Les Lettres

4to. (8), 330, (14) leaves. e, i, A-Z, Aa-Zz, Aaa-Zzz, Aaaa-Rrrr⁴. With the printer's device on the title-page and an engraved portrait of the author by Thomas Le Leu (leaf i4). Contemporary limp vellum, old entry of ownership on the front free endpaper (Villemoyenne) and on verso (Barrilot).

J. Balsamo & M. Simonin, Abel L'Angelier & Franc?oise de Louvain: (1574 - 1620). Suivi du catalogue des ouvrages publie?s par Abel L'Angelier (1574-1610) et la veuve L'Angelier (1610-1620), (Genève, 2002), pp. 218-219, no. 166; D. Thickett, Bibliographie des œuvres d'Etienne Pasquier, (Genève, 1956), p. 46, no. 19.

FIRST EDITION Pasquier's collection of 149 letters (in 10 books) published during his lifetime (a sequel - books XI-XXII - was published posthumously in 1619).

“In Pasquier's epistolary practice, moreover, the exercise of the literary imagination is largely a function of an engaged historical consciousness. Pasquier the historian is attentive to the particular in both his own life and the life of his nation: childbirth, the marriage of a son, and various incidents in the wars of religion are equally worthy of original tropes. In putting together the first ten books of his letters, published in a single handsome quarto volume when he was fifty-seven years old, Pasquier rejoices in the diversity of the book […] Pasquier publishes as an accomplished, independent, mature writer, seeking chiefly to encourage other writers to do the same in their own language and way. Accordingly Pasquier infuses his letters with a strong personal style, making his book into a collection of highly autobiographical essays that could be read alongside those of his friend Montaigne” (J.G. Altman, The Letter Book as a Literary Institution 1539-1789: Toward a Cultural History of Published Correspondences in France, in: “Yale French Studies”, 71, 1986, pp. 22-23).

“Considérées une à une, les Lettres de Pasquier peuvent être rattachées à différent genres, qui d'ailleurs ne révèlent pas toujours de l'épistolaire, d'où la tentation de les classer autrement que l'a voulu l'écrivain. Mais lorsqu'on les envisage dans la perspective du projet éditorial, on constate qu'elles constituent un tableau dont chaque coup de pinceau est indispensable à l'équilibre de l'ensemble. Il ne s'agit pas ici d'une publication d'archives ou de mise en recueil posthume. Pasquier entreprend de peindre les méandres d'un mou sur lequel pèsent des tabous séculaires avec une pudeur qui s'évanouit au fil du temps et une cohérence qui ne cesse de croître. Il prend ses lettres comme des matériaux bruts qu'il assemble et modifie au gré de sa fantaisie, tantôt dans un savant désordre, tantôt en reconstituant la succession chronologique ou en procédant à un regroupement thématique. Si toutes les lettres du recueil ne sont pas familières, l'œuvre, elle relève indéniablement du genre familier” (L. Vaillancourt, La lettre familière au XVI^e siècle. Rhétorique humaniste de l'Epistolaire, Paris, 2003, pp. 391-392).

(Premier Livre:)

Loysel, [Antoine]. January, 1586 (l. 1)

Turnèbe, [Adrien]. 1552 (l. 3v)

Sauvage, [Denis]. 1554 (l. 8v)

Gournay, gendarme. 1554 (l. 9v)

[Du Lac de] Montereau, [Antoine]. 1554 (l. 10r)

Fosse, [Jean] de. 1555 (l. 11v)

[La Guesle, François de], sieur de La Chault. 1555 (l. 12v)

Ronsard, [Pierre] de. 1555 (l. 12v)

Le Picart, [Germain] (l. 14v)

Mademoiselle de… [Couteiller, Claude de] (l. 16r)

Fonssomme, [Christophe] de (l. 19v)

Sebilet, [Thomas] (l. 22v)

Postel, [Jean] (l. 24v)

Brallion [i.e. Braillon], [Louis] (l. 25r)

Basmaison [Pougnet], [Jean] de (l. 25v)

Ronsard, [Pierre] de (l. 27r)

Mademoiselle de... (l. 27v)

