BOSSUET Jacques Bénigne Oraison funèbre de Henriette Anne d’Angleterre, duchesse d’Orléans. Prononcée à Saint Denis le 21. Jour d’Aoust 1670.

Tchemerzine-Scheler, I, 838; Verlaque, p. 3.

First edition of the second of Bossuet’s six great orations. The Oraison funèbre de Henriette Anne d’Angleterre was delivered by Bossuet on August 21, 1670, in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, during the funeral of Henriette d’Angleterre, Duchesse d’Orléans, known as Madame (1644-1670), first wife of Monsieur, the brother of Louis XIV.

It was with this work that Bossuet, already a renowned preacher, reached the pinnacle of the art of oratory. It is the most famous of his funeral orations, and the most touching in its lyricism: the speaker’s emotion is profound, as he speaks of a person he knew well and had assisted in her final moments. He recounts the cry of grief that spreads the news of the princess’s unexpected death, passing it on to posterity: “Madame se meurt! Madame et morte !” The illustration includes the printer’s mark on the title and a floral tail-piece.

A very good copy.