Moralia
Paris, Ulrich Gering and Berthold Rembolt 1495.
Folio (264 x 198 mm.). [xi], [679], [70]p. Gothic and Roman type, double-column, inner and outer marginal shoulder notes, typographic manicules and printed guide letters, RUBRICATED THROUGHOUT with four- to seven-line divided initials completed in red or blue, smaller Lombardic initials in red, paragraphs marked in red, a woodcut Remboldt device on the final verso.
Late 17th- or early 18th-century mottled calf (worn, hinges cracked, slightly wormed, crown repaired), spine and label gilt, edges sprinkled red.
The Moralia brings Christian mysticism, asceticism, dogma and allegory to bear on the story of Job’s suffering. Pope Gregory deeply engages Scripture in his massive commentary, which bridged the ancient and medieval worlds and remained a preeminent guide to moral theology through the Enlightenment.
For this edition, THE PRINTERS ADDED TWO NEW INDICES FOR YOUNG SCHOLARS and busy clerics. The first index provides access to all Bible verses referenced or quoted in the text — some fifteen hundred entries. THE SECOND INDEX TREATS THE NATURAL WORLD in three hundred entries — animals, metals, herbs, stars, human body parts, precious gems, rivers, etc. Two copies in U.S. libraries. In good condition (a few pale scattered stains and minor worming, loss of six sorts on the title verso), a handful of contemporary annotations, manuscript title inscription Ex biblioteca S[anc]tae Crucis Viridariensis 1669.
¶Seow, Job 1-21: Interpretation and Commentary 193; Manitius, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters I: 971; ISTC ig00431000; Goff G-431.
Price: $7,500.00