Madame de... 1552 (l. 28r)

(Deuxième Livre:)

Charles de Lorraine (l. 30r)

Bigot, [Eméric] (l. 31r)

from Bigot, [Eméric] (l. 33r)

Marillac, [Guillaume] de (l. 36v)

id. (l. 38v)

Cujas, [Jacques] (l. 41r)

Ronsard, [Pierre] de (l. 43r)

Martin, [Alain] (l. 47r)

Bigot, [Eméric] (l. 47v)

from Bigot, [Eméric] (l. 49r)

Querquifinen [i.e. Kerquefinen], [Claude] de (l. 50r)

id. (l. 51r)

De Lis, Mademoiselle (l. 54v)

(Troisième Livre:)

Robert, [Jean] & Fournier, [Guillaume] (l. 55v)

Fonssomme, [Christofle] de (l. 60v)

Querquifinen [i.e. Kerquefinen], [Claude] de (l. 62v)

La Ramée, [Pierre de] (l. 63v)

id. (l. 70v)

Fonssomme, [Christofle] de (l. 71r)

Estournet, géneral d' (l. 75v)

Tyard, [Pontus] de (l. 76r)

Marillac, [Guillaume] de (l. 78v)

id. (l. 81v)

id. (l. 82v)

(Quatrième Livre:)

Fonssomme, [Christofle] de (l. 83r)

id. (l. 84r)

id. (l. 85v)

id. (l. 88r)

id. (l. 90r)

id. (l. 91r)

id. (l. 92v)

id. (l. 94v)

id. (l. 95v)

id. (l. 97r)

id. (l. 98v)

id. (l. 100r)

id. (l. 101v)

id. (l. 107r)

id. 1561 (l. 109r)

id. (l. 112r)

id. (l. 114v)

id. (l. 116r)

id. (l. 118v)

id. (l. 119r)

id. (l. 123r)

id. (l. 124v)

id. (l. 126v)

id. (l. 128r)

(Cinquième Livre:)

Querquifinen [i.e. Kerquefinen], [Claude] de (l. 131v)

id. (l. 133r)

Faur de Pibrac, [Guy] du (l. 135v)

Querquifinen [i.e. Kerquefinen], [Claude] de (l. 137v)

Tombeau de Messire Anne de Montmorency Père & Connestable de France (l. 141r, poem)

id. (l. 144r)

id. (l. 144v)

id. (l. 145r)

id. (l. 147r)

Marillac, [Guillaume] de (l. 148r)

Querquifinen [i.e. Kerquefinen], [Claude] de (l. 151r)

Loisel, [Antoine] (l. 152r)

La Bite, juge général de Mayenne (l. 157r)

id. (l. 157v)

(Sixième Livre:)

Sainte-Martre [i.e. Sainte-Marthe], [Scévole] de (l. 159r)

Plaidoié pour la ville d'Angoulesme, fait en Parlement à Paris le 4. de Feburier 1576 (l. 161r)

Chopin, [René] (l. 161r, i.e. 180r)

Buisson, [Louis] (l. 182v)

id. (l. 183v)

Nesmond, [François de] (l. 184r)

[Boislevesque, Geneviève de] (l. 186r)

Pithou, [Pierre] (l. 186v)

La Pulce de Catherine des Roches (l. 188v, poem)

La Pulce d'Éstienne Pasquier (l. 190v, poem)

Pithou, [Pierre] (l. 192v)

[Boislevesque, Geneviève de] (l. 193v)

id. (l. 194r)

from [Boislevesque, Geneviève de] (l. 194v)

[Boislevesque, Geneviève de] (l. 195r)

Boislevesque, [Robert de] (l. 195v)

[Boislevesque, Geneviève de] (l. 196v)

(Septième Livre:)

Foix, [Paul] de (l. 197r)

Ossat, [Arnaud] d' (l. 198r)

Morin, [Pierre] (l. 198v)

Foix, [Paul] de (l. 199)

Thou, [Christophe] de (l. 199v)

[La] Mole, [Boniface] de (l. 201r)

Harlay, [Achille] de (l. 206v)

