The Age of Lewis XIV (in 2 vols) by Voltaire, Jean Francois Marie Arouet. John Lockman (translator) - 1752

Dublin: George Faulkner, 1752. First Dublin edition. Full contemporary calf with gilt and morocco spine labels. Front joint of volume I cracked near the crown but holding. Internally a lovely copy, much fresher than expected of an imprint from this era. Bookplates of William Paul to front pastedown of each; ownership stamp of Robert Paul to front endpapers and title of volume II. Small closed tear to margin of pages v-vi and paper loss to margin of pages 3-4 of volume I, neither affecting text. Collating complete: viii, 356; 258.68, [20]. A pleasing set of this important French history.

In the Introduction, Voltaire declares that his aim is greater than merely writing the life of Louis XIV: "We would endeavour to describe to posterity, not the actions only of one man, but the genius of the age; that age which was the most enlightened of all others." Greater than the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome and that period "which followed the taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II," the age of Louis XIV comes the closest, according to Voltaire, to reaching perfection. He lays out his claims in two volumes, celebrating the richness of Enlightenment thought in this grandiose history.