Malherbe - Poesies / Sybille - 1666

The magic of words: from prophecy to poetry as a ritual of containment.
Sixteenth-century edition of the poems by François de Malherbe. The presence of the Sibyls introduces an openly esoteric core into the text. Ancient custodians of pre-Christian oracular knowledge, the Sibyls embody the memory of a word that obeyed not measure but vision. In this edition, they no longer prophesy: they are evoked, cited, historicized. Their knowledge is not denied but immobilized. It is the sign of an inverse initiatic operation, in which knowledge is not transmitted by ignition but preserved as a symbolic relic, deprived of its capacity to open the future.
This book thus marks the transition from a civilization of revelation to a civilization of symbolic control.
Market value
In the European antiquarian market, sixteenth-century editions of Malherbe's poetic works, particularly collections of the Odes and lyrical poems printed in Paris in the second half of the 17th century, generally range between 1,200 and 1,600 euros, with higher values for complete copies, in contemporary decorated bindings, and with good paper freshness. Collecting interest is supported by Malherbe's foundational role in the history of French poetry.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary binding in full brown leather with a spine decorated with gold tooling, plaque with a gilded title. Some tanning. Presence of ornate initials and typographic embellishments. In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 48nn; 596; 20nn; (2).

Full title and author
The Poems of M. de Malherbe.
Paris, at Thomas Iolli's, 1666.
François de Malherbe

Context and Significance
Malherbe occupies a unique position in French literature: not so much for the breadth of his work, but for the authority he exerted over poetic language. This edition attests to the canonical reception of his work, now seen as the foundation of a poetics of measure, clarity, and formal control. The Odes and poems collected here embody an ideal of writing that rejects the baroque excess and Renaissance irregularity, imposing a new ethic of the verse. The volume is therefore an essential document of the transition to full classicism and of the transformation of poetry into a regulated discipline.

Biography of the Author
François de Malherbe was born in Caen in 1555 and died in Paris in 1628. A poet and language theorist, he was the main architect of the stylistic reform that led to the birth of French classicism. Protected by Henry IV and later by Louis XIII, he exerted a profound influence on entire generations of poets, imposing strict meter, linguistic purity, and rhetorical control as fundamental principles of poetry.

Printing history and circulation
Printed in Paris at Thomas Jolly's workshop, in the second half of the 17th century, with the date 1666 and the privilege of the King, this edition is part of the long editorial tradition of Malherbe's works, which were frequently reprinted after his death as normative and reference texts. These editions enjoyed widespread circulation among educated and academic circles, contributing to the definitive canonization of the author. Collation, format, and total number of pages: to be verified with certainty based on bibliographic records or directly on the copy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Brunet, Manual for booksellers and book lovers, voice of Malherbe.
French Collective Catalogue (CCFr), seventeenth-century editions of Malherbe.
WorldCat, The Poems of M. de Malherbe, Paris, 1666.