GROUCHY (Nicolas de). De Comitiis romanorum libri tres. Venetiis, apud Franciscum Bindonum, 1558. Small in-8 of 272-[54] pp. ivory vellum post, author in black letters on spine. Born in Rouen in 1510, Nicolas de Grouchy obtained at the age of 25 the chair of dialectics at the Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux. His new explanations of Aristotle's works earned him great renown, so much so that a large number of students, including Montaigne, abandoned the University of Paris to follow his lessons in Bordeaux. Having made many enemies through his successes and difficult temperament, he was attacked in particular by the famous philologist Joachim Périon over the true meaning of certain passages in Aristotle, and then by Carlo Sigonio of Modena over his treatise De Comitiis Romanorum. In these disputes, which lasted several years and caused quite a stir, victory went entirely to Nicolas de Grouchy, who received many congratulations, even from Italian scholars. Following this triumph, he was called by John III of Portugal to teach Greek and philosophy at the University of Coimbra, a dual role which he fulfilled with distinction until the end of 1549, when he returned to Normandy to live on the land of his ancestors at La Cauchie. In his retirement, which lasted more than twenty years, Grouchy resumed his work, publishing one book a year. From 1567, back in Paris, Grouchy's life was disrupted by the Wars of Religion. After returning to La Cauchie, Grouchy accepted a professorship at the new Protestant college in La Rochelle founded by Jeanne d'Albret and Gaspard de Coligny, but he died a few days after arriving there in 1572. Ex-libris J.M. (Frère II, 41.)