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12.
Dionysius Periegetes. (fl. 118 A.D.)
De Situ Orbis Habitabilis (Descriptio orbis terrrae).
Venice: per Franciscum Renner, 1478.
$8,500
Quarto, 8.5 x 6 in. A-c8, d-e6. 36 leaves.
Second printed edition. This copy is bound in nineteenth-century
marbled boards, nicely rebacked and recornered. Internally,
this copy is in good condition with wide margins and numerous
deckled edges with only minor soiling to the leaves. Light ink
stains appear on leaves c3v and c4r. A portion of the blank
margin of leaf a1 has been restored with no loss to the text.
The first leaf is printed in red and black. Attractive, white-on-black
woodcut initials are printed in the text.
"The only work of Dionysius available to the medieval and
renaissance periods was the Descriptio orbis terrrae, a verse
description, in Greek, of the geography of the world."
(CTC, III). The present translation was written by Antonius
Beccaria of Verona (ca. 1400-1474) between 1453 and 1470; the
first printed edition appeared in 1477.
Dionysius of Alexandria, called Periegetes (the guide), was
a contemporary of the great Hellenistic geographers Marinus
of Tyre and Claudius Ptolemy. He composed a description in verse
of the inhabited world (A.D. 124) that was long used as a school
textbook. "He presented the known world as an island, sling-shaped,
entirely north of the equator, extending from Thule [Iceland?]
to Libya [Africa]. He limited the inhabited world eastward by
the river Ganges, taking into account the Seres [Chinese and
Tibetans], but locating them much less far east than Marinus."
In the course of his work, Dionysius identifies numerous sources
for various gems and precious minerals in Europe, Asia Minor,
and South Asia. He identifies electrum and diamonds in the lakes
formed by the runoff of the Aldescus and Penticapes rivers of
Scythia (leaf b3v). In the Hellespont he describes Asterius
lapis, "which is scarcely different from a blazing star
or a burning flame and from which similarity it gets its name"
(leaf b4). In the vicinity of the Caspian Sea (c7r), and again,
in Paphlygonia (c8v), we find various crystals and jaspers.
The Paphlygonian variety of crystal is praised for its purity:
"as bright and clear as glass." In Iran we encounter
agate "similar to cylinders" in the sands of the Choaspes
river where it lies "strewn and milky in color" (leaf
e2r). On our way to India we find Coralii Lapides and Sapphire
(leaf e2v). Southern India yields a dazzling variety of specimens:
beryl, diamond, jasper, and topalus, which could be citrine
or topaz, and amethyst (leaf e3r).
Goff D-254; H6225; GW 8427; BMC V195; Polain 1298; Not in Sinkankas.
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13. Duns Scotus, Johannes. (c.1266-1308);
de Fantis, Antonius, editor.
Scriptu[m] Sup[er] Quarto S[e]n[tent]iarum.
Pavia: Jacobus de Paucisdrapis de Burgofranco, 1517.
Octavo, 5.3x 4.0 in. aaaa-zzzz8, [et]8, [cum]8, [rum]8; AAAA-PPPP8.
SOLD
This copy is bound in later tanned goatskin over thin wooden
boards, with both clasps and catches nicely preserved. The extremities
are rubbed with loss to the leather at the foot of the spine.
Internally, this copy is in good condition with minor foxing
and a little browning at the edges. There are a number of contemporary
marginal notes (some of which have been papered over by a later
owner, not affecting the printed text). The elaborate woodcut
title page is printed in red and black and features a stylized
portrait of the author in the act of writing, surrounded by
books. A handsome woodcut printer’s device appears on the
last leaf of text, preceding the table. The text is printed
in two columns and is ornamented with woodcut initials.
This volume contains the fourth part of Duns Scotus’ greatest
work, the Opus Oxoniense, Scotus’ commentary on Peter Lombard’s
Quattuor Libri Sententiarum. “The Opus Oxoniense is primarily
a theological work, but it contains many treatises, or at least
digressions, on logical, metaphysical, grammatical, and scientific
topics, so that nearly his whole system of philosophy can be
derived from this work.”
