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57 - OPSOPAEUS (Johannes). Σιβυλλιακοὶ Χρησμοὶ hoc est Sibyllina …
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Estimate €500 - €700
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OPSOPAEUS (Johannes). Σιβυλλιακοὶ Χρησμοὶ hoc est Sibyllina oracula ex vett. codd. aucta, renovata, et notis illustrata a D. Johanne Opsopaeo Brettano. Cum interpretatione latina Sebastiani Castalionis et indice. [Followed by]: Oracula magica Zoroastris cum scholiis plethonis et Pselli nunc primum editi. [Et de] : Oracula metrica Iovis, Apollinis, Hecates, Serapidis et aliorum doerum ac vatum tam virorum quam feminarum... Item Astrampsychi Oneirocriticon à Ios. Scaligero digestum & castigatum. Paris: [Compagnie de la Grand-Navire], 1599. - 3 parts in one volume in-8, 183 x 125 : (8 ff.), 524, 71 pp., (1 f.) ; (1 f.), pp. 7-144 ; (1 f.), pp. VII-XXIIII, 114 pp., (3 ff.). Stiff parchment, smooth spine, red edges (18th century binding). Caillet, V, 8135. First edition of this collection giving a rigorous philological analysis of the Greek Sibylline prophecies, revealing their post-classical and apocryphal character. The collection is divided into 3 separate books. - The first, dedicated to Jacques-Auguste de Thou, contains various texts on the Sibylline oracles, augmented, revised and enlightened by notes from the physician and scholar Johannes Opsopaeus (1556-1596). The work focuses on two questions: are the Sibylline Oracles really the work of the Sibyls? And if they are, should they be attributed to a single Sibyl or to several? Opsopaeus questions their authenticity, pointing out glaring anachronisms: how could a Sibyl, who is supposed to have lived before Moses, describe the Flood, Noah, or even the burning of the Temple of Vesta under Commodus? Some passages seem to have been written after the fact, such as those about Nero or the Roman emperors, suggesting Christian or pagan interpolations. The style of the oracles, obscure and disorganised, contrasts with the clarity of the biblical prophecies, and their language, full of neologisms and fanciful etymologies, reinforces the doubts. The author believes that most of the Sibylline Oracles are apocryphal, the fruit of late compilations or falsifications, although a few, such as those of the Eritrean Sibyl, may retain some authenticity. This book invites critical reading, while recognising the complexity of disentangling the true from the false. The preface is followed by the book by the Italian historian Onofrio Panvinio (1530-1568) on the Sibyls and Sibylline songs. The notes by Johannes Opsopaeus appear at the end, with a separate pagination, augmented by comments by the German dramatist Sixt Birck (1501-1554) and Jean Castellion. The texts are in their Greek version accompanied by the Latin translation by Sébastien Castellion (1515-1563). This first book is illustrated with a very fine copper-engraved title by Karel Van Mallery (1571-1635?), and 12 very fine unsigned copper engravings in the text, representing the 12 sibyls. - The second book is a Greco-Latin edition of the Magic Oracles of Zoroaster, with commentaries by the Byzantine humanist and philosopher Georges Gémiste Pléthon (1355?-1452?) and the Byzantine writer and statesman Micha??l Psellós (1018-1078), edited by Johannes Opsopoeus. - The last book is divided into two parts: the first contains the Metrical Oracles of Jupiter, Apollo, Hecate, Serapis and other deities, collected by Johannes Opsopoeus. It is followed by the Oneirocriticon, a manual of dream interpretation attributed to the ancient Persian magician-priest Astrampsychus (-03...-02..?), organised and corrected by the humanist and philosopher Joseph-Juste Scaliger (1540-1609). This collection was printed by the "Compagnie de la Grand'Navire", a prestigious association of Parisian printers and booksellers set up in November 1582 to publish the works of the Fathers of the Church. The original members were some of the leading figures in the book trade: Jacques I Kerver, Nicolas I Chesneau, Michel I Sonnius, Sébastien Nivelle, as well as Jacques I and Baptiste Du Puis. When it was re-formed in February 1599 for a period of six years, the Company included Abel L'Angelier, Barthélemy Macé, Ambroise Drouart, Michel II, Laurent and Jean Sonnius. On the works it published, it often simply affixed its emblematic Navire mark. A good copy in an antique binding. Some soiling to the binding and a few scattered brown spots, otherwise a very well preserved copy. Provenance: Masson d'Haymontal or d'Harmontal, with bookplate.
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About the sale ENLUMINATIONS, ANCIENT and MODERN BOOKS
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Auction time 06/17/2026 at 2:00 PM
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