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preface reproaching Pope posthumously for his action, though not actually mentioning his name” (Rothschild). The Idea of a Patriot King “has been more highly praised and more roundly condemned than any of Bolingbroke’s other works . . . Bolingbroke confessed that Britain’s balanced constitution could be preserved only if the monarch acted on patriot principles, ruling in the interests of the nation at large and choosing as his ministers men of property, probity, and public virtue. If he did so, all political abuses would be remedied, all differences of principle resolved, and the nation would unite in the pursuit of virtue and patriotic harmony. The spiritual and material welfare of the nation would be promoted and a regular, formed opposition in parliament would no longer be necessary. It has been suggested, though not convincingly, that the superficiality of Bolingbroke’s political analysis in this tract masked a punitive satire that really urged an appeal to Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender, as the patriot king needed to safeguard the constitution” ( ODNB ). Octavo (199 × 119 mm). Contemporary mottled calf, rebacked with original spine laid down, new red morocco label. Bound without half-title. Slight abrasion to calf, some old fungal discolouration at foot of contents. A good copy. ¶ ESTC T38534; Rothschild 417. £675 [158427] 8 BOTERO, Giovanni. Della ragion di stato. Venice: Appresso I Gioliti, 1589 opposing machiavelli with a christian “reason of state” First edition of Botero’s most important contribution to political philosophy, an anti-Machiavellian mirror for princes which grounds “reason of state” in Christian morality. Botero’s premise is that the foundation of the state is the obedience of subjects to their superiors. Machiavelli did not necessarily disagree, though he argued that the subjects’ fear of the leader is sufficient to maintain obedience (as famously stated in The Prince : “it is better to be feared than loved”). Botero, however, asserts that this obedience is dependent on the reputation of the leader. This reputation can only be preserved through acting virtuously, in accordance with Christian ethics. The Machiavellian approach where “reason of state” is separated from religious considerations, with the ends taken to justify any means, is thus refuted – Christian virtue and “reason of state”
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are interlinked, and obedience cannot be commanded by fear alone, as reputation is eroded through immoral action. Botero was a Jesuit priest, and his treatise can be placed within the broader context of the Counter-Reformation, seeking to reconnect political action with the medieval mirror-for-princes tradition. The second part of the book is as important in economic thought as the first is in political. “On the Causes of the Greatness and Magnificence of Cities” had originally been published in Rome the previous year. Its explanation for the impact of resources on urban population growth anticipates Malthus: “Divested of nonessentials, the ‘Malthusian’ Principle of Population sprang fully developed from the brain of Botero in 1589: populations tend to increase, beyond any assignable limit, to the full extent made possible by human fecundity . . . the means of subsistence, on the contrary . . . are definitely limited and therefore impose a limit on that increase . . . about two hundred years after Botero, Malthus really did no more than repeat it, except that he adopted particular mathematical laws” (Schumpeter, pp. 254–5). Quarto (226 × 150 mm). Recent vellum to style, brown calf label, gilt edges. Woodcut initials, head- and tailpieces. Terminal leaf with discreet paper reinforcement at head, very faint running damp mark at head of gutter and scattered light foxing, still a very good copy, generally crisp and clean. ¶ Adams B2548; Goldsmiths’ 248. Joseph Alois Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis , 1954. £7,500 [158709]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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