De la Puissance légitime du Prince

Small octavo, 264 pp.
Red morocco, triple gilt fillet bordering the covers, smooth spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons, green morocco title label, gilt fillet on edges, gilt inner dentelle, gilt edges over marbling. 18th-century binding.

161 x 100 mm.

Duplessis-Mornay, Philippe. [Languet, Hubert]. On the Lawful Power of the Prince over the People, and of the People over the Prince.  
1581.

Precious first edition in French“more sought after than the original Latin edition”” (Brunet).
Brunet, I, 1308; Adams, L. 151; PMM, 94; Picot, Catalogue Rothschild, IV, 3126; Hauser, 2220.

“One of the most dangerous works ever produced in this genre” (abbé Lenglet), this work contains political ideas that had a considerable influence and were later taken up by all who revived the cause of liberty and justice.
Duplessis-Mornay stands against tyranny, allowing for regicide several years before the assassination of King Henri III.

Born from the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, this is one of the most significant testimonies to the struggle against tyranny, carrying within it the seed of all modern constitutional thought.

Philippe Duplessis-Mornay (1549-1623), Reformed theologian, writer and French statesman, friend of Henri IV, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Protestant party at the end of the 16th century.
“Mornay was either a spectator or an actor in the great events which, from top to bottom, turned modern societies upside down. He listened to the first disciples of Luther and Calvin, saw the development of the Renaissance, witnessedthe civil wars of the 16th century and heard the sinister cries of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. After being one of Henri IV’s most noble friends, in his old age he glimpsed Richelieu’s despotism. Two centuries ago Duplessis knew in politics, in morals, in the humanities, all that we know today: in diplomacy he knew no less than modern statesmen do.” (J. Ambert, Duplessis-Mornay, Historical and Political Studies.)

Philippe Duplessis-Mornay worked extensively to bring together the King of France Henri III and Henri of Navarre. 
He was the one who negotiated the agreement made in 1589 between the King and the heir to the throne. Henri of Navarre obtained Saumur, one of the main citadels of French Calvinism along with La Rochelle and Poitou, as a place of safety. He entrusted its governance to his loyal Mornay, who took up the position on April 15, 1589. He would remain governor for thirty-two years until May 13, 1621. During this period he would be the leading strategist of the Protestants, the “Pope of the Huguenots.”

“It is an eloquent vindication of the people’s right to resist tyranny while affirming that resistance must be based on properly constituted authority. It is, in fact, the practical demonstration of Bodin’s theory, and some measure of its impact and continuing relevance may be estimated from a study of the places and dates at which it had been translated or reprinted. It’s one of the perennial documents of anti-tyranny.” (PMM).

Precious copy of this major work by Duplessis-Mornay, exceedingly rare and preserved in its superb old morocco binding.

Manuscript annotation by a former owner on the title page: “Against Machiavelli”.
Provenance: Library of Philippe Bourlier de Parigny, known as Bourlier the Elder (1732- ?), with armorial ex-libris dated 1750.