Author: MARMONTEL, J.F.,
Title: Belisarius. Naar het Fransche van den Heere Marmontel.
Description: Amsterdam, Pieter Meijer, 1768, 8vo., original marbled paper boards, [28]+324+[4] pp., worn boards and spine with faded marbling, loosened binding, clear printwork, uncut pages, frontispiece and two more engravings by Gravelot (1699-1773). l 2nd edition. The original French Bélisaire is a banned 1767 novel on the life of the Byzantine general Belisarius by Jean-François Marmontel (1723-1799). It popularised the apocryphal tale of his being reduced to beggary by Justinian I despite his great services to the empire, citing it as an example of the ingratitude of those in power towards their faithful servants and indicting the French king Louis XV by proxy as another such ungrateful monarch. In the Netherlands the translation was received with enthousiasm as well as protest and resulted in a fierce discussion about whether heathens like Socrates could find a place in Heaven.

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