Details
SPINOZA, Baruch (later Benedictus de, 1632-1677). Tractatus theologico-politicus continens dissertationes aliquot. Hamburg: Henricus Künrath [Amsterdam: Jan Rieuwertsz], 1670 [after 1677].
4° (198 x 154 mm). Collation: *4 **2 A-Z4 Aa-Ff4 Gg1 (*1r title, *1v blank, *2r Praefatio, **2r Index capitum, A1r text, Gg1v Errata). Roman, italic and Hebrew type. Woodcut printer's device on title. (Without the final blank, occasional light browning and insignificant spotting, D3 and Ff2 torn and repaired, affecting mainly the margin without loss of text.) Contemporary vellum over pasteboard, blind fillets on covers, title label lettered in gold on spine (soiled, more on spine, label chipped). Provenance: manuscript annotation on verso of second front fly-leaf 'aus Poppelbauer (?) bibliothek' -- 19th-century handwritten list of holdings and bibliographic references on front endpaper.
FIRST EDITION, fourth issue, of Spinoza's philosophy, a 'crystal-clear exposition of the theory of natural right' (PMM). The Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (A Treatise on Political Theology) was Spinoza's first great work, blending the traditions of his Hebraic background with Cartesian rationalism, the philosophy he adopted following his break with Jewish orthodoxy in 1656. The Tractatus extends his ethical views into the realm of politics, and contains the first clear statement of the mutual independence of philosophy and religion.
The printing history of the Tractatus theologico-politicus is, in Fritz Bamberger's words, 'a complex and fascinating bibliographical tale'. Our copy presents the features of the fourth issue detailed by Bamberger: Künraht spelt 'Künrath' on title and p. 130 misnumbered 830, while the page 192 is correctly numbered and the errata printed on the verso of Gg1, with some of the errors corrected in the text. F. Bamberger, 'The Early Editions of Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus', in: Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, vol. 5, 1962, pp.9-33, T.4; Kingma-Offenberg 6; PMM 153; Van der Linde 3 (as 'Künrath'). Spinoza B.
4° (198 x 154 mm). Collation: *
FIRST EDITION, fourth issue, of Spinoza's philosophy, a 'crystal-clear exposition of the theory of natural right' (PMM). The Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (A Treatise on Political Theology) was Spinoza's first great work, blending the traditions of his Hebraic background with Cartesian rationalism, the philosophy he adopted following his break with Jewish orthodoxy in 1656. The Tractatus extends his ethical views into the realm of politics, and contains the first clear statement of the mutual independence of philosophy and religion.
The printing history of the Tractatus theologico-politicus is, in Fritz Bamberger's words, 'a complex and fascinating bibliographical tale'. Our copy presents the features of the fourth issue detailed by Bamberger: Künraht spelt 'Künrath' on title and p. 130 misnumbered 830, while the page 192 is correctly numbered and the errata printed on the verso of Gg1, with some of the errors corrected in the text. F. Bamberger, 'The Early Editions of Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus', in: Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, vol. 5, 1962, pp.9-33, T.4; Kingma-Offenberg 6; PMM 153; Van der Linde 3 (as 'Künrath'). Spinoza B.
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Please note that lot 124 was previously owned by Leopold Zunz (1794-1886), founder of what is known as the 'Science of Judaism', and signed by him.