1687 Rare Latin Book - The Confessions of Saint Augustine of Hippo. Confessionum Libri XIII.
(description)
Author: Saint Augustine of Hippo.
Title: Confessionum Libri XIII. Emendatissimi et notis illustrati ; cum novis in singula capita argumentis.
Language: Text in Latin.
Publisher: Parisiis, Joannis Baptistae Coignard, 1687.
Size: 6 " X 3.5 ".
Pages: 428 pages + index.
Binding: Good original full calf leather binding (hinges worn but tight - as shown, overall worn, chipped, and scuffed - as shown) under a removable protective mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright and tight, some light foxing or staining - as shown, handwritten ex-libris and ink stamp of previous owners on the title page - as shown).
The book: Rare and nice 17th-century edition of Saint Augustine of Hippo Confessions (Latin: Confessiones) -- an autobiographical work by Saint Augustine of Hippo, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between AD 397 and 400. The work outlines Saint Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of Saint Augustine in order to distinguish the book from other books with similar titles. Its original title was Confessions in Thirteen Books, and it was composed to be read out loud with each book being a complete unit. Brunet (I, 561) cites this edition as one of the best with that of 1675 by Daniel Elzevir.
The author: Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was an early Christian theologian and philosopher from Numidia whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God, On Christian Doctrine and Confessions.