Milton, John (1608-1674)
With the added engraved portrait of Milton by Dolle after Faithorne. Bound in contemporary paneled calf with ornaments in blind (discreet restoration to head and tail of spine and front hinge). The text is in fine condition, with just a few small blemishes and a few minor marginal dampstains; last leaf of second part with small tear at head. This edition of "Paradise Lost" includes commendatory poems by S.B. in Latin and by Andrew Marvell in English. Provenance: 17th c. signature of Elizabeth Hawkins at head of first title page. [with:] Paradise regain'd.A poem. In IV. books. To which is added Samson Agonistes. The author John Milton. London: Printed for John Starkey at the Mitre in Fleet-street near Temple-Bar, 1680 Octavo: 132, [4] p. Collation: (with the initial license leaf and the final 2 advert. leaves) A-H8, I4 "'Paradise Lost' is at once a deeply traditional and a boldly original poem. Milton takes pains to fulfill the traditional prescriptions of the epic form; he gives us love, war, supernatural characters, a descent into Hell, a catalogue of warriors, all the conventional items of epic machinery. Yet no poem in which the climax of the central action is a woman eating a piece of fruit can be a conventional epic. The way of life which Adam and Eve take up as the poem ends is that of the Christian pilgrimage through this world. Paradise was no place or condition in which to exercise Christian heroism as Milton conceives it. Expelled from Eden, our first 'grand parents' pick up the burdens of humanity as we know them, sustained by a faith that we also know, and go forth to seek a blessing that we do not know yet. They are to become wayfaring, warfaring Christians, like John Milton; and in this condition, with its weaknesses and strivings and inevitable defeats, there is a glory that no devil can ever understand. Thus Milton strikes, humanly as well as artistically, a grand resolving chord. It is the careful, triumphant balancing and tempering of this conclusion which makes Milton's poem the noble architecture it is; and which makes of the end a richer, if not a more exciting, experience than the beginning." (Norton Anthology of English Literature) "Milton writes not only as a literary connoisseur but also as a scholar, appealing in his readers to a love of ordered learning like his own. Even the echoes of ancient phrase should often be considered, not as mere borrowings, conscious, or unconscious, but as allusions intended to carry with them, when recognized, the connotation of their original setting.The extraordinary thing is the way in which this object is accomplished without loss of poetic quality. The secret seems to be the degree to which the materials of learning have become associated with sensuous imagery and with moving poetical ideas. Milton is erudite, but all erudition is not for him of equal value. Winnowed, humanized, and touched with the fire of imagination, his studies have passed into vital experience and afford him as natural a body of poetical data as birds and flowers."(Hanford, A Milton Handbook, "Milton's Style and Versification - with Special Reference to 'Paradise Lost'"). THIRD EDITION of "Paradise Lost" bound with the SECOND EDITIONS of "Paradise Regain'd" and "Samson Agonistes"(see below).
NUNS. MONASTICISM. MEXICO
Two copies of the same text, with minor differences in the wording of the title page. The first copy with an engraved frontispiece (see below). Bound in contemporary stiff vellum, lacking ties, large stain to the lower cover affecting the integrity of the vellum. The blank upper margin of the free end-paper and of the first few leaves have been nibbled, not affecting the text, and there is pronounced marginal worming to the outer margin throughout, not affecting the text. Pages (viii) and (xvi) of both copies have the same contemporary manuscript additions in the margins. The endpapers are intriguing. They are attractive 18th c. paste-paper. The watermarks on the paper are Spanish but the decoration was probably executed in Mexico. Sean Richards has raised the possibility -only a gut feeling- that the papers "were made in Mexico by someone (a Spaniard) who was trained by a Netherlandish binder.". The engraved frontispiece, depicting Saint Jerome translating the Bible, was made by Puebla's greatest engraver, José de Nava (1735-1817), and is signed by the engraver "Nava sc.[ulpsit]" at Puebla ["Angelipoli"]. These are instructions and prayers for the investiture ceremonies of nuns entering the Hieronymite convent associated with the Conventual Church de San Jerónimo in Puebla. The instructions are given in italic type; the prayers to be performed during the ceremony are printed in roman. The rather large type could indicate that the book was intended to be used as a guide during the ceremonies. No other copies traced. Not in CCILA, Medina (Puebla), Palau, OCLC, or elsewhere. Founded in Spain in the 14th century, the Hieronymites are an enclosed order of nuns. They wear the white tunic, white coif, black veil, black scapular and black mantle, as well as a shield. The most famous Mexican member of the Order remains the poet-philosopher Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. The convent of the Order of San Jerónimo in Puebla, founded more than 400 years ago, is still active. The foundation of the Pueblan convent dates back to 15 July 1600. In 1586, Father Hernando Jerónimo de Santander, with the financial support of Don Juan Barranco, had founded a girls' school in Puebla dedicated to San Jerónimo. On 21 February 1597, Barranco received authorization from Pope Clemente VII to establish a convent. In 1600, Bishop Don Diego Romano welcomed four nuns from the Hieronymite monastery of Mexico City to formally found the convent of Puebla, with the aim of having the nuns run an orphanage under the name of Colegio de Jesús María next to their convent, where poor girls and orphans of Spanish parents would be cared for. It was not until 11 August 1635 that the Church of San Jerónimo was dedicated. On 18 July 1754 the convent made a formal vow of allegiance to the Virgin of Guadalupe after a number of the nuns were delivered from mysterious bouts of epilepsy. In 1768, radical changes were imposed upon the convent "aimed at the establishment of a more perfect religious life, closer to the true Rules and Constitutions of the convent." The nuns were to adhere to the "vida común", individual cells were replaced by communal dormitories, niñas were no longer to sleep in the same rooms as the nuns, expensive ornamentation was forbidden, as were private servants; all goods were to be held in common. The nuns -like those in other convents throughout Mexico- complained bitterly of these reforms but to no avail. Young women entering into the convent in 1778, when this book was published, would enter into this new, difficult environment. The Ceremonies: After she had passed from the church over the threshold of the convent, the assembled nuns received the aspirant, who was then led to the lower choir, where she kneeled, removed her worldly clothing, and received the habit and scapular, which had been previously blessed by the prelate. She then knelt in front of the abbess who cut her hair to the level of her ears. The prelate, accompanied by clerics, performed his parts of the ceremony from the other side of the cloister screen. The novice, on her knees, reads aloud her profession card with her new name in religion, holding a copy of the convent's constitutions and rules in her hand. The priest, prioress, and novice then sign the profession card. At the end of the novitiate, after training and testing, the novice fully entered into religion: humbling herself on her knees before the Reverend Mother Abbess, she made the solemn profession of obedience, poverty, chastity and perpetual cloister. Thus renouncing to everything that might have a hint of power, vainglory, personal interests, well-being, or self-will.
Featley, Daniel (1582-1645)
Bound in 20th c. quarter Morocco and olive cloth over boards with gold-tooling on spine (spine rubbed). A very good copy. Small wormhole to blank upper, inner corner of opening leaves (with a smidge of loss to the margin of the t.p., not affecting text.) Lower margin of t.p. slightly irregular, pen-trials to title. Bookplate of Jacob P.R. Lyell [James Patrick Ronaldson Lyell (b. 1871)]. On Friday, 27 June 1623, the formidable Protestant controversialist Daniel Featley debated the equally-skilled Jesuit polemicist, John Percy, alias Fisher (1569-1641). Fisher argued that the Protestant church -unlike the Catholic Church- could not produce a list of credible names before Luther who had ascribed to the Protestant faith. "The Fisher Catched in His Owne Net" (1623) is Featley's account of that debate, his most famous anti-Catholic disputation. Extremely rare. This work is held in only 4 copies in North America. ESTC S2663 (STC 10732.3) at Union Theological Seminary; and ESTC S120857 (STC 10732, with A2r line 2 of text beginning "yeares") at Folger, Harvard, and Huntington. The work is also printed in Featley's "The Romish Fisher caught and held in his owne net"(1624): ESTC S101898: Folger, Harvard, Huntington, Union Theological, UT Austin; ESTC S101879: Folger, Huntington, UCLA, Chicago, Illinois. "In Featley's account, he alleged that the meeting was originally intended to be a small, informal, private conference to provide satisfaction to Sir Humphrey Lynde's aging cousin, Edward Buggs. Buggs, after having several encounters with Fisher, was now having serious doubts about whether the Protestant church was the true church. Since Featley was a trusted friend of Lynde and widely acknowledged as the leading anti-Catholic spokesman of the day, he was the ideal person to alleviate Buggs' doubts. "Featley claimed it was his pastoral duty to protect the flock under his care from harmful theological arguments that prompted doubts and led laypeople away from the true church. He could not 'suffer Wolves to enter into our Folds, and worry our dearest Lambs, bought at the high price of our Redeemer's Blood, and that before our eyes, and not open our mouthes for their rescue.' Featley believed Catholic polemicists were laboring 'to keep those in the dungeon, whom [they held] in captivity,' and so he toiled to set these prisoners free. For Featley, disputation was not merely an academic undertaking; he was driven by a deep pastoral concern for the laypersons' souls, laboring against Catholics, who were preventing laypeople from 'seeing a glimpse of light, lest they should look after more.' He believed that disputations with Catholics and the publication of anti-Catholic polemic would ultimately aid in resolving the doubts of the laity. Featley's opponent, John Fisher, S.J., "converted to Catholicism at the age of fourteen and in 1586 crossed the channel and entered the English College at Rheims. In 1589 he matriculated at the Jesuit-run English College at Rome, and on 13 March 1593, by papal dispensation, was ordained a priest before the full canonical age. In May 1594 he was admitted into theSociety of Jesusand began his noviciate at Tournai. In the following year, however, he became ill due to overwork, and was ordered to England to recuperate."(Oxford DNB) After the accession of King James VI/I (1603), Fisher become a formidable Catholic apologist in England, and by the time of the debate with Fleatley, "Fisher the Jesuit" had won over a number of Protestants to Catholicism. "He was at times detained in London's New Prison, although he was released because of the increased toleration given to Catholics during the Spanish Match negotiations [the diplomatic effort to wed Prince Charles, son of James VI/I, to the Spanish Infanta, Maria Anna, daughter of Philip III.] The conference between Featley and Fisher was "held atSir Humphrey Lynde'shouse in London and attended by a large audience. The question at issue was 'whether theProtestant Churchwas in all ages visible, and especially in the ages going beforeLuther; and whether the names of such visible Protestants in all ages can be shewed and prooved out of good Authors' (Romish Fisher, C3v, p. 14)."(Oxford DNB) "Fisher brought with him his assistant, John Sweet, as well as 'Jesuites and some others with them.' The meeting took place in Lynde's dining room and centered on Fisher's main question. At one climactic point during a lengthy exchange over terms, Fisher's supporters interrupted the quarrel by shouting 'names, names, names.' To this Featley replied, 'What, will nothing content you but a Buttery booke? You shall have a Buttery Booke of names, if you will stay a while.' According to all accounts, the meeting was originally 'intended' to be a private conference. Nevertheless, when the Jesuits arrived, they were shocked to find Lynde's house filled with a large crowd of London's elite society, which included among others, the Earl of Warwick. "While it is possible that a crowd of London's Protestant elite happened to hear about the conference, it seems that the Protestants exaggerated the extent to which they were innocent of publicizing the debate. The large Protestant crowd served to disadvantage the Catholics, who were clearly outnumbered and in enemy territory, and to confirm the superiority of Protestantism. In this scenario, visibly surveying a crowd of Protestants could assure lay Protestants that their church was the true church."(Salazar, Calvinist Conformity in Post-Reformation England, The Theology and Career of Daniel Featley, p. 72 ff.) "Featley's most obvious polemical tactic during the Fisher debate was to argue that Roman Catholicism was a counterfeit version of Christianity, as measured according to Scripture. He sought to prove the incompatibility of the doctrines established at the Council of Trent with the Scriptures and the early church. "This approach was, of course, not unusual. Many English Reformed divines believed that Catholi
LAW. HOMICIDE. Melchiori, Bartolommeo, attrib
Bound in contemporary carta rustica. Untrimmed, with deckled edges preserved throughout. Fine condition with just a few leaves spotted. Extremely rare. OCLC and KVK locate 4 copies outside of Italy, only 1 of which is in North America (Harvard Law Library). The work has been attributed to Bartolommeo Mlechiori, who also authored a book on criminal law, "Miscellanea di materie criminali, volgari e latine, composta secondo le leggi civili e venete" (Venezia, 1741). The author's name appears only once in the book, on the final leaf of text as "Bart. Melchi." Problems addressed in Part I include: examination, by the court, of murder victims (with a special section on identifying victims of poisoning); identifying a murderer via cruentation (the common belief that the body of the victim would spontaneously bleed in the presence of the murderer); where to try murder by decapitation when the head is found in one jurisdiction and the body in another; charging and incarcerating those accused of murder; modern versus ancient forms of punishment for the crime of murder; whether a person can claim ecclesiastical immunity from prosecution; punishments for accessories to the crime; whether causing the death of a child in utero, killing a deformed child, or causing the death of a child through exposure, are to be considered murder; whether killing someone willing to die or committing suicide should be considered acts of murder. Part II deals with problems such as: whether one who attempts murder be judged the same as a murderer; if a wounded person dies of wounds that were in fact curable (or if the victim dies because of poor medical care), is the one who inflicted the wound guilty of murder?; Whether killing in self-defense is justified; whether killing one's wife or husband for cheating is justified, etc.
