EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA.

L'histoire ecclesiastique translatee de Latin en francoys, par Messire Claude de Seyssel, evesque lors de Marseille, & depuis archevesque de Thusrin.

      Fine edition of Eusebius's Historia Ecclesiastica in the first French translation in a beautiful contemporary binding Antwerp, Martin l'Empereur (Martin Keyser), 17 April 1533. 8vo. Contemporary calf with beautiful acorn panels, surrounded by an elaborate blind tooled border on both sides; spine with four raised bands; rests of ties. Printed in De Keyser's Small Pica Bastarda, probably cut by De Keyser himself. Title in woodcut border of four pieces, the lower one with the coat of arms (printer's device with his initials 'M. K.') of Martin Keyser; numerous woodcut initials. (12), 160, 157-293 leaves, pp. 295-299 (300). Very rare first and only Antwerp edition of the first French translation by Claude de Seyssel of the famous History of the Church by Eusebius of Caesarea, writing in the 4th century. Seyssel's translation was published twice before in Paris: an undated edition by D. Gauterot and an edition in 1532 by G. Tory, which edition is probably re-printed here by De Keyser.This is the most important history of the early Church being an excellent synthesis of the works of all significant early Christian and secular historians and eyewitness accounts of the events during the first three centuries of our era. Eusebius's narrative is linear, tracking the growth of the Church from Pentecost, A.D. 32 through stages of vicious persecution until the Emperor Constantine's sanctioning of Christianity as the Roman Empire's official religion. He tells us how the Church and the Canon of Scripture came to be. Every major Church figure, controversy and event of significance is recorded in accurate detail. Every form of heresy that threatened the Church's existence is reported thoroughly, yet concisely. Doing so Eusebius draws upon all available secondary sources during his time, including Josephus, Philo, Clement and the documents that later formed the Canon of Scripture. This synthesis of the ancient sources in itself is extremely valuable, making his history the primary source for our knowledge of the four first centuries A.D.The beautiful acorn panels on the covers of the binding belong to a group of at least 30 similar panels most of them produced in the Southern Netherlands, especially at Antwerp. Very good copy of this rare edition. - Dated ownership's entries on the back of the front cover: 1555: H. Spanofsky; 1563: Gotf. Beguaet Hoffnung; Christ. Tomigher (?) Jun. (?). NK 884; Vervliet, Printing types, B5: illustr. 137 from our edition! not in the BN at Paris; cf. Speeckaert, Quatre siècles de reliure, p.45.