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Univers
Departments / Antique Books (1455-1820)

Philosophy

123 results
  1. La philosophie du bon sens
    Jean-Baptiste de Boyer ARGENS
    La philosophie du bon sens
    Chez Pierre Paupie|à La Haye [The Hague] 1747|9.50 x 17 cm|2 volumes reliés
    New edition, reprint of the augmented edition of the second volume from 1740. It is illustrated with a portrait and a curious allegorical figure in the first volume, as well as a large title vignette to the epistle.
    Title pages in red and black.
    Contemporary full glazed marbled calf binding. Red morocco title label and volume labels. 3 corners slightly bumped. Light crack to the upper joint of volume II. Despite the noted defects, handsome copy, with very fine appearance.
    Work of a free thinker of the Enlightenment, the philosophy of common sense is an examination of prejudices and all branches of knowledge in light of the postulate of scepticism; for the author this postulate of uncertainty is salutary as to the truth of things; the book was judged sufficiently dangerous to be banned by Parliament and d'Argens thus wrote most of his books in Holland, safe from arrest. Though praised by Voltaire, the work was condemned by Kant.
    €550
  3. Essai de philosophie morale
    Pierre-Louis Moreau de MAUPERTUIS
    Essai de philosophie morale
    S. n.|Berlin 1749|9.50 x 16.50 cm|relié
    First edition, rare. A title vignette by Eisen.
    Contemporary full glazed and marbled calf binding. Smooth spine decorated with grotesque ornaments. Red morocco title label. Headcaps worn. Rubbing to joints and corners.
    The moral philosophy essay is one of the two main philosophical texts (and chronologically the first) by Maupertuis, who, like all scholars of his era, was multidisciplinary. The second work in this field would be the Essay on Cosmology published in 1750. One should not be misled by the classical title given to this treatise; if the Essay is a reflection on good and evil, it is a vision of good and evil that is primarily sensualist, based on the sensible experience of an event, considering that all events are merely phenomena. The work was published in Berlin, the philosopher's adopted homeland at that time.
    €800
  4. Traité curieux des charmes de l'amour conjugal dans ce monde et dans l'autre. [Ensemble] Du commerce de l'âme et du corps
    Emanuel SWEDENBORG
    Traité curieux des charmes de l'amour conjugal dans ce monde et dans l'autre. [Ensemble] Du commerce de l'âme et du corps
    Chez George-Jacques • J. Henri Decker • chez Barrois • chez Guillot|à Berlin • et Basle; [Basel] • à Londres [London] • & se trouve à Paris 1784|10 x 17.50 cm|2 ouvrages reliés en un volume
    First French edition of these two works by Swedenborg, undoubtedly translated from Latin (Amor Conjugialis 1768) by Guyton de Morveau and not Brumore. Rare. As a supplement at the end Of the commerce of the soul and the body: Of the white horse spoken of in Revelation.
    Contemporary full blonde sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Rubbing. One corner worn. A lack to the upper joint over one cm. Small lack to corner of title label and loss of two letters on the word amour, U and R. Pale spotting scattered notably in margins.
    A collection of the two works (and the first two of this kind) among the most famous of the Swedish spiritualist and mystic philosopher Swedenborg. It was after having been a renowned scientist among the most conscientious that he experienced a mystical crisis around the age of 56 where he testified to having had mystical dreams and visions in which he discussed with angels and spirits; it is to these experiences that we owe these two books. The curious treatise (his first work of this kind) was accused of heresy (Mohammedanism) and the author's mental health was questioned. The author develops in these two books his mystical theories on the union of souls. One cannot separate in Swedenborg the scientist from the mystical visionary. He was quickly considered a universal genius, as evidenced by the considerable influence he had, notably in France on the writers of the romantic generation, Balzac, who quotes him abundantly, and who drew from him nourishment for his theory of desire, Baudelaire, Cazotte and elsewhere in William Blake, Jung... and even in Japan, in the book: The Buddha of the North.
    €900
  5. La palingénésie philosophique ou Idées sur l'état passé et sur l'état futur des êtres vivants.
    Charles BONNET
    La palingénésie philosophique ou Idées sur l'état passé et sur l'état futur des êtres vivants.
    Chez Claude Philibert • et Barthelemi Chirol|à Genève [Geneva] 1769|11.50 x 20 cm|2 volumes reliés

    First edition, quite rare; a counterfeit edition appeared on the same date in Amsterdam.

