Histoire de la Republique Romaine, dans le cours du VIIe siecle

Dijon: L.N. Frantin, 1777. FIRST EDITION. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the author, two folding typographic tables, two folding and one half-page engraved maps, eight full-page engraved busts, nine full-page engraved plates of medallions and coins, one full-page engraved plate of a Florentine monument. Contemporary mottled calf, gilt spines (damage to hinges and spines, but bindings are sound). From the Royal Military College Library of Canada. Internally perfect. First edition, a comprehensive study of the Roman Republic based on the contemporary writings of Sallust. In addition to a complete translation of his Historia, the author examined maps, archaeological sites, and ancient artifacts to contextualize his recension with accurate data. Charles de Brosses dedicated the final thirty years of his life to this massive project that he died without finishing, but the result is a monumental exploration of seven hundred years of European history much prized by the scholarly community.

De Brosses (1709-1777) was a politician and academic writer who made his way into the ranks of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, the Académie des Sciences, and the Arts et Belles-Lettres de Dijon. He was an enemy of Voltaire and endured exile twice.

Querard VIII: 413, Brunet V: 90.