New Library Docent Prep

Aristotle’s Politiques, or Discourses of Government

1598 - first english edition
In this work, originally written in 350 B.C., Aristotle explores the purpose of political community, the nature of citizenship, the best forms of government, and the relationship between virtue and political life.

Cato’s Letters - John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon

1724 - 1st edition

These essays draw upon the English republican tradition arguing that liberty depends upon civic virtue, self-government, and resistance to arbitrary power. Cato’s Letters was especially influential during the American Revolutionary period; the Letters could be found in approximately half of the private libraries in the American colonies.

Two Treatises of Govt - John Locke

1694 - 2nd edition corrected

The first treatise attacks Sir Robert Filmer’s defense of the divine right of kings. The second argues that all men are naturally equal and that legitimate government rests upon the consent of the governed rather than hereditary claims to political authority.

The Spirit of Laws - Baron de Montesquieu

1752 - 1st edition

Montesquieu examines the principles that sustain different forms of government and argues that political liberty is best preserved through a constitutional system that separates political power. He also criticizes slavery and arbitrary rule.

Discourses Concerning Government - Algernon Sidney

1698 - first edition

Discourses was written in response to Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha. Sidney defends political equality and government by consent while rejecting the divine right of kings. He cites Cardinal Robert Bellarmine directly and favorably.

Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle

1488 - Manuscript

Written around 335 B.C., Aristotle argues that human happiness is achieved through a life of virtue in accordance with reason. He examines justice, practical wisdom, friendship, and the moral formation necessary for human flourishing.

Controversiae - St. Robert Bellarmine

1590-1593

Bellarmine’s Controversies addresses many of the central religious and political disputes of the Reformation era. In discussing political authority, he argues that while authority ultimately comes from God, God does not directly appoint particular rulers. Because no person possesses a natural right to rule all others, political communities possess a role in determining their form of government and selecting rulers who serve the common good.

Tully’s Offices in Three Books - Marcus Tullius Cicero

1680 - first english edition

Cicero’s De Officiis, written in 44 B.C., examines virtue, justice, moral obligation, and the responsibilities of citizens and statesmen. Its teachings profoundly influenced later Christian thought and political philosophy.

An Act of the Parliament of Great Britain Pertaining to the Stamp Act of 1765

1766 - first ediiton english

The Stamp Act of 1765 taxed most paper documents in the American colonies and was then repealed in 1766 due to protests in the colonies. This act on display cancelled any penalties incurred during the lifetime of the Stamp Act. It also validated the documents issued in violation of the Stamp Act.

The Massachusetts Government Act (One of the ‘Intolerable Acts’)

1774 - first edition

This act revokes the 1691 charter of William and Mary. It reduced authority from the Massachusetts colonial assembly while it gave the Crown and Parliament control over the mode of appointment, makeup of the council, and the manner of selection of judges.

Journals of the Pennsylvania Assembly Containing the Declaration of Independence

1777 - third edition

This is one of the first printings of the Declaration of Independence. It was printed by John Dunlap and is one of three known to exist in the world.

Common Sense - Thomas Paine

1776 - 6th edition

This 6th edition was printed in the same year as the 1st edition, which was anonymously published on January 10, 1776. Common Sense became the most widely circulated document at the time, going through twenty-five editions in its first year; one in six households owned a copy.

The Crisis: In Thirteen Numbers. Written During the Late War - Thomas Paine

1792 – 1st Edition Collected American

This work was written by Thomas Paine between December 23, 1776, and April 19, 1783. Paine proposes plans for the taxation and strengthening of the American Union.

The Constitution of the Pennsylvania Society, for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and the Relief of Free Negroes, Unlawfully Held in Bondage

1787 - 1st edition

Founded in Philadelphia in 1774, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society was the first of its kind in America and a model for anti-slavery groups nationwide. This charter marks the Society’s 1787 reorganization, which drew in Franklin and Rush to lend national stature. The Pennsylvania acts for the gradual abolition of slavery are included.