    Contemporary full glazed and marbled blonde calf binding. Decorated smooth spines. Red morocco title and volume labels. A small lack at head of volume I. Five corners slightly bumped. Rubbing. Good copy.



    Without doubt Bonnet's most ambitious and remarkable study which earned him the designation of father of modern biology. This work of theoretical biology drawing its source from multi-disciplinary reflection and its postulate from Leibniz (the immortality of the soul) claims that the Earth periodically suffers universal catastrophes which destroy almost all life and that the survivors each time rise one degree on the evolutionary scale. Bonnet was the first to use the term evolution in a biological context. The work also prefigures experimental psychology. There would exist in each being germs which pre-exist it and ensure the survival of the species, Bonnet's thesis announcing the theories and discoveries of genes. It was blindness that in Bonnet put a stop to experimentation and engaged him on the path of philosophical reflection.

    €900
  6. Prix de la justice et de l'humanité. [Ensemble] Les vrais principes du gouvernement françois, démontrés par la Raison et par les Faits, par un François
    [VOLTAIRE] [Pierre-Louis-Claude GIN]
    Prix de la justice et de l'humanité. [Ensemble] Les vrais principes du gouvernement françois, démontrés par la Raison et par les Faits, par un François
    S. n.|Genève [Geneva] 1777|12 x 20 cm|relié
    Both rare first editions.
    Contemporary full mottled calf binding. Smooth spine with 4 tools. Red morocco title and volume labels. Triple fillet frame on covers. Small lack at head. Lack to upper joint at head. Upper joint cracked at foot. Light lack at foot. Rubbing.
    Gin's work is first a defense of monarchical power (as the natural form of government) against the theories of Montesquieu and those of Mably, but beyond this starting postulate, the whole is remarkable for its economic reflections, Gin making agriculture and industry the pillars of economic health. The author strives through history and examples borrowed from various nations like China to prove his theories irrefutably.
    Voltaire's work is a skillful reflection on the relativity of laws, and notably on their injustice. Voltaire examines each category of criminality (theft, crime, heresy, sorcerers...) and the laws that have been established. One of Voltaire's last works animated by the ardor to convince his contemporaries of the urgency of reforming the laws.
    €1,400
  7. Lettres de quelques Juifs portugais et allemands, à M. de Voltaire ; avec des réflexions critiques, &c. Et un petit commentaire extrait d'un plus grand
    Antoine GUENÉE, VOLTAIRE
    Lettres de quelques Juifs portugais et allemands, à M. de Voltaire ; avec des réflexions critiques, &c. Et un petit commentaire extrait d'un plus grand
    Chez Moutard|à Paris 1776|9 x 16.50 cm|3 volumes reliés
    Edition with some parts in first edition, first published in 1769 in one 8vo volume. Two volumes were added for this edition.
    Contemporary full blonde sheep binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title-label. Small lacks at head. Tailcap of volume III worn. 7 corners slightly bumped. Rubbing.
    The work is an attack and critical commentary on Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance. The work was well received both by its detractors (Voltaire, D'Alembert) and the public. The author demonstrates not only nourished and erudite argumentation, but without pedantry and always with impartiality, which Voltaire himself applauded. The Letters are not a defense of the church, but of religion. As for the style, Abbé Guenée establishes a dialogue with Voltaire, and his purpose is clear, demonstrative, and in no way sententious.
    €450
  8. Oeuvres diverses, traduites de l'anglois. Nouvelle édition, revue et augmentée d'un grand nombre de Pièces qui n'avoient point encore été traduites. Avec de très belles figures en taille-douce
    Alexander POPE
    Oeuvres diverses, traduites de l'anglois. Nouvelle édition, revue et augmentée d'un grand nombre de Pièces qui n'avoient point encore été traduites. Avec de très belles figures en taille-douce
    Chez Arkstée & Merkus|à Amsterdam • & Leipzig 1767|9.50 x 16.50 cm|8 volumes reliés
    New edition, illustrated with a frontispiece by Delamonce, an engraved portrait by Kornlein, and 23 figures by Frankendaal. This edition contains two more volumes than the 1754 edition.
    Full marbled brown sheep binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title and volume labels. Headcaps partly worn on volumes III, VI and VIII. Minor defects. 4 corners slightly bumped. Fairly good decorative set.Volumes 6 to 8 contain Pope's correspondence, notably that with Swift and Gay. Pope was both a great classical poet (the greatest of the first half of the 18th century), a philosopher noted for his Essay on Man, as well as a novelist: Memoirs of Martin Scrivelius. The works notably contain his critical essays.
    €550
  9. Patrocinii debitorum calamitate belli depauperatorum pars prima suivi de Pars secunda
    Caspar MANZ
    Patrocinii debitorum calamitate belli depauperatorum pars prima suivi de Pars secunda
    typis Willem Eder|Ingolstadii [Ingolstadt] • (Ingolstadt) 1639|16 x 10 cm|relié
