Lucianus, Samosatensis.

[three lines in Greek characters transliterated as] Loukianou Peri Parasitou, etoi hoti techne he parasitike, [then in roman characters] Luciani parasitus, ubi artem ese parasiticam astruit.

      Parisiis: Ex officina Christiani Wecheli, 1536. Small 8vo. [20] ff. Whether Lucian is truly the author of this work (The Parasite) is still open to some contention. In it he, or the real author, weighs in on the age-old question of whether philosophy or rhetoric is the higher art form and instead proves both ironically and satirically that parasitism is the highest of all art forms. Text entirely in elegant Greek and with but one woodcut initial. The printer's device of a Pegasus is on the title-page. Rare: We find no copy in WorldCat or COPAC. Moreau locates one copy in the Anglo world, at the Morgan Library. Moreau, V, 228. Full dark modern calf old style, absolutely plain without labels; spine with raised bands accented with blind rules extending onto covers to terminate in trefoils, and simple blind double fillets to covers. One old numeral inked to title-page; text unmarked with paper clean and even bright, throughout.