The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 2 (of 2)Putnam, George Haven
History
The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 2 (of 2)
Putnam, George Haven
Freedom of the press; Liberty of conscience; Prohibited books
=4. Jewish Literature.=--In 1703, prohibitions were issued
covering a series of rabbinical writings, selected, as Reusch points
out, with hardly any apparent policy or plan from a great mass of
literature of the same kind. The compilers had utilised in making
up their titles the _bibliotheca rabbinica_ of Bartolocci and
Imbonati, which had been published between the years 1675–1694. In
1755–1766, was printed a supplementary Index with additional titles
of the same character. A further list, printed separately, covered
certain rabbinical writings which had been printed in Latin and in
Spanish versions. In 1776, was prohibited a treatise by the Italian
monk Vincenti, which was strongly anti-Semitic, and a little later a
response to this treatise also secured condemnation.
=5. Historical Writings of the 17th Century.=--The list of historical
writings prohibited during the 17th century is very considerable but,
as has been indicated for the lists of other groups of literature, is
by no means comprehensive nor does it give evidence of any consistent
scholarly selection. The prohibitions are by no means confined to works
by Protestants. A number of Catholic historians succeeded in getting
into their texts phrases or statements that aroused opposition. In the
Index of Alexander VII, are given in the class of history only works in
Latin; the later Indexes include a series of French and Italian titles
and two English works, but nothing from the German writers. Reusch
points out that during the 17th and 18th centuries there were produced
in Italy no works deserving of preservation having to do with general
history. A translation of the _History of the World_ by Dupin and an
Italian version of a condensed history published in London were both
prohibited. The larger number of the titles comprise monographs on the
various issues that arose in Italy and throughout Europe between the
ecclesiastical and the civil authorities. Among the historical names
to be noted is that of de Thou, whose History of his Own Times was
prohibited in 1609. In 1610, in connection with certain applications
made to the authorities, the prohibition was modified to an instruction
for an expurgation of the work, but no expurgated edition ever came
into print. The work continued in circulation not only in France and
other European States but in Venice. The _Histoire du Gouvernement
de Venise_, by Houssaye, was prohibited in 1667. The miscellaneous
works of Francis Osborne, published in 1673, secured the honour of a
prohibition in the list of Benedict in 1757. Johnson is quoted as
saying of Osborne: “A conceited fellow; were a man to write so now, the
boys would throw stones at him.” The Italian historian, Pietro della
Valle, on returning in 1626 from a series of journeys, had a favourable
reception from Urban VIII, and his account of Persia, printed in Venice
in 1628, was issued with a license and with a special privilege. It
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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