Bury, Richard de, Bishop of Durham (1287-1345); James, Thomas (1573-1629)
Bound in modern calf, gilt. With a typographic ornament on the title, woodcut initials, head-and tail-pieces. A tall copy with good margins, title lightly soiled and with small restoration in the blank gutter, last leaf also lightly soiled and with a similar repair to the blank corner. Some early annotations in ink on 19 pages and later notes in pencil on 15 pages (see images). A few signatures with a very light dampstain in the upper, inner blank margin. A few minor spots. PROVENANCE: 1. Early (?17th c.) signature "[ ] Fulton" on title. 2. Bookplate of George Wymberley Jones De Renne (1827-1880), planter and bibliophile, of Savannah, Georgia, known for his collection of over 1300 volumes collected from 1844-1861; De Renne's first library was destroyed by General Sherman's Union troops. His collection of books pertaining to Georgia history is now at the University of Georgia. 2. Bookplate of the Philadelphia -born Dr. Walter R. Gillette (1840-1906). The first edition to be printed in England of the first published work on bibliophily, the "love of books". The book was written in 1345 by the English statesman, intellectual, bibliophile and book collector Richard de Bury (Aungerville), Bishop of Durham, whose collection of manuscripts numbered in the hundreds. Bury discusses various aspects of book collecting and the maintenance of a library, as well as the state of learning and scholarly practices of his age. "Philobiblon"was printed four times in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (Cologne, 1473; Speyer, 1483; Paris, 1500; and Oxford, 1598/9). It was printed in the seventeenth century in an anthology "Philologicarum epistolarum centuria una" in 1610, 1614, and 1674. All editions are rare. ESTC locates 8 copies of the 1598/9 edition in North America. The text of this Oxford edition was edited by Thomas James of New College Oxford, who dedicated the publication to his patron, Thomas Bodley, who had begun the renovation of Oxford's library. James added as an appendix a list of the authors of manuscripts preserved in Oxford colleges, the first such catalogue. A 1598 issue, probably a trial publication (see Madan), is recorded in only one copy, without James's dedication to Bodley or the appendix. The book is divided into twenty chapters, among them: I. That the treasure of wisdom is chiefly contained in books.; II. The degree of affection that is properly due to books.; III. What we are to think of the price in the buying of books.; VIII. Of the numerous opportunities we have had of collecting a store of books.; IX. How, although we preferred the works of the ancients, we have not condemned the studies of the moderns.; X. Of the gradual perfecting of books.; XI. Why we have preferred books of liberal learning to books of law.; XII. Why we have caused books of grammar to be so diligently prepared.; XIII. Why we have not wholly neglected the fables of the poets.; XIV. Who ought to be special lovers of books.; XV. Of the advantages of the love of books.; XVI. That it is meritorious to write new books and to renew the old.; XVII. Of showing due propriety in the custody of books.; XVIII. Showing that we have collected so great store of books for the common benefit of scholars and not only for our own pleasure.; XIX. Of the manner of lending all our books to students. "In 'Philobiblon' (chs. 18-19) [Bury's] preferences for literary and theological works are prominent, along with his belief in the importance of language study in Greek and Hebrew. The liberal arts remained central to his understanding of learning and far more rewarding and important than the study of law."(ODNB) In "Philobiblon", Bury set out the methods he used to acquire his library, and his plans for endowing a new college at Oxford that would house his collection of hundreds of manuscripts "some of it commissioned through scribes, much of it acquired by purchase or gift from monastic communities and the second-hand book market." Bury envisioned a library at Durham College (where Trinity College now stands), but his plan was never fulfilled because of the debts he left at the time of his death. It is traditionally reported that Richard's books were sent, in his lifetime or after his death, to the house of the Durham Benedictines at Oxford, and there remained until the dissolution of the College by Henry VIII, when they were dispersed, some going into Duke Humphrey's (the University) library, others to Balliol College, and the remainder passing into the hands of Dr. George Owen, who purchased the site of the dissolved College. "Philobiblon" and the Bodleian Library: In 1598, the scholar and diplomat Thomas Bodley turned his full attention to the restoration of the former university library at Oxford. In 1599, Bodley chose Thomas James as the first keeper of the nascent library. "Bodley's letters to James deal with every aspect of the library: acquisitions; cataloguing and classification; binding; preservation; cleaning; the receiving of visitors. They constitute a manual of library management, and a uniquely detailed account, from its founder's point of view, of the birth of a great library."(ODNB) "Thomas Bodley developed his plans for his library in close consultation with his indefatigable librarian, Thomas James. James, a fellow at New College, secured Bodley's attention in 1599 by publishing an edition of Richard de Bury's 'Philobiblon', with a dedication to Bodley and a catalogue of Oxford manuscripts, printed in an 'Appendix de manuscriptis Oxoniensibus', that James compiled himself. The 'Philobiblon', subtitled 'De amore librorum, et institutione bibliothecae' (on the love of books and establishing a library), could have been expected to appeal to Bodley's ambition to recuperate Oxford's lost medieval library. In his choice of de Bury's 'Philobiblon', James published a medieval work that gave bibliophilia a new name and identity. Originally written in 1345 by the bishop of Durham, whose library was said to be without pe
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista (1720-1778)
Image size (from plate mark): 121.2 x 71.1 cm. A fine impression, tiny area of blank left margin neatly repaired, some marginal finger-soiling. With no staining or discoloration where the three sheets are joined. Paper with watermark of a fleur-de-lis within a double circle. Piranesi's map extends the area covered by the Nolli plan as far north as the Ponte Milvio. Piranesi has made the important innovation of identifying 402 archaeologically important sites, keyed to his own works on ancient Rome. "By the mid-1770's, at the height of his career, Piranesi had produced a comprehensive record of ancient and modern Rome in the form of the well over a hundred plates of the 'Vedute di Roma'. He may have felt the need for a reference map to accompany collections of these plates and devised this work, usually found in associations with the 'Vedute', to fill this need. Exercising his skills in presenting formidable quantities of information coherently, he sought to relate the surviving remains of antiquity to the contemporary topography of Rome and to offer a way to reference published information about them. He therefore produced a large map of the modern city within the Aurelian Walls, together with an extension showing the territory to the north, between Porto del Popolo and Ponte Milvio and including the Campus Martius area. This is augmented by a smaller map isolating the principal antiquities, which were marked with numbers corresponding to those in the larger map. Around these Piranesi arranged a detailed index listing the monuments according to their assigned number and referring to relevant passages in his major publications, including the 'Antichità Romane', 'Della Magnificenza' and 'Campo Marzio'. "The dating of the map is problematic, since, although it is dedicated prominently to Clement XIV (1769-1774), Francesco Piranesi's 1792 catalogue assigns it to 1778 and most authorities, including Giesecke, Focillon and Hind, have accepted a late, if not posthumous date; however, this dating is certainly based on error, since Giambattista, in his Avvertimento at the top of the main map, refers to 'l'approvazione che si è degnata mostrarne la Santità di N.ro Sig.re PAPA CLEMENTE XIV feliecmente regnate.' Supporting evidence for an earlier date comes from an impression of the 'Catalogo delle Opere' referred to by Scott, which contains manuscript entries for the three 'Vedute di Roma' datable to 1774 and indicates that the map was already available."(Wilton-Ely).
