Joseph de Lanjuinais, Le Monarque accompli, or Prodiges de B - Lot 158

Lot n° 158
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500 - 700 EUR
Joseph de Lanjuinais, Le Monarque accompli, or Prodiges de B - Lot 158
Joseph de Lanjuinais, Le Monarque accompli, or Prodiges de Bonté, de Savoir et de Sagesse, which praise His Imperial Majesty Joseph II, and which make this Auguste Monarch so precious to Humanity, discussed at the Tribunal of Reason & Equity. A Lausanne, chez Jean-Pierre Heubach, 1774. 3 vol. pet. in-8 of (2)-(2)-398 pp. ; 247 pp. ; 302 pp., fawn calf, smooth spine decorated, title coins in blue calf (contemporary binding). First edition. The praise of Joseph II is for Lanjuinais only a framework in which he exposes his opinions on various subjects of philosophy and political economy. "The accomplished Monarch was condemned by Parliament because of the violence of certain tirades. His social doctrines are largely borrowed from Linguet, from which he reproduces long passages without quoting him. There are frequent declamations against extreme inequality. Society is necessary. However, man in society is a slave who works incessantly to wear out his chains. He is overpowering the luxury that divides the nation into two enemy classes: a small number of owners rule over an infinite number of day labourers, whose wages are reduced to a strict minimum. Repartition of the land is impossible. The state is therefore inevitably dragged to its ruin" Lichtenberger. INED, 2587. Ex-libris Raoul de Lestanville. Very good copy.
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