[J. D. RAMIER DE LA RAUDIERE] - L'âge d'or ou les vertus helvétiques. Ode. - 1766

J. D. Ramier de la Raudière

The Golden Age or the Helvetic virtues. An ode dedicated to the generous protectors of Belles-Lettres and the Friends of Humanity.

Printed at the expense and for the benefit of the Author, by whom each copy will be signed. Yverdon, Switzerland, around 1766.

1 volume in-8 (20.6 x 12.1 cm) of 45 pages. The first leaf counted in the pagination is blank.

Full paper binding from the period. Binding on string entirely covered with a very pretty paper from Augsburg (Germany) decorated with floral motifs. Very fresh overall. Binding in superb condition. Very slight scuffs. Small perforation without loss on three leaves, with no impact on the text.

Very rare edition.

Contrary to what is stated in the title, our copy is not signed by the author. The copy from the Lausanne city cantonal library is signed.

The typographical ornament base (Cantonal University Library of Lausanne) indicates that this volume comes off the presses of Fortuné-Barthélemy de Félice, in Yverdon, probably in 1766.

This poem in verse in praise of the Helvetic people is preceded by a Preliminary Discourse that spans pages 5 to 13, and concludes with an Epistle.

I ask without flattery. Are there peoples in Europe, and perhaps across the entire earth, who deserve to be praised more than those who make up the Helvetic Corps? Are there any who better revive the customs of the earliest ages; that is, of this happy century called the golden age?


Little is known about the author. He was Protestant, lived in Tournai, Belgium, and his literary work was marked by philosophical reflection and ideas of fraternity and tolerance. He authored several works, always self-published: 'The Mirror of Legislative Virtues' (1772), 'Anti-Suicide or Suicide Combated by Courage and Virtue' (1777), and 'The Triumph of Heroism. Ode to Monsieur Admiral Keppel' (1779). He also produced 'The Protestant Lyre,' dedicated to supporters of the good cause, to those genuinely interested in maintaining balance in Europe, to sincere friends of truth, and to generous protectors and restorers of the Arts, Literature, and Artists (around 1760), a work that was not distributed commercially and was sent 'in an envelope to powerful and respected figures' (Barbier, II, 1339). The same likely applies to this Ode. Our copy is unsigned; something prevented him from signing it... He supposedly shot himself in 1784 in Aix-la-Chapelle. (Cf. French Manuscripts from the Berlin collection, vol. 1, p. 282). His tragic, voluntary death is described in the slightest detail in the Scandalous Chronicle (published 1791, vol. 2, p. 121 and following).

Localization: no copy listed in the Collective Catalogue of French Libraries (CCfr); the record from the University Library of Neuchâtel indicates that this poem was published with the date 1766, without the Preliminary Discourse (in which he explains that he was reproached for publishing this poem himself without consulting a publisher). A few copies can be found in Swiss libraries.

A beautiful and rare specimen in elegant and fragile packaging of the era.