Jacques Bénigne BOSSUET

First edition.
Full fine red morocco binding, late 19th century, unsigned. Spine with raised bands decorated with blind fillets. Title, date and place gilt. Blind fillet frame on covers. Rich inner decorative border. Edges gilt. Light traces of rubbing to headcaps, on one raised band. Small nick to upper cover. Very handsome copy in an unsigned master binding.
Bossuet composed this treatise to appease the fears of theologians in France and Rome, who feared that the condemnation of Fénelon's Maximes des Saints would lead to a similar condemnation of ancient mystical authors who had written about charity and passive prayer. In the first part, Bossuet discusses mystical authors, notably Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross.
19th-century armorial bookplate enhanced in ink.

First edition, quite rare. A title vignette and one text figure.
Full straight-grained chocolate brown morocco binding ca 1860. Spine with raised bands decorated. Red morocco title and volume labels. Covers decorated with several framing fillets and rolls and a wide floral frieze. Interior frieze. Edges gilt. Paper of perfect freshness, possibly washed. Very handsome copy in unsigned master binding.
The single species designates communion by bread or wine. It was in 1681 that Pierre Jurieu published his treatise on communion in a single species in the name of Protestantism. One year later, Bossuet wrote a rigorous treatise proving by certain causes that the church practiced the Eucharist under one or two species without anyone ever thinking that the withdrawal of one or the other harmed the integrity of the sacrament. The author shows that there is nothing indispensable in the sacraments except what pertains to their substance; that thus one is not obliged to do in administering them everything that the Savior did in instituting them. The Treatise on Communion, says Bayle, "appeared to me very delicate, very spiritual, and of a courtesy toward us that cannot be praised enough; tight, judicious, it is cleared of everything that does not bear on the question." It nonetheless results that Bossuet was subsequently attacked by several Protestant writings, and that there was in the 17th century a veritable quarrel around this practical question of the sacrament.

First edition.
Contemporary full brown mottled sheep binding. Spine with raised bands and ornate decoration. Brown morocco title-label. One wormhole to lower joint at head. Foxing. First leaves frayed at outer margin.
Quietism is a mystical doctrine that considers the most perfect communion with God occurs only when the soul is in a state of quietude. The quarrel that opposed the Quietists to Bossuet takes shape in this work where Bossuet refutes one by one the arguments of the Quietists led by Fénelon and Mme Guyon.

First edition for the entirety of these sequential works. Each of the 5 Avertissements has a specific title page, the fourth and fifth dated 1690; the seven texts have the particularity of having continuous pagination, even though they did not appear on the same date, the last two being dated 1691 (L'antiquité eclaircie actually corresponds to the sixth avertissement, the seventh part Etat present des controverses forming the third and final part of the sixth avertissement. The last two texts are published by Jean Anisson and no longer by Sébastien Cramoisy. Publishers' devices on title pages, stork for the first, fleur-de-lys for Anisson.
Full dark green morocco binding from the late 19th century signed Duru 1851. Raised bands Jansenist spine. Gilt title and date. Double blind fillet border on covers. Rich interior border. Gilt edges. Minor rubbing to edges and corners. Thin scratches on covers without significance. Very handsome copy, (some gatherings yellowed throughout but very clean), in a master binding, with beautiful margins.
L'histoire des variations des églises protestantes which neutralized Protestant theses by demonstrating their incessant variations, appeared in 1688; its success was immediate and troubled the Protestant world. Very quickly the Protestant minister Jurieu responded in his work Lettres pastorales to Bossuet's book by attacking it sharply; in turn and masterfully, Bossuet published six avertissements in which he treats the principal points of doctrine opposing Catholicism to Protestantism. This battle of books brilliantly reactivated the theological and political quarrel of the two interpretations of Christianity. Bossuet fought Protestants all his life and with the greatest passion, even obtaining the conversion of Turenne and other notable figures.
Bookplate of Ysabel Sanchez de movellan. Second bookplate with the motto Sine angulis angulo. Library stamp on title page: Ex. Bibl. Eccl. Cath. Rupel. On verso of title page, another stamp: Couet. Chne.

