HOBBES, Thomas.

Leviathan, sive De Materia, Forma, & Potestate Civitatis Ecclesiasticaæ et Civilis.

Amstelodami: Joannem Blaeu, 1670. FIRST EDITION IN LATIN 1 blank leaf + TP + [i]-[ii] = Dedication + 1-365 + [366]-[368] = Index Capitum + [369]-[378] = Index + [379] = Scripturæ Sacræ & Erratum; small Quarto. First Latin Edition. MacDonald & Hargreaves #45. During an age when English was little spoken and even more rarely read east of the Channel, this Latin version is tremendously significant because it made Hobbes' most important and controversial work (originally published in 1651) finally accessible to all European readers. This Latin edition was, then, essential to the dissemination and understanding of Hobbe's ideas within the scholarly community of his day. Over and above that important distinction, this volume contains an entirely new Appendix - presented in a "Question & Answer" format - with sections devoted to the Nicene Creed, to Heresy and Replies to Objections. Moreover, as MacDonald and Hargreaves note in their Addendum, "The Latin version of Leviathan differs considerably from the English: it is the Latin versions in which Hobbes really expressed his opinions… In his Latin version he was less concerned with personalities "(M&H, p. xvi). Contemporary full paneled calf. Spine with four raised bands and gilt lettering on a black field. Crown and tail of spine, expertly repaired. Bookplate of Arthur Viscount Dillon to the front pastedown. Small, light, early ownership inscription to title page (Fr? Wrangham? ????). On the second page of the Dedication (p. [ii]), there are three short lines in the lower left corner just ouside the text. The first line mentions 1651 (the year this work was originally published) but the rest is indecipherable. On page 2 and continuing intermittently to page 163 (and then again on page 312), the reader has made small, unobtrusive ink marks (most closely resembling two larger, curve-tipped commas) at the outside edge of lines that he found to be of interest. Overall, a lovely copy of this important Radical Enlightenment work. PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

• USD 3,500.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: 281

• bookseller: Athena Rare Books (USA)