145. SIDNEY (Algernon). Discours sur le gouvernement. Paris, - Lot 145

145. SIDNEY (Algernon). Discours sur le gouvernement. Paris, Josse & Langlois, An 2 (1794). 3 volumes in-8, xiv, 448 p. ; 418 p., vi ; 400 p., 7 p., marbled fawn basane, ornate smooth spine, gilt roulette frame on covers (period binding). Although Algernon Sidney's Discourse on Government was published posthumously in 1698, and translated into French as early as 1702, he was already developing in it largely pre-revolutionary ideas: liberty is opposed to absolute slavery to the will of a single man, nations have a natural right to self-government, government is established for the good of the governed, not the rulers, laws are above kings, the uprising of an entire nation cannot be called rebellion. Sidney places great importance on fundamental laws as a means of limiting royal power, and he further asserts that the people, as the original sovereign, have the power to judge whether the monarch respects these fundamental laws. Involved in a plot against the king himself, he was eventually executed for treason. Sidney's influence was felt as late as 1789, when his ideas found their way into several revolutionary speeches, and the presence of this copy in Jean Debry's library should come as no surprise. This edition is based on the 1702 edition, with the addition of a frontispiece portrait. Provenance: from the library of Jean Debry (1760-1834), attested by his bookplate engraved with the imperial eagle on the back cover. Jean Debry was a deputy at the Convention, where he voted for the death of Louis XVI, and a member of the Comité de salut public (Public Safety Committee), before coming into contact with Bonaparte and being re-elected to the Cinq-Cents. He cooperated in the Floréal coup d'état and was appointed Prefect of Doubs. During the Hundred Days, he accepted the prefecture of Bas-Rhin from the Emperor, but was dismissed during the Second Restoration and exiled to Mons, where he lived out his remaining years. Slightly rubbed bindings with epidermal marks, dull corners, spotting on spine, other defects minor.