Lecturer discovers rare book gem in Law Library

A RARE book written by one of the world’s finest minds lay undiscovered in the Law Library for almost 200 years, it has emerged.

The ancient text by revered Roman statesman and lawyer Cicero — which is just one of 11 surviving copies in the world — was tucked away inside a larger volume since the 1800s.

The book, published almost 500 years ago, was uncovered by Professor Colm Kenny while he was carrying out research for a lecture on the influential philosopher.

“I knew it was an important book when I saw that it was printed in London in the 16th century,” said the Dublin City University lecturer.

“It really is a magnificent book to look at and the quality of the print is very good.”

In the dual language Latin English book, Cicero examines the theme of old age including how society values the elderly and what older people have to offer.

‘On Old Age — De Senectute’ is one of 50 books by Cicero which line the shelves of the King’s Inn Library.

“No lawyer would be particularly interested in these books because they are not legal books,” said Prof Kenny.

“While the librarian there is wonderful and does great work, there is a huge collection,” he explained.

Coincidentally, Prof Kenny is also the author of a book examining the cultural controversy over non-legal books being sold off by King’s Inn more than 30 years ago.

The move was opposed by many important figures, including former President Mary Robinson, who believed King’s Inn was throwing away a huge cultural asset.

Despite an impression that the entire collection was sold, many important works remain in the library.

No other copy of this Cicero work is known to exist in Ireland. It was produced 16 years before the first book of any kind was printed here.

Just 10 copies of the edition, which was printed in 1535, are known to survive internationally.

Prof Kenny established the edition’s importance after checking it against two other editions in Britain.