    First edition of these two parts which are rarely found together. Manz later had two other parts published. Absent from German catalogues, we find an edition of the fourth part (1640) in Scotland (as the parts were sold separately since they treated specific points.) Absent from Brunet.
    Full parchment binding with overlapping edges reusing a 15th-century manuscript. Spine largely missing. Traces of ties. Dampstains on boards. Pages 115 to 120, a tear with lack to right margin not touching text.
    Caspar Manz (1606-1677) jurisconsult and collaborator of the Duke of Bavaria, professor at Ingolstadt, wrote this treatise of defense against tributes and war debts that were ruining peoples and states.
    Engraved bookplate: Castello di Duino.
    €600
  10. Recherches sur l'origine du despotisme oriental
    Nicolas-Antoine BOULANGER
    Recherches sur l'origine du despotisme oriental
    Par la Compagnie des Libraires Associés|à Paris 1763|93.50 x 16.30 cm|relié
    New edition following the original posthumous edition published by D'Holbach (some attribute partial authorship to him) in 1761.
    The edition does contain the letter to Helvetius absent from most reissues.
    Contemporary full grained calf binding. Smooth spine with ornaments. The gilding appears to have been renewed on the title-label. Quite a handsome copy.This famous political treatise was initially written to serve as an introduction to reading Montesquieu's The Spirit of Laws, the work concluding moreover with remarks on that work. The work was incorporated into The Encyclopedia in abridged form under the article Political Economy. It is in theocracy that Boulanger locates the origin of oriental despotism. Boulanger gives numerous examples of traces of ancient theocracies in the behavior of despots and despotism.Some critics believe that the original work was indeed by Boulanger but that it was revised by d'Holbach in light of his own theories.20th-century armorial bookplate, library of P. Daubignard, and matching stamp.
    €550
  11. Contemplation de la nature
    Charles BONNET
    Contemplation de la nature
    Chez Marc-Michel Rey|à Amsterdam 1770|10 x 17 cm|2 volumes reliés
    Second edition, after the original published in 1764.
    Contemporary full calf binding. Spine with raised bands decorated with fleurons in compartments. Red morocco title label, and beige morocco volume label. Head of volume I worn. A lack to the second compartment of the second volume. Joints of volume II split at foot. Some surface abrasions to the boards.
    Bonnet (1720-1793) is considered one of the fathers of modern biology (he was the first to use the term Evolution in biology), both for his experimental research and his philosophy which had a profound influence on naturalists. It was when he was struck with blindness that he turned to theory. This work takes up the first eight chapters of the "Considérations sur les corps organisés," published in 1762, where Bonnet expounds his theory on the preexistence of germs. Bonnet moreover reports numerous observations of natural history.
    €550
  12. Theorie des sentimens agréables, où après avoir indiqué les règles que la nature suit dans la distribution du plaisir, on établit les principes de la théologie naturelle, et ceux de la philosophie morale
    Louis-Jean LEVESQUE DE POUILLY
    Theorie des sentimens agréables, où après avoir indiqué les règles que la nature suit dans la distribution du plaisir, on établit les principes de la théologie naturelle, et ceux de la philosophie morale
    Chez de Bure père|à Paris 1774|10.50 x 17 cm|relié
    Fifth and best edition, expanded with the eulogy of M. de Pouilly (lieutenant general of the presidial court of the city of Reims that Levesque de Pouilly endeavored to embellish), by abbé de Saulx, the text to be engraved on a fountain erected in his honor, the 2 speeches he delivered in Reims on March 6, 1748 and February 17, 1750, and the description of a monument discovered in the city in 1738. This edition is illustrated with a frontispiece, two folding plates at the end of the work, three title vignettes, and a title headpiece, all designed by De Seve and engraved by J. Robert. This is the finest edition of this text.
    Contemporary full calf binding, marbled and glazed. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Fine copy, very fresh.
    "Esteemed work" according to Brunet, this work revisits the theories of philosophers on sentiment. From a science of feeling, the author endeavors to derive a moral philosophy on love and friendship. An interesting edition, as it provides insight into the author.
    €350
  13. Des véritables intérêts de la patrie
    Chevalier Comte de FORGES
    Des véritables intérêts de la patrie
    Chez Les libraires associés|à Paris 1764|9.50 x 16.50 cm|relié
    First edition. There were three editions published in the same year in Rotterdam. Rather rare.
    Full parchment binding, 19th century, reusing a 17th or 18th century manuscript. Smooth spine, red sheep title-label.
    The author proposes in 24 chapters an economic reform of the kingdom; taxes, ecclesiastical property, disparities of wealth, wars, debts... all subjects treated with great common sense and sound observation, but not without a certain moral vision against luxury, excess of money and materialism. A work to be placed among the reflections on the economy of this second half of the 18th century which prepared for the French Revolution.

