Oeuvres de Fontenelle ... Nouvelle édition, augmentée de plusieurs pièces relatives a l'auteur, mise pour la première fois par ordre des matières, et plus correcte que toutes les précédentes..
by FONTENELLE, Bernard le Bouvier de
- Used
- Condition
- One or two joints slightly weak.
- Seller
-
Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
A very attractive set of Fontenelle's works, including his enormously popular Entretiens sur la Pluralité des Mondes: this utopian analysis of the universe took Europe by storm and was precursor and inspiration to scores of imitations. It was first published in 1686, and first translated into English by Aphra Behn only two years later.
Although the Entretiens clearly owes a tremendous debt to the astronomical traditions of Galileo and Brahe, Fontenelle's sensational tale of the inhabitants in 'other planets, in other galaxies, and even on comets, could hardly fail to captivate' (Nina Rattner Gelbart, Introduction to the Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds). In the form of an elegant dialogue between a scientist and a Marquise, it takes as its starting point that 'Toute la philosophie n'est fondée sur deux choses: sur ce qu'on a l'esprit curieux et les yeux mauvais': that is, that if we had a perfect understanding we would not need science because all would be spontaneously revealed. Meant as a quick summation of scientific discovery, but also as pure speculation on the possibilities of the universe, it suggests that as it has taken six millennia for Europeans to cross the Atlantic Ocean to America, it may take a little longer for the inhabitants of other worlds to cross the far greater expanses of space.
This set also includes 'Dialogues des Morts anciens' and 'Histoire des Oracles', works which exemplify Fontenelle's desire to propagate philosophical thinking. Voltaire described Fontenelle as having the most universal mind produced by the era of Louis XIV.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Hordern House Rare Books (AU)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3002018
- Title
- Oeuvres de Fontenelle ... Nouvelle édition, augmentée de plusieurs pièces relatives a l'auteur, mise pour la première fois par ordre des matières, et plus correcte que toutes les précédentes..
- Author
- FONTENELLE, Bernard le Bouvier de
- Book Condition
- Used - One or two joints slightly weak.
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Jean-Francois Bastien
- Place of Publication
- Paris
- Date Published
- 1790
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Hordern House Rare Books
14 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 14 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. For full terms please visit our website.
About the Seller
Hordern House Rare Books
About Hordern House Rare Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Plate
- Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...