Quatuor Evangeliorum consonantia, ab Ammonio Alexandrino congesta, ac a Victore Capuano episcopo translata (A Harmony of the Gospels, Compiled by Ammonius Alexandrinus and Translated by Bishop Victor of Capua)
Mainz: Johann Schöffer, 1524. First edition. Hardcover. Octavo. [pi]8, A-X8 (= 176 leaves). [16], 300, [36, Ammonian Canons] pp. Title within historiated woodcut border; last page with large pictorial printer’s device; printed side notes. Later full polished calf (light wear at extremities), spine with raised bands, tooled in gilt, morocco lettering pieces (upper piece partially perished); dentelles. Marbled endleaves; edges stained red. Outer leaves a bit dust-soiled; occasional touches of light foxing. A very good, complete copy.
Very scarce editio princeps (first printed edition) of this Gospel harmony edited by Victor of Capua, which makes its first appearance, in lieu of the four canonical Gospels, in the 6th-century Codex Fuldensis. Prepared under Victor’s direction, the Codex Fuldensis comprises one of the most important witnesses to Jerome’s original Vulgate translation. In Victor's introduction, he expresses uncertainty about the editor of this harmony, but ultimately follows the opinions of Jerome and Eusebius in attributing the work to the third-century grammarian and biblical exegete, Ammonius Alexandrinus. The Canons which appear at the end of the present edition first appeared in Eusebius and are usually attributed to Ammonius.
Modern scholarship, however, attributes the ultimate source of Victor’s Gospel harmony to the second-century Mesopotamian grammarian, Tatian, who is believed to have produced the earliest attempt at such a compilation (perhaps in Syriac), known as the Diatessaron. Tatian called himself an Assyrian, probably from Adiabene, "a land which played an important role in the dissemination of the Christian faith beyond the Tigris" (Voobus). He traveled to Rome where he converted to the Christian faith sometime between 150 and 165 and became a pupil of Justin Martyr. To produce his harmony of the Gospels, Tatian took sections out of each Gospel and combined them into a more or less chronological whole. The parallel pericopes he melted together, conjoining phrases and words in one Gospel with those preserved in another. "This filigree-work produced a monument, which is not a synopsis in the modern sense, but a sort of Life of Jesus in running narrative. Thus Tatian's purpose was to give a Gospel which contains the substance of the Gospels. In Syriac speaking areas this Harmony was called the Evangelion da-Mehallete (The Gospel of the Mixed); in the West it was known as the Diatesseron” (Voobus). In some areas of Christendom the Diatesseron quickly became the standard Gospel text, a position it would hold for centuries, and in Syria as late as the fifth century.
"The entire text can be reconstructed from extant translations in Arabic, Latin, and Middle Low Franconian. Moreover, between 360 and 370, Ephrem Syrus composed a commentary to the Diatessaron, of which we possess, not the original Syriac text, but an Armenian version from the sixth century" (Quasten). Petersen notes the work is of primary scholarly importance for a wide variety of reasons: As one of the oldest extant witnesses to the Gospels, it is a premier source for recovering the most ancient text of the Gospels. As the putative earliest Gospel in Latin, Syriac, and Armenian, knowledge of the Diatesseron is a prerequisite for investigating the genesis of the Versions. Because the Diatesseron contains certain extra-canonical traditions also cited by other early Christian writers (e.g.: Justin, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Jerome, and Epiphanius) and attributed by them to Judaic-Christian Gospels, the Diatesseron is one of the primary sources for recovering material from these elusive Gospels. Because of its long transmission-history, wide popularity, and broad dissemination, the Diatesseron is an important historical source for reconstructing the beliefs and practices of both the primitive Christian communities which created it, and the later communities which preserved, used, and transmitted it.
This Mainz edition was reprinted in Cologne in 1532. The printer, Johann Schöffer, was the son of Peter Schöffer who was the principal workman of Johannes Gutenberg. In 1457 Peter Schöffer and Fust formed a new printing office when Gutenberg's venture collapsed. His son Johann was born out of his marriage with Fust's only daughter Christina.
Provenance: A small stamp of an Antwerp priest appears at the first blank end leaf. Very good. Item #53133
References: Adams A-984 (incorrectly noting 1518; correct date verified via Cambridge database); VD16 B 4631. Petersen, W. L., Tatian's Diatessaron: Its Creation, Dissemination, Significance and History in Scholarship (Brill, 1994); J. Quasten, Patrology (Spectrum/Newman Press, 1950), vol. 1; A. Voobus, Early Versions of the New Testament, Manuscript Studies (Stockholm, 1954).
Price: $7,500.00