Divi Ioanis Chrysostomi quod Multe Quidem Dignitatis, Sed Difficile Sit Episcopum Agere, Dialogus In Sex Libros Partitus. Germano Brixio Altissiodoren. Canonico Parisien Interprete. Venundatur Badio. 1526.
De Sacerdotio by St. John Chrysostom. Translated by Germain de Brie of Auxerre. Paris: Josse Badius, 1526.
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FIRST EDITION thus of John Chrysostom’s De Sacerdotio (On the Priesthood), translated by the French humanist Germain de Brie (c.1490-1538), and printed by Josse Badius, one of the foremost presses of Renaissance Paris.
Chrysostom’s De Sacerdotio (written circa 370 AD) is among the most influential patristic treatments of the episcopal office, extolling its dignity while warning of its extreme burdens and responsibilities. Its appearance in 1526 Paris carried immediate resonance, as debates over the nature of priesthood and episcopal authority sharpened in the wake of the Reformation. De Brie, former friend of Erasmus and bitter foe of Thomas More, turned in his maturity to the Greek Fathers, seeking to make them accessible in newly accurate Latin translations. This edition, produced under the auspices of Badius, represents his most substantial scholarly contribution, and forms part of the broader Erasmian programme of patristic renewal, aligning humanist scholarship with Catholic reform.
USTC records only 5 copies held institutionally, and we can trace NO COPIES HELD IN THE UNITED STATES. We can trace one other copy not recorded in USTC, at Ghent University, bringing the total recorded copies extant to 6, plus our copy. No copies are recorded in WorldCat. The Ghent University digitised copy corresponds to this imprint, and the USTC collation further confirms our copy to collate as complete. An extremely rare early printing of this text attributed to Saint John Chrysostom.
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Size: 117 x 170 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[A8, 2A4, B-M8]
Near contemporary full limp vellum, lacking ties, title in a manuscript hand to the backstrip and head of the front board. Binding rubbed with some minor discolouration, yapp edges. There is some near contemporary writing in a neat hand to front and rear pastedowns, the rear effaced, the front with quotes from Pliny and Theophrastus. Inscription to the foot of the title leaf, loss to the bottom corner. Sporadic near contemporary marginalia to a few leaves throughout. Text is generally bright and clean, legible without loss of sense. Free from worming and dampstaining. An excellent copy of a very rare imprint.
[USTC 145765; OCLC 1076003249; Renouard, Ph. Badius; II, pp.529. Renouard, Ph. Imprimeurs; II, number 558].
