De la Felicite Publique. Ou Considerations sur le Sort des Hommes dans les Différentes Epoques de l'histoire

Francois-Jean de Chastellux

Amsterdam: Marc-Michel Rey, 1772

[Chastellux's Principal Work] First edition. Two volumes, bound as one.  Bound in contemporary calf-backed boards.  Edgewear to cover, corners worn.  Partial split at joints.  All edges red. VI, XVIII, 238 p. ; [6], 216 p.  An economic treatise discussing the importance of an agrarian based society and the role of government in maintaining the people's happiness.  Kress 6846; Gephart 13034. "This work, if out of date in form, is yet full of ideas which would do no discredit to a book of our own times. In particular he discussed the question of the population a quarter of a century earlier than Malthus" (Palgrave 1, 273).  The author, Chastellux (1734-1788) was both a friend of Voltaire and the Encyclopedists, and as a philosopher in his own right.  He served in Rochambeau's army during the American War of Independence, where he became intimately connected with Washington.  Cataloger's note: A copy of this work was in James Madison's library and was influential on the thinking of early American founders.