1 / 2
Photo 1/2 du lotPhoto 2/2 du lot
OGER-BLANCHET

117 - DURET, Claude - Thresor de l'Histoire des langues de cest un…
See original version (French)

Estimate €400
Sale commission
Description
DURET, Claude - Thresor de l'Histoire des langues de cest univers, contenant les origines, beautez, perfections, décadences, mutations, changements, conversions, et ruines des langues. 2nd ed. Yverdon, Société Helvetiale Caldoresque, 1619. In-4, (16) ff, 1030 pp, double-page h. t. table (Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic characters), numerous alphabets reproduced in the text, lower margin of title trimmed short with loss of date, paper heavily yellowed, some light spotting, contemporary gran. brown calf, spine ribbed and ornamented, headpieces remain. CAILLET I, 3444. QUIRIELLE 80-82. BORST pp. 1260-1262. Dedicated to Maurice de Nassau, Prince of Orange. One part is devoted to the Kabbalah. Duret (Moulins circa 1570 - 1613), president of the presidial court of his native town, was a friend of Olivier de Serres and Du Bartas, whose Seconde Semaine (1591) he commented on. He believed that each language reflects the order of the world in its own way, just as each type of writing designates a way of relating to the cosmos. He therefore drew up a history of as many languages as possible, listing fifty-three, including those of birds and animals, illustrated by alphabets in the text. Alongside Hebrew and Greek, these include Assyrian, Egyptian, Chaldean, Arabic and many exotic languages. Strongly inspired by the Christian Kabbalah, he made extensive use of Vigenère's Traicté des chiffres. For Duret, studying languages meant studying the history, geography and literature of the various peoples of the world, based on a reflection on the origin of languages, the first and most ancient being Hebrew, which "during the confusion of the Tower of Babel" changed into a multitude of languages. The aim of the whole enterprise is to regain original universality, not by an impossible regression, but by exploring diversity and uncovering a hidden order (see Oeuvres philosophiques, PUF, tome I, 1116).
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale JEAN DEMAUX LIBRARY - DAY 1
Auction location
Auction time 06/18/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like