Macrobius, Ambrosius Theodosius (sold)
Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius (c. 370 - 430) was a Roman author, grammarian, and philosopher active in the 5th century. He survives only in his writings and of his life, little is certain. In his Saturnalia, he writes that he was 'born under a foreign sky', so we can be confident he was not born in Rome (or even Italy), but of which sky, scholarship is uncertain though most lean towards Tunisia (Africa Vetus). Some believe he was Greek, though his fluency in Latin, greater than his fluency in Greek, has led others to speculate that Latin was his first language. He is associated most often with a 'Macrobius Theodosius' cited in the Codex Tehodosianus as a praetorian prefect of Spain from 399 - 400, a proconsul of Africa in 410, and praepositus (lord chamberlain) in 422. Many believe he was an early Christian convert, though such is not evident in any his writings. He does mention a beloved son, Macrobius Plotinus Eustathius. Regardless of his biographical obscurity, he was a prodigious scholar whose works had a long and substantial influence. Macrobius' commentaries on Cicero's Somnium Scipionis ('Dream of Scipio') became the key source for Neoplatonism in the Latin world and included some foundational discussion of the nature of the world and the cosmos. Other works include the Saturnalia, a collection of Roman religious and antiquarian lore, and the now-lost linguistic work De Differentiis et Societatibus Graeci Latinique Verbi ('On the Differences and Similarities of the Greek and Latin Verb').
Foundations of Terra Australis Incognita.
Macrobij Ambrosij Aurelij Theodosij, uiri consularis, and illustris : In Somnium Scipionis, lib. II. Saturnaliorum, lib. VII.
sold
This is a beautiful example of the 1548 Lyon edition of Macrobius' Saturnalia and his commentary on Cicero's Dream of Scipio, or Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis. The latter is one of the most cited works in the scholarship of the Middle Ages. In addition to its foundational role in transmitting Neoplatonism to the medieval world, this book was by the medieval world as the essential primer on cosmography. Macrobius' commentaries built on Cicero's cosmographical ideas and formalized them. Macrobius' analysis of Cicero placed his cosmography in the context of Claudius Ptolemy's astrological work. Through Macrobius' lens, the universe as understood by the ancient world, was embraced by philosophers, authors, and artists. His ideas extensively influenced the early geographers of the 16th century and were the source of early speculation on the existence of the undiscovered 'Terre Australis' (Southern Continent), an idea later adopted by Mercator and Ortelius. (more details)