“Scotus occupied a pivotal place in scholastic thought,
closing the thirteenth century and opening the fourteenth intellectually
as well as chronologically. First of all, Scotus’ focus
on Henry of Ghent, quite apart from its obvious exegetical importance,
was otherwise significant for the period. By in effect making
a contemporary work the object of his commentary on the Sentences,
Scotus fundamentally changed the programme and form of Scholastic
literature itself. While this change was already underway in
the previous generation, Scotus nonetheless marks a clear divide
between the thirteenth century project of incorporating Greek
and Arabic sources, as exemplified by Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure,
and Aquinas, and the fourteenth century focus on contemporary
opinion evident in William of Ockham.” (Encyclopedia of
Philosophy)
This edition is not in Adams. |
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14. Eusebius of Caesarea. (ca. 260-341);
Acciolo, Zenobi, editor.
Evsebii Caesariensis Episcopi Opvscvlvm
In Hieroclem, Zenobio Acciolo Florentino Interprete.
[Paris: Iehan Petit, 1514].
SOLD
Octavo, 6 x 4 in. a-c8.
This volume is bound in a very neat nineteenth-century red quarter
Morocco.
This is an apologetical work against Hierocles. “Hierocles,
who, as governor in Bithynia and in Egypt, was a cruel enemy
of the Christians during the persecution, before the persecution
had attacked them with the pen. There was nothing original about
his work except the use he made of Philostratus’ Life of
Apollonius of Tyana to institute a comparison between our Lord
and Apollonius in favour of the latter. In his reply, Eusebius
confined himself to this one point.” (CE)
Moreau 830; Vgl. Renouard, Badius Ascensius II, 429. Ders.,
Marques, 881. |
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15. Geiler von Kaysersberg, Johann. (1445-1510)
Nauicula penitentie. Per excellentissimum
sacre Pagine doctorem Joannem Keyserspergium Argentinensium
Concionatorem Predicata. A Jacobo Otthero Collecta. Ecce ascendimus
hierosolimam.
[Augsburg: Johannes Otmar locatis expensis per Georgium Diemar,
1511].
SOLD
First Latin edition.
Folio, 10.8 x 7.75 in.
6, A8, B6, C8, d6, e8, f6, g8, h-k6, L-M6. 80 leaves; complete.
This volume features a magnificent, nearly full-paged woodcut
by Burgkmair on the title-page. The hand-colored illustration
depicts Geiler on a ship’s stern preaching to the penitential
passengers. The title page and the first leaf of text are printed
in red and black. The initial on the first leaf of text is supplied
by the rubricator in red. All other initials are supplied in
red throughout the text. This copy is bound in contemporary
limp vellum .
A well-known German pulpit orator, Geiler von Kaysersberg was
one of the most celebrated humanists of his era, along with
Erasmus, Wimpfeling, and others. As a secular priest, he fought
the ecclesiastical abuses of his age, looking to “salvation
and preservation only in the restoration of Christian morals
in Church and state, through the faithful maintenance of the
doctrines of the Church.” (CE)
Geiler’s importance in literature must be judged by his
impact on the history of the development of the Catholic sermon
in its relation to purely literary (secular) history. Widely
read in theology as well as the secular literature of his day,
and closely associated with the humanists of Strasburg, Geiler
preached at the cathedral in Strasburg for more than 30 years,
a position specially created for him by the cathedral chapter,
the bishop, and city authorities.
He often yielded “to the coarseness of his age. [...] A
man of austere morality, he never failed to show an apostolic
courage towards both high and low, and exhibited an extraordinary
daring in fighting vice and degeneracy of morals. Hence his
works are an important source for the history of the civilization
of these degenerate times. [...] Because in his oratory] his
thoughts were expressed in the language of ordinary life, [...]
posterity possesses, in Geiler’s writings, an enduring
source for the knowledge of the speech, customs, and beliefs
of the common people at the beginning of the sixteenth century.”
(Ibid.)
“The spirit of mammon [riches or material wealth, see Mat.
6:24; Luke 16:9, 11, 13] had won such an ascendancy in the Curia
that Pope Clement VII, for example, at the very height of the
Reformation storm, was trying to make money from the sale of
the Cardinals’ hats. It is against this background that
we must understand the denunciation of the great Catholic preacher
Geiler von Kaisersberg: ‘It is no longer the Holy Ghost
who appoints the rulers of the Church, but the devil, and for
money, for favour and by bribery of the Cardinals.” (The
Roots of The Reformation, Karl Adam)
The title of this work is taken from one of Geiler's very popular
sermons which was a theological response to Sebastian Brant’s
poem “Ship of Fools” (1494).
