Published in Milan in 1757 by Joseph Marelli, this complete two-volume edition of Marcus Tullius Cicero's Orationum preserves one of the greatest collections of classical Roman speeches ever written.

 

Printed entirely in Latin, the work contains many of Cicero's most celebrated courtroom and political orations, texts that have shaped the study of rhetoric, law, philosophy, and statesmanship for more than two thousand years.

​

Both volumes remain in their original eighteenth-century vellum bindings and retain numerous contemporary ownership inscriptions, manuscript notes, and reading annotations accumulated over centuries of use. Particularly noteworthy are repeated Ex Libris inscriptions identifying members of the Pagani family, including Latinized forms such as Pagani Antonii Josephi and Pagani Joannis Andreae, together with recurring initials (P.A.J.) and family ownership marks. These inscriptions strongly suggest the books remained within the same Italian family across multiple generations.

​

The volumes also preserve later ownership evidence, including a nineteenth-century printed card referring to Giuseppe Pagani, identified as an attorney, professor, and Provincial Councillor, indicating that the books continued to remain in the Pagani family's library long after their original publication. While the precise genealogy of the family has not yet been conclusively established, the surviving inscriptions provide an unusually rich record of continuous historical ownership.

​

Despite expected wear consistent with nearly 270 years of age, including significant loss to portions of the vellum spine on Volume I, the books remain complete and highly presentable. Their original bindings, extensive manuscript provenance, and documented family ownership make this an appealing example of an eighteenth-century scholarly library that remained actively used rather than merely preserved.

 

A handsome and historically engaging survivor from the Age of Enlightenment, this set offers both classical scholarship and a tangible connection to generations of readers who studied, annotated, and preserved these volumes over the course of nearly three centuries.