The Writings of Thomas Jefferson -

1829 - 1st edition

The work was edited by Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s eldest grandson and the executor of his estate. It is a collection of Thomas Jefferson’s works and reflections throughout his life.

A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America - John Adams

1788 - first edition boston

Drawing upon examples from ancient and modern history, Adams examines the strengths and weaknesses of different forms of government. Rejecting both absolute monarchy and simple democracy, he argues that liberty is best preserved through a balanced constitution that combines and moderates the powers of the one, the few, and the many.

The Federalist - Hamilton, Madison, and Jay

1788 - first edition

This collection of eighty-five essays was written under the pseudonym “Publius” to defend the proposed Constitution. The authors argue that Americans could establish good government through reflection and choice by creating a constitutional republic capable of governing effectively while securing the blessings of liberty. This edition was owned by a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Journal of the First Session of the Senate of the United States of America, begun and held at the City of New York, March 4th, 1789

1789 - first publication

The journal includes the seventeen amendments to the Constitution proposed by the House of Representatives that were rejected by the Senate, as well as the twelve amendments that were approved and sent to the states for ratification. This volume also contains President Washington’s first address to Congress, the first rules of the Senate, and debates about legislation. It is the first congressional record.

Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean - William Clark and Meriwether Lewis

1814 - first edition english

This is the official account of the Lewis and Clark expedition from their travels. They stopped in Atchison, Kansas, on July 4, 1804, and celebrated the first recorded Independence Day west of the Mississippi River.

Message from the President of the United States Documenting the Official Transfer of the Louisiana Territory - Thomas Jefferson

1804 - first edition

The United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France and Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. At a cost of $15 million, the acquisition added 828,000 square miles of territory, including lands that would later become part of fifteen U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

The Constitution of the United States

1788 - first edition connecticut printing

This 1st edition is one of five known copies. This is the first official printing of the Constitution of the United States between the Connecticut ratification and the Constitution becoming effective in the United States on March 4, 1789.

A Collection of Two Works Against the United States Constitution - Federal Farmer

1787-88

These collected letters argue that the proposed Constitution would weaken the sovereign states in favor of a consolidated government which would destroy American liberties.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

1846

This is considered one of the most influential works in literature and it helped fuel the abolitionist movement in the United States as it tells the life story of Frederick Douglass from slave to freeman. The volume sold 5,000 copies within four months of its publication and approximately 30,000 by 1860.

An Oration Delivered on the Battlefield of Gettysburg at the Consecration of the Cemetary, including Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address - Edward Everett and Abraham Lincoln

1863 - first edition

This is the first printing of the Gettysburg Address in book form. It is only preceded by the very rare pamphlet printing called “The Gettysburg Solemnities.” The document contains the 272-word speech Lincoln delivered on November 19, 1863.

Decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Case of Dred Scott vs. John F.A. Sandford

1857 - first edition

In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that persons of African descent could not be citizens of the United States and held that Congress lacked authority to restrict slavery in the territories. Through a controversial interpretation of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, the Court declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and intensified the sectional conflict over slavery.

Democracy in America - Alexis de Toqueville

1836 – 2nd Edition of Part I

This is the second edition of Part I, in two volumes, with the original fold-out map. The first part of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America appeared in 1835 (the second part followed in 1840); this is its 1836 reprinting. The work grew out of the 1831–1832 American tour that Tocqueville undertook with Gustave de Beaumont. Part I examines the institutions and mores that sustain American self-government such as the New England township, religion, civic associations, and the habits of the citizenry. It also warns of a distinctive democratic danger, the tyranny of the majority.

The Unconstitutionality of Slavery - Lysander Spooner

1856

In this work, Spooner argues that slavery violates natural law and lacks constitutional legitimacy. He contends that the Constitution’s text contains no legal recognition of property in persons.

The Leavenworth Constitution

Adopted by delegates in 1858 and printed in 1859

This proposed constitution for the state of Kansas prohibits slavery and grants civil and political rights to black men that were uncommon in the United States at the time. It was never adopted as the state’s constitution.

