Traitté des ceremonies superstitieuses des juifs tant anciens que modernes.

12mo: [30]-531-[30-1 bl.]-30 pp. (title pasted on blank *1; occ. light dampstain, some minor marg. soiling).

Contemp. overl. vellum (sl. soiled), flat spine titled in ink.

First French edition of "Tractatus theologico-politicus", the principal work of Spinoza (1632-1677). This disguised edition, probably publ. by J. Rieuwertsz in Amsterdam, was printed in an easy to carry and hide 12mo-format, in 2 almost identical issues (this is variant X3), and with three fictitious titles; the other 2 being "La clef du sanctuaire. Leiden, P. Warnaer, 1678" and "Reflexions curieuses d'un esprit des-interressé. Cologne, C. Emanuel, 1678". At the end, Spinoza's remarks, published here for the first time ("Remarques curieuses et necessaires pour l'intelligence de ce livre"). The need for secrecy was driven by the charges of atheism levelled against Spinoza, by his expulsion from the Jewish temple and by his desire to avoid being drawn into any public controversy. The original Latin ed. of the "Tractatus" (1670) caused a scandal and was banned in 1674. It is one of the most eloquent arguments for a secular, democratic state in the history of political thought. "It constituted an extension to political thought of his ethical views. Man is moved to the knowledge and love of God; the love of God involves the love of our fellow men. Man, in order to obtain security, surrenders part of his right of independent action to the State. But the State exists to give liberty, not to enslave; justice, wisdom and tolerance are essential to the sovereign power. Spinoza's thought, a fusion of Cartesian rationalism and the Hebraic tradition in which he grew up, is a solitary but crystal-clear exposition of the theory of natural right. He defends with eloquence the liberty of thought and speech in speculative matters, and the "Tractatus" contains the first clear statement of the independence of each other of philosophy and religion, in that speculation and precepts of conduct cannot collide." (PMM). The translator was Gabriel de Saint-Glen (1620-1682), a French Calvinist who had fled to Amsterdam.
Ref. Kingma/Offenberg 15 (X3). - STCN 840787480 (i.a. BL). - Cp. Printing and the Mind of Man 153.
Prov. Ownership entry erased on title. - Note on top of chapter XV, Theologie "Aux legalins de Boulogne" [?].