£1,150.00
A seventeenth-century French theological treatise by Jean-Baptiste Thiers arguing that ecclesiastical wealth carried a moral obligation to relieve poverty, reflecting early modern Christianity’s fusion of doctrine, charity, and social responsibility.
Single volume. Contemporary calf, red edges. Heavy external wear; internally generally clean; early inscriptions and later institutional markings.
Year: 1676
Edition: Third Edition
Publisher: Chez la veuve de Jean du Puis, Paris
A seventeenth-century French theological appeal addressing one of the central moral obligations of Christian society: the duty of the Church and its beneficiaries toward the poor. Jean-Baptiste Thiers, a respected Paris theologian, sets out a structured argument urging that ecclesiastical wealth must be used responsibly and charitably.
Books of this kind formed part of the working ethical framework of clergy, combining doctrine, pastoral instruction, and practical conscience. They illuminate how early modern communities understood poverty not merely as a social condition but as a theological test.
The present copy shows signs of real use across centuries, carrying ownership traces that testify to its long devotional and institutional life.
Seventeenth-century discussions of charity and ecclesiastical responsibility lie at the foundation of later debates on welfare, benefice, and moral economy. Works by Thiers were widely read and frequently cited. Survivals in original bindings provide tangible evidence of clerical readership and practice.
