First edition of the Pensées philosophiques by Diderot
First edition of the Pensées philosophiques by Diderot.
A copy in contemporary red morocco coming from
Louis Pierre Parat de Chalandray and Robert Hoe’s collections.
DIDEROT. Pensées philosophiques.
The Hague, Aux dépens de la Compagnie, 1746.
12mo [152 x 89 mm] of (1) bl.l., 1 frontispiece, (1) l. of title, 136 pp., (6) ll. of table, (1) bl.l.
Bound in contemporary full red morocco, triple gilt filet on covers, spine ribbed and decorated with gilt filets and fleurons, light-brown morocco lettering-piece, inner gilt border, flowered end-papers, gilt edges. A few small stains on covers. Contemporary binding.
First edition of the first great philosophical treatise by Diderot.
Tchemerzine, II, 919 ; David Adams, Bibliographie des œuvres de Denis Diderot, II, PD3 ; Niklaus (1965).
A copy on thick paper from the first issue according to Niklaus and Tchemerzine, with the printing errors mentioned by the latter at pp. 31 to 34 and 43 to 46 (ref. : Tchemerzine, II, 919) ; from the third issue according to David Adams (ref. : David Adams, II, PD3).
« The rare first issue contains printing errors at pp. 31 to 34 and 43 to 46 » (Tchemerzine).
The work appears like an eulogy of deism, opposed in the meantime to the revealed religions, especially to christianity and to atheism.
« Diderot denounces the absurdity of the different dogmas of the Christian religion that he judges as immoral, while emphasizing the weakness of the evidences invoked by it, notably historical evidences, most of the time based on suspicious statements. He also blames the ideal of asceticism of Christian moral to which he proposes to substitute a moral aiming a free development of the human nature. Besides Diderot undertakes to refute atheism that he opposes to the sight of the order of nature, especially the one ruling the living world, which reveals, according to him, the existence of a creative intelligence. Nevertheless he recognizes the strength of the arguments presented by the atheists, and that it is why sometimes it was said that the deism paraded by Diderot was the mask of an atheism which did not dare to tell its real name ».
The treatise contains 62 philosophical thoughts.
The moment that it was published, it was condemned to fire by the Parliament of Paris on July 7th 1746 as « presenting to the worried and rash minds the spite of the most criminal and the most absurd opinions, which depravity of the human reason is capable of, and placing by a feigned uncertainty all the religions on the same rank ending up as unable to acknowledge any of them ».
Belin : Le mouvement philosophique de 1748 à 1789, p. 25. Parie, 1913.
The present work is illustrated in first issue with an engraved frontispiece representing the Truth, standing on the right pulling out the mask from the Superstition who, knocked over, is holding a broken scepter.
A beautiful wide-margined copy preserved in its contemporary red morocco.
Provenance: handwritten note on the endleaf: « Donné le 17 février 1782 à Mr. De Chalandray par Mme. sa mere » and Robert Hoe with ex libris.
Louis Pierre Parat de Chalandray (1746-1836) is a high-ranking official and French politician. He was the last lord of La Celle Saint-Cloud and of Bazemont under the Ancien Régime, and the mayor of Bazemont for 22 years. He was born in Paris on November 14th 1746. Coming from a family of powerful financiers, his father is Jérome Louis Parat de Montgeron (1713-1792). He starts his public career as receiver-general of finances of Lorraine and Barrois, office inherited from his father, then he becomes receiver-general of finances of the Orleanais.
Price: € 15 000
