First edition of the works of Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (Saint Cyprian, ca. 210-258 CE), edited by Erasmus. The present work is a landmark in the history of humanist scholarship and a cornerstone of Erasmuss lifelong effort to restore the authentic voice of the Early Church Fathers. Working in Basel, Erasmus devoted himself to what he regarded as his highest calling: presenting these foundational Christian sources to a wider audience and revealing the truth of the Gospel in its original simplicity.
In this edition, Erasmus rescued Cyprians writings from centuries of textual corruption, carefully correcting medieval errors and adding several minor treatises from ancient manuscripts that had never previously been printed. It includes Cyprians pastoral letters and doctrinal works, arranged by theme, and reflects the bishops deep concern with church unity, moral discipline, and the challenges of the early Christian community.
This 1520 edition of Cyprians works marks the true beginning of Erasmus great Basel enterprise: a series of monumental editions that would soon include works by Arnobius (1522), Hilary (1523), Jerome (1524), Irenaeus (1526), Ambrose (1527), Augustine (1528-29), and Chrysostom (1530). This rapid succession of vast editorial projects reveals both Erasmuss astonishing intellectual energy and his conviction that the wisdom of these Church-Fathers could renew Christian life.
More than a critical edition, the present work embodies the spirit of Christian humanism itself: rigorous scholarship in the service of faith. It stands as one of Erasmus' most significant achievements and a defining moment in the recovery of patristic learning in the Renaissance.
With manuscript waste pastedowns, three stamps of the Roman Catholic Saint Maria-Magdalena church in Zaandam on the title page, occasionally some (near contemporary?) manuscript annotations in the margins and some of the text has been underlined. The work has been re-backed, lacking the backstrip of the original binding, the edges of the leather around both boards is slightly damaged revealing the wooden boards below, the spine is somewhat rubbed. The edges of the first and last few leaves are slightly frayed, some occasional water staining in the fore-edge margin (not affecting the text), some slight staining and dust soiling throughout. Otherwise in good condition. Allen 1000; De Reuck 416; Huizinga VI p. 148; USTC 679667; Vander Haeghen II, 23; VD 16 C 6508; not in Adams; Bezzel; BM STC German.