Proctor 10687; Adams G-318; Panzer VI, 139, 58; VD 16, G 772.
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16. Horace [Horatius Flaccus, Quintus.]
(65-8 B.C.)
Opera. [Edited with a commentary by Christophorus
Landinus.]
Venice: Bernardinus Stagninus, De Tridino, 1486.
Folio, 11.7 x 8.2 in. a-x8, y10.
$9,000
This copy is bound in eighteenth-century stiff parchment, the
spine gilt ruled in compartments with ornaments and the author's
name tooled in gold. The leaves are in very good condition with
paragraph marks and initials supplied in alternating red and
blue throughout. Several leaves (a2, a3, a4) have larger ornamental
initials and scrolling penwork. One initial illuminated in gold
and colors on leaf a4v. Old tape repairs appear on two leaves
(a5 and y9). Moderate dampstaining to the inner, upper margin,
with occasional paper repairs to a few leaves. The lower margin
of leaf a5 has been snipped away, causing slight loss to the
final text line on the verso of the leaf.
A contemporary owner has annotated this copy throughout. The
preliminary material also contains a poem by Politian.
Cristoforo Landino of Firenze (1424-1498) “belonged to
Marsilio Ficino’s Platonic Academy and was a teacher of
Lorenzo de Medici and his brother Giuliano. Landino wrote philosophical
dialogues and, in addition, wrote commentaries on the Aeneid
and on Dante’s Commedia. A proponent of the vernacular,
he commented on Petrarch in his lectures and published an Italian
translation of Pliny’s Historia Naturalis.”(Contemporaries
of Erasmus)
"Horace as the poet of serene balance, of detachment from
passion, of moderation: this image is deeply rooted. And the
traditional image, in this case as in others, is quite close
to the truth. It leads us to sense, first of all, the central
role that thought and philosophical culture plays in Horatian
lyric. Here it is natural to think of the poet of the Satires
and the assimilation, through the diatribe tradition, of concepts
and problems of the Hellenistic schools of philosophy; this
feature renders Horace's pronouncements substantially different
from those of early Greek lyric. Nonetheless, it is no more
than a genuine moral inquiry based on the critical observation
of others. In a certain sense one may say that the Odes begin
where the Satires leave off, with a thoughtful meditation upon
a few fundamental achievements of philosophy, Epicurean philosophy
in particular. These basic notions, which, to be sure, also
owe something to common sense, receive from Horace a formulation
that is so clear and incisive that they have become part of
the European cultural heritage, which has often drawn upon Horace's
poetry as a storehouse of maxims.
"The cardinal point is the awareness of the brevity of
life, which implies the need to take the joys of the moment,
without getting lost in the fruitless concerns over hopes, ambitions,
and fears. The exhortation to Leuconoe is the most famous of
all:
‘Sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevi spem longam reseVes.
Dum loquimur, fugerit invidi aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum
credula postero.
‘Be wise, strain the wine; and since time is brief, reduce
lengthy hope. While we are speaking, envious life will have
fled: seize the day, and do not trust to tomorrow.’
"[...] The wise man will deal with events as they are and
be able to accept them. He relies on the present alone, which
he seeks to capture in its flight, and he acts as if each day
of life were his last. The ‘carpe diem’ therefore,
should not be misunderstood as a banal invitation to pleasure;
in Horace, as also in epicurus, the invitation to pleasure is
not separate from the keen awareness that the pleasure itself
is fleeting, as human life is fleeting. The only possibility
is to erect, against the imminence of death or misfortune, the
solid protection of possessions already enjoyed, happiness already
experienced." (Conte, Latin Literature, A History)
Goff H-450; Hain-Copinger 8884 ; BMC V: 364; Mills 44. |
17. Huttich, Johann. (ca. 1490-1544)
Imperatorum et Caesarum Vitae, cum
Imaginibus ad vivam effigiem expressis. Libellus auctus cum
elencho & Iconiis Consulum ab Authore. M.D. XXXIIII.
