S. Thomae Aquinatis Summa totius theologiæ : in qua quicquid in vniuersis bibliis continetur obscuri, quicquid in veteru[m] Patru[m] (ab ipso nascentis Ecclesiæ initio) monumentis, est doctrinæ notabilis; quicquid deniq[ue] vel olim vocatum est, vel hodie vocatur ab hæreticis in controuersia[m], id totu[m], vel certè maxima ex parte, vt eruditè & piè, ita fideliter atq[ue] dilucidè, per quæstiones, et responsiones explicatur; in tres partes ab auctore suo distributa.

Hardcover. Fair. Antwerp, Christoph Plantin, 1569; five volumes bound in three as normal; mainly large 8vo, but some signatures 4to; 200 x 270mm by around 60mm thick each volume. ... ... ... Collation: Vol 1 pti pp [xxxii], 374, [i], Vol 1 ptii [xii], 376; Vol 2 [xv], 551, [i], [219]*; Vol 3 [xvi], 356, 279, [i]; (* I'm aware that the collation given for the Campion copy in the Senate House Library at the University of London shows this section as [221]p but it may be that the Senate House copy includes a final blank leaf not counted in our copy); some page numbering errors including Vol 1 p155 noted as 154, Vol 2 p201 noted as 2 1; Vol 3, p279 at end noted as 289.... ... ... Early bindings of half sheep with roan backs and later red calf labels gilt, raised bands; bindings now in poor condition, the sides and edges heavily scuffed and the backs with much loss and general damage; the binding of the contents, though somewhat fragile is, however, generally firm with the exception that in Vol 2 some broken cords have made signature c of the later part loose (eight leaves) and that in part of Vol 3 six of the seven cords have broken at one point leaving signatures g to k (32 leaves) loose; being 16th century paper the contents remain in good condition being substantially clean and unmarked throughout although with the inevitable small patches of old damp marks here and there and with occasional other small dust or other marks. ... ... ... ... ... Disposition of contents: Vol 1 - Title page to the whole work, Dedication and other matters, Index to Part I, Part I (119 Qq), Colophon (dated 17 December 1567), Title page to Part II, Index to Part II, Part II First Part (114 Qq); Vol II - Title page to Part II Second Part, Index to Part II Second Part, Part II Second Part (189Qq), five various Indexes; Vol III - Title page to Part II, Part III (90 Qq), Supplement (99 Qq), Censura et Approbatio, Colophon (dated 19 September 1567). ... ... ... ... Occasional underlinings of passages by a very early hand. Holograph ownership or other notes on all title pages including "Fratr Johannis, "Fr Coelestini Vanderstucken 1749", "M. Th[?] Timmermans". ... ... ... Thomas's "Summa Theologia" is his best known and most influential work, a compendium of the theology of the Church and intended as an instructional guide for others, particularly for beginners, taking the Scholastic form of questions, subdivided into relevant expository articles, designed to reach agreement on truth having considered both claims and objections to those. The authorities referenced are not merely Christian fathers but bring in classical Greek and Roman philosophers and writers such as Plato,Aristotle and others, Muslim thinkers such as Avicenna (Ibn Senna) or Averroes (Ibn Rushd), the Sephardic Jew Maimonides and other Hebrew writers, and others with relevant views on the central questions of the discourse. The third part was unfinished at the time of Thomas's death in 1274 and completed by others. The first complete edition appeared in 1485 in Basel. ... ... ... Prepared by a group of theologians from Louvain, led by Augustine Huens and Antonius de Conceptione, this 1569 Plantin edition is rightly denoted a landmark by the University of Notre Dame and was clearly a massive undertaking for the printer and publishers. See the Notre Dame Catalogue Number 62 (Rare Books B 765 T361st 1569) and Voet 5: 2195-2204 2312. This edition is rare, copies being found in the already cited Senate House Library, as also in Cambridge University Libraries and some others. ... ... ... NOTE that for this item the price shown below, together with the ordinary default carriage costs, will amount to the total charge to be levied for the item delivered to a single address using a carrier of our choice and with no carriage supplement being necessary.