"Vende-se na loja da Impressão Regia á Real Praça do Commercio" on title page.

"The editor states in a note that the real name of the author of the novel is Alexandre de Gusmão, who had written it during his youth. This attribution has provoked discussion amongst authorities on the history of Brazilian literature, but no one has succeeded in disproving the tradition which gives the author's name as Thereza Margarida da Silva e Orta." (Moraes)

Authorship ascribed to Teresa Margarida da Silva e Orta and also to Alexandre de Gusmão.

Originally published as: Maximas de virtudes e formosura com que Diofanes... Lisbon, 1752.

Portuguese coat of arms on title page.

Signatures: A-X⁸ Y⁴ (-Y4) (A6, D1, Y3 versos blank)

Moraes, R.B. de. Bib. Brasiliana (1983 ed.), p. 636.

Silva, Innocencio da. Diccionario bib. portuguez, VII, p. 317.

John Carter Brown Library copy acquired with the assistance of the Hains Fund.

John Carter Brown Library copy bound in contemporary calf. This copy has some stains.