160 - [GAUCHAT, Abbé Gabriel]. The Philosopher of Valais, or Philosophical Correspondence.

[GAUCHAT, Abbé Gabriel]. The Philosopher of Valais, or Philosophical Correspondence. Amsterdam, Le Jay, 1772. 2 volumes in-8, full brown speckled sheepskin, spine with guilloché raised bands, gilt fleurons between the bands, title and volume number labels in green morocco, gilt fillet on the edges, marbled edges (contemporary binding). xiv and 407 pp.; 448 pp., title medallion, headpieces, initials, and tailpieces. Bindings rubbed with slight wear to the leather on the covers, three wormholes on the spines, rare foxing, a few faint water stains, a tear at the bottom of p. 193, wormholes in the margins of the last leaves in Volume 2. Anonymous first edition, printed on fine laid paper. In the form of fictional correspondence, Abbé Gabriel Gauchat (1709–1777) defends the Catholic faith here in response to the ideas of the Enlightenment. A Jesuit and Doctor of Theology, Abbé Gauchat is the author of one of the most important apologetic works of the 18th century. Directed primarily against the philosophers of the Enlightenment, his works earned him the mockery of Voltaire. According to the Portuguese prelate Francisco Maria da Silva (1910–1977), “Abbé Gauchat possesses a refined and robust writing style in his works against unbelievers, and he wields it with delicacy, knowing how to dispense with certain elements of scholastic theology that discourage, weary, and distract the reader.” Handwritten bookplate by Couthaud, dated 1815 in Besançon. A fine copy of this rare work, complete in two volumes that were well-established at the time.