BOILEAU (Nicolas). Œuvres diverses du sieur D*** avec le Tra - Lot 26

BOILEAU (Nicolas). Œuvres diverses du sieur D*** avec le Traité du sublime ou du merveilleux dans le discours. Translated from the Greek by Longin. ÀParis, chez Denys Thierry, 1674. Large in-4, wide-margined copy, 24,6x17,8cm; (12)-142-(8)-36[numbered 143to178]-(2)-102-(10)pp., garnet morocco, ribbed spine, filleted edges, interior gilt lace, edges gilt on marble; the 4ff. preface to Longin's treatise erroneously placed after the general title of the collection; washed copy, 18th century bookplate and faded ink stain on title, 2 faint ink stains on frontispiece (Allô). 2 copper engravings hors texte: one as frontispiece by Pierre Landry, the other by François Chauveau. The first edition of this collection includes Son Art poétique: an exposition of the principles of classical art at its apogee and a critical overview of literary history, this Art poétique marks the culmination of a reflection on the art of versification revived in France since the 17th century, gradually linked to the study of grammatical and linguistic questions. However, the text is not without its contradictions, and Nicolas Boileau did not always follow his own precepts, for example in his early satires. And his heroic-comic verse parody "LeLutrin" in the original edition of. In this account of a dispute within a chapter about the location of a lectern, Nicolas Boileau mixes genres and treats a vulgar subject in an elevated style. He uses this medium to mock what he sees as the excesses of literary emphasis and allegorical abuse common in the literature of his time, but perhaps also with points in a spirit close to Jansenism, against the devout and a certain decadence of the church, or with an ambiguous praise of the king's glory. Nicolas Boileau published a supplement to the "Lutrin" in 1683. The treatise Du Sublime, formerly but erroneously attributed to the Athenian philosopher and rhetorician Longin (3rd century A.D.), appears here in the French translation by Gilles Boileau, brother of Nicolas Boileau, who probably made some alterations to the text.