Volume 1
Critical Bibliography, Volume XXI Miscellany 1-8
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TOMUS XXI.
Miscellanea. De opusculis hoc tomo collectis visum est sigillatim agendum. 1. Philosophia pauperum, sive Isagoge in libros Aristotelis de physico auditu, de caelo et mundo, de generatione et corruptione, de Meteoris et de anima. Pr. Philosophia dividitur in tres partes, etc. Recenset Valleoletanus: Item scripsit parvam summam philosophiae quae incipit: Philosophia dividitur, etc. ut in editis. Eamdem censeo quae a Laurentio Pignon dicitur, Introductio in libros naturales.
EDITIONES ANTIQUAE.
Brixiae, 1493. Venetiis, 1496. Quae posterior ex fide Beughemii¹.
CODICES MS.
Paris. in Sorbon. cod. fol. mag. membr. cum aliis doctorum ejus aetatis Sigeri de Cortraco, Michaelis de Brabantia, F. Roberti Kylwardby, F. Thomae de Aquino, ligatum hoc titulo: Commentum Alberti parvum. Incipit compendium de negotio naturali Alberti. Philosophia dividitur, etc. eadem. Notandum autem in codice isto saeculi haud dubie XII post finem qui idem ac in editis, sic addi: Jam finem compendio nostro imposuisse cogitabamus, et negotii studio valedixisse: et ecce quidam sociorum meorum praedilectus affuit, conspectisque negotii titulis in processum colla surripuit in membranam, nec finem imponere permisit, quousque sibi satisfaceremus de quaestionibus, etc. quae scilicet ibidem sequuntur. Codex itaque novae editioni si aliquando suscipiatur, et emendandae et augendae erit utilissimus. Finis. Explicit compendium de negotio naturali Fratris Auberti. In Colbert. cod. 210 fol. memb. Idem titulus qui in Sorbon. 2. De apprehensione et apprehensionis modis. Qui tractatus per modum dialogi. Hujus non meminerunt Pignon et Valleoletanus: stylum Alberti non refert, mihique ejus non videtur, de quo tamen esto peritiorum judicium. Sub nomine Alberti Magni prodiisse dicunt seorsim Londini, 1515-8. Sic Caveus (Hist. Litt.). 3. De sacrificio Missae. Pr. Isa. CC. Dicit Dominus, Ecce ego declinabo super eam quasi fluvium pacis. Et 4. De sacramento Eucharistiae. Pr. Quia de sacramento altaris. Ipse auctor horum alterum promiserat in priori Tract. 3, cap. 12. De secundo sic Bernardus Guidonis: Circa finem vero dierum suorum librum de sacramento altaris edidit (Albertus) in quo simpliciter ostendit et simplicitatem fidei suae in Deum, et fervorem devotionis ad dominicae Incarnationis sacratissimum mysterium, et qua excellebat scientiam divinarum scripturarum. Utrumque laudant etiam Pignon et Valleoletanus.
VOLUME XXI.
Miscellany. Concerning the little works collected in this volume it has seemed good to treat one by one. 1. The Philosophy of the Poor, or Introduction to Aristotle's books On Physical Hearing, On Heaven and the World, On Generation and Corruption, On Meteors, and On the Soul. Beginning: Philosophy is divided into three parts, etc. Valladolid reviews it: Likewise he wrote a small summa of philosophy which begins: Philosophy is divided, etc., as in the printed editions. I judge it to be the same which by Laurence Pignon is called Introduction to the Natural Books.
ANCIENT EDITIONS.
Brescia, 1493. Venice, 1496. The latter on the authority of Beughem.¹
MANUSCRIPT CODICES.
Paris, in the Sorbonne, large folio parchment codex, bound with other works of doctors of his age, Siger of Courtrai, Michael of Brabant, Brother Robert Kilwardby, Brother Thomas of Aquino, under this title: Albert's small commentary. Here begins the compendium on the natural business of Albert. Philosophy is divided, etc., the same. But it is to be noted that in that codex, without doubt of the twelfth century, after the end, which is the same as in the printed editions, this is added: We were thinking that we had now put an end to our compendium and had said farewell to the study of the business; and behold, a certain beloved one of my companions was present and, having looked over the titles of the business, stole the necks into a process on parchment, and did not permit an end to be put until we satisfied him about the questions, etc., which namely follow there. Therefore the codex, if a new edition should sometime be undertaken, will be most useful both for correcting and for enlarging it. End. Here ends the compendium on the natural business of Brother Aubert. In Colbert codex 210, folio parchment, the same title as in the Sorbonne. 2. On Apprehension and the Modes of Apprehension. This treatise is in the manner of a dialogue. Pignon and Valladolid did not mention this; it does not report Albert's style, and it does not seem to me to be his, concerning which, nevertheless, let the judgment belong to the more skilled. They say it came forth separately under the name of Albert the Great at London, 1515 octavo. Thus Cave (Literary History). 3. On the Sacrifice of the Mass. Beginning: Isaiah 66. The Lord says, Behold, I shall bend over her as a river of peace. And 4. On the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Beginning: Because concerning the sacrament of the altar. The author himself had promised the latter of these in the former, treatise 3, chapter 12. Concerning the second Bernard Gui speaks thus: Around the end of his days Albert published the book On the Sacrament of the Altar, in which he simply showed both the simplicity of his faith in God and the fervor of devotion toward the most sacred mystery of the Lord's Incarnation, and the knowledge of divine Scriptures in which he excelled. Pignon and Valladolid also praise both.
