[DEMONOLOGY, PAGANISM, EXORCISMUS] Athanasius - Athanasii Archiepiscopi Opera - 1686

DESCRIPTION: I am offering at auction an absolutely colossal piece of the Baroque bibliographic heritage and classical patristics: the Complete Works of Saint Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria, published in two large-folio volumes in 1686. These books contain Athanasius’s famous work, the “Vita Antonii,” considered the FOUNDATIONAL TEXT OF DEMONOLOGY.

Printed in Cologne by Moritz Georg Weidmann (M DC LXXXVI), this bilingual compendium, arranged in parallel columns (the original text in Classical Greek and a Latin translation), represents the sum of the thought of the great bastion of the Alexandrian faith, housed in one of the most spectacular and early bindings to be found on the high-end antiquarian book market.

MONUMENTAL BAROQUE LEATHER-OVER-BOARDS BINDING WITH RELIGIOUS BLIND-TOOLED DECORATION

The exterior of this pair of volumes is simply imposing, and conveys the solidity of the great monastic scriptoria and Jesuit college libraries:

+ Thick Wooden Boards (~1 cm): The binding is constructed on solid wooden boards approximately 1 centimeter thick, covered in full contemporary leather, with strong, prominent raised bands on the spine.

+ Rich Blind-Tooling Program (IHS Monogram): The upper and lower boards display profuse blind tooling, formed by multiple framed geometric borders and arabesques. At the center of both covers is a spectacular radiant sunburst medallion bearing the IHS monogram, crowned by the cross and the nails of the Passion, the characteristic emblem of the Society of Jesus.

THE MYSTICAL FIGURE OF SAINT ATHANASIUS: EXORCISMS, EGYPTIAN MAGIC, THE LIFE OF SAINT ANTONY, AND HIDDEN SECRETS

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–373 AD) was not only the theologian who fought Arianism at the Council of Nicaea; his figure is shrouded in an unfathomable aura of mysticism, wonders, and esoteric tales following his numerous exiles to the Egyptian desert:

+ The Life of Saint Antony the Great and His Battles Against Demons: Athanasius was the author of the celebrated Life of Saint Antony, the foundational text of demonology and Christian asceticism, which describes in terrifying detail the visions, psychophysical attacks, infernal temptations, and exorcisms performed by the desert hermit against dark spirits.

+ Prophecies, Egyptian Magic, and Thaumaturgical Powers: During his escapes and clandestine refuges among the anchorites of Upper Egypt, Athanasius was credited with prophetic abilities, supernatural visions, and knowledge of the mystical-theurgical secrets of the Alexandrian tradition, and was said to have confronted the pagan magicians and diviners of the Roman imperial court.

+ The Apocrypha and Secret Texts: The Alexandrian archbishop played a crucial role in establishing the biblical canon (in his famous Festal Letter 39), while also ordering the destruction and concealment of Gnostic and apocryphal texts and Hermetic books in the desert, an episode linked to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts.

ILLUSTRATIONS: TWO-COLOR TITLE PAGES, FINE COPPER ENGRAVINGS, AND PORTRAIT OF SAINT ATHANASIUS

The artistic elements inside maintain the same Baroque opulence:

+ Two-Color Title Pages (Red and Black): Both main title pages feature a majestic typographic composition printed in two colors (ruby red and jet black), highlighting the main titles in Greek (Athanasiou Archiepiskopou Alexandreias) and Latin (Athanasii Archiepiscopi Alexandriae).

+ Impressive Copperplate Engraving on the Title Page (The Armillary Sphere and the World): A superb central copper engraving signed by J.C. Böcklin, showing the two hemispheres of the globe and the zodiacal celestial sphere, surrounded by garlands and bearing the Latin motto “Unus non sufficit” (“One is not enough”) and “Animo metitur Utrumque.”

+ Copperplate Engraving of Saint Athanasius the Great: A separate full-page copperplate print immortalizes the saint wearing a tunic and archiepiscopal pallium, holding the Gospels and blessing, between two majestic, carved classical columns, beneath the Greek inscription “O AGIOS ATHANASIOS.”

STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE COMPLETE WORKS

+ Discourses Against the Arians (Contra Arianos Orationes): The key text of Trinitarian Christology, in bilingual Greek and Latin, arranged in two columns.

+ Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatises: De Incarnatione Verbi Dei (On the Incarnation of the Word), Apologia contra Arianos, Epistola ad Serapionem.

+ Ascetic Writings and Theological Letters: Includes the celebrated biography of Saint Antony, his Easter letters, and biblical commentaries with exhaustive indexes (Cum indicibus necessariis).

PUBLICATION YEAR: Cologne (Germany), 1686

LANGUAGE: Latin and Greek (Original Version)

SIZE AND PAGINATION: Dimensions: 40 x 28 cm. Pagination: VOLUME I: [2] + Title page + [28] + Engraving + 1087 + [8] pp. VOLUME II: [2] + Title page + 704 + 138 + [139] pp. COMPLETE WORK WITH A BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVING OF SAINT ATHANASIUS AND THE FOUNDATIONAL WORK OF DEMONOLOGY.

CONDITION: Original full German leather binding, in generally good condition, with some scuffing, as shown in the photos. Spine with five raised bands, decorated with the handwritten title of the work. Majestic WOODEN BOARDS 1 CM thick. Beautiful blind-tooled ornamentation on the covers, with the religious IHS symbol at the center. Retains the original leather portions of three of the clasps. The interior is in generally good condition, with the typical oxidation pattern of 17th-century German paper, as shown in the photos.

MONUMENTAL AND HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER WORK. INCLUDES THE FOUNDATIONAL WORK OF DEMONOLOGY. DON’T MISS OUT.

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SHIPPING POLICY:

Shipping costs are combined so you can save. Affordable shipping with major carriers:

Shipping to Spain --> via: CTT Express 24h or CORREOS
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*The books will be carefully packed so they can travel comfortably to their new home.