The Letters of Pliny the Younger with Observations on each Letter; and an Essay on Pliny's Life, addressed to Charles Lord Boyle BOYLE, JOHN, Fifth E

2 volumes, 4to., ([4], lxxxvii, [1], 440pp, [16pp. index] + [2], 509pp., [1], [30pp. index], [1]), pages, half-titles and engraved vignette titles to each volume by J. Vander Gucht, engraved initials, head and tail pieces designed by S. Wale and engraved by J. Bonneau; Book X with engraved vignette title-page, bound in an attractive contemporary tree calf, gilt ruled spine in compartments with raised bands and gilt titles & gilt decoration along all leading outer edges. A generally VG+ clean, tightly bound set in a handsome and unusual contemporary binding with only occasional light wear to a few extremities. (ESTC, T132377, T132378; Rothschild, 1488). Ex Libris John Leveson Gower with his neat signature to top of each half-title. John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, PC (1694 1754) was a British Tory politician who served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and again from 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower also served in the Parliament of Great Britain, where he sat in the House of Lords as a leading member of the Tories, prior to switching his political affiliation and serving in various Whig-led government ministries until his death in 1754. Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 c.113), better known in English as Pliny the Younger was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him. ""The Letters of Pliny the Younger, With Observations on Each Letter"" is an early 18th-century English translation and commentary on Pliny the Younger's original Latin letters, compiled by John Boyle, 5th Earl of Orrery and first published in 1751. This work presents Pliny's surviving correspondence, which offers a unique glimpse into Roman daily life, governance, and philosophy under the Emperor Trajan, with Boyle's ""observations"" providing commentary and insights into the letters' historical and literary significance. The collection notably includes Pliny's celebrated account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and his correspondence with Trajan regarding the treatment of Christians.