Provinciales: Or, The Mysterie of Jesuitisme

London: Printed by J.G. for R. Royston, 1657. The first example of French prose as we know it today"—PMM

[PASCAL, Blaise]. Les Provinciales: Or, The Mysterie of Jesuitisme. Discover'd in certain Letters, Written upon occasion of the present differences of Sorbonne, between the Jansenists and the Molinists, from January 1656 to March 1657. S.N. Displaying the corrupt Maximes and Politicks of that Society. Faithfully rendred into English. London: Printed by J.G. for R. Royston, 1657.

First edition in English (first printed in French at Cologne in 1656-7). Twelvemo. [24], 409, [1, blank], [6] pp. With preliminary blank, a post-script leaf referring to the seventeenth letter, and two final leaves of errata and advertisements. Added engraved title-page by Ro[bert] Vaughan.

Eighteenth-century paneled calf, neatly rebacked, retaining old morocco lettering label. Spine lettered in gilt with decorative gilt board-edges. Eighteenth-century armorial bookplate of John Hustler of Acklam mounted on verso of engraved title-page. Early ink notations at bottom of engraved title-page. Leaves Q thru Q12 have been affected by printer's ink, mostly just a little smudging; verso of Q10 is the only page where two lines of text have been affected. Apart from the few flaws, this is a fine copy of a famous work.

This work is a series of eighteen letters in which, "Pascal defended Arnauld and satirized his Jesuit opponents and their theological and moral views. The work was published under the pseudonym Louis de Montalte and were probably the cooperative work of Pascal, Arnauld, and Pierre Nicole, though they were principally Pascal" (Edwards, P. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, p. 52). Les Provinciales is considered one of the great French literary masterpieces and the first example of French prose.

No translator's name ever appeared in any of the English editions, and to this day, the translator remains unknown. There is, however, a strong possibility that the work might have been translated by Evelyn. In 1664, a third volume on Jesuitisme appeared, and the translation was fully acknowledged by Evelyn. In his diaries, he writes: "This day was publish'd by me that part of the Mysterie of Jesuitism translated and collected by me, tho' without my name, containing the Imaginarie Heresy with 4 letters and other pieces...Evelyn included the book in the list of his works sent to Dr. Plot, and though he did not refer to it again in his Diary, his interest in the subject remained very active" (Keynes, John Evelyn, pp. 124-126).

Printing and the Mind of Man 140. Wing P643.

HBS 66919.

$2,000.