The Virtuous Prince; or, Travels and Adventures of Usong. An Oriental History.

8vo. (2), II, 316 pp. Contemporary full calf with giltstamped spine and spine-label. All edges lightly sprinkled in red. The first of Albrecht von Haller's three political novels discussing enlightened absolutism in Usong, here in its exceedingly rare third English edition. While set in a fictional Persia, the political arrangements of the ideal state are drawn from Chinese Confucian philosophy, demonstrating the author's profound admiration for Eastern political systems. First published as "Usong. Eine morgenländische Geschichte" in Berne in 1771, this seminal work was quickly translated into French and English, issued in London as early as 1772 and 1773. - Albrecht von Haller (1708-77) was a Swiss physician, scientist, naturalist, thinker and literary critic whose work in the field of anatomy, physiology, botany and bibliography were references for several centuries. He is also recognized as a poet, critic of Enlightenment literature, and defender of a Christian faith based on reason. - Not a single copy of the present edition seen at auction for more than a century. Only a handful of library copies worldwide, none in continental Europe. - Extremities slightly rubbed. Upper half of front flyleaf removed; final pages somewhat browned or gluestained. Still a good copy. - Handwritten ownership by Miss Limoge of Bordeaux, dated 1 January 1795, to front pastedown. - Bibliographia Halleriana 0203. Mittelstraß, Enzyklopädie Philosophie u. Wissenschaftstheorie III, 264. OCLC 1051546519. Cf. Goedeke IV.1, p. 15, 2. Lundsgaard 530. Borst 221. Roscoe A209 (other eds.).