Epiphanius (Saint, Bishop of Constantia) Contra octaginta haereses Opus eximium, Basel, Joannes Hervagius, 1544; bound with [Opera]...Iano Cornaro medico physico interprete, Basel, ex officina Hervagiana, 1578, collation: *⁴ ?-?⁴ A-?⁴ A ?-??⁴ (*⁴ blank); a-z⁶ A-P⁶, [8], 544; [12], 430, [14] pp., first work in Greek, second in Latin, woodcut device to final leaf of first work, woodcut device to title of second work repeated on verso of final leaf, some minor marginal worming, contemporary blind-stamped pigskin with central panel showing David looking up towards God (upper cover) and Samson and the lion (lower cover), corners a little rubbed, folio, 320 x 210mm.

⁂ Editio princeps of the principal works of Epiphanius, the celebrated church father. Epiphanius devoted himself to the spread of monasticism and the confutation of heresy, of which he regarded Origen and his followers as the chief representatives. His main work was the Panarion or "Medicine Chest" i.e. a stock of remedies to offset the poisons of heresy. Epiphanius made use of ancient botany, medicine and zoology for the purposes of comparison. The Greek codex from which this was printed now survives only in a fragment, preserved in the University Library of Jena.

Provenance: old ink armorial stamp to title

Literature: Adams E250 and E256; Hoffmann II, p.26