We all now know that a great multitude of ancient writings were barred from the official Bible: the Books of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Adam, the Testaments of Abraham and Moses, the Book of Raziel the Angel, the Magical Testament of Solomon, and countless others that shimmered on the edges of orthodoxy. But how, one might ask, did those forbidden or forgotten scriptures ever find their way into print at all?
The answer lies here. This remarkable volume represents one of the very first attempts to gather, edit, and publish the lost and suppressed texts of Biblical antiquity, a decisive moment in the birth of modern Biblical scholarship and the recovery of esoteric Judeo-Christian traditions. Compiled by the polymathic theologian and librarian Johann Albert Fabricius (1668–1736), this 1713 first edition is nothing less than the foundation stone of the study of Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha.
Fabricius, working in Hamburg at the dawn of the Enlightenment, sought to reunite the canonical with the banished, the sacred with the secret. His Collectus castigatus brings together texts and fragments attributed to ancient patriarchs, prophets, and angels, each illuminated by his own commentaries, cross-references, and critical apparatus. Among its marvels is a folding plate of comparative alphabets, including the magical alphabet of the angels, a beautiful synthesis of philology and mysticism.
A work of deep influence, bridging the worlds of scholarship, theology, and occultism, this is the first major printing of many apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works, books that had been whispered about for centuries but never before gathered in print.
Collectus castigatus, testimoniisque, censuris & animadversionibus illustratus à Johanne Alberto Fabricio, SS. Theol. D. & Professore Publ. in Gymnasio Hamburgensi. Hamburg and Leipzig : Christian Liebezeit, 1713. First edition. Octavo (165 x 105 mm), slightly later full calf with gilt-tooled board edges, spine in gilt-ruled compartments with gilt decoration and contrasting leather title and volume pieces stamped in gilt; front outer hinge a little weakened; front hinge cracked; all edges stained red; front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Sir John Cope; front free-endpaper with early ownership initials; title-page in red and black, pp. [26], 1174, [26]; folding engraved comparative table of alphabets, including angelic alphabets; Greek text with Latin translation and commentary, and occasional use of Hebrew type; browning throughout overall internally excellent.
We all now know that a great multitude of ancient writings were barred from the official Bible: the Books of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Adam, the Testaments of Abraham and Moses, the Book of Raziel the Angel, the Magical Testament of Solomon, and countless others that shimmered on the edges of orthodoxy. But how, one might ask, did those forbidden or forgotten scriptures ever find their way into print at all?
The answer lies here. This remarkable volume represents one of the very first attempts to gather, edit, and publish the lost and suppressed texts of Biblical antiquity, a decisive moment in the birth of modern Biblical scholarship and the recovery of esoteric Judeo-Christian traditions. Compiled by the polymathic theologian and librarian Johann Albert Fabricius (1668–1736), this 1713 first edition is nothing less than the foundation stone of the study of Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha.
Fabricius, working in Hamburg at the dawn of the Enlightenment, sought to reunite the canonical with the banished, the sacred with the secret. His Collectus castigatus brings together texts and fragments attributed to ancient patriarchs, prophets, and angels, each illuminated by his own commentaries, cross-references, and critical apparatus. Among its marvels is a folding plate of comparative alphabets, including the magical alphabet of the angels, a beautiful synthesis of philology and mysticism.
A work of deep influence, bridging the worlds of scholarship, theology, and occultism, this is the first major printing of many apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works, books that had been whispered about for centuries but never before gathered in print.
Collectus castigatus, testimoniisque, censuris & animadversionibus illustratus à Johanne Alberto Fabricio, SS. Theol. D. & Professore Publ. in Gymnasio Hamburgensi. Hamburg and Leipzig : Christian Liebezeit, 1713. First edition. Octavo (165 x 105 mm), slightly later full calf with gilt-tooled board edges, spine in gilt-ruled compartments with gilt decoration and contrasting leather title and volume pieces stamped in gilt; front outer hinge a little weakened; front hinge cracked; all edges stained red; front pastedown with armorial bookplate of Sir John Cope; front free-endpaper with early ownership initials; title-page in red and black, pp. [26], 1174, [26]; folding engraved comparative table of alphabets, including angelic alphabets; Greek text with Latin translation and commentary, and occasional use of Hebrew type; browning throughout overall internally excellent.
