Mercurij Maioris, Sive Grammaticarum Institutionum Libri X
Lazzaroni, Agostino Saturnio; Saturnius, Augustus; Augustini Saturnii Lazaronei
Venice Cominum De Tridino Montisferrati 1556
Vellum 8vo 8" - 9" tall [8], 418 (incorrectly numbered as 304) , [25] pages. Last blank DD8 used as final pastedown. Signatures *8A-DD8. Small
octavo. Full contemporary vellum with remains of ties, spine has nice old handwritten title, bottom corner of spine
covering chipped away. Interior no front blank. Date and printer from colophon at rear. Title page a bit grubby, old
handwriting looks like printing information. Woodcut initials throughout, occasional small spotting or foxing but
otherwise clean and unmarked. Quite scarce, none for sale, only one auction record in the last 50 years, very few
copies in North America and the Venice edition is even more unusual. OCLC 54264161. The Mercurius Major is the
principal work of the enigmatic grammarian Augustinus Saturnius (Agostino Saturnio) , which attracted much praise and
opprobrium in the late Renaissance, clearly a controversial work and now for the most part forgotten, hence its
scarcity. It has been viewed as a prime example of a “humanistic grammar”, with something of an “eclectic philosophy”
-- in the mode of philosophising grammarians of the late Renaissance; following in the tradition of Priscian as well
as later mediaeval grammarians, but adding a touch of the “modern” as well, along with critiques of earlier modes;
representative of the earliest beginnings of the science of linguistics. [see Lurhman: Augustinus Saturnius Laza and
His Place in the Grammatical Tradition] Hence, as with other early Italian Latin grammars, it places great emphasis on
the verb (Saturnius was a controversial pioneer in treatment of the impersonal verb). It was designed as an advanced
grammar and the first seven chapters are devoted to detailed and theoretical issues of language, surprisingly more
Aristotlean than Platonic, with a refreshing take (contra to a degree to such rational eminences as Scaliger) on the
arbitrariness of Latin as a language; ie, It was clearly not developed solely by reason --- Saturnius compares the
grammaticality of Latin to a monetary system, which clearly depends on usage. Nevertheless it is a subtle argument;
Saturnius was a pioneering “rational” grammarian who advocated such a clear-headed rational approach to the study of
Latin. “For Saturnius, humanist grammarians had rambled by worshiping contemporary authorities, such as Valla, which
led them astray from reason and truth. Instead, they should worship Mercurius, the paradigm of wisdom and eloquence.
[see Alegre: Humanist Networks and Keepers of Ancient Wisdom]. Saturnius was not without his critics, most notably the
very influential El Brocensce (Francisco Sánchez de las Brozas 1523–1600 ) whose famous and much republished grammar,
Minerva sive de causis linguae latinae, was in fact titled in opposition to Saturnius’, ie, Minerva versus Mercurius .
Although in the preface of his book, Le Brocensce praises Saturnius and “his very acute disquisitions about grammar”,
he later rages against Saturnius and his “completel foolish and shameless” attacks on the Roman grammarian Priscian,
and promises that his Minerva will replace Mercurius, which indeed it did. El Brocensce finally closes with “May the
gods annihilate you, Saturnius, and these trifles of yours! ” --- although in fact most of Saturnius' Mercurius is in
agreement with, and came before, Le Brocensce's Minerva, hence the importance of this book. All in all, a fascinating
and rare look at a now forgotten chapter of early scientific linguistics. Who says the study of grammar is boring!



WE ARE LOCATED IN CANADA but we can ship using USPS



International Customers -- we may be able to ship more cheaply than we show - please e-mail us to see what we can offer to your location.

US Customers - We ship twice or more a week using the US Postal Service via our courier from Canada to our mailing address in New York and then on to US addresses.We are able to offer competitive rates with this service, but if you require quicker shipping, please inquire. For books over $799 we may ship via CanadaPost from Toronto.

Canadian customers -- we may have to charge HST/GST for Canadian purchases (generally 5% for books). However, shipping is generally lower than on ebay's shipping cost calculator. Email me with your province and I'll be happy to calculate HST and shipping.


We are happy to combine shipping! For our international customers, import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying. These charges are normally collected by the delivering freight (shipping) company or when you pick the item up -- do not confuse them with additional shipping charges. We really cannot show merchandise below value or mark items as "gifts" - it can get us into all kinds of trouble with customs. Since Brexit, shipping to the UK may require a VAT invoice.

We have been selling books for over 20 years and pack and ship them with care.




Thanks for bidding and thanks for being a fellow book lover. See our other listings for more unusual and rare books.