OPSOPAEUS (Johannes). Σιβυλλιακοὶ Χρησμοὶ hoc est Sibyllina oracula ex vett. codd. aucta, renovata, et notis illustrata a D.Johanne Opsopaeo Brettano. Cum interpretatione latina Sebastiani Castalionis et indice. [Followed by]: Oracula magica Zoroastris cum scholiis plethonis et Pselli nunc primum editi. [Et de]: Oracula metrica Iovis, Apollinis, Hecates, Serapidis et aliorum doerum ac vatum tam virorum quam feminarum... Item Astrampsychi Oneirocriticon à Ios. Scaligero digestum & castigatum. Paris: [Compagnie de la Grand-Navire], 1599. - 3 parts in one volume in-8, 183x125: (8 ff.), 524, 71 pp., (1f.); (1 f.), pp. 7-144; (1 f.), pp. VII-XXIIII, 114 pp., (3 ff.). Stiff parchment, smooth spine, red edges (18th century binding). Caillet, V, 8135. First edition of this collection providing a rigorous philological analysis of the Greek Sibylline prophecies, revealing their post-classical and apocryphal character. The collection is divided into 3 distinct books. - The first, dedicated to Jacques-Auguste de Thou, contains various texts on the Sibylline oracles, augmented, revised and enlightened by notes from the physician and scholar Johannes Opsopaeus (1556-1596). The book focuses on two questions: are the Sibylline Oracles really the work of the Sibyls? And if they are, should they be attributed to a single Sibyl or to several? Opsopaeus questions their authenticity, pointing out glaring anachronisms: how could a Sibyl, supposedly living before Moses, describe the Flood, Noah, or even the burning of the Temple of Vesta under Commodus? Some passages seem to have been written after the fact, such as those evoking Nero or the Roman emperors, suggesting Christian or pagan interpolations. The style of the oracles, obscure and disorderly, contrasts with the clarity of biblical prophecy, and their language, riddled with neologisms and fanciful etymologies, reinforces doubts. The author believes that most of the Sibylline Oracles are apocryphal, the fruit of late compilations or falsifications, although a few, such as those of the Erythrean Sibyl, may retain a measure of authenticity. He invites you to read them critically, while recognizing the complexity of disentangling the true from the false. The preface is followed by Italian historian Onofrio Panvinio's (1530-1568) book on Sibyls and Sibylline songs. The notes by Johannes Opsopaeus appear at the end, with separate pagination, and are supplemented by comments by the German dramatist Sixt Birck (1501-1554) and Jean Castellion. The texts are in their Greek version, accompanied by the Latin translation by Sébastien Castellion (1515-1563). This first book is illustrated with a handsome copper-engraved title by Karel Van Mallery (1571-1635?), and 12 beautiful unsigned copper engravings in the text, representing the 12 sibyls. - The second book features a Greco-Latin edition of Zoroaster's Magical Oracles, accompanied by commentaries by the Byzantine humanist and philosopher Georges Gémiste Pléthon (1355?-1452?) and the Byzantine writer and statesman Michaī́l Psellós (1018-1078), edited by Johannes Opsopoeus. - The last book is divided into two parts; the first contains the Metrical Oracles of Jupiter, Apollo, Hecate, Serapis and other deities, collected by Johannes Opsopoeus. It is followed by the Oneirocriticon, a manual of dream interpretation attributed to the ancient Persian magician-priest Astrampsychus (-03..?-02..?), organized and corrected by the humanist and philosopher Joseph-Juste Scaliger (1540-1609). The collection was printed by the "Compagnie de la Grand'Navire", a prestigious association of Parisian printers and booksellers formed in November 1582 to publish the works of the Fathers of the Church. Originally, it brought together major figures in the book trade: Jacques I Kerver, Nicolas I Chesneau, Michel I Sonnius, Sébastien Nivelle, as well as Jacques I and Baptiste Du Puis. When the Company was re-formed in February 1599 for a six-year term, it included Abel L'Angelier, Barthélemy Macé, Ambroise Drouart, Michel II, Laurent and Jean Sonnius. On the works it published, it often simply affixed its emblematic Navire mark. A good copy in antique binding. Some soiling to binding and scattered foxing, otherwise a very well preserved copy. Provenance: Masson d'Haymontal or d'Harmontal, with bookplate.