Labata - Thesaurus Moralis - 1652

THE SECRET RULE OF THE JESUITS, IN THE GREAT BOND OF THE COUNTER-REFORMATION
Monumental theological and homiletic repertoire belonging to the great tradition of the Society of Jesus, Francisco Labata’s Thesaurus Moralis represents one of the most ambitious tools developed for training preachers in Counter-Reformation Europe. Organized according to the method of loci communes, it gathers thousands of biblical citations, patristic authorities, moral examples, and theological arguments intended for constructing sermons. The exemplar, however, assumes an interest that goes far beyond its textual content thanks to the extraordinary preservation of its original pigskin binding on wooden boards, dry-stamped with geometric motifs and ornate tools. This type of binding, typical of the great conventual and canonical libraries of central-northern Europe, today constitutes a collectible element of primary importance, often rarer than the work itself. The presence of remnants of the original metal clasps and the antique seventeenth-century ex libris returns a concrete image of a volume really used in colleges, monasteries, and ecclesiastical settings of the seventeenth century. More than a simple book, it is an authentic historical object that has survived almost intact within its original vesting.
MARKET VALUE
The great seventeenth-century Jesuit repertoires preserved in their original bindings on wooden boards represent a category increasingly sought after by collectors of ecclesiastical books and European cultural history. In this exemplar the value is enhanced by the presence of the rare pigskin binding decorated with cold tooling, an element that alone constitutes significant bibliographic and collecting interest. In the absence of a frontispiece, the commercial value remains substantial and can be estimated roughly between €1,000 and €2,000, with possible revaluations should the edition identification lead to an early seventeenth-century print run.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Impressive second volume in a magnificent contemporary full pigskin binding on sturdy wooden boards, dry-stamped with concentric geometric frames and ornamental tools. Raised spine. Traces of old manuscript saddles on the spine. Remains of the original metal clasps. Ex libris printed to the front paste-down of the library of Nicolai Burgers dated 1677. Frontispiece missing. Initial leaf of the text with the internal title "Thesaurus Moralis seu Loci Communes ad Conciones. Tomus Secundus" preserved. Text set in two columns. Foxing, browning, and signs of use compatible with the volume’s age. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. 1298; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Franciscus Labata, S.J.
Thesaurus Moralis seu Loci Communes ad Conciones.
Tomus Secundus.
[Coloniae, Apud Haeredes Gymnici, ca. 1652].
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Loci communes repertoires were one of the fundamental tools of Catholic preaching between the 16th and 17th centuries. Organized according to a rigorous thematic classification, they allowed preachers to quickly locate biblical citations, moral examples, theological arguments, and references to the Fathers of the Church. The Thesaurus Moralis by Francisco Labata places among the most vast and fortunate compilations of this kind.
The work perfectly reflects the Counter-Reformation cultural program, based on systematic clerical training and the effectiveness of religious communication. Each entry becomes a point of access to a network of references intended to construct complete and doctrinally solid sermons. More than a simple reference book, the volume represents a true infrastructure of ecclesiastical knowledge.
Particularly significant is the fact that the content has reached us enclosed in its original binding. The large pigskin bindings on wooden boards belong to the book-tradition of the Germanic and Flemish Europe and constitute tangible evidence of the circulation of religious knowledge. They transform the volume into a historical document that tells not only what was read, but also how books were built, preserved, and used in ecclesiastical institutions of the seventeenth century.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Francisco Labata (1549-1631) was a Spanish Jesuit, theologian and preacher. His works devoted to organizing material for preaching achieved widespread diffusion within the Society of Jesus and in European Catholic seminaries. The Thesaurus Moralis represents his most important contribution and one of the most extensive homiletic compilations of the modern era.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Labata’s works were reprinted several times during the seventeenth century at important Catholic publishing centers, particularly in the Rhine region. Cologne was one of the main hubs for dissemination of Jesuit works and of repertoires intended for clerical training. The presence of the ex libris dated 1677 shows that the exemplar was already part of a library organized by the second half of the seventeenth century. The preservation of the original binding suggests a long stay in conventual or ecclesiastical environments, a relatively rare circumstance for volumes intended for intensive daily use.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
De Backer, Augustin – Sommervogel, Carlos, Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, vol. IV, entries related to Franciscus Labata.
VD17, Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachraum erschienenen Drucke des 17. Jahrhunderts, records of the editions of the Thesaurus Moralis.
WorldCat, bibliographic censuses of the seventeenth-century editions of the Thesaurus Moralis.
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, digitized copies of Labata’s editions.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, catalogs of Jesuit homiletic works.
ICCU – OPAC SBN, Italian censuses of Francisco Labata’s editions.
O’Malley, John W., The First Jesuits, Harvard University Press.
Delumeau, Jean, Le Catholicisme entre Luther et Voltaire.
Prosperi, Adriano, Tribunali della coscienza.
McCue, James F., The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum and Catholic Education.
Needham, Paul, Twelve Centuries of Bookbindings, 400-1600, sections devoted to Germanic and Flemish pigskin bindings on wooden boards.
Foot, Mirjam M., The History of Bookbinding as a Mirror of Society.
Einbanddatenbank (EBDB), repertory of historical Germanic bindings decorated in dry-stamp.