The Summa, completed shortly before his death, is divided into four parts: the first is concerned with the soul and its faculties, passions, sin, and law; the second addresses different types of sin and redress; the third considers various states and professions in life, with treatises on ecclesiastical offices and censures; and the fourth contemplates the cardinal virtues, religious morals, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Although the text draws heavily on earlier theological works by St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, it is regarded as“a new and very considerable development in moral theology” (NCE online), and it containsa wealth of matter for the student of 15th-century history.

Printed in Gothic type, double-column format, with most capitals supplied in red or blue manuscript in plain style, the text here has red markings to aid in reading and navigation. Topics addressed in these volumes include sin, penance, canon law, will, original sin, privilege, lying, pride, avarice, anger, and infidelity, among several others.

Goff and ISTC find only one complete set of all volumes in American libraries — at the Countway in Boston. All other U.S. libraries, save the Newberry, report owning one or two of the volumes. The Newberry has volumes I–IV.

Provenance:  Old illegible European library stamp in lower margin of first leaf of vol. I; in 20th and early 21st century in the library of the Pacific School of Religion (properly deaccessioned).

•  ISTC ia00878000; Goff A878; BMC, I, 109; GKW 2192.   Contemporary calf over bevelled wood boards, recently rebacked and new endpapers supplied; lacks a blank and a title leaf. Leather of boards elaborately and richly tooled in blind using rolls, rules, and individual stamps of a rose, a fleur de lis, and a saint; small area of leather on front board missing and substitute leather inserted. Evidence of bass and leather clasps, remnants of vellum guide tabs. Text and boards of binding wormed, mostly with many pinhole wormholes, and text with some meandering; no great losses. Some small tears in a few margins and one lower margin with an old repair; stamp as above; browning to many margins. A good, solid volume, one with some condition issues but at the same time a good example of these productions and the era's printing.  (33734)

In this work of canon law and Catholic Church customs and practices, Baquero studies the privilege that the Bull of the Holy Crusade granted the Spanish nation regarding oratories in private residences; it applied not only to Spain but to colonies as well.

The first of three, this edition was published by “un amigo del author.” The other editions appeared in 1781 AND 1861.

Only one U.S. library reports ownership of either the 1777 or 1781 edition. It should be noted that there is NO 1771 edition, despite Palau and online cataloguing; cataloguers have simply failed to look at the last page of the supposed 1771 edition to see that the colophon is dated 1777.

This offers one very pretty large initial and some modestly nice work with type ornaments.

•  Palau 23499 (giving wrong date of publication).   Contemporary limp vellum, a bit missing from back cover; evidence of ties, and binding with light dust-soiling. Lacking rear free endpaper. A clean, nice copy.  (29596)

Includes decisions of the Sacro Regio Consiglio and an index. Title-page in black and red; text printed in double-column format in roman and italic.

•  Palau 44244.   Contemporary vellum over paste boards with remnants of ties; vellum of the back cover of vol. I and front cover of vol. II rodent-gnawed along fore-edge with loss of vellum exposing the boards. Front hinges (inside) of of both volumes mostly open but text blocks still adhering nicely to binding. Occasional age-toning. Good++.  (29363)

Provenance: A copy of this work was given to each member upon admission and the last page of this copy indicates that it belonged to Joaquín Gorospe who was admitted to membership on 20 April 1803.

Uncommon: No U.S. library reports owning this edition.

•  Medina, Mexico, 9488.   Lacking the wrappers. Soiling to title-page and verso of last leaf. A few age spots.  (26871)

Provenance:  Most recently in the library of American collector Albert A. Howard, small booklabel (“AHA”) at rear.

•  Unrecorded in Gültlingen and Baudrier. Baldacchini, “Un enigma bibliografico” discusses Decius’s other French false imprints. Index Aurel. 150.792, Perrins-Warner n.210 and Sander 2398 record only the Milan edition of ca.1511/12.   19th-century suede wrappers, a little rubbed. Title-page, verso of last leaf, and edges a trifle dusty, occasional very minor marginal foxing, text block partly loosening. Very nice.  (40828)

Jansenist

The text here is in Latin, printed in roman and italic with sidenotes, large woodcut initials, intricate headpieces, and ornaments, including a number of dainty stars and at least two impressive, richly inked tailpieces. The title-page features a large printer's device for the widow and children of Wilhelm Metternich's shop.

Gratian's Decretum, written in the 12th century and henceforth amended (most significantly in the 16th), was a legal cornerstone of ecclesiastical courts until 1917 and a major influence on the most recent laws of 1983, even though it was never officially promulgated by the Church.

•  On van Espen, see: NCE, V, 543.   Contemporary flexible vellum, remnants of four leather ties, ink title to spine; soiled and shelf-worn, small chip one to corner. Marginal waterstains and the odd ink- or other stain, a few small bits of paper lost at edges, very minor but persistent marginal worming, one small hole in text (a natural flaw), and browning/foxing (heaviest in the commentary). Deckle on some leaves, and one témoine. Early inscription in ink on title-page.  (30254)

And, of course, the volume covers much about the administration of the order, the admission of novices, the pursuit and expression of spiritual life, etc.

