Second edition of Saint Cyprians works as edited by Erasmus, published by Froben one year after their first edition. Between 1516 and 1521, Erasmus worked closely with Johann Froben, the humanist printer in Basel, on a series of editions of the Latin Church Fathers: Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, Hilary, and Cyprian. Erasmus aim was to purify the texts of the Fathers from medieval corruptions, to restore their authentic doctrine by returning to the original sources, and to present the Early Church as a model for a purer form of Christianity, a theme that directly reflected his theological-humanist ideal.
Erasmus states that he has cleansed the text of errors, added a few minor treatises from ancient manuscripts, and removed the works that seemed to have been falsely attributed to Cyprian. Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (ca. 210-258 CE), later known as Saint Cyprian, was an influential Church Father of the early Latin Christian tradition. Shortly after his baptism he became bishop of Carthage, one of the most important Christian centres in the Roman Empire. Most of his works are pastoral letters and treatises, here arranged in the index by type. The manuscript appears to have been used for study, as the annotations highlight portions of the text and draw comparisons between Augustine and Cyprian.
With small strips of manuscript waste visible in the gutters of the pastedowns, a small owners inscription ("H. Reimers Erlang.(?) 1899") in the upper outer corner of the first blank flyleaf along with elaborate manuscript annotations on the recto of that same leaf, numerous contemporary and later annotations in three different hands throughout, and some of the text underlined. The leather around the top and fore-edge of the front board has been restored, the leather on the back board is somewhat damaged, some small worm holes in the leather reveal the wooden boards below. The binding is rubbed, the clasps are lacking, and the head and foot of the spine are somewhat damaged, the structural integrity of the binding nevertheless remains intact. The first blank flyleaf has been restored in the gutter margin, the last leaf has been restored in the fore-edge margin, the edges of the leaves are somewhat browned. Otherwise in good condition. Adams C3150; BM STC German p. 234; De Reuck 417; USTC 679668; Vander Haeghen II, 23; Huizinga VI p. 148; VD 16 C 6509; not in Bezzel.