Voltaire

Voltaire — marelibri

Dictionnaire Philosophique Portatif

1764réf. 1322Londres 1764. 8vo. 190 x 120 mm. 7 ½ x 4 ½ inches. viii 344 1 pp. Bound with half-title in contemporary Dutch decorated paper boards vellum spine and corner tips. Frontispiece portrait of Hugo Grotius dated 1790 probably added when bound. Some contemporary manuscript notes in the text and on the rear free endpaper. Very nice copy. First edition. Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary organized alphabetically and containing his thoughts on European society beginning with a short essay on Abraham and a critique of the stories of the Bible. Voltaire’s Dictionnaire ends with the topic of Virtue where referring to theologians in the Catholic Church his final words are a petition to God. In his most sarcastic way he completes his book with the sentence “Mon Dieu donnez nous souvent de pareils fripons!” My God give us often such rogues as these!. Voltaire had this work published in Geneva by Gabriel Grasset who to keep the authors identity secret created a false imprint stating London as the place of printing. Included are 73 essays on subjects ranging from Baptism to Character Equality Fables History Liberty Religion Solomon and Tyranny to name a few. “Voltaire sought to create a text which would fit in one's pocket and be affordable because "revolutionary material must be small enough for people to carry with them". What he created is a text which educated and amused at the same time.”Â As you can see by the subjects of Voltaire’s essays the Catholic Church was the target of much of his rhetoric. He wanted to expose the hypocrisy of the Church and at the same time advocate for a more rational God one who allowed for free will and self-examination as a major tenant of his philosophy. There are numerous edition of Voltaire’s Dictionnaire Philosophique but the first is scarce in the market. This is a nice copy in a sound and not unattractive copy. Roger Pearson Voltaire Almighty 2005. . unknown