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an old brown book sitting on top of a white surfacean old book with a picture of a person holding a globea small book that is sitting on a tablean open book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablea book that is sitting on top of a tablean open book with a black and white image of a letter c on it
KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE

147 - [LA MOTHE LE VAYER, François de].
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Estimate €150 - €250
Sale commission
Description
[LA MOTHE LE VAYER, François de]. ‎Hexameron rustique, or Six Days Spent in the Countryside... Cologne, Pierre Brenussen, 1671. In-12 (13.5 x 8 cm), beige calfskin, ribbed spine, gilt title, place and year of publication on the tail. 156 pp. Binding slightly rubbed. Slight pinholes and water stains at the corners. An edition published in Cologne by Pierre Brenussen, one year after the first, of this satirical work, a prime example of ‘erudite libertinism’, which was placed on the Index shortly after its publication. It features a group of young scholars—characters behind whom the author and five of his friends are concealed—who, over the course of six sessions, engage in impertinent debates on classical literature, philosophy and theology. The exchanges blend classical references (quotations in Greek and Latin), philosophical reflections in the humanist tradition of Montaigne, and remarks that are at times free-spirited, playful, or even risqué. François de La Mothe Le Vayer (Paris, 1588–1672), magistrate, philosopher and royal historiographer, tutor to the Duke of Orléans and later to Louis XIV, is one of the leading exponents of ‘erudite libertinism’ (or ‘libertinism of the mind’), a school of thought defined and described by René Pintard in his seminal thesis. It was a movement of free thought that challenged dogmas and conventional wisdom, seeking to emancipate itself or break free from metaphysics and religious morality (e.g. Molière’s *Dom Juan*), whilst practising the art of dissimulation and secrecy. A fine copy, bound in the 19th century.
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About the sale Collectors’ books for sale – First editions – Illustrated editions – Varia IV
Auction location
Auction time 11/02/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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