CODICES MS.
Coloniae apud nostros utrumque servari testatur Petrus de Prussia. Apud Sanderum, P. II, p. 209 in valle S. Martini uterque recensetur: ac secundus rursus indicatur p. 72, in Traject. ad Rhenum. Paris. in Victor. cod. 42 fol. med. papyr. uterque habetur: et ad finem secundi adjicitur: Oratio ejusdem doctoris et episcopi de corpore Domini. Omnipotens, etc. Ibidem iterum secundus cod. 68 fol. papyr. scriptus anno MCCCCXXXVII.
EDITIONES VETERES.
Liber de officio Missae. Summa de corpore Christi. Sermones de sacrosancto Eucharistiae Sacramento. Moguntiae, Joan. Guldenschaff, 1477 fol. Haec uno volumine, quae editio Paris. in Sorbon². 5. Paradisus animae, sive de virtutibus libellus. Pr. Sunt quaedam vitia, quae frequenter virtutum speciem praetendunt, etc. 6. De adhaerendo Deo libellus. Pr. Cogitavi mihi aliquid ultimate, etc. Pignon et Valleoletanus laudent Alberti tractatum de perfectione vitae spiritualis. Forte idem sit cum illis duobus libellis hic editis, vel illorum alterutro: si autem non sit idem, certe non meminerunt, unde et a quibusdam eruditis an sint Alberti dubitatur.
EDITIONES ANTERIORES ET SPECIALES.
Primus prodiit hoc titulo: Tractatus Alberti Magni de virtutibus animae. Antverpiae, 1489 in-4. Quae editio extat in Bibl. Joh. Mori Catal. Anglic. T. II recensita. Tum Coloniae, Henrici Quentel. et Daventriae, 1498-4. Antverpiae, 1602-12. Romae in Barber. Secundus Argentorati, 1507-4. Quae editio Paris. in Sangenov. Anterior indicatur a Beughemio absque loco anni 1500. Antverpiae, Moreti, 1621 in-8, cum vita Alberti per Petrum de Prussia. Una ambo prodierunt Antverpiae, Plantini, 1581 in-16. Elegans est alia quae initio dicitur, nunc primum ad varia MS exemplaria emendata, in qua etiam Patrum sententiae ex ipsis auctoribus in longum producuntur. Ad calcem adjectus est, D. Anselmi Cantuar. episcopi tractatus perelegans de XIV animae ac corporis dotibus sive beatitudinibus, editus opera ac studio R. P. Henrici Sommalii, s. j. Antverpiae, Plantini, 1602-12, pp. 345.
MANUSCRIPT CODICES.
Peter of Prussia testifies that each is preserved at Cologne among our men. In Sanderus, part II, page 209 in the valley of St. Martin, each is reviewed; and the second is again indicated on page 72, at Utrecht on the Rhine. Paris, in Victor, codex 42, medium folio paper: each is held there; and at the end of the second is added: Prayer of the same doctor and bishop concerning the body of the Lord. Almighty, etc. In the same place again the second, codex 68, folio paper, written in the year 1437.
OLD EDITIONS.
Book on the Office of the Mass. Summa on the Body of Christ. Sermons on the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Mainz, John Guldenschaff, 1477, folio. These in one volume; this edition is at Paris in the Sorbonne.² 5. Paradise of the Soul, or little book On the Virtues. Beginning: There are certain vices which frequently put forward the appearance of virtues, etc. 6. Little book On Cleaving to God. Beginning: I have thought something ultimate for myself, etc. Pignon and Valladolid praise Albert's treatise On the Perfection of the Spiritual Life. Perhaps it is the same as those two little books published here, or as one or the other of them; but if it is not the same, certainly they did not mention it, whence also certain learned men doubt whether they are Albert's.
EARLIER AND SPECIAL EDITIONS.
