Francisco de Ribera - [2 Manuscripts] & Commentarii in Apocalypsin + Libri de Templo - First Editions - 1591

Ein wahrlich seltener Sammelband, der die Erstausgaben zweier Werke des spanischen Jesuiten-Theologen Francisco de Ribera de Villacastín in einem Band vereint, beide in Salamanca im Jahr 1591 gedruckt, dem Jahr des Todes des Autors.

Riberae, Francisci – LIBRI DI TEMPLO. Salmaticae. Excudebat Petrus Lassus. 1591. [6] – 222 – [17] pp. 29 cm. E.

Riberae, Francisci (Francisco de Ribera) – THEOLOGI IN SACRAM B. JOHANNIS APOSTOLI. Salmaticae. Excudebat Petrus Lassus. 1591. (8) 333 (26) pp. 29 cm x 20,5 cm. E.

2 Manuscript leafs, working as end papers, but with information related to these books in order that would've helped the reader.

The first, and by far the more historically significant, is Ribera's commentary on the Apocalypse — widely identified by scholars as the founding text of "futurist" apocalyptic exegesis, the interpretive tradition holding that the bulk of Revelation describes a single future Antichrist and a literal end-times period yet to come, rather than the Papacy itself (the standard Protestant reading of the period) or purely past events. As the accompanying scholarship on Padre António Vieira quoted above sets out, Ribera's interpretation was carried forward by the Flemish Jesuit Cornelius a Lapide and, through him, became a documented influence on Vieira's own apocalyptic thought — one of the elements that drew the scrutiny of the Portuguese Inquisition during Vieira's trial. The work's millenarian content is explicit, including its striking passage (p. 285) on the renewal of the world, the dissolution of the heavens, and the transformation of the just into the likeness of angels after the completion of a thousand years — squarely locating Ribera's Apocalypse commentary within the pioneering current of Christian millenarian literature.

Bound with it is Ribera's Libri de Templo, a shorter treatise on the origins, structure and rites of the Temple of Solomon, intended by the author as a companion aid to reading both the Apocalypse and other prophetic scripture.

Two manuscript leaves in Latin, in a two-colour 16th-century hand, are bound in at the front and rear of the volume — a notable addition specific to this copy.

Condition: Contemporary full vellum binding, the two works bound together as one volume. Work I shows a tear affecting folios G7 and X5; Work II shows a tear affecting the text at folio B3. Acidic staining to the head of the text block throughout, occasionally causing paper deterioration (text unaffected); remainder of the interior handled and acidic but in generally good overall condition. Occasional humidity stains on the paper. Manuscripts leafs present a couple of holes / rips, although still perfectly readable. Binding is secure but presents however some worm tracks.

Bibliography: Palau 266867.