The work begins with the title-page printed in black and red in roman with some italic. The text is in roman also, with sidenotes in some sections, and with a sprinkling of interesting woodcut tailpieces.

A dense and interesting work.

•  Medina, Mexico, 1687; Sabin 76023.   Recased in original (?) vellum with four leather ties (two new). Title-leaf mounted; damage to lower third with loss of paper and print including imprint; approbation leaves torn in same portion, repaired with loss of a few words; first leaf of the “Parecer” torn and repaired with no loss. Some worming of both types: pinhole and meander, the latter repaired with archival tissue. Otherwise, occasional light waterstaining only; a solid, serviceable copy.  (25559)

WorldCat locates no copies of this edition in the U.S.; NUC Pre-1956 (under Guzman Genzer) finds three copies in the U.S.; the Catálogo Colectivo del Patrimonio Bibliográfico locates no copies in Spain, but the OPAC of the BNE finds a single copy in its holdings.

•  Palau 111738.   20th-century binding using an 18th-century vellum leaf over paste boards. Old ownership inscriptions on title-page inked out long ago; occasionally, amarginal note. Some age-toning, some gatherings browned (impurities in water during paper manufacture), glue stain in some inner margins; light waterstaining in a good many parts and other stray stains, yet in all a very decent copy of a rare edition.  (29083)

Bound with Lancellotti's work is a summary of titles of chapters of canon law compiled by Thomas Naogeorg (1508–63). Naogeorg's wanderings took him from being a Dominican to being a Lutheran to being a Calvinist. Along the way, during his Lutheran phase, he studied canon law for a year (1551) at Basel, during which time he compiled and published this work, likely as a student's guide. He is better known for his plays, in which he sharply attacks the Papacy.

The two works here were first published by the firm of Guillaume Rouillé, in 1587 and 1588 respectively, and may have been intended to be bound together, as witnessed by the Library of Congress copy. The title-page transcriptions of the earlier editions (except for the date and "hæredes"), and their signatures, pagination, and arrangement, match those of these present 1614 editions. There are italic shouldernotes, and woodcut headpieces and initials.

•  On Lancellotti, see: New Catholic Encyclopedia, VIII, 356. Contemporary calf, covers framed in gilt double fillets, rebacked with calf, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped compartment decorations; corners and edges rubbed, sides with small cracks and scuffs. All edges speckled brown. Bouquiniste's paper label on front pastedown and front free endpaper lacking. Two words inked long ago in two margins, and one page with old pencilled underlining. (3797)

•  Exemplares: Medina, Manila, 286; Palau 296834; Pardo de Tavera, Biblioteca filipina, 2516; Retana, Aparato bibliográfico, 342. Representacion: Medina, Manila, 278; Palau 296831; Retana, Aparato bibliográfico, 331; Pardo de Tavera, Biblioteca filipina, 2513. Memorial: Retana, Aparato bibliográfico, 332; Pardo de Tavera, Biblioteca filipina, 2514; Medina, Manila, 279; Palau 296832. Señor: Palau 296833; not in Medina, Manila; not in Retana, Aparato bibliográfico; not in Pardo de Tavera, Biblioteca filipina, 2514.   Contemporary limp vellum with spine title in ink and thong ties, book block loose in binding; first item lacking the engraving. Contents relatively clean, with two small wormholes throughout causing generally minor text loss (a letter or two, not whole words). A fascinating compilation of scarce Philippine imprints. (40763)

Binding/Provenance:  Contemporary full vellum withgilt-stamped supralibros “Fridericus Rex Prussiae. A. 1764.” on front covers of both volumes, suggesting they were presented to the King of Prussia that year, just after the final part was printed.  Bright red edges.

•  Bindings as above, both a little soiled, with noticeable but small spots on back cover of first vol. and front cover of second, spines rubbed erasing old ink titles and library markings. Four volumes only of six, bound in two; old-fashioned institutional rubber-stamps on title-pages and ink markings on front pastedowns. Light foxing, a few small holes from natural paper flaws, and one naturally occurring tear in part two. A single small hole resulting from chemicals in the paper in parts two and four; a few stray ink marks from the press. In good shape, printed on nice, fibrous paper and remarkably clean.  (30343)

Father Vilaplana (1712–63), a native of Benimarfull, Valencia, Spain, was a Franciscan, a university lecturer in theology, and an “examiner” for the Inquisition. His handbook gives examples of abuses, lays out the pertinent canon laws and papal edicts, and has a section of questions to be asked of accused priests during court proceedings. The work also discusses punishment and other disciplines that the crimes demand.

Since abuse of the confessional fell under the authority of the Inquisition, this work is de facto a manual for Inquisitors.

This is the “Editio secunda locupletior in paucis.” The Bibliotheca Mexicana was the private press of the great bibliographer, writer, and secular cleric Juan Jose de Eguiara y Eguren.

•  Medina, Mexico, 5026; Palau 365782.   Contemporary limp vellum, rodent-gnawed along several edges with a small loss of vellum. Front endpapers with loss to silverfish. Text unwormed and clean.  (29773)