Item #857 Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit. c. Guillermus Altissodorensis, sometimes also called William of Beauvai or Auxerre.
Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .
Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .
Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .
Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .
Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .
Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .

Summa aurea in quattuor libros sententiarum : a subtilissimo doctore Magistro Guillermo altissiodore[n]si edita. quam nuper amendis q[uam]plurimis doctissimus sacre theologie professor magister Guillermus de quercu diligenti admodum castigatione emendauit ac tabulam huic pernecessariam edidit .

Paris: Philippi Pigoucheti cura impensis vero Nicolai vaultier et Durandi gerlier alme vniuersitatis Parisiensis librariorum iuratorum, 1500. First edition. Bound in contemporary blind tooled calf over wooden boards. Two beautiful initials in gold, green, blue and lavender . A monogram of an early previous owner on the first text page and an interesting signature? William’s emphasis on philosophy as a tool for Christian theology is evidenced by his critique of Plato’s doctrine of a demiurge, or cosmic intelligence, and by his treatment of the theory of knowledge as a means for distinguishing between God and creation. He also analyzed certain moral questions, including the problem of human choice and the nature of virtue. His fame rests largely on the Summa aurea, written between 1215 and 1220 and published many times (Paris, n.d.; 1500; 1518; Venice 1591). Inspired by the Sentences of peter lombard, preceding as he did the Aristotelian revival, William was largely influenced by St. Augustine, St. Anselm of Canterbury, Richard and Hugh of saint–victor, and Avicenna..

(J. Ribaillier, ed., Magistri Guillelmi Altissiodorensis Summa aurea, 7 vols. (Paris 1980–1987). Gilson, History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages (New York 1955) 656–657. P. Glorieux, Répertoire des maîtres en théologie de Paris au XIIIe siècle (Paris 1933–34); C. Ottaviano, Guglielmo d’Auxerre …: La vita, le opere, il pensiero (Rome 1929). r. m. martineau, “Le Plan de la Summa aurea de Guillaume d’Auxerre,” Études et recherches d’Ottawa 1 (1937) 79–114

Goff G718; ISTC: ig00707500; Hain-Copinger 8324; BMC. VIII.122; GW 11861; Polain B1787; Oates 3078; IGI Fabritius, Bibl. Latina, ed. 1754, III/p. 139). S.T.C. French Books, p. 213. Us copies: Astrik L. Gabriel, Notre Dame IN, Boston Public, Bryn Mawr, Columbia, Huntington, Univ.of Chicago, Univ. of Wisconsin. |(also see my fascicule XIX, 2019: #1 for another copy of this edition now in private ownership)
586J Guillermus de Auxerre 1500 https://data.cerl.org/istc/ig00707500. Folio, 28.5 x 20.5 cm.
Signatures a–z &,ç8 A–M⁸N¹⁰AB⁶C⁸.
First edition. Large woodcut device (Davies 82) on title, Durand Gerlier’s woodcut device (Davies 119) within 4-part border at end. Gothic types, double column. signatures: There are some old manuscript marginalia. Bound in contemporary blind tooled calf over wooden boards. Two beautiful initials in gold, green, blue and lavender . A monogram of an early previous owner on the first text page and an interesting signature? Item #857

First edition of the major work by William of Auxerre. In this commentary on Peter Lombard, William treats creation, natural law, the nature of man, a tripartite God, usury, end the Last Judgment, among other topics. He applies the critical reasoning of classical philosophy to that of scholastic philosophy. He was an Archdeacon of Beauvais before becoming a professor of theology at the university in Paris.

William of Auxerre’s Summa Aurea, contains an ample disquisition on usury and the natural law basis of economic matters. His Summa Aurea still shows a debt to Peter Lombard, yet it advances his ontological argument, furthermore it shows inovation and an intellectual awareness and insistence on the physical that had not been seen earlier. The “Summa Aurea”, which is not, as it is sometimes described, a mere compendium of the “Books of Sentences” by Peter the Lombard.

Both in method and in content it shows a considerable amount of originality, although, like all the Summæ of the early thirteenth century, it is influenced by the manner and method of the Lombard. It discusses many problems neglected by the Lombard and passes over others. It is divided into four books: The One and True God (bk. 1); creation, angels, and man (bk. 2); Christ and the virtues (bk. 3); Sacraments and the four last things (bk. 4). The Summa aurea had extraordinary influence on contemporary authors, such as Alexander of Hales and Hugh of Saint–Cher, and on later scholastics, such as St. Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Bonaventure.

Price: $25,000.00