Lot 14: SELDEN, JOHN

[graece] Theanthropos: or God made Man. A Tract proving the Nativity of our Saviour to be on the 25. of December. London: Printed by J. G. for Nathaniel Brooks, 1661

8vo (6 3/8 x 4 in.; 162 x 102 mm). Engraved portrait and letter-press title ruled in red, head-piece of typographic ornaments, woodcut initial, 20-page catalogue of publications by Nathaniel Brooks at end; soiling in top margin, scattered dampstains. Contemporary speckled sheep, blind-ruled; sensitively rebacked with gold-stamped title label.

[With his:]
Table-Talk: Being the Discourses of ... or his Sense of various Matters of Weight and high Consequence; Relating especially to Religion and State. London: for Jacob Tonson, Awnsham & John Churchill, 1696

8vo (7 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.; 190 x 110 mm.); a few old pencil marks and scattered spotting. Antique blind-ruled calf; joints cracking.

LITERATURE

Grolier/Elliott 12 & 15; Wing S-2439 & S-2438

NOTE

First edition of Theanthropos and second edition of Table-Talk.

In the Theanthropos, Selden tries to prove the date of Christ's birth by examining the history of it's celebration and its relation to the winter-solstice festival of the ancients. Elliott remarks: "Naturally, Selden was no more successful than others in proving the unprovable ... And Selden recognized, with considerable accuracy, that the authority for keeping Christmas on this day stemmed from 'about 400 years after our Saviour.' All in all, as good an answer to the Puritans' objection to the date of Christmas as was possible" (Grolier/Elliott).

Table-Talk was compiled by his secretary Richard Milward, apparently before 1658, and first printed posthumously in 1689. The content was unacceptable to the restored monarchy which probably explains why it had not appeared before. The text had been widely circulated in manuscript form and it is apparent that later editors drew on these manuscript versions.

Elliott points out that "Here Selden no longer bothers to rebut the Puritans. Indeed, in a short passage (p. 30), he recognizes a relationship between his contemporary Christmas and old-time pagan festivals, as well as Christmas traditions..."