Strasbourg: Vuolphgangus Caephalaeus excussit, 1534.
Quarto, 6.8 x 5.1 in. Aa-Bb4; A-X4, Y6; aa-dd4.
$6,000
The first edition to include the Elenchus and the first with
this title. (See Fairfax Murray). This copy is bound in full
modern vellum, laced-case construction. The edges of text block
are speckled red. Internally, it is in very good condition.
An early owner has added a few notes and inscriptions in the
margins and has attempted two additional portraits. The main
title features an elaborate woodcut border. There are also two
divisional woodcut title pages and two leaves bearing large
printer's devices. Every page, with the exception of the index,
is illustrated with woodcut images, most of which are by Hans
Weiditz.
This volume is profusely illustrated with several hundred woodcuts
including over two hundred medallion portraits of emperors and
members of the extended imperial families, most of which are
framed by decorative borders composed of multiple woodcut blocks.
This edition is the first to include a supplemental section
entitled: Elenchus Consulum Romanorum. It consists of a chronological
list of the consuls and is printed between decorative woodcut
borders. This section concludes with a series of woodcut medallions.
This fourth edition of Huttich’s Imperatorum et Caesarum
Vitae, his most important work, was first published in 1525.
The first section covers the imperial families from Julius Caesar
to Gallienus, the son of Valerian. This section is followed
by ‘thirty tyrants,’ a group of third-century would-be
usurpers and self-proclaimed Augusti and Caesari, and the emperors
and Augusti from Aurelian to Theodosius II and Valentinian III.
This section is followed by the emperors of the Eastern empire
based at Constantinople, beginning with Martian and concluding
with Michael Cyropalates. The revival of the western imperial
line begins with Charlemagne and concludes with the reigns of
Charles V, emperor of Germany and his brother Ferdinand I.
Adams H-1248; BM German p.427 (602.b.I); Chrisman H5.1.4b; Fairfax
Murray #219; Campbell Dodgson II, 148; Brunet III, p.392 |
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18. Livy [Livius, Titus]. (CA. 59 B.C.-A.D.17)
T. Livii Patavini historici clarissimi quae
extant Decades ad decem diversa exempla acri iudicio repostiae.
Cum indice literaria serie etiam in Epitomen. L Flori: adiectis
cumpluribus prius intermissis: rursus ab Ascensio collecto.
Cum praenotamentis, regulis, & omnium vocularum, constructionum,
sententiarumque subdifficilium quae inter legendum occurrerunt,
eiusdem explicatione. Cum. L. Flori in omneis libros epitome
recognita & literis ut indice explicari possit, ab eodem
Ascensio distincta. Cum Annotationibus. M. Antonii Sabellio
diligenter recognitis. Cumque primae praefationis familiari
Ascensii prati explanatione.
[Paris]: Joannes Parvus et Iodocus Badius Ascensius, 1513.
Folio, 13 x 8.5 in. [ ]8, aa-dd8, a-z8, A-M8.
SOLD
This copy is bound in contemporary wooden boards, backed with
later vellum. The boards have been stained green; a split in
the front board has been repaired. This is a very large, clean
copy with occasional deckles appearing on all three edges of
the leaves. There are a few wormholes in the lower blank margin,
several of which have been patched, and occasional foxing to
a few scattered leaves. The title page is printed in red and
black and features an elaborate woodcut border. Jean Petit’s
printer’s device appears on the title page. The text is
ornamented with criblé initials throughout.
“Several times, both in the preface and elsewhere, Livy
refers to the fact that for him the narrating of Rome’s
glorious past is a refuge from the distress he feels when he
comes to narrating more recent and contemporary events, an attitude
that implicitly polemicizes against the historiography of Sallust,
who had placed Rome’s crisis at the center of his research.
[...] Although he recognizes that the crisis is epochal rather
than episodic, Livy refuses to focus on that alone; rather,
he strives to view it within the general context of Roman history.
[...]
