Index librorum prohibitorum

Benedict XIV (b. 1675, Pope 1740–1758).
Index librorum prohibitorum. Ssm̃i. D. N. Benedicti XIV. pontificis maximi iussu recognitus, atque editus.
Rome: Ex typographia reverendae camerae apostolicae, 1758. (BRA0050)

Throughout the history of Christianity, various ecclesiastical authorities have argued that their jurisdiction over the censorship of books has a scriptural basis. To that end, the Index librorum prohibitorum published by the Catholic Church in 1758 features an engraved frontispiece that illustrates the Biblical account in the Acts of the Apostles 19:18–19. This passage narrates how St. Paul and his disciples converted the Greeks and Jews at Ephesus, who willingly threw their profane books into the fire: “And many of them who had followed curious arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all.” In the engraving, this passage is quoted in Latin below the image of book-burning.