Essais de morale

Set of 24 duodecimo volumes, red morocco, coats of arms stamped in the center of the covers, triple gilt fillet frame, spines with raised bands tooled in gilt, olive morocco title and volume labels, gilt edges. Contemporary binding.

166 x 96 mm.

Nicole, Pierre (1625-1695). Moral Essays, contained in various treatises on several important duties.
Paris, Deprez, 1755.

Followed by: Sequel to the Moral Essays. Paris [volumes IX to XII] and Liège, 1767 [volume XIV]. 14 volumes in 15 books.

With: Theological and Moral Instructions on the Creed. Paris, G. Desprez, 1761. 2 volumes – Theological and Moral Instructions on the Lord's Prayer… Paris, G. Desprez, 1761. 1 volume. – Theological and Moral Instructions on the Sacraments. Paris, G. Desprez, 1767. 2 volumes. – Treatise on Prayer… Paris, G. Desprez, 1768. 2 volumes. – Theological and Moral Instructions on the First Commandment of the Decalogue… Paris, G. Desprez, 1768. 2 volumes.

Collected edition of this famous work printed in 24 volumes between 1755 and 1768.

It is very rare. A 25th volume, not written by Nicole, is not included.

The first edition of the Moral Essays appeared in 9 volumes between 1693 and 1700.

Publication was continued posthumously until 1714.

“The ‘Essays’ represent one of the most important sources of the abundant moralist literature of the 17th century. Moreover, they are a valuable document: psychological subtlety, sharp observation, and profound understanding of the soul, always tinged with the pessimism characteristic of the followers of Grace. Yet, this attitude does not lead to denial or suppression of the highest human activities; for example, the analysis of intolerance in contradiction (‘On How to Preserve Peace among Men’) and the observations contained in the essay ‘On Human Weakness’.”

Nicole examines the moral problems addressed by the sacred orators; he brings to them the scholastic method of subtle distinctions typical of the Aristotelians, and his objectivity is even greater than theirs. He lacks only the fervor of feeling that hope inspires in the great preachers such as Bourdaloue and Fléchier.

Valuable copy bound in red morocco with the arms of the Countess of Provence (1753-1810).

“Marie-Joséphine-Louise-Bénédicte of Savoy, second daughter of Victor-Amédée III, Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia, and of Marie-Antoinette-Ferdinande, Infanta of Spain, was born in Turin on 2 September 1753. On 14 May 1771, she married Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, Count of Provence, later Louis XVIII, with whom she had no children. In exile, she took the title Countess of Lille and died at Hartwell, England, on 13 November 1810.”

“The Countess of Provence, like her husband, who fancied himself a man of letters and cultivated the muses, had a taste for Letters and the Arts. Her library, whose manuscript catalog is in the Arsenal, was assembled with great intelligence.”

Volumes VII, VIII, and XIV were bound with the arms of the Countess of Artois, their gilt spines slightly different at the base.