[TUET, Jean-Charles]. *Matinées Sénonoises, or French Prover - Lot 294

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[TUET, Jean-Charles]. *Matinées Sénonoises, or French Prover - Lot 294
[TUET, Jean-Charles]. *Matinées Sénonoises, or French Proverbs*. Paris and Sens: published by Née de la Rochelle and the widow Tarbé, 1789. In-8, half-maroquin with red corners and blind-stamped edging, spine with blind-stamped raised bands, title and date in gilt lettering, combed paper endpapers and linings, gilt head edge (later binding signed “Petit succ. de Simier”) xvi, 544 and 2 ff., title medallion. Minor scuffing, slight brown marks on the leather. Foxing, more prominent in the margins. First edition of this compilation of 500 proverbs, maxims, sayings, and proverbial expressions in the French language, by Abbé Tuet (1742–1797), canon of Sens. Each proverb or expression is analyzed in terms of its historical or etymological origins, its use in literature, and its Greek or Latin equivalents. The work concludes with an index organized according to the order defined in the preface: proverbs that consist of a maxim or saying (“good wine needs no cork,” “don’t undress before going to bed,” etc.), that consist of a single word (“amphitrion,” “coq-à-l’âne,” “dévergondée,” “écornifleur,” etc.), those that begin with an infinitive (“to remain between two stools with one’s backside on the ground,” “to smell a little stronger, but no better than roses,” etc.), that begin with a noun or an adjective (“delicate and blond,” “smoke seller,” etc.), that form a complete sentence (“it’s nothing, it’s a woman drowning,” “he took a dump in my trunk,” etc.) and that consist of an adverb (“between dog and wolf”). “By proverb,” the author comments, “I do not mean those vulgar expressions, devoid of wit, grace, or any interest—in a word, firmly rooted in the mud from which they were born. A proverb is, [says Erasmus], ‘a famous and commendable saying distinguished by its pithy form.’” [Barbier, III, 87] A fine copy preserved in an elegant binding by Petit, successor to Simier.
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