“When Livy turns his gaze to the more than seven centuries
that have brought a small city of Latium to mastery of the world,
he shows reverence, almost dismay, before such vast time and
vast achievements. In evoking that immense journey, he feels
the pressure of history, the weight of the influence that the
images of the past exercise upon the consciousness of the present
time. These images act as models of social and individual behavior,
positive and negative; they are invitations to virtue and warnings
against wickedness. The mythology of the past, in short, not
only has meaning for contemporary men but also gives meaning
to their actions, in that it can illustrate through examples
their own ideological needs.” (Conte)
Moreau II 651. Renouard, Badius III Titus Livius 2. Renouard,
Imprimeurs II 235. Machiels L-393. BM French p. 285; Schweiger
Vol I, p. 526. |
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19. Martialis, Marcus Valerius. (b. 40-d.
circa 100 A.D.)
Epigrammata. [With the commentaries of Domitius
Calderinus and Georgius Merula.]
Venice: [Christophorus de Pensis, de Mandello] 1 August, 1495.
Folio, 12.2 x 8.4 mm. a6, b-d8, e-z6, &6, [cum]6, [rum]4.
159 of 160 leaves, lacking the final blank.
$8,000
This copy is bound in nineteenth-century quarter sheepskin.
The boards are rubbed and the head of the spine is rather tattered.
The first leaf is soiled, with a piece missing from the blank
margin at the foot.
“When the emperor Titus inaugurated the Flavian Amphitheatre
in 80, he presented the people with a great many games which
astonished the whole world because of their unusual composition.
Martial took the occasion to write epigrams on the subject;
he presented them to the emperor and in so doing took his first
step toward fame. Four years after the publication of these
first epigrams, a second collection appeared. At the feast of
the Saturnalia it was the custom in Rome to send presents, including
poetic mottoes, or to draw lots for them at table, the former
being called Xenia (presents for guests) the latter Apophoreta
(something to take away). However, the poet attained his greatest
fame through the twelve books of epigrams, in which he proved
himself a painter of morals and a critic of the society of his
time, and in which he showed that he did not shy away from daring
obscenities. [...] The value of Martial’s poems lies above
all in their pungency and formal terseness. In their later reception,
attention was paid to both these aspects, the socially critical
and the formal.” (Conte)
Goff M-312; BMC V, 469; Hain 10824*; Polain (B) 2620; Proctor
5233; Walsh 2381; Frank-Rutger Hausmann, Marcus Valerius Martialis
in CTC, Vol. IV, pp. 249 ff.) |
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20. Mayronis, Francisco de. (ca. 1280-1327)
Sermones de Sanctis. [With other tracts
including the Tractatus super Paternoster de poenitentia; De
articulis fidei; Super Magnificat; De Donis Spiritus Sancti;
De Ultimo Judicio; Super Missus Est.]
Venice: per Pelegrinum de Pasqualibus Bononica, 11 February
1493.
$8,000
First edition.
Octavo, 6 x 8.25 in. þ10, a-z8, A-D8, E7.
This book is bound in nineteenth century vellum with a marblede
paper stripe down the center of each board. The leaves are clean
with some mild staining at the bottom.
Mayron was born in the Basses-Alpes region of France and entered
the Franciscan order at Digne. He taught theology at the University
of Paris. “On 27 September 1317, St. Elzear de Sabran died
at Paris in Francis’s arms. It is generally accepted that
Mayron introduced the famous ‘Actus Sorbonicus’ into
the University of Paris. Mayron was a distinguished pupil of
Duns Scotus, whose teaching he usually followed. He was surnamed
Doctor acutus, or Doctor illuminatus, also Magister abstractionum.”
Goff M-93; Pell 4910; Polain (B) 1514; Oates 1912; Pr 4863;
BMC V 392. |
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21. Melanchthon, Philip. (1497-1560); Luther,
Martin. (1483-1546)
Confessio fidei exhibita invictiss. Imp.
Carolo V. Caefari Aug. in Comiciis Auguftae. Anno M.D.XXX. Addita
est Apologia Co(n)fessionis Psalm. 119 Et loquebar de testimonijs
tuis in conspectu
Wittenberg: Georg Rhau, 1531.
SOLD
This edition is a re-impression of the “editio princeps”
printed in the same year.
Octavo, 5.25 x 3.5. P4, a-d8, e3, f-n8, A-P8, Q4, (lacking blank
e4)
The title page has a woodcut illustration. The book is bound
in eighteen century calf with gilding to the spine and edges.
