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1771 MICHAEL SERVETUS / JOHN CALVIN. Rare Biography of the Heretic Burned at the Stake by Calvin.

1771 MICHAEL SERVETUS / JOHN CALVIN. Rare Biography of the Heretic Burned at the Stake by Calvin.

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An exceptionally scarce, early biography of Michael Servetus [1511-1553], the Spanish theologian and polymath who was convicted of heresy in France, fled to Geneva, and was there denounced by John Calvin and publicly burned at the stake. 

Servetus was a genuine polymath who achieved some reputation as a theologian, philosopher, physician, cartographer, astronomy, pharmacology, and more. He was the first person to accurately describe the pulmonary function of the heart [1553] and was a man of renowned learning. 

Calvin's role in the death of Servetus [and of Servetus' mental state] are still very much up for debate, and the present is one of the very earliest works on the subject. Scarce, with no copies available world-wide.

Chauffpie, Jaques George de. Jayes Yair [Trans.]. The Life of Servetus. London: Printed for the Author, and sold by R. Baldwin, at No. 47. in Pater-Noster-Row. 1771. 212pp.  

Original calf, some rubbing, but very attractive and sound; surface breaches at hinges. Text very clean and crisp. A very nicely preserved copy, an important addition to any John Calvin or Reformation collection, and nearly unobtainable. 

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