Paleario, Aonio

Opera. Ad illam editionem quam ipse auctor recensuerat & auxerat excusa, nunc novis accessionibus locupletata.

      Amstelaedami Apud Henricum Wetstenium 1696 8vo (16.5 cm; 6.5"). [12] ff., 650, [7] ff. Expressingbeliefs contrary to accepted Catholic Church policy or dogma could mean trouble with the Inquisition in the heady times of the Reformation. One could avoid run-ins with the Holy Office by keeping quiet, by not publishing, or by having influential protectors. Aonio Paleario (1503-70) chose to express and even publish beliefs that were sufficiently non-mainstream Catholic that he came to the attention of the Inquisition in Italy three times. The first two instances saw the charges dropped thanks to the intervention of powerful protectors, the third proved fatal, his protectors having died.Paleario was at once a creation of the Renaissance and of the Reformation: He carried on a wide correspondence with the intellectuals of his time, he studied the writings of Luther and Erasmus, and he sought to reconcile the old with the new. This edition of his works is chiefly composed of his letters, but also includes "De Immortalitate Animorum libri III," and "Poematia." On Paleario, see: Contemporaries of Erasmus, III, 45-46. Contemporary vellum over boards; bit of abrasion and black speckling in lower area of spine. 18th-century armorial bookplate on front pastedown. Occasional light spotting in text. Notes in pencil on rear endpapers. Rear free endpaper torn with loss of paper in the lower outer area.