The first came forth under this title: Treatise of Albert the Great on the virtues of the soul. Antwerp, 1489, quarto. This edition exists in the Library of John More, reviewed in the English catalogue, volume II. Then Cologne, Henry Quentel, and Deventer, 1498 quarto. Antwerp, 1602 duodecimo. Rome in the Barberini. The second, Strasbourg, 1507 quarto. This edition is at Paris in Saint-Genevieve. An earlier one is indicated by Beughem without place, year 1500. Antwerp, Moretus, 1621 octavo, with the life of Albert by Peter of Prussia. Both together came forth at Antwerp, Plantin, 1581, sextodecimo. There is another elegant edition which at the beginning is said now for the first time to have been corrected according to various manuscript exemplars, in which also the sentences of the Fathers are produced at length from the authors themselves. At the end was added a very elegant treatise of Lord Anselm, bishop of Canterbury, on the fourteen endowments or beatitudes of soul and body, published by the work and study of Reverend Father Henry Sommalius, S.J. Antwerp, Plantin, 1602 duodecimo, pages 345.
CODICES MS.
De virtutibus. Haberi in Bibl. D. Coëmans indicant Bibliopolae Lugdunenses in suo Operum Alberti catalogo. An idem cum edito? Apud Sanderum, P. I, p. 327, apud Lovanienses s. j. Alberti Magni Paradisus animae. Catal. Anglic. T. I, P. I, cod. 2625. Alberti Magni de adhaerendo Deo capita XVI. 7. De Alchymia libellus. Pr. Omnis sapientia a Domino Deo est. Laudant citati Pignon et Valleoletanus. At Petrus de Prussia in vita Alberti (cap. 16) contendit et pluribus probat ejus foetum non esse, imo hanc alchimiae artem in libro de mineralibus damnari et omnino elidi.
CODICES MS.
Catal. Anglic. T. I, P. I, cod. 1765. Excerpta ex Alberto de lapide philosophico. Et cod. 3902. Alchemia magistri Alberti episcopi. T. II, P. I, cod. 3659. Alberti Practica in Alchymiam. Et 7677, Semita recta alchymiae Alberti. Apud Tomasinum Bibl. Patav. p. 136 in Bibl. Jo. Rhodii, Alberti Theutonici semita recta, in-4, chart. Verum an idem opusculum his locis indicatum cum edito? Certe aliud est, quod hoc eodem titulo Parisiis in Colbertina servatur. Scilicet cod. 1639 fol. med. chart. Alberti Magni liber alkimiæ qui semita recta vocatur. Pr. Talentum mihi creditum negotiationis. Finis, fol. 12, nec vires ignis pertimescit. Explicit liber de semita recta Alberti Magni in secretis naturae operibus et alkimicis introducens. Ibid. cod. 4447 inter alia. Traité d'Albert le Grand de la concordance des philosophes en la pierre.
EDITIONES ANTERIORES.
De alchymia. Libellus prodiit Basileae, 1561, et Urcellis, 1602-8. Sic Caveus (Hist. litt.). Sed an idem opus quod prodiit in edit. Lugdun., an quod ex Colbert. Semita recta dicitur, mihi incompertum. Caeterum neutrum eruditi Alberto magno asserent, etsi alterutrum jam ante MCCCC ei adscriptum. Nimirum ea aetate quidem vigebant hujus artis studiosi, ne planos ac praestigiatores dicam, qui ut suis commentis et sycophantiis auctoritatem adderent, sub graviorum scriptorum nomine sua venditabant, adeo ut nedum Alberto Magno qui amplissima rerum physicarum experientia forsan occasionem dederit, sed et ipsi Thomae de Aquino ab his quam longissime abhorrenti similia supponere non dubitarint. 8. Opusculum in his miscellaneis T. XXI editum est, Scriptum super arborem Aristotelis. Pr. Haec est figura caeli. Nullus antiquus meminit, nullus operum Alberti index exhibet: itaque cum editores unde eruerint non doceant, mihi valde dubium est ne dicam supposititium, sed penes peritiores arbitrium esto. Praeter hactenus relata in editione Lugdunensi contenta prodiit nuper: B. Alberti magni episc. Ratisbon, tractatus incomparabilis de conditione creaturae rationalis, et quae illi sunt ad Deum, seipsam et alias creaturas cognoscendas necessaria. Sive Dialogi eruditissimi quibus accuratissime ostenditur, quo pacto homo a semetipso alienatus ad sui cognitionem mediante trium graduum scala ad seipsum introire queat. Nempe 1. consideratione ordinis rerum creatarum inter se. 2. Comparatione suiipsius ad caeteras res penes convenientiam et differentiam earumdem, etc. 3. et Ascensione ad seipsum et a seipso ad omnium conditorem Deum. Opus utilissimum lectuque dignissimum. Editio altera auctior. Ambergae, Franc. Cramti, 1705-12. Sex sunt dialogi: 1. De natura hominis. 2. De beneficiis Dei. 3. De amore ejus, viribus, conditionibus et fructibus. 4. De timore Dei. 5. De lapsu hominis. 6. De reparatione hominis lapsi, et quod per unum omnes consurgimus. Locutores: Raymundus doctor, Dominicus discipulus. Extat Paris. in Regia D. 2908-2. Facile vident omnes opus non esse Alberti Magni, sed Anonymi qui ex ejus scriptis profecerit. Gallice vero, Grâces privilégiées de la Vierge traduites en français par J. Martin, Lugdini, 1627-12. Extat Romae in Barber. Neque hic Alberti Magni.
