Vues D'un Politique Du Xvie SièCle, Sur La LéGislation De Son Tems, Egalement Propres à RéFormer Celle De Nos Jours; Ou Choix Des Arrests Qui Composent Le Recueil De Raoul Spifame, Connu Sous Le Titre De Diaearchiae Henrici Regis Christianissimi Progymnasmata; Avec Des Observations & Une Table GéNéRale & RaisonnéE De Tout L'ouvrage. Spifame, Raoul; Jean Auffray (Ed.).

First Auffray edition of the Diaearchae Henrici Regis Christianissimi Progymnasmata (1556), a pioneering argument for popular access to the justice system. Among contemporary legal writers, Spifame's treatise "led the way in the emerging literature of judicial reform" (Schneider, p. 448). The Diaearchae, ostensibly a collection of laws issued by the reigning king Henry II of France, proposes various incisive measures for the greater simplification, standardization, and accessibility of the justice system. Many of these proposals, including the abolition of seigneurial privileges and the standardization of weights and measures, were later implemented. Raoul Spifame (1500-1563), a Parisian lawyer who was later confined to a mental asylum, combined insanity and legal perceptiveness in equal measure. While Spifame had some incisive legal arguments to make, the book's origins are rather more unusual - he appears to have begun it after noting his strong resemblance to the king in question. This edition is edited by the physiocrat economist Jean Auffray (1733-1788). INED 4243. M. H. Schneider, "Yves Jeanclos. Les projets de réforme judiciaire de Raoul Spifame au XVIe siècle [review]", American Historical Review, vol. 83, no. 2, Apr. 1978. Octavo (198 x 117 mm). Contemporary mottled calf, smooth spine panelled and with floral decorations in gilt, red morocco label, marbled endpapers, edges red, green silk bookmarker. Woodcut head- and tailpieces. Light wear, slight bowing to boards, joints cracked but holding firm, minor browning and foxing to contents, a couple of water splashes to contents, remnants of booklabel to front pastedown: a very good copy.