First edition illustrated with an unsigned portrait frontispiece and a title vignette. Title page in red and black. Printed in double columns.
Contemporary full marbled sheep binding. Raised band spine richly and beautifully decorated. Havana morocco title-label. Roulette on leading edges. One cut at head. Rubbing. Some gatherings browned. Handsome copy.
General Assembly of the French clergy on March 19, 1682.

New edition, after the original quarto published in 1688. Les Avertissemens have been added to this edition to complete it.
Full marbled blonde calf bindings. Raised band spines with ornaments. Red morocco title and volume labels. Small lacks to head of volume 3. A wormhole to the upper joint at foot of volume 1, another to the lower joint. One corner slightly bumped. Head caps rubbed. Yellow dampstain traces in the table of contents of volume 4. Handsome copy.
One of Bossuet's major works, in which the author summarizes the controversies against the Protestant church through a key concept: variation. The multiple destinies and variations around the same doctrine must demonstrate to us that the Protestant church could not be the church of Christ and the depository of faith. The avertissemens are a response to Pierre Jurieu's attacks in defense of Protestants against Bossuet's book.

Illustrated edition with an engraved portrait of Bossuet as frontispiece.
Full glazed aubergine calf binding, spine slightly lightened with four raised bands set with double gilt fillets decorated with double gilt compartments enhanced with gilt typographical motifs, gilt roulettes on the headcaps, boards framed with a wide blind-tooled dentelle and two gilt fillets, gilt initials struck at the centers of the boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, fine gilt dentelle frame on the pastedowns, gilt fillets on the leading edges, one lower corner slightly bumped, marbled edges, superb contemporary binding.
Pen gift inscription at the head of an endpaper as a present, some foxing.
A perfectly and very elegantly produced copy.

First edition. Printer's device on title page, with two storks. A beautiful title vignette in copper engraving in each volume and a historiated initial.
Full brown sheep binding. Raised spine richly decorated. Tawny morocco title labels, gilt volume numbers. Headcap of volume I partly worn, that of volume II appears restored. Rubbing and stains on boards. Restored corners. Browning and foxing on some leaves. Upper joint split at tail of volume I.
One of Bossuet's major works, in which the author summarizes the controversies against the Protestant church through a key concept: variation. The multiple destinies and variations around the same doctrine must demonstrate to us that the Protestant church could not be the church of Christ and the repository of faith.
A loose paper between the endpapers contains an explanatory note specific to the first edition; this stipulates that Bossuet and his publisher, having noticed the numerous errors and misprints in the printing, chose to correct them by hand. Thus, as will be noted, this copy indeed contains several manuscript corrections.

New edition, after the first edition published in 1688 in 2 volumes quarto.
Contemporary full brown grained calf binding. Spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments and fleurons, red morocco title and volume labels, leading edges underlined with blind tooling. All edges red.
Two head caps worn, one headband detached at the tail of the first volume and corners very slightly bumped.
One of Bossuet's major works, in which the author summarizes the controversies against the Protestant church through a key concept: variation. The multiple destinies and variations around the same doctrine must demonstrate to us that the Protestant church could not be the church of Christ and the repository of faith.

First edition.
Contemporary full calf binding, decorated spine with raised bands. Minor defects to headcaps, 2 corners split, a dark stain on the upper cover.
Quietism is a mystical doctrine which considers that the most perfect communion with God only occurs when the soul is in a state of quietude. The quarrel which opposed the quietists to Bossuet takes shape in this work where Bossuet refutes one by one the arguments of the quietists led by Fénelon and Mme Guyon.

First edition of this offprint, printed in a small number of copies.
Autograph inscription from the author to upper cover.