Jean de la Bruyère - Les caractères de Théophraste et de la Bruyère - 1789-1790

Jean de la Bruyère - The Characters by Théophraste - in London, 1789 and 1790 - IV pp, 248 pp, 286 pp - full calf, genuine of the period - in-16 - 8 x 14.5 cm.

Condition: Headbands, gutters in good condition, hinges solid, 2 corners worn, double gilt edge lines framing the boards, spine smooth adorned with gilt tools and title and volume pieces, some foxing, heraldic ex-libris "Graire", speckled edges. Complete in 2 volumes. Fine copy.

Context and details of the edition:

• The publisher: This edition was notably printed by the British publishing house G. G. J. & J. Robinson.

• The content: At that time, reissues commonly included the original text of La Bruyère (first published in 1688), his translation of Théophraste, as well as the famous commentaries, notes, and La Bruyère’s Defense written by Pierre Coste.

• Historical significance: The publication of French-language editions in London at the end of the eighteenth century, during the French Revolution, testifies to the enormous success of the French moralists across the Channel and the interest of intellectual circles or émigrés in these universal analyses of passions and human follies.

La Bruyère was one of the first writers to emphasize literary style, developing a rhythmic phrasing in which rupture effects are predominant. This style invites reading aloud, thereby giving this activity the status of moral judgment through the rhetorical effect achieved by oral reading on listeners. Moreover, La Bruyère devotes an entire section of The Characters to the perverse effects of eloquence. Many writers have followed the stylistic path laid out by La Bruyère: from Marivaux to Proust and André Gide, via Balzac."