    NB: This work is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.
    €250
  14. Amusement philosophique sur le langage des bestes. [Ensemble] Lettre a madame la Comtesse D*** pour servir de supplément à L'amusement philosophique sur le langage des bestes
    Guillaume-Hyacinthe BOUGEANT
    Amusement philosophique sur le langage des bestes. [Ensemble] Lettre a madame la Comtesse D*** pour servir de supplément à L'amusement philosophique sur le langage des bestes
    Imp. Gissey, Bordelet & Ganeau|Paris 1739|10 x 17 cm|2 tomes reliés en un volume
    First edition, rare. The second work, bound with the first and with only a half-title (without lack), is by Aubert de la Chesnaye des Bois.
    Modern cream parchment paper boards binding. Black sheep title-label.
    A satirical work mocking the Cartesians and the question of the soul and reason. Bougeant proposed that animals had recovered the souls of the wicked; this allusion, even ironic, to the transmigration of souls led to exile by the Jesuits. The work had considerable success in Europe, and is above all an attack against Descartes' mechanistic conception.
    €400
  15. Essai sur l'homme [Ensemble] Lettres turques
    Alexander POPE, Germain-François Poullain de SAINT-FOIX
    Essai sur l'homme [Ensemble] Lettres turques
    S. n. • chez Pierre Marteau|s. l. • A Cologne 1736 - 1739|9.50 x 16.50 cm|relié
    First French edition of the Essay on Man translated by Etienne de Silhouette, and second edition of the Turkish Letters first published in 1730, by the same publisher in Cologne.
    Modern full parchment paper boards binding. Black sheep title label.
    Pope's Essay on Man, a philosophical poem, is translated in prose, and is preceded by a long preface by the translator. In the Turkish Letters, Saint-Foix was inspired by Montesquieu's model (who himself was inspired by Manara's Chinese Spy model), but while the Letters follow the same principle, they do not contain, as in Montesquieu, the lengthy descriptions; they are entirely devoted to narrative and to the comparison of manners and customs among the French and the Turks.
    €650
  16. Opes Sacerdotii num Republicae Noxiae. Ex rerum natura, sana politica et communi sensu generis humani examinatum
    Anselmo DESING
    Opes Sacerdotii num Republicae Noxiae. Ex rerum natura, sana politica et communi sensu generis humani examinatum
    Impensis Joannis Gastl|Pedepontanum [Regensburg] 1753|16 x 21.50 cm|relié
    First edition. Rare. Title page in red and black, with a title ornament.
    Contemporary full vellum binding. Smooth spine with fillets and pen-written title. Stains, tears to the vellum at foot.
    Interesting work forming a study of the economic cost of churches, congregations and religious communities, as well as the activity of religious persons. A second part describes foreign cults and their relationship to money and studies this same cost among different churches (Jews, Turks, Arabs, Hindus, Persians, Chinese, Egyptians, etc.). The final chapters concern America (Mexico and Peru). Anselmo Desing was a scholar and a Benedictine father of the monastery of Ensdorf, he occupied various teaching positions at the faculty of Salzburg. He is one of the first to employ the word Socialism, born in the anti-Enlightenment movement.

    NB: This work is available at the bookstore on request within 48 hours.
    €400
  17. Discours de la connoissance des bêtes
    Ignace-Gaston PARDIES
    Discours de la connoissance des bêtes
    Chez Pierre de Coup|à Amsterdam 1724|7.50 x 13 cm|relié
    Fourth edition statement, the first edition having appeared in 1672.
    Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Red morocco title label. 2 tears to spine with losses. Surface wear to lower board.
    The work is constructed in two parts: an exposition of Cartesianism and all the reasoning of the Cartesians for the first, and a refutation for the second. This work by Pardies (1636-1673), mathematician and philosopher, had the greatest impact, undoubtedly because the defense was so weak that it was seen as a reinforcement of the Cartesian theory of mechanism.

