Saggio analitico dell' elogio da farsi dello spirito umano nelle sue capitali scoperte di sua altezza il signor principe don Luigi Gonzaga di Castiglione. Letto alla Società Reale di Londra, l'anno 1777 [précédé de] L’ombra di Pope poemetto dell’ abate Luigi Godard fra gli arcadi Cimante Micenio. In cui si lodano gli studi filosofici di sua altezza il sig. Principe D. Luigi Gonzaga Di Castiglione

An intriguing first edition, complete with its engraved frontispiece of the author by Giovanni Volpato after Domenico Corvi, and its introductory poem by the Abbé Luigi Godard. A copy unrecorded in non-European libraries according to WorldCat.

Contemporary binding of fawn mottled calf, smooth spine divided into five gilt compartments by gilt rolls, brown morocco lettering-piece, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, double gilt fillet on the board edges, blue speckled edges, and shell-pattern marbled pastedowns and endpapers.

The lower cap lacking, some surface wear to the spine and corners, the upper joint slightly split for several centimetres, a few discreet wormholes and small areas of loss to the leather on the boards, light rubbing to the edges; the interior in very good condition.

A marginal tear to p. 51 very slightly affecting the text, and a marginal stain to p. 47.

The spirit of the Enlightenment is vividly reflected in this essay on the achievements of the human mind by an “enlightened prince”—the last descendant of the cadet branch of the Gonzaga dynasty—who sold his lands in exchange for an annual life annuity; an eloquent writer and admirer of English and French philosophers, notably Montesquieu, whom he cites repeatedly in this volume; and, very much a libertine of his age, the lover of the poet Maria Maddalena Morelli.