Lugduni (Lyon), Anno M. DC. LVIII., (1658), small in-12mo, title page + 94 p., last leaf's upper inner corner torn off and repaired (loss of a few words), upper margin cut too short (partial loss of page number in one or 2 cases), title page foxed, browning and small light waterstain to last part of the vol., p. 21/22 with large tear repaired, library stamps (both names are Czech) on endpaper, marbled endpaper on inside frontcover with traces of eliminated bookplate, calf binding, gold tooled spine, large goldtooled coat of arms (showing the initials "R M F") on both covers, spine ends chipped, two tiny traces of worming, some waterstains, lower corners and spine partly rubbed, top corners scraped, red sprinkled edges.
First French edition, translated by Jacques Carpentier de Marigny from the first English edition of 1657 of «Killing (a tyrant is) no murder». This work was published to instigate the assassination of Oliver Cromwell, it is one of the most shocking and well-known works to be written during the Protectorate. The three questions treated in this pamphlet are: 1. "Whether my Lord Protector be a Tyrant of not?" 2. "If he be, whether it is Lawful to do Justice upon him without solemnity, that is, to kill him? 3. "If it be lawful, whether it is likely to prove profitable or noxious to the commonwealth?" Pamphlet is addressed to Oliver Cromwell and the Army in Preface. Colonel Titus was a member of Parliament from 1680 to 1681, royalist. Cromwell was Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658.The goldtooled coat of arms (surmounted by the coronet of a duke) on this calf binding, could not yet be identified by us.Première traduction française de «Killing no murder», faite sur l'originale anglaise de 1657 par Carpentier de Marigny, probablement commandité par le cardinal de Retz. L'ouvrage ne sera plus réimprimé en français avant la Révolution (1793) et le Consulat (édition de 1800). “Édition originale et rare d'un livre assez recherché. ... on y a fait une réponse sous le titre de «Killing is murder» ...” (Brunet). “On en a fait, sous l'ancienne date, une réimpression à Paris en 1793 ...” (Graesse).Dirigé contre la politique arbitraire de Cromwell, assimilé par une partie de ses anciens compagnons comme par les royalistes anglais à un tyran, l'opuscule semble étonnant dans cette traduction française à la même époque; mais le traité que Mazarin signa en mars 1657 avec le Protecteur, et qui devait mener à la cession de Dunkerque excitait vivement les opposants à la politique du Cardinal. Brunet I/189-190; Graesse I/80; Weller -. image disp.
Phone number : 41 (0)26 3223808