APOLOGY FOR THE ORDER OF FREEMASONS. By Mr. N***. À La Haye, - Lot 44

APOLOGY FOR THE ORDER OF FREEMASONS. By Mr. N***. À La Haye, chez Pierre Gosse, 1742. Small in-8, marbled half-brown basane, smooth spine cloisonné and fleuronné with garnet-red title page (modern binding in the style of the period). (14 of which the 2nd and last are blank)-118-(2) pp.; stamp scratched in several places, including title. ORIGINAL EDITION, second printing with Pierre Gosse's name only. The first edition bore the double address of Pierre Gosse in The Hague and Georg-Conrad Walther in Dresden. Generally attributed to Nicolas Procope, after having been attributed to others, including Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Nougaret, this Apology is a response to the criticisms most commonly levelled against Freemasonry at the time, accused of atheism or relativism, dissimulation, sedition towards temporal power, proselytism, discrimination against women, etc. INCLUDES THE FIRST PRINTED ATTEMPT TO FORMULATE THE AIMS OF FREEMASONRY. With "two songs composed by the American Brother": one, "Les vrais biens sont peu durables", appears here in its original edition and INCLUDES WITHOUT A DOUBT THE FIRST ALLUSION TO A HIGH GRADE EVER PUBLISHED ("Ajoutons à notre règle / Un point qui vous plaira fort, / C'est qu'au Chevalier de l'Aigle / on boive un grand rouge bord"). The other song, "Puisque cet air plaît à la ronde", is taken from Jacques-Christophe Naudot's collection of Chansons, published in 1737-1744. On the latter, see no. 98 below. ILLUSTRATION ENGRAVED ON COPPER: off-text allegorical frontispiece depicting three Brothers receiving Love into the Order; 2 ff. of off-text plates forming a double page of notated music; vignette in the text.