Memoires for the Instruction of the Dauphin

281, [1] pp. 8vo. Introduction, translation & notes by Paul Sonnino. A memoir written during the early years of King Louis XIV's reign, intended as an instructional guide for his son. It "covers the King's ideas on absolutism, economics, religion, and his efforts to implement these ideas in France" and also discusses foreign policy and war, with an account of the War of Devolution. The translator explains that much of this was a commentary on Niccolo Machiavelli's Prince and Discourses.