Nicomède

Quarto of (4) leaves (1 title leaf, 2 leaves of notice, 1 leaf extracted from the privilege of March 12, 1651, shared with the quarto edition of Andromède of 1651, printing completed on November 29, 1651, and the list of actors); 124 pages; short at the top. Thus complete. Red Jansenist morocco, spine with raised bands, double gilt fillet on the edges, gilt inner roll, gilt edges. Binding signed M. Lortic.

201 x 155 mm.

Corneille, Pierre. Nicomède. Tragedy. Rouen, Laurens Maurry. With royal privilege, 1651.

First edition, now very rare, of one of Pierre Corneille’s masterpieces.
Tchemerzine, II, 566; E. Picot, no.65, pp.75-78; Le Petit, pp.176-177.

“This tragedy should be counted among his finest works” (E. Picot).

“But apart from Nicomède, none of these plays come close to his masterpieces. And how many mediocre or dreadful tragedies: Théodore 1645; Héraclius, 1647; Pertharite, 1651, etc.” (Rev. J. P. C.).

Nicomède ranks among Corneille’s treasures.

“This tragedy was performed with great success… Several verses contain interesting allusions to the arrest and recent release of the Prince of Condé and his brother” (Le Petit).

The action takes place in the second century BC in Nicomedia, capital of Bithynia. King Prusias has a son from his first marriage, Nicomède, a valiant and proud captain determined to stand up to the Romans, and another son, Attalus, by Arsinoe, his second wife. Attalus was raised in Rome and has become the docile vassal of Roman power. Arsinoe, looking out for her son’s interests, tries to turn her husband and the Romans against Nicomède to remove him from the throne, and by a stratagem, brings him from the camp where he has just won a victory. Nicomède and his half-brother are both in love with Laodice, queen of Armenia, who lives at Prusias’s court; only the former’s love is reciprocated. The Roman ambassador Flaminius, having completed his mission, stays to plot with Queen Arsinoe against Nicomède, whose glory and future greatness cast a shadow over the Romans. Prusias complains about his son’s sudden return as a sign of disobedience, the young man made proud by his victories; but Nicomède’s noble words calm him. The young hero urges his father to resist the Romans, whose intrigues he has uncovered, and to stand against the Roman ambassador who supports Attalus and demands Laodice and Armenia—Nicomède will defend her so she can dispose of herself freely.

Beyond its happy and romantic ending, this work, though constructed as a true tragedy, has rather the character of heroic comedy.

Nevertheless, Nicomède is not an isolated case in Corneille’s work. The play participates in a recurring reflection on the relationship between the Machiavellianism of reason of state and heroic generosity, and on the theme of political ingratitude by the king towards his servant who has become too powerful and dangerous because of his services to the monarchy.

Precious and rare first edition in an elegant red Jansenist morocco binding byM. Lortic.