CHESS. Salvio, Alessandro (c. 1570-c. 1640)
Bound in contemporary limp vellum, moderately soiled. Internally very good copies: I. ('Il Puttino'): Free end-paper a little ragged, upper blank margin of first few leaves slightly nibbled, mild foxing, gatherings G-I lightly browned, occasional small stains. II. ('Inventione'): Small dark stain in upper blank margin throughout, not affecting the text; gathering G lightly browned. Large woodcut printer's device on both title pages. Alessandro Salvio (1575-1640) was one of the foremost Neapolitan chess-players. A student of Michele di Mauro, Salvio cemented his international standing in 1598 when he defeated the Sicilian master, Paolo Boi. He established a chess academy in his native Naples (in the house of jurist Alessandro Rovito) and was a frequent player in the chess houses of the city, where he also demonstrated his skill at blindfold chess. Salvio was considered the unofficial international chess champion from 1598 until he was eclipsed, around 1620, by Gioachino Greco. But Salvio's theories and practice remained foundational in Italian chess into the 18th century. "Italian players were generally content to rely on Salvio for their openings, and made no attempt to advance the theory of play until the rise of the Modenese masters in 1750." (Murray, A Short History of Chess, p. 56). Salvio's treatises: Salvio's first work on the subject of chess, "Trattato dell' Inventione et Arte Liberale del Gioco di Scacchi", "contains thirty-one chapters with openings, eleven with games at odds, and twenty-one 'giochi di partiti', or problems, some being supplied from actual play."(Murray, History of Chess, p. 825). This edition also contains the first edition of Salvio's 'Il Puttino'. The book comprises a biographical romance of Giovanni Leonardo (called "Il Puttino"), the leading Italian player in the period just prior to Salvio's ascendancy (1560-1590), and the aforementioned Paolo Boi; large extracts from Jacobus de Cessolis' medieval chess classic, "Liber. super ludo scacchorum", thirteen chapters of gambits, seven chapters of 'giochi piani'(by which Salvio and his contemporaries meant games that are not gambits), and thirteen containing problems. Although Salvio is rather free with his details and dates, "Il Puttino" is also of importance for preserving information on leading figures of Italian chess culture in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, including records of famous matches, such as Geronimo Cascio's 1606 win over Giulio Cesare Polerio; and a match between Salvio's teacher Michele di Mauro and Tommaso Capputi. FIRST EDITION of the first work. SECOND EDITION (1st ed. 1604), with updates, of the second work.
Henry VIII, King (1491-1547); Luther, Martin (1483-1546); Fisher, John, Saint, Bishop of Rochester (1469-1535)
A very fine copy bound in contemporary limp vellum (lightly soiled, lacking ties, slight damage to lower end-band) with "Henricus 8 Cont. Luth." on the spine in ink. The text is in excellent fresh condition with just a faint bit of soiling to the title page, and three small stains (lvs. b6, A8, O8). With an elegant woodcut printer's device to the second title page, and woodcut initials in the text. First printed in 1521, this 1562 edition of Henry VIII's "Defense of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther's 'Babylonian Captivity of the Church" also includes Luther's 1525 letter of apology to Henry VIII (written while under the impression that Henry had come around to the Lutheran position), and Henry's brutal response (1526), in which he once again condemns Luther and his positions, and insults Luther's wife. The second half of the volume, with divisional title page, is Bishop John Fisher's "Defense of King Henry VIII's Assertio"(first published in 1525), written in response to Luther's critique of the King's book. I. Henry VIII's "Defense of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther" Written in 1521 in response to Martin Luther's "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church" -the reformer's radical exposition of the Protestant faith and attack on the papacy- Henry VIII's "Defense of the Seven Sacraments" won for its author the coveted title of "Defensor Fidei" (Defender of the Faith) from Pope Leo X. Coming as it did from such a powerful Christian prince, Luther was forced to respond to Henry's work, which he did with more than his usual severity, insulting the king and challenging his theological points. In turn, Henry's most talented theologians, Thomas More and John Fisher, penned defenses of the king's "Defense" and further challenges to Luther's religious views, in what was to become one of the most important debates on the substance of Luther's doctrine in this crucial, early period. Henry VIII's "Defense of the Seven Sacraments against Martin Luther" was published in the summer of 1521, by which time Luther had already been excommunicated and outlawed, but his creed was spreading fast and had begun to penetrate England: "The body of Henry's 'Assertio' is primarily concerned with a defense of the seven sacraments against Luther's attack but there are occasional digressions to take up other controversial points in Luther's theology. Henry began the main body of his work by castigating Luther for having once acknowledged the value of indulgences, which he openly condemned in his '95 Theses'. Similarly, he criticized the reformer because of his earlier acknowledgment of a papal authority that he now rejected in favor of a law of his own establishing. "Henry VIII could not conceive of a serpent more venomous than the author of the 'Babylonian Captivity'. Luther, he said, had put his own sense and meaning into the sacraments to the destruction of ecclesiastical rites and ceremonies. He had despised the holy and ancient interpreters of scripture; he had called Rome Babylon and the authority of the popes tyranny. For Henry, Luther was a detestable trumpeter of pride, calumny and schism. "Henry was outraged by Luther's view that marriage, instituted by God, could unite husband and wife without carrying with it a divinely infused grace. Henry countered that marriage must be regarded as something more holy than a mere care for propagating the flesh. The more holy thing, he said, is the grace that God, the Prelate of all sacraments, infuses into married people in a consecrated marriage. Gravely, and no doubt sincerely, this man of many future marriages said, 'Carnal concupiscence, by the grace of God, is changed into wine of the best taste. Christ says, 'What God has put together let no man put asunder.' O admirable word, which none could have spoken but the Word made flesh.' "The king was bitterest of all in attacking Luther's views on the sacrament of holy orders. The special order and authority of the priesthood was the very essence of the order and authority so important to the king. In place of the order of this sacrament, Luther is substituting anarchy and gathering into it all the treasuries of his malice. For what else, Henry asked, does Luther aim at by taking away the sacrament of the priestly orders than to render the ministers of the church contemptible, to procure that the sacraments of the church may also be despised and undervalued as being administered by vile and illegitimate ministers, which is the only drift of Luther's work? To the king of England, Luther represented a menace to stability and authority, a threat to the existing social and political order."(H. Maynard Smith, "Henry VIII and the Reformation") From a historical perspective, it is a great irony that the king who would himself be excommunicated and establish himself as the head of a Protestant English church should defend the legitimacy of the papacy and -a greater irony still- the sacramental nature and sanctity of marriage. However, the true power and "historical value" of Henry's "Defense" is its demonstration of the seriousness of the threat posed by Luther and his ideas to the institutions of power, both temporal (i.e. the kings and potentates of Europe) and spiritual (i.e. the pope and the priesthood who held a tight grip the keys to salvation.) Coming as it did from such a powerful Christian prince, Luther was forced to respond to Henry's "Assertio", which he did with more than his usual severity, insulting the king and challenging his theological points. In turn, Henry's most talented theologians, Thomas More and John Fisher, penned defenses of the king's book and further challenges to Luther's religious views, in what was to become one of the most important debates on the substance of Luther's doctrine in this crucial, early period. II. Luther's Letter of Apology to Henry VIII In 1525, George Spalatin, court secretary to Frederick the Wise, communicated to Luther the spurious report that Henry VIII had
FABLES. FOLK TALES. Sachs, Hans (1494-1576); Aesop; Avianus (ca. 400 CE)
Bound in modern vellum over boards (soiled, slightly bowed). The text is in very good condition with a little light dust-soiling, a few small spots on the final two leaves, and soiling to the verso of the final leaf. With two woodcut illustrations and a fine woodcut ornament on the final leaf. No copies traced in North America. Hans Sachs' reworkings of three traditional fables, two by Aesop ("The shepherd flatters the wolf" and "The hares and the frogs"), and one ("the envious man and the miser") by the Latin fabulist Avianus. The first woodcut shows the devious wolf hiding in his cave. The second shows the miser and envious man having their eyes gouged out. The poet and playwright Hans Sachs, a shoemaker and guild master by trade, was an accomplished Meistersinger of the Nuremberg School (Sachs is the title character of Wagner's "Meistersinger"). Sachs' songs, plays, and dialogues address the social concerns of his day and the effects of the Reformation on the established social order. The Fables: 1. Ein yder sehe für sich und verberg sich hinder keinen Schmeichler. [Ein jeder sehe für sich und verbarg sich hinter keinen Schmeichler.] The shepherd tries to deceive the wolf: A wolf, stalked by a hunter, comes upon a shepherd and begs him to hide him from the hunter, promising a rich reward. The shepherd agrees to help and the wolf hides in a cave. The hunter, coming upon the spot but not seeing the wolf, asks the shepherd if he has seen his quarry. The shepherd, knowing that the wolf is watching them, indicates with his hands that the wolf has gone off in a certain direction. Yet, while he does so, he tries (by means of his eyes) to let the hunter know that the wolf is in fact hiding in the cave. The hunter fails to see this and heads off. The shepherd then addresses the wolf, telling him that he should be grateful that he has saved his life. The wolf thanks him but -being fully aware of the shepherd's deceit, damns the shepherd's eyes. 2. Ein schöne Histori von dem Neidigen und dem Geitzigen [Schöne Historie von dem Neidigen und dem Geizigen] The Envious man and the Miser: "In this fable, Jupiter sent Phoebus to earth, where he stumbled upon an envious and a miserly person. He offered the miser a wish, adding that whatever he wished for should be given double to his companion. The miser determined to wish for nothing, knowing he would get only half what the other received, and left it to his companion to make the wish. Thereupon the envious man took revenge by wishing that one of his own eyes be gouged out, so that his companion would be made blind. Sachs concludes that envy makes envious persons suffer. They delight in the misery of others even if they are about to suffer the same fate themselves, and their hearts are full of poison."(Roper, The Witch in the Western Imagination) 3. "Ein yder trag sein joch dise Zeit" [Ein jeder trage sein Joch diese Zeit und überwind sein Übel mit Geduld] The hares and the frogs: Enduring and overcoming evil with patience: Once upon a time some hares, driven desperate by the many enemies (foxes, wolves, falcons, hunters) that threatened them from every direction, came to the sad resolution that there was nothing left for them to do but kill themselves. They scurried to a nearby lake, determined to drown themselves, the most miserable of creatures. A group of frogs seated upon the bank, frightened at the approach of the hares, leaped in great alarm and confusion into the water. 'Nay, then, my friends,' said the leader of the hares, 'our case is not so desperate yet, for here are other poor creatures more faint-hearted than ourselves.'. FIRST COLLECTED EDITION. The first work was first printed in 1535 as "Eyn new gedichte von den Schmeichlern"( VD16 S 478). The third fable appeared as a broadside ca. 1540 (Weller 82, not in VD16). I have been unable to trace an earlier ed. of the second fable.
