Louis de Bonald - Divorce - 1824

DIVORCE AS THE DISEASE OF MODERNITY: WHEN THE FAMILY COLLAPSES, THE STATE WOBBLES
Published in Turin in 1824, this treatise by Louis de Bonald represents one of the most influential and controversial reflections on the theme of divorce in post-revolutionary Europe. The work, here in a revised and expanded second edition, situates itself in the political and moral debate following the French Revolution, firmly opposing the dissolution of traditional bonds. Bonald interprets divorce not as a civil achievement, but as a symptom of a deep crisis of the natural and social order: the family, the original cell of society, becomes the ground on which the stability of the State is measured. The volume is thus at once a political treatise, a moral essay, and a reactionary manifesto, an expression of a thought that marked the entire 19th century.
MARKET VALUE
The 19th-century editions of Bonald, especially those printed outside France such as the Turin edition, maintain a constant interest among collectors of political history and counter-revolutionary philosophy. Copies in contemporary bindings and good condition typically fall in the range of 250 to 400 euros, with possible increases for copies with manuscript provenance or particular conservation characteristics.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary half-leather binding with marbled paper boards, typical of Piedmontese book production of the early 19th century; smooth spine with gilt lines and printed title. The volume presents as solid, with signs of use on the spine and corners. The title page shows widespread foxing and browning, as well as some interior pages, in line with the paper quality and natural preservation of the period. An ancient handwritten note on the title page is present, evidence of a concrete and lived circulation of the volume. Overall a genuine, unrestored copy. In ancient books with multi-century histories, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 300; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Du divorce, considéré au XIXe siècle relativement à l’état domestique et à l’état public de société
Turin, de l’Imprimerie Bianco, 1824
Louis de Bonald

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The work arises at a crucial moment in European history, when the legal gains of the French Revolution—including the introduction of divorce—are challenged during the Restoration. Bonald stands among the principal theorists of Catholic and monarchic reaction, proposing a view of society founded on transcendent and immutable principles. In this treatise, divorce is interpreted as a fracture of the natural order: by dissolving the family, the stability of the entire social body is compromised.
The text develops a systematic argument that intertwines law, theology, and political philosophy. The famous reflection reported in the volume rests on a core principle of Bonald’s thought: when the legislator deviates from the nature of things, the State enters a state of permanent instability. In this perspective, the family is not a modifiable legal construct, but an original and necessary institution, the very foundation of the political community. The book thus presents itself as a radical critique of modern juridicality, anticipating tensions that will run through the entire 19th-century Europe.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Louis de Bonald (1754–1840) was a French philosopher, politician, and counter-revolutionary thinker. After an initial support for the Revolution, he became one of its most authoritative critics, developing a political theory based on authority, religion, and tradition. A member of the Académie française, he exerted a strong influence on European conservative thought, particularly in debates on family, society, and sovereignty.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
This Turin edition of 1824, printed by l’Imprimerie Bianco, testifies to the circulation of Bonaldian thought in Italian territories during the Restoration. The note “seconde édition revue, corrigée et augmentée par l’auteur” indicates a revision directly by Bonald, a bibliographic highlight. Print runs were presumably limited and aimed at a literate and ideologically oriented audience, including jurists, clergy, and academic circles. Italian and Piedmontese editions are today less common than their French counterparts.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU/OPAC SBN, record for Bonald, Du divorce, Torino 1824, with locations in Italian libraries
Catalogue général BnF, Louis de Bonald, Du divorce, French editions and textual variants
WorldCat, census of European editions with indication of the 1824 Turin print
Barante, Études sur les écrivains contre-révolutionnaires, Paris, 1829, pp. 112–130
L. Jaume, Le discours jacobin et la démocratie, Paris, Fayard, 1989, sections on Bonald
Historical catalogs of Piedmontese publishing of the early 19th century, Imprimerie Bianco, Turin
Critical studies on counter-revolutionary thought and on the theory of the family in Bonald