Dante Alighieri or the Problem of Humanity in the Middle Ages. Letters to M. de Lamartine. Paris, Dentu, 1857. In-8 (23,2 x 15,1 cm), green chagrin, gilt Gothic style frame and gilt crowned figure of Napoleon III on covers, spine ribbed with gilt interlacing, gilt edges, red moire lining and endpapers (Binding of the period). First edition. Interesting rejoinder to an acerbic critique of the "padre della lingua italiana" published by Lamartine on 10 December 1856 in the journal Le Siècle. Castiglia tells the Tuscan poet's detractor in no uncertain terms: "What you say about Dante is the complete opposite of what Dante is". What followed was a literary study of the Divine Comedy in the form of four letters. A fine copy, in a pleasant binding stamped with the Napoleon III cipher. One corner a little depressed, a few freckles and stains. Provenance - Napoleon III (figure). - Osenat sale, Christopher Forbes Collection, 6 March 2016, lot no. 29. Bibliography OHR, pl. 2659, "N in Roman capital with the Roman numeral III, surmounted by the imperial crown".