1 / 8
Photo 1/8 du lotPhoto 2/8 du lotPhoto 3/8 du lotPhoto 4/8 du lotPhoto 5/8 du lotPhoto 6/8 du lotPhoto 7/8 du lotPhoto 8/8 du lot
KÂ- MONDO / KAPANDJI MORHANGE

242 - NICOLAS (Augustin). Si la torture est un moyen seur a verifi…
See original version (French)

Estimate €300 - €400
Sale commission
Description
NICOLAS (Augustin). Si la torture est un moyen seur a verifier les crimes secrets; dissertation morale et juridique, par lequel il est amplement traitéé des abus qui se commettent par tout en l'instruction des procés criminels, & particulierement en la recherche du Sortilege. Necessary work for all Judges, both Sovereign and Subordinate, & for all Lawyers who are consultants & patrocinans. A manifesto for the abolition of torture, a century before Beccaria. Amsterdam, Abraham Wolfgang, 1681. Small in-8 (160 x 101 mm), mottled havana basane, spine ribbed and decorated with leather and gilt small-ink ornamented boxes, red edges (contemporary binding). 224 pp, 4 ff. nch. Spine and cuts with important restorations. Interior a little yellowed, some foxing. Very rare first edition. At the end of a long demonstration, both moral and legal, Augustin Nicolas, King's Councillor and Master of Requests at the Dijon Parliament, took a clear stand: "We can conclude with evidence that torture is a way of lying, of error, & of obvious recklessness, which God has commanded us exclusively to avoid in all our judgements, both in the Old and New Testaments, that it produces every day excesses of cruelty unworthy of our humanity, & of the Christian name: that we cannot prescribe so much moderation in it, that it does not succeed all the more deceitfully with regard to deceivers and sorcerers, and that ignorance, malice, indiscreet zeal, or the commitment of Judges cannot introduce into it a thousand abuses and a thousand excesses, which morally can only be avoided by a complete abolition of a means of error, injustice, and iniquity so well known". The work, which heralded the reformism of the Enlightenment and appeared a century before Beccaria's masterpiece (Traité des délits et des peines 1766), was dedicated to King Louis XIV; however, Augustin Nicolas did not obtain the right to publish it in France and was forced to use the Amsterdam press. Provenance: from the library of Chessimont with heraldic bookplate. A fresh and clean copy.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Prestige sale - Antiquarian and collectible books
Auction location
Auction time 06/15/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like