Pater, Walter — Marius the Epicurean

Soho First edition, trade softcover. Published London: Soho, 1985, first printing. Thick 8vo. wrappers, 467pp. Age tone to paper, else very good plus, straight, tight copy. It was as a critic and a humanist that Pater (1839-1894), a teaching fellow at Oxford, became a powerful influence on his own and succeeding generations, claiming disciples as diverse as Virginia Woolf and Ezra Pound. This has been described as "the most highly finished of all his works and the expression of his deepest thought". It is the story of Marius, the grave and thoughtful young man whose reactions to the diverse philosophical forces of his times the Golden Book of Lucius Apuleius, the stoicism of Marcus Aurelius, the tranquil beauties of the old Roman religion, and the lurid horrors of the Christian persecution are interestingly and imaginatively depicted. Very Good Minus No Jacket, As Issued 1st Edition 1st Printing London 8vo 466