Maximes et réflexions sur la comédie
The condemnation of Molière and the theater by Bossuet. Very fine copy, preserved in its elegant contemporary red morocco binding.
12mo of (4) ff., 152 pp. Morocco, dotted gilt fillet framing the covers, small gilt florets at the corners, spine with raised bands decorated in the same way, decorated edges, gilt inner roll, gilt edges. Contemporary binding.
151 x 91 mm
Bossuet, Jacques Bénigne. Maxims and Reflections on Comedy.
Paris, Jean Anisson, 1694.
First edition of this work in which Bossuet condemns the theater in general and Molière in particular.
Tchemerzine, I, 873; Brunet, I, 1137; Le Petit, 421-423; Soleinne, V, no.21; Pichon, Catalogue, no.1642; Bulletin Morgand et Fatout, no.9108.
“In this intriguing work, Bossuet speaks out forcefully not only against the theater in general, but also against an attempt made by some religious writers to defend it. In this work, full of interest, the author did not fear to address certain details rather daring for a man of the church!” (Le Petit).
The 17th century saw the development of a long controversy concerning the morality of the theater, which can be summed up by the question posed by a religious man, Father Caffaro, in the preface to an edition of Boursault’s comedies: “May comedy be allowed or must it be absolutely forbidden?”
In response to this question, Bossuet published this treatise in which comedies and actors are condemned, but also the tragedies of Racine and Corneille.
“The powder was set alight by a short essay entitled: Letter from a Theologian which appeared at the head of Boursault’s dramatic works. This work sparked a strong reaction in the religious world and unleashed a flood of texts against the theater. The most important: Bossuet’s Maxims and Reflections on Comedy. The Bishop of Meaux contradicts the opinion of Father Caffaro, according to which plays in the theater would excite the passions less directly than those of everyday life. ‘The passion passes from the soul of the actors into that of the spectators. One soon becomes a secret actor in the tragedy: one plays out one’s own passion. The performances directly tend to kindle passions in our hearts.’ Bossuet, to the authority of the Church Fathers, adds that of Plato, considering as ‘pernicious the arts whose sole purpose is pleasure.’” (The Evolution of Classical Religious Tragedy, Collective, pp. 436-439).
In this treatise in which the Bishop of Meaux shows himself to be a keen psychologist and skillful polemicist, Bossuet condemns Molière and the “impieties and infamies with which his comedies are filled,” “the crudest double entendres ever to have polluted Christian ears,” as well as the depiction of “pleasurable passions” in Corneille and Racine.
“Bossuet is the greatest master of French prose, which is infinitely superior to everything which is generally called our poetry” (P. Claudel).
Very beautiful copy preserved in its elegant contemporary red morocco binding.
This famous Jacques Dennery copy was sold for 65,000 F (10,000 €) on May 17, 1991.
Provenance: Library of Jacques Dennery (Cat., 1984, no.31) with ex-libris on the front endpaper.
