Description
CORAN. Alcorani textus universus. Patavii, ex typographia seminarii [i.e. Padua, from the seminary printing house], 1698. 2 volumes in-folio, (4 of which those on verso are blank)-45-(3 of which the last is blank)-(2 of which the second is blank)-46-(2)-81-(3)-94-(10 of which the last is blank)-127-(11) + (8)-17-(3)-836 [misfigured 1 to 441 and 444-838]-(12 of which the last is blank) pp., softbound, smooth spines with title and call number labels; binding a little worn with tear on second board, marginal wetness, small worm work on first ff. of vol. II and tear on last ff. of vol. II (contemporary binding). LARGE-PART ORIGINAL EDITION, the first complete, of Ludovico Marracci's Great Work. "THE FIRST EUROPEAN EXAMPLE OF A PROPERLY PHILOLOGICAL WORK ON THE TEXT OF THE QUR'AN" (Tristan Vigliano). The first, originally published in 1691 (Prodromus ad refutationem Alcorani, intermediate title of 1st vol.), is a vast introduction including a life of Mohammed and a general critique of the Islamic religion and Muslim mores, with an appendix of the Catholic profession of faith translated into Arabic. The second part, which appears here in its original edition (Refutatio Alcorani, general title of vol. II), comprises a complete Arabic edition and Latin translation of the Koran, with critical commentary in Latin. The edition of the Koran text in Arabic characters, here vocalized with diacritical marks, is the first complete Arabic edition to be truly distributed: the edition printed in Venice around 1537-1538 is only known in a single copy, and the edition given in Hamburg in 1694 was not a success (it was not accompanied by a translation). Ludovico Marracci later clarified that the Arabic text of his book had been the responsibility of the typesetter and was not exactly the version he himself had used, but the lesson is now considered to be very accurate. Ludovico Marracci's Latin translation, meanwhile, "is the most remarkable translation of the Koran produced at the beginning of the modern European era. No other translation of the Koranic text has achieved such philological accuracy, and no one has based his work on such a large collection of Islamic commentaries" (Federico Stella). It outclasses the Latin translations that preceded it, including that of Robert de Ketton, written in 1143 at the request of Cluny abbot Pierre le Vénérable in the early days of the Reconquista in Spain, and first printed in 1543 in Zurich. The two earlier vernacular translations are also scientifically modest works, the Italian one by Castrodardo (1547), and the French one by Du Ryer (1647). As for Ludovico Marracci's critical commentaries, while they draw on a few works by Jewish and pagan authors, they are distinguished above all by the then unprecedented recourse to a whole section of Islamic exegesis, notably the writings of Ibn Abī Zamanīn, al-Mahāllī and al-Suyūtī, al-Baydāwī, al-Zamahšarī and al-Ta(labī. Thus, "the Alcorani textus universus marks an important milestone for Christian and European orientalists of the following century. It was widely cited until at least the middle of the 19th century" (Federico Stella). FORTY YEARS OF WORK, BUT ALSO OF STRUGGLE AGAINST CENSORSHIP. Ludovico Marraci began his work on the Koran in the 1650s, and as he read more and more Arabic commentaries, he regularly revised his Latin translation. The question of editing and translating the Koran was in itself open to question in Europe and within the Church: Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667), for example, strongly opposed it, and it was not until the pontificate of Innocent XI (1676-1689) that tolerance was restored in this respect. However, although several cardinals, including Gregorio Barbarigo, supported Ludovico Marracci in his undertaking, various errors and misgivings within the Curia (notably the Holy Office) and the Propaganda fide printing house delayed the issuing of an imprimatur, which was initially restricted to the Prodromus (1691). The Latin translation with Arabic edition went to press in 1692 and was published in 1698, but in Padua and with the approval of only two members of the religious order to which Marracci belonged. ONE OF THE GREAT ORIENTALISTS OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY, LUDOVICO MARRACCI (1612-1700) was a native of Tuscany who joined the Order of Clerics Regular of the Mère de DIeu. He was
