AQUINAS, Thomas., Tomus Quintusdecimus. D. Thomae Aquinatis doctoris angelici in Matthaeum, Marcum, Lucam, et Ioannem. Catenam auream complectens, Ex sententiis Sanctorum Patrum, miro artificio connexam, quorum Catalogum & Chronologiam, versa pagina ostendit., Apud haeredes Antonij Bladij, & Ioannem Osmarinum Liliorum socios, 1570

Folio, contemporary full leather with vellum corners to boards and gilt ornamentation to spine, ff. 275, with large wood-engraved colophon with portrait of Aquinas to title page. Binding cracked and worn, gilt mostly worn away, loss of leather to upper two compartments of spine with complete loss of label, slight loss to lower parts of spine, some worm damage to binding and outer pages, foxing throughout volume; otherwise good and complete. Very rare edition of the fifteenth book of the ‘Opera Omnia’ of St. Thomas Aquinas printed between 1570 and 1571 by Antonio Blado and Giovanni Gigliotti in Rome. The Aurea Catena, originally commissioned by Pope Urban IV (c. 1195-1264) so that the patristic commentaries of the Gospels were available to anyone able to read Latin. One of his most celebrated works, the text contains Aquinas’s translation, redaction and explanation of the commentaries on the four gospels by the early church fathers. These included those who wrote originally in Latin and those who wrote in Greek, such as Dionysius the Areopagite, Eusebius, Basilius, Gregory the Great, Bede, Augustine of Hippo, Ambrose and many others. Text in Latin.