[CHASTELLUX (François Jean marquis de). Of public happiness. - Lot 316

Lot 316
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Estimation :
700 - 1000 EUR
[CHASTELLUX (François Jean marquis de). Of public happiness. - Lot 316
[CHASTELLUX (François Jean marquis de). Of public happiness. Or considerations on the fate of men in the different periods of history. Amsterdam, Marc-Michel Rey, 1772. 2 volumes in one in-8, half marbled basane with small corners, red title page, yellow edges speckled with red (Binding of the time). Goldsmiths, n°10824. - INED, n°1705. - Coquelin & Guillaumin, t. I, p. 337. First edition. Companion in arms and friend of George Washington, Chastellux (1734-1788) tried to measure progress and to demonstrate, with the help of his indices, the possibility of an improvement of the human condition. By comparing in his main work [De la félicité publique] the situation of men at different periods of history, he intends to investigate whether or not there has been progress. His conclusions on progress and population already announce Condorcet. [...] This analysis also shows the necessity of looking for the solution of the evils of humanity, not in artificial plans, but in the accumulation and diffusion of knowledge and in the evolution of social progress (Spengler, pp. 236-240). A copy in a slightly later binding of the period. The table leaf of volume II, which should be in volume I, has been moved by the binder after the title of volume II. A few light brown spots.
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