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
A document, peculiar to this Index, is entitled _Observatio_. The
first comment is upon the fourth rule and denies that by this rule
any power is given to bishops, etc., to grant licenses to buy, read,
or retain Bibles, or any parts or summaries of the Scriptures, in
the vulgar language. This Observation is continued in the succeeding
papal Indexes up to that of Benedict XIV in 1756. In the later edition
of the Index of Benedict, which appeared in 1758, the instruction or
interpretation given by the Observation is naturally modified. The
third division of the Observation revokes the partial toleration of the
Talmudic and Cabalistic books, and the fourth forbids the circulation
in any other than the original language of the Hebrew ritual called
_Magazor_. The sixth enjoins in the matter of the prohibition of
books, that the names of the works condemned should be delivered to
the bishops and inquisitors and that license to read them should be
obtained for the same. The correction of books is to be committed to
learned and pious men and the circulation of the work where expurgated
and amended to the satisfaction of the examiners is permitted. The
correctors are to search for all utterances anti-Catholic or adverse to
the Church or in praise of heretics, as well as for such as are immoral
or as may be injurious to individuals. Catholic books issued after the
year 1515 are, if objectionable, to be corrected, but the works of the
ancients are to be corrected only in case errors have been introduced
by the fraud of heretics, etc.
The instruction in regard to the impression of books is as follows: The
work to be printed must first be shown to the bishop or inquisitor and
approved by either of them; when printed, the text must be compared
with the manuscript and verified as correct before permission can be
given for sale. Printers must be orthodox men and must bind themselves
by oath to deal faithfully and catholicly, and the more learned and
eminent of them must profess the creed of Pius IV. A work that has been
expurgated by the examiners must express that fact on its title-page.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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