"WE ARE APT TO BE VERY PERT CENSURING OTHERS, WHERE WE WILL NOT ENDURE ADVICE OUR SELVES"

PENN, William. Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflections & Maxims Relating to the Conduct of Life. London: Thomas Northcott, 1693. 12mo, early pictorial paper-mache boards with an image of an angel on-laid over gold cloth, surrounded by a gold border of leaves and fruit; rebacked in calf, early patterned endpapers. $5800.

Second edition, published the same year as the first, of one of Penn's best-known works, in striking paper-mache binding.

Published in 1693, during the two-year forfeiture of Penn's governorship of Pennsylvania resulting from the treasonable suspicion that fell on him following the abdication of his great friend, James II, in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. "The topics covered in this collection range from education, children, family and right marriage, to sins such as pride, luxury, avarice, and jealousy. The section on religion was the longest, with 73 separate items, and government, with 37, ranked second. In addition to warning against certain sins, he encourages his readers to practice justice, industry, fidelity, patience, temperance, and truthfulness. He promoted the value of country living over dwelling in the city, and of private life over public. In some parts one item seems to lead logically into the next, but in other parts each paragraph stands alone.

This slender volume ranks with No Cross, No Crown (1682) and the Essay Towards Peace as one of Penn's most popular works… Tolles referred to Some Fruits as the product of Penn's 'matured philosophy of life in the form of maxims or aphorisms—droplets of clear wisdom, as it were, distilled from a lifetime of sober thought and dedicated action.' He rejected the judgment that they are inferior to La Rochfoucauld's Maximes or Pascal's Pensées or Lord Chesterfield's Letters to His Son. Instead, he suggested that they should be compared with the writings of Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson" (Bronner & Fraser 96). Second edition, as stated on title page, with 136 pages and 467 maxims; the first edition had 134 pages and one fewer maxim. Unrecorded variant issue, with errata leaf; although the first edition also had an errata leaf, this one contains a different set of errata; we have seen copies without the errata leaf and with all of the corrections made, suggesting that this issue is the earlier of the two. Early owner signatures, one dated 1695. Small printed slip tipped to recto of license leaf. Title on title page faintly underlined in red.

Interior fairly clean, license leaf remargined, errata leaf with some edge-wear. Beautiful and distinct paper-mache boards with some edge-wear. Rare.