Mark Funke, Bookseller, has issued the largest book catalogue I've ever seen. It measures almost 10 x 15. It reminds me of a coffee table book except this one is actually meant to be read. It contains 35 very old titles, 400 to 500 years old. The title is A Catalogue of Seventeenth Century Books. They are written in Latin and other European languages, English included. Many of those English words were spelled differently in those days, but you can make them out. It's a reminder not to learn how to spell from a 17^th century spelling book. These are a few selections of these books that were written in times very much changed today.

 

We begin with a book that traces its roots back over a millennium prior to its printing almost five centuries ago. The title is Corpus Juris Civilis, and it is one of the most important books on the law ever published. This is the legal code Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, created in the sixth century. Justinian wished to codify the law for his empire, it then being a scrambled collection of rulings not always particularly familiar. He gathered together the appropriate scholars, but rather than just repeating what they read, they were permitted to make changes as deemed appropriate. Their word would then become the law. Justinian's code was the basis of numerous later legal systems, including those of the West, though many of his rules would not be welcome today. Item 15 is the first Elzevir edition of the code, published in 1663. Priced at $2,250.

 

From the past we turn to the future. Here is a man who knew what would happen today, and for many centuries to come, 500 years ago. That could only be Nostradamus, apothecary, physician, and man who could predict the future. It's all in his quatrains, written from 1555-1560. Exactly how he reached his conclusions is not clear though earlier sources were part of the explanation. He had his detractors, but also his supporters, including Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II of France. This book of his prophecies, published a century after they were made, also contains a caution to its readers. It includes ten reasons not to believe them. Among them is the future is the domain of God, not man, and it would be of such value to the state that you better be quiet if you do know the future. The most important reason is the main criticism that has persisted even as people have attributed many recent events to Nostradamus' prophecies – they are vague, can have double meanings, subject to interpretation. It's why his prophecies are only recognized after the fact. They can be interpreted to say whatever you want. The book is Eclairissement des Veritables Quatrains de Maistre Michel de Nostradamus... published in 1656, publisher and place of publication unknown. Item 20. $1,250.

 

This book is a compendium of knowledge, or of something anyway. The title is Enquiries Touching the Diversity of Languages, and Religions, through the Chiefe Parts of the World, and it is the work of Edward Brerewood. While a learned man and professor, the book is from 1622 when much about the world was still unknown. He speaks of languages and their connection to religion. He discusses the geography of Christians, Muslims and idolators. He concluded that the majority of the world was composed of heathens, but much of that was based on his belief there was a large, as yet undiscovered southern continent. Are Australians heathens? Brerewood's work does provide the first printing of a theory that has come to be accepted several centuries later. He speculated that America's native population originated in Asia. Item 3. $1,250.

 

One doesn't always think of religious orders as a logical source for scientific knowledge, but the Jesuits devoted much of their time to the pursuit of science and discovery. This is a report of observations by Jesuit fathers in Siam (now Thailand) to the Royal Academy of Science in Paris. This book is the work of Thomas Gouye, a Jesuit missionary and astronomer. The title is Observations physiques et mathematiques pour servir a l'histoire naturelle, & a la perfection de l'astronomie & de la geographie. Jesuits sent to China in the 17^th century went via Siam, and in this report they provide observations from their voyage and time spent in Siam. The first section is devoted to natural history, with plates depicting his anatomical descriptions of crocodiles. The second section focuses on astronomical observations with tables of exact measurements. Gouye's expertise was the study of Jupiter and its moons. The book was published in 1688. Item 13. $5,950.

 

Next is another book by a Franciscan priest. The title is Orator Terrae Sanctae, et Hungariae; seu sacrarum philppicarum in Turcarum barbariem by Philiuppe Bosquier, published in 1605. Funke describes this as “a collection of incendiary speeches.” It is an attack on the Turks at the end of the Long Turkish War between the Hapsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Bosquier urged Pope Paul V to launch another crusade against the Turks. He made his case by describing the atrocities he said the Turks had perpetrated against Christians. One engraving depicts a dismembered victim and a man hung upside down and fed to dogs. He also describes the “spiritual pollution” of Jerusalem. This was more an appeal to emotion than reason, as starting another crusade was not likely to be a reasoned choice. Item 2. $2,950.

 

Mark Funke Bookseller may be reached at 206-632-1535 or mark@funkebooks.com. Their website is found at www.funkebooks.com.