De gloria libri V … Eivsdem de nobilitate civili et christiana, libri V.…

Basel, Apud Petrum Pernam [i.e., Peter Perna], 1573.. 8°, contemporary limp vellum (small defects at head and foot of spine, and to upper outer corner of front cover, ties gone, text block about to become loose from the binding), fore-edge cover extensions. Woodcut initials. Some light dampstaining and very light toning. In very good condition. Old (contemporary?) ink inscription on recto of front free endleaf, repeated twice: "Ad usum Fr[atr]is Angeli Minicurij Carm." Old stamp in blue ink on title page ("C.G." inside circle, "M.D.I.P.D.R.D.I." around edge, i.e., Ministereo Dela Istruzione Publica Del Regno D'Italia, Commissione Governativa). (8 ll.), 511 pp. *** De Gloria was patterned on three works by Cicero, De gloria, De Republica, and De consolatione. A paraphrase of the Book of Job, it advocates resignation and patience as consolations for the ills of life. It was published in Florence, 1552, Alcalá, 1568 and 1572, and Bilbao, 1578, and appeared in several editions in Basel, London, and Cologne during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Several of these editions included the De nobilitate.The De nobilitate is an important work on political theory and social structure. The first work by this noted Portuguese humanist to be published in Portugal, it appeared originally in Lisbon, 1542, having been written when Osório was 30 years old and studying Hebrew and theology at Bologna. An English version by W. Blandie appeared in London, 1576; the Latin text was reprinted in Basel (together with the De gloria), 1571, 1573, 1576, and 1583. It also appeared in London, 1580, and Cologne 1595.Osório (1506-1580), the "Cicero of Portugal," studied philosophy in Paris, where he became friends with St. Ignatius of Loyola. (Osório later helped persuade D. João III to admit the Society of Jesus into Portugal.) Osório went to study in Bologna, but soon after De nobilitate civili appeared, D. João III invited him to take a professorship at Coimbra. He became tutor to D. Antonio, Prior of Crato, and served as archdeacon of the Cathedral of Évora (1560) and bishop of Silves (1564 until his death). His history of the reign of D. Manuel (1495-1521), written in Latin so that it might gain a wider audience (De rebus Emmanuelis Regis Lusitaniae, 1571), is a classic of Portuguese historiography, with significant information on Africa, India and Brazil. Osório's Portuguese style is known from a few remarkable letters, including one to D. Sebastião, advising him to marry. Osório's library was seized by Lord Essex at the capture of Faro in 1596, and was given to the recently founded Bodleian Library.*** Adams O372. British Museum, Pre-1601 German STC, p. 667. This edition not in Porbase, which lists earlier editions of Coimbra, 1549; Florence, 1552; Alcalá, 1568 and 1572; and Basel, 1572. KVK (51 databases searched): Universitätsbibliothek Eichstätt-Zentralbibliothek und Teilbibliotheken in Eichstätt; Studienbibliothek Dillingen; Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München; Staatliche Bibliothek Regensburg; Alte Bibliothek der Abtei Ottobeuren (and many others).