FESTIVALS. FLORENCE. SONG. Cini, Francesco, librettist
Recently bound in early parchment (slight wear). The text is in very good condition with scattered mild foxing. Early ink note at head of title (illegible). Small woodcut (impaled arms of Cosimo II and Maria Magdalena) on the title. PROVENANCE: 1. Unidentified collector's stamp (three hills with initials PLT, surmounted by a cross and wings); 2. Gustavo Cammillo Galletti (1805-68), Florence collector (stamp on title); 3. Baron Horace de Landau (1824-1903). Four copies located in the U.S.: Harvard, Duke, Huntington, Newberry. First edition of these verses composed for a musical spectacular performed in the Pitti Palace, Florence on the evening of 22 October, in celebration of the wedding of Cosimo II de' Medici (1590-1621) and Maria Magdalena, Archduchess of Austria (1589-1631). The spectacle, 'La notte d'Amore' (Night of Love), a series of tableaux interspersed with dancing, was performed on the evening of the fifth day of festivities and lasted until dawn. The verses, by Francesco Cini, were set to music by Lorenzo Allegri. The famed set designer Giulio Parigi may have provided the décor. We are told that "Signora Ippolita, musician to the Signor Cardinal Montalto, distinguished herself marvelously in the singing." The entertainment was described by CamilloRinuccini's in his account "Descrittionedellefeste, fatte nelle nozze de' serenissimi prencipi di Toscana, D. Cosimo de' Medici, e Maria Maddalena arciduchessa d'Austria."(Bologna, 1608) "A stage had been erected in the largest room of the Palace, and suddenly in the middle of the princely dancing the curtain fell, revealing a view of the western quarter of the city of Florence, with its neighboring mountains. Then, while the spectators were lost in admiration and surprise, Hesperus crossed the scene in a cloud and, singing, summoned Night to come on her accustomed path and give rest to mortals, for the sun was hidden and had yielded up his power to her. "At this, Night appears and responds to the call of Hesperus, saying that she brings her faithful followers with her: Oblivion, Silence, Repose, and Sleep. But her purpose is thwarted by the arrival of Love who brings with him his troop, namely Cupid, Play, Laughter, Dancing, Song, Contentment, and bids Night yield up her scepter to him, for here is an assembly of lovers more ready for delights than for dreams. Night obeys and departs with her followers while Love urges his own followers to descend and dance among the spectators. The company and Love sing a chorus while they dance. With this, the first 'vigil' ended and normal dancing was resumed. "For the second vigil, the scene changed unexpectedly to a beautiful garden 'full of flowering trees and green plots, squares, fountains, loggias and similar delights that deceived the eye.' "Now there appeared in the sky certain Stars in front of the Moon, and 'one of them, not seeing the accustomed obscurity of Night asked where she might be, or whether the sun had reversed his course.' The Moon appeared, astonished at seeing such splendors and invited the Stars to descend and to admire these new wonders. Just then Endymion appeared in the garden and, seeing the Moon, he entreated her by their ancient love to descend on the spot where Love had assembled the flower of lovers and beauties. Then followed a chorus of Stars, the Moon, and Endymion, dancing together. Love adds his summons to mirth and dancing and the second vigil ends. "More hours passed by, the guests dancing and making merry in company with the new masquers until weariness began to overtake them. In order to revive their flagging interest the scene changed again and showed 'castles in the air, mountains, rocks, seas, buildings burning or in ruins; with men, some sailing, some falling; with various other dreamlike apparitions; the whole thing sustained by the rainbow.' Across the scene flew the Nocturnal Hours and one of them cried out in a loud voice, summoning Dreams False and True, calling upon 'Morpheus, representor of human figures, Itatone of monsters, Panto of material forms' and on all sleep-disturbing phantasms. The Dreams appeared, in all kinds of stunted, monstrous and unfinished shapes, and danced together for a while, until one of them asked the flying Hours whither they were driving them, 'for this was no place for them, here where the lovers -like so many Arguses- were keeping a delightful vigil.' "Love, hearing this, tells the Dreams that all the lovers present are enjoying their true delights, and are not to be troubled by vain visions, but the Dreams may dance among themselves to cause laughter and delight. After the Dreams have performed their burlesque dance, Love and his chorus sing together, bidding the monstrous Dreams to vanish, to go and disturb the dreams of sleepers: 'E noi tornando, à gl' amorosi inviti Guidiam balli d'Amor, balli graditi.' "The princely guests now amused themselves with dancing until it was almost day. Then the scene was changed into a garden as before, and there appeared in the air the Morning Breeze, who called upon Aurora to redden the mountain tops. Aurora obeys the call. Tithonus remaining alone in the sky, laments his bride Aurora and curses the Morning Breeze. "Love bids Aurora to delay the arrival of the Sun and to descend among them. Stars and Cupids sing in chorus during the descent of Aurora. Then there is a chorus of Stars, Loves, The Morning Breeze, Aurora, and Endymion dancing together. 'It is no wonder', they cry 'that deities should descend when such a goodly company is gathered together.' They bless the princely couple and their friends. Aurora turns toward the Sky and announces the coming of the Sun. One by one the Moon, the Stars, and finally Endymion all depart, lamenting the transience of human delights. "Apollo appears, leading in the day, and coming to drive everyone to deeds worthy of the light. There is a short dispute with Love who finally departs with his chorus of Cupids, singing: 'O chiaro, o lieto giorn
FESTIVALS. CEREMONIES. Favilla, Agnolo del
Bound in early 20th c. quarter red Morocco and marbled boards (small repairs to head and foot of spine). A fine copy with scattered mild spotting. Complete with the folding plate of the banquet (signed "Mattheus Greuter excudit".) Two lines have been erased from the plate, as is the case in all copies I have examined. Manuscript foliation at head of first leaf. With the combined woodcut arms of Cosimo II and Maria Magdalena. Small woodcut of the Laocoön on leaf B4. Extremely rare. 1 copy traced in North America (Getty). First edition of these verses composed for a banquet, held in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence on 19 October 1608, celebrating the wedding of Cosimo II de' Medici (1590-1621) and Maria Magdalena, Archduchess of Austria (1589-1631). The songs are sung by the Nymph of the Arno, possibly the singer, dressed as a nymph, who sat upon a giant conch shell at the left-hand side of the dais -upon which the bride's banquet table was situated- with two musicians at her feet (one playing a harp). The engraved caption of the plate indicates which guests were seated at the bride's table, and the positions of the musicians, singers, and performers. There are musicians seated on suspended clouds and noble children dressed as soldiers performing mock jousts; on either side of the dais are two floats, one with the singing nymph mentioned above, the other with Apollo, also singing and accompanied by musicians, seated in a chariot upon a cloud. The plate was engraved by Matteus Greuter (1564/6-1638) "Questa stampa illustra il banchetto nuziale che ebbe luogo il 19 ottobre 1608 a Firenze nel Salone dei Cinquecento a Palazzo Vecchio per le nozze di Cosimo dei Medici con Maria Maddalena d'Austria. La tavola incisa dal Greuter era inserita nell'opera del De Favilla "Rime" ma si trova anche nell'opera di C. Rinuccini "Descrizione delle feste fatte nelle reali nozze de' Serenissimi Principi di Toscana D. Cosimo de' Medici e Maria Maddalena Arciduchessa d'Austria", Firenze, 1608 (pp. 21-25) nella quale è dettagliatamente descritto lo svolgimento del banchetto."(Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali, 0900344206) Full caption: Convito / fatto in Fiorenza alle nozze de i Ser. mi sposi Cosimo de Med. gr. Pr. di Tosca et Maria Mad. Arcid.sa d'Austr.a alli 19 8bre / 1608 / A. la Serenissima sposa in mezo la tavola sotto il Baldacchino [.] et a tutte l'altr tavole sedevano Signore et Gentildone, et li Signori in piedi servivano / B. tavole basse. / C. tavole alte / D. tavole più alte / E. tavole ancora più alte / F. tavole di Credenza / G. Apollo nel carro sopra una nuvola cantado et a piedi suoi / doi sonatori / H. una ninfa cantando, in una Concha marina, et doi sonattori / sedendo a piedi suoi. / I. fanciulli nobili armati, colle lancie giostrando a piede / K. la fontana. M. Musici d'incirca 200 L. Musici in una nuvola. N. il Theatro per li nobili et forestieri chivi sono per vedere. / Ser. mo Arciduca Ill. mo C. Farnesi Ill. mo C. Sforza Ser. ma Gr Duchessa Ser. ma Sposa Ser. mo Sposo Ill. mo C. del Monte Ill.mo C. Montalto Ill. mo C. di Este S.mo Gran Duca / A. la tavola di Serenissimi Sposi / in Firenza con licentia superiori Mattheus Greuter execudit.
MUSEUMS. ITALY. Cambiagi, Gaetano (attrib.)
