Divers écrits ou mémoires...
First edition of the Divers écrits by Bossuet, “one of his most important works”.
Octavo, (19) leaves, 34 pp., CCLVIII pp., 304 pp., (12) leaves of tables. Red morocco, triple gilt fillet border on the covers, gilt-stamped coat of arms at center, spine finely gilt in compartments, gilt edges, gilt inner dentelle, gilt edges over marbling. Period binding.
190 x 120 mm.
Bossuet, Jacques-Bénigne. Various writings or memoirs on the book entitled… Paris, 1698.
First edition of Divers écrits by Bossuet, “one of his most important works” (Jacques Guérin).
“Bossuet is the greatest master of French prose, which is infinitely superior to everything commonly called our poetry. His language contains all the canons of our speech and fills our mouths and chests magnificently. It is something like Dumont’s Royal Mass, so well suited to the lungs of our old choristers. On the other hand, Bossuet is, in our language, the greatest of the Catholic doctors. His theoretical works possess a strength, a clarity, and a majesty that bathe in light and transport one with joy and admiration” (P. Claudel).
Precious copy by the author, bound in contemporary red morocco with the arms of Jacques Bénigne Bossuet.
Having renounced his bishopric of Condom to become tutor to the dauphin at the request of Louis XIV in 1670, then first chaplain to the dauphine in 1680, Bossuet became bishop of Meaux in 1681, later head of the royal college of Navarre in 1695, and state counselor two years later.
His library consisted almost exclusively of works on theology and canon law, which he used, among other things, in the preparation of the sermons and orations that made him famous, and even more so in his renowned controversies.
He bequeathed it to his nephew, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1664–1743), bishop of Troyes, who considerably enriched it.
On the front of one of the first endpapers is a long handwritten note about the provenance of the copy and the Bossuet armorial bearings.
Cited by Brunet, Deschamps, and Tchémerzine, this prestigious copy comes from the libraries of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the author of this volume; Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, bishop of Troyes, nephew of the former (Cat., 1742, no. 1229); Giraud (sold by Potier in 1855 for 121 gold francs); Solar (sold by Techener in 1863 for 170 gold francs); Delteil vi, 6,500 F; Henri Joliet with ex-libris.
At the Giraud sale, cited by Brunet (supplement I-156), this copy bearing Bossuet’s arms sold for twice the price of the copy with the arms of the Grand Dauphin: “In cont. red morocco with Bossuet’s arms, 121 fr. Giraud; in cont. red morocco with the arms of the Grand Dauphin, 60 fr. Giraud.” (Brunet)
Jacques Guérin, one of the most illustrious bibliophiles of the 20th century, owned a copy similar to that of the Grand Dauphin, bound in contemporary morocco with the arms of the Duke of Maine, sold for €12,500 thirty-two years ago, described as follows:
“First edition of this work, one of Bossuet’s most important, and the most essential book for the history of the Quietism affair and the struggle between the bishops of Meaux and Cambrai.” (Ref: Bibliothèque Jacques Guérin, Très beaux livres anciens, Paris, March 29, 1984, no. 13).
The most prestigious copy recorded.
