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Volney ([Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de]) The Ruins:
£295
or a survey of the revolutions of empires
London, for J. Johnson, 1792.
First edition in English. 8vo. Later calf backed marbled boards, lettered in gilt.
A landmark Enlightenment meditation on the cyclical rise and collapse of civilisations, arguing that empires fall through superstition, political corruption and the misuse of religious authority, rather than divine design. Through a pioneering comparative analysis of ancient religions, Volney treats Christianity as one mythic system among many, anticipating the Christ Myth thesis and establishing the work as a foundational text of modern secular history and comparative religion.
In stock
Minor foxing, slight offsetting from frontispiece.
Engraved frontispiece.
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