Tacito portuguez, ou traducçam politica dos tres primeyros livros dos Annaes … illustrados com varias ponderaçoens que servem a comprehensão assim da historia como da politica … dada a luz por Antonio do Couto Castellobranco …. Luis do Couto Felix, trans.

Lisbon, Na Officina Real Deslandesiana, 1715.. First Edition in Portuguese. 4°, contemporary speckled calf (sides and spine severely scuffed, lacking free endleaves), spine with raised bands in five compartments (piece missing in upper compartment; label gone from second compartment), text block edges sprinkled red and blue. Binding ugly but sound. Woodcut initials and headpieces. Typographical headpieces. Large woodcut tailpieces. Light soiling in one corner of title and next few leaves, a few minor stains elsewhere. Single small round wormhole in blank outer margin of first 20 leaves. Overall in good condition. (26 ll.), 313 pp., (1 blank l.). *** FIRST EDITION of this translation of Annals books I-III. One of the licenses, by the respected scholar Raphael Bluteau (author of the Vocabulario portuguez) states that no Portuguese translation of any part of Tacitus had been published before this one.Couto Felix (1642-1713) was fluent in Latin by age 9 and had received the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Evora by age 11, after which he went on to study law at Coimbra. Known for his vast erudition and his knowledge of languages, he was appointed head of the Torre do Tombo archive in 1703. This work was published posthumously by his son, who wrote the life of Couto Felix that appears in the preliminary leaves (*1-***2).*** Innocêncio V, 281: "os periodos curtos e concisos do texto apparecem como que afogados no mar de reflexões e commentarios do traductor." Barbosa Machado III, 88-9. Gonçalves Rodrigues, A tradução em Portugal 471. Not located in NUC.