Theologia Naturalis

In-folio de 162 ff. Initiales peintes en rouge.
Veau sur ais de bois de l’époque [Kyriss 173, EBDB w000104, Vogel-Rolle II], étiquette sur le plat, fermoirs, dos partiellement restauré, trous de vers et mouillures.

270 x 200 mm.

Sebond, Raymond (d. 1436). Theologia naturalis, sive liber creaturarum . 
Strasbourg, Martin Flach, 21 janvier 1496.

Third edition of a banned work of Lullian theology, in a contemporary binding.
HC 14069* ; BMC I 154 ; BSB-Encre R-21; Bod-inc R-018; Klebs 824.2 ; Goff R-33 ; ISTC ir00033000.

Rare troisième édition du grand Traité de Théologie naturelle, source partielle des Essais de Montaigne, dans lequel Raimond Sebon tente de réconcilier théologie et philosophie.

Michel de Montaigne traduira en français cette œuvre d’importance en 1569 avant de consacrer à R. Sebond une Apologie célèbre dans ses Essais.

This important work in the development of natural theology was strongly influenced by the autor’s Catalan countryman Ramon Lull, emphasezing the importance of understanding one’s place in the whole « book of creation » - in addition to the revelation of scripture. The prologue was put on the Index librorum prohibitorum in 1564 for declaring that the Bible was not the only source of revealed truth, inspiring Montaigne to write a defense of him.

In its day, and for a long time later, it was a celebrated text. The main point of Sebond’s work is that that faith can be taught, attained, understood by natural reason and not simply on the basis of blind faith and literal adherence to Scripture (preface on a2ra).

Theologia Naturalis, which circulated widely in manuscript and is known particularly in a manuscript in Toulouse (747) corrected after the author’s own copy, was first published in what is called the ‘third family’ in Deventer in 1484-85 (possibly through the offices of the Brothers of the Common Life; the Bodleian copy is from their house at Doesburg, Holland), and then Lyon ca. 1488 from the printer Balsarin. This Flach printing circulated widely (a copy was at Winchcomb abbey in Gloucestershire within a few years (now in Glasgow) and early in the 16the century Archbishop Warham (Abp. 1503-32 ) gave a copy to All Souls College, Oxford) and is the first dated edition. There were a number of later editions (including another Flach edition of 1501) right up into the 17th century. Indeed the well-known 17th-century philosopher Kenelm Digby (1603-1664) had a copy of this edition (now at Durham University Library at Bamburgh Castle). Part of the Theologia (Dialogos de la naturaleza delhombre) was translated into Spanish and printed in Madrid in 1610 and 1616, and a resumé by the Carthusian Petrus Dorlandus (Viola anime per modum dyalogi) was published in Cologne in 1499 (ISTC id00360000 ) and in Toulouse in 1500 I(ISTC id003610000). A Spanish version of this, Violeta del anima, was published in Valladolid in 1549. The Theologia because of the importance it accorded human reason did not escape the notice of the holy Office and was placed on the Index in the middle of the 16th century. Montaigne indeed discovered this during his visit to Rome.

Provenance : Andechs Abbey (inscription) ; Munich, Carmélites (18th century bookplate) ; Munich Royal Library (duplicata note) – acquired from Bernard M. Rosenthal, New York, 21 June 1957.