Budé, Guillaume (1468-1540).

first edition, folio (263 x 184mm.), ff. [6], 132, [2], illustration: woodcut printer's device on title-page, woodcut white-on-black criblé initials, binding: eighteenth-century calf, gilt fillet border, title-leaf laid down, joints cracked

Edward [?], early inscription in English on verso of last leaf

Renouard, Estienne p.41

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This difficult work, published when Budé was 64 years old, deals with the question of profane versus Christian letters. Published not long after "l'affaire des placards", it addresses the problems of the study of Greek when seen as an element in heresy; lutheranizare = graecizare. Budé seems to be advocating the cultivation in old age of Christian letters, although he does not give particular examples. This dichotomy was still present much later: Isaac Casaubon in his Ephemerides (Oxford, 1850), certainly gives a strong impression that he regards the time not spent on Holy Writ and the Fathers as wasted. Budé accuses the Franciscans and other mendicant orders of the desire to suppress Greek, viewing it as the source of all heresy, but he says the abandonment of the study of Greek would be the abandonment of all literature.