‎ROVENIUS Philippus‎
‎Reipublicae christianae libri duo, tractantes de variis Hominum statibus, gradibus, officiis & functionibus in Ecclesia Christi, & quae in singuils amplectanda, qu[a]e fugienda sint [..] Accessit ejusdem autoris Tractatis de missionibus instituendis‎

‎Antwerpiae [Antwerpen], Apud Arnoldum à Brakel 1668 [i.e. 1648] [48] + 587 + [62] (= i.e. 52) pp., original and only edition (1648), the title page mentions 1668 though this is a misprint corrected by a contemporary handwritten note (most probably by the author Rovenius himself: see here below), title in red and black, contemporary full vellum, 23cm., text clean and bright, good condition, rare, [Philippus Rovenius 1574-1651, catholic priest and archbishop of Philippi (1620), who played an important role in the propagation of Roman Catholic faith in the 17th cy. Dutch protestant Republic, donated this present copy to Cornelis Cats in Haarlem. Cats (Catzius), Gorcum 1613 - 3 January 1671, was appointed in 1645 by Rovenius as one of the four chaplains of the Saint Bavo Church in Haarlem, and in 1654 Cats became pastor of the Beguinage in Haarlem. The following dedication (most probably by Rovenius himself) is handwritten on the French title page: "Admodum R[everend]o D[omi]no ac M[a]g[ist]ro Cornelio Catzio pastori Beginagii Harlemensis Author dono dedit" meaning that this copy was donated personally by Rovenius to Cats. This copy belonged to the collection of p. Gerlach O.F.M.Cap., a well-known 20th cy. Dutch scholar, who wrote a short comment on this copy on the French title page, mentioning a.o. that the author himself corrected the date of publication (1648 instead of 1668). The "Reipublicae christianae" is considered to be the most important work by Rovenius, in which he develops a theory on the social position of men "or a doctrine of religious and social duties establishing a complete christian moral". The first book deals with rules for all kinds of religious persons (priests, monks, clerics, etc.) and the second book concerns the rules for layman. The last part of this book (52 pages) is a third edition of Rovenius' treatise "Tractatus de missionibus" which was first published in 1625. Ref.: NNBW VII col.285, Visser's Rovenius und seine Werke, etc.], R95564‎

Reference : R95564

‎‎