DUPONT DE NEMOURS, Pierre Samuel.

£750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Philosophie de l'univers. Troisième édition. Augmentée de plusieurs notes et d'une table des matières. Third and final edition of Dupont's "treatise attempting to state a philosophy of life" (Saricks), first published in 1792 and addressed to his long-time friend Lavoisier. "From the dates given at the beginning of the book, the Philosophie de l'univers was apparently written between December 20, 1792, and June 10, 1793. With the Philosophie, Dupont included the Oromasis, a prose-poem which, according to his statement in the preface, was written while he was concealed in the observatory after August 10. Although of inferior quality, this little work displays the same sublime optimism which Condorcet was able to muster in somewhat similar circumstances while composing his famous essay on human progress... The basis of his 'philosophy of the universe' is that nothing is done by chance. Providential laws direct the whole universe, as accords with good physiocratic doctrine" (ibid.).

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