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CORAN. Alcorani textus universus. Patavii, ex typographia seminarii [i.e. Padua, from the seminary printing house], 1698. 2 volumes in-folio, (4 of which those on verso are blank)-45-(3 of which the last is blank)-(2 of which the second is blank)-46-(2)-81-(3)-94-(10 of which the last is blank)-127-(11) + (8)-17-(3)-836 [misfigured 1 to 441 and 444-838]-(12 of which the last is blank) pp., softbound, smooth spines with title and call number labels; binding a little worn with tear on second board, marginal wetness, small worm work on first ff. of vol. II and tear on last ff. of vol. II (contemporary binding). LARGE-PART ORIGINAL EDITION, the first complete, of Ludovico Marracci's Great Work. "THE FIRST EUROPEAN EXAMPLE OF A PROPERLY PHILOLOGICAL WORK ON THE TEXT OF THE QUR'AN" (Tristan Vigliano). The first, originally published in 1691 (Prodromus ad refutationem Alcorani, intermediate title of 1st vol.), is a vast introduction including a life of Mohammed and a general critique of the Islamic religion and Muslim mores, with an appendix of the Catholic profession of faith translated into Arabic. The second part, which appears here in its original edition (Refutatio Alcorani, general title of vol. II), comprises a complete Arabic edition and Latin translation of the Koran, with critical commentary in Latin. The edition of the Koran text in Arabic characters, here vocalized with diacritical marks, is the first complete Arabic edition to be truly distributed: the edition printed in Venice around 1537-1538 is only known in a single copy, and the edition given in Hamburg in 1694 was not a success (it was not accompanied by a translation). Ludovico Marracci later clarified that the Arabic text of his book had been the responsibility of the typesetter and was not exactly the version he himself had used, but the lesson is now considered to be very accurate. Ludovico Marracci's Latin translation, meanwhile, "is the most remarkable translation of the Koran produced at the beginning of the modern European era. No other translation of the Koranic text has achieved such philological accuracy, and no one has based his work on such a large collection of Islamic commentaries" (Federico Stella). It outclasses the Latin translations that preceded it, including that of Robert de Ketton, written in 1143 at the request of Cluny abbot Pierre le Vénérable in the early days of the Reconquista in Spain, and first printed in 1543 in Zurich. The two earlier vernacular translations are also scientifically modest works, the Italian one by Castrodardo (1547), and the French one by Du Ryer (1647). As for Ludovico Marracci's critical commentaries, while they draw on a few works by Jewish and pagan authors, they are distinguished above all by the then unprecedented recourse to a whole section of Islamic exegesis, notably the writings of Ibn Abī Zamanīn, al-Mahāllī and al-Suyūtī, al-Baydāwī, al-Zamahšarī and al-Ta(labī. Thus, "the Alcorani textus universus marks an important milestone for Christian and European orientalists of the following century. It was widely cited until at least the middle of the 19th century" (Federico Stella). FORTY YEARS OF WORK, BUT ALSO OF STRUGGLE AGAINST CENSORSHIP. Ludovico Marraci began his work on the Koran in the 1650s, and as he read more and more Arabic commentaries, he regularly revised his Latin translation. The question of editing and translating the Koran was in itself open to question in Europe and within the Church: Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667), for example, strongly opposed it, and it was not until the pontificate of Innocent XI (1676-1689) that tolerance was restored in this respect. However, although several cardinals, including Gregorio Barbarigo, supported Ludovico Marracci in his undertaking, various errors and misgivings within the Curia (notably the Holy Office) and the Propaganda fide printing house delayed the issuing of an imprimatur, which was initially restricted to the Prodromus (1691). The Latin translation with Arabic edition went to press in 1692 and was published in 1698, but in Padua and with the approval of only two members of the religious order to which Marracci belonged. ONE OF THE GREAT ORIENTALISTS OF THE SEVENTH CENTURY, LUDOVICO MARRACCI (1612-1700) was a native of Tuscany who joined the Order of Clerics Regular of the Mère de DIeu. He was
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