Bound with: Massi, Pasquale, da Cesena Indicazione Antiquaria del Pontificio Museo Pio-Clementino in Vaticano, stesa da Pasquale Mass Cesenate Custode del Museo Stesso/ Catalogue Indicatif des Antiquitès Composant Le Musèe Pie-Clèmentin au Vatican par Paschal Massi de Cesèns Garde du dit Musèe. Roma: Presso Lazzarini, 1792 Two Octavo Volumes in one: 15.5 x 10 cm. I. (Cambiagi): 279 p. Octavo: A-Q8, R12. II (Massi): [4] 216 pp. Collation: [ ]2, a-m8, n12 (- blank [ ]1) FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH WORKS. Bound in early 19th c. quarter sheep and boards, with vellum corners. Gilt title label to spine "Galleries di Florence et Rome". Some wear to boards and corners, hinges lightly rubbed. The text is in fine condition, edges of the text-block stained an even yellow. I. Guide to the Uffizi: An important guide to Florence's Uffizi galleries, documenting the radical re-organization of the Medicean collections under the Dukes of Lorraine, and in particular the dramatic changes made by Grand Duke Peter Leopold (1747-1792). "Across his twenty-five year reign (1765-1790), Duke Leopold made significant changes to the artistic culture of Florence, including a wholesale renovation of the Uffizi, bringing it. towards the modern museum."(Reid) The guide is attributed to the publisher, Gaetano Cambiagi, custodian of Florence's two astounding public libraries: the Uffizi's Bibliotheca Magliabechiana and the magnificent Bibliotheca Marucelliana; and author of a history of the Uffizi (1779.) Cambiagi's guide book replaced the long-out-of-print and out-of-date guide written by Giuseppe Bianchi in 1759. (Luigi Lanzi's 1782 description of the Uffizi collections, "La Real Galleria di Firenze accresciuta, e riordinata per comando di s.a.r. l'arciduca granduca di Toscana" was not designed for use as a hand-held guide book.) The book appeared shortly after the death of Peter Leopold, whose great contributions to the Uffizi are described on pages 23 ff. and are manifest throughout the book in the description of the collections and their arrangement. The reorganization was executed under three directors of the museum: Giuseppe Querci (1769-73), Raimondo Cocchi (1773-75), and especially Giuseppe Pelli Bencivenni (1775-93) in (often fraught) collaboration the museum's first co-director, Luigi Lanzi (1732- 1810). For a detailed discussion of the transformation of the Uffizi collections under the Dukes of Lorraine, and of Peter Leopold in particular, see Callum Reid, "Twenty Magnificent Temples of the Arts" Geographic Schools in the Uffizi Gallery" in "Florence After the Medici Tuscan Enlightenment, 1737-1790" Chapter 10. II. The Vatican Museums: Massi's "Indicazione Antiquaria" is the first catalogue of the Museo Pio-Clementino - founded by Pope Clement XIV in 1771 and greatly expanded his successor by Pius VI-, written for the use of visitors by the keeper of the museum, Pasquale Massi of Cesena. II. Here bound with a contemporary guide book to the Uffizi galleries in Florence. The Museo Pio-Clementino was the first major curatorial museum within what are known today collectively as the Vatican Museums. In 1771, Pope Clement XIV had Michelangelo Simonetti adapt the Belvedere Pavilion to accommodate the papal collection of ancient art. When Clement's successor, the avid art collector Pius VI, was elevated to the pontificate in 1775, the pace of acquisition increased dramatically and very soon the collections outgrew the rooms arranged for them by Simonetti. In 1776, Pius VI called for a radical restructuring of the existing museum and the construction of new, grand spaces to house the ever-expanding collection. Massi's catalogue, a room-by-room guide of the museum with descriptions of all of the artifacts and artworks housed therein, is an invaluable record of how the greatly expanded museum of antiquities looked in the late 18th century, with its newly constructed series of rooms and the recently installed masterpieces of ancient sculpture -the fruits of some of the most important excavations in Italy, including the excavation of Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. In addition to providing a record of the arrangement of the exhibits, Massi's catalogue, in which he provides details of provenance, acquisition, and attribution of each artwork described, serves as a history of the museum's formation, and preserves valuable information about the art trade and the function of archaeology in the late 18th century. Massi has used a system of numbers and letters to indicate which works were added to the museums by Julius II and his various successors, above all Clement XIV and the then-current pope, Pius VI. In his introduction, Massi tells us that he has designed his guide for portability and easy reference by tourists, by arranging the descriptions of the objects in each room in the form of a walking itinerary. Since it is necessary at two points to retrace one's steps, Massi's guide leads us along one side of each room as we proceed through the galleries. When it is time to reverse our course, he leads us along the opposite side of the rooms already traversed, thus keeping us engaged and entertained as we retrace our steps through the vast complex. Our tour begins at the new entrance to the museum, in the corridor of Cleopatra, also known as the corridor of the inscriptions, just within the new entrance to the museum. We then pass through two vestibules. The first one is square, with frescoes by Giovanni da Udine in the vault. In it we encounter the tomb of the Scipios and the Belvedere Torso. The second vestibule is round and in its center is a large bowl made of pavonazzetto. From here we proceed through a corridor into the porticoed, octagonal courtyard of the Belvedere, the site of Julius II's first installation of ancient sculpture, transformed by Simonetti in the 1770's. Massi then leads us through the hall of the animals, the gallery of statues, the gallery of busts, and the "loggia scoperta" (the room of masks). We make our way ba
Macrobius, Aurelius Theodosius (approx. 370-430 C.E.)
Bound in attractive contemporary blind-stamped calfskin over thin wooden boards, with floral tools and rolls of urns. Text possibly re-cased. Somewhat later end-papers. Internally fine. Title page a little dusty, light marginal damp-stain in gathering t, small tear in inner margin of final leaf. The text is printed in italic, with passages in Greek. Illustrated with eight woodcut diagrams, including maps of the Ptolemaic world (p. 110) and the solar system (p. 73); and the world divided into five climate zones. There are several large and fine woodcut initials. Soter's woodcut device appears on the title page. This edition is a reprint of the one edited by the German humanist Arnoldus Vesaliensis (1484-1534) published in Cologne in 1526 by Eucharius Cervicornus. Arnold of Wesel, linguist, poet, and philosopher, taught at Cologne University. A canon of Cologne Cathedral, Arnold was present at the Diet of Augsburg (1530). MACROBIUS: Written in the late fourth or early fifth century, during the twilight years of Roman paganism, Macrobius' "Saturnalia" and "Commentary on the Dream of Scipio" are two of the last works produced in antiquity that present us with an intellectual and cultural vision that ignores Christianity altogether. In the "Saturnalia" we have a Neoplatonic symposium, held by a group of highly cultured interlocutors dining together during the pagan festival of year's-end. The conversations are wide-ranging, with weighty discussions of religion, philosophy, and literature (above all the works of Vergil), balanced by jokes, talk of the pleasures of wine, the price of fish, the question of how far an insult can go and still be funny, and matters of digestion. The Saturnalia itself (its origins, the worship of Saturn, etc.) is also discussed, as are other pagan religious festivals. The Neoplatonist Cosmos: Commentary on the Dream of Scipio: The "Somnium Scipionis" (Scipio's Dream) originally constituted Book VI of Cicero's "De Republica", a discourse now mostly lost. The "Dream" was preserved and circulated separately in late antiquity, thanks in large part to Macrobius, who wrote a cosmological commentary on the "Dream." Cicero cast his work in the form of a Platonic dialogue, in which the main interlocutors are Scipio Aemilianus (Scipio Africanus the Younger) and the ghosts of his father, Aemilianus Paullus, and grandfather, Scipio Africanus the Elder. The ghosts foretell the young Scipio's future, instructing him to be just and dutiful toward his country as the surest way of achieving heaven. The ghosts then take the young Scipio to "a high place full of stars, shining and splendid" where they reveal to him the organization of the cosmos, emphasizing the contrast between earthly temporality and the eternity of the cosmos. In expounding the workings and nature of the universe, Scipio's grandfather, "tells him that there is life after death and introduces him to the 'perfect' numbers seven and eight (numbers whose meanings were attributed by contemporary Greek mathematicians to Pythagoras.) He goes on to show Scipio the nine spheres that make up the universe. Eight of them, he says, revolve at extremely high speeds, emitting seven tones that form an extraordinarily harmonious musical chord. This chord is inaudible to humans, but they nevertheless try to imitate it with the seven strings of the lyre and in song. This description is the earliest known of the harmony of the spheres."(Joost-Gaugier, "Measuring Heaven", p. 28) "Possessed of a finely tuned sensibility for the signifying value of Cicero's dream-text, Macrobius exploited the text's cryptic images in order to display the philosophical erudition of the Neoplatonic tradition. "According to Macrobius, an entire Neoplatonic encyclopedia lay encoded in Cicero's 'Dream'. Because Cicero hinted at 'profound truths. with amazing brevity, concealing his deep knowledge of things beneath a concise form of expression,' Macrobius took as his task the patient unfolding of the depths of knowledge lurking in these alluring hints. He proceeded systematically by following the topics introduced in the 'Dream' in the order of their appearance. For example, Cicero's mention of the dreamer Scipio's destined age ('seven times eight recurring circuits of the sun') leads Macrobius into a lengthy recitation of Pythagorean arithmetic; a brief description of the celestial sphere issues in a very detailed presentation of astronomical theory; and so on. Macrobius covers three of the four sciences in the quadrivium, mathematics, astronomy, and music, and partially covers the fourth (geography being a part of geometry), as well as giving a passionate and lengthy disquisition on Neoplatonic views of the origin, nature, and immortality of the soul."(Miller, "Dreams in Late Antiquity: Studies in the Imagination of a Culture", p. 98).
NATIVE AMERICA. LINGUISTICS. BIBLE. Hunter, James (1817-1882)
A fine copy, bound in original pebbled green cloth over thin boards (with minor edge-wear, light staining), ruled in blind and with "St Mark" tooled in blind at foot of upper board. Contents extremely fine. Small tear to blank front endpaper. "The Cree are the most populous and widely distributed Indigenous peoples in Canada. The main divisions of Cree, based on environment, language and dialect are Plains Cree, Woods Cree, and Swampy Cree. Cree is one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in Canada. In the 2016 census, 96,575 people reported speaking Cree, the majority of which (27.8 per cent) live in Saskatchewan. This translation of the Gospel of Mark into Eastern Swampy Cree was written by the missionary and philologist James Hunter, Archdeacon of the Cumberland Mission, Station in "Rupert's Land", the vast Canadian territory under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company. "Despite its status as a widely spoken Indigenous language in Canada, Cree is still a declining mother tongue. In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that Saskatchewan - the province with the most Cree speakers - had 28,340 people identifying as having an Indigenous language as their mother tongue. This was less than the number of speakers from 2011 (30,895). Many cultural and educational institutions strive to preserve and promote the language."(The Canadian Encyclopedia) Hunter arrived in Canada in 1844. "Even before he had acquired a proper knowledge of Cree, Hunter began translating religious literature. He advocated Roman characters rather than the syllabic script developed for the Crees in 1840 by the ReverendJames Evans at Rossville (Man.). Hunter's scholarly mind could not accept the imprecision of the syllabic system which he regarded as merely a kind of shorthand. Yet formal schooling was essential to master the Roman alphabet whereas the mnemonic features of the syllabic script could be learned by a nomadic people within a day. "Hunter's competence in Cree grew after his marriage on 10July1848 to Jean (Jane) Ross, eldest daughter of Donald Ross, the HBC factor at Norway House (Man.); she had learned the language in infancy, and she now joined Hunter in his work. Impatient to see translations in print, Hunter proposed their printing in England as early as 1848. BishopAnderson, however, advised further revision, as he found inconsistencies in Hunter's orthography, and as late as 1853 the bishop wrote that "his translation is still, I tell him, a little over spelt, rather too many letters." "Copies of the Gospel of StMatthew, printed in England by the Church Missionary House, had arrived at York Factory on the supply ship of 1853. When the Hunters went to England on furlough in the autumn of 1854 they saw a large number of their translations through the press. Among their publications in 1855 were the Gospels of StMark and StJohn, the Book of Common Prayer, Jean Hunter's translation of the first epistle general of StJohn, and a catechism.Most of these were reprinted in the late 1870s, and many are still in use. Some of the Hunters' translations were issued eventually in syllabic script. Jean Hunter also compiled hymns. In recognition of his work as a translator Hunter was granted anmaby the archbishop of Canterbury in 1854. "In 1875 his great study, Alecture on the grammatical construction of the Cree language, was published by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge. Much of the 265-page volume is given over to paradigms of the Cree verb. It remains a basic source in the study of the language. The archbishop of Canterbury awarded him addin 1876."(Dictionary of Canadian Biography).
