1690 MANUSCRIPT Breviarium Politicorum HAND WRITTEN Cardinal Mazarin VELLUM RARE
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Breviarium Politicorum secundum rubricas Mazarinicas
MANUSCRIPT
C1690
HAND WRITTEN, 108 leaves, approx. 216 written pages, Latin. VELLUM BINDING
The Entire Book Hand Written and in its Entirety.
Late 17t...h Century.
15.1cm x 11.6cm
SCARCE MANUSCRIPT FROM THE LATE 17TH CENTURY, COMPLETELY HAND WRITTEN IN LATIN, REPRODUCING Mazarin's FAMOUS WORKS, ALL PAGES PRESENT INCLUDING THE INDEX
Painstakingly written out in wonderful late 17th century hand, someone (unknown) has taken a very long time to rewrite this important and historical book, not long after it was published. The book is in its Entirety (including the index).
[Mazarin (Jules, Cardinal)] Manuscript, in Latin, reproducing the work ‘Breviarium Politicorum secundum rubricas Mazarinicas’, 108 leaves, including index, ownership annotations of Onor. Cavedoni to flyleaf and title, contemporary vellum over boards, late 17th century.*** Jules Mazarin, distinguished French diplomat and soldier, was successor to Cardinal Richelieu. He wrote this little political brief to satirize and oppose the policies of Louis XIV. The first edition was published in 1684
It remains uncertain if that celebrated book Breviarium politicorum secundum rubricas Mazarinicas (1684) really collects Mazarin’s political thoughts or is a libel invented to defame him: in whatever case, it certainly reflects the image of a man of politics in the 1600’s.
It is notable that in the chapter entitled “Reading and writing” it recommends that, if one needs to write in a public place, it is convenient to place upon a lectern several already written pages as if one intended to copy them out, letting them be visible and concealing under them the paper upon which one is really writing, guarded in such a way that no one who approaches you will be able to read it.
Resorting to ciphers is suggested, but in such a way that at first glance the message looks understandable and provides irrelevant information (the canonical reference is to Trithemius).
Not only must the message be translated in a secret writing, but this writing must also conceal its own secrecy, because a cipher that blatantly appears as such can arouse suspicion and encourage decipherment.
Thus on the one hand the mystic who writes about perfect and holy languages winks his eye at the politician who will use this language as his secret code; on the other hand the cryptographer sells to the politician a cipher (that is, an instrument of power and dominion) that for him, the Hermetic initiate, is also a key to supernatural truths.CONDITION: Vellum Binding, Marks to boards, inner spine shaken and a little loose (the vellum spine is coming away from pages) pages lightly toned.
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