Le Maître de Sacy - Sacra Scrittura - 1786

Antique partial set of the Italian Bible “Sacra Scrittura giusta la Vulgata in lingua latina e volgare”, edited by Le Maître de Sacy, Naples 1786, in contemporary full leather binding and overall very good condition for the age.

Title and author

- Title: Sacra Scrittura giusta la Vulgata in lingua latina e volgare, colle spiegazioni del senso litterale e spirituale tratte da’ Santi Padri e dagli Autori Ecclesiastici.
- Editor/author: Louis-Isaac Le Maître de Sacy (Catholic theologian and biblical scholar).
- Place and date: In Napoli, MDCCLXXXVI (1786), a spese ed appresso Gaetano Castellano, con privilegio di S. M.
- Language: Latin and Italian, with extensive theological commentary.

Collation and contents

- Format: 40 volumes present out of 48, all approx. 19 × 12 cm; thickness varies with pagination.
- Old Testament: Tomes I–III, V–VII, IX–XXXII (30 volumes; lacking IV and VIII).
- Includes: Genesis (2 vols., with long preface), Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Kings I–IV, Paralipomenon, Esdra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Job, Psalms in four volumes, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom, Song of Songs, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Twelve Minor Prophets, Maccabees, and the general index of the Old Testament.
- New Testament: Tomes VII–XVI (10 volumes; lacking I–VI, probably containing the Gospels and early NT books).
- Includes: Acts of the Apostles, all Pauline Letters (Romans to Hebrews), Catholic Epistles (James, John, Jude), Apocalypse, and the general index of the New Testament.

Binding and condition

- Binding: Contemporary full light leather (likely vellum or smooth calf), with gilt title labels and tome numbers on spine.
- General condition: Overall very good for the 18th century; solid bindings with normal signs of age and use.
- Light browning and foxing throughout.
- Occasional small damp stains and minor defects to the spines.
- Some volumes show small worm holes in the paper (not affecting legibility) and slight surface cuts in the leather; one volume has a darker stain near the inner margin towards the end, not touching the text.
- Internal notes: Several volumes contain contemporary ink annotations, old paper bookmarks, accounting notes and Latin verses, suggesting ecclesiastical provenance (possibly a canon or cleric).

Notes on rarity and interest

- First Neapolitan edition, carefully examined and corrected, of an important Catholic Bible with parallel Latin–Italian text and rich patristic commentary, published in 48 tomes in the late 18th century.
- This partial but substantial set (40 tomes) offers almost the complete Old Testament and the later New Testament, with both doctrinal introductions and detailed explanatory notes.
- A desirable scholarly and devotional Bible set for collectors of 18th‑century Italian theology, Catholic exegesis, and historical Bible translations.

Collation (number of pages)
In several volumes there are additional unnumbered preliminary and final leaves (prefaces, ecclesiastical approvals, indexes) besides the numbered pages indicated below; any peculiarities in the pagination are mentioned for the relevant volume.

Old Testament volumes
Volume I (Old Testament) – 80 unnumbered pages of preface, 312 numbered pages, 6 unnumbered pages of approvals.
Volume II (Old Testament) – 375 numbered pages.
Volume III (Old Testament) – 448 numbered pages.
Volume IV (Old Testament) – missing from the lot.
Volume V (Old Testament) – 360 numbered pages.
Volume VI (Old Testament) – 391 numbered pages.
Volume VII (Old Testament) – 272 numbered pages.
Volume VIII (Old Testament) – missing from the lot.
Volume IX (Old Testament) – 316 numbered pages.
Volume X (Old Testament) – 240 numbered pages.
Volume XI (Old Testament) – 344 numbered pages.
Volume XII (Old Testament) – 296 numbered pages.
Volume XIII (Old Testament) – 456 numbered pages.
Volume XIV (Old Testament) – 384 numbered pages.
Volume XV (Old Testament) – 331 numbered pages.
Volume XVI (Old Testament) – 494 numbered pages.
Volume XVII (Old Testament) – 388 numbered pages.
Volume XVIII (Old Testament) – 303 numbered pages.
Volume XIX (Old Testament) – 372 numbered pages.
Volume XX (Old Testament) – 415 numbered pages.
Volume XXI (Old Testament) – 552 numbered pages.
Volume XXII (Old Testament) – 376 numbered pages.
Volume XXIII (Old Testament) – 400 numbered pages (last page erroneously numbered 340).
Volume XXIV (Old Testament) – 487 numbered pages.
Volume XXV (Old Testament) – 468 numbered pages.
Volume XXVI (Old Testament) – 364 numbered pages.
Volume XXVII (Old Testament) – 352 numbered pages (jump in pagination from p. 49 to p. 60; the omitted text is supplied at the end with a printed “Avvertimento” by the publisher).
Volume XXVIII (Old Testament) – 576 numbered pages.
Volume XXIX (Old Testament) – 263 numbered pages.
Volume XXX (Old Testament) – 583 numbered pages.
Volume XXXI (Old Testament) – 455 numbered pages.
Volume XXXII (Old Testament) – 384 numbered pages.

New Testament volumesVolumes I–VI (New Testament) – not present in the lot.
Volume VII (New Testament) – 539 numbered pages.
Volume VIII (New Testament) – 520 numbered pages.
Volume IX (New Testament) – 406 numbered pages.
Volume X (New Testament) – 387 numbered pages.
Volume XI (New Testament) – 324 numbered pages.
Volume XII (New Testament) – 442 numbered pages.
Volume XIII (New Testament) – 314 numbered pages.
Volume XIV (New Testament) – 480 numbered pages.
Volume XV (New Testament) – 356 numbered pages.
Volume XVI (New Testament) – 327 numbered pages.