Beschreibung:

REUCHLIN, JOHANNES. De Arte Cabalistica libri tres. Hagenau: Thomas Anselm, March 1517. 84 leaves. Roman, Greek and Hebrew type, large woodcut of Reuchlin's arms on title. Folio, 284 x 200 mm., modern vellum over pastepaper boards, title and date hand-lettered in ink on spine; title-leaf soiled, softened and with adhesive stain affecting woodcut, wormtrack to fore-margins of first 3 leaves, several wormholes through text block of first 12 leaves, one to two small wormholes throughout, dampstain to most lower fore-corners, short marginal tear to fol. N6, effaced early signature on title. FIRST EDITION. Adams R-183; Caillet 9333; Benzing, Bibliographie der Schriften Johannes Reuchlin (1955), 99. The celebrated German humanist Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522) was inspired to study the Cabbala by his meeting with Pico della Mirandola in Florence in 1490, and began learning Hebrew in 1493. He dedicated De Arte Cabalistica to Pope Leo X, who had halted the legal proceedings begun by the Cologne Dominicans against Reuchlin for his opposition to the suppression of all Hebrew books. While Reuchlin "promoted the study of Greek and introduced neo-Latin comedy into Germany, it was his pioneering work in the study of Hebrew language and of the Cabbala that earned him his historical significance. He used his extensive travels to establish contact with other humanists and learned Jews and to acquire manuscripts and printed works for his library, which was one of the largest private book collections of his time..." (Bietenholz).