Beaumont, Francis (1584-1616); Fletcher, John (1579-1625); Massinger, Philip (1583-1640)
With the full-paged portrait of Fletcher by Marshall bound before the title page. Bound in 18th c. blind-ruled mottled calf, very nicely re-backed with the original label preserved; corners bumped, minor scrapes and light wear to boards. Complete with the engraved portrait (first state, with "vates duplex" with v and d in lower case, and with "J. Berkenhead" engraved in smaller letters than those in the first state.) Title page printed in red and black. A fine copy of the first edition of the plays, bound with a very good copy of the 1652 single play. Marginal dampstain in lower margin of gatherings Bb, Ii, Aaa, Ddd, Bbbb, and Ffff, and a few other scattered leaves. Very small wormtrail in the gutter of some gatherings, occ. affecting a letter or touching the printed rule. Leaf 6K1 with light ink smear, lower blank margin of leaf 7D2 torn away without touching the text. Second work with dusty t.p. and fingersoiling at edges. Second work with marginal soiling and light marginal stains. Provenance: Earls of Chesterfield (Bradby Hall bookplate); C. Pearl Chamberlain (bookplate, dated July 1919). [Bound with:] Fletcher, John (1579-1625) The Wild-Goose Chase. A Comedie. As it hath been Acted with singular Applause at the Black-Friers. London: Humpherey Moseley, and are to be sold at the Princes Armes in St Pauls Church-yard, 1652 Modeled on the folios of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, the 1647 "Comedies and Tragedies" comprises all of the hitherto unpublished plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, with the exception of the "Wild-Goose Chase", which did not see print until 1652, as it had long been lost and was supposed to be irrecoverable. [Fortuitously, this copy has that edition bound in.] In total there are 34 plays and one masque. Twelve of these are collaborations between Fletcher and Philip Massinger. Two others (Beggars' Bush and Love's Cure) are the work of Beaumont, Fletcher, and Massinger. Others involved in the writing of these plays include Ben Jonson and John Webster. Among those who provided commendatory verses for the volume are Jonson, Herrick, and Lovelace (the last of whom also added a long poem to the second work.) "We know relatively little of Beaumont and Fletcher's lives, and still less of their collaboration. Like Shakespeare, they became legendary in their lifetimes, and being almost as famous as their older contemporary their legend is almost as misty. The actual concept of collaboration became an essential part of the legend."(Andrew Gurr, 'Philaster') "Even in the seventeenth century the notion of what 'BeaumontandFletcher' denoted was quite hazy. Their first folio of 1647,Comedies and Tragedies written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, Gentlemen, clearly designed to rival the impressive folios ofShakespeareandJonson, contained thirty-four plays and a masque. The implication that all these plays are collaborations byBeaumontandFletcheris vastly misleading. Of the folio plays,Fletcherwrote at least sixteen alone; two or three were done withShakespeare; probably eleven withPhilip Massinger; ten or so with the involvement of as many as eight other writers.Beaumontwrote alone justThe Knightand a masque. Thus only about nine plays of the vast canon were products of the famous collaboration. (Much on this topic is guesswork. The best job of untangling the probably insoluble problems of the canon is a series of articles byCyrus Hoy,'The shares of Fletcher and his collaborators in the Beaumont and Fletcher canon',Studies in Bibliography, 1956-62. See also the definitive edition edited byFredson Bowers,Beaumont and Fletcher, Dramatic Works, 10.751-2, for a tentative list of ascriptions.) "Regarding the division of labour within a play, much on the topic is based on gossip or guesswork. One contemporary maintained thatBeaumont's'maine businesse was to correct the overflowings ofMr. Fletcher'sluxuriant Fancy and flowing witt' (John Earle, quoted inBrief Lives, 21);Robert Herrickstated thatFletcherdesigned the plots (seeHerrick'scommendatory verses in the 1647 folio); andDrydenthought thatBeaumontwas such a master of plotting that evenBen Jonson'submitted all his writings to his [Beaumont's] censure and 'tis thought, used his judgment in correcting, if not contriving, his plots' (Essays of John Dryden, 1.68). The problem, asJohn Aubreysaid, is that there was such a 'wonderfull consimility of phansey' (Brief Lives, 21) between the collaborators that even an acute critic likeColeridgeadmitted that he could not distinguishBeaumont'swriting fromFletcher's. AsGeorge Lislesaid in the 1647 folio: 'For still your fancies are so wov'n and knit,/ 'TwasFRANCIS FLETCHER, orJOHN BEAUMONTwrit.'"(Finkelpearl, Oxford DNB).
Luther, Martin (1483-1546)
Bound in modern blind-ruled vellum. A good if worn copy, contents soiled, especially the opening leaves; small tape repair to blank verso of title, one blank corner with small chip (not affecting the text), gatherings guarded in the gutter. One of Luther's three landmark works of 1520, here in the original German-language version, which preceded Luther's Latin edition. The Latin contained a letter to Pope Leo X while the German has in its place a preface addressed to Hermann Mühlpfort. "The differences between the two tracts [the Latin and the German] arose in part out of the slightly different audiences for them: the one is addressed to theologians, clerics, and church leaders (for whom Latin was the common language), and one addressed to the German- speaking public, which included the nobility, townsfolk, the lesser clergy, and others who could read (or have Luther's writings read to them.)" (Wengert) "The Freedom of a Christian Man" is the third and final of Martin Luther's tracts of 1520 in which the Reformer sets forth the principles of his Reformation theology. In the first, "An Address to the Nobility of the German Nation", Luther challenged the Church's power in secular matters and called upon the laity, the "priesthood of all believers", to take an active role in bringing about the reformation of the Church. In the second work, "Prelude to the Babylonian Captivity of the Church", Luther attacked the legitimacy of the papacy, denying that the pope was Christ's representative on earth, and published his radical critique of the sacramental system. In this third work, Luther explains that a Christian is dependent not on the Church or good works for his salvation but only on the Word of God (sola scriptura), which he must receive in faith, for it is only through faith (sola fide) that a person can be saved. It is, in many ways, Luther's "enchiridion", a handbook of the core principles that should guide a Christian's conduct. In his introductory letter to Leo X, Luther writes of his book, "It is a small book if you look to its size but, unless I am mistaken, it is a summary of the Christian life put together in small compass, if you apprehend its meaning." In "The Freedom of a Christian Man," Luther reveals the doctrine of justification by faith alone to be "an emancipation, through faith, of the individual Christian from the bondage of external works". Luther is quick to emphasize, however, that although the individual does not need to perform works to attain salvation, he is still obliged to work in service of his fellow man, selflessly and without a desire for reward. "If faith alone justifies, why concern ourselves with works? If, Luther replies, man were a purely spiritual being works would, indeed, be superfluous. He would forthwith attain by faith to the fullness of the inner, spiritual life. But he is a being of flesh and blood, not of pure spirit, and can only advance in the spiritual life by the practice of self-discipline and service for others. "He considers the subject from the point of the individual and from that of the individual in relation to others. Individual self-discipline is an essential of the Christian life. But here, too, the motive principle must be faith, which creates the aspiration and lends the inspiration to do what is pleasing to God. Works of this kind are to be done solely in this spirit and with this object, not with a view to justification and not as merits to this end. "In discussing the subject from the point of view of the relation of the individual to others, he gives expression to a splendid Christian altruism. It would, indeed, be difficult to find a finer expression of it. Faith works by love and of this love service for the common benefit is an instinctive, inherent element, though here again he warns against the tendency to do this service in a wrong spirit and for a wrong object: "Lastly we shall speak of those works which we are to exercise towards our neighbor. For man lives not for himself alone in the works that he does in this mortal life, but for all men on earth, yea he lives only for others and not for himself. For to this end he subjects his body in order that he may be able the more freely and wholeheartedly to serve others, as Paul says in Romans xiv. : 'For none of us liveth to himself and none dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord.' It is not possible, therefore, to take his ease in this life and abstain from works towards his neighbor. For, as has been said, he must perforce live and have converse with men, as Christ, made in the likeness of men and found in fashion as a man, lived among and had intercourse with men. . . . To this end the Christian must have a care for his own body and strive to maintain it in health and fitness in order to be able to minister to the help of those who are in need, so that the strong may serve the weak and we may be sons of God, caring and laboring the one for the other, mutually bearing each others' burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. Behold this is the truly Christian life -which with joy and love makes itself profitable in the freest service, serving feely and willingly, providing abundantly out of the fullness and riches of its faith."(Mackinnon, "Luther and the Reformation," Vol II). FIRST BASEL EDITION. (1st ed. Wittenberg 1520).
