‎(SARPI, P. DIT) FRA PAOLO.‎
‎Discours Dogmatique et Politique, Sur l'origine, la nature, les prétendues immunités, et la véritable destination des Biens Ecclésiastiques. Ouvrage posthume de Fra-Paolo. Traduit de l'Italien (par F.M. de Marsy).‎

‎A Avignon, Chez Alexandre Girard, 1750. (6), 248 pp. 12mo. Contemporary half calf, marbled boards, spine gilt in compartments, label with gilt lettering, two corners very lightly bumped. Conlon 50:875; Catalogue de l'Histoire de France, v, p. 218. First French edition. Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623), Venetian statesman and historian. Sarpi was a member of the order of the Serviti, but was nevertheless very critical of the papacy and the church. He succeeded in defending the rights of the state against papal attack. In his Istoria dell'interdetto di Venezia (1624) he advocated a policy of rigorous jurisdiction over everything pertaining to the temporal interests of the church, anticipating in some respects the doctrine of the separation of the two powers. Sarpi ranks with Machiavelli and Guicciardini as one of the great historical writers of the sixteenth century.The current work is a learned historical exposition dealing with the possessions of the Church, how these were acquired and how they are used: Sarpti points to the fact that originally the gifts received by the church aimed at supporting the church and clergy and to provide aid for the poor: he denounces the misuses and corruption and the extreme wealth of the church. - Stamp of Edmond Vallée on first blank. ‎

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