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In French. 1791 'new edition' Raucourt (Charleville, France), 2 3/4 x 5 inches tall full leather bound, decorative gilt border to both boards, gilt decoration and lettering to spine, all page edges gilt, marbled endpapers with gilt dentelles framing the pastedown, xxviii, 514, [10] pp. Covers are rubbed and edgeworn. Front hinge is quite cracked and tender, with chipping along the bottom of the hinge, yet the binding is firm and the front board holds. Otherwise, apart from mostly very light foxing, a good to very good copy of this scarce edition of The Imitation of Christ, a devotional clasic written by Thomas a Kempis (circa 1380-1471). Though French Jesuit theologian, ascetical writer, and preacher Jerome de Gonnelieu (1640-1715) is listed on the title page, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France (BNF) in Paris indicates this translation is actually by Jean-Baptiste Cusson (1663-1772), with only the 'pratiques' (reflections or exercises) and prayers at the end of each chapter by Gonnelieu. Apart from the BNF copy, OCLC (Nos. 464016788, 561555882 and 820737690) lists only one other copy of this edition in France, at the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve in Paris, and two held by British Library institutions - St. Pancras in London and British National Bibliography in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Reference: Audenaert 847. Kempis first wrote the Imitation in Latin as four separate books completed between 1420 and 1427, at Mount Saint Agnes monastery, in the town of Windesheim, located in what is now the Netherlands. He wrote these works for the instruction of novices of his Augustinian monastic order, followers of Geert Groote's Brethren of the Common Life. But the writings quickly became popular among all the literate faithful. They were copied together in one manuscript as early as 1427, by Kempis, and copied (and later printed) together fairly consistently thereafter. There is probably no other book apart from the Bible which has been printed in so many editions and translations. ~KM3~. Seller Inventory # KM3-0741-1117
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