Book 9780371978221

Antient Metaphysics: Or, The Science Of Universals by Lord James Burnett Monboddo. This sweeping 18th?century treatise contrasts the natural life with civilized life, contending that living in nature yields healthier bodies and simpler pleasures, while civilization—clothes, housing, wine, and luxury—erodes health, morality, and population. Monboddo traces humanity's ascent from solitary beasts to social beings, through boasted civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, arguing that health and happiness depend on open air, baths, friction, and modest attire. He integrates Aristotle, Plato, and the Alexandrian tradition, enriching a program that links metaphysics, logic, ethics, and political reform. The work also surveys wealth, money, trade, expansion, and the depopulation of nations, warning that money and war threaten mankind and foretelling a convulsion of nature and a new era. Throughout, he considers the end of civil society in theological terms, while offering practical proposals for reform, education, and the cultivation of virtue through philosophy and religion.