BARCLAY, John, IO: *Barclaii Argenis*.

IO: Barclaii Argenis.

Latest edition. With an explanation of proper names not yet published. With the permission of the authorities. Venice, 1657. Printed by Christoph Tomasini. (14.5 x 8 cm), p. 24, fol. [12], p. 562, [12], copperplate frontispiece, vignettes, decorative initials, contemporary parchment binding. 
One of the most famous Latin political novels of the 17th century. It is an allegorical novel about politics, power, and religious conflicts, set in fictional kingdoms. Under fictional names, however, the author presents real events and political figures from 16th- and 17th-century Europe. The religious conflicts in France during the reigns of Henry III and Henry IV serve as a particularly important backdrop. The book was translated into Polish very early on by Wacław Potocki —the first Polish edition was published in Warsaw in 1697. This translation ranks among the greatest translational achievements of Old Polish literature. Slight wear on the binding, slight soiling of the pages, slight stain on the lower edge of the first few pages.