Cristóbal de Fonseca - Discorsi Scritturali - 1618

THE LARGEST COLLECTIONS OF COUNTER-REFORM PREDICATION - 3 VOLUMES FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR
Important Venetian edition in three volumes of the famous Spiritual and Moral Discourses by Cristóforo Fonseca, among the most influential Augustinian preachers of the Counter-Reformation. The work gathers a vast repertory of sermons intended for the whole liturgical year, including the Sunday cycle, the Lenten period, and the main religious feasts. Each discourse develops the Evangelical text through a rich apparatus of biblical citations, Fathers of the Church, classical authors, and moral reflections, offering one of the most complete preaching tools published in the seventeenth century.

WHY TO BUY
Monumental collection of sermons belonging to the great classics of religious literature of the Counter-Reformation.
Complete edition in three volumes, increasingly difficult to obtain intact on the antiquarian market.
Work that enjoyed enormous diffusion in convent libraries, seminaries, and among Catholic preachers across Europe.
Splendid example of early Seicento Venetian typography, with an elegant red-and-black title page and a woodcut printer’s device.

MARKET VALUE
The great seventeenth‑century collections of sermons constitute a highly valued sector of European religious collecting. Complete multi‑volume copies, preserved in the original bindings or in ancient uniform bindings, are today far less common than the dispersed individual volumes. Fonseca’s works hold particular interest for collectors of theology, history of spirituality, sacred eloquence, and Counter‑Reformation culture. 600 - 900 Euro

PHYSICAL
Three volumes.
Frontispieces printed in red and black with a large woodcut printer’s device.
Elegant ancient uniform bindings in stiff parchment with manuscript labels on the spine.
Fine specimen, complete and homogeneous. Pages overall fresh with slight browning and occasional foxing. Frontispieces well preserved. Bindings solid with normal signs of time and modest external wear, lacking the lower corner of the rear board of one volume. Edges sprinkled red. Excellent overall condition for a monumental work intended for daily use.
3 volumes.
Vol. I: pp. [28], 770 (numbered to 670 by error), frontispiece in red and black.
Vol. II: pp. [25], 632, frontispiece in red and black.
Vol. III: pp. [28], 632, frontispiece in red and black.

FULL TITLE
Discorsi Scritturali e Morali sopra gli Evangeli correnti di tutto l'anno, che serviranno per un copioso Sermonario Annuale e Quaresimale... Del M.R.P.M.F. Christoforo Fonseca dell'Ordine di Sant'Agostino... Divisi in tre parti.
Venice, Giorgio Valentini, 1618.
Cristóbal de Fonseca

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
After the Council of Trent, preaching became one of the fundamental instruments of Catholic reform. In response to the growing demand for authoritative texts for the clergy, vast collections of sermons organized according to the liturgical calendar were published. Cristóforo Fonseca’s Discourses quickly established themselves as one of the most complete repertoires of their time, offering preachers an extraordinary collection of Gospel interpretations, moral examples, and patristic references for preparing homilies.

THE AUTHOR
Cristóforo Fonseca (Cristóbal de Fonseca, 1550 circa – 1621), Spanish Augustinian religious, was one of the most celebrated preachers and ascetic writers of his era. His works enjoyed enormous editorial success and were translated into numerous European languages. Endowed with great Biblical and patristic learning, he combined theological rigor, oratorical effectiveness, and deep pastoral sensitivity, becoming one of the reference authors of post-Tridentine Catholic spirituality.

THE PRINTER
Giorgio Valentini was among the active Venetian publishers of the early Seicento, specializing in religious, theological, and legal works. His editions are distinguished by careful printing quality, the use of red and black in the frontispieces, and wide diffusion in ecclesiastical libraries across the Italian peninsula.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Discorsi Scritturali e Morali represent one of the most significant monuments of Catholic preaching in the seventeenth century. The work documents the extraordinary cultural richness of the Counter-Reformation, in which biblical exegesis, classical rhetoric, theology, and pastoral care converge in a single educational project. For over two centuries these volumes served as indispensable tools for priests, religious, and preachers, contributing decisively to the formation of modern sacred rhetoric.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Palau y Dulcet, Manual del Librero Hispano-Americano.

Brunet, Manuel du Libraire et de l'Amateur de Livres.

Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux.

Edit16.

ICCU, Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Uni.
USTC, Universal Short Title Catalogue.
CERL, Heritage of the Printed Book Database.
British Library Catalogue.
Library of Congress Catalogue.
Bibliothèque nationale de France.

SBN – Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale.