Facetiae

Henry James told me long afterwards a comical tale of how, being left to browse in Mimes's library one afternoon, he strayed into an alcove of pretty and inviting volumes, in sweet bindings, mellowed by age, and was presently terrified by the discovery that he was enmeshed in the toils of what bibliophiles term, I think, "Facetiae" -- of which Milnes had a collection unmatched among private book-owners.

Hawthorne and His Circle Julian Hawthorne 1890

The crammer argued, not only wisely, but well, that a certain proportion of these questions were pretty safe to be again propounded in subsequent contests, just as one sees antique Joe Millers appear again and again, at regular recurring intervals, in the excruciating "Facetiae" columns of those penny serials, of limited merit and "unlimited circulation," that delight the eyes and ears of below-stairs readers, the staple of whose mental pabulum they principally form.

She and I, Volume 2 A Love Story. A Life History.

The taste of Bracciolini which is shown by these "Facetiae," is still more forcibly exhibited in a letter to Becadelli of Bologna

Tacitus and Bracciolini The Annals Forged in the XVth Century John Wilson Ross 1852

To be convinced, one has only to glance at the collection of anecdotes, styled "Facetiae," at the end of his works, which even a frequenter of the Judge and Jury

Tacitus and Bracciolini The Annals Forged in the XVth Century John Wilson Ross 1852

He was in the habit of writing "incipit feliciter" at the commencement of a work: this maybe seen in an old MS. copy of his "Facetiae", preserved in the British Museum, and supposed to have been written at Nuremberg in 1470.

Tacitus and Bracciolini The Annals Forged in the XVth Century John Wilson Ross 1852

At the head of the "Facetiae" in the morning's paper, Lousteau inserted the following note: --

A Distinguished Provincial at Paris Honor�� de Balzac 1824

At the head of the "Facetiae" in the morning's paper, Lousteau inserted the following note: --

Lost Illusions Honor�� de Balzac 1824

Presumably, since the Facetiae were in Latin, they could be savored by the clerical class without corrupting the morals of the masses.

'Stop Me if You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes' 2008

Poggio published his Facetiae in 1451, when he was seventy years old.

'Stop Me if You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes' 2008

The Liber Facetiarum, usually called simply the Facetiae, was the first volume of its kind to be published in Europe.

'Stop Me if You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes' 2008