Search Results: Titles starting with S from Edmund Brumfitt Rare Books Ltd

FIRST ITALIAN TRANSLATION.
8vo, pp. 118 (first leaf blank); some spotting and dustoiling in places throughout; in the original printed orange wrappers; somewhat worn, but still an attractive copy.
Uncommon Italian translation of Johann Georg's Sulzer's Versuch einiger Moralischen Betrachtungen über die Werke der Natur, which had first appeared in Berlin in 1745.
Seeking to draw lessons about moral philosophy from the physical sciences, Sulzer reflects on the scale of the universe, the ordering of natural phenomena, the ways in which apparent disorder can be explained, and various mysteries of nature, as well as the analogies that can be drawn between the nourishment of the body and that of the soul.
Sulzer (1720-1779) began his career as a mathematician, before becoming more interested both in the physical sciences and in philosophy. He is probably best known now for his works on aesthetics, notably his Allgemeine Therie der schönen Künste (1771-74). Although he had published works on subjects… Read More

4to, pp. 111, [1] blank; repaired tear to bottom corner of b4, not affecting text; aside from some occasional spotting, clean and crisp throughout; rear free endpaper trimmed in half; in contemporary half sheep, green boards, spine in compartments with gilt-lettered label; some wear to extremities and boards, and small wormhole to upper cover, but still an attractive copy.

Only edition, rare, of this set of sonnets on philosophical themes by the Veronese priest and poet Giosafatte Cipriani (c. 1769-1840).

Written with the aim of sweetening the otherwise rather bitter pill of metaphysics for young readers who might otherwise be put off the study of philosophy by its usual austere and rigid form, while also offering an antidote to the 'poisonous pestilential systems' that had dishonoured the preceding century, the book is divided into three sections: psychology, natural theology, and ethics, with exactly one hundred sonnets in all. With subjects ranging from the immortality of the soul to the… Read More

8vo, pp. 44; occasional dustsoiling, but otherwise clean and fresh; in speckled wrappers over carta rustica; a good copy.
Only edition, rare, of these reflections on luxury by the Vicenza architect Orazio Claudio Capra (1723-1799).
Dividing his work into 27 short numbered sections, Capra discusses the nature of luxury, its opposition to the virtue of moderation, and the ways in which it is inimical to the life of the family. He distinguishes between decorum (good) and vanity (bad), and discusses in several places the role luxury can play in the conduct of marriage, both morally and in the practical matter of the provision of dowries, and their desirability, arguing that a dowry in fact serves only as an incentive 'per alimentare una irragionevole vanità', and speculating about the abolition of the institution. Capra concludes by noting the descent of the Greeks and Romans into luxurious decadence, calling 'fatalissimo Lusso di frivolezze' the destroyer of every well-ruled nation.
Capra published many… Read More

4to, pp. 24; printer's device on title-page, woodcut initials and tail-piece; some foxing and staining in places; unbound as issued.
Very rare set of statutes and rules governing the Congregazione dei quaranta secolari, a Bolognese confraternity established in 1703 by Giuseppe Mariani, a priest 'di tutta esemplarità, e bontà di vita', under the patronage of St Catherine of Bologna.
Inspired by the devotion of forty Hail Marys devised by St Catherine, as part of the Rosary of 1000 Hail Marys, the confraternity was made up of forty 'persone secolari', all of whom are listed at the end of the Statuti. The ten chapters deal with the aim and calling of the confraternity, the election and roles of the prior and sub-prior, the number of members, their obligations and those of the confraternity as a whole, the necessity of alms-giving, the election and role of the secretary, visiting the sick, and more.
The Statuti were first printed in 1706, and here appear in corrected form. Further chapters were added in… Read More