Institutiones Philosophicae; De Daemonologia. Manuscript in Latin and Italian. Circa. late 18th Century 

Publisher: Self (1), 319pp. (1), [7pp. index], (2), [24]. Pages 310-319 blank. Latin and Italian. Very Good.

A handwritten philosophical manuscript, primarily in Latin, with a dedicated chapter on demonology and a concluding 24-page Italian treatise on atheism. It appears to be written in a single hand in iron gall ink and follows the structure of an 18th century philosophy course, opening with a preface citing Aristotle and Cicero before moving through the standard subjects you would find in a Catholic philosophical curriculum.

The bulk of the Latin text covers four major areas of scholastic philosophy. The Logic section works through the mechanics of thought and argument, covering perception, ideas, judgment, critical reasoning, the evaluation of testimony and sources, argumentation, the identification of sophisms, and both analytical and synthetic method. This is followed by a Specimen Ontologicum addressing the nature of being, substance, the finite and infinite, the necessary and contingent, principles and causes, and the nature of time and duration. Next comes a substantial Specimen Psychologicum covering the philosophy of the human soul, including its existence and origin, its spirituality and immortality, the relationship between soul and body, sensation, imagination, memory, intellect, reason, the affections, and the will and freedom. Following the De Daemonologia the manuscript continues with a Specimen Theologiae Naturalis addressing the existence of God, the divine essence and attributes, and a chapter specifically refuting errors opposed to natural theology, before closing with a Specimen Ethicae covering human duties toward God, toward oneself, and toward others.

The De Daemonologia section, beginning on page 202, is where things get especially interesting. The author treats demonology as a serious philosophical and theological subject, tracing the concept of the daemon from its Greek origins through Hebrew and Christian tradition and engaging the long-running debate over whether reported supernatural phenomena represent genuine spiritual activity or can be explained through natural causes. On page 205 the manuscript names Vanini (Italian philosopher burned for atheism, 1619), Hobbes (English philosopher who denied incorporeal spirits), and Bekker (Dutch minister who questioned the physical reality of demonic activity) as writers who attempted to explain such phenomena through natural means. Page 210 covers the Italian folkloric tradition of the folletti, mischievous household spirits associated with poltergeist-like disturbances, and page 206 includes direct quotations from Bernard of Clairvaux (12th century mystic and Church Father) and Jerome (4th century Church Father and biblical scholar). The section closes on page 212 with a citation of a 1765 disputation by Father Athanasius Cavalli, identified in the text itself as a Carmelite.

The volume concludes with the Trattato sull’Ateismo ("Treatise on Atheism"), a 24-page Italian language polemic structured in two parts. The first addresses the unhappiness and moral poverty of the atheist life, arguing that without God and the immortality of the soul, human existence is reduced to emptiness and despair. The second examines atheism as a danger to society, making the case that no stable social order can exist without religion as its foundation. Throughout both sections the author engages directly and by name with the major Enlightenment skeptics of the period, including Voltaire (French satirist and critic of religion, whose 1778 death is referenced directly), Rousseau (Swiss-French philosopher), Hume (Scottish skeptic philosopher), Bayle (French skeptic, author of the Historical and Critical Dictionary), Bolingbroke (English deist philosopher), Spinoza (Dutch rationalist philosopher), Shaftesbury (English moral philosopher), d'Holbach (French materialist, author of the System of Nature), d'Alembert (French mathematician and Encyclopedist), and Montesquieu (French political philosopher, author of the Spirit of the Laws). A reference to an Incident at Liege dating to approximately 1789 suggests this section was written shortly after that date.

The manuscript is written on handmade laid rag paper carrying the countermark A. M. POLLERA beneath a heraldic watermark of a crowned shield with an eagle in the upper field and a horse passant in the lower field, identified as the mark of Italian papermaker Antonio Maria Pollera, active in the later 18th century. Internal references to 1765, 1778, and approximately 1789, combined with the Pollera paper, suggest it was likely written in the late 18th or very early 19th century.

Bound in vellum with marbled covers over the vellum giving it the appearance of a 3/4 vellum binding, with a manuscript title to the spine.

Binding shows shelf wear, a slight splay, bumped corners, fading to the manuscript title on the spine, and wear to the edges. Interior is in very good condition with minor foxing in places, with some occasional ink stains, minor chipping to some page edges, and small tears to the margins in a few places.