JOSEPH DE MAISTRE (1753-1821) 'LES SOIRÉES DE SAINT-PÉTERSBOURG, OU ENTRETIENS SUR LE GOUVERNEMENT TEMPOREL DE LA PROVIDENCE' [ST PETERSBURG DIALOGUES, OR CONVERSATIONS ON THE TEMPORAL GOVERNMENT OF PROVIDENCE] 2 VOLUMES. 1831. IN FRENCH.

St Petersburg Dialogues, or Conversations on the Temporal Government of Providence: followed by a treatise on sacrifices. Lyon, Paris, Chez Rusand et Compagnie, Libraires, 1831. Second, posthumous edition by Count de Maistre, first published in 1821. 2 Volumes in-8, (2), false title, title, XX, 471p., (1) Table of contents, (2) ; (2), false title, title, 429p. (1) Table of contents, (2). Contemporary bindings in half blond calf, spine with 4 raised bands, title-pieces in brown morocco, gilt titles, inside with foxing, soiling. Upper spine frayed and first cover partially split. 21,7 x 13,9 cm 'First Dialogue. At the end of a very warm day in the month of July 1809, I was returning up the Neva in a launch with Privy Councillor T**, a member of the Senate of St Petersburg, and Chevalier de B***, a young Frenchman who had been driven to this capital by the storms of the revolution in his country and by a series of bizarre events. Reciprocal esteem, a congruence of tastes, and some valuable relationships of service and hospitality had formed an intimate connection between us. Both of them were accompanying me that day to the country house where I was passing the summer. Although situated within the walls of the city, it was nevertheless far enough from the centre to be called country and to offer solitude; for much remains to be done before all the area within the city walls of St Petersburg is built up. Even though the open spaces to be found in the inhabited part are being filled in, it is still impossible to foresee whether the inhabitants will ever be able to advance to the limits traced by Peter the Great's bold finger. …' Count Joseph de Maistre. Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close personal and intellectual ties with France, Maistre was throughout his life a subject of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which he served as a member of the Savoy Senate (1787–1792), ambassador to the Russian Empire (1803–1817), and minister of state to the court in Turin (1817–1821). A key figure of the Counter-Enlightenment and a precursor of Romanticism, Maistre regarded monarchy both as a divinely sanctioned institution and as the only stable form of government.