La Claire. Or, On the Prudence of Law, First Dialogue. Plus, La clarté amoureuse. Paris, Guillaume Cavellat, 1554. In-8, fawn calf, double framed with three cold fillets, fleuron at the corners, cold dextrochere in the centre, spine decorated (Binding of the period).
Barbier, t. III-IV, n°32.
Rare first edition.
On the title, woodcut portrait of the author's muse.
First literary work of the lawyer and poet Louis Le Caron (1534-1613), published in Paris after his return from the university of Bourges. It contains dialogues on the philosophy of law, exchanged by the author with the said Claire, a virtuous and learned lady with whom he was in love and whom he took as a guide in his studies (cf. Cécile Alduy, Politique des "Amours", Droz, 2007, p. 193 et seq.).
Numerous love poems are grouped together at the end of the volume, under the title La Clarté amoureuse, a part which occupies 40 leaves: we find in particular an ode to Ronsard, "prince of the Poetes François".
The epistle is dedicated to Claire's cousin: [...] by your advice I put in light, the faithful dialogue witness of the constant friendship, that your cousin & me made [...]. I have listened to a few French Carmelites, not to deserve the name of Poet, & to deserve the company of the divine spirits, who by their immortalized songs eternalised their ladies, but to describe the ardour of my amorous desire, & in it to extinguish all memory of vulgar love [...].
Inner margin of the title restored. Rubbing to the binding, a bit cracked, head cap reattached.
We use cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience, perform site traffic analysis, and deliver content and advertisements most relevant to your interests.
Cookie management:
By allowing these cookies, you agree to the deposit, reading and use of tracking technologies necessary for their proper functioning. Read more about our privacy policy.
