LONGUS [LONGOS] - Les Amours Pastorares de Daphnis et Chloé. [Polish: "Daphnis and Chloe"]. [...

LONGUS [LONGOS] - Les Amours Pastorares de Daphnis et Chloé. [Polish: "Daphnis and Chloe"]. [Paris] 1745. b. w. 16.5 cm, pp. [10], 159, plate 28, frontispiece. bound in gilt leather, page edges gilt.
Rubbing of the edges of the cover, otherwise very good condition. Frontispiece done by Antoine Coypel - French court painter, signature Philipus under the illustrations, engraved by Benoit Audran. The Greek pastoral romance with illustrations "Daphnis and Chloe" is the only known work by a Greek writer creating in the 2nd century AD. Longus probably lived on the island of Lesbos, where he placed the action of his shepherd romance. The protagonists are a young shepherd boy Daphnis and a shepherdess Chloe, who fall in love with each other, but know nothing about love and understand neither its emotional nor physical side. Daphnis is introduced to the secrets of physical love by an experienced woman from the city, but the boy chooses not to take Chloe's virginity for fear of the suffering he might inflict on her. Other obstacles and dangers multiply, but in the end the youngsters get married, and in the process find their parents. Since the 16th century, the story of Daphnis and Chloe has been present in European culture read, imitated, inspiring writers, composers, painters and sculptors.