L'Archer (l. 208v)

Basmaison [Pougnet], [Jean] de (l. 209v)

La Bite, juge général de Mayenne (l. 111v)

Basmaison [Pougnet], [Jean] de (l. 220v)

Loysel, [Antoine] (l. 221v)

(Huitième Livre:)

Pithou, [Pierre] (l. 226r)

Bigot de Tibermenil, [Laurent] (l. 230r)

La Herbaudiere, Mademoiselle de (l. 231r)

Taix, [Guillaume] de (l. 231v)

Pincé, [Jacques] de (l. 232r)

Nevelet [II, Pierre] de (l. 232v)

id. (l. 233r)

from Taix, [Guillaume] de (l. 233v)

Taix, [Guillaume] de (l. 234r)

Binet, [Claude] (l. 235r)

Aux ingenieueses mains, qui ont honoré la main de Pasquier de leurs vers (l. 235v)

Apologie de la Main. Au Lecteur (l. 237v)

[Prévost] de Morsan, [Bernard] (l. 244r)

Tabourot, [Estienne] (l. 245r)

Juret, [François] (l. 253v)

from [Bellaud, Louis], Grand Prieur de France. Aix, July 8, 1585 (l. 254v)

[Bellaud, Louis], Grand Prieur de France (l. 255r)

(Neuvième Livre:)

Brisson, [Barnabé] (l. 256r)

Tolet, [Pierre] (l. 263r)

Taveau, [Bathasar] (l. 263v)

Luzarche, Monsieur de (l. 264r)

Maillart, [André] (l. 264v)

Pasquier, Théodore (l. 265v)

Chandon, [Jérôme] (l. 269r)

id. (l. 275r)

La Croix, [Claude] de (l. 276v)

Mornac, [Antoine] (l. 279v)

Scève, [Antoine] de (l. 282v)

Monsieur de… (l. 283r)

Sève, docteur en medecine à Melun (l. 184v)

Du Port, [Jean] (l. 285r)

Scève, [Antoine] de (l. 287v)

Du Port, [Jean] (l. 288r)

(Dixième Livre:)

Tournèbe, [Adrien] (l. 289r)

Morin, [Pierre] (l. 303v)

[Mauléon] de Gourdan, Girard de (l. 304v)

Ramefort, [Onuphre d'Espagne?], Baron de (l. 304v)

La Bite, juge général de Mayenne (l. 306r)

Brulart de Sillery, [Nicolas] (l. 307v)

Tyard, [Pontus] (l. 316r)

Hennequin, [René] (l. 318v)

Maillard, [André] (l. 319r)

Regnier, Président en élection de Soissons (l. 320r)

Coignet, [Ange] (l. 321v)

Loysel, [Antoine]. Avril, 1586 (l. 328r)

After graduating from the renowned Collège de Presle in 1546, Étienne Pasquier studied with the greatest legal humanists of his day. From François Hotman, François Baudouin, Jacques Cujas, and Andrea Alciati, he acquired a profound sense of the reality of laws and institutions, which led him assert the importance of the French political and cultural inheritance over and against classical Roman and modern Italian models. His public career and private scholarship advanced apace.

In 1549 he was called to the Paris bar. In 1558 he became very ill through eating poisonous mushrooms, and did not recover fully for two years. This compelled him to occupy himself with literary work. In 1564 he represented the University of Paris in a famous lawsuit with the Jesuits, whom he portrayed as agents of Romanist tyranny seeking to undermine the liberties of the Gallican church. In 1585 he became advocate general of the Chambre des Comptes in Paris, one of the sovereign courts, and in 1588 he left the city as a deputy to the meeting of the Estates General at Blois.

A Politique and staunch opponent of the ultramontane Catholic League that just seized control of Paris, he did not return to his magistracy until Henry IV officially entered the city in 1594. During his absence from public life, he assembled a new six-book edition of his Recherches. He continued his work in the Chambre des Comptes until 1604 and then retired. He survived this retirement more than ten years, producing much literary work (cf. D. Thickett, Estienne Pasquier: The Versatile Barrister of Sixteenth-Century France, London, 1979, passim).

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