Dissertation theologique sur les loteries (A Theological Essay on Lotteries)
[N.p.]: [n.p.], 1742. First edition. Hardcover. Duodecimo. [pi]2, a6, A-2E6, 2F4, (= 180 leaves; 2C3 missigned 2C2). [4], x, [2], 344pp. Woodcut ornament at title. Contemporary quarter calf over speckled boards; gilt-tooled spine with raised bands (spine tail chipped), morocco lettering piece; edges sprinkled red. Occasional marginal notes in pencil, else a nearly fine copy, attractively bound.
First edition of this anonymously published early work by Christophe Coudrette (1701-1774), in which the author gives a detailed account of texts regarding the morality and philosophy of lotteries. The use of lotteries to raise revenue was a divisive subject in France throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: "[L]es économistes et les financiers des milieux gouvernementaux en préconisaient l'usage comme un moyen de renflouer le trésor public, cependant que beaucoup de moralistes, appuyés par le parlement, faisaient montre d'une hostilité de principe, au nom de la religion et de la tradition française... Les jansénistes, dans leur ensemble, se montrèrent très réticents à l'égard des loteries... Ils soulignent aussi qu'il existe un lien entre l'usure et la loterie: en développant l'âppat du gain, elles lèsent également le prochain et ruinent la société." (The economists and financiers in government circles advocated its use as a means of replenishing the public treasury, while many moralists, supported by parliament, showed hostility in principle, in the name of religion, and the French tradition... The Jansenists, as a whole, were unsupportive of lotteries... They also emphasized that there is a link between usury and the lottery: by developing the lure gain, they also harm their neighbor and ruin society.) Perhaps inspired by his early education, the author provides very detailed bibliographical references in the margins. A one-time Jesuit who later connected himself with the Jansenists via the learned abbé Boursier, Coudrette is renowned as a polemicist who, along with Adrien le Paige, authored the four-volume Histoire général de la naissance et progrès de la compagnie de Jésus en France (1761). This latter work is said to have furnished many arguments in favour of the dissolution of the Society of Jesus.
Annotations: Old owner entries at front endleaf and title, the latter perhaps indicating a connection to the author; biographical note on Coudrette at front endleaf; Parisian bookseller’s ticket at pastedown (Librairie Raymond Clavreuil). Nearly Fine. Item #49065
References: Goldsmiths’-Kress 7933.2; R. Taveneaux, Jansénisme et prêt à intérêt (Paris: Vrin, 1977), p.197.
Price: $600.00