    NB: This work is available at the bookstore upon request within 48 hours.
    €300
  18. Tabula seu index atque compendium & epilogus omnium sententiarum diui Thomae Aquinatis, per conclusiones resolutas, ... prout dudum reuerendo patre fratre Petro Bergomensi, ... caeterisque similiter optimis theologiae professoribus coactum fuerat opus & auctum
    Fra Pietro da BERGAMO
    Tabula seu index atque compendium & epilogus omnium sententiarum diui Thomae Aquinatis, per conclusiones resolutas, ... prout dudum reuerendo patre fratre Petro Bergomensi, ... caeterisque similiter optimis theologiae professoribus coactum fuerat opus & auctum
    Apud Haeredes Lucaeantonij Iuntae Florentini|Venetiis [Venice] • (Venise) [Venice] 1539|17 x 24 cm (In-4)|relié

    New edition, following the princeps of 1473 in Bologna (under a different title). Very rare. Printer’s device of the Junta on the title page and the final leaf. Dedication to Hercules Gonzaga of Mantua. Not in Brunet. One copy in Oxford and one in the Italian catalogues, but none in the French catalogues nor in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
    Half calf binding, c. 1800. Spine with raised bands and gilt fillets. Brown morocco title-piece. Headcap trimmed. Rubbing to edges.

    NB: This volume is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.

    €1,600
  19. De la philosophie de la nature ou traité de morale pour le genre humain tiré de la philosophie et fondé sur la nature. Troisième édition et la seule conforme au manuscrit original
    Jean-Baptiste-Claude DELISLE DE SALES
    De la philosophie de la nature ou traité de morale pour le genre humain tiré de la philosophie et fondé sur la nature. Troisième édition et la seule conforme au manuscrit original
    [The Philosophy of Nature: Treatise on Human Moral Nature]
    S. n.|à Londreset se trouve dans la plupart des capitales de l'Europe [London] 1777|12.50 x 19.50 cm (In-8)|6 volumes reliés

    New and improved enlarged edition (partly original), illustrated with a frontispiece, 12 unsigned figures, and 6 title vignettes (the title pages are entirely engraved). A fine printing. The original 1770 edition comprised only 3 volumes in-12.
    Contemporary full mottled calf bindings. Smooth spines decorated with floral tools and multiple gilt rolls. Triple gilt fillet framing on covers. Blue sprinkled edges. Slight surface wear to the covers. A few wormholes to the joints, and some worming in the margin of volume I. Despite these minor flaws, a handsome, well-bound and fresh copy.

    €1,200
  20. DE RERUM NATURA LIBRI SEX. Ad optimas editiones collati. Studiis Societatis Bipontinae
    LUCRÈCE
    DE RERUM NATURA LIBRI SEX. Ad optimas editiones collati. Studiis Societatis Bipontinae
    Ex Typographia Societatis|Argentorati [Strasbourg] • (Strasbourg) 1808|13.50 x 22.50 cm|relié
    Second edition, enlarged, by the Société des Deux Ponts. Fine Strasbourg printing on laid paper.
    Full marbled calf binding. Beautiful 20th-century pastiche of an 18th-century binding using fine leather. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title label. Some slight scuffing to boards. Handsome copy.
    The edition contains, in addition to the life of Lucretius by Denys Lambin, reprinting the first annotated edition of 1563, a bibliographical history of Lucretius's work. The index has optimally grouped the best notes from ancient and modern editions.
    €450
  21. Analyse et examen de l'Antiquité dévoilée, du despotisme oriental, & du christianisme dévoilé, ouvrages posthumes de Boullanger, par un solitaire
    Jean-Charles-François LE GROS
    Analyse et examen de l'Antiquité dévoilée, du despotisme oriental, & du christianisme dévoilé, ouvrages posthumes de Boullanger, par un solitaire
    Chez Barde Manget • chez la veuve Duchesne|à Genève [Geneva] • & à Paris 1788|14 x 21 cm|broché
    First edition.
    In original wrappers, under period pink paper. Modern cream paper spine. Handwritten title. Upper joint cracked for 10 cm.
    L'antiquité dévoilée is a book by Baron d'Holbach based on manuscript notes by Boulanger, not counting the important reworking that d'Holbach made to the notes, developing their anti-religious spirit. The work had a strong impact at the end of the 18th century, it aimed to prove that among all peoples of the earth, the population had been kept under the yoke of superstition and terror inspired by the different religions of the world. The author methodically proposes the analysis and examination of the theses and ideas developed by d'Holbach. He establishes a parallel with the system of the Economists (Materialists) and Rousseau. The relative impartiality of the author illuminates in an unexpected way the theses of the materialists and d'Holbach.

