Biblia Sacra Vulgatae (1662)
By Régis Wando SAGNA
| Title | Biblia Sacra Vulgatae Editionis |
| Printer | Antoine Vitré (Regis & Cleri Gallicani Typographus) |
| Date | 1662 (M. DC. LXII) |
| Place | Paris (Parisiis) |
| Colaborators | Nicolas Sanson (Géographe du Roi), Saint Jérôme (Traducteur original) |
| Language | Latin |
| Physical Source | Municipal Library |
About this Bible
The Latin Authority
This 1662 edition stands as a monumental artifact of the French ‘Grand Siècle,’ published just as Louis XIV began his personal rule. Printed by Antoine Vitré, a figure of immense stature who held the double title of Printer to the King and the Clergy, this volume was designed to assert the intellectual and typographic superiority of the French Catholic Church. Unlike the vernacular translations favored by Protestants (which were gaining ground in Europe), this edition rigorously adheres to the Clementine Vulgate, confirming Latin as the sole language of high theology and institutional authority.
However, the influence of this edition extends beyond mere dogma. By integrating the Geographia Sacra of Nicolas Sanson—the father of French cartography—this edition helped pioneer a new genre: the “scientific” study Bible. It signaled a shift where scripture was no longer just to be believed, but to be historically and geographically situated within the real world. This rationalist approach would heavily influence later 17th and 18th-century scholarly editions, setting a standard where faith required the support of rigorous academic disciplines like chronology and cartography.
Corpus/Map
Science beyond Fiction
The striking originality of this Biblia Sacra lies in its rejection of narrative imagery. You will find no engravings depicting Ezekiel or skeletons. Instead, Antoine Vitré included the Geographia Sacra (Sacred Geography) by Nicolas Sanson, geographer to King Louis XIV.
The illustration is not there to inspire dreams, but to prove a point. By showing accurate maps of the Holy Land (‘Terra Promissa’), the publisher anchors the Bible in the scientific and historical reality of his time. It is a rationalist approach: the miracle of the bones is not shown (perhaps considered too macabre or superstitious for a royal edition), but rather the place where the story took place.
Comparison between the editions
This 1662 edition is a pure product of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. At a time when Protestantism was promoting access to the Bible in vernacular languages (French, German, English) to allow individual interpretation, this royal edition reaffirms the absolute authority of the Roman Church. By maintaining the text in the Clementine Vulgate (the official Latin translation), Antoine Vitré restricts access to the sacred mystery. This Bible is not intended for the popular devotion of the masses, but for the rigorous study of scholars and the clergy.
For the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, this linguistic choice fundamentally alters the reading experience. Where a modern French Bible seeks to “tell a story” accessible to all, this edition seeks theological precision and distance. The Latin injunction “Vaticinare de ossibus istis” resonates with a liturgical solemnity that a simple translation cannot convey. It places the reader in a position of mediation: one does not simply read the text; one deciphers a divine code. Consequently, the text is static, timeless, and dogmatic, contrasting sharply with later 19th-century editions which would favor a dynamic, emotional, and novelistic approach to the Scriptures.
Let us compare the Latin text in this edition with a common French translation:
Biblia Sacra (1662) – Latin
Traduction Française (Segond)
Facta est super me manus Domini, et eduxit me in spiritu Domini : et dimisit me in medio campi, qui erat plenus ossibus… Et dixit ad me : Vaticinare de ossibus istis.
La main de l’Éternel fut sur moi, et l’Éternel me transporta en esprit, et me déposa dans le milieu d’une vallée remplie d’ossements… Il me dit : Prophétise sur ces os
Analysis
Regarding the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, the text is presented in an austere form: two dense columns, framed by marginal notes (marginalia) and introduced by an ornate initial letter. There is no attempt at typographical dramatisation. The Latin ‘Vaticinare de ossibus istis’ (‘Prophesy upon these bones’) resonates like an intellectual and liturgical injunction. The absence of a French translation requires the reader to take a scholarly approach: to understand the meaning of the prophecy, one must master the sacred language. It is a book that protects the text rather than exposing it, favouring the stability of dogma over the emotion of reading.
All to say that is Typical layout of the Prophetic Books in the 1662 edition, Prophecy of Nahum.”
Conclusion
Biblia Sacra by Antoine Vitré is a monument of authority. Printed “With the King’s Privilege,” it eschews visual spectacle in favor of focusing on the truth of the text and geographical accuracy. It is a book meant to be studied in a library, not leafed through by the fireside.
Footnotes
- Antoine Vitré (1595–1674) was appointed King’s Printer for Oriental Languages in 1622, then for the Clergy in 1635.
- Nicolas Sanson is considered the father of French geography. His maps in this Bible mark the entry of modern science into religious publishing.
