Considérations sur les mœurs de ce siècle - Pinot Duclos, Charles 1704-1772 (Paris Prault; Durand, 1767)
Originally published in 1751
Duclos's 'Considérations sur les moeurs de ce siècle' of 1751, has been undeservedly neglected in recent times, despite being lauded as a masterpiece by critics of its day. Mistakenly read by many as a succession of maxims in the tradition of La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyère, Duclos's sixteen essays on subjects ranging from education, manners and wit to reputation, virtue and honour in fact break with the universalizing tones of the genre, attacking the shallow values of court culture and the aristocracy, while promoting in their place a 'morale de l'utile'. Prefiguring Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism, Les Considérations argue that the public good and the happiness of the greatest number are the only sensible criteria for determining the conduct of individuals and institutions. The subject-matter of the essays reflects the dominant preoccupations of eighteenth-century French court society: outward show and standing in the eyes of others, so exquisitely satirized in Patrice Leconte's 1996 film Ridicule. The tyranny of fashion and wit, and the fear of mockery, are thus the central targets of these pithy and entertainingly written pieces. In essence, Duclos champions what he calls 'le prix réel des choses', to which he devotes an entire chapter, inspired by Pufendorf's 'Le Droit de la nature et des gens'.
https://www.persee.fr/doc/dhs_0070-6760_1996_num_28_1_2126
Ex libris Fontes fils ainé (manuscript)
Keywords: 18th Century (1701-1800); Philosophy; Education; Nobility; Ethics; Moral education; Crescendo; France