    NB: This work is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.
    €300
  22. Della institution Morale. Ne quali egli levando le cose souerchie, & aggiugnendo molt importanti, ha emendato, & à miglior forma, & ordine ridotto tutto quello, che gia scrisse in sua giovanezza della institution dell'huomo nobile
    Alessandro PICCOLOMINI
    Della institution Morale. Ne quali egli levando le cose souerchie, & aggiugnendo molt importanti, ha emendato, & à miglior forma, & ordine ridotto tutto quello, che gia scrisse in sua giovanezza della institution dell'huomo nobile
    Francesco Ziletti|in Venetia [Venice] 1583|14 x 20 cm|relié
    New edition after the original by Zilotti in 1560. Rare.
    Contemporary full vellum binding. Smooth spine in Jansenist style. Handwritten title. One dampstain in the middle of the lower margin running through and fading over the first 15 leaves.
    Alessandro Piccolimini (1508-1579) of Siena, was an important Italian humanist of the Renaissance, he was an astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. His astronomical works: Sfera del mondo, Delle stelle fisse, Speculazioni dei pianeti, remained highly celebrated for having proposed the first reading of the world of stars. He also wrote comedies and translated numerous works of the Ancients in his youth. A work of truly humanist philosophy, Della institution morale attempts to define the nature of man in his works, one can distinguish chapters on the social nature of man, on the quest for happiness, on the nature of love, but also chapters on astrology, rhetoric, geography, astronomy, mechanics, as so many productions of human genius. One chapter deals more specifically with Passions at war against reason.
    €800
  23. Joannis Sartori adagiorum Chiliades tres sive sententiae proverbiales Graeca, Latina & Belgica, ex praecipuis autoribus collectae, ac brevibus notis illustrae
    Corneille SCHREVEL
    Joannis Sartori adagiorum Chiliades tres sive sententiae proverbiales Graeca, Latina & Belgica, ex praecipuis autoribus collectae, ac brevibus notis illustrae
    Ex typographia Nicolai Herculis|Leyde [Leiden] 1656|9 x 15.50 cm|relié
    Elzevir edition bearing the printer's mark (Hercules with foot on a slain dragon).
    No trace in the Bibliothèque Nationale catalogues.
    Contemporary full vellum binding, pen title, ties present. Spine soiled, endpapers detached, interior in good condition.
    Shrevel (1615-1664) was a Dutch grammarian, best known as the author of a Latin-Greek and Greek-Latin lexicon which was adopted by many countries and reprinted numerous times; he also undertook many editions of Latin authors. This book is Shrevel's edition of Sartori's adagiorum, a collection of Latin proverbs with Greek and Dutch translations, followed by remarks.
    Illegible pen ex-libris.
    €450
  24. Theatrum funebre, exhibens per varias scenas epitaphia nova, antiqua, seria, jocosa, aevo, ordine, dignitate, genere, sexu, fortunâ, ingenio, adeò & stylo perquàm varia, cum summorum pontificum, imperatum, et regum galliae, succincta chronologia, eorumque symbolis ac apitaphis
    Otto AICHER
    Theatrum funebre, exhibens per varias scenas epitaphia nova, antiqua, seria, jocosa, aevo, ordine, dignitate, genere, sexu, fortunâ, ingenio, adeò & stylo perquàm varia, cum summorum pontificum, imperatum, et regum galliae, succincta chronologia, eorumque symbolis ac apitaphis
    sumpt & typis Joannis Baptistae Mayr|Salisburgi [Salzburg] • (Salzbourg) [Salzburg] 1673|19.80 x 15.50 cm|deux parties en un volume relié
    First edition. Rare. One copy at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and one at Bristol in England, another in the catalogues of West Germany. A second edition appeared in 1675 with 2 new parts. 2 very handsome frontispieces
    Later full vellum binding. 20th-century black title-label and endpapers. Light worming on the first 2 pages and the last 5. Scattered foxing.
    Otto Aicher (1628-1705), Benedictine and professor, was an Austrian playwright, professor of rhetoric and grammarian, but also a historian. In this book he gathers epitaphs from all periods, notably of Roman emperors and kings, the whole constituting a theatre of death as epitaphs are like voices from beyond the grave, the epitaph being the last sign that the dead leave to posterity. Very interesting for measuring the relationship to death throughout history. Brunet I, 118.



