[HELVÉTIUS (Claude Adrien). De l'esprit. Paris, Durand, 1758. In-4, marbled calf, spine decorated, red edges (Binding of the period). First edition. A copy with the extremely rare title page from the first printing and, for the body of the text, elements from the first and second printings. A masterpiece of eighteenth-century French materialism, De l'esprit is one of the most radical and systematic treatises of encyclopaedism, which Diderot already believed would be "counted among the great books of the century". It is also the book of this period that caused the most scandal: censured by the Sorbonne as "containing all the poisons scattered throughout the various modern books", it was also condemned by the King's Council, the Parliament, the University and the Congregation of the Index. A fine copy, fresh and with wide margins. It contains, bound at the end of the volume, 4 pp. from the Feuille hebdomadaire of 20 Sept. 1758, which give an account of the disturbances caused by the book on its publication and which reproduce the text of Helvétius' retraction. Discrete restoration to the binding. Occasional foxing. Smith, Helvétius, E.1A, E.1B and E.2 - Goldsmiths, n°9432 - Kress, n°5710 - Tchemerzine, III, 672.