BODIN, Jean. Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem. - Lot 32

BODIN, Jean. Methodus ad facilem historiarum cognitionem. Published in Paris by Martin le Jeune in 1572. In octavo / In-8 (150x90 mm) format. Brown calf, ribbed spine decorated with small gilt irons, red speckled edges. 8 ff.n.ch., 613 pages, 9 ff.n.ch. index. Spine rubbed, headbands faded, corners dull, some pages foxed, light spotting in lower margin on about 50 leaves (pp.177-228). In Latin. Second edition, revised and enlarged, of this important treatise by Jean Bodin (1530-1596), in which he proposes new methods for learning history. A polygraph of genius and a pure product of humanist education at the end of the Renaissance, Jean Bodin is best known for his Six Livres de la République, a major work of political theory that served as the basis for perfecting absolute monarchy. But it was his Method that made Bodin famous, both for the novelty of its purpose - at the heart of a philosophical project to totalize knowledge - and for the exhaustiveness of the list he proposes in chapter X. A good copy of this major work of European historical thought.