1823. 8vo, pp. [iv], ii, 248; with woodcut publisher’s monogram on title-page; small tear at head of half-title and front free endpaper but without loss, text lightly browned and foxed throughout, but generally clean and crisp; in publisher’s full red morocco, spine ruled and lettered in gilt, with gilt monogram on upper cover, and tooled floral border, inner gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, some light wear to head and tail of spine, some minor surface wear; an attractive copy. First edition, and a most attractive copy, of this work intended to help students prepare for their philosophy examinations, the study of which was a required component of the Bachelor of Arts degree in France at the time. The ‘Bachelier ès-lettres’ was the first ‘grade’ available to students upon leaving school, and included the study of Latin and Greek, rhetoric, history, and philosophy (divided into logic and metaphysics). The passing of this largely oral exam was a condition for all further study in subjects such as theology, law, science and medicine.
We have so far found very little biographical information about the author, though he wrote a number of similar works aimed at aspiring students. He divides his work into two sections dealing in term with logic and metaphysics, each further subdivided into numbered ‘thèses’. These are presented in dialogue form, comprised of a series of questions and answers and thus resembling an oral examination.