7. CICERO, Marcus Tullius (104–43 BCE). De Officiis. [With:] Paradoxa stoicorum; Hexasticha XII Sapientum de titulo Ciceronis; HORACE (65–8 BCE). Ad T. Manlium Torquatum (Carmina IV 7). [Mainz]: Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer, 1465.

The publication of Cicero’s “On Moral Duties” and “Paradoxes of the Stoics” (along with several brief examples of Classical verse) was one of the most important achievements of the Fust and Schoeffer press. Almost certainly the first appearance of Classical literature in print, the book included the first Latin verse ever printed, and the first known attempt to render Greek words in type.

Fust and Schoeffer’s Greek type, used in the Paradoxa to quote several short mottoes, does not constitute a complete alphabet and is only minimally faithful to traditional Greek letter forms. Nevertheless, it likely was seen as a worthwhile attempt to revive Classical culture. The rubrication of this copy may be cited as an example of the local “Mainz” style, as an early inscription on the first leaf indicates that the book was owned by the Carthusian Charterhouse at Mainz.