The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 1 (of 2)Putnam, George Haven
History
The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 1 (of 2)
Putnam, George Haven
Freedom of the press; Liberty of conscience; Prohibited books
Class I constitutes a large division in the Quiroga Index. The
compilers find deserving of condemnation the entire works of a number
of authors of whose writings only single books appear in the Tridentine
lists. It was probably less troublesome to put an author once for all
in the class of heretics than to incur the labour of examining all of
his productions.
In Class II, I may note the name of Theophrastus Paracelsus (1541)
connected with his _Libri tres Chirurgiae_. One of the three books
was permitted in the expurgated edition. In later Indexes, Paracelsus
is reproved because his writings contain so many magic and cabalistic
names which are hardly to be understood.
_8._ _1588._ _Naples._ _F. Gregorius Capucinus._ In 1588 was published
at Venice a handbook for confessors, prepared by F. Gregorius, a
Capucin monk. It bears the title: _Enchiridion Ecclesiasticum sive
Praeparatio pertinens ad Sacramentum Poenitentiae et Sacri Ordinis,
Editum a R. P. F. Gregorio Capucino Neapolitano uno ex Deputatis
Patribus pro Revisione Librorum in Civitate Neapolitana ... cum
Privilegio S. Fran. Inst. Regu. Fr. Min. Venetiis ... H. Polo
Typographo Venito imprimente_.
The volume possesses no official character, but is referred to by
Mendham[166] as important because of its references to forbidden and
expurgated books. Gregorius takes occasion to caution his readers
against the _Index expurgatorius_ of Quiroga as unsound, because
Quiroga fails to condemn the works of Molinaeus and Raymond Lullus, and
does not make sufficient excisions in the _Practica Papiensis_
of Petrus de Ferrariis. In the succeeding Spanish Indexes, we
find, as might be expected, a condemnation and prohibition of the
_Enchiridion_ of Gregorius.
This Naples Index is described as very scarce. A copy is, however,
contained in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
The catalogue or Index forming the second division of the work
begins on page 146 under the title of _Libri Corrigendi_. The
preface to the catalogue makes clear its connection with the general
subject of the work. It begins as follows: _Quomodo Confessor
potest cognoscere, si poenitens tenetur ad aliquot placatum, ob
lectionem librorum, qui sunt a Catholicis editi, sed sunt infecti
et prohibiti ob interpositionem haereticorum, qui se interposuerunt
indictis libris, et aliorum qui sunt adnotati et prohibiti in Indice
Romano vel Tridentino.... Hoc potest cognosci ex sequenti lista; sed
est quaedam adnotatio, sive memoria edita, A. M. R. D. D. Johanne
Franciso Lombardo_, etc. _Post longum studium contra libros
haereticorum._
Capucino adds, after presenting his list:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account