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The first edition to include Voltaire's version of Frederick the Great's chapter-by-chapter rebuttal of The Prince. Occupying most of Volume VI, the two texts are printed in parallel so that, as Frederick intended, the antidote sits next to the poison. 'The history of the publication of the Anti-Machiavel is, of course, fascinating . the nub of the matter being the coincidence of Frederick's ascending the throne when publication of his work, maintaining that rulers should govern according to the principles of private morality rather than what we would now call realpolitik, was embarrassingly imminent. As far as content is concerned, Voltaire made some modifications, but not many. [He] eliminated those elements that might jeopardize the international standing of a new (and young) European potentate. These changes involved in particular the elimination of over-dismissive judgements of reigning European heads of state and vigorous anti-clerical or even anti-religious statements. He ruthlessly excised every pleonasm, every redundant (according to classical tenets) image, every tendency to lengthy rhetoric, and every expression of general ideological principles (with which Frederick tended to introduce each chapter of his commentary). As a consequence, Frederick's text was reduced by one third, which, coincidentally, represents the proportion of notes to text for the Anti-Machiavel, so that (since the Refutation is not annotated) the two texts are of almost identical length (Richard Waller, The Modern Language Review, Vol. 94, no 3, 1999, p. 828). PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 6 volumes, 12mo [16cm x 10.5cm], title-pages printed in red and black, xvi, 591; 429, [1]; xxii, [ii], 374; xxxii, 446; 480; lx, 485 pp., with the seven folding tables and one engraved folding plate in Volume III, contemporary tree calf, rubbed, spines flaky, gilt in compartments with contrasting labels, nicked with loss to some spine ends, bookplates of 'Felicie Ewald et Suurum' and E. Rosenberger, uniform light browning, otherwise a good clean set without stamps or inscriptions. Seller Inventory # ABE-13413462921
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