Les Poésies

Octavo, (24) ff., 596 pp., (10) ff. 
Red morocco, triple gilt fillet, spine decorated with gilt-tooled compartments and raised bands accented with a thin roll, decorated edges, inner gilt roll, all edges gilt. Contemporary binding.

182 x 116 mm.

Malherbe, François de. The Poems; with the observations of Monsieur Ménage. 
Paris, Thomas Jolli, 1666.

“First edition published by Ménage” (Brunet). 
Tchemerzine, IV, 344 ; Brunet, III, 1338.

Rare edition of François de Malherbe’s Poems (1555-1628), more complete than the original which contained only the six books of poems.  
This fine edition served as a model for subsequent editions.

“Sought-after edition in which one finds Antoine Godeau’s discourse on the works of Malherbe, which was not reproduced in the 1689 edition below. Beautiful copies in blue and green morocco have been sold for 72 fr. De Bure l’aîné, and 50 fr. Giraud” (Brunet, III, 1338).  
72 and 50 F OR were at the time very high prices; the original 1630 edition bound in superb period morocco, a now unattainable condition, was only sold for 41 F OR by Bertin and 91 F OR by Giraud.

“‘At last, Malherbe arrived...’, Boileau’s famous phrase rightly presents him as an innovator. A grammarian poet, he wanted to give the new century a new language. Celebrating the princes who mark a turning point in History by imposing political order and civil peace, he set himself up as a ‘tyrant of words and syllables’ to fix the language in its perfection. Turning his back on the anarchic fever of enrichment as well as Petrarchan subtleties, he purifies in the name of usage and common sense, and establishes the reign of simplicity and clarity, values that are truly ‘classical’. In his eyes, this stabilized language would be just as fit as classical Latin to express truth in an unalterable form. ‘What Malherbe writes lasts eternally’; this concluding note, punctuating several of his pieces, resounds as a cry of victory over conquered anguish. ‘But my inclination is to aspire / Where glory is undoubtable.’ The writing of each poem thus becomes the conquest of the place where the infinite beauty is combined with its universality and timelessness, where the poet speaks the essential word. Thus is explained the ‘unreasonable nature, the inhuman, maniacal side’ (Ponge) of Malherbe’s work. There is a Mallarméan aspect to Malherbe that continues to fascinate us” (Louis Delibes).

“Although his poetic output was rather modest, Malherbe was praised by several generations of authors as the creator of classical literature” (Nicolas Ducimetière).

Magnificent copy, with very large margins, preserved in its Parisian morocco of the time, from the library of the Duke Albert de Luynes (1672-1758).