Histoire du ciel considéré selon les idées des poètes, des philosophes et de Moïse

PLUCHE, Noël Antoine Histoire du ciel considéré selon les idées des poètes, des philosophes et de Moïse Veuve Estienne, Paris, 1739; 2 volumes, 12mo, of (2) + 411 + (1) + (4) + 459 + (1) pp. First edition. Contemporary full sheepskin, spine with five raised bands, decorated compartments, title and volume labels. A few worm holes in the bindings only, rubbing. Binding sound. Interior very fresh. Complete with the 25 engravings by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas (frontispiece and 23 in the first volume, 1 in the second) depicting Egyptian and Greek gods, numerous symbols and attributes. Interesting information on the Zodiac, divination, symbolic ceremonies, alchemy… Caillet (III, 8755). In Histoire du ciel considéré selon les idées des poètes, des philosophes et de Moïse, Abbé Noël-Antoine Pluche offers a vast enquiry into the way civilisations have imagined the sky and explained the universe. He compares the mythological narratives of antiquity (Greek, Egyptian, Phoenician), the theories of the natural philosophers, and the biblical narrative of Moses, to defend the idea that myths are symbolic distortions of natural phenomena, while Genesis would preserve, in his view, a more accurate cosmological truth. The work combines erudition, history of religions, ancient astronomy and Christian apologetics, and constitutes an important testimony to the learned thought of the 18th century, halfway between Enlightenment science and theology.