MAIMONIDES (1138-1204). Dux seu director dubitantium aut perplexorum. [Paris:] Iodocus Badius Accensius, 1520

First edition in Latin of one of the most important philosophical texts of the Middle Ages, reconciling Judaism with Aristotelian thought—rare at auction. Maimonides was born in Almoravid Spain and, in addition to being a revered Rabbinical scholar, was a physician at the court of Saladin in Cairo. His Guide for the Perplexed, originally composed in Arabic, was a major influence on not only the Jewish world, but also both Islamic and Christian philosophy, including the works of Thomas Aquinas. It is an extraordinary witness to the intellectual multiculturalism of the Medieval world. Although not without its detractors, the text has been a classic ever since; it was quickly translated into Hebrew and Latin, and continues to be read today. The woodcut border in this edition is reused from Giovanni Ragazzo's illustrated Plutarch. According to RBH, the last copy to appear at auction was in the 1950s. Adams M-158; Renouard III, 84-85. See PMM 14 (first Hebrew edition).

Folio (304 x 188mm). Title within woodcut border, woodcut printer's device, woodcut initials (title and a few other leaves remargined at gutter, dampstaining at end, a few spots). 18th-century vellum (rebacked, joints repaired). Provenance: a few scattered marginal comments (trimmed) – Biblioteca del Convento dei Crociferi di Venezia (stamps).