25854 — Paris, chez Ponthieu, (at end: De l'Imprimerie de P. Dupont, Hotel des Fermes), 1822. 32 pp. 8vo. Sewn, contemporary blind covers, uncut. The Congress of Verona (1822) was the largest and most elaborate assembly of its kind since the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 (see at length: Historical Dictionary of France from the 1815 Restoration to the Second Empire, volume ii, pp. 1081-3.) It was an assembly of the four major conservative powers in Europe (Russia, Austria, Prussia & France) and its aim was to keep Spain from introducing a liberal constitution. It furthermore stipulated that European countries were to be ruled by absolute monarchs, with considerable influence for the Church and with censorship to combat the spread of liberal ideas. It was in fact a rejection of the principles of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment. The current text is an analysis of the political situation in Europe at the beginning of the Congress: 'quoi qu'il en soit, ni le congrès, ni les matières qu'on y doit traiter, ni les résultats qu'il peut avoir, ne sont la question de l'Europe. Elle n'est pas non plus dans l'alliance fictive de quelque puissance, ni dans la discussion spécieuse de telles doctrines favorables ou contraires au pouvoir. Elle est cette question de l'Europe, immédiatement dans les vices de son organisation sociale, et médiatement dans les vices de son équilibre politique.' Added: A manuscript copy of the same text on 26 pp. in small 4to.
