De civitate Dei - photo 1
De civitate Dei - photo 2
De civitate Dei - photo 3

De civitate Dei

Lot 8
16.10.2025 00:00UTC +01:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1471931
Lot 8 | De civitate Dei
Estimate value
$ 8 000 – 12 000
AUGUSTINUS, Aurelius (354–430). De civitate Dei. Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 2 October 1475.

Second Venetian edition of Augustine's magnum opus, a cornerstone of Western thought. Augustine, a native of North Africa, played a pivotal role in the development of theology in the Latin-speaking world. In the Middle Ages, "the writings of Augustine contained perhaps the most substantial body of philosophical ideas then available in Latin" (Kristeller). His works were central to the transmission of Platonic philosophy and "both Luther and Calvin took Augustine as the foundation of Protestantism next to the Bible itself" (PMM). This, his greatest work, was written in the wake of the fall of Rome, contrasting the fallible and frangible world of empire with the enduring eternity of the city of God. HC *2051; GW 2879; BMC V 175; Bod-inc A-522; BSB-Ink A-858; Goff A-1235; ISTC ia01235000. Kristeller, “Augustine and the Early Renaissance”, Studies in Renaissance Thought and Letters, I, (1956); PMM 3.

Chancery folio (289 × 208mm). 302 leaves (of 306, without the blanks). Rubricated and with initials in red and blue throughout (first two leaves with minor marginal repairs, a few faint marginal stains). Late 19th-century blindstamped pigskin signed “[Douglas Cockerell] 1898”, clasps and catchplates (light wear at extremities). Provenance: erased 18th/19th-century gift inscription above the following – “Mlle. Stubbs S.T.P.” (18th/19th-century gift inscription) – Charles Thomas-Stanford (1858–1932; bookplate) – Peter Paul Battati (two “D[ominus] Petrus Paulus Battatius Abbas S. Petri” stamps on first text leaf) – Phyllis Goodhart Gordan (1913–1994; leather label); by descent.
Genre:Religious genre
Place of origin:Italy
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.10.2025 – 16.10.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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