Telluris theoria sacra, originem & mutationes generales orbis nostri [...] complectens. Accedunt Archaeologiae philosophicae, sive Doctrina antiqua de rerum originibus [corr. ed.].

4to: [6]-558 pp. (lacking front.; title underlaid).

Mod. quarter leather, marbl. paper on covers, gilt-titled flat spine. Good copy.

Amsterdam repr. of the best known work of the English theologian Th. Burnet (1635-1715), 1st publ. London 1681-1689. The “Sacred Theory of the Earth” was a speculative cosmogony, in which Burnet suggested a hollow earth with most of the water inside until Noah’s Flood, at which time mountains and oceans appeared. He calculated the amount of water on Earth’s surface, stating there was not enough to account for the Flood. His system had its novel features, as well as those such as the four classical elements that were very traditional: an initially ovoid Earth, a Paradise before the Flood that was always in the spring season, and rivers flowing from the poles to the Equator. Isaac Newton was an admirer of Burnet’s theological approach to geological processes. The work was put on the Index (pencil note on title). Ill. with 2 folding engravings (the Old & New World) and 12 text engravings (incl. 3 full-page). Engr. mark on title. Title in red and black. Ref. STCN 108169812 (i.a. BL). Prov. Jesuit libr. stamp and ticket.