[Rarebooks] Offering: Edition Princeps of the works of Dionysius the Areopagite. 1516.

[Michael John Thompson]

Dionysius (the Areopagite).

[Tade enestin en te de te bibl tou Hagiou 
Dionysiou. Peri tes ouranias hierarchias. Peri 
theio n onomato n. Peri te s ekkle siastike s 
hierarch. Peri mystikas theologias. Epistolai. 
Martyrion tou Hagiou Dionysiou]. Haec insunt in 
hoc libro Sancti Dionysii. De coelesti 
hierarchia. De diuinis nominibus. De Pontificali 
dignitate. De mystica theologia. Epistolæ. 
Martyrium Sancti Dionysii. [Florence] : Impressum 
est hoc aureum Dionysii opus, in aedibus Philippi 
Iuntæ bibliopolae, Anno salutifere Incarnationis. 
M.D. XVI. Die xxix. Iulii. Pontificatus Leonis 
Decimi, anno quarto. [Filippo Giunta, or Juntina. 1516].

Editio Princeps. Small octavo, 153 x 94 mm]; 
later (but early) plain boards with calf spine, 
gilt rules and decorations on spine, title 
label.  [192] leaves, collation a-z8, &8. 
Complete. Title register in Greek and Latin, text 
in Greek. Printer's name and date of publication 
from colophon; place of publication from Adams. 
Colophon in Latin, Fleur de Lys printer's device 
on verso of final leaf. Mild browning to some 
margins of text, but very clean throughout. A 
long note in English in an older hand – 
explaining the text – covers the verso of the 
front free endpaper. Small, neat signature, dated 
New York, 1865, at head of title leaf. Binding 
soiled and worn, but sound; spine label mostly 
effaced. Very good, complete copy. ¶ The first 
edition of the writings attributed to Dionysius 
the Areopagite, the Athenian who was converted to 
Christianity by the preaching of the Apostle Paul 
(Acts 17:34). More accurately, these are the 
writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the 
anonymous theologian and philosopher of the 5th 
century whose works were pseudonymously ascribed 
to Saint Dionysius. The identity of the author 
has been debated for centuries; what is known is 
that he was a Neoplatonist, a pupil of Proclus, 
perhaps of Syrian origin, who knew enough of 
Platonism and the Christian tradition to 
transform them both. From internal evidence, the 
work is known to have been written between 485 
and 518-28. Some modern scholars have attributed 
the identity of Pseudo-Dionysius to Peter the 
Iberian (c. 411-491 A.D.), a prominent Georgian 
theologian and one of the leaders of 
anti-Chalcedonian movement in the Eastern Roman 
Empire. Whatever the authorship, the influence 
and importance of this work is not to be 
understated. The Corpus Areopagiticum includes 
just four works: On The Celestial Hierarchy, On 
The Divine Names, On Ecclesiastical Hierarchy & 
On Mystical Theology, (plus various epistles). 
These works survived through the years, and when 
introduced into Western literature, the works of 
Dionysius were readily accepted by the medieval 
Scholastics. Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, 
Bonaventure, adopted his theses and arguments. 
His work influenced popular religious books, such 
as the Legenda Aurea of Giacomo da Voragine. 
Eckhardt, Tauler, Suso, Otto of Freising, Robert 
Grosseteste, Vincent of Beauvais, Ambrosius 
Camaldulensis, Marsilius Ficinus,  Pico della 
Mirandola, Martin Luther - all were all 
influenced by his writings. Latin translations 
were done in 1170, 1220, 1400, 1436, and 1492 (by 
Ficinus). His work on the Hierarchy of Angels, De 
Coelesti Hierarchia (Celestial Hierarchy) 
directly influence Aquinas's Summa Theologica and 
Dante's Divine Comedy. A vastly important 
theological work. 9 copies located  - at Oxford, 
UCLA, Illinois, BM (2 copies). 4 copies in 
Italian Libraries -Palace Sormani, Milan; Library 
of the Neapolitan History Society, Naples; 
Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome; & the Casanatense 
Library, Rome. No copy at public auction records 
for the past 100 years (or so). RARE.

$ 8,500.00 Cdn

Trade discount allowed. Terms: as usual.


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