MANUSCRIPT CODICES.
On the Virtues. The Lyons booksellers indicate in their catalogue of Albert's works that it is held in the Library of Dom Coëmans. Is it the same as the published one? In Sanderus, part I, page 327, among the Jesuits of Louvain: Paradise of the Soul of Albert the Great. English catalogue, volume I, part I, codex 2625: sixteen chapters of Albert the Great On Cleaving to God. 7. Little book On Alchemy. Beginning: All wisdom is from the Lord God. The cited Pignon and Valladolid praise it. But Peter of Prussia in the Life of Albert (chapter 16) contends and proves with many arguments that it is not his offspring; indeed that this art of alchemy is condemned and wholly destroyed in the book On Minerals.
MANUSCRIPT CODICES.
English catalogue, volume I, part I, codex 1765: Excerpts from Albert on the philosophers' stone. And codex 3902: Alchemy of master Albert the bishop. Volume II, part I, codex 3659: Albert's Practice in Alchemy. And 7677: Albert's Straight Path of alchemy. In Tomasini, Library of Padua, page 136, in the Library of John Rhodius: The straight path of Albert the Teuton, quarto, paper. But is the little work indicated in these places the same as the one published? Certainly another exists under this same title, which is preserved at Paris in the Colbert Library, namely codex 1639, medium folio paper: Albert the Great's book of alchemy which is called the Straight Path. Beginning: The talent of negotiation entrusted to me. End, folio 12: nor does it fear the powers of fire. Here ends the book On the Straight Path of Albert the Great, introducing one into the secret works of nature and alchemical works. In the same place, codex 4447, among other things: Treatise of Albert the Great on the concordance of philosophers concerning the stone.
EARLIER EDITIONS.
On Alchemy. The little book came forth at Basel, 1561, and Vercelli, 1602 octavo. Thus Cave (Literary History). But whether it is the same work which came forth in the Lyons edition, or the one which from the Colbert codex is called the Straight Path, is unknown to me. For the rest, learned men will assert neither for Albert the Great, although one or the other was already ascribed to him before 1400. Namely, in that age indeed there flourished devotees of this art, not to say cheats and deceivers, who, in order to add authority to their inventions and impostures, used to sell their own things under the name of weightier writers, so that they did not hesitate to attribute similar things not merely to Albert the Great, who perhaps gave occasion through his very ample experience of physical things, but even to Thomas of Aquino himself, who very greatly abhorred such matters. 8. The little work published in these miscellanies, volume XXI, is A Writing on the Tree of Aristotle. Beginning: This is the figure of heaven. No ancient writer mentions it, no index of Albert's works displays it; therefore, since the editors do not teach from where they dug it out, to me it is very doubtful, not to say supposititious, but let the decision be in the hands of the more skilled. Besides the things so far related and contained in the Lyons edition, there recently came forth: The incomparable treatise of Blessed Albert the Great, bishop of Ratisbon, on the condition of the rational creature, and the things necessary for it to know God, itself, and other creatures. Or, most learned dialogues in which it is shown most accurately by what way a man alienated from himself may enter into himself for knowledge of himself by means of a ladder of three steps. Namely: 1. by consideration of the order of created things among themselves; 2. by comparison of himself with other things according to the agreement and difference of the same, etc.; 3. and by ascent to himself and from himself to God, the founder of all. A most useful work and most worthy to be read. Second, enlarged edition. Amberg, Francis Cramti, 1705 duodecimo. There are six dialogues: 1. On the nature of man. 2. On the benefits of God. 3. On love of him, its powers, conditions, and fruits. 4. On the fear of God. 5. On the fall of man. 6. On the restoration of fallen man, and that through one we all rise again. Speakers: Raymond the doctor, Dominic the disciple. It exists at Paris in the Royal Library, D. 2908-2. Everyone easily sees that the work is not Albert the Great's, but by an Anonymous who profited from his writings. In French, however: Privileged Graces of the Virgin translated into French by J. Martin, Lyons, 1627 duodecimo. It exists at Rome in the Barberini. This too is not Albert the Great's.
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