La Monarchie des Solipses, traduite de l’original latin de Melchior Inchofer Jesuite. Avec des remarques. Amsterdam, 1721.
First edition i
n French.
12mo (160 x 94 mm), pp. lx, [viii], 407, [1], title-page and verso of last leaf slightly browned,
in contemporary mottled calf, single with raised bands, gilt in compartments, lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, gilt edges, worn at extremities, lower joint repaired, bookseller’s label to front pastedown.
The first French translation of this interesting anti-Jesuit pamphlet, originally published in Latin as Monarchia solipsorum in Venice in 1645. Written under the pseudonym Lucius Cornelius Europeus, this satire exposes the vices of the Order. For a long time attributed first to the Jesuit, Melchior Inchofer, it is now generally thought to be by Giulio Clemente Scotti, a disaffected Jesuit said to have been unfairly overlooked for the post of professor of Theology by his superiors. The work attacks the corruption, lies and calumny perceived at the heart of the order as well as criticising the worldly strategy of appointing only young men from wealthy families in order to benefit the society in the long term. It is preceded by an introduction which provides details on Inchofer and the political background of the satire. The Jesuits searched everywhere for this book in order to suppress it. The translation and the prefatory remarks are by Pierre Restaut (1696-1764).
Quérard VIII, 581