1826 Illustrations of Paley's Natural Theology With Descriptive Letter Press

Description

Colour Plates, First Edition, Illustrated, Leather Binding

The first edition of this work. 'Natural Theology' is a work on philosophy of religion. It expounds arguments from natural theology to make a teleological argument for the existence of God. The work notably starts with the famous watchmaker analogy. Paley's main form of argument is that the finely adapted mechanical structures found in animals and plants must be the work of an intelligent Creator. This beautiful volume of plates is to complement Paxton's editorial of Paley's works. To the preface he notes that 'the designs of the following plates are original, obtained from the most authentic sources'. Each illustration has an accompanying explanation 'which are intended to supply defective or correct erroneous statements and to explain the plates.' He notes that the undertaking 'originated in the difficulty of understanding the various descriptions introduced by Paley, not however from his want of clearness... It is therefore presumed that the subsequent illustrations will be an acquisition, by bringing vividly to the imagination, objects of which only an imperfect idea could otherwise be formed.' James Paxton, the author of this work, was a British surgeon and medical writer. His patron for this work was Shute Barrington. These thirty six plates comprise of twenty-four of humans, seven of animals and five of plants. Collated, complete. With the bookplate of one C J Peacock to the front pastedown.