The front and rear boards are framed by gilded tooled floral
panels. The edges have been stained red. The book has been beautifully
rubricated throughout. Overall, the volume is remarkably well-preserved
with only minor repairs to the corner of F8.
The Augsburg Confession is “the oldest and most authoritative
of the Lutheran creeds,” and a major historical document,
in which the revolution of Martin Luther assumed organized political
action and permanently changed the religious and national identity
of Europe. The Confession was "drafted by Melanchthon,
on the basis of Luther’s Marburg, Schwabach, and Torgau
articles, and bore the signature of seven German princes. On
25 June, 1530, copies of it, in Latin and German, were presented
to Charles V, at the Diet of Augsburg, and the German version
of it was read aloud before the secular and ecclesiastical Estates
of the Empire. Charles retained his Latin copy which he brought
with him to Spain, giving the other into the custody of the
Archbishop of Mainz.”
In a remarkable calm and able Answer to the Confession, controversialists
such as Eck, Wimpina, and Cochlaeus analyze the Confession,
giving praise and censure where either is due. Melanchthon retorted
with an Apologia which Lutherans generally regard as their second
symbolic book. Charles refused to accept it, because of the
violent language against the Catholic Church. (Catholic Encyclopedia)
“Although the emperor prohibited the printing of the evangelical
confession without his special permission, during the Diet six
German editions and one in Latin were published. Their inaccuracy
and incorrectness induced Melanchthon to prepare an edition
to which he added the Apology. Thus originating the so-called
editio princeps of the Augustana and Apology, which was published
in the spring of 1531. This edition was regarded as the authentic
reproduction of the faith professed before the emperor and empire.”
(Schaff-Herzog)
Neuser, Confessio Augustana 11. |
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22. Nider, Johannes. (ca. 1380-1438)
Praeceptorium divinae legis sive Expositio
Decalogi.
Augsburg: Anton Sorg, circa 24 May 1475.
Folio, 10.4 x 7.6 in. † [A-B10, C8 (7+1): first leaf blank,
Index; D-H10, I8 (7+1), ††K-T10, V8, X-Z10, Aa8, Bb-Gg10, Hh10
(9+1): text] 303 leaves of 305, lacking 2 blank leaves.
$12,000
This book is bound in sixteen century German alum-tawed pigskin
over wooden boards decorated with various fillets and four rolls,
outer roll forming a stylized wreath, a second roll of heads
in medallion, surrounding a central oval device depicting a
robed figure on the front cover and a diaper pattern on the
back. Remnants of the clasps remain. The book has a quarter
morocco folding case. It is printed in black Gothic type with
large red initials added by hand and red capital strokes throughout
the text. There is some water staining on the central leaves.
This copy contains the stub of a cancelled leaf following leaf
294.
This is the second book printed by the noted Augsburg printer
Anton Sorg. A popular book in the fifteenth century, Nider’s
work on the Ten Commandments went through eighteen editions
before 1500.
Born in Swabia, Johannes Nider “entered the Order of Preachers
at Colmar and after profession was sent to Vienna for his philosophical
studies, which he finished at Cologne where he was ordained.
He gained a wide reputation in Germany as a preacher and was
active at the Council of Constance. After making a study of
the convents in his order of strict observance in Italy he returned
to Vienna where in 1425 he began teaching as Master of Theology.
Elected prior of the Dominican convent at Nuremberg in 1427,
he successively served as socius to his master, master general
and vicar of the reformed convents of the German province. In
this capacity he maintained his early reputation of reformer
and in 1431 he was chosen prior of the Convent of Strict Observance
at Basle. He became identified with the Council of Basle as
theologian and legate, making several embassies to the Hussites
at the command of Cardinal Julian. Sent as legate of the Council
to the Bohemians he succeeded in pacifying them. He resumed
his theological lectures at Vienna in 1436 and was twice elected
dean of the university before his death. As a reformer he was
foremost in Germany and welcomed as such both by his own order
and by the Fathers of the Council of Basle. As a theologian
his adherence to the principles of St. Thomas and his practical
methods made him distinguished among his contemporaries.”
(Catholic Encyclopedia)
BMC II 342; Goff N199; Hain*11789; Proctor 1642. |
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