Petrus Cunaeus - De Republica Hebraeorum [Judaica] - 1666

Rare edition of the famous work by the Dutch philologist Petrus Cunaeus, first published in 1617, in which he describes the ancient Hebrew kingdom as a model of republican government.

Opens with a beautiful frontispiece title. Careful printing in small, rounded characters.

Copy preserved in an original binding made of vellum with overlaid covers, with a round spine decorated with a faded handwritten inscription. Very well preserved.
Solid binding with some signs of dirt, small holes, and a brown stain on the spine. Slightly yellowed paper, with rare scattered foxing.

This highly acclaimed work went through at least seven editions between 1617 and 1700, and was translated into Dutch, French, and English. There were already a dozen books and essays by other authors with this title, but Cunaeus's work stands out for its original attempt to present the State of Israel during the time of the First Temple, and especially the unified monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon, as a practical model for the newly independent United Provinces.

Peter van der Kun, Latinized as Petrus Cunaeus, born in 1586 in Flushing and died on December 2, 1638, in Leiden, was a Dutch philologist and jurist.
Considered one of the most learned men of his time, he was appreciated by Scaliger, Heinsius, Grotius, Casaubon, Baudius, Vulcanius, and Drusius, with whom he was connected. The learned languages of the East and West were all equally familiar to him. Theology, jurisprudence, philosophy, and politics also engaged his mind, eager for knowledge. His work De Republica Hebraeorum is regarded as "the most powerful declaration of republican theory from the early years of the Dutch Republic."

Petrus Cunaeus
On the Republic of the Hebrews
Amsterdam, at Joannes Janffonius a Waes, and Elizeus Weyer, 1666
In-16 (11 x 6 cm); 372 pages