First English Edition and Possibly Translator Sir Philip Sydney's First Published Work
A Woorke concerning the trewnesse of the Christian Religion Written in French. Against Atheists, Epicures, Paynims, Jewes, Mahumetists, and other Infidels. By Philip of Mornay Lord of Plessie Marlie. Begunne to be translated into English by Sir Philip Sidney Knight, and a his request finished by Arthur Golding.
London: [By [John Charlewood and] George Robinson] for Thomas Cadman, 1587.
GOLDING, Arthur, [translator]. SIDNEY, Sir Philip, [translator]. A Woorke concerning the trewnesse of the Christian Religion Written in French. Against Atheists, Epicures, Paynims, Jewes, Mahumetists, and other Infidels. By Philip of Mornay Lord of Plessie Marlie. Begunne to be translated into English by Sir Philip Sidney Knight, and a his request finished by Arthur Golding. London: [By [John Charlewood and] George Robinson] for Thomas Cadman, 1587.
First English edition. A translation of "De la verité de la religion chrestienne," and possibly Sir Philip Sydney’s first published work, although there is some debate whether he contributed to this translation even though his name is noted on the title-page. Octavo (7 3/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 187 x 140 mm). [28], 480, 491-641, [1, colophon] pp. Jumps in pagination, but collates complete and is the same as the British Library copy. Title within an engraved boarder. Largely printed in black letter. With engraved initials, and head and tail-pieces.
Later tree calf over wooden boards. Rebacked to style. Spine stamped in gilt. Some wear to front joint. Top margin trimmed close, occasionally affecting the running headline, mainly towards the end. With two previous owner’s signatures on title-page dated 1713 and 1809. Some other early ink marginalia throughout. With the bookplates of the Fox Pointe Collection on the back pastedown an other bookplate detached from front paste down, laid in. Bookseller description tipped in on front pastedown. Previous owner's pencil notes on front free endpaper. Some minor soiling and toning, mainly to edges. A small damp stain to the first few pages of the preface and the final four leaves. Overall a very good copy.
"The best edition of this work." - [Lowndes].
[Phillippe de Mornay, a "Politician, Protestant leader; served as a diplomatist for the future Henri IV as soon as 1574 and his political role expanded to the point of earning him the nickname of 'the Huguenot pope'; although his influence faded when Henri IV abjured Protestantism (1593), he remained moderately influential, particularly in the drafting of the Edict of Nantes (1598)." (British Museum)
"In the years following the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, the civil wars continued to unfold like a bloody game of tennis. Each time it seemed that the Huguenots had achieved some protection of their rights, the Catholics soon knocked them back again in a new round of fighting. Matters were made much worse in 1584, when the heir to the throne, the Duke of Anjou, died, leaving King Henry III with no clear successor. This provided an important opportunity for both the Huguenots (led by Henry of Navarre) and the Catholics (now operating as the Catholic League, formed in 1576 and led by Henry, Duke of Guise), as both sides realized that if they could secure a representative on the throne, the wars would be as good as won. What had started as wars of religion now became wars of succession also. During this time there emerged a new wave of Huguenot leaders and diplomats, who helped to shape the remaining years of the civil wars. One such diplomat was Philippe de Mornay, seigneur du Plessis-Marly. Having been brought up with a Protestant education, de Mornay was one of the strongest advocates for the Protestant cause during the later years of the Wars of Religion, and beyond. He had been in Paris on the day of the St Bartholomew's Massacre, and had narrowly escaped with his life. Following this, he wrote several political tracts which outlined Protestant policy; he also fought in the Huguenot army in the later years of the 1570s. The College has various copies of his works, which are all heavily pro-Reform and often launch attacks on the Pope. Philippe de Mornay’s many writings were very important for the defense and continuation of the Huguenot cause, and... are valuable sources for this period. However, de Mornay’s role extended to well beyond that of just a political writer, for he was also a trusted counsellor of Henry of Navarre, and was greatly involved in the important diplomatic negotiations that helped pave the way for the end of the wars." (The Huguenots: The Story of the French Reformation. Cambridge University).
Sir Philip Sidney was an "English courtier, statesman, soldier, and poet. Born into an aristocratic family and educated to be a statesman and soldier, Sidney served in minor official posts and turned to literature as an outlet for his energies. Astrophel and Stella (1591), inspired by Sidney’s passion for his aunt’s married ward, is considered the finest Elizabethan sonnet cycle after William Shakespeare's sonnets. The Defence of Poesie (1595), an urbane and eloquent plea for imaginative literature, introduced the critical ideas of Renaissance theorists to England. His heroic romance Arcadia, though unfinished, is the most important work of English prose fiction of the 16th century. None of his works was published in his lifetime." (Brittanica)
"Although Sidney appears to have been sympathetic towards and friendly with Catholics, and associated with them throughout his life, he was no closet adherent to their faith. His political affiliations, including his eventual marriage to Sir Francis Walsingham's daughter, and his later literary projects, like his translations of the Psalms and of De la verité de la religion chrestienne by his friend Du Plessis Mornay, point rather to an essentially protestant outlook... [Sidney] became more involved with Du Plessis Mornay, who was beginning to write De la verité de la religion chrestienne, a work concerned with geography and politics as well as religion."
Some sources note that Sidney died before he finished his translation of De la Verite, and thus it was finished by Arthur Golding, while other sources claim that Sidney did in fact do a full translation of this work which was has been lost and this present edition is Sidney’s text fully modified by Golding.
ESTC S112896 Lowndes 1616.
HBS 68594.
$4,500.
Price: $4,500.00
Item #68594