Summa Theologiae, Secunda Secundae - St. Thomas Aquinas

1472-1475 – Incunable

This portion of Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae, originally written in the thirteenth century, examines the virtues and vices that shape human conduct. It is organized around the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity) and the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance). It is one of the most influential works of moral, political, and theological thought in the Western tradition

Of the Citie of God: With the Learned Comments of Vives - St. Augustine of Hippo; translated by John Healey

1610 – 1st Edition English

This is translated by John Healey from the original Latin and includes the commentary of Juan Luis Vives. Written in the early fifth century A.D., City of God contrasts the city of God and the earthly city, two communities formed by different loves and ultimate ends.

The Idiot in Four Books - Nicholas of Cusa

1650 - first edition

Written in the fifteenth century, these four dialogues explore wisdom, human understanding, and the search for truth. The final dialogue considers how measurement and empirical observation can contribute to knowledge of the natural world.

Sentences and On the Contemplative Life - St. Isadore of Seville/ San Isidro de Sevilla

1400

This volume contains Isidore’s Sentences and On the Contemplative Life, both originally written in the early seventh century. These works draw together the wisdom of Scripture and the Church Fathers while reflecting on moral formation, pastoral leadership, and the contemplative life.

The Confessions of the Incomparable Doctour [St. Augustine of Hippo]

1620 – 1st Edition

Written between 397 and 400 A.D., Confessions recounts Augustine’s spiritual journey from youthful ambition and error to conversion and the Catholic faith. It remains one of the most influential works of Christian autobiography and reflection on truth, happiness, and the human soul.

Consolation of Philosophy - Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius

1400-1425 – Manuscript

Originally written in the sixth century, this dialogue between Boethius and Lady Philosophy explores fortune, happiness, virtue, justice, providence, and free will. Confronting the apparent prosperity of the wicked and suffering of the just, Boethius argues true happiness is found not in wealth, power, or fame, but in the pursuit of wisdom and virtue.

De miseria humanae conditionis (On the Misery of the Human Condition) - Pope Innocent III (Lotario dei Conti di Segni)

1250 – Manuscript

Written by Lotario dei Conti di Segni before his election as Pope Innocent III at the end of the twelfth century, this work reflects on the frailty and transience of human life. Its meditation on human weakness and mortality became one of the most widely read devotional works of the Middle Ages.

Biblia Pauperum, bound with Omer Talon, Rhetoricae Libri Duo - Pseudo-Bonaventure (attrib.); Omer Talon.

First text dated 1518; Talon’s Rhetorica later

This is a composite volume of two printed texts bound together. The first, traditionally titled Biblia Pauperum and ascribed to St. Bonaventure, is not the illustrated Paupers’ Bible but a text-only collection of scriptural exempla for preachers. Bound with it is the Rhetorica of Omer Talon (Audomarus Talaeus), a standard text on style and delivery.

The King James Bible “He” Version - Robert Barker

1611 – 1st Edition

There were two editions of the King James Bible printed in 1611, which are distinguished by a mistake printing of Ruth 3:15. The incorrect edition reads “he went into the city,” whereas the correct edition reads “she went into the city.” This edition includes the “he” version of the verse.

Liber Trium Virorum and Trium Spiritualium Virginum (Book of Three Men and Three Spiritual Virgins) St. Hildegard of Bingen; Hermas; Uguetin de Metz; Elizabeth of Schönau et al

1513 – 1st Edition

The volume contains a very rare first edition and first appearance in print of Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias Libri Tres, published in 1513. Scivias was prepared from manuscripts of the French humanist Jacques Lefevre d’Etaple, only eight of which survive today.

St. Bernard’s Opera Omnia - St. Bernard of Clairvaux

1667 – 1st Edition

This edition is a collection of the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the most influential spiritual and theological figures of the Middle Ages. Through sermons, letters, and theological treatises, Bernard shaped medieval monasticism and helped define the spiritual life of Western Christianity.