Satanisme

1860 · 7975 — New York Boston: D. & J. Sadlier & Co 1860. First American Edition. 8vo 3 324pp. Frontis plate illustration and a few vignette chapter headings. Publisher's brown diaper grain cloth vignette illustration and ruling stamped in blind on covers and spine. Mild foxing throughout more pronounced at prelims else clean and sound internally. Spine ends worn away corners frayed damp staining to front board. Very good. <br /> <br /> First American edition of the first work from 19th century French priest Abbé Boullan 1824-1893 who was later laicized by by the church and accused of being a Satanist due to extreme and controversial pious acts rituals and writings. This book a translation of Marie d'Agreda's Divine Life of the Holy Virgin from her Mystical City of God shows Boullan's roots in spiritualism and Christian Mysticism.<br /> <br /> Boullan began his holy work in Rome in the Missionnaires du Précieux Sang Missionaries of the Precious Blood who believed in their role as cleansers of people’s sins through violent self-flagellation. After his return to France in 1851 he began studying the mystics and produced this translation which immediately caused a controversy within the church due to its positive description of mysticism as it related to occult practice and Spiritualism. He would go on to further validate his stance and bring the ire of the church through various means such as: the clerical verification of supernatural miracles; the writing on and practice of soul repair; exorcisms involving spitting into mouths drinking urine wearing poultices made of feces; and a vision proclaiming his nomination as John the Baptist Elijah's successor. Then things got really weird.<br /> <br /> Boullan created a compound in Lyon where he and his followers could practice these kinds of rituals in peace. His main teachings included Kabbalistic interpretations of prophetic verse which involved naked bodily contact in groups sexual intercourse both with Boullan as a sacrament and with other initiates the blood of mice on communion wafers and it was even rumored sacrifice. Boullan decried these rumors and defended his status as a pious Christian until his death but his reputation had been created and forever solidified by the fervent occult circles in France at the time.<br /> <br /> This copy states First American Edition on the title page with a date of 1860 and with 1859 on the copyright page. We note an edition with only the copyright date of 1859 and an entirely different title page also published by Sadlier. Both editions are scarce and OCLC cites a single holding for the 1860 edition. <br /> <br /> . D. & J. Sadlier & Co unknown