Mirabeau’s critique of despotism (1776)

Description

MIRABEAU, H.G. RIQUETTI de) *Essai sur le despotisme*. Second edition, augmented and corrected by the editor. London, 1776. [8], 308 pp. Octavo. Cardboard binding, a few leaves slightly worn but otherwise well preserved. 'The nation will always ultimately prove more powerful than the tyrant when arbitrary power, having reached its final delirium, has dissolved all bonds of public opinion and exhausted the resources that the earth offers to those who cultivate it in freedom. Thus, men will sooner or later exact their revenge.' 'In this insolent pamphlet, titled *Essai sur le Despotisme*, under the pretext of refuting Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s theories on man’s natural goodness, the author directly attacked the powers that be' (Duc de Castries, *Mirabeau*, p. 105). Written in prison, it represents the author’s 'first profession of faith as a citizen'.