< Back

The first, best and most complete edition

HOBBES, Thomas,
Elemens philosophiques de citoyen. raicté politique, où les fondemens de la societé civile sont descouverts ... traduicts en François par un de ses amis.

With the printer's orrery device on title, an engraved allegorical title ("Les fondemens de la politique"), and the full-page portrait of Hobbes opposite his dedication to the count of Devonshire, woodcut initials and tail-pieces.

With the printer's orrery device on title, an engraved allegorical title ("Les fondemens de la politique"), and the full-page portrait of Hobbes opposite his dedication to the count of Devonshire, woodcut initials and tail-pieces.

With the printer's orrery device on title, an engraved allegorical title ("Les fondemens de la politique"), and the full-page portrait of Hobbes opposite his dedication to the count of Devonshire, woodcut initials and tail-pieces.

With the printer's orrery device on title, an engraved allegorical title ("Les fondemens de la politique"), and the full-page portrait of Hobbes opposite his dedication to the count of Devonshire, woodcut initials and tail-pieces.



Amsterdam, Joan Bleau, 1649. 8vo. Contemporary mottles calf, spine gilt in compartments, gilt binding edges, red speckled edges. With the printer's orrery device on title, an engraved allegorical title ("Les fondemens de la politique"), and the full-page portrait of Hobbes opposite his dedication to the count of Devonshire, woodcut initials and tail-pieces. (64), 246, (2, blank), 144, (16) pp. Collation: *-3*8, 4*-5*4, A-P8, Q4, 2A-2K8.

Original and best edition of the first translation into French of this important work of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), the English philosopher, still remembered today for his work on political philosophy. In many ways this book is a prelude to Hobbes' most famous book Leviathan (1651) which established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory. The State, according to Hobbes, might be regarded as a great artificial man or monster (Leviathan), composed of men, with a life that might be traced from its generation under pressure of human needs to its dissolution through civil strife proceeding from human passions. The work was closed with a general "Review and Conclusion", in direct response to the war which raised the question of the subject's right to change allegiance when a former sovereign's power to protect was irrecoverably gone. Also he criticized religious doctrines on rationalistic grounds in the Commonwealth.

Hobbes was working on his philosophical program already in the 30's of the seventeenth century. The political difficulties in England, however, disrupted him from the orderly execution of his objective. By the end of the Short Parliament in 1640, he had written a short treatise called The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic. It was not published and only circulated among his acquaintances in manuscript form. Many (though not all) elements of Hobbes's political thought were unchanged between The Elements of Law and Leviathan , which demonstrates that the events of the English Civil War  had little effect on his contractarian methodology.
When in November 1640 the Long Parliament  succeeded the Short, Hobbes felt he was a marked man by the circulation of his treatise and fled to Paris. He did not return for eleven years.
Hobbes worked on the third section of the Elements, De Cive, which was finished in November 1641. Although it was initially only circulated privately, it was well received, and included lines of argumentation to be repeated a decade later in the Leviathan. He then returned to hard work on the first two sections of his work.
The English Civil War broke out in 1642, and when the Royalist cause began to decline in the middle of 1644 there was an exodus of the king's supporters to Europe. Many came to Paris and were known to Hobbes. This revitalised Hobbes's political interests and the De Cive was republished and more widely distributed. The printing began in 1646 by Samuel de Sorbiere and was finished through the Elsevier press at Amsterdam in 1647, provided with a new preface and some new notes in reply to objections.
The present translation of De Cive is made by Samuel de Sorbière (1615-1670), a French scholar and translator, best known for his promotion of the works of Pierre Gassendi and Thomas Hobbes. After relocating to the Netherlands, he published a French translation of Thomas More 's Utopia in 1643. He also arranged for the publication of Hobbes's De Cive in Amsterdam in 1647 (see above), and published this French translation in 1649. He also published a French translation of De Corpore Politico, or the Elements of Law in 1652, and helped secure a publisher for Hobbes's own Latin translation of Leviathan in 1668.

There are two editions of the present first translation into French published in 1649. Our copy belongs to the first edition and is more complete than most other copies. The second edition has the same imprint (Amsterdam, Joan Bleau), but is probably printed at Paris, containing (24), 448, (16) pp. Our copy contains: the engraved title, printed title, dedication to Cornifidz Wllefeldt (ff. 3r-9v), signed La Hay, 20 July 1649 by Sorbiere, the preface (ff. 10r-23v), a letter by Gassenda to Sorbiere, Paris 28 April 1646 (ff. 24r-25r), a letter by Mercenne to Sorbiere, Orléans, 15 April 1646 (ff. 25v-26r), Table (ff.26v-27v), the portrait of Hobbes (not present in the second edition), the dedication to the count of Devonshire, lacking in some copies (ff.29r-32v). The text is divided in three sections: (1) La liberté (pp. 1-73), (2) L'Empire (pp. 74-246, including f. Q4 (blank), lacking in most copies, (3) La religion (pp. 1-144), and the 'Advertissement du traducteur, adjousté apres la publication de cest ouvrage' (quire Kk, 8 leaves), which is also lacking in most copies and which Brunet thinks is only present in the second edition.

Good copy of this highly important book.- (Top and tail of spine sl. dam.)
Brunet II, col. 240; MacDonald & Hargraves,Thomas Hobbes. A bibliography, 32.

Related Subjects: 17th Century  English  French  Philosophy 

Add to Shopping cart
€ 1.975,00

Prices in EUROS (€), shipping and BTW/VAT extra.

< Back

Terms of sale

All items are offered subject to prior sale. Prices are nett and in (€) EURO. VAT/BTW, postage, and insurance are not included. 

Free shipping for orders over € 2,500.  EU customers: if applicable, please quote your VAT number when placing orders.

Preferred mode of payment: by credit card through our secure online payment service, which is facilitated by Ogone. If you wish to make other arrangements, please contact us. Terms of sale

E-mail this to a friend







This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots. (see: www.captcha.net)

Type the characters that you see in the box (5 characters). The code can include characters 0..9 and A..F.*

  


Antiquariaat FORUM B.V.
Tuurdijk 16
3997 MS t Goy-Houten,
The Netherlands
Phone: (+31) (0)30 601 1955
Fax: (+31) (0)30 601 1813
E-mail: info@forumrarebooks.com
Web: http://www.forumrarebooks.com