The rare first Arabic edition of the Imitation of Christ
De imitatione Christi libri quatuor, de Latino in Arabicum versi a P. F. Coelestino à S. Liduina.
8vo (108 x 162 mm). (24), 547 (but: 548), (14) pp., final blank leaf. 19th-century red morocco, gold-tooled, each board with a large cross as centrepiece. Blue watered silk endleaves. All edges gilt.
€ 15,000.00
The first edition of one of the classic works of Christian devotion in Arabic, produced by the press of the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Probably the most widely read Christian work aside from the Bible itself, the translation of Thomas à Kempis's "On the Imitation of Christ" into Arabic represents a monument in the dialogue between the western and eastern Christian traditions that characterised the activities of the Catholic Church activities in the Middle East.
This copy is intimately connected to a Lebanese setting, both through its provenance and its production: the 18th-century inscriptions on the title-page and flyleaf place this volume in the monastery of Saints Peter and Marcellinus of the Lebanese Aleppan Order in Rome, while the translator Coelestinus à S. Liduina (Petrus Golius, 1604-76) developed his knowledge of Arabic through decades of study and work in Aleppo and Lebanon. It was there that he founded a mission in 1643 and a school in 1649 on Mount Lebanon.
The fine binding, probably from the 19th century, adds a beautiful exterior to an already rare work: only eight copies of the first edition of 1663 are revealed in a search of WorldCat and the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalogue. Rare Book Hub records no previous sales of this title.
The Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith was established in 1622 to promote Catholic evangelisation throughout the world. Its press focused on printing devotional and instructional works in a range of languages highly unusual for a European press of the era. The "Imitation of Christ" has proved an enduring classic of Christian literature, offering advice on living a spiritual life through withdrawal from the world, quiet contemplation and devotion to the Eucharist. Written in a Europe on the verge of the Reformation, it was widely admired by both Protestant and Catholic theologians in the centuries to come.
The first Arabic edition of one of the most enduring Christian works.
1) Eighteenth-century Arabic and Syriac inscriptions on title-page and front end-leaf recording donation to the Monastery of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, Rome, Lebanese Maronite Order.
2) Latin inscription opposite title-page of Johannes Müller, professor at the episcopal seminary of Strasbourg, 1838.
3) French-language stamp of a Jesuit library on rear flyleaf.
4) French private collection.
Light wear to binding at hinges. Light even browning, small holes from ink corrosion in Arabic inscription on flyleaf. Overall in very good condition.
Schnurrer 255. De Backer, Essai bibliographique sur le livre De Imitatione Christi 2476 (see also 2701). J. Loop / J. H. Hottinger, Arabic and Islamic studies in the 17th Century (2013), 114, 146f. Cf. Amaduzzi, Catalogus librorum typis S. Congregationis de Propaganda Fide impressorum (1773), 11f. (1742 ed.).
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