MEXICO. NAHUATL. Pérez, Manuel, transl. and author (active 1696-1725)
Bound in contemporary vellum, repaired along the upper hinge, binding lightly soiled and stained, end-papers renewed. Internally an overall fine, fresh copy with bright leaves and only minor faults: edges of first and final four leaves slightly ragged, the slightest of worming in the blank gutter of various gatherings, very light marginal damp-staining to a few gatherings, gatherings Y and Z with slim worm-track in outer margin (touching only one letter of text) and at upper blank corner. Sole edition of this important translation of the Catholic catechism into Nahuatl, which marks a significant development in translation theory and practice. Father Pérez was one of Mexico's leading Aztec scholars of the 18th century, the period of a major rebirth of scholarship in Nahuatl studies. He learned Nahuatl in Chiautla de la Sal (today De Tapia, in the state of Puebla) before becoming professor of Nahuatl at the Real Universidad de México in 1701, a position he would occupy until 1725. Pérez prepared this work for use among the Indians of Central Mexico, as well as other areas of North America into which Nahuatl had been introduced. Pérez' Nahuatl catechism is extremely important for the development of translation strategies and theory in the colonial period. In addition to the Nahuatl text of the Catechism, Pérez has written two other Nahuatl texts to discuss his translation practices, a "Plática breve" and a final "Protesta". It is in the latter, according to Zwartjes and Farfán, that "for the first time, a specific Nahuatl 'meta-language' is developed." The book also holds the distinction of being the first published Spanish translation of the Roman Catechism. Developments in the theory and practice of translation: Pérez' work is of great importance not only with regard to the translation of Nahuatl but also to the broader field of translation and linguistics. As he tells us in his "Protesta", by the time he translated the Catechism, he had already been speaking and studying Nahuatl for 26 years, having learned it in the "Tierra Caliente", Chiautla de la Sal (today De Tapia, in the state of Puebla). It is significant that in his discussion of the problems of translation, Pérez does not present Nahuatl as a language subordinate to or inferior to Latin or Spanish. And to the same degree that he works to produce a "faithful" translation of the Catechism, Pérez takes great pains to produce an authentic Nahuatl text. Pérez meets his greatest translation challenge when he grapples with the problem of "zero-equivalence", whether this be with respect to individual Latin or Spanish words for which Nahuatl has no equivalent (ex. "baptism"), or when he must communicate a foreign concept without changing or diluting its meaning. Rather than rely heavily on loan words from Latin or Spanish to communicate Christian concepts, Pérez uses descriptive circumlocutions, creates neologisms, and converts or expands the meanings of existing Nahuatl words for new uses, for example the devil (tlacatecolo), heaven (in ilhuicatl), and hell (in oncan mictlan). "In his [Nahuatl translation], Pérez often demonstrates that some words are difficult to translate, or even that there is no equivalent at hand at all. Translating the Spanish words for 'the angels, mankind, the heavens, and the elements', he breaks off to explain that 'there is no word for elements.' In reflection on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, he notes in the middle of his Nahuatl text that 'the Spanish equivalent of the Latin verb 'impello' should not be translated into Nahuatl where the original is used, since they may think that he died involuntarily. "As this example demonstrates, Pérez attempts to avoid any possible ambiguous interpretation and he makes an important step, seen from the point of translation studies in general. He does not concentrate here on the 'Eurocentric perspective' of the original word in Latin but he shifts from his own perspective to that of the recipient who may interpret the word erroneously."(Zwartjes, Missionary Linguistics V, Translation theories and practices, p. 34) For an in-depth discussion of Pérez' method and philosophy of translation, see Zwartjes and Farfán, La "Protesta" (1723) del agustino Manuel Pérez, el primer tratado de teoría de la traducción en náhuatl, in Estodios de cultura Náhuatl, 55 (January-June): p. 173-224. The First Spanish translation of the Roman Catechism: In addition to its importance in the history of Aztec studies and linguistics, Manuel Pérez' double-translation holds the distinction of being the first published Spanish translation of the Roman Catechism. The Roman Catechism of 1567 was a product of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), and is thereby known also as the Tridentine Catechism. Because it relied heavily on the catechism of the Navarrese heretic Bartolomé de Caranza (who had been arrested by the Inquisition in 1559 and was finally sentenced in 1576), the new Catechism was heavily criticized in Spain, some passages being considered dangerous and open to misinterpretation. Nevertheless, the Tridentine Catechism was put into circulation and there were immediate efforts to translate it into Spanish. However, despite the pope's insistence that a Spanish translation be made, the Inquisition pronounced that any and all translations would be prohibited. As a result, no Spanish translation was published in Spain until that of Augustín Zorita in 1782, almost sixty years after Pérez' Mexican edition. In the interesting author's note on the final leaf, Pérez explains that although there are many "libros Mexicanos" (i.e. books in Nahuatl), only a few explain the Sacraments, and those are written in "Mexicano antiguo". And even though the substance of that language and "that of today" are the same, modern Nahuatl "tiene muchas fraces, y modos nuevos, y por mas modern, mas claridad.".
Dodoens, Rembert (1517-1585); Lyte, Henry (1529-1607), translator
A fine copy in eighteenth-century calf, very nicely re-backed; boards ruled in gold, minor wear to extremities, corners lightly bumped. Illustrated with more than 850 quarter-paged woodcuts of plants in the text. The title is framed by an elaborate woodcut border by Arnold Nicolai after Pierre van der Borcht, depicting mythical and historical figures associated with horticulture: Apollo, Asclepius, Artemisia, Gentius, Mithridates and Lysimachus. The large vignette at the foot of the title page shows Hercules slaying the Hydra at the gates of the Garden of the Hesperides. The full-paged woodcut coat-of-arms of the translator appears on the verso of the title page. A woodcut portrait of Dodoens appears after the dedicatory verses. The woodcut printer's device of Henry Loë appears on the verso of the final leaf. Loë's name does not appear in the imprint on the title page but the colophon states the names of both the printer and the publisher: "Imrinted [sic] at Antwerpe : By me Henry Loë bookeprinter, and are to be solde at London in Povvels Churchyarde by Gerard Devves.". A fine, complete copy of this scarce and early English herbal. The title page is finger soiled and slightly cropped at the outer margin, not affecting the woodcut or print. Text with some light toning and scattered minor marginal stains; small rust spots on two leaves, small paper flaw in outer margin of leaf Vv6. Soiling to final index leaves, two of which have marginal tears (two repaired at an early date); colophon leaf soiled and with a light crease. This copy with the word "Imrinted" in the colophon corrected by the printer to "Imprinted". This is the first -and only illustrated- English edition of Rembert Dodoens' landmark herbal "Cruydeboeck", first printed in Flemish in 1554. The translator of this edition, Henry Lyte, prepared his English translation from Clusius' French translation of 1557. There is evidence of 16th c. and later English ownership in the form of occasional marginal notes (cropped) and a few additions to the index ("Scurvie grass", "Smallache", "Spoon-wort") Dodoens, along with Clusius and Lobel, was one of the three great Flemish botanists in the second half of the 16th century. "In 1554, Dodoens published a national herbarium devoted to species indigenous to the Flemish provinces. The merit of this book was that rather than proceeding by alphabetical order, as Fuchs had done, Dodoens grouped the plants according to their properties and their reciprocal affinities." (DSB) Dodoens' work includes a number of New World plants, including the sunflower, common bean, flower-of-Peru (Nicandra physalodes), tomato, etc. "At the end of the sixteenth-century the writings of the physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens (Malines 1517-Leyden 1585) exercised considerable influence in England. We are told by Meerbeck that Dodoens studied medicine at Louvain, and afterwards visited the universities and medical schools in France, Italy and Germany. He finally returned to his native city, and in 1548 was nominated town physician. Dodoens became renowned as a doctor not only in his native land but also other countries, and in 1574 he accepted an invitation from the Emperor Maximilian II to be court physician at Vienna. On the death of Maximilian he remained for a time with the new Emperor, Rudolf II. He received a Chair of Medicine at Leyden University in 1582. "Dodoens wrote several botanical works, and was the author of a "Cruydeboeck", an herbal in Flemish. It was published in 1554 by Jan van der Loe of Antwerp, and was illustrated by 715 woodcuts of plants, many of which were copies from those in the octavo edition of Fuchs' herbal. Charles de l'Ecluse (more commonly known as Clusius), another celebrated botanist from the Low Countries, translated the "Cruydeboeck" into French. This translation, which appeared in 1557 under the title of "Histoire des plantes", also came from the press of van der Loe of Antwerp. Many of the same woodcuts were used, with the addition of some new figures which were probably drawn by the artist Pierre van der Borcht, to whom further reference will be made. "In 1578 there appeared Henry Lyte's English translation of Clusius' French version of Dodoens' "Cruydeboeck". It is entitled "A Nievve herball" and is dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. It was printed by van der Loe of Antwerp, and sold by Garrat Dewes who practiced as a printer and bookseller in London from 1560 to 1591, in St. Paul's Churchyard at the Sign of the Swan. "The fine woodcut compartment surrounding the title is the same as that of the second Flemish edition (1563) and is signed with the initials P.B. and the monogram A, the former standing for Pierre van der Borcht, mentioned above, and the latter for Arnold Nicolai, who became one of Plantin's chief engravers. The figures are the same as those used for the Flemish editions and the French version. A number of the figures are new and these were probably made from drawings by van der Borcht. "The extremely pleasing portrait of the author with the inscription 'Remberti Dodonaei aeta. XXXV' had already appeared in the 1554 edition. The original wood-block is still preserved in the Museum Plantin-Moretus. "Lyte prepared "A Nievve herball" with care. He compared 'the last Douch copy' with the French version, and in places made corrections and additions. Moreover, it appears that after Lyte had finished his work, Rembert Dodoens sent fresh material, which the English translator incorporated in his edition. Lyte's own copy of the French version is now preserved in the British Museum. It contains numerous notes [and the inscription 'Henry Lyte taught me to speake English.']" (Henrey) "Unlike most translators, Lyte was an amateur botanist who understood the material he was translating. He is credited with making significant corrections to the original text and accurately incorporating new material sent him by Dodoens during the course of his work. It is possible that Shakespeare con
ROME. Nicolaes van Aelst (Brussels ca. 1550 - Rome 19 July 1613), printer and publisher
