The Path to Perdition: A Warning Against Papal Deceit : Advis et devis de la source de l'idolatrie et tyrannie papale: par quelle practique et finesse les papes sont en si hault degre montez, suivis des difformes reformez, de l'advis et devis de menconge et des faulx miracles du temps present. By Francois Bonivard. Published by Jules Guillaume Fick, Geneva, 1856. Text in French throughout.

THE WIDE GATE TO PERDITION: BONIVARD'S REBUKE OF PAPAL CRAFT AND FALSE REFORM

Published by Jules Guillaume Fick, Geneva, 1856

About this Item

This rare 1856 edition resurrects a fiery Reformation tract by Franois Bonivard, the former Prior of St. Victor in Geneva and a vocal critic of papal authority. Originally penned in the 16th century, Bonivard's Advis et Devis is a sweeping denunciation of papal idolatry, tyranny, and political cunning, tracing the rise of the papacy through pratique et finesse, craft and manipulation. The title alone is a manifesto: a condemnation not only of Rome's spiritual claims but of its worldly ascent, bolstered by false miracles, distorted reformers, and the machinery of deception. The 1856 printing by Jules Guillaume Fick, a Genevan publisher active in theological and polemical works, is notable for its typographic austerity and symbolic frontispiece, a woodcut archway labeled la porte large & le chemin spacieux qui mene a perdition (the wide gate and spacious path that leads to perdition). This visual metaphor sets the tone for the text's moral urgency and rhetorical force. Though the book is printed in French, its spirit is unmistakably Calvinist, echoing Geneva's role as a bastion of Protestant reform and intellectual dissent. Bonivard's work is more than theological invective, it's a window into the political theology of the Reformation, where spiritual critique was inseparable from civic resistance. His attacks on les difformes reformateurs (distorted reformers) suggest a layered critique not just of Rome, but of those who claimed reform while perpetuating corruption. The 1856 edition likely served both archival and agitational purposes, reasserting Protestant identity in a century grappling with religious revivalism, ultramontanism, and the legacy of Enlightenment skepticism. For collectors, this volume sits at the intersection of Reformation polemic, Genevan print culture, and 19th-century religious historiography. Its vellum binding, untrimmed edges, and stark layout reinforce its status as a deliberate revival, a book meant to be read, debated, and remembered. Bound in full vellum, yapped edges. Ties now absent. Edges untrimmed. Binding dusty and marked, but very firm and sound. Contents very clean and firm. Size: 14.5 x 22 cms. Category: Antiquarian & Rare; Special Interest. This item may require more postage than the rates shown for delivery outside the UK. If extra postage is required we will contact you before processing your order and you will be given the details and option to decline the extra cost. Cosmo Books : 29 years on ABE, 47 years taking care of customers. A bookseller you can rely on.

Seller Inventory # 373747

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Path to Perdition: A Warning Against Papal Deceit : Advis et devis de la source de l'idolatrie et tyrannie papale: par quelle practique et finesse les papes sont en si hault degre montez, suivis des difformes reformez, de l'advis et devis de menconge et des faulx miracles du temps present. By Francois Bonivard. Published by Jules Guillaume Fick, Geneva, 1856. Text in French throughout.
• Publisher: Jules Guillaume Fick, Geneva
• Publication Date: 1856
• Binding: Full Vellum
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Antiquarian & Rare