The Speeches of Isaeus in Causes Concerning the Law of Succession...
The Book That Established Sir William Jones's Reputation as a Legal Scholar Jones, Sir William [1746-1794]. The Speeches of Isaeus in Causes Concerning the Law of Succession to Property at Athens, With a Prefatory Discourse, Notes Critical and Historical, And a Commentary. London: Printed by J. Nichols, For E. and C. Dilly, In the Poultry, 1779. vii, [1], xxxix, [1], 204, [2] pp. 11 copperplates, one folding. Quarto (10-3/4" x 7-1/2"). Recent period-style three-quarter calf over marbled boards, lettering piece and gilt fillets to spine, endpapers renewed. Moderate toning to interior, occasional light foxing, pencil marks to the right margins in a few places, fore-edge of leaf P1 (pp. 105-106) discreetly mended. A nice copy of an interesting work. $650. * Only edition of Jones's first treatise on law, establishing his reputation as a legal scholar. A man of wide interests, Jones was a philologist and scholar of ancient India in addition to his service as a puisne judge in Bengal. This book is the first translation of Isaeus into English. In his commentary, Jones distinguishes Isaeus from other, better-known Attic orators and suggests changes to English land law on the basis of principles laid out in the speeches. The translation was well-received and was praised by Burke and Gibbon. Jones is perhaps best known today as one of the founders of modern linguistics for his contributions to understanding the relationship between Indo-European language. English Short-Title Catalogue T82184.
Price: $650.00
Book number 72640