The History of Philosophy, from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Present Century; Drawn up from Brucker’s Historia Critica Philosophiæ. In Two Volumes.
London: Printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul’s Church Yard, 1791. First edition of the first English version of Brucker’s text, adapted by William Enfield (1741 – 1797), accessible here to English readers for the first time. Brucker (1696 – 1770) published his monumental Historia Critica Philosophiæ, in five volumes at Leipzig between 1742 and 1744, with an additional sixth volume published in 1767. Historia Critica Philosophiæ was Brucker’s magnum opus and the first complete history of philosophy of the modern era; the present English version was Enfield’s major literary achievement. “For Kant and for the French Encyclopedists, Brucker’s immensely learned and detailed history was the principal authority. Freely adapted into English form by William Enfield…it was a standard text in England for another thirty years,” (Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, VI, 227). The present version is not a direct translation, but, as Enfield explains in the preface, “In regard to language, I have found it wholly impracticable to follow my author…Instead of translating the original, I have, therefore, endeavoured to give a faithful representation of its general meaning and spirit.”. Large folding engraved plate (biographical timeline of philosophers) in volume one. Some chipping to calf at spine. Marbled edges. Darkening to top edges. Marbled endpapers, with the armorial bookplate of “Somerhill Library” to front pastedown of second volume. Quite clean and fresh throughout aside from toning to some gatherings, as usual. A very good copy of the standard history of philosophy in England for thirty years after its publication. Contemporary tan calf with gilt roll. Gilt spine with raised bands in six compartments. Red and green morocco spine labels. Neatly rebacked with original spines laid down. Two volumes, quarto. 2], xxvii, [1, errata], 503, [30, index]; [4], 628 pp. Item #17366
Enfield was a Unitarian minister, dissenting philosopher, educator, and author. His religious, historical, and scientific texts included Sermons on Practical Subjects (1798); An Essay Toward the History of Liverpool (1774); Institutes of Natural Philosophy (1783); and his major commercial success The Speaker (1774), an anthology of extracts from classical and English literature intended for instruction in elocution. He was also a friend of Joseph Priestly, Nicholas Clayton, John Aikin, and Anna Laetitia Barbauld. Enfield’s History of Philosophy “won praise on both sides of the Atlantic,” (ODNB).
Brucker was a historian of philosophy. Though he is best remembered for his Historia Critica Philosophiæ, he wrote prolifically on the history of both philosophy and literature: his works include Historia Philosophicae Doctrinae de Ideis (1723), the seven-volume Kurze Fragen aus der philosophischen Historiae (1731-36), Pinacotheca Scriptorum nostra aetate literis illustrium (1741–1755), and an edition of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible. Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, VI, 227.
Price: $1,250.00