SARPI, Paolo.

by Paolo Sarpi

£1,750 · Offered by Sokol Books

First edition of this famous manual on how to deal with the Inquisition, commissioned by the Senate of the Republic of Venice. Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623) was a Venetian historian, lawyer, experimental scientist and polymath. His defence of the freedoms of the Serenissima’s institutions crowned him as anti-clerical and anti-Tridentine in Italy and abroad. His works were translated into English almost immediately and pressed into that state’s religious policies. D.E. Rhodes considers both the printing place and printer’s name as fictitious, and traces some initials and typographical ornaments to contemporary Chouët and Stoer eds printed in Geneva (pp.41-3), where other mid-C17 eds of this work were produced. ‘Historia’ was aimed at ‘councillors, theologians and politicians’, as a summary, requested by the Doge, ‘gathering together systematically all the information concerning the Office of the Holy Inquisition’, and based on archival material of the Venetian Councils. Its main task was to ringfence in detail the authority of the Inquisition so that it would not impinge onto that of the Venetian state. The 39 sections, accompanied by Sarpi’s commentary, address the resolutions and legislation pertaining to the Inquisition in Venice, describing how Inquisitors should interact and cooperate with Venetian officials. The first section clarifies the role of the Senator-Inquisitors for Heresy historically appointed by the Venetian authorities, in charge of monitoring

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.