About this Item
4 blank leaves + TP + [3]-68 + bound in thrice-folded map of Terrae Sanctae delineation (Map of the Holy Land) + 69-70 + [71]-[82] + TP + 1-317 + [318]-[324], 12mo. Second (first 12mo.) Edition."The Greatest Heretic of His Age" - He Claimed There Were Men Before Adam! - A Major Influence on Spinoza Isaac de La Peyrère (1596-1676) was a French theologian, Bible critic, and anthropologist. He was born in Bordeaux and raised a Calvinist. In 1640, he became the Prince de Condé's secretary. He wrote Praeadamitae in 1642-43 and, unable to find a printer, circulated the manuscript privately in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark. In 1644, the recently abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden saw his manuscript, urged its publication, and agreed to pay the costs. It was printed anonymously in Amsterdam in 1655 by Elzevier but with no notice of the author, the publisher or the city of origin - first in quarto and then, in that same year, in this 12mo edition. The book was quickly banned and burned everywhere for its heretical claims that Adam was not the first man, that the Bible is not the history of mankind (but only the history of the Jews), that the Flood was a local event, that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, and that no accurate copy of the Bible exists. La Peyrère identity as the author was quickly discovered and he was arrested and told he would be released only if he turned Catholic and recanted to the Pope. He did this in am almost blatantly hypocritical fashion, saying that his heresies resulted from his Calvinist upbringing, and that though all Jews and Christians disagreed with him, and though he could still find no Scriptural or reasonable evidence against his theories, he would abjure them because the Church said they were wrong. The Pope offered him a post, but La Peyrère returned to Paris to become the Prince de Condé's librarian and a lay member of the Oratorians. La Peyrère has been characterized as a heretic, atheist, deist, Socinian, father of Bible criticism, and father of Zionism. He argued his pre-Adamite theory first on a farfetched interpretation of several verses of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, then from information about pagan history, and finally from anthropological evidence about the Indians, Eskimos, and Chinese. His analysis of the Bible played a great role in the development of Higher Criticism, making a strong impression on Spinoza (who had a first edition quarto copy of this book in his library). His separation of Jewish and gentile histories also influenced Vico in the developing secular historiography. On the far less desirable side, La Peyrère's pre-Adamite theory was revived in the early 19th century as a basis for polygenesis and modern racism, claiming the American Indians and the blacks were not sons of Adam. Contemporary vellum with yapped edges, elegant manuscript lettering to the spine, and completely unrestored. The binding is lightly soiled overall and has a ½" x ¾" burn mark to the rear top corner. There is a faint, ornate former owner's signature to the right middle of the title page. The text is unmarked. A really gorgeous copy of this important book in the History of Ideas. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. Seller Inventory # 1269
Contact seller
Report this item
