634J  Johannes Tauler (Thauler) 1300- 1361  edited by Laurentius Surius 

D. Ioannis Thauleri clarissimi ac illuminati theologi ordinis praedicat.  Sermones de tempore & de sanctis totius anni plane piissimi: reliquaque eius pietati ac devotioni maxime inservientia opera omnia, Laurentio Surio Carthusiano in Latinum sermonem translata.

Coloniæ & denuo Maceratae : Ex tipographya Iacobi Philippi Pannelli, 1697.    $2,500

Quarto 22 x 15 cm. Signatures: π⁴ +⁴ ++⁶ a-f⁴ A-Z⁴ Aa-Zz⁴ Aaa-Zzz⁴ Aaaa-Zzzz⁴ Aaaaa- Yyyyy⁴. This copy is bound in blind stamped pigskin over wooden boards, clasps and spine label. 

Tauler was:

 “one of the greatest German mystics and preachers of the Middle Ages, who understood the depth of thought of Meister Eckhart , the intimacy of Suso, the fire zeal of Berthold von Regensburg combined.” (Wetzer-Welte)

This Latin translation of Tauler’s authentic work is represented in this compilation by most of the sermons and some letters. According to the dedicatory epistle in the 1543 edition which is addressed to the author by Gérard Kalckbrenner, known as Gérard de Hamont, the translator Surius used, in addition to manuscripts, “the last edition of Cologne” (German edition of 1543, editing generally attributed to Saint Peter Canisius of Nijmegen  yet VD 16 assigns Petrus Fabri as editor of the German edition). Extracts from other authors (Johannes Eckhart, Eckhart le Jeune, Henri Suso, Jean Ruysbroeck, Henri de Louvain, etc.) are attached to Tauler’s work.

This collection contains, The sermons which are divided into two traditional themes, De Temper more than 100 Sermons and De Sanctis 39 Arguments Capitulorum institutionum 39 Chapters, followed by 30 Epistles on various spiritual subjects, Selects Tracts including extracts from other German mystics, 21 Chapters on charity (Cæcitas) Finally followed by An Index Locorum Sacræ Scripturæ.

Included in the Biography of Tauler is a Golden Alphabet, of 23 sentences expressing institutions by which Tauler lived his life.

Tauler’s surviving sermons seem to indicate that religious women were among his primary audience, although this might simply be due to the increased likelihood that those were the ones which were recorded. Sometimes known by the title Doctor Illuminatus et sublimis, his German-language sermons were neither as speculative as those of Meister Eckhart, nor as emotional as those of Henry Suso, but where very practical and sensitive to the difficulties of the spiritual life.