Author: Marmontel, Jean Francois (1723-1799)
Title: Forbidden books 1783 | Belisarius by M. Marmontel, a new edition, London C. Nourse 1783, 240 pp. [English edition of Belisaire]
Description: Full leather binding with minor wear, red vignet and with goldprint on the spine Belisari. 17,5 x 11 cm. Interior with some browning, especially on titlepage and on the corners of the flyleafs. Frontispice by C. le Vasseur after H. Gravelot of a blind man led by a young man. With quote of Seneca de provid. on the titlepage. Text in English. Original is in French. Marmontel, member of the French Academy.Former owner inscription on the top right: London in June 1790 Dav. Christie (?) junior. This could be David Christie of the Scottish house of Christie.Belisaire is a banned French novel about the life of the Byzantine general Belisarius by Jean- Francois Marmontel.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.A plea for religious tolerance. Marmontel condemned the violence against the native Americans, indigenous people. This plea was not suited in the time of the French monarchy during the ancien regime, based on intolerance and intimidation. The archbishop of Paris Mgr. Chrisophe de Beaumont banned the work of Marmontel in 1767. Also in The Netherlands there was a vivid dispute, this time on the idea that also non-christians (heidenen) could join in heaven. This is called the “Socratische oorlog”.Jean Francois Marmontel (1723-1799) was a French historian, writer and member of the Encyclopedistes movement. In 1772 he became the official historian of France (historiographe de France). He worked with Alembert, Helvétius, d’Holbach, Condillac, Turgot, Buffon, Condorcet and Voltaire.Boekverboden – forbidden books – banned book – omstreden schrijver – tegenstander van Rousseau – pleidooi voor religieuze tolerantie – plea for (religious) tolerance - Justinian I - Byzantine empire

Keywords: Book history|Literature & Philosophy|Theology