Relation de Voyage Mysterieux de L'Isle de la Vertu, à Oronte.

Paris: Christophe Remy, 1695.

Small octavo; a very good copy in contemporary calf.

The "Protector to the Indians" tells of an island of virtue

Second edition of this rare spiritual romance. First published in Rouen in 1684, this educational novel is written as an allegorical voyage to the imaginary island of "Virtue" on the River Orontes, the chief Syrian river, and the standard route to Egypt since antiquity. The island proves to be a peaceful religious utopia, presented as a model for the reader. Its tenets are suggested by the work's preface, the poem "Epistre à Damon", that is, Damon of Syracuse, who selflessly pledged his life to Dionysus of Syracuse in return for the freedom of his friend.

Second edition of this rare spiritual romance. First published in Rouen in 1684, this educational novel is written as an allegorical voyage to the imaginary island of "Virtue" on the River Orontes, the chief Syrian river, and the standard route to Egypt since antiquity. The island proves to be a peaceful religious utopia, presented as a model for the reader. Its tenets are suggested by the work's preface, the poem "Epistre à Damon", that is, Damon of Syracuse, who selflessly pledged his life to Dionysus of Syracuse in return for the freedom of his friend.
This work has long been attributed to Juan de Palafox y Mendoza (1600-1659), an important figure in Spanish Catholicism. He spent much of his life as envoy and bishop to Mexico, where his reluctance to convert by any means other than persuasion gained him the title "Protector to the Indians". He returned to Spain after a long-running dispute with the Jesuits, whose privileges he sought to temper. His writings, consisting largely of ascetic, pastoral, and historical treatises, were published in Madrid in the eighteenth century, not long after he narrowly missed out on canonisation.

Negley has a Paris 1696 edition.

Condition Report: Slightly worn.

Ref: #3006460

Condition Report