    €750
  25. Opuscule ou essai tendant à rectifier des préjugés nuisibles et à former des vertueux éclairés. Par un ami du genre humain
    POOPDS
    Opuscule ou essai tendant à rectifier des préjugés nuisibles et à former des vertueux éclairés. Par un ami du genre humain
    Chez David Fowler (de l'imprimerie de J. Cooper)|à Londres [London] 1791|16.30 x 10.50 cm|relié

    First edition, the only one published.
    Bound in red half long-grain morocco in the Romantic style, flat spine with two vertical Romantic tools. Two small wormholes along the upper joint. Minor rubbing as usual, but a handsome copy, notably well-preserved.


    NB: This item is available at the bookshop on request within 48 hours.

    €650
  26. Le Chemin de la fortune ou les bonnes règles de la vie pour acquérir des richesses en toute sorte de conditions et pour obtenir les faveurs de la cour, les honneurs & le crédit , entretiens d'Ariste sur la vraye science du monde
    Charles SOREL
    Le Chemin de la fortune ou les bonnes règles de la vie pour acquérir des richesses en toute sorte de conditions et pour obtenir les faveurs de la cour, les honneurs & le crédit , entretiens d'Ariste sur la vraye science du monde
    Chez Jean Baptiste Loyson|à Paris 1663|15 x 9 cm|relié
    First edition. Rare. One copy at the university library of Tours, absent from the BN de France and the British Library, one copy in Edinburgh. Brunet does not cite this book among the works of Sorel.
    Contemporary full speckled brown sheep. Decorated spine with raised bands. Headcaps worn, upper joint cracked one-third down, corners slightly bumped. Attributed to Sorel by Barbier in the dictionary of anonymous works, the book treats an uncommon subject and a very free manner of making money in all trades and disciplines, from artisans to bankers and men of letters, the work extends its reflection to less official means such as court favors, inheritances. The whole constitutes an economic and moral portrait of 17th-century society quite interesting, and perhaps for the first time, considers money as a good destined to do good.
    €750
  27. Zodiaci vitae, hoc est, de hominis vita, studio ac moribus optime instituendo, libri XII
    Marcellus PALINGENIUS
    Zodiaci vitae, hoc est, de hominis vita, studio ac moribus optime instituendo, libri XII
    apud Ioannem Tornaesium • Gul. Gazeium|Lugduni [Leiden] • (Lyon) 1559|12 x 8 cm|relié
    New edition after the original of 1531. Brunet IV, 317. Caillet, 7096. Title page within an engraved border.
    Contemporary limp vellum binding with overlapping edges. Title (author) in black ink. Some red ink annotations on the endpaper facing the title concerning the book's history. Copy trimmed short on certain pages, notably of the index.
    Collection composed of 12 Latin poems on the liberal arts, human existence, and happiness, each corresponding to a sign of the zodiac. Due to the criticisms the book contains about the church and the pope, the 1531 edition was banned and the Inquisition kept a watchful eye on Palingenius's activities, until he was condemned to the stake. The 11th book deals with astronomy, and the 12th sets forth a theory of light that would be partly followed by Giordano Bruno. Marcellus Palingenius is the anagram of Pietro Angelo Manzolli.
    Ex libris Mathieu Varille Lyonnois.
    €600
  28. Vitae germanorum philosophorum : qui seculo superiori, et quod excurrit, philosophicis ac humanioribus literis floruerunt. Collecte a Melchiore Adamo
    Melchior ADAM
    Vitae germanorum philosophorum : qui seculo superiori, et quod excurrit, philosophicis ac humanioribus literis floruerunt. Collecte a Melchiore Adamo
    Impensis Jonae Rosae • Typis Johannis Lacelloti|Haidelbergae [Heidelberg] • (Heidelberg) 1615|19 x 12 cm|relié
    First edition. Printer's device on title page. Not in Brunet or Graesse.
    Contemporary full calf binding. Spine with raised bands, decorated. Head worn. Lack to tail. Upper joint partially cracked. Lacking endpapers with marbled paper. Lives of Germanic philosophers from the late 15th century to 1614. The notion of Germanity and philosopher (in the humanist sense) is extended since the list includes Erasmus, Swiss, Dutch, and even Dürer... but also Joan Faustus, Georgius Fabricius, Christophorus Longolius, Copernicus, Mercator, Orlandus de Lasso, Nicodemus Frischlinus, Nicolas Clenard, Henricus Glareanus... that is mathematicians, physicians, astronomers, geographers...
    €600
