An Authentic Copy of the New Plan of the French Constitution.

The Blueprint That Cost a Philosopher His Life: Condorcet's Tragic 1793 French Constitution Plan Condorcet, M[arquis de Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat], [1743-1794]. An Authentic Copy of the New Plan of the French Constitution, as Presented to the National Convention, by the Committee of Constitution.: To which is Prefixed the Speech of M. Condorcet, on Friday, February 15, 1793, (M. Breard, President,) Delivered in the Name of the Committee of Constitution. London: Printed for J. Debrett, Opposite Burlington House, Piccadilly, 1793. [ii], li, [1], 58 pp. Octavo (9" x 5-1/4"; 22.5 x 14 cm). Disbound. Uncut. Outer leaves worn and chipped at edges, but text remains broad-margined and stable. Light age-toning. Internally clean and crisp. A good unsophisticated copy. $450. * First English edition. This text represents the intellectual peak of the French Revolution by turning abstract Enlightenment theory into a working legal framework. Known as the "Plan Condorcet," it served as the ultimate manifesto of the moderate Girondin faction. Its rejection by the National Convention marked the precise moment the Revolution swung from rational legal reform into the radical, violent Reign of Terror. Shortly after presenting this plan, the Jacobins ordered Condorcet's arrest, forcing him into hiding where he wrote his famous philosophical masterpiece on human progress before dying mysteriously in a prison cell days after his capture. Published by John Debrett, this specific London edition highlights how closely and anxiously the British public followed the political collapse of their neighbor across the Channel. English Short-Title Catalogue T22771.…