"Customs of the Jews" – Claude Fleury – Barcelona, 1769

"Customs of the Jews" – Claude Fleury – Barcelona, 1769
Las Costumbres de los Israelitas [Customs of the Jews], by Claude Fleury. Barcelona: Thomas Piferrer, 1769. Spanish.
This work, by well-known French historian Claude Fleury, deals with the customs and pursuits of the Israelites from the biblical period up to the author's times. According to Fleury, the Talmud and occupation in money-lending have led the Jewish people astray, corrupting their ethics. He claims that only working the land will bring the Jews back to pure natural life and to Christianity. The work was first published in Paris in 1681 (in French) and during the 18th century had many more editions in various languages. This is the Spanish edition translated by Manuel Martínez Pingarrón.
Claude Fleury (1640-1723), a French priest, historian, educator and jurist, was known mainly for his monumental work on the history of the Church, "Histoire Ecclésiastique", published in twenty volumes (Paris, 1691-1720).
Dedicatory inscription on front endpaper (1937): "A Jew from Florence to his sister from our country, Ziona. Av 1937" (Hebrew).
[1] f., LIII, [15], 200 pp. 18 cm. Good condition. Stains. Vellum-covered binding, stained and blemished.