La Pharsale

A reprint by the same publisher of the original published in 1657; it is very handsomely illustrated with a medallion portrait of Lucan supported by two eagles, a frontispiece and 10 very lively copperplate engravings (shipwreck, battles...) engraved by François Chauveau. All the plates, apart from the title-frontispiece, are before the letter. This second edition certainly benefited from the very first remaining prints.
Full raspberry red morocco binding from the end of the 19th century signed Petit. Raised band spine with blind compartments. Blind fillet frame on the covers. Gilt title and date at foot. All edges gilt. Rich decorative gilt board-edges. A stain on the third compartment and trace of dampstain at bottom of upper cover. Handsome copy, fresh, with particularly well-inked plates.
It is through this work that Brebeuf established his reputation as a poet. This is not a translation, but a free recreation based on the original, in continuous verse, although the author did not deviate from Lucan's plan, with the first eight books dealing with the wars between Caesar and Pompey and the last two with the expeditions to North Africa. Brébeuf sought to equal his illustrious ancient model and fully succeeded in this challenge, which earned him criticism from Boileau.