  29. La sage folie de Spelte. Poëte & historiographe du roy d'Espagne. Traduite d'italien en françois par Louys Garon. [Première partie: La sage folie, fontaine d'allegresse, mere des plaisirs, reyne des belles humeurs : pour la defense des personnes Ioviales, à la confusion des archisages & protomaistres... Seconde partie : La delectable folie, support des capricieux, soulas des fantasques , nourriture des Bigearres : pour l'utilité des cerveaux faibles, & retenuë des boutadeux]
    Antonio Maria SPELTA
    La sage folie de Spelte. Poëte & historiographe du roy d'Espagne. Traduite d'italien en françois par Louys Garon. [Première partie: La sage folie, fontaine d'allegresse, mere des plaisirs, reyne des belles humeurs : pour la defense des personnes Ioviales, à la confusion des archisages & protomaistres... Seconde partie : La delectable folie, support des capricieux, soulas des fantasques , nourriture des Bigearres : pour l'utilité des cerveaux faibles, & retenuë des boutadeux]
    Chez Claude Larjot.|à Lyon 1628|9 x 15 cm|deux parties reliées en un volume
    First French edition. The first edition of the Italian text dates from 1607. Illustrated with two allegorical frontispieces signed Gr. Huret. Uncommon edition. One copy at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France from 1628, and another at the British Library. Nothing in French and English union catalogues.
    Contemporary full vellum binding with overlapping edges. Smooth spine with manuscript title partly illegible. Traces of ties. Scattered pale foxing.
    Antonio Maria Spelta (1559-1632) was a writer, scholar and historian from Padua, and it was while recalling Erasmus's Praise of Folly that he wrote this collection composed partly of reflections on madness, and partly on various subjects ranging from astrologers to hunters, including historical anecdotes. The first part tends more towards an eulogy of folly, despite the ever-present satire, while the second part presents a tableau of men and professions prey to madness, whimsy and vanity. Spelta's alert and biting pen perfectly captures the portrait of folly in its every guise. A singular work.
    €700
  30. La contagion sacrée, ou histoire naturelle de la superstition. Ouvrage traduit de l'anglais
    Paul Henri Dietrich Baron d' HOLBACH
    La contagion sacrée, ou histoire naturelle de la superstition. Ouvrage traduit de l'anglais
    S. n.|Londres [London] • [Amsterdam?] 1775|10 x 17 cm|2 tomes reliés en un volume
    New edition. The original dates from 1768.
    Contemporary full
    Contemporary full pink paper boards binding. Smooth spine with fillets. Brown calf title-label. Rubbing to boards and headcaps.
    Although the text was presented as a translation by Jean Trichard, the work is indeed by Baron d'Holbach. This history of superstition is a merciless indictment against persecutions and political and religious tyrannies of all kinds, which made terror reign through fear and fanaticism as much as through political ambition.
    €600
  31. De la souveraineté et des formes de gouvernement, essai destiné à la rectification de quelques principes politiques
    Frédéric ANCILLON
    De la souveraineté et des formes de gouvernement, essai destiné à la rectification de quelques principes politiques
    Le Normant|Paris 1816|13.50 x 21 cm|broché
    First edition in French. Original blue wrappers. Corner chip to front cover, author's name in ink to unlettered spine. Good copy. Essay on political philosophy, on natural and rational law, the state, laws and government; the final chapter is devoted to the French Revolution. The author draws upon his peers and history to support his argument. Frédéric Ancillon was a writer and statesman (1766-1837), his works of considerable political and philosophical depth assured him great renown; it was in Germany that he made his career.
    €250
  33. Anti-contrat social, dans lequel on réfute d'une manière claire, utile et agréable les principes posés dans le Contrat Social de J.J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève
    Paul-Louis de BAUCLAIR
    Anti-contrat social, dans lequel on réfute d'une manière claire, utile et agréable les principes posés dans le Contrat Social de J.J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève
    Chez F. Staatman|à La Haye [The Hague] 1765|11 x 18.50 cm|broché
    First edition.
    Rare.
    Contemporary grey wrappers. Light marginal dampstaining affecting most leaves as well as the original blank covers, spine defective. Numerous leaves with folded corners.
    A work of philosophical and political law, the work constitutes a refutation of Rousseau's work: The Social Contract. The author proves most serious in his analysis and reflection and pays homage to his master.
    €200
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