De spectris, lemuribus et magnis atque insolitis fragoribus, variisque praesagitionibus, quae plerunque obitum hominum, magnas clades, mutationesque imperiorum praecedunt. Liber unus

Lavater, Ludwig

Genevae : apud Eustathium Vignon, 1580

[16], 213 pp., Lacks final blank. Octavo 15.2 x 9.8 cm. Later quarter leather over painted boards, modern red leather spine label. Restoration to spine and corners, rehinged. Toning and foxing, early underscoring, old inscriptions on front endpaper and title, white stains in lower margin of pages 96-97.

"As a Protestant, Lavater rejected the idea of Purgatory. as an outdated Catholic concept. This greatly complicated the idea of 'ghosts', often thought to be visitations by human souls that were not at rest, such as those who died unbaptized or in tragic or violent circumstances. Without Purgatory, ghosts could only be visitations from Heaven or Hell. Lavater felt they were more likely to have come from Hell, and this meant that many ghosts were demonic and their requests dangerous: they could be trying to lure humans into damnation, for example by persuading them to commit murder or suicide" (British Library)."

This work on ghosts is one of the earliest works on psychic experiences, illusions, hallucinations, and delusions. The English translation, London, 1572, probably gave Shakespeare some pointers on the behaviour of the ghost in Hamlet"--Garrison-Morton 4916.2 (1570 original edition). GLN-2812 (this edition). Caillet 6237 ("curieux et rare"). Dorbon-Aine 2509 (first edition). Graesse, pp. 81, 134. Rosenthal 1885. Thorndike VI, pp. 530-32.