancients and long dedicated to the study and collation of the best manuscripts.” (Journal des savants, 10 October 1707).

An exceptional copy bringing together two of the only three surviving biographies of Pythagoras from late Antiquity.