Montfaucon de Villars - La suite du Comte de Gabalis - 1708

The sequel to the Count of Gabalis extends the sultry universe of elemental spirits initiated by Abbé de Villars by mingling secret sciences and Cartesian philosophy. THE SEQUEL TO THE COUNT OF GABALIS Or New Conversations on the Secret Sciences, concerning the New Philosophy. Posthumous work. In Amsterdam, at Estienne Roger, bookseller. MDCCVIII (1708). A volume in-12 (or in-16) bound in full mottled brown calf leather of the period, spine with raised bands richly decorated with gilded compartments and spurs, title piece in red morocco bearing the inscription "COMTE DE GABAL | T. II". The interior consists of a clear text on laid paper, opening with an elegant title page in red and black adorned with a fleur-de-lys, followed by the first conversation and cosmological and Cartesian developments (notably on the theory of whirlwinds and the formation of worlds). The work is enriched on the flyleaves with scholarly handwritten notes distributed by an ancient bibliophile concerning the textual history and the comparative editions. Following the famous and scandalous Count of Gabalis (1670) by Abbé de Villars—which permanently introduced the people of sylphs, undines, gnomes, and salamanders into esoteric and Rosicrucian culture—this posthumous Suite published by the Huguenot publisher Estienne Roger in Amsterdam extends the reflection on the arcana of nature, Cartesian physics, and secret philosophy under the guise of piquant dialogues.

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