Entretiens de Phocion sur le rapport de la morale avec la politique

New deluxe edition printed by Didot on deluxe vellum paper. Includes two superb engravings by Moreau, engraved by Giraud. Critical edition with preface, annotations, and Plutarch's Life of Phocion in Amyot's translation.
Copy bearing the crowned cipher of Louis-Philippe stamped on both boards. Once on the throne of France, Louis-Philippe abandoned the arms of the Duke of Orléans in favor of his crowned cipher, a symbol of his role as constitutional monarch. Later in his reign, the crown would even be removed, leaving only the bare cipher.
Later Restoration binding in red long-grain morocco, attributable to Simier, Louis-Philippe's bookbinder (Louis-Philippe had several copies bound in this exact style). Smooth spine decorated with two large vertical rocaille tools. Black morocco label. Boards gilt-stamped at center with the crowned cipher of Louis-Philippe, surrounded by an elaborate rocaille composition with interlaced fillet tools in the corners. Gilt edges. Rich inner dentelle. Blue silk endpapers. Headcap partially rubbed, same for tail. Some rubbing. One bumped corner. Scattered foxing.
A handsome copy, rare in this condition.

Unquestionably Mably’s finest work. The author (1709–1785), a moral and political philosopher, would later be regarded as one of the earliest theorists of communism. Presented as a translation from the Greek and a series of dialogues between Phocion, the Athenian leader, and Aristias, a young citizen, the work offers an extended meditation on the relationship between morality and politics. Mably ultimately asserts that private property lies at the root of social injustice. He nevertheless acknowledges its irreversible nature, while lamenting the concentration of wealth. Suspicious of all political systems, Mably placed his faith in the natural man as defined by Rousseau. His writings reveal the closeness of his political thought to that of Condillac, Plato, and Locke. That such a deluxe edition of this work should have found its way into the library of King Louis-Philippe is particularly revealing of the philosophical reflections that may have shaped the king’s thinking.