Constantin-François Chassebœuf de La Giraudais

CONSTANTIN-FRANÇOIS CHASSEBŒUF DE LA GIRAUDAIS ( France,1757-1820).
"Voyage en Égypte". Volumes II-III- V- VI- VI- VII- VIII.
Printer: Parmantier Paris, 1825.
With engravings.
With torn pages.
Measurements: 211 x 13 x 2,5 cm.
Constantin-François Chassebœuf de La Giraudais, known as Count de Volney, was a French philosopher, historian, orientalist, abolitionist and politician. During his youth he frequented the intellectual salons of Paris, particularly that of Madame Helvétius, where he had the opportunity to meet Benjamin Franklin in the context of the American War of Independence. His fame was consolidated in 1787, when he published a book resulting from his trip through Egypt and Syria, then under Ottoman rule, in which he offered both historical and cultural observations about those regions.
At the beginning of the French Revolution, he was elected representative of the third state of Anjou in the Estates General and actively participated in the National Constituent Assembly. In 1791 he published his most influential work, The Ruins, where he defended, among other radical ideas for his time, the theory of the Christ myth, becoming one of the first authors to publicly support this position.
During the period of the Terror he was imprisoned, and in 1795 he was exiled to the United States. There he befriended Thomas Jefferson, although he was finally expelled from the country in 1798 by order of President John Adams, on suspicion of espionage.
On his return to France, he collaborated in the coup d'état of the 18th of Brumaire that brought Napoleon to power and was appointed senator. During the first years of the Consulate he served as a close advisor to Bonaparte, although his influence was reduced after the Concordat with the Catholic Church in 1801. In 1808 he received from Napoleon the title of imperial count.
After the restoration of the monarchy in 1814, King Louis XVIII appointed him peer of France, recognizing his intellectual and political career. Volney was a member of prominent scientific and cultural institutions, such as the French Academy, the American Philosophical Society, the Asiatic Society and the Celtic Academy. In addition to his work in ancient history, he developed a project for a universal alphabet, reflecting his eagerness for the systematization and understanding of the languages and cultures of the world.