BÉTHUNE, Philippe de.

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Le conseiller d'Etat, ou Recueil général de la politique moderne, Later edition (first 1633) of one of the great political treatises of the 17th century, by the diplomat-bibliophile Philippe de Béthune (1561/6-1649). Béthune started his career as a "mignon" of Henri III before becoming conseiller du roi in 1599 and ambassador in Rome for Henri IV in 1601, after which point he completed several other diplomatic missions to Rome in 1624 and 1630. "Béthune's treatise was the work of a man at the end of his career who had served the monarchy at home and abroad through the bumpy years of dynastic transition and who, thanks to his longevity, had witnessed the crisis of the religious wars as well as France's slow rise from the ashes thereafter. He brought to bear his wide knowledge and experience of French government but also his thorough acquaintance with Rome and Italy, and both informed the political ideas he mobilised in his treatise" (Reinhardt, p. 56). Le conseiller d'Etat ran to five editions between 1632 and 1665, testament to its profound influence at the time.It is scarce: WorldCat locates only three copies in institutional holdings worldwide (SCD Paris, BM Lyon, and Bayerische Staatsbibliothek).

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