A fine copy, rich in tone, with broad margins (including partial deckled edges), with a little light marginal soiling and a tiny hole in the blank margin. Very lightly creased at the center, with an original paper guard on the verso. The numeral "13" in early manuscript at lower right, indicating the print's former position in a bound volume. An attractive engraving of one of the most famous and most widely recognized monuments of ancient Rome, the pyramidal tomb of Gaius Cestius. The tomb, constructed sometime between 18 and 12 B.C.E., is the only sepulchral monument of its type still extant in Rome. The Flemish émigré printer Nicolaes van Aelst arrived in Rome from his native Brussels sometime in the mid-1580s. He worked in Rome as a publisher until his death in 1613, at which time his plates were inherited by his son, Antonio Francesco, who continued to print in his father's shop for several years. This print is based on an engraving first published by Antoine Lafréry in 1547, which was re-issued by Antonio Salamanca (1549) and Pietro de Nobili (1584). The print was copied by Ambrogio Brambilla and printed by Claude Duchet in 1582. The anonymous engraver of the present version also based his print on Lafréry's original, copying Salamanca's publisher's inscription from the 1549 issue: "Romae M.D.XLVIIII. A.S. Excvdebat" at the foot of the plate. Van Aelst's name has been added at the lower right. The pyramid is shown in a partly-dilapidated state (the tomb was later restored by order of Pope Alexander VII), with some of the marble revetment and bricks dislodged or missing, and vegetation growing out of the resulting crevasses. Two men, one of whom gestures upward, are shown in conversation at the foot of the tomb. The two ancient funerary inscriptions are clearly visible on the façade: G CESTIVS L F POB EPVLO PR TR PL VII VIR EPVLONVM [Trans. "Gaius Cestius, son of Lucius, of the Pobilia [voting tribe], member of the College of Epulones, Praetor, Tribune of the Plebs, Septemvir of the Epulones."] OPVS APSOLVTVM EX TESTAMENTO DIEBVS CCCXXX ARBITRATV PONTI P F CLA MELAE HEREDIS ET POTHI L [Trans. "The work was completed, in accordance with the will, in 330 days, by the decision of the heir [Lucius] Pontus Mela, son of Publius of the Claudia, and Pothus, freedman."] While both Lafréry's original (1547) and Brambilla's re-engraving for Duchet (1582) showed the monument in isolation, the engraver of this version has depicted the pyramid in its topographical context by adding the Aurelian Wall (Mura Aureliana) and, in the middle distance, the monumental Porta San Paolo (indicated by the words "San Paolo"). In the far distance, medieval towers and, to the far left, the hint of a cylindrical tomb, dot the countryside outside of the city. These background elements are, however, somewhat divorced from reality. The pyramid was actually incorporated into the Aurelian wall and the Porta, as shown, is in the wrong location. In addition, the Porta itself is imperfectly rendered (the crenelated turret is shown squared, rather than as a cylinder), suggesting the draftsman was unfamiliar with the actual monument. Nevertheless, these elements add important context for the viewer and greatly enrich the atmosphere of the image. Marigliani, Lo splendore di Roma, II.49; BNC (Biblioteca nazionale centrale) Rome 18.6.G3, f. 30; cf. Rubach, p. 314, no. 301; Hülsen, Speculum p. 150-151, no. 39 APPENDIX: Nicolaes van Aelst and the tradition of the "Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae" (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence") "Arriving in Rome from his native Brussels in the mid-1580s, the Flemish printer Nicolaes van Aelst established his home and workshop in a house situated between the now-vanished church of San Biagio della Fossa and the church of Santa Maria della Pace, near Piazza Navona. The building was the property of the church of Santa Maria dell'Anima, to whom the printer paid an annual rent of 30 scudi."(Lorizzo) By the time Van Aelst printed the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, the market for large engravings of ancient and modern Roman subjects had been thriving for decades. The print is representative of the vast publishing phenomenon that came to be known as the "Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae" (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence"). The "Speculum" had its genesis in the years following the Sack of Rome (1527), when the Spanish émigré Antonio Salamanca began producing engravings of Roman subjects with regularity (prior to the sack such prints were few and appeared sporadically). In the 1540s, another émigré printer, the Frenchman Antonio Lafreri (Antoine Lafréry), began a rival enterprise, copying many of Salamanca's engravings. In 1553, these two competing Roman publishers entered into a contractual alliance for twelve years, "with the explicit purpose of printing and selling copper- plate prints of ancient and modern subjects. When the contractual agreement between Salamanca and Lafreri was established in 1553 the underlying principle of the "Speculum" was in place: it was to be a corpus of documentary prints of ancient and modern Roman subjects, mainly in folio."(Parshall) Lafreri's and Salamanca's engravings, illustrating the ancient and modern marvels of Rome (tombs, temples, palaces, baths, statuary, obelisks, columns, inscriptions, frescoes, etc.), were purchased by tourists as souvenirs, studied by antiquarians, used as models by artists and architects, and circulated as virtual visits for armchair travelers beyond Rome. By the late 1570s, collectors could also purchase an engraved title page while selecting prints for their own Speculum collections. As a result, Lafreri's customers or those of his heirs (Salamanca had died in 1562 and Parshall suggests that the title was only in use after Lafreri's death in 1577), collected images to suit their own needs or taste. After the death of Lafreri, two-thirds of the existing copper plates went to his heirs, and another third was sold to other publishers. These ne
Luther, Martin (1483-1546)
Bound in matching 17th c. stiff vellum, ruled in blind (covers slightly bowed, vellum lightly soiled, small split at head of rear hinge of Vol. I, 1 end-band loose). The contents are in overall excellent condition, with minor blemishes (Vol I: leaf D2 with small natural paper flaw affecting a few letters, small paste stain to lvs. m3, q2, and GG1; a few index lvs. lightly browned. Vol. II: title very slightly frayed; first four lvs. damp-stained at head, a handful of gatherings with very light damp-stains in the lower margin.) The dimensions of the two volumes, in matching early bindings, differ in size by about 1 cm. Edges of text-block stained an even blue. Third printing of Martin Luther's early correspondence, edited by Joannes Aurifaber (1519-1575), Luther's private secretary, who lived with Luther at the time of the Reformer's death. The first volume contains 255 letters from 1507 to 1522 (from the celebration of his first Mass to his removal to Wartburg Castle after the Diet of Worms). The second has 407 letters, from 1520 to 1528. These letters offer a revealing view of Luther's private and public thoughts on matters of pivotal importance to the early reformation. They include a "cover letter" to a copy of the 95 Theses, written on the very day (October 31st, 1517) that Luther nailed the Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. In this letter, addressed to Cardinal Albrecht, Archbishop of Magdeberg and Mainz, Luther requests that the indulgence traffic be halted. In a related letter, written as a dedication to his explanations of the 95 Theses, Luther gives an account of his understanding of penitence, which led him finally to the attack on indulgences. Included are letters to Pope Leo X (1475-1521), King Henry VIII (1491-1547), Georg Spalatin (1484-1545), Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560), Frederick, Elector of Saxony (1463-1525), Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), Andreas Karlstadt (1486-1541), Cardinal Tommaso de Vio Cajetan (1470-1534), and many others. This collection also includes Luther's first letter to Erasmus, written at Wittenberg on March 28th, 1519 (Vol. I, p. 156-158) and several letters in which Luther discusses his opinions of Erasmus' theology. The letters' chronological arrangement allows the reader to follow the development of Luther's thought and the political ramifications of his actions. Luther provides first-hand accounts of his efforts to avoid a trial in Rome, his negotiations with the Pope's secretary, Karl von Miltitz, and the papal legate, Cardinal Cajetan, and his eventual appearance before the Emperor at the Diet of Worms. Included are Luther's letter to Cajetan (Oct., 1518), written as Luther fled the Augsburg to avoid being kidnapped and taken to Rome, and a letter of apology to Pope Leo X (Jan., 1519) in which Luther argues that he is now powerless to control the power of his own ideas: "The demand is made that I recant my Disputation. If such a revocation could accomplish what I was attempting to do with my theses, I would issue it without hesitation. Now, however, through the antagonism and pressure of my enemies, my writings are spread farther than I ever had expected and are so deeply rooted in the hearts of so many people that I am not in the position to revoke them.". In a letter written after his appearance at Worms, Luther writes to the Emperor to express his gratitude and ask for continued protection. He also gives a vivid account of the proceedings and a critique of his own performance. "Your Sacred Majesty ordered that I be asked first whether I would acknowledge said little books as mine, and second whether or not I would be ready to revoke them, or would uphold the. When I had acknowledged that [these books] were mine. I pointed out with great reverence and submission that the following was my opinion: since I had fortified my books with clear and intelligible Scripture passages, it does not seem to me right or just to deny the Word of God and revoke my little books in this way, nor could I do it in any way. [.] In addition to all this, it was requested and demanded of me that I answer simply and plainly whether or not I was ready to recant. Again I answered as humbly as I could: since my conscience is bound by the Scripture passages which I have quoted in my little books, I could under no circumstances recant anything, unless I be better informed." In a letter to Nicholas von Amsdorf (folio 326), Luther describes his capture and the ride to Wartburg Castle. The first volume concludes with a series of letters to Melanchthon and others, written from the Wartburg, in which Luther discusses the volatile situation at Erfurt and Wittenberg and the actions of Karlstadt, in particular. In these letters, Luther discusses his ideas on clerical and monastic celibacy, communion, private mass, the dynamics of faith, etc. THIRD EDITION (the 1st ed. of Vol. I appeared in 1556; 1st ed. of Vol. II in 1565).
Bound in 18th c. speckled calf, serviceably rebacked, spine gilt, red Morocco label, new endpapers. A very good copy, complete with the additional engraved title and the two plates. Scattered light soiling and spotting, some dog-earing, edges of one plate silked. According to "The introduction", some of the histories are "extracted out of that excellent piece of Mr. [John] Reynolds his Murthers" A trove of highly-sensational tales of seduction, rape, thievery, betrayal, deception, murder, and revenge, presented to dissuade readers from committing murder and adultery. The stories are full of over-the-top violence and salacious details, warning of the dangers of murder and adultery. The book is largely free of moral commentary; the feeble, rote morals that are appended to them are perfunctory. The engraved title page shows scenes of violent punishment as well as scenes of seduction and murder. The second engraving, bound before the divisional title, shows an allegorical scene of justice and an amorous encounter between two lovers on a bed, the man fondling the woman's bare breast. There is an international flavor to the collection, with tales from Italy, France, Spain, etc. and the plots seem perfectly fit for the stage: an Italian maiden stabs her lover's killer with a stiletto, stuffs her monogrammed handkerchief in his mouth, and has him thrown down a well outside a convent. When the body is discovered by the nuns, the handkerchief reveals the killer. In another tale, a woman named Hautesia, hires an apothecary to poison her sister-in-law. She then incites her husband to a duel with her brother, which he loses (and dies.) She then has the apothecary murder her brother. When the apothecary is later apprehended for rape, he confesses the murders, and implicates Hautesia. The two are brutally executed: the apothecary is broken on the wheel and left to die; Hautesia's breasts are seared and torn off with pincers, she is hanged and burned, and her ashes are scattered to the wind. Innocence and naivete are demonstrated to be liabilities in these stories. A rake seduces a beautiful French farm girl, impregnates her, and abandons her, leaving her to give birth to their son on her own. But to cover his tracks, the rake has the unsuspecting mother and baby put up in an inn, where they are murdered by the rake's henchman. The truth is discovered by the rake's mistress; the villains confess under torture, and are executed by racking, hanging, and burning. The tales of adultery are no less violent and gruesome, and some are shockingly macabre. In the first story of the second part, an aged Venetian count marries a young gentlewoman who had been promised to another man her own age. She grows depressed and when her husband is absent on business, has an assignation with her former betrothed. The count returns, finds the two in bed asleep ("having wearied themselves with the repetition of their unlawful pleasures"), stabs his wife's paramour, cuts off his head and kicks it over to his wife, and tears out the adulterer's heart. He throws the decapitated body out the window, locks his wife in her room, and departs. The young woman, whose only companion in her captivity is the rotting head of her dead lover, suffers a miscarriage from all of the horror. At this point, the story grows strange. The count, moved by "compassion and pity", releases his wife. Despite trying to pick up where they left off, he can't understand why his wife doesn't cheer up. (Perhaps it is because he has had his men boil the flesh off her lover's skull and fashion it into a goblet from which she must drink every night at dinner?) When she fails to recover, the worried count (after consulting his wife's physicians) gives her something to eat to bring her back to her old self. He presents her with the rotted heart of her dead lover, asking her to "eat cheerfully of it". She eats the heart, remarking, "'tis pitty any part of it should be lost." The next morning she is dead.
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