VOYAGE de Robertson aux Terres Australes, traduit sur le manuscrit anglois.

Amsterdam (France), 1767. (4), 474 pp. Small 8vo. Contemporary marbled calf, spine gilt in compartments, green label with gilt lettering. Hartig 59; Trousson pp. 161-162; Gove p. 356; INED 3858; cf.: Negley 979. Rare second issue of the first edition (1766) of this utopian novel in which, in the vein of Rousseau, the newly discovered people of an (Australian) island are praised for their political and social institutions (thereby condamning the European counterparts). Utopian account of which it is suggested that it is a translation from the English. The work is evidently inspired by the Physiocratic ideas and draws also inspiration from Rousseau's Contrat Social. Contains also political, economical and moral ideas, points to the importance of agriculture and population, and pleads for the nationalization of the trade. The Encyclopedists appear as the 'Pansophistes' and are criticized (pp. 146 and ff.) The main story is that the hero has sailed with Sir Francis Drake to South America and, through his narrative, to have inspired William Penn to found an ideal city in North America. For an extensive description of this interesting work see: Van Wijngaarden, Les Odyssées philosophiques en France entre 1616 et 1789, pp. 216-225.