Raymond of Sabunde

Raymond of Sabunde (also Ramon Sibiuda, Sabiende, Sabond, Sabonde, Sebon, or Sebeyde), was a Catalan scholar, teacher of medicine and philosophy and finally regius professor of theology at Toulouse. He was born at Barcelona, (at that time the major catalan city of the Crown of Aragon), towards the end of the 14th century and died in 1436.

His "Liber naturae sive creaturarum, etc" (or "Theologia Naturalis"), written 1434-1436, marks an important stage in the history of natural theology. It was first written in latin (but not in a strictly classical latin, since it contained plenty of catalan-influenced latin words). [Mariàngela Vilallonga, "Ramon Sibiuda" in "La literatura llatina a Catalunya al segle XV", pag. 208] . His followers composed a more classical latin version of the work. [Mariàngela Vilallonga, "Ramon Sibiuda" in "La literatura llatina a Catalunya al segle XV", pag. 208] . It was translated into French by Michel de Montaigne (Paris, 1569) and edited in Latin at various times (e.g. Deventer, 1487; Strasburg, 1496; Paris, 1509; Venice, 1581, etc.).

The book was directed against the position then generally held, that reason and faith, philosophy and theology were antithetical and irreconcilable. Raymond declares that the book of Nature and the Bible are both Divine revelations, the one general and immediate, the other specific and mediate. Montaigne ("Essays", bk. ii. ch. xii., "An Apologie of Raymond Sebond") tells how he translated the book into French and found " the conceits of the author to be excellent, the contexture of his work well followed, and his project full of pietie. . . . His drift is bold, and his scope adventurous, for he undertaketh by humane and naturall reasons, to establish and verifie all the articles of Christian religion against Atheists."

Editions

The "editio princeps" of the book, which found many imitators, is undated but probably belongs to 1484; there are many subsequent editions, one by J. F. von Seidel as late as 1852. In 1595 the "Prologus" was put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum for its declaration that the Bible is the only source of revealed truth.

References

Bibliography

*D. Beulet, "Un Inconnu celebre: recherches historiques et critiques sur Raymond de Sabunde" (Paris, 1875)
* Jean Henri Probst, "Le Lullisme de Raymond de Sebonde" (Toulouse, 1912)
*Mariàngela Vilallonga, "Ramon Sibiuda" in "La literatura llatina a Catalunya al segle XV". Ed. Curial-Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona 1993. ISBN 9788472569300
*Jaume Puig, "La filosofia de Ramon Sibiuda", Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Barcelona 1998. ISBN 978-84-7283-388-3