OLAVIDE, KOSICKI - THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL, OR THE MEMOIRS OF A MAN OF THE WORLD AFTER RENOUNCING THE ERRORS OF CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY, Vols. 1–4 [complete set], 1830

OLAVIDE, Pablo Antonio José; KOSICKI, Modest Watta (1791–1832). Trans.

THE TRIUMPH OF THE GOSPEL, OR THE MEMOIRS OF A MAN OF THE WORLD AFTER RENOUNCING THE ERRORS OF CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY

Vol. 1–4 [complete set],

Warsaw: Christian Library Printing House, 1830; each volume approx. 350 pages; format 12.5x20 cm

A work by Pablo Antonio José de Olavide, an 18th-century Spanish reformer, administrator, and writer associated with the Enlightenment movement for socialand economic reforms in Spain, who was later accused of heresy and forced into exile, is a religious and moralistic narrative about the spiritual transformation of a worldly man.

The work depicts a protagonist who, after experiencing a crisis of worldview, rejects Enlightenment philosophy and turns toward a Christian interpretation of reality. The entire work is written in the form of a memoir, combining personal reflection with a clear didactic and moralizing purpose.

The text includes a description of the protagonist’s life before his conversion, a critique of the “errors of contemporary philosophy,” and then a phase of gradual spiritual transformation leading to the acceptance of Catholic doctrine as the guiding principle of moral and intellectual life. The work is part of the broad tradition of 19th-century conversion and apologetic literature, popular in inexpensive, widely distributed religious publications.

The Polish translation was done by Modest Watta Kosicki (1791–1832), who was associated with the circulation of religious and educational literature in the Kingdom of Poland. His work involved adapting and making the text accessible to a Polish audience, in the spirit of contemporary moral and religious publications.

A rare complete set!

HARDCOVER IN PERIOD HALF-LEATHER, FLAT SPINE WITH LABELS, EMBOSSING, AND GILDING, MARBLED CARDBOARD, EDGES STAINED AND DUSTED

Condition: Very Good (DB)—scuffs and wear on the bindings, library stamps and labels, AGE-STAINED BINDINGS