48. Reginald Pole. De concilio (1562)

4° ; [8], 64 leaves; 215 x 154mm.


The first two books issued from the Aldine Press in Rome were De concilio and Reformatio Angliae (see no.49) by Reginald Pole, cardinal and archbishop of Canterbury. De concilio, written and delivered on the occasion of the convening of the Council of Trent, makes strong statements on secular interference in the actions of the council. The church leaders, expecting a conventional opening speech full of inoffensive piety, were shocked with Pole's remarks, in which he lambasted the church for its avarice, abuse of office, and "spiritual wickedness in high places."

Like his father, Aldus, Paulus made hand corrections to his printed texts, both while printing was in progress and after the sheets had gone through the press.

De concilio is bound with Pole's Reformatio Angliae (no. 49).



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