A week's conversation on the plurality of worlds. . Translated from the last paris edition, wherein are many improvements throughout ; and some new observations on several Discoveries which have been lately made in the Heavens.

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Second edition. Duodecimo. ( 168mm. ) Pp. [4], x, [2], 200p. Plates [1] frontispiece. Frontispiece and title page lightly age browned and dusty, otherwise the contents are occasionally lightly spotted. Pages 195 - 200 ( i.e. sigs. K2 -K4 ) with a thin single worm line. Contemporary calf worn, corners bumped with the boards showing through, spine with five raised bands, chipped at the head, wanting the title label, upper joint cracked, lower joint partially cracked. Upper hinge cracked, board a little mobile. Previous owner's name etc; in pencil on the front pastedown. The third edition published in 1738 saw the addition of a folding plare as well as the frontispiece. First published in 1686 in France ' Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes ' at once became a popular and readable explanation of Descartes' physics and Galileo's view of the sun, earth and planets. Bernard Le Bovier de Fontelle ( 1657 - 1757 ) was a French mathematician who wrote on the history of mathematics and the philosophy of science. The book offered here is his most famous work. Fontenelle feared that the ' middle of the road ' language he used in writing the book might invite criticism from his academic friends and contempories, of course the reverse was true and it rapidly became the first classic of popular science. This book " became a seminal influence on proto science fiction. This is one of the earliest works ever written popularizing science, notably astronomy, for the layman, which it does by wittily presenting its speculations -- many about the possibility of life on other worlds -- in the form of conversations after dinner between the author and a marquise", see - Clute and Nicholls , The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993 ), page. 437. ESTC N25366. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 000513

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