Principes du Droit Politique. 2 vols in 1. Amsterdam, 1751.
Early Edition of Burlamaqui's Principles of Political Law [Burlamaqui, Jean Jacques (1694-1748)]. Principes du Droit Politique. Amsterdam: Chez Zacharie Chatelain, 1751. Two volumes in one. [vi], 304, [1]; [ii], 220, [4] pp. Octavo (6-1/4" x 3-1/2"). Contemporary mottled calf, blind rules to boards, raised bands, lettering piece and gilt ornaments to spine, gilt rules to board edges, edges rouged, marbled endpapers, green ribbon bookmark. A few small scuffs, nicks and scratches to boards, which are bowing slightly, moderate rubbing and light wear to extremities, two small holes to head of front joint, which is secure, corners bumped, front hinge just starting at head. Light toning to interior, light foxing and soiling in a few places, faint dampstain to preliminaries and first few leaves, small hole to upper right margin of approximately last 40 leaves, text not affected. An appealing copy. $500. * Early edition. The sequel to Principes du Droit Naturel (Principles of Natural Law), Burlamaqui's other major work, Principes du Droit Politique (Principles of Political Law) develops his thesis that international law is based on natural law and examines the principles of sovereignty with respect to considerations such as foreign rights, the necessity of war, the concept of absolute power, public treaties and economic factors. Burlamaqui, a Swiss jurist and professor of civil and natural law at Geneva, outlined a constitutional system based on principles similar to those of the American founding fathers. "Burlamaqui formulated the principles of popular sovereignty, of delegated power, of a constitution as a fundamental law, of a personal and functional separation of powers into three independent departments...and finally, he provided for an institutional guardian of the fundamental law" (Harvey). His other great achievement was to put Pufendorf's theories into systematic form. Some sources, including the BMC, incorrectly describe this edition as a 12mo. Harvey, Jean Jacques Burlamaqui: A Liberal Tradition in American Constitutionalism 178-179. British Museum Catalogue (Compact Edition) 4:249.
Price: $500.00
Book number 72938