254 - SAAVEDRA FAJARDO, Diego de, and ROU, Jean (trans.). The Christian and Political Prince.

SAAVEDRA FAJARDO, Diego de, and ROU, Jean (trans.). The Christian and Political Prince. The original French edition of one of the greatest works of Spanish political theory from the Golden Age. Paris, La Compagnie des Libraires du Palais, 1668. 2 volumes in-12 (150 x 85 mm), full brown grained calfskin, ribbed spine, panels decorated with filigree gold ironwork, gold roulettes at the cap and cut edges, red speckled edges. 13 unnumbered folios, 571 pages; 1 unnumbered folio, 592 pages, and 7 unnumbered folios; 1 frontispiece, 1 plate, and 103 engraved emblems in the text. Binding rubbed, cap bands damaged, spine slightly faded, front cover joint slightly split at the tail (Volume I), corners slightly rubbed, some foxing, a few pages have browned. French first edition of *Empresas políticas* by Dom Diego Saavedra Fajardo (1584–1648). A brilliant ambassador and statesman, Dom Diego Saavedra Fajardo is also known for having cultivated and refined Spanish literature. Our volume lies at the intersection of these two fields: it is both an educational treatise dedicated to the Infante Balthazar-Charles of Spain and a literary masterpiece. It contains one hundred lessons in political education, each opening with an “emblem”—an engraved allegorical vignette—featuring a motto on which the author elaborates, drawing upon the great Latin thinkers and the Holy Scriptures. A copy in good condition of one of the earliest examples of a book of political emblems.