De l'Esprit. Paris: Durand, 1758.

HELVETIUS, Claude-Adrien

About this Item

First edition, the B issue as identified by D.W. Smith ('The Publication, of Helvétius's De l'esprit', French Studies, XVIII, 1964). 'No book during the eighteenth century, except perhaps Rousseau's Émile, evoked such an outcry from the religious and civil authorities or such universal public interest' (Smith). 'Helvetius had the honour of having his book De l'Esprit (1758) condemned by the Sorbonne and burnt by the hangman. Bentham read him in 1769 and immediately determined to devote his life to the principles of legislation, saying: "What Bacon was to the physical world, Helvetius was to the moral. The moral world has therefore had its Bacon, but its Newton is still to come". James Mill took Helvetius as his guide in the education of his son John Stuart' (Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy). PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 4to, with the half-title, [iv], xxii, 643, [1] pp., contemporary cat's-paw calf, rubbed and worn at spine and corners, front joint cracked but holding, all edges red, marbled endpapers with unidentified armorial bookplate, occasional spotting and some sections lightly browned, no library stamps or inscriptions, a sound copy overall. Seller Inventory # ABE-15567178833

Bibliographic Details

Title: De l'Esprit. Paris: Durand, 1758.

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Good